Chapter Twenty-Four
Korina let her arm fall to her side. Now she heard voices she recognized outside. One such voice sounded like Guild Master Regecon, and she breathed an exhausted sigh of relief; her vigil was over. She had been in the same position for over an hour with her eyes glued to the door, and a spell on the tip of her tongue. She had been poised intensely, waiting for the first sign of an intruder so she could blast the far wall and anything near it into oblivion. Apparently, it had all been for naught. Whatever it was that had stalked her was gone. She did not know when or how, but the creature had left without ever opening her door.
Korina relaxed. Though tired, she still felt curious. What would Regecon make of the dead guard? Perhaps she should find out.
She broke the small magician’s circle that had been her home for the last hour, then quickly swept the ashes up with a small hand broom. Straightening her robes, the young woman stepped to the door. She hesitated with her hand near the handle, anxiety temporarily thwarting her curiosity. Patiently, she listened. Regecon’s voice and footsteps had moved farther down the passage, too far for her to understand whatever was being said; however, there was no indication of fear or struggle in what little she could discern. Certainly, the creature had to be gone. If still in the hall, it would have attacked the guild master by now. Nevertheless, the young sorceress waited a whole ten count before removing the ward and stepping out into the corridor.
Almost immediately, she saw a body down the hall on her right, perhaps twenty paces away. It lay in a pool of blood that seemed to emanate from around its head. Apparently, another guardsman had run afoul of her mysterious visitor. Upon reflection, she remembered hearing some strange noises at one point, a metallic shrieking of some kind. That must have been when the guardsman died. She took her time to absorb the sight, then turned and walked down the passage on her left.
Ahead she could see Regecon and a guardsman she did not recognize, examining the body of Eredith, the man whose death she had witnessed. After a moment, Regecon turned and opened a small door on his right—as far as Korina could recall, it was the very door that the stranger had been positioned in front of before he had slain the guard. Perhaps the man had even entered through the window she knew was in the room beyond.
The guardsman next to the guild master—the live guard, Korina added with an amused smile—swore out loud. He stepped into the room at Regecon’s side with his hand tightly gripping the hilt of his sword.
Korina padded up to the corpse in the hall. She studied it, noting the large hole in the neck from which the man’s throat had been removed as well as the strange frozen expression on his face. It was not one of fear, or horror, or anything for that matter. It was a blank and vacant look; as if the man did not realize he was dying or did not care.
“That is odd,” Regecon said from the small room beyond the door. He seemed to be talking to the guard. Why he did so puzzled Korina: it was not like the watchman would have anything intelligent to say. “The only wound on the body is that small one by the neck ... no, wait ... there’s a little blood on the lips. It looks like he bit his tongue.”
Another body. That brought the count to three. Her strange visitor had been exceptionally busy last night; it was no mean feat to sneak through a guild and slay three trained guardsmen and then escape virtually undetected. Since no alarm had ever been raised, Korina suspected she was the only individual in the guild who had seen the stranger and lived to see the light of day. She felt no remorse about not sounding the alarm herself, since such an action might have forced the stranger to try to silence her, and, when it came right down to it, she didn’t really care if any one else in the guild was slain. She pondered that last thought a moment, then reconsidered it. In a way, the deaths did bother her, though not because of any value those men’s lives supposedly had. She felt protective of the guild, as if it were her hunting ground and the stranger was an unwanted intruder or poacher—a childish feeling really: a death which neither helped nor hindered her should not bother her at all. Nevertheless, she could not quell the sense of irritation she felt stirring in her bones. She mused over the issue for a moment more, then returned her attention to the corpse on the floor.
It would be terribly inappropriate to nonchalantly walk in on Regecon and the guard as if the dead bodies were nothing more than room furnishings. She would have to be a little more careful than that. Her eyes studied the corpse while her brain focused on the problem. What would Marissa do? The young woman smiled. Of course.
Korina screamed.
She threw her hands to her cheeks, worked her face into an awful visage of complete terror, and howled with all her might. She stopped to catch a breath, then started up again.
Regecon popped out into the hall with a look of worry on his face so sincere that Korina almost choked her scream off in a fit of uncontrollable mirth. Men were so pathetic sometimes, so easy to manipulate. It would only take a moment for that all-too-predictable male protector instinct to kick in. Yes, Guild Master, look at the poor innocent damsel in distress. Come, be that big, strong man, defender of the pure, the innocent, the beautiful. Drive the shadows of darkness away. The impulse to laugh swelled near bursting.
“Korina,” Regecon said as the guardsman stepped out beside him. “This is not a place for you. Please, let me take you back to your room.”
Korina fluttered her eyelashes up at him, darting a furtive look to the corpse and shuddering when she saw it. This was too easy. “Guild Master ... What happened here? That man ... He’s ... dead.”
“Yes, Korina. I’m afraid he is. Let me—”
The guardsman stepped forward. “I’ll escort her back for you, sir. If you don’t mind, that is.”
Korina glanced toward the guard and frowned. That would not do at all; the guard wouldn’t know anything important.
Regecon glanced briefly at the body, then turned to the guard. He shook his head. “No, that won’t be necessary, Thelliun. I’d rather you collect a few more guards and take care of this.” He motioned to the body on the floor and the room behind. “I need to return to my chamber and get some rest, and Korina’s chamber is on the way. I’ll lead her back. In the meantime, make certain all the bodies are prepared for funeral.”
Curiosity got the better of her and Korina sneaked a peek around the corner. She started. “That’s Durek! He’s ... dead?” Now, she felt truly stunned. Durek wasn’t a simple guardsman, the man was nearly a mage. Not as strong as her, of course, but still someone to be contended with. She suddenly felt very fortunate that she never had come face to face with his killer. Surprisingly, she even felt comforted by Regecon’s close proximity. If that thing showed up again, the two of them could handle it. They had to.
Regecon gripped her gently by the elbow and guided her slowly from the gruesome scene. His words were kind and soothing, offering comfort for her fallen friend.
Friend? Durek was not her friend. She shook her head and collected her thoughts. What did Regecon know?
She looked up at him fluttering her lashes again, and doing her best to look terribly frightened. “Guild Master,” she said in a worried voice, “what has happened here?”
Regecon frowned at her.
Korina twisted her lips thoughtfully and glanced down at the floor. Perhaps she was going a little too far with the frightened dimwit routine. After all, she was Ambrisia’s finest student. Magic was not an art for the weak of heart. The Mistress of Earth Magic would not have been overly distressed by the mere sight of a little blood.
“I am not entirely certain, Korina,” Regecon said.
That was not helpful. Korina looked up at him again, suddenly very composed. “Who could have done this? Who could murder two men inside these walls?” Ahead of them, the corpse she had seen before was coming into view. She stopped and pointed to it. “Oh, dear. There’s another one.”
Regecon looked over at the dead man and nodded. “This was truly a night of tragedy.” He glanced down at her with a thoughtful
expression on his face. Suddenly, he seemed to come to some decision. “I do not know exactly what caused this. Perhaps I should not even tell you this much, but if you are to become a true sorceress you must become accustomed to some things which are not altogether pleasant. Do not repeat this to anyone outside the guild, but these men may have been murdered by one of the undead.”
For effect, Korina stumbled slightly as she went through the door. “One of the undead,” she whispered. The edge of fear in her voice would convince anyone but an accomplished liar.
“Yes, Korina.” Regecon seemed suddenly regretful. He shook his head sadly. “Do not worry yourself too much, but do stay aware. I would not wish for you to meet Durek’s fate.”
Korina nodded in understanding as Regecon closed the door. One of the undead. That was all he knew. By the Scythe-Bearer’s Sickle, she wasn’t even a recognized mage and she knew as much as anyone in the guild. She’d even seen the murderer.
“One of the undead,” Korina repeated aloud, chuckling in disbelief. “So much for the treasured wisdom of the guild master.” She walked over to her cot and bent down to retrieve a footlocker.
Drasmyr (Prequel: From the Ashes of Ruin) Page 47