The thing turned to face her and spread its four arms. “Here she is.”
Cheyenne roared and fired again, blasting the Sorren Gán over and over with drow fire as the flames flared around her body and flashed behind her eyes. Every attack was swallowed by the beast’s form, and it laughed again.
L’zar could barely see his daughter beneath the flames, but he leaped to his feet and hurried toward her. “Cheyenne.”
“No!” She kept attacking as she stormed toward the thing that ate drow and had tossed her into the burning lake. “I told you I was done.”
“Cheyenne, it won’t do anything.”
“No, you won’t do anything.”
“I can explain.”
Shouting in rage, Cheyenne whirled on her father and sent a ball of black flames hurtling into his chest. It threw him toward the cave wall, and he pulled the same trick he’d used before. The black fire consumed his body and he spread his arms, slowing himself before hitting the wall and hovering over the cave floor before lowering himself to the ground. The flames curled inward and almost sank into his skin, then they were gone.
Cheyenne summoned a churning sphere of black energy and stormed after him. “Don’t tell me you can explain.”
“I can.”
“You sacrificed me! Just like that.” She launched the energy sphere at him, and he batted it aside with a flash of white light. “You didn’t even try to find a better way. All you did was tell me I’d be fine!”
A chuckle escaped him and he shrugged. “And so you are.”
“Stop laughing!” Cheyenne hurled two more attacks at him. L’zar deflected the first, but the second caught him in the shoulder and spun him off-balance.
Finally, she reached her father and took a black-flaming swing at his face. He ducked and tried to grab her wrist. Cheyenne brought her other elbow up toward his throat, but L’zar blocked it with a quickly raised forearm and stepped aside. “I’m serious, Cheyenne.”
“You’re never serious. That’s the problem!”
“Stop.” He parried another punch and tried to pull her against him. “Stop trying to fight me and listen.”
“Stop pretending you give a shit about me!” Cheyenne snarled as she kept up the attack, launching punches that would send most magicals crashing through the walls. L’zar was too quick.
The Sorren Gán watched the squabbling drow for a moment before its fascination dwindled. It snorted another cloud of thick black smoke and flicked two of its hands toward the mouth of the cave.
Cheyenne and L’zar were ripped apart by the Sorren Gán’s magic and went sailing through the wall of fire blocking the cave entrance and out into the stone courtyard beyond.
The halfling braced herself for the fall and tumbled across the stone, rolling as much as she could.
Lumil leaped up from where she’d been sitting in the clearing, eyes wide. The other magicals in their party got to their feet to watch L’zar sliding on his back into the center of the bowl-shaped clearing too. Both drow trailed thin wisps of smoke behind them. Cheyenne’s black flames had been snuffed by the Sorren Gán’s disposal of her and her father.
“Shit.” Cheyenne slapped the real fire igniting the hem of her trenchcoat and two spots on her sleeves. Dammit, I just bought this thing.
L’zar scrambled to his feet and slapped at the fire singeing his pants and the front of his shirt. When he finally got it all out, he straightened his shirt and smoothed his long white hair away from his face with both hands.
“So.” Maleshi folded her arms and blinked at the drow. “How did it go?”
L’zar lifted a hand and opened his mouth to answer. Words escaped him, so he gestured at Cheyenne.
The flames blocking the cave entrance flared brighter, and the Sorren Gán’s voice boomed across the clearing again. “You have amused me, at the very least. This I will accept as payment. For now.”
“Endaru’s balls.” Byrd smiled in relief. “I didn’t think that would happen.”
“In three days’ time,” the beast roared, hidden behind the flames guarding its cave, “I will make the journey to Hangivol, and I will feast on the product of Ba’rael Verdys’ stupidity. Do not wait another thousand years to visit me, L’zar. I did miss you.”
L’zar spun and shot the cave the middle finger as the Sorren Gán’s terrifying laughter faded.
“Three days?” Corian rubbed his mouth. “I guess it’s better than never.”
Cheyenne whipped the back of her trenchcoat around, looking for any errant fire she might have missed. L’zar approached her and reached out toward her face. “Are you all right?”
She slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
“I want to make sure you’re all right.”
Another churning sphere of crackling black energy flew from her hand. He stepped quickly away to dodge the attack, and her magic cracked into the stone behind him, sending black and purple sparks everywhere.
“Whoa, whoa.” Corian rushed toward them. “What happened?”
“Ask him.” Cheyenne launched another energy sphere, but Corian threw off her aim when he pushed her arm down.
Then he grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to look at him. She tried to struggle out of his grasp, but he gave her a quick shake. “Cheyenne!”
“What?” she snarled.
“Cut it out.”
Breathing heavily, she tried to look over her shoulder at L’zar, who merely straightened his shirtsleeves before clasping his hands behind his back and turning away from them.
“Don’t look at him, kid. Look at me.”
“You’re not the one I want to kill, Corian, but if you don’t let go of me, I’ll fight you too. I already punched you once. Imagine what I can do now.” Cheyenne jerked his hands off her shoulders and spun toward L’zar.
“What happened in there?” Maleshi asked, stopping hesitantly beside Corian.
Cheyenne jabbed a finger at L’zar. “That asshole sacrificed me to the Sorren Gán.”
Maleshi unfolded her arms. “What?”
Corian bared his teeth in a snarl. “L’zar.”
The drow thief slowly turned around and spread his arms. “I wouldn’t say that’s an accurate recounting.”
“Bullshit! That’s exactly what happened. You didn’t even try to fight for me. You’re a fucking
