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blade up to guard position.
He caught the Guard across the throat, tearing it open with a single blow.
Robin turned away, sickened, as blood sprayed across the white altar-cloth, and the man collapsed with
a gurgling cry.
There was a thunder of wings, and when she looked again, it was to catch sight of T'fyrr in flight,
vanishing up through the hole in the roof, fighting the magic-brought winds. A moment later, and he was
gone.
Movement at her side caught her attention, and she glanced back over at Jonny just in time to see him
rumble at his belt and drop the pendant he had carried out of his pocket, along with a few coins. It fell
out of its silk handkerchief and onto the floor, although there was so much noise that the sound it made
hitting the marble was completely lost.
He snatched it up, cocked his arm back, and flung it with all of his might, hitting Padrik square in the
chest.
It struck hard enough to distract Padrik, and broke the High Bishop's concentration and it caught in
all the gold embroidery decorating his robe, becoming entangled there. Padrik froze in mid-gesture,
staring open-mouthed down at his chest.
The ring of flames vanished, blown out as easily as a candle
And the Ghost reached forward with a howl of triumph, and seized Padrik in both clawlike hands.
The sound of the Ghost's laughter did not quite drown out Padrik's screams.
Blackness as thick as a moonless night descendedon the Cathedral, and the crowd went utterly mad.
Gwyna and Jonny simply huddled on the floor for a moment, then slowly crawled towards the altar,
hoping in that way to avoid being trampled. But before they reached that haven, light returned, pouring
through the shattered windows. Padrik was nowhere to be seen.
The screams died, and Robin looked up.
"Witches!"someone cried out in despair."That evil creature slew the High Bishop!"
She saw the face of a nightmare, a crowd ready to tear anything and anyone apart in sheer,
unadulterated panic. In a moment, they might very well remember seeing Jonny fling that pendant at the
High Bishop
They'd kill him, and her and then do exactly what Donnar had feared; run wild through the streets
looking for evil mages, killing, and burning. They'd certainly run rampant through the Warren and if
they found T'fyrr, they'd tear him to pieces, too.
They weren't going to listen toher
"You're a man!" she shouted at Kestrel. "They'll listen to you! Say something!Stop them !"
Jonny knew the face of the mob when he saw it; he'd already had a taste of what they could do. They
were poised to act and someone had to give them direction, or it would turn into hate, fear, and
destruction. Someone had to say or do something before one of them pointedhim out as the one who'd
broken Padrik's defenses and let the Ghost through.
Buthim ? He could hardly say two words without stuttering!
Fear held him paralyzed for a moment. Then, in his mind, he heard Harperus. "You can't say it? So sing
it."
He did not even waste a moment on consideration; he leapt to the top of the altar, and held up both his
hands.
And gathered, reached, desperately, for the melody he needed. For the Magic . . .
"Stop!"he cried/sang, his voice ringing out like a trumpet.
The mob obeyed.
People froze in place, staring at him, mouths agape with astonishment.
Words poured from him as if from some supernatural source; he told them everything, as their faces
gazed up at him, expressions dumbfounded. How Padrik was a fraud, working his "miracles" with the
help of criminals. How he had truly used their donations the House he ran, the luxuries he enjoyed.
And before anyone could challenge him, he signaled to Robin, who began to reproduce some of those
"miracles."
She started with bursts of flash powder, and then "magical appearances" of the altar-decorations by
sleight of hand. She worked her way around the altar and made a couple of quick movements; Kestrel
heard a muffled thump. She then found the mirror-rig, and used it to reproduce the "demon" a puppet
hanging slackly among the sculptures of angels up above the altar, out of sight of the congregation.
He told how Padrik had bound the spirit of a poor nonhuman, murdered by an evil Abbot of Carthell, to
become the High Bishop's own personal executioner.
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