Sword of the Gods - Bruce R. Cordell [38]
The wizard said to Demascus, “No, please stay. I insist.”
Demascus ducked behind an enormous glass vessel filled with burning red fluid. The wizard didn’t follow. Demascus wondered if Chant had moved far enough to avoid the wizard’s attack. Or was his only friend and confidante in Airspur suddenly a crispy outline on the floor of the tower?
He pulled out his borrowed sword and gazed at it. What could base metal do against a master spellcaster of Chevesh’s league? Probably only anger him further.
Cryptic syllables rang through the laboratory. Demascus realized the wizard was chanting. A spell, probably one designed to flush him out into the open.
“You are behind the demon incursion in Airspur! Admit it!” yelled Demascus in an attempt to disrupt the mage’s concentration. He steeled himself to emerge from cover and charge the wizard.
The chanting petered out, then Chevesh spoke in his polite way, “Who’s the crazy one here? I told you three times, I’m not into that stuff. If you wanted demon summoners, you should have gone to the Firestorm Cabal.”
Demascus blinked. He rounded the side of the vessel, but he didn’t charge. “What do you mean?”
Chevesh stood ensconced in a swirl of fire. His wand was ablaze, and sparks danced between his teeth. He said, “The Cabal has secrets and projects it hides from the Crown. For decades they’ve been meddling with plaguechanged creatures, bringing them in from the changelands for study. But that’s taken a twist. A changelands salvage team returned with something from the south, a fragment of an old statue or fossil. But it had nothing to do with the Year of Blue Fire. I have it on good authority that ever since they began researching the relic, the Cabal has suffered demonic nightmares.”
A bad feeling skittered through Demascus. Had Lieutenant Leheren sent them on a wild boar chase? Or was the fire mage lying?
Demascus studied the wizard. The man, in all his flame and finery, didn’t seem concerned with how the world perceived him.
“What do you mean, demonic nightmares?”
“Figure of speech,” replied the wizard, who had caught a reflection of himself in a crystal panel. The man smoothed his mustache ends with his free hand as he spoke. “The Cabal is apparently trying to revive the ways of an elder cult of chaos.”
“A chaos cult,” Demascus said flatly.
“The Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye. Not a good idea. Which is why Elemental Eye worship has caught on in Toril. Even I am not insane enough to dream of rousing the Chained God. Anyhow, none of that matters for you.”
Chevesh brought his wand down so it pointed directly at Demascus. “Get in the chair, or burn. And really, I don’t care which you choose. I love a good fire.” He smiled like a child anticipating a sugarplum.
Demascus ran for the door.
Two streaks of fire blasted from the wizard’s wand so fast they whistled as they flew.
One struck Demascus a glancing blow on his left shoulder. He felt the initial impact like a tap. Then it bloomed into dull heat. He smelled burning leather as the armor beneath his jacket caught fire. He kept running.
A wall of flame roared down to block his path. Demascus skidded to halt with his heels only inches from the barrier, lying on his side. At least he’d retained his grip on his sword. For all the good it would do him.
Chevesh held his wand high. Its tip burned the same hue of red as the wall of fire.
“You’re faster than you look,” said the wizard. “I can’t wait to crack open your ribs and see the color of your heartblood.”
A curl of anger commandeered Demascus’s arm. He swept his sword out of its sheath. As before, the ghost of forgotten runes trailed a wake of swirling, ethereal light. The crescent of radiance glided across the floor and enveloped Chevesh. A flash of lighting blasted the wand from the wizard’s hand.
The wall of fire blinked out, leaving behind a haze of gray smoke.
Was the wizard down? No. Chevesh’s wild hair was even more crazed than before, but otherwise the man seemed no worse for wear; the human apparently drew strength from crazy.
Seeing he was observed,