The initial blow didn’t kill the man immediately. Skin melted, and his right eye was destroyed, provoking a blood-curdling scream as he fell backward. Xerxes realized his mistake. In the past, he’d struck Abhorrent and killed them in one blow, but that was because he’d hit them in areas that weren’t protected by bone.

He kicked the wounded thug, sending him sliding across the floor and through the chairs. Meanwhile, the second of the three thugs had his dagger out and was holding it in front of him.

“‘Ey,” the man said, “I didn’t sign up to fight a mage. I—”

Xerxes lunged, launching a jab with his non-enhanced hand. The thug waved his dagger at it, and Xerxes stepped closer and followed up with a blow to the gut. The burning hand bit into the unprotected flesh of the man’s belly. He screamed, but the hand was already inside. Xerxes grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the dagger, and used it as leverage to shove his other hand deeper inside.

The thug collapsed. If he wasn’t dead, he would be soon.

Meanwhile, Rabbo stood in the doorway, his jaw hanging down and his fingers shaking.

“Y-you…” he blubbered.

Xerxes took a step toward him. “You made a bad choice today,” he said.

By this time, the Singular Lethality spell had worn off, and his hand returned to its normal state.

He took another step toward Rabbo.

“Stop right there,” Rabbo said, and out from beneath his clothing he pulled a small hand-sized crossbow. It shook as he pointed it at Xerxes. The bolt was small, more like a dart than anything someone would call a crossbow bolt.

“Are you kidding me?” Xerxes said, grabbing another handful of crabnickel powder. “You think that’s going to stop me?”

“Yeah, you fucker!” Navraj yelled. “You see the kind of people I bring into my congregation?” Infected by Xerxes’ courage, he inched forward, grabbed the cudgel that had been leaning against his chair, and brandished it above his shoulder.

Rabbo swung the miniature crossbow toward Navraj, then back toward Xerxes.

“Neither of you fucking move,” Rabbo said.

“Or what?” Xerxes asked.

“I’ll shoot you!” Rabbo said, swiveling his aim back to Xerxes.

“No you won’t,” Xerxes said. He felt certain in this assessment. Rabbo was terrified, and didn’t seem like he was ready to shoot someone.

Navraj made a probing step in his direction, and Rabbo swung the crossbow back in his direction.

Xerxes kept tracing the Asgagu Isten rune.

“Xerk, be careful,” Katayoun said.

“I know,” he replied. “I’m just going to—”

“Hey!” Rabbo shouted. “Are you casting a spell? Stop it right now!”

Xerxes made the final line of the rune, and melam flowed. Light shone.

Rabbo jerked the crossbow back toward him. “I said to fucking stop!”

The crossbow twanged, and the bolt shot out. It was hard to tell if Rabbo had intentionally pulled the trigger or not. The way his eyebrows widened in shock seemed to indicate it wasn’t.

Xerxes waved his hand to intercept the missile, but his timing was off. He could catch a knife when the distance and timing were predetermined, but this situation was different.

The dart hit his neck.

Fuck. He reached up with his free hand toward the spot where he’d felt it hit. The dart was there, a cold piece of metal sticking out of theskin. He’d been sure the man wouldn’t pull the trigger. He pulled his hand away from his neck to find it glistening and red. FUCK!

His knees felt weak.

“DIE!” Navraj yelled, and he jumped forward with his cudgel. Rabbo spun and pulled the trigger of the crossbow, but being empty, it didn’t even click. Then Navraj hit him across the side of the head.

Rabbo crumpled. Howling, Navraj hit him again with the cudgel. Then again and again. Blood sprayed.

“Xerk?” Katayoun said.

Xerxes took a step back and felt his head spinning.

“Xerk!” Katyoun said with more urgency. She was by his side. “Did you…? It hit you? Fuck!”

He put his hand behind him looking for a chair, but before he could find one, he felt the urgent need to get off his feet. He collapsed, hitting one of the chairs before landing hard on the stone ground. The back of his head smacked against the stone. He could vaguely sense that his hand was still burning thanks to the spell. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Navraj step over to the first thug and smash his skull with the cudgel.

“I’m… I’m fine,” he said, but he could hear his voice slurring.

“No you’re not,” Katayoun said. “But you will be.”

He looked up at her and realized she seemed very calm. As if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

“You,” Katayoun said. “Navraj.”

“Huh?” Navraj said, panting as he stood above the dead thug. Chunky blood dripped from the head of the cudgel.

“They’re all dead. Now come over here.”

Navraj tossed the cudgel away and ran his hand down his face as if to wipe it free from sweat. All he did was smear it with blood.

“I’m going to pull this dart out,” Katayoun said. “Take this cloth—” she held it out to him “—and push it against the wound to stop the blood flow.”

“What?” Navraj said. “I can’t—”

“DO IT!” she bellowed.

He took the cloth.

“Three,” she said. “Two. One. Now.”

She yanked the dart out of Xerxes’ neck, and he felt a twinge of pain.

“Oh Father,” Navraj said. “There’s so much blood. It’s like a river. Oh my—”

“Put pressure on it!” Katayoun yelled.

“Right.”

A river of blood? I’m not going to survive this, am I? Xerxes couldn’t see what Katayoun was doing. Presumably trying to cast a spell. But as he felt the blood pumping out of him, he thought back to when Gem had lain in a muddy street in almost this same position. And it had only taken moments for him to slip away into death.

This is it, he thought. This is my payback for letting Gem die. And Bel.

“I’m sorry, Kat,” he said, wondering how many more seconds he had before things went black, and he never woke up.

“For what?” she said back. Was she tracing the Balatu Isten rune? Would the spell work? Probably not. There wasn’t enough time.

“Tell Gandy I’m sorry for being an idiot. He’s my best friend. And you have to get word to my parents. And my sister, Ahassy. She’s—”

“Shut up,” Katayoun said.

“—only eight, and she loves dolphins and—”

“SHUT UP!” Katayoun yelled.

“W-what?”

“I said shut up.”

Light shone, and Katayoun touched him. He felt tingling and warmth as his neck wound healed.

“You can take the cloth away,” Katayoun said to Navraj.

A few seconds later, the strange sensations passed. Xerxes lifted his hand and touched his neck. There was no hole. Only skin and a bit of blood.

She put her hand behind his neck and pulled him into a sitting position. “I said you’d be fine.”

He pushed his fingers harder into his neck. There was no trace of pain.

“Wow,” he said. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Worry about it later,” she said. “We have more pressing things to deal with. Like these dead bodies.”