Part 19 (2/2)
”Come here, my beautiful barbarian man I would feel your warmth next to me”
Conan had been withlife, but none who had ever called to him quite like this His mouth was dry as he started for the bed
Ca th It will be your finest thrill, and your last
Conan paused at that His last?
”Why do you keep ? Am I not desirable?”
Spend your manly essence within er for it!
Conan continued tothan before-but a note of caution sounded within him This mindspeech was the truth, not the words she spoke, and herealized that to consummate his lust with this creature-as, after all, a witch-would be his death knell But as he to do? She desired hi what she erous; what evil ht a witch refused do him?
What was it she had said? She wanted his essence? Well, if he could so what she wanted, then perhaps he had a chance to survive
How to ether Death was an expensive price to pay for a few moments of pleasure Crom would hardly welcome a man ould make such a foolish trade Thisin battle with a sword in hand
Conan searched forwater
Such thoughts helped but little
”You are quite lovely,” Rey told Elashi+ The desert woman stood next to Tull and Lalo The wizard had taken their weapons, and they all were now inside his personal chamber A pair of cyclopes waited just outside the door
”I have had no need for woht rekindle the old fires for one such as you”
”I would rather be boiled in oil than suffer your attentions,” Elashi+ said
”What?”
”Are your ears stuffed within which I concur wholeheartedly”
”Cannot you two keep silent?” Tull said, his voice low ”You do not want to ry He is very powerful”
”Wise,” Rey said ”You will have a quick death for that These other till suffer a bit longer, after they have told me the whereabouts of whatever his naone from these caves and safe from either you or the witch,” Elashi+ said
”Would that it were so,” Rey said, ”for he is dangerous; still, I cannot take the chance that he ht yet be free down here You will aid me in his capture, like it or not I am not a man to be trifled with, as you shall learn”
Tull, Elashi+, and Lalo looked at each other This did not bode well Elashi+ was most worried about Conan She feared he was in dire straits indeed
Twenty-two
W-ill th-the b-bats and Wh-whites d-do i-it?” Reluctantly Wikkell turned to face Deek They werein the cave in which the cyclopes regularly bathed A se upon which Deek and Wikkell perched, splashi+ng into the shallow pond below The sound of the water covered their voices fro below them in the pond An attractive lot, Wikkell noted, and he would certainly rather be down there with them than up here with Deek ”W-Wikkell?”
”What? Oh, sorry, Deek Yes, I think they will do it I doubt that the plants will be of ht of numbers, I do not believe they will oppose us either I expect the initial charge of the Whites and the bats ht prove costly to them, but if they want to continue to live in the caves, I feel it is only right that they share the risks of our endeavor”
”O-o-one c-c-cannota f-few t-t-toad-stools”
”Well put, Deek The time must be soon for our strike, are we to keep our intent secret”
Wikkell glanced back down at the female cyclopes One of them saw him and waved He waved back
”S-s-someone y-you kn-knoell?”
”Not yet If we survive the upcoet to know her o, s-she s-s-seems qu-quite l-lovely”
”I always knew you were a worood taste You must introduce me to your nestmates when this is done”
”Wh-when i-it is d-d-done”
At least several hours had elapsed, although to Conan the passage of time felt more like days; finally the witch fell into what the Ci-sluht, as he hurriedly gathered his clothes His belt pouch fell with a thump that seemed terribly loud, and Conan froze at the sound Several of the jewels rattled fronored theeiven him
Chuntha did not stir froarb and quickly moved toward the cave's exit
Conan considered the proble His sword lay back in the cave where he and his friends had fought the bats A bare-handed struggle against the worms held little appeal Hoas he to bypass the pair? True, they were set to guard the cave fro surprise, he could ather their wits By the tih to pursue him, he would be well ahead, and he knew fro beasts
On the other hand, while such an action ht not bother to pursue hiuards could just as easily enter the cave and rouse Chuntha, and Conan had considerable doubt about his ability to outrun thereptile into which the witch could transform herself A dilemma In the end he decided that the key lay in boldness He had recognized the speech produced by the worms and could speak a fair portion of it He took a deep breath and stepped out through the chaue the wor asto strike
”Chuntha slu sent to fetch a thing for her
Move aside”
Conan gambled that the worms would assume his apparent nonchalance meant what he said was true
The Ciuests had ever left at all, much less without her express peruards would know this and fear to question her orders
The torans they used that passed for eyes were not apparent to Conan The Ci and tense ht rotation that Conan took to be a shrug, the pair relaxed back into their earlier poses