Forge of the Mindslayers

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Skarm lay on the floor in his true form, half dozing. Since returning to her mountain lair several days ago, Nathifa had done nothing but sit at her table and stare into Espial's obsidian eye sockets. For the most part, Nathifa remained silent as she gazed into the skull's eyes, but occasionally she muttered barely audible words: Yes, no, I understand… The Amahau, still attached to the head of the artificer's wand, rested on the table next to Espial, but Nathifa hadn't so much as looked at the artifact since placing it there. Skarm knew better than to expect any gratitude from his mistress, but after all the trouble-not to mention the physical agony-he'd endured in order to retrieve the damned thing for her, the least she could've done was show a little excitement over finally having the Amahau in her possession, but no… she only had eyes for Espial.

Skarm shivered. In the last day, it seemed Nathifa's lair had gotten much colder than could be accounted for by the outside temperature, and the shadows that clung to the chamber's walls seemed to have grown darker, thicker… and at times they had appeared to ripple slowly, as if they had begun to take on a life of their own. The barghest hoped it was his imagination, but he knew it wasn't, and not for the first time since entering into Nathifa's service, he wondered just what Espial was and what fell secrets it spoke to his mistress.

Nathifa sat up straight, the sudden motion startling Skarm.

"It seems we have a visitor," the lich said. She turned to face a pocket of shadow near the head of her bed, and Skarm peered in the same direction. The barghest saw nothing out of the ordinary at first, but then a form emerged from the shadows, and a blond, pale-skinned woman stood smiling at him. He recognized the woman as the vampire that had been present at Mount Luster. Skarm wasn't especially afraid of vampires-not when he had a lich for a mistress-but there was something about this one that caused the fur on the back of his neck to stand up. The barghest sensed that while she was a vampire, she wasn't only a vampire.

Nathifa didn't rise from the table, but the atmosphere in the chamber became charged with dangerous potential, like the air just before a violent storm was about to erupt.

"I'm impressed," Nathifa said. "I didn't sense your presence until you entered the room. Normally, I would've been aware of you long before that."

The vampire shrugged. "I know a few tricks. What I don't know is who you are or why I'm here. I… felt drawn to this place, almost as if I were summoned here."

Now it was Nathifa's turn to smile. "You were. I've been waiting for your arrival."

The vampire scowled. "You brought me here?"

The lich shook her head. "Not me-the one I serve."

She lifted Espial off the table, turned it around to face the vampire, then she glided across the floor toward the blond woman. The vampire looked at the obsidian skull with suspicion, but she didn't shy away when Nathifa raised the object so that its hollow eye sockets were even with the vampire's eyes.

The vampire gazed into Espial's eyes for some moments, remaining perfectly still the entire time. Then she blinked several times and turned to Nathifa.

"I see," she said.

Nathifa grinned, showing rotted teeth and dead-gray gums. "I thought you might." The lich looked down at Skarm, who'd observed the entire scene from his position of the floor. "Get up, you lazy thing! It's time for us to go." She smiled at the vampire once more. "All of us."

Skarm transformed into his goblin form as he rose to his feet. "Go where?"

Nathifa didn't answer right away. Instead, she tucked Espial under her arm, returned to the table, and snatched up the dragonwand with her free hand.

"Trebaz Sinara," the lich said. "Where else?"

Skarm tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice as he replied. "Where else, indeed? But we lack one very important component for sea travel, my mistress: a ship."

"I know where we can get one," the vampire said.

"Is it swift? We shall have need of a fast vessel," Nathifa cautioned.

"Don't worry. This ship is fast." Makala grinned. "Fast as the wind."

In an icy throne room far to the north, a bleached-white claw with long black nails stroked the smooth dome of an obsidian skull-one that was an exact match for Espial-and laughter brittle as ancient bones defiled the air.