Weapon of Mercy by Chris A. Jackson & Anne L. McMillen-Jackson

Author:Chris A. Jackson & Anne L. McMillen-Jackson [Jackson, Chris A. & McMillen-Jackson, Anne L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Jaxbooks
Published: 2017-08-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter XII

Shadow coalesced into flesh in the darkest corner of the sultan’s audience chamber. Staggered by pain, Hoseph leaned against the wall and dabbed his diminishing vial of elixir onto his tongue. The agony behind his eyes eased...but didn’t quite vanish. He took a couple more drops. So much travel through the Sphere of Shadow in one day while transporting others was taking its toll, but there was yet work to be done.

The audience chamber was blissfully empty at this late hour; the palace slept, save for a few guards standing their posts or patrolling the hallways. Hoseph crept past the dais onto the wide balcony and peered over the balustrade.

The sleeping city of Tolnyek spread out below him, fetid and reeking in its decay. Beyond loomed the black mass of jungle, a ceaseless, verdant predator fighting to claim the city. Just as ceaselessly, the Morrgrey people fought back, a testament to their strength and stubbornness. It was a fight they would eventually lose. However, like a great wounded beast, the kingdom was yet dangerous, and Hoseph needed it to fight one last battle before it died.

The priest leaned back on the balustrade and looked up at the massive tiered pyramid of the palace. A gilded crest gleamed in the moonlight, four colorful spires at the cardinal points thrusting like lances toward the heavens. Somewhere in this vast structure slept the sultan. Unfortunately, all Hoseph had been able to tease out of the ambassador was that the royal family occupied an entire upper floor. Of course, that family included the sultan’s ten wives and a multitude of children.

Like looking for a needle in a haystack...blindfolded. But where to start looking?

Hoseph climbed up onto the balustrade, clinging to the awning’s corner post, and leaned out for a better view. The sultan’s personal bedchamber would undoubtedly sport a balcony, and would command a view. Start from the top... Picking the highest balcony he could clearly see, he invoked his talisman and slipped through the Sphere of Shadow. Blinding pain assaulted his skull and he staggered against the balustrade. A quick dose of elixir quelled the distress, but warmth tickled his upper lip, and his hand came away bloody.

Blast! Pressing a kerchief to his nose, he considered another dose of elixir, but when he held the vial up to the moonlight, it shone only a quarter full. Best ration it. Hoseph tucked the vial away and crept forward. Beyond the fluttering drapes were only the low divans, chairs, and tables of a sitting room, none sufficient to accommodate the sultan’s bulk. There was nothing to do but keep searching.

Six balconies and six transitions through the Sphere of Shadow later, Hoseph collapsed to hands and knees, pressing his forehead against the cool stone while blood trickled from his nose. He had once cut a crossbow bolt from his hipbone, but never had he experienced agony like this. Sweet Keeper of the Slain! With trembling hands, he dabbed the elixir on his tongue, fighting the urge to upend the vial over his mouth and quaff the whole thing.

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