Part 20 (1/2)

She remained slumped. And quiet. But after a moment or three, she gave out with a deep sigh and a shudder. ”All right. What he wore was a vision.”

”Hah?”

”A vision of h.e.l.l.”

A short bark of laughter came from Terrin across the room. Whatever he was doing in the pavilion had Shankey riveted.

”A vision of h.e.l.l? Little more info, please.” ”I saw it once in my mirror.” Another wave, vaguely at Terrin and presumably his previous s.h.i.+rt.

”There's a lot of weird s.h.i.+t going on around here,” Terrin put in.

Like I hadn't noticed. I turned to Filima. ”And that's what set you off?”

”I had to find out if he was a Darkside creature, so I tried scrying to find out about him. Nothing came through, just blackness, like a horrible gaping, hungry maw. . . .”

”Look, I know Terrin's hard to get used to, but he's hardly-”

He poked his head out, peering past Shankey. ”It's like a football game, Myhr. She thought she was sitting all safe in the home bleachers, then she sees my s.h.i.+rt and thinks I'm a spy for the other team.”

”The other team? There'steams ?”

”Yeah. And the other guys are pretty tough.”

”The h.e.l.l-river?”

”I dunno yet. But Filima does.”

”No I don't!”

He threw a sour, cranky look. ”Oh, hush,” he told her.

Surprisingly, she did.

He retreated inside and I heard a low humming, not the kind of sound that comes from a human throat.

Filima noticed it, too, and froze. My ears twitched and flattened, ditto for my lip whiskers. Magic stuff, fairly heavy-duty. It went on for about a minute, rising in force, then falling to nothing.

Shankey backed his way out of the pavilion, his mouth open. ”You should haveseen what he did,” he said. ”He went all glowy and there were these black specks whirling around like snow and they went rightinto him! That was magic, wasn't it?”

”Terrin?” I called. ”What's going on?”

He emerged, his ruddy color nearly restored. ”Just recharging my batteries. There was energy in there, not a lot, but it might get me through this mess. Jeez, it's dark. Somebody put on a light.”

Shankey reached into the pavilion and came out with a table candle, using it to light others in the room.

He looked excited. ”Wasn't that magic? Someone tell me if that was magic. Was that magic?”

”You got it,” I said agreeably. Filima by candlelight was absolutely devastating. I got the ma.s.sage thing going in earnest. A cat can dream, can't he? Her mind wasn't on me, though-she wasn't moaning like before-instead she stared out the windows, her shoulders bunching up under my hands.

She pointed. ”Oh, gawds, here it is again.”

We all looked. The streets and ways of the city below had movement, not of people, but of a black,slowly undulating ma.s.s. It seemed solid and wispy all at once, growing out of nothing all over, all at the same time. In a very short while the city was choked with it to a depth of about head height.

”What's that?” I asked, pointing higher.

On the roof of one of the taller buildings were several small bobbing lights. As my eyes got used to the darkness I saw they were lanterns in the hands of people s.h.i.+fting nervously about.

”They're the overduke's volunteers,” Filima answered. ”Those few remaining Talents are in s.h.i.+elded sanctuaries keeping watch on the river. They've not asked me to help yet because of the mourning period for Botello's death or else I'd be with them, too.”

”You need to be here,” said Terrin. ”It's time for show-and-tell, and you're up first.”

But none of us could tear away from the window, not even Terrin. His head was c.o.c.ked and slightly tilted back, upper lip curled just enough to show his teeth, eyes half shut. He seemed about to have a sneezing fit. That told me he was using his inner sight on the river. With it he could see things invisible to most others. I had some of that ability as well, but since it's a normal part of me I don't have to concentrate to make it work.

Shankey, however, was frustrated. ”I don't see a d.a.m.n thing,” he complained.

”That's the idea,” said Terrin in a distant voice. ”Trust me, it's out there.”

Out there and then some. The black fog b.u.t.ted right up against the front gates of the grounds. It should have been able to ooze through the wrought iron, but didn't, apparently held in check by the house's s.h.i.+elds.

”Do the magical protections extend as far as the stables?” I asked.

Filima nodded absently, still staring. She had a lost, frightened look that made me want to gather her in close and go all cave-cat on her.

Notthe time or place. Dammit. ”Gang . . . I think we should have a tour of the dungeon.”

Elsewhere, at the Overduke's Palace Botello liked the palace dining room; it had the only true grandeur in the whole wretched city. The ceilings were overwhelmingly high, and like the walls, heavy with ornate decorations and gold leaf. The vast table and its many chairs were on the same scale. This level of luxury should have engulfed the three people seated at one lonely end, but those three were extraordinary enough in themselves to suit their surroundings.

Overduke Anton, tall and spare in black discreetly trimmed in silver, could fill a room all on his own. He had the presence needed for his office, a rare kind of stillness that commanded attention. By his remaining in one place the world had to necessarily move around him; however, he possessed enough charm so as not to be annoying about it.

Seated to his left was Lord Cadmus Burkus, considered to be the most handsome man in the province.His looks, combined with a certain flippant wit and a mastery of the physical skills of hunting, swordplay, and horsemans.h.i.+p, made him an essential guest at all the fas.h.i.+onable parties.

Then there was Velma, a quite devastatingly beautiful young woman, come from the humble origins of a traveling circus. A dancer, of course. She'd met Anton at one of the Darmo House parties, invited there by her old friend, Lady Filima.

Botello suppressed a growl of displeasure at the thought of his treacherous wife. He also brutally suppressed a violent surge of resentment and fear emanating from the mind-imprisoned Cadmus. So, the fopdid have real feelings for the b.i.t.c.h. Serve him right if he ever got her.

”Does the strawberry sauce not agree with you, Lord Cadmus?” asked Velma, noticing his expression.

”It's delicious,” he countered. ”I'm just a touch distracted by this h.e.l.l-river puzzle.”

”I've not heard it defined as a puzzle before,” said Anton. ”Have you learned something new about it?”

Until now the topic of the river had not been broached. On purpose, Botello thought, so as not to spoil the dinner, but that suited him. How good it was to eat real food again, even when in another's body. It had cost him some effort of will not to bolt everything down like a starving farmhand. He was bodily sated, but on the astral level still ravenous. That would soon be remedied.

”Sadly not, my lord,” he replied. ”I've been busy with study, but it remains an enigma to me.”

”What about your portal theory?”

Portal? What had that idiot Cadmus revealed? ”I'm still investigating that area. Nothing of significance has presented itself.”