Part 6 (1/2)

'Ah, a good stroke, Petreus! That fairly disemboweled him! Now one for you,tear the flesh of the dead with their slavering teeth'

Murilo shuddered Behind hiue Only death was to be seen in the chaled, the conspirators lay in a red heap, gaping h the sloirling eddies of gray

Thak, stooping like a giant gnoave it a peculiar sidewise pull

'He is opening the farther door,' said Nabonidus 'By Mitra, he is uessed! See, the mist swirls out of the chamber, and is dissipated He waits, to be safe Now he raises the other panel He is cautious - he knows the doos madness and death By Mitra!'

Murilo jerked about at the electric quality of the exclamation

'Our one chance!' exclaimed Nabonidus 'If he leaves the chamber above for a few minutes, ill risk a dash up those stairs'

Suddenly tense, they watched the h the doorway and vanish With the lifting of the glass panel, the curtains had fallen again, hiding the chaasped Nabonidus, and Murilo saw perspiration break out on his face 'Perhaps he will be disposing of the bodies as he has seen me do Quick! Follow me up those stairs!'

He ran toward the steps and up the nobleman and the barbarian were close at his heels, and they heard his gusty sigh of relief as he threw open the door at the top of the stairs They burst into the broad chamber they had seen mirrored below Thak was nowhere to be seen

'He's in that chamber with the corpses!' exclaimed Murilo 'Why not trap hiasped Nabonidus, an unaccusto his features 'We do not know that he is in there He e before we could reach the trap-rope, anyway! Follow me into the corridor; I must reach my chamber and obtain weapons which will destroy hi from this chamber which is not set with a trap of soh a curtained doorway opposite the door of the death-chamber, and came into a corridor, into which various chaan to try the doors on each side They were locked, as was the door at the other end of the corridor

'My God!' The Red Priest leaned against the wall, his skin ashen 'The doors are locked, and Thak took my keys from me We are trapped, after all'

Murilo stared appalled to see the man in such a state of nerves, and Nabonidus pulled hiether with an effort

'That beast has me in a panic,' he said 'If you had seen him tear ht hiiven us Come!'

He led thereat chae from the opposite doorway It was apparent that the beast- His srily about hi the nearest doorway, tore aside the curtains to look behind theripped Conan's shoulder 'Man, do you dare pit your knife against his fangs?'

The Cimmerian's eyes blazed in answer

'Quick!' the Red Priest whispered, thrusting hiainst the wall 'As he will find us soon enough, ill draw him to us As he rushes past you, sink your blade in his back if you can You Murilo, show yourself to him, and then flee up the corridor Mitra knoe have no chance with him in hand-to-hand combat, but we are dooeal in his veins, but he steeled himself, and stepped outside the doorway Instantly Thak, on the other side of the chaed with a thunderous roar His scarlet hood had fallen back, revealing his black misshapen head; his black hands and red robe were splashed with a brighter red He was like a cris bared, his bowed legs hurtling his enorait

Murilo turned and ran back into the corridor, and quick as he was, the shaggy horror was almost at his heels Then as thethereat form that struck full on the ape the poniard into the brutish back Thak screamed horribly as the impact knocked hiether Instantly there began a whirl and thrash of li of a fiendish battle

Murilo saw that the barbarian had locked his legs about the ape to maintain his position on the monster's back, while he butchered it with his poniard Thak, on the other hand, was striving to dislodge his clinging foe, to drag hiaped for his flesh In a ind of blows and scarlet tatters they rolled along the corridor, revolving so swiftly that Murilo dared not use the chair he had caught up, lest he strike the Cimmerian And he saw that in spite of the handicap of Conan's first hold, and the voluminous robe that lashed and wrapped about the apeth iftly prevailing Inexorably he was dragging the Cimmerian around in front of hih to have killed a dozen ain into his torso, shoulders and bull-like neck; he was strea blood from a score of wounds, but unless the blade quickly reached some absolutely vital spot, Thak's inhuman vitality would survive to finish the Cimhting like a wild beast hiasps of effort The black talons of the rasp of those aped for his throat Then Murilo, seeing an opening, sprang and swung the chair with all his power, and with force enough to have brained a hulanced from Thak's slanted black skull; but the stunned rasp, and in that instant Conan, gasping and streaed forward and sank his poniard to the hilt in the apeman's heart

With a convulsive shudder the beastman started frolazed, his thick liered dizzily up, shaking the sweat and blood out of his eyes Blood dripped froers, and trickled in rivulets down his thighs, arht at him to support him, but the barbarian shook him off impatiently

'When I cannot stand alone, it will be tih on of wine'

Nabonidus was staring down at the still figure as if he could not believe his own eyes Black, hairy, abhorrent, the rotesque in the tatters of the scarlet robe; yet more human than bestial, even so, and possessed soue and terrible pathos

Even the Ciht, not a beast I will count hi the chiefs whose souls I've sent into the dark, andof him'

Nabonidus stooped and picked up a bunch of keys on a golden chain They had fallen fro his companions to follow him, he led them to a chamber, unlocked the door, and led the way inside It was illumined like the others The Red Priest took a vessel of wine from a table and filled crystal beakers As his coht! It is nearly dawn, now What of you, my friends?'

'I'll dress Conan's hurts, if you will fetch es and the like,' said Murilo, and Nabonidus nodded, andabout his bowed head caused Murilo to watch him sharply At the door the Red Priest wheeled suddenly His face had undergone a transforhed soundlessly

'Rogues together!' his voice rang with its accustoether You are the fool, Murilo!'

'What do younobleman started forward

'Back!' Nabonidus's voice cracked like a whip 'Another step and I will blast you!'

Murilo's blood turned cold as he saw that the Red Priest's hand grasped a thick velvet rope which hung a the curtains just outside the door

'What treachery is this?' cried Murilo 'You swore-'

'I swore I would not tell the king a jest concerning you! I did not swear not to take matters into my own hands if I could Do you think I would pass up such an opportunity? Under ordinary circumstances I would not dare kill you , but now none will ever know You will go into the acid-vats along with Thak and the nationalist fools, and none will be the wiser What a night this has been for me! If I have lost some valuable servants, I have nevertheless rid erous enemies Stand back! I am over the threshold, and you cannot possibly reach ray lotus, this ti just as effective Nearly every chamber in my house is a trap And so, Murilo, fool that you are-'

Too quickly for the sight to follow, Conan caught up a stool and hurled it Nabonidus instinctively threw up his arainst his head, and the Red Priest swayed and fell face-down in a sloidening pool of dark crirunted Conan

Murilo raked back his sweat-plastered hair with a shaky hand as he leaned against the table, weak from the reaction of relief

'It is dawn,' he said 'Let us get out of here, before we fall afoul of so seen, on't be connected with this night's work Let the police write their own explanation'

He glanced at the body of the Red Priest where it lay etched in cried his shoulders

'He was the fool, after all; had he not paused to taunt us, he could have trapped us easily'

'Well,' said the Ciues must walk at last I'd like to loot the house, but I suppose we'd best go'

As they earden, Murilo said: 'The Red Priest has gone into the dark, soto fear But what of you? There is still the matter of that priest in The Maze, and-'

'I'rinned the Ci at the Rats' Den I'm curious to see how fast that horse can carry hway I want to travel before I walk the road Nabonidus walked this night'

THE HAND OF NERGAI,