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.Marak hesitantly reached a hand up to push the striped hair out of his face.“Stop that!” cried the sorcerer.“You know you can’t move on your own! That’s enough of your magic!” he snarled at Kate.“You came here to kill me, but you’ll be killed instead by your own precious freak.” He whirled back to the goblin.“Kill her right now, and be quick about it!”At the command, Marak advanced decisively, sword up.When he looked at Kate, she saw the same distant expression he had worn when he cut her hands open.She didn’t think he knew her at all.“Fight for us, Marak!” she begged.He raised the sword in his right hand and brought it slashing down, but at the same moment he shoved her as hard as he could with his left hand.Kate sprawled onto her back in a filthy puddle as the blade flashed past.“Stop trying not to kill her!” the sorcerer screamed.“Kill her, and this time really do it!”Kate tried to scramble away, but the goblin stepped on her arm, pinning her to the ground.His impassive gaze showed only the faintest flicker of unease, the faintest hint of puzzled recognition.He swung the sword up to chop off her head, and she couldn’t get away.“Marak,” Kate whispered in goblin, “I’m going to have a baby.” Then she closed her eyes tightly as the sword came slashing down again.She felt a burning pain and reached up to touch her face.A shallow cut stretched across her cheekbone, but the weapon clattered to the ground.“My wife and son!” Marak cried.“Kate, our baby! Do you mean it?” He looked around in surprise.“What are we doing here? Where are we?” And he reached down to help her up out of the puddle.The sorcerer glared at them both, beside himself with fear and horror.A dog started howling somewhere below them.“The watchdogs!” the sorcerer spat at Kate.“This is all your fault.Sixty monster servants, and I have to kill you myself!” He snatched up the sword and raised it, but Marak wrapped his arms around the furious man.Kate stepped back from the struggling pair, unsure what to do.“Let me go!” howled the sorcerer, his eyes like red lamps.Marak was wreathed in flames now, his face twisted in agony, but he held the sorcerer in a tight grip.An unearthly keening came from below, joining the howling dog.“The wizards! The wizards!” shouted the frenzied sorcerer.“Let me go!” As the stricken Kate watched, Marak glowed brightly all over like molten metal.He collapsed onto the floor, still glowing, and the sorcerer broke free, charging straight at Kate and swinging the sword wildly.One second she was staring at his livid face, mouth open, spit flying, weapon swung back to kill her.The next instant she was staring at the dim room beyond as the sword toppled onto the ground.She seized it and looked around frantically, but there was nothing to see.The room was completely empty.Holding the sword, Kate moved to the center of the room, gazing around in bewilderment.She reached a hand up to her cut cheek and wiped away the blood, staring at the silent, dingy space and listening to the water drip from the rafters.She remembered the howling and the keening.Now there was no sound at all.A golden flash caught her dazed attention, and in another second Charm twined rapidly around her arm until its head reared up before her face.As she blinked at the snake, it bared fangs in an exultant grin.“I have just bitten a man,” hissed Charm triumphantly.Chapter ThirteenKate picked her way carefully down the rotted wooden stairs underneath the warehouse building, still clutching the sword.She was beginning to regret having asked the golden snake to show her the sorcerer’s body.“Charm, did you know all along that I was going to have a baby?” she asked.“Yes, I knew, King’s Wife,” hissed the snake.“And you let the baby and me leave the kingdom?” demanded Kate in amazement.“The kingdom was not safe.The sorcerer could reach inside it to bring harm to you and the Heir.I needed to come to the sorcerer to protect my Wives.”They reached the bottom of the stairwell.Two large gray wolves were chained there [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]