Obsidian Ridge

Chapter Twenty-Two

Arch Magus Xeries downed the last drop of wine in his goblet and looked out over the edge of his citadel onto Shalane Lake. The moon reflected on the water's surface as it rose-a long, shimmering band of pale yellow light.

He took a deep breath, thinking about what he was about to do. This had been his home, had been the land he wanted to rule alongside his wife. That dream had never come to pass. His disfigurement and the loss of his beloved had ended his hopes for ever becoming king.

Now Xeries stood high above the valley, looking down on what at one time he had most coveted. Would seeing this place in ruins make him happy? Probably not. It wasn't Erlkazar that was withholding from him the thing he now desired.

It was the man who ruled Erlkazar who had everything Xeries wanted.

And that man now needed to be taught a lesson. If there was one thing that Xeries had learned in his long life, it was that threats only worked if you were willing to follow through.

Turning away from the balcony, he stepped down into his private chamber. There, in the middle of the floor, awaited one of his servants. The creature sat like an obedient dog, patiently waiting for his master to give him an order or lavish him with attention.

Unlike the army of slavering, monstrous beasts below the Obsidian Ridge on the valley floor, this creature was more calculating, more refined. Its eyes had an intelligence to them that the others lacked. Where they were indiscriminate killing machines, mercilessly striking anything they were pointed at, unaffected by who or how they killed, this creature understood why it did what it did. It knew whose life it was ending, and it enjoyed the process.

Its sleek frame rippled with ropy muscles underneath taught, shiny black skin. Its limbs ended in razor-like claws that retracted and extended out of its paws at will. Its ears moved around its head, searching its surroundings like a bat. And its mouth could unhinge at the jaw, so it could sink its huge fangs into even larger prey.

Xeries sat down at the opposite side of the room, "Come here, my pet."

The creature obeyed without delay, crossing the floor on all fours. Its soft feet made no noise as they padded across the shiny obsidian. Were it not for the light of the moon coming through the balcony, Xeries may not have seen the beast, blending so well against its dark surroundings.

"You know what it is I want you to do," said Xeries.

The creature nodded its understanding.

"Very good," said the arch magus. "Make sure they know who sent you, and give King Korox my regards."

The beast bowed its head, turned, and bolted across the room. Bounding out onto the balcony, the creature leaped over the edge and disappeared into the night.

Kleegor fumed. "The moon has risen, and still the Matron hasn't turned over the princess." He walked away from the docks, his task of loading Elixir crates finished for the time being.

"You are walking a thin line," replied Talish.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know that look. You're thinking about doing something. Something you're probably going to regret."

"So what if I am?" replied the half-ore. "I'm tired of taking orders and not being part of the plan."

The dark-skinned man shook his head. "You're going to get yourself killed."

The half-ore growled. "The Matron is going to get all of us killed. She's playing with fire, and I don't intend to get burned."

"Then what are you going to do?"

The half-ore smiled a nearly toothless grin. "I'm going to do what it was we should've done a long time ago. I'm going to force the Matron to turn over the princess."

"Don't say it," said Talish as they crossed from the open wharf into the clustered streets penned in by warehouses and shop fronts.

"I'm going to send a little present to the king." Kleegor rubbed his hands together, his glee growing as he envisioned the king lying dead on the floor of Klarsamryn, two assassins standing over him.

"You should reconsider. Maybe just wait and see what happens." Talish grabbed Kleegor's arm. "Please. The Matron warned us, and if you do something against her wishes, then she's going to think I was involved."

The half-ore wheeled on Talish. "Where did your spine

"Shh. Keep your voice down," urged Talish. He looked both ways down the alley, making sure no one was eavesdropping. "I have a spine, but you heard her. She said the king was off limits, and I don't think it's wise to cross her, not now."

The half-ore shoved his companion and walked away. "I don't have time for cowards. I'm going to take matters into my own hands."

"I never would have guessed that you were the Claw," said the horned man, locked in a circling duel with Quinn. "A bodyguard, sure. I can see you throwing yourself before danger to save old Korox. But you didn't strike me as the type who could kill indiscriminately."

"So now you know who I am," replied Quinn. "Time to tell me who you are."

"You really don't know?" The man chuckled. "Then for now, you can call me the demon."

The man lunged, reaching for Quinn's belly with the tip of his sword. The polished steel left a blue-green trail of light as it moved, reflecting the glow of the phosphorescent moss. Quinn rolled to his right, tumbling away from the Strike and coming to his feet behind a stalagmite.

The demon struck again. Quinn ducked, and the exotic sword hit the mineralized stone, shattering the rock and sending it flying silently into a patch of moss.

"That's better!" shouted the horned man, swinging down on Quinn for a third time.

Backed up against the wall of the cave and with no cover nearby, Quinn slapped the blade aside with the flat of his palm. The polished steel bounced away, glancing harmlessly off the leather of Quinn's ruined gauntlet. The demon stumbled forward, thrown off by Quinn's unorthodox defense. He hopped once then lost his balance, crashing chest first into the ruined stalagmite.

Quinn leaped from the corner, raking the demon's arm just below his chain mail with the blades on his left hand, then he darted into the open center of the cave, giving himself more room.

The demon let out a growling scream that rippled the surface of the standing puddles. The arm of his robes was now tattered, and the padded armor underneath had been shredded as well. Narrow lines of blood rose to the surface from the razor-thin slices in his flesh.

Pushing himself upright, the demon came at Quinn, a look of pure hatred in his eyes.

"Now's your chance to die in place of your king!" he shouted.

He swung his sword in a figure eight, back and forth, side to side. The blade picked up speed as he came forward, a hissing wall of sharpened steel, leaving a blue-green tracer behind as it moved.

Quinn backpedaled and nearly tripped on a loose stone. Catching his balance, he reached down and grabbed the rock, nearly the size of a grapefruit. Quickly running out of options, he hurled it at his oncoming adversary. The stone collided with the exotic blade and was cut to shreds, the pieces scattering across the cave like a handful of thrown pebbles.

"Nowhere to go now, eh, Quinn?" the demon taunted, the sweeping motions of his blade filling the cave with sharpened steel.

Quinn backed away even farther, into a deep puddle. His feet sank below the surface, the water rising over the tops of his boot?: Having little else at his disposal, Quinn kicked with all of his might, sending a wave of filthy water up and over the horned man's head.

The muddy liquid collided with the moving sword, sending a good portion of it splashing off like a sideways rain. But unlike the stone, the water was not solid, and most of it continued on, hitting the demon in the face. It filled his eyes and nose, and the horned man coughed and spat, struggling to clear his vision. His blade came to a halt as he was forced to use one hand to wipe away the water.

Quinn dashed past, once again pulling himself out from against the wall. The tight confines of the cave were not the best place for his particular type of fighting, but he had no alternative. Taking advantage of his opponent's temporary blindness, he jabbed at the man's sword hand, trying to disarm him.

But the demon pulled back, saving his hand and keeping his blade.

"Maybe I underestimated you," said the demon.

The filthy water dripped down the demon's face, leaving long grayish-brown streaks on his cheeks, drips falling from the pointed ends of his horns. Wiping the last of it out of his eyes, he gripped his weapon in both hands and took an aggressive stance.

"At one time, I may have grown tired of this game, but"-his lips curled up on one side, revealing his sharpened teeth-"I'm rather enjoying killing you."

A rumbling sound echoed into the cave. It was faint at first, then it grew, getting closer. Soon the chamber filled with a familiar tapping noise, followed by growling, gnashing, and a tremendous hiss. A pair of giant spiders appeared in the mossy glow at the far end of the cave. Behind them, four scaled tentacles, each with the head of a drake, and a dozen eyes on long spindly stalks protruded into the space.

"Clusterfang," whispered Quinn.

The demon frowned. "This is not finished." He clomped away, cloaking himself in the shadows as if he were wrapping them around his body. "You have not even begun to suffer for what you have done to me." Slowly, his frame dissolved into the darkness. By the time his last word had finished its echo, the demon had disappeared entirely.

Quinn turned and ran through the puddles, back to where he had entered the cavern. His feet were soaked, his boots heavy from the water. Behind him he could hear the tapping of the spider's legs as they worked their way over the solid mineral floor.

Dashing toward the narrow passage they had squeezed through, Quinn pulled up short, grabbing hold of a nearby stalagmite to stop his forward momentum.

There in front of him, slipping sideways into the cave the same way he had, was another helmed horror. Its metallic form filled the exit, leaving no room to get by, no room for escape.

Clusterfang had taken over the opposite end of the cave, blocking off the only other way out. The deepspawn's spider minions were climbing the walls. Just watching them scamper, their bulbous bodies gliding on top of those eight spindly legs, made the skin on Quinn's back crawl and his spine itch.

He was trapped, and Evelyne was nowhere to be found.

"I should have known better than to trust her," he muttered, glancing side to side, trying to figure out which beast he wanted to fight first. The spiders were farther away than the horror, but they were coming on fast. Neither was going to be a quick fight.

With a second weapon, maybe he could hold them all at bay. As it stood, he was going to have to try to back himself into a corner and hope he had enough reach.

The spiders were almost on him, and the horror had squeezed itself out of the crack in the wall, closing in.

"Up here! Quick!"

Quinn looked up to see Evelyne's upper body sticking out of a round hole between two stalactites, maybe twice his height off the floor.

She hung down, extending her aims. "Grab my hand. I'll pull you up."

Bending his legs, he leaped into the air just as the first of the spiders arrived. His right hand wrapped around hers, and his left caught the edge of the hole. With surprising speed, Evelyne scampered back into the space in the ceiling of the cave.

Quinn felt the spiders' limbs feebly try to pull him back down. But it was no use. With both hands now on solid stone, the Claw pulled himself up and out of the cavern, tumbling forward into the darkness ahead.