Pilgrim by Sara Douglas

these years to lose you now,‖ he said, and kneed his horse close to hers so he could lean over and

kiss her hard on the mouth. ―Now, get our son to safety.‖

Azhure turned for one last look at the cloud, her face tightening in horror. There were no

bodies distinguishable in the cloud, but here and there she could see the brightness of eyes

gleaming, and in one or two places she thought she saw hands reaching out…grasping…

―Ride!‖ Axis shouted, and whacked the rump of her horse with the flat of his hand.

It leaped forward, desperate itself to escape what advanced behind them, and Axis waved

Caelum after Azhure. ―Damn it, Caelum—follow your mother. You can do nothing here!‖

Caelum held his horse back long enough to give his father one hard stare, trying to

imprint Axis‘ face in his memory for all time, then he spurred his horse after Azhure.

Axis swung his horse to meet the threat. ―Hold fast, man!‖ he told the captain and the

other three men, and they tried to quell the growing agitation of their mounts, as well the horror

in their own bellies, as the cloud seethed down the tunnel towards them.

He risked a glance over his shoulder to make sure Azhure and Caelum had managed to

escape—and froze.

Both were only some twenty paces away, and moving no further.

The tunnel floor had disappeared.

As had the walls, and the roof.

Even as he watched, Azhure‘s horse screamed and reared, tossing her. Frightened into

total panic, it leaped into the darkness in front of it—and vanished.

Caelum bent down and hauled Azhure up behind him, kicking his horse to guide it back

to his father and the four escorts.

―It is no use,‖ he said. ―The tunnel has gone.‖

Axis swung his eyes forward again, expecting to see the black cloud filled with its eyes

and hands ready to pounce.

Instead, it had completely disappeared. As with the tunnel behind his back, twenty paces

ahead of him the floor and walls of the tunnel had vanished.

Replaced with darkness…and stars.

―What is happening?‖ one of the men whispered.

Axis shook his head slowly. ―I do not know. I do not know.‖

The Demons and StarLaughter stopped their horses, and arranged themselves in a row,

facing east.

All of the Demons stared with unblinking eyes, and StarLaughter alternated between

watching them, and staring east herself. She could feel the power bubbling within her, and she

sent it coursing east, trying to see what the Demons did.

She closed her eyes, allowing the power to rope free, and when she opened them again,

she did not see with her eyes, nor did she see the flat of the Skarabost Plains.

She saw through the eyes of the Hawkchilds in the tunnel under the Fortress Ranges, and

she saw the group of riders, their faces a mixture of confusion and panic. Dimly, StarLaughter

heard the thump of a great paw next to her horse.

Queen of Heaven, Sheol whispered into her mind. Do you see?

Yes.

They are trapped. Sheol‘s mind voice was filled with irrepressible glee.

Yes!

Watch, Sheol commanded, and follow our lead.

―Gods save us!‖ one of the men-at-arms screamed, staring at the floor beneath his horse.

Like the floor and walls elsewhere, it was slowly fading.

The man tried to wheel his horse about, but he lost control and the horse panicked. It

reared and plunged and then…both man and horse vanished. They had fallen through into the

darkness beneath.

―Stand fast!‖ Axis yelled. ―And dismount! These horses will be no use.‖

Everyone did as he commanded, grateful to be off the increasingly panicked horses, yet

well aware of the risks of trying to meet whatever danger threatened them on foot.

Axis felt Azhure by his side, and he looked at her.

She was calm, and in complete control. ―We will do the best we can,‖ she said.

―Yes,‖ Axis answered, and looked to his son. ―Caelum?‖

Caelum was as calm as Azhure, and he managed to give his father a confident nod.

―What I need to know,‖ the captain ground out, ―is what we face and how to deal with it!

I—‖

His voice abruptly cut off, and Axis turned to look at him. He was struggling to find his

footing. Beneath him the floor had disappeared.

Strangely, the captain managed to stay upright, and he lifted an ashen face to stare at

Axis.

―It‘s all gone,‖ he said unnecessarily. ― There’s nothing under my feet! ‖

Within a moment all six found that the tunnel had entirely disappeared, taking the

remaining horses with it. They were standing in blackness, surrounded by blackness—except for

the bright stars where once had been the black cloud.

―Look,‖ Caelum said softly. ―The stars…‖

Once stationary, now the stars were flowing towards them, the sense of danger growing

so palpable that Axis thought he could reach out a hand and snatch at it.

―Stand fast,‖ he said, although he had no idea how— if! —they could meet the danger…or

what the danger even was.

Stars swirled about them and Axis, as Azhure and Caelum, were reminded of their

experiences inside the Temple of the Stars. Then the stars had streamed and danced by them

within the great cobalt beacon that had speared up from Temple Mount. Here they were locked, trapped within a blackness. Here the stars were malevolent, not benign.

―It is as though we are in a hall,‖ Caelum said softly, turning slowly to look about him.

―A hall of stars.‖

―A hall of stars,‖ Azhure repeated. ―Is there any…can you feel the Star Dance?‖

―I feel something,‖ Axis said, his senses desperately seeking the Star Dance.

But there was nothing.

Nothing but danger seeping all about them.

Axis‘ frustration exploded. ―Damn you!‖ he called into the starry void. ―What are you?

Where are you?‖

―Look!‖ one of the men cried, pointing.

They all turned to follow his hand. From one of the constellations spinning about them a

dark, cloaked and hooded figure had emerged. It was hard to say exactly how they could see it, but it was there. They could sense it, taste it.

Fear it.

―And there!‖ cried the captain.

Again they looked, and again they saw ( sensed) another dark hooded figure moving

towards them from a galaxy overhead.

―And there,‖ murmured Azhure. ―And there.‖

―How many?‖ Axis asked after a few minutes. They were surrounded by a circle of

cloaked and hooded figures, slowly gliding towards them from among the stars.

―Twenty-seven,‖ Caelum answered. He slowly drew his sword from its scabbard, hearing

the scrape of steel about him as the others did the same.

The circle tightened until the figures were no more than five paces away, and standing so

close each to the other that passage through them would be impossible.

―My name is Axis SunSoar StarMan,‖ Axis called. ―Who are you?‖

One of the figures took a step forward, and they spun in its direction. A faint light glowed

about its head, and they saw the pale shape of hands lift to pull down the hood, revealing the

face.

Azhure gasped, and she heard the swift intake of breaths about her.

It was a young birdwoman, fine gold hair curling about her forehead, deep violet eyes

filled with sadness.

―She is so beautiful!‖ Azhure whispered.

―Aye,‖ Axis said. ―And deadly.‖

―You are Axis SunSoar StarMan?‖ the birdwoman said. Her voice was strange, as if

harsh from disuse. Whispery. All had to strain to hear her.

―Yes,‖ Axis said. ―And you?‖

She half-turned her face, the starlight catching a tear that ran down her cheek.

―My name is StarGrace SunSoar,‖ she said. ―Murdered StarGrace. Betrayed StarGrace.‖

She turned her face back towards them, and they saw her eyes glittered dangerously.

― Lost StarGrace!‖ she hissed.

―Oh Stars!‖ Azhure said, and grasped Axis‘ arm. ―StarGrace was the niece of WolfStar,

daughter of CloudBurst. She was one of those he—‖

―Murdered,‖ StarGrace said. ―Who are you, woman?‖

Azhure tilted her chin but before she could answer, Axis spoke.

―Who stands with me does not matter, StarGrace. Why do you trap us here? Let us go!‖

Whatever else, Axis did not want to reveal that among them stood Caelum StarSon.

―You do not know the meaning of trapped!‖ StarGrace cried, and flung an arm behind

her, indicating the starry universe. ― Here is where we drifted a thousand wasted lifetimes. Here is where—‖

―You betrayed this land of Tencendor to the Demons,‖ Axis said.

StarGrace cocked her head to one side, as if curious. ―You are a fool, Axis SunSoar

StarMan, and most physically deformed. You bear no wings. What has this come to, that a man

who dares to bear the title of StarMan wears no wings? I can see that the SunSoar house has

become ill-bred over the millennia. Corrupted.‖

Go, Sheol whispered in StarLaughter‘s mind. Go, and have your fun. But do not—