This time, there was no dizzy sensation or glowing air when they passed through the doorway. The Hall of Knowledge was, in fact, the most prosaic room they had yet come across. As they might have guessed earlier from the name, the huge hall appeared to be a library. Thousands of papyrus scrolls packed shelves, overflowed out of enormous jars, and littered the floor. Although there were signs of the destruction that had visited the rest of the city, for the most part the scrolls appeared remarkably undamaged, and looked as new as if they had been inked yesterday.

Thraxis' eyes lit up, and he came to a halt, staring about with a look of awe. "This—this is incredible," he managed to say at last. His voice was low, reverent, as if he stood in the presence of the gods themselves. "Think of the spells, the knowledge, that must be in here."

Arrow felt a touch of dread. "You—you won't have to look through all these to find out how to stop the colossi, will you?"

"Let us hope not," Thraxis said with a wry quirk of his lips. "It might take weeks just to decipher what order these scrolls are stored in."

Thiacene picked up one of the half-burned scrolls on the floor, peered at it, then tossed it aside. Reaching for another, she stopped suddenly. "Look! These drawings look like the wand I picked up."

Intent on his own translations, Thraxis wandered off. But Viabold drew near, peering over Thiacene's shoulder. "Can you read it?"

"Not well. A word or two." Thiacene made a face. "But the I think the illustrations are supposed to demonstrate how to use the wand." She fished the ebony stick out of her pocket and copied the stance of one of the figures on the scroll. "Kef nekher qat!" she said and made a casting motion with the wand.

The figurine on the end flew off and struck the wall. "Damnation!" Thiacene muttered, and Arrow found herself suppressing a laugh. She walked over to where the figurine had struck, intending to find it and return it to Thiacene.

Something dark uncurled from the base of the wall, like a chick unfolding itself from an egg. Arrow got a confused glimpse of a leonine body coupled with the wings and head of an eagle. Then, in a rush, the griffin that had been part of the wand came to its feet and lunged at her with an ear-splitting roar.

Thiacene's scream stretched into infinity as Arrow's body sped, distorting time. She leapt back, clearing a cluster of storage jars and landing on top of a low table. Her sword was in her hands the instant she had firm footing, and the bronze blade arced up to meet the griffin's rush.

And clanged harmlessly off its ebony skin.

Uh oh.

The griffin, now swollen to the size of a horse, took a swipe at her, and she jumped back, lost her footing, and fell heavily to the ground. Thraxis appeared in her peripheral vision, making slow movements with his hands and saying something she could not hear. Whatever spell he was trying to cast, it had no affect on the griffin that she could see. Rolling to her feet, she grabbed a handful of his robe and hauled him back just as the griffin leapt over the table at them.

"Run!" she managed to shout.

They ran, robes flying and sandals slapping on the stone floor. Arrow brought up the rear, flinging anything that came to hand at their pursuer: loose scrolls, storage jars, broken bits of chairs. It swatted them aside irritably, then caught a chair leg in its massive beak and snapped it in half. Its wings struck the ceiling, and Arrow thanked the Lady of Beasts that the creature was too big to fly in this enclosed space, or else they would all be doomed.

Somehow, they stayed ahead of it all the way down the long hall. Risking a glance ahead, Arrow saw that Viabold had found a small door and was busy hauling it open. He disappeared through it, followed by Thiacene. Thraxis stopped, turning back for Arrow.

Wind smote her back an instant before the griffin's paw swiped her. Her body impacted hard with a shelf, knocking the breath out of her. Moving purely on instincts that had been honed over a lifetime of training, she rolled onto her back and punched as hard as she could, striking the griffin in the side of the head even as it bent down to rend her with its beak.

Agony traveled down her arm, as if she had hit a stone wall. Still, the blow knocked the griffin's head aside, giving her a few more precious moments. She scrambled back and away, felt a hand close on her injured arm, hauling her up. Half-stumbling and half-falling, she and Thraxis tumbled together through the small door.

Thiacene slammed the door shut the instant they were through, and Viabold shoved a heavy, gold-incrusted chair against it, followed by a table.

Arrow cradled her arm tight against her, feeling bones grind against one another. Thraxis reached for her, but she shook her head. "It will wait. Help them!"

Even as she spoke, the griffin struck the door with tremendous force. Despite the weight of both Thiacene, Viabold, and several pieces of furniture, the door came open several inches. Thraxis swore furiously and gestured at the door; it slammed shut once again. He added his weight to the pile, glaring at Thiacene.

"By all that was true, what were you thinking?"

Thiacene's face was white, her eyes huge, and she looked suddenly young. "I didn't know this would happen!"

If the world came to an end, the Athraskani would spend their last breaths quarreling over whose fault it was, Arrow thought. While the wizards guarded the door, she turned her attention to the room. Perhaps there was something that could aid them against the rampaging griffin.

Even a cursory glance revealed that this room had belonged to someone important. The bas-reliefs on the walls still glowed with color, the furnishing were gilded and covered with jewels, and even the floor was inlaid with precious stones. In the center of the room stood a strange, rectangular box, literally covered with gold, rubies, and emeralds. It was slightly shorter than a man, and almost as wide as it was tall. One side looked as if it was made to swing outwards.

Dragging her eyes away from the mysterious box, Arrow searched the rest of the room. Tables and shelves were crowded with what might have been magical implements, but which meant nothing at all to her. Cursing her own ignorance, she started to turn from her fruitless search, but found her eye caught by two statues on a shelf.

Side-by-side, they looked crude amidst the finery of the room, carved from simple stone and unadorned by any gilding. It took her a moment to realize why they seemed so familiar; they were exact replicas of the two colossi currently destroying the city.

"Look!" she shouted, snatching up one in her good hand and displaying it to the three mages.

The door shook hard under yet another assault from the griffin. The Athraskani had piled up every loose piece of furniture in reach, and all three appeared to be doing something magical to hold shut the door. Nevertheless, it did not seem as though it would stop the griffin for long.

Thraxis spared a glance at her cry. His face was pale and tense, and Arrow felt a sudden frisson of fear. "Destroy them!" he shouted.

"What?"

"The statues—smash them!"

Arrow hurled the one in her hand as hard as she could against the nearest wall. She had to throw with her off hand, but even so the force was enough that the small statue cracked into several pieces.

"Good!" Thraxis shouted encouragingly. "Now the other one!"

She did as he told her, the female statue following the male to its demise. "Now what?"

"That should have stopped them. These things work by what is known as sympathetic magic, and-"

At that instant, the door exploded inward. Bodies, furniture, and shattered wood flew into the room, propelled by the enraged griffin. As luck would have it, Thiacene and Viabold were hurled to one side, but Thraxis fell directly in front of the creature's feet. Arrow screamed his name and leapt forward, but not even her inhuman speed could cross the distance in time. The griffin raised its head, then slashed down, intending to rend Thraxis to pieces.

"Nek sit ma luk!"

For an instant, the griffin froze, all movement arrested. Then, like a flower closing for the night, it curled up on itself, shrinking as it did so. A moment later, only the small, ebony figurine remained.

Silence fell over the small room. A moment later, Melilandra stepped through the ruined doorway, a scroll clutched in one small hand. Arrow thought it might have been the same text that Thiacene had read from to awaken the beast.

"Well," Melilandra said, observing the ruin in front of her, "it would appear that I arrived just in time."