The hard landing on the floor and the cold, unpleasant touch of the Spiritshadow made up Tal's mind.
"Run, Milla!" he shouted. "Follow Ebbitt!"
Milla jumped to the top of a cupboard, but not to get away. A Spiritshadow stretched itself up to attack her, but before it could, she stabbed it with her Merwin-horn sword.
Usually, physical objects could not hurt a Spiritshadow, so Tal was amazed to see the luminous sword actually tear through the Spiritshadow's head as if it were paper, ribbons of shadow flying out from the blade's passage.
The Spiritshadow shrieked, a noise Tal had never heard before. Then it hastily drew back, out of reach of the sword.
"Ha!" shouted Milla. "Death to shadows!"
She jumped across to another wardrobe, and slashed at the third Spiritshadow. It withdrew, too, stepping back as the sword left a trail of light through the air.
Light - that was why the sword worked on the Spiritshadows. They could only be harmed by light, and Milla's sword had the right color and intensity, even in its faded state.
Not that this helped Tal. The Spiritshadow on top of him did not let go, and Milla couldn't come down without exposing herself to a simultaneous attack from all three Spiritshadows.
"No!" shouted Tal. He was suddenly afraid, afraid of the Spiritshadow that held him and of what the others would do to Milla, more afraid than he had ever been, even out on the Ice. It was like being attacked by the lectors who had taught him since childhood, a sudden craziness that he couldn't understand and couldn't predict. "Don't fight! Run!"
His shout was still echoing when Milla jumped down, struck at the back of the Spiritshadow that held him, snapped into a roll on the floor, and came out of the roll to spin on one foot. Her sword whistled in a complete circle around her cutting right through the tiny waists of the other two Spiritshadows.
Tal crawled free as his Spiritshadow attacker let go. Somehow he got to his feet, and saw that two of the Spiritshadows had literally been cut in half. Unfortunately, each half still seemed to work, and they were now coming at Milla. The other Spiritshadow was still, its shadow-flesh slowly rippling back together where it had been cleaved apart.
Tal pulled out his Sunstone and started to concentrate on it.
He was about to unleash a bolt of pure light at the Spiritshadows when the whole furniture barrier exploded behind him in a burst of blinding fire.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Most of the furniture disappeared in the flash, followed a moment later by a rolling cloud of smoke and hot ash. A rush of Chosen in the uniforms of the Imperial Guard stormed in with even more Spiritshadows.
Tal had been knocked down by the blast, and was momentarily stunned. He couldn't believe they'd blasted the whole corridor. For all they knew there could have been lots of Chosen here, not just himself and Ebbitt.
Dazed by the shock, he staggered to his feet and was sweeping hot ashes off his cheek when he was knocked down a third time, by one of the guards. The guard immediately knelt on Tal's back and twisted his arms up so he couldn't get at his Sunstone or a weapon.
"Got him!" yelled the guard.
"You get down from there!" another guard shouted at Milla. He didn't sound too concerned, which puzzled Tal. Then he realized that they must have thought she was an Underfolk renegade, and that Tal was the one who had damaged the Spirit-shadows.
Underestimating Milla was not something anyone did more than once, Tal thought. But this time she needed to run, not fight. Desperately he willed her to run. His mouth seemed to be full of ash so he couldn't shout.
Milla didn't run. Tal heard a cry of surprised pain from the guard who'd ordered her down. He craned his head back to see, but all he caught was a pair of boots staggering back, many other boots charging forward, and lots of Spiritshadows moving around.
"It's not an Underfolk!"
"Some sort of creature, use Light!"
"Ware the sword!"
"Stand back!"
There was another flash of light and another explosion of ashes. But it hadn't hit Milla. A Spiritshadow screeched, followed by cursing and shouting from the guards and the strange belling sound of steel meeting Merwin horn.
"Watch out! Left, go left!"
"Stay clear, stay - aarrghh!"
"Harl! Japen! That way. Ranil, drag that one back!"
Ranil let go of Tal's arms and started dragging him back by the ankles. From the shouting and running that was going on all around him, it was clear Milla was still free. But there were too many guards and Spiritshadows for her to resist for long.
Tal shouted again, spitting out ash. "Get away! They'll kill you!"
As he yelled, Tal writhed about, and momentarily broke free. Ranil cursed and tried to grab him again, while Tal kicked and wriggled and rolled around on the ground. He got under a table but there was nowhere to go from there.
In the few seconds he was hidden from view, Tal pulled the Sunstone ring off the chain and hid it in his mouth. He kept the chain in his hand, with the old burnt-out Sunstone still on it.
Ranil ripped the table away and sat on him again, but Tal was at an angle where he could see more of the corridor. He had a confused glimpse of Milla beating back three or four guardsmen, jumping between pieces of furniture. Then Ranil pushed his head into the floor and Tal couldn't see anymore.
Tal heard another exchange of blows, the sharp ring of metal and the strangely mellow note of steel striking the Merwin horn. One guard yelled and another yelped in pain. "Back!" commanded a guard and there was a rush of feet.
Tal made a superhuman effort, every muscle in his back straining, and twisted around. He saw ash swirling in circles, guards leaping back, Milla jumping from the top of a cupboard. Then a great blue electric spark shot from the hand of one of the guards, straight into Milla's chest. There was a crack like thunder, a brilliant flash, and the thud of Milla's body hitting the floor.
"That got it, whatever it was," said a guard, relief in his voice. There was a murmur of agreement. Tal closed his eyes in total shock.
Milla was dead.
They had come so far and survived so much. He couldn't believe that it was all going to end here. Here in Ebbitt's dusty corridor.
Tal saw Milla's face, laughing as she told him they had to jump back across that dreadful chasm. Milla, who should have lived to become a Shield Maiden and have songs sung of her exploits. Now the Far Raiders would never even know what had become of their bravest daughter.
Rough hands rolled Tal over, and someone took the chain and his ruined Sunstone out of his hand. Tal opened his eyes as the guard searched him for weapons.
Everything had gone wrong in an instant. It was all over, not just for Milla, but for Tal, his family, everyone.
The guard's Spiritshadow knelt next to Tal's head, ready to grab him if he moved. The other claw h
eld Tal's shadowguard up by the scruff of its neck. Once again it had taken the shape of a Dattu.
"You're Tal Graile-Rerem?" asked a voice, someone outside Tal's field of vision. He started to turn his head but stopped when the Spiritshadow's clawed hands closed around his neck.
"Yes," he muttered dully. He could hardly be bothered to hide the Sunstone in his cheek. Nothing mattered anymore. He had failed and Milla was dead.
"It's him," confirmed another voice. "I saw him play Beastmaker. Why does Sushin want him?" Shadowmaster Sushin remained Tal's enemy, though he didn't know why. Bleakly Tal wondered how Sushin who was only a Brightstar of the Orange had the power to send Imperial Guards after Tal. And why would he bother?
"Where did that other one come from, Tal?" asked the guard who'd questioned his identity. "From the Underfolk depths? Who made the sword for her?"
"She was my guest," mumbled Tal mechanically. His voice seemed to come from far away, as if it weren't really him speaking. "Milla. She is… she was an Icecarl. From outside."
Silence greeted this answer, as the guards stopped what they were doing. Then there was a nervous sort of half laugh and a cough before they all started moving again.
"Outside? What do you mean, outside?"
"Outside the Castle," said Tal. "From the Ice." "You expect us to believe that?" asked the guard. She sounded angry now.
"No," replied Tal bitterly. "But it's true."
"Take them away," ordered the guard. "Tal to the Pit. The girl to the Hall of Nightmares. Let Fashnek get the truth out of her. And no one is to speak of this. Understood?"
There was a chorus of agreement and a sudden bustle of activity.
For a few seconds the full meaning of what the guard had said didn't sink in. The words slowly repeated over and over in his head.
The girl to the Hall of Nightmares.
He felt like a four-year-old struggling to read. Then it hit him, all at once.
Milla must be alive! They wouldn't take a corpse to answer questions in the Hall of Nightmares!
Tal found a tiny spark of hope light up the darkness inside him, but it did not lift it completely. Milla might be alive, but both of them were in terrible danger, Milla perhaps most of all.