Annihilation (The War of the Spider Queen series Book 5) by Philip Athans

Author:Philip Athans [Athans, Philip]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780786956692
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Publishing
Published: 2010-03-18T00:00:00+00:00

Danifae stood up slowly. Quenthel wasn’t looking at her, but it was clear from her body language that the high priestess had finished speaking.

Danifae thought through the revelation quickly but thoroughly.

It didn’t matter. It didn’t change anything.

She turned, scanning the deck as she did so. The others had gone back to what they were doing. Each of them was undoubtedly going over in his own mind what Quenthel had said. She turned her back to them and stared at Jeggred. When the draegloth finally looked at her, she signaled him in sign language, careful to keep her hands close to her so the others wouldn’t see.

It is time, she told him.

The draegloth nodded and glanced meaningfully at the tattered sails of human skin that sagged listlessly in the still air. Danifae nodded and began to ease her way across the deck.

It took them both several minutes to maneuver themselves behind the sail without making it obvious they were hiding.

When they were safely out of sight, Jeggred signed, Where are we going, Mistress?

Danifae smiled and replied, Hunting.

The draegloth’s lips twisted into a fierce smile. The half-demon looked hungry.

Danifae stepped closer to him. She could see him stiffen, stand straight—almost at attention. The former battle-captive stepped closer still and wrapped one arm around the half-demon’s huge waist. Jeggred’s gray fur was warm to the touch and a little bit oily. He was surprisingly soft.

Danifae concentrated on the ring she’d taken from Zinnirit, and in the blink of an eye they were in Sschindylryn.

Jeggred took a deep breath and looked around at the dark interior of the gatehouse.

“Where are we?” he asked.

Danifae took his hand and led him to one of the gates. Not answering his question, she busied herself with the gate itself, activating it first, then tuning the location to the agreed-on meeting place. The portal blazed to life in an almost blinding torrent of violet light. Still holding Jeggred’s hand, she stepped through. The draegloth didn’t hesitate to follow, and they stepped out into a dimly lit ruin.

Even if Danifae didn’t know exactly where they were she would have known they were on the World Above. The lighting was strange, a different color than anything found in the Underdark. The walls were made of mud bricks—very old, crumbling. Vines and moss grew in the cracks between the bricks, twisting in and out of every crevice, crawling up every wall, and matting the floor, eating away at the structure the way plants did on the World Above.

“It smells strange here,” Jeggred grumbled. “What is this place?”

Danifae looked around to get her bearings. The dull gray light seeped in through dozens if not hundreds of cracks and holes in the decaying walls. On one side of the room a set of uneven steps led up to a floor above. On the other side was a similar staircase leading down. Danifae started up the stairs to the higher room, and Jeggred followed her.

“This was once a temple to the orcs’ foul, grunting pig-god,” she explained.

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