The Lord of the Jaguars took a step closer.
In the darkness of the pit, all Hal could see now were those two gleaming eyes. Erixitl groaned softly as she sprawled on the ground behind him. He couldn’t break his eyes away to look at her.
“See how the woman sleeps? She knows peace now.” The creature’s voice remained silky smooth, gentle and friendly. “You must rest, too.”
“No!” Halloran marshaled all of his will, suddenly twisting his gaze away from that deadly stare. He had to do something! Think, man!
All around him pressed that grim darkness. The bright eyes remained the only source of illumination, tugging at his will, compelling him to look back into their light. Suddenly the night seemed as much an enemy as the great cat. He had to drive that enemy away. The yellow eyes of the jaguar called to his memory, wide and staring, penetrating the darkness with their large, dilated pupils.
The memory of a spell came to him, and he acted without thought.
“Kirisha!” he shouted, turning back to the leering, monstrous face. He pointed as he cast, and a magical ball of light appeared in the air. Instantly it expanded to a white brightness, and it hung directly before the creature’s eyes. Above, the illumination blossomed out of the pit, and he heard the gasps of the Little People around them.
With a shrill cry of rage and terror, the jaguar sprang back. Its howls rent the night, silencing the jungle around the village. The pit stood outlined in the clear illumination of the light spell, brighter than a dozen torches.
“Demon!” spat the beast. “What manner of man are you? You shall pay for this outrage!”
Halloran saw that the jaguar blinked and shook its head, all the while growling and snarling. But now there was an element in those cries that had not been there before-an element of fear.
Above him, he heard the excited jabbering of the Little People. None of them ventured forward to look into the pit, but he plainly heard their cries of alarm and confusion.
“Good!” he hissed to himself. “Maybe that’ll shake up their confidence a bit.”
Erixitl moaned again, still on the ground behind him Keeping a wary eye on the cat, Halloran crouched down and helped her to lean against the wall of the pit.
Then the cat growled, and once again the creature’s voice throbbed with anger and power. Its fear had become tension, and it crouched and stared, its black tail swishing back and forth in agitation. Hal sensed it working up the nerve to attack.
“You seek to defeat me with simple tricks?” The Lord of the Jaguars shrilled his rage, a snarl of bestial fury. “For this you will die slowly. You will watch me devour your woman before you perish!”
“You’re an old hornless goat, not fit to be lord of anything!” Hal snarled back. “You’re not fit to be a servant of toads!” Too weak to hunt for your own food! You seek to defeat us with magic because you are the one who is afraid! Your fangs rot! Flee back to your hole, craven one!”
For a moment, he wondered if he might be right. Indeed the monstrous feline still crouched, staring. He saw long, wickedly curved claws extend from its forefeet. Desperately he wished for a weapon. His mind raced through the few other spells he knew. None of them, he realized, had
any hope of halting a creature of this size and power. Still, in his desperation, he sought any tactic, any thing that might help him against the nightmarish beast. Then the monster pounced.
“They have moved into Helmsport. Your men, the ones you left there, have been imprisoned in one of the huts.” Chical explained the results of his reconnaissance to Cordell as the two men rested beside a quiet pool. Around them, the horses eagerly lapped at the water while the legionnaires and other eagles prepared for an evenings rest.
“What about the commander? Did you see their leader?” Cordell asked, angry and perplexed by the news.
Chical shrugged. “I do not know how to tell your leaders. You do not wear the feathers of rank such as does a general of the True World.”
Beside them, Kardann looked up anxiously. “They come from Amn, I tell you!” he warned. “Because we sent no messages back-no tribute! If you had listened to me-“
“Be silent!” Cordell barked, and the pudgy assessor quickly obeyed. “I need to think!”
“It would seem that they do not come to aid you,” observed the Eagle Warrior, with no trace of irony in his tone.
“At least, their captain does not. I am certain that there is someone behind this behavior. It is not typical of soldiers from my country to thus turn on those who offer them no harm and no threat.
“There is more,” noted Chical, and the captain-general sighed.
“What?” Cordell asked, fearing the answer.
“The beasts of the Viperhand have mustered in Nexal. They begin to march from the city. Now they are led by a monstrous colossus of stone. It is a figure that walks like a man but towers as high as once did the Great Pyramid.”
Cordell cursed. “Can you tell where they’re going?”
“They march eastward, toward Kultaka-back along the route you yourself took when you marched to Nexal”
“They could be going all the way to Payit, then-to Ulatos and Helmsport?”
“Yes, naturally,” replied the Eagle Knight.
“One more question,” said the captain-general. “If we maintain our present pace, will we get there before them?”
Chical thought for a moment. “Yes, by several days at the very least-perhaps a week or more. We are already closer than they are, and I believe we move faster.”
Cordell looked frankly at the warrior who had once fought so savagely against him. “Your information is very valuable to me-more valuable than I can explain, lb have the freedom of the skies, the ability to cross the continent in a few days time and observe our enemies, is a power that any commander from my country would give very much for. I begin to think that it is one of the few advantages remaining to me-to us.”
Chical nodded. “It is a thing that an eagle does, but truly it is our greatest power”
“Thank you for accompanying me and my men,” Cordell added. “You give me some small hope, at least, of success.”
Chical shrugged. “Maztica is changing. You yourself have done much to see that the True World will never be tine; same place that it once was. But you are a brave man, and for now, anyway, we fight for the same cause.”
The Eagle Knight studied Cordell for a moment, and the general squirmed slightly under the scrutiny of those piercing black eyes. “But remember my warning. If you should again use your forces to march against the humans of the True World, you will find us united against you.”
“My friend,” said the captain-general with a sigh, “I find it much more comforting to have you on my side.”
“Then I pray that we shall remain on those terms,” said Chical. The warrior stretched and rose to his feet. “Now,” he added, “I will get some sleep. I must fly far in the morning.”
“They await us in the mountain heights,” reported Hittok The drider had skulked forward, dangerously close to rear of the fleeing Itza column, to gain his information. Fortunately the night was dark, and the drider’s vision was far more acute than any human’s under these conditions.
“They flee no longer?” Darien heard the words of her comrade, and already her mind wondered at the reasons behind the news.
The long column of ants had slowed to a crawl, as even the nearly indefatigable creatures felt the strain of the long climb and the days of ceaseless marching. The white drider allowed them to pause in this mountain valley, not so much to rest as to allow the rear of the long column to catch up. Then when she pressed ahead in the morning, she would be able to bring her entire force to bear.