'Welcome, Shannow,' came a voice and the Jerusalem Man spun, his pistols levelling at the speaker. Then he saw Beth McAdam. A slender, white-haired man had his arm about her throat, a pistol pointed to her head. The speaker — the man from his dreams — stood several paces to the left.
'I have to say, Shannow, that I am grateful to you,' Magellas told him. 'You killed that arrogant swine, Rho-daeul, and that did me a great service. However, the King of Kings has spoken the words of your death.'
'What has she to do with this?' asked Shannow.
'She will be released the moment you lay down your weapons.'
'And that is the moment I die?'
'Exactly. But it will be swift.' Magellas drew his pistol. 'I promise you.'
Shannow's guns were still trained on the young man, hammers cocked, fingers on the triggers.
'Don't listen to him, Shannow. Blow him away!' cried Beth McAdam.
'You will let her go?' Shannow asked.
'I am a man of my word,' said Magellas and Shannow nodded.
'Then it is done,' he agreed.
At that moment Beth McAdam lifted her booted foot and slammed it down on Lindian's instep.
Ramming her head back into his face, she tore loose from his grip. As Lindian cursed and raised his pistol, Clem Steiner reared up from behind a rock. Lindian saw him and swung, but he was too late. Steiner's pistol boomed and the slender warrior was hurled to the ground with a bullet in his heart.
As Beth made her move, Magellas fired and the shell swept Shannow's hat from his head. The Jerusalem Man triggered his pistols. Magellas staggered, but did not go down. Again Shannow fired and Magellas sank to his knees, still struggling to lift his gun. The pistol dropped from his fingers and he raised his head. 'I like you, Shannow,' he said, with a weak smile. Then his eyes closed and he toppled forward.
Shannow ran to Steiner. The wound in his chest had opened, and his face was ghostly as he sat back on a rock.
'Paid you back, Shannow,' he whispered.
Beth approached him. 'You're crazy, Clem… but thanks. How the Hell did you get here?'
'I wasn't out for long. Bull came by to see me and I left the kids with him and followed the tracks.
Looks like we should be safe now.'
'Not yet,' said Shannow.
The Parson had reached the ledge and was now out of range. They watched him lift his hand.
The Sword of God trembled in the sky.
Shannow ran to the base of the Peak and stripped off his black coat, dropping it to the ground.
Then he reached up, took hold of a jutting rock and hauled himself up. The Peak loomed above him. His fingers reached for other holds and the slow climb began.
Beth and Steiner sat down to watch his progress. High above, on the ledge, the Parson began to chant broken verses from the Old Testament.
'A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume, and to flash like lightning… For thus saith the Lord God: When I shall make thee a desolate city… when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee… I shall make thee a terror, and thou shall be no more; though thou be sought for, yet shall thou never be found again, saith the Lord God.' His voice echoed on the wind.
Amaziga stumbled over the crest of the hill, the mare dead on the slope. She ran down to the poolside and saw Shannow inching his way up the rock-face.
'No,' she shouted. 'Let him be, Shannow. Let him be!' But the Jerusalem Man did not respond. As Amaziga drew her pistol and aimed it at him, Beth ran across the stones and hurled herself at the other woman. The pistol fired, splintering the rock by Shannow's left hand; he flinched instinctively and almost fell. Beth tore the gun from Amaziga's hand and threw the woman from her.
'We have to stop him!' said Amaziga. 'We have to!'
A rumbling roar came from the sky… the base of the Sword was becoming flame and smoke.
Shannow climbed on. Minutes fled by. On the rock-face Shannow was tiring, his arms trembling with the effort of dragging himself upwards. But he was close now. Sweat bathed his face as he forced his weary limbs to respond.
He could hear the Parson's voice above him: 'I will breathe out my wrath upon you, and breathe out my fiery anger against you… Wail and say Alas for that day… a time of doom for the nations.'
As the missile trembled, several planes on the edge of the stasis field broke clear, the sound of their engines roaring over the desert beyond the Peak. Shannow reached the ledge and hauled himself over it. For several seconds, exhausted, he could do nothing.
The Parson saw him. 'Welcome, brother. Welcome! Today you will hear a sermon unlike any other, for the Sword of God is coming home.'
'No,' Shannow told him. 'It is no sword, Parson.' But the man did not hear him.
'This is a blessed day. This is my destiny.' With a terrifying roar, the missile burst clear of the field and began to rise. 'NO!' screamed the Parson. 'No! Come back!' He held up his hand. The missile slowed its rise and began to turn in the air. The tower rumbled. A great flash of lightning seared the sky to the south, the air parting like a curtain, and a second sun shone in the sky.
Shannow pushed himself to his knees. From the ledge he could see the immense gateway opened by Pendarric and the massed ranks of his legions beyond it. The light was unbearable. In the sky, the missile had almost completed its turn. Shannow drew his pistol. The earthquake hit just as he was about to fire on the Parson. A huge crack snaked across the desert… the Pool disappeared…
the tower buckled, great slabs of stone peeling from the walls. Shannow dropped his pistol and grasped a jutting rock. The Parson, concentrating on the missile, lost his footing and tumbled from the ledge, his body shattering on impact with the rocks below where once the Pool had been.
Clem Steiner, Beth and Amaziga ran from the edge of the new chasm, taking shelter higher on the slopes. Shannow pushed himself upright. The missile was coming back towards him.
He stared sullenly at the weapon of his own destruction, wishing he could hurl the monster through the gaping gateway. In response to his thoughts, the missile wavered and twisted in the air. Shannow did not understand the miracle, for he did not know of the Sipstrassi Stone pulsing its power beyond the rock, but his heart leapt with the realisation that the Sword of God was responding to his wishes. He concentrated with all the strength he could muster. Like a spear, the silver missile sped through the Gate of Time. Pendarric's legions watched it pass… on it flew, one section breaking away. For some moments Shannow experienced a sense of bitter disappointment, for nothing had happened. Then came the light of a thousand suns and a sound like the end of worlds. The gateway disappeared.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
Nu-Khasisatra opened his eyes to find he was standing within the circle of stones beyond the Royal Gardens, two hundred paces from the Temple of Ad. Stars shone brightly in the sky and the city slept. He ran from the circle, down the tree-lined Avenue of Kings and on through the Gates of Pearl and Silver. An old beggar awoke as he passed, stretching out his hand.
'Help me, Highness,' he said drowsily, but Nu ran by him. The man sent a whispered curse after him and settled down to sleep beneath his thin blankets.
Nu was breathing heavily by the time he reached the Street of Merchants. He slowed to a walk, then ran again, coming at last to the bolted gate by his own gardens. Glancing left and right, he grasped the iron grille and began to climb. Once over the top, he dropped to the earth and loped towards the house. A huge hound bore down on him, but when Nu knelt and held out his hand the hound stopped short, sniffing at him.