Gaal the Conqueror (10 page)

Soon their circle was complete. They linked their boughs
together like dancers whose arms entwine over one another's
shoulders. The Dance of the Elms had begun. Their chant
changed and quickened as they circled, now to the left, now to
the right, around the three sleeping figures.

For more than an hour the dance continued, and at last John
began to do something many people do when they are close
to waking-he began to dream. He was standing on the ice in
Black Sturgeon Lake. It was clear ice which shone like a mirror
so he could look down at his upside-down reflection in the lake
below. Then to his horror he saw fingers of a giant hand reach
up from below to surround the upside-down John, as though
they were about to pull him down into the depths of the lake.
When he looked up he saw that in fact a giant hand had descended from the sky above.

With a yell of terror he awoke to the greater terror of the
elms. Eleanor woke too, and like John she sprang to her feet
and dived for what seemed like an opening between two of the
trunks. "Authentio! Authentio! Something's happening!" Authentio scrambled to his feet, and like the children, immediately sought a way out. But it was useless. Again and again as they
flung themselves toward a space between two trunks, their exit was blocked. Authentio gave up quickly and began studying the
movements of the trees.

Finally exhausted, gasping with breathlessness and terror,
John and Eleanor gave up. "What can we do?" Eleanor sobbed.

"The treasures," Authentio muttered to himself. "Perhaps
they can-" Then with a cry he flung himself at the foot of two
elms where their bundles were rapidly disappearing as the two
trees advanced past them. He seized the nearest ones, dragging
them from the grip of the trunks on either side of them, and
pulled them back to the ashes of dead fire in the middle. "The
treasures-" he gasped. "They have power. It may be-"

Fortunately all three treasures were among the bundles he
had pulled back. With feverish fingers Authentio tore from
Eleanor's bundle the key and the orb, holding them uncertainly
in his hands, fiercely muttering, "How shall we tap the power?"

But John was tugging the great old book of the laws and
history of Anthropos by its straps, and as he did so it fell open.
A blinding flash of brilliant and dazzling blue light filled all the
forest. Instinctively they covered their eyes. At once the trees
shuddered, and with groans disentangled their boughs, drawing back. By and by they were able to look, watching the strange
slow wading of the retreating trees in stunned fascination. "Just
look at the other trees," Eleanor said. "They-they actually
know what's happening!" No tree impeded the elms' progress.
Instead trees bent their trunks and boughs away from them to
give them clear passage.

Authentio reached forward and closed the book and predawn darkness descended once more. "My lord and lady, I am
sure we need no longer fear," he said.

They gathered more wood and rekindled the fire, sitting and
talking agitatedly as dawn slowly crept across the sky. "I have
heard of such things," Authentio said, "but never so far from
Bamah." He frowned. "There was one who told me about it. He
repeated a rhyme, and told me it protected against the trees."

I did not watch.

My body lay

And slept the careless

Hours away.

The crime is mine.

I cannot pay.

To Gaal the merciful

I pray.

"It sounds like you're not supposed to sleep," John said,
frowning.

"Had this happened in the woods near Bamah, I would have
understood," Authentio said. "That it should happen here has
grave purport."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Shagah has been at work, my lord. He planned
your death."

"Our death?" John said.

"Anyone trapped in the circle dies, unless the spell can be
broken."

"But how could he know we were coming this way?" Eleanor
asked.

"He may not have been sure, even though this is the shortest
route. But he has spread his net widely. Doubtless it hovers over
many routes. I suspect you are going to see more of him." He
drew in a breath. "The rest of your journey is likely to prove
perilous. It is as well that you have the treasures with you."

"Yes," John murmured. "That's what Ponty must have meant.
He said they had been entrusted to us for our own protection
as well as theirs. I knew we had to protect the treasures and get
them into the tower, but I didn't quite see how they could
protect us. I guess I see now."

But Eleanor's face had turned pale. "I'm not sure I like the
idea of a perilous journey with more nights like tonight happening," she said.

In the great Temple of Bamah, Shagah the Sorcerer and the
Lord of the Angeli, Lord Lunacy, were together again, but this
time the room was larger and the walls were curtained. Shagah
sat on a gold throne while the Lord Lunacy towered above him,
exuding power and menace. Lunacy spoke first, smiling as he
did so. "I sensed a release of power in the predawn hours. You
were aware of it?"

Shagah's face was impassive. He spoke quietly and courteously. "Indeed, my lord. You have taught me well. It was, as you
are doubtless aware, the power of the Book. We shall soon have
it under lock and key."

"You are sure of that?"

"Quite sure, my lord." His face was pale, and his tone careful,
but he displayed no fear.

"And you know the precise location of the Sword Bearer's

"Its precise location, my lord-no. We know where the party
is headed. My suspicion is that they will reach Taavath-Basar
two or three days from now. I have activated the pool for their
benefit. Of course, as you will appreciate, once we have the
Sword Bearer we will have the treasure too. Including the Book.
A day or two will make little difference after so many centuries."
He drew in his breath, and there was a hint of tremor as he
did so. "You are concerned, my lord?"

Lord Lunacy's voice was cold and expressionless. "You are
the one who is concerned-not I. As you know, should the
Book once get inside the tower, we will no longer have access
to it. Copies will sooner or later be made from it." He smiled
again. "That must not be allowed to happen. Remember," he
continued, "you are not immortal-yet."

Shagah allowed a minute to pass before he replied. He
seemed unable to match his master's smile, but his voice was
controlled. "Be assured, my lord, that I bear all these things in
mind. I have my own plans for the tower which we can discuss
later. In the meantime we have the city to worry about-and the
Regenskind Gaal." He tensed as he uttered the name, gripping
the sides of his throne as if to anticipate the roar that had
greeted it on the previous occasion.

At the mention of the name, Lord Lunacy's face darkened.
"Gaal. Still at liberty. I burn with longing to destroy the usurper
and consume him. Do you hear me, Shagah? I am consumed
with rage toward him!" he was shouting now, and the room
trembled from the paroxysm that shook him.

Shagah paled. Beads of sweat appeared on his upper lip and
his forehead, but he continued to look steadily at his master,
and when he spoke again, even though his voice was low his
words were bold. "Nevertheless, your failures are returning to
haunt you. Prophecies from the dawn of Anthropos tell us that
a Regenskind will cripple you."

The smile, a dark and hateful smile, slowly returned to Lord Lunacy's deathly face. He still shook with rage, but his voice
had sunk to a whisper while his form swelled to larger proportions. "I shall not fail. Hate is too powerful to fail. And I have
learned the power of hate!"

Shagah leaned forward. There was a look of desperation on
his face, the face of a gambler playing for the highest stakes.
"You failed to identify him when he first arrived," he said and
drew in his breath sharply. But the calm response seemed to
throw him off balance.

"We all did-"

"Yet you knew of his coming. You murdered-"

"Murder?" Lord Lunacy's lips quivered in joy. "Murder
now-that was a general measure. Valuable and pleasurable, as
you yourself are aware. Hate must murder and devour."

"But, my lord, our slaves slip through our fingers and disappear. Where are the followers of Gaal? Where? My lord, they
will continue to slip through my fingers so long as Gaal remains
at liberty. I take it you know where he has hidden them. Where
are they?"

Lunacy's face became impassive, and his tone expressionless
except for a hint of cruelty. "As controller of the guard, you are
expected to know. Am Ito perform your task for you?"

Shagah rose to his feet, facing his master recklessly. "You do
know where they are, I take it? You assure me you know everything, but sometimes I wonder."

He remained standing for nearly two minutes, apparently
struggling to quell his terror and to outstare the Lord of the
Angeli. In the end, as in their previous encounter, he lowered
his gaze and sat down again. But this time he was smiling, even
as he trembled. "The Circle suspects that there are many of
them," he said. "And so do the members of our ragtag guard.
But where they are hiding is to us at present a mystery, known
to none but my inscrutable master." He looked up, his expression obsequious, "I appreciate that you may have sound rea sons for secrecy. But any information you can give us will help."

There was no hint of impatience in Lord Lunacy's voice
when he spoke again. "We were discussing your failure to capture the Sword Bearer. What will be your next move?"

"Next I shall draw them, flaming with thirst, to the Pool of
Taavath Basar." He was smiling to himself as he said it.

John and Eleanor woke late to find that Authentio had already prepared a large breakfast and food to take on their
journey. "I have been thinking much," he said as they ate together. If Shagah has taken the trouble to throw his enchantments around us in this way, he may also have harmed my
village, which lies in the path of our journey."

Eleanor's eyes widened. "What could he do?"

"We have planned for it for many months, knowing that
sooner or later we would have to face it," Authentio said slowly.
"Shagah would try to cast on us the same spell that you saw in
the village beside the fjord. But when Gaal passed through our
village he taught us many things. He taught us how we might
detect the approach of evil, how to resist the dark powers and
how to flee temptation. Nevertheless, I fear lest I find an empty
village when we arrive."

When about noon they reached the village, having left the
wood behind, they found the very thing Authentio had
dreaded. Unnatural stillness. Doors and windows were open.
Neither Rgenskind nor animals were anywhere to be seen. In
Authentio's cottage the sight of open drawers, yet of general
tidiness, told a tale of a flight taken in haste. But the dust on
the furniture and the withered house plants told them that days
had passed since the inhabitants had left.

Authentio's face was white. "They fled rather than let the
sleep overtake them," he said. "They have gone to the walls of
Bamah to join the followers of Gaal. They may already be
there."

"In Bamah?" John asked in astonishment.

"Yes, in Bamah. The very walls that surround the city are
honeycombed with tunnels and dwelling places that are hidden
from the eyes of the Circle. There is refuge there, right in the
presence of evil."

Authentio's mind seemed to work clearly, but his air was
distracted. "Forgive me," he said at length, "but I must run with
all speed to Bamah, and I cannot insist that you keep pace with
me. My mother-" He bit his lip and then began again. "If you
continue southeast you will cross a brief arm of desert that
begins three hours from here. Use the stars to guide you. Numa
is dead north. And in the south, one point off due south, there's
another star you-will see-Shuma. Better to sleep when you
reach the edge of the desert and to cross it by night. After that
the woods begin again. There is a natural valley on the far side
of it that leads to a path through the forest. In ten days or so
you should emerge from the forest near Bamah."