Sparrow wasn’t there a moment later, quickly flitting away as a bird, as the mistweaver slashed through where Sparrow had been.
Silence could match the mistweaver for speed and, whenever she attacked him, he evaded her attacks with ease.
Mist and attack. Mist and attack, the woman was relentless. Then the mist launched up toward me. She materialized in mid-air, dagger slashing and taking my cue from Sparrow I shrunk to a spider in an instant. The blade passed harmlessly over where my neck used to be.
She kicked at the glass to squash me, but I jumped away, leaving a strand of silk behind.
The mist followed.
I was nearly to the floor when she reached me and as she materialized Ant caught her leg and with a vicious spin threw her across the room. She was mist before she hit the far wall.
“Go!” he shouted at me.
I turned back into me, then leaped again, back to the dome.
She came at me again, but I’d learned a lot in the weeks since her last attacks and I was able to evade her. Also, it seemed that — perhaps because of the warding on the room — she wasn’t able to use her mist to grab at me like she had on the pirate ship. She could turn to mist to move around, but had to attack physically with her dagger.
I jumped once again, landing on the warm stones of the hearth, seeing how the others had gathered near there.
The mistweaver materialized, but didn’t attack me, she went for Crane.
Her mistake was assuming Crane was unarmed. She struck at Crane, who blocked with her cane. Then, with a twist and slide, Crane had a slim-bladed sword in her hand, pulled from the innards of the cane itself. She struck with amazing speed and the mistweaver shrieked again as blood blossomed on her leg.
“Stop!” Amber said, attracting the woman’s attention… and that was it.
The mistweaver looked into Amber’s eyes and the command sank in. Hazra froze and the dagger fell from her limp grip.
“The iron!” Maverick shouted and everyone was shocked into action once more. The only known way to bind and contain a mistweaver’s power was with iron bands, which others quickly fastened around the mistweaver’s neck, wrists, ankles, and waist.
Amber released the enchantment on Hazra and the mistweaver fell to her knees with a keening cry. She was trying to shift into mist, but couldn’t move beyond the confines of the irons around her.
I crawled down from the hearth, returning to the floor, but stayed away from the others. The cold stone beneath my feet, less of a concern now as my blood was pumping hard, my body hot from battle.
“Is that it?” I asked, wary.
I believe so.
“Yes, she won’t be able to escape now, or use most of her powers. Careful, though, she may still be able to affect herself.” To evidence this, Hazra put a hand over the wound on her leg and mists seeped out of the hand to mend the injury.
“So, you have caught me, but I will tell you nothing!”
“We’ll see about that,” Maverick growled, low and lethal. “Take her to the dungeons.”
“We have dungeons?” I asked, blinking.
Everyone looked at me.
“Yes, of course we have dungeons,” I answered my own question. This estate was meant to be the center of peace and justice in the south. So, we’d need somewhere to put criminals.
Ant and Tusk hauled the mistweaver to her feet and took her away as the mists outside began to disperse. It was near to dawn, faint light in the east.
Maverick stopped me before I could leave.
“Legs,” he said softly. He seemed concerned, jaw tight and tense. “I… that seemed a bit too easy.” Had it? It had seemed like a bloody nightmare to me. But I trusted Maverick’s judgment. He continued, saying, “Just… watch yourself.”
I nodded. “I will.”
Silence came to me, throwing himself at me in a strong embrace. His words were a bit muffled from his head buried in my shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re alive. I’m so glad I’m alive. I feel so… alive! I love you, Legs!” I held him close, tight. I didn’t know what to say in that moment. The only words I could find were:
