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Mina stood over him. She held out her hand.  Galdar, give me your sword.
Galdar looked uneasily at the fallen Valthonis. The minotaur s hand went to his sword s hilt. He did
not draw the weapon.
 Mina, the monk is right, Galdar said, anguished.  If you slay this man, you will become Takhisis.
And that s not who you are. You prayed for your men, Mina. Wounded and exhausted, you walked the
battlefield and prayed for the souls of those who gave their lives for the cause. You care about people.
Takhisis didn t. She used them, just as she used you!
 Give me your sword! Mina repeated angrily.
Galdar shook his horned head.  And at the end, when Takhisis had been cast out of heaven, she
blamed you, Mina. Not herself. Never herself. She was going to kill you in a spiteful, vindictive rage. That
was Takhisis. Spiteful and vindictive, cruel and vicious and self-serving. Nothing mattered to her except
her own aggrandizement, her own ambition. Her children hated her and worked against her. Her consort
despised and distrusted her and rejoiced in her downfall. Is this what you want, Mina? Is this what you
want to become?
Mina stood regarding him scornfully. When Galdar paused for breath, she said with a sneer,  I don t
need a sermon. Just give me the damn sword, you stupid, one-armed cow!
Galdar paled, the pallor visible even beneath his dark fur. A spasm of pain wrenched his body. He
cast a glowering glance at heaven, then he drew his sword. He did not give it to Mina. Going to the
unconscious Valthonis, the minotaur sliced the bonds that bound the elf s wrists.
 I ll have nothing to do with murder, Galdar said with quiet dignity.
Slamming his sword into the sheath, he turned and started to walk away.
 Galdar! Come back! Mina shouted furiously.
The minotaur kept walking.
 Galdar! I command you! Mina cried.
Galdar did not look around. He wound his way among the black monoliths, remnants of dark
ambition.
Mina glared at his retreating back, then suddenly sprang after him, running swiftly across the
windswept floor. Rhys called out a warning. Galdar turned, just as Mina caught up with him. Ignoring
him, she grasped the hilt of the sword and yanked it out of its sheath.
Galdar caught hold of her wrist and tried to wrench his sword from her hand. Mina lashed out in a
blind rage, striking him with the hilt of the sword and with the flat of the blade.
Galdar tried to fend her off, but he had only one hand and Mina fought with the strength and fury of a
god.
Rhys ran to the minotaur s aid. Dropping his staff, he grabbed hold of Mina and tried to drag her off
Galdar. The big minotaur collapsed, bloodied and groaning, onto the ground. Mina jerked free of Rhys.
Shoving him backward, off-balance, she returned to the assault on Galdar, kicking him and hitting any
part of him still moving. The minotaur quit groaning and now lay still.
 Mina  Rhys began.
Mina snarled and slammed her fist deep into Rhys diaphragm, so deep the blow stopped his
breathing. He tried to draw in air, but the muscles were in spasm and he could only gasp. Mina smashed
him in the jaw with her fist, shattering his jawbone. His mouth flooded with blood. Mina stood over him,
the minotaur s heavy sword in her hand, and there was nothing Rhys could do. He was choking on his
own blood.
Nightshade tried his best to keep hold of Atta, but the sight of Rhys being attacked was more than the
dog could bear. She wrenched free of the kender s grasp. Nightshade made a grab for her and missed,
went sprawling onto his belly. Atta launched herself into the air and smashed bodily into Mina, knocking
her down, knocking the sword from her grasp.
Snarling, Atta went for Mina s throat. She fought the dog, using her hands to try to fling her off.
Blood and saliva flew.
Nightshade staggered to his feet. Rhys was spewing up blood. The minotaur was either dead or dying.
Valthonis lay unconscious on the ground. The kender was the only man standing, and he didn t know
what to do. His brain was too flustered to think of a spell, and then he realized that no spell, even the
most powerful spell cast by the most powerful mystic, could stop a god.
The cold, pale sun flashed off steel.
Mina had managed to grab hold of the sword. Raising it, she slashed at the dog.
Atta collapsed with a pain-filled yelp. Her white fur was stained with blood, but she still struggled to
get up, still snapped and snarled. Mina raised the sword to stab her again, this time going for the kill.
Nightshade clasped hold of the little grasshopper pin and gave a galvanized leap. He sailed over one
of the black monoliths, and smashed into Mina, knocking the sword from her grasp.
Nightshade landed hard on the ground. Mina recovered herself and both of them dove for the sword,
each scrabbling to seize hold of it. Rhys spit out blood and half-crawled, half-flung himself into the fray.
But he was too late.
Mina seized hold of the kender s topknot of hair and gave a sharp, twisting jerk. Rhys heard a horrible
snapping and crunching sound. Nightshade went limp.
Mina let loose his hair and the kender slumped to the ground.
Rhys crawled to his friend s side. Nightshade stared at him, unseeing. Tears filled Rhys eyes. He did
not look for Mina. She was going to kill him, too, and he couldn t stop her. Atta whimpered. The sword
had laid open her shoulder to the bone. He gathered the suffering, dying dog close to him, then reached
out a blood-stained hand to close Nightshade s eyes.
A little girl with red braids squatted down beside the kender.
 You can get up now, Nightshade, said Mina.
When he did not move, she shook him by the shoulder.
 Stop pretending to be asleep, Nightshade, she scolded.  It s time to leave. I have to go to
Godshome, and you have the map.
Mina s voice quivered.  Wake up! the child gulped.  Please, please wake up.
The kender did not move.
Mina gave a heart-broken wail and flung herself on the body.
 I m sorry I m sorry I m sorry! she cried over and over in a paroxysm of grief.
 Mina&  Rhys mumbled her name through the blood and bone and broken teeth, and her name
echoed back from the Lords of Doom.
 Mina, Mina& 
She stood up. The little girl gazed down sorrowfully at Nightshade, but it was the woman, Mina, who
gently closed the staring eyes. The woman, Mina, walked over to Galdar. She laid a hand on him and
whispered to him. The woman came back to Atta and petted her gently. Then Mina knelt down beside [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]