"She escaped," Thorn said. She'd had a close look at the sorceress, and what she'd seen was fixed in her mind… the blue dragonhawk of Aundair pinned to her cloak. She was one of the Aundairian envoys.
"The Crag is large, and they likely think me dead." Sheshka paused, using her teeth to tie the cords on her bracers. "But guards will surely be here soon to make the shocking discovery. If I'm still alive, I suspect that they'll be prepared to finish the job. And my death would be a tragedy for both of us, it seems."
"Why would the guards of the Crag want to kill you?" Thorn said.
Sheshka buckled a sword belt around her waist. She held out her hand without looking behind her, though two of her vipers fixed their eyes on Thorn. "What do you think just happened here?"
"Four people tried to kill you-and would have succeeded if not for me." Thorn tossed the curved sword toward Sheshka. The medusa snatched it out of the air and sheathed it.
"And I'd like to know exactly how you survived," Sheshka said. She placed a diadem around her head, the band hidden beneath her serpents. An array of metal disks dangled from the silver band. "But now is not the time for that discussion. Who were these assassins?"
"A Brelish soldier, a Valenar elf, a Darguul hobgoblin."
"And how would you interpret such a group?" Sheshka said, straightening the diadem.
She'd already thought this through. "The Gantii Vuus fought alongside Brelish troops in the Last War, and the Valenar will fight for anyone. I'd conclude that someone in Breland wanted you dead."
"Yes. Neither the hobgoblin nor the Brelish was protected from my gaze. Both wore the clothes of their nations-hardly an intelligent action for an assassin, as you seem to have concluded."
"So they expected to be petrified, then the wizard fills the room with fire, killing you, leaving the corpses intact and the blame on Breland." Thorn's mind raced. So was Aundair behind this? The sorceress wore the Aundairian crest, but Breland and Aundair were allies. "But why would Toli agree to this?"
Sheshka wound an arm ring around one bicep. "Because his true loyalties lie elsewhere, of course. You saw what he became."
"A werewolf." Thorn knew almost nothing about these creatures. Legends said they were all but extinct.
"Yes," Sheshka said. She placed a ring on her finger and hissed sharply as she released it, as if it caused her pain. She turned to face Thorn, closing her eyes as she did. "And Zaeurl and her children have always been loyal to the Daughters of Sora Kell."
"So you think the Daughters want to kill you and make it look like Breland is responsible?"
"I believe they already have," Sheshka said. Sheshka paused for a moment near Szaj's corpse, then strode out of the room. Thorn followed her into the main chamber. "The evidence is here, and all they need to do is ensure my death. My people will certainly demand vengeance. Why they would want war with the east I cannot say, but it seems inevitable. I don't know what stakes you hold in such a conflict, but there's nothing we can do alone."
"Ber-" Thorn caught herself before she said the name. Surely Sheshka knew she was one of the envoys, but didn't know which nation she was from. "What about my companions? I can't leave them here."
"There is nothing to be done for them," Sheshka said. "If the Daughters are behind this, we will be lucky to escape with our lives. If your comrades are diplomats, it's more likely that they will be kept as hostages than killed. If you help me escape, I can get word to my people. We cannot stand against the full might of Droaam alone, but I can help you. At the least, I may be able to find Harryn Stormblade, though I fear it won't be easy."
Only then did Thorn realize that she'd been throughout the medusa's chambers and had seen no petrified warriors. "So Harryn isn't here."
"No. Until recently, he stood in the Great Hall. Two days ago he was moved beyond the walls of the Great Crag, at the orders of the warlord Drul Kantar. If you are willing to remain until my soldiers arrive, we might be able to find him. But until then, he could be anywhere in the city. Searching for him would be… what is your phrase? Like searching for a tree in a forest."
"Or a bone in an ossuary," Thorn said glumly.
Sheshka's reaction surprised her. The medusa's head snapped toward her, and her snakes coiled back as if preparing to strike. "What did you say?"
Thorn took a step back, closing her eyes. Something dangerous lurked in the medusa's voice. "It would be like finding a bone in an ossuary. It's a container for holding-"
"I know what an ossuary is," Sheshka said. "Why did you say it now?"
"A note was left for me at the welcoming feast. That's what it said."
"Let us go." A rack of weaponry hung in the main room, and Sheshka selected an ornate short bow and quiver. She turned to face Thorn. Her eyes were closed, and she had regained her composure. Bow in hand, armor gleaming, she was every inch the warrior queen. "We may not survive the journey. The gates lie above us, and they will be guarded. I can no longer say who in this place can be trusted, but we will not die alone."
"Could we use the sewers?" Thorn said.
Four of Sheshka's serpents turned to look at her, their posture suggesting surprise. "I suppose…" she said. "There must be a path leading out. But I do not know the way, and it would be a gruesome journey."
"Honestly? I've seen worse," Thorn said. "Besides, I know a ritual to help with that, and to keep trackers from following. If you'll allow me, your majesty."
Thorn had held back from casting the shielding spell, because she'd hoped to include Harryn Stormblade in its effects, but it seemed she'd need its defense now. She whispered the syllables of magic, tracing the pattern to include the medusa, and she could sense Sheshka's odor fading from the room. "It's done."
"Then ready yourself for battle," Sheshka said, nocking an arrow to her bowstring. She nudged the door open with her foot, revealing the corpses of two guards. One lay in a pool of blood; his head had nearly been severed from his body, likely by the blades of the Valenar elf. The other had been felled by magic. A focused burst of flame had melted her steel breastplate and charred the muscle beneath, leaving metal bound to seared flesh.
"You'll need the myrnaxe," Sheshka said. If the sight unnerved her, she gave no sign. "This is a night for silver."
CHAPTER TWENTY — SIX
The Great Crag Droaam Eyre 19, 998 YK
Thorn had already intended to use the sewers as her escape route, and-thanks to Jharl-she knew exactly where to go. She led the way at a hard run. With only a few hundred feet to go, speed seemed more important than stealth. And it was. Thorn was less than ten feet from the privy chamber when she heard the sound of thunder rolling down the hall-iron-shod boots pounding against the stone. She darted into the latrine and pressed herself tight against the wall. Sheshka followed close behind her, taking the other side. Moments later, a troop of armored ogres stormed past them, loping toward Sheshka's quarters.
"Skullcrushers," Sheshka murmured, once the sound had faded. "The elite guards of the Crag."
So she was right, Thorn thought. Either the Aundairian had been caught and then confessed, and the guards had been sent to save Sheshka-or they'd come to finish what she started. Either way, trouble lay ahead. "Olladra, Aureon, smile on your servant Beren," she breathed.
Thorn thought that Sheshka might need the rope and climbing tools she'd brought with her, but the medusa knew what to do. She'd slung her bow and was sliding down through the ogre's latrine.
The last time Thorn had passed through the sewers, she'd been a gaseous cloud. That had many advantages-floating through the air was far easier than clinging to scum-encrusted walls while trying not to slip and tumble into the sewage below. And in her ghostly form, she'd lost her sense of smell. This time, Thorn was solid, and her senses were sharper than ever. In her haste to follow Sheshka, she'd neglected to use her nose clip, and the odor was horrific. She struggled to keep from retching, which was no help as she fought to keep her grip on the wall.