Siege of Darkness by R.A. Salvatore

Author:R.A. Salvatore [Ismeretlen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Drizzt Do'Urden (Fictitious character), General, Fiction, Science Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Forgotten Realms (Imaginary Place), Fantasy & Magic, Epic, Elves, Fantasy Fiction
ISBN: 9780786948697
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2008-06-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

THE THIRD HOUSE

It wasn’t that Jarlaxle, who always thought ahead of others, hadn’t been expecting the visit, it was simply the ease with which K’yorl Odran entered his camp, slipped past his guards and walked right through the wall of his private chambers, that so unnerved him. He saw her ghostly outline enter and fought hard to compose himself as she became more substantial and more threatening.

“I had expected you would come many days ago,” Jarlaxle said calmly.

“Is this the proper greeting for a matron mother?” K’yorl asked. Jarlaxle almost laughed, until he considered the female’s stance. Too at ease, he decided, too ready to punish, even to kill. K’yorl did not understand the value of Bregan D’aerthe, apparently, and that left Jarlaxle, the master of bluff and the player of intrigue, at somewhat of a disadvantage.

He came up from his comfortable chair, stepped out from behind his desk, and gave a low bow, pulling his wide-brimmed and outrageously plumed hat from his head and sweeping it across the floor. “My greetings, K’yorl Odran, Matron Mother of House

Oblodra, Third House of Menzoberranzan. Not often has my humble home been so graced… “

“Enough,” K’yorl spat, and Jarlaxle came up and replaced the hat. Never taking his gaze from the female, never blinking, the mercenary went back to his chair and flopped down comfortably, putting both his boots atop his desk with a resounding slam.

It was then Jarlaxle felt the intrusion into his mind, a deeply unsettling probe into his thoughts. He quickly dismissed his many curses at the failure of conventional magic-usually his enchanted eye patch would have protected him from such a mental intrusion- and used his wits instead. He focused his gaze on K’yorl, pictured her with her clothes off, and filled his mind with thoughts so base that the matron mother, in the midst of serious business, lost all patience.

“I could have the skin flailed from your bones for such thoughts,” K’yorl informed him.

“Such thoughts?” Jarlaxle said as though he had been wounded. “Surely you are not intruding on my mind, Matron K’yorl! Though I am but a male, such practices are surely frowned on. Lloth would not be pleased. “

“Damn Lloth,” K’yorl growled, and Jarlaxle was stunned that she had put it so clearly, so bluntly. Of course everyone knew that House Oblodra was not the most religious of drow houses, but the Oblodrans had always kept at least the pretense of piety.

K’yorl tapped her temple, her features stern. “If Lloth was worthy of my praise, then she would have recognized the truth of power,” the matron mother explained. “It is the mind that separates us from our lessers, the mind that should determine order. “

Jarlaxle offered no response. He had no desire to get into this argument with so dangerous and unpredictable a foe.

K’yorl did not press the point, but simply waved her hand as if throwing it all away. She was frustrated, Jarlaxle could see, and in this one frustration equated with danger.

“It is beyond the Spider Queen now,” K’yorl said.

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.