“Yours first and then theirs, old man,” snarled the Feridani, furious that his kill had been taken from him. “You’ll soon find that you would have been wiser to turn and run.”
Then did the male begin to advance in attack upon S’Heernoh, his rage adding strength to his arm, insolently ignoring Ceralt and Mehrayn, who had fallen back with S’Heernoh’s intercession. Oddly enough the gray-haired male seemed to find less difficulty in facing the Feridani than those who had stood before him, yet was I unsure as to how long the thing would continue. S’Heernoh fought with a skill I had rarely, if ever, seen equaled, and yet to consider the Feridani bested by cause of that observation alone would be foolish. I had stood about undoing long enough; there was a sword of mine waiting to be reclaimed.
With the sound of metal striking upon metal ringing sharply, I returned my dagger to its leg bands, turned from the furious exchange of attack and defense, and began looking about. The black circle remained a place I would not and could not enter, therefore did I require a thing which would enter the place for me. Odd was that chamber, filled with furs and silks upon flagstones beside devices of metal and wonder, and at first I was able to see naught which would suit my purpose. Then did my eyes fall upon a strangely even length of wood which had been placed upon a long platform holding devices of metal, as though its use had been about to be begun, yet opportunity for that beginning had not arrived. I quickly approached the platform, took up the squarish length of wood, then turned again toward the circle of black.
The wood was of just sufficient length to reach my sword, but I had to brush and scrape the weapon toward me as the sound of sword battle continued at my back, grunts and muttered curses accompanying the snail of metal upon metal. After too many moments of frenzied scraping the hilt at last crossed the line of the black circle to where I stood, therefore did I snatch it up and whirl about—to see the final movements of the meeting between brown-haired Feridani and gray-haired Walker.
As my first thoughts were concerned with how S’Heernoh fared against the intruder, the true state of affairs did not immediately come to me; only after having sent my gaze to the Feridani, did I realize that he retained neither fury nor determination. Fear and desperation now rode the features of the male, as closely as the sweat slicking his brow, for the gray-haired male he faced had begun driving him backward, the intention to end him clear in every line of S’Heernoh’s body. The teeth of the Feridani were clenched against the strength of the blows falling upon his weapon and then, despite his every effort, his blade was struck aside.
“You!” rasped the male to S’Heernoh, his eyes widened in shock, his tone disbelieving. “You’re—”
The following words used by the male were totally incomprehensible, mere gibberish spouted as though they contained meaning, a doing the intruder was not long allowed to continue. S’Heernoh cut through the stream with a lunge impossible to resist, his sword burying itself in the chest of the Feridani, ending words and life alike. Despite my previous doubts upon the point, the eyes of the Feridani dulled, his sword fell from unresisting fingers, and then he crumpled to the stone of the floor.
“Magnificent,” breathed Mehrayn from where he stood beside Ceralt, both with weapons still in hand yet points lowered, then did his voice raise to full glee. “Man, you were absolutely magnificent!” he laughed, moving forward with a grinning Ceralt to halt beside S’Heernoh. “Never have I seen a skill to match yours! Why haven’t we seen it sooner?”
Ceralt added delighted praise to Mehrayn’s, bringing S’Heernoh a much-deserved smile of satisfaction over so glorious an accomplishment; I, too, felt the same, yet was there one final matter which needed to be seen to before we might indulge in leisurely mutual congratulation. I stepped back from those three males who stood happily above the empty husk of he who had been a Feridani, gestured to Aram in a manner indicating that he was to follow me, and stepped silently from the chamber which no longer brooded with dark dread.
“What is it, Jalav?” Aram asked quietly when once he had followed me into the corridor of gray stone, his light eyes concerned. “Is something wrong?”
“Indeed,” said I with a nod, working left-hand to pull the knotted leather from about my neck and cast it from me. “Soon, however, all shall be set aright, for you and I and the wonder you bear now go to seek the other of those called Feridani. You are prepared to accompany me?”
“Sure,” said the male with surprised yet full agreement, his glance to the device he held reassured by the continuing cast of green. “I’m ready to go, but don’t you think you’ve forgotten something? I mean, you don’t really intend walking around like that, do you? You’re not wearing anything at all.”
“Coverings, like congratulations, may be left for another time,” I replied with a soft sound of ridicule, already having begun leading the way up the corridor. “Should my memory of my previous time here not be amiss, we are not far from the place we seek.”
The male seemed less than pleased with my reply, yet did he hasten to lengthen his stride so that he would not be left behind. We strode up the corridor toward the nearest cross corridor, paying no mind to those few unmoving forms upon the stone, and once at the cross corridor I found my suppositions had been correct. The corridor we then emerged from was one I had been forbidden to enter during my previous visit, the rock of the wall beyond it still retaining its lines of black, and from there I had no doubt as to where my destination lay. Without hesitation I turned to the left, stalking the one I had so often thought about in such a manner.
The door to the chamber stood slightly ajar when I reached it, therefore did I ease it farther open and look within before entering, Aram close behind me. The figure I sought stood before a platform which held a device of metal with a magic window, yet was the figure not as it had been when last I had seen it. Tall was that golden-haired figure, yet not so tall as I, and no other thing save its hair was golden. Light was the skin, lighter than mine amidst the clutter of a chamber also stripped of its golden glow, yet had I no doubt that here was the one I sought. The view within the magic window changed rapidly with each frantic touch of the female’s hand, yet were my eyes no place other than upon her when I stepped past the threshold.
“Greetings, Mida,” said I quite softly, causing the female to gasp and whirl to face me. Blue were her widened eyes rather than golden, and sight of them brought a faint smile to curve my lips.
“You!” said she in a choked voice, and then did she attempt to draw herself up. “How dare you enter these precincts without permission?” she demanded, forcing insult to bring true outrage. “Sheathe that blade immediately and go to your belly in apology, else shall your goddess . . . .”
“Do naught save die,” I said, treading upon the balance of her words, the prospect of pleasure rising swiftly within me. “To battle a goddess has long been my hope and intention, therefore would you be wise to fetch a blade. To strike you down where you stand would remove all joy for me, yet am I prepared to do even that.”
“So you do know!” she spat, no beauty remaining in the face which twisted with spite and hatred, her eyes now burning with the fury she had earlier sought. “All of our support equipment is dead, but I don’t need it to finish off a stinking savage like you! If I get nothing else out of this, I’ll at least have the satisfaction of doing that!”
Quickly did she whirl and run to the wall where hung her golden sword, took it down with a jerk, then turned again to face me with spiteful anticipation. It was clearly her intention to see my blood flow to the flags, yet had I the same intention regarding her, and my intention had surely been first aborning.