Curse of the Shadowmage h-11

by Marc Anthony

"Come on, men! Hold him down while I break a few of his fingers for fun." The three men lunged for Caledan, but their hands never reached their target. "I warned you," Caledan whispered sadly. Suddenly, he felt himself swept away on a surging flood of power. Shadowy, bestial shapes sprang from the dim corners of the tent. The air was filled with the sounds of ripping canvas and splintering wood-or were they the sounds of ripping flesh and splintering bone? Caledan was only dimly aware of the bedlam. The hysterical shrieks of the three men seemed to come from a far distance before they were abruptly cut off. As the dark storm swirled around him, Caledan huddled on the ground, curling himself into a tight ball. He rocked back and forth, muttering four words again and again, as if they were a charm that could keep him from drowning. I will not forget. I will not forget. I will not forget…"

  "He's been here, all right," Cormik said with a low whistle of amazement.

  Mari could only nod. There was little left of the tent besides a shallow crater littered with a few tatters of greasy canvas and a handful of wood scraps. According to the rumors Jewel and Cormik had overheard, seven people had been slain in the tent's destruction two nights before. Most versions of the story claimed that the cause had been a bolt of lightning or a freak cyclone. The companions knew better. The tent's main pole still stood in the center of the blasted crater, the thick shaft grotesquely twisted. Seared into the wood were the shapes of a hundred bulbous, staring eyes. Mari wondered how the local folk explained that.

  "I think we've seen enough," she said finally. "Let's find out if there's still a market in this town. We need supplies."

  It was three days since the companions had left Triel behind. Outside Lord Elvar's walled town, Kellen had once again conjured shadows of the past, and they learned Caledan had ventured north, following the Trade Way. They rode hard on his trail, trying to make up for lost time.

  As they traveled down the road they twice heard bloodthirsty cries above and glanced up to see three dark specks circling high in the sky. The shadevari. Both times the companions had plunged into the thick bracken beside the road, and Morhion had cast a spell that concealed them with a magical dome. The dome acted as a mirror, reflecting the surrounding trees and brush. Twice they waited in terror for the claws of the shadowsteeds to pierce the magical dome and slice them to ribbons. And twice, after what seemed an agonizing eternity, the hideous cries receded.

  Now they guided their mounts through the twisting, muddy warren of makeshift tents and shacks. The population of Soubar had been dwindling with the waning days of autumn, and the violent incident two nights ago had begun a mass exodus. Everywhere merchants and traders were packing their wagons and heading for winter bases. Still, there were hundreds of tents in the squalid encampment, and soon they discovered a bustling market in the town's center.

  "We may be able to uncover a few more tidbits about Stiletto here," Jewel suggested. She turned to Cormik. "Shall we do a little scouting, love?"

  The big crime lord frowned. "Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?"

  "What's the matter with a little niceness now and then?" Jewel replied a bit too sweetly.

  "Nothing," Cormik grumbled, "except when it's used to draw attention away from the dagger one's holding behind one's back."

  "Really, Cormik," she scolded him. "Have I ever given you cause to be so suspicious of me?"

  "Frankly, yes."

  "Oh, very well!" she said, throwing up her arms in exasperation. "I'll promise to dispense with all semblance of niceness, you mistrustful old walrus. Will that make you happy?"

  He grinned at her. "Very happy."

  The two tied their horses to a hitching post and quickly disappeared into the throng. Mari, Morhion, and Kellen hitched their horses as well.

  "I am going to see if there is an herbalist in the market," Morhion said. "I require some ingredients for my spells. Kellen, would you like to accompany me?"

  "Yes," the boy replied earnestly.

  "I'll go see if I can buy some supplies for the road," Mari told them. "Let's meet back here in an hour." She whispered into her mount's ear. "Farenth, keep an eye on the other horses, will you?" The chestnut gelding nickered softly, and by that she knew he understood.

  Mari watched as Morhion and Kellen wended their way through the market. It was clear from the way he gazed up at the taller man that Kellen worshiped the mage. Why should he not? Morhion was intelligent, powerful, and of noble bearing. Mari supposed she worshiped him a bit herself. Not for the first time, she thought how grateful she was that he had accompanied her on this journey. She could not have done all this without him.

  True, the mage could be distant at times, even cold. Yet Mari considered him a close friend, ever since the night he had told her of the terrible pact he had forged to save Caledan's life-a secret he had never shared with anyone else. Mari realized that she and Morhion had something else in common now, for she had made her own sacrifice for Caledan by becoming a renegade Harper.

  Oddly buoyed by this thought, Mari set off to complete her tasks. She returned to the horses an hour later to find Morhion and Kellen waiting for her. They helped her pack the foodstuffs she had bought-in small quantities at outrageous prices-into their saddlebags. Just as they finished, Jewel and Cormik reappeared. The two seemed both excited and agitated.

  "What is it?" Mari asked. "Did you find out something about Stiletto?"

  "As a matter of fact, we did," Cormik replied, glancing around nervously.

  "More than we expected," Jewel added. "Er, we may want to get going and talk about this elsewhere."

  "Why?" Morhion asked darkly. "What is wrong?"

  "Nothing, really," Cormik replied, fidgeting with his numerous rings. "It's just that we finally learned where Stiletto's base of operations is located, and-"

  "Where?" Mari interrupted him excitedly.

  Before Cormik could answer, the crowd suddenly parted around them. Out of nowhere, a dozen figures materialized, each clad in black and bearing a brightly polished saber. With astonishing swiftness, the men in black encircled the companions. Mari swore. They were surrounded.

  "Let me guess," she whispered harshly. "Stiletto's hideout is here in Soubar?"

  "However did you guess?" Cormik replied as the thieves closed in.

  Fourteen

  "Look on the bright side," Cormik offered with forced cheer. "At least we finally found this Stiletto character."

  "Actually, Cormik," Jewel countered acerbically, "I think he found us first."

  Cormik rolled his eyes in annoyance.

  "Well, if you're going to get technical about it, Jewel…" Morhion ignored the two fractious crime lords as he paced around the octagonal chamber in which they were imprisoned. Earlier, the thieves had led the companions at sword point through Soubar's muddy streets. Folk had scurried out of their path with averted eyes, which suggested that Stiletto's thugs were well known-and well feared-in the settlement. The thieves had stopped before a rude tent. Inside, under a pile of refuse, was a trapdoor. The companions were forced down a spiral staircase and pushed through dim passages. At last they came to a chamber, and the thieves had sealed them inside.

  The air in the chamber was chill. The room lay deep in the ground, where frost never loosened its cold grip on the soil, even in the warm months of summer. Walls, floor, and ceiling were all lined with seamless black marble flecked with crimson and gold. The door through which they had entered had vanished. Morhion ran a hand across one wall. The stone was so slick it felt almost oily, though it left no residue on his fingers.

  "Can't you cast some spell to get us out of here; Morhion?" Mari asked, her face drawn.

  "I am afraid not. The walls have been infused with a powerful ward against magic." Morhion frowned thoughtfully.

  "This stone seems familiar to me, but I can't remember where I've seen it before."

  "Beneath Iriaebor, in the crypt of the Shadowking."

  Morhion turned to gaze sharply at Kellen. The boy ran a small hand o
ver a dark column that looked as if it had been poured rather than carved. "There was stone just like this in the tomb below the city. I remember."

  Kellen was right. That was where Morhion had noticed the strangely slick marble before. It explained the aura of magical resistance that emanated from the stone. The crypt of the Shadowking had been permeated by just such an aura. But why was the same stone in this chamber?

  The mage drew in a sharp breath. "Stiletto has been using the Shadowstar."

  The others stared at him. Before they could reply, a sharp sound shattered the silence. Cracks appeared in one wall, outlining the hidden door. The portal flew open. A dozen thieves slipped into the chamber, as dark and seemingly fluid as the strange marble, positioning themselves around the perimeter of the room. A figure clad from head to toe in a robe of flowing black silk stepped through the doorway. His shadow, cast by wavering torchlight, loomed larger than life on the wall behind him.

  Morhion whispered the word. "Stiletto."

  "I see inntroductions will not be necessary," the one called Stiletto said, his raspy voice muffled by the dark cowl that concealed his face. "For I certainly know the great mage Morhion Gen'dahar." The dark cowl regarded each of the others in turn. "And here with him is Mari Al'maren, lately of the Harpers-but no longer I hear. And Kellen Caldorien, son of renowned Harper Caledan Caldorien. And Cormik One-Eye, proprietor of the Prince and Pauper in Iriaebor. And of course Jewel Talondim, the enchanting matriarch of the illustrious Talondim clan." Morhion had not expected Stiletto to know them. It seemed the underworld lord was omniscient as well as all-powerful.

  "Why have you journeyed here seeking me?" Stiletto demanded.

  The mage allowed himself a grim smile. "You know so much about us, Stiletto. Surely you know that as well?"

  "Perhaps I already do, and merely wish to see if you will lie to me," the dark-robed man snapped, but his words came too hastily, suggesting that in truth he did not know their purpose.

  "Wait a minute," Mari said suspiciously, her eyes narrowing as she studied Stiletto. "I can see how an underworld lord might know his rivals, like Cormik One-Eye and Jewel Talondim. And I can even see how he might keep track of Harper agents and those who work with them, which would explain why you know me and Morhion." She took a step forward. "But it doesn't make any sense that you would know the identity of an eleven-vear-old boy."

  At those words, Morhion forgot the armed thieves surrounding them. Mari was right. Curiosity burned in his brain as he advanced on Stiletto. "Who are you?" he demanded in a low voice.

  Stiletto began an indignant reply, but he never finished it.

  Kellen whistled three sharp notes of music and stretched out an arm. On the wall, the silhouette of his hand touched the shadow cast by Stiletto. Kellen flexed his fingers and Stiletto's cowl was jerked back, revealing his startled visage. The crime lord was a small, weasely man with close-cropped brown hair, darting eyes, and crooked teeth. He grinned sheepishly as the companions stared in astonishment. At last, it was Jewel's scathing voice that spoke.

  "You have quite a bit of explaining to do, Ferret Talondim!"

  "You've hurt her feelings terribly, you know." Cormik, murmured. "I know," Ferret replied sadly.

  They were alone now; the little thief had sent his masked servants away. He cast a fleeting look at his grandmother. She stood on the far side of the octagonal chamber, where Mari and Kellen were doing their best to calm her. Jewel stalked lithely back and forth, looking almost like a dangerous violet panther in her dusk-purple leathers.

  "Honor doesn't mean much to thieves," Ferret went on, "but blood does. I suppose my operations have been cutting into Grandmother's business."

  Morhion gave the thief a hard look. "I think you err in judging the source of your grandmother's ire, Ferret. Whatever she might say, I imagine she cares little enough for any gold you have cost her. I would say she is angry at the grief you have caused her by letting her believe that you were dead." Mari cast a furious look in their direction. "And I suspect Jewel may not be the only to feel that way," the mage added meaningfully. Ferret swallowed hard. "Perhaps I acted recklessly. I suppose, now that Grandmother knows I'm not really dead, she'll go ahead and kill me anyway." Across the room. Jewel let out a particularly blistering array of expletives. Cormik raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "You may be right." He laid a ring-laden hand ferret's bony shoulder. "Unless, of course, you go over right now and speak to her. You are her grandson, after all. And her favorite, from everything I've heard. That might still count for something."

  Ferret nodded uneasily. "I suppose it's worth a try. If nothing else, maybe if I beg for mercy she'll make my demise a little less painful."

  Morhion poked a finger against Ferret's chest. "And when you've finished explaining things to Jewel, you can start explaining them to the rest of us. Last we knew, you were lost in the destruction of the Shadowking's crypt beneath Iriaebor. I'm very interested to learn how you got from there to here, and you're going to satisfy my curiosity. Understood?"

  Ferret's eyes bulged out. "I hope you're not expecting me to say I'm looking forward to it."

  "Frankly" Morhion countered, "I'd be happier if you were dreading it."

  "You would, Morhion," Ferret said with a grimace and scurried across the room.

  Morhion allowed himself the bare suggestion of a smile.

  It was good to see the little thief again. The world had been a duller place without him.

  Mari approached, gripping Kellen's hand. "Let's give Jewel and Ferret a little space," she suggested, and they withdrew to the far side of the room. It was only a short while later that Jewel and Ferret strode toward them.

  The weasely thief was grinning his crooked-toothed grin, and now the matriarch of the Talondim clan was smiling as well, though there was a slightly perturbed light in her eyes.

  "It's all right," Ferret pronounced in his raspy voice, "We've made up."

  "That was quick," Morhion noted dubiously.

  "He didn't play fair," Jewel complained.

  "What do you mean?" Mari asked.

  "He kissed my cheek and told me that he loved me," Jewel said, as if this were a tremendous outrage.

  Ferret beamed. "Even a grandmother as remarkable as my Jewel can't resist kisses from her favorite grandchild."

  A scowl cast a shadow across Jewel's ageless face. "You always were the slyest scion of my clan," she muttered.

  Cormik adjusted his jewel-encrusted eyepatch. "I hate to interrupt this sweet but twisted family reunion, but perhaps it's time we told Ferret why we were searching for 'Stiletto' in the first place."

  Minutes later, they gathered in a sumptuously appointed chamber deep in the underground warrens that were Ferret's-or Stiletto's-hideout.

  "Not bad," Cormik said with grudging approval as he eyed the room's mahogany furniture and thick tapestries. "Not bad at all, for an amateur." Cormik, of course, was an expert on luxury.

  Soon the companions were seated in comfortable chairs, sipping rich red wine. Morhion savored his glass. It had been a long time since he had drunk such an exquisite vintage. He wondered when, if ever, he would have such an opportunity again. Despite himself, he cast a fleeting glance at Mari. Her eyes were intent on Ferret as the thief began recounting what had befallen him after they defeated the Shadowking in the tomb beneath Iriaebor.

  "It was only last year, Mari, that I finally learned you had survived the bolt of magic that Lord Snake struck you with in the Shadowking's tomb," Ferret explained in his raspy voice. "I was glad to hear it. When Caledan and Morhion and the others ran from the crypt with you in their arms, I thought you were dead. Of course, when those stone doors shut, trapping me inside the tomb, I thought I was dead, too. The entire place was coming down around my ears. I was certain I was a goner. So I said to myself, 'All right, Ferret, my boy-if you're about to cough up the ghost and head to that big dungeon in the sky, you might as well go in style." He rubbed his nimble hands together. "I dodged the fallin
g stones and grabbed all the burial treasure-gold and silver and jewels-that I could find, making a big pile. Then I sat on the pile, thinking that at least I had everything I ever wanted in life, and waited for the rock that would bash my brains." Ferret paused, his beady eys glowing. "That was when I saw it." Morhion murmured two words. "The Shadowstar."

  "So that's what it's called," Ferret said softly. "Of course-what else would it be named?" After a pause, he went on. "I looked down, I don't know why, and saw a strange medallion half-buried in the heap of treasure. It was dark and shining at the same time, and without even thinking, I picked it up." Ferret's pointed noise crinkled in thought. "I'm not sure if it really used words, but it talked to me. At first I wasn't certain what it was saying. It's a little hard to concentrate when one is caught in a shower of boulders and is expecting to get flattened like a bug at any second. After a few moments, I realized that it-the medallion, the Shadowstar-was asking me something." His beady eyes went distant. "It was asking me if I wanted it to take me away from the crumbling tomb. Needless to say, I answered yes." He shook his head in wonder. "The next thing I knew, the crypt was gone, and I was sitting on a hill north of Soubar. What was more, the medallion had brought the pile of treasure along."

  "How thoughtful of it," Cormik muttered darkly. "So that's where you found the capital to set yourself up as a crime lord. That really wasn't fair, you know. It took me years to get to that point in my career."

  Ferret gave an unimpressed shrug. "I never knew thieving was about fairness, Cormik," he said dryly. "It's a fascinating theory. You'll have to convene a council of guildmasters and tell them all about it. I'm sure they'll be quite receptive to the idea."

  "Oh, quit rubbing it in," Cormik said petulantly. "I'm just jealous, of course. You needn't chastise me for it. It's perfectly natural, after all."

  "You're right, Cormik," Ferret conceded. "The gold did give me the foundation for building up quite a profitable business. Of course, all the money in the world is nothing if you don't have a natural talent for the illicit and illegal, which fortunately I do."