Stone of Tears

Zedd gritted his teeth. And a soldier’s first duty is to protect people. If you don’t get these people out of this hall, Commander, I will see to it you become a sheepherder!”

The commander’s fist snapped to his heart in salute, his voice suddenly controlled at realizing who he was arguing with. “By your command, Wizard Zorander.” He turned his anger instead on his men. “Get everyone back! Right bloody now! Spread rank! Sweep the hall!”

The soldiers fanned out, pushing a wave of startled people before them. Zedd hoped they could get them all clear, and then maybe, with the soldiers” help, they could bottle up the screeling and hack it to pieces.

But then the screeling launched itself from behind the column, a black streak tearing across the floor. It tumbled into a bunched knot of onlookers the soldiers were herding back, toppling many over one another to the floor. Shrieks and wails and the screeling’s hideous laughter erupted from across the hall.

Soldiers fell upon the creature and were flung back, bloodied, as more came to their aid. In the panicked clump of people, the soldiers couldn’t swing a sword or axe with any effect as the screeling tore a bloody path through the bodies. It had no more caution for the armed soldiers than unarmed innocents. It simply ripped at anyone close enough.

“Bags!” Zedd cursed. He turned to Chase. “stick close to me. We have to draw it away.” He looked around. “Over there. The devotion pool.”

They ran to the square pool of water that was situated under an opening in the roof. Sunlight streamed down, reflecting in rippling patterns on the column at one of its corners. A bell perched on the dark pitted rock that sat off-center in the water. Orange fish glided through the shallow pool, unconcerned with the mayhem above.

Zedd was getting an idea. The screeling certainly wasn’t bothered by fire; the most it did when hit with it was steam a little. He ignored the sounds of pain and dying and stretched his hands out over the water, gathering its warmth, preparing it for what he was going to do. He could see shimmering waves of heat just above the surface of the water. He held the rising heat at that point, just below ignition.

“When it comes,” he told Chase, “we have to get it in the water.”

Chase nodded. Zedd was glad the boundary warden wasn’t one who always needed to have things explained to him, and knew better than to waste precious seconds with questions. Chase set Rachel on the floor. “stay behind me,” he told her.

She, too, asked no questions. She nodded and hugged her doll close. Zedd saw she was clutching the fire stick in her other hand. Gutsy indeed. He turned to the uproar across the hall, lifted a hand, and sent tickling tongues of flame into the flailing dark thing in its center. The soldiers fell back.

The screeling straightened, turning, dropping a disembodied arm from its teeth as it did so. Steam rose where the flames had licked it. It hissed a cackling laugh at the wizard standing still in the sunlight by the pool.

The soldiers were pushing the remaining people down the halls, although the people no longer needed the encouragement. Zedd rolled balls of fire across the floor. The screeling batted them out of the way and they sparked out. Zedd knew the fire wouldn’t harm it; he only wanted to draw its attention. It worked.

“Don’t forget,” he said to Chase, “in the water.”

“You don’t mind if it’s dead when it goes in, do you?”

“All the better.”

With a clatter of claws against stone, the screeling charged across the hall. The tips of the claws scratched into the floor, sending little spurts of stone dust behind along with flakes and chips. Zedd hit it with compacted knots of air, hammering it down, keeping its attention, trying to slow it down enough so they might be able to handle it. It came to its feet in a rush each time, charging onward. Chase crouched a little lower in readiness, now holding a six-bladed mace in his fist instead of the sword.

The screeling made an impossible leap through the air at the wizard, landing on him with a howl before he had a chance to turn it aside. As he was thrown to the floor, Zedd wove webs of air to keep the thrashing claw at bay. Teeth snapped viciously at his throat.

Man and beast rolled over once, and when the screeling came up on top, Chase swung the mace at its head, hitting a glancing blow. It spun to him and he slammed it square in the chest, knocking it off the wizard. Zedd could hear bones snapping with the blow. The screeling seemed hardly to notice.

Its one arm swept out, yanking Chase’s legs out from under him, and then sprang on his chest as he hit the floor with a hard grunt. Zedd struggled to regain his wits. Rachel laid the fire stick on the screeling’s back, and flames burst up. Zedd pushed it with air, trying to knock it in the water, but the screeling held on to Chase tenaciously. Angry black eyes glared out from behind the fire. Lips curled back in a snarl.