Vanity's Brood - Lisa Smedman [73]
"An accident," he concluded. He held up his grossly swollen hand. "Juz'la's viper bit me. I bumped into the brazier, and it toppled. The oil spilled out, and Juz'la was burned."
Realizing he should feign some concern, he moved to where Juz'la lay. The sudden motion, combined with his dizziness, made him reel. He turned the motion into a less-than-graceful squat, ignoring the tiny flames that licked at his boots, and pretended to be feeling for a pulse. As he did, he slipped the dagger up his sleeve. It was a clumsy palming, but if the half- lizard noticed anything, he made no comment. "She's dead," Arvin concluded.
He started to stand, then noticed something that lay beside the body in the flaming oil: a tiny vial that must have been secreted somewhere inside Juz'la's dress. The dark liquid inside it bubbled from the heat, the cork that sealed the vial starting to char. Arvin picked up the vial before it burst and he blew on it, trying to cool it.
The half-lizard puffed out his throat, clearly agitated. He shifted uneasily on bowed legs, looking as though he'd like nothing better than to scurry away. "Master," he croaked. "What-"
Arvin stood, fought off another wave of dizziness. He stared down at the half-lizard. "Your name's Porvar, isn't it?" he asked.
The half-lizard nodded. There was fear in his eyes but also intelligence. He wasn't as far gone as the slave who had met Arvin upon his arrival.
Arvin smiled and manifested a charm. "I'd like to help you, Porvar."
The half-lizard blinked rapidly. His posture became a little less subservient.
"The Jennestaa forced you to drink a potion, didn't they?"
The half-lizard's throat puffed out in alarm.
"A good friend of mine was forced to drink a similar potion," Arvin said.
Porvar looked doubtful.
"It's all right," Arvin assured him. "You can trust me. I'm not yuan-ti. I'm human."
Porvar glanced down at Arvin's swollen hand. The flesh around the punctures was purple. "When vipers bite, humans die."
"Not this human," Arvin assured him, and it was true.
The dizziness ebbed, leaving him more certain on his feet. His left hand was in agony, though. He tried to flex his fingers and nearly cried out from the pain.
"There's a statue," Arvin said. "Dmetrio Extaminos brought it with him when he came to Ss'yin'tia'saminass. Take me to it, and I'll help you escape."
The half-lizard laughed. "Where to? The jungle extends to the horizon."
"Better free in the jungle than a slave here," Arvin countered.
The half-lizard blinked. Once. Twice. "Why do you want the statue?"
Arvin smiled. "I plan on smashing it."
The half-lizard considered this. "And the others?" he asked.
"There's more than one statue?" Arvin asked.
Porvar shook his head. "The ones in the pit. The halfings who are still… whole. Will you help them, too?"
"I'll do what I can," Arvin promised.
Porvar's lips twitched. He turned. "Come. I will show you where Juz'la moved it to."
The corridor was only chest-high; Arvin had to walk bent over to follow. While the half-lizard's back was turned, he shook the dagger out of his sleeve and sheathed it and placed the vial in a pocket. Then he looped the wine-soaked cloth around his neck as an improvised sling for his swollen hand. He wished, belatedly, that he'd gotten Tanju to teach him one of the powers that stabilized and helped heal the body. Instead, he'd focused, those past six months, on powers he thought he might need in his battle with Sybyl. He hadn't expected to live long enough to require healing.
to require healing.
It soon became too dark to see, so Arvin followed Porvar with one hand on the half-lizard's shoulder.
The corridor they followed ran in sinuous curves for some distance, and Arvin was certain they were no longer under the pyramid. Every so often, they passed through another of the circular, multi-exited chambers. Most of them were filled with rubble, Arvin discovered after painfully stubbing his toe on a piece of broken stone.
Eventually, they drew near an illuminated chamber filled with yuan-ti. Arvin let go of Porvar and assumed a sliding,