Dance of Demons (27 page)

Perhaps Gellor's prodding for the three of them to be going on was in part based on the completion of the final challenge. His singing and strains from the kanteel as accompaniment had brought the shadowstuff into wholeness on the evening prior to yesterday. Now each of them was again fully clad in armor of the stoutest stuff, metal and magical in combination.

Gellor smiled at that, for he was justly proud. "Yes, just so," he agreed. "Fierce and warlike we are too."

"Let's not stress that too much, my friends," Gord said. He had no desire to dampen the rising spirits of the two, but felt obliged to remind them of the grimness which lay ahead. "It is to Tharizdun's donjon prison that we now trek Perhaps this stuff will be of service on the journey, but when it is time to confront the foulest of the netherspheres we had better not trust our lives to even such armor as this. One who is able to bring oppression to the multiverse is beyond such protection as the best of armors affords."

"Perhaps that is so," Leda said with a small voice.

"We shall see!" Gellor said stoutly and with ringing fortitude.

"Very well, then. The three heroes set forth to beard the greatest of devil-demons in his very den!" Gord shouted, picking up Gellor's mood.

They linked arms with a ring of metal, for even shadow armor has a faint, plangent tone that it gives forth when struck by magical metals. Then Gord used the Theorparts another time, and the three seeking Tharizdun vanished ... or perhaps they stayed in place and the pastoral sphere vanished from around them; the effect was the same. A deep reverberation grew from the sound of their armored members striking, and that belling sound accompanied them hence.

Chapter 15

FROM THE FAINT ECHOES of a deep gong to the melodious pealing of carillons of golden bells. No, not Just golden ones — bronze and silver too lent their music to the symphony of sound. With the music came a million million bright suns and stars, and each moved in stately time to some ringing counterpart, an incredible fugue and dance. "We traverse the Celestial Sphere." Gord's thoughts were awed. Speech, even if possible, seemed somehow improper in a place such as this, and the others took his lead.

"Glad I am that our quarry is not buried in the deepest layer of the netherrealms," the bard mused. "For never have I experienced such sights and sounds as these!"

"Shooting stars!" Leda pointed to a veritable swarm of comets. They turned and came toward us. Gord .. .?"

"I am uncertain of anything here, Leda. Perhaps they simply perform their prescribed measures — or possibly ..." Gord's thoughts trailed off as he saw other sparks grow into like things, comets on blazing tails that Joined the swarm and came flashing across the velvety blackness toward where they soared.

Gellor was definite in his assessment. Those stars shoot to interpose themselves between us and our destination. Do we have the means to pass such a blockade, or must we make a hasty detour?"

"They come so quickly, Gord. We must do something now, else the choice will not be ours to make," Leda noted. "What do we three puny mortals have to oppose such incandescent might?"

Gord caused them to cease their movement through space. "We live and breathe in this airless and heatless sphere," he told his companions with assurance. "We move at will, and it is toward our final goal. I think that none can stop us, be it comet or otherwise." He watched the score or more of blazing things approach ever nearer. "Let's wait and see what force actually ventures out to greet us." The revelation of that was not long in coming.

The comets shot near, the approach made more strange by the silence. No air existed in the place, of course, so there was no means for the noise of the things to be transmitted to the three heroes. "Why can't I hear them coming?" Leda asked. Gellor supplied the answer to that. "But we converse readily enough."

"By thought alone," Gord said. "It is by telepathy we speak."

Before there was time for further exchange, the fiery objects suddenly ceased their onrush and in a twinkling were transformed into something else. "Devas?" Gellor thought to his friends, the uncertainty clear.

"No, Man" The stern reply came from a shining titan who stood before the three in the nothingness of celestial vacuum. "We are the guardians of light. "Give us the Theorparts!"

All of the things that had approached in the form of shooting stars were now revealed. The three titanic beings could only be solars, the greatest of the servants of the empyreal planes. With each of these were four of planetary sort, and serving each planetar were seven various sorts of lesser devas. Each and every one of the beings was arrayed for battle, with armor so bright that it seared the eye to look upon it, and with a multitude of weapons ranging from bows of pure light to golden-hued swords.

"I think not," Gord replied calmly. "The relics which we bear are ours by right. You may not interfere."

"Right? Evil has no right! The very use of the term is a perversion!" the glowing being thundered.

"Yield the key immediately, or judgment will be harsh and swift."

The devas now formed a shining crescent before the three, and Leda and Gellor moved slightly so as to watch Gord's flanks. It seemed that the warrior-beings were about to attack. What could withstand these beings if they did loose their shafts of pure energy and attack with such resplendent arms? The mightiest of demons would quail before a single stellar deva, and here were sufficient numbers of the warriors of the empyreal realms to conquer the hells!

The fear was evident as it sprang into his comrade's minds. "Do not let the words of the solar being affect you so," Gord told them with confidence. "Remember the demon hordes we faced and defeated so short a time before. These guardians are not so potent." So staling, the young champion addressed the titanic deva who had demanded the key to Tharizdun's imprisonment.

"Your zeal is misplaced, deva. We are not allies of the netherspheres. I am known as Gord. I am the foretold champion who must oppose the caged evil. These two with me, the man Gellor and the woman Leda, are likewise sworn opponents of the dark Tharizdun." Gord then awaited the being's apology and perhaps assistance, for his explanation was clear, concise, and truthful. He was disappointed.

"All who are not of like mind are adversarial to me," bellowed a solar whose radiant hue was of golden topaz, from his position to the left of the three wayfarers.

From opposite that being, one of pearly glow boomed, "No writ not of our making is valid, mortal Give over the Theorparts!"

The solar whose brightness shown as sapphire and who stood squarely before Gord also objected. "You serve only Evil in what you do! You may not pass!"

"You cannot bar our path," Gord said without heat. "You prate of 'right' and 'Evil' and suggest that only the ethos you pronounce is noble. Where were you and your fellows when we fought and bested daemons and the lords of the Abyss? Now, because of your narrow concepts, you demand what is not yours to ask Should I choose to give over the key — and I do not — then you would but postpone the inevitable. Then there would be none left to oppose Tharizdun. One champion alone is prophesied to stand before Evil when it arises in all its strength. I have shouldered my burden, accepted the responsibility, and will continue to do so. I exist to oppose the Darkest One, and until he is risen, I am unfulfilled in purpose!"

Pausing, Gord swept his arm to include the whole of the assembled beings of Light "You might be truly good and Just, you devas, but not one of you, not you all together, can successfully confront and defeat Tharizdun. I am unsure whether even I have any chance of winning, in truth, but it is written that I am the one who might do so. I must, then, retain the key and free the great Evil now. It is foreordained."

"We of light forged the prison, wove the barries, laid the slumber upon the ultimate woe," the central of the three solar devas proclaimed.

"It is so," intoned the others as if speaking to themselves.

"The three parts of the key were also made in the Celestial Realms," the titan thundered. "The Theorparts are ours by right!"

"Not if I choose to retain them. I do so. The multiverse demanded a balance when you chained Tharizdun, and the key's portions were sown for any to discover, as was decreed. Now I have all three. We will pass."

At those words the Guardians of Light drew back to a greater distance, and the solars and planetary devas conferred as the lesser ones looked on. "YOU gainsay our demand?" queried the one of amber radiance.

Gord nudged Gellor. "We do," the troubador responded firmly.

"You defy the requirement of Good?" the pearlescent titan asked, righteous indignation plain in his great voice.

"We define 'Good' differently, and do reject your words," Leda affirmed without prompting from Gord.

Perhaps she had read deep in his subconscious.

"The unending enmtiy of the realms of light — such prospect dissuades you not from the folly of resistance?" This stentorian-voiced question rolled from the azure-hued solar who had first confronted the three. "It is all the cosmos which must suffer your evil!"

"As you yourself stated, those who do not assist, hinder. Should we then pay heed to threats of enmity? Active opposition? You speak of folly, but the Empyreal Realm now basks in that very stuff, as you and your pack of stooges evidence," Gord said angrily. "You have narrow interpretations and misplaced values in this regard. Save for our action, you and all of the beings of Light would now be facing Tharizdun and his swarming hordes of netherlings, risen here to destroy you, the higher spheres, and impose Evil everywhere.

"You prate of cosmic consequences, but in all the multiverse there is but one appointed to the duty of opposing the scion of darkness. You know I am that one, yet you care more for your own concepts than for the ultimate fate of the cosmos you pretend to defend. Narrow, distorted, and mistaken. All truth does not rest with you.

"We have but one course now, and we will carry through with it. Away with you, all of you!" As he said the last words Gord drew forth the two portions of the relic, holding them upright before him, so that they were plainly visible as badges of his intent. Then he willed himself and his two comrades ahead, directly toward the devas.

At that the full population of the beings manifested itself. Elemental devas, aethereal and astral too there were, totalling eighty-four ready to serve the celestial beings, the planetary devas. Those twelve great beings, in turn, stood ready to fulfill the bidding of the three empyreal devas. those of solarian form.

But if the first were large, the next gigantic, and the stellar devas of titan size, the one which materialized to bring the assemblage to its full one hundred was so awesome as to defy description. The nine and ninety others bowed as the greatest of them appeared directly before the three humans.

"There is no evil in tour purpose," it said simply. "I will guide you to your destination."

"But.. ." Gord managed to stammer.

The archdeva was suddenly diminished, transforming itself to a size that was commensurate with the stature of the folk who floated there in the airless plane. "these others were but one last test — the final one prior to that which is to come. I regret the necessity, gord the champion. this too was prescribed, beyond my authority to alter. know now that your trials in the netherworld were sufficient opposition. No physical resistance is posed here."

"The threat was made," Gellor suggested.

"In truth," the being agreed, "we did make the test real. conviction and courage both were tried here, and neither was found lacking in you three. That is finished. The time to move onward is now. Follow."

With the celestial warriors escorting them, Gord, Leda, and the bard traveled onward through the near infinity of the Celestial Sphere. At last they exited that glorious realm, passing onward into another that was even more incredible.

"We have moved higher," the archdeva informed the three when they paused in awe. "We now enter the exalted place of pure color and fire, the Empyreal Sphere. Because I am of this plane, our passage will be swift."

"And then?" Gord managed to inquire.

"We shall see," the archdeva said. "what is beyond here is for you to assess and cope with as you may. MY abiltiy to assist ends with the culmination of the passage here."

Eventually the three and their majestic escort of devas traversed the wondrous place of light, and flame and hue gave way to growing colorlessness. In the distance grew a wall of pale stuff that appeared as would cliffs to wayfarers trekking across a vast plain. Still the entourage pressed on, and their way took them up something like a road that wound through great mountains. The onyxlike strata of milky white and glowing gray that composed the mountainous formation through which they traveled grew paler still as they went, until finally it was almost colorless where the path topped the range at a place like a mountain pass.

"This is the border of the empyreal sphere. Yon beyond is the place you seek. fare well!" Gord turned to say something to the great deva, but it and all the rest were gone.

"At least we were given swift and safe passage," he said with some small degree of confusion.

"The upper realms are an enigma, to my way of thinking." Leda said with a frown. "First we are made to feel as if we were malign and in peril, then those same beings serve as a noble train to see to our welfare, and then they vanish! Compared with these, even the workings of demons are more straightforward and understandable!"

"Be thankful we didn't have to oppose the devas," Gellor told her. "I am confident that we could have forced them to abandon their opposition, but we would have paid dearly to defeat such as them."

"What place is this, anyway?" Leda inquired practically. "The guide never told us."

The roadway went on before them, twisting and turning upward after crossing a ridgelike spine whose sheer sides disappeared into a misty chasm, so that the pathway crossed the chasm as a bridge spans a vast river. "I can make out something there amidst the clouds," Gord offered, pointing outward to where the road led.

"It looks to be a castle of pearl!" Leda was excited by the beauty she beheld. "See? Its walls seem to grow from the very mountain, and its spires are thrust into the clouds above!"

The analogy was in very mundane terms, but it was apt There was no other way to describe the fortress. It seemed the epitome of the faiiy castle. In fact it was apparently a structure of ivory and pearl, silver and opal too. Smooth wall and soaring buttress, thick tower and high turret top, all were of white and delicate appearance. "It is passing strange that the greatest evil ever known is therein," Gord commented. "Let's see this castle firsthand."

It required actual walking to gain their destination. No power other than their own legs could carry them there, though all three attempted arcane means and magic. When such attempts proved to be of no avail, the three proceeded afoot, and after a strenuous climb came to the gatehouse of the snowy fortress. The latter was apt also, for it was chill, and there was ice over all. Everywhere they looked they saw silver and gold. The castle was beautiful, preciously adorned — and frozen. The path ended at the outwork. No road crossed from the gatehouse to the great fortress itself. Between the two was a mist-filled space at least fifty paces across.

"The gates of this outpost and those of the castle proper stand wide. What means that?"

"I couldn't say for certain, Gellor, except to think aloud. Not many could have come to this locale, so perhaps the gates are but decoration."

Leda shook her head. "I think that what we see is outside reality as we define it. I submit that we see here a great castle because that is the way our minds interpret the place. We are bound to enter, so there are no gates barring our entry, no portcullis."

"Nobody said the way would be easy," Gellor laughed. "This is your hypothesis, so let's move to the sticking point. Where is the bridge to span the gap?"

"Old jester," Leda said with feigned irritation. "I am not the sage of this group. You have frost there on your thatch. Give us your wisdom!"

The exchange was certainly one last attempt to relieve the anxiety of what faced all three, but Gord was no longer in a frame of mind to deal with things thus. "Leave off, Leda and Gellor. No more flippancy. Give me silence! Don't you realize what lies before me? What I must do?" He stared at his comrades, and they looked away. Gord was abashed. "Forgive me — that was uncalled for. My entire being is full of dread, so if I am short of good humor, and sharp-tongued, please understand."

"Of course," his friends said in unison. Both were as much on edge as he was, and the desire to somehow make the way easier had brought on the mock levity. "I am with you to the end," Gellor said. "No word you utter now offends or hinders our comradeship." Leda did not need to say anything, for the bond between her and Gord was sufficient.

"I think I understand. . . ." The young champion was staring into space, his fingers idly playing over the twisted surface of Unbinder. "It is that no creature was ever meant to come here, let alone enter. Don't you see? If ever the three fractions of the relic were united, made into one whole, then the imprisoned one would be set free. Perhaps Tharizdun would have no need of a bridge, or possibly there is a way from inside to cause one to appear. No matter. The Theorparts provide our means of access."

"How so?"

"Here, Leda. Take the sword, for Courflamme will interfere with the work. And Gellor, seeing as you asked how. I think you should have charge of Unbinder's weight in this process. I need to be unencumbered when I attempt the separation of the remainder."

"How can that be done?" Leda sounded uncertain. "Are not all three meant to fuse into a single key?"

"Only elsewhere. Here. I think, each is an entity unto itself again." She had the scabbard belted around her tiny waist by then, and Gellor had taken the malign shape that was known as Unbinder firmly in his hands, so Gord was free to make his attempt. "Watch . . . and wish me success."