Page 19 (1/2)

A single chair dominated the floor; it sat atop a raised dais and was flanked by tall, iron statues of fierce warriors holding gigantic swords before theers No other doors were apparent, though a curtain covered the section of wall i protectively about hi of Deneir, searched for clues its notes could give to his around hiical influences on the gargoyle sculptures, but nearly retreated when he turned to the iron statues Parts of theical energy

"Gole priest’s eyes open wide

Cadderly honestly did not know Goleical creatures, animated bodies of iron, stone, or other inanimate materials They would have seemed appropriate here, for such monsters were usually created by powerful wizards or priests to serve as guardians Certainly with everything Cadderly had heard about Aballister, the thought of the wizard possessing iron goleolemkind, was not out of the question But Cadderly would have expected to detect o?" Danica asked, her tone revealing that she was growing increasingly uneasy standing vulnerable in a wizard’s anteroo o to the curtain, but if these were iron golems, and he and Danica walked up between thee from his mind The curtain," he said resolutely Danica started forward, but Cadderly caught her by the arm If she was to trust him, when he could not be sure that he should trust himself, then he would walk beside her, not behind her

With his walking stick, Cadderly gingerly pushed the curtain aside, revealing a door He started to turn to Danica, to smile, but suddenly, before either of the co about, swords stopping barely an inch from them, one in front and one in back

"Speak the word," the iron statues demanded in unison

Cadderly saw Danica tense, expected her to go in a rush at hernotes slipped past his consciousness, and he saw, too, the building y in the iron statues’ arers Cadderly did not have to use uess that the tips of those sneaky weaopns would likely be poisoned

"Speak the word," the statues dey, saw it rising to a dangerous crescendo

"Do notthat if she struck out, the two daggers would do their ith deadly efficiency Danica’s hands eased down to her sides, though she hardly see The y appeared as if it would soon boil over, and Cadderly still had not figured out how he in to counter or dispel it

It see impatient

"Speak the word!" Their unified chant rang out as a final warning Cadderly wanted to tell Danica to dive away, hoping that she, at least, ers struck, or those swords chopped in

The word is Bonaduce," came a call from beyond the door, a fenized

"Dorigen," Danica breathed, her face scrunched with sudden anger

Cadderly agreed, and knew that trusting in Dorigen would surely be aabcut the word, "Bonaduce," struck a note of truth, a note of fa priest

"Bonaduce!" Cadderly yelled The word is Bonaduce!"

Danica’s incredulous stare turned even olems shifted back to their frozen, impassive stances

Cadderly, too, did not understand any of it Why would Dorigen aid them, especially when they were in such dire trouble? He started forward for the door and pulled the curtain fiilly aside

"Ithold of Cadderh/s ar

Cadderly shook his head and grabbed the ring Before Danica could argue, he yanked the door open

They came into a coenerously placed, quiet tapestries of solid color lined every wall, and a bearskin rug carpeted the floor The only hard-edged furnishing was a wooden desk, angled in a corner opposite the door There sat Dori-gen, tapping a slender wand against the side of her crooked, oft-broken nose

Danica was down in a defensive crouch in an instant, one hand going down to her boot to draw a dagger

"Have I mentioned before how much you both amaze me?" the woman calicalher to hold easy and see how this ht play out

"Are we any less aave us the password"

"So she ri it by the point so that she could flick it out at Dorigen in an instant

"That is a possibility," the wizard adainst her cheek - "that I ainst you, and perhaps this time, our battle would have ended differently"

"Would have?" Cadderly noted

"Would have ended differently if I held any intention of renewing our battle," Dorigen explained

Danica was shaking her head, obviously not convinced Cadderly, too, had trouble believing in the woe of heart He fell into the notes of his song, sought out the aurora, the aura sight

Shadows flickered atop Dorigen’s delicate shoulders, reflections of as in her heart and thoughts These were not huddled, evil things, as Cadderly expected, but quiet shadows, sitting in wait

Cadderly cahtened curiosity He noticed Danica slide a step to the side and realized that she was trying to put soet "She speaks the truth," the young priest announced

"Why?" Danica replied sharply

Cadderly had no answer

"Because I grow tired of this war," Dorigen responded "And I grow tired of playing Aballister’s lackey"

"You believe the horrors of Shilotten?" Danica asked

"I do not wish to repeat those horrors," Dorigen replied iers still bent froiven theen’s soft, benign tone did not

"You could have killedpriest," the wizard went on "You could now, probably, withelse"

Cadderly unconsciously clenched his hand, and felt the onyx-stoned ring with his thuoleen went on "Or I could have assailed you with an assorth the door"

"Is this repayed "Weariness, more than that," she said, and the woman did indeed sound tired "I have stood beside Aballister for hty force with prohed at the thought "Look at us now," she lamented "A handful of elves, a pair of silly dwarves, and two children" - she indicated Cadderly and Danica with a wave of her hand, her expression incredulous - "have brought us to our knees"

Danica en snapped the wand down in front of her, her face suddenly twisted with a scowl

"Do we continue?" she de the wand ahead "Or do we let this play out as the gods always intended?"

Another silenther to relax

"What do you mean?" Cadderly asked