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.Whether from rage or shock, Lewan couldn't be sure—he had been around no ladies of such social standing in his life and could not read her—bur he was certain there was very little grief in her mood.She had ordered the men to clean up the torn corpses as if ordering a servant to sweep up a broken plate.A great domed building stood at the end of the path before them.Pillars ringed it—Lewan counted four on the near side alone—and he was surprised to see smoke wafting out the top.Not pillars, then, but great chimneys, each one covered in the odd angle-patterns that seemed to dominate the fortress’s architecture.Talieth glanced back and saw him gawking."This is the Dome of Fire," she said."Get your head down."Lewan obeyed, and she led him down a brick path along one wall of the dome to a narrow stairway that began at ground level and descended into the earth.Ten steps down, the darkness was broken by lamps set in alcoves along the wall.The air felt cool but close, and water from the storm ran down into the earth through gutters on either side of the path.Twenty more steps and the stairway turned left and doubled back, their way lit by more lamps.Farther from the fresh air, Lewan could smell the lamp oil, scented with some kind of spice.The stairs doubled back twice more, then ended before a yawning blackness.Lewan hesitated, but Talieth stepped toward the right wall.Just at the border between light and shadow was a stone column about waist high.The odd angular patterns and strange runes covered it, and atop it, set within the stone itself, was the top third of a crystal sphere.In the murky light cast by the last of the lamps, the crystal seemedblack as dreamless sleep.Talieth placed her open hand on the crystal and stroked it.Lewan gasped and jumped back as fire flared to life in the darkness beyond—leaping from a ledge that ran along the wall a few feet off the floor.It ran down the length of the hall, disappearing around a bend not far ahead.Talieth turned around and gave him a gracious nod of her head."Welcome to the Dome of Fire," she said, "although as I'm sure you've guessed, we're actually well below the dome itself.""How—?" Lewan stared, open mouthed, at the long stream of flame running along the wall."The Imaskari were masters of the elements," said Talieth."They are long gone, but their works endure, only waiting for the proper hand to bring them to life." A sharpness entered her eyes, not unlike the careful watchfulness Lewan had seen in the eyes of Sauk's tiger when she'd been set to watch him."Much as we are hoping you will do with your sacred relic, yes?"Lewan drew a breath, intending to point out that he had never agreed to aid their conspiracy.At least not yet.But that tigerlike gaze made him think better of it.Still, frightened as he was—and he didn't even try to fool himself into thinking that he wasn't frightened—he could not bring himself to give in so easily.He simply looked to the flames and kept his tone light as he said, "What would you have me do, lady?"Talieth smiled, though the predator's eyes remained."Follow me," she said, and turned down the hallway.Lewan followed.The hall was wide enough for several to walk abreast.Talieth glided down the middle, Lewan behind her and slightly to the right.He drifted to one side and looked down into the channel.He could not smell or see oil or fuel of any sort—only a tiny crack along the bottom of the stone.It seemed no thicker than his thumbnail, and the flames leaped to life just above the crack.He was near the wall, his eyes following the track of flame, when the channel ended at a doorway.Although the entrance had a thick wooden door on four stout iron hinges, the door was open.Inside, the room was dark, and the light from the channels of flame in the hall only penetrated a few feet inside the room.As they passed, Lewan could see no more than a bare stone floor, covered in dust and grit.But the smell emanating from the room was unmistakable.Blood and charnel.A hunter for most of his life, Lewan had seen countless animals butchered.In the villages and settlements in the Amber Steppes, he'd seen entire pens devoted to slaughter, the blood and offal drenching the grass and forming a putrid mud.This smell was worse.Lewan recoiled, almost trampling the hem of Talieth's skirt in front of him, and his gorge rose.For the first time since waking, he was glad of his empty stomach.This was the stench of slow death and rot.Grimacing, Lewan swallowed bile and looked to Talieth for explanation.She kept walking, not even turning, as if nothing were out of the ordinary."What.was that?" Lewan's voice was hoarse and raw.His throat burned from the bile."Put it out of your mind," said Talieth, not turning or slowing her pace."You have other concerns now."They passed three more doors—two on the left and one on the right.Thankfully, these were shut tight, but as they passed the second, Lewan thought he heard a faint sniffling from behind the door, like the ragged end of weeping or someone breathing during the final stages of a long sickness.But the steady hiss of the flames drowned it out after they passed.The hallway curved again, always to the right.They passed a large passageway with more stairs leading down, and not far beyond, they reached another door.Talieth lifted the black iron latch, the door swung forward on noiseless hinges, and she entered.Lewan hesitated in the doorway, but the room before him was nothing like the one he'd passed earlier.It was opulent.The room was bigger than most houses he'd seen in his lifetime, though the ceiling was low.Heavy drapes covered the walls, alternating with several bookshelves, each of which was filled with scrolls and thick tomes.Soft couches rested upon thick rugs.Thick white candles burned in sconces on the wall and on pedestals throughout the room.In the middle of the far wall, a fire burned in a hearth so large that Lewan could have stood inside it.A brass brazier hung from a chain over the flames, and something inside bubbled, filling the room with a spicy scent.In the middle of the room, sitting upon a thick rug that looked as if it had been taken from a sultan's palace, was a plain table, four plain chairs set around it."This is my private study." Talieth stood just inside the room."Enter and be welcome."Lewan stepped inside, his footsteps soundless on the deep rug.Talieth shut the door behind him and walked to the table, where she turned and leaned against it to regard him with that predator's gaze."Please, sit wherever you like."Lewan looked around, eyeing the plain wooden chairs and the soft, cushioned couches.Time to test this predator's mettle, he thought.He sat on the rug with his back firmly against the door.Talieth's left eyebrow shot up, and one corner of her mouth followed it in an amused smile."Comfortable?" "Yes, my lady."With both hands Talieth reached behind her neck and pulled a necklace of braided leather over her head.Erael'len emerged from the front of her dress."You remember of what we spoke yesterday?""Yes, my lady."Talieth looked at him, her eyebrows rising a little morewith each moment that he didn't speak.Finally, she said, "Lewan?""Yes, my lady?""Are you going to be difficult?" "Difficult, my lady?"" 'Difficult, my lady,' " she repeated in a flat tone.She crossed her arms beneath her breasts, Erael'len dangling from one hand [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]