Page 166 of A Tower of Half-Truths
With him leading the way, they left the library and descended what would have been another pitch-dark stairwell, if not for the twin orbs of light. There wasn’t a single candelabra attached to the walls.
Mavery had expected to find yet another library, but they instead entered a high-ceilinged kitchen. Living in isolation for long stretches of time wasn’t the only thing Alain and Aganast had in common; the kitchen also doubled as an alchemy laboratory.
A few steps from the stairwell, Alain stumbled.
“What in the—”
He brought his orb of light closer, then yelped. A pile of bones lay at his feet.
“Well,that’sa great omen,” Neldren said.
Alain prodded the remains with the butt of his staff. Then, to Mavery’s horror, he bent down and rifled through them with his hands.
“Are you out of your godsdamned mind?” she hissed.
He prised a ring from one of the finger bones, then showed it to her. She recoiled. It didn’t matter that the flesh had long since decomposed; the ring had still come straight from a corpse.
“It’s the Order of Asphodel’s emblem,” Alain said. “See these grooves? I think he used it as a stamp.”
Mavery nodded as her disgust subsided. “What do you think happened to him? Starved on his way back from the empty larder?”
“That, or he crossed paths with whatever was skulking about upstairs,” Neldren said.
“Gods, don’t even hex us like that,” Ellice groaned.
Alain pocketed the ring. Together, he and Mavery investigated the rest of the room. The tables were piled high with alchemy equipment, though it was all too old to be of any use, too tarnished to be of value even to a collector. Likewise, the contents of the glass jars were in various stages of decay, if they hadn’t perished entirely.
“I think this is the way out,” Neldren said.
He pointed to an iron door that was barred from the inside. All four of them gathered around it. Neldren gripped the bar, then groaned and grit his teeth as he tried to force it upward. Despite his efforts, the bar wouldn’t budge.
“Damn thing’s rusted to shit,” he muttered.
“I should have just enough magic to mend that,” Ellice said, “but it’ll take me a minute or—”
A low, guttural growl ripped through the room. Though it sounded like some sort of animal, there was an otherworldly quality to it. Goosebumps covered Mavery’s skin. Ellice squealed, then clapped her hands over her mouth.
They all remained frozen by the door. With the slightest movement of his hand, Alain sent his orb to the far side of the room. It revealed a sight that sucked the air from Mavery’s lungs.
“What on Perrun isthat?” Ellice whispered, voice trembling.
Perched atop one of the cabinets was a giant catlike beast that could have been mistaken for a panther. Its sleek tar-black fur melded into the darkness. But its leathery wings—currently folded against its body—and piercing red eyes marked it as some variety of demonspawn, though it was unlike any Mavery had ever seen. This monstrosity made even the most bloodthirsty hellhound look like a harmless pup. With a rumbling snarl, it bared its long razor-sharp fangs.
If this beast had been locked up in this tower with Aganast…
And if Aganast had been a demon sympathizer…
Mavery’s blood chilled.
This was no demonspawn.
This was an actualdemon.
It spread its broad membranous wings and launched off the cabinet. As it descended upon the four humans, Alain lunged forward.
“Quickly, Ellice!” he yelled. “I’ll hold him back!”
He pushed his free hand out at the same time he arced his staff overhead. Mavery winced as an overwhelming scent of copper permeated the air. She choked on the taste of metal, as though her entire mouth had filled with blood. She then looked up andgasped. With only a ritual—without voicing a single syllable of Etherean—Alain had encased the four of them inside a shimmering blue dome.
