Black wizards - Douglas Niles [79]
"Quickly!" urged Genna, stepping in front of Robyn. The young woman saw the man striding arrogantly toward them. He clutched some object before him with an unnatural intensity. It was a small thing, like a stone.
The sight of the man sent waves of terror through Robyn, and she stood mutely, staring at his approach. Now she could see his face – he was grinning with demonic glee.
She shook her head suddenly and remembered Genna's command. Inhaling deeply, she forced herself to be calm. And she thought of the new body, the one she would change into. She felt herself fall forward, landing lightly on strong forepaws. A snarl – an instinctive mixture of fear and anger – curled her lip. The sleek body of the gray wolf felt fast and powerful.
Genna looked back and saw that Robyn had changed. The great druid closed her eyes quickly in concentration, but then she staggered under the impact of a zombie attack. The creature slashed at her again, and she fell to the ground,
Robyn was horrified to see the zombie lunging at Genna. Several others were moving in with stilted eagerness.
The body of the gray wolf crouched, and a deep growl rumbled from its chest. The Great Druid kicked at the zombie but turned her head toward her student.
"Flee, Robyn! While you still can!"
But Robyn sprang instead, and the force of her leap knocked the zombie to its side. Burning with canine rage, Robyn felt no revulsion as her teeth sank into the creature's arm. With a savage bite, she pulled the limb off and tossed it to the side.
Other zombies closed in, but Robyn heard a growl behind her, and she knew that Genna had changed. Whirling, Robyn raced to the side of another wolf, larger and more grizzled, but still very swift.
Like two gray ghosts, they darted among the clumsy creatures until they had passed from the ranks of the army. But even as the enemy fell far behind, the two wolves kept racing to the north toward the grove.
* * * * *
"Kralax withyss, torral."
Space shimmered suddenly under the combined influence of Kryphon's and Cyndre's spells. And then the younger man, with Doric, was instantly transported from the chamber in Caer Callidyrr to a place many miles to the south. Kryphon transported himself, but Cyndre's spell had been necessary to move Doric, for she did not have the power of teleportation yet.
The pair arrived in a small stable. Their appearance startled the assassin into wakefulness. Razfallow's hand darted to his dagger, but Kryphon was ready.
"Dothax, mylax heeroz, he said softly, gesturing swiftly at the assassin. Razfallow relaxed and stood.
"It is good to see you again, my friend," he said.
"And you," Kryphon replied. He smiled thinly, not from any pleasure at the greeting, but from this evidence that his spell had worked.
"Now, go back to sleep," Kryphon ordered. "I will tell you what I need later."
He turned to Doric, who stood silently at his side. The master was gone. Alexei had been dealt with. Finally, he had the woman all to himself. He reached out and threw back her hood, his thin smile growing into a crooked leer.
Doric smiled back at him. Her black hair framed her thin face, and her green eyes glittered with excitement. She was nearly as tall as Kryphon, and very thin. Most men would have described her as gaunt, but the wizard thought that she was the most desirable thing in the world – at least, for the moment.
"My pretty one, you shall serve me now – and only me. I will see that untold power is yours."
Doric narrowed her eyes and gazed coolly at him. He sensed, with disappointment, that the charm spell he had used to beguile her earlier had worn off. Still, she did not look unhappy.
"You don't have that power to offer, yet," she said, with a trace of a sneer. "But perhaps my desires are not so different from yours." She came easily into his arms, and the heat of her body was like a furnace.
Their mission could wait.
* * * * *
"It's not the grandest place on the isles, but we like it here," said Hugh O'Roarke modestly, gesturing into the