We dodged a couple runners coming from the other direction. Jodi bit her lip. "I guess we are. I just . . . it hit me, when we were about to walk in and start beating up these poorschlemiels who can"t even see us."
We"d been so focused on our dilemma that we"d only subconsciously noted the increase in the gabbling language around us. Now it reached a crescendo that broke through our indecision as, suddenly, another detachment ofLisharithada burst out of the room in front of us.
There was no chance to dodge or jump. They plowed straight into Jodi and me, knocking us down before they tumbled to the ground themselves in blinded consternation. Scrambling to my feet, I swung my steel at the nextLisharithada soldier with all my strength.
The bar bent on impact as though it"d been a willow wand instead of a half-inch of spring steel, picked up the rock-man and flung him a full ten feet backward. A crumpled, oozing line showed where the steel had caught him, as my weapon rebounded into straightness again. Jodi"s matching blow knocked over her opponent and the two behind him. Crystal-edged swords chopped blindly at us. I parried one so hard it shattered, raining stone fragments everywhere, but a second one, swung flat and hard, got through my guard.
I staggered sideways, my side on fire. "That hurt!" I snarled, and backhanded theLisharithada who"d hit me hard enough to send him tumbling head over heels. They were trying to crowd in and find us, and I figured giving them that advantage would be bad. "Jodi-into the big cave!"
"Got you!"
We could maneuver better in there, even though there were more opponents. With our height, reach, and effective invisibility-not to mention our magnified strength-our weapons started to take an awful toll. Every swing I made put one of the enemy down-broken legs, shattered chests, crushed skull or arms-and Jodi matched me swing for swing. Worse for them, even when they hit us it didn"t smash our bones or cut our limbs off. The blows stung, sometimes really hurt, and I could feel bruises, but nothing at all like the damage they ought to be doing. Two of their guard-seradathoscuttled towards me, met the steel coming the other way and flew twisting through the air, shedding pieces as they went.
There was something utterly macabre and horrid about it all. These rock-men were desperately fighting something they couldn"t see, something even stronger and tougher than they were-that killed and maimed them, broke their weapons, moved like lightning, and smashed aside any defense. I felt a little sick as we continued to fight our way towards the far side of the room, where just one door stood between us and the ritual room Rokhaset had told us we would find. Even if we were fighting enemies of our people, this was their home, and we were the invaders, slaughtering them without warning, without even showing them the faces of their adversaries. It was as if Jodi and I were the monsters in some kind of underground legend-the rock-people"s equivalent of trolls or werewolves.
Still, sheer numbers count for an awful lot. For every one I took down, I could see another one running forward-sometimes two. And while one blow from their weapons wasn"t enough to take us down-or even five-in the end you can beat a man to death with a rolled-up newspaper if you hit him often enough.
Two moreLisharithada went down, then three of them jumped me and I staggered. A fourth, knocked reeling by Jodi, fell down and tripped me. The three on top were blind, but now they could feel someone under them. They were punching and kicking for all they were worth, their shrieks carrying terror and revulsion along with anger.
"Clint!" I heard Jodi scream, and a barrage of impacts erupted from her direction. Two of the ones on me suddenly departed involuntarily, and the third let go and backed off. I got painfully to my feet and smacked aseradatho into its handlers.
Jodi"s eyes held a desperation I"d never seen before. "We"re not going to make it,tei-yerinkeh ." She almost never used that word; it meant "sweetheart" or "dearest one," but it was a private thing, a silly little private word we used only alone together.
I looked over my shoulder. We weren"t even halfway across the room, and in the dimming light-half the LEDs on our lights were broken now-it looked like even moreLisharithada were coming in to reinforce the others. She was probably right . . . The ring ofLisharithada that had drawn away for a moment was gathering itself for another lunge.
I shook my head. "Maybe, but d.a.m.n-all if I"m givin" up." I hit the transducer switch. "YEEE-HA! C"mon, then, let"s see if y"all can take a Slade!"
And in the stunned moment as theLisharithada heard our voices for the first time, another voice boomed out from across the great cavern: "Well said and well met again, Clinton Slade!"
14. The Sound of Music
No sound had ever been so welcome as that deep, rea.s.suring voice. "Rokhaset! You made it!" Jodi shouted triumphantly, taking threeLisharithada out with the accompanying swing.
"Indeed, Jodi Goldman." I could now make out that at least part of what I"d taken for reinforcements of theLisharithada were Rokhaset"s a.s.sault forces, driving towards us like a wedge against the increasingly desperateLisharithada . "And it gives me great joy to see that not only have you arrived, but that also themikhsteri H"adamant has worked surpa.s.singly well on you."
"OW!" I shoved the one that had just hit me out of the way. "Yeah, and without it we"d have been dead before we got here. Great stuff."
The enemy were now in serious disarray. They couldn"t decide whether the two invisible slayers or the larger number ofNowethada were the biggest threat, and that made them hesitate at the wrong time. Jodi and I turned and started plowing our way towards the door on the far side, knowing that Rokhaset and his troops were backing us up and if the ones behind us tried to drag us down, he"d carve right through them and get "em off our backs.
Now there wasn"t any mistaking the panic in the voices of theLisharithada . The situation had gone from bad to impossible. There just weren"t enough of them left to deal with Rokhaset"s forces on top of the unknown, invisible killers that had devastated their guarding force. Seeing how Rokhaset and his people proceeded onward-steadily, but nowhere near as fast or efficient as our devastating attack-it was pretty clear that he"d told the truth about just how little chance he and his people had stood alone. That, to me, confirmed we"d chosen right to take his word on this mission. There wasn"t any way he"d expected events to take the turn they had, but he"d clearly planned on this a.s.sault anyway. Plus, his people had had several chances to do us in at different points, and hadn"t.
Suddenly, theLisharithada morale broke. The ones in front of us threw down their weapons and sprang aside, running for the exits-there were, I could see, three ways out of here besides the sealed door we were headed for. And even the ones behind us and around Rokhaset"s people were now fleeing, stampeding out the doors with desperate speed.
"Well, I think they"ve decided that"s enough."
Rokhaset joined us. His posture had not relaxed. "They do not usually retreat even when being beaten."
"And how often have you had invisible, superhuman, apparently invincible a.s.sistance? C"mon, Rokhaset, everyone has a breaking point."
"True enough, Clinton Slade. I find your presence unnerving, and you are my ally. Perhaps indeed it is that invisible a.s.sistance which overwhelms their courage."
"Last door. I hope we can get it open from this side."
Rokhaset nodded deliberately. "I a.s.sure you it can be opened, especially by those a.s.sembled here. Be prepared; the interior guard will have been alerted, and they will fight to the end."
"Let "er rip. Let"s blow this joint and see if we can get home in one piece."
The Nomes gathered around the door, poking at the mechanism, which was apparently jammed. After a jabbering conference, Rokhaset turned back to us. "The door is not entirely disabled. They did not have the time to do so, and those inside cannot do so without considerable effort. Stand by; we shall open the door-now!"
Something broke inside the wall-we could hear it and feel the vibration through the soles of our boots-and the door ground its way upwards. The doorway to our destination was open.
Stepping forward, Jodi and I peered in. It was a low but tremendously wide room, maybe ten feet high but with regular b.u.t.tress columns supporting a span so large that our weakened lights couldn"t reach the other side, even with the increased sensitivity of our eyes. At regular intervals around the room were crystalline shapes of bizarre design. The nearest one was a sort of curved double-trumpet shape rising from one side of a six-foot-high dais, thirty feet across, carved in a spiral fashion with rippled indentations along it. I started for it, raising my bar and watching for the interior guard.
No one came forward, no attackers, nothing. "Rokhaset? Where"s the welcome wagon?"
"I admit my bewilderment, Clinton Slade. I cannot-"
But at that moment, the dais began to uncurl. The crystalline shape sat at the crest of a head fully five feet long, armed with black-shining spines, cutting blades of blue stone, a crushing maw, and grasping talons.
It gave voice to a grinding screech like the unoiled hinges of h.e.l.l and turned towards us.
"Magon!" Rokhaset gasped. His shocked cry was echoed by his fellows, all of whom, the Nome King included, began backing away as fast as they could.
"Figures." I stared at the monstrous thing as it continued to uncoil. "They brought one here as a last-ditch defense."
TheMagon shrieked again, and a steady humming began to emanate from it as it stalked towards us on many sets of legs.
"Matturan!" I heard Rokhaset shout. "Run, all of you, for we cannot fight if we cannot see!"
"Well, I can see perfectly-what the . . . YOW!"
My steel weapon had brushed my hand; that fleeting contact had burned me.
"Gevalt!" Jodi cursed.
The zipper on my wetsuit was heating up. If you have never experienced the sensation of a rapidly-heating zipper, my advice is simple: avoid it at all costs.
Jodi grabbed me and dragged me backward, away, running as fast as we could from theMagon . We both tore the earphones from our heads, as they were starting to burn our ears.
"The d.a.m.n thing"s radiating electromagnetic waves!" Jodi said disbelievingly. "That"s why it makes the Nomes blind-it"s overloading their senses on some level. But for us, it"s inducing eddy currents and heating every bit of metal on us!"
"d.a.m.n! d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n,d.a.m.n ! No wonder theLisharithada bugged out. They knew this thing was waiting back there as a last-ditch weapon." We stopped for a breather on the far side of the cavern we"d been fighting in for so long. Two of the exits had been closed off, but one was still open. That gave me an idea.
"Hey, Rokhaset! Our real goal"s to get inside that room and break up all the crystal things, right?"
"Correct."
"Well, that being the case, why don"t we have one group of us keep the thing chasin" us, and the other group runs inside? ThatMagon thing sure doesn"t look up to opening doors, so if we can all get inside ahead of it and close the door, we"re set."
"A worthy plan," Rokhaset said after a pause.
"Why isn"t Rokhaset answering?" Jodi demanded. "Is he okay?"
"Heis answering. I guess my electronics survived, but yours fried."
"Some of them, anyway. Lights and all are still working."
I glanced in the direction we"d come from. Nothing was moving in the range of the lights. "Speaking of that, I"m swapping out for the spare lights and new batteries. I can"t see the thing at all."
That did the trick nicely, but I didn"t like what I saw. "Shoot. The darn thing"s stopped with its head right in the doorway. Rokhaset, y"all said these things were hard to control, but looks to me like this one understands "guard dog" just fine."
Jodi gazed at it speculatively. "Wonder what its range is?"
"We should probably find out. Though to be honest I dunno what we"re going to do. My pistol"s just a popgun to something like that, and no way I"m gonna get close enough to hit it with the explosives-h.e.l.l, I was lucky the detonators and my pistol rounds didn"t go off when it started doing its metal-heating trick."
"Well, I don"t have any explosives on me, and most of my stuff that"s going to fry is already toasted."
Jodi dashed forward before I could stop her.
TheMagon raised its head a bit as she got closer, and that eerie, high-pitched, monotonous hum began again. Jodi s.n.a.t.c.hed up her weapon, which was about thirty feet from the thing, and ran back, juggling it like a hot potato until she got back to me and dropped it on the floor to cool.
"Oy!Looks like it"s got a range around seventy-five feet. At least, it didn"t seem to be cooling off until I got out about that far. You didn"t feel anything back here, did you?"
I shook my head. "Nothing. Though I"d bet the range for just blinding our Nome friends is much longer."
"You are correct, Clinton Slade. We dare not get even as close as you are now to theMagon .
Although . . . Perhaps, if we were to all rush it at once, we might still defeat it. There are twelve of us all told, plus the two of you."
"No, you"re outta your mind, Rokhaset! That thing"s even bigger"n you said; I think I eyeballed it at something close on eighty feet long. It"d kick our a.s.ses even if y"all weren"t blind, which you will be." I studied the thing from our current distance, about a hundred and fifty feet away. "Jodi, do you want to try that run again and see if you can get my weapon too?"
She looked at me. "You"ve got something else in mind, haven"t you?"
"Maybe. More a matter of I need to get a better look at something." I moved forward until I was about a hundred feet away from the thing.
"Here goes nothing." Jodi sprinted back in. The grotesque head rose, the humming started up again, and Jodi gave vent to Yiddish curses as her clothing started to heat up. She had to get within twenty feet of theMagon to get my weapon, and at her closest approach the thing stirred uneasily, almost began to move forward, jaws and grinder working.
But I"d noticed something else. I focused my flashlight squarely on the crystalline growth on theMagon "s forehead as Jodi sprinted back. Sure enough, the light looked vaguely defocused until she got far enough out and the humming sound faded, and then the reflection was as sharp as could be.
"I think I"ve found its transmission antenna."
"The things I do for love! What? Where?"
"That crystal thing on its head. That humming noise coincides with its vibration." I shook my head. "I suppose I could try to shoot the thing off, but it"s a sucky target in this light and at this distance."
Jodi stared at it with a look of revelation that startled me.
"Jodi? Sweetheart, what is it?"
"Clint, tell me: doesn"t that thing look almost exactly like a couple of winegla.s.ses from here?"
I looked. "Well, yeah, it does. So?"
"I"d put that hum right up around my high B."
My mouth dropped open and stayed that way. "You can"t be serious!"
"I"ll bet you twenty bucks it"ll work."
"You"re nuts! You"d need to get right up to it-twenty, thirty feet at the outside-and it"s looking kinda antsy already."
"So, like you have a better idea, Mr. Genius?"
I thought about it. "No," I finally muttered. "But hold on a second. I"d better get stuff ready, in case this crazy idea of yours does work."
I pulled stuff from the pack, sorted it out, fitted things together, checked the connections. "Okay." I looked over at the monstrous creature and turned, grabbing Jodi tight. "You be d.a.m.n careful, y"hear? I ain"t lookin" to see you eaten by some rockworm."
The slight quiver in her voice answered my concern. "Hey, don"t worry, it"s no big deal. You should see the rats on a New York subway."
"Ihave seen the rats on a New York subway. They aren"t anywhere near as bad as-"
She clucked her tongue disparagingly. "That was just Manhattan, you tourist. I"m talking about Queens.
Now stop distracting me."
She took a deep breath and hummed to herself for a few moments, running scales up and down, loosening her throat and lungs so they could deliver when needed. As she did so, she started stripping off all the extraneous metal. Her backpack hit the floor as she started a run ofdo-re-mi and her shirt and pants (with metal rivets) joined it a few moments later as she ran back down the scale, followed by the wetsuit.
Being human-okay, male human-I could at least appreciate the view, which was magnificent even if stoppingjust short of being indecent. Jodi"s sports bra and panties had no metal in them, so she left them on. Still, there was a definite exotic charm in the setting, especially with the waiting monster in the background. Any fantasy ill.u.s.trator in the world would have been in seventh heaven.
Jodi stood still for a moment, muscles just a bit too tense, then took a deep breath and started walking forward.
As before, once she got within seventy feet, the creature raised its head and started humming. But this time Jodi wasn"t wearing anything metal to be affected. She kept moving forward slowly, forty feet, thirty, twenty-five, twenty . . .
At twenty feet, theMagon hissed and moved slightly. Jodi stopped and opened her mouth. A pure note issued forth, one matching the eerie hum precisely in pitch. The hum instantly sounded louder than ever, and Jodi"s voice responded, increasing volume steadily.
TheMagon must have encountered caverns in which it had heard feedback. The hum started to fade for a moment as it stopped generation. But nothing had ever tried this trick on it before; as Jodi made a step forward, its instincts forced it to begin the defensive signal generation again.
Jodi"s face was as set as a marble statue, giving out an unending, unwavering tone that I knew could not be sustained much longer, a crescendo of echoing sound that was answered in the swiftly-building hum that she was trying to drive out of control. TheMagon moved jerkily, trying to shake its head and drive away an indescribable sensation, starting a lunge forward but drawing back as the movement increased the resonance. Even from this distance I saw Jodi"s face changing color slightly, reddening from the effort of wringing the last dregs of air from her lungs to maintain the feedback cycle. She was running out of air, it wasn"t going to work- And then the sound of her own pure voice echoed out from behind me, doubled and redoubled, as the Nowethada , having caught on to her plan, all joined together to imitate the same precise sound. Though they were much farther away, there were twelve of them, and they were putting all the strength into it they could; with their ability to imitate other sounds perfectly, they did exactly what was needed. They maintained the resonance as theMagon gave a frustrated whine and finally moved, in fits and starts, towards Jodi.
But by maintaining the resonance, the Nomes had given Jodi a breather. She backed up two steps, her lungs refilled, and this time her voice seemed to split the room with a single note of high-pitched thunder.
The resonant hum from theMagon rose with her volume, becoming louder, the creature scrabbling now to reach its own forehead with claws just a bit too short-and the crystal antenna exploded with enough force to send shards flying thirty feet.
TheMagon gave a shriek that pierced my ears like an icepick and lunged at Jodi; no longer under control, just berserk and out to kill the one that hurt it. Jodi ran.