The Sapphire Crescent

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Kovrim refused to admit it to anyone but himself, but he was growing fidgety. Xaphira had probably not been gone all that long, but to the priest, it seemed like it had been an eternity. He paced back and forth in the shadows near the mouth of the alley across the street from the Matrell estate, anxious for her to return.

In contrast to him, the soldiers that made up Vambran's platoon within the Sapphire Crescent mercenary company seemed calm and relaxed, though Kovrim knew that it was a technique practiced by many professional mercenaries. Inside, they were probably just as restless and eager to get started as he was.

They just hide it better, Kovrim thought with a wry smile.

For perhaps the tenth time, the priest halted his pacing and crept forward to the very edge, peering around the corner to where the wall of the estate came closest. It was still a good forty paces away on the other side of the street, and it was where Xaphira had climbed over and disappeared into the compound. There was still no sign of her.

Kovrim was just turning to head back into the alley when a soft voice called from above him, "What's wrong? Are you worrying about me?"

The priest nearly jumped out of his skin, but when he realized it was Xaphira, he let out a long, loud sigh and looked up.

The woman was just dropping down from a second-story railing that ran around the entire perimeter of that particular building, front to back. As her feet hit the hard-packed dirt of the alley, she tucked her knees to soften the blow, then came smoothly up again. Kovrim moved closer to her so they could converse quietly.

"Yes, I was beginning to worry about you," the priest admonished. "Allow an old man to fret a bit."

Xaphira chuckled softly.

"It's nice to know someone still cares," she said. "All right, I've reconnoitered the entire perimeter of the place, as well as a couple of potential points farther inside the walls where I think we can get through unhindered. I have an idea of how we can go about getting this brouhaha started, but it requires that we split the troops into two squads."

"I'm listening," Kovrim said, "but let's get the two sergeants involved in this. Their men are the ones on the line here, after all."

The two of them receded into the alley and gathered the officers to them, and Kovrim motioned for Xaphira to begin explaining her plan. When she finished, and they had discussed and adjusted a few minor points, she peered at each one there.

"All right, then," Xaphira said. "Are we in agreement?" Everyone gathered at the discussion nodded in turn. "Then let's get started."

The mercenaries jumped up as soon as the word was given that things were about to start happening. The sergeants quickly had them divided into two equal groups, with each officer commanding one unit. Both sets of soldiers were led to their respective spots, and Xaphira went with first one, then the other, slipping over the wall again to double-check that the locales were all clear, or to take a guard out who might have been too close. That left Kovrim by himself to get through the gates and provide a distraction.

The priest waited for a while, a set time that they had all agreed to beforehand, gauging the passage of time by the moon. He hoped that all of it would work, not just because failure would mean chaos for the soldiers who were trusting their lives to a couple of people they hardly knew, but also for the sake of the Matrells inside. Kovrim tried to imagine how he would feel if he were in Vambran's shoes, or Xaphira's, for that matter. He doubted he would be holding up nearly so well. He had to admire that about them.

Finally, it was time to go. Taking one slow, calming breath, Kovrim prepared a couple of spells that he would use to both capture his foes' attention and protect himself. He walked toward the gates, his talisman of Waukeen in his grasp, and called on the favor of his goddess to ward him from attack. He felt the protective magic settle into place around him just before he reached the gates, which were closed.

A pair of guards stood on the other side, and as they noticed the priest's approach, they leaped to action, coming close to the wide gates and demanding to know who it was.

Kovrim simply smiled and began to weave the second bit of magic he had in store for the men, speaking as he did so.

"On this night, of all nights, we are blessed by the serenity of the moon, and the breeze off the harbor," he said, just rambling, knowing it really didn't matter what he spoke of, so long as he kept up the speech for the duration. He watched the two guards closely to see if they were drawn into the mesmerizing words. They both seemed to be, for they relaxed and settled their gazes on him quietly.

Still speaking, Kovrim reached through and unlatched the gate, opening it just enough to step through. The guards didn't react to that, for they were attentively listening to his speech, which had become a diatribe concerning the evils of hoarding coin and how that held Waukeen's golden age of plenty at bay. Farther up the path, though, someone shouted, and three more guards rushed down toward the gates to see what was going on. As they neared and began to hear the priest's speech, they too stood still to listen. Kovrim smiled as he continued, pleased to see even more of the guards running in his direction.

Emriana made a strangled cry and shook her head vehemently as she heard Denrick's words suggesting that the wizard, Bartimus, might ensorcell her into desiring the man. The thought horrified her, was more terrible to contemplate than the notion of being taken by force. The idea that her free will could be taken from her so that she would give Denrick what he wanted sent her spiraling down into a dark pit of despair.

Denrick noticed the girl's reaction, and he smiled.

"What, don't you think it would be better like that?" he asked Emriana. "At least you'd be fooled into looking forward to it," he added, that wolfish grin growing more feral by the moment. He turned back to the diffident wizard. "Well? Can you do it?"

Bartimus nodded and replied, "I can, but these things are never guaranteed to work, and there are always unintended side-effects. I'm giving you these warnings so that you will be fully aware of them and not blame me later if it doesn't all turn out as wonderfully and romantic as you're envisioning right now. Furthermore, I have to say that-"

"Are you quite done?" Denrick asked, cutting off the babbling man. "I don't want a full lecture on the details. I just want to know if you can do it or not." The wizard simply nodded. "Good, then get on with it."

Emriana sobbed and began to thrash in her bonds again, shaking her head violently back and forth, mmphing through the wad of cloth shoved back in her mouth, pleading with Denrick not to go through with his foul game. The young man simply gestured expectantly toward her while staring down the wizard.

Bartimus walked cautiously over to stand near Emriana, shoved his glasses farther up his nose, and said, "All right; we've got a couple of choices here. I think perhaps… yes, that should do nicely."

Emriana whined plaintively at the man, trying to make him see her side of things, but Bartimus was effectively cowed by Denrick and he totally ignored her, other than to begin the casting.

That's when Emriana began to rock her chair back and forth again. She had been moved farther away from Jaleene so that they couldn't help one another escape again, and the handmaiden had been gagged, too. But Emriana wasn't trying to reach her companion in the hopes of getting her knots untied. She simply wanted to tumble over, fall flat on her back, knock herself unconscious, perhaps. Anything was better than being magically charmed into crawling into bed with Denrick right at that moment.

The girl heaved her weight around, trying to increase the motion. As she got into a rhythm, Denrick came around and grabbed the chair, halting it. Emriana whimpered in absolute disconsolation. Then Denrick slapped her, once, hard enough to cause her to grunt again. He leered at her.

"All right," Bartimus said, "I think I'm ready to begin. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Denrick stepped back from Emriana's chair and replied, "Yes, use your magic to make her drawn irresistibly to me. I want her to desire me and take me willingly to her bed."

Bartimus opened his mouth to begin, but he never got even the first words out, for both his and Denrick's attention were suddenly drawn to something behind Emriana. They were looking in the direction of the doorway leading out to her patio.

The girl turned her head, straining to see behind her, but the chair's angle and high back made it impossible.

"If you don't shut your mouth right now"-it was Vambran-"I'll plant this crossbow bolt right into the middle of it."

Em closed her eyes in relief.

"Damn you!" Denrick cried as Bartimus stammered, mumbled, and backed away. "How the hells did you get past the guards?"

Vambran advanced into the room and into Emriana's view. She could see that he carried a crossbow, which he had leveled at Denrick's chest.

"Hello, Em," Vambran said, giving her a smile, though he never took his eyes off his target. "I came as soon as you called."

Emriana gave her brother a steady stream of joyous, thankful, but incomprehensible gibberish through her gag, though she knew he understood the gist of it.

He made it, she thought, and not a moment too soon.

"Well," Denrick snarled, glancing down at the girl. "You managed to do a little more than untie your hands while I was gone, I guess." He backed away from Vambran, who was slowly closing the gap between the two of them. "And you managed to show up where you weren't wanted all over again," he said to the mercenary. "Just like the other night, when you had to go dashing in to save poor, pathetic Jithelle. You messed everything up!"

"And you're a sad, spoiled little boy who never learned that the world and the people in it don't belong to you just because you're wealthy," Vambran replied. "Now, you're either going to drop down to the floor and plant your face on the tiles, or else I'm going to put this bolt right in your nose. Your choice. What's it going to be?"

In response, Denrick grabbed Bartimus, who had edged over by the merchant's son, and he thrust the wizard between himself and Vambran. Denrick gave Bartimus a good shove to send him careening in the direction of the mercenary then he took the opportunity to dart out the door.

Vambran cursed and stepped forward, apparently intending to chase the fleeing man, but the wizard hindered him just enough that it was obviously a fruitless exercise, and Vambran held up after only a couple more steps.

Instead, he turned back to the wizard and snarled, "Get over there and untie my sister, you lecherous little worm."

Bowing and holding his hands up in front of his face, as though trying to ward off Vambran's anger and the impending bolt that might be fired at him, Bartimus scurried over to where Emriana sat and went to work on the knots.

As soon as one hand was free, Emriana yanked the gag free of her mouth once more and drew in a deep, fresh breath.

"Oh, thank Waukeen you got here when you did!" she gushed, wanting to get up and hug her brother. She grew impatient with the wizard's fumbling fingers and knocked his hands away.

"Go untie her" she ordered Bartimus, pointing toward Jaleene.

The wizard nodded and ran over to comply, leaving Emriana to free herself. The girl finally managed to get the last of the bonds undone, and she leaped up and hugged her brother with every ounce of her strength. She didn't want to let him go.

That's when Jaleene screamed. Emriana released Vambran just in time to see a huge black hound materialize right in front of the chair where the handmaiden was still bound. The beast wasn't quite there, but seemed instead to be made of shadows. Even so, its huge fangs and glowing red eyes were visible enough. The hound, a mastiff, growled low in its throat and reared back to lunge at the helpless Jaleene.

At the same time, Bartimus was waving his hands through the air and murmuring in a low voice. As Vambran reacted, raising his crossbow to fire at the wizard, a blue, shimmering curtain of light formed next to the pudgy man. The curtain parted to reveal a doorway, and Bartimus leaped through it, the crossbow bolt glancing off his cloak. The doorway winked out.

Emriana stared, dumbfounded, as Vambran rushed forward, dragging his sword free of its scabbard in one smooth motion. Just as the shadow hound was about to bite Jaleene, Vambran got between them, slashing down with his blade.

The huge dog howled in pain and leaped away, landing in the corner. It turned to face Vambran, who was closing with it, his sword held defensively in front of himself. Warily, the two of them began to circle one another, the hound snapping and biting at the blade, Vambran feinting and thrusting back.

Emriana ran over to Jaleene, who was trembling. The girl began to work on the knots that still held the woman tightly. After several moments of frantic tugging, she managed to free her companion and pulled her out of the chair.

At that moment, Emriana turned to see her brother lunge at the hound again, drawing thick, black blood. In response, the dog opened its mouth wide and let out an ear-splitting bay that chilled the girl to the bone and made her want to flee right out into the night. She and Jaleene together ran to the opposite side of the room and cowered in the corner, watching Vambran combat this magical creature of shadow.

He didn't seem fazed by the unearthly howl. He slashed down again, cutting a deep furrow into the dog's shoulder, which caused the dog to turn and jump into the shadows, disappearing.

Emriana gasped.

"Gods, what is that thing?" she whispered as Vambran searched for the beast, poking and prodding at the spot where the dog last stood.

"I don't know, but when I catch that wizard again, I'm going to thrash him," her brother responded. "I shouldn't have let my-"

Vambran's words were choked off as he suddenly discovered the shadow dog again. The beast leaped out of the shadows where it had hidden and charged at him, knocking him down.

The lieutenant had to roll to the side to avoid having his throat ripped out by the shadow hound's snapping jaws. He managed to swing his sword around and slice at the creature once more, sending a spray of black blood everywhere. The dog howled in pain and backed off.

Vambran managed to climb to his knees, but before he could stand, the shadow hound charged forward again. That time, though, the mercenary was ready, and when the dog leaped forward, Vambran had his sword positioned perfectly to run it through. The creature gave one last, whimpering howl and sagged down. As it dropped to the floor of Emriana's room, the dog vanished.

"Conjured creature," Vambran explained. "The wizard brought it here with a summoning spell." Then recognition lit in his eyes. "I'll bet he was the one responsible for the leechwalker that jumped us in the warehouse."

Emriana nodded mutely as she continued to stare, wide-eyed, at where the dog had vanished. The baying had unnerved her, and she couldn't shake the sense of panic it had caused, even though she knew Vambran had dispatched it.

"Em," Vambran said, walking over to his sister and pulling her up by one arm so she could stand. "Get dressed. We have to get to the rest of the family. It's time to track down Denrick and pay him back for what he did to you."

Kovrim's voice was growing hoarse, but he dared not stop speaking. He had managed to gather perhaps fifteen or twenty guards around him, all of them except two listening in rapt attention to his speech. The two who'd managed to resist the enthralling influences of his magic had tried to get the priest to stop, first by shouting at him, then by charging forward. But to their surprise, both of the soldiers discovered that they just couldn't bring themselves to attack the man who had enraptured all of their companions. Such was the magic that Kovrim had employed to keep himself protected.

Fortunately, the whole diversion had worked about as well as the priest had hoped. He could already see that the mercenaries had taken the house, and a squad of them was marching down the path toward where he continued to orate on anything that came to mind. He was running out of energy, though. He prayed that the Sapphire Crescents would hurry.

Just about the time Kovrim's voice was giving out, the squad of mercenaries reached the back side of the gathering of house guards. With a sigh of relief, Kovrim finally trailed off, ending the spell. The guards, realizing he was finished, blinked and began to get their bearings again, realizing just how captivated they had become in the priest's mesmerizing words. As they remembered that they were supposed to be preventing intruders from gaining the grounds, more than a few of them grew agitated, and several of them readied their weapons.

It quickly became clear, though, that they had allowed themselves to be tricked, and they were outnumbered and unprepared to battle the mercenaries. The guards surrendered without a fight, making Kovrim's smile even larger. As the Sapphire Crescents relieved guards of their weapons, the priest strolled past them toward Adyan, who had led the "attack" down the hill.

"Easiest engagement I've ever been a part of," the sergeant drawled, giving Kovrim a grin and slap on the back. "We need you on the battlefield more often."

"I was there in my younger days," Kovrim informed the mercenary. "It was only after I grew too old and soft to put up with the hardships of the campaign trail that I retired and took up an administrative position within the temple."

"Well, if you ever decide to un-retire, I'm sure Vambran'd be able to find a gentle horse and a good use for you," the sergeant replied in his easy accent.

Adyan ordered a small detail to mind the prisoners and he, Kovrim, and the rest of the troops moved back up the main path to the house, ready to rejoin the other half of the Sapphire Crescents.

Once they were together with the rest of the troops, the Crescents broke into smaller squads and prepared to move through the house room by room, not sure how strong the resistance would be, but clearly understanding that members of Vambran and Kovrim's family were in potential danger inside. As the Crescents entered the house and fanned out, Kovrim realized for the first time that Xaphira was not with them. He worried for her briefly, but then the priest dismissed such thoughts. The woman had been able to take care of herself for quite a long time, and her skills were formidable, as she had already demonstrated several times in the past couple of days. She was lurking somewhere, ready to spring out when she was most needed, he decided.

The priest accompanied Adyan and two other mercenaries as they moved into the large dining room of the Matrell estate. One of the soldiers had a lantern, but otherwise, the room was dark, which Kovrim found disturbing. Normally, the servants would have lit lanterns and candles to brighten every room in the house, but thus far, the Crescents had found everything dark and silent. The priest was just about to suggest that they move on when a cry rose up from the kitchens, just through the next door, followed by the sounds of battle.

Weapons drawn, the mercenaries rushed through the portal. Kovrim was in the rear, but he saw that another group of Crescents had stumbled onto a contingent of house guards who were accompanying two other men moving through the kitchen, perhaps to sneak out the back way onto the grounds. The guards engaged the mercenaries, leaving their charges to retreat to safety.

"Don't let them escape!" Kovrim called out, and a pair of Crescents pushed through the swirling fight to pursue the men.

Kovrim picked his way more carefully, dodging a sword swipe in the process, and finally reached the door that led out onto the tiled patio off the kitchen. The two soldiers were facing off against one of the men, whom Kovrim recognized as Grozier Talricci. The other man, a somewhat shorter, flabby fellow, cowered behind Grozier, watching the whole skirmish through a pair of spectacles that were slipping off his nose.

Suddenly, the timorous fellow reached into a pocket and drew forth a handful of something that Kovrim couldn't see. He knew well enough that he was watching arcane magic, though, and tried to shout a warning. The paunchy wizard was too quick. He popped something in his mouth, casting his spell before the priest could make the mercenaries aware of the danger. Rearing back, the wizard suddenly belched forth a spray of something, thoroughly covering one of the two mercenaries in the liquid. The man began to scream and claw at his own body, and Kovrim watched in horror as the substance, obviously some sort of acid, began to burn him.

Without thinking about it, Kovrim darted across and approached the man, who was down on the tiles, rolling in misery, his clothing half-burned away and his flesh covered in open sores and smoking. The priest grasped his talisman of Waukeen and knelt beside the anguished mercenary, praying to the goddess for the power of healing. Heedless of his own danger, Kovrim placed his hand upon the burned man's chest and let the healing energy flow. The spell didn't completely counteract the effects of the acid, but it was enough to ease the mercenary's pain and keep him breathing.

A commotion right behind him drew Kovrim's attention once he was finished applying his divine magic, and he realized that he was right in the wizard's line of sight. The priest dived across the body of the now-unconscious soldier, hoping to buy himself a moment or two to recover his wits and defend himself. As he tumbled across the tiles and turned back to face whatever danger might be coming toward him, Kovrim was relieved to see that several more Crescents had arrived and were quickly surrounding the wizard.

"Watch it!" Kovrim warned. "He's spraying acid from his mouth!"

One of the mercenaries gave the priest a funny look, but the wizard didn't attempt his deadly trick again. In truth, Kovrim had doubted it could be done more than once per use of the spell, but he didn't want to take any chances.

"Bartimus!" Grozier shouted when it was obvious the two were quickly being overmatched. "Get us out of here!"

The wizard simply shook his head and held his hands up, indicating that he was out of ideas and would no longer resist. With a resentful snarl, Grozier threw his weapon to the side and surrendered, too. The mercenaries quickly kicked the weapons clear and forcibly took hold of the two men, some patting them down for hidden weapons, others pulling bits of rope out of belt pouches and restraining their prisoners.

Kovrim approached the head of House Talricci.

"How did it come to this, Grozier?" the priest asked. "The murder of innocent people, just for the sake of profit? Waukeen has her limits, you know."

The other man simply glared at him.

Vambran crouched at the corner of the hallway, listening. Behind him, Emriana made no sounds as she hovered, waiting to see what her brother was going to do. Jaleene had been sent to find the other servants and get out of the house, if she could. The woman had not wanted to be separated from her charge, apparently still fearing for the girl's well-being, but Emriana had insisted. Vambran was thankful for his sister's courage. He wanted her with him, both so that he could keep an eye on her and so that she could be there when Denrick went down. But having her personal maid along would have been too much. Jaleene was a kind woman and cared very much for Emriana, but the servant was in no condition mentally to resolve the situation, and it was better off for all of them if she got out of the middle of it. She had left with one last teary-eyed look back at Emriana.

The house was strangely empty, which worried Vambran more than a little. Even when many of the family members were not at home, he could recall numerous staff and the occasional house guard moving about, taking care of their appointed duties. At that moment, it was like a tomb. He did not care much for that analogy. He tried to consider where Uncle Dregaul might have taken the rest of the family if he intended to usurp total control of the house. Most likely, they would be confined to their rooms, but he had not found any of them there. It was possible, though unlikely, that his uncle had sent the lot of them down into the basement to be locked in the old cell that had been built. Vambran didn't want to consider that a viable possibility until he had exhausted all the others, though. It was simply too base for him to believe.

Then again, he told himself, Dregaul has lost his faculties.

Vambran still had a hard time believing that the man would stoop to taking his own family hostage and offering up his niece's flesh for the sake of an alliance in order to run the House the way he wanted. Dregaul had always been an intense man, but that just seemed too out of character.

When Vambran was satisfied there was no one in the main sitting room, he crept forward. He could barely discern Emriana padding along behind him. Vambran considered whether he should check the basements after all. The only places in the main part of the house he hadn't yet searched were there, the kitchens, and Dregaul's study.

He would leave the basement for last, the mercenary decided. He had to deny that choice for as long as possible. The study it was, then. He turned to follow a new hallway to a flight of stairs that led up to a balcony surrounding the sitting room. That's when he heard the shouting.

It was muffled, coming from behind a closed door, but it was clear enough to make out that someone was arguing vehemently in the study. Vambran nodded to himself in satisfaction and turned to his sister.

"They're up there," he whispered, pointing toward his uncle's sanctuary. "I don't know who all is there, but I can hear arguing."

"Then let's go " the girl replied.

"Not so fast," Vambran said, holding up one hand to stay her. "The study opens onto the atrium, right?" Emriana nodded. "You think you can get up there?" She nodded again. "Then let's come at them from two directions. We've got the element of surprise here. Let's take advantage of it."

Emriana leaned over and kissed Vambran once on the cheek and whispered, "Thanks for trusting me to help you. I'll wait for some sort of signal before I go in."

She slipped off down the hall to head to another part of the house, where stairs could get her to the next floor above the study.

Vambran turned his attention back to the closed door. The shouting had subsided for the moment, and he knew that he should wait for a little while to give Emriana some time to get into position, but he just couldn't. He had to find out if his family was all right, and he had to confront his uncle.

Peering around once more to make sure he wasn't missing someone hiding nearby, watching him, Vambran stepped out and began to work his way through the sitting room, heading for the spiral staircase on the far side that would take him to the balcony overhead. The doors to the study opened onto that balcony. Then, on impulse, the lieutenant tried to step high, seeing if he could still walk on air. He could. He angled himself upward and began to climb through the sitting room, heading up and directly toward the study doors. He ascended all the way over the banister of the balcony and settled to the tiles. Just as he was about to crouch near the portal for a listen, the doors opened and Denrick stormed out, a sword belted to his hip.

The younger man had his back turned to Vambran at the moment, and the lieutenant could have easily gotten a quick and surprising strike in, had he wanted to, but it was what he saw just beyond the man, over his shoulder, that stayed the mercenary's hand. Anista Pharaboldi was lying across the large table in the center of the room, a dagger jutting up from her chest. She didn't move, and her eyes, still open, were glazed over as they stared up toward the ceiling. Beside her, Dregaul Matrell was in a similar pose. Vambran's gasp gave him away.

Denrick spun around then, and when he saw Vambran standing there, a malevolent grin spread across his face. "Your uncle was easy, but I thought you'd be more difficult to kill. I guess I don't have to hunt you down in order to finally do it, after all," he said, pulling his blade free and settling into a fighting stance. "I'll finish you off, first, then find that wildcat of a sister of yours and finish what you interrupted."

Vambran unsheathed his own weapon.

"Not a chance," he said.