Abuud: the One-Eyed God (14 page)

"You may be right, Wylan," agreed Arik, "but that is not the mission that we are on."

"What could possibly be more important?" quizzed Wylan.

Arik shrugged and Tedi ignored the question, but Niki offered, "Restoring the Sword of Heavens. It is certainly more important than some old priest."

Wylan's eyes widened as he looked at the two swords Arik had. "Is that the Sword of Heavens?" he inquired. "I mean the real Sword of Heavens? It really exists?"

Arik looked around nervously while Tedi glared at Niki. Wylan sensed their nervousness.

"I won't tell a soul," Wylan promised. "I can understand your need for secrecy. I am just excited that the Ancient Prophecy is true. That means that the whole world will have clear skies soon. Now I understand why you cannot be bothered by the likes of Azmet. Do you think I could help you in any way?"

"If you can figure out how to get the diamond eye of Abuud," scowled Tedi.

"The eye?" echoed Wylan as his mouth hung open. "That certainly is a problem. The statue is seldom left alone and stealing the eye would be like hitting a hornet's nest. Those crazed martyrs would be swarming everywhere."

"Thanks for the inspiration," sighed Tedi. "Maybe we should try entering the temple at night. I am going to go back and check out the temple. Maybe I will find some chink in their armor."

"I will go with you," offered Arik. "Why don't you stay with Wylan, Niki? There is no sense in you endangering yourself. If we get in trouble you can go for help."

Niki ignored them as Arik and Tedi rose and returned to the temple. The worship hall was empty and Arik approached the statue as Tedi wandered the perimeter of the room looking for a way in after they bolted the doors. As Tedi reached the statue area, Nassar and Halmud appeared from behind the curtain and confronted the Rangers.

"I thought you would be back before the next lecture," sneered Nassar. "Have a little theft on your mind, do you? I can always spot a thief when I see one."

"We do not plan to steal anything," objected Arik. "Is it a crime to examine the statue of Abuud?"

"Certainly not," Azmet said as he entered the room. "You do tend to show more interest in the statue of Abuud than you do in Abuud's words though. What exactly is it you want?"

"He needs the diamond eye," offered Niki as she came up behind Arik and Tedi. "It belongs to the Sword of Heavens and not in that statue. You have no right to keep it from him."

Guards suddenly appeared from behind the curtain and surrounded Arik and Tedi. Their swords were drawn and they advanced on the two Rangers.

"So you did plan on defiling the statue," accused Azmet. "Nassar was right after all. Your punishment will provide a fine example to those who seek to defile the likeness of our god."

"The girl is not involved in this," declared Arik. "You have no cause against her."

"You cannot harm them," shouted Niki. "One of them is the heir to the throne of Tagaret. You don't want to get the whole country angry at you."

"Get out of here, Niki," shouted Arik. "You have helped enough already."

Azmet walked over to Arik and took the Sword of Heavens off his back while his men held their swords close to Arik.

"So this is the Sword of Heavens," mused Azmet. "These gems must be worth a fortune. Take these two to the dungeon. Find out which one is the heir, and kill the other one. Torture them if they don't wish to share their secret with us. It sounds like we will need to head towards Tagaret soon to claim another city for Abuud. The heir will ensure that the city surrenders peacefully. Throw the wench into the street."

Nassar led the way down the stairs to the dungeon carrying a torch. Two men followed Nassar, dragging Arik, and two more dragging Tedi. A sixth man followed the procession. Nassar reached the bottom of the stairs and turned down a long corridor. They walked for a long time before Nassar stopped and lifted a hatch in the floor. Holding the torch before him, Nassar started down another set of stairs. At the bottom of the long set of stairs below the hatch was a dank and dark corridor. Nassar paused to light a torch fixed to the wall and then proceeded down the corridor.

The stench hit Arik the moment the hatch in the floor was raised. He fought down the rising of his stomach contents as the guards roughly dragged him down the second set of stone steps. Arik heard the creaking of old hinges as Nassar stopped and opened a solid metal door. The guards dragging Arik stopped at the door to the cell, and Nassar grabbed Arik's sword and pack. The guards threw him into the dark stone cell. Arik sprawled across the floor and Tedi soon followed. The door slammed shut, and the only light in the cell was through the small square window in the door. Arik heard keys being used to lock the metal door.

"You two will stand guard here," ordered Nassar. "I will send someone down to accept their confessions soon. You might want to keep the lit torch close to you. This level is full of all sorts of vermin. This is not the level that we usually take people back out of, but I am concerned that they might have others in their group that will attempt to save them. Ignore the prisoners. I do not care if they scream for Abuud, you will not pay any attention to them. If they try to escape, kill them and throw the bodies back into he cell to rot like those before them."

"Will you send down food?" asked one of the jailers.

"No," answered Nassar. "The hatch will be sealed when I leave. It will only open for the torturer. Food would attract the vermin in any event. Trust me. You are better off without food down here."

Arik listened as the other four men left and climbed the stairs. The hatch thundered closed, and Arik could hear a bolt being hammered into place.

"They left me my belt knife," Arik mentioned out loud.

"Mine too. Perhaps it is their sort of mercy," scowled Tedi. "All it is good for is to take our own lives. I wish you had not sent Prince Midge back to Tagaret when we entered the city."

"I knew the diamond was in this city," shrugged Arik. "The other Rangers had to be told. Besides, with that hatch Midge would have been trapped down here with us."

"What was that?" yelped Tedi as he jumped from where he was sitting. "Something just started nibbling on my leg."

"Try not to move too much," suggested Arik. "I got a brief glimpse of the cell from Nassar's torch. There are rotting bodies in this cell. Who knows what is feeding on them."

"I could have done without that information," growled Tedi. "Maybe having these knives will prove to be a temptation."

"I sure hope Niki can find some way out of here for us," stated Arik. "Maybe she can use her magic."

"The knife is looking better every minute," retorted Tedi. "I cannot remember any spell that Niki has ever cast that did what it is supposed to do. If she tries to use her magic to free us, we will probably be covered in several tons of stone."

"Your optimism is really encouraging," Arik said snidely.

"Now there are things crawling up my sleeves," shouted Tedi as he frantically beat at his arms. "Nobody is going to come and save us," he added after he rid his arms of vermin. "Niki does not even know where we are. In fact, I do not think we are even under the temple. That corridor was longer than I remember the building being."

"I did think that was strange," admitted Arik. "I did not think it was normal for a temple to have cells either. At least not this type of cell. This is where they put people to rot to death and then forget about them."

"And the Rangers will be days away if they leave Tagaret immediately," continued Tedi. "Not that we gave them any reason to rush. Prince Midge will not even be able to find us in here. I think the only air that gets in here is when they open the hatch."

"Well I refuse to give in to them," Arik stated defiantly. "I will never admit to being the heir, and I certainly will not lead them into Tagaret to spread their fanaticism."

"Do what you wish regarding Tagaret," suggested Tedi, "but let them know that you are the heir. I would rather die than be tortured and left down here to die. It is a long way to Tagaret and once you are on the surface you will have a chance to be rescued."

"I cannot let them kill you," scowled Arik.

"I am going to die either way," declared Tedi. "Make it easy on both of us. I know that I will charge the first person that I get a chance to. I only hope it is someone with a quick sword hand."

***

"Why did you mention the diamond to the prophet?" Wylan asked Niki. "Didn't you know what would happen?"

"The diamond is what Arik wanted," retorted Niki. "I don't know why he was playing games with the prophet. Arik should have just come out and told Azmet that the diamond belonged to him. At least I told them that one of them was the heir to the throne. They will think twice about harming them now."

"Didn't you hear what the prophet said?" Wylan asked. "They are going to kill one of them and take the other hostage to ransom the city of Tagaret. And that is after they torture both of them. Before you spoke, the worst that would have happened to them was a public flogging for thinking about defiling the statue."

"Fine!" exclaimed Niki as she bit her lower lip. "Blame it all on me why don't you. I am sick and tired of everyone blaming their own problems on me. They got themselves into this mess, and they will have to get themselves out of it. I am through trying to baby-sit everyone."

Niki stormed off and Wylan looked after her and shook his head. He could not believe that Niki had such a distorted sense of reality. After Niki disappeared from sight, Wylan turned his attention to the problem at hand. He had no idea where Azmet would imprison the strangers, but he might be able to pick up some information if he hung around the temple.

***

Prince Midge darted through the window of the Golden Sword Inn and hovered before settling down on Alex's shoulder.

"Greetings from the Bringer," Midge said cheerfully.

"Greetings Prince Midge," replied Alex as Jenneva and Tanya ended their quiet talk and moved closer to hear the news. "Are Arik and Tedi safe?"

"Oh yes," chirped the green fairy. "Niki is as well. They have entered the city of Cleb and Arik reports that the Diamond of Edona is in that city."

"Wonderful," smiled Jenneva. "We were beginning to get worried with no word from them. We assumed that they had rescued Niki, but it is always nice to hear your thoughts validated."

"Are they going to get the diamond and return here?" asked Tanya. "Or should we be traveling to Cleb to begin the search for the next gem?"

"I think as long as Arik and Tedi have things under control in the search for the gems," posed Alex, "our time may be well spent here in Tagaret. Now that we have gained three seats on the Council, it may be time to start thinking about the return of Queen Marta."

"So you are counting Fredrik as one of us still?" asked Tanya.

"Fredrik may be smitten by Niki," offered Jenneva, "but I think he shares our desire to see Arik on the throne. It is hard to imagine him siding with the likes of Sarac."

"How did your talk go with Fredrik?" Alex asked Tanya.

"He seemed much like the old Fredrik," answered Tanya. "Well, somewhat like the old Fredrik. There did seem to be a loss of his spirit. He is not as happy as he was when we were on the trail. I also do not think he enjoys being apart from Niki. He knows that Dalgar intentionally separated them so that Niki could have suitors to further her chances of gaining a seat on the Council. I am not sure what he would do if he learned that Niki was with Arik and Tedi."

"I see no reason to inform him at this time," suggested Jenneva. "As long as she is safe with Arik and Tedi then we do not need to worry Fredrik needlessly. His mind must be on things other than romance right now."

"I agree," declared Alex. "This may be the best chance we have ever had at ending the Contest of Power. There are some things you can do while you are in Tagaret, Prince Midge. Do you have the time?"

"What do you require?" asked the fairy prince.

"We need to reorganize the fairy network," replied Jenneva. "One courier for all of the fairy spies is inadequate. We are going to need communications that are very fast in the coming times."

"It will also create more risk to the fairies," added Alex. "As the number of couriers increases so do the chances of detection. This is not a decision that should be made by Oscar or me. It requires either the Bringer or you, Prince Midge."

"I am pleased that you understand our allegiance is to the Bringer," smiled Midge. "Others would have assumed that the fairies could be ordered around by anyone. Your thoughts speak highly of your character, Alex. I will develop a plan that serves the needs of the Bringer. Perhaps I should go see Oscar so I can find out exactly what he thinks will be needed."

"An excellent idea," smiled Jenneva. "I do not think it should take more than a few days to get everything set just right."

Prince Midge leaped into the air and performed an acrobatic bow before darting out of the window.

"Do you think Arik and Tedi will be alright without Midge for a few days?" asked Jenneva.

"Certainly," nodded Alex. "They are both level-headed and will stay out of trouble. If they run into a problem that they can not tackle then I am sure they will wait until we arrive."

***

Niki stormed down the narrow alley, her thoughts as dark as the perpetual cloud covering that hung over Cleb since the Collapse. She bent down and picked up a small stone and turned to glare at the small puppy that had taken to following her through the streets and alleys. She hurled the stone at the puppy and it yelped loudly. The puppy sped away to the end of the alley and turned and whimpered.

Niki glared as the puppy started to cautiously follow her again as she continued her walk. She had had enough of taking care of other people and she certainly wasn't going to take care of a dog. She could not believe how Wylan had tried to blame everything on her. As if it was her fault that those fool boys had gotten themselves into trouble. If they wanted the diamond they should have just taken it. Niki stopped and suddenly smiled. This was her chance to show everyone that she was better than them. She would show them all by getting the diamond herself. Even the great Arik and Tedi had failed to get it, but Niki would succeed where they had failed. That would prove to the Rangers that she was the best one after all. Maybe then they would acknowledge that she should be queen instead of one of those boys who had failed.