Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [52]
She heard the sound of someone on the stone stair and quickly sheathed Dymondheart, grinning.
Ususi appeared, followed by Gunggari. Gunggari carried the leather satchel given him by the Nentyarch, but Ususi did not have the Keystone with her. Still smiling, Elowen strapped Dymondheart's scabbard to her belt.
"Have you seen Marrec?" asked Gunggari.
She shook her head.
Ususi responded, "When I saw him after the feast, he was talking to Fallon."
Elowen heard quick steps on the stair. "Speak, and you are answered," she said, as Marrec popped into view.
"Where's Fallon?" he said, quickly scanning the garden. The frown indicated he wasn't happy with what he found.
"Not here yet," said Elowen. "Why?"
"He said that the Nentyarch wanted some time alone with Ash. I figured it would be all right… but I've got a sudden feeling that I shouldn't have left her."
"Marrec, I see him," said Gunggari, "and Ash. Down there, along the road…"
Gunggari, beyond the shade offered by the flagged patio, shaded his eyes with one hand while pointing over the side of the garden.
"Oh no," mouthed Marrec.
Elowen saw Fallon, made tiny by distance, holding a brilliantly glowing object over his head. Behind him he led Henri the pony, complete with its new bridle. Ash calmly rode Henri.
"He's taking Ash," yelled Marrec.
At the same time Ususi screamed, "He's taking my Keystone, that bastard! 'The Nentyarch wishes to gaze upon its luster one more time…' I'll show him luster he won't soon forget!"
Marrec dashed back down the stairs, Gunggari on his tail. Elowen knew they were too late. Already Fallon had used the Keystone to enter the exit that Ususi had left open. The darkness of the Celestial Nadir spilled out of the square opening, its strange properties evident even from the distance.
"Come on!" yelled Ususi.
She charged the side of the garden. Elowen tried get out of her way but was taken off guard. The mage didn't change her path; she merely opened her arms wide and dashed herself against Elowen. The force of the impact threw both women off the top of high Yeshelmaar.
A scream escaped Elowen as the air roared in her ears. The sculpted sides of Yeshelmar blurred past, while the ground below expanded with alarming rapidity. Ususi maintained her grip on the hunter, and she uttered an arcane syllable, which reverberated in Elowen's mind. Before she quite knew what was happening, she and Ususi alit on the hard cobblestone road before Yeshelmaar as easy as birds after a flight.
Ususi released her hold on the elf and began running with all the speed she could muster toward the portal, which was already graying out. Fallon and Ash had gone through. Elowen took a deep breath. No time for hysterics. She could kill Ususi later.
Elowen sprinted toward the dissipating portal, quickly passing the slower moving mage. As she moved ahead, Ususi gasped out "Block it. If you stand in the opening, it can not close."
Elowen willed herself to go faster. Almost… almost… but the portal was hardly even visible anymore, only a slight haze in the air. Without stopping, she willed a last desperate burst of speed and threw herself into the haze.
Darkness enveloped her.
CHAPTER 14
He'd reached the last flight of stairs. Marrec screamed again, "Make way! Fallon has kidnapped Ash. Get out of my way, damn your eyes."
He was winded, but running full speed down stairs was far easier than running up. His shoulders were bruised from a few occasions where he'd miscalculated the distance to the landing, only to be brought up short by the wall. He could hear Gunggari still pounding down behind him
Finally he reached the main level. Yeshelmaar functionaries tried to get out of his way, and one had the presence of mind to work the gate mechanism, heeding his call from higher up, so that it gaped open by the time he and