Viper's Kiss - Lisa Smedman [84]
Arvin leaped forward to clamp a hand against her mouth. "Don't," he said. "I'm not here to hurt you. I've come to rescue you."
Glisena's lips moved under Arvin's palm. Cautioning her with a look, he lifted them slightly, allowing her to speak.
"From what?" she gasped.
"Naneth tricked you," Arvin said. "Her spell didn't just hasten your pregnancy along. It affected the child inside you in other ways. The child was transformed into something… else."
"No," Glisena whispered.
Arvin couldn't tell if she was hearing his terrible news-and denying it-or simply reacting with horror to his words. "I'm afraid so," he said. As he spoke, he plucked the stone that was circling her head from the air. It resisted him for a moment, straining to free itself from his palm. Then it went still.
"Naneth wouldn't-"
"Yes she would," Arvin said, tossing the stone aside. "Naneth isn't just a midwife. She's an agent of a powerful yuan-ti who is an enemy of House Extaminos. Naneth used you; she only pretended to help you after your father asked her to-"
"To kill my child," she said in a flat voice. Her hands cradled her belly.
"Yes."
She stared at her stomach a moment, groaned as the thing within kicked, and gave Arvin a defiant look. "I won't let him hurt my baby."
Arvin sighed. She was forcing him to be blunt. "Whatever's inside you isn't your baby anymore. We need to get you back to Ormpetarr. Someone there will know what to do."
Glisena's jaw tightened. "I won't go back." Exhausted as she was, with dark circles under her eyes, she had the determination-and stubbornness-of her father. "Dmetrio-"
"Isn't coming," Arvin said, finishing the sentence for her. "He's leaving for Hlondeth. Without you."
"That's not true," she whispered again. "He loves me. He'll take me with him."
"He won't."
"He will." The determination was still in her eyes, but something else had joined it: exhaustion. Fresh beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. She sank back onto the sheepskin, trembling. "My father sent you… didn't he? You're lying. About Naneth. And Dmetrio. So I'll… go back."
"I'm telling you the truth," Arvin insisted. "Much as I hate to do it."
Glisena turned away, not listening to him. Even when she was down, she wouldn't admit to defeat. Arvin had to admire that.
He'd been naive, to think that he could convince Glisena of the truth. It was simply too much, too hard. He peeked outside again-the satyrs were still butting heads, Tymora be praised-then turned his attention to the dead satyr's belt pouch. Opening it, he found his mother's crystal inside. He tied it around his neck with a whispered, "Nine lives," then recovered his lapis lazuli, which still had a jagged, coin-sized flap of his skin clinging to it. He spoke the stone's command word, and the skin fell away. Then he touched the stone to the raw wound on his forehead and spoke the command a second time. The lapis lazuli sank into the wound, attaching itself to the lacerated flesh. Fresh blood trickled from the wound; he wiped it away from his eye.
Not knowing how much time he had before the satyrs ended their contest, he decided to manifest a sending. He started to imagine the baron's face then changed his mind. Instead he pictured Karrell.
Nothing happened.
Arvin's heart thudded in his chest. He could visualize Karrell's face clearly, but he couldn't contact her. Was she dead?
Then he realized what was wrong. He was visualizing her human face. He shifted his mental picture of her, imagining her snake form instead. Instantly, the image solidified.
I'm with Glisena, he told her. I'm inside her hut. Slip in through the back, where the brambles touch the wall. I'll contact Foesmasher.
Karrell stared back at him, tongue flickering in and out of her mouth. Arvin couldn't read her expression-it was impossible, with that unblinking stare-but he could hear the concern in her voice as she stared at his