Day of the Druid, Page 2

lips,but lips that retained their freshness.

  "I hear something," Asgar whispered. "I hear something inside myhead."

  The others had heard it too. They stared at each other in thegathering dusk. There was magic here. But Gaar knew that there wasmagic to fight this magic.

  And then suddenly it was night. On a far off peak a fire spurtedupward. Was it a beacon or a device to lure them to doom? Gaarwondered. They paused in a grove, in a circle of stones. It was timeto rest. A lassitude crept over them.

  He knew then how strong the dark forces were. His inner voice warnedhim of the death that lurked in a circle of stones. But the power inthis grove was strong. Gaar felt the torpor take hold of him. He sawthe men stagger. Then, with his last ounce of strength, he had hisfoot against one of the stones and was kicking out.

  The circle was broken and with it the spell. Gaar shook himself. Hehad learned one thing, to stay outside stone circles.

  * * * * *

  Overhead the stars wheeled. There was the Bear, and there was theBull. If you could read them rightly the ocean was not trackless. Theseasons were there if you could read them.

  Tomorrow would be Spring. And tonight men in long black robes walkedthe great circle, related each of the stones to its constellation inthe heavens, canted their hymns to the dark powers that had spawnedthem.

  Tomorrow would be Spring. Tomorrow the sun would slant down betweenthe two tallest stones and fall blood-red upon the Cromlech, upon thealtar. Tonight they would burn brighter.

  And Be'al would be appeased. Be'al the All-Powerful would taste theblood of the victims, would smell their flesh, and Be'al would knowthat his sons had not forgotten him.

  He was all they had not forgotten. Too long for them to remember, toolong since they had crossed the void from their parent planet. Thesciences they had brought were gone. Only this residue of blood-lustremained.

  "The girl stirs," Cyngled said. His beard was black and thick, hisskin white, and whiter still the circular scar on his forehead.

  In the sepulchre the air was damp as the high-priest looked down uponthe girl. In the light of the flickering yew-torches her eyelidsseemed to move. Cyngled's fingers hovered at the hilt of thesacrificial knife.

  "Marna stirs," Glendyn whispered. "Tomorrow she will awaken. Let it befor the last time. As long as she lives we are in danger."

  "She can do nothing alone."

  "But she is never alone. How many times has her beauty brought men toher aid?"

  "Their bones would make a tall pile," Cyngled agreed. His eyes werebright beneath hooded lids. "What about those who landed today?"

  "They are somewhere in the forest. Once we thought we had them, butthey broke away."

  Footsteps sounded in the corridor and a hooded priest came hurryingover the worn stones of the floor. His fingers traced the sacredsymbols in the damp air of the crypt.

  "Well?" Cyngled demanded.

  "We are having trouble following them. Their thoughts are shrouded.Something comes between us and them."

  Cyngled's eyes darted back to Marna. He knew what it was thatprotected these strangers. Even in her sleep the girl had power.Glendyn was right.

  "Tomorrow, then," Cyngled murmured. "In the meantime, watch her. Youhere, Glendyn, and you above, Twyn."

  * * * * *

  Gaar moved swiftly. Behind him came the others. They had covered milesbut they were not tired. Not much farther, Gaar knew. The growth wasthinner.

  "We'll come at them straight ahead," Elgen said, moving up to Gaar'sside. "They'll never know what hit them."

  In the starlight Gaar could see his outline. Asgar's bulk loomed closebehind. Maybe the usual method of attack was best. Maybe Elgen wasright. Yet there was this knowledge that swords would not be enough.

  Then he caught the sound of voices. Out of the darkness ahead came adeep-throated, monotonous chant. With startling abruptness the forestended and they were at the edge of a vast clearing.

  Huge stones, too great for a man to move, formed a perfect circle.Towering thirty feet above the others were two monoliths standing afew feet apart. And directly before them was an altar, a great slab ofrock supported by four stone legs.

  About the altar hooded shadows moved slowly, murmuring their endlesschants. Gaar was tempted. The surprise should be complete. But thisthing held him.

  He waited, and was glad that he had. There was the faint andflickering light of a torch. It seemed to come out of the very groundbeyond the circle of stones. It _did_ come out of the ground.

  There was an opening of some sort, the mouth of a cave. Two figuresemerged and he saw them clearly before the torch was extinguished.Then, even in the dim starlight, Gaar saw one of the figures moveaway.

  "One of them is guarding the cave," Asgar whispered.

  "In that case there must be something to guard." He thought he knewwhat it was. He was certain he knew.

  "Listen," Gaar whispered. "I'm going to try to get inside."

  "Alone?"

  "One is better than a dozen for this job. That fellow seems to havepulled back into the mouth of the cave. If I can get him quickly hisfriends may never notice he's gone."

  "What about us?"

  "You wait here. It's almost dawn. By then I should be back."

  "And if you're not back by then?"

  "Turn around and get to the ship as fast as you can. There's no usetrying if I can't get through. Don't ask me how I know that. I justdo. That's an order. Understand?"

  * * * * *

  They understood. Gaar unbuckled his sword, handed his shield to Elgen.Next to come off was the breastplate. When a man's greatest need wasstealth, he didn't want any metal on him.

  A moment later he was off through the thin screen of trees, movingsilently around the great circle of stones. At every step he felt itstronger, this voice inside himself. He had to keep out of the circle.He knew that.

  Then he was behind the slight rise in the earth that was the openingof the cave. Very slowly now, Gaar moved, feeling his way. He felt therock beneath his fingers. A few steps more and there was no rock. Heturned inward.

  Hugging the wall he inched forward. There was a shadow, darker thenthe rest. Lips moved in the darkness, forming soundless words. Gaar'shands reach out, found a throat. The lips stopped moving.

  Gaar lifted the body, carried it back away from the mouth of the cave.He almost fell down the stone staircase that yawned suddenly at hisfeet. When Gaar had recovered his poise he went on, taking each stepgingerly.

  He was going down into a darkness that smelled of the dungeon and evenworse. Walls grew damp and clammy where he touched them. Slimy thingsscurried across the floor. The path Gaar was following twisted andturned.

  Then there was a door. Gaar fumbled in the darkness. The door openedsoundlessly. Beyond it was a faint and fitful light that led himonward toward its source. It led him into the room.

  Gaar knew it was the end of the search. Its bareness told him what hehad already suspected. There was no treasure. This was a people thatdid not believe in jewelled trappings. But the girl was here, in thisvery room. That was the only thing that mattered.

  A black-robed figure hid the sarcophagus from Gaar's view. A broadback, wearing the folds of the dark priesthood. The back shifteduneasily, as though feeling eyes upon it, and Gaar caught a glimpse ofsomething white beyond.

  He stepped forward, light as a giant cat. He took another step and hisfoot scraped earth. The sound was minute, almost inaudible, butGlendyn heard. He whirled, his hand flashing toward his girdle. Gaarclosed the gap between them in a single leap. His left hand caughtGlendyn's wrist, forced the knife back. But Glendyn was a tricky one,hard to hold. He shifted, kicked out, and Gaar stumbled.

  The knife was at his throat now. He knocked it aside, drove his fistupward into a soft belly. Glendyn doubled and his jaw met Gaar's otherfist as it came up. There was the splintering of bone.

  *
* * * *

  Beneath a white, filmy covering she lay, beneath a flimsy veil thatpressed gently upon her rounded form. Her limbs were whiter than theveil that covered them. Her hair was black as night. Her lips wereredder than in his vision.

  A thousand sleeps she had slept, and more. Older than the land fromwhich Gaar had come, and yet she was younger than he. He bent forwardand pressed his lips to hers. They were warm and yielding.

  "Wake up," Gaar whispered. Then, louder, "Wake up!"

  Was she dead? It seemed to him that she stirred, and yet it might havebeen the flickering light which created an illusion. Now he ran hishand through her hair. His big hands slapped at her cheeks, gently atfirst and then harder. His voice was insistent, commanding.

  Very slowly, then, her eyes opened. Blank and staring, they were, asshe hovered on the brink.