“No, I cannot bring you back alive,” Xenoth said at last. There was a forced conviction to his tone that punctuated whatever internal conflict had been playing out in his head. “Your existence would become known to the public eventually, and the Council can ill afford a rekindling of past insurrections.” The Adept leaned closer still to him, and the hesitation in his voice vanished, burned away in a forge of bitter anger. “I have to admit some personal preference in the matter, wilding. Ever since that day, all those years ago, when I returned from this world empty-handed and unable to prove your death, I have suffered in the Council’s esteem. You have cost me much, boy. I am an instrument of the Council above all, and though I took no pleasure in the execution of your parents, you can rest assured that I will take great pleasure in yours.”
Amric panted and glared up at the man. His head whirled as much from trying to piece together the information he was hearing as from any physical ailment. His foe was close enough to strike, if only he could move. If his limbs would obey him, they would know in the blink of an eye if an Adept could survive the loss of his head, or if he would perish like any other man. The invisible weight pinning him to the ground was unrelenting, however, and so Amric could only grind his teeth in helpless frustration as Xenoth stepped away from him, and the opportunity was lost.
“Time to die, wilding.”
The Adept’s clenched fists began to glow once more.
Thalya raised her head and risked peering over the low ridge that sheltered her from the Adept’s sight. At her side, Syth did the same.
“His hands are glowing again,” Syth reported in a tight voice.
“I can see that,” the huntress said.
Syth leapt to his feet, his jointed gauntlets flaring open with a metallic rasping sound. “We have to do something! He will finish Amric for certain this time.”
“I am doing something,” she snapped.
She rose, placing a foot upon the ridge, and lifted her bow. Her hand snaked over one shoulder and found an arrow in the quiver slung across her back. From the instant her fingertips brushed its fletching, she knew it for the last of her enchanted black arrows. It was the one she sought, and yet she hesitated. One left. It had taken everything she and her father had scraped and saved, over all those years of meager, nomadic living, to have those three arrows crafted. She had used the first of the three to slay that Nar’ath drone back on the night they had captured her. She had expended the second earlier this very evening, to free Amric from the clutches of the Nar’ath queen. There was but one remaining. It was her final chance to fulfill the mission that had consumed her life. It was her only hope of vindicating her father’s obsession and ridding the world of Bellimar the Unholy at last.
How could she bring herself to waste it on any other purpose?
And yet, when she looked upon the black-robed man standing over Amric, her conviction faltered. She recalled her father’s tales of the ancient Vampire King, a slavering monstrosity whose malevolence and hunger knew no bounds, who raised legions of the walking dead-and worse-to grind humanity under his remorseless heel. The stories were scavenged from dim and dusty histories, it was true, and yet her father had spoken with such fervor that it was easy to think perhaps he had been there to witness it all firsthand. This man, this Adept, certainly did not compare to the horrid visions her father had conjured for her, at least in appearance.
But then, neither did the silver-haired old man she had finally found at the end of her long hunt. There was a darkness lurking beneath his stately exterior, of that she was certain; she had expected as much, though she had not thought to find it so well concealed. Her father had warned her of his superhuman strength and speed as well, but she had not expected to see it exhibited only to save, rather than harm. Above all, she had not expected to see a gentle, abiding sadness in him, and a kindness in his sparkling eyes that unearthed memories from her childhood. It was perhaps the most insidious thing about him that she could no longer look upon him without seeing the grandfatherly man who would always pause with a warm smile for her as a little girl, and who would trail a finger down her cheek and gently tweak her chin before returning to study with her father. She fought a sudden urge to raise her hand to her cheek now, as she had then.
No, Bellimar had not proven to be the monster she expected. Not yet.
She had seen the incredible power wielded by the Adept, however. She had watched in horror as he incinerated the Sil’ath warrior, Innikar, in mid-stride. She had hidden in the darkness, seething with helpless anger, as this monster in the guise of a man tortured her companions with savage amusement. The contempt in which he held their lives was almost palpable, and he spoke of the destruction of their world as if it was a foregone conclusion. If there was any truth to his words, then this creature was every bit as much a threat to her world as was the demon of her father’s darkest fears.
And Amric was going to die if she took no action. It was clear that the swordsman was possessed of his own mysteries, but he was courageous, honorable and compassionate, and she refused to withhold the shot that might save his life.
The black arrow seemed to leap forth into her hand, humming with power and intent. In one smooth motion, she nocked it and drew the bowstring until her hand touched her cheek. She sighted in on her target. Xenoth was focused upon the supine figure of Amric before him, and brilliant white fire flared and curled about the black-robed Adept’s hands, spread at his sides. It was a long shot in poor light, but she could not get much closer without sharing Innikar’s fate. And even if she could, there was no more time for subterfuge.
Her lips pressed together in a grim line. The man had somehow sensed her attack before and managed to deflect her normal arrows. Stopping this missile would be another matter. It had not killed the enormous Nar’ath queen, but it had incapacitated her for a time and made an utter ruin of her face.
Let us see, then, what it does to a man who appears quite mortal, Thalya thought to herself.
Syth waited beside her, tense and expectant. The ceaseless winds around him whipped at his clothes, almost lifting him from his feet in his eagerness to charge forward. Xenoth raised his fiery hands, advancing a step as he did so. The wicked, glinting tip of the arrow shifted a hair to follow. Thalya let out a slow breath, and her fingers tensed for the release.
A rumbling roar shook the ground. Thalya swayed, thrown off balance, and lowered her bow to avoid loosing a wild shot into the night. Her target staggered as well and cast about wildly for the source of this new disturbance.
The sand over the collapsed Nar’ath hive erupted less than thirty yards from Xenoth and Amric, and a billowing cloud climbed into the sable sky. With a shriek like metal tearing, the Nar’ath queen burst forth. Her claws left long furrows as she dragged her massive form free of its earthen prison. She was ragged and torn, and viscous green ichor seeped from her many wounds. Several of her appendages hung broken and useless, but she dropped into a menacing crouch on the remaining limbs. Her serpentine coils gathered behind her. The queen bared her fangs in a slavering hiss, and her gaze raked over the supine form of Amric to fix upon Xenoth.