The Hidden City by David Eddings

forcing him to think very hard about the things he’s supposed

to conceal, and that’s all Xanetia really needs. We always seem

to underestimate Bevier.’

‘it’s all that praying,’ Kalten said sagely. ‘it’s hard to take a

man seriously when he’s praying all the time.’

‘We’re Knights of the Church, Kalten – members of religious

orders. ‘

‘What’s that got to do with it?’

‘In his own mind is he more dead than alive,’ Xanetia reported

later when they had gathered around one of the large fires the

Atans had built to hold back the bitter chill. The Anarae’s face

reflected the glow of the fire, as did her unbleached wool robe.

‘Were we right?’ Tynian asked her. ‘is Cyrgon augmenting

Djarian’s spells so that he can raise whole armies?’

‘He is,’ she replied.

‘Was that outburst against Zalasta genuine?’ Vanion asked

her.

‘indeed, my Lord. Djarian and his fellows are increasingly

discontent with the leadership of Zalasta. They have all come

to expect no true comradeship from their leader. There is no

longer common cause among them, and each doth seek to wring

best advantage to himself from their dubious alliance. Overlaying

all is the secret desire of each to gain sole possession of

Bhelliom. ‘

‘Dissension among your enemies is always good,’ Vanion

noted, ‘but I don’t think we should discount the possibility that

they’ll all fall in line again after what happened here today.

Could you get anything specific about what they might try next,

Anarae?’

‘Nay, Lord Vanion. They were in no wise prepared for what

hath come to pass. One thing did stand out in the mind of this

Djarian, however, and it doth perhaps pose some danger. The

outcasts who surround Zalasta do all fear Cyzada of Esos, for

he alone is versed in Zemoch magic, and he alone doth plunge

his hand through that door to the nether world which Azash

opened. Horrors beyond imagining lie within his reach. It is

Djarian’s thought that since all their plans have thus far gone

awry, Cyrgon in desperation might command Cyzada to use his

unspeakable art to raise creatures of darkness to confront and

confound us.’

Vanion nodded gravely.

‘How did Stragen’s plan affect them?’ Talen asked curiously.

‘They are discomfited out of all measure,’ Xanetia replied.

‘They did rely heavily on those who now are dead.’

‘Stragen will be happy to hear that. What were they going to

do with all those spies and informers?’

‘Since they had no force capable of facing the Atans, Zalasta

and his cohorts thought to use the hidden employees of the

Ministry of the Interior to assassinate diverse Tamul officials in

the subject kingdoms of the empire, hoping thereby to disrupt

the governments.’

‘You might want to make a note of that, Sparhawk,’ Kalten

said.

‘Oh?’

‘Emperor Sarabian had some qualms when he approved Stragen’s

plan. He’ll probably feel much better when he finds out

that all Stragen really did was beat our enemies to the well.

They’d have killed our people if Stragen hadn’t killed theirs

first.’

‘That’s very shaky moral ground, Kalten,’ Bevier said disapprovingly.

‘I

know,’ Kalten admitted. ‘That’s why you have to run across

the top of it so fast.’

The sky was cloudy the following morning, thick roiling cloud

that streamed in from the west, all seethe and confusion.

Because it was late autumn and they were far to the north, it

seemed almost that the sun was rising in the south, turning the

sky above Bhelliom’s escarpment a fiery orange and reaching

feebly out with ruddy, low-lying light to paint the surging

underbellies of the swift-scudding cloud with a brush of flame.

The campfires seemed wan and weak and very tiny against

the overpowering chill here on the roof of the world, and the

knights and their friends all wore fur cloaks and huddled close

to the fires.

There were low rumbles off to the south, and flickers of pale,

ghastly light.

‘Thunder?’ Kalten asked Ulath incredulously. ‘isn’t it the

wrong time of year for thunderstorms?’

‘it happens,’ Ulath shrugged. ‘I was in a thunderstorm north

of Heid once that touched off a blizzard. That’s a very unusual

sort of experience.’

‘Whose turn is it to do the cooking?’ Kalten asked him

absently.

‘Yours,’ Ulath replied promptly.

‘You’re not paying attention, Kalten,’ Tynian laughed. ‘You

know better than to ask that question.’

Kalten grumbled and started to stir up the fire.

‘I think we’d better get back to the coast today, Sparhawk,’

Vanion said gravely. ‘The weather’s held off so far, but I don’t

think we’ll be able to count on that much longer.’

Sparhawk nodded.

The thunder grew louder, and the fire-red clouds overhead

blanched with shuddering flickers of lightning.

Then there was a sudden, rhythmic booming sound.

‘is it another earthquake?’ Kring cried out in alarm.

‘No,’ Khalad replied. ‘it’s too regular. It sounds almost like

somebody beating a very big drum.’ He stared at the top of

Bhelliom’s wall. ‘What’s that?’ he asked pointing.

It was like a hilltop rearing up out of the forest beyond the

knife-like edge of the top of the clif! – very much like a hilltop,

except that it was moving.

The sun was behind it, so they could not see any details, but

as it rose higher and higher they could make out the fact that it

was a kind of flattened dome with two pointed protuberances

flaring out from either side like huge wings. And still it swelled

upward. As they could see more of it, they realized that it was

not a dome. It seemed to be some enormous, inverted triangle

instead wide at the top, pointed at the bottom and with those

odd winglike protuberances jutting out from its sides. The

pointed bottom seemed to be set in some massive column. Since

the light was behind it, it was as black as night, and it rose and

swelled like some vast darkness.

Then it stopped.

And then its eyes opened.

Like two thin, fiery gashes at first, the blazing eyes opened

wider and wider, cruelly slanted like cats’ eyes and all ablaze

with fire more incandescent than the sun itself. The imagination

shuddered back from the realization of the enormity of the thing.

What had appeared to be huge wings were the creature’s ears.

And then it opened its mouth and roared, and they knew that

what they had heard before had not been thunder.

It roared again, and its fangs were flickers of lightning that

dripped flame like blood.

‘Klael!’ ~APhrael shrieked.

And then, like two rounded, bulky mountains, the shoulders

rose above the sharp line of the cliff, and, fanning out from the

shoulders like black sails, two jointed, batlike wings.

‘What is it?’ Talen cried.

‘it’s Klael!”~Aphrael shrieked again.

‘What’s a Klael?’

‘Not what, you dolt! Who. ~Azash and the other Elder Gods cast

him out. Some idiot has returned him!’

The enormity atop the escarpment continued to rise, revealing

vast arms with many-fingered hands. The trunk was huge, and

flashes of lightning seethed beneath its skin, illuminating

ghastly details with their surgng flickers.

And then that monstrous presence rose to its full height,

towering eighty, a hundred feet above the top of the escarpment.

Sparhawk’s spirit shrivelled. How could they possibly -?

‘Blue Rose.’ he said sharply. ‘Do something!’

‘There is no need, Anakha.’ Vanion’s usurped voice was very

calm as Bhelliom once again spoke through his lips. ‘Klael hath

but momentarily escaped Cyrgon’s grasp. Cyrgon will not risk

his creature in a direct confrontation with me.’

‘That thing belongs to Cyrgon?’

‘For the moment. In time that will change, and Cyrgon will

belong to Klael.’

‘What is it doing?’ Betuana cried.

The monstrosity atop the cliff had raised one huge fist and

was striking at the ground with incandescent fire, hammering

at the earth with lightning. The face of the escarpment shuddered

and began to crack away, falling, tumbling, roaring down

to smash into the forest at the foot of the cliff. More and more

of the sheer face crumbled and sheared away and fell in a huge

thundering landslide.

‘Klael was ever uncertain of the strength of his wings,’

Bhelliom observed calmly. ‘He would come to join battle with

me, but he fears the height of the wall. Thus he prepares a stair

for himself.’

Then with a booming like that of the earthquake which had

spawned it, a mile or more of the escarpment toppled ponderously

outward and crashed into the forest, piling rubble higher

and higher against the foot of the cliff.

The enormous being continued to savage the top of the cliff,

spiLling more and more rubble down to form a steep causeway

reaching up and up to the top of the wall.

And then the thing called Klael vanished, and a shrieking wind

swept the face of the escarpment, whipping away the boiling

clouds of dust the landslide had raised.

There was another sound as well. Sparhawk turned quickly.

The Trolls had fallen to their faces, moaning in terror.

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