Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [94]
Elowen watched with unbelieving eyes as Marrec called forth the sea of hovering darkness. When the void consumed Eschar, she was mollified, but then she realized that the Queen Abiding must be a far more potent force even than the horned demon to have eliminated Eschar so casually. Elowen gripped Dymondheart's hilt, determined to fight to the last, if that's what was required.
The cleric was gazing up at the roiling bottom of the darkness that shrouded the cavern's upper reaches. He was talking. What was Marrec thinking?
Marrec said, "I have set you loose from your confinement, yet I require your service. By the token which last I grasped, aid me on my quest. I must face the Rotting Man. You must help me."
Ususi yelled, "Don't bargain with her!"
The darkness roiled then stilled. Another strand reached from the lowering belly of the Queen Abiding. The black tendril probed the ground near where Victoricus had melted. Where the black wisp probed, dark liquid was drawn out of the ground, freezing as it did so. In no time, their demonic aide was reconstituted.
"Victoricus will lead you to the child you lost," spoke the Queen Abiding, as unperturbed as ever. "I sense she is moving toward the surface."
Elowen studied Victoricus, who tittered. The demon didn't seem particularly uncomfortable at its destruction and subsequent restoration.
Marrec pressed, "That is a good start, but listen…" The cleric licked his lips. Elowen knew then that the cleric was exceedingly nervous. "I held the token. I asked for your service. I would like your direct aid against the Talontyr himself."
The Queen Abiding responded instantly, "Don't press your hold over me, human. It is tenuous. Oh, so fragile…" A tendril of darkness dropped and caressed Marrec's face.
"I help you because I have scores to settle. The way I see it, you are my agent against those who have done me wrong. Look, I'm free, and Eschar's essence slowly digests within me. You have been useful."
The queen continued, "Yet I also have a score to settle with the Rotting Man. The pain he visited upon me when he briefly held my token, ignorant even of its power, is something that must be repaid, and here you are, all set to go against him."
Marrec nodded, said, "You'll help us?"
"One last time may you call on my aid. If you survive these mazes of ancient betrayal, you may yet come to the court of the Talontyr. That's when I will come to you, should you ask."
"After that, our arrangement is ended. If you dare to ask of me any other service, I shall enjoy supping upon your soul as, even now, I suck the verve from Eschar's fiery spirit."
Marrec nodded, somewhat shakily, Elowen thought.
The darkness faded over the space of a few seconds, replaced by the natural lightlessness of the upper reaches of the cavern.
Marrec sat down. Elowen moved toward him, but Gunggari and Ususi were before her.
"You've imperiled your soul," said Ususi, "and probably ours, too, with your foolish stunt. A creature of such evil doesn't know gratitude or the value of teamwork. It knows only its hungers and its vengeances."
"I held the token of control," Marrec defended himself.
"What exactly was the token?" demanded Ususi. "I certainly don't know what its properties were or how much protection it provides to she who would dare to use it. The Nar relied on such devices, but no knowledge of their true nature or the manner of their construction has survived to the present day."
More weakly, "It seemed to work well enough. Eschar is defeated. We're alive."
"For the moment," huffed Ususi.
"And we have a guide," said Gunggari, defending his friend. The Oslander motioned with his head toward the reconstituted Victoricus.
Elowen wondered why Marrec didn't stand to his own defense. Perhaps