City of the Beast

Chapter Thirteen AN UNEXPECTED ALLY

AT FIRST I had thought that the warrior was going to slay me himself for some obscure reason. But this was not the case. Swiftly he slashed my bonds.

"I know you," I said in surprise. "You are the warrior I fought near Varnal."

"I am the warrior whose life you refused to take-whom you spared from the insults and swords of his comrades. I have thought much on what you did, Michael Kane. I admired what you did. It meant something to me. And now-I can at least help you to fight for your life against this creature."

"But I thought your folk feared it because of its supposed supernatural character."

"True. But I begin to doubt that this is true.

Quickly-take this sword, I have always been a better axe-man than a swordsman."

With this unexpected-and welcome-ally, I turned to face the N'aal Beast.

The Beast seemed put out by this turn of events.

Its gaze went from one to the other of us as though uncertain which one to attack first, for we had spaced out now-both crouching, waiting.

The Beast's great head suddenly whipped towards me. I stumbled backwards until I stood against the wall, desperately hacking at its snout with the great Argzoon blade.

It was evidently unused to its victims retaliating and it hissed in apparently puzzled anger as my sword gashed a wound in its snout.

It drew back its head and began to uncoil, so that soon the head had risen high above me and I was in its shadow. Down came the gaping maw and I thought it would take me in one gulp. I raised the sword point-first and as the mouth was almost upon me, the fetid breath almost overpowering, I dug the sword-point into the beast's soft palate.

It screamed and threshed backwards. Meanwhile, the Argzoon warrior had come in and hacked at the beast's head with his axe. It turned on him and the sweeping head caught him off balance.

He fell and the N'aal Beast opened its mouth, about to snap off his head.

Then I saw my chance. I leapt on to the N'aal Beast's back-on to its upper head and, running over that flat head, straddled it just above the eyes.

All this took only a few seconds, as the Argzoon below tried desperately to fend off the snapping jaws.

I raised my sword in both hands over the creature's right eye.

I plunged the blade downwards.

The steel sank in. The head jerked backwards and I was flung-swordless now-from my perch.

The N'aal Beast turned again towards me. The sword still protruded from its eye so that it made an even more grotesque sight as it came at me.

The Argzoon axe-man leapt up again and came to stand by me, evidently intending to protect me now that I was unarmed.

The beast let out a chilling, reverberating scream, and the gaping mouth, forked tongue flickering rapidly, flashed down on us.

Only inches before it reached us, the head suddenly turned and flung itself upwards. The beast uncoiled its whole length and began to shoot up so that I felt it would leave the pit altogether. I caught a glimpse of spectators scattering-and then it flopped down, almost striking us and finishing us by crushing us beneath its weight.

My sword had done the trick. I had killed it. It had clung on to life longer than anything should have. I half-credited its supernatural origin then!

I bent towards the great head and removed my sword. It slid out easily.

Then I realized that nothing was really saved. I was still imprisoned and, though armed, there were some two hundred Argzoon above us, ready to destroy us at a word from Horguhl.

"What do we do?" I asked my new friend.

"I know," he said, after some thought. "There is a small opening-look there, at the base of the pit on the other side." I followed his pointing finger.

He was right. There was an opening large enough to take a man but not large enough for the head of the N'aal Beast.

"What is it?" I asked.

"A tunnel that leads to the slave pens. Sometimes slaves are forced down it from the other side to feed the beast." My new friend chuckled grimly.

"It will feast no more on human flesh! Come, follow me. We have slain the N'aal Beast-that will impress them. They will be even more impressed when they see we have vanished from the pens.

With luck, we shall escape in the confusion."

I followed him into the tunnel.

As we moved along it, he told me his name.

Movat Jard of the Clan Movat-Tyk-one of the great Argzoon clans in the old days, before Horguhl had reorganized the Argzoon nation. He told me that though the Argzoon feared Horguhl's power, they were now muttering against her. Her ambitious schemes of large-scale conquest had come to nothing-and Argzoon was decimated.

After some time, the dark runnel became a little lighter and ahead I saw some sort of slatted grating. It was of wood. Peering through it I saw a cavern lighted by a single torch.

Lying about on the floor, in attitudes of the utmost dejection, closely packed like cattle, naked and dirty, bearded and pale, were the remains of the great army that had been ambushed here earlier. Some hundred and fifty undernourished, spiritless slaves. I felt pity for them.

Movat Jard was hacking at the wooden grille with his axe. It soon fell and some of the slaves looked up in surprise as we entered. The smell of humanity was almost too much to bear, but I knew it was not their fault.

One fellow, who held himself straighter than the rest and was as tall as I, stepped forward. He had a heavy beard which he had endeavoured to keep clean, and his body rippled with muscle as if he had been deliberately keeping himself in training.

When he spoke his voice was deep and manlyeven dignified.

"I am Carnak," he said simply. "What means this? Who are you and how came you here? How did you evade the N'aal Beast?"

I did not only address him. I addressed them all, since they were all looking at us with something akin to hope in their eyes.

"The N'aal Beast is dead!" I announced. "We slew it-this is Movat Jard, my friend."

"An Argzoon your friend? Impossible!"

"Possible-and my life is witness to that!" I smiled at Movat Jard, who made an attempt to smile back, though when he bared his teeth he still looked menacing!

"Who are you?" asked the bearded man, Carnak.

"I am a stranger here-a stranger to your planet, but I am here to help you. Would you be free?"

"Of course," he said. A murmur of excitement ran round the cavern. Men began to get up, a new liveliness in their manner.

"You must be prepared to win such freedom dearly," I told them. "From somewhere we must get weapons."

"We cannot fight the whole Argzoon nation,"

Carnak said in a low voice. 1 know," I said. "But the whole Argzoon nation is not here. There are perhaps two hundred warriors in all-and they are demoralized."

"Is this true? Really true?" Carnak was grinning excitedly.

"It is true," I said, "but you are outnumbered as well as unarmed. We must think carefully-but first we must escape from here."

"That should not be difficult in our present mood," replied Carnak. "There are usually more guards, but at present there are only two." He pointed to the other entrance to the cave. It was made of wickerwork, that was all. "Normally the cave beyond is thick with guards and all who have tried to escape that way have been cut down or forced back and sacrificed to the N'aal Beast. But now…"

With Movat Jard close at my heels, I strode to the door and immediately began hacking at it with my sword.

Movat Jard joined me, using his axe. The prisoners crowded eagerly behind us, Carnak well to the fore.

From the other side of the door we heard a grunt of surprise. Then an Argzoon yelled:

"Cease-or you'll be food for the N'aal!"

"The N'aal is dead," I replied. "You address the two who slew it."

We forced the door down. It fell outwards and crashed to the floor, revealing two baffled-looking guards, their swords in their hands.

Movat Jard and I rushed at them instantly and had soon despatched them in as swift a series of strokes as I shall ever witness.

Carnak bent down and took one of the swords from the fallen guard. Another man also took a sword and two others helped themselves to a mace and an axe respectively.

"We must go to the Weapon Chambers of Argzoon," Movat Jard said. "Once there, we can equip ourselves properly."

"Where lie these dungeons?" I asked.

"Why, under the Black City. There are several entrances."

"And where lie the Weapon Chambers?"

"In the castle-Horguhl's castle. If we are quick we can get there before they return to the city.

They must be in some confusion."

"Movat Jard, why do you help us against your own folk?" Carnak asked. He seemed just a little suspicious, for he had already experienced one clever Argzoon trap.

"I have learned much from a little that Michael Kane here said, and what he did, once, for me. I have learned that ideas can sometimes rise above blood loyalties. And besides, it is Horguhl whom I fight, not the Argzoon. If we beat her, then I shall have to decide again what my attitude is-but not until she no longer rules the Argzoon!"

Carnak seemed convinced by this. We rushed up the slopes leading away from the dungeons and had soon reached an iron gate kept by a single watchman. When he saw us and noted, perhaps, the desperate looks in our eyes, he did not draw his weapons but flung out his hands before him.

"Take my keys-do not take my Me."

"A fair bargain," I said, accepting his keys and unlocking the iron gate. "We will also borrow your weapons." Two more men were armed with a sword and an axe-making eight in all. We bound the Blue Giant and passed on into the streets.

Beyond the walls of the Black City we heard the confused babble of voices, but the Argzoon had not yet reached the gates. We headed towards the nearby castle, pouring through the streets towards the Weapon Chambers, with Movat Jard, Carnak and myself in the lead.

We swarmed into the castle, cutting down the few guards who attempted to stop us.

Just as we were breaking into the Weapon Chambers, the first of the Argzoon returned and shouted the alarm.

We burst into the Weapon Chambers, less well laid-out but not unlike the Weapon Room of Varnal in appearance, though the weapons were, of course, more barbaric.

While the joyful prisoners went to arm themselves with the best weapons of the Argzoon-not to mention the heaps of captured weapons they found lying therein-we eight, who were already armed, met the initial wave of Argzoon warriors.

We must have made a strange sight, the three of us who led-a blue man of the Argzoon nearly ten feet in height; a wild-eyed, naked man covered in hair; and a tanned swordsman who was not even of that planet. But one thing we all had in commonwe could use swords.

We stood shoulder to shoulder, fending off our attackers while our comrades armed themselves. It seemed that I faced a veritable wall of swords raining down upon me from the Blue Giants.

Somehow we held them off-and succeeded in depleting our enemies.

Then, from behind us, came a great roar!

The prisoners were all armed and ready to fight.

The slaves had become warriors again-warriors with a lust for vengeance for the years of servitude and fear, revenge for the treacherous ambush which had wiped out a great percentage of the flower of southern manhood.

We pressed forward now, driving the Argzoon before us!

Along the corridors of the castle we fought. In halls and rooms we fought. In Horguhl's deserted throne room we fought, and in her private rooms, too. At one stage I took the opportunity to tear down the N'aal tapestry hanging there.

Out into the streets until the whole of the Black City seethed with fighting men.

Our numbers were few. Our men had all but forgotten their old training. But our hearts were full of exultant battle-lust, for at long last we were able to strike back at our old enemies.

By the time all our force was in the streets, the Argzoon had cut down more than a third of our men-but we had taken more of them!

And the longer we fought, the more of their old skills the ex-slaves remembered. The fighting in the city became more sporadic as the Argzoon attempted to re-form.

We used the pause to check our own strength and discuss strategy. We held a large area around the castle, but the Argzoon still held most of the city.

Somewhere were Horguhl and Shizala. I prayed that Horguhl would not order Shizala slain in the pique of defeat; that the Queen still had confidence in her warriors' ability to win.

The Argzoon attacked first, but we were ready for them, with warriors deployed in every street.

For a time neither side gained any advantage.

We held our position and the Argzoon held theirs.

"It is deadlock," said Movat Jard as he, Carnak and I conferred.

"How can we break it?" I asked.

"We must get a fairly large party of warriors into position behind them," Carnak said. "Then we can attack them from two sides and drive a wedge through their ranks."

"A good plan," I agreed. "But how can we move that party of warriors? We cannot fly."

"True," Movat Jard said, "but we can go under them. Remember the slave-pens? Remember that I said there were several entrances and exits?"

"Yes," I replied. "Could we go through one of these and emerge behind the enemy?"

"Unless they are ready for that trick," he said,

"we could. But if they have blocked the entrances, we stand to lose more-since we will have a force of good warriors stranded down there unable to help defend the area we have gained. Is it worth the risk?"

"Yes," I said. "For if we do not gain an advantage soon our men will tire. They are already weak from the sojourn. We cannot afford to waste any more time."

"Who will lead them?" Carnak stepped forward, evidently thinking of himself.

"I will," I said. "You are both needed here to rally the defenders."

They understood the necessity of this.

Within a shati, I was leading a force of some thirty warriors towards the slave-pen entrance Movat Jard had indicated.

Down the winding ramps we went at a loping run.

And we ran straight into a detachment of Argzoon coming the other way!

Almost before we knew it we were wasting time and men in a battle for the underground passage.

The Argzoon seemed to be fighting with little will, and I had killed two myself and disarmed several more before the rest lay down their arms, holding out their hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Why do you give up so easily?" I asked one of them.

He answered in the coarse, guttural accent of his people.

"We are tired of fighting battles for Horguhl," he said. "And she does not lead us even-she disappeared after you killed the N'aal Beast. We only followed her because we thought Raharumara dwelt in the N'aal Beast and she was stronger than Raharumara. But now we know that Raharumara does not dwell in the N'aal Beast, else you could not have killed it. We do not wish to lose our lives for her schemes any longer-too many of our brothers have died over the years to satisfy her ambitions. Now it has all come to this-a few warriors fighting in the streets of the Black City, defending themselves against slaves! We wish a truce!"

"How many others feel as you do?" I asked.

"I do not know," he admitted. "We have not talked-too much has happened too swiftly."

"You know the fair-haired girl Horguhl brought here and who was at the ceremony of the N'aal Beast earlier?" I questioned him.

"I saw her, yes."

"Do you know where she is?"

"I think she is in the Tower of Vulse."

"Where is that?"

"Near the main gate-it is the tallest tower in the city."

We took their arms from them and continued on through the slave-pens emerging at last in a part of the city almost immediately behind the rear lines of the battling Argzoon.

We attacked at once.

With cries of surprise the Argzoon turned. Then we were locked in combat, driving through their midst in an effort to link up with our comrades on the other side.

I myself was engaged with one of the largest Argzoon I had encountered. He was almost twelve feet high and fought with a long lance and a sword.

At one stage he flung the lance at me. By chance, I grabbed it in mid-air, turned it and flung it back at him. It caught him in the belly. I finished him with my sword. If it had not been for that lucky catch, I doubt if I should have survived the encounter.

Now I could see that we were almost linked with our fellows on the other side.

Certain that the tactic had succeeded, I left my men in charge of a dark-skinned warrior who had shown skill and intelligence in the fighting, and left the fray, sheathing my sword.

I was running for the Tower of Vulse near the main gate. Here I hoped that I would at least find Shizala and make myself responsible for her safety, if I could do nothing else.

I saw the Tower soon and noted that its entrance seemed unguarded.

But I saw something else. Something that sent a shock of surprise thrilling through me.

What I saw I thought impossible-some trick of the light, some illusion.

What I saw was an aircraft tethered near the top of the tower-an aircraft similar to the one in which Shizala and I had flown when we went to the camp of the Argzoon!

How did it come to be there?

I reached the entrance of the tower and ran inside. There I found a set of winding, stone steps leading up and up. There seemed to be no rooms in the lower part of the tower. I began to run up the steps.

Near the top of the tower I found a door. It was unbarred and I flung it open.

I felt shock as I saw the two within the room.

One of them was Shizala.

The other-? The other was Telem Fas Ogdai, Bradhinak of Mishim Tep, Shizala's betrothed.

He had one arm around Shizala and his other hand held a sword as he looked warily towards the door through which I had burst.