prove fatal. The Old One needed to put distance between himself and his foes. Given time his body would heal all the wounds except the one taken from the Khazduri blade.
He came to a fork in the passage and took a right, heading down a long flight of stairs. His rear limbs shortened as he did so, enabling him to maintain speed.
At the foot of the stairs, Vorkhul went left. He passed more cells, some of them occupied. He hoped to lose his pursuers in the maze of corridors. Not much chance of that while they had the hounds. He might be able to elude the humans but their pets would sniff him out.
There was only one answer. Kill the dogs. They were running with the humans, restrained by the leads. Move faster. So fast the humans would have to unleash the dogs to let them pursue. Then he could kill the beasts and disappear into the maze at his leisure.
The Old One lengthened his stride. The scorched flesh was regenerating. The irritation around the spear-wound faded. He would heal. His opponents would not be so fortunate.
***
Fang and Slasher dragged Rodric along, filled with confidence now that they had seen their prey turn and flee. The natural order of their world was restored. They pursued. What they hunted fled.
Kormak suspected it was not going to be that simple. He had never seen an Old One so mutable. Most of them modelled their forms on sentient beings or natural animals. This one had taken shapes like nothing Kormak had ever seen. It moved into unnatural anatomical configurations with ease. It had done so even after taking a wound from a dwarf-forged blade.
Gerd’s laboured breathing came from behind him. Kormak glanced back. The abbot’s face was red. His limp had become more pronounced. “Go on ahead,” he shouted. “I am just slowing you down.”
Kormak shook his head. “Not with this thing about. We stick together and we stay within the circle of light.”
“It will get away.”
“The dogs will track it down. They have its scent now.”
“You’re just determined to keep me running, aren’t you? You know my leg will ache for days after this.”
“Tell me about your accounting problems if it makes you feel better.”
“You were always a cruel bastard, Kormak. Did I ever tell you that?”
“More than once.”
“I could give the hounds their head,” Rodric said. “Let them run the prey down.”
“You saw what that thing did to Balthus,” Kormak said. “We stick together.”
“You scared of it, are you?” Gerd asked.
“I’ve drawn my blade on it twice and it’s still alive.”
“Point taken.”
Kormak glanced over at Rhiana. Her face looked haunted. She was getting less comfortable, the further they got from the surface. Or maybe it was the sight of the cells with their chains and bars and implements for causing pain that disturbed her.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Fine,” she said. “I love being down here in the dark, hunting for a monster that could kill me with a swipe of its claw.
***
The hounds barked. Their tongues lolled as if they were trying to lick their prey’s trail from the ground.
“We’ve got the beast for sure,” said Rodric. “They have the scent. They’ll follow it to the bowels of hell.”
The green pearl’s light gave his face a sickly, half-rotted look as if he were already in hell.
“Let’s hope we find him soon. I am not sure I could find my way back to the surface,” the abbot said.
“I can,” Kormak said.
“You want us to rely on your infallible Aquilean sense of direction. Maybe it would be better if someone who won’t get lost led us back to the surface.”
“Would that be you?”
“Yes.”
“I think I’ll do it.”
“Still recklessly overconfident, I see.”
“You can stop gabbling now. There’s nothing here to be frightened of.”
“Still ready to cast aspersions on other men’s courage.”
“Only yours.”
“That’s all right then,” said Gerd. His breathing came out in a rasp. He fell silent and a look of total concentration came over his face, as if he were focusing all his resources on keeping up.
Kormak wondered at the wisdom of the abbot being here at all.
***
The hounds led them further down into the darkness beneath the palace. To Kormak, the contrast between the glorious architecture on the surface and these dank caverns was stark.
The torches were more than half gone. The green glow of the pearl in Rhiana’s hand seemed a little dimmer. Light was their weak point. If the creature managed to dowse their torches they were in trouble. In