The Ghosts of Broken Blades Read Online Free PDF Page B

keyed to the gateway. Opening the mundane door activated the otherworldly one. Closing it might deactivate it. Serth wasn’t yet through the portal, but in mere moments he would be. And then all choice would be taken from him. Karatha would certainly die.
    Damn it.
    The farther Serth progressed through the doorway, the more his odor violated the air in the temple. Karatha staggered backward, coughing. Roubris’s eyes watered. The demon’s progress through the gate was slow, but that didn’t stop him from lashing out at Karatha with terrible effectiveness. Already her chain shirt hung in bloody tatters and her shield was bent and broken. Still, Karatha’s sword sliced across Serth’s flesh again and again. Black bile issued forth from the wounds she inflicted. It seemed to only make the stench worse.
    Still Roubris hesitated. So much wealth. Enough to keep Roubris in extravagant style for the rest of his life.
    More thunderous blows pummeled at Karatha. Serth possessed an unearthly strength as well as razor-sharp claws. Once through the gate, he would likely be able to bite with his wide, toadlike mouth filled with teeth like iron spikes. With that hideous thing, he could bite a foe in half. Which would matter only if Karatha was even still alive at that point. Under the weight of Serth’s blows, she fell to her knees, using Severance to protect herself as best she could.
    “Roubris, help me.” Her whisper was almost inaudible. She coughed blood.
    Roubris made up his mind. His face painted with pain, he shut his eyes and slid the door closed.
    But it slid only partway. He opened his eyes to see the ruddy light flickering. Nothing more. It caught Serth’s attention, however. “Roubris! Don’t be a fool. Take your payment and go!” The demon thrust himself against the portal with greater force. Roubris was grateful that the process of transition through this doorway took so long.
    Karatha managed to get to her feet, both hands on the hilt of her sword. With all her remaining strength, she plunged it into Serth’s slimy, scaly flesh.
    The demon howled.
    Roubris glanced once more at the glittering treasure in the room and forced the door. It still didn’t close all the way, but the fiery glow faltered again.
    “No!” The demon shouted. He slashed at Karatha, who toppled backward onto the floor. She landed on one of the many dangerous adornments on the metal grid.
    Roubris cried out. Serth turned all his attention on him.
    To his surprise, Roubris found himself calling upon Iomedae for strength. Closing his eyes again, he put all his weight into closing the sliding vault door.
    At last, it gave way. The red and gold fire disappeared, and Serth’s angry roar faded away as if he were falling from a fantastic height. Then it ceased entirely.
    The iron door was closed. Behind it lay a hoard large enough to purchase a small town.
    Roubris went to Karatha’s side. He was both surprised and relieved to find her still breathing. Carefully, he brought her out of the dark temple. With only a modicum of skill, he tended to the most severe of her wounds. Eventually, he hoped, she would return to consciousness and use Iomedae’s power to heal herself.
    Roubris retrieved his friend’s sword and broken shield. Then he went to the broken blade that had held Serth’s spirit. Gingerly he touched it with a single finger and then pulled it away. Nothing happened, He lightly touched the hilt. “Serth?”
    No reply. The spirit was no longer in the weapon.
    After a fashion, he had kept his end of the bargain.
    With the broken end of the blade, he scratched words upon the door: “Do not open.” Then he tossed the sword to the floor and left, with no intention of ever returning.
    ∗ ∗ ∗
    The road back home was long. Some of Karatha’s wounds were beyond her ability to heal with magic, but she seemed confident that time would set her aright.
    “I’m proud of you,” Karatha said. “And grateful. You saved my life, and I know