Crypt of the shadowking - Mark Anthony [92]
Snake spoke the word that unlocked the magic of the crystal. It glimmered briefly in his hand, then went dark. A frown crossed his thin face, and he repeated the key word. Again there was a faint glimmer, then the crystal went dull.
Something must be interfering with the crystal's magic. Snake tried other spells, all to no avail. It was possible that the crystal's enchantment had faded. It was an ancient device, and such was not an impossibility. Regardless, Snake would have to wait until the shadevar returned to the vicinity of Iriaebor to make direct contact. It annoyed him. but he could not believe the shadevar had failed in its task.
Snake put the darkened crystal away. He had another task to perform. He opened a drawer in an ornate wooden cabinet, taking out a small crystal vial and a thin golden needle. The vial held a thick, purplish fluid. It was telsiak, a rare poison native to the southern empire of Amn. One drop in the blood caused the heart to stop beating instantly.
He dipped the needle into the vial and then, taking great care, slipped the needle into a pocket. He left his chamber and walked softly through the dim corridors of the city lord's tower. He passed a few Zhentarim, who only nodded to him respectfully and did not block his passage. Soon he stood before a door. He carefully unlocked it, pushing the door open. He stepped into the darkened chamber, shutting the door softly behind him.
A child slept soundly in a bed near the chamber's window, bathed in the silvery moonlight. Without a sound, Snake moved to the bed and drew out the poisoned needle. He held it so that the point was a hairbreadth above the boy's small hand. One prick, and the child would be dead.
Suddenly Snake cocked his head, his hard eyes going distant for a moment. He nodded then, a new understanding filling his mind. He put the needle carefully away and slipped from Kellen's room. The boy never woke.
Kellen must still die, Snake knew as he crept softly back to his chamber. But his death could wait. The child might yet serve a certain purpose.
* * * * *
"The gateway is ready," Morhion said to the companions, stepping away from the intricate circle he had laid out on the ground beneath the oak tree. The circle of silvery dust was perhaps a dozen paces wide, and the mage had scattered the interior with wild mint and dandelion. In the middle of the circle were two small pyramids of white stones, set far enough apart that a horse might walk between them. The mage had used a piece of burnt ocher to draw arcane symbols on the stones of the two pyramids, and atop each he had laid a single hawk's feather.
"Below my tower in Iriaebor there is a magical portal," the blue-eyed mage told the others. "It was fashioned by a powerful conjurer who dwelt there many years ago. I have cast an enchantment that links this portal with the one in my tower."
"It looks more like a bunch of rocks and weeds to me," Ferret commented skeptically, his beady eyes glittering.
Morhion regarded him icily. "That is why you are a foolish thief, Ferret, and I am a mage." Estah interposed herself between the two of them, wanting to make certain one of them didn't end up a toad and the other a corpse.
"I'll go first," Caledan said roughly, "just in case there's trouble on the other end." He swung himself into Mista's saddle as the others followed suit.
Caledan nudged Mista into a walk, guiding her toward the circle Morhion had drawn. Mari watched Caledan's mare step into the circle. Suddenly the silvery symbol drawn upon the ground began to pulse with an unearthly light. Horse and rider approached the two stone pyramids, then moved in between them.
Mari gasped.
Mista's head vanished! The rest of the gray mare was still there, Caledan in the saddle, but her head-no, now her entire neck up to her withers-was gone.
Caledan turned around in the saddle to