Whatever the outcome, he was determined to make this a battle the gods would never forget.

Twenty-one

Ravendas snatched the pipes from Kellen and tucked them into the sash of her gown. "Out of my way, child," she snarled. "I have need of you no longer." She struck Kellen sharply across the cheek. The boy cried out in pain and tumbled backward, rolling down the steps of the dais.

"You will pay for that," Caledan swore, clenching his hands into fists behind his back.

"I pay for nothing," Ravendas replied, her cheeks flushed. "I take what I want."

"Talembar said that only one with the shadow magic can take up the Nightstone," Mari called out desperately. "You must not touch it!"

"And why, by all the gods, would I believe you, Harper?" Ravendas spat. Without any further hesitation she bent down and closed her fingers around the dark stone. With an exultant smile Ravendas lifted the Nightstone above her head. "You see?" she cried. "You are wrong! The power of the Nightstone is mine. With it, I shall rule the greatest empire Toril has ever known!”

"Now kneel before me," Ravendas declared, her voice ringing in the subterranean chamber. "Kneel and pay homage to your new queen. Kneel and perhaps I shall-"

Ravendas winced, faltering as a momentary spasm of pain crossed her features, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Kneel," she repeated, "and perhaps I-"

This time the pain showed clearly on Ravendas's beautiful face. The blood drained from her cheeks, her eyes widening as she stared at the Stone. "No!" she cried out in horror. She shook her hand, trying to drop the Nightstone, but she could not loosen her grip.

"It's burning me!" she shrieked. Ravendas screamed in agony. The pale skin of her forehead was undulating, as if something was writhing beneath the surface, something alive. Kellen had regained his feet, and he stood by Snake at the foot of the dais, watching his mother in horror.

"Kellen, don't look!" Caledan cried out. "Don't look at her!" Caledan tried to lunge forward, but the hobbles about his ankles tripped him, and he nearly fell to the hard floor. Kellen slowly turned away from the grisly spectacle.

Ravendas let out one last, soul-wrenching scream, and suddenly two dark objects burst from the smooth skin of her forehead. They were antlers of onyx, thrusting and branching like saplings from her brow. Ravendas's eyes went blank, her face twisted, and Caledan knew that she was dead.

But whatever writhed inside her was not.

The form that had been Ravendas began to crack like ancient porcelain. Without warning the shell exploded outward in a spray of pale shards. Her silken gown was ripped to shreds. The reed pipes clattered down the steps of the dais.

A shadow unfurled itself from the shattered remains of Ravendas's body, a thing of utter darkness. The shadow was shaped vaguely like a man, except for the antlers sprouting from its head. With every moment it rose higher off the dais, its outline coalescing, growing clearer and sharper. And in the center of the shadow hovered the Nightstone, pulsing rhythmically with a vermillion glow.

"By all the gods," Caledan whispered hoarsely. "It is the Shadowking."

"Yes, and he is the master of us all!" Snake cried out in rapture. "Bow down before the darkness that will rule forevermore!" Snake abased himself before the dais, lying prostrate before the undulating form of the Shadowking.

Caledan saw something moving to his left, and he turned to see Morhion standing behind the Harper, a small knife in his hand. Was this to be the mage's final treachery? Then to Caledan's amazement, he watched as Morhion deftly cut the leather thongs that bound Mari's wrists, then bent down and cut the rope that hobbled her ankles. She stared at him, but he had already hurried on to free Estah and Ferret. Snake saw none of this. His attention was upon the form of the Shadowking.

In moments Morhion stood behind Caledan, who felt the mage's knife slit his bonds. "Why are you doing this?" he whispered savagely. "What more do you seek to gain, mage?"

"We do not have time for explanations," Morhion said with infuriating calm. The mage also cut the rope binding Caledan's ankles.

Free of her bonds, the Harper had started toward the dais. She closed her hand about the reed pipes. Snake looked up, fury blazing in his eyes.

"Caledan!" Mari shouted as she threw the pipes in his direction. Even as the instrument arced through the air Snake reached out an arm toward the Harper and spoke a word of magic. A jagged stream of poisonous light burst from his fingertips, striking Mari full in the chest. The force of the blast hurled her backward, and she crumpled without a word, her face white. She did not move.

Caledan caught the pipes but stood as if frozen. At that moment he knew he had been a fool. He loved the Harper as much as he had ever loved Kera. Perhaps even more. But he had been prideful and realized his true feelings too late. Now Mari was gone as well. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Will you let her sacrifice mean nothing?" Morhion whispered in his ear. Caledan turned to the mage. More than ever he wanted to kill Morhion. But that could wait. With one last glance at the runes inscribed upon the seven columns, he lifted the pipes to his lips.

"Play a single note, and the boy dies," a soft, sibilant voice said. Snake stood before the dais, holding Kellen tightly by the shoulder. A bare inch from the boy's neck Snake held a thin, golden needle. "The needle is coated with a poison called telsiak. Believe me when I tell you that the child will be quite dead before you can play a second note."

Caledan stared at the thin, hard-faced lord steward for a long moment. He sighed, lowering the pipes. He could not do it. He had lost Kera. Now Mari lay unmoving, almost certainly dead. How could he let himself lose his newfound son as well?

"No, Father!" Kellen cried out. "You don't have to do what he says. Isn't that what you told me?" The boy's voice was plaintive, but there was something different about his eyes…

"I'm… I'm sorry, Kellen." Caledan let the pipes slip from his fingers.

"In the name of the Abyss, look above!" Ferret shouted, Pointing to the crypt's domed ceiling. Involuntarily, Snake turned his gaze upward. There was nothing there but shadows. Too late the lord steward realized he had fallen for the oldest trick of all.

He winced in pain as he looked down at the golden needle protruding from his chest. In the instant when he had looked away, the boy had grabbed his hand and turned the needle into the lord steward's body.

"Master…" Snake said as he pulled out the needle. But that was all. In the space of a heartbeat his lips turned blue, and his hands stiffened into rigid claws. He toppled to the floor. His hard eyes stared blankly forward, as dull and lifeless as stones. The lord steward Snake was dead.

But the Shadowking was not.

"Thanks for the distraction, Ferret," Caledan said grimly to the thief.

"Don't mention it." the thief replied. "Though you might want to start worrying about that." He nodded toward the dais.

The Shadowking was nearly complete. Muscles and veins writhed like serpents beneath skin as dark and smooth as night. Its legs were as thick as columns, ending in cloven hooves. It flexed its powerful arms; long, dark talons sprang from its fingertips. A tail lined with jagged, saw-toothed barbs cracked like a whip in the air. All that remained indistinct was the Shadowking's face. And slowly, inexorably, that too was taking shape.

"Do something, Father!" Kellen cried, running forward.

"Play the shadow song, Caledan," Estah said, her voice strong and reassuring.

"Now would be a good time," Ferret added.