Delver Magic Book III: Balance of Fate
Page 43
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As if she simply faded in from the darkness and took form where there was none before, a woman in a long black cloak appeared off to the side of the road where Sazar and several goblins stood watching and waiting. Her cloak billowed at the bottom and appeared to have no true end as if she was an extension of the darkness around her. Her appearance so stunned one goblin that he fired off a crossbow bolt before he knew what he was shooting at. The woman stepped forward and leaned into the incoming bolt, allowing it to plunge deep into her shoulder. Without even a gasp of pain, she pulled the protruding bolt from her flesh and threw it to the ground.
“Hold,” Sazar commanded to the other goblins. He would not step forward, but he turned slightly to face the woman.
“You are the serp in control of these creatures,” she stated as a simple fact.
“Indeed I am,” Sazar answered as he stared into the eyes of the woman before him. He did not like what he saw and for the first time since he gained his new powers from Tabris, he felt a chill whisk through his very bones.
“Do not try to work your will on me, serp. I understand the strength of will as well as you do, and though my power to control an army would never match yours, your influence over me dies in my veins.”
“Vampire?” he questioned.
She said nothing, but the dancing shadow in her eyes made the answer clear.
The serp gritted his teeth. “What is it I should call you?”
“You may call me Janindise.”
“Very well, Janindise, how did you find me?”
“For me, I can taste the vibrations of your controlling thoughts. The outflow of your will is like a guide. I had no trouble following it back to its source.”
“Do you guard this city?” Sazar asked somewhat concerned about what the answer might be.
“I hate this city,” the woman answered. “Do to it what you will.”
“I plan to,” the serp responded simply. “What is it you want?”
“I have extremely little time before the sun rises, thus I shall waste none. There are two things you must be made aware of. One is that I am bound to attack goblins, shags and the like in order to satisfy my thirst. Normally, I would travel into the hills or the forest to hunt what I need. Now that you bring so many here to me, I find it absurd to waste time hunting them down in the wild. If it is any solace to you, I will not kill what I feed upon, thus you will not lose any of your followers. I tell you this out of a courtesy.”
“I appreciate your advanced warning,” Sazar noted. “What confuses me, however, is why can’t you attack the humans of this town?”
“I will not discuss that.”
Her tone made it very clear that pressing her would be a waste of time and Sazar did not wish to make an enemy of this woman, certainly not at this point in time.
“Very well. You did say there were two things you wished to advise me of, what is the second?”
“I have a friend that dwells in this city,” the vampire explained. “I plan to return to him now. I will not let you hurt him, thus I suggest you advise your goblins, your shags, your hook hawks, and whatever other monsters you plan to unleash on these other mortals, to leave us be if they happen to stumble upon us.”
“Does your friend have a name?”
“Edward Consprite. I have already informed him of your arrival here and of the horde this city faces. He believes he might be of some assistance to you. He has very in-depth knowledge of this place and its inhabitants. It seems he used to lead them once. He has been replaced and now also has nothing but contempt for this city as well. I can not imagine how he might be of help to a serp that wishes to plunder a city, but he has surprised me on many occasions and so he might surprise you as well. Eventually, he will come to you on his own. Whether you listen to him or not, that is your business. If you kill him, then it will become my business.”
“It is not my intention to make anything your business. I will leave you and your friend be, and I will listen to this human if he does seek me out. I do, however, have a question. If both you and this Consprite hate this city, why do you stay here?”
“He has nowhere else to go and I have come to enjoy his company.”
“I see,” Sazar responded simply.
“The sun is rising and I have only moments left. Remember my warning, do not harm Consprite.”
She took one step back and simply faded into the swirling snow and waning darkness.