'What is it you are taking me to?' she complained, leaning hard on her husband each time she shifted her weight. 'You know I don't like surprises.'
Xeries chuckled. 'Yes, I know. But this one I think you'll enjoy.'
Leaving behind the bigger room, Xeries and his wife entered a small round chamber. A stone slab table was the only adornment, situated off to one side. The walls, if you could call them that, were no more than a series of doors, one next to the other, covering the entire space. 'Here we are.'
'And where is here? Xeries, why have you dragged me into this tiny place? There is nothing here.' 'I brought you here to calm your fears.' 'My fears?'
'When we arrived here in Erlkazar, you asked me if I was here to replace you, cast you aside.'
'And you are!' she said, raising her voice. The extra effort caused her to cough, and she cleared her throat as best as she could, trying to maintain her composure.
Xeries shook his head, stroking her frail arm. 'I told you I am not going to cast you away. You are my fartrite. You always have been.'
With a wave of his arm all the doors swung wide, revealing dozens of open coffins all standing upright. Inside each lay the body of a different woman-or what had been a woman, long ago. Now they were all dried up. Their skin clung tight to their bones, brown, creased, and tormented. All had their arms crossed over their chests, and all were dressed in the finest of silks.
The coffins were stacked one on top of the other in rows, like dolls displayed on a shelf. On the top in the center there were two unoccupied coffins.
'You see,' said Xeries, pointing to the preserved, utterly drained woman. 'I'm not going to cast you away. I'm going to keep you forever-right there, on the very top, where I can see you the best.'
His wife wobbled and fell to her knees, her legs giving out from under her. 'Are they… are they dead?' she whispered, horrified.
'Not quite,' said Xeries, still holding her hand. 'Though they no longer have enough life-force to keep me alive.' 'Are they suffering?'
'I do not know,' said Xeries. 'They cannot speak, and I have not thought on the matter much.'
She pulled her hand from his and buried her face in her palms, her veil smearing with tears. 'Why did you show me this?'
'So you would understand,' replied Xeries. 'I am not getting rid of you. You'll always be here, immortal like me.'
He bent down and draped his arm over her shoulder. 'You know I love you. I have always liked you the best. That's why I saved you the best spot. Right on top. The queen of them all.'
The horses whinnied and skittered a bit, startled by the rumbling of the huge stone citadel hanging overhead. Part of the blackness separated from the rest, and it lowered, slowly descending to the ground like a drawbridge.
'Guess we came to the right spot,' said Quinn, steeling himself. 'You ready?' he asked Mariko, squeezing her hand.
She nodded. 'Are you?'
Quinn smiled. 'Let's hope so.'
'What about me?' Evelyne shifted in her saddle. 'Is no one worried about me?'
'After half a year in the Cellar,' replied Quinn, 'I suspect you're going to feel right at home in there.'
'You may even see some of your old friends,' quipped Mariko.
The black bridge reached the ground with a resounding thud, sending up a plume of dirt. Inside, an orange light issued forth, illuminating the area, and from it came a horde of gibbering monsters. Their flesh shimmered in the light, like pieces of broken obsidian falling from the Ridge itself.
They marched down the bridge, in two rows, their claws grinding out a high-pitched scratch as they mashed against the stone below their feet. Reaching the ground, they spread out, surrounding the three riders.
Nearly as big as the horses themselves, the creatures took up very deliberate positions, as if each had been assigned a spot-trained soldiers following routine orders. When all of the beasts were in their places, they began to march back up the bridge, Quinn, Mariko, and Evelyne between them.
The horses whinnied more, not at all comfortable with the strange, deformed beasts or their smell. The bridge, like everything else associated with this citadel, was made from chipped obsidian. The smooth, broken edge of the stone made it difficult for the horses to keep their balance, and the normally surefooted mounts were forced to move very slowly or slip and fall.
The black bridge vibrated under their feet. It seemed the whole citadel shook, ever so slightly, with tremendous power. As they climbed, the shaking became a hum, filling the air in addition to moving the floor.
Reaching the top, Quinn peered up into the center of what looked to be a dormant volcano, chiseled and sculpted over hundreds of years. Carved-out alcoves covered the ceiling and the walls. Where one ended, the next began. It looked like a beehive-hundreds of empty spaces whose edges defined the parameters of the chamber.
Inside each of these alcoves was a statue, all of the same man, each with a different pose. There was no doubting whom the denizens of this place worshiped and followed. There were reminders wherever the eye traveled. The orange light reflected from the crevices in the chiseled figures, casting Xeries's features in stark relief. The black of the stone mixed with the strange light gave him a very sinister countenance.
Closer to the ground, passages led off from the main chamber in multiple directions, and Xeries's mutated beasts littered the floor. They stared at the newcomers, patiently waiting.
'Guess this is the welcoming party,' said Quinn. 'Whoa,' said Evelyne, finally reaching the top of the bridge behind Quinn and Matiko. 'This should be fun.'
When all three were inside, the black bridge rose, grinding and complaining as it lifted from the ground, finally pounding into place as it closed.
'What now?' asked Evelyne.
'Step down from your mounts and remove your weapons,' said Xeries's echoing, disembodied voice.
All of them climbed off their horses. Three of the black beasts approached and took the reins, leading the mounts away down a dark corridor. They whinnied and whined as they disappeared from view.
Then a second beast-its lithe, dangerous arms outstretched-approached each of the Etlkazarians.
Quinn unbuckled his sword belt, placed it in the creature's waiting palms, then unstrapped his gauntlet and gave it to his host. Mariko and Evelyne handed over their swords and daggers.
The collected army of monstrosities backed away, separating into organized lines, forming a long walkway between them. Their feet made stomping sounds in unison as they moved.
Down the length of the cleared floor, Xeries appeared. He hobbled as he walked-not quite bent over, not quite uptight. His robes trailed behind, slithering across the polished stone, and he stopped several paces from the three friends.
He bowed his grotesque, disfigured head. 'I am Xeries, master of this citadel and ruler of all you see.'
He approached Mariko, craning his neck to get a good look at her. 'You are more beautiful than I could have possibly imagined.'
He touched her arm, running his finger along her smooth skin and over her shoulder. The princess flinched away from his touch.
'Don't be frightened,' said Xeries, his voice echoing itself. 'I will not harm you.' He ran his fingers through her dark brown hair.
Mariko shuddered under the touch of such a hideous creature. Glancing to Quinn, she nodded.
'Here we go,' Quinn whispered to Evelyne.
Mariko seized Xeries's wrist with both hands, dropping to one knee and pulling him off balance. Taking in a huge gulp of air, she let out an earsplitting shout. The sound grew and grew, filling the chamber and rising quickly to the level of painful noise with the aid of her magic.
The room shook with the reverberating sound. The walls, already vibrating from the natural buzz of power, wobbled under this new force. Three huge cracks formed in the stone floor, radiating out from Mariko and her tremendous scream.
Beasts in front of her dropped to the ground, their hands over their ears. Their spiky claws shattering under
