Red Magic - Jean Rabe [137]
Galvin fell to his knees and watched with disbelief as the Red Wizard gestured grandly with his hands, transformed again into a wispy white cloud, and floated down the corridor.
The druid forced himself to his feet and started after the wispy trail, but the centaur's hand held his shoulder. "Don't go after him, Galvin. That's what he wants. He'll lead you to the darkenbeasts-or worse."
Brenna steadied herself against the wall and felt the back of her head; she was bleeding from being slammed against the rock. The enchantress was dizzy, but she fought the sensation and made her way toward Galvin.
"We have to stay together," she stated flatly. "Otherwise he can pick us off one by one."
The druid nodded his agreement, then glared down the corridor. Dimly, the clang of metal and the cries of the darkenbeasts could still be heard. Galvin strode purposefully toward the sounds of battle.
As the distance melted away beneath their footsteps, the sounds of fighting lessened, then ceased altogether, plunging the mine into an eerie quiet. Unnerved, the trio plodded forward for an interminable time until the shaft opened into an immense, well-lit chamber. The shaft continued beyond the natural room, but the passage was of no concern to the Harpers. Hugging the shaft of the tunnel, they stared at the floor of the chamber.
The broken bodies of skeletons and zombies lay strewn about. Their slayers-a mass of darkenbeasts-floated like a thick, black cloud above the hellish battlefield.
Judging from the numbers on the cavern floor, the druid assumed Szass Tam's army had been eliminated at the claws of Maligor's creatures, and the darkenbeasts were stationed here to prevent Brenna, Wynter, and him from going farther. He was certain other darkenbeasts were searching the tunnels for them.
Galvin clenched his fists, and for the first time in many long years-since he was a child of seven watching his parents hang-he truly feared death. Alone, Wynter, Brenna, and he couldn't take on Maligor and his darkenbeasts. Nor could they run; Szass Tam would find them.
The druid feared he would die deep in the bowels of the gold mines. If only he could save Wynter and Brenna, he thought, if somehow he could buy time for them to leave…
Beyond the sea of darkenbeasts, which stretched from one end of the chamber to the other, the walls glistened. Thick streaks of gold flashed in the pale light of crystals whose blue gleam illuminated the room.
Brenna cringed behind the druid, horrified by the gruesome scene. Galvin turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"You and Wynter need to get out of the mines. I'm going to find Maligor and end this," the druid stated softly.
"No!" Brenna gasped. Quickly Galvin moved a finger to her lips to quiet her.
"I can get past the darkenbeasts. You and Wynter can't. If you stay here, sooner or later the darkenbeasts will see you. You have to find a way out."
"We won't leave you," she said in hushed tones.
"You have to." The druid glanced up at the centaur. "Wynter, get out of Thay. Take Brenna with you. Let the Harpers know what happened."
The centaur nodded reluctantly.
The druid moved a few steps forward, clinging to the shadows of the tunnel for a moment more, not wanting to be discovered by Maligor's creatures in the cavern beyond. Galvin closed his eyes and focused his mind on the mass of darkenbeasts.
The druid fell to all fours, his head twitching and his hands and feet quivering.
The enchantress glanced at Galvin, then at Wynter, uncertain of what to do. The centaur held her arm to keep her back, and in an instant, she saw Galvin's face contort.
The bones in Galvin's face cracked and popped as they pushed outward into a funnel-shaped beak filled with sharp, jagged teeth. His eyes shrunk into his sockets and became red pinpoints beneath a bony brow.
The druid groaned again; this transformation was particularly painful and unnatural. His sides heaved as thin