2 To Light A Candle.13 (80 page)

And the first thing that leaped into his mind was Idalia.

Where was Idalia?

Suddenly he became aware of an odd desire to go deeper into the caverns. He was sure he'd find…

What?

Kellen stopped, realizing he'd taken several steps into the darkness without noticing.

And that something deep inside him had jerked him to a halt with a thrill of alarm.

He probed his own feelings, the way he would probe a wound. The yearning sensation was still there, but suddenly Kellen felt no desire at all to yield to it. It was like the revulsion he'd experienced at the Black Cairn turned inside-out, but he had no doubt its source was just as Tainted.

It's what would lure the army deep into the caves, Kellen realized in horror. If it worked on Elves—and he had no reason to think it didn't—the Knights would have followed it to their doom.

As Idalia had followed it.

But why wasn't he affected? Certainly he felt the call, and could follow it, but he could resist it, too.

He remembered what Jermayan had said, when the Elven Knight had first discovered what Kellen was.

"A Knight-Mage's gifts turn inward, refining himself, so he cannot be turned away from his path once he has chosen it. A Knight-Mage can withstand forces that would destroy a Wildmage, for his power lies in endurance and the alliance of his knightly skills with his Wildmagery"

In other words, he was stubborn. Well, everyone had always said so. Kellen bared his teeth wolfishly. Whatever was calling was going to find out it had called up more than it could handle.

He looked at the lantern, still burning undisturbed on the outcropping of rock. Should he take it?

No. Idalia had gone into the dark without it, and he would follow her the same way.

He fumbled in his belt for the tarnkappa and pulled it on. At once the cavern was sharply lit. He could see the vast sweep of it—far more than the lantern light had shown him—an enormous area, stretching at least a mile.

And all of it carefully arranged to collapse, as soon as the proper trigger was tripped.

He turned in the direction of the Call.

THE way was long, but her steps were made smooth. Idalia hurried forward impatiently, anxious to reach her destination.

Which was… what?

She stopped, frowning. Where was she going? Where was Kellen? And why was it so dark?

She fumbled at her belt for her tarnkappa, but before she could complete the gesture, the call reached out to her again, washing over her in a warm wave. Her hands dropped to her sides and she continued walking.

THOUGH there were no traps that Kellen Saw past the village cavern, once he reached the edge of the village there were several tunnels. For a moment he wasn't sure which of them Idalia had taken, but then the Call lured him toward the centermost one.

It was smooth as glass and perfectly round, as if made by the passage of some rock-eating worm. At the far end, it opened out into what Kellen had come to think of as a more "traditional" underground cave—a high vaulted cavern filled with tall spikes and pillars of rock. Here he could hear the breath of the mountain, and realized that sound had been absent from the labyrinth of tunnels he and Idalia had just passed through.

He had the sense that this part of the cave system was one that the Shadowed Elves rarely used. But there was something here—these caverns were filled with life. He could sense it—and what he sensed was mixed. Some was Tainted, but some was not. He moved forward slowly, sword ready-

And then he saw Idalia.

She was walking forward, as easily as if she could see, directly toward a monster such as Kellen had never seen before.

It squatted on its haunches, its arms clasped across its stomach, crouched upon a hummock of stone. Its body was squat and wide, and it did not seem to be very large, perhaps the size of a Shadowed Elf, but much wider. Its skin seemed to be a dull black. It was covered, not with fur or feathers or scales, but with little fleshy polyps of skin that gave it a nauseatingly shaggy appearance. If it had any eyes at all, they were so tiny as to be lost in the nest of facial polyps, and it seemed to have neither nose nor ears. Its mouth was slightly open, forked tongue lolling over curved fangs as it radiated the Call that had lured Idalia to it. And by the time Kellen saw her, she was nearly within arm's reach of it.

Fast as he was, Kellen couldn't reach Idalia in time.

He drew his dagger. He could put it through her leg, even at this distance. The wound would stop her without killing her.

But then, he realized with a sudden feeling of horror, the creature would know someone was here. And it could spring up and rip her throat out before Kellen could reach it. He could stab the creature, but he didn't know if that would kill it—or what stabbing it would do to Idalia's mind.

With a strangled cry of desperation Kellen began to run. He had to try to reach her. No matter what, he had to try!

And oblivious to it all, Idalia continued to walk forward, caught in a spell she could not break—

Suddenly half-a-dozen furry white, softly-glowing spiders dropped from above, directly onto the black squatting creature. It closed its mouth with a startled snap, and the calling Kellen had been following stopped abruptly.

The spiders were the size of young lambs, and swarmed nimbly and quickly over the creature's body as it writhed and batted uselessly at them. Silently it battled the swarming arachnids, frantically attempting to catch them, but they flowed away over the cavern floor as quickly as they'd arrived.

It was no more than a momentary distraction, but it gave Kellen the time he needed. Idalia had stopped moving forward, and began groping for her tamkappa, shaking her head as if she'd been roused from sleep. As Kellen passed her, he shoved her hard, knocking her sprawling, his mind already full of what he must do.

He reached the creature and struck unhesitatingly, taking its head from its shoulders in one clean blow. It was not like cutting into a man or a coldwarg—or even a goblin. Beneath the skin, the creature's flesh seemed almost jellylike, and Kellen's blow did not meet the resistance of bone. He leaped back, and just in time. Its flesh began to melt away as soon as its head rolled free of its body, dissolving like wax plunged into a furnace, filling the cavern with the sick-sweet scent of decay and something worse.

Kellen looked down at his sword, wondering if it would ever be clean again, and saw to his horror that the metal was black and flaking where it had entered the monster's body. With a sinking feeling, he set the tip of the blade against the stone floor and pressed gently. The sword bent, then snapped like rotting wood.

Kellen winced. Not the worst thing that could happen, but high on the list. He wasn't helpless with only a dagger and half a sword, but he wasn't happy about the situation.

He turned back to where he'd left Idalia. Time for them to get out of here.

Her body was covered in spiders.

Their bodies weren't just glowing whitely now, they were pulsing in pale colors: green, purple, yellow, pink. And Idalia wasn't moving.

SUDDENLY it was dark—the blinding darkness of the caves—and Idalia knew something was terribly wrong. The last thing she remembered clearly was the cavern, the deserted Shadowed Elf village, and then… it was almost as if she'd been asleep.

She groped for her tamkappa, but before she could pull it free, a savage blow from out of nowhere knocked her sprawling. She hit the stone floor of the cave hard, and in the utter silence could hear nothing but the faint sound of the cave's "breath" and the pounding of her own heart in her ears.

Then she felt fingers plucking at her clothes.

No.

Not fingers.

Legs.

: Do not fear us. We are friends.:

A voice spoke in her head. More than a voice. Pictures—images—memories. She pulled off a glove and reached out hesitantly. She touched stiff silky bristles.

-.Good. Easier.-.

Who are you? Idalia thought back.

She could see them—and herself—a strange disjointed picture, relayed by multiple eyes. Spiders. But like no spiders ever seen in the outside world. And with that picture came something she had not expected. Peace—warmth. Welcome, the welcome of one ally recognizing another, one creature of the Light (though these spiders spent their lives in the darkness of the caves) acknowledging one of like spirit. Strange as it seemed, and as repugnant as most humans found spiders to be, these were friends. She relaxed, and opened her mind a little further.

:We are Crystal,: came the reply. -.This is our home, and it has been ravaged try the Black Minds. Those you call Shadowed Elves come, and take our webs, our eggs, our children.:

She felt their anger at the pillaging. The Shadowed Elves ate the Crystal Spiders, and used the silk from their webs and cocoons for their own purposes. Idalia felt a flash of alarm, purely her own this time. If the Shadowed Elves were here in the caverns, and triggered any of their traps—

: They are not here now. For—long—they have made the traps. And brought the others to lure you in. Then they left.:

"Idalia?" A voice, with an edge of panic to it. "Idalia, can you hear me?"

Kellen. Alarmed. Sounding not-quite-certain the Crystal Spiders were a threat, but ready to believe they were.

"It's all right. I'm all right, truly, there's nothing to worry about. They're friends, allies, a People of the Light. They're talking to me," Idalia said, trying to concentrate on the spiders and Kellen at the same time. "That's why they're sitting on me, I think it's the only way they can speak to my mind." She turned her thoughts back to these new allies. Go on. Tell me more. None of the Shadowed Elves are here?

: Gone. All gone to their other place. It is not far. We are there too, and we know. Other Black Minds, like the one who Called you, are there as well. Beware, for the Black Minds do not need eyes to see. That which is invisible is visible to them.:

The Crystal Spider sent a blurred picture into Idalia's mind, and she shuddered. A duergar. They were cousins to the ice-trolls but could not bear even as much light as their cousins. They lived in the deepest caves, and lured prey to them with their mental powers.

And they were utterly blind, so a tarnkappa would not conceal its wearer from them.

"What are they saying?" Kellen demanded, still sounding unconvinced. Well, she couldn't blame him—here she was, covered in spiders, after being lured down here by a duergarl

"They live here. It really is all right, Kellen," she replied, making her voice sound reassuring. "They're friendly, honestly—didn't you see how they distracted the duergar so it lost control of me for a moment?" She had seen that in their minds as well. "They don't like the Shadowed Elves, and they see us as their allies. They told me that the Shadowed Elves set up the traps in these caves—and called in some other Black Minds, they say, then left."

"Yeah," Kellen said with a sigh. "I've already met some of the other 'Black Minds'—a pack of goblins. But what was that thing that was after you?"

"Duergar" Idalia said briefly. "They lure prey with their minds. Tarnkappa don't work against them, because they can't see."

"Oh." Kellen sounded slightly chastened. There was a pause. "We need to set off all those other traps. And I think if we do, this whole cave might collapse. The roof of the village cavern is set to come down, but I couldn't see the tripwire for it, or any other way of triggering it."

Do you understand? Idalia thought to the spiders. I don't want any of you to be hurt. But this place is too dangerous to leave as it is.

:We understand,: the Crystal Spiders "said"—they seemed to speak as one, or perhaps all of them together made up one mind. -.Wait… : There was a long pause, and Idalia sensed that the spiders were consulting among themselves and picking through her surface thoughts, trying to find a concept they would all understand. :Wait a day before you make the caverns safe, and we will not be harmed. And when next you hunt the Shadowed Elves, we will give you what help we can.:

"I promise we will wait," Idalia said aloud. "And I thank you for your help."

There was a wave of movement, and the shining carpet of enormous spiders that had covered her scuttled away. Idalia sat up, watching as the balls of glowing pastel light disappeared into the darkness, actually seeing them for the first time.

"Why—they're beautiful," she said aloud, in surprise. "Poor things—never harming anything but insects, suddenly finding themselves hunted by Shadowed Elves—"

"I guess we're not the only ones the Shadowed Elves are hurting," Kellen said quietly.

"They're hurting everything that lives," Idalia said grimly. "That's what they were designed to do. Hurt things."

"Why?" Kellen asked plaintively, and suddenly he sounded very young and fragile. "Why would they want to do that? It doesn't sound like any kind of life. What possible kind of existence is that for anything?"

"Kellen," Idalia said, her voice suddenly sharp with fear. "You said you were attacked by goblins. Did any of them bite you?"

"Of course not," Kellen said indignantly, but there was a dreamy undertone to his voice that Idalia didn't like. "Some of them chewed on my armor a lot, though. I couldn't help that."

"No, of course you couldn't. Come here and let me see."

She cupped her hands and concentrated. A faint mist began to coalesce between her palms, growing denser and brighter until it burned chill and blue. She gestured, and the ball of Coldfire rose to hover above her head.

In its light she could see Kellen standing a few feet away. His tamkappa was hanging from one hand, his sword—half his sword—was hanging from the other. She got to her feet, retrieving her discarded glove in the process, and walked over to him.

She leaned over and sniffed. His armor reeked of goblin venom, but it seemed to be in one piece. If any of them had spit in his face, he wouldn't be standing here debating the nature of Evil, Knight-Mage or no. He'd be goblin dinner.

But if any of it had gotten through the joins in the armor and soaked into the padding, and through the padding…