Death of the Dragon - Ed Greenwood [144]
"No." She pulled him toward her iron hiding box, which was standing open in the corner. "The child must be protected-but so must Cormyr."
The priest looked confused. "But we are only two. How can we-"
"By stalling," Tanalasta interrupted. She stepped into the box, pulling the priest in after her and returning her short sword to its place. "Until we know what is happening in the battle against Nalavara, we must hold Boldovar here."
Clagi swallowed. "Very well."
He slipped the iron locking bar into place, plunging them into darkness, then a loud puffing sounded outside the box as Boldovar streaked into the room and spread his wings to halt.
Tanalasta closed the throat clasp of her weathercloak and pictured the hard-bitten face of Battlelord Steelhand in her mind. She felt a surge of warm magic rushing into her head, then the battlelord's thin eyebrows rose in surprise.
Bring a dozen warpriests to Vangerdahast's tower-no one else! Tanalasta commanded, speaking to him in her thoughts. We are alone and Boldovar is upon us.
Two minutes, came the reply.
The princess would have liked to know how the battlelord intended to reach Vangerdahast's tower in only two minutes, since it was at least a ten minute run out the gate and over the nearest bridge. Probably, he intended to have a band of war wizards teleport his party into a nearby street, then run the rest of the way. That meant Tanalasta would have to work hard to keep Boldovar's attention focused on the magic inside the room.
Outside her hiding place, Boldovar's clawed feet began to tick across the floor. Tanalasta removed her commander's ring from her pocket and slipped it on, then whispered, "King's light."
An eerie, blue-white light filled the box, illuminating Clagi's frightened face beside her. The young priest was holding one hand on the iron locking mechanism, as though his grasp would keep the door secure where a full inch of iron could not. With the other hand, he clutched his iron mace close to his chest. The ticking of Boldovar's feet grew louder, and loud snuffling sounds began to hiss through the seams of the iron box.
"Magic!" he rasped. "Magic I smell… and magic I'll have!"
He ran his claws down the face of the iron door, and a deafening screech reverberated inside the box. Tanalasta heard Clagi hissing through his teeth, then felt him grasp her arm in reassurance, and she realized she was the one making the sound. Boldovar let out an angry grunt and tried to rip the door open. The box tipped forward, then teetered on the edge of falling and rocked back to clang into the wall behind it. Tanalasta's head slammed into the leather padding and began to ache.
She felt a sudden tightness low in her abdomen, then noticed something warm and fluid inside her legs.
"No." It couldn't be happening now.
Boldovar tried again to rip the door open, then grew frustrated and simply slammed the iron box down on its face. Tanalasta took the impact entirely on her belly and felt her womb cramp in reaction. The spasm did not subside. A heavy thump sounded above their backs as Boldovar jumped on top of the box. He began to scratch his claws down the seams, looking for a weak point.
"You can hide, but you can't hide," chuckled Boldovar, making no sense at all. "I smell your magic… I smell you, and I'll have both I will!"
The screeching sharpened to an abrupt ping and ceased, only to be replaced by a childish tempest of striking hands and feet. So thunderous was the pounding that Tanalasta thought the thick iron might split beneath the ghazneth's blows. The cramping in her womb sharpened, growing so acute she wailed in shock.
"Princess? What's…"
The rest of Clagi's question was lost beneath the roar of Boldovar's hammering fists, for the sound of Tanalasta's pain seemed to have driven him into a frenzy. The pounding moved down toward their feet, then the box began to tip up on its head.