Dave Gross: Mistress of the Night

Feena leaped past them, straight at the dog in the center, the only one she hadn't injured yet. It reared up to meet her charge, but her weight was greater and she bowled the beast over onto its back.

One fast snap of her jaws around its throat sent it back into Shadow, but another dog leaped onto her back. Feena felt jaws closing, trying to find purchase on her neck. She twisted around, willing a change as she moved. Her wide, clawed hands caught the thing's jaws. She jerked them sharply to the side. The dog shuddered, died, and vanished.

The last dog, the one with the savaged throat, shrank back with its tail between its legs as she rose. Feena stalked toward it, growling and flexing her hands. The dog whimperedthen lunged. Feena spun out of its way and raked it deeply with her claws as it passed. It landed, spun around, and managed one last growl before it collapsed and vanished as well.

The mutter of human voices brought her around. On the far side of the abandoned battering ram, the Sharrans who had manned it stood clenched together in a frightened little pack of their own. Standing at their head, however, was a man with an eerily stiff and flawless face: Bolan!

"You've beaten shadow mastiffs, Selunite," he called, "but do you think you can take Shar's faithful?"

The Sharrans managed a weak rattling of weapons. Bolan scarcely seemed to notice. By his voice and the eyes that glared out from his unmoving face, he was half mad. Ceramic flasks and little pouches hung from a harness that crisscrossed his chest. The metallic stink of alchemy drifted off him. Feena dropped down into a defensive crouch. Bolan reached up to his harness with both hands and plucked off flasks.

"Specially created for Selunites," he said, "and for werewolves. Powdered silver ground into alchemist's fire!"

Feena growled. The other Sharrans flinched back, but Bolan stepped forward.

"Untested, it's truebut I've had so little opportunity." His arms swept back, ready to throw the flasks. "You'll be the first to experience my creation!"

"No!"

To the side of them, the doors of Moonshadow Hall swung open. Julith stood between them, a helmet on her head, a shield on her arm, and a mace at her side. Selune's symbol was in her hand.

"By the Moonmaiden," she shouted, "she shall not!"

Feena smelled the clean white breeze of the moon goddess's magic as it roared between priestess and dark priest. The flasks in Bolan's handsall of the flasks that festooned his chestshattered in a cascade of quiet popping noises. Feena saw an instant of horror in his eyes,

Then the gooey liquid that coated his hands erupted into white flame. His chest burst into flame as wellor at least those patches of it that didn't steam with acid or melt under the bite of vile poisons. Pouches caught fire and flared up in thick, greasy smoke. Bolan screamed in agony, whirling around and around.

"Shar, have mercy! Mistress of the Night, save me!"

The cultists leaped away from him as he danced. Smoke and flame spun a trail behind him.

"No! No! No"

Something burst and burned in a puff of deep violet flame. Bolan gasped and choked on it, then clutched at his throat with blazing hands. He staggered once more and pitched over onto his back.

The Sharransand Feenastared as the mingled fires of a dozen alchemical preparations consumed the fallen priest.

But the defenders of Moonshadow Hall were rushing through the gates, clergy and acolytes armed for battle and with prayers on their lips. A few of the cultists scattered with Selune's followers in pursuit. The others were surrounded in a matter of moments.

"Feena, we've won!" called Julith. The dark-haired priestess strode across the abandoned battering ram like the Moonmaiden's own warrior. "The Sharrans who reached the roof are dead or captured. We've won!"

"No," Feena growled. "There's one more Sharran to find." She held up her hand and roared, "A mace! Someone give me a mace!"

A priestess spun and tossed one to her. Feena snatched the weapon out of the air. The blessing of Selune clung to it. She growled in satisfaction.

"Stay close," she ordered Julith. "We need to find Variance."

– — amp; — There was a growl from the shadows ahead. Keph froze in alarm as one of the shadow mastiffs seemed to detach itself from the darkness. It paced toward him, growling.

"You… you stay back!" he said.

The mastiff didn't stop. Keph felt sweat run cold down the sides of his face. His arms ached from the strange weight of the book of black slates. His head pulsed with the effort of resisting its dark force and the mad whispers within. Moonshadow Hall was close. He could see the steady glow of magical moonlight above the intervening buildingsthe priestesses had all but lit up the night.

He was so close to being done with Variance, too, so close to giving her the cursed book. He tried moving to the side of the street but the shadow mastiff matched his movements.

"What is it?" Keph demanded. "What do you want?" He held out the book. "LookI'm on Variance's business. Leave me alone!"

He'd seen Variance speak freely to the beasts, but the mastiff gave no sign of having understood him. It crouched low, moving closer, but at an angle that forced Keph to step away from the wall if he wanted to keep his distance from the beast. Its growl was deep and menacing. Keph twisted around, walking backward so he could keep an eye on it.

"Stay back," he repeated.

He juggled the book into his left hand so he could reach for Quick with his right… instinct again. The Selunites still had the damned rapier! He gasped out a curse and brandished the book like a shield.

The shadow mastiff darted forward.

Keph yelped and thrust out the book.

"Get back!" he yelled Except that the words that emerged from his lips weren't his. With a sudden, hideous rush, the whispers of the book came together, blasting through the weakness of his fear to tear across his soul, and out of his mouth. Keph shouted words that grated on his ears for a fleeting moment before vanishing like bad dreams.

The shadow mastiff let out a howling wail as its body smeared out against the darkness and evaporated into a wisp of dark smoke.

Burning pain seared through Keph's hand. With a howl of his own, he tossed the book back into his right hand and stared at his left. A silvery character branded his thumbone of the characters from the black slates. He stared at it then at the book.

It seemed lighter than it had moments before. The whispers had receded slightly in his head.

He swallowed hard.

"Variance!"

Feena stalked around to the east side of Moonshadow Hall. If Bolan had commanded the attack on the temple's south, it made sense that Variance should have commanded the attack from the east. When Feena fought the Sharrans on the rooftop, that had been the direction the dark priestess's prayers had come from as well.

"Variance!" she roared again. "Come out!"

Behind her, Julith raced to keep up. Feena moved just slowly enough to allow her the chance to keep pace. Prayers of moonlight overhead cast bright, colorless pools down onto the streets and alleys around the temple wallsbut in the shadows between buildings, darkness lay deep. Feena stopped and spun around, her arms raised.

"Variance, come out! I know you're here!"

A sudden whiff of shadowstuff, much like the mastiffs, caught her nose. She whirled.

Shadows parted down a side street and a tall Calishite woman stepped into a patch of moonlight. Dusky pale skin, plain black clothes, long dark hair… the only color about Variance was the purple wink of the amethyst ring on one finger.

Though she held the sharp steel ring of a chakram in her right hand casually, her eyes were intense.

"Your continued interference is unexpected and unwelcome."