"Pig," she whispered and was startled to hear the quiver in her own voice.
She tightened her grip on her blade and continued up.
She entered the darkened parapet. Though the outside continued to glow faintly, the room was still very shadowy. Tazi held her breath and strained her eyes in the gloom, trying to discover why it was so dark. As best she could tell, Tazi thought that this lookout tower's glass walls were lined with something.
Perhaps Ciredor wanted to shut out the light, she thought. I'll worry about it later.
Tazi realized that she had very little time. The sun had finally disappeared, and she knew Fannah's life was in mortal jeopardy. She moved over to the center of the room and was relieved to see that the brazier was intact.
But that relief faded when she craned her head back to study the roof. The pale light from outside refracted through the crystals, and Tazi could see a hole of light. That meant one crystal was missing. Her heart sank.
"Dark and empty," she hissed. "Not when we're this close!"
Remembering what Fannah had told her about thieves and the rarity of the crystals, Tazi momentarily feared the worst. She stood still, feeling her heart pounding.
"No," she finally said aloud.
She dropped to her knees and began to feel around on the floor.
If nothing else, she admitted to herself, Ciredor is thorough. Either all the gems would be here or none would.
Her first pass revealed nothing but pebbles. Then the thought occurred to her that he might have removed one as he left, sort of like taking a key so the towers couldn't be locked behind him.
She refused to accept that idea, hating herself for even thinking it, and made a second pass on the floor. After a moment, her fingers brushed something hard and cold. She grabbed at the object and felt its many, smooth facets.
"Got you," she whispered.
Tazi stood up and climbed onto the stone support for the brazier. Stretching her full length, she was just barely able to wedge the gem into the empty spot. She jumped down and felt a pain resonate in her joints. Her body was once again telling her it needed water.
"Soon," she whispered. "We're almost done."
Tazi pulled out the sack that contained her flint and a tiny pile of tinder. She made a small mound in the center of the brazier and searched the floor for a bit of stone. When she found a suitable chunk, she held the rock over the pile of tinder and struck her flint against it. It took a few tries, but Tazi got the spark she needed. She blew gently on the combustible fluff, and a small flame erupted. It was enough to heat the brazier, which in turn heated the stones in the ceiling.
But instead of illuminating the room in a blue glow, the stones lit everything with an amethyst hue.
The winds fell completely silent outside, and Tazi was startled by the absence of sound. It was absolutely still. However, what was more startling was what the purple glow revealed about the room she was in. Though the stones hadn't heated to their full intensity yet, the light was sufficient for Tazi to make out what had blocked the glass of the lookout tower. Encircling the entire room were mummified bodies. Tazi was transfixed by the macabre tableau.
The tiny flame warmed the crystals even more, and Tazi could see that it was the crystal that she had replaced that was the source of the purple hue. Unlike the Tethyr crystals that had been set in the tower by artisans of the Shoon Imperium, the one Tazi had fixed in the ceiling was an unholy, amethyst gemstone. The gem flickered to full strength from the heat of the brass brazier and stronger beams of light shot out of it. Each beam struck one of the mummified bodies and illuminated their faces.
Despite her repulsion, Tazi walked around the tower room and studied the dead. She had no way of knowing how long the bodies had been there, since each was dried but perfectly preserved. There were all manner of creatures hanging from the glass. Some she knew. Others were a mystery as to what manner of creature they had been in life. The flutter of one's robe caught her attention, and Tazi could see silver circles glinting on the deep purple cloak. She thought of lizard scales and realized she knew who it was before she saw his face.
"The Mysterious Lurker," she whispered. "This is your reward for trusting Ciredor."
Tazi fell silent when she saw the mummy to her right.
She reached out a shaking hand to the face that even in death she would always recognize: Ebeian Hart.
"How did he do this?" she asked and was once again denied the release of tears by her dry body. "And why?"
She cocked her head to one side and hugged herself, now unable to touch the elf who had meant so much to her. She didn't notice the soft steps behind her.
"What a lovely surprise to find you here," the silky voice whispered, "though it really isn't a surprise at all."
Tazi's blood froze and she turned slowly around with her weapon held high, her sunken eyes open wide.
Standing by the stairwell, Ciredor was a study in black. He folded his arms across his chest and looked affectionately at Tazi.
"My dear Thazienne," he told her easily, "welcome home."
CHAPTER 17
The silence outside was deafening. The sun had finally set and the new, dark moon had risen in the night sky.
Tazi backed up slightly at the sound of Ciredor's voice. She kept her sword high, but couldn't wipe the stunned look off her face. Ciredor's smile widened.
"Dear Thazienne," he drawled, "you haven't forgotten me, have you?"
Tazi swallowed hard and felt her gorge rise in her throat. Standing before her was the man who had haunted her dreams ever since her last encounter with him. His voice was thick and sweet, and she felt herself reeling. The moment had been inevitable, and still it was nearly impossible to take.
"Ah," he said, "I can see I still mean something to you after all these years. How wonderful."
He moved over to the brazier and inspected Tazi's handiwork. He crinkled his brow slightly and grabbed the poker that was resting nearby.
The moment he wrapped his hand around it, Tazi raised her sword even more and held it with both hands, but Ciredor paid her no mind and simply used the tool to shift the coals about. The increased air circulation caused the flames to shoot up and the amethyst glowed even brighter under Ciredor's loving ministrations.
"That's better," he said, and Tazi realized he was talking to himself.
It was as though she was no longer in the room with him. She backed up even more and felt a sick thud as she knew she had pushed up against one of the mummies.
Ciredor leaned jauntily on the poker, as though the metal rod was a walking stick, and said, "Nowhere left to go, little girl. And why should you want to? All of my work, and you played no small role in it, is about to come to fruition. You wouldn't want to miss it. Behold."
He waved his left hand like a mummer taking a bow.
Tazi looked around the room frantically and finally understood why Ciredor had left the mummies like guardians around the soul gem. With its light bathing them from one side, their positions against the glass exposed the other side of their bodies to the rays of the new moon. Together, the lights had a monstrous effect on them.
Tazi could only watch, horrified, as each mummy began to stir. She felt withered hands slide up her shoulders and whirled to see Ebeian's empty sockets staring down at her. She stifled a scream.
"Well," Ciredor commented, "I'll leave you two alone. I can tell there's a lot you'd like to say to each other. And I still have much to do before the night is over."
Tazi watched as the tall mage looked up at the ceiling. He flicked a finger at the amethyst gem, and it tumbled loose from its slot. Freed, it plummeted toward the flames. Ciredor never removed his eyes from Tazi as he shot his hand into the fire and caught his precious artifact. The poker fell with a resounding, metal clang on the stone floor.