Lorn hissed in hatred and distaste, and glared at the spot where he'd stood.
'Patience,' the oldest, most battered one-the one whose hide was going purple and not just mottled brown-said to the others, as he turned away. 'There will come a day. Oh, yes, there will come a day…'
When he became aware, of the dark, chill room around him again, Rod Everlar knew a lot of time had passed.
He felt… empty. Cried out. He lifted his head to look around, and was instantly aware of two things: something had moved, somewhere in the room, and he remembered something else about Yintaerghast; some Holdoncorp designer who wanted a test of brawn and wits had come up with a story for the castle that made it a prison and robbed those inside of magic.
It was shrouded, or shielded, in some mighty spell laid by a long-dead wizard that twisted the minds of all living creatures who entered the castle. That'd be this Lorontar mage Tay had mentioned; was he the man in the chair, upstairs?
It stripped away all their knowledge of magic: forever? Or just while they were inside? Well, either way, that'd be why Arlaghaun, and all wizards, would dare not enter…
Yes! It took away any magic at work on anyone, so wizards couldn't magically force some poor servant critter inside and expect it to go on obeying them the moment it was through the door.
Then there was that last bit, the prison bit. Well, he could test that himself, right now. All he had to do was find a window.
Apparently, the spell would make all the castle's empty windows look out into a swirling void that didn't allow anyone to leap, fall, fly, or climb out; those who tried just got thrust right back in. Or would that work on him, the immune Dark Lord?
If it did, he might be able to kill himself here, after all.
He'd been turning on his heel, hand on dagger and peering hard, all the time he'd been thinking these thoughts. Seeking any sign of whatever it was that had moved. He was still looking.
He'd looked up, too-twice-in case something was lurking overhead, but the lofty stone ceiling offered nothing more than a peeled, ruined painting and inky black tatters of cobwebs. Motionless tatters.
Rod drew his dagger and started to prowl the room, walking behind the heaps of ruined furniture. Whatever he'd seen, or thought he'd seen, it had been higher than floor level, but of course someone could crouch down.
Or some
Something moved again, in the corner of his eye. Rod whirled around to peer at the shadows there. Nothing.
Angrily he strode in that direction, then abruptly spun all the way around again, hoping to catch something, even if only fleetingly, at the edge of his vision, again.
Again, nothing. There was nothing but the darkness.
Yet he didn't feel alone in the room. He looked around again, walking into the two darkest corners, one after the other, and finding… nothing.
So, was he keeping company with something invisible? Either a monster or some ghost of the castle or… 'Well, who'd just gone missing?
'Taeauna?' he asked, trying to make his voice sound calm, as if he were just casually interested. And certainly not afraid.
There was, of course, no reply.
Shit, he could stand here forever! Enough of this foolishness. Stride out of the room, then turn to see if anything followed. If it didn't, all the better, and if it did, he'd at least be facing it and could get this over with. Now, there was the arch he'd come in through, so wide it took up almost one entire side of the room. There was a smaller arch in yonder wall, and a closed door in the center of that wall; the first normal-sized door he'd seen in Yintaerghast thus far.
So, which?
Back out the way he'd come, for now, Rod decided instantly. He'd best look around all the large, open rooms on the ground floor first, before he started going through any doors, and ended up lost.
There was no hurry, after all. He wasn't going anywhere fast, because he didn't dare step out into the forest at night, and by day, well, there were no doubt lots of lorn perched in the trees all around, ordered to stay and wait for him to emerge.
Rod cast a last look all around the room and made for the door, dagger held ready. If there was one thing he had left to do, it was to find that wizard and kill him for what he'd done to Taeauna. It wasn't as if somehow he could find his way back home, to the real world, since he hadn't the faintest flipping idea of how to even begin doing that.
It had to be him, this Arlaghaun the Doom of Galath, who'd done something to Tay.
Rod got to the door, whirled around one last time to look at the usual nothing, and froze.
There was something, all right. About a dozen feet away from him, and drifting silently closer.
A black cloak, with a cowl, hanging in the air in the shape it would have if someone were wearing it, the cloak on their shoulders and their head looking right at him as they wore that hood up over it.
Rod swallowed. Icy fear? Oh, yeah…
He knew the dagger in his hand was trembling as he raised it, point thrust right at the thing.
Its slow, steady drift toward him didn't slow.
'W-who are you?' Rod asked, trying to sound calm but firm. Even in his own ears, his voice came out like a young child's high, shrill squeak.
There was no reply from the empty cowl, as the silent thing moved menacingly forward, rising a little as if to engulf him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It was taller than he was, now, and as dark as deep night, looming over him, and flowing soundlessly forward. Swift-rising fear took Rod a step hack from it, and then another, before he swallowed and deliberately stepped forward again. Right into it.
He felt a moment of intense chill. Then there was a sort of sigh, all around him, and he was blinking around at the gloom of the chamber again. The cloak was… gone.
Rod whirled around to see if it had just passed through him, like the sort of ghost that lurked in older movies. In doing so-to find that it hadn't- his gaze dropped down long enough to see the last of its darkness fading away into nothingness, in a ring around his legs. He shivered again. Gods, he felt cold.
Had it… gone into him? Infused him, somehow, with its essence, to poison him or eat him away, or control or just wreck his mind?
Dared he even think such thoughts, if he was the Shaper of Falconfar? Did his thinking of something make it real, or at least more likely?
'Oh, shit,' he snapped, exasperated. No Taeauna was standing nigh his shoulder to answer him.
And suddenly he was in tears all over again.
Ult Tower loomed up, vast and tall. Though they were heading for its upper windows, they did not expect to find it unguarded.
They were not disappointed.
The lorn burst out of the window at them, talons reaching for Dauntra's head. The Aumrarr caught hold of one of its feet, then folded her wings upwards and together, becoming in an instant a teardrop plunging to earth. The lorn was jerked helplessly after her. Then Juskra caught hold of its other foot as she swooped past, folding the creature over onto its back. Lorlarra and Ambrelle's boots struck the lorn in this awkward position, diving as fast as they could.
The lorn's spine shattered even before its body was broken around the lip of another, lower window. Dauntra flung it aside so her sisters could streak past, into Ult Tower.
'Ah, sisters,' Juskra cried, 'it feels good to abandon skulking and running for a bit! 'Tis time to let the
