Son of the Hero

17 – Perchance to Dream

Parthet wasn't alone on the battlements of the keep. There was also a sentry walking his circuit, a soldier who wasn't completely asleep, though he did seem to be in a trance, sleepwalking. The sentry didn't even notice the bunch of us who charged up the stairs and surrounded Parthet until he had walked another complete circuit, and even then he scarcely reacted. He simply detoured around us.

Parthet looked in bad shape. He was rigid, "like a statue." He was standing with his feet spread, head tilted back, arms extended upward at full reach, not even trembling-like Charlton Heston holding open the Red Sea before Yul Brynner could catch the fleeing Israelites. When I touched Parthet's shoulder, I got an electric shock and a fleeting glimpse of an unmistakable face.

"He's locked in a duel with the Elflord of Xayber," I said. That was all the explanation the people who had been with me in Fairy needed.

I had to do something. The idea of butting in and facing the elflord again turned my stomach. I was scared, and I couldn't hide that, not from myself. But I couldn't hesitate either. I took the elf sword in hand, got in front of Parthet, and touched my rings to his. There was another surge of electricity and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. My teeth ached and I felt as if the skin on my face had tightened up about three sizes. Parthet slumped and disappeared from my view.

And I was facing the elflord on that featureless gray plain again. This time, I didn't wait for him to start the game.

"You try my patience!" I said, with genuine anger and all the phony confidence I could muster to hide my fear. "This man is mine, and this place. Leave while you may."

It was all bluff and bluster. I don't think I've ever felt half as arrogant as I tried to sound. I held Dragon's Death between us and took a couple of steps toward the image of the elflord. The face that looked back at me showed no emotion. I did have one advantage, maybe a couple. First, there was little chance now that I would be vulnerable to anything like the fall-on-your-sword ploy. I had seen it before and I wouldn't be taken by surprise again. Just keep a tight rein on your head, I told myself. And the second advantage: I was outside his realm now. I wasn't quite as certain of that one.

I also wasn't sure how long I could maintain this bluff. I brought my hands together so the rings touched, closed my eyes, and turned my back on the elflord. When I opened my eyes, I was back at Arrowroot. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Are you all right?" Annick asked.

I looked around the battlements while I felt myself out. "I think so. Where's Parthet?"

"Lesh and Harkane carried him downstairs. He's in trouble, Gil." There seemed to be real concern in her voice, and that surprised me. It was also the first time she had called me by name. "Was it really the elflord?"

I nodded. "There was no duel this time. I broke the contact." Okay, I was bragging a little, but more than that, I was wondering what was in the painkiller I had been taking to give me that kind of gall. "How long did it take?"

"Only a couple of minutes."

Long enough for Lesh and Harkane to carry Parthet off the battlements, at least. "See if you can learn anything from this guard," I said. He was still walking his post, paying no attention to anything but getting one foot in front of the other. "I've got to get downstairs to see to Uncle Parthet."

Lesh had ousted Baron Resler's chief functionary from bed, literally, to make room for Parthet. The steward didn't seem to mind. He was sound asleep on the floor, out of the way. I checked Parthet over. His pulse was weak and erratic, his face pale but sweating, and I could scarcely see any movement of his chest as he breathed. He needed a top-notch urban trauma center-with a resident witch doctor.

"Lesh, stay with him. If he stops breathing…" That took some time. I had to demonstrate artificial respiration. There wasn't time for a primer on CPR. I hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Harkane, come with me. I'm going to open the way to Basil. Find my mother. Tell her what's happened to Parthet and bring her back with whatever she can find to help him. She can open the passage back."

"I know," Harkane said. He appeared rather shaken.

I was gone only three or four minutes. Parthet looked the same when I returned. "Lesh, get that scotch from the baron's room, if there's any left."

I had taken several first-aid courses while I was a teenager and I knew that whiskey wasn't the wisest choice of stimulants, but it was all we had, and I was afraid that unless I did something fast, I was going to lose Parthet. And his new glasses. The pair he had on when we found him had huge square lenses with heavy black frames-owl glasses with lenses thicker than the bottom of a dime root beer mug. They were on the nightstand next to the bed now. I looked through them but couldn't see anything but a blur. After I wiped off the dirt, water spots, and bird droppings, I still couldn't see through them.

Mother arrived quickly. She had an old black doctor bag with her, the kind that went out of style when house calls did. She gestured me out of the way and examined Parthet. She lifted his eyelids to check his eyes, put a hand to his chest to check respiration, then took a stethoscope out of the bag and listened to his heart.

"Put the blood-pressure cuff on him," she said then. I pulled the gadget out and set it up.

"Harkane told you how we found him?" I asked while the air hissed out of the cuff after Mother finished. She nodded. "He may have been like that for a week or more."

"I think he'll be okay." Mother took off the stethoscope and put it back in the bag. "He's tougher than a ten-year-old rooster. Did you give him anything?"

"About a tablespoon of scotch." I pointed at the bottle.

Mother helped herself to a long swig. "It won't hurt him. You don't realize how hard it is to kill a wizard."

"I'm beginning to get the idea," I said dryly. "I've even got a damn good idea what the elflord put him through. I've been there."

Mother's eyes narrowed. "You've lost weight."

"We didn't eat all that well in Fairy."

"We'll discuss your adventures when there's more time." She said that the way she used to say, "Just wait till your father gets home." I guess she was still fuming about Annick. I didn't feel any burning urge to correct her impression.

"Right now, I think Parthet needs another stimulant," she said. She administered this one, a larger dose. "Is the kitchen working?"

"Nothing's working. Most of the garrison's so deep asleep that it's impossible to wake them. The rest are in a trance, sleepwalking."

"The baron was sleeping again when I got the bottle," Lesh said.

"I think that's what Parthet was trying to fight on the roof," I said. "Obviously, he wasn't successful. I'm surprised that the elflord hasn't already sent his army in to set up housekeeping."

"He has," Annick called from the door. She was out of breath from running. "They're coming across the plaza with a siege tower now."

"I'll take care of Parthet," Mother said. "You'd better go evaluate the threat."

Yeah, and I thought I'd better check it out too. We all went except Mother. Annick and I had our bows. Maybe we could pick off a few of the enemy and make them think that the elflord's magic had failed. If they thought that the garrison was awake, they might not press the attack. I sent Lesh to round up the rest of the soldiers from Basil while the two I had with me accompanied Annick, Harkane, and me to the curtain wall.

There were more than three hundred men advancing across the plaza. Half were pulling on ropes, dragging a wooden tower-a framework with stairs and a drawbridge at the top. The near side was covered with wood and hides. A few more soldiers were behind the machine, pushing. The rest advanced in ranks, keeping station on either side of the tower.

"You ever shoot a flaming arrow?" I asked Annick.

"A what?" was quickly followed by, "Oh, I see. No, but am I right in thinking that this is a good time to start?"

"Yeah. Try to set the tower on fire." I took matches from my pocket. "These are supposed to be waterproof. They may work, if you can find anything flammable to tie to the heads of the arrows."

I got busy with my bow while Annick went into the guard shack. She came back with lamp oil and a bunch of rags to tie around her arrows. I needed a couple of shots to get the range-it can be tricky shooting down at an angle-but once I did, I scored hits. After the last of my aluminum arrows were gone, I found a crate of the local wooden variety by the weapon racks. They weren't quite as accurate, but they did help slow down the elflord's army. They weren't expecting fire either. Annick started a half-dozen small fires on the tower. Neither the leather nor the wood had been wetted down. They had no water handy to put out fires. I guess we were a complete surprise. Their leaders must have assured the soldiers that Xayber had taken care of the garrison.

The tower quit moving. Men scrambled to knock away the flaming arrows and tried to beat out the flames while others ran off to do the Jack and Jill routine. I wished them the same luck, but wishing didn't do any good.

Lesh showed up with ten men, the rest of ours and a few of the regular garrison who seemed to be awake finally. Two of our Basiliers claimed to be decent archers. I sent them for bows, arrows, and rags and told them to help Annick with the arson. With a little luck, I hoped we could set more fires than the enemy could extinguish. But once the attackers started pouring water on their contraption, fires were harder to start. After twenty minutes, we quit trying and concentrated on picking off soldiers. Four archers could only slow them down a little, though. They had the numbers, and once their leaders put some backbone into the grunts, they'd come on. And once they got the siege tower in place, it would be just a matter of time before they overwhelmed us.

"Massey, wake up!" Lesh shouted. I turned. Massey was one of our Basiliers. He stirred and shook his head.

"I don't know what happened," he said. "I got so sleepy."

"It's working on us," Annick said. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged. "I don't feel sleepy. You?" She shook her head. Lesh and Harkane seemed alert-most of the other Basiliers as well. But one, Tebber, was yawning fit to split his head open. The locals were nodding too, off and on. The magic was still working.

A gust of icy wind made me turn to look out at the Mist. There was heavy fog on the sea, maybe a half mile out and coming closer. I hoped that the breeze would help keep us awake at least.

"If that fog rolls in, we won't be able to see our targets," I said.

"Then we'd better get as many as we can now," was Annick's practical reply. She started letting off arrows as quickly as she could nock and aim. For once, I didn't feel like curbing her instincts. Extra speed didn't seem to hurt her accuracy either.

Riders were moving around the edges of the group of soldiers in the plaza now, urging them on. I saw three swords like Dragon's Death, elf swords on elf warriors, officers in the army of their lord-the elvish equivalent of knights, I suppose. The foot soldiers pressed forward, dragging and pushing the tower. They weren't breaking any speed records, but soon they'd be able to move archers to the top and keep us busy. Once we lost the height advantage, our job would be a lot more dangerous. And, almost as I thought that, the archers did start climbing and the tower's speed decreased a little more.

"What about that metal thing you carry under your shirt?" Annick asked.

The gun. "It probably won't work here," I warned, but I drew the pistol and flicked off the safety. It was as good a time as any to find out for sure. I set my bow aside and took a two-handed grip on the pistol. I aimed and pulled the trigger, expecting nothing.

Bang. "I'll be damned," I muttered. But I hadn't hit anyone. I took more care the next time and saw one archer tumble from the siege tower into the men who were pushing it. The next shot wounded another archer in the arm, putting him out of action. Then a click. I worked the slide to eject that cartridge and tried again. Another click. I pulled the trigger again, then cocked the gun by hand and pulled the trigger once more. No luck.

"Well, it was a good idea while it lasted." I holstered the gun and picked up my bow again.

I glanced north. The fog was definitely closer. South: so was the tower. Lesh and the other soldiers with us had started testing their strength with spears. There were bundles of wooden lances with fire-hardened tips. With a little oomph behind them, they could pierce padded leather and take the air out of a man in mail… as I knew from experience. They also gave us a few more chances to try firing the siege tower. Those spears could support more fire than the arrows. Not enough to make a difference, but it did slow the attackers again.

"We've got ten, maybe fifteen minutes before they get that tower in place," I said, loud enough so that most of the people on the battlements could hear. "I'm going down to see how Parthet's doing. I'll be back."

I've never gone in for jogging, but that wasn't the time for a casual stroll. Parthet was awake, but flat on his back and not moving much. I didn't expect him to be up dancing jigs. I recalled how I felt after my first set-to with the elflord, and that had lasted only minutes, not days.

"What's it like out there?" Mother asked calmly.

"They've got a siege tower almost in place, with the men to use it. On the other side, we've got the heaviest fog you ever saw racing in off the Mist. And the men I brought from Basil are starting to fall asleep."

"How did you free me from the elflord?" Parthet asked weakly.

"I broke in on your connection with the rings and told him he was starting to bug me." Parthet smiled, just a little. "What were you doing squaring off with him, anyway? I thought you were going to send a message to his king."

"I did. At least, I think it got through. Then, when people started dropping off to sleep here I had to try something to help." Parthet was quiet for a moment, gathering strength. "You were overdue and there was no one else to turn to."

"You wouldn't by chance have a quick spell for overturning a siege tower, would you?" I asked.

"Not a quick one, and I'm too weak to use the slow one I do have."

"Can I use it?"

"No, lad, not even if I had time to teach you the words."

"Mother, if I open the way, can you get Parthet through to Basil?" She nodded. "Okay, let's go. We don't have much time. If there are any men left to send to help us, get them here fast or it'll be too late." I picked Parthet up and carried him. He wasn't very heavy, but heavy enough to put a noticeable strain on my back and ribs. I gritted my teeth and followed Mother out of the room. After I got them both transferred to Basil, I raced back to the outer wall.

The siege tower was within a dozen feet of the moat, but it wasn't moving very quickly at all now. There were no pullers left, just pushers. The odds were too heavy in front of the rig. The fog had arrived, though. It already hid the northern wall of Arrowroot.

"That can't be natural," I said as I started using my bow again. Annick didn't bother to answer. She was still shooting arrows as fast as she could, concentrating so fully that she didn't seem to notice the blood on her fingers from the constant chafing of the bowstring. The muscles at the side of her neck stood out each time she drew the string back to her cheek. The fog kept coming toward us, a wall as straight as any ever built by a construction crew, catching us from behind and moving across the moat toward the tower. I could barely see Annick, and she was only six feet from me.

I heard muffled shouting below-command tones.

Here they come, I thought. I put down my bow and drew the elf sword, moving toward the spot where the siege tower's drawbridge would come down. We waited in the isolation of that fog, listening to an occasional muffled noise coming from beyond the wall. I could feel my back starting to ache again, so I grabbed a quick sip of the painkiller.

Wood creaked finally, but there was no thump of the drawbridge coming down, no sudden surge of my danger sense.

"What's keeping them?" Annick whispered.

"Something's happened," I said, an understated expression of the surprise I felt as the feeling of danger started to wane for the first time since our arrival in Arrowroot. I took a moment to try to probe with the sense-and I wasn't even sure that I could use it that way.

"I think they're pulling back," I said after a moment.

I heard a loud yawn inside the castle, then a thick "What the hell's happening? Where'd this blasted fog come from? Where am I?" One of the garrison soldiers, fresh from his long nap. Lesh answered him, and, also inside the castle, somebody started blowing a horn.

"That's the alarm!" a new voice shouted.

"Where's the trouble?" another asked.

"Settle down," I said, not quite in a shout. "We'll know what's going on soon enough. Watch for the siege tower outside the wall."

That brought another assortment of comments from garrison soldiers. There were running feet inside the castle, in the courtyard, and on the stairs, as men raced to their battle stations, a week or two late. They were stumbling into each other and over obstructions. The fog was so thick that I couldn't make out my own feet unless I moved them.

"Somebody bring Baron Resler here," I shouted. "This is Gil Tyner." I didn't add titles, but I heard a distant-sounding voice say, "The Hero of Varay."

"They're all waking up," Annick said, her voice closer than before. "Did you scare the elflord off when you challenged him?"

"I couldn't scare Xayber off with the 82nd Airborne behind me," I said. Let her puzzle over that for a while, I thought with a chuckle.

"The fog's passing," someone said from the north side of the keep. Other voices took up the refrain and got clearer. A few minutes later, the tail end of the fog crossed the parapet where we were waiting. It was another perfectly straight line, fog on one side, clear air on the other. The fog moved across the moat, toward the town, picking up speed once it was clear of the castle. The siege tower was standing right at the edge of the moat, but there were no enemy troops in sight… except for about a dozen bodies left sprawled in the plaza.

The tower and the bodies were surprises to the soldiers who had been sleeping. "Where the hell did that come from?" was a popular question.

The fog bent toward the east like an echelon movement in a parade. There were no live soldiers in the plaza, no elf warriors waving claymores, no trace of any enemy but the dead.

"They used the fog to pull out," Harkane said.

"They've run off!" one of the Basiliers added.

Annick dropped her sword. I turned when I heard metal clatter on stone.

"Great Earth Mother!" she swore. "You've beaten the elflord again."