Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [74]
"I bet you know where your token now lies." "Of course."
Marrec sighed, then said, "You can't send one of your servants to run off and collect it?"
"Think a little before you speak. If it were that simple, we wouldn't be having this conversation. The token is meant to control me. I cannot exert my power to retrieve it, and my power enlivens and encompasses my 'children' who surround you."
"We could get this thing back for you, I'm guessing?"
"Another point for the human, and I thought you a turgid thinker," said the voice. "Listen closely. My token lies in a portion of this sprawling complex known as the Sighing Vault. It lies not too far from here, no more than a day of travel through Under-Tharos for those who stride on two legs. My senses cannot penetrate too deeply, but I can feel it lying at the center of the Sighing Vault. It glows like a splinter in my mind, taunting me with its closeness."
Ususi asked, "Is there anything you can tell us about the Sighing Vault? Did the Nar wizards use it for safekeeping of their secrets, as the name implies?"
The blot bobbed, somehow miming a shrug with its formless darkness. "The Vault has its guardians. Kill them for me, and I'll be doubly grateful to you."
Elowen said, "We are already in the middle of a quest. We don't have time for a distraction like this. These ruins are mazelike. You could be sending us on a task that will take days or months."
"Perhaps, but consider the alternative: I suck the life out each and every one of you with a breath."
A coldness slipped then into Marrec's heart, ignoring his clothing, his flesh, his will. It was a sentient hol-lowness, burrowing into him. He fell, catching himself ' against the cold ice of the slab containing the queen. The pain of that chill contact was as nothing compared to the blizzard of dissolution in his soul. Then, like a cat removing its paw from a stunned mouse with which it played, the cold vanished.
As he straightened, Marrec saw his friends begin to rise, or uncurl, from fetal positions. All of them had received the same treatment, simultaneously. Impressive. Terrifying. They were completely in the queen's power.
"You won't be so foolish to refuse me, will you?"
Marrec cleared his throat, tried to answer- After a moment, he tried again, "We might accept but die in the attempt to retrieve your trinket."
Laughter. Then, "I'll take that chance. If I kill you, then I'll never know, will I? So answer me. Do you agree to find the token of my freedom, wrest it from the Sighing Vault if you are able, and return it to me here?"
Gunggari gave him another shrug, shaky that time. Ususi looked unsure, but she was still shuddering from the queen's demonstration of her power.
Elowen said, "Why not, Marrec? Better to avoid this fight, save our strength for the Talontyr."
"What does this token look like?" questioned Marrec.
"You'll know it when you see it, human."
"All right, majesty. You've got yourself a deal."
The voice thundered, "Excellent. My children, allow our friends to depart, and you-" a tendril of darkness separated from the blot in the ice, its tip wavering, then pointing like an arrow toward one of the ice demon-"You! You will accompany our new friends. Lead them to the Sighing Vault. Make sure that they do not try to back out of our agreement."
The fiend indicated by the gesturing tendril coughed something incoherent.
Marrec and his group then numbered five.
CHAPTER 19
The chill faded as the Queen Abiding and her icy court fell behind. An all-too-obvious reminder of the visit was embodied in the monstrosity that moved ahead, leading the way. The creature slid along the broken masonry and loose earth of the underground passage as if skating on the smooth surface of a frozen lake.
No one said anything. Marrec was silently grateful. Internally, he wondered if he had made the right decision in dealing with the icy demon. Perhaps they should