World of Mazes cr-3

by Неизвестный

  " Why didn' t you tell me something had grabbed you?" Inyx stamped her foot down solidly. " I was frightened in the dark, yes, but not so much you had to send me away like a small child."

  " You saw my wounds- or lack of them. What grabbed me was pure illusion, but one my mind accepted as real. I felt it, couldn' t escape its clutches, was terrified of it. I' m not so sure I know how to stop it, even after looking through the grimoire. This," he said, tapping the small brown leather- covered book, " contains much information, but it can' t tell everything I might encounter."

  " The walls were filled with clutching hands," said Inyx, her eyes, distant, as if she focused on those creatures. She sat down beside Lan and shivered. " How horrible."

  " We' ve been through worse, you and I."

  " Being apart was bad enough," she said. " But the way we' re forced apart is worse."

  " I know about Luister len- Larrotti," he said. " Something similar happened to me, but it was much more pleasant." Lan remembered the times in the Suzerain of Melitarsus' mansion. He' d been imprisoned both magically and physically, but the bonds were less damaging for him than Inyx' s had been for her.

  She turned blue eyes to look into his brown ones. In the nest there was neither day nor night, only a perpetual twilight. But most of the people slept now, preparing for the assault on the room. For the span of several heartbeats, Inyx and Lan said nothing.

  He took her in his arms and pulled her closer. Their mouths brushed lightly, then the kiss deepened into passion. All they' d been through kindled their need for one another into a raging desire.

  " Lan, I-"

  " No talk," he said. " This is the time for action." His mouth crashed into hers again, this time with lips slightly parted. Tongues lightly collided, danced about, then began erotically caressing.

  Their hands moved and unwanted clothing vanished as if by magic. The only magic was in their need for one another.

  Lan cupped one of Inyx' s breasts and felt the life pulsating within her body. No matter where they touched one another, what they did, it fed their passions and pushed them to a fever pitch.

  For a moment, Inyx stiffened and held him away. The memory of Luister len- Larrotti still haunted her. She' d been used, abused, turned into a slave and a whore. Then she relaxed and urged Lan on. With him it was different. She did as she desired, not as another dictated.

  Locked together, they surged and peaked, then lay side by side, arms circling one another' s sweaty body.

  " It' s been a long time since I' ve wanted to make love," she said. " Since Reinhardt." She shuddered as she said that. LenLarrotti had used that image to hold her; the power of her husband' s memory had been shattered forever.

  She remembered him fondly now, but she could go on. She had gained the strength to go on.

  " Tired?" Lan asked.

  " Yes. It' s been a hectic day and this:" She sighed deeply and snuggled closer. " It took the last of my energy."

  " Are you sure?" he asked, his fingers lightly tracing patterns over her naked flesh. Everywhere he touched tingled and glowed. Lan used the spell for cheating weakness. Like all spells, it had its drawbacks. The energy they both got would leave them even more drained after the effects wore off.

  It seemed like a good tradeoff to Lan.

  And to Inyx.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  " This hidden corridor is the real entry point to the room," said Lan, sketching the approach for the benefit of the others. " The doorway appears open, but the spells guarding it are incredibly active. I don' t even want to think about trying to go through that way."

  " How do you know these things?" demanded Knoton. " How will our gaining entry into this particular room aid any of us to escape the Twistings?"

  He faced the mechanical leader. In subtle ways emotion played across that metallic visage. Lan wished he knew what those mirrored emotions meant.

  " You wish to leave this maze, right? We- the humans and hybridswill help you do that, but first we have to destroy what' s in the room. We' re being held inside the Twistings by its power. Destroy it, destroy that magical hold. Only then can we truly combine forces and break out of the maze."

  " The mechanicals feel its pull also," he admitted reluctantly. " You can destroy this fetish if we gain entry?"

  " I' ll be truthful about it. I think I might be able to. I' m no sorcerer, but I control certain spells. I' ve been practicing the one required to rob the fetish, as you call it, of its power. We might able to destroy it then. But I can' t promise that. What I can promise is that controlling whatever we find in that room will give a big edge in helping us escape."

  " Why?" The mechanical still appeared skeptical.

  " The Lord of the Twistings' power resides in that room. The greyclad soldiers obey him because of what he holds there. Remove it, or threaten it enough, and the Lord must respond. Only with such an opening can we act."

  " We mechs will not be used as shock troops. We will not bear the brunt of the fighting."

  " It' s going to be an equal opportunity for all to die," said Inyx. " Lan, Krek, and I have scouted this place. Just looking draws the maze creatures. All of them."

  " Even the ones from deeper levels." Knoton didn' t appear happy with this prospect.

  Lan decided not to pursue this line of inquiry. He hadn' t known there were deeper levels to the Twistings. That fact didn' t make it any easier- or harder- accomplishing his mission.

  " We' re agreed, then?" he asked. " We cooperate? All of us?"

  " You lead?" asked Knoton. The mechanical obviously had reservations. He respected Inyx and her fighting ability, but that didn' t mean trust went with it. This interloper fresh to the Twistings presented an even riskier proposition.

  " I will. I can ' see' the traps in the floors. The maze creatures don' t trigger them; we do. The magics guarding the room are potent. I can lead a small party through the hidden corridor. From there, we get into unknown territory. This is all the further Inyx and I reached." Lan paused, then added, " With your help, Knoton, we can break through and crush the Lord' s power."

  " For five years I' ve roamed the Twistings," said the mechanical. " For five long years I' ve built my hatred for the Lord. This is the first real opportunity to vent it. I shall follow- but cautiously."

  " You and Inyx can work out the details," said Lan. The woman nodded assent. She and Knoton had a working relationship that he and Krek didn' t have with the mechanical. And Lan Martak wanted one more night' s sleep, even sleep troubled by nightmares, before again confronting the magics guarding that single room.

  He' d have been better off staying awake. The nightmare quality of his dreams gave him little rest.

  " My men mark the way," said Knoton in an accusing tone. He wanted Lan to know that they wouldn' t be led into the maze and left helpless and confused as to direction.

  " It won' t do much good," said Lan. " I tried doing that when I first entered the Twistings. Only Krek seems to have the knack for finding his way around. The magics don' t work as effectively on him."

  One of the mechs trotted back and spoke quietly to Knoton. Knoton shook his fist.

  " What you say is correct. The markings vanish even as we make them. It is not this way in other parts of the maze."

  " The Lord most carefully protects this area," said Krek. " We are not too distant from where we encountered him. I believe he keeps whatever it is in this room because of easy access. If he needs to recover it quickly, there is not far to go."

  " There won' t be any treachery on our part, Knoton," Inyx told the mechanical. " We risk just as much as you in this."

  " I wish that I could believe humans."

  " Not all of us are like the Lord."

  " Enough are," he said sullenly.

  Lan stopped and thrust out his arms to stop the party' s progress. He' d " seen" one of the patches of floor glowing a dull amber. The other traps had been marked with different colors. This one was not only at a variance, it h
adn' t been here when he, Krek, and Inyx had passed before.

  " What is it?" demanded Knoton. The mech held his steel rod firmly in one hand, ready for any challenge.

  " New traps. The Lord' s expecting us."

  " I see nothing. Push on!"

  " Wait!" But Lan failed to hold back the mechs' leader. Knoton stepped squarely into the center of the patch.

  He let out a shriek as the floor dissolved under him. Only Lan' s quick reflexes saved the mechanical from plunging downward into a vat of slowly boiling acid. Still, Lan' s reaction availed them little when his hands slowly slipped on the rod both gripped. Knoton struggled, dangling by this steel lifeline.

  " Inyx, help me. I can' t hang on much longer. He' s heavy!"

  Whirring sounds from above told Lan everything was going to be all right. Krek spun a hunting web. It rocketed down and stuck to the mechanical' s body. But when the spider began pulling up, the webstuff slid free of Knoton' s body.

  " The acid prevents a good hold. The mist from the boiling vat wets Knoton all over."

  " Can' t hang on much longer," grunted Lan. His muscles knotted painfully from the strain. The droplets of acid billowing up in a misty cloud stung his hands, his arms, threatened his face and eyes. He heaved, jockeyed for position, felt himself slipping.

  " Let go," said the mechanical. " Save yourself."

  " We' re in this together, dammit," muttered Lan. He started chanting the revitalization spell, even though its success now would prevent him from being very effective later.

  Krek bobbed past him. All eight legs gripped the mech' s head. Through some spiderish lore Lan knew nothing about, Krek went back up the strand, lugging Knoton behind. Only when Lan heard a heavy metallic thud signalling the mech' s safety did he relax.

  His wrist muscles knotted on him, half- closing his hand with reaction. He sat and chanted a minor healing spell.

  The muscles relaxed. He hadn' t used much of his reservoir of strength.

  " How' d you do that, Krek?" he asked. " You said the acid made it impossible to pull Knoton up."

  " My hunting web refused to stick. I held him in my talons."

  " He dented the sides," said the mech, sitting across the trap door and shaking his battered, talon- marked head. " And I want to thank you all for saving me."

  " Next time believe me when I say there' s trouble ahead."

  " Lan, hurry. The maze creatures are forming." Inyx clubbed at one with the blunted tip of her sword. The capper recoiled, hands grabbing for her blade. She kicked at precisely the right instant to send it stumbling back into the pack of its allies.

  " Drop a plank across this trap," Knoton ordered one of his lieutenants. " Then give us protection when we reach the room." The mechanical snapped a salute and hurried off to obey.

  Lan jumped over the opened trap and joined Inyx and Krek in stabbing and slashing at a few of the cappers. When one of the blue monsters blundered into the same corridor, the cappers turned their attention to it and vanished, almost as if they had been real ghosts. For once, the avariciousness of the maze creatures aided Lan and the others.

  " Disabling trap here, no way of telling what that one is over there," he said as he walked. The glowing squares had tripled in number, and the colors were subtly altered. Once, a mechanical blundered across a patch Lan saw as light green. The concussion from the explosion knocked them to their knees. Knoton received another heavy dent in his head when flying debris from the destroyed mech rebounded with a loud twang.

  " The Lord has certainly prepared the way for us," said Inyx. " It' s a good thing you' re able to see them, Lan. No one could possibly get in, otherwise."

  " I' m afraid we may have some trouble of our own," he replied. The maze creatures blocked their path- and the beasts weren' t hindered by triggering the traps.

  " Stay still for a moment," said Lan. He concentrated, trying to figure out the difference between the maze monsters and the humans: why should one trigger the traps while the other did not?

  The creatures attacked. Lan raised his hand and a blinding sheet of fire swept forth. The reaction startled all of them. The traps in the floor erupted with a cornucopia of violences. Sonic waves, metallic spear points, spells that ruptured the cells of the body, spells turning bone to ash, all these decimated the attacking monsters. For a moment, the surviving beasts stood, as if confused, then turned and fled. Lan shot forth another radiant plane of energy; again came the virulent destruction.

  " What did you do?" asked Knoton, astounded.

  " Most of those traps are triggered by body heat. Krek doesn' t trip them because his body is too far off the ground. Those creatures must have slower metabolisms than humans."

  " But I triggered the trap back in the other corridor," protested Knoton. " My body temperature is very low."

  " That was a mechanical trap," pointed out Lan. " Your weight set it off. I told you it ' looked' different. Somehow, the Lord has used magics to create these traps. Different ones give off different colors. What I see as amber must be purely physical nastiness. The other colors represent a coding of magical spells. Even some of them must be physically activated." All too well he remembered the sight of the mech being blown apart.

  " Friend Lan Martak, what you say is probably true. It is not good policy to stand about idly talking it over, especially if the Lord of the Twistings listens in."

  " You' re right, Krek. Quick, time it now. We' re almost to the doorway."

  The small group stopped in front of the room. Lan hurriedly scanned it and felt mounting disappointment.

  The spells guarding the door had been strengthened- doubled. The thought of again going down that gauntlet behind the false panel in the wall made him sick to his stomach. The faces embedded in the walls, the tiny groping hands, the teeth, always the teeth:

  To enter the room required that they again reach the relatively safe anteroom at the end of the hidden corridor.

  " No way in here. To go through that door is instant death."

  " There' s nothing to worry about," said Knoton. " In," he commanded one of his troops. The mechanical bravely walked forward. Lan had to reach out and restrain Inyx to keep her from following and attempting to stop the mech.

  " See?" said Knoton proudly when his mechanical had entered the room. " There' s nothing to worry over. You live too much in magics, human. You see them everywhere, even where they are not. I can:"

  Knoton' s words trailed off when he saw the delayed reaction inside the room. The mechanical he' d sent in slowly wavered, as if seen through intense heat. Losing all rigidity, the doomed mech began to puddle and flow. When only a pool remained on the floor, a dull pop sounded. Steam clouded the scene for a moment, then those still outside could again see into the room.

  " He' s gone," said Knoton in a low voice. " He melted down into slag and vanished."

  " The spells aren' t obvious ones," said Lan. " I have no idea what most of them do, but that' s only a start. The reaction is postponed long enough to lure in others. It' s a wonder this single trap hasn' t eradicated all the maze monsters."

  " He' s gone," repeated Knoton, staring into the space where he' d sent the mech to its destruction. " Again, I misjudged you, human. You do care about our safety."

  " And you' re misjudging me now," said Lan. " I' m going to ask you to follow your friend in."

  " What? And perish in such a fashion as that?" Knoton' s eyes flared red and green and amber in his fury.

  " Maybe. It' s a distinct possibility, one that can' t be discounted totally. I hope it won' t come to that, but we' ve got to go in. Krek' s too big. Besides, we need him outside to stand off the maze creatures. You and Inyx and me- we go in."

  " What of my troops?"

  " I need help, not an entire army. Too many will distract me and increase the danger. I can warn you and Inyx in time. To relay that along a line:" Lan shrugged.

  " I see. What am I to do?"

  " Follow us," spoke up Inyx. " We' ve been do
wn this corridor before, but couldn' t get all the way in. This time we have to. I doubt the Lord will give us a third chance."

  Lan located the illusory wall panel. He took several deep breaths to calm himself. Walking the path between the inner walls took all of his courage when he knew what awaited him if he stepped too far either left or right. Hands. Teeth. Pain, intense pain, pain so excruciating he almost felt it before it began.

  " Don' t look to either side," he cautioned, then went forward. Lan fancied grabbing hands missed him by fractions of an inch. He moved slowly, studying their footing, finding a few new traps. Once he even " felt" an overhead trap. Knoton disabled the trigger device, showing exceptional dexterity in the cramped quarters. Finally the trio reached the " safe" spot attained on the last excursion.

  The tiny room hadn' t changed in any detail. Either the Lord of the Twistings thought they' d never reach this far or his protective spells inside the anteroom were superior to those they avoided reaching this point. Lan studied the floor, the wall, the ceiling.

  " Through that door is the way into the other room- the one we can see from the hallway where Krek waits."

  " Won' t we set off the same spell if we enter?"

  " We' ve come in the back way. I' d bet the Lord himself follows this path in when he wants whatever is out there."

  " Let' s get on with it, Lan," urged Inyx. " I feel that time is against us."

  " You' re right." He settled his thoughts, worked up the controls needed for his deadliest spells, then entered the room.

  Lan Martak froze inside when he saw the face staring at him. Bright, malevolent eyes peered forth from under beetle brows. Dark hair swept back to expose a high forehead. Ears several times too big stuck out like jug handles on either side.

  And the head rested on a pedestal.

  " It' s like Claybore has been decapitated again," Inyx said in a voice hardly above a whisper.

  " Such evil. Look at it," marvelled Lan. " Terrill skinned Claybore in addition to dismembering him. This is the flesh flayed off Claybore' s skull. The skull and eyes beneath this are artificial- the flesh is all Claybore' s. I feel the power radiating from it like heat from a blast furnace."