02 - Lords of Destruction

by James Silke - (ebook by Undead)

  The intruders shifted warily as if moved about by the sheer force of her glance, and Tiyy laughed again, loving their torment.

  Hating it, Brown John said, “Don’t laugh, wench! We’re not going to give up without a fight.” But the words were spoken by rote, without emotion or conviction.

  Tiyy ignored him and put her eyes on Cobra.

  “You’ve put on weight. Oddly enough, it becomes you. But your hair is a fright.”

  Cobra instinctively put a hand to her tangled, burnt hair and looked at the nymph, momentarily angered. Then the serpent woman’s arm dropped and her eyes became wet and thin, hiding none of the bitterness, defeat and misery she felt. Her mystery now seemed to be nothing but a tattered shroud, and it hid no more than her ragged tunic hid, making her look old, bitter and mean.

  “Ahhhh!” Tiyy said with a ring of delight. “Your age has caught up with you, hasn’t it? As well as your reckless greed.” She grinned and looked at the bukko as if he were an adorable stray dog, asking, “Now, who might you be?”

  “I am Brown John,” he said proudly, “the bukko master of the Grillards, and…”

  “So you’re the bukko,” Tiyy interrupted. “Well now, that’s a welcome surprise. Look!” She arched her back, displaying her high, hard breasts, extended her legs with toes pointed and lifted her arms, twisting slightly so she could be seen from all sides. “This is your work, old man.” She relaxed, leaning forward again, her voice intense with anticipation. “Your Grillard dancing girls were perfectly suited to my unnatural appetite, so I welcome you. A man with an eye like yours will be an invaluable addition to my staff.”

  Brown John was staggered, and the others could only stare in horror.

  Tiyy tucked her legs up under her and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “Now, let’s have a look at you, girl. Let’s see if all the fuss has been worth it.”

  Robin trembled against Jakar’s back, and he whispered, “Go ahead, stand up to her. I think she’s afraid of you.”

  Robin nodded uncertainly and came around Jakar, head high.

  Tiyy’s eyes thinned, and she uncoiled, slowly crawling down three more steps, as unconscious of her movements as a curious cat. She studied Robin, her head cocking from side to side, as if wary of what she saw.

  “You are worth the fuss,” she said flatly. “There’s no doubt of that.” She smiled warmly, like an old chum. “I thought it would irritate me to have to look at you, knowing that I had to rely on your Kaa… on your magic… to make mine fertile. But you’re a delight. In fact, it excites me, knowing our bloods are joined. You’re a rare piece of work, even in rags.” Robin unconsciously ran a hand through her hair. It had grown on the trip, and the sea water had washed out most of the dye, so that the torchlight graced her amber waves with golds and oranges.

  “Why do you wear clothes, anyway?” Tiyy asked fretfully. “If you had any sense you’d go naked, like you were born to go. Putting on clothes is for fools. A stupid law made by stupid men.”

  “It’s a good law,” Robin said petulantly. “Besides, it’s cold in the forest.”

  Tiyy laughed easily, then her eyes widened with sudden recognition, and she said, “You don’t know, do you? You haven’t the slightest idea of why Cobra brought you here? To Pyram?”

  “It wasn’t her idea,” Robin said firmly. “It was mine. I offered to come, to help Gath with the helmet.”

  “Of course,” Tiyy said, and put her eyes on Cobra. “You would have had no trouble making her believe that.” She looked at the others. “But I’ll wager the girl provided little help with the helmet, perhaps none at all. Am I right?” They shifted nervously, and she laughed. “I am right, aren’t I? And that can mean only one thing… none of you knew what the slithering bitch was up to.”

  “We knew enough,” Brown John said importantly. Tiyy grunted. “You didn’t know anything, and you still don’t.” She leaned toward Robin, and her smile faded. “Cobra’s used you, girl. And you’re all going to suffer for being fools enough to allow her to do it.” Robin backed up into Jakar’s arms, but the Nymph Queen’s eyes and voice followed her.

  “Only yesterday, I could not have seen if there was anything more to you than a strong spirit. But now,” she nodded with the back of her head at Gath, “with his dark seed planted in me, with the powers of the Dark Goddess housed in my body, I can see everything that hides inside you.”

  Gasping, Cobra backed against the wall and came to a shuddering stop.

  Tiyy took no notice. She held Robin with her hypnotic eyes. They were now laden with the wisdom of a thousand years. Theaters to the underworld.

  “What hides inside you does not only make dreams that tame the helmet,” she said in a purring monotone, “but dreams for everyone with eyes to see them. Dangerous dreams so grand and noble and pure that they demand imitation… and there is no greater threat to my master than that.”

  Feeling a rush of excitement in his stomach, Brown John glanced expectantly at Robin out of the corner of his eye. But she looked just as she had throughout their journey, worn and frightened and adorned with rags and trail dust. He saw no dreams. Frowning irritably, he looked back at Tiyy.

  She now squatted on a step, and was grinning directly at him. “Disappointed, aren’t you, bukko?” She chuckled. “Sometimes a primitive gift of sight like yours can see it, or at least suspect it. But you obviously don’t. But Cobra saw it and intended to use it.” She turned to Cobra. “You see, in order to regain the trust of our master and regain her powers, she had to find some way to control the horned helmet. And the sacred jewels of the Goddess of Light could provide that way. But in order to steal them, she needed the girl.” Her smile turned on Robin, malevolent and toying. “Because only a female whose Kaa is pure and strong, who truly seeks the jewels not for herself, but for someone else, can hold them in her hands without being burnt to a cinder. And you, girl, have such a Kaa, and Cobra knew it. Your hands could pick up the jewels and steal them.” She chuckled mockingly. “At least Cobra believed they could.”

  “Come now,” said Brown John, “you don’t expect us to believe a fairy tale like that?”

  “Fairy tale!” Tiyy said, rising like a spitfire. “You call it a fairy tale, when for years it was only these hands,” she lifted her hands with fingers spread, “that could control the glimmer of their beauty? Hah! I suppose you thought that a shiftless, lecherous, money-hungry old clown like yourself could steal them?”

  Brown John scowled, his best scowl, but no sharp reply came to mind. The best he could do was shift his weight and stand one foot closer to the impertinent young bitch.

  Tiyy laughed at him. “You trusted Cobra, didn’t you, you old bouse bag? And all the time she was plotting to kill the lot of you.”

  “That’s not true,” blurted the bukko.

  “Be quiet, Brown,” Cobra muttered sharply. “In a way, she’s right.”

  Her voice was a bitter hiss, and Brown John stared open-mouthed. Was the hiss some vague instinctive behavior left over from years of demonic living, or was the serpent still there? He had no idea, and aching pain welled inside his chest.

  Cobra turned her bitter eyes on Tiyy. “Are you finished playing now?”

  “Not quite,” Tiyy said impishly. “Since your skill and cunning have brought you this far, I think you deserve a reward before you die… so I’m going to let you look at them.”

  “The jewels?” gasped Cobra.

  “Yes,” Tiyy said temptingly, “the jewels.”

  Cobra straightened slightly. “You don’t dare,” she said, a blush of hope passing behind her grey-gold eyes.

  “On the contrary,” Tiyy said with wicked anticipation. “I would not miss this for the world.”

  Forty

  THE JEWELS

  The nymph looked down at Schraak and nodded. He pulled his slick, grinning face away from the barred door, and scurried back into the shadows of the entrance tunnel out of sight.

  Brown John, Cobra, Robin
and Jakar looked about uncertainly, not knowing what to expect or where it might come from. The sounds of clanking chains came from the barred passageway, then the grating sounds of metal tearing against metal, and behind them four of the blocks of obsidian began to settle into the ground.

  They turned sharply and backed away, watching the slow, grudging descent. Then Cobra, her breath suddenly heaving with heedless excitement, edged toward the opening being made by the massive blocks. The others moved up beside her.

  Behind the opening, a timber door joined together by steel bars was coming into view. Dust filled the cracks between the timbers and the doorframe, and the door was set behind it on runners, a sliding door.

  The descending blocks of obsidian came to a stop with a crunching jar, and dust fell away from the ceiling, landing on faces and shoulders. They blinked, rubbing the dust away from their eyes, and stared warily at the door.

  Here and there, through tiny cracks between the heavy beams, bits of brilliant white light streaked through, reaching across the full depth of the cave.

  The group drew away from them, mystified.

  “Open it, Cobra!” Tiyy shouted lightly. “You’ve wanted to do this all your life! Don’t be a coward now!”

  Brown John, Cobra, Robin and Jakar looked back sharply, their eyes suspicious.

  Tiyy stood with legs apart and fists on hips, her hoyden smile moving on her firm cheeks. A thin beam of white light was streaking past her, playing on the wall behind the staircase. She lifted a hand, caught the beam with the palm and moved it in a slow circle, controlling the white light and making the beam swirl and dance.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” she said. “You can even play with it.”

  Brown John glanced warily at a beam of light striking the ground beside him, and covertly slid his hand into the beam. It stung him, and he jumped away, yelping.

  Tiyy laughed, and spread her arms. “I’ll help you,” she said, “so it won’t hurt.”

  She rose up onto her toes, arching and thrusting, and beams of black light emerged slowly and languorously from the palms of her hands. They edged across the room, then came apart in flurries of smoky mist, drifting to the closed door and settling there, slightly darkening the brilliant bits of white light.

  Cobra, heaving with anticipation, moved to the door, took hold of the door handle, tried to pull it. It didn’t budge. Brown John and Jakar joined her, and together they pulled. The door surrendered a squeaking noise, grated, then slid open and white light spilled out.

  They ducked away from the glare, covering their eyes with their arms, and the light billowed into the black cave, mixing with the shady mist to fill it with a bright glow. The astounded group peered over and under arms, watching the light swirl on itself inside the dungeon cell. It seemed to have body, life.

  The savage nymph squatted between Gath’s legs, laughing easily with her arms wrapped around his thighs. “Go ahead!” she shouted. “Go inside, the jewels won’t hurt you now.”

  The foursome shared a wary glance, then Cobra hurried into the cell and the others followed. Inside the door, they suddenly stopped short, shielding their eyes with their hands.

  A pillar of white light stood at the center of the small cell. It rose from a black pedestal to the middle of a black stone ceiling, supporting it. At the very center of the ceiling, white light illuminated the mouth of a narrow shaft, no bigger round than a walnut. The light billowed in it as if it were plugged somewhere above. In each corner, thick square columns of black stone also supported the ceiling. The superstructure on which Pyram’s main tower rested. The column of light was obviously the primary support. It shimmered with living power, constantly changing its faceted shape and proportions, and a nimbus of white light billowed and radiated from its transparent body. The sacred jewels were not jewels at all, but a single jewel, a whiteness without flaw or corruption which was at once both form and formless.

  Cobra shrieked at the daunting vision and turned away, collapsing on the ground.

  Recklessly, Brown John advanced on the massive jewel, his hands moving restlessly in front of him. Every sense wanted to hold the light, and caress and fondle it. But even if his heart was as pure and true as Robin’s, his hands could not have. And neither could any female hands, no matter how pure.

  The jewel was impossible to hold. It had no more substance than an illusion.

  Suddenly Brown John backed away.

  The pillar seemed to be fading. Then the room filled with whiteness blotting out all vision, and the glare blinded him. He staggered back, brushing someone, but he could not see who it was, and reached the door. There Jakar stood with his back to the light, blinking and trying to regain his vision. Cobra was slumped beside him, wearing an expression that said she no longer had the will to stand upright. Shielding his eyes, Brown John heard Tiyy laugh, and there seemed to be no malice in it, only childish delight. Then fog came tumbling down from the place where he had last seen her, and mixed with the light, reducing it to a bright glare. He rubbed his eyes, blinking. When he could see again, he turned back toward the jewel.

  Robin had not come out of the chamber. She still stood facing the pillar of light, spellbound and trembling, her arms floating at her sides. Her head was raised to the pillar, and white light shot through her red curls, turning the tips orange and vermilion and russet. Suddenly the light slowed down, spilled like thick white syrup over her head, and clung to curl and wave, as if the hair were wearing it, as if the light were indeed jewelry.

  Brown John and Jakar shared an astounded glance, and the bukko nudged Cobra with his toe. She pulled her leg away, not bothering to complain or look up, and he nudged her again. Her head lifted slowly, and as she turned to the light, she gasped.

  Tiny beams of light had formed at the center of the pillar, as if the nimbus suddenly had lingers. They probed the air just beyond the form. Suddenly one, two, then a third and fourth shot forth from the pillar and played across Robin’s face. Were they hunting something?

  Tiyy rose abruptly in front of Gath, eyes aghast.

  Cobra rolled to her feet and staggered into the chamber. Brown John and Jakar promptly joined her, and they all stared in a numb stupor.

  The tiny beams had gathered on Robin’s plump lower lip and gently bounced up and down, caressing it. Then they stopped and held on to the plump flesh. Slowly the lip grew bright red, then pink, then white as the light entered the flesh, seeping into her face until it glowed from within with pink light.

  Cobra, dizzy with excitement, staggered, and the bukko and Jakar had to hold her up.

  Muttering angrily, Tiyy bounded down the stairs until she could see clearly into the chamber, and came to an abrupt stop at the bottom. Her snarl said she did not like what she saw.

  Flurries of tiny beams were cascading from the crystalline pillar and playing across Robin’s body, searching bare shoulders, the swell of a breast, a jagged hole in her tunic at her thigh.

  Tiyy turned sharply to the worm soldiers holding the crossbows and shrieked, “Finish her! Finish her!”

  The crossbowmen raised their pieces, taking aim.

  Neither Brown John nor Jakar heard the nymph clearly, but Cobra did. She flung herself heedlessly toward Robin, covering the girl’s body with her own, and three steel bolts took her with the loud whap of metal burying itself in meat. One caught her above the heart, entering under the shoulderbone, and the others in hip and thigh.

  A fourth bolt missed the target area, hit the pillar with a flash of lightning and ricocheted around the chamber, dropping beside Brown John. Its metal was red-hot and twisted like string. He winced and with Jakar at his side, positioned himself to protect the two women, weapons in hand.

  Cobra was half bent, her hands clutching the bolt above her breast as blood spilled between her fingers. Robin stood behind her, supporting her and looking about in confusion. “What’s happened?” she gasped, her voice sounding far off, vague.

  “Stay behind me,” Cobra said with a har
sh whisper, and forced herself erect, shielding the girl. “Stay where you are! Don’t move!”

  Robin nodded, then groaned with sudden terror.

  Gath’s body was coming down the stairs in clumsy loping strides. He carried no weapons, but his hands dangled at his sides more dangerously than his axe ever had. Tiyy moved beside him, her small hands clutching an elbow as if it were a leash, shouting, “Kill her! Quickly! Kill her!”

  She unleashed him and stood watching as his body advanced, filling the doorway to the chamber. Brown John lifted his sword, and Jakar fired.

  The steel bolt tore through the Death Dealer’s side, but he took no notice and kept coming. The eye slits of the horned helmet spewed flames, driving the white light aside and making it smoke and fade.

  Jakar reloaded hurriedly and Brown John thrust with his sword. Gath ignored the bite of the blade on his thigh and jumped forward between them. His thick arms swung sideways, knocking Jakar to one side and the bukko to the other.

  Jakar hit the stone wall with the back of his head and sagged forward, dazed. Brown John landed on his back, with the air driven from his lungs.

  Cobra, shielding Robin with her body, screamed at the massive, beastlike man hovering over her, “No, Gath! No!”

  Robin, hiding behind Cobra’s shoulder, pleaded, “It’s me, Gath! It’s me. Robin. Don’t… don’t!” Gath’s body did not listen. Its thick arm swept toward Cobra, bludgeoning her with the back of its hand. She flew sideways, colliding with a black pillar and crumpling at its base. She tried to rise, but sank to the floor instead, and began to bleed on the ground.

  Dizzy and blinking, Brown John rose to his feet and staggered toward the beast’s back, but fell a good eight feet short of his target. It was two feet further than the still dazed Jakar got.

  Gath hovered darkly in front of Robin. She was reduced to whimpering now, unable to move. His flames singed her rags and flesh, and she cringed with pain, moaning. It seemed to encourage him. His hands yanked her around, violently ripping away what remained of her tunic, and she screamed. He drove the butt of his hand into her back, and she dropped forward,, facing the pillar of white light. Naked. Moaning. Protected by no more than the flurry of tiny beams of light as they still searched her body.