His eyes raked my body yet again.Not to fantasize about what the two of us had done, I realized.But to figure out where I carried the lump of metal.“You’ve been talking with Crespash.”
“He may have mentioned it within my earshot, yes.”
So, the two of them were working together.And the most obvious reason slaves would be in collusion would be to plan an escape.
How ridiculous of me to think the human was actually concerned about me.
The only thing on his mind was finding a way out.
“You do have it,” Archie said, all innocence.“Don’t you?”
Brusquely, I said, “It’s no business of yours.Now, leave me.I have a funeral to deal with.”
I wasn’t exactly surprised that Archie was planning an escape…more like profoundly disappointed.If we somehow made it through the interment ritual and I went along with Gorgul’s schemes, I told myself, I would end up right where I’d wanted.The Two Swords Clan would be safe.And I would not only have my own household here, but my own dominion.
Too bad the mere thought of it left me feeling hollowed out and empty.
The day caught up to me—or maybe the night.Who could tell what time it was anymore, lurking around in steamy, sunless tunnels that reeked of sulfur.It might even be time for breakfast—the meal that Archie never made—and soon the chieftain would show up with Taruut’s body…and my fate would be sealed.Either Ul-Rott would see through my ruse and relieve me of my head—or I’d succeed, only to live out my days as Gorgul’s puppet.
It was tempting to pull out the stormsilver and see if it held any answers for me in its crackling depths, but the tingle that raced up my arm when I slipped a finger into my belt pouch changed my mind.I squatted gingerly, closing my eyes, hoping some other path would present itself.But try as I might, I could think of no other way.
I must have nodded off, for as I searched, I dreamed.
And all the walls pulsed with flame.
18
ARCHIE
Did I think Droko’s plan for faking a tomb would work?Maybe.Too bad I couldn’t stick around long enough to find out.Real or fake, a tomb is a tomb.I had no intention of being sealed in and ending up like those petrified dwarves.Especially when Droko had just proved exactly how much I meant to him by refusing me the stormsilver.
No matter.While Crespash was busy unloading the spider, I’d take a few more swings with Dreadforge and cut my way to freedom.
If I could ever manage to reach the sword, anyhow.
Avoiding the orcish guards was bad enough at the best of times.But now they were tromping all over the place with armloads of pottery and bones.The sound of their footsteps echoed so it sounded like they were coming from nowhere and everywhere.And if ever I needed to escape their notice, it was now.
So, naturally, I turned a corner thinking I was in the clear, and nearly collided with a seven-foot-tall lump of orc flesh.Lucky for me, not only was the huge mound of artifacts he carried blocking his sight—but he only had one eye.
Kof.
The captain didn’t delight in tormenting me—not like Gargle—but I still couldn’t risk him catching me so far from the kitchen.
The natural caves in this section were rough and the flickering lantern light danced over the surface, throwing tricky shadows as I flattened myself to the wall without a sound.It probably wouldn’t do much good—the orc would be able to smell me—but I wasn’t about to stand there and volunteer to be searched.
Unfortunately, judging by the echoes, Kof wasn’t the only orc I’d need to avoid.
I pulled the shaman’s cloak around me more tightly with one hand and scrabbled at the wall behind me with the other.With raw fingertips, I probed the rough stone, hoping some hidden dwarvish doorway would come to my rescue.No such luck, but I did find a shallow crevice where I could tuck myself away, hold my breath, and pray to all the gods I didn’t believe in that I’d somehow manage to be overlooked.
Two more guards rounded a corner.Kof halted them, lowered his voice, and said, “This plan of the shaman’s…it’s a big risk.If the chieftain finds out—”
“Who would tell him?”Dang, I knew that voice: Gargle.I pressed myself into that crack so hard I practically sodomized myself on a stalagmite.“If the new shaman fails, we all fail.And none of us want to bear the chieftain’s wrath.”
“But there’s still time to find the real crypt,” Kof insisted.“I will speak to the shaman—”
“He’ll see no one.He was very clear.”
“Maybe so.But he’s new to this clan—and so young.If I don’t offer my council—”
