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.Only one dark node remainshis to command and soon it too will be found.I will record in my domain hismany exploits; but, except for that, he will soon be forgotten like the rest.His only hope lies in looking elsewhere elsewhere in a realm for which I alonehave calculated the identity.""Then where is this place?" Alodar persisted."Will you agree to bring back to me the pollen of the giant harebell flower inexchange for what Iwill tell?""I will make no " Alodar began."Yes," Phoebe interrupted."Yes, tell us and we will go.""No, you have no authority," Alodar cut back in."Wait, Palodad.Only I am "This time the words of the archimage were put off by a second blast ofradiation from the hearth.A billowing ball of orange flame rolled into the room, pushing Kestrelbackward and to the side.Aheavy black smoke coursed along the stone floor and an acrid smell stungKestrel's nose.He saw a large brown djinn stoop to enter the room from thefireplace, thick scales covering limbs that pulsed with tight muscles.Thetips of leathery wings scraped against the slope of the ceiling, the firebehind shining through between a network of blackened veins.A single row ofcoarse hair sat atop eyes deep-set in rugged and angular bone.Tiny nostrilsflared with each breath above a mouth distorted to the side in a permanentsneer."I am Camonel." The demon's deep voice rumbled much louder than it had on theother side of the flame.143-"Palodad instructs me to transport whomever you have selected into the realmof the fey.""The fey," Alodar said."What manner of place is that?"Camonel's deep laugh again filled the room with sound."You men know of it inyour fantasies.Underhill kingdoms, trilling pipes with melancholy airs, creatures you thinkno larger than the smallest imps."file:///G|/rah/Lyndon%20Hardy%20-%20Riddle%20of%20the%20Seven%20Realms.txt (73of 208) [2/1/2004 3:36:05 AM]Page 77 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlfile:///G|/rah/Lyndon%20Hardy%20-%20Riddle%20of%20the%20Seven%20Realms.txt"Not the realm of the fey," Astron interrupted."They are all wizards, everyone.It is no place for a cataloguer who is merely striving to serve hisprince.Why can it not be someplace gentle, as is the realm of men?""I am ready," Phoebe said.With her chin thrust high, she stepped forward towhere the djinn stood in front of the hearth."Wait," Kestrel heard himself shout."Wait, Phoebe, this is madness.Think ofwhat you are doing.You cannot follow that monster, aided by no more than the likes of Astron.""Why, I did not intend to." Phoebe looked back."It is to be the three of us,just as from the beginning."Kestrel lunged to a halt and stared.This indeed was madness.The affairs ofarchimage and demon prince might be of great importance to some, but they wereno concern of his.Let some other so-called hero step forth for the honor and the glory.In the end, the rewardswould turn to bitter ashes.The one who jumped through the hoops would findthat he had been manipulated merely for the benefit of others who would nottake the risks themselves.This was no role for Kestrel the woodcutter.Therewas nothing whatever in the bargain for him.Kestrel looked at Phoebe as she slowly drew closer to the waiting djinn, hernose clamped shut to hold out the pungent odor.His thoughts tumbled inconfusion.He was here only to clear his name and perhaps win a few pieces ofgold from the archimage so he could boast of it in the tavern.But there was Phoebe as well.Her life probably was forfeit as soon as theleathery wings closed around her144willing frame.He thought of his rescue from the foundry of the alchemist, thepleasure when she had pressed against his side, and her insistence in seeinggood in him when there was none to be found.While Kestrel hesitated, there was a sudden commotion at the door.Fourwizards in sweat-dampened robes burst into the room."There they are," thefirst one shouted."The very ones who conspired to cheat the august council ofBrythia.Come forward, Maspanar and the rest.We have caught them at last."Alodar looked sharply at the intrusion, but before he could speak, the highwindows along the wall above the doorway shattered in a spray of tiny shards.Two demons almost as large as the one in the hearth plunged into the room,circling overhead with crackles of blue flame pulsing from their fingertips.One of the wizards who rushed in added his voice to the commotion."Pleaseforgive the interruption, master archimage.Forgive the interruption, but wecome to rectify a great wrong to our craft.""Yes, and since I have had time to ponder it," another one said, "I recognizethe one bearing the rucksack from before some five years ago in Laudia to thesouth." He pointed at Kestrel, his face beet-red with anger."A swindle thenof my hard-won gold, just as it was at her cabin.Do not be deceived,archimage.Their words are smooth, but carry not a word of truth, not even theones of the demons that they command."One of the wizards raced up to Phoebe and tugged at her robe from behind.Kestrel slapped his arm away.He looked into her eyes and saw her boldcomposure begin to falter in the confusion.Stepping to the side, he barely missed a searing bolt of blue that crackledfrom above and sputtered the hard stone at his feet into a bubbly slag.He saw Alodar move toward Phoebe as well and made up his mind."It is becauseof her and no one else," he yelled above the noise of the others."For heralone, do you understand.Not for the sake of great princes or the well-beingof mankind.Only for Phoebe am I doing145file:///G|/rah/Lyndon%20Hardy%20-%20Riddle%20of%20the%20Seven%20Realms.txt (74of 208) [2/1/2004 3:36:05 AM]Page 78 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlfile:///G|/rah/Lyndon%20Hardy%20-%20Riddle%20of%20the%20Seven%20Realms.txtthis.The rest of you matter no more than you did before."He grabbed Phoebe firmly about the waist.Desperately, he put the thoughts ofwhat might be even worse than smacking lips and soaring lithons out of hismind.Closing his eyes, he pushed her forward toward Ca-monel's chest.He felta smothering heaviness on his back as the wings closed around them andAstron's elbow pressed painfully into his side.Almost absently, he graspedthe book the demon thrust at him and shoved it over his shoulder into hisrucksack.He reeled from the dizziness.Reality seemed to spin
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