“So why are we running toward a fight?” Brynn panted when they caught up.
Phoenix glanced down at him, laying a hand on Blódbál and grinning. “It’s what we do best?”
Brynn sent him a sardonic look that spoke volumes. “So how will we know who’s friend and who’s foe?”
“He has a point.” Loping easily beside the boy, Marcus was barely out of breath as he spoke.
Phoenix shrugged. “Let’s just get there first and hide. We’ll work it out.”
Jade had to bite her tongue to stop herself commenting on his tendency to jump in without planning. With Blódbál singing songs of glorious, heroic death in his head now, it’d be impossible to make him stop and strategise instead.
They ran on, their footfalls reflecting back sharp slaps off the rock walls. The clamour of fierce battle grew louder. Cries of at least two people mingled with other, strangely-sibilant, sounds – all weirdly distorted by the tunnels. Whoever fought, they sounded desperate. Sword strikes rang with bell-like clarity through the rock, echoing until it sounded like a dozen swordsmen striking in quick succession. The companions picked up their pace, running recklessly along the straight passageway.
The tunnel took a sharp left and they skidded around, barely managing to avoid crashing into the wall and each other. Ahead, a massive, archway marked the end of the tunnel and the entrance to a large, dimly-lit chamber beyond. Jade doused her lights and the torches. On silent feet, they edged up to the entryway and peered around.
Beside her, Jade felt Marcus stiffen and heard him choke back an involuntary cry. She didn’t blame him. It was all she could do to stop herself from gasping aloud at the sight.
A huge, vaulted cavern lay before them. They had emerged on the lowest level. Above, the curving walls were honeycombed with dark, gaping entrances like the one in which they sheltered. A few, smouldering torches cast a flickering, ruddy light in patches here and there but there was more darkness than illumination. At one end stood a pair of massive thrones, carved from the rock itself. On those thrones reclined a king and queen unlike any Jade had ever imagined.
Glittering crowns of gold and jewels rested in stately fashion upon handsome human heads. The heads rested upon perfect human shoulders and torsos. Below that, though, was the stuff of nightmares. Curled up on the throne seats were not legs but massive, mottled snake-bodies. The king and queen were half-human; half-snake.
That was not the worst. In front of the throne lay a real snake so huge it defied belief. Its thick, blue-grey body coiled three times around the thrones. The twitching tip of its tail rested in the lap of the snake king. Its blunt head, the size of a washing machine, swayed, hood expanded, tongue flickering as it stared fixedly toward the middle of the throne room.
Jade followed the cobra’s gaze and saw two humans fighting fiercely against more snake-men. The humans were armed with short broadswords and daggers. Not only did the snake-warriors wield lethally-sharp sinuous blades in each hand, they also bared long, poison-tipped fangs, between which forked tongues flicked each time they hissed at their victims. They moved with gliding ease across the smooth rock floor; more and more of them swarming toward the beleaguered humans. The warriors fought valiantly but sheer force of numbers would soon overwhelm them.
“I think we can guess who’s friend and who’s foe,” Brynn whispered. “Any plans?”
“Jade?” Phoenix didn’t take his eyes off the room.
She nibbled the tip of one finger, frowning. It always seemed to fall to her to come up with some sort of brilliant plan. She studied the situation, trying to ignore the nervous self-doubt fluttering in her stomach.
“They seem to be trying to get over to that exit,” she pointed at the far end of the throne room, about thirty metres from their own hiding place. Indeed, the two humans were doing their level best to hew a way through the reptilian bodies to get to one, specific door.
“Maybe that’s the way they came in – and the way out,” Marcus suggested.
Phoenix nodded. “Worth a try. Can you even the odds, Jade? Marcus and I are good but we’ll still be outnumbered.”
She bit her lip. “I can’t blind them the way I did the Priests of Set, because that would blind the humans, too. Besides, snakes can ‘see’ by scent so they’d probably be fine without vision.”
“How about an illusion?” he prompted. “But make it fast. I don’t think they have much time.”
“OK,” she agreed. “I’ll send in the cavalry and we’ll use it as cover to rescue them. Hopefully they can lead us out of here. What do snakes hate?”
“Cats?” “Dogs?” “Eagles?” “Ferrets?” The suggestions came quickly.
Brynn blinked at Phoenix. “What’s a ferret?”
“It’s kind of like a weasel,” Jade explained, “but here in India it’s called a mongoose. How about we send all of them in? Give me a few seconds. It’s going to take a lot of concentration, though. I won’t be able to fight.”
“Brynn, you stay with Jade and lead her around the edge of the room to that exit. Protect her as best you can,” Phoenix gave the boy’s shoulder a squeeze.
Brynn nodded, loading a small rock into his sling and hefting his dagger.
A cry of pain from one of the humans echoed around the chamber. He staggered and his companion caught him up, still fighting one-handed as the snake-people closed in. Jade heard Phoenix growl low in his throat and saw his fingers tighten on his sword. If she wasn’t fast, he’d dash out on his own and fall under the spell of the blade’s desire for blood.
Quickly, she muttered an Elvish incantation, picturing the animals in her mind. Beside her, Brynn yelped as the illusory zoo streamed silently out into the chamber. Belatedly, she added noise and substance to the images - and all hell broke loose.
A cacophony of yowls, barks, screelings and weird yelpings assaulted their ears. The snake-men recoiled in fear at the sight of a hundred, larger-than-life predators galloping and flying toward them. Every shape, colour and size of cat, dog, ferret and eagle Jade could imagine bore down on the enemy with fangs and claws bared.
Under cover of the chaos, Phoenix and Marcus dashed out to join the human fighters, slicing their way through.
Jade hardly felt Brynn grab her hand and lead her into the chamber. It took most of her attention to keep up such a detailed illusion. He squeezed her hand as they crept from shadow to shadow along the wall.
“Why are there more eagles now?” he whispered, apparently fascinated by the show. Sure enough, the number of birds clawing and shrieking at the snakemen had doubled but there were fewer dogs.
“It’s what they’re most afraid of. The more they believe, the stronger the illusions get.” Jade said through clenched teeth. “Their fear is feeding power to the spell. If they’re scared enough, the illusion can actually hurt them – it’s psychological.”
“Syco-what?” Brynn deftly flung a small pebble with his sling, knocking one snake-man unconscious.
“Can we talk about this later? This is hard enough to do without you distracting me. Just get us out of here!” Jade gripped her long, wooden staff, hoping she wouldn’t need to use it. She could feel energy draining from her body like water, pouring into the illusions.
She spared the others a quick look. Phoenix and Marcus reached the two humans and entered the fray enthusiastically. With Blódbál in hand and Marcus watching his back, Phoenix looked unstoppable. The only thing they really had to worry about was being bitten by one of the snakemen. Both of the other warriors were on their feet again, although the wounded one, an older man, looked shaken. With a quick nod of acknowledgement to the newcomers, they closed ranks and struck out at the enemy.
Jade kept half an eye on Phoenix as he slashed at a snake tail, cleaving it in two. Its owner shrieked and fell over, thrashing on the ground. Two of his companions dragged him aside, leaving a temporary gap in the wall of bodies. The humans used it to gain a few more precious steps towards the exit.
A rauco
us cry from above made the two strangers flinch but Phoenix and Marcus stayed focussed. They must have realised it was just her illusion eagles. Sure enough, three birds soared down, claws raking and wings battering at the faces of the enemy. Brynn’s handy sling took down another snake-man slithering up behind Marcus.
Blódbál bit deeply into reptile flesh, its unholy blood-lust reflected in Phoenix’s face. Jade gasped as Phoenix barely avoided a wild sword-thrust. He grabbed the snake-man’s hand and jerked it forward, using his enemy’s own forward momentum to bring him within striking distance. Blódbál slid between ribs without a sound and the half-reptile gaped in shock before slipping to the ground, dead.
She heard Brynn choke back a warning as yet another enemy tried to sneak up on Phoenix from behind. Somehow he saw, snatched out his dagger, and managed to turn aside a blade aimed at his head. Striking low, Blódbál connected. His expression grew harder. The light of battle flamed in his eyes. He shook his head as though trying to shake the sword’s song from it. Jade wondered if he would give in to it and strike out at Marcus and the others.
A quick glance showed Phoenix’s three fighting companions also still on their feet and at his side. The exit was closer but there seemed to be an unending supply of the enemy. Metre by metre, the four fought their way toward the tunnel, leaving a bloody trail of wounded and dying snake-warriors behind.
Steel rang on steel; sibilant, hissing screams and triumphant eagle-cries tore the air. Stone after stone from Brynn’s sling caught snake-men in the head with deadly accuracy. Phoenix’s arm was a blur of movement as he sliced, turned, sliced, jabbed and hacked at the enemy without mercy. Marcus fought coolly at his back, his expression grim and determined. From the nearby shadows, Jade dared to think they might actually make it.
Brynn tugged at her arm and pointed. She glanced up. Emerging from many of the tunnel openings overhead were dozens more snake-men. They slid and groped their way down to the floor before rearing up on those muscular tails and heading for the fight. There was no way the human warriors could possibly defeat that many, illusions and magic swords or not.
Reaching a quick decision, Jade focussed her thoughts on two of the eagles, making them split off from the massive flock that now soared about the chamber. With a frown of concentration, she sent them arrowing straight at the king and queen of the snake-people. The huge golden birds shrieked and dove, vicious claws extended, right toward exposed faces.
As she’d hoped, the royal pair cried out in fear and flung up their arms. The eagles raked them, leaving long, red welts before flying off to circle around and attack again. The enormous cobra at their feet hissed and struck at the diving birds, missing. With their king and queen in immediate danger, over half of the warriors attacking Phoenix and Marcus slithered away. Jade sent the eagles in again and again, feeling ill as the curving claws and beaks tore at snakeman flesh and skin. Obviously snake-people feared eagles more than anything and their fear gave the illusion real power. The claw-wounds being left were deep and bloody. More warriors left the fight and went to help their leaders.
Brynn shook her arm. “We’ve made it to the exit and so have the others. Quick. C’mon.”
Jade took one last look at the chaos of the throneroom. The eagles she’d created were now so solid that they had taken on a life of their own. They were no longer her illusions: they were real animals, given life by the power of belief. Swooping and diving at the snake-men, hundreds continued to cause havoc, covering the escape of the humans. Marcus, Phoenix and the other two ran past, sweeping Brynn along with them into the tunnel exit.
She glanced at the thrones, feeling a twinge of regret for so many deaths. More and more eagles were winging toward the royal couple. A forest of waving swords sprang up around them, trying to prevent more diving attacks. None of the snake-men bothered to chase her friends any longer. It was time to make a getaway.
As she turned to leave, an island of stillness in the midst of so much frantic movement caught her eye. The enormous snake, coiled at the kings’ feet, now stared in her direction, its black gaze turned, unblinking on her. One soulless eye fixed on Jade as she stood in the tunnel entrance. Its large head lifted higher, the hood expanded; tongue flickering out toward her as though tasting her scent.
Once more a sudden feeling of foreboding took hold of her, followed by a sense of extreme anger and a merciless desire for revenge. The eye seemed to grow larger, as though the great snake had crossed the room and entered into her mind without moving a muscle. Darkness descended. The throne room and everything in it disappeared. All she could see was that eye. Jade swallowed hard, trying to turn her head; trying to break the connection. Sweat broke out on her forehead but she couldn’t move a muscle; couldn’t even blink.
Her whole body trembled in an effort to fight the cobra’s mental hold over her. Against her will, her hand opened and the oaken staff she cherished clattered to the ground. She tried to open her mouth and cry for help but nothing happened. Then, slowly, her leg began to shake. She took a small step; and another; and another. It felt as though she had run a marathon. Her heart thundered in her chest.
She took another step, longer than before; and another.
The only problem was: each step took her toward the snake, not away from it.
CHAPTER FOUR
Phoenix sprinted out into the open air right on the heels of the two warriors. Dusk had crept in to replace daylight. Pink and orange flares set fire to high clouds as a hazy red sun slipped behind the mountains. In the east, the sky deepened to rich purples.
Hoping they knew where they were going, Phoenix followed the warriors when they took an abrupt turn to the right and headed for a nearby clump of trees. Behind, he could hear heavy footfalls and harsh breathing. Since the snakemen had no feet, it was safe to assume the sounds were being made by Marcus and the others.
Risking a quick look, he was relieved to see a complete absence of reptiles. Seconds later, he skidded to a halt, his boots spraying up dirt and dust. Marcus swerved to miss him but Brynn couldn’t stop in time and ploughed headfirst into Phoenix’s stomach.
Gasping for breath, he shoved the boy aside. “Where’s Jade?”
Marcus and Brynn looked back. She wasn’t there.
“She was right behind me,” Brynn exclaimed.
“Well she’s not, now. Let’s go get her.”
“What about them?” Marcus jerked his chin at the still-fleeing humans they’d rescued.
Phoenix shook his head. “We don’t have time to ask them. C’mon.”
Even as they began to run back toward the towering black mountain, they heard hurried steps behind. One of the warriors had returned. He caught them up with easy, long strides.
“Your friend?” He asked.
Phoenix nodded. “She’s still in there.”
“Llew is wounded. He’s getting our horses. I’ll help you.” The man drew his sword again and they all plunged back into the dark tunnel.
Inside, they were forced to slow down. Without Jade’s guiding lights, the darkness was almost complete. Luckily, the tunnel was quite short and their new companion seemed to know which direction to take. He advanced without hesitation, sword ready. Soon, a faint, reddish light appeared and they knew they approached the main chamber.
At the tunnel opening, they flattened themselves against the shadowed walls and peered inside. Chaos still reigned. Jade’s flock of eagles battered and clawed at the snakemen but several pathetic piles of feathers on the floor showed the battle was balancing out. Most of the snakemen were busy protecting their king and queen.
“What is she doing?” Brynn whispered. Jade was about ten steps away, walking slowly and jerkily toward the thrones. Her staff lay near to the tunnel, abandoned.
Phoenix shook his head. “Stupid question. She’s obviously lost her mind.”
The stranger nudged him and pointed at the great snake coiled at the base of the thrones. Its head was lifted off the floor, its eyes fixed on Jade. “I
think you might be right. There are rumours that the Naga snake-goddess, Manasa Devi, can control people’s minds. I think your friend is under her spell.”
A dozen questions popped into Phoenix’s head but he decided to leave them for a more quiet time – whenever that might be.
“So we just go out and pick her up,” he took a step forward.
“No,” the stranger reached out to hold him back. “Manasa will make her fight us with everything she’s got. Either she will die or we will.”
Phoenix exchanged unhappy looks with the others. None of them wanted to face Jade throwing ‘everything’ at them. She had learned spells from that Svear wizard that none of them had even seen yet. There was no knowing of what she was truly capable.
“So how do we get her back?” Marcus demanded.
“Like this,” the newcomer drew a leaf-shaped knife from a belt slung across his chest. It was one of a dozen sheathed there. Expertly, he flipped it over until it lay, point-forward, flat on his palm and fingers. He pulled his arm back to throw.
Phoenix frowned, judging the distance between them and the snake. It was over forty metres away. “There’s no way you can..” he began.
The warrior threw with a soft grunt of effort. The knife flew through the air like a bullet, soaring straight toward the snake. A second later, the blade embedded itself up to the hilt in the cobra’s eye. A vast shriek of despair went up from the snake-people. The king leapt from his throne and wrapped his arms around the thrashing snake-head, holding the animal still. Tears streamed down his face.
Jade stopped walking. She stood for a second, swaying in time to the movements of the great snake’s body. Then she crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Swearing, the strange warrior dashed out of cover with Phoenix, Marcus and Brynn close behind. In one swift move, he scooped Jade up in his arms and flung her limp body over a broad shoulder. Spinning, he sprinted back toward the exit. Phoenix followed, choking on the overpowering smell of musk now that Jade’s shield air-filter had vanished. Gasping, he grabbed her staff and trailed behind with the others, feeling inadequate and angry.
The Sudarshana Page 3
