ankles. Tiny flowers sprang up beneath her feet at a fantastic rate, bloomed with radiant hues, filled the air with a senses-stealing sweetness. Up her thighs the blossoms climbed, into her boots, into her sleeves. A sharp bite, a sting, and petalous mouths sucked her blood.
She shuddered, writhing inside as the flowers kissed her flesh, wormed under her belt, slithered over her breasts. She remembered the sword in her hand, tried to lift it, but her muscles would not respond.
Her throat tightened. A bead of sweat ran into her eye; she could do nothing to relieve the salty pain. A cloying panic swelled within her, though she worked to fight it down.
Concentrating, she filled her mind with visions of bones and grinning butterflies. She imagined her bones mingled with Kregan's in the dirt, two wild daisies blossoming serenely in the eye-sockets of her skull.
She nurtured that thought and, slowly, feeling came into her left hand. Her fingers clenched tighter on the hilt of her sword. Her arm raised an inchâbut no more. Zarad-Krul's Eye burned into her, perceiving her plan and thwarting it with a power that nearly numbed her mind. Tears scalded her cheeks; she felt herself slipping into a deep void, knowing she would never return.
Then, Ashur cried out, a sound of helpless agony. The echo of it beat at her brain. The unicorn bellowed again, each tune bringing her farther from the abyss the bloated Eye sucked her toward. She focussed her will on the sound, conjured images of the unicorn's suffering, used them to feed the rage and hatred that would weaken Zarad-Krul's spell. We won't quit, Ashur , she swore inwardly. We won't die!
She strained against the wizard's power. Sweat rolled thickly down her face, neck, and arms. The sword quivered in her hand; the point lifted another inch. Her head began to throb; muscles ached as she battled for possession of her own body.
Her eyelids fluttered. With a furious effort she snapped them shut ... Â
And the spell shattered. In the instant Zarad-Krul's gaze lost hers her body and will became her own again. A savage snarl curled her lips. The sword flew up in a glittering arc.
Fierce, desperate, she hacked and pulled at the grass and flowers that encased the lower half of her form. Red, mottled circles marked her skin where the vampire plants had touched her. Kregan was nearly lost in the blossoms; only a little of his face was yet exposed. The legs of their mounts were similarly encased, but most of the plants had gone for the animal's throats. Neither Kregan nor Neri moved, transfixed by the Eye's power, but Ashur tossed his head wildly, though he could not flee.
Perhaps it was the peculiar nature of the unicorn's eyes, or the fact that he was, himself, a creature of magic that made him immune to the Eye's mesmeric spell. Frost had little time to wonder, recalling only the Stranger's wordsâthat the unicorn was a weapon to aid her against Zarad-Krul.
She tore away the last of the vampire plants with a triumphant shout. Shielding her eyes with an uplifted arm, she swung her blade swung up, then down, meeting slight resistance as the steel edge sliced through membranous layers, cleaving the black pupil in half.
Steaming blood and humor splashed on the ground. The vampire blossoms threw themselves into the bilious liquid, thirsting, sucking it up.
Grim with satisfaction, she regarded her handiwork. The Eye reflected shock and pain as the loathsome thing emptied its fluid like a broken egg. The jaundiced ichor spilled from the wound, soaked into the earth, and the transparent husk that remained wobbled obscenely, then collapsed. She watched, revulsion knotting her stomach, as the husk dissolved in foul-smeiling vapor, leaving the earth stained with a black dew.
Then, unexpectedly, the raw edge of a psychic scream lanced her brain. When the shock of it passed she smiled cruelly, knowing that in distant Shardaha Zarad-Krul had gone permanently blind in one eye.
Freed from
She shuddered, writhing inside as the flowers kissed her flesh, wormed under her belt, slithered over her breasts. She remembered the sword in her hand, tried to lift it, but her muscles would not respond.
Her throat tightened. A bead of sweat ran into her eye; she could do nothing to relieve the salty pain. A cloying panic swelled within her, though she worked to fight it down.
Concentrating, she filled her mind with visions of bones and grinning butterflies. She imagined her bones mingled with Kregan's in the dirt, two wild daisies blossoming serenely in the eye-sockets of her skull.
She nurtured that thought and, slowly, feeling came into her left hand. Her fingers clenched tighter on the hilt of her sword. Her arm raised an inchâbut no more. Zarad-Krul's Eye burned into her, perceiving her plan and thwarting it with a power that nearly numbed her mind. Tears scalded her cheeks; she felt herself slipping into a deep void, knowing she would never return.
Then, Ashur cried out, a sound of helpless agony. The echo of it beat at her brain. The unicorn bellowed again, each tune bringing her farther from the abyss the bloated Eye sucked her toward. She focussed her will on the sound, conjured images of the unicorn's suffering, used them to feed the rage and hatred that would weaken Zarad-Krul's spell. We won't quit, Ashur , she swore inwardly. We won't die!
She strained against the wizard's power. Sweat rolled thickly down her face, neck, and arms. The sword quivered in her hand; the point lifted another inch. Her head began to throb; muscles ached as she battled for possession of her own body.
Her eyelids fluttered. With a furious effort she snapped them shut ... Â
And the spell shattered. In the instant Zarad-Krul's gaze lost hers her body and will became her own again. A savage snarl curled her lips. The sword flew up in a glittering arc.
Fierce, desperate, she hacked and pulled at the grass and flowers that encased the lower half of her form. Red, mottled circles marked her skin where the vampire plants had touched her. Kregan was nearly lost in the blossoms; only a little of his face was yet exposed. The legs of their mounts were similarly encased, but most of the plants had gone for the animal's throats. Neither Kregan nor Neri moved, transfixed by the Eye's power, but Ashur tossed his head wildly, though he could not flee.
Perhaps it was the peculiar nature of the unicorn's eyes, or the fact that he was, himself, a creature of magic that made him immune to the Eye's mesmeric spell. Frost had little time to wonder, recalling only the Stranger's wordsâthat the unicorn was a weapon to aid her against Zarad-Krul.
She tore away the last of the vampire plants with a triumphant shout. Shielding her eyes with an uplifted arm, she swung her blade swung up, then down, meeting slight resistance as the steel edge sliced through membranous layers, cleaving the black pupil in half.
Steaming blood and humor splashed on the ground. The vampire blossoms threw themselves into the bilious liquid, thirsting, sucking it up.
Grim with satisfaction, she regarded her handiwork. The Eye reflected shock and pain as the loathsome thing emptied its fluid like a broken egg. The jaundiced ichor spilled from the wound, soaked into the earth, and the transparent husk that remained wobbled obscenely, then collapsed. She watched, revulsion knotting her stomach, as the husk dissolved in foul-smeiling vapor, leaving the earth stained with a black dew.
Then, unexpectedly, the raw edge of a psychic scream lanced her brain. When the shock of it passed she smiled cruelly, knowing that in distant Shardaha Zarad-Krul had gone permanently blind in one eye.
Freed from
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