Destroyer of Worlds

6

Rough hands dragged Callow's head from the water. He was briefly distracted by the sensation of the wriggling razor-worms disengaging from his empty eye sockets, and then he cried, 'Oh, thank you, oh, thank you! I knew you'd come back for me. Forget about the eyes! They'll grow back in no time, and I'll be as good as new! I forgive you. I accept my punishment for my minor misdemeanour-'

'You encountered the Brother and Sister of Dragons?'

The voice was low and rustling, and inhuman. 'Who are you?' Callow asked hesitantly.

'The Hortha.'

'Ah. And what is a Hortha?'

'You should know. I have been a step behind you your whole life.'

'I think perhaps I would have noticed.'

'No. Your kind never notices.'

'Perhaps, kind sir, you could help me down from this undignified position, and then we could talk as old friends-'

'My nature is a paradox for all living things,' the Hortha said. 'Some cross my path at random. Some call me to them, consciously or otherwise. And some I pursue. Once I have been encountered I can never be stopped. It is only a matter of time.'

'Why, this sounds like a riddle! What am I? I do like riddle games. Perhaps if I guess correctly, you could reward me in the age-old fashion? In this case, by bringing me down to earth.'

'Random or purposeful, that is usually the question that follows me,' the Hortha continued. 'There is a pattern. There is always a pattern. You can beg and plead, make a bargain with your gods, you can try to bribe and cajole me, or run faster, or hide, or wish, but the pattern can never be changed. And I am bound into the very fabric of it, into the weft and the weave. I have all faces and I have two faces, and in the end I have only one. I am both a being and a symbol.'

'Good! Good! I like this. I think I am almost there! Give me another clue.'

'Tell me what you learned from the Brother and Sister of Dragons.'

'I learned that they are vicious beasts, and that everything they say about their own nature is a lie!'

The Hortha began to lower Callow's head back into the water.

'Wait! Wait! You want information! I understand. A valuable nugget, something that will help you to find them, perhaps? Or… Ah, I have it! Something that will give you power over them. Knowledge is power! Yes, indeed.'

'Continue.'

'They carry a lantern that is not a lantern. Within it is one of their own kind, a genie in the lamp, one who has two faces like yourself — a man and a blue flame! And he is the key to everything they do. Not just their guide, but also a manifestation of that sickening Pendragon Spirit,' Callow gabbled. 'Is that the kind of thing you want?'

'Yes. It is.'

'Then bring me down, my good man!'

Once again, the Hortha began to lower Callow into the water.

'Wait! My reward!'

'You have your reward. You have crossed my path and still you survive. Others, in a similar situation, would not have survived. On this occasion, the great forces of all there is have shifted around you and moved on.'

'No!' Callow shouted.

'You still do not understand your good fortune. That, in itself, is unfortunate.'

Allowing Callow's head to drop back into the water, the Hortha moved on. The razor-worms returned to their eternal task, and Callow to his screams.