Dark Sun: Prism Pentad 4 - Obsidian Oracle Read Online Free Page B

Fylo's head, the dustsink began to churn and froth. Agis slipped his eel over to
     the edge of the pond. Never before had he seen a foe create a new mental guardian after
     the first had been destroyed, but he feared Fylo was doing exactly that.
    The noble summoned the energy to meet the attack, but it flowed slowly from his spiritual
     nexus, for the battle so far had been a tiring one. Before he was ready to change the pool
     back to stone, a pair of huge daws shot from the dust and locked onto his eel. Agis tried
     to writhe free, but the more he struggled, the more deeply the pincers' barbs impaled him.
     Finally, he stopped squirming and allowed himself to be lifted off the ground.
    As Fylo's new construct crawled from the dustsink, Agis saw that it faintly resembled a
     mammoth dune-crab. Instead of four eyestalks, however, only Fylo's head protruded from the
     top of its biscuit-shaped shell.
    “Agis lose,” proclaimed the crab, his pincers tightening on the noble's eel.
    “Then we both lose!”
    Agis whipped his head around and clasped his mouth on his captor's neck. As the barbed
     pincers sliced through his body, his eel's teeth tore into the throat of Fylo's construct.
     His mouth filled with the taste of blood, then his body exploded with pain. The sound of
     his own screaming filled his ears and everything went white.
    It took Agis several moments to realize that he had not died. Even then, he felt
     disoriented and sick, unsure of whether he had returned to consciousness inside Fylo's
     mind or outside it. His entire body ached with a fierce, stinging pain, and his stomach
     ached with a queasy emptiness, as if part of it had been removed.
    Slowly, as Agis regained his senses, he realized that he was lying in Fylo's open palm.
     The nobleman rose to his knees, intending to run for his kank-until he realized that the
     beast was far below. The giant's hand rested upon his mountainous knee, high above the
     ground. Agis turned toward Fylo's face and found the giant's haggard eyes watching him.
    “Fylo hurt,” the giant commented.
    “Agis, too,” the noble admitted. “And we're going to keep hurting. It'll take days to
     recover from our losses.”
    Fylo groaned at the unwelcome news. “Then why Agis attack?” he asked.
    “Because I must catch your friend Tithian.”
    “Not Tith-”
    Agis raised his hand to stop the giant. “There's no use pretending,” he said. “You know
     I'm Agis of Asticles, and I know who hired you to kill me.”
    The giant considered this point for a moment, then lifted Agis closer to his face. “Okay.
     But Tithian not say kill Agis,” he said. “Only stop.”
    “You can't expect me to believe that,” Agis scoffed, using the giant's thumb to steady
     himself as he rose unsteadily to his feet. “The king's not the type to balk at murder.”
    “Fylo tell truth,” said the giant. “Tithian say 'stop friend Agis, but don't hurt.
     Protect!”
    “Protect me from what?” Agis asked.
    Fylo's demeanor suggested that he was being honest about his instructions, which only
     puzzled the noble. Once before, when Agis had become involved in the rebellion against
     Tyr's previous ruler, Tithian had used his influence to protect his old friend. But that
     had been many years ago, before the noble had assumed leadership of the Council of
     Advisors and become the king's most effective political enemy.
    After considering Agis's question for a moment, the giant shrugged. “Fylo forget why
     Tithian want you protected.”
    “Fylo never knew, because Tithian didn't say,” Agis said. “He's not protecting me. He's
     trying to keep me from catching him.”
    “Only 'cause Tithian go dangerous place,” Fylo insisted.
    Agis raised his brow at this comment. “What dangerous place?”
    “Balic,” answered the giant. “Now you stay with Fylo till he come back?”
    Tithian isn't coming back," said Agis.
    “Tithian promise,” Fylo growled. The giant closed