Emerald Sceptre (28 page)

When Arbeenok smiled, Vambran thought he could detect a glint in the druid’s eye.

“We must hurry, though,” the lieutenant said at last, breaking the moment. “People in Reth are dying even as we stand here.”

“We will reach her in time,” Arbeenok said, understanding Vambran’s thoughts without the mercenary

needing to voice them. “My slowing magic should still be effective.”

“I hope so,” Vambran remarked. “The only way we’ll reach her in time is to travel into the city the same way we departed. Can you do that?”

Arbeenok nodded and stepped back from his companion in order to have room to transform. He shifted and twisted to become a giant hawk, then the druid lofted himself into the air, reaching out with his talons to grasp Vambran by the shoulders as he had before.

Together, they soared into the sky, gliding their way toward the city and the plague.

It was nightfall by the time they landed in the city street near the villa where they had left Elenthia that morning. As soon as they arrived, Vambran was running into the home, calling to the woman. “Elenthia! Elenthia, we’ve returned. We found a way to heal you!”

Elenthia was not where Vambran had left her.

Vambran called frantically for a few moments, running from room to room, but the woman was nowhere to be found. He raced back down to the garden, trying to guess what might have happened to her. He jogged through the gate and out into the street, calling to Arbeenok.

The druid was surrounded by mercenaries of the Order of the Silver Raven, many of them holding lanterns aloft. They held crossbows leveled at him.

When Vambran appeared, several more soldiers moved to surround him, though they stayed back far enough that they clearly showed their fear of contracting the plague from the two visitors.

“You will stand very still, or we will kill you on the spot,” one of the Silver Ravens said.

“All right,” Vambran answered, remaining motionless. “But may I speak?”

“Only to answer our questions,” the leader replied. “First, what are you doing here?”

“We’ve brought a cure for the plague,” Vambran said, “and we’ve returned to this spot because I left a woman here. She had magical healing placed upon her by my druid friend here so she would not get sicker and die.”

“A druid? I think not,” the man said. “The only thing druids are good for is dying.”

Vambran had to clench his teeth to avoid an angry outburst. Instead, he simply said, “My men and yours have been at odds for the last several days, but if you give us a chance, we can show you that I speak the truth. If we can cure the plague, would you want to hinder us?”

The soldier considered Vambran for a moment, then shook his head. “I won’t make this decision myself,” he said. “We’ll leave this up to Captain Havalla.” He turned and ordered a runner to fetch the captain, and the young soldier sprinted off to find the officer.

“May I ask if you know what happened to the woman I left here this morning?” Vambran asked. “She was too sick to go very far on her own.”

“Someone undoubtedly found her,” the soldier said, “and rounded her up into the middle of the city, in the quarantine camp, with all the rest.”

Vambran was aghast. “But the plague works so fast!” he said. “Anyone who has it is likely to die and rise as a zombie!”

The man nodded, looking grim. “It’s the only way we could control it,” he said. “No one has been able to figure out what else to do. We’re waiting for healers

from Arrabar to arrive, but that could take days.”

“Then let us help,” Vambran said, feeling desperate. “Let us go to the quarantine camp and see what we can do to cure those people!”

At just that moment, a commotion began behind the soldier who had been speaking with Vambran. A runner appeared and began whispering to the men. When the soldier in charge heard what the runner had to report, he paled.

“What is it?” Vambran asked. “What’s happening?”

“Zombies have gotten free of the quarantine area,” the man said. “They’re moving through the sewers and coming up in other areas of the city. We didn’t contain them after all.”

Men who had been steady and confident a moment before began milling about in panic, eyeing the sewer openings in the middle of the streets. Others turned and ran, despite shouted orders from others half-heartedly demanding that they stand their ground. Vambran knew that the confusion might be the only chance to escape and employ the scepter, but something told him that their chances were better if they could win over the leader of the Silver Ravens. He stood his ground.

“There’s something else,” the soldier said, shaking his head in dismay. “Something seems to be controlling the zombies, coordinating their movements and actions. They’re actually attacking our lines.”

“There’s no time to waste, then,” Vambran said. “You must let us help these people and destroy this plague. Otherwise, the city will be overwhelmed and no one will remain alive inside its walls. We can’t wait for your captain to make this decision. You have to let Arbeenok and me defeat this disease.”

The soldier hesitated, obviously unpracticed at

making monumental decisions, but he nodded at last and ordered his men to lower their weapons. “What do you need us to do?” he asked.

Vambran sighed in relief. “Arbeenok?” he asked, hoping the druid understood the scepter’s powers well enough to employ it. “Do you have it mastered?”

Arbeenok nodded. “I think so,” he said. “I can wield it when I get close enough to see its effect. But Vambran,” he said pointedly, “you must go to the palace.”

Vambran looked at his companion, quizzical. “Why?” he asked.

“You must stop the source of this madness, and that source lies at the heart of seven great towers.” The alaghi pointed. “There.”

Vambran turned and looked at the highest structure in the city and saw but one tower—the tower of the Palace of the Seven.

“I’ll never get there with the city blockaded and swarming with zombies,” he said. “Can you become a hawk once more and take me there before you activate the scepter?”

“One time more,” the druid said. “It will benefit us both.” The alaghi shifted and took the shape of the dire hawk again, the emerald scepter safely tucked inside his form.

As Arbeenok pushed off and began to beat his powerful wings, Vambran gave a quick salute to the soldier who had been wise enough to let them go. “Don’t worry,” the lieutenant said, “you’re doing the right thing. Tell Captain Havalla I want to meet with him once this is over.”

The druid reached down and grabbed Vambran by the shoulders, as before. They launched into the air, soaring into the night sky and swooping

over the fires and the clashing forces of men and undead below. After seeing firsthand the masses fighting and the devastation they were leaving in their wake, Vambran was even more thankful for his companion’s assistance. I’d never have gotten through, he decided.

Arbeenok glided low toward a protected courtyard along one side of the palace, one that was screened off from the rest of the city by low walls. Vambran wasn’t sure if the druid could sense the same thing he did, but a palpable feeling of malevolence hung in the

air, making the mercenary feel unclean. It seemed

to radiate from the palace and it was particularly strong at some point below ground level, near the plaza the druid had selected for landing.

Arbeenok drew up and released Vambran before alighting on the stones beside him. The druid cocked his avian head to one side, regarding the lieutenant.

“Good luck,” the mercenary said to his companion.

Arbeenok replied with a single screech and a nod, then he pushed off and began winging his way toward the city’s center.

Vambran turned in place, eyeing the courtyard. The sick, evil sensation bubbled up from below him. A door provided egress from the enclosed plaza, but Vambran could sense that the most direct route to his quarry was straight down, through the rain grate. He yanked the heavy grille aside, muttered a quick prayer to Waukeen in order to light his holy coin, and dropped down into the darkness.

• • •

House Talricci seemed abandoned when Emriana and her aunt approached.

They had decided to wait until nightfall to proceed, for they knew that barging onto the property, as they had done at their own home, would not work. Besides the issues of trespassing, Grozier and Bartimus undoubtedly expected the two women to hunt them down, and had most likely prepared a few magical surprises for them. Thus, Xaphira had unpacked a few additional scrolls from her collection, magic that she claimed would help her spy any dangerous traps or magical threats to the two of them.

“I don’t want another case of ringing bells giving us away,” she had said to Emriana.

While waiting for darkness, Emriana had at last made an effort to contact Vambran, to apprise him of the state of things in Arrabar. And to find out if he’s still alive, she had thought, fearing the worst. Hearing the news from the Darowdryn House wizards that Vambran had encountered the plague in Reth had made the girl’s stomach turn flip-flops.

Her brother had not answered.

“He can take care of himself,” Xaphira had insisted, but Emriana had seen the hint of fear in the older woman’s eyes. “And we can’t do anything foihim right now, anyway,” her aunt had admonished. “Focus on Obiron and Quindy. They need us.”

Once evening had arrived, they departed the Matrell estate by themselves, asking Steel fists Darowdryn to stay behind and protect their family, especially in case they didn’t return. The huge man had agreed, though Emriana could tell by the look in the fellow’s eyes that he was spoiling for a confrontation with Talricci and his wizard almost as much as she and her aunt were.

The two women climbed over a wall into one of the

gardens. Unlike the lush green places that filled most of the estates throughout Arrabar, the gardens of Talricci’s abode were wild and overgrown, thick with weeds and swarming insects, and nearly impossible to pass through. In other circumstances, Emriana would not have cared much for the place, but because of the covert nature of their arrival, being able to slip over a wall behind a screen of impenetrable flora held a decided benefit.

“Stay close,” Xaphira said, creeping through the thick vegetation, trying to keep from rustling the plants. Cattails around a pond ahead of them grew so tall that Emriana doubted she would be able to reach their tops even if she stood straight up on tiptoes and stretched her hands upward. She listened for telltale sounds of House guards nearby, the usual low laughter from a coarse joke or scuffing of boots on paving stones as they walked. But the grounds of the estate were eerily quiet.

The two women reached open lawn then, and Emriana peered over Xaphira’s shoulder toward the back of the house at the top of the slope. There were no lights burning inside that she could see. “Where is everyone?” she whispered, peering intently to try to detect some movement, perhaps a darker shadow hiding at the base of a tree or in a window.

“I don’t know,” Xaphira said. “Maybe they took the twins and went somewhere else, hoping we wouldn’t be able to follow.”

Emriana replied, “we can’t, can we?”

“Which is why we’re going in anyway,” Xaphira explained. “To make sure. I don’t want to go back to Marga empty-handed.”

Neither do I, Emriana thought. “Do you see anything?” she asked, wondering what Xaphira’s

magically enhanced senses were telling the older woman.

“No,” Xaphira replied, sounding a bit surprised. “There’s nothing. No spells, no traps, nothing.” After a few moments more, she said, “Let’s go in.”

Together, the Matrell women darted across the lawn toward the house. When they reached the porch, Emriana scampered up the steps and went to one side of a large set of glassed double doors, pressing herself against the stone. As Xaphira moved to the opposite side, Emriana held her breath, listening for any sounds from within. There were no footfalls, no creaks of doors, no noises at all.

Tentatively, Xaphira reached over and tried the door. It was not locked. “It’s almost like they want us to come inside,” she said, hesitating.

“I don’t care,” Emriana said. “Quindy and Obiron could be …” She left the thought hanging, but it seemed enough to convince Xaphira to keep to the plan.

Xaphira pulled the door open and Emriana waited a couple of silent counts, just to make sure no trap was sprung by the motion. Then she barely angled her head around the corner of the frame, trying to see if anyone stood within. When she was satisfied that the chamber beyond the doors was empty, she glided silently inside.

The girl found herself in a tall open hall, with stairs running up to the second floor of the estate along either wall, meeting again at the top where a balcony led to several other passages. On the ground floor, numerous doorways and halls led out from the central chamber. The house was dark and silent.

Xaphira moved in beside Emriana, breathing slowly. “Still no traps,” she said, “and no magical emanations anywhere.”

Emriana nodded. “If you were expecting uninvited guests,” she said. “would you possibly hold back your defenses until they were deep inside, perhaps lulled into a false sense of security?”

“Perhaps,” Xaphira answered.

“And where would you wait for those uninvited guests to arrive?”

Xaphira didn’t say anything for a long moment, then she replied, “The basement.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too,” Emriana said. “Let’s see if we can find our way down.”

“If we get separated for some reason,” Xaphira said, pulling a glowing coin from a pouch at her waist and handing it to Emriana, “use your necklace to call to me.” She removed a second lit coin, which she kept. “And if you think you hear something, slip that into a pocket and hide.”

“I will,” Emriana said. And with that, they started forward. The girl crept along, rolling the balls of her feet to be as silent as possible as she roamed toward the nearest doorway. Inside, she saw an open chamber with several dark figures standing still, waiting for her.

She nearly yelped out loud before she realized they were suits of armor, assembled on stands. It was something of a trophy room with numerous treasures displayed on shelves, in cases, and hanging from the walls. There weren’t any other visible exits from the room, and she didn’t see the point in checking for concealed passages until they had exhausted all the other possibilities.