A stinging autumn rain began to slant across the capital, washing the soot-stained cobblestones of Weaver's Alley in a slick, oily sheen.
The rain droplets hissed the instant they touched his feverish skin, vaporizing into thin wisps of pale crimson steam that curled into the dark air.
The chain spun in a blinding, horizontal blur from his uninjured left hand, catching the remaining two venomous throwing blades with a deafening metallic screech.
Both poisoned daggers shattered against the holy links, spraying green sparks and droplets of corrosive venom across the wet facade.
The acidic basilisk bile sizzled violently against the mortar, dissolving the clay bricks into foul-smelling gray sludge within seconds.
"Reload faster, you idiot!" the woman shrieked, backing toward the crates as green venom burned through her gloves.
"The brass mechanism is jammed with grit!" the brother shouted back in panic, fumbling with his venom darts.
