Or to our deaths, Lenik thought grimly, glancing at Devlin and then slowly following Mandel down the passage.
Devlin Morely watched fearfully as Mandel and Lenik followed the silvery-blue tendril twisting through the passageway Every step the Minotaur made jarred the heavy shoulder against the old sage's stomach and hurt his ribs.
Resolutely, Morely ignored the pain and craned his neck back to check on his daughter.
Lissella rode another Minotaur's shoulder like a doll. She'd been asleep since last night, and Morely hoped she would never wake up to witness what was happening.
Desperately, he concentrated on freeing his mind from his body. He knew it was his only hope to escape and find help. He chanted beneath his breath, struggling to find that calm place within him that allowed his conscious mind to go questing. The skill had been very difficult to learn, and he'd never been that enthusiastic about using it.
He blew out his breath, concentrating on the mantra he'd learned so long ago. Concentrate! he commanded himself.
The mantra faded slowly as the Minotaur walked down the passageway, until even the sound of the creature's hooves striking the floor faded away.
Morely felt the mild euphoria he always experienced right before his senses left his flesh. Then, in the next heartbeat, his mind floated above his body and he was looking down on himself being carried by the Minotaur.
He floated back up the line of Minotaur mercenaries and paused by Lissella.
Be strong, he thought. I won't be gone long.
Morely pushed his mind back up the spiral staircase with dizzying speed, and in the next moment, the old sage burst free of the devastated keep and sped out a hundred feet over the Brass Sea.
He concentrated on finding a ship, because he'd overheard that one was searching for them. Jarrell. The name rang in his mind and he concentrated on picturing the commander of the Brass Sea fleets.
A tug caught Morely's attention, giving a definite feel for a direction. Yes, Morely thought, he's there.
Morely bent his energies to following the trail with all due haste. He flew in the face of the wind, feeling it flow past him. Then he went so fast that it no longer touched him. He lost the sea completely and flew straight through to the Sea of Mist.
Suddenly, the tug came from right below him.
Morely stopped and descended, dropping through the layers of fog. He spotted the outlines of a ship below, and saw hundreds of deadly looking birds swarming around it.
Dropping through the mist, Morely sought out Jarrell and found him in the midst of the battle. Jarrell's sword cleaved an osprey in twain and the two halves fell to the deck.
Morely glanced frantically around, certain that he'd arrived only in time to watch Jarrell and his crew die. The old sage turned and glanced through the mist.
There had to be a way to escape.
Grimly, he turned his attention to the ship foundering in the ocean. With the crew absorbed in fighting the undead ospreys, no one remained to help furl the sails and keep the craft on course.
The ship slid up the next wave almost sideways, in danger of suffering a blowdown.
Morely dropped to the ship's deck and approached Jarrell.
"Jarrell!" he cried.
The captain remained in motion, fighting and ordering his men to their stations. "Fight, dogs!"
Unable to contact Jarrell, Morely turned his attention to the rest of the crew. He spotted Telop and River. What are they doing here? But he couldn't worry about them now: He needed an empath. He closed his eyes and concentrated again, trying to ignore all the sounds of the battle.
There!
Morely touched someone else's thoughts for the briefest moment. Turning, he opened his eyes and followed the direction. His gaze rested on a redheaded woman in traveling leathers whom he did not recognize.
Without hesitation, Morely ran across the deck and threw himself into her mind.
The woman screamed in pain, dropping weakly to her knees, as circling ospreys dove in to attack.
24
When Praz could see again, the first thing he saw was the familiar green mist slinking away from him, and a tropical landscape all around.