[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.''You weren't supposed to, my Lord.'Krager awoke with the horrors to the sound of distant screaming.Days and nights had long since blurred in Krager's awareness,but the sun shattering against his eyes told him that it wasa full and awful morning.He had certainly not intended to drinkso much the previous night, but the knowledge that he wasreaching the bottom of his last cask of Arcian red had worriedat him as he had grown progressively drunker, and the knowledgethat it would soon be all gone had somehow translateditself in his fuddled mind into a compulsion to drink it all beforeit got away from him.Now he was paying for that foolishness.His head was throbbing,his stomach was on fire, and his mouth tasted as if somethinghad crawled in there and died.He was shaking violently,and there were sharp stabbing pains in his liver.He sat on theedge of his tangled bed with his head in his hands.There wasa sense of dread hanging over him, a shadowy feeling of horror.He kept his burning eyes closed and groped under the bed withone shaking hand for the emergency bottle he always kept there.The liquid it contained was neither wine nor beer but a dreadfulconcoction of Lamork origin that was obtained by setting certaininferior wines out in the winter and allowing them to freeze.The liquid that rose to the top and remained unfrozen wasalmost pure spirits.It tasted foul, and it burned like fire goingdown, but it put the horrors to sleep.Shuddering, Krager drankoff about a pint of the awful stuff and lurched to his feet.The sun was painfully bright when he stumbled out into thestreets of Natayos and went looking for the source of the screamsthat had awakened him.He reached a central square andrecoiled in horror.Several men were being systematically torturedto death while Scarpa, dressed in his shabby imitationroyal robe and his makeshift crown, sat in an ornate chair watchingwith approval.'What's going on?' Krager asked CabaL, a shabby Dacite brigandof his acquaintance with whom he had frequently gottendrunk.CabaL turned quickly.'Oh, it's you, Krager,' he said.'Asclosely as I can gather, the Shining Ones descended onPanem-Doa.''That's impossible,' Krager said shortly.'Ptaga's dead.Therearen't any more of those illusions to keep the Tamuls runningaround in circles.''if we can believe what some of those dying fellows said,the ones who went into Panem-Doa weren't illusions,' CabaLreplied.'A fair number of the officers there got themselves disolvedwhen they tried to stand and fight.''What's happening here?' Krager asked, pointing at thescreaming men bound to poles set up in the middle of thesquare.'Scarpa's making examples of the ones who ran away.He'shaving them cut to pieces.Here comes Cyzada.' CabaL pointedat the Styric hurrying out of Scarpa's headquarters.'What are you doing?' the hollow-eyed Cyzada bellowed at themadman sitting on his cheap throne.'They deserted their posts,' Scarpa replied.'They're beingpunished.''You need every man, you idiot!''I ordered them to march to the north to join my loyal armies,'Scarpa shrugged.'They concocted lies to excuse their failure toobey.They must be punished.I will have obedience!''You will not kill your own soldiers.Order your butchers tostop!''That's quite impossible, Cyzada.An imperial order, oncegiven, cannot be rescinded.I have commanded that everydeserter from Panem-Doa be tortured to death.It's out of myhands now.''You maniac.you won't have a soldier left by tomorrow morning.they'll all desert!''Then I will recruit more and hunt them all down.I will beobeyed!'Cyzada of Esos controlled his fury with an obviously greateffort.Krager saw his lips moving and his fingers weaving intricatepattens in the air.'Let's get out of here, CabaL!' he saidurgently.'What? the crazy man ordered us all to watch.'"you don't want to watch what's going to happen next,'Krager told him.'Cyzada's casting a spell - Zemoch, most likely.He's summoning a demon to teach our "emperor" the meaningof the word "obedience".''He can't do that.Zalasta left his son in charge here.''No, actually Cyzada's in charge.I personally heard Zalastatell that Styric who's wriggling his fingers right now to killScarpa the minute he stepped out of line.I don't know aboutyou, my friend, but I'm going to find someplace to hide.I'veseen the kind of creatures that were subject to Azash before,and I'm feeling a little delicate this morning, so I don't want toBse one again.'We'll get into trouble, Krager.''Not if the demon Cyzada's summoning right now eats Scarpaalive, we won't.' Krager drew in a deep breath.'It's up to you,Cabal.Stay if you want, but I think I've seen as much as I wantto of Natayos.'"you're going to desert?' CabaL was aghast.'The situation's changed.If Sparhawk's allied himself with theDelphae, I want to be a long way from here when they comeglowing out of that jungle.I find that I'm suddenly homesickfor Eosia.Come or stay, CabaL, but I'm leaving - now.'CHAPTER 25Zalasta's face was strangely altered when Ekatas unlocked andopened the door to the small, dank cell adjoining the largerroom at the top of the tower a week or so after he had broughtEhlana and Alcan to Cyrga.The doubt and remorse which hadfilled it before were gone, and the Styric's expression was nowone of calm detachment.He took in the horrid little room at aglance.Ehlana and Alcan were chained to the wall, and theywere sitting on heaps of moldy straw that were supposed toserve as beds.Crude earthenware bowls filled with cold gruelsat untouched on the floor.'This won't do, Ekatas,' Zalasta saidin a remote kind of voice.'It's really none of your concern,' the High Priest replied.'Prisonersare kept closely confined here in Cyrga.' As always, Ekatassneered when he spoke to Zalasta.'Not these prisoners.' Zalasta stepped into the cell and tookup the chains that bound the two women to the wall.Then,showing no emotion, he crushed them into powdery rust.'Thesituation here has changed, Ekatas,' he snapped, helping Ehlanato her feet.'Get this mess cleaned up.'Ekatas drew himself up.'I don't take orders from Styrics.Iam the High Priest of Cyrgon.''i'm truly sorry about this, your Majesty,' Zalasta apologizedto Ehlana.'My attention's been diverted for the past week orso.Evidently I didn't make my wishes clear to the Cyrgai.Pleaseexcuse me for a moment, and I'll correct that oversight.' Heturned back to Ekatas.'I told you to do something,' he said ina dreadful voice.'Why haven't you started?''Come out of there, Zalasta, or I'll lock you in with them.''Oh, really?' Zalasta said with a thin smile.'I thought youhad better sense.I don't have time for this, Ekatas.Get thisroom cleaned up.I have to take our guests to the Templeagain.''i've received no such instructions.'Why should you have?''Cyrgon speaks through me.''Precisely.The instructions didn't come from Cyrgon.'Cyrgon is God here.'Not any more, he isn't.' Zalasta gave him an almost pityinglook.'You didn't even feel it, did you, Ekatas? The world heavedand convulsed all around you, and you didn't even notice.Howcan you possibly be so dense? Cyrgon has been supplanted.klael rules in Cyrga now - and I speak for klael.''That's not possible.you're lying!'Zalasta walked out of the cell and took hold of the front ofthe High Priest's robe.'Look at me, Ekatas,' he commanded.'Take a long, hard look, and then tell me that I'm lying.'Ekatas struggled momentarily, and then, unable to help himself,he' looked into Zalasta's eyes.The blood slowly drainedfrom his face, and then he screamed
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]