Page 85 of Sun Elves of Ardani

All the Ardanians backed away, trying to distance themselves from them. Both the remaining Ysurans shoved people aside as they tried to reach them.

A flickering light at the back of the room made one of the Ysurans pause. A fire was slowly crawling up the back door. One of the guards hesitated, glancing in Kadaki’s direction, then ran to deal with the growing flames.

The remaining Ysuran, the one guarding the front door, summoned a flame in one hand and drew her sword in the other. As she held out her hand to cast, Roshan picked up a chair and held it up legs-first. With a shout, he charged forward and rammed it into the guard, blocking her sword and shielding him from the flames.

“Go!” he shouted to Kadaki, giving the guard another shove. Kadaki blinked, then ran out the door into the rain. Roshan followed her out, down the street and around a corner. Rain pounded down, turning the ground slippery with mud. Kadaki took turns until she was sure the guards weren’t following them, then stopped under the eaves of a house on the main street. Roshan leaned against the wall beside her, breathing hard.

“Gods above, Roshan. I didn’t know you could fight,” Kadaki said.

“I can’t. I definitely can’t. Let’s not do that again.”

“Are you sure? You seem good at it.”

They both watched the battle still proceeding down the street. Here and there, volleys of fire shot back and forth. Arrows hit walls and stuck in the ground. Shouts carried across the town. The smell of smoke filled the air, tempered by the rain. And the lounge in the Ysuran quarter was still on fire.

“I need to find Neiryn,” Kadaki said.

And at the same time, Roshan said, “I need to find Eliyr.”

They looked at each other.

“Meet back at the house later, then?” Kadaki said.

Roshan nodded. “Be safe, wife.”

“You as well, husband.”

Chapter 23

Neiryn let his arms slump to his sides in exhaustion as the last of the flames on the roof finally went out. No one else had noticed the fire beginning to spread to the next building. Without the help of the rain, he might not have been able to stop it. He pushed strands of wet hair securely behind his ears, taking a deep breath as he watched steam trail from the corner of the roof. He could still hear sounds of the ongoing fighting nearby.

He needed to find Kadaki. She was still collared. Even Rhian might not be able to defend her in this chaos.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something moving just behind him.

He jolted sideways, but wasn’t fast enough to completely evade the sword that swung at him and hit his side. He grunted, staggering. It was a civilian’s blade, old and dull. Its edge wasn’t keen enough to cut through his skin, but it would leave a bruise. For once, he regretted that he wasn’t wearing the heavy, uncomfortable armor that the infantry always wore.

The human man who’d attacked him took a step back, ducking behind a shield. For a moment, Neiryn was too surprised to react. It was not every day that a magicless human attacked him. It was bold. And stupid.

But that was why he’d attacked when Neiryn’s back was turned, wasn’t it?

To his surprise, the man didn’t run, but started to attack again. Neiryn didn’t have time to draw his sword. Fire sprouted from his fingertips, coalescing into a swirling mass of flame that burned hot enough to kill almost instantly.

But then, he thought of Kadaki. He imagined her watching him, and he imagined what she would think if she saw him reduce this human to ashes. He switched the trajectory of his flame at the last moment, bringing it down on the man’s forearm. The human shouted, dropping his sword. Smoke rose from his sleeve as it dissolved, and the air filled with the scent of burning flesh.

And then something struck Neiryn in the back of the head. His vision went black for a split second as pain rattled through his skull. Someone rammed into him and he fell, hitting the ground hard.

A second human was climbing on top of him. A knife flashed in the air, and Neiryn caught the man’s wrist to stop it, shooting flames wildly from his other hand. The man atop him raised his shield, and the flames buffeted its surface until it glowed red.

Someone stomped on Neiryn’s arm to pin it to the ground. The flames sputtered and went out.

“Rot in the fifth hell, elf,” said the man atop him, lowering his shield and raising his knife. Neiryn sucked in a deep breath, and blew.

Flames exploded from his lungs, consuming the man. It happened so quickly that he didn’t have time to scream. The human’s scorched, limp body collapsed, pressing the red-hot shield down on him. Neiryn shoved him aside, but the burn was instant. His clothes were melting. His skin was smoking. And when he looked up, the other human was already above him swinging his sword, and this time, Neiryn was not going to be able to defend himself in time.

But then something struck the man from behind. The sword’s arc stopped short, then dropped from his hand. The human dropped to the ground, unconscious or dead.

Kadaki stood behind the man, holding a shovel.

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