Son of Thunder - Murray J. D. Leeder [64]
A well-placed sweep from Bessick's chains tore most of them out of the air with cruel accuracy, but as Nithinial rushed to help Vonelh to his feet, he noticed the mage was in a strange state. His eyes darted wildly, and he looked at his companions as if he'd never seen them before. At the same time, all of the pixies, grigs, and nixies hovering on the battle's edge seemed to turn tail and vanish into the forest.
Vonelh opened his mouth and began to chant some arcane syllables.
"Their magic has scuttled his mind!" shouted Leng. "Stand clear." He spun to face Vonelh, took a few steps, and laid his hand on the wizard's exposed forearm. As soon as he made contact, all life left Vonelh. His face and body went slack and he fell to the ground without ceremony or grace, his lifeless eyes staring up at his companions.
"What have you done?" howled Nithinial, standing only inches from Leng.
"He was going to drop a fireball on us all," Leng said calmly.
Nithinial swung at Leng's throat with his dagger, but he never made it. A few words from Leng, and the half-elf was paralyzed, a mask of anger frozen on his face. The dagger was nearly at Leng's neck, but the priest did not flinch.
For a few moments, silence fell over the group as everyone tried to come to grips with the scene. Leng took a few steps back from the others.
"You didn't have to kill Vonelh," said Royce, stepping around his corpse and the living statue that Nithinial had become. The leader of the Antiquarians stepped forward, his sword lowered in a subtly threatening posture. "You could have dissolved the magic on him."
"Or perhaps I would have failed, and we would all be dead," said Leng.
"You have ruined this mission," Bessick shouted, stepping next to Royce with his chains ready. "If you hadn't killed that treant, we wouldn't have every damned fey in the woods on our trail."
"Oh," Leng replied. "No, there's a different reason for that. Is there not, Ardeth?" He bent over to pick up the blue-tinged corpse of a nixie, took a few steps, and tossed it down at the young woman's feet. "Let's ask Geildarr's official representative among us. Why are we really on this mission? Nixies don't stray far from their waters. So tell us all," he spat as he looked into her dark eyes, "just how close are we to the Unicorn Run?"
Ardeth showed no reaction, only matched Leng's steely gaze. But Gunton, Bessick, and Royce all let out gasps of surprise.
"Your hobgoblin's dedication is admirable," Leng went on, sending Gan a glare that made the hobgoblin grip the axe more tightly. "But his thespian skills leave something to be desired."
Gunton rooted through Vonelh's robes and found the silver coin Geildarr had provided. It was glowing slightly. "Are you saying that this is a lie?"
"Deliberately designed to mislead us, to send us off track, yes," said Leng. "You may as well acknowledge your deception, Ardeth. Geildarr isn't here to protect you now." On cue, Gan stepped between her and Leng.
Leng only laughed. "Do you require further demonstrations of my power?" he asked, turning to face Royce. "Perhaps this one should fall next. Maybe that would be the best way to show for certain who leads this expedition now."
"Are you saying that we were never meant to go to the Star Mounts?" asked Royce.
"Perhaps you, but not I. As it happens, I don't care what's at the Star Mounts," Leng hissed. "This Sanctuary, Netherese magic, big lizards-there's a much more tempting prize on the way. Geildarr counted on me thinking this way. He expected me to go to the Unicorn Run and die." He craned his neck and peeked at Ardeth behind Gan, smiling. "Isn't that the case?"
Leng rambled on in an arrogant tone. "Perhaps all of you together could defeat me. Perhaps not. Myself, I'd prefer that you live. You're useful to me, every one of you. There's no reason we should be enemies