A King's Bargain
Page 26
"Yes. Would you like to see him?"
Without waiting for an answer, the Extinguished raised a silhouetted hand and made a sharp gesture. The lid of the coffin groaned, stone grinding on stone, then fell with a resounding thud to the debris surrounding it.
Wren convulsed in Garin's arms, and he hung on desperately to her, worried she would dash forward. But she stayed put, eyes locked on the fog-veiled tomb, straining to see if it was her father's face, whispering, "You bastard," over and over.
Tal made no move forward. "Why give him to us?"
"Why do you think, Tal Harrenfel? According to your legend, you're the cleverest man in the Westreach."
"The man whose soul you stole told many lies about me." Tal paused, seeming to hesitate. "He's no more use to you, true enough. But I never took your Master for a generous man."
"The Peacebringer is many things you little know, Skaldurak."
Garin winced as the word cut through his mind. Skaldurak — he knew he'd never heard it before, yet somehow, it seemed familiar. A moment later, he realized how — when the Extinguished had spoken it, the Nightsong had grown louder in his mind, rising like a man greeting his brother.
Glancing over, he saw Tal wince as if he'd felt the same thing. On his other side, Aelyn's eyes narrowed, his lips pursed.
Tal's brow smoothed with visible effort. "I long ago took Yuldor's measure. Name me as he will, it does not make me his tool."
"We are all his hands, whether we will it or not." The Extinguished, just visible through the fog, smiled with Falcon's stolen lips. "We all do his purpose."
"Except you surrendered your soul to be his servant."
The Extinguished laughed. "And I count it a fair exchange still. Look! Do you still not see the extent of my master's power?"
As if it had been called, a wind suddenly gusted into the courtyard, swirling and bearing the fog away, and as it thinned, the silhouettes of the devastated walls around them solidified. Garin stared into the fading gloom, expecting draugars to be encircling the courtyard, but he saw nothing.
Then Wren gasped, and he jerked his head forward. At first, he didn't see anything different. The Extinguished stood in sharper detail, Falcon's face contorted into a sneer. The coffin, though open, was still hard to see inside at the distance, but he could tell there was a man within.
Then the shadows shifted behind the Extinguished, and fear lanced through him, cold and nauseating.
The beast ran the length of the walls, fifty feet long — no, longer, Garin realized, as its tail, ridged with sharp, dusky spines, unfurled and drifted lazily across the broken paving stones. Its wings were folded against its back, but even closed, they covered the whole of its gargantuan body. Its neck was long and sinuous as a snake, and its head was flat as a cobra's. A mane of spines bristled around it, shifting slightly with its breath. Its eyes glimmered gold in the dim light, the black pupils slits. Its legs hung off the wall, the back haunches as big around as three people and as tall, and the visible front foot ending in three sharp, yellowed claws.
A dragon, Garin thought numbly. He has a dragon.
The Extinguished laughed again. "Now, you see! The Peacebringer cannot be resisted, Skaldurak. One way or another, you will serve him!"
Tal's blood surged through him, so hot he didn't feel the blistering cold as he stared into the dragon's eyes. In all his days of fighting the Nightkin, among all his other deeds, he'd never seen the greatest of Yuldor's servants, much less contended with one. He'd believed them mere rumor; after all, if the Prince of Devils had servants as powerful as dragons, why had he not long ago won the Eternal Animus between the Empire and the Reach Realms?
But his eyes told him now what his mind refused to believe, and he'd long ago learned the eyes were wiser.
He pressed the Ring of Thalkuun, hidden beneath his glove, with his thumb, thinking, plotting. Knowing that with a single swipe, a spout of its infernal breath, and all his plans would be worth less than the pile of ash he'd be reduced to. But for all my faults, Falcon's songs got one thing right: I've never cowered from a fight.
Tal tore his gaze away from the dragon for long enough to glance at Aelyn. The mage was frowning, the bronze in his eyes swirling. For the first time, he looked truly afraid. But though his mouth was set hard, Tal knew whatever surprise he'd had in mind for Yuldor's servant would never be enough for this.
"Behold, Skaldurak, the might of our Lord and Savior!" the Extinguished cried out. "Behold the power he grants to his servant!"
The Night-touched warlock pointed at a wall between Tal and him, and the dragon's eyes slid over to spot it. As quick as blinking, the dragon snapped open its jaws and shuddered as it gave a cry both roar and screech. Then flames, blue-hot, flooded over the stone, and the wall wilted like a weed under the summer sun. The heat washed over Tal's face, and he winced at the light blazing from the beast's mouth.
As the dragon bit off the fire, it snapped its jaws and shook its head, as if swallowing a particularly foul-tasting belch. From the sulfuric stench flooding the courtyard and twisting his stomach into knots, Tal guessed that the aftertaste of dragon-fire couldn't be pleasant.
He winced and touched a hand unconsciously to his stomach, then frowned, looking down. Though heat had flooded over him, his jerkin and shirt were still stiff with cold.
"Now," the Extinguished said, Falcon's face still cracked in a wide smile, "I believe we're on the same page. Let us then discuss what you must do if you are to preserve your friends' lives."
Tal glanced at the dragon, still snorting and shaking its head, then looked to Aelyn. The mage's frown had deepened, and his eyes narrowed. Tal's thumb pressed against the Ring of Thalkuun again. Too many questions, too little time for answers. How did the dragon come here? Why did the Soulstealer still wear Falcon's face? Why show off his might and not just kill them when he had them so wholly in his power?
But he still had a hand to play.
Tal finally met Falcon's gold-bright eyes. "You want something. Something from me. Something Yuldor doesn't want me to have."
"Yes. You stole that which does not belong to you, Skaldurak. And now, you will surrender it to me."
Tal forced a smile. "I don't think you understand the situation, so allow me to explain. What could your master fear so much that he'd put you through all this? All this subterfuge, all these traps, luring me out from Halenhol and the King's castle — why bother with any of it? Not to kill me — you had a hundred opportunities if that were Yuldor's aim. Not to destroy whatever knowledge I've acquired — killing me would better serve that purpose. What, then, could he want but to possess my knowledge himself?"
"Our Lord knows all he needs, puppet. What could you possibly offer him?"
"This." Pulling his pack from his shoulders, Tal reached inside and drew out the cloth-wrapped book. Then, slowly unwrapping it, he held it up. "The forbidden discoveries of Hellexa Yoreseer, for which she and her entire sect of sorcerers died. This is what your master needs you to retrieve."
The eyes of the Extinguished narrowed, the gold in them smoldering as they swirled. "You believe you've worked it all out then?"
"Yes, I believe I have."
Falcon's laugh cut through the courtyard. "Very well, Skaldurak! Our Lord does indeed wish to possess the heretical book. But do not forget that you are completely in my power here." He gestured behind him to the dragon sprawled along the ruins, one yellow eye never leaving Tal. "You will give me the book now. Then we will see how merciful of a mood I am in."
"No." Tal held up the tome. "I carry something you want, that you can't risk destroying, unless you wish to discover how merciful your 'Peacebringer' is feeling."
As the Extinguished glared his hatred across the courtyard, Tal gestured behind him. "You will let my friends walk free and unmolested. You will release your draugars from their thrall and send away your dragon. Then, and only then, will I give you the book."
He watched him, not daring to move a muscle lest
his trembling show through. He kept the Soulstealer's gaze, though Falcon's eyes had grown bright enough to burn like he stared into twin suns.
"Very well." The Extinguished waved a lazy hand.
Tal risked a glance back. The silhouettes of the draugars, lingering around the edges of the courtyard, faded from sight. Behind the Extinguished, the dragon shifted its massive bulk, as if readying to move, though not quite making the effort. Tal studied it with narrowed eyes, noting how its claws left no marks along the ruined walls, and how as it shifted, it disturbed no dust or rubble.
Quite the graceful wyrm, Tal thought, a smile tugging at his lips.
"You were to send the dragon away as well," he noted calmly.
"Call it a change of mind. Before I do, you must come to me." The Extinguished gave him Falcon's most biting smile.
"Don't!"
Tal glanced back to see Garin stumbling forward, Wren holding him back. The youth's eyes were wide as he tried to struggle free. "Don't, Tal! Don't trust him!"
Keeping the Extinguished in the corner of his vision, he met Garin's eyes. "Trust is a peaceful man's luxury. Go, lad. Take Wren's father and go."
"He'll kill you!"
Tal gave him a small smile. "I'm hard to kill. Please. You must go now, or we've done all this for nothing."
But Garin's desperation was turning to fury. "You came here planning to die? To sacrifice yourself?"
"Do I seem the type for grand gestures?"
"Yes," Wren said through gritted teeth as she hauled Garin back.
Tal laughed softly. "Very well — call it my preeminent performance. But remember: we came for Falcon. Take him and let me worry about the rest."
"Quickly," the Extinguished said. "Before I change my mind."
Wren, Garin, and Aelyn, wearing a long-suffering frown, slowly walked behind Tal as they approached the tomb. The Extinguished watched him greedily, staring like a glutton at a three-tiered cake. Vicious delight and triumph danced in Falcon's lively eyes. Tal kept his gaze on the huge dragon looming above them, noting how the lingering mist moved strangely with its breath as it snorted.
As Tal neared the tomb, he couldn't help but look down. Over a month of captivity had not treated his friend well. His raven-black hair had thinned over his scalp and balded in patches. His skin was waxy pale, and parts of it had rotted away like the thinning of a well-used blanket. His clothes, once finely tailored, hung soiled and limp around his emaciated form.
His jaw tightened, and he had to look away, fearing he would do something rash.
"His soul. You must give him back his soul."
The Extinguished smiled. "Ah, but that was not part of our deal."
"It must be, or we no longer have one."
The fell mage gestured to the beast sprawled behind him. "I believe I have insurance against that possibility."
Tal glanced back at Aelyn. The mage's mouth was set in a hard line, and his face could have been made of stone for all he betrayed his thoughts.
"Very well," he said as he faced forward again. "You'll give me the bracelet when I give you the book."
The Soulstealer smiled. "It's a bargain."
At Tal's nod, his companions reached into the tomb and began to lift the bard from it. With the tome in one hand and Velori in the other, he could do nothing but watch as even Garin pitched in to drag Falcon free, wincing as his friend's slack skin bunched beneath their hands and scraped away against the stone.
Finally, his old friend was free of the tomb, and Aelyn reached into a pouch and began muttering some words. A moment later, a blue glow gathered around Falcon's body, and the minstrel began to float.
"Take your broken bard." The Extinguished sounded as if his patience were quickly fraying. "We have a deal to make good on."
Tal glanced at each of his companions, and only Garin met his gaze. The youth stared desperately at him as he leaned on Wren, his eyes begging for answers Tal couldn't give.
He looked away. Survival is the best I can give you now, my young friend.
As his companions began walking away, he turned his gaze back to the Extinguished but watched the dragon from the corner of his eye as the beast swiveled its head after them, its pupils narrow. He knew little of dragons, but when it had breathed fire before, its pupils had dilated. Still, the reptilian stink and remains of the sulfuric cloud filling his nose were enough to keep his heart pounding.
Steady. Choose your moment. You'll only get one.
The Soulstealer raised his hand. "The book, Skaldurak. Now."
He held the air in his lungs for a moment, then let it out. Then he held up the tome before him and advanced.
"A Fable of Song and Blood," he said as he closed the final feet between them. "Do you know what it means?"
The Extinguished only held up a hand, ready to accept it.
"It means there are others who can possess the Worldheart. Others who, like Yuldor, may reign like gods. And that means your Peacebringer is nothing more than a charlatan, nothing more than a man with a stone."
The fell sorcerer laughed. "A man with a stone? Even with the knowledge you've gained, you know nothing, Tal Harrenfel."
The worn book held before him, he stood before his enemy. The Extinguished wore a smile as he reached up to grasp it.
The Soulstealer's fingers passed through the book, and underneath his glove, the Ring of Thalkuun burned.
Tal thrust his blade into the Extinguished even as he knew it was no use. Falcon's mocking smile remained on his face as the body toppled, turning ghostly white as it fell, then dissipating into shimmering light.
"Illusion!" Tal yelled, but his cry was swallowed by the dragon's sudden bellow. His breath caught with the sound of it, his ears splitting, but he dropped the tome and whipped out a dagger to send it spinning at the beast. Even as blue flames built in the back of the dragon's open maw, the dagger flew into its mouth and thudded into the flesh. The dragon cut off with a roar, obscuring any other sounds, but even the blue-bright flames couldn't hide the shimmer of white light where the dagger had soared through.
"The dragon is an illusion, too!" he called back to his companions.
But a glance showed his friends were in no position to listen. The draugars had reappeared around the edges of the courtyard and were charging them, at least two dozen strong. But his companions scarcely seemed to notice. Garin, despite his wound and blood-loss, was screaming and lashing out toward Aelyn like a madman, while Wren clung desperately onto him, sword abandoned to the rubble. The mage stared at the youth, a hand digging into a pouch at his waist, distaste curling his lips, ignoring the draugars sprinting toward them. Falcon's prone body hovered nearby.
The sight of the youth hit him like a punch to the gut. He has him. Yuldor's bloody prick, the Night has him. But he couldn't worry about that now. First, they had to survive.
"Look!" Tal yelled and started toward them. "Draugars!" He doubted these were illusions; they'd been real before, and odds were they were real now. But before he'd taken two steps, something seized his wrist.
His shoulder felt nearly yanked out of its socket as he was pulled to a halt. Twisting around, Tal held up his sword, ready to strike, but hesitated when he saw the arm holding him came from the tomb.
From seemingly nowhere, a second Falcon rose, a horrible grin stretching his gaunt face. Several of his teeth had fallen out, and something black oozed from his gums. His eyes were dark and hollowed, the gold in them dulled to a sickly yellow.
"Hello, old friend," he rasped. "You didn't think I would trust you, did you?"
Velori was still held poised, ready to stab into the man holding him, but he held back. This Falcon wasn't an illusion; that he could touch him was proof of that. But was he the Extinguished under another guise? Or Falcon himself, possessed by the Soulstealer, while the other Aelyn levitated was an illusion?
Behind him, cries of pain and fury and clashing metal sounded, telling of his companions struggling to hold off the draugars.
Something fell to the ground, and Falcon howled and recoiled. Tal froze, staring at the pale lump on the ground. It had dropped among the debris, fingers curled around the dagger like a dead spider, dark blood sluggishly leaking from it.
"My hand!" Falcon gasped faintly, dulled eyes wide as he stared at the stump on his arm, all menace gone from his voice. "My hand!"
Tal could only watch him in horror. You can't help him. Being near him only risks him becoming possessed once more. But he found he couldn't move, couldn't do anything but watch his friend stare at the place where Tal had severed his hand.
His left arm was suddenly wrenched behind his back, and Tal stumbled forward a step. But even off-balance, he managed to twist and stab his blade backward, and his steel found flesh with a jolt. But even as he fell to the ground, the person behind him impaled on Velori, something sharp slid against his hand, first cold, then burning hot as if he'd thrust it into a blazing hearth.
A roar of fury and pain tore from his throat as his hand came free from his assailant's grip, and Tal gained his feet, sword-hand still clinging to Velori's hilt, his other hand throbbing as he pressed it against his chest. The man he'd stabbed stumbled backward, the front of his dark robes wet and clinging where the blade exited, but still wearing a smile as he held up his blood-smeared hand, something clutched in it.
"At long last!" the Extinguished wheezed. "The Ring of Thalkuun belongs to the Night!"
Tal stared at his enemy's ashy gray hand even as he knew what was clutched in it. His hand throbbed where his finger had been severed, but he barely felt the pain through the burning heat of his blood. The ring, he realized. He has the ring.
Raising Velori, Tal spun and swung it with all his strength at his enemy's neck. But the Soulstealer merely flicked his free hand, and his body seized in sudden paralysis and sent him twisting to the ground.
"You are utterly in my power now, Skaldurak." The Extinguished wore no disguise now, and his gray, bare feet moved closer, the skin as flaky as bark burned to ash. From the corner of his vision, he saw the worn cover of A Fable of Song and Blood in one of his hands, Tal's bloody finger clutched in his other. "You have done well in Yuldor's service. You have delivered to me Kaleras the Impervious, Aelyn Belnuure, and the Ring of Thalkuun. And you have brought me the heretical knowledge of the Blue Moon Obelisk. For years, I have endeavored to gain these victories for our Lord, and in just two short months, you have helped me accomplish them all. Once again, you have served the Peacebringer well."