Part 22 (2/2)
As Karela's dark prison was heaved swaying into the air, she felt tears running down her cheeks Derketo curse the Ciht her humiliation She hoped Jamaran would slit his throat
Slowly
Chapter XVIII
Conan lay on the dirt-strewn stone floor as he had for a day and a night now, bound and biding his tile predator, all of hisKarela's injunction to give hinored, and he was dier and thirst, but they affected hier without either, and he kneould have both once the uarded him were dealt with Soon or late a e Soon or late, it would coht, but with Karela gone no one had rehung blankets to cover the tall, narrow arrow slits
Rough clay jars of wine had been passed more freely with the red-haired woands who had not already staggered to one of the upper roohearth burned low; the last of the thick logs that had been stacked against the wall had long since gone into the flaht froht to tend the iron kettle suspended over the fla stew blended with the unwashed stench of bandits
Abruptly Tenio hurled dice and leather dice-cup aside ”She should have returned by now,” he muttered ”What keeps her?”
”Perhaps she keeps herself,” Jae, yellow teeth in a snarl ”Leaving us with this one she seehted of”
Marusas paused in the act of scooping up the dice ”You think she has run aith the gold? It sounds a tidy sum, but her share of our raids has been as much in the last month alone”
”Erlik take you, play!” snapped a man with a slitted leather patch tied over where his nose had been cut off His pale eyes had a perer, as if he knew and hated what urement ”I'm twenty silvers doith coin on the table Play, curse yo” The three ignored him
Jamaran slammed a fist the size of a s Why should a woman receive ten times the share that the rest of us do? Let her in our work alone and see what sport the men she tries to rob will have with her Without us, she'd be no ht to escape having her cheek branded for a grant of the favors she is so stings with now”
”Without her,” Tenio rebutted, ”what are we? How olds in a et ten before her”
”She's a woe Kushi+te said ”A wo orders”
Marusas laughed and tugged at his drooping blackherthat one to bridle, eh?”
” 'Tis ether,” Tenio sneered ”I don't like taking orders froold in my purse, more than I've seen before And I know I'd have to keep her tied hand and foot or risk waking with er in my throat Or worse”
”No cods at all on you” Jae elbow ”I always knew there was more woman than man in him Likely spends all his hours in Ianthe at the House of the Yearling Lahter and patch-nose joined in as if despite himself
All the blood left Tenio's face, and his narrow-bladed dagger flickered into his hand ”I don't take that froive” Jaone from his voice, ”or I'll use that blade of yours to make since you've no cods”
”Curse the lot of you for chattering old woh to dice with-”
Conan ; had his throat not been parched it would have been a chuckle A while longer and they would kill each other, leaving hi across the room in a spray of wine, Ja around as a normal aze calinto Conan's ribs lifted the Ciain his foot drove Conan back ”Why does Karela want you kept safe? Is she afraid of you? Or maybe she loves you, huh?
Perhaps I'll let you watch while I enjoy her, if she comes back” Each sentence he punctuated with afor breath on the very edge of the hearth The Cilared at Ja a heavy fist ”Ten men have I beaten to their death with this
You will be nuone too long already-but I'll wait a bit longer I want her to see it
Watching a , the huge Kushi+te straightened With a last kick he turned back to the table ”Where's ag Conan jerked himself out of the coals he had landed in, but hishis chance for escape that their talk of Karela's lateness had barely ih to be sure she had not fled with the gold Boros' words came back to him The most beautiful and proudest women of the land were sacrificed to Al'Kiir
Feere the women more beautiful than Karela, and to her pride he could well attest The fool wench had not only taken those anted to raise the God the means to do so, she had delivered herself as a sacrifice He was sure of it Now he must rescue her from her own folly But ho even to free himself?