NIGHTSEED [12] By HECK Comments to heck@heckster.co.uk CHAPTER TWELVE In the valleys and canyons of the citadel roof, among the leaded tiles and between the crenellations, the scaly legs and hooked talons of the carrion birds scratched and skittered as they squabbled among themselves. Each knew its own place in the roost, and was determined to protect its own small space from the intrusions of its neighbours. Vicious beaks snapped and stabbed at the ragged, oily feathers until a semblance of peace was established and the flock settled down for the night. The birds relegated to the outer edges of the roost, if they had any sense of the aesthetic, would have been compensated by a spectacular view over the vast plain, illuminated palely by the round hunter's moon. And no doubt one or more of them kept a wary eye on the solitary figure, striding determinedly toward the tall, forbidding edifice. The Dragonkind had been growing steadily in strength and power since its journey began, on the day of its creation some months before. The myriad lives, that had been sacrificed to nurture it, had imbued it with the power to draw the lifeforce from any contact, without effort. As a result, it left footprints of dead vegetation wherever it trod on the tufts of grasses, and the tough spinifex bushes withered as it brushed past, its mere touch sapping the life from them. Finally, the hulking monster reached the foot of the kopje. Without hesitation, it began to climb, strong, three-clawed hands and feet finding holds in the tiniest of niches, until it eventually stood on the narrow ledge that surrounded the brooding building. Lacking the intelligence to work out the way in to the citadel, it prowled around the ledge, growling quietly to itself. At last, it sat down close to what it did not recognise as a door, and settled down to wait. Since their escape from the labyrinth, Brenhya's party had been riding hard in an attempt to make up lost time, conscious that their delay may have cost the life of the Fool. In the lead, Brenhya galloped forward on Maakar. The splendid musculature of the woman and her magnificent mare coiled and roiled smoothly as they raced against time, striding out at full stretch. Lon clung on tightly as his horse valiantly tried to keep up. Bringing up the rear, Brannagh's tiny pony's legs whirled under its tubby body, while the dwarf bounced up and down on the sturdy back. Ahead, Brenhya reined to a halt and held up her hand for the others to follow suit. They saw her dismount and squat on her haunches, appearing to examine something on the ground. "What've you found?", Lon asked as they drew up. "Look at this". She indicated a patch of brown, dried up, dead grass at her feet. "The grass has died in patches here, and again there". She pointed to a similar spot a few feet away. "They're almost like footprints". "Wha' d'ye makes o' it?", asked Brannagh, scratching his curly head, Climbing down from the saddle, Lon hunkered down beside Brenhya. He inspected the patches and rubbed his thinly-bearded chin. "Footprints are exactly what they are", he announced. "I think. The Dragonkind must have passed this way, and this shows just how powerful it is getting. It is sucking the life from whatever it touches". "And it has a lead on us". Brenhya swung easily into the saddle. "But we can't be far behind. There's no time to waste". Brannagh gazed across the plain to the sombre edifice that now seemed to loom menacingly. "If'n us's not too lates, already". "It's here!" V'Daa sprang from his chair as Amillie pronounced the words he had been longing to hear. He reached the door in three strides. "Excellent!" "Master!", Amillie reminded. "The ring!" The man clapped a hand to his forehead, chastising himself for forgetting this most important artifact. He moved to a certain loose stone in the dark wall, and pried it free. In the dark niche behind, the red jewel gleamed eerily. He slipped the ring on his left index finger. "Let's go and welcome our guest". Excitement gripping them both, they hurried through the torch-lit corridors to the great arched door, pausing just inside to catch their breath. Amillie laid a cautionary hand on V'Daa's arm. "Once it has seen the ring, you must keep it in its sight until it has fed. Remember, you cannot control it unless it can see the stone. When it has fed, then The Binding will be complete, and it will be your servant forever". "I know that", he replied impatiently. "Come on, come on!" The woman took hold of the latch to the small wicket gate that formed part of the mighty portal. "Ready?" V'Daa nodded, sucking in a huge breath. After years of research, months of planning, weeks of waiting, finally his scheme was coming to fruition. He was filled with intense anticipation. Throwing open the wicket gate, Amillie retreated a few paces, anxious not to be the first person the daemon saw. V'Daa stepped through, arm extended and rotating like the turret of a siege engine, seeking a target for the ring. A sibilant hiss sounded behind him, and he whirled to see the Dragonkind crouching, poised to spring. He thrust the ring forward hurriedly. Its gaze instantly glazed, and fixed on the otherworldly glow. It stood transfixed, while V'Daa admired his captive. "Look at it, Amillie", he sighed, lost in wonder. "Isn't it magnificent?" The woman peered round the door and, seeing the daemon rendered inert, stepped through. "Indeed, Lord. But you must bring it inside". "Yes. Go and assemble the Nightseed in the atrium. We must do this immediately". She hastened to do his bidding. Leading the monster, its yellow eyes mesmerised and fixed on the glowing gem, V'Daa backed through the door and through the passages. He led it to the anteroom, where he settled in his big chair, making certain to keep the ring in its plain sight, and basked in admiration of his prize. In a foul, terrible sort of way, the beast was indeed magnificent. Eight feet tall, sinuous tongue sliding in and out of its mouth, its flattish reptilian head sat atop a thick, corded neck. Its matt black scaly body was a parody of an extremely muscular man, except that its overlong arms dangled almost to its knobby knees. Strong triple digits that served it as fingers flexed and relaxed convulsively as its raging hunger warred against the hypnosis that kept it in check, and fat blue sparks dripped from its claws to sizzle and sputter on the flagged floor. And as it fought in vain to tear its gaze away from the object that frustrated its urge to feed, somewhere in its breast an analogue of hatred seethed. At the foot of the kopje, the trio tethered their horses to a stunted willow. Brenhya drew the mighty Wheelbow from its holster on her saddle, and slung her quiver across her broad back. They had ridden a complete circumference of the craggy outcrop, and had eventually found the place where the apparently haphazard rubble had been cleverly arranged to create steps. They scrambled to the top, and at last stood before the imposing door. "Well", Brannagh commented. "Us's 'ere. Now, 'ow is we gonna gits in?" "Shh!", Brenhya hissed. "I'm thinking". "If chummy, 'ere' wuz any kinds of a wizards, 'e'd makes we invisible". "Aha!" Lon snapped his fingers in the air. "I can!. Well, me, anyway". "Really?" Brenhya's voice held intrigue, tinged with just a little amusement. "Let's see it, then". "Ha ha". Lon laughed nervously. "Good one. 'Let's see it'. Good joke. Only..." His feet shifted in the dirt as he realised the others were looking at him with puzzled expressions. "You weren't joking, were you". "'S no times fer jokin's". "It certainly isn't. If you can do it, Lon, get on with it". The young man nodded. "Right, then". He made an low incantation and passed both hands over his entire body. "There", he announced. "All done". Brenhya folded her arms and cocked a hip. "I hate to tell you this, Lon, but nothing happened". "Yus. You is th' mos' visible invisible persons I ever sees". "Ah. Yes. That's because you know I'm here, d'you see? You expect to see me. But to anybody who doesn't expect to see me, and isn't looking directly at me, I'm completely invisible". "I'm not sure ..." "No, honest. Look, just turn your heads away slightly, so that I'm not in your direct line of sight". They both turned their heads slowly. As he reached the periphery of their vision, Lon winked out of sight. They turned their heads back, but the apprentice wizard was nowhere to be seen. "Bugger!" Brannagh exploded. "'E's gorn!" "No, I haven't". Lon's voice appeared to come from the ether. "I just stepped away from where you expected to see me. Look about a foot to the right". Following his instructions, both started slightly as their friend sprang back into sight. Brannagh blew out his whiskery cheeks in astonishment. "I have to admit", Brenhya confessed. "I'm nearly impressed. But what if they look directly at you?" "Doesn't matter. As long as I keep quiet, if they're not expecting to see me, they won't". "How long will this effect last?" Lon looked vulnerable for a moment, until his resolve reasserted itself. "I won't lie to you. I honestly don't know. My old Master could do it, and it would last about eight hours. My magic isn't as strong. It might last a few hours, or it might wear off any minute". Brenhya's brows knitted. "I don't know if I'm happy about that". "Has to be worth a try, though, doesn't it?" "I doesn't knows if I unnnerstan's", Brannagh admitted, scratching his beard in the characteristic way that said he was puzzled. "I do", Brenhya reassured him. "And it might work. If we can find a way to get you inside". "You could force the small door". She shook her tawny head. "That'd attract too much attention. I might try a window, though". But an inspection of the windows revealed that this was not a viable option. They were all flush with the wall, operated by a sash mechanism, and all were at least ten feet from the ground. "They're out of your reach", Lon reported. "Yes. And if I climbed up, I wouldn't be able to get any leverage. And breaking the glass ..." "...would attract too much attention", Lon finished for her. "I know". The warrior began to pace, frustrated by a problem that her tremendous physicality could not immediately overcome. "It might come to that, in the end", she mused. "Cert'nly looks like it", Brannagh agreed. "Otherwise, us's buggered". "Perhaps not", Lon said, surprising himself by coming up with yet another way in which he might be useful. "Brenhya, there was a spell my Master was teaching me shortly before he was killed. It might help. Don't know if I can do it, though". "How does it work?" "I'm not sure. But if it works, I would end up on the inside". "What, you transport yourself?" "Not exactly. Ralagant explained it as a 'slight rearrangement' of the world. So, instead of it being a world where I'm on the outside, it becomes a world where I'm on the inside". "Hmph! Sounds dafts, to I". Brenhya nodded. "It sounds dangerous, to me". Nothing frightened her, personally. She was confident enough in her own abilities that she did not fear for her own safety, but was ferociously protective of her friends, and the thought of them putting themselves in unnecessary danger unsettled her. "What if you get it wrong? Is there any danger?" "To be frank, yes". Lon's weak features took on a look of sincerity. "I could end up occupying the same space as something else. And since this is impossible, and since the lore of magic doesn't allow the impossible to happen, each would cancel the other out. Both would cease to exist. Would never have existed, in fact". "So, if that happened ...?" "You would never know. Because you'd never have known me. I wouldn't have been here to try it in the first place. I would never have existed". "Now you is doin' me 'eads in". Brannagh was looking more confused by the second. "Not good enough". Brenhya was firm. "It's too dangerous. I'll break a window. We'll just trust to hope that nobody hears". "That isn't likely, is it? Brenhya, think about it. What alternative do we have? Apart from knocking and asking to be let in? And the risk is comparatively small, if we pick our spot carefully". "Always s'posin' yer c'n do's it in th' fust place". "Always supposing", Lon conceded. Brenhya closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her perfect nose as she pondered the situation. At last, she inhaled deeply as she made a decision. "All right, Lon. Do it. Let's hope we don't regret it". "Us won't", Brannagh said sardonically. "'Cos if 'un don't works, nuffin'll 'appen. 'An if 'un cock's 'un up, nuffin'll ever 'ave 'appened". His forehead crumpled into many creases. "I finks". "Right. I can do this". Lon made more passes over his body. "I have to get rid of the invisibility, first. I'm, er ...not good enough to run two spells at once, yet. Now, I need your help. Shut your eyes, and concentrate. Picture this exact situation, but with me on the inside of that door. Concentrate hard". The dwarf and the warrior closed their eyes and tried hard to picture the scene as Lon had described, hearing the young wizard begin a low chant. Brenhya formed a mental image of Brannagh and herself standing on the ledge. We're in front of the door, she told herself. There's just Brannagh and me. Lon isn't here. He's inside. He is inside. After a short while, her stomach gave a little lurch and she realised that the sound of Lon's chanting had ceased. She heard a noise, as of bolts being drawn back, and opened her eyes just in time to see Lon's head appear around the edge of the small wicket gate. "All clear", he whispered, beckoning them to enter. Brenhya nudged the dwarf, who was still squeezing his eyes tightly shut, and stepped cautiously over the threshold. As she entered, Lon held the door open and bowed low with a flourish. "Welcome, honoured guests, to my humble abode". Stepping into the vestibule, Brenhya's keen eyes scanned the wide corridor which they stretched away before them. No immediate threat presented itself. "That was well done, Lon". His pigeon chest swelled with pride at her words. "I never noticed a thing", she went on. "Just a little twist inside". She braced the foot of the Wheelbow against her instep, and her stupendous strength came into play as she strung it. Her hard, round biceps swelled and the muscular straps in her forearms tightened into cords of steel as she bent the powerful bow to slip the pulley, with its loop of strong leather, into its notch in the upper limb. The great, recurved arc positively vibrated with power. No other woman; no other person, as far as she knew, was able to string the formidable weapon, and she was sure she would need its power when she went up against the daemon. "Let's stay in sight of each other", she whispered to her companions. "And stay sharp. We don't want to be taken by surprise. Lon, can you make yourself 'invisible' again?" "Yes. I think so". "Do it, then, and scout ahead. Make sure there are no nasty surprises waiting around any of these corners". Brannagh lifted a hand. "Shush! I hears sump'n". Lon paused in his gestures. "What is it?" "Dunno. Sounds 's if lots o' feets is all goin' one ways" "This way?" Lon looked around nervously. "Nope. They is all goin' into a rooms further downs there". He pointed into the depths of the citadel. "'S kinda echoey". Lon completed his gestures and assured the others he was invisible once more. He led the way down the wide, dark passageway, carefully checking each side-corridor as he passed. All her warriors instincts on full alert, Brenhya followed a few yards behind, nocking an arrow on her bowstring in readiness. Axe in hand, the dwarf was at her back. At the end of the torch-lit corridor, Brannagh indicated that they should turn left. This brought them into a corridor indistinguishable from the last, except that it led to a chamber from which another four passages led, star-like, into darkness. Brenhya glanced down at the stocky dwarf. "Are you sure its this way?", she said in hushed tones. "You betcha. I c'n still 'ears 'em, an' us is gettin' closer. Buts ..." "But what?" "I is confusticated. This 'ere chambers's funny. Mixes up the sounds, like. I can't tells which ways it's a-comin' from". "Hmm. And all the corridors are dark, so we can't see what's at the end of them. Lon?" The young wizard popped back into their view as he placed himself in their line of sight. "I'm here", he said. "And I can guess what you're going to say. 'Go and scout out the corridors until you find the right one'. Am I right?" Brenhya treated him to one of her dazzling smiles. "That'd be great. Quickly as you can, mind". He was as quick as he could be. But nonetheless, it took nearly half an hour as he explored each corridor carefully and noiselessly until he came to a dead end in each one. But finally, at the end of the fourth passage, he found himself at a right-angled bend where a dim light showed. He stepped round the corner, and was greeted by a short passage that led to a high, arched, double door. Even his hearing could detect the voices and sounds of movement, now. Expectant, excited voices, but hushed with awe. Between the doors was a quarter inch gap. He applied his eye to it, and waited to adjust to the light from within. His mouth fell open as his gaze rested on the terrible sight within.