Chapter Three I left Anomen sleeping like the dead and found Edwin downstairs in a private room, smoking a water pipe. “Where’s the guys?”
“Korgan is in the back room with Volo. They are trying to drink each other under the table.”
Volo was a bard with an inflated opinion of his own renown, who claimed to be chronicling our adventures, but mostly just seemed to be trying to drain the tavern’s cellars. “Then this’d be a good time to pick Volo for the Nashkel bar tab he owes us.” I slumped into a chair next to him. “Valygar and Sarevok?”
“In the sweet spot on the parapet. Valygar can’t keep away, and Sarevok has nothing better to do.”
“Again? We’re going to run out of ammo.” I thought about the hundreds of Kuo-Toa arrows filling up our ammo belts, and the bows that needed no ammunition. “No, I guess not.”
I took out the gilt pocket mirror that Anomen had given me. He’d had it enchanted to cast Mirror Image once a day. What a sweetie. I ran my hand through my hair. This lack of sleep was beginning to wear on me. “Do I look hagged to you?” Maybe I was scaring Anomen off.
“You are as always a vision, Perdita.” Edwin offered me a drag on his pipe. I sampled it and passed it back. He stared at me. “I know that look.”
“What look?”
“The glow of the aftermath. You are almost on fire.”
I took another glance in the mirror. Glow, huh? Maybe. “You never saw this look.”
He snorted. “How quickly you have swept your inconvenient past under the carpet. I doubt that you have explained to Wonder Boy how you acquired your extensive knowledge of Thayvian sexual techniques.”
“You forget, I grew up in Candlekeep. It was nothing but library. Those monks had some books you wouldn’t believe.” At least that’s what I planned to tell Anomen if he ever asked, and it was mostly true. “Besides, you overstate ‘extensive.’ And ‘sexual.’ And ‘techniques.’”
“You and I,” he said, “we are like a couple who has been married too long. Everything that was between us is gone. Love, lust—”
“Misguided juvenile infatuation.”
“As I was saying, passion, even the pettiness, the arguments, the resentments—”
“The rage at abandonment to a villain bent on destroying my soul.”
“Must you interrupt? But yes, even that, all are gone. All that is left is a certain not uncomfortable familiarity.”
There was some truth in what he said, much as I hated to admit it. “And if you breathe a word of it to Anomen, I’ll kill you in a hot second.”
He studied his nails, and casually said, “You couldn’t take me. One Time Stop and I’d have my way with you.”
“That’s if you could get the spell off before I removed your hands with my blades.”
“Bah. You are as pathetically delusional as all your fellows. A bard learns a spell or two, and imagines that she is an archmage. She manages to pick up a sword without cutting herself, and she thinks she is a master swordsman.”
I stood and threw up a Stoneskin. “All right, let’s go.”
“Do not be ridiculous, Perdita. I have no wish to humiliate you.”
I used Anomen’s gift to cast Mirror Image then cast Blur for good measure. I fired off a preemptory Pierce Magic then drew Angurvadal and the Blade of Roses. I flourished them in a display of my skill. “We’ll see who will do the humiliating. Come on, you craven weasel. On your feet.”
“Really, Perdita, is this necessary?” He stood and cast protections of his own.
“I’m tired of you mages looking down your noses at us bards. Which ear is your least favorite?”
Edwin cast something, and I’m not exactly sure what happened, except next thing I knew, I was sitting on the floor and Korgan was standing between us.
“Och, Perdita, it's about time ye rid the world o’ this slimy bastard.” He helped me to my feet.
“Hold your tongue, dwarf,” Edwin said. “I would have easily bested her if you hadn’t interfered.”
“What are ye about, ye villain? Perdita be our meal ticket. Me purse be gorged from pickin’ up the leavin’s cast in her wake.”
“She-she cast first!” Edwin sputtered. “I think I may defend myself.”
Korgan drew his axe and held it to Edwin's throat. “Think on this, then. If she be cold on the ground, how do the rest of us get out o’ this stinkhole? Do that infernal imp answer your call?”
“No.” Edwin covered his nose and mouth with his hands. “Please, your breath is making me ill.”
Korgan lowered his axe and stepped back from Edwin.
“Thanks, Korgan,” I said, “but there was no need to defend me. I had everything under control.”
“I’m sure ye did, lassie. Mayhap t’were one o’ yer illusions that ye were flat on yer backside. But I enjoys havin’ a bit o’ fun with yon lily-livered dirt scraping.” He thumped me on the back, nearly knocking me over. “I’m off to join the locals in a spot o’ elf-baitin’—no offense to ye, lassie, but ye seem not even half an elf—but just gie a whoop if ye needs me axe agin’.”
“That I’ll do.” I watched him totter off, then I sheathed my swords. Edwin pulled out my chair and gestured toward it with a sweep of his hand. I shrugged and sat down. “No hard feelings.”
He resumed his chair. “None indeed.” He took a hit off his pipe.
This was as good a time as any to ask Edwin if he would talk to Anomen. Anomen’s sister was viciously murdered shortly after we met. I urged him not to listen to his father’s drunken ravings as to who was to blame, because I was afraid Anomen would run off and not come back. I still wasn’t sure if we’d made the right decision. He talked to me after about his sister, and because I didn’t know what to say, I just listened, and that seemed to be enough. Then maybe I’d sing him a song or two, about love and loss, with a little charm glamour thrown in.
And I never told anyone this, and I never would, only Bad Kitty knew, I don’t think Anomen even knew himself, or if he did he never spoke of it, but sometimes he had nightmares about his childhood, and he’d cry, and I’d hold him until he slept again. And that was before Bodhi really messed him up.
I said to Edwin, “Speaking of Anomen—”
“Not that I recall.”
I glared at him. “
Speaking of Anomen, I have something I want to ask you. He’s been having all these nightmares lately, about when he was a vampire. I want to help him, but I don’t know how.”
“What is it you think I can do for him?”
“I think he needs to talk it out. I’m too close to him. I think there are things that he doesn’t want me to hear. You’re the smartest one here—except for me, of course. Maybe, if we could get him to talk to you, you could figure out what haunts him.” I waited for Edwin’s answer. “Well, will you do it?”
He took another drag on his pipe and focused on the ceiling. At last he said, “Why not. There is little enough entertainment here, and it may prove—amusing.”
I left Edwin at the table, but just as I exited the private room I was stopped by one of the tavern patrons. He had a wild look in his eye.
“Have you seen them? You’ve seen them too, haven’t you? I’m not crazy, am I?”
I looked back at Edwin, but he was reclining in his chair, his eyes closed, smoke pouring from his nostrils. He wasn’t going to be any help. “Seen what? What are you talking about?”
“The vampires. All the damn vampires. This town is infested with them. They came when the siege started. They feed on death.”
I was chilled to my bones. This was what I feared—that Anomen’s dreams were not just dreams. Yet this man seemed like a less than credible source. “How can you be sure? Do you have any proof?”
He swung his head around wildly, as if fearing that a bloodsucker would fly out of the corner and attach itself to his neck right there. “I’ve seen them. They come to the Tavern at night and try to lure victims to their nest.” Fear drove his voice into an unnaturally high register. He bobbed his head. “Forgive my manners, my lady. I’m Peltje.”
I nodded. “Perdita, Bhaalspawn.”
“Aren’t we all.”
“Why do you think
I’ve seen them?”
“You have, I can tell you have. You believe me, don’t you?”
“I—I do believe you. I haven’t seen them, but I believe you.” Although I wasn’t sure that he wasn’t crazy anyway. Vampires weren’t fun, but it struck me that with the siege and all, death by fire or starvation was a more immediate threat. I wondered why he was so obsessed with them. “What do you want from me?”
“You are the most powerful of us. We all know it. We can sense the power in you. If anyone can eliminate the vampires, it would be you.”
He was right, I was the most powerful, and even if I thought getting rid of the vampires would be as effective as bailing a leaky boat, it appeared I had to do it for Anomen’s sake. “All right, where are they, then? Where is their nest?”
“In the sewers. There are two of them that come here at night. They pretend to be courtesans, but if you agree to go with them, you don’t come back.”
“The sewers, you say.” I knew it. Gods, I’d had my fill of crawling around in sewers. After each subterranean excursion, I swore that I’d never go in a sewer again. Rats, spiders, kobolds, ee-yew.
“Some say there is a secret entrance. I don’t know how to find it, but you could ask a native. You’ll do something, won’t you?” His anxious expression made me feel guilty that I had every intention of avoiding the task if I could.
“We’ll see.”
Ask a native, he said. The tavern owner Pyrgam Aleson was certainly a native, and so talkative that I usually got too much information from him. I approached him and got straight to the point.
“Ready for your performance tonight, my dear?”
“Perfectly. I need to ask you about a few things first.”
“With what may I help you?”
“I’ve heard that there is a secret way into the sewers. I figured that if anyone knew, it would be you.” I gave him my most winning smile, the one that made Anomen my love slave.
“The sewer entrances aren’t secret. You can enter through the grates in the street.”
“Oh.” Was it that easy? Pop down one of the grates, and there you are, in the middle of vampires.
“But…the sewers will get you somewhere else.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can tell you for 1000 gold.”
The smile wasn’t winning enough. Then I remembered that it wasn’t exactly my
smile that made Anomen my love slave. “You can tell me if you want me to perform tonight.”
“Haump. Yes. This town is riddled with secrets. Perhaps there is somewhere else you need to find your way into?”
What
was he talking about? “Um, no?”
“A certain castle, perhaps?” He jerked his head, I suppose in the direction of Gromnir’s castle. It was of course the only one in town.
“Castle? What about a castle? I was talking about the sewers.”
He ostentatiously cleared his throat. “I happened to overhear your discussion earlier. There is something you must do before you may leave this town. You can get into the castle through the abandoned jail. Unfortunately, it has become a breeding ground for the undead—or so I hear from my great good friend Sister Farielle. You might ask her if you want to know more.”
“Thank you.” We talked about what he’d done to publicize my performance that night, while I thought about what he said. So I’d have to face Sister Farielle after all, unless another way could be found.
#
Again I took the precaution of putting up all my fire protections, but didn’t go straight to Farielle in the temple. My feet wound up on the castle battlements with Valygar and Sarevok.
Valygar acknowledged my presence with a nod, but didn’t break his firing rhythm. His arms drew the bow; his muscles bunched and released with the arrows. It was fascinating viewing.
“Perdita, would you like to try it?”
I jumped at Sarevok’s voice close by. He offered Firetooth to me, the crossbow he and I kept fighting over. He had been loading it with Kuo-Toa bolts for their paralytic effect on top of the inherent fire damage of the bow.
“Do the fire bolts even work against fire giants?”
“My kills are even with his.”
Valygar didn’t let his answer interfere with his motions. “I keep telling him, he’s wrong. Firetooth takes longer to load.” He reeled off a long explanation of how his kill rate was highest. As usual, I tuned Valygar out when he talked like that. Sarevok moved behind Valygar where Valygar couldn’t see him and shook his head in denial.
I loaded a Kuo-Toa bolt and cranked the bow. Sarevok leaned into to me and pointed out my sightlines. “Aim for that spot, to the right of the dead tree.”
My hands shook with nervousness at him so near.
“You have it, Perdita. Fire!”
I shot the bolt.
“A hit!” Sarevok said. I couldn’t see that far but I took his word for it. I wasn’t sure if his empty eyes saw or he used some other sense.
I loaded another bolt. Valygar had to be right. It took me much longer to load and fire than it took him. Sarevok, as if reading my thoughts, said, “You need fewer hits than Valygar.”
I shot a few more then handed Firetooth back to him. It was addictive. If I didn’t quit, I’d be here all day. “I want to talk to you for a second.”
He inclined his head, and we moved away from Valygar the Killing Machine.
“What is it you wish?”
“I want to know what it’s like to be undead.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Why do you consult me? Do you think that I am undead?”
“Well, sure, aren’t you? I mean, I killed you, and…”
He was standing so close to me, that even with the fire raining down around us, I could feel the heat from his body.
“I was dead, but I am restored to life. Fully restored. I am as alive as you, Perdita.” He opened the breastplate of his armor, took one of my hands in his leather-clad ones, and pressed it flat against his breast. “Feel that. Does that feel like a living heart to you?”
His hands captured mine. His heart thumped strongly in his chest. I stared up into his blank eyes. Not very dead, oh, my, not at all. I snatched my hand away. He laughed at my confusion and refastened his armor.
“We could advance now on Gromnir and take his castle. You and I could rule together as King and Queen, brother and sister.”
I wasn’t sure how he meant that. How dead
was he? “Look, here’s the thing,” I said. “I know we aren’t related in any real sense. If we had kids or something, it wouldn’t be as if they’d have two heads or five arms or anything. Even if we were related like that, there are places like West Athkatla where that would be normal. But it would be a really bad idea, if you know what I mean. And I really love, uh…” Gods, what was his name?
“Anomen.”
“Yes, I was going to say that.”
“You need not worry, my lady. I am not dead, but neither am I as consumed by the lusts of the flesh as once I was. I am now content to play the role of the observer. Watching the two of you has taught me that I have missed much in life. There are satisfactions other than power.”
“There are? I mean, is that what you really think?”
He laughed. “This is your tale; mine is done. But why this morbid curiosity?”
I hadn’t confided in anyone else. I could spar with Edwin, but I hadn’t been able to tell him my real concern. These guys would follow me for their own reasons, they would die for me, but we weren’t friends. I guess Anomen was my friend. He told me I was his best friend, and to be nice, I told him the same thing, but there were some things I could never share with him. If he knew some of the things I really thought and felt, he would hate me.
But Sarevok was my brother. Could I start to treat him that way, confide in him? I’d felt so alone growing up in Candlekeep. Neither elf nor human, neither mage nor fighter, cursed with the soul of a poet, I was out of place.
“Anomen has been having nightmares of when he was a vampire. I’m going to get Edwin to help him with the nightmares, but I’m afraid it’s more than that.”
“What is your concern?”
“I think he’s somehow falling under their spell again.” My voice was choked. I blinked so he wouldn’t see my tears. “I think there are vampires in this town.”
“Then our path is clear. We must root them from their nests. My sword is yours.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure. What if that doesn’t cure him? What if—” To my horror I started crying. I was afraid Sarevok would laugh that laugh of his at me.
He lifted my face with two fingers under my chin. With his other hand, he brushed tears from my cheek. In the light from the bombing they glistened red on his glove.
“Find out what you need to do. We will fight these vampires.”