Storm of the Dead - Lisa Smedman [108]
All at once, Leliana saw what he was getting at. "Teleport us all to the Acropolis," she said, finishing his thought for him.
"Exactly."
"All very well, in theory," Gilkriz said in a dry voice. "But Q'arlynd's never even seen the Acropolis."
"I studied the map and heard a detailed description of the temple. For me, that's enough."
Leliana nodded. "I think it's worth a try."
The others nodded. All except Gilkriz, who stood with his arms folded, fingers drumming restlessly against his sleeves.
"All right then." Q'arlynd shrugged back his piwafwi and flexed his fingers. "Eldrinn, stand next to me; I may need your assistance with the spell. The rest of you, form a circle around me and link hands. As I finish my casting, I'll touch one of you, and we'll all go together."
"Eldrinn's a novice," Gilkriz protested. "What help will he be?"
"That's where you're wrong," Q'arlynd said. "Eldrinn's assisted my teleports before. He knows exactly what to do, and when. Just join hands with the others, Gilkriz, and you'll come along. Unless…" Q'arlynd arched an eyebrow. "Unless you'd rather remain here, snug and secure behind these lovely walls you just conjured, until it's all over and we can send someone back to fetch you."
The conjurer's nostrils flared, but he joined the circle. "I still don't believe this will work," he muttered.
"You haven't seen me teleport." The wizard nodded in Leliana's direction. "She has."
Gilkriz said nothing.
"Just be sure," Q'arlynd instructed the priestesses, "to maintain the flow of positive energy even after we reach the Acropolis. Hold it for at least a moment or two. Otherwise, we may miss our mark. If we land off target, we could wind up in solid stone. And that would be, well… unfortunate."
"Define 'unfortunate,' " Leliana said.
Q'arlynd grimaced. "Missing a few pounds of flesh, at best. At worst, you'll be meeting Eilistraee a lot sooner than anticipated."
Leliana turned to the priestesses. "Make your preparations. If this works, in another moment or two we'll be facing not just Crones and their undead minions, but a ghost."
The Protectors readied their weapons.
Leliana glanced at the halfling. "Brindell?"
The halfling tucked a silence stone into the pocket of her sling. "I'll be ready."
The priestesses formed a circle facing inward. Each stood with her sword in her right hand, her left hand on the shoulder of the person next to her. Their swords hummed softly. Gilkriz stood next to Brindell, who had to stand on tiptoe to reach his shoulder.
"Right," Leliana said. "Let's begin."
They sang, each keeping her attention focused inward, on the energy they were summoning into themselves and channeling to the center of their circle, where Q'arlynd and Eldrinn stood. On the song's second verse, a glimmer of moonlight blossomed around each priestess. Slowly, the circles of light expanded into the center of the circle. Each left a patch of shadow in its wake: shadow that obscured the glow of the Faerzress.
"It's working!" Eldrinn cried. "I can feel it!"
Q'arlynd grasped the boy's wrist. He raised his free hand; it hovered just over Leliana's shoulder. She felt the positive energy fill her, a sense of warmth and well-being as soothing as a soft hymn. She nodded at Q'arlynd: the signal. He snapped out an incantation and slapped his hand down on her shoulder.
Her stomach did a flipflop as the floor lurched sideways under her feet. Suddenly, she was standing with the others next to a building that loomed darkly beside them. The temple atop the Acropolis! Startled Crones whirled to face them, shrieking in anger. The Protectors' swords replied with a gleeful peal.
Just as Q'arlynd had instructed them, the Protectors held the final note of their song a moment longer. Q'arlynd's hand lifted from Leliana's