Part 9 (1/2)

It appeared as dead and frozen as the first one, but everyone slowed down again except Jarek, and even he circled the head warily and kept his chain at the ready.

”I wonder how many Sunstones you'd need for each one of these,” Tal wondered as they pa.s.sed. There was a third Wormwalker ahead, like the last reared up in an aggressive att.i.tude.

Ebbitt looked at something under his breastplate and answered absently.

”Seven hundred of at least strength-eighty stones in each eye for full operation. They have not been used since the time of Ramellan and the Shadow Wars.”

His Spiritshadow had to nudge him aside from the Wormwalker's legs as he spoke. It was finally clear that he was reading something, something he had stuffed down the front of his robe, against his chest. It wasn't just a weird new habit he'd chosen to annoy Tal.

Tal had a good idea what Ebbitt had concealed there, though he couldn't work out how the old man was carrying it, when it weighed as much as he did.

Ebbitt caught Tal's frown, looked down inside his robe again, and coughed.

”I was going to tell you,” he said. ”But it slipped my mind.”

”I thought it couldn't change its weight,” complained Tal. ”It nearly dislocated my arm before!”

”It can't do some alterations itself; you have to ask it the right way,” said Ebbitt. ”Fortunately I have researched some of the phrases for commanding its obedience. Though not all, by any means, and it is a tricky bit of... of whatever it is...”

Tal called out, for he and Ebbitt had slipped a little way behind. ”Ebbitt has the Codex!”

Milla turned back to look but Jarek continued on past her. As the Wilder walked on toward the third Wormwalker, Tal saw a sudden glint appear in its eye--and multiply like fire across a pool of oil.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

”Look out!” screamed Tal, but even as the words left his mouth the Wormwalker struck. Its mandibles snapped down at Jarek, gripping the Wilder around the waist. He dropped his chain, and his mighty arms pushed against the creature's jaws, trying to keep them apart. Anyone else's hands would have been sliced through, but Jarek's strange skin resisted the mechanical insect's serrated mandibles. Even so, strong as he was, it was clear the Icecarl would soon be crushed.

Tal immediately raised his Sunstone and fired off a Red Ray of Destruction, only to see it absorbed by the Sunstones in the Wormwalker's eye. Adras and Odris flew forward, but as they tried to grip the creature's mandibles to help Jarek, they found themselves repelled by the green sheen on its surface, which was now sparking--another Sunstone-powered effect.

Milla attacked, too, whipping a light rope around the Wormwalker's head. But just as the Spiritshadows could not touch the metal, the rope of light was repelled.

Crow threw a knife at one eye, and was gratified and surprised to see a few Sunstones fall out, but not enough to make a difference.

Jarek roared, the Spiritshadows boomed and shouted, Milla cried a war cry, and Ebbitt said something to Tal as he fired another Red Ray, this time aiming at the thing's front set of legs.

”What?” shouted Tal. Ebbitt was bobbing around at his side and muttering while trying to read something from the Codex he had under his breastplate.

”The top of its head!” shouted Ebbitt. ”In front of... in front of the saddle. You have to pull its... er... brain out.”

Tal looked at the Wormwalker, which was shaking Jarek back and forth, its long body undulating wildly behind it all along the corridor. Milla was dancing about in front of it, whipping the light rope from her Talon across its eyes. With every third or fourth stroke, a Sunstone would fail to resist and explode, but there were too many for that tactic to work.

”In front of the saddle?” asked Tal quickly. ”Yes!”

Tal sized up the Wormwalker's motion and started to run. As he ran, he shouted to Adras. ”Adras! Adras! Throw me onto the thing's head!”

Adras turned at his voice, but didn't seem to understand. Tal had a momentary vision of the Spiritshadow simply stepping aside to let him slide under the Wormwalker and into the forest of its razor-sharp legs.

”Throw me!” he screamed. ”Onto its head!”

The Spiritshadow finally got it. He cupped his hands a second before Tal reached him. The Chosen boy leaped, had his feet caught for an instant, and was thrown through the air, over the mandibles and the still-struggling Jarek.

He came down hard on the Wormwalker's head and started to slide off, the wrong side, down to the sharp legs. But the saddle was only a handsbreadth away, and he managed to stretch himself to what he was sure was much more than his usual height and grip on to it.

A moment later he had spun around and was in the saddle, holding on desperately as the Wormwalker arched, undulated, and shook in an effort to dislodge him.

Tal held on to a ring just in front of the saddle with one hand and clawed at a round panel set in the thing's head, which was the only possible clue to where its brain might be. All his nails broke, but he managed to flip it open. Underneath there was a single Sunstone set in the top of what looked like a crystal cylinder or tube full of a pulsing green fluid.

Tal forced his fingers into the receptacle and tried to pull the cylinder out. But he couldn't get a grip, and he was nearly thrown out of the saddle as the Wormwalker redoubled its efforts to shake him off. It was gyrating up and down from the floor and smacking itself against the ceiling, so that Tal had to fling himself right down on the saddle to avoid being crushed.

”Do... thing imp...!” shouted Ebbitt, his voice only just audible above the din. Tal took a second to translate this in his head as ”Do something imperial!”

Tal grimaced, concentrated, and fired a pulse of pure Violet at the Sunstone atop the cylinder. It answered with a flash, and the cylinder popped half out of the receptacle. Tal grabbed it, pulled it the rest of the way out, and flung it over the side.

He almost went over himself, as the Wormwalker froze in midundulation. His hand, already sore from the climb up the slopdown, was burning and bleeding again and he had the familiar feeling of a nearly dislocated shoulder.

Climbing down, he found Ebbitt examining the long crystal tube. It was full of green lumps of something disgusting-looking, floating in what could be cooking oil but almost certainly wasn't.

”Well done,” said Ebbitt, sliding the tube through his belt. ”Very considerate of you to get one of these for me.”

Tal shook his head. ”I hope there aren't any more Wormwalkers ahead of us,” he said. ”Ebbitt, can you ask the Codex where Sus.h.i.+n is? It must have taken him quite a while to get this thing going again, so maybe he isn't too far ahead.”

Ebbitt nodded, which to Tal meant yes, as he ducked under the Wormwalker's head to where Milla, Crow, and Malen were standing solemnly looking up at the body of Jarek.

One look told Tal that somewhere in those last few seconds of struggle, Jarek's strength had failed him, and the mandibles had closed.

”The fury did not come to him,” said Milla.

”He did not want to live after Kirr was slain,” said Malen. ”So it is with all Wilders. The fury only fails them when they do not need it anymore.”

”I was too slow,” said Tal. He looked away. ”Too slow again . .”

”You fought well,” said Milla to Tal. ”Almost like a Far-Raider. But we have all been too slow. We must not let Sus.h.i.+n have any more time to bring foes like this to life again.”

”The Codex can't tell where Sus.h.i.+n is,” said Ebbitt, appearing from under the Wormwalker, his breastplate pushed well away from his chest, a strange light now clearly visible s.h.i.+ning through his rather grimy unders.h.i.+rt. ”A power opposes it.”

”What about the Veil?” asked Tal urgently. ”Is the Veil still working?”

Ebbitt looked down and muttered a question.

”It's hard to read upside down,” he complained. ”But the Codex is not to be trusted if I keep it anywhere else, so--”

”The Veil, Ebbitt!”

”It's still up,” replied Ebbitt with a smile. Then the smile disappeared, instantly wiped away. ”But not for long. The Codex reports the Chamber of the Veil is in use. The Veil is being 'shut down,' whatever that is. Three of the Towers are already out, from Violet to Blue. Oh, no! Green is going!”