Pool of Radiance_ Ruins of Myth Drannor - Carrie Bebris [114]
The sickened look that crossed Athan’s face made Kestrel wonder about the extent of the torture he’d suffered at Mordrayn’s hands, but the warrior recovered quickly. “Only with dwarven steel.”
A cry from Faeril ended the exchange. “Lady of Mysteries! Visit your divine fire upon this creature who corrupted your golden Weave!” At the cleric’s summons, a column of fire descended from directly above Mordrayn, enveloping her in flames.
As the sacred blaze seared the onetime communicant, Corran cleared the ledge. He crossed to Kestrel quickly and applied his hands to her torn flesh. His voice wrapped her in a prayer of healing. When he finished, he met her gaze. “I have healed your wounds, but I cannot remove paralysis by laying on hands.”
She stared at him hard, willing him to somehow understand her thoughts. Try, Corran. Try for one of your miracles.
He sighed. As if he’d heard her, he closed his eyes and made a second supplication to Tyr. A moment later, Kestrel waggled the fingers of her right hand. She could move once more. The paladin shook his head in amazement. “By Tyr’s grace…”
They hadn’t time to celebrate. The pillar of holy flames sputtered out, revealing a Mordrayn badly burned but still standing. Running blisters covered her withered skin. Her singed hair, what was left of it, had come unbound and floated wildly about her head. She fixed Faeril with a feral gaze. “You will follow my bidding now, worship at my altar!” The archmage barked out an arcane command.
At first, it appeared that Mordrayn’s spell had no effect on the cleric. She merely stared, unblinking, at the archmage. A moment later, Faeril pointed a finger at Athan. “Hold!”
The warrior froze in place, both arms raised in a futile attempt to break his sword through the barrier Mordrayn had established. Kestrel gripped Borea’s Blood. She’d penetrated that barrier once-she could do so again.
Durwyn launched another arrow at Mordrayn. The cleric turned on him. “Hold!” He, too, froze where he stood. One hand held his short bow, the other hung suspended in the process of reaching back for another bolt.
The bronze-tipped arrow struck Mordrayn in the shoulder. The archmage, her eyes blazing with the fever of the insane, did not even notice. She wheeled on Corran. “You next!” She raised her dragon claw to shoot a thin red beam of light at him.
The paladin raised his shield, positioning it to shelter both himself and Kestrel. The ray struck the shield squarely and bounced back straight at Mordrayn. “No!” she screeched. The beam hit her in the chest, knocking her to the ground.
For a fleeting moment, Kestrel thought the witch had been defeated by her own magic, but Mordrayn climbed to her knees and aimed her talons at Corran once more. Laboring for breath, she uttered the ancient words of another incantation.
From below, Kestrel heard Ghleanna’s voice also raised in spellcasting. When the half-elf fell silent, Mordrayn’s speech changed. Her words became inarticulate babbling, sounds more primitive than the language of the basest humanoids. She spun about, looking from one party member to another with dilated pupils, snarling like a trapped animal. Her claw lashed out wildly at each person she faced.
Whatever Ghleanna had done, it broke Mordrayn’s hold on Faeril. The cleric shook her head as if to clear it, then called out a command to free Athan and Durwyn from her spells.
Athan, however, still couldn’t draw near Mordrayn. Corran leaped up to engage her. He scored two hits on her dragon arm but could not sever it.
Kestrel saw her opening. With Corran keeping the paralytic talons at bay, the thief darted forward. She raised Borea’s Blood high in the air, then plunged it with all her strength into Mordrayn’s black heart.
The sorceress’s eyes widened in sudden sanity. She sank onto the stone floor as choked, gurgling sounds issued from her throat. “No…” she finally managed to gasp out. In the distance, a rumbling commenced. Cracks split the rocky cavern base,