Cheyenne’s coils slithered away from around the raug’s wrists when she looked up and found his face inches from hers. The raug snarled in battle-maddened glee.
“No.” She pointed at him. “I came down here to break this up.”
His thick gray forehead cracked against hers, and she reeled backward with a grunt. The raug’s drunken roar of laughter cut off when L’zar jumped onto his back and swung wildly with both fists.
Cheyenne rubbed her forehead and scowled. This isn’t even a real fight. “L’zar! You’re not doing yourself any—whoa!”
The third raug had come up behind her and now lifted her with one hand clenched around the back of her shirt and the other arm wrapped around her waist. The next thing she knew, she was flying through the air toward the wall of the building. She caught a glimpse of Ember’s furious glare at the edge of the balcony before the halfling aimed her black lashing tendrils at the railing. They coiled around it before Cheyenne struck the wall, and she managed to pull herself up and hit that wall with the soles of her feet instead of her face.
Ember moved forward in the crawler and raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t think you were into fighting this early in the morning.”
“I’m not.” Cheyenne released the black whips of drow magic from her fingertips and dropped to the ground. I’m done with everyone fighting raugs at the worst possible time.
She summoned a crackling black orb of energy in one hand and tossed it at the raug swinging his fist at L’zar’s face again. Her attack hit the magical in the shoulder and sent him spinning away from the drow thief, but another raug came up behind L’zar and sucker-punched him. L’zar staggered toward Cheyenne, briefly lifting a hand to his jaw.
“Time to call it.” She put a hand on his shoulder to draw him away from the growling raugs. L’zar’s elbow shot up and cracked into her nose before he realized he’d made contact with his daughter instead of a hulking grayskin.
Cheyenne’s back thumped against the wall, tears filling her eyes at the overwhelming pain, and gingerly prodded her nose with a hiss. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
L’zar spun and peered at her, his golden eyes unfocused as he staggered sideways. “Don’t get in my way.”
All her attempts to be the voice of reason disappeared. With a snarl, she shot two black energy spheres at the drow thief, who ducked one and took the other in the shoulder. Cheyenne’s first orb glanced off a raug’s head as he lowered it and charged the only two drow in Hirúl Breach.
The third raug appeared from nowhere and snatched Cheyenne away from the wall before throwing her into the fray. She was caught up in a flurry of flying fists and snarling teeth as three raugs and L’zar Verdys exchanged blows aimed at anything that moved.
“End them!” the spectators shouted.
“Hey, we’re not ending anybody!” Cheyenne ducked a red-clawed gray fist and stepped under the flailing raug’s swing before kicking him away. “Cut it out!”
The gray-skinned magicals around them jeered and stomped their feet, roaring in excitement. L’zar darted into enhanced speed over and over but was forced back out of it every time by a raug’s outstretched foot or lowered shoulder or the swing of a massive arm.
When two raugs sent their fists hurtling toward L’zar at the same time, Cheyenne gritted her teeth and raised a translucent black shield around her father. The raugs’ fists glanced off it with echoing cracks like they’d struck metal and the magicals staggered away, bellowing. L’zar threw his head back and cackled. Cheyenne ducked another swing by the third raug as her father backed away from behind the shield and darted back into the fight.
All around them, voices rose not from the gathered raugs who’d been up all night partying with the Weaver, but from those who’d gone to sleep when they should have and were now awakened by the brawl.
“Tais-toi!”
“Ce n’est même pas l’aube!”
“Putain d’idiots!”
Cheyenne didn’t need to speak French to get the gist of the angry shouts as raugs glared sleepily from open balconies around the courtyard. “Hey, I’m trying to help!”
L’zar flew over her shoulder and bashed into the wall. It took him two seconds to pull himself off the ground, shake himself off, and dart back toward the raugs.
Cheyenne clenched her fists and was about to reach after him with her lashing tendrils when two darting streaks of blazing silver light entered the courtyard.
Corian and Maleshi appeared on either side of L’zar and grabbed his arms to hold him back. The drow thief struggled against them and lunged at the three raugs leering at him. Despite everyone being covered in hours-old blood and O’gúl booze and dirt, none of them was ready to back down.
“Stop it,” Corian whispered harshly, his fingers digging into L’zar’s upper arm. “This isn’t why we’re here.”
L’zar ignored him and hissed at the three raugs, who were debating whether or not to keep going. “You’re all useless. If you want to fight me, Barlek, then fight me!”
“Hey!” Corian shook the drow thief by the shoulder when L’zar lunged.
Maleshi kept a firm hold on L’zar’s other arm and stepped in front of him. “I think it’s time to call it a night.”
The closest raug hurled a snaking attack of orange light at the trio. Cheyenne raised a shield around L’zar and the nightstalkers, sending the bolt into the air above the courtyard. It bashed into the wall of another building, and snarled French shouts rained down around them.
Corian tightened his grip on L’zar and bared his teeth. “Cheyenne.”
“Yeah, as long as you keep him out of
