Neversfall - Ed Gentry [74]
Marlke groaned as he rose to his feet, the motion causing his gut wound to spill forth a new gobbet of blood. "How was I to know that wench was here?" he asked, wobbling on unsteady legs before continuing. "I asked around for her, but no one had seen her. I figured she was off somewhere bossing someone else around, and this was the best time to handle things. I was trying to think ahead."
"Thinking is exactly what you weren't doing," Jhoqo said.
"It doesn't matter now. She's out of our way. You know, I can't say I'm sorry to see her go. Acting an underling to that one…" Marlke screwed up his face.
"Give me some rope. We need to bind her before she rouses," the Maquar said as he knelt to position Adeenya's arms behind her back.
"Tie her? Just kill her," Marlke said.
Jhoqo said nothing.
Marlke pulled a coil of rope from his belt and tossed it to the man. Jhoqo proceeded to tightly tie the unconscious woman's wrists together. The dwarf slumped against the wall, his face taking on a dull pallor. He glared at the formians who stood silently in their cells as if the scene before them had not just played out.
"I'm going to enjoy gutting them too," the dwarf said.
Jhoqo finished his knots, tugging on the bindings a few times, and stood, pleased with his work. He removed a pouch from his belt and fingered through its content for a moment before fishing out a small vial of brackish liquid. He placed the pouch back on his belt and uncorked the vial. His placid face wrinkled as the fumes from the vial hit his senses. He held the slender glass at arm's lengths but still suffered from the scent. It smelled of cockroaches, like the acrid tang that comes from insects who live, eat and survive on death and filth.
"What are you doing?" Marlke asked.
"She could wake at any moment. We do not want that," Jhoqo replied. "This will keep her down."
The Maquar commander rolled Adeenya onto her back and moved his hand along her jaw, tracing the lines of her face. He pulled her chin down to open her mouth and tilted her head. Still shrinking from the nauseating odor of the vial himself, Jhoqo inclined the vial until a drop fell into Adeenya's open mouth. Jhoqo gently closed her jaw and settled her head back to the floor.
"There. Now she won't bother us for a while," Jhoqo said. He turned to Marlke. "I find it hard to believe that working with her would have been unpleasant. By my observations she's a fine officer, possessing a good head on her shoulders and strong-though certainly misled-morals."
"Aye, good-she's a wonderful person," Marlke said. "Now, give me a hand, will you? I know you've got a lovely elixir somewhere in that pouch of yours. Let's have it."
"No," Jhoqo said without looking at the dwarf. His eyes were trained on Adeenya, his hands on his hips. "I don't think that would be prudent."
"No? I'm bleeding out here," Marlke said.
"How do you suggest I deal with this?" Jhoqo asked, pointing at Adeenya.-
Marlke's face wrinkled as he said, "Deal with… you kill her, of course!"
Jhoqo shook his head. "Why would I do that? It will turn the rest of the Durpari against me and draw unnecessary attention," he said. "Besides, she's a fine officer, and that's a terrible thing to waste."
"Her men? Her? Once she's dead, they're my men!"
"Yes, I suppose that's true," Jhoqo said. "Do you feel that you've earned the responsibility of leadership?"
"What are you doing?" Marlke said. "Give me that potion… I'm dying! I can already see two of you." Marlke tried to climb to his feet, but his shaking arms would not lift him from the floor. He flopped back to the floor with a moan. A long moment passed as the dwarf rolled onto his side to once again look upon Jhoqo. The flush of his anger slowly drained away as his body lost blood. The puddle of his own gore grew around him, expanding every moment. The smooth stones resisted the fluid, spreading the crimson stain.
"Are there three of me yet, or does it only go to two?" Jhoqo asked. "I wouldn't know as I've never died before. But that's obvious, I suppose."