Part 39 (1/2)

'You are sitting beside him,' said Dardalion, rising.

'He is a mute. Worthless!'

'By all that's holy, shaman, I do despise you!' roared Dardalion. Fighting for calm he leaned forward. 'He had an infection of the ear that made him deaf. Without being able to hear he never learned to speak. Ekodas healed him. Now all he needs is time, patience, and something that is a little beyond you, I think - love!' Without another word Dardalion spun on his heel and strode from the hall.

Vishna met him in the courtyard. 'They are ma.s.sing again. We'll be hard pressed to hold them.'

Waylander crouched down on the roof, watching the men gathering round the body below. The guard had almost surprised him, but the man had been slow to bring his sword to bear, and a black- handled throwing-knife had sliced into his throat, ending his indecision - and his life. Swiftly Waylander had stripped the man, then he removed his own jerkin and leggings and dressed the corpse.

The dead man was a little shorter than Waylander, but the black breastplate and full-faced helm fitted well, though the dark woollen leggings rode high on the calf. This discrepancy was covered by the man's knee-length boots. They were tight, but the leather was soft and pliable, and the fit caused Waylander little discomfort.

Leaning out over the parapet he had seen the guards in the courtyard below. Drawing the dead man's sword and holding his own blade in his right hand he shouted. 'He's here! On the roof!' Out of sight of the men below he clashed the two swords together, the discordant noise ringing above the palace. Then he clove his own blade three times into the dead man's face, smas.h.i.+ng the bones and disfiguring the features. Laying aside the swords he had then hauled the corpse to the parapet and sent the body plummeting to the ground.

He waited several minutes, and watched as the soldiers below carried the body inside the palace.

Then he put on the full-faced helm, gathered his second rope and ran to the rear of the roof, leaning out and scanning the windows below. According to the information supplied by Matze Chai there was a stairwell at the corner of the building, winding down to the lower levels.

Looping his rope over a jutting pillar he climbed to the wall and abseiled down, past two windows, halting by a third. It was open, and no light showed within. Hooking his foot over the sill he climbed inside. It was a sleeping chamber with a narrow bed. There were no blankets or sheets upon it, and he took it to be an unused guest-room. Hiding his loaded crossbow within the folds of the dead man's black cloak he stepped out into the corridor. The stairs were to his right and he made for them. He heard sounds of footfalls on the stairs and kept moving. Two knights rounded a bend and climbed towards him.

'Who was it who killed the a.s.sa.s.sin?' the first asked him.

Waylander shrugged. 'Not me, more's the pity,' he said, continuing on his way.

'Well, who else is up there?' continued the first man, grabbing Waylander's shoulder. The a.s.sa.s.sin turned, the crossbow coming up.

'No one,' he said - and loosed a bolt which hammered into the man's open mouth and up into the brain. The second knight tried to run, but Waylander shot again, the bolt plunging into the back of the man's neck. He fell to the stairs and was still.

Reloading the crossbow with his last two bolts the a.s.sa.s.sin moved on.

As his chains were unlocked Karnak tensed, but a knife-blade touched his throat, and he knew his struggles would be useless. The huge Drenai general glared at the men holding his arms. 'By all the G.o.ds I'll remember your faces,' he told his captors.

One of them laughed. 'You won't have long to remember them,' he said.

They dragged him out of the dungeon and along the torch-lit corridor. He saw Zhu Chao standing by a doorway. 'A pox on you, you yellow-faced b.a.s.t.a.r.d!' he shouted.

The Chiatze did not reply, but stood aside as Karnak was led into the Inner Sanctum. A pentagram had been chalked on the stone floor, and gold wires had been stretched between candle- holders of stained iron, forming a six-pointed star above the chalk. Karnak was hauled to a wall, where once more he was shackled by the wrists. He saw another prisoner already there, a tall, slender man, his bearing regal despite the bruises and cuts to his face.

'I know you,' whispered Karnak.

The man nodded. 'I am the fool who trusted Zhu Chao.'

'You are the Emperor.'

'I was,' replied the man sourly. He sighed. 'The serpent enters ...'

Karnak swung his head to see the purple-robed figure of Zhu Chao approach them.

'Tonight, gentlemen, you will witness the supreme gift of power.' His slanted eyes glowed as he spoke and the faintest trace of a smile showed at his thin-lipped mouth. 'I do appreciate that you will not share my pleasure, even though you will be instrumental in supplying it.' Leaning forward he laid a hand on Karnak's ma.s.sive chest. 'You see, I will begin by cutting out your heart and laying it upon the golden altar. This gift will summon the servant of the Lord Shemak.' He turned to the Emperor. That is where you enter the proceedings. You I will deliver whole, and the demon will devour you.'

'Do as you please, wizard,' snapped the Emperor. 'But do not bore me any longer.'

'I a.s.sure Your Highness you will not remain bored for long.' Three men entered the room, carrying a blood-drenched body. Zhu Chao swung round. 'Ah,' he said. 'My supposed nemesis.

Bring it here!'

The knights carried it forward and laid the corpse on the floor. Zhu Chao smiled. 'See how puny he looks in death, his face sheared away by the sharp sword of a valiant knight? See how ...' He faltered, his eyes staring at the right hand of the corpse. The third finger was missing, an old wound covered in a white scar. Zhu Chao knelt and lifted the man's right hand. Upon the signet finger was a ring of red gold, shaped like a coiled serpent. 'You fools!' hissed Zhu Chao. 'This is Onfel! Look, see the ring!' Zhu Chao scrambled to his feet, his composure lost. 'Waylander is alive! He is in the palace. Get out! All of you! Find him!'

The knights ran from the room. Zhu Chao pushed shut the door, and dropped a heavy lock-bar into place.

Karnak's laughter boomed out. 'He'll kill you, sorcerer. You are dead!'

'Shut your stinking mouth!' screamed Zhu Chao.

'How can you make me? With what will you threaten me?' asked the giant Drenai. 'Death? I don't think so. I know this man who hunts you. I know what he is capable of. By the bones of Missael, I had men hunting him myself. The best a.s.sa.s.sins, the finest swordsmen. Yet still he lives.'

'Not for long,' said the sorcerer. A slow, cruel smile curved his thin lips. 'Ah yes! You hired a.s.sa.s.sins - to protect your beloved Bodalen. He told me of it only recently.'

'You have seen my son?'

'Seen him? Oh, I saw a lot of him, my dear Karnak. He was mine, you see. He fed me all your plans, in return for a promise that when I had killed you he would rule the Drenai.'

'You lying wh.o.r.eson!' stormed Karnak.

'Not so. Ask your fellow guest, the late Emperor. He has no reason to lie. He will die alongside you. Bodalen was weak, spineless, and ultimately of little use to me.' Zhu Chao laughed, a high shrill sound that echoed in the chamber. 'Even when he had the strength of ten he had difficulty completing his task. Poor, stupid, dead Bodalen.'

'Dead?' whispered Karnak.

'Dead,' repeated Zhu Chao. 'I sent him to an enchanted fortress. You would not like to see what he became. Therefore I shall show you.'

The sorcerer closed his eyes and Karnak's mind reeled. He found himself staring into a dimly-lit chamber, where a creature out of nightmare was battling against a young woman and the gladiator, Senta. He watched Senta struck down, and saw a second arena warrior - Angel - leap to the attack.

The scene faded.

'I would like to be able to show you more, but sadly I had to leave,' said Zhu Chao, his words ripe with malice. 'But the monster was Bodalen - and several other of my men, merged by magic.'

'I do not believe you,' said Karnak.

'I thought you might not. So, for your edification, Drenai, here is another scene I took from Kar- Barzac.'

The vision s.h.i.+mmered again, and Karnak groaned as he saw Bodalen and the other warriors falling asleep in the crystal chamber, the bodies beginning to writhe, and merge 'No!' he screamed, and wrenched savagely at the chains which held him.

'I do so enjoy your pain, Drenai,' said Zhu Chao. 'And here is a second source of agony for you.

Tomorrow Galen will kill your friend Asten, and the Drenai will come, as the Gothir already have, under the rule of the Brotherhood. As indeed will Ventria. Three empires under one Lord. Myself.'

'You are forgetting Waylander,' snarled Karnak. 'By all the G.o.ds, I would give my soul to be alive at the moment he kills you.'