The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [111]
Rocks showered his hair from above. Morgan swung in an upward arc but checked the blow just in time.
Talal came skidding down the stalagmite to land next to him. He paused long enough to grab Morgan's arm, towing him along.
Morgan pushed the boy away. "Keep going," he hissed. "I'll hold it off."
"He's dead," Talal cried, plucking stubbornly at the thief s tunic. "We have to run, we have to… he'll kill us…"
The boy was hysterical. He didn't know what he was saying. Morgan tutned back to the room. "Come on!" he shouted wildly. "Come at me, you bastard!"
"Shut up," Talal squeaked. "He'll come back. We have to… have to go."
But Morgan's feet refused to move. His mind worked sluggishly: the half-elf… Morgan hadn't heard it. He'd heard nothing. What kind of thief was he, what kind of partner, not to hear when the job went wrong?
The stupid half-elf had always been faster than him. "Legs like twigs, but he moved like he weighed nothing," Morgan babbled. He tried to make the boy understand. "He should've won; we never let each other win. The arrogant bastard should be halfway back to Keczulla by now."
Talal moaned in despair. "You're crazy. That thing's going to kill us both, and it'll all be for nothing!" He pushed, but Morgan grabbed him roughly.
"Listen to what I'm telling you!" Morgan shook the boy by the shoulder, ignoring his whimper of pain. "We'll meet up with him at the next intersection. He'll be there, waiting, and then-"
His head snapped to the side. Stars filled the corners of Morgan's vision. He looked at Talal in bewildetment. It slowly dawned on him that the boy had punched him in the jaw. He raised a hand; Talal flinched. Tears streamed down his thin face.
Morgan blinked several times to clear his head. Calmly, he forced all thoughts of the half-elf to a dark corner of his mind. Later, after he had spilled enough blood, he would take them out and examine them.
He grabbed the boy by the collar, pushing him toward the tunnel. "Run fast, little mouse," he growled. "Or we're all meat." At Talal's uncertain expression, he said, "Don't worry. I'll be right behind you."
CHAPTER 27
The Howling Delve 5 Marpenoth, the
Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)
Aazen tensed when he heard the distant howls. He raised a hand to halt the party, surveying what resources he had left.
Isslun and Aliyea were still above, probably slain. Tershus was there too. Falling rock had obscured Aazen's last glimpse of the halfling. The rest of his party had either been slain by Kail's group or separated by the journey through the portal. Aazen had only five left with him. One of them, Kiliren's apprentice, had to be half-carried due to his wounds. If he didn't succumb, Aazen was tempted to leave the man, especially in light of what he intended to do.
"Straight ahead, torches low unless absolutely necessary," he said. "Kail is nearby."
"Whatever's down here's killing them already," said Bardie, shifting his weight against the man supporting him. "We should wait to see if any survive."
"If they do, we may never find them again in these tunnels," said Aazen. "We could wandei down here until we starve, or until whatever made that noise finds us. Kail-or one of his group-had to have come through the main portal. To find the way out, we go to him."
Bardie laughed, drawing uneasy glances from the men standing near him, but the apprentice's eyes wete wide, delirious with pain and blood loss. "You're a fool, Korttun. You want to find your friend. Balram knew you wouldn't be able to kill him." 1:
Aazeri stopped, his expression frozen. Slowly, he tutned and walked back to the man. He lifted his sagging head by the hair. "What an interesting observation. Please enlighten me. What is my father planning?"
Bardie coughed and tried to