Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [85]
"Just a moment," said Ususi, as she bent and touched a finger to one the glyphs, tracing its lines.
"Oh, shards," breathed the wizard, then she yelled, "It's got me!" •
It was true. Where her finger had touched the image, a meniscus of paint stretched to maintain contact. It did more than stretch; it pulled. Ususi was yanked forward, her finger, her hand, and her forearm swallowed into the floor. It was as if the ground were a voracious liquid, not hard plaster. Elowen caught at Ususi's other flailing hand and the mage's forward momentum into the floor was arrested.
Marrec, standing on the other edge, saw that where the wizard's arm disappeared into the floor, new color sprang to life. It was as if a new painting were rising up from the floor, there all along, but only then becoming visible. So far, it revealed only a feminine arm, which terminated at the point where Ususi knelt, struggling to pull herself from the floor's grip.
"Pull her out of there," yelled Marrec. "It's eating her, or… or something."
The cleric hustled back into the chamber, determined to remain only on the mounds of crumbled plaster. Because of his, the demon's, and Gunggari's earlier traversal, the mounds were somewhat scattered, and it was more difficult for him to get across quickly without touching the painted floor.
"Gods, it's got a grip on her," complained Elowen, her voice tight, as she pulled on Ususi's other arm. If anything, she lost ground, and Ususi was pulled forward, nearly her entire arm swallowed, her straining head falling dangerously close to the absorptive surface.
Marrec arrived, clamped both his hands on the free arm, lending his strength to Elowen's. They both heaved. Ususi groaned as her bones crackled with the strain. With a sucking pop, they pulled the wizard clear. All three of them very nearly stumbled and fell backward, but in the end they managed to retain their footing on the crumbled plaster.
Breathing hard, his hand still on Ususi's arm, Marrec murmured, "Come on." He led Ususi across. Elowen followed after. They assembled safely on the opposite side of the painted chamber.
Ususi turned to Marrec, "That is another life I owe you."
A smile ghosted his lips in return. "I'm glad I'm building up credit. I may need to call in that marker before we get clear of the Vault."
CHAPTER 22
Fallon had failed to keep the schedule. Damanda tapped midnight black nails on lacquered armor just as dark. Green highlights played along her silhouette. The fluctuating emerald glow emerged from an ominous point further down the ruined hallway where Damanda and her retinue stood.
The pulsing, ravenous glow was the light of the Lurker in the Middle, and by its intensity, it was clear the entity had not snared Fallon. It was still hungry. Damanda, for all her might, had no desire to meet the Lurker face to face-or whatever passed for a Lurker's face.
Fallon's absence was troubling. The Rotting Man's compulsion should have cored the elFs mind and marched him dutifully into the Lurker's grasp, leaving the idiot child for Damanda to collect at her leisure. No child, no Fallon, no triumphant return to the Close with the Talontyr's hard-sought prize in tow.
Worry puckered tentative steps across her stomach. It did not do to disappoint the Rotting Man. His plans were coming to fruition. She doubted she could survive being a barrier to his goal, intentional or not.
That's why she would not fail, despite Fallon's troubling absence.
The blightlord considered her retinue. Anammelech had preferred oozes, and bumbling Gameliel his corrupted forest creatures. Herself, she had a penchant for the undead, especially those that delighted haunting the night-and the ever dark corridors of these ruined Nar conjuries. From all the cold, animate servants she had to choose from, she had selected her four favorites to accompany her into Under-Tharos to collect Fallon, just in case there was trouble. Indeed, trouble had found her. They would have to discover Fallon's whereabouts.
Heavily tattooed, poem-spewing Bonehammer rested on the