The Kingless Land - Ed Greenwood [97]
Tears flew as she shook her head… and convulsions wracked her again.
A blue-and-white glow occurred about Sarasper's fingers as he called up magic that would drain some of his own life energy into the woman in his arms. It passed out of him silently, leaving him feeling weak and sick. Hands trembling, he almost lost his hold on Embra's suddenly heavier body-as she collapsed with a gasp, head lolling in senselessness.
Sarasper let her down onto the ground as gently as his weak arms allowed, sighed, and looked up grimly at the procurer and the armaragor. Craer and Hawkril were licking their fingers after devouring the meal from the Window-the entire meal, the shares that should have been Sarasper's and Embra's included-in gobbling haste.
Just now, Sarasper was too weary to care. "If this goes on," he told them quietly, "we may need this Stone of Life just to provide her magic enough, every day, to keep her alive."
"So she stops using magic," Hawkril rumbled flatly. "Completely. Right now, while we go looking for this Stone-that is, if it's anything more than a wizard's wild tale."
"Someone believed that wizard well enough to kill him for it," Craer said quietly, "and burn down his house, no doubt to cover the signs of their ransacking it."
"She needs shelter," Sarasper said sharply, looking around at the unbroken line of trees. "Where, exactly, is this ruined library from here?"
"In an abandoned city, Indraevyn by name, about a mile away, Embra said," Craer replied. "In which direction, I know not, but-"
"I'll wager it's where yon war band is heading," Hawkril said calmly, pointing. A little way around the curving lakeshore-not all that far away-a line of men in armor, interspersed with a few in robes with shields strapped to their backs and breasts, were coming into view through the reeds and bushes, walking cautiously. The armaragor saw their heads turn to regard the Four and slowly drew his sword.
"If we tarry here overlong, they'll get to this city first," Craer snapped. "Come on!"
"I suspect the ruins are crawling with eagerly searching wizards already," Sarasper said, watching the procurer almost dance with mounting impatience, "and we have a burden to care for, no?"
"Wake her," Craer replied, not unkindly. "We haven't time to wait. All it takes is one mage who knows what he's doing to get his hands on this Stone before we do, and we'll be just a few more twisted corpses in the huge pile of victims who dared stand in his way."
"Oh, there's no need to wait that long to become twisted corpses," Hawkril rumbled casually-and suddenly turned with the speed of a striking snake and lunged, thrusting his blade deep into the thick green wall of a crow's-apple bush. There was a shriek of startled pain, and the shrubs around erupted with the thud of rushing feet, a volley of curses, and charging hide-cloaked figures.
Hawkril fell back hastily, his sword dark and wet with blood, and Sarasper snapped out a few strange words and tossed a token he'd plucked from somewhere in the breast of his tunic into the air. Craer saw that it was a triangle made of three interwoven, miniature swords in the instant before it vanished in a flare of magical radiance-but he barely saw that brief shower of light give birth to a trio of floating, spectral longswords as he sprang to meet their attackers, with sword and dagger drawn.
There were eight in all, he judged, and none of them had been in the band they'd seen walking along the shore. These men wore the worn hides and mottled, drab-hued cloaks, tunics, and ragged breeches of foresters-but they stumbled and swayed off balance as they ran, like armsmen used to weapons practice in courtyards, not men at ease among stumps and soft mosses underfoot. Moreover, as Sarasper's conjured swords flashed through the air to hack and parry, slashed jerkins revealed the dark gleam of armor beneath.
Hawkril tripped one foe, put his blade into the throat of another, danced back to chop at the neck of the man he'd tripped, and then rushed forward to lock blades with, and hurl aside, a