"Yes," Whip hissed, twirling the leotaur's dagger in his hand, "we have a great deal of anguish for which to pay you back, cat-man."
That the assassins intended to torture him to death filled Hufferrrerrr not with fear, but with regret. A warrior's death was an honorable one, but to be tormented while tied immobile; there was no honor in that. Also, he had yet to sire any kittens, which troubled him greatly. His only hope to salvage his honor lay in tricking his captors into granting him a quick death.
"It is being truth of what Szcze-kon was saying about the Shadowknives, then." Silence hung heavy for a moment, but Hufferrrerrr could see the anger in their eyes. "He was saying that you suckle your children on the milk of hate, that you capture slaves to impregnate your females because you are unable, and that you have not the courage to fight like warriors."
A fist lashed out, striking him in the face, but the blow barely loosened a tooth.
That was the blow of a kitten! he thought, licking the blood from his upper lip with a growl. If I had known these tattooed ones to be so weak, I would have killed them all before they could tie me!
"Stop it!" the leader snapped. "He's baiting you into killing him quickly, but I need... we all need a diversion to calm our nerves." He stared into the leotaur's eyes. "There will be time enough to entertain our guest later. For now let us see what kind of supplies our deceased foes packed for us."
The assassins smiled promises of pain at Hufferrrerrr, then joined their leader in the plunder. The leotaur smiled a deadly grin at their backs. They would regret giving him time to plan.
CHAPTER 29
Avari! Avari, wake up!"
Shay's voice reached her like a knife cutting through thick taffy. The arduous ascent into consciousness sent waves of pain through her head, then her eyes opened to find her friend's concerned face inches from her own.
"Sha—" The words caught in her chest, impaled on spears of white hot agony as frothy blood flooded her mouth. Her scream came as a guttural gurgle.
"Lie still, Avari. You are injured."
Oh really? she thought, the sarcasm helping her to focus through the blinding haze of shock. Avari felt the gentle touch of the healer and some of the pain eased. She coughed up an astonishing amount of blood and pulled a breath gratefully into her aching lungs.
"Try to sit up now—slowly."
When she tried, new pain stabbed her left arm. A quick glance made her wish she hadn't looked; her arm was bent at a sickening angle in mid-bone.
"It's broken," he said unnecessarily, fumbling at his belt and holding a leather glove to her face. "Bite this. I've got to set it."
"Wait, I—"
"DO IT! We don't have much time!"
A sudden vision of the dragon's glaring eyes had her eagerly stuffing the glove in her mouth and clamping down hard. She looked away as Shay grasped her forearm and began chanting. The leather in her mouth tasted foul, but kept her from breaking teeth and muffled her screams as he slowly pulled her arm straight. She nearly fainted, but revived as the pain ebbed. She spat out the glove and began looking around for her sword.
"Here," Shay offered, his voice strained, "let me help you stand. Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"I don't kno—" Green light from the depths of a pool two tiers below brought her up short. Gaulengil, thank the Gods! I need you! she thought.
She brushed off Shay's hands and looked for the best route down, but before she could take a step, green light flashed and Gaulengil streaked toward her, then hovered before her, hilt presented, as it had done in the catacombs of Zellohar. Avari grunted in disbelief; she had no idea the sword could do that.
“That is convenient,” Shay stammered, dumbstruck.
Avari snapped the weapon back into its scabbard, and winced. "My ribs still hurt, and it hurts to breathe."
She looked down to show where it the pain was, and stopped in shock. Her chain mail was torn from just beneath her left breast to the point of her shoulder blade. Beneath her blood-sodden shirt, a wide pink scar followed the tear in her armor.
"Oh... my... dear... gods..." Avari felt her heart drop into her stomach as she surveyed what should have been a fatal injury.
"You were nearly cut in half by the dragon's tail," Shay explained as he turned her around and placed his holy icon against her skin. He closed his eyes and murmured his litany of faith. When he was done, he asked her to breathe deeply.
Avari complied, and smiled when she felt only a minor twinge. "That's great, but what about—" For the first time, she noticed that they were alone.
"Lynthalsea... DoHeney... Where—"
"They are gone." Shay's voice was strange, hard in a way Avari had never heard before.
"Dead?" she whispered.
"No!" The single word was all the half-elf could manage. He stood in silence, a long shuddering breath wracking his slim shoulders. Finally he looked up at Avari. "At least, I do not think so. The dragon plucked them up and flew out of the cavern. That is why I rushed your healing; I do not know if it is going to return or not. I hope not; dragons are not fond of pain, and we dealt it a few good scratches.
"But why would it take them?" Avari's words shook with panic. "And why didn't it just kill us all with its flame?"
Shay shrugged, "I do not know, but I believe it is on its way to Zellohar Keep. This was the same dragon we met there."
Fear for her friends gripped Avari's heart as fear for herself never would. She followed Shay as he turned to descend the falls they had climbed only a short eternity ago.
"Do you think there's a chance it hasn't killed them?"
"I don't know, Avari!" he blurted, whirling to face her. "But we're going to find out! Do you hear me? We are going to find them! We have to find them!" His tone edged on hysteria.
"Yes, Shay," Avari said, gripping his shoulders to assure him he was not alone. "We will find them! The two of us! But we have to think first! Okay? Shay?"
His tearful eyes cleared. She had not realized how close he was to snapping, but she understood his mania. Although it sounded harsh, far more than their friends had been lost, for, when the dragon reached Zellohar, Iveron Darkmist would have three of the four gems.
"Yes, Avari. I am fine." He patted her arm and turned to lead the way down, then stopped and turned back.
"Thank you, for standing against the dragon, and for not getting killed. But try not to get injured again, please. Healing you has left me quite spent."
Avari followed, but troubled thoughts skipped across her mind like a stone upon calm water. Their odds of getting through the rest of this debacle alive, much less without further injuries, were as thin as the bloody tatters of her shirt.
The Sisters Darkmist knelt as the mediator's rage slashed at them like a hail of razors. That their brother had actually confronted the mediator without their knowledge shook their confidence badly. He had revealed their treachery against the council, and they were paying the price.
"But what enrages me most," the mediator seethed, fists clenching until her knuckles blanched, "is that you deceived the council! You have threatened all that the Dark Five have striven to build here. What anarchy would result if the clans were to operate for their own gain? I will tell you what! The same pointless squabbles that kept us groveling in suppression before the Great Enlightenment! That is the whole reason for the council, to give purpose to our strength! To make us the rulers of the entire world! Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mistress Mediator!" they both answered.
"I wonder if you truly do," the mediator growled. "But, I think you might if your council seats were revoked."
"Mistress, you can't—" Lysethra blurted.
"I can, and I will, Lysethra!" she shouted directly into the elder sister's face before whirling away in disgust. Then she stopped, and turned back pensively. "Unless..."
Here it comes, Calmarel thought, seething in anger.
"Your brother has gone rogue, that much is clear. What his plans are, I don't know, an
d don't particularly care to know. But what I cannot allow is for his actions to interfere with our plans. Secrecy is crucial for our success. Any aggression against the surface world now will put our enemy on guard. You must ensure that his actions do not alert the surface world to our endeavors. The methods by which you achieve this, I leave to you, but stop him you must! Is this understood?"
"Yes, Mistress Mediator!" the two said in unison.
"Good. If you are successful, I will consider preserving your council seats." She turned her back on them in insult. "If you fail, do not return to Xerro Kensho. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Mistress Mediator," they answered, their minds staggering at the thought of not only deposition from the council, but exile as well. This was simply too much to consider.
"Excellent," the mediator said with a thin smile. "Now leave me. Your selfish idiocy has given me a headache."
Their boots clattered down the wet stones as Avari and Shay traded caution for speed. Zellohar was many days ride to the south, and they knew time was of the essence. What they did not know, and what neither was prepared for, was the greeting they received when they burst into the clearing.
"Miss Avari! Look out! The—" Hufferrrerrr's words were cut short as an assassin leapt behind him, whipping a garrote around his neck. The other two dashed into hiding: one behind the tree near the horses, the other behind some bushes.
Avari and Shay stood shoulder to shoulder, Gaulengil glimmering in the sunlight as rainbow spheres of energy danced about Shay's hands, ready to fly wherever he directed.
"Lose the spell, elf-with-a-beard, or your friend gets a new smile!" the assassin threatened from astride Hufferrrerrr's back.
"No bargain, Shadowknife," Shay spat. "You would just kill him anyway. Release his bonds and I will drop my spell."
"Very well, I—"
A rustle from the bushes cut through the conversation, but Avari had been watching. Gaulengil flashed, and the blackened shuriken clanged against the flat of the gleaming blade. Avari seethed with anger at the attack, but knew a mad rush would only serve the assassins' purpose.
"HOLD!" she bellowed, realizing she still had one card to play. "This is what you're after!" She dug into her pocket and pulled out the enchanted diamond, thrusting it aloft for them to see.
"It is indeed what we are after." From the corner of her eye she saw the assassin near the horses step into the open. "Give the stone to me and we will release your friend."
"Bring your other man into the open first!" she growled.
"Very well," the leader agreed. He called to his kinsman in his own language and the assassin stepped out, another throwing star in his left hand, a long black whip trailing from his right.
"Now, release our friend!" Avari demanded, pressing her luck, hopefully not too far. "Or my mage friend will direct his spell to the gem, and we all perish!"
"The gem first," the leader insisted, his empty palm stretched out. "Throw it to me and we will release your friend."
"Not a chance! I—"
"It is all right, Avari," Shay cut in. "I trust them in this."
Avari gaped at Shay. What in the Nine Hells is he talking about? she thought. Trust Shadowknives? What does he—
"Go ahead, you big behemoth!" the half-elf ordered. "Throw it to him; it is our only hope of freeing our helpless friend."
His words clicked in Avari’s mind. A quick glance confirmed her suspicion: mere steps behind the assassin stood Behemoth, ears flat, forelegs trembling with restrained fury. And as for Hufferrrerrr; the muscles rippling across broad chest showed that he was about as helpless as a cornered wolverine.
"Very well," she agreed, "if you think they're trustworthy." She looked warily at the leader. "I'll throw the gem to you, and he'll cut the bonds on my friend, agreed?"
"Of course." His tone was so smooth, she almost believed him... almost.
"Fine," she said as she hefted the gem. "Ready?"
"Yes, of course."
"Here!"
The jewel arced toward the assassin and, as expected, all three watched it with greed in their eyes. But as the gem reached the apex of its arc, Shay and Avari exploded into action.
"BO, KILL!" Avari screamed as she dove into a roll. Another shuriken glanced off of Gaulengil's crosspiece as she recovered and charged the assassin with the whip.
Three rainbow spheres fled Shay's hand and shot toward Hufferrrerrr. They did not meet flesh, however, but parted the ropes that bound his hands and hind legs. While the assassin tried to work his garrote through the thick fur around the leotaur's neck, Hufferrrerrr twisted and rolled atop his captor. Screams and bits of shredded assassin filled the air.
The leader snatched the gem out of the air, but as his arm cocked back to send a dart flying at Shay, the first of Bo's hooves caught him squarely atop the left shoulder, shattering bone and cleaving flesh like a sword stroke. The assassin was knocked flat by the blow, and as he tried to roll away, another hoof smashed through his ribs. The hooves pounded on, smashing the assassin's upraised arms and silencing his shrill screams.
Avari, meanwhile, was fending off flying shuriken and the lashing whip of the last assassin. She ducked and darted, snapping Gaulengil about as if it were an extension of her arm. In a lucky twist, the blade slashed the assassin's left forearm.
Undaunted, he feinted to the left, whirling the writhing whip over his head to keep her at bay. Then, as she closed to attack, a quick jerk snapped it around her arm.
Avari yelped as the hooked barbs bit into her skin. A yank drove the sharp thorns deep into her flesh. She wrapped the leather about her hand for a better grip, and jerked hard, pulling the assassin within Gaulengil's reach. The assassin screamed as razor-edged steel slashed through his wrist. His severed hand fell to the ground, still clutching the whip as he toppled backward.
"You are dead, warrior bitch!" he shrieked, glaring at her with raw hatred. "My poison in your veins! You are dead!"
Gaulengil's tip touched the assassin's chest, his words not really registering in her suddenly foggy mind. She was preparing to end his whining when her strength failed and she staggered. The assassin's words finally struck home.
Poison? She faltered again as toxic fingers spread through her, tightening their grip. Avari stared at the stinging cuts on her wrist, remembering DoHeney's tales of the attack at the Kindly Ki-rin. She looked from her bleeding arm to the wounded man struggling to escape from beneath Gaulengil's tip.
"Not yet," she seethed. "If I'm going to die, then you'll die first." A cramp gripped her chest, and she leaned forward.
The assassin gasped as two feet of steel slipped through him, pinning him to the ground. Avari drew a ragged breath, her weight bearing down on the sword. Slowly they neared one another, until the sword's crosspiece met the assassin's chest. Avari heaved another rattling breath, then drew the assassin's dying face to within inches of her own.
"I'll kill you again in the Hells," she hissed as his eyes rolled back. Another cramp stabbed her, and a painful tingle spread up her arm. Avari’s hand spasmed and her sword slipped from her grasp. She rolled off the pinned assassin and lay on the cool snow, concentrating on every labored breath.
I’m dying, she thought, surprised that the notion didn’t frighten her. She did, however, regret that she was alone. At that moment, Shay’s face hove into view, and Avari smiled.
"I got... scratched," she said, showing him the seemingly insignificant wounds on her wrist. "I'm sorry... Shay... I..."
"No, Avari. Don't try to speak." The priest withdrew the holy balance of Tem from beneath his cloak and pressed the cool silver to her forehead. He spoke quietly and calmly, but Avari heard the despair in his voice—so unlike him—and felt the trembling in his hand. "There may not have been enough poison to kill. Just relax and breathe. Hufferrrerrr, start a fire, quickly! And bring water to wash these wounds."
"Shay... I..." she gasped, shivering as the poison slowed her heart to the faintest flutter. "C-cold... Shay
..."
"Hush, Avari. It will be all right," he said in a soothing tone as he cinched a leather thong tight above her elbow. All went dark as her eyes involuntarily closed, but she roused as Hufferrrerrr scoured her wounds with a dampened cloth.
"Shay!" Avari said, more strongly. She smiled at him as her vision dimmed, reaching a hand up to his face. Since she had first met him, he had been caring for her and keeping her out of trouble, but there was no hope this time. "Don't blame yourself, Shay... Such is the... death of... a warrior... my friend."
As Avari's smile faded and her hand fell away, Shay felt his heart wrench within his chest. Even as her eyes stared deep into his soul, their bright gleam dulled. Shay stared back, willing her to blink, to cry; anything but that blank gaze. He felt at her neck and detected the barest flutter of pulse, but could only watch helplessly as she lay dying.
CHAPTER 30
Anxiety swirled around the sisters Darkmist in a near-palpable haze as the mediator's words tore at the formerly inviolate fabric of their confidence. Thoughts of exile far outweighed the threat of losing their vaunted council seats. Life would be brief for two excommunicated priestesses of the Dark Gods, for they knew deep in their dark souls that their deities were greatly displeased by their betrayal of the mediator. If exiled, their gods-granted powers would undoubtedly be stripped away.
As the distance from the council chambers increased, their trepidation transformed into rage, but they remained silent. Only when they reached Castle Darkmist was their anger vented.
"How dare that bloated excuse for a whore-spawned egg sac threaten to exile us!" Lysethra kicked a delicately wrought chair into the hearth, damaging both. "And not for crimes against the council, but to coerce us into doing her dirty work!"
"And to force us against a member of our own family!" Calmarel seethed, their own plans to betray their brother conveniently forgotten. "Such would be grounds for her elimination, if I thought the council would back us."
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