“No, I can't hear a thing,” Magnus said. “But that doesn't mean much. In this place, sounds are muffled by the narrow walls and dirt floor. Let's just keep moving.”

  They hurried as best they could along the path and both of them noticed that the ground began to rise as they moved forward.

  “I wonder if this leads to the surface?” Sarah said.

  “I hope not,” Magnus replied soberly. “If the emissary gets out of this warren, she might be able to get away. Callius has set up a barrier around the stronghold, but I doubt that it extends to the surface.”

  “Oh damn, I hadn't thought of that,” Sarah gasped. “And if she gets away, we're screwed. We might not get another chance to stop her.”

  “Exactly.”

  Sarah tried to move faster along the twisting, weaving crack that they were following and Magnus stayed close behind her. He slipped his tomahawk through his belt and watched his footing on the loose sandy ground.

  “Hey, the path is getting wider,” Sarah said a minute later. “Maybe we're reaching the end of it.”

  “Let's hope so. Our friends may need our help.”

  A moment later, the path opened up and led into another chamber. This one was a natural cavern, its floor covered with broken stones and dry sand. Stalactites hung down from the high ceiling and stalagmites reached up toward them. Flecks of glowing stone mixed in with the sandy soil cast a ghostly glow over the entire area.

  About fifty feet away, in the center of the cave, was a round pool of water. In front of the pool, Malcolm and Antoine were standing as still as statues. Hallic couldn't be seen anywhere, but what caught Sarah and Magnus' attention and froze them in place was what they saw beyond their two friends.

  Above the surface of the water, a tall robed figure floated in the air, her arms extended. A hood covered her face, but both Sarah and Magnus knew who it was.

  “The emissary,” Sarah hissed. “We've got her!”

  “Do we?” Magnus said softly. “Then why are Malcolm and Antoine just standing there instead of attacking? They must be enthralled in some way.”

  Sarah scowled and raised her wand.

  “Then we'd better un-enthrall them,” she said angrily. “They're helpless if she decides to attack them.”

  The hovering figure turned in place toward the newcomers and a pleasant voice called out to them.

  “Ah, more visitors,” a woman's voice said, her tone gentle. “How lovely. Come forward and join us. Your friends and I were just having a delightful little chat about current affairs.”

  Sarah looked at Magnus.

  “Should we get closer?” she whispered.

  “Might as well,” he replied. “We're here now. But don't let your guard down. That being is obviously powerful, but I sense an arrogance in her that we might be able to exploit. If you see a chance to attack, take it.”

  Sarah nodded and began to walk forward, Magnus moving in step beside her.

  When they reached Malcolm and Antoine, they stopped and looked up at their friends' faces.

  The werewolf's lips were pulled back from his fangs in a rictus of rage. His red eyes burned with fury and he was glaring at the emissary.

  Antoine was expressionless, but his eyes were fixed with a deadly cold gaze on the enemy.

  “What have you done to them?” Sarah asked angrily.

  “I? I have simply stopped them from making a tragic mistake, that's all.”

  The figure raised her hands and pulled back her hood. Sarah gasped at what she saw, while Magnus narrowed his eyes and examined the exposed face of the emissary.

  She was completely bald and her skin was crisscrossed with cracks that glowed with red fire. Her eyes were simply large pools of crimson, the color of fresh blood. Yet her features were fine and attractive and, when she smiled, she was almost pretty. And Sarah distrusted her utterly.

  “My name is Cathulos,” the woman said. “Your friends were about to attack me. You should be thanking me. I saved their lives.”

  “I rather think that it was the other way around,” Magnus told her.

  Cathulos laughed lightly.

  “You believe that I was in danger from them? Oh, foolish mortal. Nothing that you or any of your kind can do to me is a threat. My masters have gifted me with power, enough power to easily counter anything you could possibly do.”

  “Then why not simply destroy us?” Sarah asked her. “If you are so powerful, you could eliminate us with a snap of your fingers.”

  The woman smiled widely.

  “I was curious about you, that's all. I have never known mortals before. The goblins are simply tools, of course. Mindless and filled with an animal rage. Useful but rather poor company. I must say that I was impressed by the way you handled them. Ah, if only I had some of your people as allies. Just think of what we could do together. Of what we could accomplish.”

  Sarah chuckled coldly.

  “Is that an invitation? If so, I will decline, and I suspect that my friends will as well.”

  Magnus glared at Cathulos and she shook her head, looking disappointed.

  “Yes, I suppose they will. What a shame. I suppose that means that our war will go on.”

  “How foolish do you think we are?” Magnus asked her with disgust. “We are well aware that your evil masters must destroy every single member of the mortal races before they can return to this realm. You are playing with us, Cathulos. Fortunately, you are a rather bad actor.”

  The emissary laughed again, but this time there was an edge to her humor, a dark tone of mockery.

  “So you have seen through me so easily, then. Well, it was a short, but entertaining, conversation.”

  The water in the pool below her began to churn and swirl. It slowly started to spin and a whirlpool appeared beneath her feet.

  Cathulos still looked amused as she raised her arms, her long sleeves sliding back to reveal more of her cracked, burning skin.

  “This has been a delightful distraction,” she told Sarah and Magnus. “But I really must be getting on with my plans. I have a planet to conquer, after all. A gift to my divine masters. They grow impatient and I must show some results for my efforts.”

  “And you think that we will just allow you to snuff us out as if we were nothing but insects?” Sarah asked angrily, raising her voice over the sound of the churning water.

  “But you are insects, child,” Cathulos told her. “All of you are. And like insects, you have caused my masters a small measure of discomfort. But that is about to end. I shall swat you four first and then move on to your little castle. What is it called? Nottinghill? Yes, that's it. It will fall, and then the elves will be my next target. Once they are eliminated, those nasty dwarves shall finally be dealt with. I must admit that, of all of your mortal races, those stumpy little dirt diggers annoy me the most.”

  “I am flattered that you think so,” a voice said from the shadows.

  From out of the darkness of the cavern, a dagger flew as straight as an arrow and plunged into the emissary's throat.

  Chapter 27

  Cathulos cried out and fell back, reaching for her throat as she tumbled into the pool below. At the same time, Malcolm and Antoine staggered and stumbled back as they were released from their immobility. They quickly regained their balance and looked at Sarah and Magnus in confusion.

  “What happened?” Antoine asked them. “One moment I was entering this cavern, thinking that I heard something ahead and the next, I am standing here.”

  Malcolm snuffled loudly and growled as he stared at the bubbling pool. Steam was rising from its surface as it began to boil violently.

  “You were frozen by some kind of spell,” Hallic said as he appeared out of the shadows. “The dark emissary used her powers to trap you, catching you off-guard. I assume that she did not want either of you to get close enough to her to be a threat.”

  “I suppose that means that she considered us harmless,” Magnus told Sarah with a rueful smile.

  She giggled as she watched Hallic approach the pool and gaze into its disturbed depths.

  “She didn't know that you were around,” she told him. “I wonder why?”

  “No idea,” the rogue answered absently. “I'm just glad that she didn't sense me. By the Stone, just how deep is this waterhole? I can't see that woman anywhere.”

  Everyone took a step toward the pool just as it exploded outward, sending a violent spray of hot water over everyone and knocking Sarah off of her feet.

  “Fools!”

  Cathulos rose from the half-empty pool to float a few feet above it. Her bloody eyes were now streaming bloody tears down her pale face and her expression was one of blind fury. Hallic's dagger was gone, but the wound in her throat dribbled thick drops of burning liquid as if she was bleeding molten lava. Steam rose from her soaking robes, evidence of how hot her glowing skin actually was.

  “You dare to touch me?” she raged. “You? Oh, I shall make you suffer for that. I was willing to be merciful and kill you quickly. But now, your ends will be agonizing. You will linger for hours before I release you into the relief of death. I will...”

  Hallic sighed and shook his head.

  “Why do these types always waste their time threatening and blustering?” he said mockingly, rudely interrupting Cathulos. “It's as if they are trying to frighten us to death with their talk. Pathetic, isn't it?”

  The emissary stared down at him, her crimson eyes fixed on the rogue's face.

  “A dwarf!” she exclaimed in shock. “You are the one who attacked me?”

  “I was indeed. Does that irritate you, oh high and mighty one? You do realize that you are just as much of an insect to your masters as you say we are to you, right? I really think you need some perspective.”

  Cathulos seemed at a loss as Hallic goaded her. She spluttered with anger and Sarah looked toward Malcolm and Antoine, hoping they would realize that the rogue was distracting the emissary to give them an opportunity to attack her.

  Neither of them disappointed her. While Cathulos was confused and infuriated by Hallic's jibes, the werewolf crouched down and gave Antoine a quick glance. The vampire nodded slightly and both of them leaped at her at once.

  They slammed into the emissary and knocked her out of the air. The three of them hit the ground on the far side of the pool and thrashed around violently for a moment.

  “Enough!” Cathulos screamed.

  Both Malcolm and Antoine were flung away from her. They landed dozens of feet away, but neither was injured. Malcolm hunched down on all fours, ready to leap at Cathulos again, while Antoine landed lightly on his feet and stared at her coldly.

  “You two are a nuisance,” the woman told them angrily. “But you do have some gifts, I must admit. I shall have to nullify those first, I suppose.”

  Cathulos had turned her back on Sarah, Magnus and Hallic, apparently deciding that they were less of a threat than Malcolm and Antoine. And while she was focused on them, the rogue made a swift motion and another dagger flew toward her back.

  The weapon flared an intense red and melted several feet away from the woman and she laughed derisively without taking her eyes off of the werewolf and the vampire.

  “You had your chance, little dwarf,” she said mockingly. “And you failed. You will not get another. Now wait your turn. I must deal with these two first.”

  Hallic glowered at her and glanced at Sarah and Magnus.

  “If either of you think you have a way to stop her, now would be the time to try it,” he whispered.

  Before they could answer, Cathulos rose from the ground again to float several feet in the air. Malcolm seemed to be about to fling himself at her, but she gestured at him and he fell back with an agonized howl.

  While the group stared in disbelief, the werewolf violently rolled around on the ground and shifted back into his human form. The horrible sounds of cracking bone and tearing flesh filled the air and then, a moment later, Malcolm was lying face up, panting heavily.

  He pushed himself up on his elbows and looked at the satisfied expression on Cathulos' face.

  “How?” he gasped.

  She laughed coldly.

  “Rejoice,” she told him. “You are cured! Your curse has been lifted and you are now the man that you were always meant to be.”

  She narrowed her eyes and leered at him.

  “Of course, you are also now defenseless. What are you without your unnatural powers, hmm? Just another useless human. Now stay there like a good little boy while I deal with your pale friend.”

  Antoine had not taken his burning red eyes off of Cathulos. While she mocked Malcolm, he advanced on her, a menacing presence in the shadowy cavern.

  “Not so fast, monster,” the emissary told him. “I haven't forgotten you.”

  As Antoine took another step toward her, the ground beneath his feet rose up and trapped his body in stone up to his waist.

  He looked down at the imprisoning mixture of rock and dirt and laughed softly.

  “Do you really think that this will stop me?” he asked Cathulos.

  “Of course not. I did not need to stop you, vampire. I just needed to slow you down.”

  She pointed toward the roof and the ceiling far above them began to shake violently. A shower of dust and small rocks fell on Antoine and he frowned as he looked upward.

  The ceiling suddenly split open and rocks and dirt rained down on the vampire, burying him beneath a heavy mound of debris.

  “Antoine!” Sarah shrieked.

  She began to run toward the pile of stones, but Magnus grabbed her arm and held her back.

  “Wait!” he hissed urgently. “You know that your friend can't be harmed by a few rocks falling on his head. Don't draw that woman's attention.”

  Sarah yanked her arm from his grip and glared at him.

  “Why not? She's not afraid of us.”

  Magnus made a subtle gesture and Sarah looked around and then gasped in surprise. Hallic had disappeared.

  “Wait for an opening,” the shaman told her. “I know that you have powers of your own.”

  He glanced at the wand that she was holding in her shaking right hand.

  “Whatever you can do, be prepared to do it, because this might be our last chance.”

  She nodded even as she stared anxiously at the heap of stones covering the vampire.

  “Come on, Antoine,” she murmured. “You can get out of there. You're too strong to be stopped by a bunch of pebbles!”

  As if in response to her plea, the mound of rocks began to shake and shift. Larger stones rolled away from the top of the pile and with a final violent shove, Antoine's torso emerged from the pile.

  “You've failed again, demon,” he told Cathulos as he fastidiously brushed dust from his jacket.

  “Have I? I think not,” the emissary replied with a mocking laugh. “Look what you are standing under, vampire.”

  He frowned at her and looked up again. Sarah was watching and listening and she suddenly realized that her friend was glowing brightly in the gloomy cavern. He was standing in a beam of sunlight that was shining down on him from the hole in the ceiling.

  Antoine tried to free his lower body from the heavy rocks, but no matter how hard he strained, it was obvious that he was stuck.

  “Weak as a kitten in the light of day, aren't you?” Cathulos said with amusement as Antoine glared at her. “It is so easy to defeat one's enemies when you know their vulnerabilities.”

  “And what are yours?” Sarah called out.

  Without looking at her, the emissary waved her hand dismissively.

  “I have none,” she replied arrogantly. “My masters shaped this body perfectly. Can't you tell? I have conquered all of you with hardly any effort at all. And now it is time to end this charade, once and for all.”

  She began to float slowly toward Antoine. When she passed Malcolm, who was still trying to get to his feet, she laughed softly and ignored him.

  “I will get to you in a moment,” she told him. “Best to deal with the bloodsucker first.”

  “Sarah,” Magnus whispered hurriedly as Cathulos began moving again. “She does have one weakness.”

  “She does? What?”

  “Somehow she's made of molten rock. It acts like her blood. And what is the opposite of heat?”

  “Cold!” Sarah exclaimed excitedly. “Of course! How could I be so stupid?”

  “Is there any way that you can use that knowledge to our advantage?”

  She nodded.

  “To save Antoine? Oh yes. I have not done this before, but I can try something.”

  She moved forward, skirting the edge of the pool, and staying out of Cathulos' view. The emissary was too focused on Antoine to notice the slight figure as she snuck up behind her.

  “Do you know how to kill a vampire?” Cathulos asked as she floated toward Antoine. “There are several methods that can be used. Fire. Decapitation. But I enjoy the classics and a stake through the heart is quite...traditional, don't you think?”

  Antoine, to his credit, merely glared at her expressionlessly. He did not reply and that seemed to anger the emissary.

  “What? No final words? No threats? Come now, monster. Surely you don't wish to die in silence like a frightened animal?”

  “You are the only monster here,” he replied calmly. “A demon given the form of a woman. But your so-called masters couldn't even get that right. Look at you. You are so hideous that you cover your face with a hood most of the time. I have nothing to say to you, demon. You are not even worthy of my contempt.”

  “How dare you!” Cathulos cried in sudden rage. “I am an emissary of the lords of Chaos! You are nothing but dirt beneath my feet.”

  Sarah stopped a dozen feet behind her. Her heart was racing and she was breathing very quickly, but she knew what to do. At least, she knew what she wanted to try to do.

  She began spinning her wand in a small circle. Faster and faster it went and the waters in the pool began to spin with it. The sound of the water splashing was drowned out by the ranting of Cathulos and Sarah was grateful for the creature's rage.

 

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