Fighting Lory (English Edition) (Lords Of Arr'Carthian 2) (18 page)

“Great. We’ve got a VIP box,” said Lory sarcastically. Charly squeezed her hand comfortingly.

Once they had taken their seats at the top, Lory cast her eyes across the labyrinth. Here and there she could see creatures scurrying about, but she could not recognize them at this distance. Right now she did not want to know, either, so she left her telescope in her lap. Some sections looked like a show jumping course. The Prakat and Lord Gnormos, with his guards, were standing at the entrance to the maze. A gong sounded and the excited hubbub around them silenced.
 

“Moronians and guests,” said the Prakat. “I will now carry out the second sentence. Because Lord Gnormos wanted to withdraw from going through with a legally binding sentence he will now go into the labyrinth. If he reaches the end of the labyrinth alive, he will be granted his life.”

The Prakat nodded to the guards and they grabbed the Lord’s right hand, cut into the palm of his hand, then pressed the bloody palm of the yelling man onto the panel at the entrance. The door to the labyrinth opened and the guards pushed Lord Gnormos inside. The man staggered and fell to the ground. Before he could pick himself up, the door had already closed behind him again. He banged on it, sobbing and pleading, and the audience shouted, indicating their displeasure at his cowardice.
 

“Why did they cut his hand?” asked Charly.

“The door can only be opened with blood. Normally the convicted cuts his own hand, but as Lord Gnormos is such a coward the guards took on this task. That’s shameful for a man. But Lord Gnormos probably doesn’t care about that anyway. All he’s concerned about now is surviving,” answered Amano.
 

“And I don’t think he’s going to do that for much longer,” uttered Lory and they all looked again at the spectacle below them.

Lord Gnormos was still banging on the doors whilst several little creatures were approaching him from behind. They were about the size of a cat and had wide jaws with lots of pointed teeth. There were about a dozen of these beasts. A murmur went through the crowd and Lord Gnormos froze. He turned round slowly. The creatures were still a good twenty meters away from him.

“I don’t know whether I want to see this,” said Charly.

Amano put his arm round her shoulders protectively and she buried her face in his chest.

“It’s OK, mene carisha. Close your eyes,” he said gently. “Are you OK?” he asked, directed at Lory.

“Yes, I have no problem seeing this bastard die, but when Kordan’s turn comes, you can ask me again.”

Lory’s voice sounded sarcastic, but there was a hint of panic in it that did not escape Amano.
 

A loud screeching sound drew their attention back to what was happening in the labyrinth. The beasts had attacked Lord Gnormos and pulled him to the ground. They were making loud growling sounds whilst pulling the flailing man to pieces.
 

“How is Kordan to get past there?” asked Lory, staring down at the bloody remains of Lord Gnormos.
 

“He’s armed and prepared. Have faith in your mate. He’s fought worse battles than this, believe me,” replied Amano.
 

The gong sounded again and the crowd cheered as Kordan stepped up to the entrance of the maze. He was waving to the people but his face showed the usual lack of emotion. Lory leant forward in her seat. Her heart was beating wildly. Kordan finally looked in her direction and for a millisecond his lips smiled. It was gone so quickly that she was not sure whether she had not just imagined it.
 

“Moronians and guests,” sounded the voice of the Prakat again. “The second sentence has been carried out. Lord Gnormos did not manage it, as expected. We now come to the third and last sentence. General Kordan will now enter the labyrinth.”

The people cheered Kordan like a gladiator in ancient Roman times. Basically, it was no different.
 

‘
Just think, my stubborn alien, you promised me
,’ Lory spurred him on silently.

Kordan took his knife, cut into his hand, then pressed the palm of his hand onto the panel where Lord Gnormos’ bloody imprint could still be seen. The door swung open and he entered the maze.

***

Kordan stood still briefly. He heard the door close behind him again. Ahead of him lay the bloody remains of his predecessor. There was nothing to be seen of the krizzis. It was possible that they would leave him alone, now that they had cooled down. They might be all the more horrible, though. He reached over his shoulder and drew his sword. Then he walked slowly along the corridor. The krizzis were lying in the middle of the path when he turned the first corner. They did not seem to be particularly interested but that was no wonder: it was fear that attracted them and Kordan had none. He would kill them if they attacked, but they carried on lying quietly as he went past them to the first fork in the path.
 

Left or right? Kordan looked hard in both directions then closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember what the labyrinth looked like from above. It had been many years since he had been here with his father.
 

Right! It was right, he was certain. Confidently, he turned into the corridor then stopped, carefully checking the walls on both sides. There was a trap here. The only question was - which one? He picked up a small piece of rock and threw it onto the ground a few meters in front of him. Immediately, pointed spears shot out of the walls and these would definitely have impaled him if he had carried on.
 

He made his way between the spears and came to a ravine that cut him off from the passageway on the other side. The gap was about twenty footsteps wide. The path over the ravine consisted of a narrow beam. That was definitely not everything. That would have been too easy. Kordan tried to remember what happened here. He had a vague image in his mind and raised his eyes to a high post. Of course, the vurltror: a large bird that possessed an extremely sharp beak and long claws. The creature was sitting on a post, dancing from one leg to another, not letting Kordan out of his sight.
 

“OK, you feathered bastard. Come on, then. I’m ready,” he murmured, stepping onto the beam.
 

He had just about reached the middle when the vurltror descended. Kordan could see him out of the corner of his eye, but only reacted at the last moment, by ducking, and the bird shot past him. The creature let out an angry screech and turned. Kordan had picked himself up immediately and was running at top speed along the beam. He had almost made it when the vurltror headed straight for him. Kordan swung his sword and stumbled in doing so. The audience screamed in horror as he fell forwards, but he was able to hold onto the beam – this was shaking dangerously, though. He had nearly lost his sword in doing this, but he had persisted in holding it tightly, knowing that he would still need it. Gasping, he got up again and took the last few steps. Once he had reached the other side, the crowd cheered at him.
 

Kordan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Without turning round again, he continued and came to another fork in the path. He walked through the labyrinth for some time without any incidences, but then he heard menacing growls and held his sword more tightly. Ready for battle, he turned the corner, to be presented with the huge, furry barbu. The animal was standing on its massive hind legs, roaring terrifyingly. His black fur was matted. His small red eyes were fixed on him and a beam was shooting from them. Kordan jumped to the side, swinging his sword. He caught the animal on its paw and it roared and hit out with its other paw, sending Kordan to the ground. With a rumbling sound, the three meter high creature was falling onto him, but Kordan raised his sword at just the right moment and stuck it right into the barbu’s heart. With a roll to the side, he saved himself from the collapsing body of the huge animal.
 

Breathing heavily, he got up and the crowd cheered again, calling his name.

After a brief pause for breath, Kordan continued. He came upon what seemed to be a dead-end, but he knew that it went on. He just had to solve some sort of puzzle. At the end of the dead-end there were three symbols engraved onto round panels in the wall: the snake symbol next to the bird of the gods symbol with the sun symbol above it. It had something to do with an ancient story, one of the legends of the Moronians, and he thought long and hard about it. There had been the sun that had tried to set the snake against the bird of the gods, but the snake had told the bird of the gods about this and in the end the bird of the gods had eaten the sun. After that, according to the Moronian’s legend, the ice age had set in. So, what was he supposed to do with the symbols then? He stared at the symbols and thought and thought. Suddenly he noticed that some of the lines in the symbols had a reddish color and the others a blue one. He turned the symbols this way and that until, once the red lines were connected, they made sense - that is, they created the symbol for door. The rock face did indeed slide to the side and he found himself in the middle of the labyrinth. Three large spiders were standing in the middle of this area. They were so big that they easily came up to his hips. Their fangs were as long as his knife. Shuddering, he took a few steps forward. He hated spiders, even the small ones on his planet that were only the size of his hand. But these monsters here really were revolting. The first one ran towards him and he swung his sword. The first blow worked, splitting the animal’s skull. Both remaining spiders came closer. They seemed to be acting as if to a plan, because one went to the right and the other to the left. Kordan took a throwing star from his belt and flung it towards the animal to the right of him. It hit the creature right between the eyes and it let out a shrill sound. The third spider gradually came closer. It appeared to be fully focussed on him. Suddenly it covered the last few meters at turbo speed and Kordan had to dive to the side. He pushed the sword into the back of the beast’s fat body. Again the crowd cheered and he risked a glance towards the upper grandstand where Lory was sitting. He could not see her properly in the distance but he felt her looking at him. He raised his hand in greeting before leaving this place and turning into one of the passageways. Again, he walked for some time without any obstacles.
 

Kordan was certain that the exit was not very far away, but if he was in the wrong corridor it could take another few hours. However, he was very sure that he had so far taken the correct route through the maze. When he turned the corner, he was convinced. He had reached the final part. If he got through here, he had made it. But, of course, this was not that simple. In front of him lay the Path of Truth. Huge black wolves, with yellow eyes and long sabre teeth, were sitting to the right and the left of the path. They were too strong to be fought. If they were to attack him, he would not get out of here alive. But, just like the krizzis before, the sable-toothed wolves reacted to a person’s disposition: only if he managed to stay completely calm, and if his heart was true, would they let him pass.
 

Kordan concentrated on his love for Lory. He had promised her that he would eat this strange doppel wubber, or whatever the things were called, and he intended to keep his promise. He slowly took one step after another. The sable-toothed wolves began to growl, but Kordan did not allow himself to be shaken. He imagined Lory’s laughter, her beautiful eyes, her mouth and her stubbornness. She was truly a worthy mate for him: the first woman that had ever stood up to him.
 

Only when he heard the doors close behind him and the crowd begin to cheer did he register that he had made it. He was alive and, apart from a few scratches, unscathed.
 

***

Lory thought she was going to faint. He had actually made it. All of the tension from the last few hours hit her now and she began to tremble all over. Charly took her in her arms and they both began to sob.

“He’s alive, Lory. Everything’s fine!”

“I know. I know. But if I have to go through that again, I’m sure to have a heart attack.”

“Come on! Let’s congratulate the hero,” said Amano and they got up from their seats.
 

It was not easy to get to Kordan through that crowd. He was completely surrounded by people full of curiosity. But then their eyes met and Lory’s heart leapt. She fought through the masses and Kordan, too, pushed on hard through the throng until they finally fell into one another’s arms. Lory was laughing and crying at the same time.
 

“If you come up with the idea of flying to Moron2 again, I’ll …”

“Castrate me and stick my dick in my rectum,” Kordan finished off, grinning.

They both laughed and then he kissed her and she was unaware of anything around her. Only the man in her arms counted: the fact that she had him back alive and almost unscathed. Now they could leave this damn planet. Forget about earth. So they would not go and eat double whoppers.
 

“I’m looking forward to going home,” said Charly. “We’re never coming here again.”

“I completely agree with you,” grumbled Lory.

They had handed in their room keys and were on their way to the lift. As they crossed the large hall they were accompanied by greetings of appreciation. Kordan had given the Moronians a good show and they were all in high spirits. Lory could still not bring herself to like them. She would be glad when they were back on the
Cordelia
, even though they had not found out where earth was.
 

They were about to get into the lift when a loud shout stopped them. They turned round slowly.

“General. My Lord General,” called a boy who was running towards them. He was holding a scroll in his hand.

Breathing heavily, the boy stopped in front of them.

“I am to give you this. It’s from Master Arahonoka.”

“This is unbelievable!” cried Lory in amazement. She exchanged a glance with Charly and then threw herself around her friend’s neck, laughing.