Thefinger in his chest turned into a hand, pushing him ahead.When he caught hisbalance, her poleaxe was lowered in front of him, the spear tip jutting towardhis belly.“On you go, squire.”
Isaacpulled himself straight.He looked at the weapon raised against him.After amoment, he turned, reluctantly, to march the last remaining distance into theskull.The walk was silent.No breeze crossed their path.With his hands stilltied in front of him, and the hyena prowling closely behind, he felt like aprisoner being led to execution.
Fine,he thought.
I gaveyou a chance.
If youwon’t listen to reason....
Ahead,the mouth of the skull was shaded and dark.Vines dangled from notches abovethe teeth, their bodies dry and desiccated.Sand piled against the U-shapedline of the creature’s jaw.Considering how widely the creature’s mouthremained open, Isaac was sure there was some internal support system keepingthe top of the snout from shutting against the teeth, though he couldn’t seewell enough into the mouth to identify whatever it was.
Heimagined, once again, that the creature was trying to scream.
Heshook his head.
“Lookthere,” Zaria said, pointing.
Towardthe back of the skull, right at the hinge of the jaw, there was a small gapleading into the creature’s mouth, free of the teeth that spired out from the moundsof sand.The entrance was so narrow and smooth that it almost resembled adoorway.
“Don’t,”Isaac said.“It’s trapped.”
“What?”She peered again, confused.“How’d you know?”
“It’sthe path they’d want you to take.”
Thehyena blew a raspberry.“Oh, don’t you start with this babble of demons andmonsters and soul spewin’ cocks or whatever the fuck.You ain’t scarin’ me off.”
Isaacstepped forward, gave her a side eye, and roamed through a small debris fieldof fallen bone chips, trying to find a suitable candidate.Most of the pieceswere large enough to roof a house.Eventually, he decided to kick one of thefallen chips with the heel of his boot.The ancient, brittle bone immediatelysnapped into chunks.
Hegrabbed a panel of bone, took a running step, and heaved it toward theentrance.
Atwisted sigil of light appeared at the edge of the jaw.It was attached tonothing, floating in the air, burning a bright, sickly green.Once the chip ofbone touched the barrier, it burst into flames, distorting, twisting, bucklinglike a piece of chewed leather, disintegrating into a meager puff of ash.Nothing landed on the floor.The sigil glowed a moment longer, thrumming withmalevolent energy, before vanishing from sight.
Asilence filled the air.
“Thatwas a hex,” Isaac said, dusting his hands.
Zariablinked, staring wide-eyed at the shadowy mouth.Smoke drifted from thecreature’s jaw.
“As theempire fell,” Isaac continued, kicking another chip of bone, “the lastnecromancers took steps to protect their cities.They casted hexes, constructedtraps, animated their machines, all in service of killing the would-begraverobbers that would come to rob them of their riches.”
“Well,”Zaria said.“Fuck.”
“Iagree.”
Shetook a hand from her poleaxe, waving away the smoke.
“As ithappens,” Isaac said, “I could dispel this hex quite easily.It’s an olddesign.I have memorized several incantations, just for the purpose.”
Zariatook a sweeping glance around the skull, searching for another entrance.
“Youwould just have to untie me.”
“Nah,”she said, waving a hand.“We’re goin’ this way.Come on.”
Sheroamed toward the front of the skull.As he followed, Isaac spared a glance atthe entryway.A dim green sigil seemed to linger in the shadows, throbbing likesunlight on a wind-blown pond.The smell of sublimated bone wafted across thesand.He had read about certain necrotic spells, the ones that had sucked somuch life and energy from the air that they remained, indefinitely, as apermanent scar upon the world.
Howmany other traps had the necromancers devised?
