shave off Sir Gerda’s beard,’ he muttered. ‘You know, it could
be that it’s because we’re in No-Time. When we did this the
first time – back in Pelosia – none of our spells worked.’
‘I think this spell’s different, Ulath. I’m not really trying to do
anything. I just want to talk with Aphrael.’
‘Yes, but you’re mixing magic. You’re trying to use a Styric
spell when you’re up to your ears in a Trollish one.’
‘Maybe that’s it. I’ll try again when we get to Arjun and go
back into real time.’
Bhlokw came shambling back through the grey light of
Ghnomb’s frozen moment, passing a flock of stationary birds
hanging in the air. ‘There are some of the dens of the man-things
in the next valley,’ he reported.
‘Many or few?’ Ulath asked him.
‘Many,’ Bhlokw replied. ‘Will the man-things have dogs
there?’
‘There are always dogs near the dens of the man-things,
Bhlokw.’
‘We should hurry then.’ The shaggy Troll paused. ‘What do
the man-things call this place?’
‘It is the place Arjun – I think.’
‘That is the place where we want to go, is it not?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘The wicked ones have told the one called Berit to go there.
It is our thought that we should go there in Ghnomb’s broken
moment and listen to the bird-talk of the man-things. One of
the man-things may say where the wicked ones will tell the one
called Berit to go next. It may be that the next place will be the
place where Anakha’s mate is. It would be good to know this.’
Bhlokw’s shaggy brow furrowed as he struggled his way
through that. ‘Are the hunts of the man-things always so notsimple?’
he asked.
‘It is the nature of our kind to be not-simple.’
‘Does it not make your head hurt?’
Ulath smiled, being careful not to show his teeth. ‘Sometimes
it does,’ he admitted.
‘It is my thought that a simple hunt is better than a not-simple
hunt. The hunts of the man-things are so not-simple that sometimes
I forget why I am hunting. Trolls hunt things-to-eat. The
man-things hunt thought.’
Ulath was a bit startled at the Troll’s perception. ‘It is my
thought that your thought may be good,’ he admitted. ‘The
man-things do hunt thought. We put much value on it.’
‘Thought is good, U-lat, but you can not eat it.’
‘We hunt thought after our bellies are full.’
‘That is how Trolls and the man-things are different, U-lat. I
am a Troll. My belly is never full. Let us hurry. It is my thought
that it will be good to know if the dogs of this place are as
good-to-eat as the dogs of the other place.’ He paused. ‘I do not
wish to cause you anger, U-lat, but it is my thought that the dogs
of the man-things are more good-to-eat than the man-things
themselves.’ He scratched at his cheek with one shaggy paw. ‘I
would still eat a man-thing if my belly was empty, but I would
like a dog better.’
‘Let us go find you a dog then.’
‘Your thought is good, U-lat.’ The huge beast reached out and
affectionately patted Ulath on the head, nearly driving him to
his knees.
The Child Goddess touched her fingertips lightly to the sides of
Engessa’s broken head, and her eyes became distant.
‘Well?’ Vanion asked, his tone urgent.
‘Don’t rush me, Vanion. The brain is very complicated.’ She
continued her gentle probing. ‘impossible,’ she said finally,
withdrawing her fingers.
Betuana groaned.
‘Please don’t do that, Betuana,’ Aphrael said. ‘All I meant was
that I can’t do it here. I’ll have to take him someplace else to
repair him.’
‘The island?’ Vanion guessed.
She nodded. ‘I can control things there. This is still Cynesga
Cyrgon’s place. I don’t think he’d give me permission no matter
how sweetly I asked him. Can you pray here, Betuana?’
The Atan Queen shook her head. ‘Only in Atan itself.”
‘i’m going to talk to your God about that. It’s really very inconvenient.’
She bent again and put her hand on Engessa’s chest.
The Atan general appeared to stop breathing, and his face
and body were suddenly covered with frost.
‘You’ve killed him!’ Betuana shrieked at her.
‘Oh, hush. I just froze him to stop the bleeding until I can get
him to the island. The injury itself isn’t so bad, but the bleeding’s
tearing up the rest of his brain. The freezing slows it down to
a trickle. That’s all I can do for right now, but it should be
enough to keep his body from doing any more damage to itself
while you’re taking him back to Sama.’
‘There’s no hope,’ Betuana said with a look of anguish.
‘What are you talking about? I can have him back on his feet
in a day or two – but I have to take him to the island where I
can control time. The brain is easy. It’s the heart that’s so – well,
never mind that. Listen closely, Betuana. As soon as you and
Vanion get him to Sama, I want you to go to the Atan border
as fast as you can run. As soon as you get across that line, fall
on your knees and start praying to your God. He’ll be stubborn
– he always is – but keep after him. Make a pest of yourself until
he gives in. I need his permission to take Engessa to my island.
If nothing else works, promise him that I’ll do something nice
for him someday. Don’t be too specific, though. Keep bearing
down on the fact that I can save Engessa, and he can’t.’
‘I will do as you have commanded, Divine One,’ Betuana
declared. ‘I didn’t command, Betuana. I only suggested. I don’t have
the authority to command you.’ The Child Goddess turned to
Vanion. ‘Let me see your sword,’ she said. ‘I want to have a
look at this yellow blood.’
Vanion drew his sword and offered it to her hilt-first.
She shuddered. ‘You hold it, dear one. Steel makes me nausious.’
She squinted at the stains on the blade. ‘Astonishing,’
she murmured. ‘That isn’t blood at all.’
‘It’s what came out of them when we cut them.’
‘Perhaps, but it’s still not blood. It’s some kind of bile. Klael’s
going a little far afield for allies. Those giants you ran across
don’t come from here, Vanion. They aren’t like any creatures
on this world.’
‘We noticed that almost immediately, Divine One.’
‘i’m not talking about their size or shape, Vanion. They don’t
even seem to have the same kind of internal organs as the
humans and animals. I’d guess that they don’t even have
lungs.’
‘Everything has lungs, Aphrael – except maybe fish.’
‘That’s here, dear one. If these creatures have bile in their veins
instead of blood, then they’re relying on their livers for -‘ she
broke off, frowning. ‘I guess it is possible,’ she said a little dubiously. ‘i
I’d hate to smell the air on their world, though.’
‘You do know that I haven’t got the foggiest idea of what
you’re talking about, don’t you?’
She smiled. ‘That’s all right, dear one. I love you anyway.
‘Thank you. ‘
‘Don’t mention it.’
‘It could be good country, friend Tikume,’ Kring said, adjusting
his black leather jerkin and looking around at the rocky desert.
‘It’s open and not too rugged. All it needs is water – and a
few good people.’ The two of them rode at the front of their
disorganized mob of Peloi.
Tikume grinned. ‘When you get right down to it, friend Kring,
that’s all Hell really needs.’
Kring laughed. ‘How far is it to this Cynesgan camp?’ he
asked.
‘Another five leagues. It’s easy fighting, Domi Kring. The
Cynesgans ride horses and carry curved swords much like your
sabers,. but their horses are scrubby and not very good, and
the Cynesgans are too lazy to practice their swordsmanship.
To make it even better, they wear flowing robes with big,
floppy sleeves. Half the time they get tangled up in their own
clothing.’
Kring’s grin was wolfish.
They run fairly well,’ Tikume added, but they always come
back.’
To the same camps?’ Kring asked incredulously.
Tikume nodded. ‘It makes it even easier. We don’t have to go
looking for them.’
Incredible. Are they using rotten tree-stumps for leaders?’
‘From what I’ve heard, they’re getting their orders from
Cyrgon.’ Tikume rubbed his shaved scalp. ‘Do you think it
might be heresy to suggest that even a God can be stupid?’
‘As long as you don’t say it about our God, I think you’re
safe. ‘
‘I wouldn’t want to get in trouble with the Church.’
‘Patriarch Emban’s a reasonable man, Domi Tikume. He won’t
denounce you if you say unflattering things about our enemy.’
Kring raised up in his stirrups to peer across the brown, gravelstrewn
expanse of the Desert of Cynesga. ‘i’m looking forward
to this,’ he said. ‘I haven’t been in a real fight for a long time.’