Uneasy Alliances by David Cook Page A

its gentle curves wavering against the cell wall in the torchlight. “What’s your name, pirate?”
    The woman smiled easily at him. “Sharessa Stagwood. They call me the Shadow.”
    Well, then, Shadow, you’re in serious danger of becoming no more than a shade. Do you want us to stay here until we drown or get torn apart by those … things? We need to keep a way open, not seal ourselves inside.” He glanced swiftly around the cells. “Hey, where’s Entreri?”
    “I don’t know, and not sure I care,” growled Sharessa. “Last I saw of him was up above. He was fighting next to that big man—your friend,” she said, turning to Kern. She spun back to face Trandon. “And don’t you presume to dictate battle strategy to me. I’ve fought more men than you’ve white hairs on your head. I’m in charge of this party now.”
    Kern turned from his place near Noph and splashed over to the female pirate. Trandon moved next to the youth and took up the paladin’s task of binding his wounds.
    The golden knight spoke heatedly to Sharessa. “Since when are you in charge of anything? I claim leadership by virtue of my righteous service to ??? Al—”
    “To the seven hells with Tyr, and you, too, paladin! I led my comrades out of the jungles around this cursed city. I fought the fiend that was stalking—”
    “How dare you blaspheme, woman? On your knees and beg pardon, or—”
    “The water’s going down,” the blind man interrupted quietly from the corner. Paladin and pirate broke off their quarrel and looked about them.
    The level of water had indeed begun to fall suddenly, as if the flood had found a draining passageway elsewhere in the dungeons of the mage-king. The wavelets now lapped about their knees. Sharessa ignored the blind youth, turning her attention back to Kern.
    “Come on, damn it. Artemis is gone. How do you think he’d do against a whole army of fiends?”
    “Not badly, in fact,” said a quiet voice behind her. An olive-skinned man stepped from the shadows near the door into the light. There were a series of scratches along one side of his face, and his doublet was scored in half a dozen places by claw and sword, but he appeared otherwise unhurt.
    Shar spun about, throwing her arms about his neck. “Artemis! Thank the gods!”
    The little man reached up, breaking her embrace. “You’d spend your time better guarding the door.”
    Her face—dark, mobile, beautiful even in this setting—froze for a moment, then went sullen. She returned her attention to the cell door, while Artemis spoke to Kern and Trandon, who had turned back to Noph. “How is he?” Artemis asked.
    Trandon shrugged. “He might make it if we can find someone to heal him. We’ve stopped most of the bleeding, but he’s lost a lot of blood.”
    Noph gasped for breath and struggled. Trandon clamped an arm around him. “Easy, lad. You’ll tear those bandages.”
    Noph closed his eyes. “Shar?”
    Sharessa moved next to him, keeping one eye on the door while stroking the fine down that covered one of the lad’s cheeks. “Relax, Noph. You’re safe now. I’m here.”
    “Shar, she wasn’t… wasn’t…” Noph’s eyes opened wide and his breath came in short gasps. “I thought she was Eidola … but she turned into … teeth … claws …” Noph’s voice began to shake, then faded into nothing. There was a moment of silence.
    Sharessa turned to Kern. “What’s he talking about? Whaf s going on?”
    She spun and glared at Artemis, the man who’d led the former crew members of the Kissing Shark from the Tavern of the Masques in Tharkaar to this dank prison cell beneath the palace of Aetheric III, mage-king, insane ruler of Doegan.
    “You hired us to kill a woman. That’s all. Not to fight fiends, not to battle paladins, and not to break Aetheric the squid king out of a fish tank. But so far we’ve done all those things, and we’ve never even caught a glimpse of this woman.” She looked at Noph. “Eidola. You told