Dissolution

Surveying the scene, he saw that Relonor was still lying motionless on his back.

Positioned beyond the melee, Greya

He threw a seething ball of lighting at Greya

Pharaun stooped, ripped the brooch off Relonor's sash, turned, and ran. Greya

Pharaun caught hold of the hem of Ryld's piwafwi and glanced around at Greya

Her face a mask of fury, she tossed away her scroll, which was likely blank, and held her hands high to receive the long staff materializing from some extradimensional storage. He could see why she wanted the instrument. It blazed with mystic power, but it was also slow in attaining tangibility. Some chance interaction of the magical energies playing about the battleground was retarding its transition to the physical plane. Why, then, didn't she leave off summoning it and attack in some other ma

Greya

Well, she wouldn't make the same mistake next time. It was her responsibility to look after her troops and return them to the castle. She dismounted, squared her shoulders, put on a calm, commanding expression, and proceeded with the business at hand. Neither of the twins were hurt, and her cousin Aunrae merely needed the ball of darkness around her head dispelled. It was Relonor who concerned Greya

Her expression was grave, but she wasn't really trying to hide the smile lurking underneath. «I didn't realize just how powerful Pharaun has become,» Greya

«I hope the matron will forgive you your ignorance,» Aunrae said. «You've wasted so much magic to no effect.» The conjured skeletons and stirges began to wink out of existence, leaving a residue of magic energy. The air seemed to tingle and buzz, though if a person stopped and listened, it really wasn't. «Is that how you see it?» Greya

No one could heave such a long, heavy implement into a fighting position without giving the opponent an instant's warning, so Aunrae was able to come on guard. It didn't matter. Not bothering to unleash any of the magic within her weapon, wielding it like an ordinary quarterstaff, Greya

«What a sensible girl you are. You must also bear in mind that we aren't hunting Pharaun simply for my own personal gratification. It's for the benefit of all, including yourself. Therefore, this isn't an ideal time to seek to discredit and supplant one of your betters. It's a time for us to swallow our mutual distaste and work together until the threat is gone. Do you think you can remember that?»

Aunrae kept nodding. She was shaking, too, and her eyes were wide with terror. Small wonder; she must have been ru

«You will whisper no poison words in Mother's ears,» the First Daughter of House Mizzrym said. «For the time being, you will leave off plotting against me or anyone else. You will devote your every thought to finding our truant brother. Otherwise, I'll put an end to you.»

Ryld had never experienced instantaneous travel before. To his surprise, he was conscious of the split second of teleportation, and he found it rather unpleasant. It didn't feel as if he were speeding through the world but as if the world were hurtling at and through him, albeit painlessly. Then it was over. He'd unconsciously braced himself to compensate for the jolt of a sudden stop, and the absence of any such sensation rocked him on his feet.