The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [67]
"How many of you are there in the warrens?" Meisha asked, shifting the topic.
The boy spent a moment figuring. "Thirty-eight. We took count of everyone, after the first death, so we'd know names. Forty-nine came into the caves, not counting that bastard Balram and his son."
Meisha stopped short. "The man who trapped you here was Balram?"
"Him and his son, Aazen-not so twitchy as his father, but quiet, scary quiet," Talal said. "Never said more than a few words to any of us."
Aazen. She remembered the name from the cave. The leader who'd stabbed her was Balram's son. Meisha tried to take it all in. She pressed her hand against the crystal hidden in her jerkin. She'd almost forgotten it, but now its presence in the hands of Balram's man made perfect, terrible sense.
"I never knew there was a son," Meisha said. "I only knew Kortrun."
Talal's eyes widened. "You knew em?"
"I've been searching for Balram Kortrun on behalf of a friend." Meisha resumed walking, and after a moment Talal ran to catch up. "They were refugees with you?" Meisha asked.
"We fled Esmeltaran together," said Talal. "When we took up here, Balram-like I said, he was always twitchy-didn't like the Delve or the crazy wizard. We couldn't figure out why he kept going back to the wizard's room, though, if he was so afraid. He'd come out some nights, looking almost sick with whatever he'd seen. Finally, he took his son, said he'd go for help to Keczulla. We all thought he was crazy, but we let him go. No one said so, but we hoped they might make it. We were too damn scared to go with them." Talal stared off into the darkness, thinking. "I guess we're paying for that, too. If we hadn't been cowards, we wouldn't still be here. Ifwe'd've woken up and seen how it wasn't the wizard but the wizard's toys he was interested in…"
"But they did make it to Keczulla," Meisha prompted.
"And came back with the Shadow Thieves. What a rescue," said Talal sourly. "They made us take the wizard's toys from his room while he slept, then they sealed the enttance to the Delve, trapped us inside. Told us if we took cate of the old man, let him be to make his magic toys, they'd come back to collect them. When they came, they'd bring food-meat to butcher, chickens for eggs-clothing, maybe some weapons, if we didn't tty to escape-everything we'd need to live."
"So you cate for Varan, keep him fed and strong enough to make magic items, and in exchange they give you this existence." Meisha marveled at the complexity of the system, but in reality, the risks and costs to the Shadow Thieves wete minimal. What was feeding forty people when compared to the worth of magic weapons, amulets, rings… whatever Varan could conceive of in his current state? "You'ie certain it's the Shadow Thieves?"
"They didn't bother hiding it," Talal said. "We didn't know how they even got in at fitst, until Gadi ttacked them to the doorways. We ttied to work them. Gadi said they used some type of key that wasn't a key-he got close enough to see that much."
"Gadi was very brave," Meisha observed.
"My brother." Pride swelled in Talal's eyes, and Meisha's heart twisted. "Runs in the family: brave, stupid-pick one."
They entered a large chamber. Meisha shone the torch high, but the light refused to penetrate to the ceiling.
"I'm going to cast a spell," Meisha said. When Talal didn't answer, she looked at him questioningly. "Is that a problem?"
"No, just… not used to being asked, is all." Talal barked a laugh, but Meisha could sense the unease behind his btavado.
"I'll try to be gentle." Meisha lowered the torch, fisting her hands into the flames. "Mephhisden,"she hissed.
File wound languidly around her fingers and upward into a nairow, twisting column, a length of hemp weaving itself from the air currents. Near the ceiling, it tapered off to a needle point of fire that illuminated the cavern's ceiling and the corpse impaled upon one of the stalactites. Its aims and legs dangled in a spiderlike pose above their heads.
"Braedrin," Talal murmured, recognizing