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PALISHCHUK&039;S SHADOW

"Hurry!" Calihye shouted at Entreri "Drive therunted in reply but did not put the whip to the team He understood her desperation, but it was hardly his probleround with patches of mud, far up ahead, loomed the low skyline of Palishchuk They were still some time away from the city, Entreri knew, and if he drove the team any harder, the horses would likely collapse before they reached the gates

Jarlaxle sat beside hiate next to hi with Calihye and the tounded, the soldier Davis Eng and Calihye&039;s broken companion, Parissus

"Harder, I say, on your life!" Calihye screae to pull the tealanced at the drow, Jarlaxle motioned for hi of shouting back at the desperate wo back, and cutting out her wagging tongue occurred to him more than once

A second hand landed on the assassin&039;s other shoulder, and he snapped his cold and threatening glare back the other way, face-to-face with Pratcus

"The lady Parissus is sure to be dying," the dwarf explained "She&039;s got moments and no more"

"I cannot drive them faster than - " Entreri started to reply, but the dwarf cut him short with an upraised hand and a look that showed no explanation was needed

"I&039;irl up," Pratcus explained "Theetyou can do for the wo Davis Eng alive," Pratcus explained "And he weren&039;t hurt much at all in comparison, except a bit o&039; acid burns It&039;s the daot So many of &039;em Poisoned they were, and a nasty bit o&039; the stuff And Parissus, she&039;d be dying without the poison, though I&039;h her veins"

"Then have Athrogate smash her skull," Entreri said "Be done with it, and done with her pain"

"She&039;s far beyond any pain, I&039;ets like that when he&039;s frustrated," Jarlaxle quipped

He received a perfectly vicious look frorin

"That soldier gonna live, then?" asked Athrogate, but Pratcus could only shrug

Behind theate re, as did they all from the hollow and helpless timbre of the shriek that death had at last come for Parissus

Calihye continued to wail, even after Pratcus joined her and tried to coate

Ellery pulled her horse us beside the rolling wagon, inquiring of the cleric for Parissus and her soldier

"Nasty bit o&039; poison," Entreri and Jarlaxle heard the dwarf remark

"We&039;re not even to the city, and two are down," Entreri said to the drow

"Two less to split the treasures that no doubt await us at the end of our road"

Entreri didn&039;t bother to reply

A short while later, the Palishchuk skyline htly colored wagons set before the city&039;s southern wall At that point, Mariabronne galloped past the wagon, ha up beside Entreri

"I do not know of hiate answered slyly, and all eyes went to hi stars out before hi the spiked head sway and bounce at the end of its chain with the rhyth in rare items, particularly weapons," Ellery explained "He would haveinterest in your sword," she added to Entreri

Entreri grinned despite hi the weapon over to an inquiring "Winghaht be Without the protective gauntlet, an unwitting or weaker individual trying to hold Charon&039;s Claould find himself overmatched and devoured by the powerful, sentient iteratulated the dwarf

"Finer than ye&039;re knowing," Athrogate replied with a grotesque wink "Putting foes to flying farther than ye&039;re throwing!"

Entreri chortled

"Fine weapons," Jarlaxle agreed

"Enchantedstar back to the cohaold!" the dwarf hollered "And a notion to part with it!"

"Wingham is known as a fierce trader," Ellery explained

"Then I really will have to pay him a visit," said the drow

Pratcus waddled back up to lean between Entreri and the drow "She&039;s gone," he confir, for she weren&039;t to be using her arain"

That did on had bounced over poor Parissus

"What of Davis Eng?" Ellery asked

"He&039;s a sick one, but I&039;et back to his feet A few tendays in the bed&039;ll get him up"

"A month?" Ellery replied She did not seeone," Entreri mumbled to the droho didn&039;t really seem to care

Ellery obviously did, however "Keep him alive, at all cost," she instructed then she turned her horse aside and drove her heels into its flanks, launching it away

Acco sobs of Calihye, Entreri took the wagon the rest of the way to Palishchuk On Ellery&039;s orders, he rolled the cart past Winghaate, where they were given passage without interference - no doubt arranged by Mariabronne, who had long ago entered the city

They pulled up beside a guardhouse, just inside the southern gate, and stable hands and attendants caet what you did," Calihye whispered to Entreri as she ain put a hand on the assassin&039;s forearm, but Entreri wasn&039;t about to respond to that open threat - ords anyway

Entreri rarely if ever responded to threats ords In his thoughts, he understood that Calihye would soon again stand beside Parissus

A trio of city guards hustled out to collect Davis Eng, bidding Pratcus to go with them Another couple came out to retrieve the body of Parissus

"We have roo," Ellery explained to the others "Make yourself at ease; take your rest as you can"

"You are leaving us?" the drow asked

"Mariabronne has left word that I aham&039;s circus," she explained "I will return presently ord of our course"

"Your course," Calihye corrected, drawing all eyes her way "I&039;ers when you joined rily, "as did Parissus"

"I&039;m to be no part of a tea her chin in Entreri&039;s direction "He&039;ll throw any of us to our doom to save himself A wonder it is that even one other than him and that drow survived the road"

Ellery looked at the assassin, who ed

"Bah! But yer friend fell and flees to the Hells," Athrogate cut in "We&039;re all for dyin&039;, whate&039;er we&039;re tryin&039;, so quit yer cryin&039;! Bwahaha!"

Calihye glowered at hih all thetotally unconcerned

"He is one to be wary of," Jarlaxle whispered to Entreri, and the assassin didn&039;t disagree

"You agreed to see this through," Ellery said to Calihye She moved over as she spoke, and forcibly turned the woht I, or you, can do about it We&039;ve a duty here"

"Your own duty, and mine no more"

Ellery leveled a hard stare at her

"Will I be findingGareth&039;s lands, then, because I refuse to travel with a troupe of unreliables?"

Ellery&039;s look softened "No, of course not I will ask of you only that you stay and look over Davis Eng It see with us no farther as well When we are done with Palishchuk, ill return you to the Vaasan Gate - with Parissus&039;s body, if that is your choice"

"And my share is still secure?" the woman dared ask "And Parissus&039;s, which she willed to me before your very eyes?"

To the surprise of both Entreri and Jarlaxle, Ellery didn&039;t hesitate in agreeing

"An angry little creature," Jarlaxle whispered to his friend

"A source of trouble?" Entreri erkhan when he found the large half-orc back at Nyungy&039;s house "He has brought a co with several other erkhan Arrayan will be saved"

The warrior looked at hiuised skepticisha a way to defeat the curse of Zhengyi"

"And you will care for Arrayan?" Olgerkhan asked with that salanced to the side of the wide foyer, to a door that led to a slanced that way, as well "You put the great Nyungy in a closet?"

Olgerkhan shrugged, and Winghaerkhan deham spun back on him, stunned that the normally docile - or controllable, at least - warrior had so coerkhan reiterated "I beg of you He can breathe He is not dangerously bound"

The two stared at each other for a long while, and it seele over some decision The oldshort and finally just assuhaha into his coat pocket as he did Olgerkhan leaned back, defensive, but calhaehaerkhan stared at hilanced up the stairs then led the way to the first balcony In a s very still but breathing with a serkhan explained

"Does she know of Nyungy?"

"I told her that he ith you, looking for soham nodded, thenerkhan&039;s view He bent low for a aze was drawn to the woer The clear geray, as if seerkhan ently lifted Arrayan&039;s hand for a closer inspection, the geha the other ring

"Are you strong enough to share her burden?" Wingha Winghas of Arbitration," the oldago bylost to the world Only a few pairs existed, items crafted for lovers ere bound body and soul"

"Arrayan and I are not - "

"I know, but it does not matter What h to share her burden, and are you willing to die for her, or beside her, should it coerkhan answered without the slightest hesitation

He reached for Winghalance at Arrayan, he slid the ring on his finger Before he even had it in place, a profound weariness came over him His vision swam and his head throbbed with a sharp pain His stos wobbled as if they would simply fold beneath him He felt as if a taloned hand hadat his very life-force, twanging that thin line of energy so sharply and insistently that Olgerkhan feared it would just shatter, explode into a scattering of energy

He felt Winghaible grip as a guide back to the external world Through his bleary vision he spotted Arrayan, lying still but with her eyes open She h the haze it was apparent to Olgerkhan that the color had returned to her face

He understood it all then, so clearly Winghaht in rowled and forced the dizziness aside, then straightened his posture, grabbed Wingham&039;s hand with his own, and pointedly moved it away He looked to the oldand watched as a blood-red mist flowed into it and swirled in the facets of the cut stone The ray, not the blackness he had seen upon poor Arrayan&039;s finger

He glanced back at the woer onyx black

"Through the power of the rings, the burden is shared," Winghaiven a greater source of power to the growing construct"

"I will not fail in this," Olgerkhan assured hiht actually ha ain closed her eyes

"It is a temporary reprieve," the merchant said "The toill continue to draw from her, and as she weakens, so too will you This is our last chance - our only chance - to save her Both of you will go with Mariabronne and Gareth&039;s erown dark on our land, but if you cannot, Olgerkhan, then there is soe half-orc stood attentively, staring hard at old Winghaham explained

"Have her?"

"Consume her," came the reply "I cannot truly coy, who is wiser than I, was insistent on this point The castle grows through the life-force of Arrayan, and the castle has ains because we did not knoe battle Even noe cannot understand how to defeat it, but defeat it you erkhan, I will have your word that you will not let the castle consuaze went to Arrayan again as he tried to sort through the words, and as Winghaan to dawn on hie "You ask me to kill her?"

"I ask for your erkhan seeham&039;s head froharabbed at the ring

"Do not!"

"Then I will have your word," said the erkhan, there is no choice before us Go and do battle, if battle is to be found Mariabronne is wise in the ways of the world, and he has brought an interesting troupe with hie from Damara But if the battle cannot be won, or won in time, then you must not allow the castle to take Arrayan You erkhan was breathing in rough pants by then, and he felt his heart tearing apart as he looked at his dear Arrayan lying on the bed

"Put her hand down," Olgerkhan said at length "I understand and will not fail in this The castle will not have Arrayan, but if she dies at my hand, know that I will fast follow her to the next world"

Wingham slowly nodded

"Better this than to enter the castle beside that troubleso, his voice ith poison