Yoseh was afraid. And felt guilty about his fear, though he knew if he asked, his brothers and cousins would admit they were frightened, too. But that was different, somehow. Oh, did he wish that he had not come to Qushmarrah. Mo'atabar and the ferrenghi sorceress were whispering up a storm, the woman's gestures growing more animated by the moment. They were ready.
A score of Fa'tad's picked veterans, armed and armored as heavily as ferrenghi heavy infantry, trotted around from the far side of the citadel.
She could not get her mind to function. She felt like she had been drugged.
Nothing made sense. Torgo was begging her to get herself together. She could not. She could not remember why it was important that she wake up, though Torgo had told her several times.
Azel bulled his way into her bedchamber. "What the hell is this? I told you to get her up and get her down there."
"She's awake. She's just having trouble getting her bearings."
"What the hell are you being so delicate for? You going to curtsey your way to the gallows?"
Azel's abrasive voice began to draw her out of the fog. She watched him storm toward where she sat on the edge of her bed, his hand rising. She willed her body to move but it did not respond before the blow fell.
Pain shot through her, reached into that hidden place where anger slept, wakening it. Her surroundings came into focus. Torgo hurled himself at Azel. Azel stepped aside. She snapped, "Torgo! That's enough! Azel, I shan't forget this."
"I hope not. I probably just saved your life. Candyass here would've dicked around till they were in here chopping you up for dog meat."
"Who? What are you talking about?"
"Damn you!" he bellowed at Torgo. "You didn't tell her?"
"I told her." Torgo sulked.
"He told me but the message didn't get through. I would appreciate it if you'd calm down and get to the point." Azel said, "We got Dartars pounding on the door, woman. They're going to be inside any minute." He had a smug I-told-you-so look.
Some residual mental fog stalled her momentarily. Then she asked, "How can that be? Nobody has found the Postern of Fate before."
"They got their own witch and she unraveled the way in. Are you going to do something or are you going to sit there and just let things happen?"
The fear hit like a blast of steam. Nakar! If she did not do something shewould lose him-and everything else, just when she had found the right child.
She lunged forward. The women who had been standing around, silent andhelpless and embarrassed, tried to stop her, insisted they dress her. Sheshook them off. There was no time. Her dream was under attack. Her love was in peril. For even entertaining that idea she would see those savages lose theirsouls.
Torgo and Azel and the women swept after her. The men muttered at each otherangrily. She paid them no heed.
As she marched downstairs she asked what steps had been taken. Azel told herand made a few suggestions. Torgo sulked some more, a gigantic infant withfeelings easily bruised.
"You take charge of stalling the attack, Azel. Do whatever you have to, to buytime."
"What I need is a little help from you. You bloody their noses and they'llback off."
She did not bother answering. "Torgo, stay with me. I want two women to lightthe lamps in the temple. The rest go with Azel."
She caught an exchange of looks between the killer and the eunuch. Azel wasdisappointed in her again. He seemed, almost, to despair.
Arif knew something had happened, and that something dreadful was going tohappen, when all the people ran into the big room where the cage was. Theycame straight to the cage. The big man opened the door. They all came inside.
Zouki peeked out of the vegetation. He saw the woman. The beautiful woman. Hewent into a fit of tears. Arif thought he looked puzzled, like he wasterrified and did not know why he should be.
The woman pointed. "That one, too."
Arif wanted to run away. He thought he could get away from them if he got inthere with the rock apes. The apes hated the big man ... But Zouki was thereand something would not let him run. He hesitated a moment too long, anyway.
One of the adults was between him and the vegetation, running after Zouki.
Then the big man caught him up as he started to run the other way.
Thunder shook the citadel.
"Torgo!" the woman snapped. "Hurry!"
The big man said nothing, just snatched Arif up and set out after thebeautiful woman. Behind them, Zouki squealed, caught. The other adults beganrounding up the remaining children. The short, wide man yelled at them tohurry.
Aaron had stomach cramps. He had trouble hearing the Herodian sorceress, whohad gathered everyone around. As soon as she stopped talking about it they were going to do it. The Dartar boy Yoseh stood to his right, shaking. Reyhapressed against him from the left, strangely calm.
Mo'atabar translated from the Herodian, loosely. "She says that right insidethe gateway we should run into a narrow, straight passageway about forty feetlong. That's all she can tell about it from here. She says it should be thehardest part. We get through, the place should be ours. She says get throughfast, don't stop for anything. She has to get in to the anchor for the patternso she can kill its traps. Questions? No? Then let's get lined up."
They would pass through the pattern single file, follow-the-leader, so eachman could repeat exactly the steps taken by the man ahead. Traps could beevaded but not disarmed except from within.
The surviving prisoners drew straws. Three would win immediate release. Fourwould lead the column. The winners cheered and the losers wept. Mo'atabarissued captured Herodian short-swords to the latter.
Aaron eyed the equipment carried by the shock troops. In addition to heavyshields, helmets, armor, javelins, and pikes, many had coils of rope wrappedaround them, rope ladders, bundles of javelins and arrows and bows, or stuffedpacks on their backs.
The line began moving.
His place was toward the end, behind Yoseh. Only Reyha, Mo'atabar, and thesorceress followed him.
He heard the screaming before he caught sight of the breach. He nearly voidedhimself. But the line kept moving and he thought of Arif in there and he keptmoving, too.
Yoseh wanted to yell at the carpenter to stop stepping on his heels. He wasmoving as fast as he could. He had to concentrate on what Mahdah was doing sohe would not misstep.
Sweat poured out of him, mixed with the sweat of the sky. He'd never been sothoroughly scared. Never before had he been given so much time to work himselfinto a panic ...
He heard the screaming as the entrance wavered into existence, alive withflashes of pink and lemon light. As that dreadful maw welcomed him themomentum of the line faltered, but only for a moment. He skipped over two ofthe veydeen prisoners, then three of the warriors Fa'tad had sent to lead theattack.
Halfway along the passage there was a small guardroom the sorceress had notmentioned. Two men and a woman lay dead there. Blood covered everything, looking like shiny black paint in the feeble light of a single lamp. One ofthe men had been disemboweled. Yoseh gagged at the stench.
"Keep moving!" Mo'atabar yelled. "This tunnel is a deathtrap. "
It was. Yoseh stumbled over another five bodies before he reached its end.
Three were his own people, one was a prisoner, and one was a woman with ajavelin protruding from her back.
The passage ended in a large space divided into stall-like compartments bypartitions of rough boards. The pink and yellow lights still played there. Afire burned in a corner. There was a lot of screaming. Dartars chased peoplethrough the maze and got caught as often as they caught someone.
"Stop!" Mo'atabar yelled. "Nogah! Get the bodies out of the passage. Find outif any of them are still alive. See if you can find lamps or lanterns ortorches."