Spider and Stone

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ILTKAZAR, THE UNDERDARK

22 UKTAR

Icelin experienced several emotions at once when she stepped into King Mith Barak’s library. Foremost was awe, at the sheer size of the chamber, the vaulted ceilings, the rugs and furniture arranged around the room. A large table took up most of the space in the center of the room, but smaller, more inviting tables and chairs occupied the corners, arranged near a set of books resting under glass on marble pedestals.

She’d been expecting a dark cell, or some other confined space where prisoners were interrogated, but this …

When she gazed at the books on the walls, Icelin grew lightheaded. The smell of old parchment filled her nose, and she fell into the scent as if into the arms of an old friend. She’d always loved books, but the volumes of knowledge contained in this room eclipsed anything she’d ever seen in the bookshops of Waterdeep.

Standing in the middle of it all, one arm leaned against the mantle of a huge marble fireplace, was the drow.

He looked up from a book he held in his hands and met her gaze. For a breath, Icelin made no reaction at all. The drow’s presence was so out of place in the warm, inviting room, she thought he couldn’t be real.

“What game is this?” the drow said.

Icelin jolted in surprise. The drow had spoken in Common. His melodic voice was full of wary indignation.

“They’re my guests,” Mith Barak said. He nodded at Icelin. “She’s here for the same reason you are, Zollgarza. I told her you’d behave yourself.” He made a gesture, and a pair of guards strode into the room, taking up positions near the door.

“You send a child to interrogate me now?” Zollgarza sneered. “Am I expected to roast the girl over the fire and devour her flesh to satiate some unholy appetite?” He flashed a lascivious grin at Icelin. “No, she has barely enough flesh to make a meal. Still, there are other pleasures she might supply, for a tenday at least, before I tire of her.”

Ruen reached for his dagger. The king stepped forward, and despite his shorter stature, he more than compensated with his bulk to block Ruen’s path.

“He won’t touch her,” the king said. “You have my word. And the lady is not without her own protections. Don’t mind him,” he said, this time addressing Icelin. “I’m the one he wants to kill. He’s bitter because he missed his chance. Aren’t you, Zollgarza?”

This time the drow actually smiled. “How much easier my task might have been, had I found you in the form of a statue. Were those simply legends, King-mad tales spun by your followers? Do your guests know what rumors your own people whisper about you?”

Icelin glanced at Mith Barak, but the king’s face had gone cold, his silver eyes devoid of expression or apparent feeling. “Beyond the guards, there are protections in this room-older than any of the tomes-that will activate if the drow tries to attack. No, the only thing you have to fear from this one is his tongue,” Mith Barak said. “There is no greater weapon, no more lethal poison. He will try to break you with nothing more than words, and he has succeeded on many hapless souls in the past, I’ve no doubt. Take care and do not heed him.”

Slowly, Ruen sheathed his dagger and turned to Icelin. “Are you sure you want to speak to this thing?” he asked in a low voice. “I tell you again, it will do no good. You’ll regret it.”

Icelin hesitated. “What did you mean when you said he and I are here for the same reason?” she asked Mith Barak.

“The sphere,” the king said. “It has hidden itself somewhere in this library. Zollgarza seeks it, too, so I’ve decided to let both of you look for it, though I have a feeling it will reveal itself to the lady first.”

“You mean you don’t know where it is?” Icelin couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But how will I find it? I don’t even know where to begin to look.”

“If you prove worthy, it will find you,” Mith Barak said, as if it were that simple.

Icelin knew she shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d sensed the king was hiding something. Now her task seemed twice as impossible as before. “I need to speak with Ruen privately,” she told the king.

Mith Barak nodded. “Take your time,” he said.

“I like nothing about this,” Icelin began when they were back outside in the plaza.

“Neither do I,” Ruen said. “For whatever reason, Mith Barak thinks you will be able to find the sphere.” He scowled. “One thing I’m sure of, if that drow dies under the Silver Fire, I for one won’t shed any tears for him.”

“Nor will any of the dwarves,” Icelin said, hugging herself to ward off the chill of the cavern. How easy it would be to justify the action if she let herself. No one would blame her this time. No one would mourn the loss of a drow who’d already taken dwarf lives and would take more if given the opportunity. “But it feels wrong.”

“You’ve always had a soft heart,” Ruen said.

“One of my greatest faults,” Icelin said, growing serious. “It’s not just for the sphere itself that I’m considering this.” She paused, gathering her courage. “I need to know something, Ruen.”

“Say it.”

Now or never, Icelin thought. “If we get the sphere and it does what we hope it will do for me, is there a chance for us?” Icelin said. She rushed on. “These last months we’ve spent traveling together, I’ve become more and more certain.” Icelin clutched her arms against her stomach, feeling that if she didn’t protect herself, she might not be able to speak further. “I cover it with jests and insults, but you know-you have to know-that I … care about you.”

“I do,” Ruen said, each word sounding forced. “I don’t understand why. I’m nearly twice your age, I’m not kind or gentle, and I’ve killed people with my bare hands. Death is in everything I touch. No one should want that.”

“There’s nothing I can do about your great age,” Icelin said, a strained smile twisting her features, “or your temperament. I don’t care about what you’ve done, or your spellscar-”

“It changes nothing,” Ruen interrupted. “I can’t give you what you want.”

“I see.” A sudden sense of disconnectedness took hold of Icelin, as if the whole conversation were happening to someone else. It wasn’t his spellscar that kept him from her. He didn’t return her feelings. That was all. “Thank you for telling me. I won’t have to wonder now.” Her voice was unrecognizable to even herself. “I’ll search for the sphere while you and Sull aid the dwarves however you can.”

Ruen shook his head. “I’m not going to leave you in that room with a drow.”

“Mith Barak’s guards will be there if anything happens,” Icelin said. “If I’m going to accept the king’s bargain, I need to speak to him, and I need to do it alone. In the meantime, please take care of yourself, and Sull. I couldn’t … I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

She walked away without another word. Stiff steps carried her across the plaza, and all the while, the contents of her stomach threatened to come up, but considering everything, it had been a clean break. Perhaps she’d spoken coldly, but he’d have to forgive her for that. Allowing in any more emotion would have torn out her heart.

When she was back in the hallway, just outside the library door, alone, she slid to her knees, covered her face with her hands, and let out two quick, dry sobs. That was all. Then she stood up, opened the library door, and stepped inside.