Part 27 (2/2)
Formations had been destroyed utterly, close-knit bands broken asunder and swept apart The crest of Trocero gleamed in one part of the plain, those of Prospero and Pallantides in others
Conan was alone The house-troops of Tarascus had fallen one by one The two kings met man to man
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Even as they rode at each other, the horse of Tarascus sobbed and sank under hi of Need hily in the sun, clashed loudly, and blue sparks flew; then a clang of arth on the earth beneath a thunderous stroke of Conan's broadsword
The Cimmerian placed a mail-shod foot on his eneone; he shook back his black mane and his blue eyes blazed with their old fire
”Do you yield?”
”Will you give me quarter?” deivenLife for you and all your ht to split your head for an infernal thief,” the Cilared over the plain The ree with swar with the fury of glutted vengeance Bossonians and Gunder the tents to pieces in search of plunder, seizing prisoners, ripping open the baggage and upsetting the wagons
Tarascus cursed fervently, and then shrugged his shoulders, as well as he could, under the circumstances
”Very well I have no choice What are your des in Aquilonia Order your garrisons to march out of the castles and towns they hold, without their aret your infernal armies out of Aquilonia as quickly as possible In addition you shall return all Aquilonians sold as slaves, and pay an indee your occupation of the country has caused has been properly estie until these terms have been carried out”
”Very well,” surrendered Tarascus ”I will surrender all the castles and towns now held by s shall be done What ransohed and rerasped his shoulder and heaved him to his feet He started to speak, then turned to see Hadrathus approaching hi his way between rows of dead men and horses
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Conan wiped the sweat-smeared dust froh the day, first on foot with the pikeone, his armor splashed with blood and battered with strokes of sword, round of blood and slaughter, like soy
”Well done, Hadrathus!” quoth he gustily ”By Crohts were al their hearts out to be at sword-strokes I could not have held theone down the dim road to Acheron,” answered Hadrathus ”And I I am for Tarantia
My work is done here, and I have a task to perform at the temple of Mitra All our work is done here On this field we have saved Aquilonia and more than Aquilonia Your ride to your capital will be a triudo the return of their king And so, until we reat royal hall farewell!”
Conan stood silently watching the priest as he went Fro toward him He saw Pallantides, Trocero, Prospero Servius Galannus, their ar way to a roar of triu with exultation, were turned toward the great black figure of the king; mailed arms brandished red-stained swords A confused torrent of sound rose, deep and thunderous as the sea-surf: ”Hail, Conan, king of Aquilonia!”
Tarascus spoke
”You have not yet nahed and slapped his sword hohty arh his thick black locks, as if feeling there his re-won crown
”There is a girl in your seraglio named Zenobia”
”Why, yes, so there is”
”Very well” The king sly pleasant ht else I will come to Belverus for her as I promised She was a slave in Nemedia, but I will make her queen of Aquilonia!”
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A Witch Shall Be Born A Witch Shall Be Born I
THE BLOOD-RED CRESCENT
Taramis, Queen of Khauran, awakened from a dream-haunted sluhted cataco palace She lay staring into the darkness, wondering why the candles in their golden candelabra had gone out
A flecking of stars old-barred casement that lent no illumination to the interior of the chamber But as Tara in the darkness before her She watched, puzzled It grew and its intensity deepened as it expanded, a widening disk of lurid light hovering against the dark velvet hangings of the opposite wall
Tara position A dark object was visible in that circle of light a human head
In a sudden panic the queen opened her lips to cry out for her loas more lurid, the head more vividly limned It was a woman's head, sh-piled rew distinct as she stared and it was the sight of this face which froze the cry in Taraht have been looking into a erish gleaasped Taraly, the apparition spoke, and its voice was like honeyed venom
”Bewitched? No, sweet sister! Here is no sorcery”
”Sister?” stairl ”I have no sister”
”You never had a sister?” ca voice ”Never a twin sister whose flesh was as soft as yours to caress or hurt?”
”Why, once I had a sister,” answered Tararip of sohtmare ”But she died”
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The beautiful face in the disk was convulsed with the aspect of a fury; so hellish beca back, half expected to see snaky locks writhe hissing about the ivory brow
”You lie!” The accusation was spat fro red lips ”She did not die! Fool!
Oh, enough of this ht ran suddenly along the hangings like flaolden sticks flared up again Taras flexed beneath her, staring wide-eyed at the pantherish figure which posed azed upon another Taramis, identical with herself in every contour of feature and limb, yet animated by an alien and evil personality The face of this stranger waif reflected the opposite of every characteristic the countenance of the queen denoted lust and mystery sparkled in her scintillant eyes, cruelty lurked in the curl of her full red lips Each estive Her coiffure iilded sandals such as Taramis wore in her boudoir The sleeveless, low-necked silk tunic, girdled at the waist with a cloth-of-gold cincture, was a duplicate of the queen's night-garasped Tara her spine
”Explain your presence before I call uard!”
”Screaer ”Your sluts will not wake till dawn, though the palace spring into flauardsmen will not hear your squeals; they have been sent out of this wing of the palace”
”What!” exclaiive uardsmen such a coirl ”A little while ago, before I entered They thought it was their darling adored queen Ha! How beautifully I acted the part! With what inity, softened by woreat louts who knelt in their ar net of bewilder drawn about her