Angel swung towards Ekodas. "Can you do anything, priest?"
"Nothing. His neck is broken, and his spine in two places. And his ribs have pierced a lung." The priest"s tone was light, almost disinterested.
Angel returned his attention to the dying swordsman. "Fancy letting a creature like that kill you,"
he said gruffly. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself."
"I am." He smiled and closed his eyes. "There"s no pain. It"s very peaceful really." His eyes flared open, and fear was in his voice. "You"ll carry me out, won"t you? Don"t want to spend eternity down here. I"d like to be able ... to feel the sun ... you know?"
"I"ll carry you myself."
"Miriel...!"
"I"m here," she said, her voice trembling.
"I"m...sorry... I had such..."His eyes closed again. And he was gone.
"Senta!" she shouted. "Don"t do this! Get up. Walk!" Standing she dragged on his arm.
Angel rose and grabbed her. "Let him go, princess. Let him go!"
"I can"t!"
He drew her into a tight embrace. "It"s over," he said softly. "He"s not here any more."
Miriel pulled away from him, her face set, eyes gleaming. Spinning on her heel she walked to the dead beast, dragging her sword clear. Then she turned on Ekodas. "You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You stood by and did nothing. He would be alive but for you."
"Perhaps," he agreed. "Perhaps not."
"Now you die," said Miriel, suddenly running forward. Ekodas raised his hand. Miriel groaned and halted so suddenly it seemed she had run into an invisible wall.
"Calm yourself," said Ekodas. "I didn"t kill him."
"Destroy the crystal, priest," said Angel, "before it destroys you."
Ekodas smiled. "You don"t understand. No one would who had not felt its power."
"I can feel it," said Angel. "At least I would guess it is the crystal that is filling me with the desire to kill you."
"Yes, that is probably true. On a lesser mind the crystal would have that kind of effect. I should draw back. Return to the fortress."
"No," said Angel. "You were sent here by those who trusted you. They believed only you had the strength to resist the ... thing. They were wrong, weren"t they? It"s overpowered you."
"Nonsense. It has merely enhanced my considerable Talents."
"So be it. We"ll wait for you at the fortress," said Angel, with a deep sigh. He stepped forward.
"One small point, though ..."
"Yes?"
Angel leaned back, and kicked out and up, his boot hitting the crystal, sending it spinning from the priest"s hand. Ekodas tried to punch out, but the warrior rolled away from the blow and swung his elbow into the priest"s face. Ekodas staggered. Angel sent a thundering left cross that cannoned into his opponent"s chin. Ekodas. .h.i.t the floor face-first - and did not move.
Miriel, freed from whatever spell Ekodas had cast, moved towards the still body.
"Leave him be, child," said Angel. "He was not responsible." Moving to the crystal Angel felt its power reaching out to him, with promises of strength, immortality and fame. Angel reeled back.
"Give me the sword," he told Miriel. Taking the hilt in both hands he smote the crystal with one terrible blow.
It exploded into bright, glittering fragments, and a great rush of cool air filled the hall.
Ignoring the fallen priest Angel walked wearily back to Senta"s body and lifted it, letting the head fall against his shoulder.
"Let"s take him back to the sunlight," he said.
20
Zhu Chao was trembling, sweat trickling down his cheeks. He struggled for calm, but his pulse was racing and he could feel the erratic hammering of his heart.
He cannot reach you, he told himself. He is one man. I have many men. And there are the dogs.
Yes, yes, the dogs. They will sniff him out! He sat down at his desk and stared at the open doorway, where the two guards waited, swords drawn.
The hounds had been shipped from Chiatze, formidable beasts with huge jaws and powerful shoulders. Hunting dogs, they had been known to drag down bears. They would rend him, tear the flesh from his bones!
The sorcerer poured himself a goblet of wine, his trembling causing him to spill the liquid over several parchments lying on the oak-topped desk. He didn"t care. Nothing mattered now, save that he lived through this fear-filled night.
"Lord!" pulsed Casta.
"Yes?"
"One of the dogs is dead. The others are sleeping. We found the remains of fresh meat by one of them. I think he poisoned them. Lord! Can you hear me?"
Zhu Chao was stunned, and felt his reasoning swept away on a tide of panic.
"Lord! Lord!" pulsed Casta. But Zhu Chao could not respond. "I"ve ordered all the men into the main palace grounds," continued Casta. "And we"ve sealed the ground floor, and I have men guarding all three stairways."
The sorceror drained his wine and poured a second goblet. The spirit steadied his failing courage. "Good," he pulsed. He stood -and swayed, catching hold of the side of the desk. Too much wine, he realised, and drunk too swiftly. Never mind. It would pa.s.s. He took several deep breaths, and felt his strength return.
Swiftly he crossed the room and stepped into the corridor. The two guards snapped to attention.
"Follow me," he ordered, and marched towards the stairwell leading to the dungeon chambers. He made one man walk before him on the stairs, the other following sword in hand. At the foot of the stairwell they emerged into a torch-lit corridor. Three men were playing dice at the far table. They sprang to their feet as Zhu Chao stepped into the light.
"Bring the prisoners to the Inner Sanctum," he said.
"Lord!" pulsed Casta, his voice triumphant.
"Speak!"
"He is dead. One of the guards found him scaling the roof. They fought, and the a.s.sa.s.sin was killed and hurled to the stones below."
"Yes!" roared Zhu Chao, his fist sweeping up into the air. "Bring his body to me. I will consign it to h.e.l.l!" Oh, how sweet life felt at that moment, the words in his mind singing like a nightingale: Waylander is dead. Waylander is dead!
Leaving the men he entered a small room at the end of the corridor, locking the door behind him.
From a hiding place beneath a desk of oak he removed the Fifth Grimoire and studied the ninth chapter. Closing his eyes he spoke the words of power and found himself floating above the walls of Kar-Barzac. But there was no way past the pulsating force that radiated from below the fortress.
Then, as suddenly as sunshine following a storm, the power faded and died. Zhu Chao was stunned.
Swiftly he sent his spirit questing into the labyrinth below the citadel and found the priest Ekodas nursing the crystal. He could feel the surging of the man"s Talent, his growing ambition, his burgeoning desires.
He spoke to the priest, sensing a kindred spirit, and when Ekodas said he would bring the crystal to Gulgothir, Zhu Chao knew he spoke the absolute truth. He fought hard to keep his triumph from Ekodas, and returned to his palace.
Waylander was dead. The crystal was his. And in a few short moments the souls of kings would be dedicated to Shemak.
And the son of a shoemaker would be the Lord of the Earth!
The Gothir forces had fallen back again, but the defenders manning the walls were fewer now, and desperately weary. Dardalion moved among the Thirty, pausing only at the body of fat Merlon.
He had died at the ruined gateway, hurling himself into the ma.s.s of warriors surging through the ruptured portcullis. Orsa Khan and a score of Nadir warriors had joined him, and together they had forced back the attackers. But, just as the Gothir retreated to their camp, Merlon had slumped to the ground, bleeding from many wounds.
He died within moments. Dardalion knelt by the body. "You were a good man, my friend," he said softly. "May the Source greet you."
From the corner of his eye he saw Angel emerge from the hall, carrying the body of the swordsman, Senta. Dardalion sighed and stood. Miriel came next, a small boy beside her. The Abbot walked across to them, and waited silently as Angel laid down the body of his friend. In the presence of the silver-armoured Abbot the small boy eased back and vanished into the hall.
"Where is Ekodas?" Dardalion asked at last.
"He"s alive," said Angel. "And the crystal is destroyed."
"The Source be praised! I was not sure that even Ekodas would have the strength."
He saw Miriel about to speak, but Angel cut in swiftly. "It was a creation of great evil," he said.
Ekodas appeared in the doorway, blinking in the fading light. Dardalion ran to him. "You did it, my son. I am proud of you." He reached out to embrace the priest, but Ekodas brushed him away.
"I did nothing - save let a man die," he whispered. "Leave me, Dardalion." The priest stumbled away.
The Abbot swung back to Miriel. Tell me all," he said. Miriel sighed and related the story of the fight with the monster, and the death of Senta. Her voice was low and spiritless, her eyes distant.
Dardalion felt her pain and her sorrow.
"I am so sorry, my child. So terribly sorry."
"People die in wars all the time," she said tonelessly. As if in a dream she walked away towards the battlements.
Angel covered Senta with his cloak then stood. "I"d like to kill Kesa Khan," he hissed.
"It would achieve nothing," replied Dardalion. "Go with Miriel. She is fey now, and could come to harm."
"Not while I live," said Angel. "But tell me, Abbot, what is it for? Why did he die down there?
Please tell me it was worth something. And I don"t want to hear about Uniters."
"I cannot answer all your questions. Would that I could. But no man can know where his steps will ultimately lead, nor the results of his actions. But I will tell you this, and I will trust you to keep it in your heart and not speak of it to any living soul. There she is, sitting on the battlements.
What do you see?"
Angel looked up and saw Miriel bathed in the fiery light of dusk. "I see a beautiful woman, tough and yet gentle, strong and yet caring. What do you think I should see?"
"What I see," whispered Dardalion. "A young woman carrying the seed of future greatness. Even now it is growing within her, tiny, a mere spark of life, created from love. But that spark could one day, if we survive here, give birth to a flame."
"She is pregnant."
"Yes. Senta"s son."
"He didn"t know," said Angel, staring down at the cloak-shrouded corpse on the stones.
"But you know, Angel. You know now that she has something to live for. But she will need help.
There are few men strong enough to take on the burden of another man"s child."
"That is no worry to me, Abbot. I love her."
"Then go to her, my son. Sit with her. Share her grief."
Angel nodded and moved away. Dardalion strode into the hall. The boy was sitting at a bench table, staring down at his hands. Dardalion sat opposite him. Their eyes met and Dardalion smiled.
The boy returned it.
Kesa Khan entered the hall from the stairwell leading to the upper floors. He saw Dardalion and crossed to the table. "I saw her on the battlements," he said. "I am ... happy that she survived."
"Her lover did not," said Dardalion.
The shaman shrugged. "It is not important."
Dardalion bit back an angry reply, and shifted his gaze to the boy. "I have something for you, Kesa Khan," he said, still staring at the black-eyed child.
"Yes?"
"The young warlord who will wed the daughter of Shia."
"You know where to find him?"