Flight to Opar, Page 3

  He kept his eyes on the trail, noting that the tracks of Awineth's party were visible even to an untrained person. His own tracks were evident for a while; then they ceased. At this point he had gone off into the woods to double back. It had not been wasted time, though. It had led the dogs astray long enough for him to have time to handle them.

  It was cool under the shade of the oaks. It was comparatively silent too, except for the croak of a nearby raven and the far-off chatter of some monkeys. After a while, he saw some of the oak-monkeys, creatures not much larger than the squirrels with whom they competed for nuts and berries. They were reddish except for faces outlined by a ruff of white hair. A small band followed him for a while, leaping from one oak to the next before losing interest. But he heard their cries for a long time.

  From time to time, Hadon bent down and Lalila eased off his back. They would walk slowly while he held her and she hopped on one leg. When her good leg got too weak for her to proceed, they rested for about fifteen minutes. After that, she mounted him again.

  The trail went steadily upward, though gently. By nightfall they were at the top of a saddleback with peaks on each side. Ahead, its snowy top illuminated by the setting sun, was a mountain twice as tall as the one on which they stood. The valley between was too dark for them to distinguish any features. They were surrounded by pines now; it was too cold for oaks here.

  Lalila, sitting on wet leaves, shivered. "We'll freeze."

  Hadon chewed on a piece of hard bread and even harder beef jerky. He swallowed and said, "It's not too cold to sleep. We'll get some rest until the moon comes up. That should be about two hours from now. Then we'll go on. Exercise will keep us warm."

  "But you can't," she said. "You'll be too tired. Haven't we got a long head start on them? Couldn't we sleep until dawn at least?"

  Before replying, he went to a nearby spring and scooped up some water in his hands. After drinking, he said, "It depends on whether they follow us in the dark or decide to wait until daybreak. Ordinarily, they wouldn't dare enter these woods now. It is said…"

  He paused. She murmured, "It is said…?"

  Hadon bit his lip. He hadn't wanted to scare her, but if he was silent she would be even more frightened.

  "It is said that this forest is haunted by demons. And then there are the leopards and the hyenas. The tale about the demons may be an idle one, something people like to scare themselves with. I have heard many; while it's true that I've never seen a demon, yet I've heard stories from those who claim that they have… or knew people who claimed they had. But there is no doubt that the mountain forests of Khokarsa are inhabited by leopards, hyenas and bears. If we're moving, we're not likely to get attacked. But if we're sleeping, who knows."

  He did not tell her about the kokeklakaar, the Long-Armed Killer of the Trees. This was said to be a hairy half-man creature which waited on a branch for the unwary traveler. When its prey passed below, it hung by one arm from a branch and reached down with the other and closed its crab-like pincers around the neck of its victim. Snap! The pincers squeezed the breath out of the throat, cut through the flesh, half severing the head.

  Then the thing threw the corpse up into the branches, clambered after it and settled down to sucking the blood through its trumpet-shaped mouth, formed of horn.

  No, he would not tell her about that. She had enough to worry about.

  "The men of Minruth may feel they are numerous enough so that even the demons will not dare attack them. If so, they'll light torches and follow the dogs. They can travel much more swiftly than we can. If they push themselves, they might be here by dawn. Or perhaps before then."

  Hadon pointed out to her that the spring had become a small stream. It seemed to descend slantwise across the mountain, at least it did for as far as he had seen it in the light. Perhaps it became falls here and there later on. But they could proceed down it, allowing the water to wash out their tracks.

  "Why didn't they"—referring to Awineth's party—"go down the stream too?" she said.

  "I don't know. Perhaps they did further down."

  "But won't the soldiers know that's what we did when our tracks disappear?"

  "You're too logical," he said. "Of course they will. They'll send some men after us while the others follow the trail. But if we can lose those who'll be after us, I may be able to cache you some place. Then I'll come back and see what I can do."

  The creek's water was very cold. They had not gone far before their feet were numb. Lalila did not comment on this until their feet slipped out from them and they sat down hard. Hadon, cursing, got up quickly. When he helped her up, she said, "I just can't feel anything below my knees."

  "That's an advantage," he said. "You can't feel the pain of your injured ankle. You should be able to walk on it now."

  It was true, but his own legs felt as stiff and dead as crutches. The loss of sensitivity made him unable to feel out the rocks and the holes in the bed of the stream. As a result, he fell now and then and was shocked by the ice-cold bath. He was shivering, sure that if he could see his skin, he would find it blue. Lalila's teeth were chattering, and he felt her body shaking when he supported her.

  After an indeterminate, almost unendurable time, they came to a falls. It was too dark to tell how far it dropped. Not that that made any difference. They had to climb out and go through the woods where the slope was not too steep. Half of the time they slid on their rumps through the wet leaves and the mud. Bushes scratched them and stones cut their legs and buttocks.

  The moon came out. It was not much help where they were because of the dense growth of trees. After a while they saw the water gleaming and returned to it. The stream allowed them passage for perhaps a mile, then became a cataract again. This was at the head of a deep but narrow gorge, compelling them to walk along its edges, though not too near. Once Hadon slipped on a patch of mud and both were nearly precipitated into the chasm. Lalila hurt her ankle again.

  By the time they reached the valley, they saw clouds covering the stars to the west. Within fifteen minutes the moon was veiled, then shut out. A heavy rain battered at them a little while later. They took refuge under a tree, sitting with. their backs against its trunk. Rain fell through the leaves and ran down the trunk against their back. It was cold, but not as cold as the mountain stream.

  '"If I had known that it would rain," Hadon said, "I would have gone on the trail. It's going to wash out all the footprints and the scent too."

  "Then we won't be able to find Abeth!" Lalila cried.

  "We can find the path and follow it. But if they had any sense, they will have gotten off it at the first place where they wouldn't leave tracks. Don't worry. If it's at all possible, we'll find them. If we run across a temple, the priestesses will help locate them for us. They know everything that's going on in these mountains."

  He lifted her up, held her in his arms for a while as she clung to him. Then he broke the embrace and, speaking roughly to hide his own exhaustion and despair, said, "We don't want to go back to the trail yet. We'll cut through at an angle toward the gap we saw. The trail undoubtedly goes through it, but when we get to it, we'll see if we can't go higher somehow. And not leave any clues."

  They reached the gap near dawn. It was about a hundred yards wide and walled with steep limestone. There were some ascendable places, however, and at the top of one was a ledge.

  "We'll go up there and sleep, out of sight. The dogs won't be able to smell us if we're up there—I hope. And the rock won't leave much of a scent behind. It'll be gone by the time they get here, anyway." He silently added another I hope.

  Normally they could have reached the ledge in fifteen minutes. Now they had to halt frequently to catch their breath, to still their gaspings and quiet the tremblings of their legs. Lalila had to ride on his back half the time. They pushed on and after a long while crawled up to the ledge. It was about fifteen feet long and ten deep.

  "A cave!" Lalila said.

  Hadon rose
, drew his sword and advanced cautiously. When he was close, he could smell a fetid odor, the stink of hyenas, with which he had had extensive experience while on the expedition across the savannas north of Khokarsa. But no slinking, slope-backed, trap-jawed beasts rushed out at him. Peering within, he saw some crushed bones, hair and droppings. The latter were old.

  He entered, still cautiously, until the ceiling sloped downward sharply. Getting down on his hands and knees, he looked into the darkness. More bones, and then what looked like rock.

  Coming out, he said, "We can sleep here. But first ..."

  He looked out across the valley they had left. Tiny figures were crossing the bottom of the valley—a stream of figures. At a rough estimate, two hundred.

  Lalila said, "I'm glad this ledge is on the sunward side. I don't think, though, I'll ever get warm again."

  "They're coming," Hadon said.

  She looked stricken. He hastily added, "But it'll be a long time before they get here. There's no use pushing on. We'd drop dead before we got to the bottom of the next valley. We'll sleep."

  "And then what?"

  "The dogs will make enough noise to wake us. Then, well, then, Lalila, I have to leave you. Just what I'll do after that, I don't know. Improvise. Pray to Kho to help Her devoted worshiper against the men of Resu."

  He ate some more bread and jerky and insisted that she eat too. Then they lay down in the mouth of the cave in each other's arms. Hadon, feeling her naked breasts against his, was surprised by a stirring of desire. He had thought he was too tired to lift his head, let alone anything else. He told himself that this was no time to even think about such a thing. And while he was thinking he fell asleep.

  5.

  For some time he was vaguely aware that he was being disturbed. Suddenly he felt a hand tugging at his hair. He groaned "Go away!" then woke as he was slapped sharply. He sat up and looked at Lalila. "What…?"

  The baying of dogs and the voices of men answered his question.

  Grimacing with the pain of fatigue-rusted muscles, he rose. He crept out on all fours and peered over the edge of the ledge. Down below was a long procession, armored and armed soldiers. And at least forty dogs. Their clamor, if not enough to wake the dead, would quickly rouse the deadest of the tired. Hadon withdrew his head. If one of those men should happen to glance up…

  Lalila had crawled out to him. She started to look over the edge, but he pressed down on her shoulder. "Wait until the last man has gone by." He crawled back until he was out of sight from below. He rose, entered the cave and removed the provisions from the pack. He returned to Lalila and handed her her breakfast. While they ate and washed the food down with water from a ceramic canteen, he told her what she must do. It was simple: wait until he returned.

  "I can endure being left here," she said. "But if you are not back in two days, I'll have only two choices, starve or kill myself. I can't climb down without your aid."

  Hadon did not answer at once. He looked to the north. The valley there was much wider than the one they'd just left. Even higher mountains walled it in. Because of the shoulder of the mountain they were on, he could only see the eastern half of the valley. It was heavily wooded except for the terminus of a lake at the west. If there were any villages on the lake, they must be out of sight beyond, the shoulder. Suppose there were villages there? Could he trust them to take care of Lalila? This was an area dominated by the worshipers of Kho, and there were supposed to be several temples somewhere in these mountains. She could take sanctuary in one of them, except that what was once a sacred place, inviolate, untouched by even the most evil of men, might no longer be so.

  He said, "Perhaps you are right. I'll take you to the bottom, and then you'll have to take your chances. Somehow I have to get them off the track of Awineth and the others, although it's possible they might have already lost their trail. But they are so numerous, they can split up and send parties all over the valley. I really don't know what I'm going to do—whatever one man can do against so many. But you'll be in more danger there than here."

  "I want my daughter back," she said. "I'll do whatever you say. I just thought I should point out what will happen if… if you don't come back."

  He had been looking at the valley to his left while he talked. Now he started and said, "Look there!"

  Lalila began to crawl to him, but he lifted her up. She looked where he was pointing.

  "More soldiers!"

  "I don't think so," he said. "They don't seem to be wearing armor. They could be hunters. They might be traders; they're carrying big packs. They must know what they're doing, since the tracks of the soldiers must be plain. They're coming along very swiftly too. It's as if they're trying to catch up with them."

  He paused. "This makes things different. I can't take you down after the soldiers are gone. These men would be too close behind us. They'd catch up with us."

  Lalila said, "I'll do whatever you think is best, Hadon. I don't like to be stranded here, but I can take care of myself."

  He permitted himself a quick look over the edge. The dwindling of noise sounded as if the soldiers had passed by. Yes, there went the rearguard with not a backward glance. He rose and said, "I don't like to leave you here, but there's no other way. And I have to get going at once. I must get into the forest before those men get here and see me."

  "Very well," she said. "May you be back soon. With Abeth."

  "Kho willing, I will be."

  He leaned over and kissed her upturned lips. They were cracked and dry, but though she looked worn out and her mouth was arid, he felt desire stir again. He straightened up and, smiling, said, "You'll be able to rouse passion in men when you're on your deathbed."

  "What?"

  "I love you," he said, and he was gone.

  Coming around the shoulder, he saw more of the valley. The end of the lake became large, oval-shaped. In its center was a small island, dominated by a building glittering white in the sun. It was round and topped by a dome. It would be made of limestone—it would be too difficult to ship marble in—and it would be a Temple of Kho or one of Her many daughters. Which meant that Awineth and the others would have headed for it.

  That is, if they had gotten this far. It was possible that they were hiding in the valley behind him.

  But the soldiers would have known that. They would have sent at least several small parties to hunt for them while the others continued. They had not done so, which meant that their commander knew of the temple, and that Awineth would know of it also. Like Hadon, the officer had calculated that the temple would be the refugees' goal.

  Westward, the lake became a river, winding through the forest. He slipped into its safe shade and headed in as straight a line as possible for the nearest lake. There was some underbrush in the pines, but as he descended he entered the oaks. Their close-packed ranks and far-flung branches ensured that not much vegetation would grow beneath them. He walked swiftly, running now and then, working the stiffness and ache from his muscles. Though he was in rougher terrain than the soldiers, he was making better progress. The trail they were on wound to the northeast somewhat, then, he supposed, would cut back to the lake. Unless something happened, he would get to the lake first.

  Twice he crossed creeks and stopped to drink. He finished the bread and jerky he'd brought along. It was not enough, but he did not have time to hunt. Besides, what could he catch with only a knife and tenu? The question was answered when, suddenly aware of his opportunity, he snatched out his knife and threw it at a monkey. This was a larger specimen than the small oak-monkey, and it had ventured to a low branch to scream at him. The knife caught it just as it turned to leap away and drove halfway through its side. It fell with a thump while its hundred packmates leaped around and hooted and screamed at him.

  He stopped long enough to remove its head, tail, limbs and skin. Cutting out pieces of the flesh, chewing on them, he walked on. He would have preferred it cooked, but he had eaten raw meat as a boy in the jungles
around Opar. He looked back once and saw several ravens settling down around the leavings. Perhaps the Raven-Goddess, M'adesin, would bless him for giving her charges food.

  On the other hand, and here he almost lost his appetite, the monkey might be sacred to this forest. You never knew what the local taboos were until you asked around, and there was no one to ask.

  "If I have sinned, O Goddess," Hadon said loudly, "forgive me! It was done out of need and ignorance. I needed sustenance to see me through this mission, which is to save the high vicar of Kho, to fight for Kho against Her enemies."

  Actually he was far more concerned at this moment about his friends, Hinokly and Kebiwabes, and the manling Paga—so beloved by Lalila—and her daughter Abeth. There was no need to mention this, however.

  Nor was there reason to comment that Awineth, though the chief agent of mighty Kho, was a bitch.

  Hadon detoured to the creek to wash the blood from his face, hands and chest. He threw the rest of the carcass away and continued. He saw a number of deer browsing in the more open spaces between the oaks. Where deer were, there would be leopards. Of these he saw no sign, except for some pawprints in the mud near the creek.

  Nightfall found him still far from the lake. He pushed on through the darkness, though he knew the absence of light would give him a tendency to circle. When the moon rose, he was still going, though more slowly than in the morning. His desire to lie down and go to sleep was counterbalanced by two motives. One, he had to get to the temple before the soldiers did. If their officers drove them, refusing to camp, then they would get there first. Second, he heard the roar of a leopard somewhere near. It would be hunting deer, but it might consider him for supper if it found him sleeping.