What choice did I have? I had to go on. Racking its brains, expending itself in a final heroic effort, the sputtering phoenix laboured towards the open sea.
1 It’s the fiery tail-wind that provides the jet-propulsion, making a phoenix one of the fastest aerial guises around. Lightning bolts are faster, admittedly, but tough to direct. You usually end up wedged head-first in a tree.
2 Nor the nastiest, either. Not by a long shot.
3 I say perhaps. The Ring was so close to me I could not open my eyes to any of the higher planes for fear of being blinded. And this wasn’t my only problem. Even though I wasn’t touching the thing, its power was hurting me. Small drips of essence were already running off my beak.
4 Akurgal the Unsmiling was present, and Lugalanda the Stern; also Shulgi the Desolate, black-browed Rimush, Shar-kali-sharri (commonly known as Shar-kali-sharri of the Shrivelled Heart) and Sargon the Great, aka Old Scowler. Yep, all my dear old masters from the morning of the world. What happy days.
5 It had really begun to droop by now. I looked like a depressed macaw.
6 Except Lugalanda the Stern. He’d have skipped the belly-dancing bit in favour of some executions.
7 Which was, needless to say, a downright fib. Aside from the occasional whiff of brimstone, which I save for really special occasions, I never extrude a smell of anything – fear least of all.
8 Since only the very strongest magicians ever summon them, and since these magicians are invariably based in cities at the hubs of power, marids like Ammet don’t have any experience of the lives and lore of simple country folk, those gentle webbed-toed woodsmen who wash but once a year, and sit about their dung-fires of an evening comparing warts and counting out their remaining teeth. Yes, marids really miss out on all this.
35
King Solomon wore a long embroidered gown of gold and there was a circlet of silver in his hair. He stood very straight and still. Shorn of the simplicity of his plain white robe, he seemed taller and more magnificent than when Asmira had last seen him, though certainly no less frail.
Her face coloured with shame. ‘Please,’ she stammered. ‘I’m sorry. You were right. The Ring … the Ring has …’ She gathered herself: she had no time, and there was nothing easy to be said. ‘I need a weapon,’ she began. ‘I need it now. Something to kill Khaba with.’
The king gazed at her. ‘I would have thought,’ he said quietly, ‘you’d have had enough of killing.’
‘But you don’t know what Khaba’s done! He’s—’
‘I know what he’s done full well.’ The dark eyes flashed in the ravaged face; he gestured at the crystal orb beside him. ‘My scrying globe is not for show and I don’t need the Ring to use it. The war in the world has begun, I see, with my own palace the first to go.’
The orb’s surface swirled, the milky colours cleared. Asmira glimpsed the palace burning, people milling in the gardens, spirits hurrying from the lakes with vats and buckets, hurling water on the flames. She bit her lip.
She said: ‘Lord, my servant has the Ring. Khaba’s demon chases him. If I can destroy the magician, Bartimaeus will be saved, and your Ring—’
‘Will be thrown into the ocean.’ Solomon regarded her pointedly from beneath raised eyebrows. ‘I know. I heard and saw it all.’
He moved his hand across the crystal. The scene shifted: now it showed Khaba on the balcony, silhouetted against the smoke. He was speaking an incantation of some kind, and his words sounded faintly from the orb. As they listened, the words faltered: the magician broke off with a curse, took a breath and began again.
‘He has overstepped himself,’ Solomon remarked, ‘as all fools do. The Ring steals your strength in proportion to your acts. By trying to do too much, Khaba has become weakened, and his mind wanders. He can scarcely remember the words of Transference. Ah … but now he has them.’
Asmira looked at the arch behind her, where six dull flashes in quick succession illuminated the fabric of the drapes. In the orb, the magician’s body was blocked out by dark and rising shapes. ‘He’s bringing his demons!’ she cried. ‘They’re arriving now! Please! Haven’t you anything we can use against them?’
‘Not by my own powers.’ The king was silent for a moment. ‘It has been a long while since I did anything for myself … But there may be something in my treasure room. Come then, quickly. Cross the hall. Keep your eyes averted from the Glamour. But when you pass the table on the left, open its middle drawer. Take out all the things you find inside and bring them to me.’
Asmira did as she was told, quick as she could. From the orb she heard Khaba uttering shrill commands, and guttural voices raised in answer.
The drawer contained several golden necklaces, strung with precious stones; many of these were inscribed with mystic, arcane signs. She ran across to Solomon, who took them in silence. With strides of stately haste, he set off towards an arch that Asmira had not previously entered. As he went, he bent his head stiffly and put on the necklaces.
‘What powers do they have?’ she asked, pattering alongside.
‘None at all. But they look nice, don’t you think? If I’m going to die,’ King Solomon said, turning in at the arch, ‘I intend to look the part. And now – here is my little collection.’
Asmira surveyed the storeroom, its shelves and chests and boxes, all overflowing with artefacts of a hundred shapes and kinds. The profusion bewildered her. ‘What should I use?’ she said. ‘What do they do?’
‘No idea,’ Solomon said blandly, ‘for most of them. For years I have been searching for something that might equal the power of the Ring, but at rather less personal cost. My quest has been in vain, of course. Meanwhile my servants have acquired so many objects that I’ve quite run out of time and energy to investigate them. They’re all magical, but some are just mere trinkets, and others quite impossible to fathom.’
A crashing sound came from the far end of the golden room. Asmira winced. ‘Well, any rapid tips would be most welcome. Do you have some silver knives?’
‘No.’
‘Throwing stars?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Right. Well, I’ll have that sword, for a start.’
‘I wouldn’t.’ Solomon knocked aside her outstretched hand. ‘Once picked up, it can’t be put down. Notice those yellowed finger-bones fixed to the hilt?’
‘That shield, then?’
‘Too heavy for any normal arm. It is said to have been King Gilgamesh’s. We might try these, however.’ He passed her two silvery metal eggs, the size of a man’s closed fist.
‘What are they?’ Asmira said.
‘Something aggressive, we hope. What about these?’ He indicated three short wood sticks, each with a bulb of glass at the end. Things inside the bulbs moved restlessly.
Asmira heard stealthy sounds beyond the arch. She took the sticks. ‘Keep looking,’ she said. ‘Don’t go anywhere near the door. I’ll try to hold them off.’
Flitting to the arch, she stood with her back flat against the wall, and peeped round into the enchanted room. There they were: six of Khaba’s demons from the gorge, fanning out amongst the chairs and tables. As before, they wore men’s bodies; this time their heads were those of beasts – a wolf, a bear, two eagles, a hideous, grinning ape and, worst of all, a locust, grey-green and glistening, with quivering antennae. Despite the ferocity of their guises, they went slowly, with evident hesitation; behind came Khaba, urging them onwards with feeble strokes of his essence-flail. His wounded hand had been bandaged in black cloth ripped from his robe; his steps were those of an invalid. Asmira saw him look repeatedly towards the balcony in expectation. He was holding back, keeping out of range – waiting for his chief servant to return once more.
Asmira pressed her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She imagined Bartimaeus flying, desperate and alone. She imagined the shadow-demon close behind, stretching out its clawing fingers to engulf him and the Ring …
She took a deep breath
.
Skipping sideways from the arch, she gave a carefree yell. ‘Over here!’
The bestial heads looked up. ‘That is the girl who maimed your master!’ Khaba cried. ‘Tear her to pieces! He who kills her wins his freedom!’
As one, the demons sprang, smashing through tables, hurling chairs sideways into the walls, leaping the pool in single bounds, converging on the place where Asmira stood her ground.
When they were fifteen feet away, she threw the eggs and bulb-sticks, one after the other, at great speed.
The two eggs hit the eagle-demons head on and exploded violently, blowing holes clean through the centre of their midriffs. They raised their beaks, uttered plangent cries, became vapour and were gone.
Two of the bulb-sticks missed their targets by inches and landed on the marble floor, shattering like eggshells. Vertical fountains of green fire rose up, sending nearby demons somersaulting backwards, to the accompaniment of whoops and cries. The final stick struck the demon with the locust head just above its foot. The spur of fire ignited the upper regions of its leg. With a scream, it leaped into the plunge-pool and disappeared in a cloud of steam.
Asmira stepped calmly back inside the arch, where Solomon was rummaging through the shelves. ‘Two down,’ she said. ‘One wounded. What else have you got?’
The king had rolled up his sleeves, and his grey hair was disordered about his face. ‘I should have sorted this out years ago … It’s so hard to tell …’
‘Give me anything.’
‘Well, try these.’ He tossed her a clay cylinder, stamped with stars, and a sealed terracotta jar.
Asmira darted back to the arch. The golden room was filled with smoke. Through it moved four hulking forms.
She hurled the cylinder at the nearest; it struck, broke to dust, did nothing.
She threw the jar: on breaking, it emitted a soft, sad sighing, then a trill of raucous laughter. The demons, which had jumped back in doubt, came on at faster speed.
Behind them, the Egyptian gave a ragged oath. ‘You idiots! A child could deal with this! Hit her with magic from a distance!’
Asmira moved back into the room, just in time to escape the vaporization of the floor outside. Several Detonations struck the wall, sending blocks half through the plaster into the storeroom. Dust rained down upon her hair.
The king was methodically scanning the shelves. ‘Any joy?’ he said.
‘Not this time.’
‘Here.’ Solomon flipped open the lid of a small oak casket. Inside, neatly stacked, were six glass spheres.
As he handed her the casket, a bolt of magic ricocheted through the arch, shot over her head and blew the storeroom roof asunder. Stonework melted, lumps of wood and rubble fell. With a cry, Solomon collapsed upon the floor.
Asmira dropped to his side. ‘Are you hurt?’
His face was grey. ‘No … no. Do not worry about me. But the demons—’
‘Yes.’ Asmira got to her feet, ran through a rain of little falling stones, and threw three spheres out through the ruined arch. Explosions followed, and plumes of green fire, then shrill, indignant sounds.
She crouched in the shadows, brushed her hair out of her eyes, and put her hand in the casket again. At that moment something struck the other side of the wall with such force that she was knocked off her feet. The casket fell from her grasp; the three spheres rolled out of it, bounced gently on the floor.
Asmira froze, staring at them, at the little cracks spreading on their surface.
She flung herself back into the room just as the arch erupted with green fire.
Flames poured through; heat buffeted Asmira as she jumped, lifting her up and forwards with great speed. She crashed into the shelves in the middle of the room, and fell awkwardly among the mess of upturned chests. A tide of artefacts cascaded on her head.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Solomon gazing down at her.
He extended a slow hand. Asmira took it, allowed herself to be helped to her feet. Her arms and legs were bleeding, her robe was singed. Solomon was in a scarcely better state. His robes were torn and he had plaster in his hair.
Asmira stood silent for a heartbeat, looking at him. Then she said suddenly, all in a rush: ‘I’m sorry, Master. I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you.’
‘Sorry?’ the king said. He smiled. ‘In some ways I should be thanking you.’
‘I don’t understand.’ She glanced towards the arch, where the green witch-fires were slowly fading.
‘You have awoken me from sleep,’ King Solomon said. ‘For too many years I’ve been trapped up here, enslaved by pain, obsessed with my burden, keeping the Ring safe. And what was the result? I simply grew ever weaker and more complacent – and blind to the deeds of my own magicians, who have been busily extorting riches from my empire! Yes, thanks to you, the Ring is gone – but the result is that I feel more alive than at any recent time. I see things clearly now. And, if I’m going to die, I intend to do it fighting on my own terms.’
He reached out to the tumbled treasures on the floor and picked up an ornate serpent. It was made of gold, with ruby eyes, and had several little hinges hidden on its feet. ‘This,’ the king said, ‘is evidently a weapon, controlled by the studs here. Come, we’ll use it now.’
‘You wait here,’ Asmira said. ‘I’ll do it.’
Solomon ignored her outstretched hand. ‘Not just you this time. Come.’
At the archway the fires were gone. ‘One other thing, Asmira,’ Solomon said as they stepped through. ‘I’m not your master. If this should be the last hour of your life, try not to need one.’
They walked out into the central chamber, stepping over steaming holes and gashes in the floor, and almost collided with three of the demons which, in the form of macaque monkeys, had been sidling cautiously towards the arch. At the sight of Solomon, the monkeys yelled and bounded away across the room. The magician Khaba, leaning dourly against an upturned couch beside the pool, also jerked bolt upright in consternation.
‘Wretch!’ Solomon cried, in a voice of thunder. ‘Bow down before me!’
Khaba’s face had sagged in horror. He wavered; his legs began to buckle. Then he controlled himself, his thin lips tightened. Gesticulating at the cowering monkeys on the far side of the hall, he sprang forward with an oath. ‘So what if the tyrant lives?’ he cried. ‘He doesn’t have the Ring!’
Solomon strode forth. He flourished the golden serpent. ‘Dismiss your slaves! Bow down!’
The Egyptian paid no heed. ‘Do not fear that golden trinket!’ he shouted at the monkeys. ‘Come, slaves, rise up and kill him!’
‘O Khaba … ’
‘Wretch!’ Solomon said again. ‘Bow down!’
‘He is helpless, you fools! Helpless! Kill him! Kill them both!’
‘Oh no …’ Asmira said softly. ‘Look.’
‘Dear Khaba … ’
The voice came from behind the magician, from the direction of the balcony. Khaba heard it. He froze. He turned. All eyes turned, looked with him.
The shadow floated in the entrance, its essence faint and flickering. It still had the magician’s silhouette, only softer, rougher than before, the edges melting like a candle. ‘I have been over land and ocean,’ its faint voice said. ‘I am very weary. The djinni led me a long and merry dance, but I caught him at the last.’ The shadow gave a heavy sigh. ‘How he fought! Fifty djinn together could not have done better. But it is over. I did it for you, Master. Only you.’
Khaba’s voice cracked with emotion. ‘Sweet Ammet! You are the best of slaves! And … and you have it?’
‘Look what it has done to me,’ the shadow said wistfully. ‘Burning, burning, all these long, dark miles homeward … Yes, Master, I have it in my hand.’
It unfurled five steaming fingers. A ring of gold sat in its palm.
‘Then my first act will be the destruction of the cursed Solomon!’ Khaba said. ‘Ammet – I shall relieve you of your burden. I am ready. Give it to me.�
�
‘Dear Khaba, I shall.’
Solomon cried out; he lifted the golden serpent. Asmira began to run. But the shadow paid no heed to either. Unfurling its long, thin fingers, it swept forward with the Ring.
36
Here’s how it finished.
Beyond the western forests, beyond the old coast road running north towards Damascus, beyond the little villages strung along the cliffs, Israel peters out abruptly on the shores of the Great Sea.1 By the time the phoenix reached it, I was petering out too.
Out over the empty beaches I went, flying erratically, one or two fiery feathers dropping into the waves with each beat of my wings. My noble beak had largely melted, and it was only with a small, sparrow-sized nub that I maintained my hold on Khaba’s drooping finger. My eyes were misting too, thanks to weariness and the proximity of the Ring, but when I glanced back I could see the shadow still in sight, drawing ever nearer.
I was almost at my limits. The chase was almost done.
Westwards I went a little longer, straight out to sea, and for the first half-mile there was still no light save for the little redand-orange glow that clung about my body and leaped and danced below me on the rushing waves. And all at once the night grew grey and, looking back, beyond the shadow, I saw a pink fringe above the distant shore that announced the arrival of the dawn.
Good. I hadn’t wanted to finish things in the dark. I wanted the sun upon my essence one last time.
The phoenix dropped low, skimmed close to the water’s surface. Then, jerking my head upwards, I spat the finger high into the air. It rose, rose, caught the first rays of the sun, began to fall –
– and was caught in the centre of a lean, dark hand.
A short distance away the rushing shadow slowed. He halted, hovering just above the waves on his tapered, pinpoint legs, and looked at me.
The Ring of Solomon: A Bartimaeus Novel Page 32
