Szass Tam hoped Malark would be all right. It was pleasant having a confidant again. At one time, Dmitra had played that part, but he hadn't been able to confide his grandest scheme to her. She wouldn't have reacted well, and he'd assumed that no one ever could. He didn't believe in fate, but even so, it almost seemed like destiny had brought a former monk of the Long Death into his orbit.
But Malark had served his purpose. He didn't actually matter anymore. Szass Tam had far more urgent matters to concern him, and it was time to address them. He summoned one of his favorite staves and raised it over his head.
"What's this?" Brightwing asked. Aoth looked where she was facing, then cried out in shock.
A prodigious mass of fog spilled down the cliffs like a slow waterfall. Anguished faces appeared-stretched, twisted, and dissolved amid the vapor. A chorus of faint voices, some moaning, some gibbering, others laughing, emanated from it.
It was some form of undead, though it was far more gigantic than any creation of necromancy Aoth had ever seen. But it wasn't the size of it that dismayed him. It was the enormous might and insatiable hunger his fire-touched eyes saw burning inside it. "We're in trouble," he said.
Brightwing laughed. "No! Look! It's all right."
The fog hung over the crags like a curtain, and where the swirling vapor intersected the road, insubstantial tentacles writhed from the central mass to snatch for the orcs and ghouls scrambling on the slopes. The creatures they engulfed convulsed and dissolved into nothingness.
If the mist-thing simply continued attacking Szass Tam's army, all would be well. But then, though it continued to reach for the occasional luckless northerner like a man plucking berries from a bush, it floated lower.
It splashed at the foot of the crags and drifted outward. Its path carried it across the clump of northerners who'd managed to reach the bottom and keep themselves alive once they got there, but straight at the southern army as well. Panicking, some of the council's legionnaires threw down their weapons and turned to flee.
"Griffon riders!" Aoth bellowed. "Kill it!" He and Brightwing dived at the fog-thing. He pointed his spear and hurled a burst of flame into the heart of it. His men shot arrows.
The entity responded by snatching for them with lengths of its vaporous body. It hadn't reached nearly so far before, and the attack caught Aoth by surprise. A frigid column of shadowy, babbling faces engulfed him.
His thoughts shattered into confusion. He suddenly knew without questioning that his psyche and flesh were about to crumble, and then his attacker would absorb the residue.
Screaming, Brightwing lashed her wings and carried them free of the fog. Gasping, peering around, Aoth saw that other griffon riders hadn't been as lucky. Mired in writhing pillars of murk, they and their mounts disappeared. Meanwhile, as far as he could tell, their assault hadn't injured the mist-entity in the slightest.
It flowed toward the mass of the southern army, devouring men and the conjurors' demonic warriors as it went. Only zombies, skeletons, and golems-mindless things-endured its touch with impunity.
Malark sent the zombie bat swooping low over the southern army. It was a reckless thing to do, but no arrows or thunderbolts came flying up to strike him or his steed. The enemy was too busy fighting the force from the Keep of Sorrows and goggling at the fog-thing seething toward them from the foot of the cliff.
Malark spied Dmitra conferring with several illusionists, the lot of them amid a contingent of bodyguards. It was too bad her minions hadn't fled and left her unattended, but he'd cope.
The bat furled its wings and plunged to earth in front of the zulkir and her entourage. Someone cried out, and guards hefted javelins.
Malark swung himself down from his mount. "Your Omnipotence." He bowed.
Dmitra shook her head. "I wondered if you were insane to betray me. Now I know you must be, to do so and then return."
Malark smiled. "I'm sure it looks that way. You're an archmage, and you and your servants have me outnumbered. Even worse, Szass Tam's creation is advancing on our location. If I don't finish my business and get away quickly, it will eat me as readily as it would you."
"What is your business?" Dmitra asked.
"Knowing me for as long as you have, I thought you might have guessed already."
"I have an idea. Did you come to keep me from trying to destroy the creature?"
"Not exactly."
"To switch sides again?"
"No, I'm where I belong. But you, Mistress, were always generous to me in your fashion. I've always liked you. I want to repay your kindness by giving you a better death then you'd suffer with your body and mind breaking apart in the fog-thing's grip. In particular, I hope to spare you the ugliness of undeath, either as one small part of that abomination yonder or as a lich under Szass Tam's control."
Dmitra laughed a little puff of a laugh. "It sounds as if you're challenging me to a duel."
"You could put it that way."
"But that implies some sort of equality where none exists. I'm a zulkir of Thay, and you're a treacherous worm. Kill him!"
Legionnaires threw their javelins. Malark sidestepped some and batted one away with his forearm. He waved the giant bat forward.
The zombie was clumsy crawling on the ground. But its sheer bulk, gnashing fangs, and long flailing wings made it formidable. It bobbed its head and bit the top of a warrior's skull off, and Malark dashed forward.
A soldier tried to thrust a broadsword into his belly. He twisted out of the way, caught his opponent's outstretched arm, and spun him around to slam into one of his comrades. Tangled together, they fell with a clash of armor. One of the lesser illusionists rattled off rhyming words of power, and Malark chopped her across the throat before she could finish. Another stride brought him within striking distance of Dmitra.
She gave him a radiant smile.
He felt himself falling, suffered a pang of alarm, and then his eyes flew open. He realized he'd dreamed of plummeting and then awakened.
Disoriented, he looked around. He and Dmitra were sitting on the roof of a tower in her palace in Eltabbar. A carafe held red wine to fill the golden goblets, trays offered lobster, oysters, beef skewers, grape leaves, figs, sweetmeats, and other delicacies, and a scarlet awning provided shade in the midst of amber sunlight. Slaves hovered at a discreet distance.
Beyond the red marble balustrade and the walls of the castle, the city murmured, its voice arising from teeming streets and bustling markets. To the west, south, and east were green fields, and to the north, Lake Thaylambar, reflecting the clear blue of the sky. Sailboats and galleys dotted the surface.
It occurred to Malark that the vista was as lovely as any he'd seen in all his centuries of protracted life. Then, belatedly, he realized Dmitra was speaking to him. He resolved to pay attention and catch the sense of whatever she was saying, but she reached the end too quickly and then watched him, awaiting his response. He tried to think of something to say, but he was still muddled, and nothing came.
Dmitra laughed. "I thought you dozed off."
"I humbly beg your forgiveness."
"No need. You went without sleep for a tenday to find out what Nevron and his followers are up to. You can go to bed if you like."
He took stock of himself and decided he didn't need to. He didn't feel exhausted so much as bewildered. He remembered spending days without sleep to spy on the Order of Conjuration, but had the crazy sense that it had happened years ago. "Thank you, Your Omnipotence, but I'm all right."
She cocked her head. " 'Your Omnipotence'? Have you promoted me to zulkir? I fear Mythrellan won't approve."
He blinked. "Didn't Mythrellan die during the war?"
"What war?"
"The one the rest of you zulkirs are waging against Szass Tam." The one that had come close to transforming Thay into a desert, although no one could have told it from looking out over Eltabbar on such a warm, clear summer afternoon.
Dmitra shook her head. "I think you must h
ave dreamed a very strange and vivid dream. I, alas, am simply a tharchion. I give my allegiance to Szass Tam, and since you serve me, so do you. There isn't any war among the zulkirs unless you count the usual endless politicking and intrigue to steer the realm in one direction or another."
"I… all right."
"I insist you go and rest. I'll have someone escort you." She crooked a finger, and two slaves came scurrying.
He felt a twinge of alarm, but knew that was senseless. The men were just thralls, cowed and subservient. They had no particular reason to hurt him and wouldn't dare to try even if they did. Nor did they possess the weapons or martial skills they'd need to have any hope of succeeding.
He stood and suffered them to close in around him. Dmitra smiled at him from her couch.
Something about her smile was ever so slightly wrong. Perhaps it held a hint of malice or triumph. Whatever it was, it reminded him she was an illusionist, and prompted him to exert his will to try to see clearly.
The world darkened abruptly as the semblance of day she'd created in his mind gave way to the reality of night. The men he'd mistaken for slaves were legionnaires about to plunge their swords into his body.
He thrust his stiffened fingers into their throats, one hand for each, and lunged, bulling his way between them. Dmitra was standing on the other side. Her eyes widened in dismay.
Though he didn't see a telltale glimmer or anything comparable, he had no doubt she had defensive enchantments in place. He bellowed to focus every iota of his strength and spirit, and punched at her heart.
He felt ribs break. The shards had nowhere to go but into the pulsing organ behind them, and she fell backward.
It was a perfect death, for she'd perished wielding the art and guile that defined her. Malark felt the mix of exultation and envy that transported him on such rare occasions.
But he had no time for contemplation. He had other foes to fight. He pounced, grabbed the ruby amulet dangling on the Red Wizard's chest, and gave it a jerk that snapped the illusionist's neck.
Bareris had exhausted his bardic powers, and he had a single arrow left. Seeking an appropriate target, he peered at the ground.
The fog-entity wasn't a logical choice. Even magic didn't seem to hurt it, although given its amorphous nature, it was difficult to be sure. If anyone had wounded it, the steady growth it experienced as it absorbed victim after victim likely offset the damage.
He spied an orc nocking an arrow. Judging from its position on the battlefield, it had come from the Keep of Sorrows. Like the rest of its comrades, it was keeping its distance from the fog-thing. But as the southern army fell back before the entity and its formations disintegrated, the orc and its fellows were shooting foes who blundered within easy reach of their weapons.
Bareris let his own arrow fly before the orc finished aiming. The missile punched into the warrior's neck just above its shoulder, and it staggered. It lost its grip on its bowstring, and its shaft flew wild.
Another orc shouted and pointed, and arrows hurtled up from the ground. Winddancer raised one wing, dipped the other, veered, and dodged the missiles. But one came close enough to tear a feather from the griffon's wing, and Bareris realized his mount was as weary as he was.
It's time to go, he thought, but couldn't make himself give Winddancer the appropriate command. Not yet. He wouldn't flee until he was certain the situation was as bleak as it seemed. He made the griffon climb for a better view of the battleground.
Large as an army itself, the cloud of gibbering, keening faces extruded arms that dissolved one southerner after another, although Bareris wasn't certain why it bothered. All it really needed to do was flow forward and engulf the council's warriors to obliterate them. The dread warriors inside it swung their axes and jabbed with their spears, dispatching anyone lucky or hardy enough to survive the vapor's touch.
Until the fog-thing rippled, churned, and contracted in on itself, uncovering the marching corpses and skeletons. It shrank to a writhing point, then vanished entirely.
Bareris shook his head in amazement. If the thing was gone, perhaps that meant the southern army might yet prevail.
But no. When he studied the field, the last dogged trace of hope withered inside him.
The remnants of the southern army were too few, too disorganized, and too demoralized. They only wanted to run away. Whereas Szass Tam had succeeded in bringing enormous numbers of undead down from the top of the plateau. They and their comrades from the Keep of Sorrows had arranged themselves in well-defined battle lines and in the proper positions to assail their foes from three sides at once.
Aoth had been right to mistrust Bane. The council had lost the battle, and its agents had no choice but to run until the sun rose to slow pursuit. Only those possessed of horses or capable of flight were likely to last that long.
Bareris was grateful that Tammith could fly. Praying she still survived, and that she could somehow find him before dawn, he turned Winddancer south.
CHAPTER TEN
16 Eleint-4 Marpenoth, the Year of Blue Fire
Samas Kul impaled a link of venison sausage on his knife, lifted it, and smelled its spicy aroma. His stomach squirmed, and he discovered that even though he hadn't eaten since lunch, and it was now mid-afternoon, he wasn't hungry. The realization startled him, as if he'd looked down at his hands and discovered they'd turned green.
He supposed that last night's debacle was responsible for his loss of appetite. Most of all, the horrible moment when he'd ventured to the front of the battle formation to confront the cloud-thing.
He hadn't wanted to, but he'd judged that only a zulkir could destroy the thing. Because plainly, none of the lesser Red Wizards, nor Burning Braziers hurling gout after gout of fire, were having any luck against it.
So he raised his power and attempted to turn the entity into an enormous lump of stone. But it didn't transform. Rather, it reached out and caught him in a dark, swirling extension of itself, and a terrifying intimation of dissolution ripped through his body and mind alike. He barely managed to cling to sufficient lucidity to activate the magic of the tattoo that whisked him to the Central Citadel.
Looking older than usual, and for once, shaken rather than ill-tempered, Lallara had appeared shortly thereafter, and then other Red Wizards capable of translating themselves across long distances. Samas realized that if they too were forsaking the field, the battle was surely lost, not that he'd had much doubt of it before.
Scowling, Nevron marched into the council chamber and took his seat at the table. He was the last to arrive at a conclave that, the zulkirs had decided, only they would attend, and not all of them at that. Like Yaphyll's, Dmitra Flass's chair was empty. No one knew what had become of her, only that she hadn't transported herself back to Bezantur with the rest of her peers.
"Let's get to it," Nevron growled. "I summoned the high priest of Bane this morning. I thought he might care to explain yesterday to me. The son of a dog sent his regrets. He claims to be ill."
Lauzoril's thin lips twitched into a grim and fleeting smile. "That sounds plausible. Living as he does in a great temple, where would he possibly find a healer?"
"What does this mean?" Samas asked.
"Either that he fears to face my displeasure," Nevron said, "or that he imagines he can flout my commands without consequences."
"When your devils drag him forth screaming," Lallara said, "you can ask him which it is."
"I hope that day will come," Nevron said, "but for now we have graver matters to address. What was that new creation Szass Tam sent against us?"
Zola Sethrakt cleared her throat. The slight stirring made her white and black jewelry clink. "My assistants and I," she said, "have been reading the grimoires and journals the griffon riders took from the sanctuary of the creature called Xingax. In one passage, he describes such an entity, although it doesn't seem that he had any intent of creating one himself. He thought the process would be difficult, and that it might prove even ha
rder to control the thing."
"But obviously," Lallara said, "Szass Tam dared, even with sorcery weakened and unreliable."
"Yes. Xingax called the entity a dream vestige."
Samas snorted. " 'Vestige' seems a puny word to describe anything so dangerous and immense."
"I suppose," Zola replied, "but that's the name he gave it. It's somewhat similar to a creature known as a caller in darkness, which is made of a number of spirits melded together. A dream vestige begins as hundreds of nightmares gathered, combined, and infused with the energies of undeath. It grows by devouring any being possessed of a mind."
"Is it as impervious to magic as it seemed?" Lauzoril asked.
"Not entirely," Zola said. "But even though we could see it, it isn't a physical entity. Intangibility gives even a common wraith a measure of protection, and this creature has strong additional defenses. So, with wizardry diminished…" She shrugged her bony shoulders, and her necklaces and bracelets clattered.
"We're lucky," Samas said, "that it only existed for a while. Maybe Szass Tam will prove incapable of making another, or maybe he'll lose control of it if he does. Maybe it will eat him."
Zola sighed. "I'm sorry, but it didn't cease to exist. A dream vestige can pass back and forth between the physical realm and what I infer is some sort of demiplane of dreams. When Szass Tam judged that it had done all he required, he sent it there."
"To keep it from slipping its leash and getting into mischief," Nevron said, "like a conjuror keeping an elemental in a ring or bottle. I'm familiar with the concept. So, you're telling us he can call the thing forth whenever he feels the need, and that it will grow bigger and stronger every time it kills somebody."
"I'm afraid so."
"Our luck is a wondrous thing," Lallara said. "There are two schools of wizardry, divination and illusion, that make a study of dreams, and those are the two zulkirs we lack. Yaphyll went over to Szass Tam, and Dmitra is missing."
"I suspect," Lallara said, "Dmitra, too, has betrayed us. Remember, at one time, she was Szass Tam's most devoted minion, and she urged us to fight at the base of the cliffs."
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