Wasn’t that part of my best friend Kli-Kli’s prophecy? But to be quite honest, I was very glad that the artifact was on my side.
“Our bonds are strong, our bonds are strong, our bonds are strong, strong, strong, strong, strong, strong…”
How about that magic, Lafresa? Do you like it?
The singing stopped as suddenly as it had started—the only sound left was the woman’s hoarse, heavy breathing.
“What is wrong, madam?” The count’s voice sounded like a crow cawing—harsh, repulsive.
“I don’t know,” she said in a weary voice. “That amateur put such strong bonds on it that I can’t break them. Count, is that man who met me still here?”
“You mean Rolio? Yes, he’s in the house.”
“Remember, Player gave him the job of getting rid of a certain person, didn’t he?”
“That’s absolutely right.”
“Then let him do so immediately. If necessary, with the help of your army. The Key is resisting me, it senses the person who is bound to it. Let your man remove this obstacle, and then I will try again.”
“I will give orders at once—”
“Wait! Help me get to my room.… The artifact has taken all my strength.…”
“Your hand, milady.”
“I asked you not to call me that!” she hissed icily. “But I beg your pardon. I am simply too tired to be polite.”
I listened as their footsteps retreated, and then waited for a few more minutes to be quite sure there was no more trouble in the offing.
As quiet as the grave.
I crawled out from under the bed, released the string of my crossbow, and put it back behind my shoulder. I had been lucky so far that night, but I had to hurry; Lafresa could come back at any moment. And they had let Paleface off the leash.…
The candle standing on the table had burned halfway down, and the casket was closed. Lafresa’s shamanism may have exhausted her, but the Master’s maidservant had remembered to slam down the lid, and probably thrown in a bit of extra magic as well.
The chances of the casket being sealed with the magic of humans and light elves were negligible, but I wasn’t going to take any risks, and decided to check things first.
I opened the window of the bedroom and looked out. There was no movement in the bushes under the window, so I could only hope that Kli-Kli was still hiding in there somewhere.
The light wind immediately blew out the candle. Well, to the darkness with it! The moon was shining so brightly that it was still quite light in the room anyway. I took the vial I needed out of my bag, and poured a drop of liquid onto the lid of the casket. It spread out and stopped moving. There was absolutely no human magic here at all, otherwise the drop would have disappeared. There was either shamanism, or nothing.… I would have to put my trust in Kli-Kli’s medallion.
I licked my dry lips and reached out for the casket. It was terrifying, like picking up red-hot coals or a poisonous snake.… What if the goblin’s medallion didn’t protect me against any shamanic spells that were on it?
Nothing. No effect. No thunder, no lightning, no voices of the gods. The casket seemed absolutely normal, with no magic at all. Could I really have been wrong about Lafresa?
I couldn’t see any keyhole, but the lid stubbornly refused to budge. This little trinket had a secret, I could fiddle with it like this until the end of time—it would be better to take it with me. I tried to lift it and gasped in amazement.
It was heavy!
So heavy that I could hardly even lift it off the table.
Trying to drag a weight like that all the way through the house could cost me my life. I felt all the projections and surfaces, hoping to find a concealed spring, but the lid remained immovable.
I recalled that when the count opened the casket, there had been several clicks. Did that mean that it was activated by two or three springs at once?
Very probably it did.
I changed my approach, pressing the figure of the half bird, half bear with one finger, and the skull at the feet of that creature with another, and trying to pry the lid open with my nail. Useless …
Hmm … and what had made the music before Balistan Pargaid opened the lock, if I might ask?
I had to examine the metal box very closely again. There it was—a harp stamped into the lid, and the half bird, half bear had a reed pipe in its mouth. Right, let’s give it a try.… That’s it!
The pipe and the harp both shifted inward at the same time, the casket gave a quiet musical jingle, and the lid opened, inviting me to feast my eyes on what it was guarding.
The Key lay on black velvet. Slim, woven out of crystal cobweb gossamer and icy dreams, it looked as if a single hot breath would be enough to break it. But that was not so; the dragon’s tears that it was made of could only be carved with magic and diamond cutters, which had to act together and be guided skillfully.
I reached my hand out for the artifact, and Kil-Kli’s medallion immediately seared my skin with cold fire. A yellowish haze sprang up around the Key and immediately disappeared again, leaving colored rings in front of my eyes from the sudden flash. Thank you to the goblin’s trinket—if Kli-Kli hadn’t found it, I don’t like to think what might have happened to me.
I took the Key and clenched it in my fist.
“Our bonds are strong,” it whispered to me happily one last time and fell silent.
That was it. Now it was time to be leaving the count’s hospitable home!
I heard a menacing growl behind me. Trying not to make any sudden movements, I turned round to face the door in order to get a look at the newcomer.
A dog.
A big dog.
Very big.
A huge imperial dog. It was bigger than any dog I’d ever seen in my life—massive paws, a huge great head, a docked tail like the branch of a tree, ears that stuck out, a short smooth coat and … teeth.…
The hound was yellowish red, with a black face and paws. As taut as a loaded crossbow. The hair on the beast’s mane was standing up on end, and there was a menacing gurgling sound coming from his throat. A dog like that wouldn’t bark and call his master—he would finish the job without help.
I looked at him, he looked at me. Still trying not to make any sudden movements, I moved back to the window, but there were bars on it. The only way I could get out was through the door. I had to kill the dog, otherwise I would never get out.
I reached for the crossbow. The dog exploded into a hurricane of fangs and furiously flashing eyes, and in a split second the beast had covered the yards between us and frozen just one inch away from Harold’s most precious possessions.
The dog raised its upper lip, displaying his impressive collection of teeth. Don’t be so boastful, you dumb brute.
“All right, all right!” I chirped, showing the dog my empty hands. “I’m not armed! I just got an itch on my back!”
He gave another threatening snarl, snapped his teeth together, and backed off a yard.
“And now what?”
“Listen, I got in here by accident. I’ll be going now, okay?” I felt like a total idiot, talking to a dog.
The beast leaned its head to one side, gave me a searching look. A pink tongue lolled out of his mouth.
I decided to try a different approach.
“Goo-ood boy! What a fine, handsome fellow!”
