Savage Messiah

"It's as monstrous as it is brilliant," he breathed. "And it means that there is an assassin of the highest order lurking about Eutracia. One who is in league with someone of the craft. Or these two vast talents may reside within a single person. Either way, we are now forced to assume that the members of the Conclave have been marked for death."

"But how would he or she possibly know who the members are?" Adrian asked. "All of our meetings have taken place here in the Redoubt. And the Conclave was formed only several months ago."

Faegan looked back at her with knowing eyes. "Tristan's meeting with the citizens in the Hall of Supplication," he said. "If you remember, he not only introduced each of us, but he also went so far as to explain our various roles. I would not be surprised to learn that Geldon's killer had been sitting there the entire time, sizing us up."

He let go a deep breath, then looked back over at Geldon's corpse again.

"Our enemies have pla

Suddenly Abbey stared at the wizard as though she had just seen a ghost.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Do you suppose…," she said softly.

"Suppose what?"

As if not knowing how to begin, Abbey took a deep breath. "Fifty years ago-long before Wigg brought me back to Tammerland-a badly wounded man stumbled onto my cottage. He had been savagely tortured, and he was delirious. Several of his fingers had been cut off. I took him in. But by then a massive infection had set in, and there was little I could do for him. Still, he told me a few things before he died."

Faegan leaned closer. "What did he say?"

"He told me that he was a Valrenkian," she said.

Faegan sat back in his chair. "Did you believe him?" he asked.

"At the time I thought it was his delirium talking," she answered. "But as the years wore on, I came to believe it. It was a deathbed confession. Why would he lie?"

"Why indeed," Faegan mused. Then his expression changed and he looked sternly at her. "Why didn't you report this to the Directorate?"

Abbey pursed her lips. "You don't know what things were like then," she said defensively. "You were still in Shadowood. The partials had been banished for nearly three hundred years. Worse yet, before I left, Wigg granted me the time enchantments. That was strictly against Directorate policy. Had I suddenly returned, they were sure to find out. He would have lost his seat on the Directorate, or worse. Despite what he had done to me I still loved him. So I stayed away."

Faegan gave a little smile of understanding. "Did this man say anything else?"

"He wanted to repent," she said. "When he wished to leave that life, they refused. They told him that once you were accepted into their midst, you were a Valrenkian until death. They tortured him, but somehow he managed to escape. But he did also say that he was sorry for the things he had done. And then he whispered the most telling thing of all."

"And that was?"

"That they were a secret society of partial adepts. The last thing he said to me was that they were of the Vagaries, and that they used human and animal body parts in their work. They survive by selling their dark wares throughout Eutracia. Sometimes they kidnap citizens, and other times they rob graves for their raw materials."

Faegan closed his eyes. "So it's true after all," he said softly.

"Who are the Valrenkians?" Duvessa asked.

Opening his eyes, Faegan looked over at the Minion. "Until this moment, I believed them to be more myth than flesh and blood," he answered. "Now I'm not so sure. Legend says that they were originally formed by the Coven of Sorceresses. They were supposedly converted to the Vagaries, and then taught their grisly trades. Right or wrong, these rumors were one of the major factors in the Directorate's decision to banish the partials."

Faegan looked back at Abbey. "Did this man tell you where their community was located?"

Abbey shook her head. "But if what we surmise about Geldon's death is true, then a clue to their whereabouts might be right under our noses."

"What do you mean?"

"You said that one of the ingredients in the poison used to kill Geldon was gingercrinkle, did you not?" she asked. Faegan nodded.

"Gingercrinkle grows only in one place," she went on. "On the southwestern border of Hartwick Wood. Trying to send out search parties to look for this assassin would be pointless. We don't even know what he or she looks like. But if the killer acquired this potion from the Valrenkians, then that would be a good place to begin our search. If we can find them, they might lead us to him."

Faegan looked down at his hands and then back up again. "This issue of the gingercrinkle will probably be a mere coincidence," he said. "But in good conscience I ca

Silence fell over the room for a time as the wizard carefully considered his options. He finally looked over at Duvessa.

"Go and fetch Ox," he said. "I have a new mission for the Minions."

CHAPTER XXXVI

When Tristanfirst heard the incessant pounding, he thought he must be dreaming. Then he saw that the rising azure fluid licked the soles of his boots. His feet burned, and he knew it was the end.

Even though he was close to passing out, something made him look upward. Marble dust fell onto his head and into his eyes. He still heard the muffled sound of hammering, but he couldn't imagine how or why.

Then a wide crack snaked jaggedly across the ceiling. Several others followed. With a great tearing sound, a chunk of the ceiling suddenly fell away, barely missing the four of them.

Hands quickly reached down and grabbed them. With an upward heave, they were all suddenly hauled to the relative safety of the floor above, and then dragged away from the edge of the smoking hole. As Tristan tried to understand what had just happened, Jessamay fainted in his arms.

At least fifty Minion warriors stood there, chests heaving. They held iron mallets. The floor of the room was a broken, smashed disaster. Celeste and Wigg stood weakly next to the prince as they all tried desperately to catch their breath.

Tristan felt his legs start to buckle, and one of the warriors took Jessamay from him. Then he and Celeste suddenly felt strong hands under their shoulders, helping them to remain upright. One warrior took the blood criterion and the signature scope from Celeste and placed them on the floor a short distance away.

Wigg seemed able to stand on his own. Through blurry eyes, Tristan watched the wizard walk back over to the gaping hole in the floor.

With Failee's grimoire still in his hands, Wigg looked down. The ever-increasing azure fluid was still swirling upward. He opened the grimoire, and searched through it. Finally finding what he wanted, he held the book in one hand, raised the other, and began reading aloud from the text.

Almost at once an azure glow surrounded the hole in the floor. The deadly fluid in the room abated, and then finally disappeared altogether. Closing the book and lowering his arm, Wigg let go a sigh of relief. He walked tiredly back to the others.

The wizard examined Tristan and Celeste, and told them that they would be all right. Then he placed one hand upon Jessamay's forehead. In a few moments she began to stir.

Tristan looked around to see Alrik standing there. What the prince could see of the room looked bleak and unfurnished. The Minion officer smiled broadly.

"Thank you," Tristan said thickly. His head was still swimming, but he was starting to feel better. He brushed the marble dust from his hair and clothing. "Where are we?"