JК
The Floodgate :: Каннингем Элейн
Страница: 193 из 212He only hoped he would live long enough tomark the site for Basel Indoulur. The wizard would have to do the rest.
Far to the west, beside the pool that guarded Akhlaur's treasure with monsters and magic, Kiva faced down the furious, ghostly jordain. She forced herself to keep her voice calm and soothing, addressing the human as she might an angry dog.
"Keep your goal in mind. You know the price others have paid for the power Halruaan wizards wield. Did you think this wrong could be easily undone?"
Andris gestured to the slain elves. "They did not have to die."
"Yes, they did," the elf told him, "and so must I."
She smiled into his stunned face. "Did you think I meant to rule in the wizards' stead? There is nothing left for me in this world but vengeance. I will die with my blade in Akhlaur's heart and be content."
"But the task is not completed!"
"No, but my part is almost finished. It is your task to hold the floodgate until I can slip through into the Plane of Water. When the gate closes, you will know that I have succeeded, and you will know that I am dead."
Andris accepted this with a nod. "And the Cabal?"
"To destroy that, one must destroy Zalathorm himself."
Andris's face turned an even more ghostly shade. "I can't do that."
"No," she agreed, "but you will not need to. I already have. Zalathorm is a dead man-he is just too stupid to know it. But no more words. I have only borrowed the undine's strength. It will soon fade."
She extended her hand to him. After a moment's hesitation, he took it. Together they stepped back into the whirling white magic that led to the floodgate. Neither of them looked back.
* * * * *
Matteo burst into the clearing with a fierce battle cry, his sword raised high.
Two Crinti warriors ran to meet him. A third Crinti, a tall, almost stocky woman, held her place by the spring.
Three swords met in a single clash. "Mine," growled the taller Crinti as she heaved her blade free. She sidestepped Matteo's lunge and shouldered her comrade out of the way. "You, Whizzra! Get reinforcements."
She spat the word out through a sneer. Apparently she thought two Crinti were more than sufficient for a single human. Matteo planned to prove her wrong.
He spun back toward the elfblood, bringing his sword around in a sweeping, waist-level cut. It was a difficult attack to defend, but the Crinti brought her sword down in a brutal smash that knocked Matteo's blade low.
Matteo leaned in over the weapons and locked one hand on the nape of her neck.
Far to the west, beside the pool that guarded Akhlaur's treasure with monsters and magic, Kiva faced down the furious, ghostly jordain. She forced herself to keep her voice calm and soothing, addressing the human as she might an angry dog.
"Keep your goal in mind. You know the price others have paid for the power Halruaan wizards wield. Did you think this wrong could be easily undone?"
Andris gestured to the slain elves. "They did not have to die."
"Yes, they did," the elf told him, "and so must I."
She smiled into his stunned face. "Did you think I meant to rule in the wizards' stead? There is nothing left for me in this world but vengeance. I will die with my blade in Akhlaur's heart and be content."
"But the task is not completed!"
"No, but my part is almost finished. It is your task to hold the floodgate until I can slip through into the Plane of Water. When the gate closes, you will know that I have succeeded, and you will know that I am dead."
Andris accepted this with a nod. "And the Cabal?"
"To destroy that, one must destroy Zalathorm himself."
Andris's face turned an even more ghostly shade. "I can't do that."
"No," she agreed, "but you will not need to. I already have. Zalathorm is a dead man-he is just too stupid to know it. But no more words. I have only borrowed the undine's strength. It will soon fade."
She extended her hand to him. After a moment's hesitation, he took it. Together they stepped back into the whirling white magic that led to the floodgate. Neither of them looked back.
* * * * *
Matteo burst into the clearing with a fierce battle cry, his sword raised high.
Two Crinti warriors ran to meet him. A third Crinti, a tall, almost stocky woman, held her place by the spring.
Three swords met in a single clash. "Mine," growled the taller Crinti as she heaved her blade free. She sidestepped Matteo's lunge and shouldered her comrade out of the way. "You, Whizzra! Get reinforcements."
She spat the word out through a sneer. Apparently she thought two Crinti were more than sufficient for a single human. Matteo planned to prove her wrong.
He spun back toward the elfblood, bringing his sword around in a sweeping, waist-level cut. It was a difficult attack to defend, but the Crinti brought her sword down in a brutal smash that knocked Matteo's blade low.
Matteo leaned in over the weapons and locked one hand on the nape of her neck.