The Wyvern's Spur - Kate Novak [143]
The enchantress caught up to him by the time he'd shrunk back to his human shape. She handed back the finder's stone.
"Why are all these bodies here?" Giogi whispered, holding the crystal high overhead to get a better view of the inner ward.
"These are food for the ghasts and ghouls," Cat explained.
"And the bodies outside?"
"Held in reserve to be changed to zombies as needed."
Giogi shuddered.
"I wonder where all the undead are," Cat mused. "He can't have used all of them to attack you at Selune's temple. Not all of them will go out in daylight."
"I'd rather not find either kind," Giogi said. "Which way to Flattery?"
'To the keep," Cat said.
Giogi followed the mage as she threaded her way through the piles of carrion. The keep was a second fortress within the first. A turret rose from each corner, and the roof was lined with crenellated parapets. Giogi estimated the main building to be four stories high, but it was hard to tell exactly, because the keep had no windows. A pair of iron doors at ground level stood wide open. Cat reached for his hand, and they entered together.
They stood at one end of a long, wide corridor, bare of any ornamentation. Sconces holding torches lined the walls, but the torches had burned down to stumps. Giogi held the finder's stone above his head again. It sent a beam of light down the full length of the empty corridor. The light struck a second pair of iron doors.
"Dismal place," Giogi muttered as he and Cat walked toward the white doors. "No wall hangings. No furniture."
"Only Flattery and the undead dwell here," Cat explained. "The undead have no joy in decoration."
"What about Flattery?"
"Flattery only delights in power."
"Did you live here?"
Cat nodded.
"How could you stand it?"
"Until yesterday, being in your home, I had no notion of living any better," Cat said. She pushed at one of the doors before them.
The door opened into a great chamber whose ceiling rose to the full height of the keep. At the far end, a pair of braziers flickered red near the base of a dais. Aunt Dorath sat beside one of the braziers. She was not restrained by chain or rope. She looked very frightened, and her hair had gone completely gray.
Atop the dais, on a throne made of human bones, sat the wizard Flattery, a faint reddish glow surrounded his body. Amber-lee lay on a pillow at his feet, inside a shimmering globe two feet across. On either side of the dais, in the shadows, disfigured shapes milled about and darker shadows flickered with excitement.
Giogi dropped Cat's hand and strode into the room. Flattery laid a threatening finger on the globe holding Amberlee. "Hold," he commanded. Giogi halted.
"Giogioni Wyvernspur, you were wise to come," the wizard said. "You, Catling, will pay for your treachery. As you can see, Giogioni, your kin are alive. My minions-" He motioned to the flickering shadows on either side of the dais – "hate them. Especially the brat. You will note I've taken special precautions to protect her from their life-draining touch. Unfortunately, your aunt got out of control and I had no choice but to let one of my ghosts deal with her. You can hardly object to her damaged condition, considering all the use you've had of my wife. Come here, Catling," he ordered.
"The lady is not part of the deal, Flattery," Giogi retorted hotly. "She's returning with me. You free Amberlee, Aunt Dorath, and Cat, and I will give you the spur."
Flattery laughed. "You're a fool, Giogioni. Get over here, witch!" he shouted at the mage. "You've got three seconds before I make this infant wraith food. Don't leave that sack behind. Bring it with you."
Cat picked up the sack of magic she'd tried to leave behind Giogi. "You're better off without me," she said to Giogi as she passed him by, hurrying to Flattery's side.