Free Dark Sun: Prism Pentad 5 - The Cerulean Storm by Troy Denning Page A

until it was so small that its
     pincers would no longer fit around the mul's thick fingers. It fell free and tumbled away,
     its tiny body vanishing from sight long before it hit the ground. “By the sun!” cursed
     Caelum. Neeva tossed her dagger on to the road, then grabbed Rikus's arm with both hands.
     She felt her husband's powerful arms slip around her waist, then the dwarf pulled both her
     and the mul back onto the road. Caelum kneeled in the dust and grabbed Rikus's wrist with
     both hands, his stubby fingers pressing down on the veins to shut off the blood flow.
     Neeva did not need to ask why the sun-cleric was so concerned. Of all the poisonous beasts
     in the Athasian desert, gold scorpions were among the worst, with venom powerful enough to
     drop an adult mekillot in five steps. Of course, such creatures did not normally change
     sizes or disguise their color beneath silver shadows, but Neeva was too concerned with
     Rikus's welfare to dwell on the matter right now. “Hold his wrist, tight!” Caelum ordered.
     Neeva did as commanded, and her husband raised his own hand to the sky. “The sun's heat
     will boil the poison away.”
    Rikus grimaced. “This is going to hurt, isn't it?” The mul's eyes were glassy and his
     words slurred.
    Caelum lowered his hand, fiery red and smoking from the fingertips. It glowed so brightly
     that it was translucent, save for the dark bones beneath the skin. The dwarf laid his palm
     over the scorpion puncture and squeezed Rikus's hand as hard as he could. There was a soft
     sizzle, and streamers of greasy black smoke rose between his fingers.
    Rkard slipped over to watch, placing his back to the cliffs. His face paled at the sight
     of Rikus's scorched skin, but he did not look away. Neeva considered sending him
     elsewhere, but decided against it. Her son was as much a sun-cleric as he was a warrior.
     If she attempted to shield him from the unpleasant sight of a wound, he would never learn
     his father's art.
    When an involuntary hiss slipped through Rikus's clenched teeth, Rkard stepped closer and
     laid his hand on the warrior's shoulder. “Don't worry.” he said. “The sun demands pain in
     exchange for its magic.”
    “I know.” The mul winced, then added, “Your father's done this to me before.”
    Caelum continued to hold his hands over the wound for many moments, until Neeva could no
     longer see the bones outlined beneath his flesh and the fiery glow had completely faded.
     By then, Rikus was only half-conscious and hardly seemed to realize where he was.
    “What happened?” asked Sadira's voice.
    Neeva looked up to see the sorceress coming toward the small group, trailing black wisps
     of the shadow spell that she had used to answer Magnus's summons.
    “A gold scorpion stung him,” Neeva explained.
    The sorceress kneeled at her husband's side and took his injured hand between hers.
     Although the swelling had gone down, the flesh remained black and scaly.
    “Is he going to die?” Sadira asked.
    “No. Father won't allow it!” said Rkard, his hairless brow furrowed in determination.
    “That's right,” said Caelum. “He'll be a little sick for a few hours, but he'll live.”
    The sorceress's blue eyes seemed to glow a little brighter. “Thank you.”
    Sadira rose, cradling her husband's limp form in her arms. Although the mul probably
     weighed half-again as much as a normal man, the sorceress showed no sign of strain at
     lifting his heavy body.
    She passed Rikus to Magnus. “If you'll bear Rikus for a while, I'll get us across this
     gap.”
    The sorceress took the rope from around Rikus's waist and lay down at the end of the road.
     She leaned over the
    (brink and tied one end to the last buttress, then returned to her feet and tossed the
     coil toward the merchant standing on the other side of the gap.
    At first, Neeva thought the rope would fall short of its target, but Sadira uttered a
     quiet incantation