Boulders flew away as if they’d been hurled from a hundred catapults.
I will lead her away now, Zav told me as the lich emerged, not appearing damaged at all. The power that she radiated hadn’t diminished.
Zav twisted in the exit hole he’d made and used his magic to propel himself upward. The dragon lich snarled and sprang up after him like a missile.
Look out, Zav. She’s coming fast, and I think she’s mad.
Find your blade if you can. He had to also be flying fast; already his words were fainter in my mind. I will attempt to lead her from the mountain and keep her busy until my people come.
Maybe you should make a portal back home and get out of her reach.
Then she would return for you. And my people would have no warning of the poison.
I sure hoped his people weren’t hanging out in their nests in their meeting place, noshing on popcorn. Or, given their carnivorous tendencies, small animals.
We are going down, Val? Sindari asked from behind me.
There wasn’t room for both of us side by side in the tunnel, so he was stuck back there without a view.
Yeah. I’m going to find Chopper and whatever artifact is set up to poison dragons, so I can bash the crap out of it.
I peered down, looking for a spot where I could jump down and land without making noise. The lich was gone, but as I’d feared, she hadn’t taken any of her minions with her. A dozen or two had been squished, but dozens more remained.
As I prepared to jump, they shambled and clacked toward the alcove. A groan came from within it, a human groan. Li?
I couldn’t see into the shadows of the alcove, but with the lich and her overpowering aura gone, I thought I detected Li’s aura. Her faint aura. She might not have long.
Can you hear me? I attempted to direct my telepathic words toward her.
Another groan floated out. The skeletons arranged themselves in squads in front of the alcove like a platoon of soldiers. The flying creatures returned to the air, patrolling from above.
Hey, Li. I’ll help you if I can. Are you back in that alcove? Is the dragon-slaying artifact back there?
You came for the sword. Her telepathic voice came through as a whisper, weak and barely discernible.
Uh, yeah, but also whatever artifact is set up to poison the dragons.
Clacks drifted to my ears, not from the cavern but from the way we’d come. I peered along the wall to where the original tunnel came out—there were stairs leading from it down to the floor. Two dwarven skeletons came into view, looked down the stairs toward their buddies, and turned and went back into the tunnel.
They are searching for us, Sindari said.
Of course they are.
It is back here, Li replied.
The artifact? I asked.
She didn’t reply again. I had no idea if she wanted to help me find it or wanted to lure me to my death. Nor did I know if she was talking about Chopper or the poison artifact.
We’ve got to get back into that alcove, Sindari. That alcove that had four rows of skeletal minions with axes guarding it. No way could I slip past them, even with my camouflage charm. They had the whole area blocked off.
And how will we do that?
I don’t know.
28
I stared at the platoon of skeletal warriors, trying to figure out how I could get past them. Too bad Zav’s rockfall hadn’t taken them all out. If Li was still conscious in that alcove, she was ignoring my attempts to communicate. Zav had flown out of my range. So had the lich. I hoped he was faster than she was.
If I had all of my gear, including a bunch of Nin’s grenades, I would be lobbing explosives by now, I told Sindari, afraid I didn’t have much time to figure this out.
What happened if the lich defeated Zav and came back? I had no way off this world without him. And without him, I had… nobody to marry. Nobody to buy ridiculous amounts of meat for. Nobody who knew all of my vulnerabilities and still thought I was a great warrior.
I swallowed a lump in my throat and willed myself to focus.
As soon as we reveal ourselves, Sindari said, they will attack en masse.
I know. I don’t suppose you’d like to try to lure them off?
I am in the perfect position for foot gnawing.
Is that a no?
Sindari sighed into my mind. I will attempt to do it. He peered back into the darkness behind us. It must be now. The ambulatory skeletons have discovered Lord Zavryd’s side tunnel. Our side tunnel.
Right. I swung down, holding on by my hand to get a little lower before dropping, then pushed off from the wall to avoid as much rubble as possible.
But I forgot to compensate for the heavier gravity. It brought me down sooner than I expected, and my foot brushed a rock as I landed in a jarring crouch. It clattered to the side, bumping another rock. Only then did I realize how quiet it had been in the cavern. The skulls of all the skeletal warriors swiveled toward me.
As one, the first rank in the platoon strode in my direction. Hell.
Sindari came down beside me, not making a noise. Not until he roared and charged across the rubble toward the advancing skeletons.
Thank you, I told him and ran along the wall, hoping to skirt the skeletons and find a way to slip behind the rest of the guards. I had no delusions about all of them taking off after Sindari.
He roared again, dropping his stealth so they could see him. They hefted their axes. He darted in but it was only a feint, and he didn’t get close enough to be in danger of their swinging weapons.
Another squad of skeletons strode away from the alcove to help their buddies. They had no brains in those skulls, but whatever powered them gave them enough smarts to try to surround Sindari. Several of the winged creatures dove for him, talons outstretched.
Be careful, please, I thought as I reached the far wall and ran along it toward the alcove. I went as fast as I could without making noise, but the damn rocks were all over, impeding even agile half-elven feet.
Sindari was as fast as the apex predator he always reminded me he was, but there were far too many enemies for him to evade. As he sprang away from two of the axe-wielding skeletons, one of the winged creatures caught up with him, raking his back with its talons. Talons that created vile, tainted wounds that didn’t heal on their own.
Regret surged into me. Sindari, get out of here! Before they hurt you more.
I had to slow as I reached the skeletons. There were still twenty in front of the alcove. They’d spread apart to ensure they could cover it—and would see through my camouflage if I got close. Their skulls were turned toward Sindari and his battle, but they were magical creatures and would doubtless sense me.
I crept closer and grabbed a rock. As Sindari ignored my order to get out, I threw it against the far wall, hoping the remaining skeletons would think I was over there and had tripped.
Sindari roared, taking a powerful swipe with his claws, and knocked the skull off one of the warriors. It clattered into a rubble pile and shattered. But all of the flying creatures were above him now, more than a dozen filling the air around him like vultures. I drew Fezzik, intending to help him, even if it meant giving up my cover. I couldn’t let him be torn apart.
Don’t, Val, Sindari ordered a second before I fired. Just get into the alcove. Get your sword and destroy the artifact. I’m fine. I’ll leave this realm before they can kill me.
I hesitated, torn and frustrated. I wanted to blow away as many of those bastards as I could.