The masked witches botg-4

by Richard Lee Byers

  It s reasonable to assume there are some left, Cera said. Lycanthropy is a kind of sickness, after all. It spreads.

  And such a creature has a divided nature, Jhesrhi said. When it s a wolf, it wants what a beast wants. But when it walks on two legs, it wants to live like a human.

  Well, maybe, Vandar said. But it s still a shameful thing to lie to innocent people.

  Aoth shook his head. It s a miracle all you innocent Rashemi have held back the legions as long as you have, he said.

  I see them, said Jet, speaking mind to mind.

  Them? Aoth replied.

  Look through my eyes, the familiar said.

  Aoth did so. As though peering down from high above, he spotted a man, a woman, and a half-grown girl who was almost certainly their daughter, trudging through the snow.

  And they haven t spotted you? Aoth asked.

  Are they acting like they ve spotted me? the griffon replied. They re too busy glancing back over their shoulders at the village to check the sky.

  Aoth redirected his attention to his actual surroundings. Vandar and Huldra seemed perplexed by his momentary abstraction, but Cera and Jhesrhi were merely curious. The sunlady and wizard had seen him in psychic communication with his familiar before.

  That was the answer to your objections, he said.

  The plan worked. We have a whole little werewolf family fleeing the village.

  Have they already changed form? Huldra asked. The hint of forlorn hope in her tone reminded Aoth that the locals were her flock and her friends.

  Not yet, he said, speaking as gently as he could.

  But you just told the news that werewolves are roaming the countryside slaughtering people by the score, yet a mother, father, and a child are headed for the forest with sunset on its way. There really isn t any doubt.

  The hathran took a breath and squared her shoulders. I suppose not, she said. What now?

  You go calm the village down, Aoth replied.

  Jet will keep the werewolves in sight, and my bond with him will lead the rest of us right to them.

  Some people had the knack of creeping through a benighted forest, and some people didn t. Up ahead, Cera was doing her best, and her best was passable. But she suddenly tripped over a gnarled root, pitched forward, and nearly sprawled on her face before she caught herself. She growled a vulgar word under her breath.

  Jhesrhi realized she d smiled. It couldn t really be the first time since Tchazzar s death, but it felt like it, and she decided that Aoth truly had done her a kindness by bringing her to Rashemen. Perhaps, after all the disappointments of Chessenta, it was exactly what she had needed.

  At the head of the procession, Aoth raised his spear to signal a halt, then waved for everyone to gather close.

  Jet says they re just ahead, he whispered. We ll circle around and come in from the west, so we re downwind of them. Remember we re here to spy, at least at first. He fixed his luminous blue eyes on Vandar. No one is to attack unless I do, and I don t want to hear any nonsense about the spirits taking the matter out of your hands.

  Vandar glowered back. It happened as I said, he replied.

  If we do fight, we want prisoners, Aoth continued, and I also don t want to hear how somebody s crazy bloodlust prevented that.

  I don t take orders from you, Thayan, said Vandar. We agreed to be partners, not

  Cera put her hand on the Rashemi s forearm. Please, she said. We decided on our strategy on the way out here. You didn t object to it then. Surely you d agree that now is not the time to argue.

  Vandar s mouth tightened, but apparently he couldn t quite find it in himself to spit poison at a pretty, soft-spoken priestess even if she wasn t quite a hathran. Fine, he said, and then looked at Jhesrhi. You were going to cast some enchantments?

  Yes, she said, and began to work spells of concealment, drawing serpentine figures on the air with the head of her staff.

  When she had finished, the companions prowled onward. Suddenly, the occasional howling they d heard since entering the forest sounded much closer and louder than before. Aoth hesitated for a heartbeat before continuing forward. Evidently Jet had assured him that the werewolves weren t reacting to the interlopers approach.

  Still, the war mage motioned for everyone to stay low, and he took cover behind the ridged trunk of a shadowtop tree. Jhesrhi crouched behind an alder and peered forward. Her eyes widened.

  There were nine lycanthropes in the little clear space before her. They had already transformed, some to true wolf form and some to a bipedal shape midway between lupine and human, to howl. But they were changing back, their muzzles retracting into their heads, and their fur melting away. It seemed like an odd thing for them to do until she realized they likely found it easier to discuss certain matters with human tongues.

  Naked like the rest of her companions, a female werewolf with a mournful, jowly face and a pudgy belly peered into the trees. For an instant, she seemed to look right at Jhesrhi but evidently didn t see her.

  Where is he? the female shapeshifter said.

  He must hear us. I heard the call all the way from Vinvel.

  And the rest of you didn t destroy Vinvel, said a fellow with bushy eyebrows. He hadn t quite changed all the way back to human. His arms and upper torso were still furry.

  The jowly female sighed. No, she said, with the air of someone responding to the same stupid remark or question for the dozenth time. Of course not.

  But why would Huldra lie? asked the man.

  I don t know! the female replied.

  We re careful. Even when the craving s strong, we only attack people who are off by themselves, and we never leave a body where anyone can find it. I don t understand why she s thinking about werewolves at all.

  It s the others, said a lycanthrope with an eagle tattooed on his chest a member of Borilak s lodge, evidently. They got into trouble somehow, and now it s coming back on us. They never should have gone.

  The sole child in the pack a gawky girl who must be the one from the family whom Huldra had scared into running gasped and shrank closer to the rather pretty woman beside her. They re coming, whined the child, pointing in Jhesrhi s general direction. I feel them looking at me.

  As Jhesrhi peered around behind her, she heard the man with the bushy eyebrows say, It s all right, Sweetheart. They re our friends. But he himself didn t sound entirely convinced, and as soon as Jhesrhi caught a glimpse of the four creatures stalking out of the trees, she understood why.

  The newcomers in black mail and leather were as tall and as massively built as ogres. A single eye glared from each square, flat-nosed face; the pupil smoldered like a hot coal.

  Jhesrhi and her comrades had taken cover to keep the werewolves from spotting them. Only her magic could shield them from creatures coming from the opposite direction. She held her breath, and her heart beat faster, until the cyclopes stalked on by.

  The lycanthropes bowed awkwardly. Then a cyclops with an air of authority about him growled, What s so urgent that it couldn t wait four more nights?

  There s trouble, said the man with the bushy eyebrows. He d moved to stand with his wife and daughter.

  When he had finished pouring out the story, the cyclops leader studied him for a moment. The creature shifted his grip on the haft of his battle-axe and said, You, the bitch, and your whelp don t have a brain among the three of you, do you?

  The father blinked. I what do you mean? he said.

  If this Huldra of yours really knew a prayer to reveal your true natures, would she warn you and give you a chance to flee? the cyclops said. It was a bluff to flush you out. To flush out the whole pack, perhaps. If so, it worked brilliantly, since your second idiot impulse was to howl for everyone to come running. I wouldn t be surprised if someone s checking to see who s absent from each of your villages tonight.

  But that s not fair! said a fellow who was thin and narrowshouldered, for a Rashemi, with pale puckered scars on his right thigh. Jhesrhi wondered if they we
re the marks of the attack that had cursed him.

  The cyclops sneered, exposing stained, jagged fangs. Really, Faurmar? he said. That s your opinion on the subject? How useful. Thank you.

  What will become of us? the werewolf mother asked. What can we do?

  Well, the one-eyed giant said, fortunately, it s not like you weren t about to move on anyway. The bravest among you already volunteered to help the durthans, and I always meant to enlist the rest of you whenever I found the patience to coax you. You ll come below with me tonight, and I ll find things for you to do.

  The girl let out a little whimpering cry.

  The cyclops glowered at the mother and father. Shut her up before I decide she s too young and timid to be useful, he said. Trust me, you don t want that.

  The female werewolf with the sad, drooping face squared her shoulders and said, Don t you threaten them. Don t you threaten any of us. It s your fault if we lose our kin and our homes. Because you cursed the first of us, didn t you?

  No, the cyclops said, of course not. There s a lot of old, wild magic festering in these woods, and you simply ran afoul of some of it. If you ingrates will recall, I m the benefactor who found you and taught you how to survive. No, to thrive, for thrive you certainly did. In fact, you gloried in your condition. But now, just because things have gotten a little difficult largely because of your own stupidity you refer to it as an affliction? Be careful lest you offend the Black-Blooded Pard and all the princes of the night.

  All right, the jowly woman said. If I spoke foolishly, I m sorry. But still, we never said we wanted to be part of some great scheme. If we did, we would have gone along with the dead witches like our packmates.

  Maybe I m the fool, the cyclops said.

  I assumed you d all want lives of pleasure and ease. I thought you d want to live openly and hunt humans whenever you felt like it. But if I was wrong, then drop to all fours and live out your days here in the wild as beasts and nothing more. Because, with your homes lost, I don t see that you have a third choice.

  The werewolves exchanged looks. The sad-faced female said,

  We ll go with you, Choschax. But we d better get the rewards you promise.

  Choschax leered. I thought you might see reason, he said. And no one needs to look so hangdog about it, either. You ll think back on this as one of the finest moments of your life. Now change, and we ll be on our way.

  As the werewolves began to shapeshift, Jhesrhi reflected that she and her comrades had learned a little that was new, but nowhere near enough. Expecting that he would either want to shadow the enemy or attack and take prisoners, she looked to Aoth for a signal.

  But he surprised her. With a patting motion, he indicated that she, Cera, and Vandar should hold their positions. Then he stood up and stepped out from behind the shadowtop. He recited a counterspell, slashing his hand through a zigzag figure, and the concealing enchantments she d cast on him fell away with a gleam like water cascading down his body. And much as Jhesrhi trusted both Aoth s judgment and his prowess, she winced to see him attempt such a daring ploy.

  The cyclopes had their backs to him, so it was the werewolves who saw him first. The shaggy-browed father straightened back up into near-humanity to yell, That s one of them! He was with Huldra! The other lycanthropes rushed to complete their transformations into wolves or wolf-people. They grunted and snarled in pain, and bones ground and cracked beneath their fur. The giants lurched around and came on guard.

  Easy! said Aoth, keeping his spear in a vertical, nonthreatening position. I only want to talk.

  Hmm, replied Choschax. He raised a hand, and his underlings held off attacking. Studying the intruder, he cocked his head one way and then the other, as if that would help his single eye see more clearly.

  Thayan? he asked at last.

  Aoth grinned. What gave it away? he replied.

  Where are your companions? the cyclops asked.

  Back in the village performing the promised charade, Aoth said. I didn t want you to jump to the conclusion that I was a threat and react accordingly, and plainly, the one of me is no match for the whole gang of you.

  I don t believe you, said Choschax.

  Aoth shrugged. In that case, have the wolves sniff around, he replied.

  The cyclops sneered. I believe I ll do exactly that, he said as he raised his hand and waved it in a go-forward gesture. With their transformations complete, sniffing audibly, the shapeshifters prowled out of the little clearing and into the trees.

  Damn you, Aoth! Jhesrhi thought. Even up close, her magic might baffle a lupine s eyes. But its nose? Its ears? Whispering, she rattled off words of power to reinforce her original spells, hoping they would be good enough.

  Meanwhile, Aoth said, Can we start talking while the wolves are making their check?

  You can start by explaining yourself, Choschax replied. Did you follow them here to betray Huldra?

  Huldra s beyond betrayal, Aoth replied.

  She s rotting in an unmarked grave several miles to the north.

  Then the hathran who came to Yivel was an impostor, said the cyclops.

  Right you are, said Aoth. Masked priestesses can be convenient.

  The cyclops hesitated as though unsure what to ask next. Then what s your game? he eventually asked.

  Oh, pretty much what it seemed, replied Aoth.

  To bluff the werewolves into revealing themselves. But just for a talk, not to kill them.

  Wandering back and forth, one of the two-legged werewolves came prowling straight at Cera. With the utmost care, fighting the urge to hurry, she eased herself out of the creature s path.

  The lycanthrope stopped in the same spot she d just vacated, a single step away from the place where she was crouching now. It pivoted on the spot, sniffing, then dropped to all fours to put its nose right next to the ground. After that, it raised its head and cast about some more.

  Whispering, Jhesrhi repeated the charm of concealment. Cera s lips moved in silent prayer.

  Jhesrhi wasn t the target of the sunlady s magic. But perhaps because she was so intent on the creature that was, she felt a bit of the effect even so. Time stretched. A single moment lasted twenty heartbeats.

  The wolf-man apparently succumbed to the illusion completely. Seemingly convinced that it had searched for a sufficient time, it sprang to its clawed, gray-furred feet and stalked on.

  Cera sighed a long sigh, and Jhesrhi felt some of the tension quiver out of her muscles. She looked around and saw that none of the other werewolves appeared on the verge of penetrating anybody s veil of invisibility. Remaining vigilant, she tried to pick up the thread of Aoth s and Choschax s conversation. is it, exactly? asked Aoth.

  The cyclops grinned. You seem like a clever fellow, he said. What do you think it is?

  I think some durthans survived the Witch War, Aoth replied. Now they re reanimating their fallen sisters, and reaching out to their old allies among the dark fey and such like you for another run at the hathrans and the lodges.

  And what if they are? Choschax asked.

  Then I offer my personal compliments, and those of Thay, on the harm you folk have done to the Wychlaran and their followers, Aoth replied. But I also have to say that your actions have not truly weakened them, and if that s all you can manage, a second Witch War will end just like the first. But it doesn t have to.

  The cyclops snorted. How so? he asked.

  You folk want to get rid of the old order, and so does Thay, said Aoth. Working separately, we ve failed to accomplish that goal. But by joining forces, we can succeed.

  But then what happens? asked the cyclops.

  The durthans intend to rule the humans of this land, and, the way I hear it, so does Szass Tam.

  I admit, said Aoth, there was a time when he did. But he s come to recognize that no expansion is possible while Thay s enemies surround us on every side. But if Rashemen becomes an ally, it changes the strategic picture considerably. Working together, we could conquer Thesk an
d Aglarond, too, and divvy them up between us.

  Choschax grunted. And you have the authority to speak on Szass Tam s behalf and negotiate this grand alliance? the cyclops asked.

  Aoth grinned. Abyss, no, he said. I m what I appear to be. An agent charged with the task of investigating accounts of strange occurrences in Rashemen. But I at least have the authority to begin such a negotiation. If I report that the durthans have returned and are willing to discuss an alliance, you ll have a tharchion, zulkir, or someone similar sneaking north for a parley soon enough. So my question is this: Who can tell me whether such an envoy would be welcome? No offense, but I doubt it s you.

  No, Choschax said, stepping closer, it isn t. But I can take you to them, and I He thrust his axe into Aoth s face.

  The cyclops struck with the blunt top surface of the blade, and it clanked into the rim of the war mage s open-faced helmet. Otherwise, the blow likely would have dashed Aoth s brains out instead of simply knocking him down to sprawl motionless in the snow.

  Jhesrhi had believed the conversation was going well, and so Choschax s sudden violence caught her by surprise, too. Fortunately, she d experienced enough battles to shake off surprise quickly. She sprang up, stepped out into the open, discarded her veil of concealment with a word, and cloaked herself in fire to deter her foes from coming close to her.

  Nor did they. But Choschax and two of the other cyclopes stared at her, and pain stabbed into her eyes and through her chest. She fell down with her heart pounding out a spastic, stuttering beat. It felt like it was tearing itself apart.

  She struggled to recite a charm of protection, but it wasn t easy when she couldn t catch her breath. A cyclops warrior sneered as though to mock her desperate efforts.

  Suddenly Jet plunged earthward in a rain of broken twigs. The branches overhead were thick enough that he d no doubt scraped and battered himself in his precipitous descent, but maybe he felt desperate, too.

  The griffon slammed down on top of the cyclops who d sneered at Jhesrhi. As big and as strong as the giant was, Jet s momentum smashed him to the ground, although it didn t finish him. The cyclops strained to drag himself out from underneath his assailant and to shift his grip on his spear until he could use it to stab at close quarters. Meanwhile, Jet raked at him in an effort to tear away armor and reach the flesh beneath. His claws rasped metal.