[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
his seed into her dying body. It was time, Mephistis decided, reaching for the
blade.
* * * *
Kaethreyn drew her sword as she stepped through the portal, rage roaring in
her head and heart, banishing her weakness and grief. She saw Mephistis
committing a rite of mortgiefan on Aejys' body and lunged in a single long
drive. Her blade entered the sa'necari's right side and emerged from his left.
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A howl of agony erupted from his lungs as she shoved him off the blade and
spun to face his startled acolytes. Mephistis rolled down the tiers. Two
acolytes lifted him up, retreating to the north door as the stone trolls
strode up the tiers to confront Kaethreyn. A third acolyte drew a dagger,
cutting his wrist. He placed his bleeding wound to Mephistis' mouth, urging
him to drink, to heal himself with the blood as they escaped through the door.
The rest of the acolytes spread out around the tiers, following the stone
trolls up.
Kaethreyn glanced about for the others, expecting Sonden to come through
next. Instead Clemmerick roared onto the tier, charging down at the trolls. As
he passed, he broke off one of the scaffoldings and drove it like a spear
through the nearest troll's throat. The creature staggered, clutching at the
pole. Clemmerick slammed his fists into the troll's chest, tumbling him,
followed him down, and stomped his face in. Shards of bone, bits of gray
oozing tissue and blood splattered the ogre, streaking him with gore. The
second troll rammed him. Clemmerick grabbed the troll as he fell and the two
huge combatants rolled down the tiers to strike the walls at the base,
pounding, gouging and kicking.
The Aroanan priests spilled through next, followed by Sonden, Eliahu, and
Josh. Seeing they were outnumbered, the remaining three acolytes turned to
flee. Josh spoke a single word of power. Blue flame engulfed the acolytes and
they dropped, shrieking and writhing to the floor. Josh turned, gesturing at
the troll still grappling with Clemmerick. Blue flame licked out, striking the
creature. Clemmerick threw himself backwards, cursing as the troll exploded
into flame. The burning troll staggered to the south door, beating frantically
at itself. It tore the door off the hinges, flinging it away, and plunged
through, hunting in blind desperation for something to put out the flames that
were consuming it faster than it could regenerate.
Clemmerick let it go. He could hear the sounds of battle drawing nearer
beyond the south door. He turned away, trudging up the tiers, shouting to
Josh, "I think Tag's coming."
Clemmerick saw that Aejys lay wrapped in Kaethreyn's cloak, her head and
shoulders cradled in her ma'aram's arms, a purple stain around her nostrils
and lips where Sonden had administered pollendine to dull her pain. Kaethreyn
wept, her face pressed against the blood-crusted strings of her daughter's
hair. "Aejystrys. Aejystrys, forgive me."
Aejys stirred weakly, her eyes opening. "Ma'aram?" Her voice was a hoarse
whisper.
"Aejys, who did this?" Kaethreyn knew; she had seen it; but she wanted to
hear the words, half hoping that what she had seen had not been true, that
somehow the mirror scene had lied to her. And by the letter of the law, she
needed to hear Aejys name her murderer so that Margren could be slain out of
hand.
"My vow."
"I release you from it."
"Margren." Finally being able to name her enemy and be believed brought Aejys
a measure of peace. Her ma'aram had saved her from mortgiefan. That too gave
her peace. It was now all right to die.
Kaethreyn pressed her cheek to Aejys' head, tears welling again in her eyes
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as she clutched the shuddering body. Aejys stiffened, then her chest heaved up
and sank back as a convulsion rolled through her and she writhed in its grip.
She made small whimpering noises far back in her throat. Her eyes blinked
rapidly with the struggle to focus; her chest heaved with each gasping effort
to breathe.
"No." A familiar coarse voice spoke, drawing all eyes to the blood splattered
dwarf standing on the lowest tier. Tagalong took the tiers at a run to drop to
her knees beside her childhood companion. She flicked back Kaethreyn's cloak
before anyone could stop her, staring for several seconds at Aejys' wounds
before letting the concealing cloth fall. The enormity of what Margren had
done felt like a vise around Tagalong's heart and a heavy stone in her
mid-section. "Damned puddin' head paladin," Tagalong muttered, fighting back
tears, "letten 'em butcher ya like a bloody lamb..."
"Ta ...uh, uh..." Aejys struggled for the strength to speak. "T ... aaa ...
ghhh. Where. Are. You?"
"Here, Aejys..." Tagalong slipped her hand under Aejys' head, turning it so
that the dying paladin could see her.
"Your ... promise." Aejys groaned, her body went taut, the pain glaze
depending in her eyes as another convulsion rolled through her. Sonden reached
for his vials to give her more pollendine, cursing silently at how terribly
they had tortured her.
"I'll keep it."
"It's a good day to die." Aejys' eyes closed. The death magics and her
failing body dragged her consciousness down again like dark waters sucking at
a drowning man. Her head rolled back and she lay still.
Tagalong gave a choked cry, turning her face to Sonden. "Is she?"
Sonden put his fingers on Aejys' neck, searching her body with all of his
senses. "Not yet. Soon." His fingers brushed Tagalong's shoulders in a gesture
of comfort.
She shook him loose. "Back off, I don't need yer pity or yer sympathy."
Sonden rocked back on his heels, saying nothing. He glanced about at the
mixed units pouring into the chamber, seeing Valdren rangers, a blood bear, a
black woman with a spear, dozens of myn in mixed livery, some Odaren, others
in Aejys' blue surcoats with the ouroborus, and climbing the tiers at their
head came an Euzadi woman with a huge shadow hound walking at her side.
"Shardith," he murmured astonished, he had heard of the Shardith, the women of
the nomads who bonded with the great shadow hounds. It was a tribute to Aejys'
leadership that she had brought such a disparate group together and held it
so.
Brundarad sniffed at Aejys' body, nosed back the blue cloak. A quivering
noise began far down in his hairy throat, building in a weird crescendo of
grief unlike anything the high priest had heard before. It chilled him.
Hanadi's expression was grim and hard as she squatted beside Tagalong. "I
feared this from the moment she was taken." Hanadi's hand caressed the top of
the Shadow Hound's head. "Go, Brundarad. Hunt. Bring gifts of blood to our
mourning." Brundarad's grieving noise changed to a savage growl, he turned
away, disappearing into the corridors. Hanadi's lieutenants, Golethyn and
Vardric crouched beside her. "A good mon has been slain," she told them, "I
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want her avenged. Take two prisoners for questioning, Golethyn. Bring me any
papers you find. Wipe the rest out. Kill all of them. Every living thing."
Then Hanadi stood, surveying the troops. "Death to traitors! Crush the
infamy!" Hanadi shouted angrily.
The units pouring into the chamber of hecatomb echoed the Euzadi Guildsmon's
words, clanging swords on shields.
Tagalong snarled, "Vengeance. Paybacks are a bitch."
"Margren may have gone back to the castle," Kaethreyn said.
Tagalong turned, spitting full in Kaethreyn's face. "Ya killed her."
Kaethreyn wiped her face off, accepting Tagalong's rage because she knew it
came from a grief as deep as her own. "Margren did this..."
"Naw," Tagalong snarled savagely. "She just put the blade in, ya killed her
with yer fuckin' vow. Ya tied her hands and hung her out ta die." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
his seed into her dying body. It was time, Mephistis decided, reaching for the
blade.
* * * *
Kaethreyn drew her sword as she stepped through the portal, rage roaring in
her head and heart, banishing her weakness and grief. She saw Mephistis
committing a rite of mortgiefan on Aejys' body and lunged in a single long
drive. Her blade entered the sa'necari's right side and emerged from his left.
Page 292
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
A howl of agony erupted from his lungs as she shoved him off the blade and
spun to face his startled acolytes. Mephistis rolled down the tiers. Two
acolytes lifted him up, retreating to the north door as the stone trolls
strode up the tiers to confront Kaethreyn. A third acolyte drew a dagger,
cutting his wrist. He placed his bleeding wound to Mephistis' mouth, urging
him to drink, to heal himself with the blood as they escaped through the door.
The rest of the acolytes spread out around the tiers, following the stone
trolls up.
Kaethreyn glanced about for the others, expecting Sonden to come through
next. Instead Clemmerick roared onto the tier, charging down at the trolls. As
he passed, he broke off one of the scaffoldings and drove it like a spear
through the nearest troll's throat. The creature staggered, clutching at the
pole. Clemmerick slammed his fists into the troll's chest, tumbling him,
followed him down, and stomped his face in. Shards of bone, bits of gray
oozing tissue and blood splattered the ogre, streaking him with gore. The
second troll rammed him. Clemmerick grabbed the troll as he fell and the two
huge combatants rolled down the tiers to strike the walls at the base,
pounding, gouging and kicking.
The Aroanan priests spilled through next, followed by Sonden, Eliahu, and
Josh. Seeing they were outnumbered, the remaining three acolytes turned to
flee. Josh spoke a single word of power. Blue flame engulfed the acolytes and
they dropped, shrieking and writhing to the floor. Josh turned, gesturing at
the troll still grappling with Clemmerick. Blue flame licked out, striking the
creature. Clemmerick threw himself backwards, cursing as the troll exploded
into flame. The burning troll staggered to the south door, beating frantically
at itself. It tore the door off the hinges, flinging it away, and plunged
through, hunting in blind desperation for something to put out the flames that
were consuming it faster than it could regenerate.
Clemmerick let it go. He could hear the sounds of battle drawing nearer
beyond the south door. He turned away, trudging up the tiers, shouting to
Josh, "I think Tag's coming."
Clemmerick saw that Aejys lay wrapped in Kaethreyn's cloak, her head and
shoulders cradled in her ma'aram's arms, a purple stain around her nostrils
and lips where Sonden had administered pollendine to dull her pain. Kaethreyn
wept, her face pressed against the blood-crusted strings of her daughter's
hair. "Aejystrys. Aejystrys, forgive me."
Aejys stirred weakly, her eyes opening. "Ma'aram?" Her voice was a hoarse
whisper.
"Aejys, who did this?" Kaethreyn knew; she had seen it; but she wanted to
hear the words, half hoping that what she had seen had not been true, that
somehow the mirror scene had lied to her. And by the letter of the law, she
needed to hear Aejys name her murderer so that Margren could be slain out of
hand.
"My vow."
"I release you from it."
"Margren." Finally being able to name her enemy and be believed brought Aejys
a measure of peace. Her ma'aram had saved her from mortgiefan. That too gave
her peace. It was now all right to die.
Kaethreyn pressed her cheek to Aejys' head, tears welling again in her eyes
Page 293
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
as she clutched the shuddering body. Aejys stiffened, then her chest heaved up
and sank back as a convulsion rolled through her and she writhed in its grip.
She made small whimpering noises far back in her throat. Her eyes blinked
rapidly with the struggle to focus; her chest heaved with each gasping effort
to breathe.
"No." A familiar coarse voice spoke, drawing all eyes to the blood splattered
dwarf standing on the lowest tier. Tagalong took the tiers at a run to drop to
her knees beside her childhood companion. She flicked back Kaethreyn's cloak
before anyone could stop her, staring for several seconds at Aejys' wounds
before letting the concealing cloth fall. The enormity of what Margren had
done felt like a vise around Tagalong's heart and a heavy stone in her
mid-section. "Damned puddin' head paladin," Tagalong muttered, fighting back
tears, "letten 'em butcher ya like a bloody lamb..."
"Ta ...uh, uh..." Aejys struggled for the strength to speak. "T ... aaa ...
ghhh. Where. Are. You?"
"Here, Aejys..." Tagalong slipped her hand under Aejys' head, turning it so
that the dying paladin could see her.
"Your ... promise." Aejys groaned, her body went taut, the pain glaze
depending in her eyes as another convulsion rolled through her. Sonden reached
for his vials to give her more pollendine, cursing silently at how terribly
they had tortured her.
"I'll keep it."
"It's a good day to die." Aejys' eyes closed. The death magics and her
failing body dragged her consciousness down again like dark waters sucking at
a drowning man. Her head rolled back and she lay still.
Tagalong gave a choked cry, turning her face to Sonden. "Is she?"
Sonden put his fingers on Aejys' neck, searching her body with all of his
senses. "Not yet. Soon." His fingers brushed Tagalong's shoulders in a gesture
of comfort.
She shook him loose. "Back off, I don't need yer pity or yer sympathy."
Sonden rocked back on his heels, saying nothing. He glanced about at the
mixed units pouring into the chamber, seeing Valdren rangers, a blood bear, a
black woman with a spear, dozens of myn in mixed livery, some Odaren, others
in Aejys' blue surcoats with the ouroborus, and climbing the tiers at their
head came an Euzadi woman with a huge shadow hound walking at her side.
"Shardith," he murmured astonished, he had heard of the Shardith, the women of
the nomads who bonded with the great shadow hounds. It was a tribute to Aejys'
leadership that she had brought such a disparate group together and held it
so.
Brundarad sniffed at Aejys' body, nosed back the blue cloak. A quivering
noise began far down in his hairy throat, building in a weird crescendo of
grief unlike anything the high priest had heard before. It chilled him.
Hanadi's expression was grim and hard as she squatted beside Tagalong. "I
feared this from the moment she was taken." Hanadi's hand caressed the top of
the Shadow Hound's head. "Go, Brundarad. Hunt. Bring gifts of blood to our
mourning." Brundarad's grieving noise changed to a savage growl, he turned
away, disappearing into the corridors. Hanadi's lieutenants, Golethyn and
Vardric crouched beside her. "A good mon has been slain," she told them, "I
Page 294
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
want her avenged. Take two prisoners for questioning, Golethyn. Bring me any
papers you find. Wipe the rest out. Kill all of them. Every living thing."
Then Hanadi stood, surveying the troops. "Death to traitors! Crush the
infamy!" Hanadi shouted angrily.
The units pouring into the chamber of hecatomb echoed the Euzadi Guildsmon's
words, clanging swords on shields.
Tagalong snarled, "Vengeance. Paybacks are a bitch."
"Margren may have gone back to the castle," Kaethreyn said.
Tagalong turned, spitting full in Kaethreyn's face. "Ya killed her."
Kaethreyn wiped her face off, accepting Tagalong's rage because she knew it
came from a grief as deep as her own. "Margren did this..."
"Naw," Tagalong snarled savagely. "She just put the blade in, ya killed her
with yer fuckin' vow. Ya tied her hands and hung her out ta die." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]