City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [127]
Lei peered over the edge, studying one of the pools. “I think it’s some sort of incubator. Look where the chain is touching the surface? There’s some sort of casket down there. I think that people have been lowered into these pools.”
“But why?”
“Think about it. Teral and his followers had those things grafted to their bodies. We know that it’s something they were continuing to do here. The container at the end of that chain may hold some sort of creature waiting to be grafted to a human host—or it may be the human subject, recovering from the experience.”
“That’s great,” Daine said. “So each of these chains is attached to a monster-to-be? What do we do about that?”
“Cut the chains?”
“I suppose there’s not much choice.”
Daine looked down at the catwalk, studying the way the steel segments were joined together. He felt a growing sense of satisfaction. Just a few more steps …
“Lei! Move!” he cried, charging forward and shoving her with all his might. Caught completely by surprise, she tumbled forward. Nearing the edge of a catwalk, she managed to stop her movement by plunging her staff through a gap in the floor of the platform.
“Dolurrh!” she swore. “What do you think—”
A tremendous crash struck behind her, and she spun around. The catwalk that they’d been standing on a moment earlier had dropped to the floor of the chamber. The suspending chains had come undone, and Daine had barely pushed them onto the next segment in time.
“Chyrassk is here,” Daine said. “I can feel him.”
Lei studied the supporting chains and drew the lightning wand. “I think this platform is stable, but now we’re cut off from the exit.”
Daine watched the shadows. He could feel a presence, a gloating thought in the back of his mind. Two have no hope, he thought. Best to end it quickly. They were his thoughts, pure and natural, and for a moment he shifted his balance and prepared to throw himself to the floor.
Only Lei stopped him, holding him back with the darkwood staff. “Daine, what are you doing?”
“I was … I … don’t know,” he said. “It … was … I … there!”
Chyrassk stepped out from the shadows. Its slick skin glistened in the light of the pools, its golden eyes gleaming in the shadows. Chyrassk was less than thirty feet away, but it was on a different catwalk, and at a quick glance it was impossible to see how to reach it. It raised a hand in their direction.
Fall and be done.
Once again Daine was caught in a storm of savage thoughts, a mental tumult that drowned out all conscious reasoning. He staggered in the wake of the mental blast—then the pain was gone. There was a sound, faint but clear, that seemed to surround him and drive the madness away. It took him a moment to realize what it was.
Lei’s staff was singing. The tiny darkwood face was fully animated. Its voice was faint but clear. Daine could feel Chyrassk’s fury, and again the storm of chaotic thoughts lashed, only to scatter against the barrier of song. Daine glanced at Lei, but she seemed as surprised as he was.
Daine didn’t like the darkwood staff. There was too much they didn’t know about it. The sphinx had wanted Lei to have it, but it still seemed possible that Flamewind had sent Jode to his death—or at least set him on the path that killed him. And when it had sprouted thorns to catch Hugal’s hands …
What was it? What did it want?
It was too dangerous. He needed to get rid of it. He’d find a way to deal with the mindflayer, but he needed to be able to trust the people at his side. How could he know that this thing wasn’t manipulating Lei’s mind? He still had the long chain attached to his wrist, and he lashed out with it.
Lei was just as surprised as Daine when her staff began to sing. It was clear that it had hidden powers, but with the chaos of the last few days she hadn’t had time to study it properly. Was it actually sentient? As expressive as the tiny face was, it was entirely possible that the powers of the staff were triggered by certain events. The song seemed to be shielding both of the from Chyrassk’s attack, but for how long? Lei knew she had to act.