Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [35]
But nothing did. The Obsidian Ridge remained hovering in the air, the edges of its jagged exterior gleaming pitch black in the late morning sun.
+++++
The room went silent as the Matron entered. She had been in deep contemplation over these recent developments, and she had finally come to some conclusions.
It was time to share her thoughts with the rest of the council.
All the prominent members of the Erlkazarian underworld were present, and they sat around a long oval table at the center of the dark room. There were no windows, no connection at all to the outside world, only the weak light of mage-lit stones arranged in candelabra on the table. The floor of the room was sunken, the center where the table sat was several steps down from where someone would enter. And the walls were built of thick stone, thicker than many of the castles in this part of Faerыn.
The doors that led into the chamber were built from solid steel. It took the strength of four men to pull them open or slam them closed. At the moment, all of them-except the one leading to the Matron's private study-were shut and locked. If someone had cared to try to exit through the study, they would have found that there was no physical or magical way out. The walls were built of the same stone as the rest of the room, and the magical wards that protected the area from scrying also protected it from the spells and artifacts that allowed wizards to walk through stone or solid materials.
The Matron stepped down into the center of the room and, adjusting the veil across her face, took her seat at the head of the table. Around the outside of the main chamber, arranged along the walls like ornamental statues, were three dozen armed bodyguards. The men and women seated at this table all had at least one thing in common-they took their personal safety very seriously.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," said the Matron. "We have many things to discuss."
A chorus of grumbled agreement filled the room.
The Matron raised her hand and the room fell silent again. "By now you have heard that the master of the Obsidian Ridge has made a demand of the king." She slowly moved her gaze over each and every member of the underworld present before her. "That he turn over his daughter, or Erlkazar will be destroyed."
Again grumbling.
"Even if the king were willing to make such a sacrifice, he is, as you all know, unable to do so at this very moment," said the Matron.
"Then we should make his life easy and turn over the princess for him," shouted a burly, bearded half-ore at the far end of the table.
The comment brought a number of laughs and a small round of agreement.
"I'm afraid that is impossible," said the Matron. "The princess is no longer within our reach."
A tall, dark-haired woman wearing a gown that appeared to be laced in the front with thick spider's silk stood up from her chair. "What do you mean, she's no longer within our reach? Did you lose her?"
The Matron bristled at the accusation. "We did not lose her."
"If you did not lose her, then where is she?" pressed the dark-haired woman.
"I have told you," said the Matron in a calm, even voice. "She is outside of our reach."
"Why would you let this happen? Did you not have a plan for using her to our advantage?"
The Matron smiled. "Of course I did."
"Then perhaps you can explain," responded the spider woman, "how she can be of use to us if she is outside of our reach?"
The Matron took a deep breath and then lifted herself out of her chair. The mage-lit stones on the table flared then subsided, making the room seem darker than it was before. The woman in the spider-silk gown quickly glanced around the table. None of the other invitees would make eye contact with her. Looking at the Matron, she bowed her head and sat down.
"The princess was merely a way for us to manipulate the king," she started, clearly pleased by her display of power.
"His recent involvement in the Elixir trade has begun to take its toll on our profits. The kidnapping of the princess was a message to the king. Any further