The king sighed. "You mean if I find Princess Mariko," he said. "It's been two days, and still not a sign of her."
The senator continued to look out at the view, talking over her shoulder. "Either way, if you're not going to give this Magus Xeries what he wants, then we need to prepare our alternatives." She turned around.
"And what do you think those are?" He curled up his fist, unfurling one finger. "Fight? Our army is useless against such a foe." He unfurled a second. "Flee? The evacuation plans are progressing as fast as they can. Still, I'm not even Sure we can move everyone far enough away to avoid his wrath." The king lifted a third finger. "We've already tried negotiating." He threw both hands in the air. "What else is there?"
"Magic," she replied.
The king shook his head. "We don't even know the true extent of this man's power yet. For all we know, he's not even cast his first spell."
"Perhaps," she replied. "But I've been thinking. What if all of this is just parlor tricks meant to scare us into submission?"
The king gave her a forced smiled. "I know what you are trying to do." He touched Divian on the shoulder and let his fingers slide down her arm. "But while downplaying the power of the Obsidian Ridge may comfort me in the short term, the simple fact of the matter is that we both know Xeries means what he says. You yourself said there are powerful wards protecting the black mountain from magical spying and infiltration. If you can't break through, then I'm afraid there is no one in Erlkazar who can."
Divian squeezed his hand, trying to smile back. "Yes, there is powerful magic surrounding that place. But what we do not know is if Xeries put them there himself, or if they are the result of artifacts he possesses."
The king tilted his head. "Even so, just to possess such things must mean he has some power. At the very least he is tremendously resourceful."
"True," said Divian. "But so far, all we've seen him do is make a stone obelisk appear out of thin air. An apprentice wizard could do that."
The king shook his head. "Divian, you can give up on this now. Your effort is appreciated, but I know you don't believe that. It would be foolish to underestimate this man-if he is indeed a man-after what we saw happen to that unit of soldiers. And you are not fool."
"I am just worried about you. That's all," she replied. "Even kings need hope."
"Yes, we do. And I thank you for recognizing that," replied Korox. "But to muster enough magical force to drive Xeries out of here, even if he isn't as powerful as we think… it would require us to gather nearly every mage in Llorbauth, and then some. We'd be dealing with magical forces that quite frankly haven't been mustered since the Time of Troubles."
"While I will admit that I did come here to lift your spirits, I am not entirely convinced that my idea is without merit." She slipped her hand around his waist again. "Gathering the spellcasters-a convocation of mages-is not a bad plan. Besides, what other choice do you have?"
Chapter Twelve
The burlap sack slipped from Princess Mariko's head. A dim corridor, lit by fading mage-lit stones, came into view. The walls and floor were slick and damp, and the air smelled of mold and dry blood.
Finally managing to chew through the cloth gag her captors had tied around her mouth, the princess spat the remnants to the floor.
"You'll never get away with this," she growled. Her hands were tied at the wrist behind her back. Greasy lowlifes surrounded her on all sides, their sickly complexions looking jaundiced from the glow of the torches they carried. Though she didn't know the names of these people, she recognized their faces from her nighttime visits to the docks.
"Oh, no?" said the man leading the way through the dingy hall.
"No," she snarled. Mariko did, however, know the name of the man who led them-Jallal Tasca. "And aren't you supposed to be dead?"
Jallal stopped and spun on his hooves. Pushing his way through his guards, he put his face right in front of hers; so close Mariko could smell the boiled ham on his breath, pieces still stuck between his sharpened teeth.
"And where'd you learn that?" Jallal balled up his hairy fists, biting off each word as it rolled out of his mouth. "From your lover perhaps? Did the Claw tell you that?"
Mariko was momentarily stunned. "What are you talking about?" Her words were unconvincing, even to herself.
Jallal smiled. "Surprised that we know about your little romance? Did you think you could keep it a secret forever?"
A large rat scurried through the rubbish littering the hallway. It squeaked as it traversed the long, pockmarked wall, sniffing everything twice as it passed but finding nothing worth its time in the piles of discarded refuse. It disappeared around a long, curving corner.
The princess watched the rat until it slipped out of view, then she looked back at Jallal. She pointed toward the rat with her chin. "Friend of yours?"
"Laugh it up, Princess." Jallal turned away and resumed leading his group down the hall. "You don't have long to live anyway. Might as well enjoy what little time you have left."
The group started to move again, and one of the guards behind the princess prodded her forward with the flat edge of his sword. She stumbled a bit, not ready for the shove, but quickly caught her balance.
"You're going to pay for this, Jallal," she said. "I'm going to get out of here."
"I'm sure you are, Princess. I'm sure you are." Jallal's words dripped with sarcasm.
The princess tugged on her bonds as she walked. They were tight, and she couldn't budge. "And when I do, I'm going to hunt you down like the mongrel you are." As her frustration rose, she spoke through her teeth, each word growing louder and more intense. "And I'm going to personally flay the skin from your body, piece by piece."
This last bit made everyone cringe.
"So un-princess like," taunted Jallal. "And who's going to get you out of here? Hmm? Is the Claw going to come to your rescue?"
"I don't need anyone to rescue me," she said. "I'll get myself out." She struggled with her bonds, feeling the rope loosen a bit with her repeated movements. "Besides, if you think you can catch the Claw by using me as bait, then you've sorely underestimated both of us."
Jallal chuckled. "I hate to damage your self image, Princess. But you're just one small piece of the puzzle."
The hallway took a long, sloping curve to the right and headed downward. The group came upon the rat, still searching through the refuse on the ground. Its little nose bobbed up and down, as it sniffed its surroundings. Then suddenly, it stopped, sitting back onto its hind legs and clawing at the air.
"What's its problem?" said the guard behind Princess Mariko.
A large dark splotch suddenly peeled away from the wall and fell to the ground. The dimly lit hallway made it difficult to determine what was happening, and at first, Mariko thought it was just a piece of loose stone or a large patch of moss on the damp rock that had lost its grip and was sloughing off onto the floor. Then that piece of moss unfolded to twice its original size, and snapped tight, wrapping itself around the rat like a thick rug.
"Cloakers!" shouted one of the guards.
The ceiling and walls seemed to melt. What had appeared as only shadows in the dark corridor, dripped away from the stone, unfurling and falling on the group.
The cloakers looked like huge bats, but instead of little ratlike bodies with ears, claws, and tails, they were all wing and teeth. Unfurled, some were easily twice the size of a man, and they descended on the hallway, blanketing anything they touched and wrapping it up.
Princess Mariko dropped to her knees, ducking under the huge wings of one of these beasts. The guard behind her was not as quick, and he disappeared underneath the creature's embrace.