Crypt of the shadowking - Mark Anthony [75]
"Why?" Estah asked simply. "Why turn your back on love, Caledan?"
He shook his head, fidgeting with the copper bracelet on his left wrist. "I loved once, Estah. And I think maybe once was enough."
"I've never heard such nonsense," Estah said, her brown eyes flashing fire. "Why, you're every bit as stubborn as she is." She stood up, her hands resting firmly on her hips. "We all loved Kera very much," she said quietly but firmly. "But someday, Caledan, you are going to have to take that bracelet off."
Caledan stared at her in surprise, but the halfling turned on a heel with a flounce of her gray dress and marched up the stairwell.
The moon had not yet risen; the night was dark. It was Tyveris's watch. The loremaster stood by the window while the others slept, gazing out over the village streets. He yawned, keeping his eyes peeled. He was determined not to fall asleep during his watch.
So intently was the loremaster's attention focused outside, however, that he did not hear the faint stirring in the shadowed room behind him.
A form quietly slipped from one of the beds and stood in the dimness, clad only in a light robe of white. It was the Harper, Mari. Her eyes were open, but they stared blankly into the darkness, unblinking. Slowly, Mari reached down to the leather pack that lay next to her bed. She slipped something silently from the pack, then gripped it tightly in her hand. Sharp steel shone dimly in the dusky air.
Mari trod almost soundlessly on bare feet past the bed where Estah lay, deep in slumber. Tyveris did not turn from the window, nor did he see Mari step through the open doorway into the adjoining room. Moving stiffly, Mari strode past the bunks where Morhion and Ferret slept until she reached a low cot against the far wall.
Caledan lay sleeping before her.
He shifted in his slumber, making a low sound, but did not wake. Still staring blankly ahead, Mari lifted the dagger. She hesitated, her brow furrowing. But after several heartbeats her face hardened once more. Her grip on the hilt tightened as she poised the blade over Caledan's bare chest.
And then she thrust the knife downward.
Fourteen
Caledan woke to the sound of a scream. It was a terrible, wordless cry of primal rage.
He leaped from the bed and stared at the scene before him. Tyveris was grappling with the Harper. She struggled furiously, trying to stab Tyveris with her dagger, but the loremaster held her tightly. Again Mari cried out in fury.
"By the gods, Tyveris, what is going on?" Caledan shouted. The others had risen now and were also staring at the strange scene in astonishment. Then Morhion spoke a word of magic, and the room was suddenly flooded with silvery light.
The big loremaster shook his head. "I was hoping someone could tell me, Caledan. I went to wake Ferret for the next watch and saw that Mari's bed was empty. When came in here, I found her ready to bury this knife in your heart. I caught her hand just in time." Caledan shook his head disbelievingly, his mind reeling… The Harper had meant to kill him?
"But Mari would never do such a thing," Estah said, the halfling's voice trembling.
"Wait," Morhion said. "Can you not see it in her eyes?"
Indeed the Harper's eyes were empty. Normally glowing with life and fire, they were instead as dark and dead as stone.
"What is it, Morhion?" Estah asked, wringing her hands. "What's happened to her?"
The mage did not answer immediately. Gazing at the Harper, he muttered a few strange words as he touched her forehead. Suddenly she went limp in the loremaster's arms, the dagger slipping from her fingers.
"She is under an enchantment," the mage said.
Caledan helped Tyveris lay Mari down on the bed. Her eyes were closed now, her face was pale, her breathing shallow and rapid. "Enchantment?" Caledan wondered, turning toward the mage. "By whom? The shadevar?"
Morhion shook his head. "No, I do not think such would be within its powers. A Zhentarim sorcerer is the more likely culprit."
Caledan swore.
"Estah, is there something you can do for her?"
The halfling healer