The Book of Shadow, page 31
part #1 of The Curse of the Unnamed Series
“They’re…stealing…my…” His vigor waned before he completed the thought, and Ilkari sank to his knees. As they touched the ground, a hand caught him under the armpit, yanked him up. The squire gazed up into Cirril’s stern face.
“Keep your feet, man, or you’re done.”
He realized the merchant’s man’s advice to be sensible—and it sounded a simple task—but the ache in his legs and shoulders as if he’d carried a great weight for a long time disagreed. With an effort, he nodded and kept from slumping to the ground, though he lacked the energy to stand erect. One Prue took advantage, darting in to drag sharp nails across his cheek.
Ilkari gasped and jerked away, warm blood flowing into his jaw. His shoulder blades brushed against his companions and they both stood strong, holding him up.
“Focus,” Rein said. “Keep them from you.”
The squire nodded, inhaled a shuddering breath, and found the strength to raise his head. Movement to his left caught his attention—a flash of yellow. He directed his eyes toward it and gasped again when he saw the knight bound by the massive python.
“Jai,” he wheezed.
He didn’t think he’d managed enough air for the others to hear him over the din of clicking bones and cackling witches, but Rein stiffened and stood straighter, stretching to see over the ring of women encircling them.
“Jai!”
Ilkari sensed space behind him—Rein moving away. The squire forgot himself and spun to find out where his charge went.
The baron’s champion leapt forward, throwing himself into the Pris and Prue in front of him, attempting to break through the coterie. Under normal circumstances, nobody would expect two women to withstand the ire of a man of Rein’s size and strength, but these weren’t normal circumstances. They caught him, dodging his blade as their fingernails raked his face. Ilkari cringed at the sight, but the knight didn’t desist. His legs pumped, feet churning furrows in the ground as he pushed against them, his effort fruitless.
Beyond them, the squire saw the python wrap itself around Jai, pinning his arms to his sides, squeezing. The knight’s expression went from surprise to strain. His eyes closed, his brow furrowed, his cheeks puffed out. After half a minute, the flesh on his face began turning red.
Cirril lunged forward, hacking at the other women, holding them in place, and meeting a similar fate as Rein. The circle cinched in around them, threatening to choke them in the same way the snake smothered Jai, a noose tightening.
A grunt escaped Hinter’s throat as she put her boot to the latest skeleton grasping for her. The muscles in her legs burned from the effort. She risked a glance toward Jai and saw the huge python entrapping him, its sides flexing as it squeezed. If someone didn’t help soon, it would crush the life out of him. Off to her right, she glimpsed the others surrounded by the women. They’d offer no aid.
A dead man with dried flesh clinging to his bones came for her. Hinter slashed at it with her knife, throwing it off its path, then lunged away. Three running strides brought her within arm’s reach of the snake. She swung at it, the dagger’s thin blade slicing the python’s side. The creature fixed her with a malevolent look, hissed, and opened its jaws to threaten her with pointed fangs, but didn’t relinquish its hold on Jai. She raised her arm to stab at it again, but bony fingers clutched her sleeve, pulled her down.
The knight’s cheeks went crimson, his chest unable to inhale or release breath. He’d suffocate in a matter of minutes unless the snake crushed him and impaled his heart with one of his own ribs first. She reached out once more, but three more skeletal adversaries grabbed her, dragged her away.
She swung the knife, kicked with her boots. The skeleton men rattled and crumbled, falling to pieces to be replaced by more. Sweat streamed from her brow, stinging her eyes and salting her lips. So far, they’d caused her no injury, doing no more than occupying her, making her unable to help the others. Preventing her from doing anything but fight an unending parade of the dead until she either fought herself to death or the python finished with Jai and came for her next. If she judged by the knight’s cheeks shading toward purple, she figured she knew which would come first.
She wrestled her way clear of the latest group of bones, took half a second to inhale a deep breath to replenish herself. The air she drew stank of putrid decay. She raised her eyes to see the corpse she’d discovered beside the door of the death chamber bearing down on her, the mark of house Carpera flashing on its jerkin.
The lifeless thing swung its sword, and she dodged to her right, stepping dangerously close to the python. It hissed at her, Jai gurgled. She reached backward with her foot until it touched the snake, then she planted her boot and used its rigidity to launch herself forward.
No grunt or rush of breath escaped the dead man as she hit it in the midsection, doubling it over and sending it to the ground. She landed atop it, pinning it to the dirt, and inserted her dagger in its eye right to the guard. Its tip scraped against the inside of its skull and the eyeball exploded with a dull pop. The thing writhed under her as she pulled the blade free and stabbed at its face again and again until it ceased, its features an unrecognizable mess. Panting, she climbed off it and to her feet, muscles tensed and ready for the next attack. When none came, she spun toward the knight, expecting to find him expired on the grass and the python slithering in her direction.
The snake held him, savoring the act of squeezing the life from him. His face had gone purple, his lips almost black as his eyes bulged. His death couldn’t be far away. At least, she thought so until the cleric jabbed a broken thigh bone into the python’s side.
She didn’t know where Aryzath arose from—she hadn’t seen him while engaging with the dead men. The creature reared up, the action loosening its coils for an instant, giving Jai a reprieve. It hissed and snapped its jaws at him and he stumbled away, feet catching in a pile of bones. Hinter seized the opportunity, lunging forward, plucking a rib from the ground as she did.
Two steps brought her to the snake.
She planted one foot between its first and second coil, taking advantage of the distraction offered by the cleric’s attack. The python’s head swung toward her, jaws agape as it readied to skewer her with its monstrous fangs. Before it did, she jabbed the bone upward, aiming in between its pointed teeth. It struck downward at her at the same instant.
The sharp end penetrated the roof of its mouth, the snake’s own inertia carrying it through where it punctured the creature’s lizard brain. It thrashed, throwing Hinter backward. She hit the ground, someone’s bones crunching under her backside and doing little to cushion her fall. Her teeth clicked together, sending a jolt through her head; she kept her wits enough to scramble away from the flailing beast.
It uncoiled itself, letting the knight go. Jai slumped, face pressing against the dirt, and she wondered if he lived. The snake’s body thumped the earth, narrowly missing them both. A moment later, the cleric appeared at her side. He grabbed her by the arm, helped her struggle to her feet.
“The traveler is here,” he said. “We have to get the others.”
She stared at him for a second, thinking she must have misheard. When she didn’t move, he raised a finger and pointed across the clearing. Hinter looked past the circle of women and the three men trapped within, Rein’s expression of desperation visible above everyone as he struggled to break free. They continued to detain him. Beyond them, at the edge of the forest, stood Llyris Fildarae, hand extended in front of her, the purple Unnamed standing erect on her palm.
“We can’t leave him,” Hinter wheezed, her lungs more depleted than she’d realized. She gulped a labored breath and gestured toward Jai.
The python thrashed, the air filled with a squeal of pain a creature of its ilk shouldn’t be able to utter. Not until they crept closer, intent on extracting the knight from harm’s way, did she realize it wasn’t the snake making the sound, but the women.
The thing slapped against the ground, its weight crushing bones to dust. Its tail lashed out and cut three dead men in half. They rushed in, Hinter grabbing Jai under one arm, Emeryn grasping him under the other. They looked at each other; she nodded, and they yanked him away. Her feet scraped the grass in short, quick steps as they dragged him across the dirt.
“Watch out!”
She didn’t know who yelled the warning, but she instinctively ducked as a thing wearing an irate version of Prue’s features swung a blow at her. It missed, but not by much; air moved by the force of it touched her cheek. She lifted her arm to defend herself as the witch raised her fist for a second strike, but a dull thump sounded and she stopped, stood erect. Over her shoulder, Hinter glimpsed Tesfira, the tome she’d struck the woman with held in both hands.
Good girl, she thought.
With the circle broken, Rein, Cirril, and Ilkari spilled out of the ring. The merchant’s man slashed a Pris, sending her to the ground in a heap, as the knight and his squire rushed to help her and the cleric with Jai. The two new arrivals pushed them aside and grabbed him under the arms, pulling him upright. A sound burbled from his lips, now purple instead of black, and he caught Hinter’s eye, tipped her a shallow nod as his friends dragged him away.
“Hurry,” Emeryn said, urging her toward the edge of the clearing.
Behind the handler, a translucent white circle blurred the trees and brush. The Unnamed perched on her palm, spinning top-like, coaxing the tunnel to life. Only a dozen witches, uncountable animated skeletons, and a dying monster stood between them and freedom.
Hinter sighed and started across the yard.
Llyris watched her companions, wishing she could do more to help them. She didn’t dare move closer for fear of being attacked. If the strange women or one of the horrible living cadavers injured her or Flayre, they might not get away. When she’d come to the end of the path the forest inexplicably created for her and found them here, she’d gaped, not knowing what she gazed upon. Their distress quickly became clear, and she’d done the only thing she knew to do. Now the passage to Carpera’s estate opened behind her, leaving her with nothing more to do than hope they’d fight their way to her.
Cirril Feron slashed at anything approaching them as he led the others across the yard. Ilkari and Rein dragged a half-conscious Jai between them while Emeryn, Tesfira, and Hinter defended their flank from lumbering piles of bones.
As she watched, she noticed a couple of the women who didn’t belong to her party disappear. No, disappear wasn’t the correct description. She observed two combine with a third to become one. She pressed her lips together. Even while training with the guild masters, she’d never read about or heard of magic of this ilk. Desperation built in her as she felt the unused passage drawing power from Flayre, and she wondered how long before it sucked their energy away and closed. She ground her teeth, curled her free hand into a fist, then opened her mouth.
“Leave them alone,” she cried.
Her voice carried across the clearing, amplified by the distance, or the pathway swirling behind her. Everyone raised their eyes to her—her companions, the witches, the dead—their attention making her uncomfortable. She fought the urge to shy away, instead standing firm and repeating herself.
“Leave them alone.”
The skeletons came to a clunking halt. The women—six of them remaining as their merging continued—halted. Only the snake, deep in its death throes, kept moving, its thick body thumping against the ground. Cirril waved the others past him, holding his sword out in front of him lest any of their adversaries attacked again. None did.
Rein Shriken and his squire arrived at Llyris’ position first, the semi-conscious Jai dangling between them.
“What did you do?” the knight demanded.
Llyris shrugged. She’d never experienced this before, not until the night in the woods. She knew no explanation to offer and worried if she did, it would cause the baron’s champion to loathe her more.
“Just go,” Emeryn Aryzath urged.
Rein gave her a concerned look, but Ilkari nodded his thanks, then they dragged Jai into the mouth of the tunnel. As soon as their boot soles touched its white surface, Llyris noticed Flayre’s weight in her hand increase. An instant later, the cleric and the two young women stood before her.
“Where is Kove?” she asked, though she suspected she didn’t want to hear the answer.
Hinter shook her head. “He won’t be returning with us.”
Llyris wanted to ask more, but this wasn’t the time. Aryzath grabbed his protégée by the sleeve and yanked her toward the passage. Hinter followed a step or two behind.
“Do you have the tome, Tesfira?” she asked before stepping across the threshold.
The young woman lifted the book aloft for them to see, and relief flooded Llyris. At least after what they’d gone through—and she didn’t have any idea what her companions experienced—they’d leave with the item they came for. She gazed at the volume with its dark leather cover embossed with the form of a dragon. How beautiful, she thought.
“That’s not it,” Hinter said. “Where is the other one?”
Tesfira lifted her hand and pointed to a spot near where the dozen Prises and Prues had surrounded the men. The tome lay on the ground, two paces from where the women lurked.
“Damn.” Hinter stepped forward and slapped Cirril on the arm. “Be ready. I’m going to grab it, but then we’ll need to leave in a hurry.”
Beside Llyris, the other young woman watched, a concerned expression tugging at her face. Behind her, the cleric entered the passage, his steps adding to the burden in the handler’s palm.
“Go,” she said to Tesfira. After a quick, apologetic glance, the girl acquiesced.
Hinter crept past Cirril Feron, the man watching her from the corner of his eye.
“You don’t want me to come with you?”
“Wait here.” She inched closer to her goal.
“Is this what you’re after?” one of the remaining Prues asked, gesturing toward the tome lying on the ground before her. “You think you can steal it again, do you?”
Fear coursed through Llyris. If it were her trying to retrieve the volume, she’d have fled as soon as the woman spoke. Not Hinter. She continued forward, eyes fixed on her goal, feet placed carefully. When she neared it, the witches shrank to four, two of them absorbed by the others. They swung at her, clawed for her, but she remained out of reach. Hinter crouched, stretched for the book.
The instant her fingers touched it, the spell Llyris had inadvertently cast broke. The women jumped forward, their legion of the dead following, but Hinter moved as though she’d expected this. She snatched the tome and sprang away, darted toward the tunnel.
“Get in,” Cirril yelled. “I’ll hold them.”
“No,” Llyris cried, unable to bear the idea of abandoning any of her companions. “Go now.”
The merchant’s man did as she said, lumbering into the passage. Hinter dove in behind him, the women—now numbering two—and skeletons in close pursuit. The second the young woman entered the tunnel, Llyris followed.
As her feet touched the white surface, she questioned whether she possessed the strength to hold it with everyone traversing it at once. She wondered if she could keep ahead of their pursuers. And what would happen if they caught her?
She didn’t want to find out, so she summoned whatever power resided inside her and opened her mouth to shout a single word.
“Run!”
Chapter 27
A n unfamiliar scent floated in the air, a distinct odor Viden Misk knew he should recognize, but the memory of it eluded him. A chill settled on his skin, bringing bumps along his arms, and he shuddered. Anticipation nibbled at his gut, disturbing his last meal, though he couldn’t recall when he’d eaten it.
What if they didn’t locate the tome?
The thought made him more unsettled, and he shuffled from foot to foot, leaned on his staff to relieve the ache in his lower back. He didn’t know what he’d do if they failed. Even after speaking with the earth, he sensed his already meager reserves depleted; without the Book of Shadow, he lacked the power or energy to accomplish anything more than escaping this body before it expired. If transferring wasn’t too much for him.
Beside him, Mikol gripped his sword rigid in front of him, blade glinting in the sun as it threatened the empty space where Llyris had opened the passage to take him and the others away. He’d held the position for the better part of an hour, bless him, without the slightest tremble in his arms. Guilt steadied his hands, Misk understood. The young man hadn’t spoken of it, but the only thing Misk suspected Mikol desired more than obeying Caedric Carpera as his father did before him was to help his companions. If not, he’d already have locked him in his chamber again.
The odor increased, finding its way through his nose to the rear of his mouth so he tasted it. Its bitter favor flooded his tongue with saliva and he swallowed it away.
“What is this infernal stink?” Mikol said, gaze unwavering.
“It marks their return.” His vocal cords knew the truth before his mind realized. He nodded. “They’ll be here any time now.”
Though the old man wouldn’t have considered it possible for him to be more ready, the merchant’s man tensed further, the muscles in his jaw bunching and pulling his face into a scowl. Misk inhaled a deep breath and released it, wishing the body he inhabited capable of fighting beside the younger fellow if the need arose. He knew better. If he attempted something so foolish, he’d end up in a heap on the ground long before any enemy swung a blow in his direction.
Birdsong floated out of the forest and water gurgled in the fountain behind them, the unseen liquid caressing carven lovers locked in a forever embrace. Beauty everywhere around them, but what might emerge from the tunnel when it opened? From what the fungus had shown him, things hadn’t gone as he’d hoped. Of course, if he’d known of the witches’ involvement, he’d have chosen the members of his expedition more wisely.
