"She yielded."

"She yielded to me. There's no honor in killing a defeated foe. Without my honor, I am nothing."

The drider smiled, almost sadly. "Hyour honor is for the ssssurface, child. Down here, it isssss kill or be killed."

Teysa set her face grimly. "You'll have to kill me, then. I won't become a murderer for you."

The drider shook her head. "No, I will not."

A sudden explosion of pain erupted in Teysa's lower back. She looked down in disbelief. As if by magic, two feet of spear had suddenly grown from her stomach.

She sank to her knees. Behind her, Kyrness twisted the spear she had picked up from where Teysa dropped it. She laughed, her shattered nose spraying blood with each chuckle. "Mercy is for the weak, surface-dweller!"

Teysa's vision tunneled. Her last thought was of her friends. She wished...

GAME OVER