The man caught himself and came in, his face a mask of fury. He leaped, his sword aimed for Danilo's heart. The first man, though, the one who had jeered at Danilo's sword, slashed out and knocked his comrade's blade aside.
"Not that," he snarled. He glanced at Dan and added, "Not yet."
Danilo suspected the last words were meant to cover a misstep. This attack was most likely not intended to be an execution but a warning. Still, he couldn't be sure.
He lifted his sword in guard position and faced down the three remaining men. The leader began to advance, and then froze in midstep. His eyes shifted down to his hand, and his puzzled gaze shifted from the sword that would no longer obey him to the broad, shining dagger tip that protruded from his beard.
Suddenly the dagger jerked to one side, and a crim shy;son fountain exploded from the man's throat. He fell slowly, revealing the cold, amber gaze of the elf stand shy;ing behind him. The man's comrades threw down their swords and ran.
Without pausing for thought, Danilo took off after them. Elaith swore and kicked into a run. "You are in no condition for this," he pointed out as he trotted along beside.
"Have to stop them," Dan gritted from between clenched teeth. "Have to know who ordered this."
The sound of fleeing hoofbeats resounded down the back streets, but Danilo did not slow. The elf hissed in exasperation. "You are depriving some village of an idiot, you know."
The rumble of a carriage caught the elf's attention. He glanced up as the conveyance ambled by and noted that it bore the guild sign and was driven by a halfling. Good. That made things easier.
Elaith leaped onto the running board. He reached up and pulled the driver from the box, sending him sprawl shy;ing into the streets with a quick, careless toss. With the horses he showed a bit more care-he caught the near shy;est bridle and coaxed the team to a stop. He flung open the door and tumbled the shrieking passengers out, then shouldered Dan into the carriage. Slamming the door, he leaped onto the driver's box.
He shook the reins over the horses' backs. The fright shy;ened animals took off at a tearing run.
Danilo crawled through the window onto the box. "Don't think that I am devoid of appreciation," he began, "but-"
"Not another a word," the elf snarled as he guided the team around a sharp turn. "You wanted to catch those men. This is the only way you'll do so without bleeding yourself dry."
Danilo considered, then gave a curt nod. That was all he had time for, because another careening turn tipped the carriage onto two wheels. He seized the edge of the seat and braced his boots against the footrest to keep from sliding off onto the cobblestones.
"Hang on," Elaith said, belatedly.
They tore through the streets, tilting wildly first to one side then the other as they thundered along. The elf kept the hindmost rider in sight-no easy task, despite the fact that the man's precipitous flight emptied the streets.
Elaith followed him down a narrow alley, one that curved and twisted like a snake. The carriage tilted but did not fall. Sparks flew as the wheel rubbed against the narrow walls and showered down on them from where the upper edge grazed the opposite wall.
They burst out into the chaos of a crowded courtyard. A trio of barrels rolled toward them. One shattered beneath the horses' hooves. The scent of mead honeyed the air. Chickens fled, squawking in stupid indignation. A few merchants stood their ground, shouting impreca shy;tions and pelting the carriage with spilled and ruined produce.
Instinctively Elaith reached for a retaliatory knife. Danilo caught his arm as he was getting ready to throw.
"Listen," he said grimly.
The distinctive rise and fall of the Watch horn sounded over the noise of the street. Elaith swore and jerked the reins to the left, sending the horses careen shy;ing down a side street. Four men in black and green scale armor formed ranks at the end of the street. "The Watch," Danilo said. "The penalty for attacking them is high!"
"Then let's hope they have the sense to get out of the way," the elf returned. He leaned forward, shaking the reins over the horses' backs to urge them on. Something of his grim determination transmitted itself to the team. The pampered carriage horses turned back their ears, lowered their heads, and charged.
At the last moment the Watchmen leaped aside. The carriage thundered through, veering off to the right with a screech of wheels and a wild chorus of snorts and whinnies-an equine cry that would not have disgraced a paladin's battlehorse.
"At least someone's enjoying this," Danilo com shy;mented. He sent a worried glance over his shoulder, then sighed with relief as all four men rose to their feet.
A shadow flashed over them, tracing a circle on the road below. "Griffon rider," Danilo supplied.
Elaith swore and pulled back on the reins, but the horses were too lost in their wild, newfound freedom to respond in time.
Wind buffeted them as enormous wings backbeat the air. A huge, leonine body pivoted in the air and dropped to the ground in a ready crouch. The creature's eaglelike beak snapped in percussive counterpoint to the menacing, feline growl that rumbled from its feath shy;ered throat.
The horses shied, rearing up to paw the air and whinnying in terror. The carriage tilted, spilling its occupants to the ground. Elaith was on his feet at once, alert for the attack, but he did not draw a weapon. From his position on the cobblestone, Danilo applauded the elf's good sense. At least twenty Watchmen and a dozen guards surrounded them with drawn swords.
Elaith cast a baleful look at Danilo. "Are you dead?" he demanded tartly.
Dan hauled himself painfully to his feet, giving the matter careful consideration. "Not quite."
"Good," the elf growled as the men closed in. "I should hate to miss the opportunity to kill you myself."
* * * * *
The door to the prison cell clanked shut. Elaith turned to glower at his companion. Danilo had been uncharacteristically silent all the way to the Castle. He slumped now onto the narrow cot. The elf noticed he cradled one elbow in his hand. "Your arm has come free of the shoulder?"
"I think so," Danilo admitted. "Hard to tell, though. Everything hurts, and it's difficult to sort one thing from another."
"There is one sure way of finding out." Elaith seized the man's wrist and gave it a sharp, vicious tug.
Danilo let out a startled oath, then rolled his shoul shy;der experimentally. "That worked," he said, surprised. "There isn't a better way?"
"Of course there is, but I'm of no mind to use it," the elf returned. "That cut on your arm needs attention. I can stitch it if you wish."
"With what? A fishhook?" Dan retorted. "Thank you, but I will await the healer." He paused. "You followed me. Why?"
Elaith considered what to say. The dream spheres were on the streets, sold to those who were likely to have knowledge that would aid the elf's chosen vendetta. He had picked up the dreams of one of these men, a hired sword who harbored a twisted desire to inflict pain on one of the city's privileged, wealthy men. Elaith had seen the man's mental image of his victim. Despite all that he had done, all that he was currently doing, Elaith could not allow a man he'd named Elf-friend to suffer this fate.
No, this was hardly the sort of explanation he could afford to give.
"Why were you following me?" persisted Danilo.
"Morbid curiosity?" the elf suggested.
"Very amusing," Danilo said dryly. "How did you know where to find me?"
"Not a difficult thing. I assumed you would go to con shy;front Regnet Amcathra, considering that you two are longtime friends."
The man sighed and slumped lower onto the cot. "Of that, I am not so certain. The attack outside his house, so soon after I challenged him about his involvement in Lilly's death? I do not want to think ill of Regnet, but I no longer know whom to trust."