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.Berun fell back before the onslaught, ducking and stepping away from the blade and blocking the half-orc's fist.But Lewan saw Sauk's tactic at once.The half-orc was leading Berun toward the tiger, who crouched ready just inside the open gateway of the courtyard."Master!" Lewan called."Behind you! The tiger!"Berun shifted his retreat to the right, circling away and putting Sauk between himself and the tiger.Talieth was on her feet, her hood down and her cloak thrown back.The incessant rain had plastered her hair to her face."Lewan, he'll listen to you.Tell him to stop this! I swear to you that no harm will come to you or your master."Lewan opened his mouth and took in a breath to shout, but then he remembered the words of the Old Man on themountainside.Talieth and her little conspiracy.they are lying to you.They are using you.Do not trust them.But had not Sauk offered—even urged—Lewan to flee? And there was something else, something Talieth herself had said to him earlier, something he had not been able to get out of his mind.He didn't know what to do.He wasn't sure to whom he was speaking, but he picked up the fallen hammer, stood, and shouted, "Stop it! Just stop!"The half-orc held his sword back, prepared for another swipe, but he did not bring it forward.He stopped and risked a glance at Lewan.Berun used the opportunity to step back and look around, surveying the situation.Sauk hadn't moved.The surrounding assassins were keeping their distance, and Talieth stood not far from Lewan, both hands curled into tight fists.For a moment, everyone simply looked, the only sound that of the rain in the leaves and on the pavement.Then the tiger growled.Berun snapped around.Lewan saw her less than five paces from his master, crouched and ready to strike.Her lips curled over her fangs, which glowed an unearthly blue in the eldritch lights round the Tower.The tiger's front paws had just come off the ground when a small shape struck her on the head.Perch!Taaki's lunge turned into a fierce back and forth swing of her head as she tried to dislodge the treeclaw lizard.The tiger shrieked and slapped at her own head—but she remembered her previous injury and kept her claws retracted.For the first few swings and shakes of her head and slaps of the tiger's paws, Perch managed to avoid the strikes by shifting his grip and twisting his own lithe body back and forth.But then the tiger rolled onto her back, scraping her head and neck along the brick pavement.Perch bounded off just in time.Had he fled into the brush,he would have been safe.Instead, he twisted around, rose on his hind legs, and hissed at the tiger, amazingly loud for such a small creature."Sauk, call her off!" Berun shouted.The half-orc's lip had twisted into a sneer at the sight of the lizard, and he shook his head once."Lizard took her eye," he said."He's got this coming."Taaki rolled onto her feet, took one look at the offending lizard—she didn't even roar—and jumped, reminding Lewan of a barn cat lunging on a mouse.Perch avoided the first strike, but he was not quick enough to dodge the second.The tiger struck again, trapping the lizard between paw and pavement.The tiger's head ducked down.Her back faced Lewan, but he heard her massive jaws snap closed.She shook her head left and right once, then threw her head back as she swallowed the treeclaw lizard whole."Perch!" Berun screamed.Sauk laughed."Don't cry too much.Your little friend got her eye.A lot more than most of her prey get.But only the strong survive.Your little lizard never had a chance."Sauk backed away and lowered his sword.Berun just stood, looking at the tiger."Stop this now," said Sauk."Before someone else you care about gets hurt.Drop the knife.Now.Drop it or Taaki takes you down."Berun stood still a moment, then he stood straight.Lewan gasped, and the hammer wavered in his hand.Was it over?Then Berun grabbed the clasp of his cloak.A twist, and the heavy fabric fell to the ground.Unencumbered, he dropped into a defensive crouch and brandished the strange ivory blade."Your choice," called Sauk.He pointed his blade at Berun and told the tiger, "Taaki, anukh!"The tiger came in slowly, each paw placed carefully on the wet pavement before her, her head low to the ground.Lewan knew that a knife would be no match against the tiger.Hebrought the hammer back, preparing to throw—if he could hit the tiger in the head, it would stun her long enough for his master to get away.But before Lewan could throw, Taaki went still as stone.She crouched, unmoving, and Lewan counted five quick beats of his heart.Then a tremor passed through her, so violent that she sprayed thousands of tiny droplets of rain out of her fur.She twisted around, snapping at her midsection with her teeth."Taaki?" called Sauk, his voice thick with worry."What's wrong?"The tiger screamed—high, pitiful, and with such strength that Lewan flinched and covered one ear with his free hand."Taaki!"The tiger bit at her side several more times, then threw herself onto her back and began to flop and writhe like a live fish thrown onto a hot pan.Again and again she screamed, drowning out Sauk's cries.She writhed and squirmed, her rear paws kicking the air, and then she clawed at her own torso with her front claws.Fur wet with rain flew—and then fur wet with blood and bits of skin—and still she screamed.Lewan had never heard such cries of agony.A few assassins ran over.One of the archers approached Sauk, his bow in hand and arrow still on the string
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