It knows, said Malator.
I waited, tensing, my mind going blank. If it knew I was here why didn’t it come? I thought of calling out to it but didn’t. I took a small step forward then paused. The light Malator gave me still flickered atop the stone.
“It wants darkness,” I whispered. “Malator. .”
The light instantly extinguished. And my eyes, having grown accustomed to it, went blind. I stood there in the blackness, frozen, my heart noisily thumping, and turned my ear toward the crack I’d come through. Beyond the slab I heard the sound again, like something dragging closer. I had trapped myself, I realized. Not too loudly, I called out the demon’s name.
“Crezil.”
The dragging stopped. Silence. But only for a moment. Next came the shocking noise of the slab being pulled-ripped-away from the tomb. It tumbled sideways, rolling and crushing the rocks beneath it, finally crashing to the ground. I backed away, peering through the dust, looking desperately for Crezil. A crumb of light from the far-off entrance outlined the creature. I was twelve feet away from it, and yet could barely see it. But Crezil saw me clearly. I knew it did, putting one appendage forward and pulling itself nearer. Slowly my eyes adjusted to the horrible view.
It was as I’d seen it in the painting of Gahoreth, many-limbed and huge, man-shaped but disfigured, with tails for arms that wriggled over its bulbous head. Now it was exposed, without the bones and skins to hide it. I stood my ground, using my enchanted eyes to see. There was no stench from it, nor any sound at all, but Crezil had not returned alone. Dragging behind it, held by a claw-like hand, were the bodies of a man and a woman. Both were naked and badly bruised, with the man being pulled by an ankle and the woman by her long, bloodied hair. Before I knew what was happening, Crezil lifted them off the ground, letting them dangle before me like a string of fish.
“I see them,” I said. I sheathed my sword and put up my hands. “I’m not here to fight you.”
Crezil tossed the bodies at me. They landed hard and rolled to my feet. Shocked, I knelt to examine them, to be certain they were dead. Not a strip of clothing remained on either of them. I wondered if Crezil had killed them in lovemaking. When I put my fingers to the woman’s neck, all I felt was a chill. I looked up at Crezil in disgust.
“Are you giving these to me?” I asked. “Why?”
Malator spoke up. A peace offering, perhaps.
I rose slowly to face the beast. “What shall I do with them?” I asked it. “Eat them? I’m not like you, Crezil. I’m not a demon. I’m a man.”
There was no answer from the monster. It hovered there on its bony limbs, watching me through the darkness.
“Did you know I’d be here?” I asked. I gestured to the bodies. “Did you kill them for me?”
Again, no reply. Yet I knew the thing could understand me.
“No more killing,” I said. “We stop now. I don’t want to hunt you. Do you see?”
Crezil either couldn’t or wouldn’t speak. Instead it took a single step backward. Its shining eyes watched for my next move.
“All right,” I said carefully. “Now listen to me. I know you want to go back to Gahoreth. Gahoreth. Your home. Yes? I don’t want to stop you. I want to help you.”
It seemed intrigued. Its tails or arms or whatever they were wrapped around its pulsing body.
It’s listening, Lukien, urged Malator. Go on.
“I’m going to get you what you want so you can go home,” I told Crezil. “But you have to help me, too. No more attacks on Isowon. No more. You stay here. You wait for me to come back. Do that, and I’ll bring you what you want.”
I kept my voice calm, like talking to a dog. Crezil responded with silence.
“I can’t kill you, and you can’t kill me,” I continued. “We’re immortal now, both of us. I have no soul for you to steal. But we can both get what we want. You can hide here so no one sees you, and in a few days I’ll return.” I carefully stepped over the bodies of the man and the woman. “Will you make this peace with me?”
Crezil moved back into the shadows, shrouding its massive body. But was that an answer?
“You can go home,” I said. “And then I can go home, too. Agreed? If not, tell me so now or let me walk out of here freely. If you don’t try and stop me, I’ll know we have a bargain.”
I took another step. This time Crezil didn’t move. There was just enough space for me to walk past it. I eased myself forward, careful not to look at Crezil as I groped through the darkness, focusing on the distant sunlight. As I brushed past the creature, I felt its cold, inhuman breath. It could have easily lopped my head off, yet it did not. Two more steps, and I was past it.
I kept on walking, just a little faster. Behind me Crezil moved into its tomb, ready, I supposed, to feast on the dead lovers.
29
The way west was harder than I remembered. The sky was clear and the road was good, and I had gotten enough sleep in the tomb to last me a week. Yet I could not ride fast enough to suit me and pushed Venger more and more to reach Isowon on time. By now I’d lost count of the seven days Diriel had granted me. It had been morning when I left Crezil’s lair, and all that day I followed the sun’s movements west, finally reaching the road to Zura. Fallon himself had come across the road as a teenager, even younger than Cricket, he’d told me, and made a fortune looting spices from his homeland. Now, though, the road was quiet, tottering between sandy coastline and sparse forests.
I needed no map to find my way back, and so spent my hours planning Isowon’s defense and daydreaming of my vengeance. By now Marilius and Kiryk had reached the palace, I supposed, and Fallon had no doubt bolstered his defenses. So far, Fallon had been a disappointment. I doubted he’d be much help in the coming battle. But that hardly mattered. All I really needed from him was his gold and a promise to pay his mercenaries on time. Given the odds against us, I was sure many of the mercenaries had already fled, but with Kiryk’s men to strengthen us and enough of Anton’s own remaining, maybe we had a chance.
If I was lucky and reached Isowon by nightfall, I told myself, I could meet with Anton and the others. We could council and make plans. There were so many questions going through my mind. How many men had Diriel brought with him? How many of them were legionnaires? Had Marilius made it back yet? I could barely keep my mind together. Questions flew through me like arrows.
“Enough!” I shouted.
The birds scattered from the treetops. I took a breath to calm myself, then heard a surprising reply.
“Someone?”
The call came from far ahead, buried from view and muffled by trees. Venger’s ears perked up. I listened, eased Venger ahead, then heard the noise of riders. I rounded the bend and saw them ahead of me-a dozen men, all on horseback, each horse the deepest black I’d ever seen. The men wore fur-lined helmets of riveted iron, with leather and animal skins cloaking their bodies. Long arrows fletched with white feathers stuck from the quivers on their backs, and some carried spears in their hands. A skirt of metal-rings draped around their legs, falling down to their ankles. Each had a sword as well, a curved scimitar that bounced inside its dangling sheath.
These were men riding to war. Even their horses were armed, shielded with plates and iron spikes. Red and yellow ribbons flowed from their bridles. The man in the lead paused when he saw me, bringing his companions to a halt. His dark eyes stared at me from a face of bronze. He had turned the company around to find me, and now just seemed confused. Or was he delighted?