Red Magic - Jean Rabe [15]
Stunned, Galvin watched helplessly as the beast's glowing red eyes bore into his own and its fetid, acidic saliva dripped on his tunic. The druid shivered in fear as the beast thrust its head forward. Galvin clamped his eyelids shut in terror, then suddenly felt the pressure ease.
Before the darkenbeast could strike, its head jerked back spasmodically, engulfed in a bright blue flash that lit up the campsite like fireworks and stung the creature's eyes. The darkenbeast, still planted on the druid's chest, furiously swiveled its grotesque head to face its attacker.
Brenna stood directly in front of the tent, her arms stretched out in front of her, thumbs touching and trembling fingers spread wide. Nervously she mouthed a series of singsong phrases as her hands glowed. Azure sparks shot from her fingertips and struck the darkenbeast's hide in another brilliant blue flash. The creature cried out again in agony.
In response, the beast streaked toward Brenna, its wings beating furiously only inches above the ground.
Shocked at the creature's speed, Brenna forgot about her spell and leapt to the side. The darkenbeast crashed into the tent, which collapsed instantly. The creature thrashed about in the canvas for several moments, finally loosening itself and rising from the ground. Flapping its wings to gain speed and altitude, the darkenbeast darted into the trees and hovered in the blackness to plan a new strategy. Hidden in the darkness, it called out to Maligor.
High in his tower in Amruthar, the Red Wizard had been sleeping peacefully. But Maligor's eyes flew open, his grandiose dreams of power and wealth disturbed, when he felt the tug on his mind of the darkenbeast's summons. The wizard had no way of knowing his creation was many miles from Thay's border, but he could tell it was hurt. The wizard could feel the beast's searing pain. Maligor cast off the stupor of his sleep and concentrated, trying to form a tighter mental link between himself and the darkenbeast in order to determine what was happening. Through the creature's glowing scarlet eyes, the Red Wizard saw a campsite and a woman. There were no signs of the gnoll the darkenbeast had been sent to find. The woman was dressed in a simple cotton nightdress that was plastered against her in the rain. The darkenbeast and its creator watched as the woman rushed to the side of a man.
Galvin gasped, catching his breath after the ordeal and trying to rise. Bewildered by the creature's attack, he was equally astonished at Brenna's magical prowess. He had thought she was a helpless politician.
"Don't try to get up yet," she said, gently pushing his shoulders down to the earth and checking his wounds. Her wet hair cascaded forward, the ringlets falling against his face.
"Did you kill the creature?" Galvin asked, again trying to prop himself up despite her admonishments.
"No, but I think I injured it. It flew off beyond the trees." She picked up Galvin's scimitar, grasped his tunic at the neckline, and used the blade to cut a V in the material. She handled the weapon awkwardly, and for an instant, the druid imagined that he had survived the perils of the evening only to perish at the hands of a clumsy enchantress attempting to perform first aid. He was relieved when she finished and sheathed his weapon.
But the councilwoman wasn't done yet. Placing her hands on either side of the V, Brenna yanked hard, and the tunic ripped in a straight line, exposing his chest and left shoulder.
"This isn't a fresh wound," she scolded. "Why didn't you say something about this when you came into camp? You've lost a lot of blood. How did this happen?"
Galvin gritted his teeth. His shoulder stung as she blotted it clean with the hem of her nightdress. "Wynter is getting some herbs. When they've had a chance to do their work, we'll be moving on."
Brenna ignored him. "This is