Some minutes after the sounds of the interlopers died away, a section of the floor of the Archmagus’s former study glowed with light and lifted away. Yaser carefully climbed out of the hole. He paused, listening at first. Then sniffing at the most delightful scent that hung in the air. A succulent meat fat. The interlopers must have had a fine meal. Yet, it wasn’t disappearing entirely. He checked his nest under the desk to find a paper package that was sodden with grease. Inside sat five fat strips of meat! Yaser devoured them immediately, making small contented noises as they slid down his gullet, mostly unchewed.
“Glory to my lady.” He murmured. Yet he no longer felt her nearby. In fact, the calmness of this place was fraying. The other whispers were already nibbling at the edges, nattering their madness. This place would not shelter Yaser any longer. The lady would reward him on the surface. That did pose a dilemma. The interlopers were seeking a chamber where the loudest whisper dwelled. Did he wait for their return or follow them deeper?
****
“Gotta say, undead eight-foot-tall demon makes for a pretty good grave robbing deterrent.” Cinder whispered.
“And that’s without his head!” Illiana whispered back.
“The school, no, the kingdom needs the Archmagus’ eye.” Barnaby whispered far louder than the both of them. “Also, its doubly evil. Undead and hellish. A two for one.”
They all crouched in the entryway to a massive chamber, lit by ghostly white flame the size of a bonfire that leapt from a giant torchlike podium in the center of the room. Statues of a broad man in robes and holding a staff of bone were set in the side walls. A golden door draped in glowing chains stood on the opposite wall. The headless skeleton stood in front of the door. The demon’s black bones were etched with vivid red runes. A cleaver long enough to chop a horse in half rested on its shoulder. The eerie light shined off its sickly green metal.
“I think that definitely qualifies for the special arrow.” Cinder said, reaching towards her quiver.
“Definitely.” Illiana agreed.
“No. It will be a waste.” Barnaby said.
Both women looked at him with scowls.
“That flame is Ghostlight. The largest one I’ve ever seen. So long as it shines, no soul within miles will rest. With it being in the same room as that monstrosity. It will get up faster than we could ever hope to put it down.” Barnaby’s brow furrowed in a look of intense concentration.
“I don’t think I can summon that much water to put it out. Water’s never been my strong point.” Illiana said.
“We could stitch our blankets together and try to smother it.” Cinder suggested.
Barnaby shook his head. “It was created through blasphemy and only through sanctification will it be dowsed. I will inscribe a rune to call the divine eye and pray for K’arl’s intersession.”
“How long will that take?” Cinder’s voice went hard.
Five minutes… at least,” Barnaby said, looking down at the ground.
“You want us to distract that thing, and that giant fuck off knife for five minutes?!” Cinder said, her voice dwelling each word. “How the hell are we supposed to do that?”
A series of muffled pops sounded. Both Barnaby and Cinder’s heads turned to face its origin, Illiana, as she finished cracking her knuckles. Then she flourished long-nailed fingers, tiny stars dancing between them. More unsettling was the predatory grin that displayed her almost too white teeth. “I can do it. Sounds like fun. A well-placed thunder clap will scatter the bones no matter how strong the magic that holds that thing together. Then we just have to keep it from reassembling.”
“But, you have to be right next to it to use that spell,” Cinder said, wide eye horror on her face. “If you mistime it…”
“Oh, I plan on getting much closer than that. Starself remember?” Illiana said. “Scatter the bones and use a web spell to keep the pieces separated. I’ll cast it between those two statues on the left wall. Unless you got a better idea.”
Cinder scowled, then peered at the very scary skeleton guarding the door.
“Do you have a backup plan?” She asked.
“Frost bolts to slow it down and running my legs off. You’ve still got those entangle arrows, right?”
“Yeah. I doubt they’ll keep that thing busy for long.” Cinder said.
“Its this or turning back right?” Illiana asked. “We can do it.”
“Yeah, but you’ve never been on the front line like this! I don’t like it.” Cinder sucked in her lower lip.
“K’arl will see us through. Justice is on our side. The Archmagus took the eye from its rightful holders long ago. It will be returned. We would have not made it this far without destiny. It will see us through this challenge to the next.” Barnaby said.
Cinder looked between his solemn face and Illiana’s undisguised eagerness to take her new toy for a spin. It wasn’t the first time they’ve been in a situation where her partners were plainly over confident. They’d made it through every time, but barely. She still had the arrow, at least. Her own trump card. Her mind played through a dozen different ways Illiana’s plan could go wrong and how she could counter. Reaching into her jacket, she pulled out her last potion of swiftness, popped its cap, and downed it.
“Okay.” She sighed, straightening to her full height, a head above the others and unslung her bow. “Lets do it.”
“One more thing.” Illiana stepped forward, propelled herself up on tip toes to plant a soft kiss on Cinder’s lips. Cinder’s red irises flared in shock, but her free hand crossed around Illiana back, holding her there as the kiss stretched on a moment then parted. Illiana smirked wryly as she lowered herself, the starry eyes glowing with glee in the dark of her hood.
“For luck.” She said, “Come on, let's go scatter some bones.”