Puzzled, but relieved, Rhodes quickly scooped up the coins and returned them to the purse. One fell to the floor so he got down on his hands and knees and crawled about until he found it.
Kalasariz was irritated to the extreme. This was not proper behavior for a king. But he said nothing. His object was to make Rhodes think of him as his dearest friend and he had to be careful not to appear judgmental. Ah, well, he thought. Living inside another person certainly had its burdens-even though the host did do all the physical work.
'Why did you choose just that one coin, mother?' Rhodes asked after he'd tucked the purse away.
'Because it carries the strongest scent,' she replied. 'Apparently young Palimak held it more than the others. Perhaps he even bit the coin when he first received it to make sure it was pure gold. In any event, he's left very heavy traces of his aura behind for us to make use of.'
Then, with no further explanation, she unrolled the parchment map and placed it across the golden tiles.
Four stubby black candles were stuck at each corner to hold it down. The gold coin went in the center.
'Now, help me with this,' she said.
Rhodes obediently approached the table. While she concentrated, Kalasariz stoked up his own magical fires, lashing the imps that were Fari and Luka with red-hot whips until their sorcerous energies boiled over and flowed into his own.
This was Kalasariz favorite part of his new-found skills at performing the business of magic. The two demons were hateful creatures who had worked long and hard to bring him down. Their agonies gave him pleasure of such extremes that it bordered on the sexual. Which in his present form was the best he could do, since the only way he could enjoy the mating act these days was through Rhodesa€™
activities.
And the king was such a rutting brute, with no style at all, that his amorous exploits only whetted Kalasariza €™ appetite.
As he focused his powers, adding them to Clayre's considerable strength, he saw the coin begin to move.
The movement was hesitant at first-a barely perceptible tremble. Then it shifted left a few inches, then right, then to the center again.
Another trembling hesitation, then it shot below the center point and came to rest.
Clayre waved a hand at the coin and it slowly transformed in shape, size and color until it became an exact duplicate of the
Then she broke the sorcerous connection and Kalasariz relaxed.
Rhodes leaned over the table to get a closer look, and through the king's eyes Kalasariz could see that the ship sat a little south of a large land mass, with small tree-like squiggles inked in.
'They're just off Aroborus,' Clayre said. 'The land of the forests.'
'Now that we know where they are,' Rhodes asked, 'how do we delay them?'
'Never fear, my son,' Clayre said with supreme confidence. 'I'll think of something.'
Kalasariz gazed fondly at the tiny figures of the tree beasts as they ravaged the Kyranian forces, driving them across the deck of the
Clayre had been as good as her word and then some. Drawing on the Land of the Forests for inspiration, she'd created a unique and cunning enemy to delay and perhaps even destroy Safar Timura and his allies.
Kalasariz noted that Leiria was still down, barely holding off one creature, while Safar-seated on his white stallion-fought desperately but futilely to reach her.
Suddenly, he saw Jooli burst onto the scene, armed with a spear. She set the butt onto the deck and vaulted over several beasts to land at Leiria's side.
Then she jabbed at the beast that was attacking the Kyranian warrior, driving it back long enough for Leiria to come up and hack it down with her blade.
'You have to admit,' Rhodes rumbled in fatherly admiration, 'that my daughter is one hells of a soldier.
Too bad the bitch whelp turned traitor and joined the other side.'
But Clayre did not share his pride, grudging though it might have been. She became furious at the sight of her granddaughter.
'I'll fix her,' she snarled.
She drew a long, sharp pin from her hair and rubbed it vigorously on the sleeve of her silken witch's gown. Kalasariz could feel the energy growing until magical sparks shot off.
Then Clayre jabbed the pin down at the tiny figure of Jooli.
But as the needle point descended, Kalasariz, whose attention had been fixed on his old enemy, saw Safar sheathe his sword. He pulled an object from his cloak that the spymaster couldn't quite make out.
When he raised it to his lips, however, Kalasariz realized it was some sort of horn.
And just as Clayre thrust the needle at Jooli, Safar blew through the horn. The sound blasted through Clayre's cabin as if it were made by some gigantic trumpet.
The Queen Witch gasped in shock as she saw two strange apparitions rise up through the golden tiles.
The figures were vaguely familiar, but she didn't have time to think where she'd seen them before.
Then something was lofted up at her.
Instinctively, she ducked.
And then a great white light flared, blinding everyone in the cabin.
A moment later, when their vision cleared, the living seascape had vanished.
Only a dark smudge on the golden tiles remained to mark the spot where the battle for the
Rhodes whirled to face the witch. His features were swollen and red with anger. He'd seen exactly who those two magical creatures were.
'Dammit, mother,' he roared. 'I told you so! Maybe it's about time you started listening to me!'
Clayre was astounded. 'Why, whatever are you talking about, son?' she asked.
'The mural, mother!' he snarled. 'You said not to worry about it. But by the gods who torment us, it's come back to haunt us again!'
CHAPTER THIRTY
When Safar realized Leiria was gone it was as if his heart had been pierced by an arrow. One of the enormous creatures loomed up, deadly branches slashing in to take him. But he didn't care. In that terrible moment of agony only Leiria mattered.
It was Khysmet who saved him, wheeling about and kicking through all those chattering teeth and thorny tongues to knock the tree beast away.
Coming out of his shock, Safar saw Leiria lying on the deck, desperately cutting and jabbing at the huge creature towering over her. One blood-smeared leg was caught in a slender, snake-like branch and she was being drawn slowly toward the beast's twisted trunk.
Safar kicked Khysmet and they charged forward, only to be hurled back by three other creatures who moved in to block the way.
Hard as he and Khysmet fought, they kept losing ground to the living wall of pain.
Then he saw Jooli vault to Leiria's rescue. As she jabbed at the tree beast with her spear, Leiria slashed away the branch gripping her leg and then the two women joined together to drive the creature off.
It was then that a strange sensation came over him. To Safar it seemed as if he split in two and another part of him-a spirit self-was standing off at a great distance watching the progress of the battle. He could even see himself, astride Khysmet, fighting along with the others.
Although the view was godlike, his emotions were intensely human-frightened that all his friends would soon die unspeakably horrible deaths.
