Under Fallen Stars - Mel Odom [43]
Vurgrom closed his hand over the jewels and made them disappear, splitting them up and putting them in various areas of his clothing. "Aye, milord, and know that ever my blade shall serve your will in any way that I might aid you. Would there be any other way tonight?"
"No. Take your men and go," Iakhovas directed. "Ill meet up with you in the Sea of Fallen Stars."
Vurgrom smiled, but Laaqueel didn't like the way the effort fit the man's face. "I'll look forward to seeing you there, milord. I and my crews have worked long and hard to put everything into play as you have designed. Until we meet again, Cyric keep you safe in his shadows that you might smite your enemies through no risk of your own."
"And you," Iakhovas echoed.
Laaqueel had no idea how Iakhovas had arranged for Vurgrom to see him, but she noted the obvious deferential treatment. After Vurgrom and his group had gone, she addressed him. "You're planning on meeting him in the Sea of Fallen Stars?"
"Yes." Iakhovas offered no explanation. He continued down the passageway they were in.
The thought bothered Laaqueel. Though she knew of the Sea of Fallen Stars from talks she'd had with surface dwellers and maps she'd studied, the idea of being in a sea surrounded entirely by land was unnerving to her. She didn't know whether she hoped Iakhovas left her behind or not.
"Ah, little malenti, for someone who evidences her faith so strongly, there remains much weakness within you," Iakhovas taunted. "You shall accompany me to the Inner Sea, and there you will see the culmination of all the prophecies that you're helping come true."
There was just enough truth in his words to ease her mind somewhat, but the knowledge that Iakhovas looked after himself first and only never left her thoughts.
They followed the passageway a little farther and found the end of it. However, when the globe got close enough, it revealed a break in the wall on the right. Iakhovas stepped through without hesitation.
Laaqueel followed closely, reluctant to lose the light. The smell that hit her when she stepped through the opening immediately told her they were in a sewer. She remembered when she'd first learned of such things, having never thought of surface dwellers living out their two-dimensional lives and such bodily functions being any kind of trouble. She'd been further disturbed and horrified to learn that most of the coastal cities and towns poured their waste directly into the ocean.
She avoided the running water in the center of the duct and was grateful she was sucking air through her lungs instead of water because the stench would have been even stronger. The glowing globe caught the attention of the long-bodied rats creeping through the duct and placed jade fires in their eyes.
Only a little farther on, Iakhovas stopped again. He gazed at the wall to his left.
With some effort, Laaqueel spotted the rune marked there. It wasn't a glyph with any power, but it marked an area of some importance. Iakhovas stepped off a measured distance, then stomped his foot down, creating a hollow thump. Moving quickly, he reached down and seized the slab of stone. With a show of incredible strength, he lifted the man-sized slab and shoved it to the side. The glowing globe obediently moved, providing illumination that looked down into the opening.
Stepping around him, her nose wrinkling in disgust from the bitter stench that erupted from the opening, Laaqueel peered down into it. Fully six feet or more down, the jade light reflected against a white powder floor and walls.
"A lime pit," Iakhovas explained. "It took me some time to find out the things I needed to know that brought us here, but I did. In the doing of it, I learned of this pit. A man named Nantrin Bellowglyn owns the Three Old Kegs, an inn nearby,