The Jewel of Turmish - Mel Odom [64]
The mohrg ran with surprising speed, and the cloud of insects pursued him, though they were beginning to thin. The spell should have lasted longer, but it was fading. Tohl wondered if the magical nature of the mohrg had altered the spell in some way.
Tohl wished he was in another dream, but just as he had known he was dreaming before, he knew he wasn't now.
He tripped. Something caught his foot and he went sprawling. The wet ground coated him and he smacked up against a leaning headstone whose letters had long since worn away.
The splat of bony feet cleaving the graveyard mud drew Tohl's attention, sounding almost as fast and as loud as his heart hammering in his chest. He clawed his way to his knees and looked back the way he'd come.
Borran Kiosk ran through the rain showing no sign of exertion. The hideous creature moved with the fluid grace of a great cat.
Fear deluged Tohl in one final wave. Galvanized into action, he reared back and threw the lantern as hard as he could.
The lantern flipped end over end then smashed against the mohrg. The glass fuel reservoir shattered against the undead creature's chest. Oil ran over the bared bone and remnants of flesh. Despite the downpour, the fluid ran over Borran Kiosk's body and the fiery wick stuck to his chest. The oil caught fire and blue and yellow flames raced over the mohrg.
Tohl watched in horror as Borran Kiosk never broke stride. The horrid, fleshless face and the death's-head grin was the last thing he saw. He had a brief impression of the grinning jaws splitting open and the purple tongue exploding outward, then it felt like a dwarven warhammer slammed into his head, and he was dead before he could draw a last breath.
***
"Merciful Tymora," Druz Talimsir called as she looked at Haarn lying naked and unconscious in the mud, "give me the strength to endure."
The newborn wolf pups squirmed in the blanket. Their mewling cries reached her ears and sparked a tenderness that confused her and made her angry.
Lightning sizzled across the sky, followed almost at once by the hollow boom of thunder that rolled across the mountaintop. The sound made Druz realize again how far she was from anything familiar, and she had to do something about the unconscious man lying in the mud.
The wolves still lounging in the tree line continued watching her. Druz couldn't help but wonder how long it would take before they rushed her. Even armed and as skilled as she was, she knew she wouldn't last long before they overcame her. Her only chance was to run or climb a tree before they dragged her down, but she knew she couldn't leave the druid unguarded. The wolves would kill him for executing their leader, and they probably had no love for Druz, who had killed the pregnant bitch.
Beneath her breath, she damned the druid. He had to have known he wasn't going to be strong enough to climb down the mountain. Instead of healing a motherless wolf pup, he should have healed himself.
She started to put the blanket-wrapped wolf pups aside. Plaintive yips sounded from the struggling newborns. She stopped and pulled the blanket back in close to her, feeling the warmth of the pups and the way they moved against her.
Druz couldn't abandon them. If she had known for sure that the wolf pack would take care of them she might have left them there, but she didn't know that. All she knew was that Haarn had risked his life to save them.
She felt trapped as she eyed the restless wolves and cuddled the blanket to her. Glancing around the mountain-top, she tried to find some place she could use as shelter, thinking she could put the wolf pups there and return for the druid.
The bear yawned as it towered above her. Druz feared the bear might grow bored and wander away, leaving them defenseless against the wolves. Reaching to her side, she took hold of her sword hilt.
The bear swayed for a moment then dropped to all fours. The bear nudged the unconscious druid with his muzzle. Haarn didn't respond.