But Algwad was quick and he realized Shay had feigned her attack. He stopped and swung with his sword. His sword struck the back of the statue where Shay’s hand had been a moment before and rang out dully in the silence. Algwad cursed and raised his sword as he moved back to the other side of the statue again.

He was in time to see the drop leave the thread headed for the jewel. He began to smile but his expression quickly turned to horror as he screamed.

“No!”

Shay had used the statue to swing herself around far enough to swing her sword into the space between the...