The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [100]
Kail saw her fall, saw her body disappear into the green light. He cried out in wordless grief that manifested in a jarring blow against Aazen's sword.
She was gone, Kali thought. He hadn't been able to save her a fret all.
Grief melted into rage. Kail batted aside Aazen's unresisting blade and knocked him to the floor. Fot a moment, he fought the urge to keep going, to run his blade through Aazen's heart. "Kali!" Morgan cried.
Chest heaving, Kail tote himself away from his friend's prone body and ran for the chasm. The cavetn was still shuddering. The tremors seemed to come from deep below ground. More stalactites and rock shook free of the ceiling and dropped in a deadly rain. He dodged a spear that plunged to the floor where he and Aazen had just been fighting. Aazen had gotten to his feet and was looking to his own remaining men, issuing commands Kail could not hear over the rumbling.
Kail made it to Dantane. He hauled the wizard up into a sitting position. Varan had collapsed on the stones.
Dantane opened his eyes. They widened-he grabbed Kail by his uninjured forearm. " 'Ware!" he cried.
Kail reversed his blade, stabbing backward blindly, but Garavin was already there, using his maul to pluck a Shadow Thief off his feet like a rag doll.
"We have to go!" the dwarf shouted over the rumbling. "The place'll come down on out heads."
"Tunnel's blocked!" called Laerin from the far side of the cavern. He held Morgan by one shoulder, Talal the other. They limped across the room to join the group. The Shadow Thieves' left alive had ceased their attacks in light of the greater danger. "It'll take a while to cleat it."
"We don't have any time," said Kail.
"It's anothet portal," Dantane said, pointing to the glowing gteen halo, which had fotmed over the chasm tathei than the shaft above. "The wizard wanted someone to go through it."
"Like Hells," said Morgan. "I say we go back through the shaft-take our chances with the Shadow Thieves."
Kail stated down the chasm. "Meisha's down there," he said. "She may still be alive. The test of you use the key to activate the othet portal once I'm gone, but I'm going through this one."
Garavin called Borl to his side. "I'll take my chances with ye," he said simply.
"As will I," said Laerin.
Morgan spat. "Don't be believing him!" he said. "He's just doin' it to make me look bad." He faced the portal reluctantly. "Let's go then, if we'te goin'."
Kali helped Dantane to his feet. One by one, they stepped off the stones, into the green light, until only he and the wizard remained.
"What about him?" asked Dantane.
Kali knew he meant Varan, but Kali stared across the room at Aazen. He'd gathered his remaining forces under a protected shelf of rock near the blocked tunnel, but even that meager cover was cracking, coming apart like the rest of the cavern.
"He's on his own," said Kali. "So are you, Dantane, if you leave now."
The wizard shook his head. "I haven't gotten my reward yet. I go with you."
"Suit youtself." They stepped off the edge, into nothingness.
CHAPTER 26
Keczulla, Amn 5Marpenoth, the Year of
Lightning Storms (1374 DR)
Balram stepped into Morels main hall. He felt as if time had teversed itself. Suddenly he was back in Esmeltaran, his men at his side, seeking Morel's death.
But the setting had changed, and it wasn't Morel or his son who faced him from the top of the ballroom staircase. A woman stood there, wrapped in a hooded cloak, her face painted in forest colors. A long spear rested comfortably in the crook of her right arm. She looked like a savage carved from stone-beautiful and cold-staring at him as if she craved his death.
"Lady Morel." He bowed in greeting, allowing his men to fan out across the hall. If she was intimidated by the show of strength, her expression did nothing to give it away. She walked down the stairs, her soft boots padding against the wood. She stopped on the first landing.