Part 3 (2/2)
Wikkell stood over the floating corpse of the Blind White, staring at it He blinked his single pink eye, then turned to the two Blind Whites who sat on the cold floor rubbing at lumps on their heads
”What happened to the men?” Wikkell finally asked
The two Whites babbled The things were monsters, they said They chopped down one of the brothers with giant claws-you could hear the whistle as they swung their weapons!-and sought to rend us likewise! We stood in their path and they hurled us aside like you would brush a spider away! We fought valiantly but were overcoh,” Wikkell said ”You let them escape”
But our brothers pursue, the two said
”You had better pray they catch them,” Wikkell said ”If those huo, I will take you and as many of your brothers as I can with me!”
Upon them the curses of ten thousand demons! Wikkell moved down the tunnel into which the men had fled He already knew that the witch had sent one of her fat worot it, he would spend the rest of his life waiting for the wizard's curse that would convert hi He had to capture the ed into the wide section of the tunnel and observed with his hidden eyes the for in the pool beneath the opening to the sky
The bat who had spoken to him earlier spiraled down and landed upon the corpse, which proain on the edge of the pond
”D-d-don't b-b-bother,” Deek said ”Th-that o-one's b-blood iswas better than nothing, the bat said If the hty Deek would help fetch the tidbit in the water, why, then the bat would tell hier flared, and for ait to a e of the li his tail and snapping it down sharply, Deek slapped the water behind the dead Blind White The splash hurled the body and half of the pond's water into the air When the dead creature landed, the Bloodbat was on it in an instant, stabbing the pointed tube through which it fed into the cooling corpse
”Y-y-you h-had s-s-so t-to t-tell m-me?” Deek scraped from the rock as he loo tube froled tip Oh, yes, it said
Those two humans Deek wanted? Well, they had escaped from the Blind Whites and One Eye They went that way
Deek could not believe his good fortune Escaped? That meant there was still a chance that he could capture them! Filled with sudden hope, Deek slid away at full crawl Mayhap he could escape the lime pit after all!
In his chamber, Kataht to have Wikkell dispatch theit, decided that perhaps it would be wiser to question the captive Likely as not, a single person could not cause all the grief the wizard had foreseen in his crystal
More likely the ician, or perhaps soh to ascertain the truth Then he could kill him And there were some spells that called for human blood and body parts, of course; so he would not be wasted The wizard smiled at his cleverness Soon this little incident would be finished and he could get back to the business of grinding That bitch into well-deserved oblivion
Chuntha touched the drea jewel, a fire-filled ruby, to various parts of her body, groaning with the pleasure it gave The gem did not tell her when Deek would return with the captives, but it did say that there would be more than one involved in this es of another; perhaps two or three h She must take care to be certain that the wizard did not coe
She s her The one central to this business was aand strong and vibrant, alive with raw y, he would be a welcoht To lie with one such as the jewel bespoke would add greatly to her power The Sensha would wrap the would flow into hers, physically and spiritually It pro encounter in quite some ti corridors lined with rocky teeth above and below, Conan and Elashi+ sprinted, trying to lose their pursuers As they ran, they descended deeper into the earth; around theht draped its ebon cloak over the land, but it us-lined depths of the cave that see sun cast its light over thelittle heat in the clear wintry air The Harskeel watched froround
Two other led into the pit After a moment the two supporters pulled the man up He stood and faced the Harskeel
”There be a cave under the trail, e, so it looks like the two of 'e drop down there There be water at the botto a creak fron of them?”
”Nay, m'lord”
”Could they have survived the drop? Is the water deep enough to ensure that?”
The man shook his head ”Can't say, m'lord”
The Harskeel nodded at the twowith a s into the pit with its nose They understood Before the speaker could gather his wits, the other two stepped forward and shoved hi Came a splash; then, after a moment, a curse
”Hmm,” the Harskeel said ”It seems as if they could have survived such a fall Very well They are likely alive then We shall construct ladders and torches They are down there, and so shall we go likewise” The estion, but the Harskeel did not care It felt certain This Conan was the one to supply the ingredient to lift the spell Oh, to be two again!
”Be quick about it,” the Harskeel ordered
An hour later a letroops descended into the pit
The blind folloere persistent but not nearly as fleet of foot as Conan and Elashi+ While the Cimmerian and the desert woained a considerable lead as they ran through the twists and turns of the cavern's corridors Thus far they had been fortunate not to have fled down a dead end or into a tube that narrowed so , however, their luck seees; the one on the right narrowed almost immediately, so that they would have to cran it
The passage to the left was larger, but a thundering waterfall obscured one wall of that tunnel, and the water gathered in what appeared to be deep pools beneath the cascade, blocking the path Recalling Elashi+'s swi route
”We had better go back to the last turning,” Elashi+ said, voicing Conan's thought
”Too late,” he said ”Even now the floor vibrates with their footsteps” He unsheathed his sword ”It appears we must take our stand here”
Elashi+ nodded and drew her sword She and Conan stood side by side, waiting for the white beasts
”This way,” came a man's voice over the sound of the cataract
Conan spun around He saw no one