'I might be able to detect some faint traces of human intelligence yet lingering in Leontis's mind,' the psiforged said. 'Assuming at least some portion of his brain remains relatively intact. I'll begin-'
Onu shouted this time, an edge of hysteria in his voice. 'Excuse me!'
The companions turned toward the sea captain-or at least, toward a being who wore the captain's garish red longcoat. This being had pale gray skin and thin fair hair. Its arms and legs were somewhat longer than natural for a humanoid, and its white eyes were disturbingly blank. It possessed only the merest hint of facial features-a nub of a nose, a suggestion of lips, and small bumps where ears should be.
Ghaji was the first to give voice to what they were all thinking.
'You're a changeling?'
Onu nodded. 'But that's not important right now.' His voice was soft and nearly devoid of emotion, completely unlike that of the Captain Onu they had come to know. He pointed with a slender gray finger.
The companions turned to look where the changeling indicated and saw the still smoldering body of a shadowclaw a few yards away. In its oversized talons, the creature held the charred body of a small human-like being.
Onu's voice trembled with grief. 'He… the creature grabbed him just before… when the fireblast…' The changeling trailed off, unable to say anything more.
Diran understood what had happened. In the moment right before Tresslar had activated the enhancer, a lone shadowclaw had managed to get close enough to sink its talons into Thokk and drag the dwarf off. When the fireblast occurred, Thokk had been burnt to a crisp, along with everything else in range of the enhanced flames.
No one said anything for several moments as the enormity of what had happened began to sink in. Finally, Onu spoke once more.
'I guess this means I really am the captain now.'
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Makala felt no physical aftereffects of Nathifa's energy blast, but she seethed with fury. As the lich led them across the cavern floor toward the skeletal remains of the dragon Paganus, it took all of the vampire's self-control to keep from attempting to tear the sorceress's head off.
Bide your time, whispered a voice inside her. You'll get your chance.
Makala hoped so, and she hoped it would be soon.
Nathifa walked up to the dragon's skull and stopped. In the forty years since Paganus died, evidently nothing had disturbed his bones, for his skeleton was not only intact, all the bones remained in their proper places. During her mortal life as an assassin, Makala had had occasion to visit Morgrave University in Sharn. There she'd seen skeletons of ancient creatures displayed on metal frameworks, arranged in what the curators no doubt hoped were lifelike poses. Paganus's skeleton reminded her of those displays. She could even imagine the placard that would accompany it: PAGANUS: ANCIENT GREEN DRAGON, COLLECTOR OF MAGICAL ARTIFACTS, SEEN HERE AT REST IN HIS CAVERN LAIR.
Makala had never seen a live dragon, and the small part of her that was still human marveled at the site of Paganus's bones. But her wonder was forgotten as she saw that the floor around the skeleton was stained a dull reddish-brown. Makala inhaled the rich scent of dragon blood, the odor faint but still tantalizing even after all these decades. She could smell the power in that blood, and she wondered what it would feel like to have a dragon's strength flowing through her veins.
'I want the three of you to stay back while I attempt to rouse the dragon's spirit,' Nathifa said. 'Such spells require a great deal of power and concentration, and there are… dangers. A dragon's spirit is powerful, even in death, so do not interfere or draw attention to yourselves in any way.'
Makala hated the way the lich spoke to them as if they were dull-witted children, but she resisted making a snide comment. She wanted to hear what the dragon's spirit had to say-assuming Nathifa succeeded in summoning it.
The lich began simply, lowering her head and whispering arcane words in a language unfamiliar to Makala- words formed of harsh consonants and guttural vowels, words that resonated with blasphemy, as if the sound of them alone was an affront to creation. Nathifa began gesturing with her hands, bone-white fingers contorting into intricate shapes and patterns. Her whispering rose in volume to become a chant, and tendrils of darkness slowly extruded from the hem of her shadowy robe. The tendrils lengthened as they snaked their way across the cavern floor, slithered up the sides of Paganus's skull, and slid into the opening where the dragon's ears had once been. For a long moment nothing happened, and then the tips of the tendrils emerged from the eye sockets and burst upward in sudden growth. The tendrils merged into a single black shape that stretched nearly all the way to the cavern's ceiling. The shadowy substance rippled and pulsated, as if it was trying to assume some manner of form. And then Nathifa raised her arms and gave a last shout that echoed throughout the cavern and resonated within the deepest recesses of her servants' black souls.
The mass of shadow took on the shape of a large dragon with glowing green eyes and wisps of vapor coiling forth from the nostrils. The acrid stench of poisonous gas filled the air, and Makala thought it fortunate that none of them was human, otherwise the dragon's toxic breath might well kill them.
Who summons me?
The dragon's voice wasn't heard so much as felt, as if his spirit was speaking directly to theirs.
Nathifa lowered her arms and spoke with a confident, commanding tone. 'I did. I am the sorceress Nathifa, servant of her most great and terrible majesty Vol.'
The dragon's gaze fixed on Nathifa, and his eyes glowed a brighter green, as if he were examining her closely. After a moment, Paganus chuckled.
You're nothing but a lich, one of the bitch-goddess's undead puppets. I am insulted that your mistress would send such a lowly creature to speak with me.
Nathifa's voice with tight with barely restrained anger as she replied. 'Do not put on airs with me, dragon! You are no mighty lord of your kind. You are nothing but a common thief! You stole the Amahau from my Dark Lady, and though it took almost three thousand years, you paid for your transgression with your life!'
I was happy to give up my life after enduring three millennia of pain. Death was no punishment for me, but rather a release from the prison of perpetual agony in which I was trapped. But enough talk. You have summoned me for a purpose, and the sooner I fulfill it, the sooner I can return to blessed Oblivion. So tell me what you want, lich. But be warned. If you have come for the Amahau you are too late. It was taken by those who granted me my deliverance.
'I have no need to ask for what I already possess.' Nathifa reached a hand into her own darkness and withdrew the dragonwand. She held it forth for Paganus to inspect.
The dragon's shadowy form quivered and for an instant seemed as if it might lose definition, but then it solidified once more.
The Amahau… even as a shade I can still sense its power.
The dragon lowered his head toward Nathifa, and Makala wondered if it was possible for a spirit to wrest a physical object from its holder. But Nathifa held her ground.
'If you know the Gatherer's power, then you know that it can absorb any mystical energy. Including a spirit. If you attempt to do anything save answer the questions I put to you, the Amahau shall become your new prison.'
Paganus hesitated. My present form is due at least in part to a contribution of your own power. If you absorb me into the Amahau, you will sacrifice that portion of your own strength.
'Perhaps,' Nathifa allowed. 'But I am willing to make such a sacrifice for the glory of my dread mistress.'
Paganus considered for a moment before withdrawing his head to its original position. Ask what you will, lich.
From where she stood, Makala couldn't see Nathifa's face, but she could well imagine the sorceress's triumphant smile.
