Annihilation by Philip Athans Read Free Book Online

“It’s reasonably close, and I have contacts there. If I go alone, I can be there and back quickly, and no one who doesn’t fear Bregan D’aerthe will even know I was there.”
    “No,” Danifae said, startling both Valas and Pharaun.
    “The young mistress has a better suggestion?” Pharaun asked.
    “Sschindylryn,” she said.
    “What of it?” asked Pharaun.
    “It’s closer,” Danifae replied, “and it’s not ruled by Vhaeraunites.”
    She sent a pointed look Valas’s way, and Pharaun allowed himself a smirk.
    “I’m tired,” the Master of Sorcere said, “so I will weaken enough to speak on Valas’s behalf. He is Bregan D’aerthe, young mistress, and his loyalty goes to she who is paying. I don’t believe we’ll have trouble with our guide jumping deities on us. If he can get to, through, and out of Sshamath faster, then let him do what he’s been hired to do.”
    “He will go to Sschindylryn,” Quenthel said, her voice so flat and quiet that Pharaun wasn’t certain he’d heard correctly.
    “Mistress?” he prompted.
    “You heard me,” she said, finally looking up at him. She let her cold gaze linger for a moment, and Pharaun held it. She turned to Valas. “Sschindylryn.”
    If the scout had any thought of arguing, he suppressed it quickly.
    “As you wish, Mistress,” Valas replied.
    “I will accompany you,” Danifae said, speaking to Valas but looking at Quenthel.
    “I can move faster on my own,” the scout argued.
    “We have time,” said the battle-captive, still looking at Quenthel.
    The high priestess turned to Danifae slowly. Her frigid red eyes warmed as they played across the girl’s curves. Danifae leaned in ever so slightly, eliciting a smile from Pharaun that was as impressed as it was amused.
    “Sschindylryn….” the wizard said. “I’ve passed through it a time or two. Portals, yes? A city crowded with portals that could slip you in an instant from one end of the Underdark to another … or elsewhere.”
    Danifae turned to Pharaun and returned his smile—impressed and amused.
    “How much time do we have?” Valas asked, still ignoring the more subtle, silent conversation-within-a-conversation.
    Pharaun shrugged and said, “Five days … perhaps as many as seven. I should have provided the ship with adequate sustenance by then.”
    “I can do it,” Valas replied. “Barely.”
    The scout looked to Quenthel for an answer, and Pharaun sighed, pushing back his frustration. He too looked at Quenthel, who was gently stroking the head of one of her whip vipers. The snake swayed in the air next to her smooth ebon cheek while the other vipers slept. Pharaun got the distinct impression that the snake was speaking to her.
    A sound caught Pharaun’s attention, and he saw Jeggred shifting uncomfortably. The draegloth’s eyes twitched back and forth between his aunt and the viper. Pharaun wondered if the draegloth could hear some silent, mental exchange between the high priestess and her whip. If he could, what he heard was making him angry.
    “You will take Danifae with you,” Quenthel said, her eyes never leaving the viper.
    If Valas was disappointed, he didn’t let it show. Instead, he simply nodded.
    “Leave when you’re ready,” the high priestess said.
    “I’m ready now,” the scout replied, perhaps a second too quickly.
    The viper turned to look at the scout, who met its black eyes with a furrowed brow. Pharaun was fascinated by the exchange, but exhaustion was claiming him all the more quickly as the discussion wore on.
    Quenthel slid back to rest against the bone rail of the undead ship. The last viper rested its head on her thigh.
    “We will take Reverie, then, Pharaun and I,” the Mistress of the Academy said. “Jeggred will stand watch, and the two of you will be on your way.”
    Danifae stood and said quietly, “Thank you, M—”
    Quenthel stopped her with an abrupt wave of her hand, then the high priestess closed her eyes and sat very still.