Two Pieces of Tarnished Silver by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page A

Korm knew that he looked upon Juval itself.
    “Epostian Creeg,” it said in a hollow voice accompanied by a disembodied chorus. “I expected you months ago. The decade has long since passed, and a fitting tribute is long overdue. Tell me, what treasure have you brought in the name of Iranez of the Orb?”
    The alchemist stepped forward and gave a courteous bow. “A cyclops, regal Juval!” he shouted. “I bring you the form of the cyclops Aebos, to do with as you wish!”.

Chapter Five: Home Fires Burn
    Aebos’s fist crashed into Creeg’s jaw with the force of a battering ram. The alchemist made a meek little sound, spun once, and collapsed upon the garden floor. Korm had seen lesser blows from the cyclops’s fists snap the necks of men much hardier than Epostian Creeg. Perhaps the punch had killed him. A fitting end for a traitor.
    At the foot of the low stair, cloaked in the form of a centaur, Juval cackled loudly. “That was unexpected! How very exciting. I had not known there would be entertainment prior to my collection of the fee.”
    Korm stepped toward the demon, his hands held palms forward in a submissive gesture. “I am Korm Calladan, and this is my friend, Aebos. We have no quarrel with you, and have come only to negotiate the return of winds to the seas surrounding the Relentless and the kingdom of Nex.”
    The creature turned its piercing eyes to Korm. Crimson flames smoldered under thick red eyebrows. “The almighty Nex created his demon ships for battle, did he not? This is a war vessel, designed for conquest. What harm does the lack of wind do to the Relentless? I can power the ship through storm and calm alike. If lesser ships are rendered useless, it is to our tactical advantage.”
    Korm frowned. He had not expected reason from a creature born of multiversal chaos. Convincing Juval to abandon its gambit without giving up the bag of treasure was bound to be more difficult than simply asking nicely, but Korm wasn’t ready to give up yet. If they were to dissuade the demon, he would have to find an angle. And to do that, he had to keep it talking. He decided to start with the obvious.
    “So those statues, they’re former hosts? Old shells you keep around to remind you of past victories?”
    “Oh, no,” Juval said, its face masked with scorn. “By the time these wretches invaded my domain I’d long had my fill of human frailties. They were mere invaders. Victims. Three hundred years ago the Relentless ran aground near Lirgen, and over the centuries natives of those rain-cursed lands found their way onto the deck and explored the ship’s lower quarters, seeking treasures. Instead they found the lens and their way into my domain. Among the earliest was a snake-haired medusa, whom I inhabited to great effect. Her eyes saw the world more vividly than any I had used before. Better, her form granted me the ability to cast any who beheld it into stone. Here, let me show you.”
    Juval’s centaur form twisted upon itself, the rear legs pushing up into its torso even as the fiery red beard withdrew into a sharpening, increasingly feminine jaw. Korm’s mouth fell slack as Juval’s mop of ropey hair writhed and undulated, transforming before his eyes into a profusion of squirming green snakes. Juval’s arms extended into lanky, gnarled emerald branches tipped with jagged claws.
    “No!” cried Epostian Creeg, throwing his hands in front of his face. Korm met Juval’s eyes just as the demon’s pupils took on an ophidian cast. A dull power seemed to emanate from those hateful eyes, anchoring Korm to the ground and forbidding him from looking away.
    The tips of his toes began to ache, and Korm imagined them hardening to gray stone within his boots, the transformation creeping rapidly, inexorably up his legs, over his groin, and into his trunk. He wondered when it would finally kill him. When his frantic heart stopped within a shell of rock? When the march of stone reached his eyes and he could no