By the twelfth hour I grew less anxious, for we were beginning to draw clear. But as I turned to Naani, to give her a kiss of encouragement, she suddenly cried in pain and crumpled to the ground.
"Naani!" I hissed, reaching for her. She lay unconscious, her eyes closed, and I sensed the House attacking her spirit. I swept her into my arms and set my body between the wretched structure and her. The moment I touched her I sensed a dreadful energy coursing through her, drenched in the essence of Silence and bleak desolation. I knew then that the House could slay me on whim, but chose to concentrate all its energies on Naani instead. I do not know why it selected her in place of me; perhaps because she had not gone through the Rite of Preparation. But how can anyone understand the motives of such evil?
I marshaled my thoughts, imagining my spirit and will as a shield, which I set around her. Though I had never done such a thing before, it was not much different than sending a call into the night.
Since concealment was now useless, I stood up, Naani in my arms. My choice was clear. Only speed could save her from the Force's malice. I had to either carry her immediately to the physicians in the Great Pyramid or die of exhaustion in the attempt.
I freed my diskos from my hip and took it in my arms with Naani. A dozen strides brought me out of the bushes. I broke into a desperate trot, while the silent power of the House hammered against us.
"Mirdath!" I cried as I went, and "Naani!" but she neither responded, nor even seemed to live. A sob broke from me; despair coursed through my heart; the fires of madness burned in my brain. I could think of nothing but saving her. But even as I ran I realized I could not carry her all the way unless I conserved my strength.
I halted long enough to warm a broth of the tablets and water upon a hot rock, which I tried to pour between her closed lips. It proved useless, as in my heart I knew it would, but all the while I worked I kept my body, my will, my spirit, and my love between her and the horror of the House. I made a little more water and rubbed it on her face and hands, but it did no good. I put my ear to her breast and listened for her heart. The blood drained from my face when I could not hear it, but then I caught a slow, faint beat. As long as she breathed, I knew the House had not stolen her soul.
After wrapping her in my cloak, I disregarded my churning stomach long enough to force myself to eat. I lifted my mute love again, trying not to think how merry she had been only an hour before, and set out at a long trot, determined, if necessary, to run through all eternity. I saw the world as if in a fever dream, born in the madness of intention and despair.
At every sixth hour I stopped only long enough to eat and drink, but I always tried to bring my dear one to her senses. Her heart grew ever more feeble, until I no longer dared to listen.
Why no Power of Goodness came to my aid, I do not know, but though I called on God and any Forces within the land to aid me, I received no answer. In my frustration, I was tempted to fall into cursing, but was restrained by the fear that bitterness of spirit could weaken my shield around Naani.
I traveled the land blindly, recognizing almost nothing. I can recall my journey only as vague gray shapes intermixed with flashes of light and the glare of fires; nothing seemed real except the woman in my arms, who was everything.
I sped through the dreadful hours, neither deviating my course to evade any evil nor striving to conceal myself; Naani was slowly dying, and there was no gain in life save by speed. I vaguely remember creatures coming at me out of the darkness on three different occasions. I do not recall the combat, except that I killed them in the heat of a boiling anger. At the end of one encounter, I remember blood running down the diskos into my hand.
At some point, I felt the ether stirring around me, as the millions of the Great Pyramid spied me carrying a woman out of all the world's night. To them, it must have been as if a man had entered the land of the dead and returned to the world of the living. A continuous, spiritual murmur filled the air. I knew that all the millions must be watching from the embrasures and View Tables as I rushed across the Night Land, though only those with the strongest spyglasses could see me since I was still a long way off. No doubt, millions stared vainly at my reported location while the Hour Slips related every detail. Humans remain human, whatever the era.
Though I noticed the stirring of the ether, I ignored it, for all my will, powered by the madness of despair, remained bent on driving headlong through the miles of the night.
***
Later, in what seemed an enormous space of hours, I reached the place where the Road bent toward the Vale of Red Fire, not far from where the young men had fought the giants. As I sped across the glassy slickness of the Road, not even pausing to look for the approach of the Silent Ones, many of the watching multitudes saw me for the first time. The ether shook with their emotion, and the Night Land awoke.
Out of the east rose the faint and dreadful Laughter, as if a monstrous being chortled to itself from dreadful, lost regions. The Laughter echoed over the plains, rolled around the darkness of the west, and wandered among the far mountains of the Outer Lands before dying into silence. I felt a chill in my heart, but did not truly care, for if I could not save Naani, I wanted only death. I did have the presence of mind to pause long enough to draw her knife from her belt and to bare the Capsule of Oblivion, so I could slay us both if an Evil Force found us. Even this tormented me, though, for the House of Silence had attacked my beloved's spirit, and I did not know if even death could spare her from its clutches.
I went like a machine, stopping every six hours, never resting between, scarcely able to stomach eating the tablets. Through my fever, I grew increasingly aware of Forces of Evil, traveling abroad, restlessly searching. Monsters roamed through the shadows and roars filled the land from night sky to night sky. I kept my eyes upon the pyramid.
The Vale of Red Fire soon lay far to my right, and that mountain of vigilance, the Watcher of the Northeast, rose before me to my left. Above it, the blue halo of the luminous ring shed its light over the upper portion of the behemoth's head, as the brute stared across the plain at the Last Redoubt, its sprawling back toward me.
Out of a bush leapt a tall, gangly, man-shaped creature. I became so furious I did not even think to set Naani down, but launched myself at him when he was still half-hidden in the shadows. He died in pieces. The diskos' roar, and the act of striking down one of those who had harmed my darling, gave me momentary comfort. I sped away, my heart seething within me. Other creatures came at me from the darkness, but they died quickly, and I remember no more about them.
***
The hours passed in spaces of terror, numbness, and ever growing desperation. At the last, I burned with tireless energy. Weariness departed from me, and I swept easily across the land, anxious for its denizens to attack me, so I could ease my heart by drawing their blood.
The cacophony of the country increased, so that along with the roaring I heard deeper, more dreadful noises. Later, I discerned the far thudding of the earth, and a giant man ran past me, his bulk so immense he shook the ground. By a sweet mercy, he did not see me, and was lost to the night in an instant. As he swept by, the ether boiled first with the fear of the millions, and then with their relief and gratitude. I sensed, through my haze, that they sent their sympathy and encouragement to me and surrounded me with their love and prayers. If, as we sometimes believe, such groanings of the spirit pass outward to the Everlasting, surely their anguished pleas broke upon the shores of Eternity in a foam of supplication. Perhaps this, added to the fierce wine of my own desperation, kept me running through the darkness. I know it wrapped me in a veritable shield of protection, for the Force emanating from the House of Silence lessened around Naani's form.
Soon, I heard a sound that raised my hackles: the dreadful, distant baying of the Hounds. I knew then that without a miracle, we would die. I looked up through the ebony heavens at the light of the pyramid and murmured in utter anguish, "Help me. Someone please help me."
Even as my eyes turned to the highest light on the crest of the pyramid, I saw the sharp, flashing code of the Set Speech. I had to stop and wipe the sweat from my brow to read it. My heart warmed a little, for I knew Cartesius would do whatever he could to aid me.
Be of good courage, the message said. We have prepared three of the ancient distance weapons. We will save you, even if we have to turn the Earth-Current loose upon the land. A hundred thousand men are Prepared and in their armor. They are descending the lifts to aid you when they can.
Hope rose within me. For the first time I did not feel completely alone. Still, the baying of the Hounds drew closer, and when I glanced in fear at the Northeast Watcher, now behind me, the bell of its ear quivered continually, as it silently spread the alarm across the Night Land. No other part of it moved; it stared at the pyramid, a silent hill of life, leaning always toward the last millions, like a dog straining at the leash, while the light from the Ring flowed down upon the vast folds and wrinkles of its neck, the chain holding the beast.
The ground trembled with the beating of the Earth Current, as my people prepared for our defense.
XIX
IN THE COUNTRY OF SILENCE
Even through my despair and exhaustion, as I looked up at the pyramid, rising vast and enduring into the everlasting night, its sheer enormity astonished me. I was now much closer than I had realized, and that mountain of life and safety, standing among the desolation, gave me new reassurance.
As I hurried past a fire-pit, something slipped over its rim. The creature, a broad, hairy man, nearly twice my height, rose from a crawling position, gaped at me, and rushed forward, his arms stretched eagerly toward me. As the light from the fire fell upon him, I saw how huge his hands were compared to his body, with ripping claws like a wild beast's.
I quickly set Naani on the ground. My own life meant nothing to me at that moment; I only cared that this thing intended to delay me. Cold anger filled me; I leapt furiously at the giant, striking with a two-handed stroke, but he avoided it by slipping to the side. The shadows cast by the dancing flames partially hid him, and I did not see his arm come around until he caught my helmet. He tore it from my head with so much power it threw me a dozen feet away onto my back. The impact jarred me, but ignoring the pain, I leapt to my feet and came at him again. The diskos roared and blazed as I caught my adversary above the waist. Despite his size, my weapon passed effortlessly through him, glutting itself on his blood. He turned his shoulders as he died, and his upper torso fell to the ground, leaving the legs and trunk standing in the firelight, the blood fountaining upward.
I already had Naani in my arms and was running away before the lower portion of the giant crumpled with a ghastly sound. All around me, the ether roared with the sheer, astonished joy of my people. No doubt my weeks of conflict had honed my warrior's skills and taught me techniques unknown within the redoubt.
Before another mile passed, two vague forms scampered out of a dark upcropping of stones. I killed them and went on, never knowing what they were.
After that, all became a haze, for as creature after creature rose from the bushes and rocks, it seemed I fought continuously against a country crawling with brutes. I struck as one in a dream, with the ferocity of growing despair, for surely we had reached the end of our lives, and I could not save my own true love.
The whole Night Land echoed with the roaring of its denizens, and once I heard the noise of running giants. Why a Force of Evil did not slay me, I do not know, unless my journey had burned away any weaknesses such a Power could use to gain a hold on my life.
The baying of the Hounds rose, ominous and deep, out of the southeast again, but much nearer. I knew my strength could not protect my love against the entire pack.
From the pinnacle of the pyramid, an eerie blue light flashed toward the region where the Hounds howled. It struck again and again, perhaps twenty times in all, each burst accompanied by a crackling louder than any sound I ever want to hear again. From the southeast, I heard the yelping of animals dying in pain.
My heart rose within me, for I knew my people fought for me, to bring me home again. But if the Night Land had seemed awake before, it grew doubly so. The roaring of the monsters and the stirring of great Forces rocked the land; the strange, awful Laughter rolled continuously from the hidden country in the east.
Through it all, I perceived, once more, the hoarse baying of the Hounds, no more than a mile to the southeast, and I knew the energy weapon had failed to kill them all. I suddenly felt utterly alone, save for the woman dying in my arms. I looked vainly for the promised hundred thousand warriors, but saw only the lights and shadows of the land and the movement of monstrous life in sundry places. Death was near, and I knew it.
Despite my despair, or perhaps because of it, I broke into a dead run. I was within two miles of the pyramid and could clearly see The Circle shining around it, but the Hounds were drawing nearer. A bitterness rose in my throat, that I should lose my dear one within sight of the safety of my home. I cried out in my despair, my voice coming in gasps, "Please. Please."
Almost instantly, as my people, watching through millions of spyglasses, read my look of desperation, I was surrounded by the sweet, strengthening power of their anguished sympathy. I ran faster, braced by their support, even as I spied the Hounds to my left, less than half a mile away. By the growing excitement of their baying, I knew they had my scent.
From the pyramid's pinnacle, the eerie blue light flashed again, striking among the Hounds as my people took desperate measures to save us. I glanced back where the bolt landed, and saw scores of the brutes between patches of shadow and light, still loping toward me, tall as horses, their heads low.
I hesitated; I paused; I stood still. There was no use in running any more. If my people could not aid us, we would be dead in mere moments. I looked from the Hounds to the Last Redoubt, and again to the Hounds. My spirit sank, for the beasts, that numbered in the hundreds, were scarcely four hundred yards away. I never thought there could be so many of them.
I set Naani down, raised my diskos toward my foes, and gave one final glance at the pyramid. Even as I looked, I heard a mechanical grinding noise, and a tremendous flame poured from the sealed lower portion of the redoubt, covering the entire region where the Hounds ran. The dreadful glory of the fire blinded me, and even from where I stood, I had to crouch, head down, over Naani, to protect her from its withering heat.
So had the Masters of the citadel turned the full power of the Earth Current loose upon the Hounds. The Night Land erupted in thunder, as the energy sundered the air and ruptured the earth. Even the roaring of the monsters was lost in that cacophony, and only fortune spared me from being killed by the shards flying all around.
The flames died, and save for the sound of burning, the Night Land lay silent. My eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness again. Where the Hounds had been, only fire, blasted boulders, and shattered terrain remained. I shook myself from my daze, scooped up Naani, and ran again, for it seemed we might yet reach safety. No danger approached; the power of the pyramid had quelled the monsters. The country lay silent save from far in the dead east, where the maniacal Laughter gradually rose once more.
As I ran, I stared hungrily up at the pyramid. Its lights seemed to have dimmed. At first I thought my eyes were still dazed by the flash of the weapon, but I soon realized that using so much energy had drained the Earth Current. The thought chilled my heart, for if the current fell too low, the entire pyramid would be endangered. They dared not use the weapon to aid me again without risking the lives of all the remaining people of the earth.
I looked in vain for the hundred thousand warriors, while the clamor of the monsters rose all around me again, accompanied by new, peculiar sounds, as if things were waking in the Night Land that had never been roused before. I spied living creatures creeping between me and the light of The Circle, and I knew I faced a bitter fight to bring Naani home.
Suddenly, I sensed tremen
dous emotion from the multitudes, as if a new peril approached. I glanced up at the Tower of Observation, to see if Cartesius was warning me of the danger with the Set Speech, but the lights remained dim. I looked all around until I spied a pale circle, silent and steadfast, hovering above Naani and me, a holy Power undoubtedly standing between our souls and some terrible Force seeking our destruction. The sight of it gave me a surge of strength. I ran on.
I came within four hundred paces of The Circle, its light burning so dimly it was nearly invisible. Though I feared that it might not serve as a barrier until the Earth Current was recharged, I could only sprint toward it with all speed.
Three beast-men rose out of the shadows and came at me, growling like dogs. The first was so close I had no room to swing my diskos, so I gave him a violent blow to the head with the handle. Even as he fell, I leapt to the side and brought my weapon back into position. A cold, deadly fury filled my heart, so that Naani seemed no more than a baby in the crook of my arm. As I rushed the other two creatures, a clarity of thought engulfed me, a terrible wisdom in the art of slaying. They ran at me as well, but despite their swiftness, I made two quick, light strokes with the diskos, killing them as if they were no more than rodents. They never even touched me.
A shout of wonder answered the attack. I looked around, and saw warriors in gray armor crowded within the Circle, roaring their encouragement. I hurried toward them, wondering why they did not help me.
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