Part 5 (2/2)
Behind theravelly voice said, ”There! Get them!”
Conan spun about, sword at the ready Froht or ten of the Blind Whites poured forth, chattering Behind the the Ciain Conan's own height, with a hunched back and a single pink eye It shanarled and ather in Conan and his friends
The leading Blind White chose that uided hied from the hapless creature's back
If the sounds of the chattering Whites had not been enough to awaken the bats, the gout of blood from the clumsy one certainly was Overhead, the bats came to life There was lance and in the background saw a single bat ehostly pale wor around as a man! The beast slithered across the rocky floor toward the three people, bent on its own hellish purpose
As the bats began to swoop down, screeching in high-pitched voices, the Blind Whites snatched up rocks froh theyat the sounds, their throere none the less accurate than if they had eyes Bats were struck by the stones and knocked froet the men!” the cyclops yelled, its voice a roar The Whites, however, were too busy to pay the one-eyed creature much heed
A bat flew at Conan, and the Ci off The bat spi-raled away, screeching
”There he is!” came another voice
Conan looked for the source of this new threat Froht nized them a heartbeat before their leader appeared The Harskeel!
The bats also noted this new intrusion into their nesting area, and it see than the others Dozens of them swooped down upon the pike creatures with their short pikes, but to little effect
Bats screeched, Whites chittered, the Harskeel and his iant worm scraped across the rock Pandemonium ruled the cave
”Best we leave!” Tull shouted as Conan chopped another diving bat fro yet another bat Aye, now there was an idea whose ti from the bat-infested cavern was not as easy to do as to say As Conan slew still another darting bat, so one of the Blind Whites to the floor
Elashi+ finished the creature with a thrust of her blade Blood gouted
”This way!” Tull yelled
Moving on a surface ht to follow the olderhis way toward the his weapon ”Halt!” he called
Then ”Urk!” as both a bat and a Blind White fastened theiant cyclops roared and used hisaside et in his way To Conan's left, the sluglike wor at the occasional White with the tip of what the Cih the air with ht possible, s them away like children's dolls
Conan cut another bat fro its hot blood into Elashi+'s face ”Watch what you are doing!”
she yelled
Tull said, ”Here!”
Conan and the desert woonists to the tunnel in which Tull stood, urging them to hi down the tunnel, Conan asked, ”Where are we going?”
”Does it matter?” Elashi+ said ”Away from that place!”
”This tunnel has a number of twists and branches,” Tull called out, a wheeze in his voice ”We can lose any pursuit here”
”Perhaps they will not pursue us at all”
”I think that , lass It strikes'un here”
”Wonderful,” Elashi+to allow all of its men to, die could it but attain its prey, but there was no point in peroal The tunnel into which Conan and the girl-and that old man, as he?-had fled was all the way across a cavern full of strange creatures bent upon destruction Best to retreat and gather his energies for a later pursuit, the Harskeel told itself
”To me!” it called
Only four pikemen were able to respond, and the Harskeel, bloody sword in hand, led theathered up one of the wounded bats Could it talk, they would question it later
Wikkell stood glaring down at the giant wor fast from his exertions ”Call off your bats!” he ordered the coiled creature
Deek uncoiled slightly and scraped part of himself over the rock beneath his body ”H-h-have y-your W-whites c-c-cease t-their d-d-destruction!”
Cyclops and woret away!”
”I-I h-have a-allowed it? I-it is y-y-you ho a-allowed it!” Behind Wikkell, one of the Whites screa tubes into hi, they ain? We can work together There are three of them, after all; we can divide them up e catch them They all look alike who is to know?”
Deek considered this for a moment Aye, better to have One Eye where he could be seen, and there was so once the reed!”
Wikkell held his sht the hu rock and that would be the end of it In the meantime, it would be better to have the witch's thrall where he could keep his eye watching it
”Let us go, then,” Wikkell said
”W-hat of y-your W-hites?”
Wikkell turned to look Most of the Whites were down; a few still hurled rocks at the swooping fliers
”Let the bats have theotten in my way”
”A-as h-have the b-b-bats C-c-come”