The Dark Gods

by Josepha Sherman

  But there was nothing fearsome waiting for her, only the other warriors.

  "What are you-?”

  "A dream, such a foul-"

  "You too? I dreamed-"

  "A terrible thing-"

  Illyria held up a hand for silence. "Did we all have nightmares?"

  "So it would seem," said Myno grimly. She gave an enormous yawn. "What d'you expect? Too much celebrating, that's all."

  "No." Laric had silently joined them, his dark eyes fierce. "There is the taint of sorcery in the air here."

  "Ah, not exactly, Your Majesty." Toron Medlian, busily tying a robe about his plump middle, shook his head. "Sorcery was worked, all right, I don't doubt it, but it wasn't on my lands." He sighed wearily. "This is Kumuru's doing, Your Majesty. We're just too close to Samarna's borders, you see. Whenever King Kumuru calls on his Dark Gods, the aura of his sorcery slips out and troubles people's sleep."

  The Dark Gods . . . Sheila thought, remembering the cruel-eyed, evil Things in her dreams. Was it those evil creatures that Kumuru worshiped?

  Just then a shrill scream rent the air! Not a scream, realized Sheila, a whinny. A unicorn's whinny! A second wild neigh rang out, and a third.

  "Something's wrong!" Illyria said sharply. "Come on!" The unicorns were milling about in the darkness, pawing the ground, swinging their horned heads anxiously.

  "Look at that!" cried Dian. "They're all staring in one direction."

  "South," said Laric grimly. "South to Samarna—and Kumuru. There's more to this than dark dreams!"

  Regally he called for his warriors, and they came running forward. Cam, their leader, was in the foreground. "Your Majesty?"

  "Cam, I wish you and five volunteers—yes, you five, thank you—to take to the air and scout out the border region. Don't take any action. Just bring back what news you can of King Kumuru."

  Cam saluted. "Of course, Your Majesty."

  Laric raised his arms, chanting the eerie words of his Transformation Spell. Even though Sheila had heard it before, and seen it work, little shivers ran through her at the alien sounds. The men's shapes blurred and changed ...

  Six great eagles soared up from where six men had stood a moment before. One of them— Cam, Sheila guessed—dipped a wing in salute to his prince. Then all six were winging their way through the darkness to the south.

  As though relieved that action was being taken, the unicorns slowly quieted down. They relaxed their rigid stares and allowed themselves to be soothed by the warriors. Sheila hurried to Morning Star's side and stroked the silky white coat and long, dark mane. Morning Star nuzzled her affectionately.

  "There now, girl," Sheila crooned. "There's nothing to be afraid of. No harm will come to you. Not while I'm here."

  "As if you'd be able to help her," mocked Dian. "Why, you can't even stay on her back!"

  Before Sheila could think of a clever comeback, Darian had moved to her side. "Hey, that's not fair, Dian. We've all taken falls."

  "Oh, but Darian, I didn't mean anything by it."

  "I saw you laughing at Sheila on the road, and showing off, too. That wasn't fair, either."

  Sheila could see Dian's face redden even in the darkness. "It's okay, Darian," Sheila murmured, embarrassed. "You don't have to-"

  Dian drowned her out. "What are you trying to say? That I'm a-a bully?"

  "No, of course not. Look, Dian, I only meant-"

  "I wasn't going to hurt Sheila. But she had it coming! Always acting so-so nice. I'm a warrior, too, and a good one! I earned my place in Illyria's band, and it wasn't easy, either. Then along comes this-this silly little girl who doesn't know anything! But suddenly she has a sword, and a unicorn, and magic, and everybody thinks she's so special. All at once, I-I'm n-nothing!"

  "That's nonsense," Sheila cut in angrily, and Dian glared at her.

  "You keep out of this! It's all your fault, anyhow. Everything was fine before you came. Darian and I-"

  "Hey, wait a minute!" Darian protested in bewilderment. "There never was anything-"

  "No, of course not! How could there be? You like Sheila better, just like everyone else! Fine! Well, you can have her!" Dian's voice quivered. "You can do anything you want. I don't care!" And with a wild sob she turned and rushed off into the night.

  3

  Menace of the Stone Circle

  Poor Dian. Sheila paused on her way out of the mansion the next morning. It wasn't her fault that Darian wasn't in love with Dian. She'd never say a word against the girl. But still ..

  “Shiela!”

  Sheila jumped. "Myno? What is it? What's wrong?"

  The burly woman stood with hands on hips, fuming. "Have you seen Dian?"

  Uh-oh. Now what? "No, not since last night. Why?"

  "Because she's gone, that's why! She, her weapons, and her unicorn have just up and disappeared."

  "Didn't she tell anyone where she was going?"

  "Oh, sure. She left a note saying she was off to visit her relatives. Relatives! She doesn't have any kin living this far south! Now we'll have to send someone out looking for her. Are you sure you don't know which way she went?"

  Feeling a little guilty, Sheila decided she had better tell Myno about her quarrel with Dian. But before she could so much as open her mouth, the shrill, fierce cry of an eagle made her glance sharply up. "Look!" she said. "The eagle-warriors are returning!"

  Laric was already waiting for them. Even as the big birds swooped down for a landing, he began to murmur the first words of the Transformation Spell. The eagle forms blurred and changed. Then Cam and the others, men once more, were bowing before him.

  "Well?" the young prince asked. "What have you seen?"

  Cam hesitated. "Some strange things, Your Majesty. And I don't think you're going to like them."

  "Go on, Cam. Speak."

  The warrior took a deep breath. "South of here we came across what looks like an ancient ruin, one of those stone circles from the long-ago days." He gave Lord Toron a questioning look.

  Toron nodded. "It was here long before any of my ancestors came to this land. Stories say it's a place of old, old magic."

  "And power," Laric agreed softly. "Such sites often are, since they were built by magic. Continue, Cam."

  "Ah, yes. Well. Those stories must be true, because someone was using that circle." Cam gave an apologetic shrug. "You'd know more about such things than I, Your Majesty. But it seemed to me that whoever was down there was performing what looked very much like a ritual of dark sorcery.”

  "How could you tell?" asked Lord Toron. "It was night, after all, and dark."

  "Eagles have awfully good eyesight, my lord. Even at night. Besides, there was a weird sort of red fire burning, lighting up everything. We saw maybe ten or twenty men, all in dark, hooded cloaks. The man who was leading the ritual was wearing one of those hooded cloaks, too. But just for a minute, just as he looked up, a breeze caught the hood and pulled it back. Before he could catch it, I saw his face most clearly." Cam hesitated, uneasy. "Your Majesty, no doubt about it: the man was King Kumuru of Samarna."

  "Kumuru!"

  "That's right. He and some of his followers must have stolen across the border to . . . well, to do whatever it was they were doing in that circle."

  "Summoning up the Old Magic," said Laric grimly. "That's surely what they were doing. Using the Old Magic to amplify whatever sorcery Kumuru's Dark Gods lend him. Come, give me some details! Tell me exactly what you saw.”

  Cam sighed. "I'm afraid I can't tell you too much more. You see, I think Kumuru knew we were up there."

  Laric tensed. "How-"

  "Oh, no, no, I didn't mean that he knew we were really men, rather than honest-to-true egg-hatched eagles. But he must have sensed something strange in the sky."

  "How can you be sure of that?"

  "Well, I can't, I suppose. Not without him telling me so himself. But he didn't have to say anything, because as we circled, all at once fog formed out of nowhere—choking, thick
, disgusting fog. It overwhelmed us. I mean, we couldn't even tell up from down! But we didn't dare try to land because, for all we knew, we might be landing right in a trap." Cam shuddered, remembering. "In fact, the only thing we could do was what we did: fly blindly all night, and pray the fog would let up before we collapsed." The man sighed, rubbing his tired arms. "There were times when I feared we would never make it back. But with the first rays of sunlight, the fog just . . . fell apart and vanished. I never saw anything like that fog, never. It was so thick and dank . . . Ugh. It felt dirty, if you know what I mean.

  "I do, indeed," Laric muttered.

  "And the way it came up, so suddenly . . ." Cam looked at his prince with puzzled eyes. "It can't have been natural."

  "It wasn't. Curse Kumuru!" Laric paced restlessly back and forth, his eyes the wild, savage eyes of an eagle. "I will not let Kumuru or his foul magic invade this land! He must be stopped!"

  "By us, you mean?" Illyria asked softly. "You mean to go after him here and now?"

  "Exactly." Laric gave the Unicorn Queen a fierce smile. "Kumuru must learn not to toy with us. He must learn not to trespass. I intend for us to ride to that circle and teach him those lessons this very day!"

  But Illyria shook her head. "I don't know. . . . Something just doesn't feel right about this."

  "What do you mean, love?"

  "It all seems too easy. Too convenient. A breeze just happens to catch Kumuru's hood. He just happens to let his face be seen, when he could have safely screened the circle from spies with that sorcerous fog right from the start."

  Laric raised a questioning eyebrow. "Go on."

  "Maybe he wanted to be seen. Maybe this apparent threat of his is nothing more than a trick?"

  "Why would he bother?"

  "Oh, Laric!" Illyria impatiently tossed back her mane of silvery hair. "We both know Kumuru is an ambitious man. An ambitious king! He was eager enough to make that pact with Dynasian. Well, now he doesn't have to. Thanks to us, Dynasian is. . . out of the way. And, thanks to us, there won't be any interference from Ankzar, either. What better time than this for Kumuru to feed his ambition by conquering new lands?"

  "Granted."

  "How can you be so calm about it? Laric, what if Kumuru is after your very throne?"

  ''Oh, I don't doubt that he is! I'm sure the man would simply love to extend his power and take over Campora. All the more reason for us to ride to that circle and stop him before-"

  "But what if I'm right? What if the whole thing really is only a trick?"

  "All right, Illyria. Go on. What if it is?"

  "What easier way to rob a prince of his throne than to lure him away from it with a false threat of danger? All the usurper would have to do then is see that the prince met with a fatal 'accident,' come in with troops while the capital is leaderless and in a state of confusion, and simply take over!"

  Sheila could tell from Laric's suddenly uneasy expression that he was seriously listening to Illyria's words. But then the young prince shook his head in denial, saying stubbornly, "No. That hardly sounds credible."

  "Well, yes, perhaps not. But what if I'm right? Laric, for the sake of Campora, you can't afford to take the risk."

  He turned sharply away. "And what would you have me do? Up and run home like a frightened child, and leave you to face who knows what peril?"

  Illyria's eyes flashed. She stalked forward to face the man again. "And what do you think I am? A helpless little girl-child in need of protecting?"

  Laric grinned. "Hardly."

  Sheila saw the corners of Illyria's mouth begin to twitch up into a smile, but then the Unicorn Queen resolutely forced her face back into a scowl. "What, then?" she challenged sharply. "A soft, pretty fool, waiting meekly for some big strong hero to come and save me from the ogre?"

  Laric's grin widened. "Oh, never that! You'd probably be the one to rescue the hero! Come now, my dearest warrior. Forgive me. You know I didn't mean to belittle you, or your skills. It's only .. . I do worry about you.”

  At last Illyria's fierce scowl faded into gentleness. "And I, you. Oh, but my dear, you must forget us for now.”

  "I know. I am the prince of Campora. And a prince's first duty must ever be toward his people." Laric threw up his hands in disgust. "I do believe I had more freedom when I was an eagle! But, since I am a prince, I will fly meekly home again, muster my troops, and guard the throne against all comers."

  Illyria sighed, relieved. "And I and my warriors shall investigate this mysterious stone circle for you. Should Kumuru be foolish enough to linger . . ." Proudly, she looked around at the other women warriors, then suddenly drew her sword in a flash of steel. With a joyous shout, the unicorn warriors all drew their weapons. The sun glittered off the ring of blades, and Illyria laughed anew. "If Kumuru is foolish enough to linger, I promise you, Prince Laric of Campora, he will regret it!"

  4

  Dian's Story

  The unicorn warriors were ready and riding southward at a steady pace before the sun had risen too much higher in the sky. Though nobody said very much, Sheila could feel the excitement building in all of them. It was always this way just before a new adventure began: thrilling and scary at the same time.

  But she found herself wondering . . . What if Kumuru and his men really were expecting them? What if Kumuru had some powerful, horrible spell all ready to cast? What if he had managed to summon his Dark Gods, and it was they who were awaiting the warriors? What if-No! Sheila told herself fiercely. I won't start scaring myself like this!

  Instead, she thought about the sweet, sad parting that had taken place between Laric and Illyria. Oh, how romantic it had been! The young prince had swept his lady into his arms, kissed her so tenderly, and then, with one last, longing look back, Laric had transformed himself and his men into eagles. With a thunder of wings, they had flown off toward Campora, prepared to bravely hold the throne against all foes.

  Sheila sighed. It was like something out of one of those fantasy books she had liked to read, back home in her own world. But this was real life, not fantasy, she reminded herself. And real life didn't always have neat and happy endings. Oh, no, she wasn't going to start worrying about those Dark Gods again!

  Something else was bothering her, though, and at last Sheila reined in Morning Star a little so she could ask:

  "Myno?"

  “Mm.”

  "Uh . . . what about Dian? Are we just going to ride off and forget all about her?"

  The ex-slave gave her a troubled look. "Would you have us forget all about Kumuru, instead?"

  "No, of course not. But-"

  "Look, I don't know why she was silly enough to run away like this. You youngsters can do some pretty foolish things sometimes." Myno shrugged. "There's no help for it, girl. She'll just have to catch up with us on her own."

  "Well, yes, but-"

  "Sheila, Dian is a warrior. Don't you worry about her. She can take care of herself."

  "I . . . guess so.”

  But Sheila wasn't so sure.

  Almost as if he had read her mind, Darian suddenly rode up beside her. "You're worrying about Dian, aren't you?" he asked softly.

  Sheila nodded. "I wish she hadn't run off like that."

  Darian sighed. "Me, too. I wish we could have had a chance to talk to her. Really talk, I mean, not argue. But then, I wish you and I had more time to talk," he said, keeping his dark eyes focused on the path ahead. "It seems we've hardly had a moment together since we returned from Queelotoo."

  Sheila suddenly remembered the way Darian had kissed her the last time they had been alone together. "I'd like that, too," she said, and felt her face flush. "But I guess this isn't the right time, either. We've got to find the stone circle before it's too late."

  Darian reached over to squeeze her hand, and Sheila gave him a warm smile. But then a sudden flicker of motion up ahead caught her eye.

  Drawing herself as tall in the stirrupless saddle as possible, Sheila said, "Wait a minute,
Darian. Look, up that way. . . . There's someone ahead of us on the road. Someone on foot, walking toward us."

  Darian shaded his eyes with a hand. "You're right. Probably some goatherd."

  "No . . . there's something familiar about . . . Dian! Darian, that's Dian! And I think she's hurt!"

  The other warriors had seen her, too. They flung themselves from their unicorns and raced forward, just as Dian staggered and crumpled to the ground. By the time Sheila reached her side, Pelu was gently raising the girl's head.

  "Here, Dian," the healer murmured. "Drink this potion. It will revive you.”

  Sheila bit her lip. What had happened to Dian? Her clothing was dirt-stained and disheveled, and the usually neat dark hair hung about her pale face in a wild tangle.

  And what about Dian's unicorn? wondered Sheila, her heart racing. Swiftfoot would never willingly abandon her rider. Where was she?

  Dian's eyes fluttered open. For a moment they were glazed and blind with terror, but then they focused. Seeing the worried faces before her, she gave a shaky sigh of relief.

  "Pelu. Sheila. Illyria."

  ''Yes, Dian.''

  Illyria's voice was so cool that Sheila looked at her in surprise.

  "We're all here," the Unicorn Queen continued. "Come, now. Try to sit up."

  Dian took one last sip of Pelu's potion, then obeyed.

  "I-I think I can stand now. I'm not hurt, really. I just I've been running all night and I-I just couldn't go any farther."

  "I see." There wasn't much sympathy in Illyria's eyes. "Can you talk now?"

  Swallowing convulsively, Dian nodded.

  "Fine," said the Unicorn Queen emotionlessly. "You are one of my warriors, Dian. I don't take kindly to desertion."

  "It wasn't . . . I didn't

  "No? Then tell me what it was—what you did do."

  "Illyria," Pelu began, but the Unicorn Queen shook her head.

  "If she is to remain one of us, Pelu, she must act like one of us. Come, Dian. Speak."

  Dian sighed. "I didn't mean to desert, truly. I didn't mean to run off like that at all. What happened was… Well, I had a fight with someone last night. Someone I thought cared about— Never mind." She shot Sheila a quick, spiteful glance, but added, "I would rather not say with whom I had the fight."