by Roger Taylor
Nilsson's men retrenched, more of them hacking down branches either for use as pikes or to be driven into the ground to form defensive hedges. The Valderen walked like sinister shadows around the dark edges of the firelit circle, lance points glinting in the firelight.
The two leaders pondered fretfully, Nilsson on the identity of these mysterious attackers and the possibility of a further force arriving before dawn; Derwyn on the impossibility of attacking this increasingly entrenched group and the difficulty of maintaining the spirit of his men now that the fury of the action had ceased. And too, he was beginning to consider the possibility that there might be other groups of these outsiders nearby, ready to come to the aid of their companions. And what of the creature? And Rannick?
Neither man dared wait. Neither dared move.
Both were spared.
From the south came a sound. Everyone seemed to hear it at the same time, though none could have said how long it had been there. At first it was like the irritating buzz of some tiny trapped insect. Then it grew louder and louder, its tone tearing into its hearers like that of fingernails drawn down glass, but worse by far.
None, either in or around the camp, could do other than concentrate on it in deepening fear, and each forgot their sudden foe totally.
Even Nilsson found his mind drawn from his dilemma. Then he heard a quality in the sound that he recognized.
'It's Lord Rannick,’ he shouted, though as much in fear as in anticipation at what must be their relief. It was of no consequence however, for no one heard him. He pushed his way through the front ranks of his men. Vaguely he was aware of the circling Valderen, struggling to control their mounts as the sound grew. ‘Their horses are panicking,’ he roared. ‘Get ready to attack.’ But though he was bellowing directly into the faces of his men he could still scarcely be heard. And too, they seemed paralysed by the sound.
Then Rannick was on them, crashing into the beleaguered camp at a speed that no normal mount could attain, and with a sound like thunder and a howling wind tumbling in the wake of his dreadful scream. The wind snatched at the watching men and made the fires roar and blaze triumphantly.
Nilsson, like his men, was now transfixed, for though the figure on the horse was indisputably Rannick, he was not the man he had chosen to follow, even thought to manipulate to his own ends. He was something that radiated a malevolence that was beyond anything Nilsson had ever known. About him ran streams of a strange fire that crackled and flared, consuming everything it touched, save Rannick. And his mount. For the thing that had been a horse was as evilly transformed as its master. Its head strained against Rannick's fire-laced restraint, its eyes gleamed, and a steaming foam poured from its mouth and nostrils. Both rider and mount seemed unaware of the scene they had entered. They were swaying from side to side, as if scenting for something.
The sight banished all coherent thought from Nilsson, save one: the appalling wrongness of Rannick. The power that his erstwhile master had used had been greater by far than Rannick's, but its use had been rare and sparing. The thing he saw before him now was without any semblance of restraint, and beyond all controlling. What had been Rannick was, perhaps, quite destroyed, and what was left was not merely death, it was the antithesis of life.
A sensation passed through Nilsson that he had not known in many, many years. A sensation whose birth pangs had perhaps begun with the violent jolt he had experienced when he had thought the approaching Valderen were his long pursuing countrymen come to call him to account.
Guilt.
This abomination was his fault.
It menaced everything!—everything! It could not be allowed to live.
A life in which immediate and cruel action had been the inevitable solution to most problems, took inexorable command of him. Aware of nothing now, save the flickering figure swaying before him, Nilsson stepped forward. The word ‘Lord’ formed in his mind as he drew his sword. Rannick's swaying stopped abruptly as if he had heard the call, and he turned to look at Nilsson.
'No!’ Nilsson bellowed into the thunder of Rannick's presence, and taking his sword in both hands, he swung it up in a whistling curve for a blow that would have cut Rannick and his awful steed in half.
Had it landed.
But with the air of a regal lord casually dismissing a tiresome servant, Rannick delicately raised his hand. A terrible, unseen blow struck Nilsson, lifting him clear of the ground and sending him crashing down on to the Forest floor, a dozen paces away. His sword arced up, glittering through the firelight, twisting and turning, until it fell somewhere in the darkness beyond the camp.
For an instant, silence hung over the scene, and Rannick's brow furrowed a little, as if a troublesome memory had just occurred to him. Then the moment was gone and, his fearful scream returning, he was riding from the camp as precipitously as he had arrived.
The camp fires swirled up as if in homage to his passing, throwing flames high into the night sky.
Some of Nilsson's men started forward as the flickering light gave a semblance of movement to their downed leader.
But Nilsson's many subtle and devious concerns had ended the instant that Rannick's will had touched him.
He was dead.
* * * *
Farnor moved slowly up the rocky slope, carefully testing the ground ahead with Marrin's staff. He needed no guide for the direction now, for the creature's presence had become as sharp and as clear to him as if it had been the Dalmas sunstone. Yet it had stopped its headlong rush. It had even stopped its desperate struggle to open again that which Farnor had made whole. It was waiting. For the moment it was deprived of its terrible powers from the worlds beyond, but it had still the power of this world and its cunning and strength, and Farnor was but just another inconsequential prey animal while he chose to hold the way closed and thus deny himself those same powers.
And Rannick was coming, Farnor knew. He had heard the creature's command reaching across the valley in that last awful roar. And command it had been. Who then was master, and who servant? he wondered.
Somewhere in the distance he heard the sound of thunder. He glanced up. To the south, the sky was glowing red. He frowned uncertainly. What was happening at the village? What was happening to the Valderen? With an effort, he set both thoughts aside and turned his attention back into the darkness. Whatever was happening, he could do nothing about it except what he was doing now.
Despite his clear intent however, fears tore at him. Even without its enhanced powers, this thing was a vicious night-time predator, quite devoid of fear. How big was it? How strong? He remembered the great pieces torn from the slaughtered sheep. Could it see in the dark? How silently could it move?
The thoughts circled and circled, until he found himself trembling again. For a moment he tried to resist it, then again, he paused and gave it free rein.
And he was quiet again.
He swung the stick forward.
It struck something soft. Then it was torn violently from his hand. He heard hard claws scrabbling on the rocks, and an awful rumbling snarl. And, as if a numbing fog had just lifted from him, he felt the creature all about him.
Without thinking, he dropped to the ground and brought his hands over his head for protection. Something caught him a glancing blow and he heard the breathy thud of the creature landing heavily behind him. His nostrils filled with the acrid smell of dank fur. Strangely, the sounds and the smell reassured him a little; anchored him in this world. Here he might live or die now, but there was no strangeness, only savagery.
A thought exploded in his mind. If you were made thus by humans, creature, and you must have been, then all your attributes will be less than human, for no man would create his superior, even if he could.
On that black, rocky mountainside, then, for all his weakness, he, the man, was the greater savage, the more terrible opponent. Farnor heard himself snarling, as if in confirmation of this revelation. His hand swept over the rocky ground and almost immediately lit
upon Marrin's staff. He seized it, rolled over and swung it in the place where he had heard the creature land. It struck nothing, but Farnor could hear the creature pacing slowly around him, suddenly hesitant. Feel it, do you? he thought. Feel the presence of one of those who made you. Be afraid, creature.
Be afraid.
A menacing rumble came through the darkness in reply. It turned abruptly into a snarl and Farnor sensed rather than heard feet gripping the ground and muscles tensing.
He jumped to one side and swung the staff. His arms caught the side of the creature and in an instant he felt its great weight and muscular power. The impact knocked him over and he fell heavily, something driving into his ribs and sending pain to every part of his body. He cried out, his voice strange in his own ears, but somehow he kept hold of the staff and, fear overriding his pain, he rolled over, away from the sound of the creature, scrabbling once more over the damp rocks to recover its balance. If only he could see! If only there was a vestige of light to guide him!
Then there was a pause. Farnor swung the staff tentatively in a low arc about him. It struck nothing again, and though he could hear the creature breathing, the sound was coming from all around him. Then he felt it trying once again to draw on the power beyond, trying to rend open that which he had sealed. That part of him that healed such wounds cried out, No, here we decide this, you hellhound. But there was no response except a vaguely familiar sound in front of him. His mind searched to identify it.
It had dropped down on the ground. The damned thing was lying down! Waiting!
The sound of thunder reached him again.
It was going to wait for Rannick!
Man and beast must overwhelm him for sure.
He glanced quickly at the glowing sky to the south.
What was happening to the village? And to Derwyn? he thought again. And with the thought of Derwyn came the memory of Angwen. One hand still waving the staff in front of him, he fumbled through his pockets.
It was still there. Angwen's lantern. As he scrambled to his feet, he heard the creature doing the same. Then he threw open the shutter on the lantern.
The light burst into his face, blinding him. Frantically he turned the lantern round. There was an angry snarl and, through the myriad coloured patterns dancing in his vision, he caught a glimpse of a huge black shape, turning away and disappearing into the darkness.
With desperate slowness his vision cleared, and though the small lantern did not throw a great deal of light, it did show him that he was standing by the entrance to a cave.
His eyes widened in shock. Accidentally he had almost walked directly into the creature's den!
Now, however, he must do it deliberately. He must face this creature before Rannick arrived. Face it in its own lair. Gripping the staff, he stepped inside. A musty foulness greeted him.
The light gave him some comfort. At least he would be able to see the creature this time. At least he would be able to aim some kind of purposeful blow. And—he checked—he still had his mother's knife in his belt. With the light, he had a chance.
The smell grew worse, making him want to retch, and a chilling dampness started to strike through him. He was sodden with rain and sweat. He walked on, carefully shining the lantern into the many shadows that the uneven walls and floor formed. The light reflected back off glistening dampness, until the cave suddenly opened out and the lantern's beam faded into darkness, revealing nothing but the floor. There was blackness to either side of him.
Which way should he go? Suddenly very afraid, he stopped and listened. Nothing was to be heard except a faint dripping in the distance. He swung the lantern slowly from side to side, leaning forward to search into the shadows. Then bright, malignant eyes flared out, pinioning him, and the pool of darkness from which they had emerged surged towards him.
His fear saved him, for only at the very last moment did some reflex manage to twist him to one side. The movement however, did not prevent the creature crashing into him heavily and knocking him down. The lantern spun from his hand and, tumbling across the rocky floor, sent wild shadows dancing into the darkness. Marrin's staff snapped as he fell on it. He barely had time to cry out before the creature was upon him, its saliva dropping on to his face and its powerful forelegs rigid on his chest. The light from the roiling lantern fell momentarily on its face, lighting its eyes a savage red and revealing its gaping maw and terrible teeth. Its head jerked back a little as the light struck it. Farnor's hands came up frantically and seized its throat. The muscles and sinews that he grasped told him immediately that he could not hope to strangle it, nor best it in any kind of physical contest. He let out a great cry of fear and rage and, pushing upward desperately with his left hand, brought his clenched right fist up and struck the creature on the side of the head. It produced no noticeable effect except to make it hesitate again slightly.
I won't die here, Farnor roared inwardly. I won't die here. Countless images burst simultaneously into his mind: sunset watches, solstice festivals, his journey through the Great Forest, Bildar, Edrien, Gryss, Marna, his mother, his father, Uldaneth...
Uldaneth!
'Why do you carry a kitchen knife with you, Farnor?'
The images vanished, and his right hand began to grope towards his belt.
The creature's forelegs pounded painfully into his chest and he felt its back legs scrabbling for purchase on the rocky floor. He also felt his left arm, screaming with effort, beginning to buckle under the increasing pressure. The creature's foul breath gusted over his face and saliva sprayed hotly into it as the savage jaws snapped shut the merest fraction in front of him.
'How did you do that?’ he heard himself asking Uldaneth.
'I didn't, you did,’ came the reply.
With a final effort he reached the knife and drew it, then jerking his head desperately to one side to avoid the descending jaws, he closed his eyes.
'I didn't, you did.'
He let his left arm collapse.
The creature crashed on to the upturned blade.
It let out a strange cry and stiffened. Despite the crushing impact of the fall, Farnor felt his own blood fury grow as the creature's faded, and with the last residue of his strength he thrust the creature to one side and dragged the knife up the length of its chest. He felt blood spilling hot over his arms.
Then he was rolling free, gasping with terror. To his horror however, he saw the shadow that was the creature struggling to regain its feet. He could not move. His mind told him to stab the creature again, quickly. Stab it over and over until it was still. But his trembling hands would not obey. And still it struggled, a great pool of blood spreading, black in the dim, reflected lantern light.
Then it turned to look at him, and, inclining its head on one side, it whimpered. The sound, unexpectedly poignant, seemed to fill Farnor's head, until he realized that the sound he was hearing was no longer that of the creature. It was something else. And a flickering uneasy light was pervading the cave. The sound formed itself into words. Words as full of horror as they were of menace.
'What have you done?'
And Rannick was kneeling by the creature, cradling its head tenderly. Farnor, barely conscious, shook his head. It seemed to him that flames were dancing about Rannick, and that part of him was elsewhere.
Slowly Rannick turned. His hand came out and took Farnor's knife from him. Farnor could not resist. Rannick raised the bloodstained blade to his mouth and licked it.
Good...
Farnor felt the exhilaration and desire run through him. They turned into Rannick's laughter. ‘Yes, cousin,’ he was saying. ‘You feel it, don't you? All this time you've been the same as me and we never knew.’ Farnor tried to shake his head in denial but he could not.
Rannick spoke again. ‘I liked you, Farnor. Such things we could have achieved; you, me and ...’ He looked down at the creature. His mouth curled viciously. ‘But we will yet, cousin. She and I. You may have a gift of sorts, but it is perverse and t
wisted, and hers is beyond yours by far. And perhaps you would only have become a rival to me in time.’ He let the knife fall and held out a bloodstained hand. ‘Look at what you've done,’ he said, his voice suddenly rasping and full of hatred. Yet though his eyes were blazing, it seemed as if he were going to weep as he cradled the creature's head. He turned sharply away from Farnor and bent low over the creature, speaking to it softly, comfortingly.
'I can mend this hurt you've done to her,’ he said, looking up again. ‘And all the other hurts that have been wrought tonight. But you'll see none of it. You, I'll destroy as I destroyed your insolent father. Only more slowly. Far more slowly. I'll squeeze all her pain and an eternity more into each wretched heartbeat that you have left. As you've sown, so must you reap, farmer. And I've skills now that I'd scarcely dreamed of when your father was sacrificed to my greater learning.'
'No,’ Farnor whispered, struggling to lever himself up on to his elbows.
'Oh yes, Farnor. Oh yes. Have no doubts about it. All is mine now.'
'No,’ Farnor whispered again. ‘I shall destroy you. You abomination.'
Rannick sneered. ‘You weary me, Farnor. Weary me beyond measure,’ he said. Then, in a voice that seemed to penetrate every part of Farnor's body, he cried, ‘Know my power, Farnor Yarrance. Know the power to which I have access. Look on it and weep, before I begin to kill you. For it could have been yours too.'
Farnor stared, wild eyed, as he became aware of a strange sound, so deep that it could scarcely be heard, permeating the cave. Permeating him. Permeating all things.
And then it was done, and he was looking into one of the worlds beyond. But it was no world of nightmare and terror. It was sunlit and wooded and, in the distance, over rolling countryside, snow-covered mountains rose sharp and clear.
It was beautiful.
And he saw yet more worlds. Worlds beyond number. And the shifting, flickering spaces between them. The spaces that should not be entered other than by those who had the true knowledge, and where Rannick and the creature moved so freely; malevolent trespassers.
