Sevenfold Sword: Serpent by Jonathan Moeller

Author:Jonathan Moeller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-09-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: Poisons

“He said what?” said Ridmark, incredulous.

Selene shrugged. “It was either a very noble or a very stupid thing to do. I suppose we shall find out which soon enough.”

Ridmark stood in one of the terrace gardens of Angashalis’s palace, the noon sun overhead. The trees of the garden offered a pleasant shade, though it was still a hot and sticky day. Calliande stood next to Ridmark, frowning at Selene, and Third, Tamlin, Tamara, and Magatai waited nearby. Magatai was tending to Northwind, checking her claws for a fungus that could afflict struthians when they traveled through the Serpent Marshes.

“I suppose we shall,” said Ridmark at last, fighting down his temper. He supposed it was irrational for him to get angry. Though he had come a very long way to rescue Krastikon and Kalussa and Calem, and for Krastikon to refuse to escape when he had the chance…

“It is noble, I think,” said Calliande. “He will not abandon his countrymen to their fate.”

“That,” said Tamlin, “and he’s right. If he can get the gladiators of Trojas to follow him, we will need their help when it comes to battle.”

Tamara frowned at her husband. “You think we’ll have no choice but to fight?”

“Aye,” said Tamlin. “Tycharon knows perfectly well that he has our friends and the two Swords. He was lying about it.” There was more anger than usual in his voice. Given that Tamlin had once been a slave and a gladiator himself, Ridmark could see why the younger man was so angry. “He lied to the Circles, and once they find out about it, he’s finished in Najaris. I wager he’s planning to flee Najaris with the Sword of Death and set himself up someplace as a new Necromancer.”

“Magatai agrees with Sir Tamlin,” said Magatai. He removed something from between Northwind’s toes, grunted in satisfaction, and tossed it aside. “Tycharon is an evil wizard, and evil wizards always overreach in the end. The lore of the Windcallers is full of such accounts. He will be no more able to resist the Swords than a dog could resist a piece of raw meat thrown on the ground before him.”

“I think Magatai is right,” said Selene. “This will end in a fight.”

Ridmark nodded. He had hoped that the Circle of Lords could compel Tycharon to surrender his prizes, but that seemed unlikely. “Then the only question is where and when. We need a time and a place advantageous to us.”

Tamara frowned. “Could we not just storm Tycharon’s palace?”

“We could,” said Third, “but that would turn the xiatami against us. We would have to fight our way out of the city.”

“Which may not be possible,” said Tamlin.

“No,” said Ridmark. “It wouldn’t be. We could kill many xiatami before we are overcome, but we would be slain. If we must defy the Circle of Lords, better we do it unnoticed and escape before they realize we have defied them.” He thought it over. “And since we know where Krastikon is, we can use that to our advantage.

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