Jex stopped dead as three more man-shaped shadows joined the first. Slowly, attention never leaving the menacing strangers, he drew Enari behind him so that his body shielded her from view. As the pack moved to the center of the alley, moonlight dimly illuminated their features. Three of the ruffians were hulking, heavily muscled men, flat faced and heavy browed, while the fourth, apparently their leader, was whipcord thin. All four were dressed in dark clothing and armed to the teeth.
“We don’t want any trouble, friends,” Jex said, polite and cautions, “Let us pass.”
The men laughed. The sound was ugly and filled with the promise of impending violence.
The leader shook his head, long hair falling into his eyes. “Oh no. The Lady doesn’t take kindly to a dandy like you roughing up her people. Yeema may be a slimy, Dust-mad little worm, but he’s still Brotherhood.”
“The Lady Shadow should warn her men against accosting mages and young kvinnas in a public market, then. Your fellow was sloppy and I only gave the maggot what he deserved,” Jex shot back. “You have no quarrel with us.”
“Be that as it may, we can hardly let such actions go unaddressed. You nobles might start getting uppity.”
“Perhaps we can work somefing out,” one of the big men suggested. “The lassie there is nice-looking enough. Let her be the payment.”
“You’ll touch her over my dead body!” Jex snapped. His tone was no longer friendly. He spun his staff in one hand and planted the end solidly into the dirt at his feet. Its runes began to glow scarlet and a sphere of crackling fire sprang to life in the air above his cupped palm. Two of the men took a hasty step back.
“That can certainly be arranged,” the thin man said with a snigger, “or you can stand aside, mageling. Let us have our fun and we can all go on as if none of this unpleasantness ever happened. We promise we’ll be quick and the Lady need never hear of it.”
The man behind him made a vulgar gesture and elbowed his closest associate. “You might be quick, but I plan to take my time. She looks fresh.”
“Take one step from where you stand and before the Consorts I swear you’ll die before you can take another,” the mage warned him. The orb of flames grew a little bigger as his anger built.
Then, speaking softly so his voice did not carry beyond her hearing, he addressed Enari, “Nani, do you see the doorway to your left?” He felt her nod against his back. “I want you to walk over there, slowly now, and put your back to it. I’ll veil you until you get there, then stay down and out of the way. If one of them gets past me, you run as fast as you can and head for a lighted street. Look for a guardsman.”
Walking backwards to keep the men in view, Enari crossed the narrow space until she felt her back bump against uneven stone. She sidestepped into the dim recess and held her breath, pressing as close to the door as she could manage.
“Hiding your toys isn’t very polite, you know,” sighed the leader, although he really didn’t sound that disappointed. A dagger appeared in his hand as if by magic and he grinned. “Never mind. I haven’t had a decent fight or a good fuck in ages.” He jerked his head towards Jex. “Get ‘im, lads. She’ll reappear once he’s dead.”
The two largest thugs rushed forward together.
Crying out a challenge, Jex swept his arm forward, palm down in a slashing motion, and the ball of fire turned into a line as it left him. It streaked towards the onrushing men, who dodged aside with snarls of anger.
Jex crooked his fingers and the flames reversed direction in midair, doubling back to impact one thug between his first and second steps. It exploded with a roar and the man was immediately engulfed in snapping red and orange flame. He dropped into the dust and tried frantically to smother his burning clothes but to no avail. The mage-fire burned hot and fast and within seconds the man was a living torch.
His partner had faltered, but only briefly.
As the choked screams began to die out, he reached Jex and brought a sword whistling down on the other’s head. Jex raised his staff in time to catch the blow across its length, stopping the steel inches from his face. The blade stuck and with a twist of his shoulders and arms, Jex sent the weapon spinning away. Lightning quick, he kicked out and caught the tough squarely between the legs. The man dropped with a winded curse, but dodged aside from the follow up strike aimed at his head.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t fast enough to avoid the lance of fire the mage flung down on him. He, too, was alight in an instant. Smoke and the smell of charred meat filled the night air.
The fourth assailant, the one who’d hung back from the initial charge when the order was given, had managed to sidle around the mage in the moment it had taken him to dispatch his attackers. Spotting Enari, he advanced on her with a leer.
“Come here, little dove,” he crooned, holding out a hand. “I won’t hurt you, I swear. An’ if you cooperate, we might be inclined to not kill your lover. Maybe just rough ‘im up a bit.”
She backed away slowly, eyes darting between the huge thug and the skirmish behind him. Two lay sprawled in smoking, unmoving heaps, but the wiry one had closed with Jex and he tossed his staff aside as the other hit him. They tumbled and rolled, each seeking to gain the upper hand. Steel flashed and dark splashes stained the ground in their wake, but in the gloom it was impossible to tell whose blood was being spilled.
Taking advantage of her distraction, the man lunged for her and caught her wrist before she could flee more than a few steps. Laughing, he jerked her against him.
“I’m going to enjoy this. These mages, see, sure they can burn you or freeze you or whatever, but they’re all one-trick in the end. Get past the magic and they’re naught but a whimper. You should pick better company if you’re gonna be out in the dark.”
Enari turned her face aside as he tried to kiss her and his rough beard scraped her cheek, the gesture more chaste than he’d intended.
“Oh come now, don’t be that way,” the man chided and grabbed her chin. “This’ll be easier if you settle down.”
She wriggled frantically, kicking at his shins. A sharp blow stung her face.
“Stop squirming!” he growled, angry now. He reached down with one meaty hand and tore open her dress from neckline to knee, snapping her belt like fine thread in the process and revealing the dainty chemise beneath. With one tug, it too was in tatters. He shoved her roughly against the wall and her head struck the stone hard enough to make her vision swim. The alley revolved drunkenly and blackness began to close in on her, but she fought it, knowing what would happen if she lost consciousness. She reached for the power she’d felt that day with the Greater, only to encounter the same wall she’d run up against the other times she’d tried. The magic was there, but she just couldn’t get to it, no matter how desperately she needed it now.
Holding her by the throat, he pressed a hand between her thighs and tried to force her legs apart. Enari clawed at his eyes and it earned her another slap, this one bloodying her nose. Panting now, her attacker threw her to the ground and descended upon her, using his knees to spread her legs as he pawed at her breasts. She managed to eel out from under him and roll to her hands and knees, scrambling away only to be caught by one ankle and yanked backwards. She winced as skin was peeled off her knees and the palm of one hand.
She’d known she wouldn’t be able to escape him, but the attempt had given her just enough time.
Enari flipped onto her back and as her would-be rapist dropped onto her, she brought her dagger up between their bodies. His weight drove the blade into his vitals at an upward angle and she twisted it as Jex had shown her. The man let out an agonized howl and she felt a flood of sticky warmth coat her hands and stomach. He toppled away from her and flopped in a spreading pool of dark blood for a moment before going still. A foul stench filled the air and she gagged.
A short, high pitched shriek of pain resounded from further down the passage, but it cut off abruptly and was replaced by heavy silence. Enari hardly noticed, unable to tear her eyes from the hilt protruding from the dead man’s belly. Hurried footsteps approached her and she turned her head woodenly.
Jex’s anxious face stared down at her, blood running from his nose and a cut above one eye. He dropped to his knees, blocking out the grisly scene, and pulled her to a sitting position.
“Are you hurt?” Hands ran over her, checking for injuries. Finding no obvious wounds, he embraced her tightly, pressing his face to her hair and letting out a whisper of thanks to the Consorts. She just stared at the blood staining her hands, so dark in the night that it looked black. Dimly, she heard him order her to stay where she was, that he’d be right back. His footsteps retreated.
Jex knelt and examined the limp form of his final adversary, watching the narrow chest rise and fall for a moment before reaching down to rip the dagger free of the man’s shoulder. He slapped the other’s face harshly until his eyes fluttered open on a moan. They went wide in terror as he saw the mage hovering over him. He sucked in a sharp breath and tried to scamper away, but fire blossomed around Jex’s fingertips and the thug squealed and threw up an arm to protect himself.
“You gambled and lost, friend,” Jex stated calmly
“We were only protecting one of ours,” the man whimpered, “Please don’t kill me!”
“The only reason you aren’t dead already is because I need someone to run a message.” The smile that crossed the mage’s face was as pointed as the blade in his hand.
“I, I, yes, anything you want!” He licked his lips, nervously eyeing the dancing flames.
“Tell Moravelle that Jex Xander will be paying her a visit and that he is not pleased.”
“Xander? Diu, I didn’t recognize you. We didn’t know—”
“Shut up” with a snap of his fingers, the fire vanished, “and get out of here before a guard comes along or I reconsider your usefulness.”
The man scrambled to his feet and fled, stumbling and nearly falling once as he ran. In a flash, he disappeared around the nearest corner and his pounding footsteps faded. Jex stared after him for a moment, eyes glacial, before returning to where Enari sat.
She seemed to be coming out of her shock, and was scrubbing her palms against her torn skirt in an attempt to remove the residue that clung to them. He was relieved and more than a little impressed to see that her eyes were clear and dry, no hint of panic or hysteria in evidence. He retrieved the loaned dagger and when he beckoned, she climbed to her feet and came to him, leaning into his side and putting her face against his chest. He slid an arm around her shoulders and they began to walk.
Not far from their fateful alley, they came upon an unconscious nobleman propped up against a wall with an empty bottle beside one slack hand. Jex relieved him of his cape, leaving a gold coin in the drunk’s lap as payment.
“He’ll wake up without it, and a good deal more besides, but that’s not my fault,” he said, draping the light garment over Enari’s shoulders. It fell to below her knees and when she clutched the edges together, it covered her torn clothing almost entirely.
A fountain in the middle of a tree lined courtyard was their next stop. Using a handkerchief Jex found in one of his pockets, they cleaned the blood and grime from their hands and faces. It was then that Enari saw the long slash in his right forearm. The cut ran from wrist to just short of his elbow and the blade had missed opening the vein by half the breadth of her little finger.
“It’ll need stitches to close, I imagine,” he grumbled, examining the injury. Even now, blood continued to ooze from it, sliding down to drip from his palm to the cobbles beneath his feet. Enari bent and tore a strip of linen from the hem of her ruined chemise, then pushed at Jex until he sat on the edge of the fountain. She was more in her element here and he watched her with a faint smile as she rinsed and then bound the wound securely, tucking the ends of the makeshift bandage in neatly when she’d finished.
That had been more than an hour ago and they’d been walking ever since, avoiding the busier areas of the city in favor of quiet residential avenues. She was tiring rapidly.
Feeling the tug on his hand as she began to lag behind, Jex stopped, bent, and lifted her into his arms. Enari gratefully rested her face against the side of his neck and closed her eyes.
In seconds, she was asleep.
* * *
Torchlight fell across her face, waking her with a start, and it was only then she realized they’d stopped walking.
“There you are, Xander.” The speaker sounded relieved.
Slitting open her eyes the barest crack, Enari saw Gaylan Krighamre standing before them, clad in full armor and holding a wicked-looking pike in one fist. He was the sole guard at the small gate they’d used to exit the palace earlier, in an afternoon that felt like a lifetime ago.
He appraised them with open curiosity. “I can see you have quite a story to tell and that it’s one best heard with a tankard.”
“Oh, aye.” Jex sounded almost as weary as she felt. “Later, perhaps.”
“There might not be a later. The kvinna started turning the place upside down around dusk when she couldn’t find the wee one there,” Gaylan gestured at Enari. “Then when you were nowhere to be found, she put two-and-two together. The woman’s set a warrant for your danglies, and my captain very much wants a word with you.”
“Black Goddess preserve me,” Jex groaned in defeat. He shifted Enari in his arms and she pulled a corner of the cape up to cover her eyes from the stinging torch smoke.
“I think you’ll want something a little more solid than the protection of the All-Mother. May I suggest an iron codpiece as a start?”
“Shove it, Krighamre. Are you going to let us in or not? I promise I’ll talk to your commander, and you’ll get your tale, if I survive the next hour or so.”
“Aye,” the big man agreed, but he didn’t smile at the prospect. He opened the gate and waved them in. As Jex tried to move away, he put a restraining hand on the mage’s shoulder and when their eyes met, his were full of sorrow and regret.
“What?” Jex asked suspiciously.
Before Gaylan could answer, a quintet of guardsmen, also in full battle regalia, appeared from the shadows, the guard captain himself at their head.
Jex observed them stonily, then turned his attention on Gaylan.
“I’m sorry, Xander,” he sighed, holding out his arms. “Please don’t raise a fuss. It’ll be easier for you if you just go quietly. Give her here and I’ll make sure she gets to her room and her Sura safely.”
Jex set Enari on her feet, but instead of going to the Tesian, she clung to him, confused eyes flicking back and forth between Gaylan and his silent brothers-in-arms.
“Well?” Jex prompted. He put an arm protectively around Enari’s shoulders.
“A lot’s happened tonight while you two dallied in the city. It’s not good.”
“I can see that.” Jex jerked his head at the others. “Still doesn’t explain your friends there.”
“Tor Brinon is dead,” Gaylan told him, “And Goddess forgive me, but—”
“Enough!” the guard captain thundered, “Jex Xander, you are hereby under arrest for sedition, illegal entry into the kingdom of Egalion, and murder.” He raked an eye over Enari’s disheveled appearance. “After I get this girl’s story, be prepared for rape to be added to the list of charges. The sentence of death by hanging will be carried out at dawn.”