She nodded, stepping aside as quickly as possible. “He is several hundred paces below. The tunnel dips and finally ends in another chamber. You will find him there.”
Reegan nodded his satisfaction with her report. “Be about your duties, then.”
When the soldier was gone, Lochivan turned to his brother. He sounded no better than the last time. “Take the Lady Sharissa and go on ahead. I… I will be along in a moment.”
The other Tezerenee studied his younger brother for a moment, then nodded. “May it pass quickly.”
“It will. It is only a matter of will. As he has always said.”
It took no great thinking to understand that they spoke of the rash or disease that had afflicted so many of them. Lochivan seemed to be suffering more than the others, although she had hardly been among the Tezerenee long enough to know that for certain. Sharissa tried to take one last peek at Lochivan, but Reegan purposely steered her so that she would have to look through him to see what was happening to his brother.
Someone had lit the dry, ancient torches that stuck out from the sides of the passage. The Seekers, she recalled, were also creatures of the light, which made the torches no great surprise. What she still marveled at was why they had lived in such a place as this when they so obviously reveled in flight.
They were near the end of their trek when a figure came walking up the passage from the opposite direction, virtually blocking their path. The patriarch and his eldest blinked at one another. Sharissa, studying the clan master, was puzzled by the equally puzzled look dominating his features.
“Lochivan is following us, Father. He should be here in a few moments.”
Sharissa tried to make herself as small as possible in the hopes that Barakas would pay her no mind. A suspicion was dawning that she was uncertain as to whether to reveal or not to the Tezerenee.
“And what has he discovered?” the patriarch asked. Behind him, two warriors appeared. They seemed a bit confused about why the passage was blocked by their masters.
The question left Reegan at a loss for a moment. He finally sputtered, “N-nothing! It was you who summoned us! You called to Lochivan and me. I brought the Lady Sharissa because-”
“Never mind.” A grim expression settled onto the Lord Tezerenee’s face.
“Turn around this instant. We are heading back to the main cavern.”
“But why-”
“I did not summon you at all!” the patriarch growled in exasperation.
Swallowing hard, Reegan fairly spun Sharissa around. She allowed herself to be led ungently back up the way they had just come, her mind racing. Her suspicions had been correct, but was she in error for not saying anything? If this were some avian trap, would not she suffer as well?
They burst out of the side passage, almost catching Lochivan by surprise. His back to them, he slammed his helm down over his head and turned to see what the trouble was. The sorceress glimpsed the box lying to one side, so close but impossible to touch with so many dragon men nearby. Besides, there was still the danger of trying to destroy it without affecting Darkhorse.
“You!” Barakas shouted at his other son. “You heard me, too, then?”
“Yesss, Fath-”
“Damnable birds! What are they up to?”
Was there a hint of fear, Sharissa wondered, amidst the patriarch’s blustery anger?
They followed Barakas around the ancient dais and out into the center of the cavern. Tezerenee were filling the chamber, weapons drawn from sheer habit even though many now were more able with sorcery. The patriarch paused and searched for the enemy. Sharissa tried to join him, fearing for her companions, but Reegan pulled her back. She found his concern commendable, albeit unwanted.
Barakas turned in a complete circle, searching for some attack, some reason for the trickery played on his sons. It was clear he noticed nothing out of the ordinary, however, for the sorceress heard him swear.
She tried again to see her companions. Her view of Faunon was completely blocked by the milling, armored bodies of dozens of Tezerenee soldiers. Dark-horse, however, was another matter. Tall as he was, the top of his head was still visible despite the waves of high-helmed warriors still pouring into the cavern chamber.
As if drawn to the eternal by Sharissa’s own interest, Lord Barakas strode toward the petrified steed, his followers parting like a living sea before his wrathful form. “You!”
The shifting of the crowd bettered her view. Darkhorse, of course, did not respond to the patriarch’s angry and accusative call. He could not as long as Lochivan held him that way.
“This is your doing somehow!” he shouted. Without turning around, the clan master added, “Lochivan! Release him so he can answer my questions!”
“What nonsense are you bellowing, dragonlord?” the ebony stallion roared without preamble. His hooves scarred the floor as he vented his own frustration and anger in the only way allowed him.
Barakas faced him without fear. “What trickery do you play here, demon? Should I return you to the box?”
The physical change in Darkhorse’s manner shook Sharissa to the bone. He cringed and shook his head in an almost human manner. “I do not know what you mean! I have done nothing! I saw nothing!”
“Do you deny the summons in my name that brought my sons to me?”
Darkhorse eyed the human as if he were mad. “I do not deny it! I heard it, but it was none of my doing! You of all people should know how thoroughly tied I am to you!” He shook his head again, this time in what the sorceress recognized as disgust in himself and his captor. “I heard the call and watched them as they passed my field of vision! Ask any others here if they heard the call and then ask yourself if I could have even performed that little magic?”
“I’ve no need of asking my own what they heard!” the patriarch’s tone was as intense as Sharissa had ever heard it. He almost seemed close to a fit. She could not recall his ever acting thus in the fifteen years since the crossover from Nimth.
Barakas was losing control of himself.
He clamped his mouth shut and stared at Darkhorse for a moment longer before turning and facing his people. “None of you heard or saw anything other than my voice? No one is missing who should not be?” There were murmurs among the throng that indicated negative responses to both questions.
They’ll be turning to Faunon next, she thought. He should be safe, she knew, considering that the chains and bonds kept him from performing any sorcery as much as the box and spell did the same for Darkhorse. Still, being one more familiar with this land, the elf might be in for some very deadly questioning.
The crowd shifted again, partially revealing the area where the Tezerenee had kept the elf. Sharissa tried to find him, to at least make eye contact with him.
Where was he?
She tried to squirm around, but Reegan, his mind on what his father was about, held her tighter without even realizing it. In frustration, she leaned by his ear and whispered harshly, “You can let me be! I won’t run anywhere, you know!”
It proved to be the wrong thing to do. His attention on her now, the heir realized that she was trying to locate the elf. His jealousy apparent even through the helm, he turned to glare at his supposed rival.
He, too, failed to see any sign of Faunon.
“The elf!” Reegan roared, pulling all eyes to him. Sharissa grew numb, understanding now why she could not find Faunon.
Lochivan, one of the first to follow his brother’s gaze, completed what Reegan had been trying to relate to the others. He spoke in sibilant but clear words, his breathing growing heavier with each syllable. “The elf isss gone! He hasss essscaped!”
Her silver-blue hair cascading down into her face, Sharissa shook her head at their misunderstanding. She doubted very much that it was by choice the elf had vanished. He had been in no condition to make any escape. That meant that either someone or something had helped him to flee… or taken both Faunon and the guards for much darker, deadlier reasons.
XVI
