Thorn winced as the point of the blade dug into her back. Though it was just a single motion, it felt as if Sheshka were carving into her flesh and pouring salt into the wound. Steel had warned her about this sword; apparently, it was as dangerous as he'd claimed.
'Enough games. Tell me why you are here. Who sent you? And what do you know of these others?'
'Yes. About that-'
Thorn never got to finish her sentence. The silencing mist was still effective, and she'd heard nothing from the hall. But she saw a flash of motion. A woman in the archway, wearing a dark cloak fastened with a blue pin. Hands outstretched before her, fingers twitching… magic. War magic.
Fire filled the room, sweeping everything away in a wave of light and heat.
The air was scalding, and the smell of scorched flesh was overpowering. Thorn pushed past the nausea and fought to overcome the pain… only to realize that there was no pain to overcome. Her flesh, her clothes-the fire hadn't touched her. She'd felt the blazing heat, but she wasn't burned; her hair wasn't even singed.
Illusion?
No. The damage to the room around her was real. Her intuition told her that Sheshka was crumpled on the ground behind her, and the wolf…
… wasn't a wolf any more.
The body on the floor in front of her was badly burned. A wound gaped in its chest, and Steel protruded from the corpse's neck. But it was unmistakably the body of a human man. Even beneath the facial burns, Thorn could see it was Toli.
She'd make sense of all this in the hours ahead. But she needed to deal with the assassin who'd tried to broil her right away.
Thorn took an instant to send the axe back into her glove, then snatched Steel from the scorched corpse. The sorcerer had ducked behind the doorway, and Thorn approached the arch carefully, ready for her enemy to leap out again.
'What do you see, Steel?' She kept her voice low.
Searching now, Steel replied. I don't feel anything out there, but the aura of the silencer may be hiding weaker signatures.
Thorn spun around the corner of the door, thrusting at the level of the woman's kidneys. Nothing. The hall was empty. But Thorn could smell her-flesh and wildflower perfume, a lingering hint of sulfur and guano. She'd fled toward the main room. Thorn followed, switching Steel to a throwing grip.
The great chamber held chairs, tables, another pit of sand, and a large hearth. A statue of a harpy with outstretched wings filled one corner, while a more abstract sculpture of crystal and marble lay next to the fireplace. She found no sign of the woman. The main door to the chamber stood open, and Thorn could see the body of an armored medusa lying in a pool of blood in the hall beyond. Thorn sniffed the air, trying to trust to her newfound senses. Was the sorcerer using invisibility to hide from her?
Despite her newfound gifts, Thorn was no bloodhound. But it seemed that her trail led back to the door-that the woman had fled. She started to follow, but Steel's voice stopped her.
Let her go. You must tend to Sheshka. She cannot be allowed to die until you have completed your mission.
Sheshka! Thorn ran back to the silent hall. She closed her eyes before entering the bedchamber, but there was no need. The medusa was sprawled motionless on the floor, and the smell of blood and burnt flesh filled the air.
CHAPTER TWENTY — FIVE
The Great Crag Droaam Eyre 19, 998 YK
'Sheshka?' No response came, and the serpents were silent. Thorn held Steel over the body of the medusa queen. 'Steel, is she looking at me?'
No, Steel replied. I fear this may be a lost cause.
Thorn opened her eyes to a dire sight. The basilisk Szaj had suffered the worst, and charred bones protruded from his corpse. Sheshka had been partially shielded by the statue of the Valenar elf, but that had simply spared her from instant death. Many of her scales had been burned away, leaving blackened flesh below. Her breathing was slow and faint. She had a deep cut on her left bicep and a piercing wound in her right thigh. The Valenar might have lost his battle, but he'd stained his blades before he fell. Sheshka had defeated her opponent, only to be taken by treachery.
There's nothing to be done, Steel told her. In all likelihood, the wounds are already infected. Even with the aid of a healer, she would need days to recover.
'No,' Thorn said. 'There has to be a way. The gnolls-they had healing salves. Perhaps-'
You know nothing of the relationship between the gnolls and Sheshka. She seemed suspicious that you were carrying a gnoll's weapon. For all you know, they want her dead. And in either case, she is a warlord of Droaam. Once she's in the hands of the guards, you won't get close to her again.
Thorn was still recovering from the chaos of the battle, and many things were only beginning to sink in. 'Why am I still alive?'
'What do you mean?'
Thorn ran a hand along her side, pulling at the fabric for a better look. The blood on her doublet was still wet, but the flesh below was smooth and unmarked. 'Toli punctured my lung. I should be dead, but I'm not even hurt.' She touched her shoulder. 'Even the snakebites are gone.'
Andyet the wound from Sheshka's blade remains, Steel observed. It was true. Despite the pain she'd felt at the touch of the sword, the wound wasn't deep, but the blood was still fresh. When you were fighting Toli, you touched him and he cried out in pain. What did you do?
'I… don't know. I was angry, in pain. Then I felt a rush of energy flooding through me, and the pain stopped.'
It appears that you stripped away his life force and used it to heal yourself.
'But how is that possible?' Thorn said. 'Could it happen again?' She looked at her hands. Was she in danger of killing anyone she touched?
We don't have enough information, Steel said. Perhaps it was a curse placed on Toli, and not on you.
'And about Toli…'
We don't have time to discuss this now, Steel said. If we can't heal Sheshka, you'd best kill her and leave before someone arrives.
'Kill her?'
Suddenly, the pieces fell into place. Sheshka saw Toli, a Brelish soldier. If the medusa lived, she could blame the attack on Breland. If Thorn took his body, the blame would fall on Valenar and Darguun. Trouble surely-but they couldn't allow this to be set against Boranel.
Thorn shook her head. 'No, there has to be another way'
We have no time to debate. Kill her. You can dispose of Toli's body in the sewers and we'll reevaluate the situation.
Thorn considered her hands again. Moments ago, she'd stolen Toli's strength to heal herself. If only she could reverse that, to give Sheshka some of her own life force. But she had no idea what she'd done. As Steel had said, perhaps the power wasn't in her at all.
Then she saw the answer.
What are you doing?
Thorn knelt beside the burned medusa. 'Carrying out my mission. Which means saving her life.'
How-
Thorn sheathed the dagger. She found a patch of unburned scales on Sheshka's back, pulled off one of her gloves, and set her palm against the medusa's skin. Then she concentrated, trying to remember the instructions of the provender at the Citadel.
