The Jewel of Turmish - Mel Odom [78]
Borran Kiosk raised his fierce gaze to the werespider and said, "You're afraid of me."
The huge spider shifted back and forth, scuttling on the tips of all eight legs, the fat body hanging ponderously between them.
"You are evil," Allis accused.
"And what Eire you?" Borran Kiosk advanced on her. "I am a servant of Malar."
"Then why fear me?" Borran Kiosk asked, continuing to walk toward her. "I, too, walk in the Beastlord's shadow and serve his wishes."
"I don't fear you."
"You lie," Borron Kiosk said, letting his tongue whip through the air. "I can taste it."
The spider retreated, pressing up against the wall behind her. She was too large to attempt to go through the door or any of the windows, and returning to human size would weaken her.
She said, "You live only to kill."
"As does Malar," Borran Kiosk said.
"That is but one aspect of his nature," Allis objected.
"A very important aspect."
The spider reared up on her four back legs, flattening against the wall. She held her four front legs before her, raised to defend herself if necessary.
"Malar called me here to help you," she said.
"Malar doesn't speak directly to someone like you."
Borran Kiosk stopped in front of her. He shook broken pieces of boards and splinters from his bloody priest's cloak.
"Who?" he asked.
The spider didn't hesitate. "I can't tell you," she said. "If I did, they would kill me."
Summoning a fireball, Borran Kiosk held it dancing in his fleshless palm. The heat was intense. He heard leftover cartilage in his hand pop and crackle, surrendering to the heat. The fire couldn't actually harm him, but the effect of the crackling sounds on Allis was immediate.
The spider shivered and drew back, the flames of the fireball reflected in all of her eight eyes.
"What do you think I will do?" Borran Kiosk whispered.
The cold, dispassionate words hung in the emptiness of the room. The spider shifted, and for a moment Borran Kiosk thought she might try to escape from the building. The thought of a gigantic spider suddenly scuttling across the rooftops of Alaghфn amused him. Everyone in town would assume it was his handiwork, and in a way it would be.
"It is a group of wizards," Allis said. "They serve Malar, follow his bidding, and work to strike against the Emerald Enclave."
"Wizards?" The thought excited Borran Kiosk. "Compatriots, then?"
The promise of allies held a certain allure, but it might also mean having shackles. Since his return from the grave, Borran Kiosk had known no master and recognized no peer save for Malar. Meeting other wizards who served the Beastlord was not something Borran Kiosk looked forward to with any relish.
"No," the spider answered. "You'll find no friends among them. The wizards serve Malar for their own desires, and the only company they want is their own."
Starting to feel pain from the magic flame, Borran Kiosk put his other hand over the fireball, extinguishing it. He was certain the werespider didn't know extinguishing the fireball showed greater power than creating it. Unleashing destruction was always much simpler than harnessing the same energies.
"Return to your human form," he commanded.
Allis hesitated for a moment, then she quivered and slowly dwindled into herself. In only a short time, she stood naked before the mohrg.
Even though much of the way of the flesh had deserted him, Borran Kiosk still felt a hint of desire stir within him. The werespider was a beautiful woman, and standing before him as she did while totally defenseless made her even more desirable.
"How did you come to be part of this group?" Borran Kiosk asked.
"They recruited me," she answered. "How?"
"By blackmailing me. And they made sure the Emerald Enclave knew of me." "Knew what?"
"That I am dual-natured," she answered.
"Why should the Emerald Enclave care?"
"They think that lycanthropes who were turned