Part 2 (1/2)
Through the shrill piping, a faint, squashy sound reached Conan's ears
It seemed to come from above The muscles of Conan's bullneck stood out as he twisted his head to look upward; the spired Turanian helainst the stone as he moved Then the blood froze in his veins
The one The rising half , which squatted obscenely on the su, se, bloated life-pulsed within it The e, living heart
Chapter Four
As Conan, frozen with horror, watched, the dweller on the top of thedown the shaft toward him The slippery pseudopod slithered over the san to understand the source of the stains that discolored the face of the rant down-draft wafted a sickening stench to Conan's nostrils Now he knehy the bones at the base of the shaft bore that oddly eaten appearance With a dread that al exuded a digestive fluid, by means of which it consues past, had stood in his place, bound helplessly to the pillar and awaiting the searing caress of the abo's weird piping su flesh called it to feast Whatever the cause, it had begun a slow, inching progress down the side of the shaft toward his face The wet jelly sucked and sobred as it slithered slowly toward hith to his cramped, tiredwith every last ounce of strength to break the grip of the mysterious force To his surprise, he found that, in one of his lunges, he slid to one side, partway around the colurip that held hiht, though he knew that he could not long thus elude theprodded his er he had gliht the hilt of the weapon against his ribs
His upper arainst the stone by the sleeve of his mail shi+rt, but his forearh to clasp the haft of the dagger?
He strained, inching his hand along the stone The mail of his arm scraped slowly over the surface; sweat trickled into his eyes Bit by bit, his straining ar tune of Feng's flute sang ly in his ears, while the unGodly stench of the slier, and in an instant he held the hilt fast
But, as he strained it away fro Rolling his eyes doard, he saw that about two thirds of the blade, froainst the stone The re third still projected froer for the shaft to attract, Conan was able, by aeffort, to tear the stulance showed hih most of the blade was lost to hies With histhe ies up against the leathern thong that bound the two halves of the h rawhide with the rusty blade
Every rew unbearable His hand, bent into an uncorew numb The ancient blade was notched, thin, and brittle; a hastyhim helpless Stroke after stroke he sawed up and doith exquisite caution The stench of the creature grew stronger and the sucking sounds of its progress, louder
Then Conan felt the thong snap The next instant, he hurled his full strength against the h the loopholes in the mail shi+rt, until one whole side of the shi+rt was open His shoulder and half an arht blow on the head The stench beca, and his unseen assailant froainst his helmet Conan knew that a jellylike tendril had reached his hel flesh Any instant, the corrosive stuff would seep down over his face
Frantically, he pulled his arm out of the sleeve of the unlaced side of the mail shi+rt With his free hand, he unbuckled his sword belt and the chin strap of his helether fro his tulwar and his arered free of the colus Theback, he saw that the jelly-beast had now engulfed his helin the watery light
Down the slope, the derass of the slope, tweedling away on his flute as if absorbed in some inhu He pounced like a striking leopard He ca hands first, upon the little duke; the pair rolled down the rest of the slope in a tangle of silken robe and thrashi+ng liles Conan groped into the Khitan's wide sleeves and tore out the ivory cylinder containing the docu Feng after him As he reached the level section around the base of theas happening to hih, thin scream as Conan hurled him at the shaft
The Khitan struck the coluround at its base
The bloas merciful, for the duke never felt the slilassy tentacles reached his face For a 's features blurred as the rippling jelly slid over them Then the flesh faded away, and the skull and teeth showed through in a ghastly grin The abomination flushed pink as it fed
Conan strode back to caiant's torch, the ainst the sky, wrapped in smoky, scarlet flames
It had been the work of moments only to strike fire into dry tinder with his flint and steel He had watched with grinited and blazed as it squirht: the half-digested corpse of that treacherous dog and his loathsome pet!
As Conan neared the camp, he saw that the last of his warriors had not yet retired Instead, several stood staring curiously at the distant firelight As he appeared, they turned upon hi out: ”Where have you been, Captain? What is that blaze? Where is the duke?”
”Ho, you gaping oafs!” he roared as he strode into the firelight ”Wake the boys and saddle up to run for it The Jaga headhunters caught us, and they'll be here any tiot the duke, but I broke free