“Where are my other retainers?”  She demanded, eyes sweeping the room.  “My reeve needs immediate attention, and I find myself reluctant to trust any help that might be provided here.”

The room remained silent; everyone still staring at her in shocked silence.  “God’s balls!”  She cursed, thrusting her hand into her bag to withdraw the hilt and first inch of Shadowsliver’s blade.  An effort of will brought the Winds to do her bidding, and she sent them to bring her words to her companions.

A blast of wind flew out from her in every direction, resolving into a half dozen little zephyrs that each carried her words with them as they flew.  They also blew every plate of food and glasses of wine and spirits off every table, tore hair free of pins and combs, unbuttoned shirts and coats, and plastered skirts against legs.

Half the people in the room ran for the exits in a panic at the sight of the blood or because of the overt use of magic.  The other half were cursing and wiping at their clothes, pulling concealed daggers and glaring at Callindra.

“Don’t.”  She said, helping Reed to sit before turning to face the room.  “Enough blood has been shed tonight; there is no need to add yours unless you have a burning desire to die.”

“You think there’s a chance you could stand against us.”  A man in a black silk tunic splattered with wine sneered.

“Without a doubt.”  She said calmly, drawing Shadowsliver fully from her bag.  “I have no desire to kill any of you.  Yet.  I suggest you keep it that way.”

The others looked less confident now that she was holding her sword.  Before any of them decided to attack or retreat, a rush of wind came back through one of the doors bearing Kain’s voice to her ears.

“I am coming.”

She glanced at Reed and saw that although his eyes were closed, blood still flowed from between the fingers he still had clamped over his neck.  Thank the gods; he was still alive.

“Just put the sword down.”  A young woman said, a ring on her left hand glittering briefly.  “We’re all friends here.”

Callindra blinked, wondering why she was threatening these people.  They clearly meant her no harm, and she had recklessly blasted them with magic.  Her good friends began to come closer, but she had a nagging feeling that something was wrong.  They weren’t smiling, why weren’t her friends smiling?

Shadowsliver’s tips sang with a discordant complaint as her left arm relaxed enough for him to touch the stone floor, and the spell shattered.  Five enemies were arrayed in a semicircle, all holding daggers.  The woman who had charmed her was gathering Weave into a handful of bright white darts that hovered over her right hand.  None of them seemed to have noticed that she’d broken free.

The first of them came within reach of Shadowsliver’s chain, and she flung her sword like a spear, stabbing him in the chest.  She quickly ripped her blade back to her hand with a sharp yank on his chain, leaving a ragged wound behind.  The man cursed and dropped his knife to staunch the bleeding.

“Well, now I’m afraid you’ve given me a reason to show you the color of your blood.”  She said calmly, whipping her sword to one side to flick the blood off the blade.  If she used magic in this close of quarters, the odds were she would hit bystanders, so she settled for intimidation.  “How much of it do you want to see today?”

The mage released the bolts she’d summoned, and they flew in a series of zigzagging lines, skirting around tables and people to slam into Callindra, knocking her back into the wall.  With coordinated precision, her other four assailants lunged forward with blades out.  She staggered, trying to draw a breath and twisted to avoid one dagger, parried another, and took one in the arm and one in the side.

With a snarl of defiance, she cut left and right, felling two more of them and ducking a thrust but taking a slash across her thigh.  The mage began chanting, and something began to form between her hands.  Desperately, Callindra tried to run toward the woman, but her skirts wouldn’t allow her to, and she nearly tripped on them.

She hurled her sword at the mage, but she smoothly stepped back out of range and parted her hands.  A dark green sphere rotated into existence, and a black arm with emerald green veins reached through.  The remaining bystanders in the room ran at the sight of the monster crawling from the Abyss.

Durrak was going to follow anyway but was distracted momentarily by Lorin coming back.  He glanced away from Reed, “Ah Lorin, I did be wondering where you did be getting to.  This youngster do be looking for Lady Sol’Estin.”

“What youngster are you talking about?” Lorin asked, pouring himself a glass of mead.  He took a drink and made a wry face, spitting it back into the glass.  “Ugh, this mead has a bad aftertaste.”

Looking around, Durrak saw that Reed had vanished, “He did be right here.”  He said, annoyed.  Picking up the bottle of mead, he dipped a thick finger into it and tasted it before quickly spitting it out.

“Tastes awful, doesn’t it?”  Lorin asked with a grimace, pouring a glass of wine instead.

“It do be xepherin,”  Durrak said, spitting again.  “Xepherin do be a type of poison that do be loosening the tongue.”

“That could be bad depending on what kind of questions Ellen Eth asked.”  Lorin said, “We should think about getting out of here.”

“I no do be feeling right about leaving that girl here after she do be drinking xepherin,”  Durrak said with a frown.  “But that Reed boy do seem to be capable enough.”

–

Callindra tried to walk in a straight line, but the room felt like it was tilting to one side and she moved with a distinct weave as she tried to remember where the exit was.  She knew that she hadn’t had that much to drink, not even a single glass of mead all told, so something else must be wrong.

“Pardon me.”  An elegant lady said, gliding to one side to avoid her with a look of disdain clear on her face.

“Not bloody likely,”  Callindra said, and the woman gave her a startled look.  “Where’s the god rotting exit?”

“Well!”  The lady turned and stalked off.

“Ya can’t talk to Lady’s like that.”  Reed’s voice made her jump slightly, “I thought you knew better.”

“God’s balls Reed, I just about soiled myself.”  She said, “Where the hell did you come from?  Where are you for that matter?”

“Gods and demons, you’re drunk!”  Reed said, emerging from the shadows to grab her by the forearm.  “Come on; we gotta get out of here.  Some of these supposed servants are trying to pick fights with the boys and I don’t know how much abuse they’re willing to take before someone gets hurt.”

“I am not drunk.”  Callindra said indignantly, “I didn’t even finish a single glass of mead, and I’m certainly not slurring my words you little ass.  Something is not right though; I don’t quite know what it is.  Like I’m off balance or like I’ve lost a lot of blood in a fight.”

“Oh, hell, they drugged you,”  Reed said, looping her arm over his shoulders.  “Come on and lean on me.  I gotta get you to Kain before there’s damage.”

“I – drugged?”  Callindra stopped and blinked, “Yes, actually, that would explain a lot, I think.”

“What do you think of me?”  Reed asked, giving her a shrewd look.

“You’re sort of a pain in the ass and can be god rotting rude at times, but I know you’re loyal and that you have my back.  I think you’re running from something, but really who isn’t?”  She said without hesitation.  “Why do you ask?”

“Oh.”  Reed gave a strange little laugh, “Yeah, a truth serum I think.”

“That’s not good,”  Callindra said, biting her lower lip and trying to remember exactly what she’d told Ellen Eth.  “I just got done meeting with Lady ‘Orien.  I probably said some things I shouldn’t have.”

Reed began cursing in a low voice, displaying an impressive variety of languages and creative phrasing.  “What did you tell her?”  He asked once he’d exhausted his vocabulary of profanity.

“I don’t remember.”  Callindra said, “But I think something about the gods?”

They reached an unobtrusive door, and Reed reached forward to open it.  He grunted in pain and stumbled sideways, looking in surprise at the knife sticking from his neck.  The drugs raging through her system made Callindra a half second slow, but she didn’t run or freeze in shock like the attacker likely thought she would.  With a defiant shout, her hand dipped into her purse and withdrew a pace long razor sharp twin tipped sword.

Wind sprang up around her, whipping her hair free from the pins holding it in place.  She drew the Weave from Shadowsliver, unleashing a flurry of blades made from air that slashed through a tapestry, obliterated a vase, and opened dozens of cuts on a man who had his arm pulled back getting ready to throw another dagger.  Reed gurgled something that might have been a curse, pulled the knife from his own throat, and hurled it into the would-be assassin’s left eye.

Reed’s injury and Callindra’s drugged state made escape doubly difficult, but they didn’t stop to see if anyone had noticed the altercation.  Holding her sword and channeling some of the Weave had helped to clear Callindra’s head, and she felt slightly more stable on her feet.  Reed was holding his hand over his neck, but blood was pouring out between his fingers.

“Show me where to go Reed.”  She said, reluctantly shoving her sword back into her pouch.  “I’ll carry you if you need me to, but I have to get you to Kain.”

He was pale from blood loss and leaning heavily against her, but stubbornly refused to let her try to carry him.  They walked down a corridor meant for servants to a staircase that ended in a large open room where a variety of people stood in groups or sat at tables chatting.  All conversation stopped as Callindra staggered through the door, supporting Reed, soaked in blood.