"How can Chirp and Trivit not realize what's going on?" Teldin demanded. "Can't they see that they're surrounded by slaves?"
Estriss shifted his shoulders in a crooked shrug. The dracons have an inborn sense of order. Each clan must have a leader and a spiritual guide. The dracons' need for this structure is so imperative that they will die if deprived of a clan setting, and perhaps this need has blinded them to the true nature of their adopted clan.
"They've got to know," Teldin insisted. "When we escape, the dracons go with us. When the time comes, can you convince them?"
The illithid inclined his lavender head. You have grown in confidence and daring, I see. When the time comes, as you say, I will do what I can for the dracons.
A piercing alarm sounded throughout the ship, its insistent shriek rising and ebbing in a hideous pattern that made Teldin think of an angry, wounded eagle. Footsteps hurried down the narrow corridor outside their room, and the sounds of battle began to ring on the deck above. Teldin tried the door to Estriss's cabin and found it unlocked. He smiled at his good fortune, cracked the door open, and ventured a look. Their guard was gone, and the corridor was deserted. A woman's voice soared above the din of battle, raised in a berserker's war cry.
Dagmar!
Teldin was halfway down the corridor before he realized he had left Estriss's cabin. Fear gripped him as he sprinted up the stairs toward the main deck. His small crew had no hope of overcoming the illithids' elven warriors. He drew his own sword, glad that the contemptuous illithids hadn't bothered to take it from him.
The sight on deck stopped him cold. Somehow his crew had boarded the Nightstalker, and they were locked in battle with the illithids' slaves. Fighting alongside Dagmar was a ten-foot monster wielding a two-pointed halberd with incredible speed and skill.
Shock welded Teldin to the deck as he gaped at the monstrous ally. Roughly humanoid, the creature resembled a bipedal, muscular insect. A large gem was set in the center of the monster's forehead, and it cast an eerie red glow into the purple light. Two large compound eyes, like those of a giant fly, faced forward, and four more eyes darted about independently as the creature took on newcomers from all sides. Although it was surrounded, the creature did not seem to be in trouble. Weapons clanked harmlessly against its iridescent exoskeleton.
At the edge of his vision Teldin saw a black-robed illithid draw near the creature, its white eyes fixed in a wide, compelling stare. Teldin realized it was summoning a mind blast. Before he could shout a warning to the insect creature, it lunged forward with the halberd, neatly spitting the mind flayer and raising it aloft. The illithid's legs flailed beneath its black robes, but their motion rapidly diminished to a few jerky twists. With a quick, sharp shake of the halberd, the creature sent the mortally wounded illithid flying into the void.
An elven warrior crept slowly behind the monster. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. His grandfather's words rang in Teldin's mind, Whether the homily was true or not, Teldin saw in the enormous insect his only hope of keeping the cloak away from the illithid slavers.
"Behind you!' he bellowed, pointing with his sword toward the elf. Teldin charged toward the insect creature, not sure what he could do to help it.
He needn't have bothered. Even as his lips formed the warning, the monstrous insect kicked backward. Its heel spur sliced up and into its attacker, and the elf slumped to the deck clutching at his spilling entrails. Two more elven slaves rushed the creature from the side. A quick thrust of the halberd beheaded one, and the monster drove a spiked fist into the other elf s midsection. No, through his midsection, Teldin amended with horror. He skidded to a stop, just short of tripping over one of the fallen slaves.
With one movement, the monster wrenched its hand free of the dead elf s body and backhanded another attacker. A spike on the creature's forearm sliced open the elf s throat. Teldin caught a sickening glimpse of bone and gristle as the elf slumped backward into death in a pool of his own blood.
At that moment another illithid charged on to the deck, a curved knife in one three-fingered hand. It stopped dead, staring with disbelief at the seemingly invincible insect.
Bionoid!
The illithid's mental shout was broadcasted to everyone on the deck. Aim for the crystal eye, it commanded the slaves, then it let the knife fly.
Teldin felt the now-familiar magic of the cloak wash over him. Time altered, and the battle slowed to a grim choreography. He saw Netarza's curved knife somersault lazily toward the monster's glowing crystal eye. With unassailable clarity, Teldin knew that he must save the insect creature. He ran and leaped as high as he could, thrusting his sword into the knife's path. There was a short, ringing sound as steel met steel, and bright blue sparks flared against the purple light. Teldin landed on his feet in a crouch, and the knife fell harmlessly aside.
The illithid spun toward Teldin, tentacles flailing with rage. It drew a dagger and advanced. The dracons charged forward with astonishing speed and placed themselves between Teldin and their former clan member, blocking the attack as effectively as two avenging green golems. Chirp swung his ax, and a tentacle flew to the deck. The dracon continued to swing, and Teldin was not unhappy that Trivit's huge green body obscured the view.
An agonized shriek tore through Teldin's mind; near the head of the stairs lay a frenzied illithid, writhing and clutching at its head. Standing over it was Estriss. He sprung on his victim with the speed of a striking lizard, and his facial tentacles closed over the illithid's skull in preparation for a grizzly feast. The horror and disgust Teldin expected to feel at this act of cannibalism simply did not register. His preternatural clarity of mind kept him focused on the battle, and the only thing that seemed to matter was the female elf creeping up behind Estriss.
Suddenly Teldin's doubts and ambivalence concerning Estriss seemed as distant as a childhood memory. Without hesitation, he shouted a warning as he sped toward his friend. The elf s dagger fell in a slow, gleaming arc, and even the cloak's time-altering magic could not move Teldin across the deck in time to save the illithid. The blade bit deeply into Estriss's shoulder, releasing a flood of pale, pinkish ichor.
Estriss slumped forward over the dead illithid. A grisly, gray tidbit from his feast slid down the length of a limp tentacle and puddled on the wooden deck. With an blank smile, the enslaved elf raised her dagger again.
Teldin lunged toward Estriss, sword held low before him. A sharp clang rang out, and the dagger thrust aimed at the illithid's spine slid harmlessly aside. The force of Teldin's parry threw the elven warrior off balance, and she stumbled and fell to one knee.
The elf was back on her feet with a speed that seemed remarkable even to Teldin's altered perception. Drawing a short, curved sword, the slave attacked. Teldin stood his ground, though he had little doubt that the elven warrior was far beyond his ability. Only the cloak's magic allowed him to parry the dazzling onslaught of blows she showered upon him.
From the comer of his eye Teldin saw a long green tail arching toward his opponent. The dracons again! Teldin parried one last blow, then flung himself aside. As he rolled out of range, he heard the ringing thwack of impact. The force of Chirp's blow sent the elven woman tumbling across the deck. Trivit's broadsword thrust downward, neatly stopping the elf s slide by pinning her to the deck. With an uncharacteristic lack of ceremony, the dracon stomped on the fallen slave. The dracons nodded crisply to each other and moved on, working in tandem with a sort of grim efficiency. Using their whiplike tails, enormous swords, and even their teeth, they kept the illithids' slaves away from Teldin.