The Bonehunters

Was very wrong.



'Do you know,' Quick Ben asked, 'why I am here?'



'She has earned no mercy, wizard. Not even from you.'



'I am her brother.'



'There are rituals to sever such ties,' Shadowthrone said, 'and your sister has done them all!'



'Done them all? No, tried them all. There are threads that such rituals cannot touch. I made certain of that. I would not be here otherwise.'



A snort. 'Threads. Such as those you take greatest pleasure in spinning, Adaephon Delat? Of course. It is your finest talent, the weaving of impossible skeins.' The hooded head seemed to wag from side to side as Shadowthrone chanted, 'Nets and snares and traps, lines and hooks and bait, nets and snares and-' Then he leaned forward. 'Tell me, why should your sister be spared? And how – truly, how – do you imagine that I have the power to save her? She is not mine, is she?



She's not here in Shadow Keep, is she?' He cocked his head. 'Oh my.



Even now she draws her last few breaths… as the mortal lover of the Grey Goddess – what, pray tell, do you expect me to do?'



Quick Ben stared. The Grey Goddess? Poliel? Oh, Torahaval… '



Wait,' he said, 'Bottle confirmed it – more than instinct – you are involved. Right now, wherever they are, it has something to do with you!'



A spasmodic cackle from Shadowthrone, enough to make the god's thin, insubstantial limbs convulse momentarily. 'You owe me, Adaephon Delat!



Acknowledge this and I will send you to her! This instant! Accept the debt!'



Dammit. First Kalam and now me. You bastard, Shadowthrone – 'All right! I owe you! I accept the debt!'



The Shadow God gestured, a lazy wave of one hand.



And Quick Ben vanished.



Alone once again, Shadowthrone settled back in his throne. 'So fraught,' he whispered. 'So… careless, unmindful of this vast, echoing, mostly empty hall. Poor man. Poor, poor man. Ah, what's this I find in my hand?' He looked over to see a short-handled scythe now gripped and poised before him. The god narrowed his gaze, looked about in the gloomy air, then said, 'Well, look at these! Threads! Worse than cobwebs, these! Getting everywhere – grossly indicative of sloppy… housekeeping. No, they won't do, won't do at all.' He swept the scythe's blade through the sorcerous tendrils, watched as they spun away into nothingness. 'There now,' he said, smiling, 'I feel more hygienic already.'



****

Throttled awake by gloved hands at his throat, he flailed about, then was dragged to his knees. Kalam's face thrust close to his own, and in that face, Bottle saw pure terror.



'The threads!' the assassin snarled.



Bottle pushed the man's hands away, scanned the sandy tableau, then grunted. 'Cut clean, I'd say.'



Standing nearby, Fiddler said, 'Go get him, Bottle! Find him – bring him back!'



The young soldier stared at the two men. 'What? How am I supposed to do that? He should never have gone in the first place!' Bottle crawled over to stare at the wizard's blank visage. 'Gone,' he confirmed. '



Straight into Shadowthrone's lair – what was he thinking?'



'Bottle!'



'Oh,' the soldier added, something else catching his gaze, 'look at that – what's she up to, I wonder?'



Kalam pushed Bottle aside and fell to his hands and knees, glaring down at the dolls. Then he shot upright. 'Apsalar! Where is she?'



Fiddler groaned. 'No, not again.'



The assassin had both of his long-knives in his hands. 'Hood take her – where is that bitch?'



Bottle, bemused, simply shrugged as the two men chose directions at random and headed off. Idiots. This is what they get, though, isn't it? For telling nobody nothing! About anything! He looked back down at the dolls. Oh my, this is going to be interesting, isn't it…?



****

'The fool's gone and killed himself,' Captain Sweetcreek said. 'And he took our best healer with him – right through Hood's damned gate!'



Hurlochel stood with crossed arms. 'I don't think-'



'Listen to me,' Sweetcreek snapped, her corporal Futhgar at her side nodding emphatically as she continued. 'I'm now in command, and there' s not a single damned thing in this whole damned world that's going to change-'



She never finished that sentence, as a shriek rang out from the north side of the camp, then the air split with thunderous howls – so close, so loud that Hurlochel felt as if his skull was cracking open.