If he failed, no more would be possible.
Conan had never run so fast in his life, at least after a long battle.
Hillman though he was, he feared his legs would betray him. To stumble now would be worse than fatal, it would be humiliating.
At last he felt level ground under his feet. Ahead he saw Eremius, Jewel-ring at his feet and hands clasped over his ears. What the sorcerer heard that Conan did not, the Cimmerian neither knew nor cared.
He only knew that in another score of paces, he could s.n.a.t.c.h up the Jewel-ring.
Conan had covered half the distance when the Jewel-ring leaped into the air. It did not glow, not with the dazzling emerald fire of before. It did something far worse.
It sang.
It sang with a sad, plaintive note in a voice that uttered no words but somehow held enormous power to paint pictures in Conan"s mind. Conan saw a deep-bosomed Cimmerian wench and himself grappled in love before a blazing fire. He saw a snug hut, with children playing before that same fire. He saw dark-haired boys, their features stamped with his own, learning the art of the hunt and the blade from their father. He saw himself with grizzled hair, pa.s.sing judgments in village disputes.
All that he had turned his back on, the Jewel seemed to say, could be his. He need only turn his back on Eremius.
Conan slowed his pace. He had turned his back on Cimmeria with open eyes, but now those eyes were threatening to blur with sorrow for what he had lost. He knew this was no natural sorrow, but the power of it was sweeping away the last of his knowledge.
Another presence hammered its way into Conan"s mind. Illyana"s Jewel was crying out a song of triumph.
Equally dazzling pictures entered his mind-riding at the head of an army through a city of towering buildings with gilded roofs, under a sky of northern blue. White clouds shone, flowers showered down upon him, clinging to the mane of his steed, the cheers and chants of the crowd drowned out the babble of the Cimmerian village meeting.
As if slamming a door in the face of intruders, Conan willed both Jewels out of his mind. It did not matter which offered what rewards.
Both alike seemed to think that he could be bought. Both were wrong, and their masters with them.
Conan needed no urging to overthrow the creator of the Transformed.
What he might see fit to do with Illyana could be left until later.
Conan"s sword lunged. Its point darted through the ring. The sharp blade leaped toward the sky, where the mist was gathering again. The ring and its Jewel slid down the blade to the hilt.
"Run, people!"
The last thing Conan saw as he himself turned to run, was Eremius slumping to the ground, his face in his hands.
Twenty-two.
THEY WERE HALFWAY out of the valley when Illyana stumbled and fell, to all appearances senseless. Conan laid an ear next to her lips and felt her breathing. Then he handed the Jewel-ring to Raihna, who slipped it on her left arm. Sheathing his sword, the Cimmerian lifted the sorceress and continued the climb.
"Let me go on ahead and find an easier path, Captain," Bora said. "You are hillborn like me, but I have not fought hand to hand with the Transformed this night."
"Not yet," Raihna said. "We may well have heard the last of Eremius.
About his creations-"
From the swirling mist in the valley came wild cries, inhuman in their quality but clearly from a human throat. Rage, terror, and pain blended horribly in the cries.
Then the howls of the Transformed rose in a nightmare chorus, swallowing the human cries.
"What in Mitra"s name was that?" Bora gasped.
"As Raihna said, we"ve heard the last of Master Eremius," Conan said.
"I"d wager that was him, making a light supper for some of his Transformed."
Bora shuddered. "Keep your sling loaded and ready," Conan added. "It"s the only weapon we have left for striking from a distance."
"It"s also the only weapon we have that Illyana didn"t ensorcel,"
Raihna said, almost meditatively. Conan stared at her in dawning surprise.
"That matters to you?"
"After what I"ve seen these past few days-even Illyana"s magic smells other than it once did. And anything flowing from the Jewels..." She shook her head. "I will think on it, when I have wits to spare."
They scrambled out of the valley in silence. They also moved in darkness, for which Conan was grateful. Darkness and the resurgent mist hid them from the Transformed, and the Jewels slept. They might have been as exhausted as their rescuers, or even their new mistress.
They left the mist behind in the Valley of the Demons. By the time Bora saw the Lord of the Winds towering against the stars, Illyana could walk again. She was also shivering, naked against the night wind.
Bora realized that whatever her magic had done to keep her warm was pa.s.sing. He stripped off his shirt and handed it to her. She donned it eagerly, then inclined her head as graciously as a queen.
"We are grateful," she said. Conan frowned and seemed about to speak, then seemed to think better of it. Once again they moved on in silence.
The endurance of his companions surprised Bora.
The Cimmerian and Raihna had to be close to the end of their strength.
Illyana had battled Eremius, no less formidable an opponent than the Transformed, and could hardly be accustomed to walking barefoot across mountainsides.
At dawn, they were almost in sight of where they left their baggage.
They emptied their waterskins, slung them again, and turned on to the last slope.
All at once Conan held up a warning hand.
"Stop. Everyone hide. I"m going on alone." He spoke softly, as if hostile ears might be close.
"We wish to know-" Illyana began.
Again Conan frowned. Then he said with elaborate courtesy, "You shall know the moment I do. Until then, I ask your good will."
Raihna and Conan exchanged glances. Then Raihna put her hand to the small of Illyana"s back and gently pushed her toward a stand of scrubby bushes. As Bora followed the women, Conan was already scrambling down the slope by a route that hid him from below. Once more Bora was amazed at how silently so large a man could move.
Bora had barely time to become impatient before Conan returned as silently as he went. The first knowledge Bora had of his return was a soft bird whistle. Then the black-maned head thrust into the bushes.
"Six of those half-witted humans Eremius used as scouts. They"re sitting around our baggage. Swords and spears, no bows. They look a bit more alert than most, but no match for us."
"Must we slay more of the Master"s servants?" asked Illyana. She sounded almost petulant.
Conan shrugged. "I suppose we could leave them to the army, like the Transformed. But do you want to walk all the way back to Fort Zheman clothed as you are?"
"That might not be necessary."