The Secret Of The Unicorn Queen -The Dark Gods

by Josepha Sherman

  "I want to come with you.

  "Dian? There's no need-"

  "Oh, yes, there is! I betrayed Illyria. I lost Swiftfoot. If it hadn't been for me, none of us would be in this mess. I am coming with you."

  Pelu sighed. "Sheila? You were the first to volunteer. It's up to you.”

  Sheila struggled not to giggle nervously. Hey, look, she wanted to blurt, I'm just glad I don't have to go in there alone! But instead, she managed to say seriously, "If Dian wants to help, it's okay with me."

  "Then it's all decided," Myno said. "Just one more thing . . . Well, we haven't got much time. If you don't meet us out here by tomorrow, the night of the dark of the moon, we'll know that you . . . failed. And we'll-"

  "Do nothing," Pelu cut in gently. "Myno, if we aren't here by then, there'll be nothing you can do to help us. Your only obligation will be to get the unicorns and yourselves safely back to Campora."

  "I don't like that."

  Pelu grinned. "Hey, now, don't look so grim! We have no intention of failing!" And then her smile faded as she said, "Come, let us begin!"

  Sheila turned to see Darian staring at her with such warmth in his eyes that she felt her cheeks start to redden.

  "Darian?"

  "Sheila, I . . . can't let you go off into danger without-" He stopped short as he suddenly became aware of the others. "Without wishing you good luck," he finished lamely.

  Sheila sighed. ''Good luck to you, too."

  "Uh . . . wait." Looking uneasily around to be sure no one was watching, Darian leaned down and gave her a quick kiss that landed more on her nose than her lips. "Be careful," he murmured, gently brushing a strand of auburn hair back from her face. And with that he turned and hurried off.

  Sheila watched him go, not sure whether to laugh or cry. "You be careful, too, Darian," she whispered.

  Leaving their unicorns with the others, Sheila, Pelu, and Dian drew aside to watch Myno's diversion.

  And what a spectacular one it was. Whirling hastily improvised torches about their heads, Myno and Nanine shrieked like demons while Darian shouted what sounded like a particularly savage war chant. Sheila nearly choked when she realized what he was yelling at the top of his lungs: the words to a rock song she had taught him—in English of course!

  The unicorns, wild with excitement, thundered back and forth in a frenzied gallop, raising so much dust that, half in darkness, half illuminated by the whirling torches, they really did look demonic. Sheila didn't blame the startled guards for hesitating to leave the security of their city walls.

  What if they don't dare come out? she thought. What do we do then?

  But she didn't have to worry. All at once the guards came pouring out of Erech-ban.

  Myno and Nanine quickly hurled their torches away, plunging themselves into darkness. There was the thunder of hoofs, and Sheila, Pelu, and Dian dashed out of the way as their friends went streaking past in the middle of the unicorn herd. They were followed after a nervous moment by the guards on their hastily saddled horses.

  "Now is our chance," whispered Pelu, "before they shut the gates!"

  It was easy for the three women to slip into the city during all the confusion. But then Sheila heard the sound of the gates being slammed shut again behind them, and winced. They had gotten into Erech-ban, all right-but how would they ever get out?

  10

  Into the Palace

  There was one thing about Erech-ban, thought Sheila as she, Dian, and Pelu scurried through the dark, narrow streets that reminded her very much of Campora. Something she was beginning to really dislike about cities in this world: nobody seemed to have figured out a way to light the streets at night!

  It wasn't for the lack of any really clever folk; Sheila suspected that wizards here could solve by magic pretty much the same problems inventors like Dr. Reit solved by science in her own world. No, the people here just didn't seem to see the need for street lamps.

  Everybody goes to bed early and gets up early, and that's that. But the darkness didn't make finding the road to Kumuru's palace an easy job.

  Sheila could see the palace easily enough. That wasn't the problem. It was difficult not to see it, the way the building and its supporting mountain loomed over Erech-ban like a great, brooding beast, darker than the night around it. But none of these crazy, twisting little streets— some apparently no more than alleys cut by the stonecarvers to separate the rows of sandstone houses—seemed to go in the right direction! And they could hardly knock on somebody's door and say, "Excuse me, we're trying to break into the royal palace. Can you show us how to get to it?" It was such a ridiculous thought that Sheila had to fight down a fit of giggles.

  Stop that! she scolded herself. It isn't funny!

  It really wasn't funny. Precious time was passing while they scrambled to find a way out of this maze. And they didn't want to waste too much more of it, because they only had this one night to get Illyria out before it was too late. Besides, just because they hadn't yet seen any guards patrolling the streets didn't mean there weren't any such patrols. Worse, who knew what supernatural means Kumuru might have to guard his city? They didn't dare attract anyone's attention!

  Still, that ridiculous image of a startled Erech-bani housewife staring at her while she politely asked for directions kept popping back into Sheila's mind no matter what she did.

  Think of something else, fast! Or you’re-- "Oh, no." Pelu's voice was a soft groan. "Not another dead end! And I was so sure we were finally going the right way.”

  That stopped any urge Sheila had to laugh. For a moment the three warriors stared in silent dismay at the blank wall blocking their path.

  Then Pelu sighed. "There's no help for it. We'll just have to retrace our steps and try again."

  "Yes," whispered Dian urgently, "but which way did we come?"

  "Why, down that way. I think."

  "Uh, Pelu," cut in Sheila softly. "I thought we came that way.

  "You see what I mean?" Dian's voice shook. "There aren't any straight streets here, or even any right angles. I don't know where we are! And neither do you!"

  "Softly, Dian! Don't worry. We'll find our way out."

  "How? Pelu, no one in this city bothered to paint us any street signs. And even if they had, we couldn't read the signs in the dark!"

  "Why don't we just see if we can climb over the wall," suggested Sheila.

  Pelu shook her head. "It's attached to that house. See? We'd only wind up in someone's garden. Besides," she added, peering up at the top of the wall, "it looks as if that someone has studded the top of the wall with bits of glass. A nasty way of keeping out thieves. And us.

  "Well, then . . ." Sheila hesitated. Oh, no, she didn't dare! It was too dangerous-and too silly! But if somebody didn't do something, they would be lost here all night!

  Gesturing to Pelu and Dian to stay back out of sight, Sheila took a deep breath and marched up to one of the houses. She had to knock for some time, but finally someone stirred within the house. The door opened a wary crack.

  "Who is it? What do you want?"

  Or at least Sheila thought that's what the voice said; although the Samarnans and Camporans spoke the same language, the exotic Erech-bani accent made it sound quite different.

  "Please, I-I need directions," Sheila stammered.

  "What's this? A girl? All alone?"

  The door opened a crack wider. Sheila saw a woman standing there, candle in hand, night robe wrapped around herself, looking so much like the housewife she had pictured that she had to bite down hard on her lower lip to keep from giggling.

  "Uh, y-yes." Warming to her role, Sheila continued in a timid little voice. "You-you see, I . . . uh . . . work in the palace kitchen." When the woman only nodded, Sheila dared to add, "I just started there the other day. But I ... Well ... I-"

  "Snuck out, I take it? To see someone?" The woman's voice sounded a tiny bit more sympathetic. "A boy, perhaps?"

  "Anyhow," Sheila hurried on, as thou
gh embarrassed, "I was trying to get back in without anyone seeing me. But-but I'm new here. And I got lost! Oh, please, can you tell me the quickest way back to the palace?"

  The woman never hesitated. And she repeated her directions not once but three times, making sure Sheila had them memorized.

  "Now, you hurry straight there, yes? And tell your boyfriend not to let you go home alone next time! A girl your age has no business being out so late!"

  "Uh . . . No, ma'am. Thank you. You've been such a help."

  More than you'll ever know! Sheila added silently, and scurried away.

  To Sheila's relief the woman's directions turned out to be very accurate, and the three warriors soon emerged from the maze of narrow streets. Ahead of them a wide trench had been dug out of the sandstone, separating the common folk from the royal, and on the other side of that trench rose up the fantastic carvings and columns of Kumuru's palace, one solid, eerie mass in the darkness. To judge from the faint flickerings of light in some of the windows, only a few palace folk were still awake—servants, Sheila assumed.

  Funny . . . Kumuru didn't seem to have mounted any guards around the palace. Sheila grinned. She wasn't going to complain! Without any soldiers to worry about, it should be even easier to sneak around the place without being seen.

  A high wall surrounded the front of the palace, merging into the mountain as its rear. There seemed to be only one gate, a massive thing flanked on either side by enormous torches and stone statues of armored soldiers.

  "Ugly, aren't they?" Dian whispered. "Look, there are more of them placed along the walls. Now, why would anyone want-" She broke off with a gasp. And Sheila gasped, too, staring in sheer disbelief.

  One of the statues had moved. With a faint groaning of stone, it turned its head from side to side, as though trying to find the three warriors.

  "They're alive!" breathed Dian.

  "Not exactly. They're sorcerous constructs," corrected Pelu. "They look ponderous, but for all we know, they can move swiftly as an avalanche."

  "There don't seem to be any other gates, either," Sheila said softly.

  And they certainly couldn't try scaling the walls, not with those eerie stone creatures prowling about.

  "How are we ever going to get inside?" Sheila whispered. But then she nearly let out a yelp as something pulled sharply at her tunic. Her hand already shooting to the hilt of her sword, she glanced sharply down.

  What-? An imp! One of the little desert creatures had somehow followed her all this way.

  "Shoo," she said softly. "Go home.”

  The imp danced up and down impatiently.

  "Look, I can't play any music for you now, so why don't you just move along. Hey, stop pulling at me!"

  "I think he's trying to get you to follow him!" whispered Pelu. "He's pointing from us to the palace. Maybe he knows a way inside!"

  Sheila hesitated. Sure, the imps were fun and all that, but they were tricky little thieves as well. Could this one possibly be trusted? But, then, what other choice was there?

  "All right, pal. Lead on."

  The imp gave them a pointy-toothed grin of delight and scuttled forward.

  The hole was dark, and narrow, and smelly.

  "You mean, we've got to go in there?" asked Dian weakly.

  Pelu sighed. "Looks like it. This drain comes right out from the palace itself."

  Sheila didn't care for the idea, either. But the imp was waiting impatiently, so…

  "Well, here goes nothing," Sheila murmured. She took a deep breath and entered.

  Yuck! It was really disgusting in there—slimy, filthy, and thoroughly gross! Sheila took one deep breath by mistake and immediately wished she hadn't. The air smelled like something that should have been buried a long time ago. As if that weren't bad enough, the drain was so cramped and narrow, she couldn't even crawl on hands and knees, but had to wriggle her way along on her belly. The sides of the drain were slippery, too, though Sheila refused to even consider what might be squishing beneath her.

  The drain bent without warning to the right, and Sheila had to turn carefully on her side so she could worm her way around the turn. She wanted to ask Pelu and Dian, following her, how they were doing. But that would have meant taking a deep breath of the stinking air. And she really didn't want to do that again.

  But Sheila couldn't stop herself from thinking. And a horrid thought kept running through her mind. The imp was so much smaller than the humans. How could he be sure they would fit? What if they couldn't make it? What if they were stuck in this loathsome drain forever?

  Sheila was just about to panic when suddenly their foul journey was over. Sheila, then Dian, and finally Pelu climbed up out of the drain into a vast, dark corridor.

  "The walls are so smooth and fine," whispered Pelu, touching one carefully. "This isn't just a tunnel. We must be somewhere within the palace itself."

  "But where?" added Dian, trying to brush the worst of the filth off her clothes.

  Sheila looked around for the imp and located him by his glinting green eyes.

  Nervous eyes. Do we really have to stay here? they seemed to ask.

  "Ah, imp, do you know where-"

  Sheila's whisper was cut short by a sudden crashing sound that echoed up and down the passageway. The imp's eyes widened in fear.

  "Hey, wait!" Sheila whispered. "I know what that was: a gong, that's all. Don't-"

  Too late. The imp was too scared to listen. Before Sheila could stop him, he gave a wild little chitter of alarm, dived back into the drain, and disappeared.

  Sheila, Pelu, and Dian were left alone in darkness.

  11

  An Old Enemy Returns

  Standing there in the middle of who knew what, Sheila had no idea which way to turn or what to do. For a long, terrified moment she couldn't even think. The darkness seemed to press in about her, tighter, tighter .

  No! That was silly. She had never been scared of the dark before, and she wasn't about to start being scared now!

  "Okay," she said softly, "which way do you think we should go?"

  What if no one answered? What if Pelu and Dian had somehow disappeared? What if-"The passage leads off to our left and right." Pelu's voice was as calm as ever. "The sound of the gong came from the right, I think."

  "Then we should go left," Dian said decisively.

  "I'm not sure about that." The healer hesitated.

  "They'd only be sounding a gong somewhere within the main halls of the palace. That means if we go to the left, we'll be going away from the heart of the building. We'd probably wind up somewhere near the outer walls."

  "Yes, but-"

  "Dian, Illyria is a precious prisoner to Kumuru. He's not going to keep her in some isolated corner."

  "I know that. I just think it would be safer to get a better view of the whole palace before we start wandering around in here."

  ''I don't think we have time for that 'safer,' '' Sheila cut in. "We don't know how long we have till morning. Once the sun comes up, the whole palace will be up and about. Then we'll never be able to get to Illyria."

  "I still think we should go left."

  "I think we should go right," argued Pelu. "What about you, Sheila?"

  Which way? Which way ....

  Sheila straightened. "Hey, I know what! In my world we have a sort of magical chant we use when we can't make a decision. It goes like this:

  "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe .

  The three warriors, drawn swords in their hands, made their way down the passage way— to the right.

  Sheila still wasn't too happy about the choice. Sure, there hadn't been any better way to decide, but even so...

  What if they were going the wrong way after all? When would they even find out? The passageway continued straight and true and level. The walls remained smooth and unmarked, slightly cool to the touch.

  What if it's leading us straight into another trap? Sheila worried.

  Hadn't things gone just a little too e
asily so far? Kumuru was a sorcerer, after all, even if all his power did seem to come only from that strange red amulet of his.

  Maybe he knew exactly where the warriors were. Maybe he was just biding his time, playing with them as a cat played with a mouse.

  Suddenly Sheila saw a light up ahead. And just as suddenly all her fears seemed ridiculous. Funny, how a little light made everything seem so-

  "No!"

  Pelu's horrified scream made Sheila whirl around—just in time to see one of the huge stone guards come lumbering out of the darkness. Before she could even raise her sword, the healer was caught up in a pair of mighty stone arms.

  "Pelu!"

  Dian and Sheila slashed frantically at the rock-man. But their swords just bounced off the thing's stony surface. Then it turned on them so suddenly that Dian went flying. She crashed into Sheila, and both girls were slammed to the floor. Winded, heart racing, Sheila struggled to get up, expecting a powerful stone foot to come stomping down on top of her at any second.

  But instead the rock-man turned and strode swiftly away into the darkness, Pelu cradled helpless in its grasp.

  Gasping, Dian and Sheila scrambled to their feet, bruised and aching.

  "We've got to go after her!" panted Sheila.

  "Too late! They're gone!"

  "That's impossible. Come on—"

  “Sheila, no! There must have been some sort of secret passage back there. I'm telling you, Pelu is gone!" Sheila stared fiercely down the corridor, but saw nothing but darkness. The rock-man and his captive might just as well have vanished into thin air. Evidently, the thing didn't need light to see where it was going. That meant it had probably been stalking them silently all the time they had thought they were alone.

  "She'll be all right, Dian," she said firmly, hoping she was right. She was glad Dian couldn't see her trembling in the dim light.

  "How can you be so sure?" Dian asked.

  "Because . . . because . . . the rock-man could have killed Pelu easily enough. But it didn't. Even while it was knocking us over, it was very careful not to hurt her."