barely even make out the closing form of his attacker.
“Where is my lady, sweet one?” Cabal asked in a snarling parody of its mistress. “She must see what Cabal has done to please her!”
The massive wolf limped as it moved, one paw having suffered great damage from a bite that seemed just the size of Sirvak’s beak.
“Cabal could play with you for long or short time, little one! Tell what you have done with lady and it will be short!”
Dru tried to stall, hoping his mind would clear enough for him to defend himself. “How did you get… get in here? Where have you been? We never saw you!”
As the spellcaster had suspected, Melenea’s vanity was Cabal’s as well. “Lady carried Cabal in her pouch! Let Cabal loose when she entered here and then ordered that havoc must be created!” The endless array of sharp teeth filled Dru’s eyes. “Cabal has used own magic to encourage the storm! It obeys Cabal as Cabal obeys Lady Melenea!” That reminded the beast of what it had wanted from the figure sprawled at its feet. “Where is the lady?”
Now! Dru thought. I have to strike now while its mind has turned to her! He tried to concentrate, but Cabal instantly reached out and batted him with its injured paw. The familiar whined, but had it tried to use its other forepaw, it would have likely fallen forward. Unlike Dru, Melenea had not been concerned with healing her creature. Why bother? She could always summon another.
“Mistake, betrayer of lady. You do not answer, you must play with Cabal.” The wolf opened its maw wide, intending to take the struggling Vraad by the legs and worry him.
Masterrr! Move!
A winged form darted toward the eyes of the unsuspecting monster. The rejuvenated Sirvak tore at Cabal with its long talons. The larger familiar howled in distress and pain as blood flowed over the top of its muzzle.
“Pain! Eyes!”
Cabal reacted wildly, but Sirvak, intent on giving Dru as much hope as possible, waited a moment too long. The wolf’s good paw shot up like a fleet arrow, catching the smaller creature. Cabal brought the paw down with Sirvak beneath it.
Dru had dragged himself to the stairs, but when he saw what was happening, he tried to act. Even now, though, the pain that made his head throb refused to let him concentrate enough to do anything else but shout in vain.
“Sirvak!”
The black and gold familiar had only enough time to squawk once before Cabal crushed it.
“Sirvak, no!” came Sharissa’s horrified voice. She stood behind the huge wolf, her face stretched in terror at the death of the one thing she had been able to call a friend during her childhood years.
Trying to turn and seize her, Melenea’s legacy slipped. Cabal had tried to stand too long on its injured limb alone, and combined with the imbalance caused by Sirvak’s mangled form, the blue-green monster’s front half had little sure footing. It slid midway down the staircase, nearly taking Dru with it.
“Where are you?” Cabal cried out as it tried to right itself. “Come and play with Cabal!”
It was blind. Sirvak had done that much. Though it could still scent them, Cabal had no eyes whatsoever.
Sharissa did not care whether it could see or not. Dru looked up and saw both his daughter and Xiri moving to the stairway. Sharissa’s visage was cold and deadly. For the first time, she looked like a true Vraad.
To the horror of both her father and the elf, she called to the killer stumbling to its feet on the steps. “I stand above you, Cabal! I am up here! Play with me!”
“Sharissa! Get away!” Dru shouted madly. He hoped that at the very least he would turn the wolf’s attention to him. His head was nearly clear enough. If Cabal would just stumble around for a moment or two…
“Speak to me, Shari darling!” Cabal cried, again mimicking its mistress.
“I’ll do more than speak!” Rage fueled her words and her will.
“Come-” That was as far as Cabal got before flames engulfed the familiar’s entire body. The monster roared, both pain and accusation in its cry. Nothing else burned but the horrible creature. Even Dru, who lay nearly within arm’s reach of the magical killer, felt no heat.
Cabal tried one pitiful spell in an attempt to save itself. The attempt failed and with it the wolf. Howling mournfully, the blazing beast collapsed. The fire did not go out until there was nothing left of Melenea’s last ploy. Dru recognized the source of his earlier misgivings, the sense that Melenea still waited. He suspected that the tiny creature that had run over his foot might even have been the familiar. In its tiny size, it could move from place to place, wreaking the havoc its mistress had desired.
That was ended now.
Sharissa fell back, both exhausted and disgusted, but Xiri was there to catch her. The two Vraad looked at each other. Dru nodded and smiled, though he knew neither of them felt any happiness.
Outside, thunder announced the storm’s intention to continue on with or without the helpful influence of Cabal. The harsh noise brought them all back to the reality and the peril of their present situation.
“We have to leave as soon as possible,” Dru commanded, rising slowly and unsteadily from the floor. “Gather what you need and come with me!”
Sharissa could not speak, but she looked at Xiri. The elf was uncommonly solemn. “Sirvak… took care of all of that. The last of your horses wait for us below. We knew we could not stay much longer. When we tried to contact you to tell you to stay where you were, that we would be joining you, we could not find you.” She indicated the few traces of ash that marked Cabal’s fiery demise. “I suppose it was that one that blocked the link. Sirvak offered to fly ahead and find you. It already feared the worse.”
Not desiring to sound cold, Dru replied, “Then there’s no reason to remain. You two go to the horses.”
“What will you do, Father?” Sharissa asked, finally able to stand on her own. Her eyes were wide and gave her a hollow appearance.
“Find something appropriate for a shroud,” he said quietly, testing his own ability to stand unaided. He stared pointedly at the remains of his most loyal of servants. “Even if Sirvak died in Nimth, this place will not claim the body. I won’t let it.”
Sharissa smiled gratefully, then let Xiri lead her down the stairs and away from the tragic scene. Dru waited until he was alone. He knelt by the battered form and picked it up. As he carried it off, searching in his mind for something that would give the familiar’s crushed body a proper sense of dignity and honor, Dru whispered to the limp form of the only one who had ever really known the pain in his mind and heart, because that one had been a part of him from its creation. “Time to go home, Sirvak. Time to rest… at last.”
XXIII
The fifth day of their new life found the Vraad still alive and whole. The Tezerenee, while unwelcome by most, had proved themselves most useful. Their well-honed talent for things unmagical made them teachers for the rest. They were, in turn, granted a grudging sort of respect that Dru hoped would blossom into greater acceptance. He had no plans of fasting until that time, however.
They lived in the remains of the ruined city of the ancients. It had already been agreed that instead of building a new home, they would repair the one left for them. Few spoke of journeying out to create their own domain, though the Tezerenee did tend to live on the opposite side of the city. There was more than enough room. The city ran deep as well as tall. Many of the buildings were connected by underground chambers and tunnels that would take months, perhaps years to explore. They seemed harmless places, though Dru was leery about descending into them. He shrugged it off as a Vraad trait. After so many centuries of having so great an expanse of land to himself, it was difficult to completely accept the new arrangements. He was not the only one who felt that way, but neither Dru nor the others would have traded their present situation for the past.
Silesti continued to organize the bulk of the Vraad race. The triumvirate still worked. Dru continued to wonder how long that would last. Sharissa had told him he was just being a pessimist.
She was popular among the immigrants. Sharissa now walked confident among the others and her
