Shadowdance 01 - A Dance of Cloaks

daggers. The length of his blade meant nothing, however, if she could weave around it as if in a dance.
    She spun full circle about him, her cloak stretching longer and longer. Laughing, Nava jumped into the air, her cloak snapping behind her. Realizing he was surrounded, and soon to be crushed, Ethric poured every bit of his power into an overhand chop. A horrific screech sounded as his blade hit the cloak. The blood-red cloth shook, cracked, and then broke like shattered steel. All around him the red material crumpled to the dirt.
    Sensing opportunity, one of Theo’s mercenaries swung at Ethric’s back. The paladin heard his approach and swung about. Fury raged in his eyes. He blocked the blow, then looped his sword underneath and upward. The mercenary crumpled to the ground, his intestines spilling from his belly like freed snakes.
    Feet slammed into Ethric’s back. The remnants of the cloak wrapped around his head. The blow jerked his body forward, but his head could not move. Pain flooded his mind as his neck wrenched awkwardly. Knowing her daggers would soon follow, Ethric fell limp, his sword swinging above his shoulder. The cloak vanished as Nava retreated.
    Ethric spun on his knees, his weight resting on one hand as he gasped for air. His fight with Eliora had already drained him, and Nava was proving no easier.
    “A shame,” he said, hoping to buy some time. “You could do great things for Karak with such skill.”
    Nava began swaying from side to side, her tattered cloak only hanging down to her waist.
    “But Karak wants us dead,” Nava said. “Who is it we should pray to now?”
    Ethric stood and gripped his sword. The black flame roared higher, his faith unshaken by the difficulty of the fight. He would kill the heretic. Of that he had no doubt.
    “Ask Karak when you see him,” Ethric said. He stepped toward the bonfire and suddenly punched his free hand into the flame. He was not burned. The fire turned from yellow to purple, its smoke from a deep gray to clear.
    “Can you stand the heat of the Abyss?” he asked as he stepped back, his left arm completely wreathed with purple flame. Nava lunged, trusting her speed. Ethric parried her first two thrusts and countered a third. When she spun about trying to get closer, he opened the palm of his burning hand. Fire exploded as if from the mouth of a dragon. The fire swarmed over Nava’s cloak, setting it aflame.
    Nava wasted no time, jumping backward and slicing off her cloak where it attached to the clasps atop her shoulders. But Ethric did not chase as she’d expected. Instead he stabbed his sword into the flame, turned it once, and then swung. A massive arc of fire lashed outward, catching her across the chest. All about, wagons burned and men died as the fire consumed them with frightening speed.
    Faring little better, Nava dropped to a roll. The dirt did little to stop the burning. Ethric rushed after, and when she rolled underneath a wagon, he punched it with his fist. The fire left his arm and set the cover aflame. An upward swipe of his sword cut the rest of it in half. Nava was underneath, gasping for air and clutching her horribly burned chest. The wrappings were gone, revealing blistered skin blackened by the heat.
    “Shouldn’t … have burned me,” she said with labored breaths.
    “Karak has abandoned you for your heresy,” he said, his sword held in both hands, the tip touching her breast.
    Nava laughed even though the movement obviously pained her.
    “Alyssa is gone, you fool,” she said. “Zusa has her. You’ll never see her again.”
    Ethric stabbed down and twisted. When he yanked the sword free, he spat on her corpse. He strapped his sword to his back and returned to the bonfire. All around, men were desperately tossing dirt with shovels to put out what fires they could. The rest of the mercenaries crowded before Theo and Yoren, who both stood with their swords drawn.
    “Where is she?” Ethric asked as he approached. “Where is Alyssa Gemcroft?”
    “Taken by the faceless,” Yoren said. “What now, Paladin? Will you give chase?”
    Ethric glared at them, then to the hills beyond. The last faceless woman must have fled with Alyssa while he fought. He knew he could never track her, but the royal girl was a different matter. If he hurried, he might catch up to them…
    “I go for the girl,” he said. “If you want her back, then seek out Pelarak and the priests of Karak.”
    “We just need her alive,” Theo