Nonetheless, he located the guard’s sword and headed on, hoping he could yet catch up to Leonin and the cat woman. Morgis had heard nothing so far, which made him hope that clever Leonin and feline Kalena had combined their natural skills to easily evade their pursuers.
The passage wended its down, curving madly. Swearing silently as he ran, Morgis peered ahead for some subtle difference in the darkness that would indicate he had reached the end.
At last, a hint of wind caressed his face. Hissing, Morgis increased his pace. Ahead, a sliver of darkness lighter than that around it beckoned him.
The outer door of the passage had been left ajar, but not enough for the towering drake to slip through. He pushed at the false stone wall, finding it a harder trial than he had expected. Putting his good shoulder to it, Morgis shoved.
The door gave way-and the drake discovered the obstacle that had make his task so difficult.
What was left of a wolf raider lay almost jammed into the false wall. His breastplate had been torn apart as if made of silk and most of his face had been take along with it.
Kneeling close, Morgis could see that the skin had been expertly flayed.
Every muscle in his body taut, the drake surveyed the scene.
More bodies.
They lay scattered about, each in some varying stage of horror. Armor had done nothing for them, nor had their weapons evidently. Some were devoid of almost everything, including their outer flesh. Others looked as if the creature had paused in mid-work, intending to return.
A quick count verified that the entire pursuit party lay before him.
What can kill ssso swiftly? Morgis wondered. Kill so ssswiftly that I heard no sssound even so near?
There was no sign of his friends. From the evidence he had seen so far of the monster’s work, it would have made more sense for their bodies to lie here among the others. That meant that they still might be alive.
But where?
Crippling pain sent him crashing among the corpses, the sword flying from his hand. He did not have to see behind him to know the cause.
“This is what it means not to have the order, the control, perpetuated by the empire!” D’Kairn’s voice had an edge to it that Morgis had never heard before. The keeper sounded strained. “You curse us, call us fiends, but I see before me a thing more monstrous than anything we are accused of!”
Morgis could have argued that point quite well, having witnessed the atrocities performed by the Aramites in the name of their savage god, but another flash of bone-numbing pain coursed through him, preventing him from thinking at all, much less disagreeing with the sorcerer.
“This is not a triumph for you and your friends,” D’Kairn continued, his voice nearer now. “These men have but sacrificed for the cause. I will still bear my research to others like me and we shall combine our efforts. We will bring this continent in line again!”
“If they are all asss you,” the drake finally managed. “Then your empire isss dead and buried, keeper! A leader who sendsss all hisss men to their deathsss ssso carelessly does not ssstir much confidence in thossse others he would think to command!”
“Insolent lizard!”
The pain nearly crushed Morgis into the earth. How strong was D’Kairn’s stone? Surely all this spellwork had to be draining it? The keeper had not had any chance to draw more from the dead.
As if reading his foe’s thoughts, D’Kairn said, “I will drain every bit of life force from your blood, track down your friends, and do the same to them… after they have tasted what my wrath shall make of the power you grant me.”
“Aren’t you forgetting ssssomething? Your patternsss?”
Now the keeper’s voice came from right beside Morgis. “There will be some necessary loss, but you are a dragon, after all. However much is lost, there shall be more than enough to satisfy me… you have my word on that.”
You are a dragon, after all… Yet here he was, face in the dirt, about to be slain by a lone Aramite. A pitiful end. He could not even raise a finger to help himself.
“D’Kairn… I am not resssponsssible for the deaths of mossst of your men… there isss a creature loose in thisss ancient place-”
“Spare me your pathetic drivel. I-”
But whatever the keeper sought to say ended in a horrified gurgle. Something clattered next to Morgis and the pain D’Kairn had inflicted on him vanished. Movement was once more his.
Immediately he rolled away from the direction of the keeper, only to land atop yet another flayed body. The same musky scent that he had noticed emanating from the Gnor filled his nostrils. He instinctively pushed away from the slim corpse, certain that whatever fate had befallen D’Kairn would strike next at him.
Only-neither the keeper nor whatever had attacked the him were anywhere to be seen.
No! Something moved toward the ruins. A shape. That was all Morgis could make of it. It vanished into the passage with an incredible swiftness.
Morgis tried to transform, but nothing happened. Despite the fact that D’Kairn was no more, the spell remained active. Morgis looked around for the necklace and the stone, but could not find them. Whatever had taken the keeper had taken the talisman as well.
As he retrieved his sword from near the slim corpse, he noticed for the first time that the body was feminine. At first he feared that he had found Kalena, but then he noticed that the body had lain there for some time, for it was dry to the touch, not moist and fresh like those of the slain Aramites.
But how much longer did Kalena and Leonin have? The wolf raiders were all dead, which mean that the only victims remaining for the monster were Morgis, his partner, and the cat woman.
Eyes narrowed, the drake hurried toward the ruins, hoping he would not be too late to save the others and yet not at all certain he was not simply adding himself to the rapidly-growing list of its victims.
VII
Morgis did not follow the beast into the passage, as it might have expected. Instead, he circled the keep, each step taken with a wariness he had not felt since the height of the war. Of his friends or his quarry he saw no sign. He still clung to the hope that he would find the former alive and well, but with each passing breath that hope sank more and more.
As he neared the entrance, the drake saw that the fire still burned within the building. However, Morgis did not take that as an invitation to enter freely. He also heard the anxious sounds of the horses and wondered why the monster had not taken them already. Bait, perhaps.
Trying to be ready for anything, the drake entered.
“Morgis!”
The hooded figure leapt up from its position near the fire and raced toward him. He hesitated for a moment until he saw Kalena’s face under the vast hood.
She threw herself against his chest, her hands pressed close to his heart. The discomfort caused by her closeness was negated by his relief at finding her alive.
“I was afraid you’d run off or been killed!” She ran her fingers over his chest. “Are you cut?”
“My shoulder is dislocated, but there are no outer woundsss.”
“No cuts,” she murmured, planting her hooded head against him again. “That’s good.”
He gently pushed her back and asked, “Where isss Leonin?”
She looked behind her. “You only just missed him. He said he was going to search for you.”
The drake hissed. “The passssage?”
“Yes, but-”
“Damn!!” Morgis felt like he was trapped in a maze, constantly running around the same places as he tried in vain to reach a conclusion. “Come! We may be in time yet!”
With effort, he moved the injured arm and seized a torch. Keeping Kalena behind him, he led the way through the back room and into the narrow corridor hidden within.
The passage was as silent as the grave, not an auspicious sign. Morgis wanted to shout to Leonin, but knew that would only alert their unholy adversary to their approaching presence.