Jedit

Counting noses and looking to the worst scraps, Adira sent Virgil to drive a long-toothed spear through a goat-dog's side. The grizzled pirate shoved so hard and fast the struggling beast was rammed into a wall and the spear shaft snapped off in Virgil's hand. Grousing as usual, Virgil swung the broken haft like a club to belabor the brute's blazing head.

At Adira's order, Murdoch, the former sergeant turned mercenary, flung himself into the fray to prove his mettle to his new commander. Dark-ta

Adira's two other recruits hung back, appalled by the carnage and unsure where to jump in. One was a brownie or halfling named Whistledove Kithkin, another refugee rescued from the fabulous sandstorm that smothered Johan's army. With smooth red hair and a billowy shirt and pantaloons in pink and purple, she resembled a child dressed for court, yet her rapier stung like a cobra. The other was Jasmine Boreal, a druid with red-blonde curls who wore linen and wool leggings, earrings of polished bone, and a wide leather belt hung with pouches and charms.

Shoving both women at the enemy, the pirate queen snarled, "Four bells, you two! Get the lead out! We're not playing at any Circle initiation! We're at war! Whistledove, fly or whatever you do! Get to Wilemina and stick something with that hairpin! Druid, waggle your fingers, and smoke some hides!"

Leaning back, Adira Strongheart whisked a dagger to hand and sent it spi

"All hands! Stand fast and earn your grog! Cut 'em down, fire their sails, and send these bastards to the bottom of the sea!"

Chapter 7

Under the hard-handed leadership of Adira Strongheart, the Circle of Seven flung themselves at the beasts of Bogardan until blood puddled underfoot.

Needing only orders, Whistledove Kithkin skipped along a row of jugs still upright and in one long leap seemed to glide like a hummingbird over a savage dogfight between townsfolk and monsters. The brownie kicked off an arching lintel and landed light as thistledown beside Wilemina, just in time to jab her rapier up through a goat-dog's jaw and into its brain, dropping the fiend in its tracks. Even Adira grunted approval at the feat.

Jasmine Boreal, meanwhile, had squeezed past the nearby dogfight to peer down a public well. Adira, limping on one stiff leg, readied a filthy epithet to bark at the feather-brained druid, but she stopped as Jasmine extracted some glittery powder like mica from a pouch and sprinkled it down the well. Instantly a column of water, hundreds of gallons, vomited out of the well into the sky. Snapping her callused hand, Jasmine pointed at some townsfolk harried by goat-dogs. Obedient as a spellbound water elemental, the column of water arced across the marketplace and doused the dogfight like a tidal wave.

Ca

"Drop the anchor and drag out the gangplank!" marveled Adira and threw Jasmine a mock salute. Smug, but moving on, Jasmine fiddled in a pouch and tucked dry leaves between her fingers. Tripping over dead goat-dogs and puddles, she caught up with Virgil and Murdoch.

Side by side, the two men plied swords in rhythm to hack at another clutch of beasts that stood their ground. The pirates tried to reach Wilemina and the downed Simone, but the dog-monsters punished the men with nips, bites, and flame breath even as they skipped and skittered away from sword blows.

Coming up behind, Jasmine slapped both men on the back with her herb-charmed fingers. Virgil and Murdoch jumped as if struck by lightning-or energized by it. Their arms suddenly swung swords so fast the action blurred. Flashing steel hacked alien beasts a dozen times in seconds, then a dozen times more, so fast and hard the beasts couldn't dodge. Within a heartbeat the infernal fiends lost a dozen legs cut out from under them. Virgil and Murdoch collapsed gasping and wheezing as if they'd run ten miles.

Impressed, Adira sca

For that matter, she wondered, where in the seven seas were all her infamous mercenaries? Surely some of them must have heard the commotion. Yet their chief fought on with what resources she had.

Wilemina, Simone, and Whistledove dispatched more hellhounds with deft blades. The women marched in lock step and actually made a pack give ground. Adira shouted a warning too late. The trio went too far, pressing so the goat-dogs' rumps hit a low wall. Instantly, thinking themselves trapped, the fiery fiends rebounded to the attack. Adira saw Whistledove go under a set of cruel paws and began to run that way- until Simone kicked mightily with a boot, bowled dogs off the brownie, and hoisted her to her feet.

Worst off, perhaps, was Jedit Ojanen, who wrestled two tentacled apes. The battle of giants rocked the end of the marketplace. It was impossible to see who won or even gained the top. Carts, stalls, fruit, and crockery went flying as a snarling mass of orange stripes and black backs, white fangs and dark tentacles rolled over and over. Despite the danger of being crushed, Adira trotted that way over smashed bric-a-brac and food. She had to shove past more sensible Palmyrans who fled like rabbits. Yet she halted at blood-chilling shrieks.

Again the long-winged bats had joined forces to smother the market like black ashes. The creatures might have been disconcerted by the bright desert sun, but now they flitted down to tear at women and children shrunk in a comer. Adira looked for Whistledove, who was lightning quick with her rapier. Jasmine took one look, fished in a pouch, drew out a pinch of something and, muttering under her breath, flicked it like a marble at the jittering flock.

The white glob spun in the air and expanded into a gossamer web that entangled most of the toothy bats. Their wings gummed, the bats flopped to earth and were quickly stamped to death. The few bats who escaped fluttered into the sky and out of sight.

Stumping past trash and bodies to aid Jedit, tracking scuffles and still counting noses, Adira Strongheart for the first time missed Badger and worried. Surely he'd fallen in pursuing Johan, for the faithful sailor would never miss a fight. Heath, her Radjan archer, was out of town, and Echo nursed a broken head back in the town hall, but reinforcements finally arrived. More than a hundred of her Robaran Mercenaries lived in Palmyra, after all, and the screams could be heard all over town.