Beside Kaanyr, Kael appeared just as suddenly. I guess we had the same idea, he said, grinning.
You two are both fools, Tauran said.
Kaanyr smiled back at the knight as he raised his hands in supplication. I couldn't help myself, he answered. It just occurred to me thai it was the best chance to succeed, and it happened on its own.
You're a liar, Vhok, Tauran said. Thank you.
Just go, Kael said. He, too, had his hands in the air. Stop Zasian.
The celestials approached the pair of half-fiends warily, their eyes wide. "Unbelievable!" the planetar said, raising his enchanted sword. "How dare you defile this holy place of magic, you fiends!"
"We surrender," Kael said. "We must spea-"
Kael's explanation got cut off as the planetar spoke an all-too-familiar word of power.
The resultant blast of holy energy knocked Kaanyr unconscious.
Kael watched Vhok crumple to the floor beside him and then turned back to the planetar in disbelief.
The emerald-skinned creature watched them both, and when he realized that his divine attack had not affected Kael, he brought his sword up and began stalking forward.
"Wait!" Kael said, his hands still raised in the air. "We are surrendering!"
"You are intruders defiling the sacred inner sanctum of Azuth himself, and you shall be slain!" the planetar replied. He kept coming.
Behind him, the two archons vanished. Kael assumed they had fled to seek help.
With a growl of frustration, Kael dropped his hands and grabbed his own sword. He raised it into position and stepped in front of Vhok. "I don't want a fight, but I won't let you just cut us both down," he said.
The planetar raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You think you have a choice in the matter?" he asked. "I don't remember offering one."
The celestial swung his blade at Kael. The champion of Torm countered the stroke with his own weapon. The two swords clanged together and sent shivers down Kael's arms. Sparks flew from the grating edges. Kael grunted at the force of the blow.
The angel swung again, and it was all Kael could do to get his defenses up in time to parry the attack. The power of it forced him back. He had to mind his footwork so as not to stumble over Vhok.
Fool angel, Kael thought. As bad as Micus and the High Council. "Why won't you listen to me?" he demanded. '"I am not your enemy!"
The emerald creature said nothing but continued to press his attacks.
Again and again the planetar attacked, and each time, Kael barely managed to deflect the strike. The creature was simply too strong. He would wear the knight down in only a matter of moments.
I'm not afraid to die, he thought. But this is wrong. Such a waste.
"You have the power to tell if I'm lying," Kael said. "Use it! I'm here because of a common enemy. Tell me how to prove that, how I can win your trust."
The planetar struck again, and the force of the blow knocked Kael's blade completely to the side. He was exposed. The celestial attacked once more, slicing into the half-drow's arm. The plating there split in half and the sword sliced deeply into the flesh beneath.
Kael grunted and stumbled down onto one knee. "Come now!" he shouted. "Do something smarter than just kill me, you idiot!"
But the planetar drew back for another, killing stroke.
Tauran let his flowing, vaporous body drift beneath the heavy doors. The moment he got beyond the portal and into the chamber, he dismissed the magic keeping him insubstantial and returned to his solid form.
A chill went down the angel's spine.
He stood in the rotunda, the same one from his vision. It was identical in nearly every detail, only everything appeared sharper and clearer to his eyes.
A set of columns stood in a circle halfway between the surrounding wall and the center of the room, rising to the domed ceiling, which was cloaked in darkness overhead. A few candles set in holders on those columns kept the chamber dimly lit, leaving plenty of gloom around the perimeter.
The angel saw one difference between the real version and his vision. No gods stood within. He did not feel the presence of anyone. There was no staff to steal.
He had expected to find celestial beings-solars, perhaps-to convince. He had imagined the chamber serving as a council room, such as what he was used to back in the House of the Triad. But Tauran stood alone within the rotunda.
True apprehension crashed through him, one of the few times in the angel's long existence that he felt such.
Very well, he thought. I'm here. Tyr has abandoned me, and I seem to be playing right into Zasian's hands. Now what?
The deva took a few steps forward, staring into every shadow. He strained to spy what might be hiding behind the columns. He sought other doors or windows, any means at all of entering the room. No one seemed to be there, nor did it appear that they could slip in without sentries noticing.
I did it, Tauran reminded himself. But perhaps I am the first to arrive.
He walked farther into the chamber. His footsteps echoed within the confines of the round wall until he stood within the exact center, where every sound bounced back to him in perfect clarity. Even the deva's breaths returned to his ears. They sounded unduly rapid, nervous.
If someone else were there, he would hear them.
But Tauran was no fool.
"Zasian," he called. He kept his voice soft, but the word came back to him from every direction. "I know you're here. You cannot hide forever."
Tauran heard a faint rustle of cloth and turned to see a tall, handsome man dressed in black with highlights of gold in his tunic step out of the shadows beyond one of the columns. He stood a few paces away from the angel, smiling. His dark hair hung down his back past his shoulders, matching the color of his flowing moustache. A pendant hanging from a chain around his neck, a silver skull, marked him as a priest of Cyric.
Zasian Menz.
"Very good," Zasian said. "You figured out my little secret."
Another rustle, quieter than Zasian, reached the deva from his right. He spotted a form of darkness and shadows emerge. He glanced at it and confirmed that it was Kashada the Nightwraith. Her figure remained swathed in shadow, indistinct. Midnight eyes smiled at him from above her veil.
Tauran swallowed his worry. "Your welcoming party at the dryad village told me all I needed to know," he said. "But then, you knew it would, didn't you? You wanted me to figure all this out."
"Down to the last little detail," Zasian replied. "And you performed admirably."
"But why? Whatever my role is supposed to be in your plan, you cannot truly hope to steal Azuth's staff," Tauran said. "Bringing me here was a mistake. You know I will try to stop you."
"Oh, I'm counting on it," the priest said. "You'd be surprised what a little distraction will do for Kashada's chances to succeed."
As if that were a signal, Kashada stepped backward and vanished into the deeper shadows of the chamber. At the same moment, Zasian moved toward Tauran, his pendant in hand.
Micus stared across the plaza at the Hail of Petitions. "You are certain?" he asked the zelekhut beside him. "Tauran is within?"
The centaurlike construct nodded. "Indeed," it said in its flat, mechanical voice. "Within that dome at the highest point." It pointed to the apex of the cavern.
Micus frowned. "Now, how did he manage to pull that off?"
"I am afraid I do not know," the zelekhut answered.
Micus dismissed the response with a wave of his hand. "No, of course not." But I'm going to have to get inside, and that's going to be tricky.
"I think you will have to wait for me here," the angel said. "I can move faster by myself."
"As you wish," the construct replied.
Micus strolled across the plaza to the imposing building, leaving the zelekhut behind.
I could ask for an immediate audience, the angel thought. But would they receive me without the required notifications that I am here on official business? Probably not. The need i
s great, though, so perhaps…
Micus paused midstep. Aliisza the alu swooped in and settled to the ground in front of the main entrance to the hall. She stood there a moment, peering up at its facade as if deep in thought.
She hasn't seen me, the angel realized. She can be my bargaining chip.
Micus moved toward the half-fiend, careful to remain quiet. He longed for his mace. He felt naked without his weapon, but that wretch Tauran had taken it.
He had other options.
"Well met, Aliisza," he said quietly.
The alu gasped and whirled to face him. She staggered back and reached for the hilt of her sword.
Before she could take hold of it, though, Micus uttered a word of power.
The half-fiend tumbled backward as if he had slammed into her with a battering ram. She crumpled to the paving stones of the avenue and lay still. A few passersby stopped and stared.
"Escaped fugitive," Micus explained. The onlookers shrugged or muttered and went on their way.
Micus quickly disarmed Aliisza and motioned for the zelekhut to assist him. The construct approached.
"Watch her," the angel said, gesturing. "She is slippery. Secure her for me and be ready for her tricks."
The zelekhut nodded and extended its chains from its forearms. It wrapped them around the alu and made her immobile.
Micus sorely wished that he had the dimensional shackles with him, but they, like everything else, had returned to the House of the Triad with Garin. Micus should have gone, too, but he had refused Garin's urgings.
I will catch him, the angel vowed. This will end. Tyr's laws will be upheld.
Aliisza stirred. She blinked a few times and groaned. She tried to sit up, pulling against her bonds.
"Don't," Micus warned. "Or I will scour you with the wrath of Tyr again.'"
She froze and looked at him, grimacing. She sank back down. "Listen to me," she said, her voice filled with desperation. "I know you think you've got to stop Tauran, but if you do this thing, something terrible is going to happen."
"Hush," Micus said. "Enough of your lies. I have a single task before me, and that is to bring Tauran to justice."
Aliisza rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable," she said, but there was no admiration in her tone. "You have the power to see if I am truthful, and you're so full of pride that you won't use it."
"Where is he?" Micus asked.
She said nothing, but her eyes betrayed her thoughts as they flicked toward the building behind her.
"I know he's in there," Micus said, "but what is he doing?"
"Trying to stop Cyric from stealing Azuth's staff. Because if Cyric does, another god is going to die," she said. "It's what I'm trying to tell you, and if you weren't such a bull-headed fool, you'd know that!"
For a moment, Micus could only gape. That was not possible. Cyric was a cowardly, craven worm. Micus shook his head, dismissing the thought.
"You lie," he said. "Once more, and I will ask Tyr to send you to oblivion. Now, what is truly happening?"
"I speak the truth," she said. "I saw it. In the Eye of Savras. Zasian and Kashada are there, too, trying to steal Azuth's staff. All they need is a distraction, and you and Tauran are going to provide it for them if you storm in there and try to subdue him. I think Cyric means to kill Mystra with it. What can I do to prove it to you?"
Micus blinked. What she claimed was preposterous. Mortals, stealing the cherished possessions of gods? Still, he sensed that she believed it.
"Azuth's host will stop them," he said. "They do not need my help to deal with this."
"Oh, yes," Aliisza said. "Just like all of you did such a good job stopping them in the House."
Micus mused for a moment. Then inspiration struck. "If what you say is true, then this crime cannot be committed if Tauran and I do not battle. True?"
Aliisza nodded. "Yes. That's what I saw. Tauran tries to stop Zasian, and you try to stop him. Kashada steals the staff during the commotion."
"Then come with me," Micus said. "Convince Tauran to surrender without a fight."
Aliisza's eyes widened. "You're asking me to betray him?"
"If you believe your own vision, then you are actually saving him." And he's already betrayed himself, and you, in so many ways you can't imagine, he thought. It's hardly the worst thing that will befall him, believe me.
The alu bit her lip. "I can't," she said. "I can't do that to him."
"You'd rather see him bring about this terrible crime? That's almost like aiding Cyric yourself. You'd be no better than Zasian and Kashada." He felt a tinge of guilt at suggesting that, but she had to see the consequences of her choices. "Is that what you want?"
"Of course not!"
"Then do this. For him, as well as for me. You have to know that I will take Tauran eventually, even without your help."
Aliisza groaned.
Micus knew he had her then.
Kaanyr groaned and became aware. The sound of battle filled his ears, but in his groggy state, it didn't make sense at first. He rolled over, blinking to clear the cobwebs from his mind, and peered in the direction of the fight.
Kael faced off with the planetar. The two exchanged blows, their swords ringing like hammers on an anvil with each strike. It appeared to Vhok that the celestial was getting the better of the half-drow.
I must help him, the cambion thought. He struggled to rise, but his limbs felt like jelly. Get up, Vhok. Stand and fight!
"You have the power to tell if I'm lying," Kael said, frantically deflecting a series of vicious attacks. "Use it! I'm here because of a common enemy. Tell me how to prove that-how I can win your trust."
The planetar's next swing opened Kael's defenses wide. The celestial brought his blade down again, and Kael grunted and crumpled down before the onslaught.
Rage boiled in Kaanyr. Old hatred bubbled up, disdain and spite for the rigid, holier-than-thou attitudes of cursed celestials. He rose to his knees.
"Come!" The knight shouted. "Do something smarter than just kill me, you idiot!"
Kaanyr slid his own blade free of its scabbard.
The planetar raised his sword to finish Kael off.
Kaanyr jumped, drawing on every bit of his reserves of strength. It was a weak attack, a pitiful display. But the sword dug into the planetar's back, and black, malevolent energy crackled over the celestial.
The planetar roared in pain and staggered. His killing blow went astray enough that Kael roiled to the side to avoid it. Kaanyr fell forward to his hands and knees. The planetar pitched off balance and took three stumbling steps until he careened off the wall and sprawled.
Kael climbed to his feet, and Kaanyr noted that the half-drow's arm was a mangled, bloody mess. He could only drag his sword with his good hand, but he came to the cambion and proffered it as a brace. "Get up," Kael said.
Kaanyr eyed him, but the planetar was already rising. Vhok grabbed the hilt of Kael's sword and dragged himself to his feet. Together, they turned to the planetar.
"Since you're too thick-headed to listen," Kaanyr said to the emerald-skinned being, "it's time for you to-"
Kael! Vhok! Aid me!
The desperation in Tauran's mental message slammed into Kaanyr. The cambion wanted to resist, wanted to finish off the planetar, but Tauran's insistence was clear.
Vhok had no choice.
Together, he and Kael lumbered forward. As they reached the celestial just rising to his feet, they slammed their shoulders into him and knocked him into the wall again. Then they aided each other down the curved hallway toward the door to the rotunda.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"Very well," Aliisza said, her voice choked with guilt. "I'll help you."
I hate you, she thought, glaring at Micus.
The angel did not notice, or if he did, he did not react. He nodded curtly, acknowledging her acquiescence, but otherwise, he showed no emotion.
For some odd reason, Aliisza had expected him to gloat.
; "Release her," Micus commanded, and the centaurlike construct loosened the chains around her and retracted them. "One false step, one shout of warning to try to allow Tauran to flee, and I will make certain you spend the rest of your days in a gray void, with no contact with anyone, ever again." The angel gave Aliisza a hard stare. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," the alu snapped. "Now hurry!"
She prepared to open a dimensional portal.
"Stop," Micus warned. "Not like that. We must follow protocol, procedure. We may not trespass on this sacred place."
"There's no time!" Aliisza snarled. "We have to reach him right now. Do you want my help?"
"I've already secured it," Micus answered. "Would you back out of our agreement already?"
"If you don't listen to me, yes," the alu said. "I am not bound by your myopic sense of law. For once, you're going to have to bend the rules a bit for the greater good."
Micus stared at her, considering.
"Which is the bigger problem?" she demanded, "violating protocol or letting Tauran slip away again?"
Micus's frown deepened, but he nodded. "Do it," he said. "I will face the consequences later."
Relieved, Aliisza opened her doorway. She nearly ran through the thing to get to Tauran.
On the other side of the portal, the alu found herself standing in the very same chamber she had seen in her vision. Everything, from the columns to the shadows, matched her memory of the place. Only the gods seemed to be missing.
Tauran crossed the middle of the chamber, bloody and panting. His mace hung from one hand, nearly dragging on the ground. One wing sat cocked at a wrong angle, and his tunic was blackened and smoking.
Across from him, Zasian Menz retreated. He limped slightly, and one arm hung uselessly at his side, but the other hand held a pendant aloft, and a faint smile shone in his eyes as he chanted. A shimmering glow of amber light radiated around him, a magical barrier of protection.
Tauran tried to close the gap. He hefted his mace with both hands to strike at the priest. The weapon wobbled unsteadily in the air.
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