Masques (Sianim #1)(74)

The girl snarled and Aralorn jumped back and seriously considered leaving Lord Kisrah to his fate. As the girl moved, her shape altered rapidly into something vaguely reptilian with a large, spiked tail and impressive fangs. It was fast and strong enough that when its tail hit the post of the bed, the wood cracked. It was also, thankfully, stupid - very stupid. It jumped at Aralorn with a shrill cry and impaled itself on the claws of Wolf's staff.

Dying, it changed back into its former beautiful self and the woman blinked her green eyes and said softly, "Please ..." before she was unable to say anything.

"Plague it," said Aralorn in an unsteady voice as she retrieved the staff in shaky hands. She backed into the corridor and started down it when she noticed the hungry gaze of one of the Uriah focused on the bloody end of the staff. She thought of Lord Kisrah lying like an appetizer beside his bedmate's corpse; she went back and shut the door to the bedroom and locked it with a simple spell that Lord Kisrah would have little trouble breaking when he woke up.

Just as she was about to give up hope, Aralorn rounded a corner and found herself in the great hall. From there it was a simple matter to find her way to the dungeon. She was concentrating so hard on doing so that the whisper took her by surprise.

"Aralorn," said the Uriah from its position in the shadows near the stairway that fed down to the dungeons.

She came to an abrupt halt and spun to face Talor. "What do you want?"

It laughed, sounding for a minute as carefree as he always had, and then said in a harsh voice, "You know what I am. What do you think that I want. Aralorn?" It took a step closer to her. "I hunger, just as your companion will shortly. Leave, Aralorn; you can do no good here."

Aralorn shifted her grip on Wolf's staff from, her right hand, which was getting stiff and sweaty, to her left. "Talor, where is your brother? I haven't seen him here."

"He died making the transition to Uriah," it said softly, and smiled. "Lucky Kai."

Aralorn nodded and turned as if to go down the stairs. Instead she continued her turn, drawing the sword as she moved. Smith's Weapon or not, the blade cut cleanly through the Uriah's neck, beheading it. The body fell motionless to the stone floor.

"Sweet dreams, Talor," she said soberly. "If I find Wolf in your condition, I will strive to do the same for him."

With the sword in her right hand and the staff in her left, she started down the stairs. The lower levels were darker, but now Wolf's staff was emitting a faint glow that allowed her to see where she put her feet. As she started down the third set of steps it occurred to her that she didn't really know what she planned to do. Alone against the ae'Magi, she had no chance. Not only was he a better magician by infinite orders of magnitude, but if he was Wolf's equal with a sword then he was a much better fighter than Aralorn.

The smells of the dungeon were strong now, and the stench didn't help her stomach, which was already clenched with nerves. In the guardroom she abandoned the staff because she didn't know how to stop the crystals from glowing.

Not wanting the sword to make any noise, she sheathed it and then dropped to her belly, ignoring the filth on the cold stone floor. Slowly she slid into the dungeon, keeping to one side. The voices that had been indistinct were now intelligible. She heard Wolf speaking, and the huge weight of grief lifted off her shoulders.

"... why should I make this easier for you than I already have? This is a very easy shield to break through; most third-year magicians could do it. Would you like me to show you how?" Wolf's voice was weaker than she'd ever heard it, but there was no more emotion in it than it ever had. "It docs have the unfortunate effect of incinerating whatever the shield is guarding."

"Ah, but I have another method of removing your protection." The ae'Magi's voice was a smooth contrast to his son's. "I have been informed that the girl whom you so impetuously sent away has returned all alone. She should be here momentarily, if she isn't already."

For an instant Aralorn plastered herself motionless to the floor before her common sense reasserted itself. It really didn't matter if the ae'Magi knew she was coming; the element of surprise wasn't going to help her much anyway. What did matter was that somehow Wolf had managed to hold the ae'Magi at bay, and no matter how much Wolf cared for her, he knew that it was more important that the ae'Magi not be able to control Wolf's powers. He wouldn't give himself to the ae'Magi just to save her skin ... she hoped.

She inched forward a few steps more until she could see Wolf revealed by the light of the ae'Magi's staff. He sat in almost the same position that he had been in when she left him. He had drawn a single orange line of power around himself, and there was something different about his position. She looked carefully and saw that he was cautiously moving his toes. She smiled; he had bought enough time with his barrier to heal himself.

Aralorn drew the sword and stepped into the light in front of Wolf. She expected an immediate reaction, but the ae'Magi was pacing back and forth with his back to her.

"... you should not have crossed me. With your power and my knowledge, you could have become a god with me. That's all that the gods were, did you know it? Mages who had discovered the secret to eternal life, and I have it now. I will be a god; the only god, and you will help me do it."

All of the dictates of honor demanded that she call attention to herself before she could attack, Aralorn, however, was a spy and a rotten swordswoman besides, so she struck him in the back.