Curse of the Shadowmage - Mark Anthony [38]
The three passed through an open turret atop a dilapidated tower and proceeded onto another bridge. It was a spindly arch, its stones cracked and pitted with age. Mari could feel the span shudder beneath her with every step. Nervously, she clutched the stone balustrade to steady herself. A chunk of the railing broke off in her hand. She swallowed hard, casting a look at Cormik.
"Are you certain this bridge is safe?" she asked in a quavering voice.
"Oh, the bridge is sturdy enough," Cormik replied, "but I wish someone would clean up after the pigeons." With a sound of disgust, he hiked up the hem of his rich velvet robe and picked his way delicately around the piles of bird droppings.
To Mari's relief, they soon turned onto an intersecting causeway that was in better repair. After that, they followed a confusing succession of bridges until the city seemed to spin beneath her.
"Do watch where you're going, Mari," Cormik complained.
Mari blinked. The rotund man had stopped on the bridge, and she had run right into him. She gasped, seeing why he had halted.
The bridge ended in midair. The stones trailed off raggedly, as if half the bridge had collapsed and the other half had remained, hanging unsupported over the city below. In panic, she clutched Cormik's hand and hauled him backward.
"We have to get off!" she shouted urgently. "The rest of the bridge could collapse at any second."
To her astonishment, he shook off her hand. "Calm down, Mari," he said in a perturbed voice. "You're rumpling my silk shirt." He fussed with the soft material, smoothing out wrinkles that would have been imperceptible to less fastidious eyes. "Now, follow me. And whatever you do, don't look down."
With that he turned and stepped off the end of the bridge. Mari screamed. She lunged forward, trying to grab him, but he had already vanished from sight. Frantically, she peered over the edge of the bridge. She could see the labyrinthine streets of the Old City far below, but she caught no glimpse of Cormik. His body must have already landed.
"Why, Morhion? Why did he do it?"
"Indeed, why?" Morhion echoed her, but Mari had the distinct impression he was mocking her. "Cormik was hardly the suicidal type. In fact, I've never met a man as obsessed with staying alive."
Mari shook her head in disbelief. Yet she had seen Cormik step off the edge of the bridge.
"Oh, stop this nonsense," a voice said impatiently. "We haven't got all day."
A chubby hand shot out of thin air and grabbed Mari's green jacket, yanking her off the end of the bridge. This time she was too surprised to cry out. She braced for the shock of the plunge, but she wasn't falling. In fact, she could feel a hard surface beneath her deerskin boots.
Cormik was glaring at her. She looked down. That was a mistake. Though it felt as if she were standing on solid rock, all she could see beneath her feet was clear air and the twisting streets a hundred feet below. A wave of nausea crashed through her, and she clutched Cormik's arm for support.
"Didn't I tell you not to look down?" he chided her.
"Invisible," Morhion murmured with interest. "The bridge doesn't end at all. It merely becomes invisible. And when we stand upon it, we are invisible as well." He turned to Cormik. "This was wrought with powerful magic. Who are we going to find at the other end of the bridge?"
"You'll see," Cormik replied mysteriously.
Cormik was right, Mari realized. It was definitely better if she did not look down. Her feet were content to believe they trod upon hard stone, and she didn't want to give them any other notions. She kept her gaze fixed ahead. Far below was a dark and seamy section of the Old City. They continued to walk.
"We're here," Cormik announced.
"Er, where's here?" Mari asked hesitantly. "I don't see anything."
"Must you always be so negative, my dear?" Cormik asked in exasperation. "I know it's difficult for you, but just trust me."
He moved forward and vanished from sight. Mari knew there was little point in protesting. "Here goes nothing,"