Call of Kerberos: Twilight of Kerberos, The - Jonathan Oliver Page 0,41

of his shoulders to cascade down his chest. Every time she thought that she had picked out a recognisable shape in the dark morass it would shift and warp, flowing into the indecipherable calligraphy that surrounded it.

Katya felt dizzy just looking at Emuel's illustrated flesh but it wasn't this that most disturbed her, it was the sound that the tattoos made.

It was so low that she had to still her breathing to even attempt to make it out. When she did, however, the soft murmur would disappear, and it was only when Katya shook her head and told herself that she had been imagining things that it would return; sounding like someone talking low, yet urgently, in the next room.

No wonder Emuel looked to be constantly on the verge of panic, Katya considered. He had to cope with this maddening background chatter every day.

Katya dropped Emuel's shirt on the floor and began to remove his breeches. She stopped after she had tugged them halfway down, unable to take her eyes off the ridges of scar tissue that covered the wounds of his emasculation.

"Oh Gods Emuel, I'm so sorry."

The wounds had healed but the flesh there still looked red raw. Katya wondered at what manner of boy Emuel had been, to trust so much in his faith and the church that he had let them do this to him.

Katya closed her eyes and sent up a prayer to the ancestors, calling on them to send their blessings and guide the eunuch through the ravages of this vicious fever.

When she opened her eyes there was a strange glow emanating from the tattoo on Emuel's chest. The black spiral that was inked there glowed a deep maroon and she could feel an intense heat rising from it.

Emuel tried to scream but only a desperate keening hiss escaped his mouth. He looked at Katya then with eyes full of frightened panic as his flesh began to burn.

After Silus had collapsed, Dunsany and Jacquinto had carried him back to the room in the tower through which they had entered the citadel. Silus had raved about the Chadassa until a few slaps from Jacquinto had roused him from his waking nightmare. Silus had got unsteadily to his feet and Kelos had suggested that they return to the Llothriall. Silus had feared something rising from the depths to overtake them as they ascended to the ship - some spectre of the death that had befallen the citadel - but they made it back on board without further incident.

Their sense of relief, however, was soon shattered by the sounds of Emuel's pain.

Kelos was the first to the eunuch's cabin, with Silus close behind, rushing to the side of his wife as she tried to comfort Emuel. There was a smell like cooking meat as they entered the room and Silus noticed thin skeins of smoke drifting through the shaft of light pouring in through the porthole.

As Kelos went to the eunuch the boy fell back onto his bunk and was silent. The mage felt for a pulse on his wrist and then looked more closely at the maze of tattoos that covered his torso.

In the centre of Emuel's chest, where there had previously been inked a black spiral, there was now a patch of burned flesh.

"We're in trouble." Kelos said.

"Trouble how?" Dunsany said, entering the room. Behind him the three smugglers and Father Maylan crowded into the doorway.

"The script is broken. Emuel won't be able to sing to the gem anymore. Therefore, we're stuck; with no way to negotiate these stormy seas, no magical defences and no invisibility shield."

"If it helps, I know how to do tattoos." Jacquinto said. "In fact, I did all of Ignacio's myself. All I need is a needle, a candle and some ink."

"And you know how magical tattoos work do you?" Kelos snapped. "Familiar with the elven runes of power are we?"

"I was just trying to help!"

"Well you're not!" Kelos's voice rose to a shriek and Emuel woke up again and began adding his own cries to the cacophony.

Kelos barged his way out of the room only to barge his way back in several seconds later. Muttering a few words he broke what looked like a silver bird egg over the eunuch's brow, sending him into an instant, deep sleep.

"He'll be out for several hours and he won't be in any pain."

"Who did this?" Katya said.

"I've been stupid." Kelos said. "Very, very stupid. I should have realised that the symbol on Emuel's chest