QUEST FOR LOST HEROES by David A. Gemmell

But there was no one there.

Alone, Kiall looked to his left. An open-door stood there, and through it he could see a green field carpeted with spring flowers. Children played there, and the sounds of their laughter rippled through the beckoning doorway.

The clicking of teeth made him spin. The demons were closer now. He had only to run through the doorway to be safe.

‘Stand firm or we are all lost,’ came the voice of Okas in the halls of his memory.

He thought of Ravenna. If he died here, there would be no one to rescue her. He heard a voice from the doorway.

‘Quick, Kiall, run! It is safe here!’ He risked a glance and saw his mother, her sweet face smiling, her hand waving.

‘I can’t!’ he screamed. His sword came up. The door­way vanished . . . the demons closed in.

*

Beltzer blinked in surprise. He had no idea where the others had gone, only that he stood alone before six armed men. They wore black armour, and they carried long swords. There was nothing demonic about them as they waited to attack; their faces were grim, but human.

The giant found his axe feeling heavy in his hands and allowed the head to rest against the ground. Looking down at his hands, he saw that they were wrinkled and covered with dark brown liver spots. His arms were scrawny and thin, his legs just bone and wasted muscle. A cool breeze touched his back and he turned slowly and peered at the land behind him. It rose sharply into a towering mountain. Fresh streams flowed there and the sun shone in glory.

‘Go back to the mountain,’ said one of the warriors. ‘We have no wish to slay an old man who cannot raise his axe. Go back.’

‘Chareos?’ whispered Beltzer. He licked his gums; there were no teeth there, and he felt a terrible weariness.

‘You will be young again on the mountain,’ said the warrior. ‘Then you will be able to face us. Take a single step back and feel the strength in your limbs.’

Beltzer moved back a pace. It was true. He felt a quick­ening of his muscles and his eyes cleared a little. All he needed to do was move back on to the mountain and then he would find the strength to face these warriors.

‘Stand firm or we are all lost,’ came the voice of Okas in the halls of his memory.

It needed all of Beltzer’s strength to lift the axe. He looked at the grim warriors. ‘Come on, then,’ he said. ‘I’ll move no further.’

‘Fool!’ hissed the leading warrior. ‘Do you think to stand against us? We could kill you in an instant. Why not be strong again, and at least give us a good fight?’

‘Will you talk all day?’ roared Beltzer. ‘A good fight? Come on, my boys, earn your pay.’

The warriors bunched together – and charged. Beltzer roared his defiance. His axe was suddenly light in his hands and he countered their charge with his own. His limbs were powerful once more, and his axe smashed and sliced into their ranks. Their swords cut him, but no deep thrust slowed him. Within seconds the warriors were dead, their bodies vanished. Beltzer looked back to the mountain. It was gone and in its place was a deep, yawning pit that vanished into the depths of the earth. He stood with his back to it.

And waited for more foes.

*

Chareos stood once more on the shadowed walls of Bel-azar, moonlight streaming on the mountain slopes and glistening on the grass of the valley. The dwellers in the dark were moving up the stairwell – and there was no Tenaka Khan to help him.

‘This way,’ came a soft, female voice and he turned to see a second stairway which led down into the valley. A woman stepped into the moonlight; her beauty made him gasp.

‘Tura? Sweet Heaven, Tura?’

‘It is I, my love. I cannot bear to see you die. Come with me.’

‘I cannot. I must help my friends.’

‘What friends, Chareos? You are alone; they have left you. Come with me. I love you, I always loved you. I was such a fool, Chareos, but it can be right again. It can be beautiful again.’