Glissa could see figures on the wall high above, but they were too far away to discern any details. As she watched, a hail of arrows rained down. Most slammed into the ranks of the nim, but several fell uncomfortably close to Glissa and Slobad.
“Hey!” shouted Glissa. “We’re not your enemy.”
Another volley followed the first, and Glissa ducked her head as she and Slobad pushed on toward the massive gate. It seemed carved into the side of the tower, the top edge looming forty feet above them. Fresh scratch marks on the ground showed how far out the gate extended when open. Glissa now realized what the horn had signified. Until very recently the gate had been standing open.
A third volley of arrows fell behind them like a sheet of rain. Glissa and Slobad were protected under the buttresses, but they had another problem. The gate was closed. They were running straight toward a wall with an army on their heels.
Glissa clanged on the metal gate with the pommel of her sword.
“Let us in!” she shouted. “We are not your enemy.” She thought she heard movement behind the blank metal, but there was no answer.
The horde was almost on them. Glissa turned to face her death. Standing with most of her weight on her good leg, she raised her sword and stepped in front of Slobad. “Get your flame ready, goblin,” she said. “We’re not going to die without a fight.”
She heard the tube ignite behind her, but Slobad didn’t step up beside her. “Protect us, huh?” he said to her. “We not dead yet. Slobad have way out … or in. Yes-way in.”
Glissa glanced back to see the goblin running his hand up and down on the gate as if looking for something. “What are you doing?” she cried. “That little flame won’t cut through a gate.”
“Just protect us, huh?” said Slobad, glancing back. “Crazy elf. Let Slobad do his job. You do yours. Swing big sword. Look out!”
Glissa ducked instinctively before even turning back to the invading nim. A clawed hand tousled her hair as it whisked by, just missing her head. The elf shot her sword hand forward, catching the attacking nim in the abdomen. A quick jerk slid the blade through the creature’s groin. It toppled over backward, but two more nim took its place, trampling over their downed comrade to get to her.
The elf whipped the sword back up, cutting off the first beast’s arm, before slicing across to lop off not one, but two heads. As those two nim slumped in front of her, Glissa marveled at the power of her new blade. She hadn’t given it much thought since her battle with the levelers, but this sword she had stolen from Chunth was amazing.
Another claw swung at her. She parried the blow, sending the nim’s hand flying back over its head. Glissa took the opening and hopped forward a half step to impale the injured nim just as its other claw raced toward her. The beast went limp on her sword. Glissa flexed the muscles in her arms and flung the creature back off her sword into two other advancing nim. The awesome show of strength almost toppled the limping elf as she came down too hard on her injured leg. Glissa screamed as pain shot through her ankle.
Perhaps sensing weakness, the nim closed in on Glissa from three sides. She was running out of room to maneuver. The press of bodies drove her back into Slobad and the gate. All she could do was parry at the encroaching claws. She took a blow from the right that ripped into her already bleeding shoulder. Another claw got past her blade to the left, gashing her forehead. Blood flowed into her eyes, and Glissa was forced to swing her blade blindly back and forth.
The nim pressed in all around them, the stench from the gas jets belching out green clouds of noxious fumes. Glissa coughed and felt nauseous. She didn’t know if she was going to vomit or faint from the fumes. She couldn’t hold up much longer.
“If you’re going to do something,” she shouted as she wiped blood from her eyes, “you’d better do it now!”
“Almost got it,” said Slobad. “Give me a moment, huh? Not easy to find. Supposed to be secret. Slobad’s secret.”
“I don’t have a moment to give,” Glissa snapped. “Stop talking and do something!” She ducked again, barely seeing the incoming claw in time. She swung her sword but couldn’t even tell if she hit anything. The air was filled with a green haze, and blood streamed into her eyes.
An odd sound came from behind her, like metal striking metal only muted as if heard from far away. She swung through the air in front of her again to keep the nim at bay, then felt something tug on her from behind.
“Come on, huh?” said Slobad. “Hurry. We go in now. Why you waiting, crazy elf? Move now.”
Glissa didn’t argue. She swung her sword back and forth in front of her as she backed up, wincing with every step. She kept expecting to fall over Slobad or bump into the gate. After a few more steps, her blurry world got much darker. She heard the sound again, only this time it was much louder and sharper, like swords striking in front of her. Glissa held her sword defensively as she wiped her forehead and eyes. When she could focus, she saw a wall in front of them. From far away, she heard the clash of weapons.
They were inside.
“How?” she asked.
“That is what we would like to know,” said a booming voice behind her. Glissa turned to see what she knew must be a leonin. She and the goblin were surrounded by leonin guards. One large leonin stood with his hands on his hips.
Slobad had described the leonin, but the goblin’s sketchy description could not come close to matching the impact of seeing these creatures in the flesh. They looked more like beasts than men. Their flattened noses spread out from sloping foreheads like snouts, and their eyes were set back close to their pointed ears.
Yet for all that, they looked regal. Long manes of flowing hair-some braided, some not-seemed to sparkle in the torchlight, as did the highly polished silver and gold metal of their arms and legs. The guards all wore shiny armor and carried large, mirrored shields. The sight was impressive, and Glissa felt ill at ease.
The leonin who spoke was well over six feet tall. His great mane, much larger and fuller than any others around him, cascaded down over his shoulders and chest. His sculpted arms were folded in front of him, and Glissa could see their great strength even at rest. Metal and flesh muscles bulged against the leonin’s silver-clad chest. He had the air of a leader about him. The guards had an air of calm superiority, standing as she had seen Kane stand on guard duty.
The leader regarded Glissa and Slobad coolly, staring down at them over his flattened nose.
“Take them away,” he said to the guards, then turned and left.
Glissa looked at Slobad, who shrugged. As the guards came toward her, Glissa handed them her sword. She didn’t even consider fighting. The blood had stopped flowing from her forehead, but her ankle was on fire and her shoulder ached. They were in the hands of the leonin now, captives, but they were alive, and that was better than the alternative.
* * * * *
Glissa removed the bandage from her ankle and swallowed hard. The infection had spread almost to her knee. Scraps of green metal coated the leather, sticking to the bandage as she pulled it away from her wound. Her calf was still swollen, and her entire leg felt as if it were on fire. Green pus oozed out from all over her leg, not just down by the wound. Everything below her ankle had turned black and was cold to the touch. She turned away from Slobad so he wouldn’t see how bad the wound had gotten.
The guards had taken them to a small room and closed the inside door. Glissa had heard the now-familiar metallic click after the door shut and knew they were locked in. She sat across from Slobad in their prison and worried-about her foot, about Slobad and Raksha, and about the latest threat against her life.
“What were those creatures outside the gate?” she asked.
“I told you other day,” said Slobad. He was pacing back and forth across the room and hadn’t seemed to notice Glissa fiddling with her bandage. “Leonin fight nim. Always fight nim. That’s what take Raksha away from Slobad. Battles against nim. Beat them back to Mephidross; they just come back again. Don’t know why.”