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.Isar had the feeling in those few crowded moments thatNa-Groth was not in charge of himself.Someone, or something, else ruled his dark soul.Isar looked back to the Queen.Was it she?But he did not think so.Both of them were looking out from the dark holes oftheir eyes, using the splendour of their surroundings tohide their own inadequacy.Kyra could command respect and speak with authority,standing barefoot in a field, with nothing more than apeasant s loose woollen shift about her.But these people had to use tricks to give them stature.The skulls, the fires, the dark wood, the toweringcolumns, even the use of giant shadows in the spacesbetween the columns, were all part of the illusion.The warriors swords and spears, however, were real,and he had felt the harshness of their knuckles.He thought back to the Temple of the Sun and askedfor strength to outface his enemies.Behind the Queen s throne he noticed a slightmovement and turned his eyes towards it.His heart leapt.Lark was there, her deep, expressive eyes willing himto silence.Joy at seeing her was extinguished instantly in anxietyfor her safety as well as for his own.He knew withoutany doubt that she was there because she was forcedto be there.Most of the other attendants looked as though they had come to accept the advantages oftheir situation, but Lark s eyes had not changed sincehe had seen her last, and he knew she was still loyal tothe old ways and the overthrow of Na-Groth s power.He looked away from her, knowing that he must give nosign that he recognized her, or she too would be lost. Kneel! the command was given again, harshly.He stood his ground.A guard whipped him until he at last fell down. I see. he managed to bring out from his bleedingmouth, Na-Groth does not want the respect of freemen, only the fear of slaves!This time the whipping he received made him loseconsciousness. 7The Invisible EnemyKarne was hoping to keep his small army well hiddenfrom Na-Groth.Surprise was his greatest strength, forthe men he had with him were greatly outnumberedand most of them unused to conflict.But Na-Groth was no fool.Even as Isar lay bound and bleeding on the floor of oneof the dark chambers of the palace, and Karne wassurveying his men and speaking to them of surprise,one of Na-Groth s spies was kneeling before the twothrones and speaking of the puny force the Temple hadmanaged to muster.Na-Groth laughed hugely at the description. So be it! he roared, still laughing. If they want to dieas heroes, let them die as heroes! We will notdisappoint them.The place was filled with the noise of people stampingtheir feet in approval and Na-Groth s humourless andrasping laughter.It was the Queen who raised her hand at last forsilence, and on the instant, everyone froze as though asudden chill wind had swept over them.She glared at everyone in front of the thrones, hervenomous eyes subduing them, compelling them totheir knees.When the whole vast hall was full of silent, kneelingfigures, she rose to her feet, drawing her lord with her. The two stood on their dark platform, high above theirsubjects.Na-Groth was not laughing now and his face wasgathering darkness like the sky before a storm.He waited long enough for the silence to becomeintolerable and then he raised his fist above his headand brought it down like an axe, his voice spitting outthe words: Crush them like flies! Like flies! screamed his minions at his feet. Like flies, said his Queen with satisfaction in her coldand deadly voice. Let the beacon fires be lit and the warriors be sent!roared Na-Groth.It was as though a dark wind swirled through the halland gathered all the people up like winter leaves.No one but Na-Groth and his lady Maeged remained.* * * *Khu-ren and Kyra were very near to despair.For all their skill they could not reach Isar.The black malevolence of Na-Groth s rule producedpowerful vibrations, stronger as they centred on thepersons of Na-Groth and Maeged.Their palace was impregnable to the priests of Light.Khu-ren, in spirit-travel, could visit the ridge thatoverlooked the encampment and could see quiteclearly the distant dark palace, but, when he tried tomove towards it, the air broke up around him inswirling currents, and he had to use all his psychicstrength not to be sucked down into the vortex of Na-Groth s destructive will. We need someone inside the palace to reach out tous, he explained to Kyra. If only Isar were strong enough! she said sadly.Khu-ren looked at her closely and his voice took on thetenderness of warning. You must prepare yourself my love, he said gently. For what?She looked at him with frightened eyes, for she knewthe answer. Isar may be dead. No! she cried. It would be surprising if he were not.We have lostcontact with him completely, which means either he isdead already, or he is well within the range of Na-Groth s power.We could not expect that Na-Grothwould not have killed him as soon as he found him.Kyra was silent, her shoulders bent and her facedesolate.Khu-ren put his arm around her and they sat together,deep in thought.Gradually Kyra began to straighten upand pull away from her husband.She had that lookupon her face that she had when she was listening forsomething ordinary ears could not catch.He drew back at once and waited beside her, hardlydaring to move in case he disturbed her concentration.Slowly.slowly she turned to her husband. What is it? he whispered. It is Maal, she said, her voice shaking. I am sure it isMaal!He kissed her and held her tight. Where is he? I do not know.the impression was very faint andstrange.There was a girl and he was a shadow behindthe girl.and his voice came from the mouth of the girl.and yet.and yet I did not get the impression theywere the same person.Kyra strained to recapture the experience, but it wasgone. What did he say? Karne.is.in danger.His position is known to Na-Groth.There was something about flies.but I did notunderstand that. Never mind what you did not understand.We haveenough to know that Karne is in danger, and him, atleast, we can reach. Come.He took her hand and they prepared again for theadventure of spirit-travel.* * * *Karne posted the watches for the night and took one ofthe positions himself.He was restless and knew that he would not be able tosleep though his body was weary from the effort of theday.At times he felt it was only the strength of his ownwill that sustained this crowd of men and drove themaway from their families and into danger.It was not an easy burden to bear [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Isar had the feeling in those few crowded moments thatNa-Groth was not in charge of himself.Someone, or something, else ruled his dark soul.Isar looked back to the Queen.Was it she?But he did not think so.Both of them were looking out from the dark holes oftheir eyes, using the splendour of their surroundings tohide their own inadequacy.Kyra could command respect and speak with authority,standing barefoot in a field, with nothing more than apeasant s loose woollen shift about her.But these people had to use tricks to give them stature.The skulls, the fires, the dark wood, the toweringcolumns, even the use of giant shadows in the spacesbetween the columns, were all part of the illusion.The warriors swords and spears, however, were real,and he had felt the harshness of their knuckles.He thought back to the Temple of the Sun and askedfor strength to outface his enemies.Behind the Queen s throne he noticed a slightmovement and turned his eyes towards it.His heart leapt.Lark was there, her deep, expressive eyes willing himto silence.Joy at seeing her was extinguished instantly in anxietyfor her safety as well as for his own.He knew withoutany doubt that she was there because she was forcedto be there.Most of the other attendants looked as though they had come to accept the advantages oftheir situation, but Lark s eyes had not changed sincehe had seen her last, and he knew she was still loyal tothe old ways and the overthrow of Na-Groth s power.He looked away from her, knowing that he must give nosign that he recognized her, or she too would be lost. Kneel! the command was given again, harshly.He stood his ground.A guard whipped him until he at last fell down. I see. he managed to bring out from his bleedingmouth, Na-Groth does not want the respect of freemen, only the fear of slaves!This time the whipping he received made him loseconsciousness. 7The Invisible EnemyKarne was hoping to keep his small army well hiddenfrom Na-Groth.Surprise was his greatest strength, forthe men he had with him were greatly outnumberedand most of them unused to conflict.But Na-Groth was no fool.Even as Isar lay bound and bleeding on the floor of oneof the dark chambers of the palace, and Karne wassurveying his men and speaking to them of surprise,one of Na-Groth s spies was kneeling before the twothrones and speaking of the puny force the Temple hadmanaged to muster.Na-Groth laughed hugely at the description. So be it! he roared, still laughing. If they want to dieas heroes, let them die as heroes! We will notdisappoint them.The place was filled with the noise of people stampingtheir feet in approval and Na-Groth s humourless andrasping laughter.It was the Queen who raised her hand at last forsilence, and on the instant, everyone froze as though asudden chill wind had swept over them.She glared at everyone in front of the thrones, hervenomous eyes subduing them, compelling them totheir knees.When the whole vast hall was full of silent, kneelingfigures, she rose to her feet, drawing her lord with her. The two stood on their dark platform, high above theirsubjects.Na-Groth was not laughing now and his face wasgathering darkness like the sky before a storm.He waited long enough for the silence to becomeintolerable and then he raised his fist above his headand brought it down like an axe, his voice spitting outthe words: Crush them like flies! Like flies! screamed his minions at his feet. Like flies, said his Queen with satisfaction in her coldand deadly voice. Let the beacon fires be lit and the warriors be sent!roared Na-Groth.It was as though a dark wind swirled through the halland gathered all the people up like winter leaves.No one but Na-Groth and his lady Maeged remained.* * * *Khu-ren and Kyra were very near to despair.For all their skill they could not reach Isar.The black malevolence of Na-Groth s rule producedpowerful vibrations, stronger as they centred on thepersons of Na-Groth and Maeged.Their palace was impregnable to the priests of Light.Khu-ren, in spirit-travel, could visit the ridge thatoverlooked the encampment and could see quiteclearly the distant dark palace, but, when he tried tomove towards it, the air broke up around him inswirling currents, and he had to use all his psychicstrength not to be sucked down into the vortex of Na-Groth s destructive will. We need someone inside the palace to reach out tous, he explained to Kyra. If only Isar were strong enough! she said sadly.Khu-ren looked at her closely and his voice took on thetenderness of warning. You must prepare yourself my love, he said gently. For what?She looked at him with frightened eyes, for she knewthe answer. Isar may be dead. No! she cried. It would be surprising if he were not.We have lostcontact with him completely, which means either he isdead already, or he is well within the range of Na-Groth s power.We could not expect that Na-Grothwould not have killed him as soon as he found him.Kyra was silent, her shoulders bent and her facedesolate.Khu-ren put his arm around her and they sat together,deep in thought.Gradually Kyra began to straighten upand pull away from her husband.She had that lookupon her face that she had when she was listening forsomething ordinary ears could not catch.He drew back at once and waited beside her, hardlydaring to move in case he disturbed her concentration.Slowly.slowly she turned to her husband. What is it? he whispered. It is Maal, she said, her voice shaking. I am sure it isMaal!He kissed her and held her tight. Where is he? I do not know.the impression was very faint andstrange.There was a girl and he was a shadow behindthe girl.and his voice came from the mouth of the girl.and yet.and yet I did not get the impression theywere the same person.Kyra strained to recapture the experience, but it wasgone. What did he say? Karne.is.in danger.His position is known to Na-Groth.There was something about flies.but I did notunderstand that. Never mind what you did not understand.We haveenough to know that Karne is in danger, and him, atleast, we can reach. Come.He took her hand and they prepared again for theadventure of spirit-travel.* * * *Karne posted the watches for the night and took one ofthe positions himself.He was restless and knew that he would not be able tosleep though his body was weary from the effort of theday.At times he felt it was only the strength of his ownwill that sustained this crowd of men and drove themaway from their families and into danger.It was not an easy burden to bear [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]