06 Into the Labyrinth by Weis & Hickman

Author:Weis & Hickman [Weis & Hickman]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-04-10T22:57:39.318000+00:00

"Perhaps this task is too difficult for you, Marit. I have sent Sang-drax to deal with Haplo. Where are you?"

Marit blushed again, hotly, at the memory of her shame-filled reply. "In a Sartan prison, Lord."

"A Sartan prison! Are you certain?"

"All I know, Lord, is that I am in a white room covered with Sartan runes and there is no way out. A Sartan is here, keeping guard on us. He is the one you described, Lord, the one known as Alfred. A friend of Haplo's. This Alfred was the one who brought us here. Our ship was destroyed on Chelestra."

"The two are in this together, undoubtedly. Tell me what happened." She told him: the strange weapon with the Sartan runes, the tytan, the waters of Chelestra, the steering stone in her hands, the dragon-snakes.

"We were brought here, Lord--by the Sartan."

"He brought you? How?"

"He... he put his foot in the gate. That's the only way I can describe it.

"I remember the water rising; the ship was breaking apart, our magic failing. I took hold of the steering stone. It was still dry, its magic still working. Images of the worlds flashed before my mind. I grasped the first I saw and clung to it and Death's Gate opened for me. Then the water was washing over me, drowning me, drowning the magic. The gate began to close. The ship began sliding beneath the water; the dragon-snakes were coiled around it.

"A serpent head smashed through the wood, dove straight for Haplo, I reached out, caught hold of him, and dragged him out of the creature's jaws. The horrible red eyes swiveled until they found me. The gate was closing fast, too fast for me to stop it. And then the gate stuck about halfway, as if something had jammed it open.

"A bright light shone on me. Silhouetted against the light was the figure of a stooped and gangling man, who was peering at us worriedly. He reached out his hands to Haplo. I hung on to him and I was pulled through the gate. Just as it began to shut again, I fell and kept on falling."

There had been something else, but it was a vague shadow, on the fringes of her consciousness, and so she did not think it proper to mention it to Xar. It was unimportant anyway. Nothing more than a voice--a kindly voice-- saying to her, "There now, I've got him. He's safe. You can let go." She remembered being relieved of a dragging weight and of sinking thankfully into sleep.

"What is the Sartan doing to you?"

"Nothing, Lord. He comes and goes like a thief, creeping in and out of the room. He refuses to look at me or talk to me. The Sartan's only concern is for Haplo. And no, Lord, I have not spoken to the Sartan. Nor will I give him the satisfaction!"

"True. It would make you look weak, vulnerable. What is this Alfred like?"

"A mouse. A scared rabbit. But I assume this is only his disguise, Lord, intended to lull me into a false sense of security.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.