Masters of Fantasy Part 18

the stopper on the vial and shook a pinch of earth into her hand. She concentrated her thoughts on the stone wall to which she was chained, especially the portion of the wall to which the manacles were attached, and closed her eyes to better focus her thoughts.

"Stone, split!" she commanded and sifted the bit of earth through her fingers, letting it fall to the ground.

The sound of rock cracking was extraordinarily loud, or so it seemed to Alise, who cringed and looked

apprehensively at the cell door, expecting that the commander would return at any moment. No one came.

Alise tugged on the chain and the heavy manacles pulled free and fell to the floor with a crash. She grit

her teeth and continued her concentration on the spell. The fissures spread down the wall and the

manacles on her feet pulled out of the stonework.

Unable to lift her arms due to the weight of the iron manacles, barely able to move her feet, she dragged herself across the cell, groping along the broken wall to find her way. Finding Shadamehr, she clutched hold of him thankfully.

"What did you do?" he asked. "Knock the wall down?"

"In a way," she replied. "Don't talk to me. You'll break my concentration."

"Not talking," he said and shut his mouth.

Taking another pinch of earth, Alise repeated the spell. Again the loud cracking sound. Surely the

commander must have heard that! Shadamehr dropped from the wall. He ripped open one of the seams

of the leather jerkin he wore, removed the lockpick which had been sewn into the seam.

"I could use some light," he muttered beneath his breath, fumbling to try to find the keyhole in the darkness.

As if on command, light flared.

"Shadamehr!" Alise gasped. "We're on fire!"

The floor of the cellblock in front of the iron-barred door had burst into flame, a magical flame that

consumed stone, apparently, for the fire had no other fuel. Not until the flames reached the dry straw that

covered the floor on which they stood.

"Ah, that helps!" said Shadamehr. He thrust the lockpick into the keyhole of the manacle on her right hand.

"Hurry!" Alise urged, coughing in the acrid smoke.

"A dwarf Fire Mage, Ulien said," Shadamehr recalled, removing the other manacle from Alise's hand

and starting on the manacles on her ankles. He cast a glance toward the cell where the dwarf was chained.

Alise covered her mouth with her hand to avoid breathing the superheated air.

The flames shot high into the air, forming a wall of fire between them and the cell door.

"I take that for yes." Shadamehr was working on the manacles on his ankles with one eye on the flames

and the other on the keyhole. A click and he was free. He looked at the manacles on his wrists, eyed the fire, and shook his head. "We'll have to run for it. The flames are magical. Can we escape through that?"

"I don't see we have much choice!" Alise cried. "It's either that or burn to death where we are."

"Then here we go!" Shadamehr leapt into the fire.

Alise closed her eyes, covered her face with the sleeve of her robes, and plunged into the wall of flame.

She was through, gasping and slammed into the cell door. A few sparks clung to her robes, but she patted them out. Shadamehr had his arm thrust through the iron bars, turning the lockpick in the lock. An expert twist and the lock gave. The cell doors swung open.

"How are you?" he asked her, regarding her worriedly.

"A little weak," she replied. "The spell casting saps my energy. But I'll be all right. What about the commander?"

All was quiet in the cellblock. No sign that anyone had heard or seen anything.

"I don't know. I can't see anything for the smoke. I'll keep watch. You check on our neighbor the fire

bug."

The flames in the cell had already starting to die out. Perhaps that is what gave Alise the clue. She knew before she went to look for the dwarf what she would find.

He hung from the wall, head and hands and feet dangling limp and lifeless. She could not see the hole in

his heart from here, but she had no doubt it was there.

She caught hold of Shadamehr. He had managed to free one of his wrists from the manacles and was working on the second.

"The dwarf's dead," she said, her voice catching in her throat. She coughed. "Blasted smoke! My guess

is that he didn't set the fire."

"One suspect gone. How much earth do you have left?

"Enough for one more spell."

"Excellent."

"Shadamehr, compared to a vrykyl, my magical power is that of a child!"

"I wasn't thinking of taking on the vrykyl. I was thinking more about removing grates. Can you swim?"

he asked, working on the lock and not having much luck. "This one's stuck!"

"Swim! Shadamehr," she protested. "You're not serious! You didn't see what it was like down in that sewer!"

"Call it a hunch, but I don't think they're going to let us walk out the front door- Look out!" Shadamehr

grabbed Alise bodily, swung her behind him.

A figure loomed out of the smoky darkness. Rubies sparkled blood red in the light of the dying flames.

Fire light flashed on a steel blade.

Shadamehr ducked. The blade hissed through the air just above his head, sending the smoke swirling.

Alise tried to see the person-or the creature-wielding the blade. The smoke was too thick. Her eyes

burned and stung. She fell back against the wall.

Shadamehr scrambled backward to avoid the return stroke. He had no room to maneuver. The ruby- hilted sword slashed again and this time drew blood. He cried out in pain and staggered backward, clutching at his upper arm. Alise caught hold of him, pulled him into a dark corner.

The smoke whirled and eddied around them. The commander had lost them and was slas.h.i.+ng blindly, coughing and peering through the smoke.

"Zounds!" Shadamehr gasped, leaning against her. "It feels like I've been stung by a thousand wasps!"

"That's the Void magic. It can work like poison. Can you stand?"

"Yes, but I don't know for how long. Here he comes again!"

Shadamehr's only weapon was the manacle, still attached to his wrist, and the short length of chain that dangled from it. He dashed forward, swinging the chain, trying to entangle the sword.

Alise took her last pinch of earth and flung it into the air. She focused her thoughts on the ruby-

bejeweled sword and spoke a single word. "Brittle!"

The commander evaded the swinging chain. He lunged at Shadamehr, who was too weak to dodge the stabbing blade. The sword struck Shadamehr in the breast. He shut his eyes involuntarily, expecting his death blow.

The blade snapped in two.