Curse of the Shadowmage - Mark Anthony [26]
Mari nodded, hastily slipping off the bracelet and handing it to the mage. He set the bracelet on the stone floor, and within the circle of metal he placed a small bit of white fleece drawn from one of the myriad pouches at his belt. Standing, he held out his arms and chanted in a guttural tongue. The bracelet flared brightly, and the fleece vanished in a puff of smoke.
Mari gasped. Before her stood Caledan. Had the mage summoned him with his magic? After a moment, she realized it was not Caledan at all. The figure did not move in the slightest, and if she concentrated she found she could see right through his body. An illusion.
"It is he!" Kadian hissed, reaching through the bars to point at the phantasmal Caledan.
Mari stared at the thief in shock. "This is the man you saw in the darkened corner? Are you certain?"
Kadian nodded frantically. "I will never forget his face as long as I live. It's him, all right. Except the eyes aren't right. They were deeper, and ancient… so terribly ancient, I thought they would drive me mad."
Morhion said nothing, but banished the illusion with a wave of his hand. He retrieved the bracelet and handed it to Mari. The metal felt nauseatingly warm as she slipped it on her wrist once more. "I think we have what we came here for," she said huskily. "Tyveris, call the gaoler. Tell him to release Kadian."
"No!" the thief cried desperately. "Ask him to wait until the dawn. I beg you. Let me stay here tonight, where it's safe." He shuddered, gripping the iron bars with white-knuckled hands. "Don't you see? The shadows come out at night…"
Mari nodded in sad understanding. Kadian would never be a thief again. She led the way out of the dungeon, finding that she herself was not so eager to face the night.
* * * * *
Midnight found Mari and Morhion sitting by the fire in the Dreaming Dragon's deserted common room, piecing together what they knew. Though the Zhentarim beneath the Barbed Hook had indeed been plotting to take over the city, they had not masterminded the brutal murders. The Zhents had simply been victims like all the others. And Mari was beginning to suspect that she knew who their killer was, though it was a conclusion so terrible she could not bring herself to consciously consider it.
Morhion regarded her with piercing eyes. "You are thinking the same thing that I am, aren't you, Mari? There is only one answer to our mystery."
She shook her head fiercely. "It can't be," she said hoarsely.
"Can't it?" Morhion's quiet words pierced her like knives. He reached beneath his shirt and drew out something hanging on the end of a silver chain. It was a small ruby. A faint light flickered erratically in the center of the gem.
"What is it?" Mari asked in fascination.
"I fashioned this pendant with a drop of the dark substance I discovered in the Zhentarim hideout," he explained. "Its enchantment is such that it will glow if it comes near to the source of magic that conjured the shadow creatures."
"But it's glowing now!" Mari protested.
"It has been glowing ever since I entered the inn," Morhion replied, "though only weakly. However, the mean-ing is clear. The source of the magic that conjured the shadow creatures was here in this inn, but now it has gone." His eyes bored into her. "There are only two who have ever dwelt in this place who have power over shadows, Mari. One is still here, but the other is not. There is only one conclusion. The person responsible for the murders is…"
At last, Mari whispered the word she had feared.
"Caledan."
Morhion nodded gravely. "He had ample opportunity. And consider the victims. Each was despicable in some way. Perhaps, unaware that he was even doing it, Caledan was passing judgment and sentencing them to death with his shadow magic."
Mari gripped the arms of her chair. She felt ill. "But what does it mean, Morhion? What is happening to Caledan?"
"I think that the ghosts know," a voice said quietly.
Both Mari and Morhion turned in surprise