Dragon's Tongue (The Demon Bound) (54 page)

As if you ever had any mercy to spare,
Vagner thought privately.

If there was any way to see to Tane’s failure, the demon would gladly act upon it. But for now, as long as he had Tane close, sucking his essence like some bloated leach, there was nothing he could risk doing.

Bide your time,
Vagner told himself.
The opportunity will come.

He would keep those thoughts a secret, knowing it would require effort for Tane to probe the demon’s inner mind. But at least, the bloodmage eased up his draw of Vagner’s essence, leaving the demon free to walk with a little more strength.

FIFTY SEVEN

The walls are getting closer.
Alaric tried to convince himself this could not be possible. He had even stretched his arms out at his sides to reassure himself. Fingertips could not brush both sides at the same time. And the ceiling was invisible in the shadows high above him, far out of the distance of his mage light. Plenty of space. Plenty…Really.

No, the walls are getting closer. He could tell. Experience had taught him these things. He knew very well the walls were getting closer and…

“It’s only the shadows,”
Ronan whispered in Alaric’s head.
“Just an illusion.”

An illusion.
Yes.
Just an illusion.
Alaric took a deep breath and kept moving slowly. He had plenty of room. More space than he could imagine. Yes…There was room to spare.

His gaze fell on the smooth, glassy floor. Here and there, bits of obsidian rubble littered the path. Nothing major. And there were cracks, as if something had fractured the ground. Of course, it did occur to Alaric that obsidian was not the strongest of stones. That it flaked and chipped and was easily shattered. Why, it would probably take very little effort to collapse these walls and bury him in a heap of dagger-sharp slag. Sort of like when the trees started falling in the forest…

Alaric paused, and Shona almost crashed into him. She cursed under her breath.

“A little warning, please,” she said.

“Sorry,” he said softly. I just think we need to move more quietly from here.”

“Why?” Shona asked.

“Because we don’t want to bring the walls down,” he said.

“Oh?” Shona glanced at their surroundings. “Do you think we could?”

“I don’t want to find out the hard way,” Alaric said. Even the thought of being buried in a close space under tons of stone caused his palms to grow clammy. He forced himself to start on at a slower pace, commanding his mage light to move ahead. The path really was starting to look narrower. He stretched his arms once more, eager to see if he could touch both sides.

No, not yet. Then again, beyond the bare edges of his magelight, he swore the walls were drawing closer together…In fact, as his light moved on, there was something of an odd angle to the way it reflected off the walls. As if the path before him had taken a sudden turn. What? The path didn’t turn. The wall was now crossing the path…

Alaric stopped. “The path is blocked,” he said.

“Oh dear, now what are we to do?” Shona said.

“I don’t know…I don’t remember…” Alaric frowned, staring at the wall. It reminded him too much of the one in his head, the one that became soft and fell away when Tane…

“The wall that is no longer there,”
Ronan said.

There’s a wall here right now,
Alaric argued in his head.

“Your eyes deceive you,”
Ronan said.
“You’re frightened, and fear clouds your vision.
You see what you want to see, not what is truly there.
This wall is nothing more than an illusion.
Go on.”

Go on?
Are you insane?
Alaric held his place, feeling as though the stone leaned over him on purpose.

“I swear to you, Lark.
It is nothing more than an illusion.
Trust me.
Touch it.”

Alaric hesitated, then put forth a hand. He expected to find cold stone under his probing fingers. Instead, his whole hand disappeared into the wall. He gasped and drew back.

“By the Silver Wheel,” Shona said. She reached around him and touched the wall. A giggle escaped her as her hand disappeared. “This is the strangest thing I have ever seen.”

She put the other hand in, and stood there, reminding Alaric of the stories his father told of how in the old days, thieves were deprived of their hands.

“Look, Vagner,” she called cheerfully. “No hands!”

The demon chuckled uneasily. Shona caught the look of stern reproach that briefly flickered across Alaric’s face before he could stop himself. Shona bit her lip and withdrew her hands, and it was obvious that she was trying hard not to smile.

“See,”
Ronan chided with a laugh.
“It’s just an illusion.
Go.
You must pass through it to reach our goal.”

Alaric sighed. He pushed his magelight in, then his arm up to the shoulder, feeling nothing out of the ordinary. Still, he could not help but draw a deep breath, like a swimmer about to plunge into a lake before he pushed in his head.

Beyond the wall, it was black and close, and he could not see his magelight. With a gasp, he jerked back, staggering into Shona.
Horns!
It was close and dark and he had no idea how far it went.

“A good hundred cubits, as I recall,”
Ronan said.
“It was meant to dissuade all but the true knowing…”

“A hundred cubits!” Alaric blurted.

“What?” Shona said.

“It goes on for a hundred cubits!” Alaric cried, feeling panic stifle his breath and sharpen his voice.

“And that means?” Shona said.

“We could get lost in there…” he said.

Shona’s face shifted into a dubious stare. “So…if there’s a natural wall, we could just feel our way along.”

“She’s right,”
Ronan said.

Alaric still balked. Darkness. Close spaces. Narrow paths. What did it matter that there was a natural wall, especially if it closed in on him and he was unable to see it. His heat began beating faster. Icy fear trickled over his skin.

“Alaric,” Shona said. “What’s the matter?”

“I…” He stopped. How could he admit to her he was afraid? He loathed such spaces. Being underground even with magelight to aid him was bad enough, but being in an impenetrable dark that so resembled being trapped in a trunk…A prisoner in a tiny space…A small boy screaming his lungs out in terror as his sisters latched the cover of the grain bin and left him there…

Alaric closed his eyes. Too many images flooded his mind. Being Tane’s prisoner. Shoved into a trunk. Held in a chamber where his magic could not be felt.

He needed open spaces, bright light and fresh air. His lungs were heaving like bellows now. Sweat poured from every pore, dampening his clothes and making him shiver even more. Just as his thoughts were drowning him in terror, and all sense of self assurance was unraveling like old cloth.

Alaric turned abruptly. “No, I can’t do this,” he said. He pushed past Shona, stumbling towards Vagner, thinking only that once he got past the demon, he could get out of this cave.

“Alaric, wait!” Shona cried and bolted after him. “Vagner, stop him!”

“Out of my way!” Alaric shouted and rushed the demon in a threatening manner.

“No, stop him, Vagner!”
Ronan roared in Alaric’s head, and then, the bard sang the demon’s True Name.

Vagner held his place, looking startled to hear the command from another, and to know he had no choice but to obey. Alaric pushed on, determined to get out of the caverns, when the demon suddenly stepped into his path and seized him by the shoulders. Confusion filled Vagner’s face.

“Let go!” Alaric shouted and flailed uselessly at the grasp. “I have to get out of here. Can’t you see? I have to get out of here…” His voice broke into breathy sobs as he continued to struggle.

“Alaric!” Shona said. She caught up with them, pulling Alaric around in spite of Vagner’s grip. Alaric started to flail at her grasp as well, for the age old fear that now surged through him had blinded his sensibilities. Somewhere deep inside, it occurred to him that he should question why Vagner had obeyed Ronan and not himself, but on the surface, all he wanted to do was escape.

But he was trapped between the demon and the young woman who pushed his flailing hands aside with almost practiced ease and seized his face, forcing him to look at her.

“Alaric,” she said. “Listen to me. Stop this at once…”

His struggles weakened. Clearly, there was no escape. The utter sense of defeat left him limp and forlorn. He met her gaze, unable to stop tears from springing into his eyes.

“I can’t. I can’t go in there. I can’t,” he said weakly.

“Why not?” she asked in a soothing voice, stroking his cheek and pushing back his hair. “Are you afraid of the dark?”

He blinked, then shook his head. “Not the dark…the…space…the closeness of the space…I…”

“It’s all right,” Shona said. She glanced up at Vagner. The demon relaxed his grip, then let go. Alaric practically fell to his knees which had grown too soft to support him. Shona knelt before him, still keeping contact.

“Why?” she asked.

“Why what?” He looked at her and felt his face burning with shame. She must think me a weak fool.

“Why are you afraid of small spaces?” she asked.

There was no mockery in her gaze. Only genuine concern. He took a deep breath, slowly letting the words flow. “It started when I was small. Because I was the youngest and the only son, my sisters thought I was such a pest. So when they didn’t want to look after me as Mother instructed, they would…they would close me into a cupboard or a grain bin and not let me out, sometimes for hours, and I would scream and no one would come.”

“It’s okay,” Shona said. Her arms slipped around him and drew him close. “I understand. You don’t have to be ashamed. ‘Tis a strong man who willingly admits he’s afraid.”

The comforting tone of her voice—or perhaps, it was the comfort of her touch—took his fears away. He hid his face in her shoulder, slipping arms around her and holding tight, and her warmth soothed him. For moments, they said nothing. Then slowly, his heart stopped marching and his chest stopped feeling as though someone had laced him up in a tight leather jerkin.

“Listen,” Shona said at last. “I will make you a promise. I’ll stay with you. I’ll talk to you. I’ll even hold onto you, if it helps. I’ll get you through the dark barrier and beyond. But you have to promise me one thing.”

“What?” he asked, drawing back from her.

“That if I ever see a bee and start screaming like a ninny, you won’t make fun of me,” she said, and her cheeks flushed.

“You’re afraid of bees?” he said, one eyebrow rising.

Shona nodded. “So you have to promise. You’ll be my bee slayer, and I will make your small spaces seem bigger. Agreed?”

“Can I just shoo the bees away?” Alaric asked. “I mean, slaying bees is overly dramatic even for me, and besides, I’m rather fond of honey.”

“All right,” she said, “but you must promise to do whatever one does to make bees go away.”

“Well, generally, you smoke the hive and…” He caught the look on her face. “All right, I’ll be your champion and smoke the bees away for you, and you can be my guiding light in small places.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said, crawling to her feet and offering him her hand.

Alaric took it and stood. His mage light globe had dwindled to a pale shimmering in his panic, but now he fed it again and watched it shine more brightly than before. Shona still held his hand as they made for the wall. There, he paused and took a deep breath. Shona moved to the side and put her hand on the real wall. With a deep breath, she plunged into the barrier, leading Alaric. His vision washed black, and he could not stifle a startled gasp.