Realms of Infamy - James Lowder [103]
"Remember, Marnok-do it just like we practiced on that outcrop earlier. We have to be certain we're always at the same height." Ravendas could not see the mage to her left-the curve of the fortress blocked her line of sight. "If one of us makes a mistake, we're both finished."
"I understand," she heard him call out.
"Then let's do it."
Ravendas sank her fingers deep into the age-old stone. She began hauling herself up. The rope at her belt uncoiled itself beneath her as she ascended.
"Two fathoms!" she called out.
"Two!" Marnok's voice echoed back. Good. He was keeping pace. But the real test of her plan was yet to come.
"I'm at four fathoms!" she heard Marnok shout.
Quickly she checked her rope. The fourth knot had just uncoiled. Perfect. "Four fathoms!" she shouted back. Then it began.
"The stone to my left is moving!" Marnok cried. There was an edge of panic in his voice.
"Hold steady!" she called back. She watched as the wall just to her right began roiling like an angry sea. Sleek and glistening, an obsidian-scaled dragon head rose from the wall and turned toward her, its ruby eyes opening.
"Don't move, Marnok!" She dug her fingers as deeply into the wall as she could stretch them. The dragon fixed its gaze upon her, and a crimson shaft struck her in the chest. A feeling washed through her like warm pinpricks. She waited, holding her breath. But a second beam did not come from her left, from Marnok's direction, to complete the deadly arc of magic.
"It's working!" she heard Marnok's jubilant shout. "I'm blocking the dragon's gaze!"
Moments later, the dragon shut its eyes and sank back into the stone. Ravendas let out a cry of victory. Her hunch had proved right. As awesome as Gurthang's defenses were, they were designed to destroy an intruder who climbed the tower alone, as a bold adventurer might. But the tower's magic was not crafted to stop two who climbed stealthily in the same quadrant of the wall, always remaining at the exact same height. Though it meant they could not see each other, by keeping close to the columns of magic each could block the gaze of one of the dragons. The arc of crimson magic was never completed, and never erupted into terrible fire.
It was going to work. "Five fathoms!" she called out as she climbed on. "Six!" The mage's voice echoed her.
Three times more as they climbed, the stone to Ravendas's right undulated, and a dark, sinuous dragon head rose out to lock its eyes upon her. But each time, the mage blocked the gaze from the dragon of the eastern column of magic. The deadly arc of magic was never completed. The two climbers continued on. A dozen fathoms up, and the top of the wall was in sight.
Then Ravendas heard the mage scream in terror.
"Marnok!" she shouted desperately.
There was an agonizing silence. Finally she heard the mage's voice, faint and quavering. "I… I slipped. But I managed to catch myself."
Ravendas swore. Damn him. He had gotten careless. Suddenly a coldness gripped her gut. The stone to her right was moving, molding itself into a saurian shape. The dragon's head. And this time the mage was not there to break the arc.
"What level are you at, Marnok?" she shouted.
"I'm not sure. My… my rope is tangled."
"Then untangle it! Now!"
The dragon turned toward her. Its eyelids lifted, revealing two thin, blood-red slits.
"I'm at ten fathoms-no, nine!"
There was no time to make certain he was right. Swiftly, holding on to the wall with one hand, Ravendas hauled her rope up to the ninth knot and lashed it around her waist. Grabbing the end, she plunged her hand deep into the wall. She let go of the rope and withdrew her hand. The rope remained embedded in the stone. She could only hope it would hold.
The dragon's eyes opened, and she felt a prickling against