The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [64]
"Aren't they?" Aazen seemed surprised. "Then why-"
"She's playing the part of my wife until affairs here settle down," Kali explained. "Two other friends are looking out for my physical well-being. I'm sure we can find them if we look. They haven't managed to conceal themselves all evening-I don't see why they should start now."
A terrific crash from the dais had both men turning, their hands straying to theit swotd hilts in a mirrored gestute. The lute playet had apparently decided to finish het tune with a flourish, smashing het instf ument against the floor. The startled crowd backed away as she crouched to gather the broken bits.
"Lovely," Kail murmured. "The musicians have obviously taken more than theit share of spirits fot the evening. Excuse me, old friend."
The crowd blocked his path, but Kail could see the woman clearly. She knelt in the center of the stage, cradling a mass of what appeared to be mud and protruding roots that she'd hidden inside the lute. Her gaze was feverishly bright as she stared at the mass.
A wave of ttepidation swept over Kail. He was no wizard, but he knew the effects of mind magic all too well. He pushed through the crowd, shouting, "Everyone, stand back! Dantane!"
Shocked gasps rang out as the woman began shoveling the strange mass into het mouth. She swallowed and immediately began to choke, the mass lodging grotesquely in her throat.
Black veins speared out beneath het skin, spreading from her windpipe to her shoulders and up her face. Her tan skin bulged, turning purple-black as her head lolled to one side.
A woman in the crowd screamed and fainted. People tripped and fell over her in their tush to get away. Kail found a gap and jumped onto the dais, his swotd raised.
"Laerin!" he shouted.
The half-elf appeared below him, lifting the senseless guest over his shoulder. Morgan stood across the room, herding the crowd to the exit. "We'll get em out," Morgan assured Kali. "Cesira's coming."
"Find Dantane!" Kail's gaze remained fixed on the grim transformation unfolding on the dais.
The lute player's flesh rippled and shimmered like a heat mirage, her form lengthening and filling out into that of a young man with shoulder-length brown hair and finely tailored clothing. Kail could not tell his identity, for the black blemish remained on his face and continued to spread, exploding up from the flesh of his arms, legs, and torso as boils and bleeding wounds. He seemed to be filling up everywhere, and the strange, oozing black substance had nowhere to go but through his skin and vital organs.
The thing that had been human lurched up to its legs and swiped with a too-long arm at Kail's face. Kali raised his sword and felt the blade sink into the ooze. The creature howled and pulled back, leaving a ttail of black gore that sizzled into the wooden platform.
"Tarshz mephran!" came a shout from the balcony, and a spray of electricity yanked the hairs on Kail's arms. Bolts of energy ripped into the creature, spraying black blood in all directions.
Kali jumped back, cursing as drops hit his exposed arm and burned.
Dantane climbed onto the balcony tail and floated to the ballroom floor, his robes flaring at the sleeves as his hands shaped anothet spell. He aimed the Aft directly over Kail's head at the cteature. Kali dived behind a harpsichord, pulling its heavy bench over onto its side as a shield when the spell erupted.
Bolts of ice burrowed from Dantane's palms, then streaked across the toom to impale the oozing mass. Gore sprayed the bench, burning black pockmarks into the wood.
Kail rolled to his feet behind the creature. He hacked at it, the emerald sword finding flesh that was human and monster and sometimes a bizarre hybrid. The blade penetrated, and what was left of the lute player's voice rang out in screeches of pure agony.
A tentacled arm whipped out from where the woman's stomach had been, catching Kail in the midsection. The blow threw Kail back; he smelled melted leather He fumbled at his armor buckles, flinching when he felt hands