when she was looking at him. He leaned into her, and she squeezed him tighter.
"I wasthere twice, I think," he said into the soft warmth of her long neck. "You think?"
"It was a long time ago," Pharaun replied, "and it might have been a dream. There was the last time, when we were all there in astral form, but I thought you might have been there once in the flesh. You're a demon. You can go there and . . ."
Pharaun stopped talking. He wasn't sure what he was trying to say.
"Have you been to Menzoberranzan?" he asked instead.
Aliisza stiffened againand for a little bit longer, and he knew that she had. "Will there be a city for us to return to?" he asked.
Aliisza shrugged. Pharaun could feel the gesture against his body.
"Answer me," he pressed.
"Yes," she said, "or no. It all depends on what you find in the Abyss and how soon Kaanyr and his new friends can break your matron mothers' backs."
Pharaun found himself laughing. He was exhausted again. The Lake of Shadows had a way of sapping his strength.
"Honestly, Pharaun," she said, "you ask me questions as if I'm some sort of fortune teller or oracle ... or goddess. I don't know what'll happen to you and your friends. No one, not even your Spider Queen I think, can predict what will happen from minute to minute in the mad chaos of the Abyss."
Pharaun looked her in the eye and decided not to say the first few things that came into his mind.
"Have you thought about my coming with you?" Aliisza asked.
"Why would you help me pilot the ship?" he asked her, gently pushing her away. "We enjoy each other, but I can't imagine you're asking me to simply trust you. I'llneed an answer."
Aliisza resisted playfully and flicked the tip of her tongue against his cheek. "You're pretty," she teased.
"Not as pretty as you," said Pharaun. "Answer me. Why would you help me find Lolth and help Vhok and the duergar lay siege to Menzoberranzan at the same time? You're the enemy-the consort of the enemy, at least-of the city I call home. One might be tempted to choose sides."
"Whatever for?" she asked. "When I'm with you, I like you best. When I'm with Kaanyr, he is everything to me. Either way, I'm amused."
Pharaun found himself laughing again.
"I'll assume that's the best answer I'll ever get from you," he said, "or any other tanar'ri."
Aliisza winked at him again.
As Pharaun let his hands explore her exquisite body, he said, "We should begin our lessons. Quenthel and the others are anxious to get underway."
Aliisza responded to his touch with a sigh, then replied, "As soon as you wish, love. You know how to get there from here?"
"Through the Shadow Deep," he said.
The alu-fiend nodded and said, "From there to the Plain of Infinite Portals-the gateway to the Abyss. There you'll need to find precisely the right entrance. The place you seek-the Demonweb Pits-is the sixty-sixth layer. There are guardians there and lost souls and things maybe even you can't imagine. You might actually like the Abyss, and you might not. Either way, it will change you."
Pharaun sighed. She was probably right.
He really didn't want to go.
Who is responsible? Quenthel asked.
Oh, Mistress, Mistress, K'Sothra answered. Of the five vipers in her scourge, K'Sothra was the least intelligent, but Quenthel listened anyway. Mistress, it was you. You are responsible. It's all your fault.
Quenthel closed her eyes. The skin on her face felt tight, stretched too thin on her skull. Her head hurt. She touched the viper just below its head, and K'Sothra writhed playfully under her touch.
Was it really my fault? the high priestess asked. Could it be?
She drew her finger away from K'Sothra, found the next viper, and cupped her head in two fingers.
I came back when she sent me back and I served her as best I could, Quenthel sent to all five snakes. I became the Mistress of Arach-Tinilith, and the worship of Lolth was never stronger. Isn't that what she sent me back to do? There was no answer.
What will become of us all? she asked Zinda.
The black-and-red-speckled snake twitched, flicked her tongue at Quenthel, and said, That is also your responsibility, Mistress. What happens as a result of your having driven Lolth away from us will be washed away if only you can bring her back. If you can attract her good graces again, she will save us all. If not, we will be destroyed.