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.Was it Alfred's imagination or did Tomas and this black-robedapparition exchange telling glances? Alfred began to shiver with cold andapprehension.They came to an intersection that formed the shape of a cross; narrow hallwaysbranched off in four directions.Alfred darted a swift glance down the hall tohis right.Darkly shadowed cells ranged along either side of the hall.TheSartan tried to catch a glimpse of the prince, or possibly Haplo.He sawnothing, and he didn't dare take time for a closer inspection.He had theuncanny feeling that the preserver's eyes were fixed on him.The chamberlain turned to the left and the group trooped behind him.Roundinga corner, they stepped into a blaze of light that nearly blinded them afterthe dim light of the hallways.Sumptuously adorned and appointed, the cavernmight have been lifted intact from the royal chambers, except for the ironPage 137ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlcell bars, which marred the effect.Behind the bars, surrounded by everypossible luxury, a well-preserved cadaver sat in a high-backed chair drinkingair from an empty teacup.The corpse was clad in robes of silver thread, andgold and jewels glittered on waxen fingers.Her silver hair was beautifullycoiffed and cared for.A young woman clad in plain black robes sat in a chair near her, makingdesultory conversation.Alfred realized, with a shock, that the young womanwas alive; the living actually serving the dead."The Queen Mother's private necromancer," said Jera.The young woman brightened when she saw them, her expression grew eager.Sherose quickly and respectfully from her seat.The cadaver of the Queen Motherglanced their way, made a stately invitational motion with its wrinkled hand."I will wait to accompany you out of the catacombs, Your Graces," said thechamberlain."Please do not remain long.Her Most Gracious Majesty is easilytired.""We could not think of taking you from your duties," Jera protested smoothly."Don't let us inconvenience you.We know the way."At first the chamberlain would not hear of such a thing but Her Grace waspersuasive and His Grace was careless with a bag of golden coins that happenedto fall into the chamberlain's hands by accident.The chamberlain left them,returning down the hallway, his staff thumping against the floor.Alfredwatched him depart, thought he saw the chamberlain nod once at the black-robedpreserver.Alfred broke out into a cold sweat.Every fiber in his body wasurging him to either run or faint or perhaps do both simultaneously.The young woman had moved to open the cell door."No, my dear, that won't be necessary," Jera said softly.The conspirators stood together, listening, waiting for the sound of thechamberlain's staff to disappear in the distance.When it could no longer beheard, the preserver beckoned."This way!" he called, motioning them toward him.They moved swiftly.Alfred, glancing back, saw the bitter disappointment inthe young woman's face, saw her sink back down into her chair, heard herresume in a dull, lifeless voice her conversation with the corpse.The preserver led them down the hall opposite to the one in which the QueenMother was housed.It was far darker than the hall they'd just left, fardarker than any hall they'd walked yet.Alfred, hurrying along next to Tomas,saw numerous gas lamps on the wall, but for some reason most of them wereunlit.Either they'd blown out.or they'd been turned off.Only one lamp in the hallway remained lighted.It beamed out from somewhereahead, making the surrounding darkness that much darker by contrast.Drawingnear, Alfred saw that the light shone on a corpse sitting on a stone slab.Theeyes stared straight ahead, its arms dangled listlessly between its knees."That's the prince's cell!" said Tomas, his voice tight and hard."The onewith the light in it.Your friend is in the cell across from the cadaver."Jera, in her eagerness, darted ahead.Jonathan kept dose pace behind his wife.Alfred was forced to concentrate on keeping both his feet headed in the samegeneral direction.He found himself at the rear and he suddenly realized thatthe preserver, who had been in the lead, had unaccountably dropped back behindhim.Tomas, too, was no longer around.From out of the darkness came the clank and rattle of armor.Alfred saw thedanger, saw it clearly in his mind, if not with his eyes.He drew a breath toshout a warning, forgot to watch where he was going.The toe of one footcaught on the heel of his other foot.He pitched forward, came down hard onthe rock surface, the force of his impact slamming the breath from his body.His cry became nothing more than a whoosh of air, followed by a twanging soundbehind him.An arrow flew over his head, pierced the air where he'd beenstanding.Peering ahead, fighting desperately to breathe, Alfred saw Jonathan and Jera,Page 138ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmltwo shapes silhouetted against the light perfect targets."Jonathan!" Jera screamed.The two shapes converged con-fusingly.A flight ofarrows sped at them.Unconsciousness sought to claim Alfred, to draw him into its comfortableoblivion.He battled it back and managed to gasp out the runes, hissubconscious bringing words to lips that had no idea what they were speaking.A heavy weight crashed on top of Alfred, who wondered dazedly if he'd broughtthe cavern roof down on them.But he realized, from the smell and the feel ofchill flesh and cold armor plate against his skin, that he'd succeeded inperforming the magic he'd performed once before.He had killed the dead."Jera!" Jonathan's voice, panic-stricken, disbelieving, rose to a shriek."Jera!"The soldier's corpse had fallen across Alfred's legs.The Sartan pulledhimself out from beneath it.A phantasm floated around him, taking on theliving form and shape of the body it had left, before it wafted away into thedarkness.Alfred was vaguely aware of footsteps living footsteps runningswiftly back down the hallway and of the preserver kneeling beside thesoldier-corpse, speaking to it imperatively, commanding it to rise.Alfred had no clear idea in his mind of what to do, where to go.He made it tohis feet and peered around in terrified confusion.Grief-choked, ragged sobsdrew him forward, into the darkness.Jonathan knelt on the floor.He held Jera in his arms.The two had almost reached the prince's cell.The light of the gas lamp aboveit streamed over them, shone off the shaft of an arrow, buried deep, lodged inJera's right breast.Her eyes were fixed on her husband's face and, just asAlfred reached them, her lips parted in a sigh that took the last breath fromher body."She jumped in front of me," Jonathan cried dazedly."The arrow was meant forme and.she jumped in front of me
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