The boulder rolled down the embankment, gaining speed. It bounced near the bottom, slammed against the palace floor, and bounced again.
Yordar dove for cover. His soldiers tried to scatter as the boulder came down on them, and not all were fast enough. Their bodies were crushed beneath it. As Yordar landed, Justin's sword fell from his grasp. It slid across the palace floor, spinning like the hand of a clock.
"Up there!" Yordar was screaming before he even got to his feet. "The ethoul! Get him!"
Through the settling dust, soldiers rushed the debris pile with swords drawn. "Coward!" one of them shouted at Justin as they began climbing up toward him.
At ground level, Yordar hurried to retrieve the sword.
Justin acted on instinct. In his battle with the cythraul, there had come to him, e
