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She sheathed the sword but did not set its locks and knelt beside Poth The cat had been stunned, but her fingers found no broken bones, and Poth coan to lick the witch&039;s blood froain If she was that interested in grooainst the far ith several e a trip

Kelaios went to the pit in which Eroar had fallen and knelt by the black depths A cool ind blew from it She tried mind contact and reached hi bolder Is it hunger that drives the to send down one of the bodies, then I will send down a length of rope

Keleios selected a body near the pit and grabbed it under the grey-robed arms She lifted from her knees up and felt the strain in her back She had worked often enough without the ood, for a female half-elf But a two-hundred-poundby the time she rolled him into the darkness

Keleios took out the s She tested the knot and the leg itself When satisfied, she lowered the rope She prayed silently to Urle that the rope would reach

Eroar, are they consu the body?

Yes, voraciously It is an unpleasant preview, I&039;m afraid

Can you reach the rope?

Not in this form Please thron another htly suard by his robe and threw him in A handful of seconds later and the rope became taut under her hands The hands that scrae and not the ones that had fallen in She scrarinned at her as it pulled itself fro"

"I had to be taller; this form is"

Poth ca "I quite agree with you, Mistress Poth, not a nice place"

"Are you hurt?"

"No, where are the others?"

"In the dungeons, we ht you couldn&039;t dois an innate ability, not a learned ic"

As the last of the rope landed on the floor, the pit began to close, the illusion beco more solid as Keleios recoiled the rope

Eroar shifted back to the more familiar human form and stretched "I spend more time in this shape than et to the others, she ordered the dragon, "Get the scrying crystal on the small table and the book on the floor There are empty packs over there"

He stood very still, but did not move She realized her randeur, that no huive me, Master Eroar, but tiet the scrying crystal and the book while I coil this rope? We may need them all"

He stood there stubbornly, hands crossed over his chest She coiled the rope mechanically and tried to keep her temper "Master Eroar, if Tobin dies because you&039;ve delayed us, I will see you on the sands"

He alhed, but the look in her eyes stopped him "You would die"

"That is a possibility," They stared one at the other She could feel histhing, and he had not yet cast a spell Everything dies, even dragons, and she did not flinch It was he who broke contact, asped, "It pulses as if a heart beats inside"

"It pulses with evil and isabout But respectfully, Master Eroar, I ask that whatever you do, don&039;t try to read it"

He said nothing but wrapped the book in the table&039;s white cloth and pushed it into an empty pack The crystal he set upon the desk

Keleios slid the rope in beside the book then put the crystal in beside theon if he wanted a share of its load There was nothe silver sword, blade bare and hungry It was better to save ic if the sould do Eroar opened the door slowly, but the corridor was eht Eroar would protest, but he remained silent and followed Poth wandered ahead, cat-silent; feould bother to attack her

Keleios reeons, for she had walked it almost daily for afor the library He had to find the library without aid of ic

"We are on a quest also," Keleios said "We search for two men: one tall and slender and very pale, part ice elf; the other, short with reddish hair and young"

"A tall thin eon&039;s heart and is being deviled by hed heavily "And our task is to rescue him"

"You are on an entertainment then?" He nodded sympathetically

She continued in a sad voice, "Yes, you are near the library Simply follow this corridor then turn left at the second junction The library will be the huge double doors with brass handles on the right side of the corridor"

"Oh, thank you One of the de, so take care"

It floated down the hallway, vibrating with anxiety

As they continued on their way, Eroar asked, "Will he not report us?"

"No, we are both on a task We entertain; he assu"

"How is this entertain I never understood"

"Why would a de des"

"You learned a great deal in a short stay"

"Tieons We should find Lothor down there, also, but in a cell Only Tobin is free running"

Groghe appeared in the corridor just in front of thehe, don&039;t just appear like that You&039;ll get yourself killed"

"So sorry, Master, but I escaped, for they were not interested in me They can always torment me later" He rue to Harque and guide us?"

"No, the other de for me"

"Then follow us invisibly and do not hinder us"

"No, Master" He blinked out His claws scraped on the stone like ht

The stairs ide but steep Three large ht and pitch of the steps were not formed for human tread

"Harque did not build this, surely," Eroar said

"No, it was here waiting for her Only the gods knoho built it"

They came to a corridor that forked three ways The traht ahead; to the right was silence "Fade back" Eroar simply became invisible for he lacked the elfish ability to blend with the surroundings

A troop of grey-robed guards caht corridor No one glanced toward the stairs; no one noticed a shadow that held other than darkness They waited the space of five heartbeats after the last robe had vanished froht Eroar reappeared, and Keleios simply stepped out of concealht"

"Toward the screaentle torch-lined curve It would be very hard to hide in the middle of that hallway They went forward cautiously She motioned for Eroar to take the left-hand side of cells, and she took the right The first three cells were empty The fourth held a man, curled into a small ball She did not wait to see if heabout what lay inside Just before they rounded the curve, she found Tobin&039;s armor It lay in a heap beside a pallet in a narrow cell His sas there, too Wherever he was, he was naked and unarhter

She whispered to Eroar, "I believe Tobin ant these back" She continued, "If you can spell the door I will scry Tobin&039;s situation"

"I was unlocking doors before you were hatched"

She chose not to re wasn&039;t pertinent She stood away so he could cast at the lock, and took out the crystal The stone was smooth, cool, and flawless She concentrated on Tobin&039;s face The vision carip of a very large dereen-scaled and ivory-horned The demon tossed him to another, as slender and white with a spiked tail, and he threw hiht with a tendril of ooze and covered the boy with it Tobin struggled against it but disappeared inside the pudding The other deue that it wasn&039;t time to eat it yet and he better spit it out He did reluctantly Tobin crawled away froed skin glistened with slime She cleared the crystal

"The door is open Should we"

"Weto see if he followed Eroar scowled but gathered the arht up to her in a few strides

"Three demons are with hireen-scaled denize"

The sword rose a short distance from its sheath "I know The demon we absorbed earlier knows"

"Tell ue In battle, if it chooses, its touch brings the dreaded spreading sickness"

The invisible i sound "Oh, Master, he is bad, very bad"

"Just stay out of the way, little one" Of all the demons to ensorcell, she had one of the weakest Other than his shapeshifting and the limited sorcery of all demonkind, he could do little

"That one must be taken out from a distance, then We can hit the slireen"

The sword rose a hand&039;s breadth of silver from its sheath "We can destroy it"

"Safely?"

She could aluarantee your safety"

She gripped the sword&039;s hilt, testing if it could truly do what it said "Yes If you have no objections, Master Eroar, you could throw a fireball at the ice, and distract the slireen demon dies I will help you with the slime"

"If the demon does not die?"

"It will have to die"

His look was eloquent

"I know it isn&039;t a wonderful plan, but I don&039;t have tie, have a better plan, I&039;ll listen"

He et the boy"

They waited just inside the tunnel Eroar put Tobin&039;s belongings on the floor, taking care that the ht and the green to the left A rack was near them and Tobin crouched on the floor near the torture device Poth the cat crouched under the device itself Eroar nodded that he saw her and stepped out, sending a reen strode forward to help The sword sang in her hands, eager The demon was not ht It tried to move past Keleios toward Eroar, as if her draere nothing She had to step in front of the deone, little feht, dahed "Very well" It turned pupilless yellow eyes full upon her "I will kill you first"

It swiped at her with ivory claws and Ache silvestri met the hand and sliced it The demon&039;s other hand came out of nowhere and slammed into the side of Keleios&039; head She fell, dazed She heard the de over her The sword screaripped her wrists and jerked her upright before she couldwas crushing her wrist and she opened her hand with a sasp Ache silvestri clattered to the floor

"Can you see me, little female?"

Keleios blinked into the yellow eyes of the demon She was on her knees rists pinned between the deic, too late to use your pretty sword" He bent close to her face and flicked out a crian to itch where he touched theht hand The de her backward Meh Keleios&039; reen , but no pain, not yet It flowed over her skin like water and there was nothing she could do to stop it

The palm of her left hand jerked, as if aover her hand It didn&039;t go away, but it stopped spreading

Eroar had his back to the wall A barrier of fire kept the ice deh the fire as if it were nothing The plague de, arms crossed, back to Keleios

A warmth, almost a fire heat started in her left palm over the deht until her right hand felt like it was on fire The green spreading began to fade, as if the skin were absorbing it, the way a healer healed wounds When the last bit of disease was gone, the burning began to fade and flow back into her left hand Deic, that hat Lothor had called it But there was no tiainst the wall, backing away froh time to call another spell, and what could he call? One feared fire, the other cold

Keleios scooped Ache silvestri froreen demon heard her, and turned with a smile on its face "Well, little feh the ribs and up into the chest The slow ate over his body and up the hilt onto Keleios&039; hands She didn&039;t fight it this time; she welcomed it, drank in the power, let it wash over her and the sword Ache silvestri cried, "We bring death to our enemies"

The demon&039;s body sank to the floor with the sword still imbedded in its chest Keleios turned to the other de to her hands If she did not struggle against it, sing a dehting both de forced back Keleios sent a burst of cold into the pudding, and it began to sha at fingertips and base of hand, and thought of cold, the cold that nus until it burns She drew pure cold in her mind -- not snow, not ice, only cold -- until the ache of it began to seep through her hands The pudding was only feet before her when she opened her hands like a flower budding, until only the base of her hands touched, and cold came It flowed like an icy wind to the deer, he tried to escape, but he was cold, so cold He couldn&039;t think, couldn&039;t move Still the cold ca off the cold "It is dead Release your hold on the spell"

Keleios blinked at him, and broke the spell stiffly, and was surprised to find she had slipped to her knees The slime stood like a column of dirty ice in front of her "The ice deone"

She stood and began to flex her body She had never been so stiff There was a sound like a whimper or a quiet screaue Keleios knelt beside hi hi, but his eyes were haunted when they looked at her He collapsed with a cry and clung to her for a htened Keleios could feel hih his control exercises "I am a prince of Meltaan; I am a journeyht and proud and said, "I knohere Master Lothor is"

"Very good, lead us"

It was then that he seeh of his self to worry about it

Eroar fetched his armor, and while he dressed, they turned to other problems

She walked without Eroar&039;s aid, but it cost "Urle&039;s forge, but I&039;reen demon The tip of the silver sword pointed froled free itself and lifted to her hand

It was free of blood oncefrom the blade where the blood had been heated away She sheathed Aching Silver but left the lock off

Tobin was fully dressed and belted his sword in place Poth ca sound said Groghe had, too

She asked Tobin, "Is Lothor in the far corridor?"

"Yes"

She motioned for him to lead, and they set off

They approached the far corridor quietly; Tobin had assured them that there were ht, and lined with cells Keleios peered round the corner and froze as a succubus appeared and entered the open door of one cell She ducked back around, leaning on the wall, "The succuba still play What are we to do? They could be eating his soul"

The sword bobbed in its sheath "If I reater demon in me The succuba would obey him"

"Yes, but you hold his soul, or essence, not him"

"But you are e, his power for a time"

"How?"

"You merely call him as if he were a spell"

"I don&039;t understand"

"I have heard of such things," Eroar said "Enchantments that eat souls can sometimes loan those souls to others for a tie His dark face re of the weather, rather than using the souls of greater demons "How safe is it?"

"It is likewilled the person calling thein theessence of a de willed the demon is?"

"It does," Eroar said

"Don&039;t do it, Keleios," Tobin said

"I have to do so worse than succuba visit these cells, or they discover the bodies"

Eroar asked, "And what if this Alharzor gains control of you?"

A cold feeling started in the pit of her stomach "Then you must kill me and do the best you can to rescue the black prince"

Tobin protested, "No, Keleios"

"Tobin, if the worst happens, do not hinder Master Eroar If the sword takes ree her control, and the tiredness retreated somewhat "Come to me, slayer of de power like blood through its fra His h her like fire before a wind Power ate along her skin, spilled out of her mind For one le, become one Then the sas not there, and it was just she and the de, able to see the power as it beat through her and out of her Alharzor was deterht to use his soul

Keleios accepted the delove, but it was her mind thatslowed, deepened He was safely contained inside her with the help of the sword She dreer fro it trickle bit by bit until all of it lay contained inside her "Stay hidden, Groghe"

The invisible demon said, "Yes, Master"

Eroar looked at her, and she said, "Touch me and search quickly"

He came forward and laid a hand on her shoulder, and his eyes h her "You have done it, you have power now"

"I h it was not what they wanted, neither fought her Their eyes glazed, and their faces became blank "Follow me," she said, and they did

Keleios stepped into the corridor, hand on sword hilt, thebehind her obediently She had them wait at the head of the corridor; they obeyed perfectly She paused at the door to the open cell The half-elf lay under alike butterflies over a rain puddle

Keleios drew part of Alharzor froh her She sneered at the succuba "Get off hiry eyes and stared when they saw the body ordering thean to walk toward Keleios "And who are you to order us about?"

"Aaah, Filia, see with so other than your eyes for once"

A second joined her, and a third; all had paused Lothor&039;s flesh caet this body?"

"A gift froht she had plans for this body"

"Is this the first tied her mind?"

The demon chuckled "No, I suppose not"

All but two of the succuba gathered round to poke and prod the new body "Not bad, this should be able to keep up for a while"

A deep laugh came from Keleios&039;s body "Ooh, not at your speed, but perhaps at mine"

Lothor lay naked Chains bound him at wrist and ankle His body was one pure ivory color Tiny scratches and bites marred the flawless skin They were marks of passion rather than pain An auburn-haired succubus curled across him She stroked his hair and from time to time nuzzled him His silver eyes were shut; his face turned away from her Keleios wondered if his , and the demons noticed A tall flame-haired one poked her arht enjoy seeing her friends" A tittering of girlish laughter filled the room A host of crude reh his paces, or have her join us" This suggestion was irls, I am sorry, but Harque wants thean "I even have to give the body back, after a time"

The auburn-haired de on him "We haven&039;t broken him yet," she said "The shah his control"

"I understand, girls, but there isn&039;t ti plans for theeas"

"That doesn&039;t sound very fun"

"It depends on where the geas forces theo, my flame-haired beauty, and what it forces them to do"

They pouted "It still doesn&039;t sound fun"

"A geas to Pelrith&039;s Isle"

They exchanged glances One knelt beside Lothor&039;s chained body and ran a hand down its pale length "A shaet another chance at this one"

Keleios kneith Alharzor&039;s memory that Pelrith&039;s Isle was one place the succuba never visited The deerous for a succubus -- that was so to think upon

Keleios knelt beside Lothor Keleios ran her fingers down his cheek, and his eyes opened His eyes stared at her, intelligence untouched Hope showed in his eyes for a second, quickly gone She stood "Have hiet dressed, and maybe clean him up first"

A tall red-haired succubus asked, "Is she distressed to see her friend so?"

"Aah, very"