F O U R (22 page)

S  E  V  E  N

when the flamFor an instant, the world blazed bright e was gone it left little m re thand hot, searing Phara

un's skin. However

o  an a tactile memory of  pain. Gaspin

,

g,the wizard took stock of him

self. Except fo

Some combination of the protective ench  r a blister or two, he was all right. antments woven into both his vest and

bearing the insignia of Sorcere, had saved himpiwafwi, his innate drow resistance to hostile magic, and the s from  fatal burns. ilver ring he wore R

yld had drawn Splitter.  An arrow whstreet, and the burly swordsm     izzed down from a rooftop across the

an batted  it out of the air.  A huge flying mount

wheeled overhead, vanishing from  view before Pharaun could get a good look at it.

"Are you all right?" Ryld asked."Just singed a little," Pharaun replied.

"Here are your rogues, not so canny after all.  We'll either have to rise into the air after them or pull them down to the street."

"We'll do neither. Follow me."

"Run?" the weapons master asked, swatting away another arrow.wanted to catch one of them."                 "I thought we

"Just follow ".

Pharaun began moving down the  street,  meanwhile  peering upwar

for his attackers. R                       d,  looking yld scowled but trailed along behind him.

The Master of Sorcere glimpsed a swirling motion from  the corner of his He pivoted. Crouched on the edge of a roof, a spell caster spun his hands  i  eye.

n fluid

m

Gesturing, speaking rapidlyystic passes.       ,  Pharaun rattled off his own incantation. He was racing the other m

age, and he finished his  ma

le                    gic first. Five darts of azure light aped  from  his  fingertips,  shot at  the  spell  caster,  a

From  that distance, he couldn't tell how badly he'd  h nd plunged into his chest. urt his colleague, but at the

least his foe flailed his arms  in pain. The Academician'

spell.                      s attack had disrupted his R

yld knocked another arrow away, and only then did Pharaun realize that this

time,  the  shaft  had  been  hurtling  at  him.  An  instant  later,  a  studded  mace

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War Of The Spider Queen

Book 1

Dissolution

seemingly made of shadow flew out of  nowhere and swung itself at his head.

Splitter flicked over and tapped that manidid, the war club vanished at the great sword'festation. As conjured objects often s touch.

The two m"In here," Pharaun said.asters ran to the arched sandstone door of one of the modest houses

on the street. Pharaun suspected that the tetrouble, and evidently R        nants had locked it at the first sign of

He sim        yld agreed, because he didn't bother trying the handle. ply booted the door and broke the  latch.  The weapons master scrambled

inside.

The front room  of the home was crowded. Pharaun mi

The population of the city had grown considerably since its founding but the ght have expected that.

num

in wherever they could.ber of stalagmite buildings was of  necessity fixed. The poor had to squeeze Thus, an abundance of paupers lived in  the hovel, and a goodly number of them

had gathered in this common space, either  to relax or to dip rothe stew from  the iron caldron on the trestle table. Surprisi

ngly,  the  simple  meal  actually  smelled

appetizing. The aroma made Pharaun's  mouth water and reminded him  that he hadn't dined in several hours.

Ryld brandished Splitter at the occupants of the house with a flashy facility

calculated to quell aggressive im"W            pulses.

The weapons me apologize for the intrusion," Pharaun said.aster glowered at him."That pillar of fire was divine m   "Why are we running?"

a

displaying the silver Sorcere ring and gic,  not arcane." Pharaun lifted his hand, reminding his friend of its power to identify

,  not just protect him  from,  magic. "It's priestesses attacking us. Killing them  would call attention to us, m

ake  the Council even more eager to put a

stop to our inquiry. It might even make  themhow our mission turns out or of what G      want to kill us irrespective of

romph decides ".

Pharaun grinned and added, "I know I promised you glorious mayhem,  but that will have to wait."

Ryld replied, "It's a difficult thing to  sneak away from  foes who hold the high

ground.""I'

m  an inexhaustible font of tricks, haven't you noticed?" Pharaun beamed

at the assembled paupers and said, "How would you all like to assist two

masters of the Academy engaged in a mission  of  vital im

Archm                      portance? I assure you, age Baenre himself will wax giddy with gratitude  when  I inform  him  of

your aid."His audience stared back at him

,  fear  in their eyes. One of the female

commoners produced a bone-handled, granite-headed mallet and threw it. Ryld

caught it and hurled it back. The mathe laborer'            keshift weapon thudded into the center of

s  forehead, and she collapsed.

"W

He waited a beat. "Splendid, then just stould anyone else care to express a reseand still. I assure you, this worvation of any sort?" Pharaun asked. n't hurt."The Master of Sorcere pulled a wisp  of fleece from  a pocket and recited a

n

incantation.  With  a  soft  hissing,  a  wave  of  magical  force  shimmered

the room. When it touched the paupers, they changed, each into a facsi through mile  of

Ryld or Pharaun himself. Only a single child remained unaffected.

"Excellent," said Pharaun. "Now all  you have to do is go outside, at whichpoint, I recom

mend you scatter.  With luck, many, if not all of you, will survive."

"No!" cried one of Ryld's  doubles in  a high, agitated voice. "You can't  make

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War Of The Spider Queen

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Dissolution

us—"

"But we can," said Pharaun. "I can fill the house with a poisonousfriend can start chopping you to pieces.  ... S           vapor, my

o please, be sensible,  go  now.  If

the enemy breaks in here, your chances will be significantly worse ".

They looked sullenly back at him.  He  smiled and shrugged, and Ryld hefted Splitter

.  The commoners began to scurry toward the door.

The  two masters fell in at  the  back  of  the  crowd, prepared to chivvy  folk along

as necessary."Shadows of the Pit," m

urmured Pharaun, "I wasn't  at all sure they would

actually do it. I am  a persuasive devil, aren't  I? It must be m"Decoys aren'

t  a bad idea," said Ryld, "but now that I think of it, why n

y  honest face."

ot just

turn us invisible?"

Pharaun snorted. "Do I tell you which end  of the sword to grip? Invisibility's

too common a trick. I'm  sure our foes are prepared to counter it. Whereas the

illusion may work. It's  one of my  personal, private spells, and we  Mizzrym  are

famously  deft  with  phantasm.  Now,  when  we  get  outside,  don't  lose  track  of  me.

You don't want to go skipping  of

Most of the com      f with the wrong Pharaun."moners had vacated the

steadying him              house. Pharaun drew a deep breath, self, and he and RThe com          yld plunged out into the open.

m

one had attacked any of themoners were scattering as direct. Perhaps, as he'ed. As far as Pharaun could tell, no d  hoped, the enemy was entirelflum                                 y

moxed.

The masters, fleeing like the rest, turned  one corner and another.  Pharaun was

beginning to feel the smugness that comes from  outwitting an adversary when

something rattled and rustled above his  head. He looked up in time for it to

slam  him  in the face and knock him

thick, coarse strands of rope com     down. Dropped from  a fair height, the prising the net struck with the force of a club.Also trapped, R

yld cursed, the language vulgar enough to make the Braerynproud.

Pharaun needed a second to shake off the  shock of the impact, and he realized

his current situation was even more unfortunate than he'd

net, woven in a spider web pattern, was  animate. Scraping his skin, striving to initially thought. The

render  him completely  immobile,  the  heavy  mesh  shifted  and  tightened  around

him.

A foulwing landed on the street. In the saddle sat an otherwise handsome priestess with a scarred face—a Mizzrym

Strangely, she wore a domino mask, and Pharaun suspected he kface, lean, intelligent, and sardonic. new why.Grinning, the female said, "I knew you'd try to trick me with illusions, Pharaun.

That's  why I brought a talis

Though he wasn't  sure she could see it froman of true seeing."m outside the net, Pharaun made  it  apoint to smile back when he said,  "And you were correct. Hello, Gr

eyanna ".

Quenthel was immune to fear. She did  not, could not, panic. Or so she hadalways believed, and in fact, she wasn'

t

bewildered as any ill-wisher could desire. panicking, but she was as desperate and She wasn'

t  certain, but she believed the vipers'  hissing and a bump and clatter

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