Free Nature's Peril Part 1 (The Nature Mage Series) by Duncan Pile

upwards, glowing orange eyes fixed on a single spot. The compulsion drove it onwards, augmented by its natural hunger to kill. The hunger consumed it, making its mind and body thrum to a single, powerful note as it moved claw by claw towards its unwitting quarry.
     
    …
     
    Without warning, Gaspi’s door swept open and Voltan strode into the room, glancing at each of them and taking note of their gear.
    “Time to go,” he said. “Follow me, quietly.” With that he swept out of the room, leaving Gaspi and Tau rnil fumbling for their packs. They swung them over their shoulders, checking one last time that their gear was all in place, and left the room. Gaspi closed and locked his door, and slipped the key into a small pocket in his pack. Voltan waited impatiently while he got his pack back in place, and then led them along the silent corridors of the Warren. They had to pass both Emmy and Lydia’s rooms along the way, and Gaspi found himself walking on tiptoes, so nervous that he broke into a light sweat. One glance at Taurnil’s face told him his friend was feeling the exact same way, and he felt a great rush of relief when they were safely past both rooms.
    “ Unless you’ve discovered a hidden talent for neuromancy, Gaspi, this will be the riskiest part,” Voltan said when they finally reached the transporter.
    “No such luck,” Gaspi answered. Neither he nor Voltan had any natural talent for neuromancy, so they didn’t have the luxury of invisibility to aid them in their attempt to remain unseen.
    “Then let’s hope that no-one is about,” the warrior mage responded. “Get on!” he said, and they stepped onto the plinth. Voltan spoke the command, and the next thing they saw was the wide, empty space of the Atrium. Gaspi breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t think he’d ever felt so anxious. “So far so good,” the warrior mage said, and led them to the third plinth. Again they climbed on and Voltan spoke the word of command, transporting them up to the corridor that led to his study.
    The y walked silently along the corridor and approached his office. “Be quiet when you get in there,” Voltan whispered. “The others are already inside.” Gaspi nodded and Voltan opened the door.
     
    …
     
    The Darkman stopped its climb. The Nature Mage was on the move. Traversing the exterior of the tower, it moved in tandem with its quarry, but all of a sudden it was way below him. Confused, the Darkman climbed back down the tower and approached the enchanted door. Yes, the Nature Mage was on the other side. Abandoning subtlety, it lifted its arms and unsheathed its natural weaponry – bony, poison-drenched spurs that slid from its wrists and glimmered wetly in the lamplight. It braced itself to smash right through the enchanted door, but all of a sudden the Nature Mage was back up in the tower, even higher than he had been before.
    Growling angrily, the Darkman retracted its bony blades and started climbing again, hastily cutting a path up the stone with thrusting claws. It passed one set of windows, then several more, its baleful eyes fixed on a single square of light above it. That was where the Nature Mage was, and he wasn’t moving anymore. The Darkman sped up, shattering the stone heedlessly in its haste. It reached the lip of the square of light and grabbed it with both hands, tensing its shoulders to propel itself through the window and into the room. The tips of its natural weaponry quivered as it prepared to thrust them out and de al death to all within the room.
     
    …
     
    They stepped into an extremely crowded room. Gaspi looked around at the collection of warriors, each of whom was bristling with weaponry. Baard on his own would have made the room look crowded, especially with Bonebreaker’s dark aura making him swell with palpable menace, but throw in Sabu, Talmo, Zlekic and Zaric and you barely had room to turn around. Talmo! Gaspi caught his eye and looked away guiltily. When they’d