Mistress of the Night - Don Bassingthwaite [127]
The dark prayer shattered, leaving both priestesses reeling, Variance with an expression of shock on her pale face, Feena trembling with the memory of pain. Gasping and panting, they faced each other. Feena's claws spread wide. Variance's fists clenched tight.
"Stop!"
Variance froze, then turned and looked up. Feena turned as well. Higher up on the slope of the street, stood Keph Thingoleir. The young man's face was flushed and his clothes and hair were drenched in sweat. His entire body trembled, but he held his arms high above his head.
Clutched in his hands and seeming to shimmer as moonlight fell upon it was a strange black book. Keph took a slow step forward, passing out of moonlight and into shadow and the book seemed to change, silver sparks of writing emerging upon it.
The very sight of that book set Feena's teeth on edge. A tremor of unease writhed through her gut.
"Keph…" she growled in a low voice.
Variance stepped away from her and held out her hands.
"Give it to me!" the Sharran ordered. Keph didn't move.
Variance's face tensed and she shouted, "Give it to me!"
"Feena," Keph asked, his voice cracking, "is Moon-shadow Hall safe?"
Feena nodded, and Keph lowered the book and looked at Variance.
"Call off the creatures in the Stiltways," he told her. "Rax leads them now." "Then call off Rax! End this!"
Variance's eyes narrowed, but she raised her voice.
"Rax!" she called into the night. "Rax, your task is done. Take your pack and return to Shadow."
The savage howls that had been echoing from the Stiltways vanished.
Variance looked at Keph and said, "Now give me the tiles!"
"No." Keph's flushed face was hard. "Now take off your ring."
Variance hissed.
Behind Keph, shadows shifted.
"Keph!" yelled Feena in warning as two more shadow mastiffs stepped out of the darkness.
She started to leap forward, but Keph was already whirling himself. Grasping the book in his right hand he poked his left thumb out at the nearest mastiff and shouted… something. The words tore at Feena's wolf ears and left them flat against her head. Even Variance gasped. The shadow mastiff howled in terror and seemed to bleed away into nothingness. Snapping his arm around, Keph pointed at the second beast, repeating the tearing words.
It vanished as well, though its whine of fear lingered in the night. Keph looked back down at Variance.
"Take off the ring!" he commanded. "Give it to Feena!"
Eyes fixed on Keph, Variance brought her hands together and pulled the amethyst ring off her finger.
Feena's fur rose at the transformation that swept over the priestess. Fine, narrow Calishite features vanished, replaced by a broader, rounder face. Dusky pale skin turned dark… darker… black like night. Even Variance's eyes turned black, becoming deep, colorless pits of shadow. Her hair and clothes didn't shift, but when she spoke, her voice had a strange, ancient accent.
"Take it, Selunite," she snarled. "Wear it if you dare."
Feena reached over and snatched the ring from her fingers, holding it gingerly. The smell of shadowstuff was very strong.
"Now," Keph said, "get out of Yhaunn."
Variance's altered face twisted. "We had an agreement!" she said. "The tiles for your friend's life. If you break that agreement, I swear that he will not be the only one to suffer!"
"What good is fixing one mistake if I make another?" Keph replied. He paused for a moment then looked down at the book in his hands. "I hear whispers in the dark, Variance. Whispers from the slates. I don't understand them, but I hear them." He looked up and raised his thumb. Silver glimmered on the pad of it. "The whispers did this and you know what I can do with it." His eyes hardened. "What would happen ifl started repeating the whispers? Started speaking them out loud?" Feena's heart went cold.
Whispers in the dark… whispers that could be heard, but not understood. She'd heard those whispers. Dhauna Myritar had heard them as well.
Selune's