Vanity's Brood - Lisa Smedman [51]
"He's not dead," Pakal answered. He paused. "When we reach Ts'ikil, you must tell her what you have just told me."
"I will," Arvin agreed, uncertain whether he'd be able to keep that promise.
If Pakal was right about Ts'ikil not wanting the Circled Serpent to be used, maybe Arvin should grab Pakal's half and try to get to Dmetrio before the dwarf and Ts'ikil did. He was suddenly very glad of Karrell's ring. If the dwarf did turn out to have the ability to read thoughts, he wouldn't like what was going through Arvin's mind.
Arvin glancod up the path. "The portal is somewhere up above us, right?"
Pakal nodded. "Only a short distance ahead, but there is no hurry. The Talos worshipers are not following us."
"They're not what I'm worried about," Arvin said. He rubbed the scar on his forehead. It tingled again. "When I left Hlondeth, one of Sibyl's constructs was following me: a cobra, made of iron. I killed it, but my mind magic is warning me that Sibyl may have more than one of these constructs. If we don't get to the portal right away, it may lead Sibyl straight to us."
Pakal just stared at him.
"What?" Arvin asked.
"There is a problem," Pakal answered. "The portal can only be used at sunrise."
"Ah." Arvin thought for a moment. "We'll stay awake in turns until then and keep an eye out for the cobra. Maybe you can turn us to gas once we reach the portal. It may not be able to find us then."
"That I cannot do."
"Why not?"
Pakal sighed and spread his hands. "Thard Harr grants me only so many blessings each day. I can gain no more until I have prayed."
"Can't you pray now?"
"If I did, Thard Harr would not hear me," Pakal said. "The prayers raw t be said in daylight. The traditional time is when dawn first breaks."
"That's unfortunate," Arvin said.
He knew how Pakal felt. Arvin too was close to the limit of his own powers, already. His muladhara felt flat, a hair's breadth away from being utterly depleted. He needed to meditate.
He turned and stared down the mountainside. The stormlord and his worshipers were walking back to their temple, carrying the injured. Beyond the temple, the road vanished into darkness. Somewhere below, he was certain, another iron cobra slithered toward them.
CHAPTER 6
Arvin bolted awake, his heart pounding. "Karrell!" he shouted. "No!"
It took him several moments to realize that it had been a dream. A nightmare. Not real.
He could remember every detail. Sibyl, sending out waves of magical fear that turned into lava and burned the flesh from his bones, leaving him a walking skeleton that reeked of seared meat. Zelia, cracking open enormous eggs and slurping out the screaming infants they contained, her neck bulging grotesquely as she swallowed them down. The marilith demon, hacking open Karrell's pregnant belly with its swords-inside was a nest of dead snakes tied in an intricate knot.
Sweat trickled down Arvin's temples, and he wiped it away with a shaking hand.
The nightmare had been so vivid, so clear. Usually, in dreams, some of the senses were blurred, but in this dream every detail of smell, sound, touch, and taste had been present. Even though Arvin was wide awake, the dream wasn't fading. It hung in his mind's eye like a gruesome painting.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on Karrell's face, trying to contact her, but nothing happened. As before, his sending was blocked. The nightmare had left him more worried than ever-had the marilith found Karrell? Killed her? He remembered the prophetic dreams that had woken his mother, screaming, in the middle of the night. Was this what they had been like?
A hand touched his shoulder-Pakal's. The dwarf had been standing watch while Arvin slept.
Pakal muttered something, then spoke. Halfway through, his spell took hold and his words became intelligible. "-you dream?" he asked.
Arvin shivered. It was still dark, though the sky to the