The cleric yelled, “Queen Abiding, I release thee! Come, and serve he who gives you freedom!”
Things happened all at once. Eschar’s eyes widened as the import of Marrec’s words penetrated his consciousness.
Ususi yelled “Marrec, you fool.”
The crystal sphere in the cleric’s grasp shattered, sending a spray of ice in all directions.
That which had been caught in the center of the crystal remained, hovering, a blot of nothing the size of a beetle, a breath of winter cold expanded, chilling all.
Eschar mouthed a curse whose vileness surpasses mortal ability to comprehend. Despite his ferocity, he seemed frightened, then he vanished.
The hovering blot expanded, doubling, tripling, quadrupling it size in under a second. It rippled outward and upward exultantly, growing in height and width and dimension until it was at least as large as the white dome over which it hovered. The plunging temperature proclaimed winter’s arrival.
The Queen Abiding was loose.
Marrec, looking into the void of evil above him, said, “Your tormentor flees. Get him.”
Tendrils of darkness instantly grew downward from the hovering mass, reaching for the area where the horned demon stood a few seconds earlier. When the tendrils reached the vacated space, they continued reaching, but not in any dimension Marrec was capable of viewing.
The tendrils retracted. Eschar popped back into existence, tendrils wrapped about his straining torso. The horned demon screamed in defiance.
The pleasant female voice of the queen spoke from the darkness. It said, “I told you you’d pay for your effrontery, Eschar.”
Eschar craned his head back and belched forth a thread of seeking flame, which probed like a fiery lance into the darkness’ underbelly.
The bonds of darkness surrounding Eschar loosened. Taking advantage of the slackened grip, the demon struggled mightily and managed to escape the bonds completely.
Marrec, only a step away from the struggle, uttered, “No.”
He stabbed Justlance into the horned demon’s abdomen. Eschar flinched in pain but tried to make good his escape, ignoring the cleric’s bold attack. The demon began to sprint toward the edge of the cavern.
Eschar made about ten strides before the darkness rippled then ballooned in size again. In the blink of an eye it inflated across the entire roof of the cavern, rose a storm cloud of night. Then darkness fell. Marrec couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face. All was cold and utterly quiet. When the darkness lifted a heartbeat later, Eschar was gone.
Elowen watched with unbelieving eyes as Marrec called forth the sea of hovering darkness. When the void consumed Eschar, she was mollified, but then she realized that the Queen Abiding must be a far more potent force even than the horned demon to have eliminated Eschar so casually. Elowen gripped Dymondheart’s hilt, determined to fight to the last, if that’s what was required.
The cleric was gazing up at the roiling bottom of the darkness that shrouded the cavern’s upper reaches. He was talking. What was Marrec thinking?
Marrec said, “I have set you loose from your confinement, yet I require your service. By the token which last I grasped, aid me on my quest. I must face the Rotting Man. You must help me.”
Ususi yelled, “Don’t bargain with her!”
The darkness roiled then stilled. Another strand reached from the lowering belly of the Queen Abiding. The black tendril probed the ground near where Victorious had melted. Where the black wisp probed, dark liquid was drawn out of the ground, freezing as it did so. In no time, their demonic aide was reconstituted.
“Victorious will lead you to the child you lost,” spoke the Queen Abiding, as unperturbed as ever. “I sense she is moving toward the surface.”
Elowen studied Victoricus, who tittered. The demon didn’t seem particularly uncomfortable at its destruction and subsequent restoration.
Marrec pressed, “That is a good start, but listen …” The cleric licked his lips. Elowen knew then that the cleric was exceedingly nervous. “I held the token. I asked for your service. I would like your direct aid against the Talontyr himself.”
The Queen Abiding responded instantly, “Don’t press your hold over me, human. It is tenuous. Oh, so fragile …” A tendril of darkness dropped and caressed Marrec’s face.
“I help you because I have scores to settle. The way I see it, you are my agent against those who have done me wrong. Look, I’m free, and Eschar’s essence slowly digests within me. You have been useful.”
The queen continued, “Yet I also have a score to settle with the Rotting Man. The pain he visited upon me when he briefly held my token, ignorant even of its power, is something that must be repaid, and here you are, all set to go against him.”
Marrec nodded, said, “You’ll help us?”
“One last time may you call on my aid. If you survive these mazes of ancient betrayal, you may yet come to the court of the Talontyr. That’s when I will come to you, should you ask.”
“After that, our arrangement is ended. If you dare to ask of me any other service, I shall enjoy supping upon your soul as, even now, I suck the verve from Eschar’s fiery spirit.”
Marrec nodded, somewhat shakily, Elowen thought.
The darkness faded over the space of a few seconds, replaced by the natural lightlessness of the upper reaches of the cavern.
Marrec sat down. Elowen moved toward him, but Gunggari and Ususi were before her.
“You’ve imperiled your soul,” said Ususi, “and probably ours, too, with your foolish stunt. A creature of such evil doesn’t know gratitude or the value of teamwork. It knows only its hungers and its vengeances.”
“I held the token of control,” Marrec defended himself.
“What exactly was the token?” demanded Ususi. “I certainly don’t know what its properties were or how much protection it provides to she who would dare to use it. The Nar relied on such devices, but no knowledge of their true nature or the manner of their construction has survived to the present day.”
More weakly, “It seemed to work well enough. Eschar is defeated. We’re alive.”
“For the moment,” huffed Ususi.
“And we have a guide,” said Gunggari, defending his friend. The Oslander motioned with his head toward the reconstituted Victoricus.
Elowen wondered why Marrec didn’t stand to his own defense. Perhaps he was uncertain about what he had done. Certainly she herself had her doubts. All the same, she laid a restraining hand on Ususi, who seemed about to continue her tirade. Elowen said, “That’s right. Let’s go find Ash and the traitor.”
“Aren’t you listening at all to what I’m telling you?” asked Ususi. “We can’t trust the queen or any proxy in her service.” She waved a dismissive hand at the ice demon.
Marrec levered himself upright with the shaft of his spear. He looked at Ususi, to Victoricus, and back. He said, “All right, I’ve been foolish. It was a risk to command the Queen Abiding, but risks must be taken, sometimes, if goals are to be achieved. If, as you say, the Queen Abiding cares only for her hungers, then after all the token must have had some effect over her. If not, wouldn’t we all be but drained husks when she descended upon us?”
“Perhaps,” acceded Ususi, “but don’t call her again. Maybe that’s all the additional incentive she needs to return and do exactly what you describe so mockingly.”
Marrec said, “I will not call her unless we’re likely to die anyway. I am acquainted with such choices when it comes to marshalling potent but dangerous forces.” He rubbed his eyes as he said that last, then continued, “So what about Victoricus? Should we go on without him?”
Elowen answered. “No. I think we must put our faith in the efficacy of the token, for as Marrec says, we all yet live. It’ll take too long to retrace Fallon’s path back to where we lost it. If the ice demon can get us closer, then we should follow it.”
Gunggari stated, “If we get close enough, I can pick up Fallon’s trail
again quite easily. I’ll know if the demon is leading us too far from where we want to go.”
“Just how will you know that?” Ususi challenged the Oslander.
Gunggari merely smiled. Ususi threw up her hands, shook her head, and sighed in exasperation. “Fine, fine, ignore the advice of your sage. You’ll be asking my forgiveness in the seconds before this deal with the queen goes sour, but I need rest. The edges of my spells are frayed and uncertain. I must straighten them in my mind if I can be of any further use. Let us take a moment before you rush us into whatever trap the queen has concocted.”
Gunggari said, “All of us could use the rest, Marrec.”
Elowen thought that several hours’ rest sounded heavenly. Since they’d descended into the dark, they had faced a series of terrible threats. Though they’d all survived so far, their luck was bound to fail if they didn’t steal a few moments of recuperation from the never-ending rush of time.
“Then let’s rest,” agreed Marrec, not without some relief in his voice.
They were undisturbed for the length of their rest, measuring at least six hours. Elowen, not requiring sleep, stood watch. When all had regained some measure of their full strength, Marrec addressed the demon.
“Victoricus. Lead us to our friend Ash, also called the Child of Light, and who is also an aspect of Lurue.”
With nary a titter, the ice demon swiveled and skated away across the vault field. Ash’s would-be rescuers followed.
Marrec followed the smoothly moving demon most closely. At first, he walked alone, as they backtracked through the Sighing Vault, and tunnels somewhat familiar. After they turned into a passage completely unfamiliar, Marrec asked Victoricus to slow down. Despite his words to Ususi, he of course couldn’t trust the demon, or the demon’s real master, the Queen Abiding.
On the other hand, Ususi hadn’t held the token of control. She hadn’t felt the power that had briefly coursed through his hands when he’d made his initial demand to the Queen Abiding. Marrec wasn’t unfamiliar with items of potency. In the token’s destruction, he’d felt a call go out, and in responding to that call, the queen had accepted a binding. She would be good to the letter of her word. She had no choice, Marrec felt certain. Pretty much certain.
He could explain his feelings about the token of control to the wizard, or at least, he could try, but Ususi was certain of her own learning, her own experience. After all, wasn’t that experience valid? He’d rather not try to explain to the wizard why he was right, only to have Victoricus lead them directly into a vat of acid or some other unpleasantness. Marrec hated eating his own words, especially if fighting off a demonic double-cross at the same time.
Victoricus led them past several chambers, all open to the hallway. A faded chanting spilled from these openings. Marrec couldn’t understand the words. He didn’t try. By the timbre of the sound, it was obvious the voices were not made by any creature with which he was familiar.
It wasn’t too far after the chanting that the ice demon stiffened, looked around, and pointed into a small alcove. The illumination burning on Justlance’s tip revealed a narrow flight of stairs, fleeing upwards.
Victoricus whispered, “This way.”
Gunggari walked to the alcove, bent to one knee, and examined the floor, the edges of the alcove, and the first few steps beyond. He grunted, nodding, and said, “Someone has recently ascended. More than one person.”
Marrec smiled. “Good. I can’t wait to see the expression on Fallon’s face when we finally catch him.”
Gunggari added, “Actually, more than two have gone up these stairs—at least three. One set of prints must be Ash’s, they’re so small. The others are adults.”
“How many?” queried Marrec, worried.
“It’s hard to say. Could be as many as four more people, though some of the prints fade in and out. It is strange.”
“Let’s hurry, then,” Marrec decided.
They filed into the alcove; it was too narrow to go except one at a time, then on up the stairs, moving with alacrity. Victoricus, not so proficient on the stairs, fell behind.
CHAPTER 26
She caught them just as they left the grasp of Under-Tharos. Some stars were visible through the overhanging branches of the Rawlinswood, but their light was not sufficient to illuminate Damanda and her cohorts as they fell upon Fallon and the child.
The elf hunter struggled in Bonehammer’s grip, before subsiding when Damanda caught his eye. “Easy, Fallon. You’re among friends, now.” She couldn’t help but smile when she spoke. Friendship was something Damanda knew of only as an intellectual concept.
Slender Absalme caught the child by the hair and made to lift her free of the earth. The girl called Ash reached up and touched Absalme’s wrist. A burst of sun-bight light exploded from where finger touched arm.
Damanda screamed, throwing a hand over her face. The light burned her, drove like hammered nails into her eyes, but an instant later, the terrible radiance winked out.
When she could see again, blinking away the great purple blotch, she saw that both Bonehammer and Lex lay moaning and steaming, just as her own exposed flesh still smoked.
There was no sign at all of Absalme.
It was clearer to Damanda, then, why the girl was also called the Child of Light. Damn the Rotting Man for failing to mention that particular detail. She snarled to her two remaining lieutenants “Get up, you sluggards.”
Luckily, Ash didn’t press her advantage. She had merely reacted to a touch she didn’t like and now stood quietly.
Meanwhile, Fallon also still stood, blinking, though of course his flesh hadn’t reacted quite so explosively to the light thrown off by the child. Damanda sighed. Fallon would retain his use, after all, she realized. She glided up to the elf, her eyes and skin already healing over.
“What were you trying to accomplish, ascending to the surface, elf?”
Fallon took a breath, then said, “I thought I could get to the center of Dun Tharos quicker, here on the surface, where my wood lore would be useful.”
Damanda shook her head and said, “You were instructed by the Talontyr to lure your pursuers through the dangers of Under-Tharos.”
“I was also entrusted to bring the Child of Light to him at the center. If I had fallen prey to some wandering demon below, I couldn’t very well do that, could I?”
Damanda’s eyes narrowed. Fallon was too impertinent for an underling. Time to end his independence here and now. She caught his eye, trying to snare him with her will. She was shocked when something, some obstruction in the elf’s mind, prevented her. Some influence of the Child of Light, she knew instinctively.
She settled for cuffing the elf. Such was her strength that Fallon cried out, nearly felled.
Damanda lied, saying, “Listen, Fallon. You’re alive right now because you’ve proved yourself to our cause. Don’t jeopardize your position with foolish impudence.”
Rubbing his jaw, Fallon nodded, though Damanda thought she could detect a hint of defiance in the set of the elf’s shoulders. She promised herself Fallon’s blood, once he had served his last purpose.
Damanda continued, “We’ve got to get moving, before dawn slips over the horizon. Fallon, continue to shepherd the girl, so that she accompanies us without qualm. She seems to have taken a liking to you.”
The elf hunter took one of Ash’s almost limp hands and did not trigger a burst of destroying light. That settled it; she’d have to let Fallon live until they got Ash into the presence of the Rotting Man.
“We’ll continue on the surface for a bit, since we’re here; it will be quicker. We’ll go to ground in a little place I know ahead, before the sun rises.”
Fallon glanced from her, to Bonehammer, to Lex, and finally to where Absalme had been destroyed by direct contact with Ash’s light. Damanda didn’t doubt the elf had recognized their nature. Good. In her long experience, such recognition inspired fear and obedience.
Fallon followed behind the sle
nder woman with purple hair that Damanda had called Lex, pulling Ash gently with one hand. Damanda broke the trail ahead of Lex, using techniques that the elf hunter recognized in his own woodcraft. The hulking Bonehammer walked behind, ensuring that Fallon didn’t try to run off into the woods, though he hoped that he had convinced the vampires that his loyalties lay with them.
Dawn threatened to break within the hour. As each increment of time passed, he could sense the tension of the three rising. Of course, he’d known immediately what they were long before they’d caught him. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been in a position to lay a trap like he was able to do against the first lone vampiric seeker. He’d decided that his best chance for survival lay in pretending that his loyalty to the Rotting Man had never wavered.
Fallon believed he’d pulled off his ruse, though the blightlord had tried to dominate his will anyway. He had Ash’s earlier expulsion of the Rotting Man’s control to thank for his continued resistance. He squeezed her hand in thanks, though of course Ash didn’t respond.
As he walked along, he began to wonder what he had gained really. If he truly wished to protect Ash, he would have to make some sort of break for it and fight these creatures. The more they drew him into their power and the closer they ventured into the Rotting Man’s territory, the less likely he could fight his way free with his and Ash’s life intact. Perhaps he should just attack Damanda right then?
He continued to debate with himself as they walked.
They had already traveled for a few hours through the forest. He thought it interesting that Damanda made no effort to hide their passage. It either meant that she no longer feared being followed by Marrec’s group, or that she actively wished the trail be found, like a lure.
Fallon ventured, “What of the cleric and his friends, then? Did demons get them after all?”
Starlight revealed a slight shrug from Damanda ahead. She said, “Perhaps, but when we find the sanctuary I know of, we’ll make preparations, just in case.”
Fallon knew that the blightlord wouldn’t waste energy on such ‘preparations’ unless she knew there was a good chance that such an energy expenditure during daylight would have a payoff. That meant that Marrec, Elowen, and the others—he couldn’t recall their names—might very well be on their trail.
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