Alain raised his right hand, the air glowing above his palm, and a moment later the creature facing them howled as the fireball appeared in its face. The troll reeled back, pawing at itself.
Alain’s hand came down on Mari’s shoulder. “We must run,” he said. “Neither of us can kill a troll.”
“I was reaching the same conclusion,” Mari gasped, spinning around to look at the other end of the alley. Piles of trash were heaped against a fence that was about as tall as Alain. “We can’t run past the thing. Come on. This way.”
The Mage whom Mari had shot had crawled to one side to avoid the troll as it looked for Mari and Alain through still-dazzled eyes. The wounded Mage silently watched as she and Alain bolted down the alley toward the fence.
“I will need a moment to gather strength to create a hole,” Alain gasped.
“What? Just go over it!” Mari shoved Alain forward and then up as he scrambled clumsily to get over the fence. She followed, cursing the weight of her pack and hearing the troll coming on behind them again. Alain helped her over the fence as he got to his feet on the other side.
“I never thought of going over a wall instead of through it,” Alain confessed.
“Mages,” Mari grumbled. She staggered as her feet hit the ground, then shoved Alain onward toward an opening visible a short distance ahead, giving way onto another street. The once-quiet night was now filled with the noise of crackling flames. Shouts and screams came from the hostel and surrounding buildings, and the sound of ringing bells from near and far called the fire wardens of Palandur to action. On top of that came the deep thud of gongs calling the city guard to the site of the battle. “We’ll talk about different ways to get past walls later.”
They had almost reached the end of the alley when three robed figures appeared before them, two in the act of drawing and brandishing the long knives of Mages. They must have surprised this group, leaving the Mages unable to concentrate on spells. With too little time to aim and fire, Mari ducked under a swinging blade and then smashed her pistol barrel against the nearest Mage’s temple. That Mage fell heavily to one side.
By the time Mari turned to help Alain, his opponent was down as well. Mari brought her pistol to bear on the third Mage, who had made no move to attack.
“Wait,” Alain cautioned, going past Mari to stand directly before the third Mage. “It is Asha.” He held up Asha’s hands so that Mari could see they were bound together and tied to a cord about her waist.
“She was a prisoner?” Mari rushed over as Alain used his knife to sever the cords around Asha’s wrists. Close up, Mari could see the blindfold across Asha’s eyes, which had been concealed from easy view by the cowl of her Mage robes.
Her hands free, Asha lowered her hood and pulled off the blindfold. “The elders were able to detect my presence far better than I expected. While remaining out of sight, some of them tracked me to your room. That is how they found you. I was confronted when I returned to the Guild Hall and forced to accompany the Mages attacking you. Though they thought me helpless with my vision blocked, I attempted to warn you by using my strange tie to Mari.”
“You what?” Mari said. “I didn’t—Those headaches? Something you did caused those headaches?”
“She does not lie,” Alain said.
“Alain, she was tied up and blindfolded! I know she’s not lying! Come on, sister, we need to get out of this city and you’re coming with us!”
“No.” Asha looked back the way that Mari and Alain had come. “I must stay. There is one who requires my… my… help.”
The fence behind them splintered, the troll staggering into sight as it looked around for Mari and Alain. “Asha, we’re being chased by a troll!” Mari cried.
“It will seek you, not me, as long as I conceal myself.”
“Mage Asha,” Alain said, “the Guild sees you as an enemy now. You are in danger. The elders would have ordered your death as soon as Mari and I were dead. If we now leave you alone—”
Asha shook her head. “I will not be alone. I cannot leave now. One needs me. Go. I will find you again, no matter where you are.”
The troll had seen them and was now stalking forward.
Mari hesitated. “Alain, can you hide us the same way—”
“No. The troll can sense us by other means since we are its prey.”
“I can find you, Mari. Just think of Alain.” Asha reached out to touch Mari’s hand. “Go now.”
Alain still wavered, visible emotions flashing across his face. Mari reached out and grabbed his arm. “We have to do as she wants, Alain! Run! That thing is right behind us!”
They ran, the troll’s frustrated roar echoing behind them, Mari’s hand locked onto Alain’s as she ran all out down the street, legs pumping as fast as she could drive them.
“Weapon,” Alain gasped.
Mari realized that she was still holding her pistol in one hand and hurriedly holstered it . It wouldn’t do for the Imperials to see her carrying that when they came charging in to restore order. The glow of the fire was continuing to spread, lighting up the sky, and increasing numbers of people were flooding into the streets as they left the hostel and surrounding buildings that had caught fire from blown sparks. The clanging of fire bells could be heard in all directions, growing rapidly louder as the fire wardens converged on the increasing conflagration. Mari heard the troll again, then saw it stomp into the street and stare around, coming after them with its shambling gait. She was just thinking how fortunate it was that trolls moved a lot slower than dragons when a squad of the city guard showed up.
“Halt!” one of the Imperials yelled at Mari.
“Troll!” she yelled back, gesturing wildly.
The city guards stumbled to a stop as they saw the troll, not making any attempt to stop Mari and Alain as they tore through the ranks of the guards. Mari heard orders being shouted and the thump of crossbows firing, but didn’t look back, instead taking the next corner at the best speed she could.
Alain was gasping for breath beside her. “Should we not help?”
“Against that?” Mari wheezed. “Besides, if we did, the Imperials would just kill us, too, once the troll was dead.”
Another group of Imperial police dashed onto the street, spreading out to form a line. “Halt!” their leader shouted, pointing at Mari.
She skidded to a stop, trying to decide whether or not to try bluffing her way through again or to just threaten them with her pistol. Before Mari could reach a decision, a crowd of commons erupted from the entrance of the building next to her and rushed the thin line of Imperial guards.
The Imperials closed ranks to support each other and swung their hardwood clubs with practiced skill. The first citizens to reach them fell with bleeding heads or broken arms, their screams adding to the tumult.
Mari yanked Alain back into motion, swinging around the fight as more citizens piled onto the street. “We don’t want to get stuck in that mess,” she gasped to Alain.
Alain nodded wordlessly, trying to keep up with her until Mari had to slow down again, her lungs and her legs burning. But she kept heading away from where flames were leaping higher into the sky and the bedlam of battle rose behind them. “That is not our fault,” she got out between attempts to breathe.
Despite her urgency, Mari stumbled to a halt and stared behind them as an inarticulate cry of rage filled the night. It was as if the roar of the troll had been hugely amplified. It wasn’t the troll, though, but rather a sound rising from thousands of human throats, giving vent to wordless rage and frustration.