"I'm dead, Joey," she said, smiling through the blood, "but I haven't lost."

He screamed as she raised the knife and fell down on top of him.

He came running out into the Great Hall, glancing over his shoulder to see if

he

was being pursued. Perhaps they wouldn't come that way, he thought. Perhaps

they'd teleport and appear directly in his path. They were at full strength

now,

while he had used up almost all the power he had left. He needed all of it

for

the spell that would help him to escape. He'd bring the entire castle down

around their heads.

He held out his arms and concentrated on the central load-bearing pillar of

the

cross-wall. The volume of the music drowned out the sounds of the stone

cracking

and breaking apart, but up on the balcony, Billy felt the vibrations as he

leaned upon the stone balustrade.

A shudder went through the cross wall, and chips of stone and mortar started

to

rain down upon the dancers. They looked up and started to scream as they saw

the

fissures spreading through the stone above them.

"Billy—"

"Right, I see 'im." Billy put the blade of the flick knife between his teeth

and

stood up on the wall.

"Billy, what are you... Billy!"

Billy leapt off the balcony, jumping up and out, his arms stretched out for

the

massive chandelier. For a moment he seemed to glide like a flying squirrel,

his

leather coat flapping like wings, and then his fingers just barely reached

the

lower rim of the chandelier, and he grabbed hold, swinging down and out...

... and then he let go.

He came down at a steep angle, feet first, and plowed right into the

necromancer, who never expected an attack from the air. They both went down

hard. Billy rolled in an attempt to take some of the force out of the impact.

The cross wall above them was crumbling, and people were milling around in a

panic, yelling and streaming for the doors. Billy swore as he felt pain shoot

through his leg, and he started to push himself up, but his left leg buckled

underneath him. He looked up.

"Merlin, the wall!"

A huge block of stone was plummeting down directly above him. Merlin threw

out

his arms, the little finger and forefinger of his left hand extended, blue