That much Jig could have figured out without the prince’s dramatic pronouncement. What he didn’t know was how to stop whatever was happening to Riana. Would this poison spread throughout her body, or would the potion be strong enough to stop it before she died? Worse, if the poison took her, what would happen to her then? The fingertip still moved like living flesh. Would she be truly dead, or would she become something worse, some kind of toy for the Necromancer? If this was a taste of the Necromancer’s power, Jig would happily stay up above with the hobgoblins and the lizard-fish.

“Can you heal her?” Jig asked.

But Darnak was already shaking his head. “It’s in the gods’ hands now.”

Jig turned to Ryslind, but words caught in his throat. Could the wizard save Riana? He had made potions to counteract the lizard-fish, after all. Seeing the shadows beneath Ryslind’s eyes, and the sweat still shining on his bald scalp, Jig decided against asking. If the overuse of Ryslind’s art had caused the fit Jig saw, the last thing he wanted to do was ask the wizard to exert himself further.

The decay spread toward the second knuckle. Riana held her hand away from her, clutching the wrist with her good hand.

“Broken bones, bloody cuts, and other wounds of honest battle, those I can heal with Earthmaker’s blessing. Poison and magic, though . . .” Darnak shook his head. “Those are beyond me.”

“Your counsel, old teacher,” Barius said. He drew the dwarf to the other side of the room and began to speak in a low whisper.

Jig perked his ears. No doubt their voices were too quiet for Ryslind to overhear, and Riana was too distraught to listen. Goblin ears were another matter. With everything he had seen in the past hour, Jig wasn’t about to let anyone start plotting behind his back.

“How long before the poison slays her?” Barius asked.

“It’s not the slaying that worries me. You saw her finger. Dead, but still moving. I fear what she’ll become.”

Jig nodded. He had seen the same thing. Good to know Darnak agreed with him.

“If the poison takes her, she could turn upon us. That cannot be permitted.”

“And what would you have me do about it?” Darnak sounded suspicious.

“I will distract the girl. Make her end quick and painless.”

Barius was so calm that it took Jig several heartbeats to understand what he was saying. He wanted to kill Riana! No, that wasn’t true. He wanted Darnak to do it.

“ ’Tis not in me to murder an innocent girl in cold blood,” Darnak said sternly. “Nor is it a worthy thought for a prince. I’d have expected such from the goblin, but not you.”