Into The Dark Flame (Book 4)

by Martin Ash

  'Why must you always be so difficult?' demanded head one.

  'Me? How dare you? You are the one who is intent upon destroying my equanimity!' riposted head two.

  'I simply want to go out!'

  'And I don't!'

  Head one suddenly succeeded in exerting a superior effort upon the body, and dragged it two steps away from the fire. Head two responded accordingly. The giant, grunting and growling, jerked three steps in the opposite direction, tottered two steps forward, staggered back, lunged to the side, performed another small circle and finally came to a halt beside the central table. Cerb leaned forwards, his great hairy hands upon his knees, breathing hard. His twin heads were low, pouring with sweat. His single pair of lungs gasped for air like monumental tortured bellows.

  Presently the first head came up, and stared at the three. It blinked once and licked its lips. 'Now, you have not yet told me, what of this quest of yours?'

  'Well--' Rasgul began, but the second head had shot up in response.

  'I do not want to hear it! It is of no interest to me!'

  'Yes it is,' said head one.

  'No it isn't! I will hear no more of it!'

  There was another brief, though relatively stable tussle, with both heads straining to pull away from the body.

  'My lord Cerb, perhaps I can suggest a compromise,' said Rasgul in his harsh, throaty whisper.

  'A compromise?' queried head one. 'No, I will hear of no compromise.'

  'Yes I will,' declared head two. 'What is it? What do you suggest?'

  'No! Be silent, or I will have you spitted and stuffed and will eat you for my supper!' threatened head one.

  'You cannot! And I have as much right to voice my opinion as you!'

  At this one of the giant's huge hands came up and cuffed head one hard across the back of the skull. Head one emitted a bellow of outrage. The other hand came up and struck the second head a solid blow on the cheek. The first hand then grasped the second hand. Each held the other firm and the two heads snarled and growled and bared their teeth, berating one another in no uncertain terms.

  Leth stole a glance at the lizard-soldier who stood leaning upon the shaft of his spear and shaking his head from side to side in a world-weary manner. He caught Leth's eye and said, 'Oh, it is always like this. He carps and complains, and is in two minds about everything. For the most part he keeps it to himself, doing little more than muttering and sulking with occasional vitreolic outbursts. But whenever someone like you comes along, full of bright ideas, 'boom!' He becomes uncontrollable, just as you see. He is beside himself! It will be days before he grows calm again. Why can't you stay away?'

  Rasgul replied. 'Ardbire Keep commands the only way between the Lower Abyss and the High Lands.'

  'That is nothing to me,' replied the lizard-soldier. 'I am just trying to keep the peace here.' He threw up his hands. 'It’s a thankless task.'

  Leth ventured to interpose. 'If we could just be allowed to continue on our way, calm might resume.'

  'Oh, I see,' said the lizard-head. 'Now you are of two voices too! What is this? Are you here to torment me, and bring His Worship to ruin? Why don't you bring your other companions in, and you can all voice contrasting views and opinions so that His Gracefulness is driven to utter distraction and tears the Keep down around our heads.'

  Rasgul flashed Leth a forbidding glance. 'That is not our intention, be assured. We wish only to continue upon our quest, and if Lord Cerb wishes to accompany us, we would be only too pleased.'

  Cerb had fallen quiet to listen to this exchange. His first head now said, 'Yes, I would like that.'

  Second head said, 'No, I wouldn't.'

  'Yes, I would.'

  'No, I would like to return to the fireplace and contemplate the flames and the profound flow of my thoughts.'

  'No, I would like a change, an escape. A dangerous quest is just what I need.'

  Second head shook obstinately from side to side. First head assumed a disconsolate expression. 'I’m in two minds, I acknowledge.'

  Second head was less charitable. 'I am utterly sick of you. All my life it has been the same. No matter what I want, you want the opposite. I have endured more than I can stand!'

  Without warning a giant hand flew up again and punched first head a resounding blow beneath the chin. Cerb's first head snapped back. Then, recovering itself, it retaliated by butting second head so hard that its nose immediately gushed forth a torrent of blood. Second head, its eyes watering, roared. 'That is it! I can stand no more!'

  'Nor I!' bellowed first head.

  'I am going!' screamed second head.

  'I too!'

  'I will bear you no more!'

  Another monstrous struggle began, this time even more violent. The giant rolled and yawed and hurled himself from side to side as the two heads strained to their utmost to take themselves in opposing directions. They screamed themselves hoarse:

  'I hate you!'

  'I can stand no more!'

  'This is it! I have put up with all I can!'

  'I will tolerate you not a moment longer!'

  Leth watched in bemusement as the giant flailed and stamped around the hall, arms and legs punching and kicking while the two heads continued their torrent of abuse. Cerb crashed into ornaments, collided with furniture, toppled suits of armour. Then he lost his balance and fell to the floor. He kicked and clawed and hammered at himself, the walls reverberating to the sounds of his acrimonies.

  The lizard-headed soldier cringed, and could only bear to watch through a gap between his fingers. Blood was flowing freely from various wounds on Cerb’s body and both heads. Lizard-head grew distraught. 'Oh, he has never been this bad before! He bickers constantly, and sometimes refuses to speak to himself for days on end, but I have never seen this.' He ran forward. 'Lord Cerb! Lord Cerb! Please, stop!'

  Cerb had scrambled to his feet again. The two heads continued to yell abuse at one another, but no more blows were thrown. Instead, paying no heed to the lizard-soldier or anyone else, they resumed their earlier posture, faces turned outward and away from each other, straining with every gram of strength to get away, one from the other. Their eyes bulged, their lips stretched, their teeth were bared; the veins at their temples pulsed, dangerously swollen, the cords in their necks stood out.

  'My lord Cerb!' the lizard-soldier cried out.

  The straining giant took no notice. Simultaneously both heads roared; simultaneously both applied one last, supreme effort to be away from the other. Their came a horrible, wet, wrenching sound, followed by creaks, snaps, soft pops and dubious liquid noises. A huge bloody rent appeared at the point between the two necks where they joined the massive torso. It shot quickly down the centre of Cerb's great chest, through the midriff and on to the crotch. The body peeled apart, its entrails tumbling free, and toppled to the ground.

  'That'll teach you!' gasped the floored first head with its dying breath. The second head furiously swivelled its purple eyes and made to reply, but all that emerged was a gurgle and a sigh. The four eyes blinked and froze, and the giant Cerb Two-Heads was no more.

  The lizard-headed soldier stood aghast. Leth, Harg and Rasgul were obliged to step quickly aside as the raft of Cerb's innards slid towards them across the floor, borne on a sudden springtide of near-black blood and steaming humors.

  Rasgul said, 'That is the angriest I have ever seen him.'

  Harg observed, 'I suppose he will not be accompanying us on our quest, then?'

  A ghastly hot stench began to pervade the air of the hall. The lizard-head cried, 'What am I to do? My master is dead! What am I to do?'

  'I suggest you gather together the rest of Lord Cerb's staff and garrison, and convey to them the tragic news,' Rasgul advised, wrinkling his nose against the stench. 'Then I suppose you had better start making new plans for the future.'

  The lizard-head looked at him stupidly, then turned and rushed from the hall. Rasgul took long strides in his wake. 'Come, I think it i
s time we took our leave of this place.'

  SEVEN

  i

  They emerged into the ward outside Cerb's donjon to find lizard-headed guards in disarray. As far as Leth could see they numbered about a dozen, though he imagined more to be within the donjon and outbuildings. Additionally he assumed a household staff of at least three members, most probably more. The guards were plainly stunned, their attitudes uniformly one of dazed passivity as the first lizard-head hurried among them, broadcasting the woesome tidings of Cerb's death.

  Leth, Harg and Rasgul remounted. With Juson and the other three Abyss warriors they rode without hurry to the second gate. First lizard-head was there, jabbering his news to the pair of guards stationed on the ramparts above the gate.

  Rasgul called to him. 'Be so good as to have the portcullis raised. We’re leaving.'

  The lizard-head, standing on the higher of two steps leading into the gatehouse, hesitated, then turned and appraised him. His expression, initially dazed, was now haughty. He put his hands upon his plump hips. 'Well, that’s not yet definite. I do not recall Lord Cerb granting you permission to proceed.'

  'He made no statement to the contrary.'

  'That is not the same thing. I am aware that he had at least half a mind to accompany you, and by that token one might say he did not intend for you to remain. But as he is now quite unable to go anywhere at all, I feel the situation calls for a review. I must regard it in the light of what has and has not occurred, rather than what might or might not have been. Most importantly, what has emphatically not occurred is Lord Cerb's giving permission for you to leave Ardbire Keep.'

  Rasgul leaned his weight upon the pommel of his saddle. 'As you have correctly pointed out, Lord Cerb is no longer in a position to make arrangements one way or the other. However, we were never at any time his prisoners; we chose to come here, and now choose to go freely on our way.'

  'But Lord Cerb did not say that you may.'

  'Nor is he likely to. He is dead!'

  'That’s irrelevant. He was alive when you arrived, and graciously gave his permission for you to enter. He was still alive when debating with you, and with himself, but he came to no final decision as to what was to be done with you. Indeed, he was quite literally in two minds as to what to do. And I say again, he did not at any time grant permission for you to continue on your way.'

  'You are an arrogant scaly upstart,' said Rasgul hotly. 'And my patience is wearing thin. Do you really presume to act in Lord Cerb's stead? By whose decree have you risen in status?'

  The lizard-head considered this. 'I am Lord Cerb's second-in-command, and chief of his staff. Now, in light of his sad demise, I consider my assumption of command to be natural and automatic.'

  Rasgul took a deep breath. 'Very well, I am prepared to acknowledge your authority in that regard. But I would ask, do you consider us your prisoners? If so, please explain your reasons.'

  'No I don't,' said the lizard-head, clasping his hands upon his chest.

  'Then may we depart?'

  'Not at this time. The situation remains--' he began, then staggered back two steps, to bump against the door jamb. He looked down in some surprise at the stub of the crossbow-bolt protruding from the back of one hand, pinning it and the hand beneath it to his sternum. Then he sagged gasping onto the step.

  'I think that settles that,' said Count Harg, casually cocking the string of his repeating-crossbow. He looked up at the two lizard-head guards on the parapet and said, 'Be so good as to raise the portcullis, would you?'

  The lizard-heads needed no further bidding. The iron portcullis was cranked high and the seven finally rode free of Ardbire Keep.

  ii

  'From here on the way is relatively smooth and trouble free, until we approach the Fortress of the Dark Flame.' said Rasgul. He stood gazing out over a broad flat plain which extended before them, disappearing into a haze before the distant Abyss wall, and to either side for as far as the eye could see.

  Leth stood less easily at his side, Count Harg next to him. 'And then?'

  'And then we will find the best way to enter the Fortress. And then you will draw free the Orbsword and together we will fight or avoid the numerous devils that are set between us and the inner sanctum where Ascaria waits. And then it will be up to you.'

  'What form do these devils take?'

  'They’re numerous, so I believe. I’m not familiar with them all. I know of cacosas and goles, and have heard tales of more.'

  'What do the tales tell you?'

  'That we we’ll be lucky to survive.'

  Evening was gathering. The cloud mantle was a lowering filthy purple-brown. Across the plain the misty red luminescence that framed the hidden Fortress of the Dark Flame was a cynosure, closer than ever before and both beckoning and forbidding. Leth's nerves were taut, an oppressive heaviness upon him. At the same time his blood had quickened at the knowledge that Galry and Jace, if they still lived, were now virtually within his sight.

  The company had been travelling for hours since departing Ardbire Keep. Ever descending. Ever drawing closer to the encounter he would have avoided at almost any price, had he been able. For it was not only a matter of slaying Ascaria and saving Galry and Jace, it was the repercussions, the ramifications that this act would have upon his own world. To kill Ascaria, whatever she was. . . . would mean that Orbelon's world could continue to evolve, but that Urch-Malmain would be free to return to Enchantment and wreak whatever mischiefs he wished upon the world. Unless Leth could find some way of preventing him, and he knew of none. Urch-Malmain was far away and safe. With Ascaria gone he would be at liberty to do as he pleased.

  Leth turned away. Tomorrow, so much to be decided. And he could only act as he must, as any father would, to save his children from a terrible, nameless fate.

  He made his way back to the camp-fire where Juson was preparing a supper of griddled bacon and doughbread. The three Abyss warriors were seated close by, speaking seldom, each presumably preoccupied with thoughts of what the next day would bring. After a few moments Rasgul and Harg joined them.

  As much to divert his mind as anything. Leth enquired of Rasgul, 'This morning at Ardbire Keep, what did you hope to achieve with your tales to Cerb of quests and adventures?'

  'I hoped to keep my life, and yours too!' Rasgul half-smiled to himself, his pallid features eerily lit by the dancing orange flames of the campfire. 'Ah, Cerb Two-Heads! He always bickers and carps! Never at peace with himself! In the past I’ve exploited this. I engage elements of his personality with exploits, which are usually fantasies or at least greatly exaggerated, to the extent that he has forgotten the prospect of eating me and has accompanied me as far as and even beyond the gate. But then his other self has risen to the fore and persuaded or brow-beaten him back indoors. With grumbles and apologies he has bidden me farewell and good speed, and tramped back to his fireside broodings, leaving me to continue on my way. Cerb was always a tricky fellow to deal with, pulled this way then the other by his conflicting urges. There have been occasions when I felt my life was suspended by a thread, for he is generally hungry and loves nothing more than a bellyful of fresh meat, be it human, Abyss warrior, lizard-guard or something other.'

  'He eats his own guards?' asked Leth.

  'If his larder’s empty. They don’t mind. They deem it an honour.' Rasgul chuckled harshly. 'I’ve never seen him tear himself apart before, though! This has been an occasion to remember forever!'

  The irony of these last words was not lost on Leth, knowing what he did of the Abyss warrior's background. But he was gradually coming to revise his opinion of Rasgul. At the Tower of Glancing Memory, Leth had perceived him as a sombre, sullen fighter, a soldier, dull and obedient and little more. But in the last two days Rasgul's keen, if ruthless intelligence and quietly commanding personality had begun to reveal itself. Given the doctoring that Urch-Malmain had performed on the Abyss warrior, Leth wondered as to the nature of Rasgul's impressions of himself. He decided
to gently probe Rasgul's memory, and Count Harg's also. 'You’ve passed through Ardbire Keep many times, then. Why?'

  Rasgul shrugged. 'I came with others from the Fortress of the Dark Flame. Initially it was to do Ascaria's bidding, for I was sworn to serve her.'

  'But now you return determined to see her slain. How is that?'

  Rasgul scarcely batted an eyelid. 'I was made to see that I had gone astray, that my previous allegiance had been grossly miscast. Now I know Ascaria for the evil force she is. My goal is to see her destroyed, and all those who willingly serve her.'

  Leth took a breath. Rasgul was speaking with the conviction of a man who had experienced some form of epiphany. 'How were you made to see this?'

  'Through the beneficences of my loving Master. He saw how I had erred, and made me see also.'

  'It’s Urch-Malmain that you refer to?'

  Rasgul gave a nod.

  Leth sat back, and let his gaze flicker over the other three Abyss warriors. To have exchanged one form of evil for another, to be enslaved and incapable of knowing it. Here was tragedy, Leth saw, as well as something to be greatly feared. These warriors lives were lived entirely according to the wishes of Urch-Malmain, his own desires implanted in their minds. They believed they possessed free will, yet their thoughts, desires, impulses were not their own. They could never really know themselves or their potential. And their belief, almost certainly, was unassailable.

  Leth was reminded of the factions of Enchantment's Reach, with whom he, as King, had so often come into conflict. Almost all of them taught unswerving, unquestioning obedience to so-called gods, the Higher Ones of Enchantment, who they actually knew nothing of. His forebear, King Haruman, had vehemently opposed sectarian belief and the worship of deities whose existence and nature could not be proven. King Haruman had propounded the Deist Edict, banning such forms of worship, out of concern that they engendered ignorance and blind, dangerous fanaticism, hampering and even prohibiting a genuine search for knowledge, truth and wisdom. Leth had fought, sometimes at great personal cost, to uphold Haruman's cause and keep the Edict in place.