But the bookseller was halfway to the door, moving at speed despite a new-found limp. Kutch almost went after him, thought better of it and returned anxiously to the bottom of the stairs.
‘Reeth!’
he bellowed.
‘Your boyfriend’s calling you,’ Aphri taunted. She slashed at Caldason and he parried.
‘Stay away, Kutch!’
he yelled.
‘Get out!’
He was facing both of them simultaneously now. The female tried for a low sweep, aiming at his legs. Caldason leapt over it. When he landed, the pliant floor shook mightily.
Aphri had to retreat to let her partner use his ball and chain. This time, Caldason side-stepped and got himself parallel to it. He thrust out his sword and let the chain wrap itself around the blade. One good tug wrenched the chain from Aphrim’s hands. Then, as a man might rid himself of a poisonous snake curled round a stick, Caldason shook off the chain with a flip of his wrist. Sliding along the blade and off, the ball and chain clanked across the floor. Parted from their glamour host, and energy source, they instantly transmuted to flickering sparks and in short order turned to ashes.
The twins weren’t happy about it. They charged together, looking to overwhelm Caldason. He deflected both their blades. A flurry of pounding swordplay followed as he engaged them in turn, blade flashing from one to the other. Brisk and furious, the three-way duel allowed no margin for error. One slip would be his last.
He succeeded in wrong-footing them, retreated a few steps and grabbed the side of a bookcase. A powerful heave toppled it. Scores of volumes tumbled from the shelves as the massive slab of furniture came down. It landed with a resounding
crash between him and his foes. The impact made the floor shake.
What Caldason didn’t reckon on was setting off a domino effect. The cases on either side of the one he’d felled began to sway, disgorging books. A second later they came down, one after the other, smashing to the floor with a deafening reverberation. Nearby, one end of a floorboard flew up like a child’s see-saw, exposing the rusty nails that held it down. Another followed, imitating a catapult’s arm.
Aphri vaulted each of the obstacles keeping her from Caldason. Aphrim ran to skirt them. They came at him head-on and from the side, and the fight resumed.
The floor was making ominous sounds, the room shuddering.
Then the world lurched crazily.
In a neighbouring street, Serrah and Tanalvah were making their way through the mid-town crowds.
‘What’s going on over there?’ Tanalvah said, pointing to the other side of the road.
A skinny, dark-haired man in a dishevelled state was running along the pavement, waving his arms about and shouting.
Serrah shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Can you hear what he’s saying?’
‘Something about the watch, I think. And sandals. It could have been vandals.’
‘Big cities. You get all sorts.’
‘Perhaps he’s one of those poor deluded people you see talking to themselves on the streets sometimes.’
‘Could be.’
They walked on. The shouting man faded into the distance.
‘You don’t think…’
‘What, Tan?’
‘You don’t think that man could have had anything to do with Reeth and Kutch, do you?’
‘Why should he? What possible trouble could they get into visiting a bookshop? Ah, there it is.’
No sooner had they spotted the shop than a sound like thunder came from it. Clouds of dust billowed from its open door.
Caldason and the twins were still fighting when the floor collapsed. It dropped like the deck of a rapidly sinking ship. Timber, masonry, plaster, thousands of books and three hapless figures plummeted through the ceiling of the ground floor. In a chorus of tremendous crashes the tables and unsecured bookcases fell with them.
A blizzard of countless fluttering pages descended, followed by the fusty grime of ages to garnish the chaos.
An after-the-storm silence blanketed the scene, broken only by the sound of an occasional book late in falling.
‘
Whoooaa!
Do it again! Do it again!’ Aphri, still on her feet, was grinning, jubilant as a child just off a fairground ride. Her glamour twin was nearby, sitting incongruously on a heap of books, cross-legged, an impassive expression on its face.
Half covered in debris, Caldason lifted his head. He found he was still clutching his sword. Disentangling himself from the wreckage, he got up.
‘Still alive?’ Aphrim snorted petulantly.
‘We must rectify that, my dear,’ Aphri told him.
They started to move in on the Qalochian.
‘Hey!’
All heads turned. Serrah and Tanalvah were scrambling over the rubble towards them, and Serrah had her sword drawn.
‘Playtime’s over,’ Aphri decided. ‘Come.’ She beckoned Aphrim.
He ran to her, and
in
to her, merging instantly. Aphri twitched ever so slightly as she reabsorbed her twin. Then she turned on her heel and streaked to the door. Tanalvah drew back as she passed, appalled at what she’d just seen. Serrah made to give chase.
‘Let her go!’ Caldason called out, re-sheathing his blade. ‘Chances are she already looks like somebody else.’
‘What happened?’ Tanalvah said.
‘And what the hell
was
that?’ Serrah wanted to know.
Caldason ignored them. ‘Kutch?’ he yelled.
‘Kutch?’
‘Here!’ a muffled voice responded.
It came from the foot of the staircase, which remained standing, just. They set to clearing the debris, and found him curled up under the protective wooden slats. Reeth and Serrah took an arm each and pulled him out.
‘Are you all right?’ Tanalvah inquired anxiously.
‘Yes, I think so.’ He seemed more excited than upset as he dusted himself off. ‘I got a peek, from back there. It was a
meld
, Reeth! I’ve never seen one before. They’re really rare.’
‘And the woman was wearing a masking glamour, pretending to be old,’ Caldason said.
‘Neither sounds cheap,’ Serrah ventured.
‘Far from it.’
‘And they…she was after you?’ Tanalvah asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Looks like you have a complicating factor in your life, Reeth,’ Serrah announced.
‘Just what I needed.’
She saw blood on his sleeve. ‘You’re hurt.’
He hadn’t noticed, and hardly gave it a glance. ‘It doesn’t matter. You know how quickly I heal.’
