“How do you like being a man this time?”
“It’s occasionally useful. But I miss my last body. It was by far the most beautiful.” Looking at Nakor, the being who had once been Nakor’s wife, the Lady Clovis, and the Emerald Queen said, “You’ve used that body for a very long time now.”
“I like it,” said Nakor. “It was the one I was born with. I just change my name every once in awhile.” He pointed to the door through which his companions left. “Did you see your daughter?”
“That was Miranda?” said Kahil. “My gods!”
Nakor grinned. “The other was her husband.”
“Do I have grandchildren?”
“Not yet.” Nakor lost his smile. “You know, you’ve gone so far down an evil road I barely remember what it was you once were. A vain girl, but no worse than some. But you have spent far too much time with dark powers. You do not even know what it was you did, do you? You have no idea who really controls your destiny.”
“I control my destiny!”
“Oh, you vain woman. You are no more than a pitiful tool of a power far more than you can begin to imagine. He gained your soul so long ago that you can never be saved. You can only go to him for whatever torment he has in store for a failed minion. You know what I have to do?”
“I know what you must try to do,” said Kahil, stepping back.
“Your vanity almost brought this world to ruination. Your lust for external youth and beauty caused you to destroy nations. You cannot be allowed to continue.”
“So at last you will attempt to kill me? It will take more than a tap to this head to rid this universe of me.”
“No, I will kill you.”
Kahil started to incant a spell, but before he could finish it, Nakor struck him in the face with the butt of his staff. The former Emerald Queen, now in a man’s body, staggered backward, his concentration broken and his spell incomplete. Nakor leveled his staff and a burst of white light shone on Kahil. He froze, transfixed, and from his mouth a mournful sound emerged. It grew weaker by the second as the body faded, becoming pale, then translucent, then transparent. When it vanished from view, the sound ceased, and Kahil was absent from the room. Sadly Nakor said, “I should have done that a century ago, but then I didn’t know how.”
He indulged himself a moment to reflect on everything, then he turned and hurried to overtake the others. Until Zaltais was returned to the pit and it sealed after him, the struggle was not over.
Miranda waved her hand and a brilliant shower of sparks exploded from her palm and sprayed a dozen soldiers hanging back near the gates to the city. As they began to be stung, they turned and ran.
“Not very dangerous,” she said, “but dramatic.” She looked back to see Tomas struggling with all his considerable strength to hold Zaltais on his shoulder, while Pug could do almost nothing but hang back.
As they cleared the city gates, the building which covered the pit in view, Zaltais overbalanced Tomas and flipped over his shoulder, landing hard upon the ground. The creature thrashed around, and Miranda said, “My spell is failing!”
Suddenly the crimson bands shattered, flung in all directions, the pieces fading from sight. The insectlike creature bounded upright and lashed out with a razor-sharp forearm. Tomas took the blow on his sword and the sound of the clash was steel upon steel.
Bright orange light bathed Zaltais as it pulled back to strike again. “It’s casting a spell!” Miranda shouted.
Pug incanted a word of power, which should have given him the ability to sense the monster’s magic. Instead he felt a blinding stab of pain in his head and he fell to his knees.
Pug’s hands went to his head and tears ran down his face as he struggled to make himself breathe. The images and sensations that flooded his mind were so alien as to cause nothing but pain. The spell he had utilized was designed to sense out the nature of the spell being used, and to counteract it if possible, but even the emanations of the Dread Lord that appeared under Sethanon, and of the Demon Kings, Jakan and Maarg, were comparatively familiar compared to what he was experiencing now. Pug fell to his knees, his eyes squeezed shut and his fists at his temples.
Miranda took a more direct approach and simply tried to burn the creature, sending forth her most powerful spell of flames, a white-hot burst of energy that burned bright enough to blind anyone who looked at the flame.
Zaltais writhed in the center of the flame, his own magic forgotten, a creature trapped in the heart of a star.
Tomas circled the burning creature, and went to where Pug knelt, helping his friend to his feet.
Suddenly the fire vanished as Nakor came hurrying up to them. “Quick! Carry it to the pit!”