As she flew further south she came across larger camps. As she hovered over one that stretched on both sides of a wide river she felt a prickling sensation, as if someone had reached out and touched her.
Surprised – and a little fearful – she sped away.
Sixty miles further on she saw vultures below her, feeding. Others circled in the sky. She dropped towards the earth and saw hundreds of human bodies sprawled in death. The vultures had torn at them, but she saw several that the birds had not yet violated. Each had its ribs splayed open, the hearts torn from the chests.
Anger touched her then, and she rose into the air. To the south she saw another Almec army, camped beyond a small wood. There were some 500 warriors, each armed with fire-clubs and short swords. And away to the left were a score of krals, sitting in a circle around a fire. A hundred prisoners, roped and tied, sat forlornly in the open.
On she flew until she reached a towering escarpment, like a wall stretching across the land. Two hundred feet high and sheer, it seemed eerily out of place. At its base a forest grew. Sofarita glanced down and saw that hundreds of trees had been crushed there, as if the whole escarpment had dropped down onto the forest like a hammer from Heaven.
This was the land of the Almecs.
Higher now she flew, over cities of alien stone, built with craft and cunning, with canals and wide avenues, teeming with people. There was evidence of earthquake damage in all of the cities. Many buildings showed jagged cracks, others had crumbled. One canal was completely dry, its walls collapsed. The further west she flew, the greater the damage. At the farthest western edge of this new land she came upon the remains of a city. It had been spectacularly ruined, the earth rising sharply, the buildings that remained jutting from the earth at an incredible angle. Most had been torn away, the ruins scattering the slope below. Sofarita scanned the area. It was as if a giant hand had grabbed this 100-mile section and wrenched it upwards. Moving west again she saw the reason.
The transported lands of the Almecs had appeared mostly above a vast, flat plain. The impact had caused the earthquake damage she had seen to the east. But here there was no escarpment. This small section of land had descended upon a range of mountains, which had thrust up through the invading earth like spear points. The death toll among the Almecs must have been enormous.
Sofarita flew back towards the east. The Almec capital loomed in the distance, and in the light of the setting sun she could see the gleaming golden ziggurat that housed the Crystal Queen.
The Crystal Queen!
The title surprised her. From where had it come ? She had told Questor Ro that the golden ziggurat was somehow alive, but now she knew instinctively that it contained the …soul? …of a woman. Once again she felt the sensation of someone reaching out to her but, unlike the almost gentle whisper of movement she had felt above the tribal encampment, this was harsh and chillingly malevolent.
‘ Who are you?’ The voice was sweet and compelling, but beneath its tone Sofarita felt raw and terrible power.
She fled instantly, flying faster than ever before, hurtling towards the night-dark lands of the east.
Back in her body she gestured towards the fireplace.
Two chunks of wood rose from the log pile and settled in place upon the dying fire. As the flames sprang up Sofarita gazed down at her trembling hands. They were shining as if oiled. Lightly she stroked the skin of her knuckles. It was as smooth now as glazed pottery. She flexed her fingers. They felt stiff and sore.
‘That is just the beginning,’ came the voice in her mind. It was the same woman’s voice, the tone cold and infinitely cruel. Sofarita shivered.
A vision danced into her mind. A young woman, white-haired and sleek, with large eyes of shimmering green. The face floated closer. Sofarita saw that the eyes were crystals, multi-faceted and gleaming. ‘I am Almeia,’ she said.