Crypt of the shadowking - Mark Anthony [96]
Caledan looked up at the Harper involuntarily. She nodded. Apparently she had recognized the lord steward as well.
"Why has it taken you so long to make contact?" Snake demanded in a voice as dry as bleached bones. "I have been attempting to communicate with you for the last two days."
Morhion drew in a breath to reply.
"Never mind," Snake interrupted impatiently. "It does not matter now. All that concerns me is Caldorien. Is he dead?"
Without hesitation Morhion nodded.
"Excellent," Snake said, his voice pure venom. "Now no one with the shadow magic can stand against us. Things are moving toward an end. Perhaps I will let you deal with the fool Ravendas yourself." A cadaverous smile touched Snake's mouth. "You have done well. Our lord who is to come will not forget that."
Again Morhion nodded.
"I must go," Snake hissed. "I shall make contact again when all has been-"
Snake's words were cut off by a sudden high-pitched commotion. Caledan swore under his breath and sprang toward the stairs, but he was too late.
Pog and Nog had burst into the room.
"Mother! Nog hit me!" Pog wailed before Caledan could quiet her. Nog's piping voice rose in denial.
The damage was done.
In the image inside the crystal Snake's hard eyes glittered with suspicion. "Who are you?" he demanded.
Morhion laughed. "A foe!" he cried. He passed a hand over the crystal. "Bahtral" he spoke as the gem went dark. The image of Snake vanished.
They all stared at the darkened crystal for a long moment. Pog and Nog clung to Estah for comfort, sensing they had done something wrong. Finally Tyveris cleared his throat.
"Well, Caledan," he said, his deep voice rumbling, "at least now we know who wants you dead."
"Comforting thought," Caledan growled in reply.
Eighteen
"I don't like this, not one bit," Caledan said, pacing agitatedly before the hearth. Night had fallen outside. The room was bathed in the warm glow of the candles Jolle and Estah were lighting. Pog and Nog had been sent to play upstairs, and the other companions sat around the oaken table.
"Snake said that soon he's going to be rid of Ravendas," Caledan went on. "If he's powerful enough to summon a shadevar, he can probably make good on his little boast."
"Perhaps this Snake fellow is just a fool who's a bit too full of himself," Tyveris offered. "I don't think so," Caledan said, shaking his head. "He is only pretending to serve her," Morhion agreed. The magical jewel sat on the table before him, dark now. "He is only waiting for the right moment for betrayal."
Caledan gazed intently at the mage. "I suppose you would know about things like that, wouldn't you?"
No one spoke for a tense minute until Ferret broke the silence. "There's still one thing I don't understand. Why is Snake going to so much trouble to kill everyone in the Realms with the shadow magic? Talek Talembar told us that only someone who possesses the shadow magic can utilize the Nightstone."
Caledan scratched the disreputable-looking growth of beard on his chin. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"The Harpers know for a fact that Ravendas has been searching for someone with the shadow magic for years," Mari ventured. 'That may be why she has been trying to capture you alive, Caledan. She needs someone with the shadow magic for when she gets her hands on the Night-stone."
"Well," Tyveris said finally, "if Snake doesn't serve Ravendas, then who does he serve?"
No one had an answer for the loremaster's question.
Caledan and Ferret waited just inside the mouth of the cramped, musty-smelling storm sewer. Caledan had not enjoyed crawling through the narrow, debris-cluttered tunnel. Ferret had wriggled his way through the pipe like a snake, but Caledan's broad shoulders had proven a liability, and more than once he had nearly gotten stuck.
Now