Fistandantilus Reborn - Douglas Niles [98]
“The bloodstone of Fistandantilus.” The bandit lord held up a golden chain, allowing the pale stone pendant to dangle and sway before them.
“It’s too bad your friend, the historian, isn’t here. I know he’d get quite a thrill out of seeing this.”
Danyal stared at the bloodstone, unable to move. He felt the power of the gem in that terrible light, sensed that his eyes-and his brain-were being damaged even as he was compelled to maintain his unblinking attention. There was no doubt in his mind that it was this stone that glued him in place, that compelled his obedience to a command he would have given anything to disobey.
“It was the bloodstone that allowed me to trick him, to make him think that I was a real priest!” The bandit lord chuckled over his own cleverness.
Danyal tried to speak, worked to choke out a word or two of challenge, but he was unable to make his mouth and lips obey his will.
“Oh, very well. You may relax, but don’t try to flee.” Kelryn masked the stone again as he spoke, and the sudden darkness was a huge relief, like a wash of fresh air blowing away the scent of an open crypt.
Suddenly their feet weren’t fastened to the floor anymore, and Mirabeth and Dan staggered in shock as the spell faded. They clung to each other for balance and reassurance. The youth desperately wanted to run, but now that he knew the power of the stone, he dared not take the chance-at least, not yet.
“The gem is the key to my success. It not only insures the obedience of reluctant listeners such as yourself, but it also protects me from those who would do me harm. There was a time when its power brought people flocking to my temple. Now I have learned-and only in the last few decades-that this gem of Fistandantilus even gives me the power to heal.
Oh, it’s not perfect, of course, not like a spell cast by a true cleric. But you saw it work.”
Kelryn Darewind drew a deep breath, shaking his head in apparent wonder. “This bloodstone has a soul of its own, and it helps me! Over the years it has consumed countless lives and amassed a mighty power. It has taught me many things, shared wonders of history that others would never believe!”
Dan wanted to ask if the stone had corrupted him, made him evil and cruel as well.
“Hah!” Kelryn’s bark was loud and abrupt. “Even that fool of a historian doesn’t know the scope of his own ignorance. I know, because there is a voice, a spirit of knowledge, that talks to me through the stone.”
The man came closer, looking down at his two captives, and Dan sensed that once again Kelryn really wanted to talk, wanted to make them understand. And the lad hated that smooth face, that calm expression, more than ever. He wanted to punch the man, to draw his knife and plunge it into Kelryn Darewind’s evil heart.
“And it was the bloodstone, after all, that provided me with the knowledge that you were coming here tonight. It was really quite a simple matter to understand your objective.”
Kelryn frowned suddenly, allowing the green light to ooze once more from between his fingers as he scrutinized Mirabeth. “Though I would have thought that the kender himself would have come after his woman.”
Abruptly he squinted, as if seeing Mirabeth for the first time. He reached out, pushing her hair back from the rounded human ear. Roughly he slapped at the pointed tip of her other ear, drawing an immediate shout of protest from Danyal but at the same time knocking away the wax ear.
Then he threw back his head and laughed.
“You’re her! Sir Harold’s daughter, the one who escaped!” he exclaimed, full of mirth. “I’ve had you locked in my dungeon for the past days, and I didn’t even know it. Oh, what a splendid joke! What wonderful irony!”
He snarled then, his face distorted by a momentary naked cruelty.
“Your father was a menace to me, a danger who lasted for too many years.
It is good to know