![]() ![]() "You were good, but my friends are kind of a tough crowd." Pulling the flute from his lips, he stared down at the fallen harpies with genuine sadness. Merisiel's dagger was a second slower but twice as sure, lancing through the male's throat and killing him before he even had a chance to fall. Valeros's arrow caught the female in the shoulder, sending her tumbling from the sky. Screaming in outrage, they stooped and dove toward the bard, claws and clubs extended. The harpies broke off their faltering song. He blew harder, and the magic found their song's most crucial notes and inverted them, playing ghost notes that somehow crashed into the harpies' own and canceled them out, sucking both tones from the air. And where he played, the harpies' song changed: his tones altering their chords, his notes filling their silences, each revision robbing their performance of its power. His flute dove away from the melody line, threading through the piece like dolphins playing in the surf. ![]() It was still him playing, but now it was as if he'd played this particular piece a thousand times, his body moving through muscle memory, faster than conscious thought. Power flowed through him, surging into his lungs, coursing down into his fingers. Lem waggled his eyebrows and triggered the spell. Hearing their own song echoed back, the harpies looked over at him in surprise. Instead, he let that desire feed his magic, swelling toward a vast, impending crescendo. Under other circumstances, he would have loved to lose himself in the collaboration, feeling their tones resonating through his chest, their harmonies raising the hair on his arms and toes. There was an infectious quality to the harpies' song-not the magical compulsion pulling Valeros to his doom, but the familiar pleasure or playing with other talented musicians. The spell swirled inside him as he found the groove, perfectly matching the harpies' melody.įor a moment, he almost didn't want to follow through. At first, it was just notes-a quick trilling ascension to make sure he had the right key-yet it was enough to kindle his own magic. "A little simple, but you've got to start somewhere." He raised the flute. Around him, the harpies' song filled the air, heavy with magic. Drawing his flute, he clambered up the side of the temple entrance and perched atop its crumbled stones. "What else is new?" But Lem tucked his sling away. "I don't think he's interested in an artistic education right now, Lem!" ![]() Merisiel dodged in front of Valeros, barely managing to parry a club swing that would have taken his head off. " Seriously?! They don't even have lyrics! What about rhyme and meter? Clever wordplay?" "Oh come on!" Lem grabbed at the warrior's wrist, only to be shoved aside as Valeros broke into a stumbling run toward the grinning harpies. Next to him, Valeros took a staggering step forward, bow lowered and eyes rapturously blank. But you'll have to do better than that if-" "Ah yes, natural minor-very spooky, very exotic. Their haunting refrain echoed across the plaza. The notes seemed too pure for the fanged maws that made them-high and clear, without any trace of the harpies' usual hunting shriek. "At least we've got them on the run."Īnd then, like fetid angels, the harpies opened their mouths and began to sing. Valeros cursed as one of his few remaining arrows shattered against the masonry. The remaining harpies-a male and a female-screeched and retreated as far as the crumbling arcade, putting the ancient pillars between them and further slingstones. The bullet shot from the pouch, smashing into the leader's jaw and dropping her to the cobblestone plaza. "Oh yeah?!" Lem dodged another grotesque barrage, releasing the knot of his whirling sling as he went. The three harpies circled the ruins, raining threats, darts, and excrement in equal measure. ![]()
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