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.Her arms were around the waist of a bony, bearded, filth-covered old man with stumps where his forearms should have been.He was sagging, bent over limply like a child's broken doll; it was clear only her grip kept him from falling.Firmly she caught hold of his hair and laid his head back over her shoulder.Then she smiled down the room into the astonished faces of the regals."To coin a phrase," the Witch-Queen of Aglarond said dryly, "We're back."As if in reply, explosions of black-tinged fire burst into roiling existence behind her, amid shrieks from the watching courtiers.A brimstone reek filled the room.Grinning devils strode forth from the flames, long-horned and bat-winged, tusked and terrible.Their talons stretched out to snatch the Simbul and the man in her arms."Geryon, Overduke of Hell, sends us," one of them said smugly, "to fetch youback to your deaths-in long, long torment!"The Simbul whispered a word.Lightning raged from the tiles under the devils' hooves to the ceiling high above and back again.There were faint cries-then nothing but empty tiles and the oily smoke of diabolic bodies collapsing.The Witch-Queen smiled through those remnants.Another rank of devils emerged from the flames.They wore rather smaller smiles."Did you really believe seizing me in my own lair was going to be easy? Here I stand not alone."A tongue of blue-white flame leaped up from her empty hand.Behind her the regals, with set, determined faces, held out their own hands to cup more feeble blue flames."Neither, witch," said a courtier loudly, lifting his own hand and letting swirling magic fill it,"do they!""Aye," said another, farther down the hall, throwing aside his cloak."For Thay!""Yes," came a third voice, hard and cold."Let the queen and Aglarond fall together, for the greater glory of Thay!"Eyes blazing, an old courtier snatched a dagger from his belt and thrust it into the throat of the revealed Red Wizard beside him.The room erupted in shouts and spells.The doors by the throne burst open.Thaergar of the Doors strode in with a bright new sword drawn.He stared open-mouthed at the tumult, then snatched and hurled a dagger from his belt-straight back out the door at the alarm gong.He charged forward, raising his blade.Red flames burst out of the air in front of him, hurling him to the floor.He glared up at that dark magic in time to see a huge, ruby-red devil stride out of it, fork in one hand and barbed whip in the other, to loom over Phaeldara, foremost of the regals."Pretty meat," it gloated, reaching for her.Thaergar of the Doors and Phaeldara stared at the pit fiend, the Red Wizards and charging devils beyond, and deadly magics singing and snarling everywhere."Oh, dung" they gasped in unintentional unison.***The air above a table commenced to shimmer.Tiny silver and blue sparks whirled out of thin air to race around each other in a small, tight sphere.Their radiance made a head snap up, and two eyes glared at them in astonishment and alarm.A moment later, a chair went over with a crash.The man who'd been sitting in it crossed the room with surprising speed for someone of his age.He snatched down two crossed, rusty daggers from beneath a shield on the wall.In his hands they twisted and became a wand and a scepter.Pointing them both at the whirling lights, the Royal Magician of Cormyr snarled, "How, by all the whims of Holy Mystra, did that get through the wards? And what is it?"In obliging answer,, the whirling lights sank a little and unfolded themselvesdownward to the floor in a cascade of silver.They formed a wraithlike figure: a female elf of tiny, nigh-perfect beauty, who looked perhaps nine years old-except for her eyes, which were as old and wise as those of a goddess.or at least a Chosen who has seen many centuries.Vangerdahast lowered his wand and scepter."Who.are you?" he asked hoarsely."Most call me the Srinshee," she replied."You and I are both needed, right now, in the throneroom of Aglarond
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