difficult to hear. Already the bark felt spongy; the acidic downpour was eating through it.
Whatever was moving through the jungle, it was big, larger than the dretches the marilith had sent to search for her.
Karrell touched her belly, soothing the children inside her. They could sense her fear and were kicking. She began to whisper the prayer that would disguise her as a tree but realized the sounds of branches breaking and sodden vegetation squelching were moving away. She sighed in relief.
The sounds stopped. A voice she recognized grated out guttural words-the marilith, casting a spell.
Karrell croaked out a prayer. 'Ubtao, hide me in my time of need. Protect me from my enemies; obscure me from their sight and do not let them find me.'
The jungle reacted to her, just as it did each time she cast a spell. Thorny branches slashed at her bare arms and the ground underfoot became soggier, causing her to lose her footing. Gnats erupted from a nearby pool in a belch of foul-smelling air and swarmed her face. She squinted and waved them away.
Somewhere in the jungle to Karrell's left, the marilith continued to chant. Something that flashed silver rose into the sky. After a moment, she realized the flashes were coming from the marilith's swords, which circled above the treetops. Just as it had done in Baron Foesmasher's palace, the demon had summoned a barrier of blades.
Perhaps the demon was under attack, but if so, why had it flung the blades into the sky?
Karrell's heart beat faster. Perhaps, she thought, the blades had been driven there by some unseen adversary. Had Arvin done as he'd promised and found a way into Smaragd?
Tossing her makeshift rain shield aside-she could move more quickly without it, and the rain was slowing anyway-she pushed her way through the jungle toward the spot the swords circled above. She caught only glimpses of them through the thick vegetation- brief glimpses, for though the acidic rain had no effect on her skin, it stung her eyes.
As she got closer, she spotted the marilith. Its tail was coiled beneath it as it stared up at the circle of blades. All six arms were raised above its head, directing the whirling blades. Squatting next to it were two dozen dretches, drooling and idly scratching their bulging, hairless heads. The marilith guided the swords down through the trees, tilting the circle so that it was perpendicular to the ground.
In the middle of the circle, Karrell could see a flat gray plain with a walled city in the distance. The wall that surrounded the city had a greenish glow. Hlondeth? No, the landscape was wrong. The walled city wasn't a port; the gray plain continued behind it as far as the eye could see. Her heart beat faster as she realized the demon had opened a gate to another plane. Which one, Karrell had no idea, but it looked habitable. Somewhere on the prime material plane? Wherever it was, it had to be safer than Smaragd.
Moving as close as she dared, Karrell readied herself. Leaping through the gate with a bulging belly would be difficult, but it might be her only chance at escape.
The view through the gate shifted as the link between planes adjusted itself. With a rush that dizzied her to look at it, the view zoomed in toward the city. When it stopped, it was focused on a field of rubble. Huge blocks of masonry lay jumbled together with rusted bits of twisted metal and splintered wood. It looked as though a giant had trampled on
whatever buildings had once stood there. A crowd of people milled around the rubble-humans in torn clothing. Several had scratches on their cheeks. All looked terrified, and all cried out. Karrell could not hear what they were saying, but she could guess- their actions made it clear that they were praying to their gods.
Behind them was a river of bubbling black water; beyond that, a stalagmite-encrused cave.
The marilith pointed at the gate. The dretches grunted then leaped through it, all but one of them making it through the circle of whirling steel. That one was instantly sliced to pieces. Blood sprayed outward in a circle and chunks of flesh were hurled into the jungle. A hand landed next to Karrell.
The other dretches seemed to rapidly shrink, and Karrell had to strain her eyes to see where they'd gone. She spotted them next to the milling crowd. The dretches drove the crowd forward like cattle, toward the cave.
The marilith, meanwhile, concentrated on keeping the gate open. Karrell edged closer, making sure she kept behind the demon. The prayer she'd uttered earlier had only hidden her from scrying and other divination spells. If the marilith looked in her direction, it would see her. She would have to time her escape just right. Slowly, glancing between the gate above her and the demon, she crept forward.
In the place beyond the gate, the dretches used magical fear and clouds of nauseating smoke to drive the crowd toward the cave. The humans screamed and wept as they stumbled into the water then into the cave. Karrell's heart ached for them, for they were clearly in torment. She eased closer still…
Her foot slipped on a wet branch and splashed into a pool of stagnant water. She halted, ready to chant a prayer. The marilith, however, didn't seem
to have heard. It was intent on the gate. It watched, chuckling, as the first few ranks of the crowd disappeared into the cave.
Screaming erupted from inside it-the anguished cries of those within. Karrell pressed her lips together in a grim line, wishing she could do something for them, but realized she could do nothing until she was through the gate. She moved cautiously forward, taking a careful step, then pausing, then easing forward through the branches, then pausing again, all the while with one eye on the demon. Just a few steps more…
The last of the humans had been driven into the cave, and the field of rubble was empty again, save for the dretches. They loped back toward the hole, knuckles scuffing on the ground. Karrell, realizing the marilith would close the gate once they'd returned, quickened her pace, no longer caring if the movement of a branch betrayed her.
Behind the dretches, a head emerged from the cave. The head of an enormous serpent with midnight- black scales, its neck was as thick as the cave it emerged from. The serpent stared past the departing dretches at the gate, its tongue flickering in and out of its mouth.
'More,' it hissed.
Karrell felt an icy cold settle in her stomach as she recognized the serpent and realized where the gate led.
To the City of Judgement and the lair of Dendarg rown large enough that she barely fit inside her cave. To the Fugue Plain.
A plane that could only be entered by demons, and the souls of the dead.
Karrell, still living, would be unable to pass through the gate the marilith had opened, even if she wanted to.
The dretches had driven the souls of the freshly dead-those whose gods had not yet claimed them from the Fugue Plane-into Dendar's gullet. Why?
The shock of this realization was Karrell's undoing. One of the dretches pointed and gabbled out a cry of glee. The marilith spun, spotting her. The gate slammed shut, slicing three dretches to bloody pieces.
The marilith lunged at Karrell, seizing her.
Arvin fought for breath as the river tumbled him away from the portal. He was above water, submerged, broke the surface, then was under water again. Choking, sputtering, he tried to fight his way back to the surface, but it was impossible to swim while clutching Pakal's arm and with a pack that had filled with water weighing him down. The dwarf thrashed about, kicking Arvin in the stomach, either trying to swim or just trying to get away from him. Arvin's head broke through the foaming water just as he and Pakal were slammed against the side of the canyon. Arvin lost his grip on the dwarf's arm. Pakal lost hold of the sack. As it swirled away in the current, the dwarf shouted and flailed toward it. Arvin was quicker. He kicked off the wall and lunged forward.
His hands closed around the sack.
Pakal grabbed him by the shoulders an instant later. The dwarf shouted something at Arvin, but his words were lost in the thunder of water. They struggled, Pakal clambering over Arvin-and nearly drowning him in the process-and at last grabbing the sack. The river swept them into a whirlpool, which spun them crazily around then out again. Arvin caught a glimpse of a tree that had fallen from the cliff above. It lay in the river at an angle, partially submerged, just ahead. The river was going to carry
them right into the tree-and Pakal's back was to it. Arvin shouted and gestured frantically with his free hand then submerged, still clutching the sack. Pakal fought back, kicking up toward the surface.
Then, suddenly, Arvin was the only one holding the sack.
He burst from the water just in time to see the dwarf caught on the tree, his limp body draped across its
