The lizard made sure DareWing had a secure hold on Goldman, then he scrambled down the tunnel to safety.

The birdman's wings beat frantically, for they were never meant to carry the weight of another grown man, but DareWing managed to fly down the tunnel. He bounced off walls as his own wings threatened to fail him and Spiredore screamed in its death throes about him, but he eventually dragged Goldman to the other end.

They fell through blue mist into a forest of sharp and angry crystal.

Tumble down, you piece of Enemy excreta. Qeteb's power expanded, thriving on the chaos about him.

Faraday cried out, and clutched at a balcony railing. She fell to her knees so heavily she knocked the breath from her chest.

A movement far below caught her eye, and she saw Gwendylyr, crawling up some stairs on her hands and knees.

"Fast!" Faraday shouted down to her, and Gwendylyr nodded slightly and crawled towards the tunnel that was opening before her.

Spiredore opened a tunnel for Faraday as well, but both women cried out in horror because, just as the tunnels formed, they fell apart, shattered by Qeteb's death grip on Spiredore.

"Spiredore!" Faraday cried, finally managing to rise to her knees. "Do this for Azhure! Please! Be strong for Azhure!"

Azhure? The name rippled through the tower, and just for a moment Spiredore fought back, hard enough to give Qeteb pause, and long enough to reform both tunnels again.

Neither Faraday nor Gwendylyr wasted time. They literally clambered to their feet, picked up their skirts, and fled down the tunnels as fast as they could go.

Leagh was not so lucky.

Of them all, she was the one on the lowest stairs of the tower. Spiredore trembled violently when it lost concentration, will and power once Faraday and Gwendylyr had passed through, and Leagh was flung down a series of stairs until, horribly, horrifically, she rolled to the feet of Qeteb himself.

"Well, well," Qeteb said, "what a pretty lady."

Leagh rolled away as far as she could, but she was hurt and winded and terrified beyond measure, and she feared that she, and her baby, were dead.

Oh, DragonStar! I couldn't even reach Fernbrake Lake for you!

Qeteb reached down enlarging hands —

What was that strange smell? It seemed to be emanating from the woman ... no! It wasrising as a smoke from around her figure!

Qeteb's hands halted, and an expression of utter surprise came over his face.

It was the heady scent of a field of lilies.

"No," he whispered, and reached out for the woman again.

Leagh backed away on hands and buttocks, trying desperately to get out of his reach, yet knowing it was impossible.

Qeteb grinned, shunting the scent to one side — a field of flowers was not going to stop him! — and reached out hands that had turned into talons.

The woman was as good as dead. He could take one, at least —

Suddenly Qeteb screamed, for it felt as though fire had enveloped his feet.

He looked down. There was a ball of light enveloping his lower legs, a light with no discernible form, but with what certainly felt like terrible teeth.

And it smelt. Horribly. Like crushed lilies.

Behind Leagh, Spiredore roused itself one last time, one last desperate time, and a tunnel of blue mist formed.

Get you gone, girl!

Leagh was still terrified by Qeteb, even though something had distracted him for the moment, but she managed — infinitely slowly — to turn her head and look behind her.

Whimpering, hardly able to believe that she would be able to make it, she turned over onto her hands and knees and scrambled as fast as her cumbersome figure would allow her towards the end of the tunnel.

Qeteb paid her no notice. He was directing all his power down to the light ... more ... more

... now! that had the thing! Qeteb scampered about until he'd managed to get both legs free of the mass of white light. Just as he thought he'd succeeded, the light surged forward, concentrating its burning fury on Qeteb's

left foot. Roaring, he drew his leg back, then kicked it forward, trying to finally dislodge the irritating piece of —

The ball of light flew off his foot ... straight down the blue-misted tunnel.

As it flew through the air, it transformed, until it took the shape of a white lily.

A portion of railing fell from above and struck Qeteb on the head. He grunted, and thrown momentarily off-balance, he missed the chance to direct his power after the fleeing woman.

The tunnel wavered, and closed.

Qeteb went berserk.

By the time he'd finished, there was nothing left of Spiredore save a wisp of smoke and a pile of pitiable debris.

Chapter 36

Pretty Brown Sal

They'd slipped through Qeteb's fingers for the moment, but he knew they had not slipped far. Qeteb knew where the five had gone and, knowing, he could afford to wait. They would be going nowhere — and could accomplish nothing.

In the meantime he and his could grow stronger. Invincible.

Sanctuary.

Once Sanctuary was gone — and those within it, as their power consumed — there was nothing that could stop the Demons. They were six again, they controlled the power of the Enemy, and DragonStar and the five would be crushed like delicate spring flowers within Qeteb's fist.

Qeteb had, for the moment, forgotten the virulence of that lily.

He laughed and strutted as he looked over the pile of debris that had once been Spiredore, his fists opening and closing with infinite patience as he moved, the mail of his armour creaking very slightly as his joints flexed.

Then Qeteb raised his head and gazed about. Behind him rose the Maze — the dark, glorious Maze, both his prison and his heaven — while to the north, west and south lay only the devastation of drifting ash and dead earth under the hopeless night sky.

And those eager to please.