Tylar struggled, broken and hopeless.
There was no escape.
Fingers closed on the Godsword’s hilt.
Dart heard Mistress Naff’s voice from a landing away.
We will have the sword!
Dart hopped from the hound’s back, almost breaking her leg on the stairs. The sudden loss of his rider stopped the bullhound. Dart did not want to be dragged unwilling into the same trap as the others.
She left the hound below. She hoped her command to stay was obeyed.
Reaching the open doors, she crouched and studied the hall.
We will be free!
Dart ignored Mistress Naff. She spotted one knight down on the floor, blood pooling around his head. The others seemed at a loss on how to penetrate a tangled web that locked Tylar and Mistress Naff together. From her hiding place, Dart searched for Lord Chrism, but he was nowhere to be seen.
She returned her study to Tylar… and his sword.
He had to be broken free.
But how?
Kathryn despaired as she watched the daemon woman’s fingers close upon the hilt of the Godsword. She had heard the woman’s mad claim.
But how could they stop her?
Rogger circled the pair, seeking any means to penetrate the snarl of Gloom. He had tried striking from behind, but still the Gloom had thwarted him, burning his dagger to molten steel that dripped and steamed to the stones.
Krevan hovered by his fallen friend. His face was a mask of fury, but there was no outlet for his anger. Eylan and Gerrod stood to the side. Eylan pointed to a torch on the wall, then to the rug at her feet. Plainly she was thinking to set it on fire.
Gerrod wisely shook his head. Even if they could light the rug, it was doubtful flames would fare any better than steel.
Krevan stirred from his vigil and pointed his sword back to the door.
Kathryn turned, dropping lower, wary.
A small figure ran toward them.
It was the child. Dart. What was she doing here?
Kathryn closed upon her, intending to keep her back. The godling must not fall into Chrism’s hands. Especially if the monster recovered the sword. Kathryn’s fingers tightened on her own hilt. She could not let the child be taken alive.
Still, Kathryn stared down at the girl’s small flushed face as she joined her. Do I have the strength to slay this girl if I must?
“Castellan Vail,” Dart gasped. “You must throw your dagger!”
She grabbed the girl’s arm as she tried to move closer. “We already tried. No blade can reach her.”
Dart fought her grip. “Not her.” She freed her arm and jabbed it forward. “Him!”
“Tylar?”
Dart bent and touched Kathryn’s calf. “Strike him here. She may not expect that.”
“But-?”
“Do it!” The small voice chimed with a mix of command and desperation.
Kathryn twisted around, trusting the girl for now. She slipped a dagger free. “Rogger!” she called out. “Strike from behind again! All of you! On my command! Attack together!”
Kathryn pushed Dart behind her. She hoped the additional distraction might allow a blade to slip by the smoky defenses and strike Tylar’s calf.
“Now!”
Blades fell from all sides, aimed for the woman.
Kathryn swiped her dagger low, swinging from the hip. She put all the force of muscle and shadow into her throw.
The blade flew from her fingertips, sent with a prayer.
Elsewhere, steel exploded into fiery, molten splashes.
All done to protect Naff.
Not Tylar.
Kathryn’s blade slipped through a break in the tangle. The dagger struck Tylar’s calf, spearing completely through it.
Kathryn straightened. Nothing happened. The stalemate continued. Tylar did not even seem to notice the blow, too racked in pain already.
She stared down at the girl.
If Tylar lost this battle…
Kathryn lifted her sword. The girl did not even notice. She continued her focus on the two in the smoky tangle.
Dart’s lips moved, a whisper. “Go, Pupp…”
Frowning, Kathryn turned back to Tylar.
At his knee, something formed. A misshapen, molten chunk of bronze. It moved, defining itself into some four-legged creature of sharp points and razored edges. Its nose was pressed to Tylar’s calf, to the dagger.
To his blood!
“Tylar’s Grace!” Gerrod gasped, stepping to them, laying a hand on Dart’s shoulder. “It ignites her creature!”
“Pupp,” Dart corrected.
The bronze creature stalked around Tylar’s leg. Unseen and without substance before, it must have slipped in and waited for a source of Grace.
It found it in Tylar’s blood.
The daemoness finally noted the monster in her midst and jerked back. But it was too late.
Pupp leaped, flying high, all four claws extended. He latched onto Nass’s belly, flaring brighter. She screamed.
Flames shot out her back as Pupp buried his fiery muzzle into her flesh. She fell backward, tumbling out of her protective tangle and into Chrism’s rooms.
As she fell, the web shattered, releasing Tylar. He toppled back, sprawling without strength.
From both their chests, the dark streams receded, sucked back into the void from which they came. Tylar sat up, shaking away the residual shock. He tested his limbs, as if making sure they were still his.
He stood up, but almost fell as he put weight on his impaled leg. He glanced to the dagger, then back up again. He hobbled to Naff.
“That’s enough, Pupp,” Tylar said.
He motioned with his sword. It shone brightly.
Pupp backed away.
The ruin that was Mistress Naff steamed and bled. The reek of charred flesh wafted heavily. But she was still alive. Eyes moved, tracking Tylar. Feeble tendrils of Gloom wormed from her chest print.
Words bubbled with blood. “What you carry is no blessing. It’ll eat you, too. From the inside!”
Ignoring the threat, Tylar lifted his sword and held it high in both arms. “This is for Meeryn… and Mistress Naff.”
The creature at his feet struggled, but its spine had been shattered.
Tylar drove the blade down, through the center of the black mark. It slid to the hilt, despite the stone under the body. Tylar yanked it back. Flames followed the sword up, but the blade was gone.
A wail tore through the hall, issuing from the black well.
Kathryn dropped her sword and clamped her ears. She and the others fell to their knees. The keening ripped
