— just as Li Chien launched himself at Nico and Serg with another roaring shout. "Hrah!" The Shou's saber swept out of its scabbard. Nico's sword was out and Li Chien turned the saber against him first, slicing up in a backhanded arc that rang off Nico's hastily raised blade. Li Chien spun with the blow, bringing his weapon down and back around, slashing underneath Nico's sword. Nico fell back with blood pouring out of a wound that crossed his chest from ribs to shoulder.
The same whirling momentum spun Li Chien's off-hand wide and sent the empty scabbard slapping into Serg's face. As the thug stumbled back, Li Chien stepped around behind him, scabbard beating a stinging rhythm about his head until Serg brought his arms up to protect himself. Quick as a thought, Li Chien stooped down, dropped the scabbard and grabbed the tail of his own long coat, hauling it up and over Serg's head to trap his arms inside. His knee came up and drove sharply into Serg's belly three times in rapid succession. He released his hold on the coat. Serg, still shrouded in the long coat's thick folds, dropped to the ground with a groan.
Lander froze as the man who had just taken down two of his men in a heartbeat turned to him. Laera wrenched herself free and scooted back. The velvet bag of beljurils fell away as well, drawstrings tugging open as it slipped from his grasp.
Chunks of ordinary gravel tumbled out.
"Bind me!" he choked. Another switch. The girl had been nothing but a distraction! He scrambled to draw his sword. A hollow bellow of rage, however, froze him a second time. Froze him and Li Chien, and even Tycho. Lander had just enough time to spin around and see Black Scratch, bloodlust in the creature's eyes, thundering toward him. No, not toward him. Toward Li Chien.
He just happened to be between them.
He tried to scramble away, but he wasn't fast enough. A toss of Black Scratch's head caught him and jagged pain ripped across his hip. Suddenly he was up in the air, the world spinning around him. Then he was down, flat out on the ground and the only thing spinning over him was sky. Pigs were squealing like mad and pouring out of the shelter as if Black Scratch were the commander of an army, leading his troops into battle. Lander couldn't feel his leg for shock. He managed to turn his head, though. His trip through the air had taken only a heartbeat. Black Scratch was only just reaching Li Chien-except that the Shou wasn't there to meet him. Just as at the Wench's Ease, he was leaping up, letting the boar charge right under him. The ground in the sty wasn't the smooth floor of the tavern, though. Black Scratch came around in a tight circle for another pass, shouldering lesser pigs aside with ease.
Pain sank into Lander's head. He turned the other way and looked down the length of his body. He saw blood. A lot of blood. Too much blood. He didn't look any closer, but twisted his head up and away.
He wasn't too far from the table. His eyes met first Veseene's-then Brin's. The old woman's gaze was horrified. Brin's was just stunned. Lander reached out an arm.
"Brin!" he screamed. "Help me! It was your damned pig that did this!"
The halfling just spun around. Lander saw Hanibaz Nas-sor and Mosi Anu standing behind him on the other side of the fence, safe from murderous Shou and rampaging pigs. "Do something!" Brin bellowed at them. Lander's head was spinning, but he heard Mosi's answer distinctly.
"We're here for the Yellow Silk, Brin, not to fight."
Lander found the breath to shout a pain-filled curse at the bald wizard and all of his family. He could feel the rumble of Black Scratch's new charge through the ground and he twisted his head around. The boar was bearing down on Li Chien again-and if the Shou leaped again, Black Scratch would be rumbling right at him! With another scream, Lander shoved against the mucky ground and sent himself rolling out of the way. He slammed back into Brin's table, sending the halfling and Veseene swaying and new pain flaring through his leg and side.
Black Scratch's hooves tore up the ground where he had just been lying. Lander pressed himself back against the table and transferred his curse from Mosi Anu to the mad boar.
Behind him, Hanibaz chuckled as if this were the funniest thing he'd ever seen or heard. "Ah, Mosi-how can we let a show like this just come to an end?" A firm hand grabbed onto Lander's flailing arm. Hanibaz spoke a word and new energy seemed to pour into Lander's body at his touch. The thug gasped at the shock as the magic sank into him. His wound didn't stop hurting, but suddenly he could bear the pain. He rolled to his feet.
"Liked that, did you?" Hanibaz asked. "Let's put you on a more even footing with the Shou, then." He spoke another word and touched Lander a second time.
This time the energy didn't fade away. When Lander turned and took a step toward Li Chien, it almost felt like he was floating.
"Yes," he breathed. "Oh, yes!"
Li Chien turned away from Black Scratch for a moment and froze.
Lander was up and walking on a leg so deeply wounded he shouldn't have even been able to stand. Muscle flexed beneath torn skin, bone flashed white against red blood, and yet Lander flowed forward like a flame. Magic, Li knew. It could only be magic. He fell back a step and his eyes darted to the wizards standing behind Brin. "Tycho!" he yelled.
"Li!" The bard's hand flashed a warning. Li whirled back around.
Black Scratch was charging again. The pig had an animal's dumb relentless determination. Li clenched his jaw. He could keep leaping out of the boar's way, but the beast would just come back at him again. And now he had Lander to worry about as well.
He tightened his grip on his dao and settled his stance. From the corner of his eye, he saw Brin's mouth drop open as he realized what was about to happen. "No!" the half-ling screamed. Too late. Black Scratch closed.
Li whirled aside, dao sweeping down as he came back around. The heavy steel slashed into the thick flesh of Black Scratch's hindquarters, bit deep into muscle and grated across bone. The enormous boar's legs collapsed instantly, changing his bellows and squeals to a horrible deep shriek. He tried to drag himself around with his front legs, but the weight of his once-powerful hindquarters was too much. Li stepped in, swung low, and sliced up under the beast's neck.
Hot blood gushed steaming into the air. Black Scratch collapsed.
Triumph was short lived. The pigs of the sty went mad, swarming in around the giant boar's corpse. Li cursed as he staggered clear, only to be met by a snarl as Lander swept his sword up from the ground and lunged at him like a striking panther. Li brought his dao up and blocked the strike, but Lander just whirled with effortless grace and struck again. This time stopping his sword cost Li ground. Lander began forcing him back toward the swarming pigs.
Brin's face was pale with rage, and he was very nearly foaming at the mouth. "Li Chien!" he screamed. "Li Chien!" He made a wild grab for Veseene, though the old woman writhed and shifted away from him. He growled and snagged her arm and slashed his dagger threateningly through the air. "The Silk! I want the Yellow Silk now!"
Caught in his deadly dance with Lander, Li made no reply. Tycho swallowed. They'd wanted the shark angry- but maybe not this angry. He swept his gaze around the sty and found Laera. His would-be apprentice had taken refuge just inside the pigs' now-abandoned shelter, just out of Brin's sight. She gave him a grim nod of readiness. Tycho swallowed again and swept his arms up wide.
"Brin!" he roared with his most forceful voice. "You want the Yellow Silk, you bastard? Here it is!" He brought his arms together overhead, dipped one hand into the opposite sleeve-and sang, letting music ripple out of his throat.