Death's Mistress

CHAPTER 71

It was a long journey back to Cliffwall, but the terrain and the route were familiar to them now. During the initial trip to Kuloth Vale, Nathan had annotated the ancient charts, marking their way and identifying landforms, and also updating his life book.

Determined to get back to the archive, Nicci pressed them to their best possible speed, dreading what damage Victoria had caused while they were away from the isolated canyons. Now, she had the weapon she needed to destroy Life’s Mistress. She carried Grimney’s curved rib lashed across her shoulders, and she felt the faint tingling power intrinsic to the bone of the magnificent creature, a power resident in life, connected to the world itself.

Leaving the volcanic mountains behind and descending into the gradually opening terrain, she could sense Mrra out in the distance again, watching over them. The sand panther had been unwilling to enter the place of dead dragons, but now she was there to guard them, ranging ahead and scouting, keeping them safe on the way back to Cliffwall.

Knowing they had no time to lose, the companions walked for many miles until the terrain was too dark to see, and even then Nicci was not ready to stop. She would ignite a hand light to lead their way for a few hours longer. They slept when they could, and always set off into the first light of dawn.

When the hills finally gave way to high desert and red-rock canyons, the clear arid air carried the hint of a miasma. Even from a distance, Nicci could see a moist greenish haze beyond the plateau, simmering with primeval forest energy as it spread across the valley toward the cliffs.

Mrra left them again when they entered the network of canyons, not wanting to come too close to people, but Nicci could still feel the big cat out there, watching. Farmers and workers from the outlying settlements in the canyon-wall alcoves welcomed them back while sending runners to report to Cliffwall. When the companions reached the overarching cave grotto that held the primary archive buildings, anxious scholars rushed out to meet them. In the late-afternoon shadows, they gathered to welcome the weary but triumphant travelers as they climbed the steep cliff trail.

“Look, she has the dragon rib!” Gloria called, waving down at them. Beside her, Franklin was relieved. The mousy scholar Mia happily welcomed Nathan, helping him as he climbed up to the cave overhang, followed by Bannon. She chattered about the fascinating and useful books she had read in his absence, and the wizard gave her a warm, paternal pat on the back. “By the way, I used your kerchief while we were traveling, my dear. The spell worked quite well. It was very refreshing and restorative.” Mia responded with a glow of pride as he held out the perpetually cool, moist cloth to show her. “A remarkable and useful bit of magic.”

Inside the archive complex, a determined Nicci led the way into the main hall, where she unslung the large rib bone and dropped it onto the first table she found, moving aside other books that had been piled there by distracted scholars. “We can now make the weapon we need.” She ran her hand over the smooth ivory surface, studying it by the light of the magical torches burning in the main entry hall. The scholars gathered around, breathless and eager to see.

Nicci straightened her shoulders and explained. “This rib belonged to a blue dragon named Grimney. With this bone, I will fashion a powerful bow, and I will be the archer to stop Victoria. We have a chance to stop a scourge that I believe is even greater than the Lifedrinker.” She saw the hope in their eyes. “I just have to get ready. Ask the hunters among the canyon dwellers to bring me their best arrows and bowstring. I will prepare everything else here.”

Nathan ran his fingers through his pale hair, looking at the scholars, and Mia in particular. “Did you have any troubles while we were away? Did Victoria and her wild jungle attack Cliffwall? Another shaksis?”

Franklin’s words gushed out, as if he couldn’t contain them. “We erected a barricade at the outer wall of the plateau to keep us safe, just as you instructed. For defenses, we built wooden bars and planks across the cliff openings to block any other attacks. We tried to make this place impregnable.”

“But that horrendous jungle kept spreading,” Gloria added. “It filled the valley, and now even the foothills are exploding with life. Some of her thorn vines reached as far as the plateau wall, and they’re climbing the cliffs.”

“It keeps spreading and spreading,” Franklin said. “Nothing can stop it.”

Mia nodded, her forehead furrowed with concern. “All those wooden barricades and bars—we didn’t think anything could break through our defenses. But when Victoria’s magic touched them, the wood itself burst into life again! It sprouted, then kept growing. Soon, the chamber behind the window alcove was an impenetrable thicket. We tried to cut it back, but there was nothing we could do. It grew too fast.”

“When wood didn’t work, we used stone bricks to wall off that passage,” said Franklin. “It is secure now, unless Victoria can find a way to make the stone come alive.”

“That’s a good solution,” Bannon said.

“But only a temporary solution,” Nicci said, shaking her head. “Given time, vines and roots can break through even the strongest stone.” She stroked the curved dragon rib, imagining how she would use it. “But I will not give Victoria that time.”

Mia came up to the wizard, holding a charred book in her hands. The pages were curled and blackened, the cover scorched. “Nathan, I’ve wanted to show you. We salvaged this volume after the fire from the shaksis. I was putting the books away when I found a reference in here to a dragon-bone bow, so I knew it was relevant to the spells we need. Would you help me study them? See if we can make out the words, even though the pages are damaged?” She lowered her head. “I didn’t want to use my gift to restore the ink and the paper unless you were here to help me.”

“Why, I’d be delighted to supervise, my dear,” Nathan said, turning to follow the young scholar. “Do you think we could have some tea while we read? And something to eat?”

Gloria shouted for food and drink to be summoned for all of them. “Where is our hospitality? These people have had a long journey! Victoria never would have—” She cut off her words in embarrassment, realizing what she had said.

Though she was tired and dirty, her black dress tattered, her boots scuffed, Nicci refused to rest. “I have to get to work. I am going back to my quarters to fashion the bow we need.”

“I’ll help,” Thistle said, tagging along. “Show me what to do.”

Seeing the eagerness in the girl’s eyes, Nicci gestured down the corridor. “Come with me. This requires my magic, but you can watch and be ready to help if I think of anything.” Thistle readily agreed and accompanied her with a jaunty step through the stone tunnels until they reached their shared room.

The girl poured water into the washbasin and let Nicci refresh herself by wiping a damp rag over her face and her tired eyes. When she was done, Nicci rinsed the rag and handed it to Thistle. “Now you scrub, at least enough so I can see your face.”

“You’ve seen my face.”

“I’d like to see more of it. You may well be a pretty girl, but I have yet to see complete proof.”

Thistle gave her a teasing frown. “As long as you don’t make me wear a pink dress.”

“Never.”

Dutifully, Thistle washed her cheeks, forehead, eyes, and nose, scrubbing hard. “Clean enough?”

Nicci saw that the girl had indeed exposed some patches of clean skin, and smeared dust around others. The water in the washbasin was brown with grit. “Clean enough for now. You can sit on your sheepskin and watch me, but quietly. I need to concentrate.”

The girl acted as if Nicci had given her a solemn mission. She found a comfortable spot on the sheepskin, tucking her knees under her. When one of the archive workers hurried in with a tray of tea, biscuits, and fruit, Thistle served Nicci, who ate distractedly. The girl, on the other hand, devoured everything that remained.

Laying the long bone across her lap, Nicci sat on her pallet and considered how she would fashion the bow. She ran her palm along the curve of Grimney’s rib, found the structure of the bone, and released her magic to reshape it. She softened and then hardened the marrow. She felt the great power already contained in the stiff, curved rib, but added even more power to it.

Working carefully, cautiously, she adjusted the arc, then fashioned a recurve on each end, added flexibility where it was needed, reinforced cracks in the bone structure, sealed the porosity. She concentrated tirelessly, consumed with the task.

Looking up, she saw that Thistle was sound asleep, curled up on the sheepskin. Nicci watched the sleeping girl, noting the relaxed expression on her elfin face, her smooth brow now that she felt safe and at peace.

Nicci knew she needed to kill Life’s Mistress, so that she could keep the girl safe.

While Thistle dozed, Nicci finished her work. She felt the rib trembling with energy and anger, ready to complete its mission. In his life, the blue dragon Grimney had wanted excitement, had wanted to accomplish great things. Now he would do that.

Touching the new weapon, Nicci thought of how she would bring much-needed death back to the throbbing evil of the primeval forest.

* * *

Leaving the other scholars behind, Mia led Nathan into a small, well-lit study room. She carried the burned, damaged book she had found among the volumes salvaged from the shaksis fire.

Nathan took a seat and patted the bench beside him. “Now, let’s study those records you found. The more we understand, the better chance Nicci has.” He knew they could never go back to Kuloth Vale and demand another rib bone from the gray dragon if this one failed. “We’ll only have one chance.”

He and Mia sat in a small alcove lit by bright candles, leaning close to study the blackened, curled pages of the volume. “I don’t know if this is anything significant,” she said as she flattened the pages and pointed out lines written in an eclectic dialect. “But it does mention a bow made of a dragon’s rib.”

“That can’t be a coincidence. I never heard that dragon skeletons were particularly useful.” He touched his lips. “Though I admit they are certainly impressive.”

The young woman frowned at the smudged writing, the scorched paper. “No one noticed this spell before, because we were looking for a spell to block the outpouring of life.” She gave him a faint smile. “After you left, I searched for such documents, and another scholar referred me to this book. He was actually researching a cure for impotence.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “It took some doing to get him to admit that.”

“A cure for impotence? I suppose that fits with the restoration of life,” Nathan quipped. “And is there a counter to it?”

“For his purposes, he did not find the spell he needed, so he placed the book back in the corridor shelves to be returned to the archives in the normal course of work. As it happens, the shaksis attacked before the book could be reshelved, and it went missing. Some of these pages are damaged, but I noticed a mention of the dragon-rib bow, and I knew you would want to see it.” She pointed to a deep brown spot on the paper. “Look here.”

“Indeed. We already knew the power of the bones, my dear girl. It references the weapon we want?”

“Yes, the bow itself and the powerful gifted person required to be the archer. But that is only part of the spell! This section, the damaged part, mentions requirements for the arrow as well. We didn’t have all the information before.”

Nathan’s brows pulled together in a troubled frown as a chill ran down his back. “You’re certain the arrow has to be special, too? The bow doesn’t impart the required magic? I hadn’t considered that. How discouraging. What more do we have to do?” He squinted, but the blackened char on the edges had destroyed the ink. He knew Nicci would certainly not want to be delayed. “It’s too damaged to read.”

“I can attempt to fix that,” Mia said, smiling. “I found a trick when I was studying the old books, but I didn’t want to try unless you were here. I’ve never done it before, but I think I understand the magic involved.” She traced her fingers along the outside of the pages, then released a tiny trickle of her own gift. To Nathan’s delight, the edges of the paper became white again, then tan. The damaged page healed and stiffened, clarifying the ends of sentences that had previously been obscured.

Marveling at what she had done, and how easily, Nathan let out a sigh. “I forgot how many people here are gifted, even if they are untrained.” He sniffed. “And I’m supposedly the great wizard and prophet.”

“It’s a simple spell, really,” Mia said, embarrassed. “Nothing dangerous.”

“Starting a fire is also simple if you have a spark. But without the spark…” He shook his head, and focused on the newly restored writing. “Never mind. Now, what does it say?”

Mia concentrated on the words she had just restored. “Hmm, the couplet only refers to a ‘properly prepared arrow.’ And this section here”—she tapped with a finger—“says, ‘Only one kind of poison is appropriate.’”

“Dear spirits, a poison? What kind of poison is it?” Nathan groaned, fearing they would be faced with some other lengthy and difficult quest before they could fight Victoria. “And where are we supposed to find it?”

Mia turned the pages and they scanned the other spells, including the most effective cure for impotence, though they needed the opposite sort of magic to stop Victoria. “In this next line it refers back to the original spell book, and we didn’t read all of that, either. I thought we had all the information we needed, but some of those pages were damaged when it was fused with the stone wall.”

Nathan gave her an encouraging smile. “You’ve just demonstrated your proficiency with the new restoration spell. Maybe you can fix those pages, too?”

Mia stood from her seat, ready to do whatever he asked. “Perhaps I can.”

Still weary from the journey, he sipped his tea and pondered while the young librarian ran into the archives. She knew where to find what she was looking for and soon returned with the damaged book that Nicci had extracted from the melted stone wall.

Together, they turned the pages, assessing the smears of dust that obscured the ancient writing. Using her gift, Mia held her hands over the pages, squeezed her eyes shut in deep concentration, and worked her fingers over the smeared writing. Some of the stone powder flaked off like dried mud and lifted free in tiny specks of dust, floating away to expose words that had previously been damaged and lumped together.

“I thought we had read the whole spell before,” Nathan said, “but this section on the next page…” He leaned closer to read what she revealed.

Mia cleared away and freshened the distorted ink, pleased to use her newfound skill. When the letters became dark and clear, Nathan read the precise instruction for preparing the arrow to be shot from a dragon-rib bow, an arrow that could kill the wielder of the uncontrolled fecundity spell.

It was the key to defeating Life’s Mistress, the poison that they needed to accomplish their task.

In a long, hoarse whisper, Nathan said, “Oh no.”