They gaped at his oozing eye and smoking hand. Nobody moved. Djola couldn’t reach the locks on their spirits. Shrugging, he danced Xhalan Xhala around the market square and called to the future of the thief-lord city. Whatever merchant house or abode he spied with his right eye and touched with his left hand burst into white-hot flames. After a blast of heat, cool treasure glittered: a humble bakery became ten gold nuggets; a merchant’s palace turned into a bloody garnet; a spirit house dissolved into yards of cloud-silk. Reckoning fire swallowed one building after another. Samina’s chill kept him frosty. The spell of spells had finally yielded to him.

“Run!” Djola shouted again at captives who trailed after him. They squealed at flames roaring through Jena City’s towers and humble abodes. Djola shouted in Anawanama then Zamanzi. This time many captives headed for the water. Pezarrat’s crew wanted to dash away too. “To me,” he commanded. The pirates fell in behind him.

Terrified barbarians abandoned their homes and market shops. White-hot flames seared those who were too fascinated, too slow, or too dazed to escape. Half-naked folks, lugging children or an armload of possessions, stampeded out of Jena City into the sweet desert. The city watch ran ahead of everyone, drunk, but swift.

Pezarrat’s men gathered the precious metals, noble crystals, and numinous cloth that appeared when the flames winked out. “Throw a bit of fire, and thief-lords puke and piss themselves.”

“Don’t waste time laughing at cowards,” Djola said. Void-swirls appeared from shimmer. “When this noxious air disperses, only toxic ground will remain.” A small price to pay. Or that’s what he told himself.

The pirates hurried back to the beach, weighed down with Jena City booty. Djola trotted behind them. His right eye ached; his head throbbed. His mind was a jumble, but Samina’s chill eased pain. The sun was setting, the day over so quickly. Dancing Xhalan Xhala, Djola felt blistered inside. Relieving himself, his piss burned.

The pirates launched the canoes and paddled through choppy waves, glaring at him. Blood dribbled from his right eye as he glared back. Nearing the fleet, the guards fingered weapons. Djola sang a lament, and geysers of seawater erupted around them. Behemoth eyes glowed below the surface. Two giants breached, grinning and flapping fins. The pirates stared at shell-encrusted maws and froze.