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.He raised it and brought the arrow to his cheek, the steel point aimed right at Berun.All of the fear—fear at being hunted, captured, at the future of the world supposedly hanging in the balance— poured out of Lewan then in a desperate cry.He charged.The bowman adjusted his aim as Berun and Sauk's battle danced about the courtyard.Lewan brought the heavy weight of the hammer around, putting all his strength into the blow.The stone hammerhead struck the bowman's left shoulder.Bone shattered like chalk and the man went down, his arrow flying into the leaves.The momentum of Lewan's charge would not allow him to stop, and he stumbled over the fallen archer.He managed to keep his feet, and when he'd regained his balance, he found himself face to face with the last of Talieth's guards.The man—his eyes glistening brightly under the green light— looked at the hammer in Lewan's hand, glanced at his mistress, back to the hammer, over to Berun and the half-orc.and then he turned and fled.Seeing him go, Talieth turned the full weight of her gaze on Lewan."This ends now!"Talieth began to weave another incantation, even as Sauk brought his sword arm back for another strike.But his fist and blade caught in a thick tangle of vines dangling from an oak branch.The half-orc yanked his hand free and continued his advance.But then Lewan saw that the half-orc had not simply tangled his hand in the vines.The greenery above and behind him was moving of its own accord—branches flexing like stiff fingers, vines and creepers writhing like charmed snakes.So intent was Sauk on killing Berun that he didn't see the danger upon him."Sauk, get out of there!" Talieth shouted, and Lewan realized that she had seen the slithering vines as well.Her hands stopped moving.Confusion and horror passed over her face, and Lewan realized that the moving vines were not her magic at work.This was something else.Berun stumbled and went down.Sauk stopped, towering over Berun, and swung his sword arm back.A leafy vine shot out and wrapped around Sauk's wrist.Shocked, the half-orc pulled, but the vine held tight.Judging from the amount of blood that began to run down Sauk's arm, Lewan thought the vine must have been thick with thorns under all those leaves.Sauk reached up with his other hand to try to free the sword, bur more vines snaked down, wrapping both hands together.Roaring in anger and frustration, Sauk began to thrash, trying to dislodge his arms, but he only succeeded in bringing more of the vines down upon him.In moments only his legs were visible, and then the vines contracted, lifting the half-orc up into the branches of the oak.Even after his legs disappeared into the tree canopy, Lewan could still hear the half-orc screaming and cursing.Talieth, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, looked up where Sauk had disappeared.But then she shook her head and rushed for Berun."Kheil, I—"More vines shot downward, ignoring Berun and aiming for Talieth.She shuffled backward, her hands and fingers moving in an intricate pattern."Gerulu tserulek!" she shouted, then clenched her right fist and punched the air.An orange light glowed round her fist, flared, then shot forward in a shaft so bright that it burned its after image into Lewan's eyes.The shaft of light hit the vines, and they exploded in a burst of ash and smoke.But more were coming, snaking along the ground or undulating through the air in several directions.Three more times Talieth invoked the magic and sent it shooting outward to burn and shatter the foliage.But for every strike she made, more vines took their place.She backstepped as she struck, trying to keep the vines in sight, but one was too quick and wrapped around her left forearm.Talieth yanked at it, but the more she struggled, the more the vine tightened and pulled back, dragging her step by step into the thick foliage."Erbeluth draglen!"Talieth's free hand shot out, hurling a tiny ember of fire that gathered momentum as it sailed through the air.It tumbled upward, growing in strength and fury as the air around it caught fire.It was the size of a knight's shield—and still growing—when it struck the thick bank of foliage from whence most of the vines had come.Fire caught in the leaves and branches, and the vines reaching for Talieth fell to the ground, lifeless, their ends smoldering.His eyes had adjusted to the dim light cast by the floating orbs round the tower, and all of the sudden brightness made Lewan wince.The stench of the burning greenery filled Lewan's head, making him choke and gag.The scent was.wrong somehow, whether from the arcane flames or something twisted and unnatural in the foliage itself, Lewan did not know.Nor did he care much.He only knew it was time to leave."Where is he?"As Lewan's eyes began to adjust to the light, he saw Talieth standing beside him, her hair and clothes sodden, her left arm wet with rain and blood where the thorns had raked her skin.Lewan looked past her.There was no sign of the half-orc.The bodies of the assassins lay where they'd fallen, one man still moving feebly.The archer whom Lewan had struck with the hammer was gone, though his bow still lay on the pavement next to a haphazard pile of a half dozen arrows.He saw nothing of Berun, save the cloak he'd tossed aside.Beyond the burning brush, the light from the fire only seemed to thicken the shadows in the courtyard.But Lewan could see that the shadows were moving—and not from the fall of the rain.Talieth s spells had hurt the army of vines and creepers, but more were coming
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