The Gods Awaken

CHAPTER TEN

Safar jarred awake, the thundering sound of an enormous drum booming in his ears. At first he thought that he was back in Hadin and the harvest drums were commanding a new performance.

Then relief flooded in along with awareness as he realized he was still astride Khysmet who was racing across a starlit sky. No more would he be forced to dance the mad dance of Hadin under the erupting volcano.

He was free!

Yes, but free for what? The question came from nowhere. And for some reason it frightened him. Where was he going, and why? What fate awaited him?

Other sensations flooded in. The first was the knowledge that he was now fully clothed. He flexed his limbs and felt a familiar weight, then glanced down and saw he was dressed in the same battle gear he'd worn when he'd faced Iraj and his minions back in Caluz. To his delight, he even felt his sheathed sword slapping against his thigh as Khysmet soared onward.

Reflexively, he touched his belt and found the small silver dagger waiting there-the magical witch's knife Coralean had given him long ago.

Then he heard the drum again and lifted his head. Off in the distance-moving at the same speed as Khysmet-was a bobbing torchlight. He whispered a sightspell and the image grew clearer. A spark of joy ran through him when he saw the glorious black mare and the familiar figure of the beautiful Spirit Rider.

Safar grinned and was pleasantly surprised how good the smile felt. It had been a long time since he'd worked those muscles, that was for certain. And now that he understood who had saved him, the "why"

didn't matter as much as before. Khysmet whinnied as if in agreement.

Safar glanced around, trying to guess where he might be. The first thing he noticed was the absence of the blood-red Demon Moon. He'd already figured that he and Khysmet were in some sorcerous betweenworld. Asper had postulated the existence of such alternate worlds in his book. He'd even performed some experiments whose results were promising, although not final proof.

Absently, Safar ran some magical calculations in his mind. Although they didn't lead him to any useful observations-much less a discovery-it was eminently satisfying to use his brain again for so elegant a purpose.

For a long while he'd felt like nothing more than an enslaved animal. Like a poor dumb ox tethered to a grain wheel, going round and round with no will save that instilled by his master's whip.

He looked out at the Spirit Rider, torch held aloft, ebony skin gleaming in the starlight. A base side of him ached to catch her and enfold her in his arms.

By the Gods, it had been ages since he'd felt such life!

Then once again he heard the thunder of the big drum. This time the sound was followed by a long hiss, like that of an angry snake. The sound continued: boom! … hiss … boom! The rhythm was vaguely familiar. And then the identity of the sound came to him. A man of the high mountains, he'd had scant experience with the sea. But that was what it sounded like: a rolling sea striking some coastline, then drawing slowly back to gather strength to strike once more.

He looked down and saw a sparkling night ocean beating against a shore. Another sightspell increased his perspective and he saw a huge stone idol rising out of the booming surf.

Safar recognized the figure immediately. It was Asper.

Syrapis was just below!

The Spirit Rider and her mare plummeted downward. The mare whinnied for them to follow and Khysmet trumpeted a note of agreement.

Down and down.

Down and down.

Down!

"Something's wrong," Leiria said. "Palimak's been gone too long."

"Aye, lass," came Biner's rumbling reply. "I was thinkina€™ the same thing myself."

He shifted his bulk, bringing the heavy club up. It was Biner's favorite weapon-a thick-headed club sprouting a needle-forest of horseshoe nails.

His action triggered Leiria's decision. "Let's go," she said, starting down the tunnel.

Biner followed, along with the dozen Kyranian soldiers who had volunteered for the expedition.

Leiria had been reluctantly hanging back for well over an hour. Palimak had commanded them to wait, which was something that Leiria-a woman of action-was never very good at. Except when the waiting involved ambushes, of course.

She'd always been supremely patient when it came to tarrying by a trap set for an enemy. In such cases she enjoyed herself as much as any sane person can take pleasure in the foul art of warfare. During an ambush one could visualize the enemy's approach. See the canny noncom in charge of the attacking squad pause to study the terrain ahead. But you had been so clever-and this was the greatest thrill-covering all traces of the ambush that it was as if you were a trickster ghost. And a small fire of delight would bloom in your bosom as the noncom decided to ignore the prickling hackles at the back of his neck and advance to his doom.

But there was no pleasure of any kind standing idly by while someone else went about a possibly dangerous errand. Especially since Palimak-in Leiria's professional opinion-had been a bit too quick handing out orders. He'd merely said that she and the other members of the party must wait while he explored the tunnel. No arrangements had been made for emergencies. And in Leiria's mind, Palimak's delayed return certainly fitted the definition of an emergency.

That was the trouble with having such a youthful commander. Usually Palimak listened to her soldierly advice. Also Coralean's, when it came to matters of money or diplomacy. And Biner's, when the mission involved an aerial expedition.

However, this admirable trait tended to be tossed right into the slop hole when he was confronted with a threat that required his magical powers-which was Palimak's own area of expertise. It was then that the arrogance of youth overtook native caution and he tended to rush into the sorcerous breach without further thought.

Leiria moved swiftly along the tunnel, the flickering torchlight picking up signs of Palimak's passage: boot depressions in the salty silt on the floor, or the glitter of wet marks on the wall where he'd leaned.

Otherwise, she saw nothing except the occasional lone rat that panicked at their approach and dashed through their legs. About half an hour earlier a thick swarm of rats had descended on them-frightened, Leiria guessed, because they'd been cornered by Palimak and had no other way to flee.

Leiria was not a squeamish woman, but being confronted by all those dirty, squealing little beasts had unnerved her. She had taken no satisfaction from the near-hysterical curses of Biner and the others as they had fought off the wave of rodent intruders. When it was over, she'd felt humiliated by her own instinctive reactions. Perhaps this had been the main reason she'd finally decided to wait no longer and investigate what had happened to Palimak.

They splashed onward through the cold passage for many minutes, pausing only to recharge the pitch on their torches from the wide-mouthed jars of the stuff they'd packed along for that purpose.

Then they came around a corner and were brought up short by a thick stone wall that blocked all other progress.

"What's this?" Biner barked.

He looked back along the passage, searching for other openings, even though he knew very well there were none.

"Where in the hells did he go?" he wondered.

Leiria ignored the question, scanning the wall, looking for a break.

Nothing.

Then she spotted the twin-headed snake symbol carved on the wall. It glowed in the light when she held the torch close. Leiria put an ear against the stone, listening.

Immediately, she heard someone cry out in alarm "It's Palimak!" she shouted at the others. "He's in there!"

She threw herself against the wall. She rebounded, cursing in frustration, shoulder numb where she'd struck the stone. Even so, she prepared to hurl herself against it again.

But Biner stepped in front of her. He swung the club against the wall with all his strength. There was a loud crack! as a piece of rock broke off.

He swung again.

And again…

The Asper snake came alive, leaping off the face of the coffin, twin jaws hissing, long fangs lancing out for the strike.

Palimak jumped back, shouting and scrabbling for his sword. But he caught a bootheel on one of the steps and tumbled awkwardly to the ground.

Still, he managed to roll to one side, drawing back his sword to strike.

"Don't, Little Master, don't!" Gundara cried.

The warning came just in time to stay his hand. The Asper snake loomed over him, growing larger and brighter. Heads striking this way and that. Long tongues of flame shooting from its mouths.

"It's on our side, master!" Gundaree shrieked in his ear. "Our side!"

Palimak heard a deep moan of pain and swiveled to see Charize holding up a huge clawed hand to shield herself from the bright light.

The Asper snake swooped about the vast cavern, sparks showering off its long tail as if from some kind of reptilian comet.

Charize's monsters howled in agony, colliding with pillars as they ran this way and that, or smashing against the vaulted ceiling itself as they flew blindly away on their huge wings in their desperate effort to escape the intense light.

Palimak heard Charize scream in fury and pain and as he came to his feet he saw her rushing toward her throne. A enormous bone-white scepter leaned against one arm. Instinctively, Palimak knew it was some kind of weapon.

And then he knew it was because Gundara shrieked, "Run, Little Master, run!"

But there was no place to run, except after Charize, so he charged her, sword outstretched.

It was an unequal contest. Despite her bulk, Charize moved with amazing speed, great wings flapping so that she was carried forward in great hops.

Still, Palimak was right on her horned heels when she reached the throne and grabbed up the scepter.

He struck, but his sword bounced off the scaly armor of her back. Her tail lashed out, sending him flying and he crashed to the ground, dazed.

If Charize had gone after him then it would have been all over. But evidently she saw him as a lesser enemy and focused her wrath on the Asper snake.

Palimak heard her roar words in a language he didn't understand and a bolt of blue flame exploded off the tip of her scepter. It struck the snake full force. The creature hung in the air for long seconds, both heads hissing and wriggling in agony.

Another blast of blue fire from the scepter crashed into the beast. This was followed by an enormous explosion of pure sorcerous energy.

Charize's sisters shrieked in pain as the blinding light burst over them.

Palimak came to his feet, rubbing burning eyes. Then his vision cleared and he saw that the Asper snake was gone and the chamber had returned to its former gloom.

Charize was the first to recover. She shouted to her subjects, "Kill Timura! Kill him!"

Slowly, they formed around her. Then they advanced, Charize at their head.

Palimak backed up, feeling like a fool as he waved his puny sword before him.

"It's been nice knowing you, Little Master," Gundara squeaked.

"Oh, shut up!" Gundaree snapped. "We're going to be eaten too, you stupid thing!"

For a change Gundara did not reply. For some reason the lack of argument between the twins frightened Palimak more than any other experience in his young life.

Then his heels bumped against the bottom of the stairs leading up to Asper's coffin. Charize's jaws widened into a terrible grin. Her sisters tittered in ghastly amusement.

"And now, little one," Charize said. "And now…"