"Keep back!" he snarled.
The crowd-Muire at the head now-pressed as close as it could.
Tycho whirled around. "Li, we've-"
A tremendous, squealing trumpet cut him off as Black Scratch plunged into the fray. In the cramped confines of the tavern, the boar couldn't exactly charge, but with his massive weight behind him, a lumbering rush was enough. People scrambled to get out of the way of his tusks and hooves; someone fell and was simply trampled. Tycho dived across a table for safety. He dragged a knife out of a sheath at his belt-as if the little blade would do any good-but Black Scratch was headed straight for one target.
Li stared at the oncoming mass of bristles and tusks for only an instant before gathering himself and leaping high, grabbing for a wax-encrusted iron chandelier overhead and tucking his legs up tight.
Black Scratch passed completely under him, his weight and hooves suddenly a hindrance on the tavern's worn wood floor. Out of control, the pig careened through a tangle of chairs and tables and straight into the solid stone side of the Ease's fireplace. He staggered back and sat down like a drunk man waking in a strange place. Li pumped his legs, swung free of the chandelier, and landed lightly in an easy crouch. Metal scraped on metal as he drew the butterfly swords, a blade in each hand, one high, one low.
More bare steel combined with Black Scratch's charge was enough for the Ease's patrons. Shouting in fear, courage forgotten, many rushed for the door. A few stayed to menace Ovel, but suddenly most of the tavern was clear. Tycho scrambled back to his feet-and saw the lithe little figure that rolled out from under a table behind Li. "Watch out!" he shouted. Li spun around, still crouched, and slashed out with a sword. Brin, a dagger in his fist, just tumbled aside. And tumbled again as Li's second blade swept around. Again and again, a roll ahead of each flashing blow, forcing Li to spin around to keep up with him.
Focused on the halfling, the Shou didn't see Lander loom up behind him, a broken chair leg in his hand. Tycho sucked in breath and raised his hand to cast a spell.
Lander was faster. "'Ware magic!" he spat at Brin and changed his target. Suddenly the chair leg was hurtling through the air at Tycho. The wood cracked into his outstretched arm and numbness rippled from his wrist to his elbow. The spell died on Tycho's lips, vanishing into a yelp of pain. Lander's stealthy attack was spoiled as well, though; Li hissed and spun back into a defensive stance, both butterfly swords at the ready. Lander didn't let him rest. The thug wrenched out Li's own saber and sent it at him in a powerful backhanded blow. Li just barely rocked back out of the way.
Brin whirled and threw himself at Tycho.
A gasp of panic forced itself out of the bard. He fell back, knife raised. Brin's dagger slashed out. Tycho only just slid away from it. He lunged at Brin in the wake of the blow but caught nothing but air. The one-eyed halfling bent like a snake-a snake with arms and one steel fang-and just kept coming, dagger weaving and stabbing, forcing Tycho back. Behind him, Lander was bashing away at Li with ugly, brutal slashes. The Shou saber clearly wasn't his weapon of choice, but elegance wasn't something Lander was known for. An ugly blow still hurt. Li was catching some of the blows with the butterfly blades, but it was obvious he would rather have held the saber than the twin weapons.
Lander's next blow fell. Li brought his left blade up and let the saber slide along its back all the way to the up-swept guard and twisted, locking the longer weapon for a moment as he reached in underneath and cut at Lander with his right blade. Lander threw himself back. The butterfly sword sliced through his mantle and his dark-red tunic, but missed his flesh. Li wasn't so lucky. As he withdrew his left sword, releasing the lock on the saber, Lander thrust forward instead of pulling back. The saber sliced a shallow gash across Li's arm. He gasped and jumped away.
That gasp broke Tycho's desperate concentration on the glittering weave of steel before him. In a heartbeat, Brin lunged.
Tycho tried to dodge. His heels caught a fallen chair.
He went sprawling backward, backside slapping against the floor hard enough to shock the breath out of him. Brin stepped up between the bard's splayed feet.
"Tomorrow!" Tycho blurted desperately. "You said tomorrow!"
"I don't need a reminder!" Brin bellowed back. "Sweet but you're getting too big for your breeches, Tycho! Maybe it's time to fix that!" He flipped the dagger around in his grasp and hurled sharply almost straight down.
Tycho shoved his heels against the floor and scooted backward desperately. His back slammed up against the bar, bringing a jangle of protest from his strilling, but it was enough-Brin's dagger sank into the floor instead of into his groin. The halfling grabbed for the quivering weapon. Tycho brought up one leg and aimed a kick at him, but Brin just tumbled back again. He came to rest on top of a table.
With a hard scowl, he produced another dagger. Tycho yelled.
Across the room, Li caught and locked the saber with one butterfly sword and, before Lander could pull it away, locked it from the other direction with the second sword as well. He twisted sharply. The saber jerked right out of Lander's hand. Li let all three weapons clatter to the floor and thrust forward with a double-handed blow that hammered into Lander's chest and sent the thug flying backward to crash down across the still-groggy Serg. Whirling around, Li grabbed a chair in each hand. "Brin!" he shouted.
Brin's head snapped around. Li whipped one of the chairs at him. Brin kicked himself up, leaping over the chair as easily as Li had leaped Black Scratch.
The second chair caught him in mid-air and sent him slamming to the ground.
"Outside!" Li shouted at Tycho. "Get outside!" He scooped up the butterfly swords and his own saber and leaped for the door, tearing his scabbard from Lander's belt in passing. Tycho scrambled to his feet as well.
"Tycho?" Laera was curled up in the corner where the bar met the tavern wall. Her face was pale and she was trembling. She stretched out her arms like a child reaching for a comforting toy. Tycho cursed and brought himself up short. He grabbed one arm and hauled her roughly to her feet. She clung to him desperately. "Oh, Tycho!"
"Stop saying that!" He wrenched himself out of her embrace and dragged her toward the door. "Come on!"
Another squealing bellow froze him. Froze everyone who was still left in the tavern. Tycho twisted around to stare at Black Scratch. The boar was back on his feet and shaking off the last of the shattered furniture that had clung to him. His red eyes swept the room and settled on Tycho. He squealed again and charged. Everyone-the last few patrons, Muire, Ovel, Lander, dazed Serg, rage-pale Brin-scattered, flinging themselves out of the monster's way.
Tycho couldn't even form words. He just hurled himself at the door with a primal, panicked yell, Laera stumbling and shrieking in his wake, Black Scratch's thundering hooves coming after them. Tycho didn't look back. He plunged across the threshold and into the cold night air. The Ease's patrons were milling around in confusion in the yard outside. Tycho plowed into them, trying desperately to push his way farther from the door. Any moment now, Black Scratch's tusks would toss Laera aside and tear into him. He could almost feel the boar's hot breath When heat came, however, it came in a sudden flash of light arcing overhead. A heartbeat later, a scorching wave of force lifted and thrust them forward. Tycho staggered and half-turned. The ground outside the door of the Wench's Ease was steaming, the snow melted away. The milling crowd was fleeing. Inside the Ease, Black Scratch was squealing and thundering in panic and rage.