Gaal the Conqueror (29 page)

He remembered hot stones wrapped in flannel being placed
around him. They felt good, but they did nothing to remedy the
cold inside him. But at last wine was poured down his throat,
and half choking, he swallowed it. It was a wine he remembered from Rapunzel's tower and Gaal's healing. As warmth
pushed out the cold, and as light caused darkness to depart he
sighed and slid into a half-awake, half-asleep state.

At times he dreamed. Gaal was staring sternly at him. Though he was unusually tall, the impression he gave was of broadness,
strength, toughness and physical power. Below his rough
brown tunic his lower legs were muscular, while his bare arms
were knotted with muscle. His dark beard only emphasized the
squareness of his jaw, and his eyes pierced. Yet his voice was
surprisingly gentle as he said, "The Mashal Stone is not a toy
for your enjoyment, John. Your delight will be to do my will, not
to use the powers of my kingdom to satisfy your.need for excitement. Twice more you will wear the stone, then never again.
And after the second time you will give it to Authentio."

When he woke he could hear the murmur of three or more
voices, but was too content, and too sleepy to care what was
happening.

"I must see him! I must see him! There must be no delay!"
a man's voice protested.

The widow talked quietly and at length. Then there was more
talk. At last he heard Eleanor say, "I know where it is. I went
there yesterday with Widow Illith. I'll go with you, Prodo Tehs.
I'll meet you at the fountain by the Northern Gate three hours
from now."

The name Prodo Tehs sounded familiar, and for a moment
he wondered where he had heard it. It was the last thing he
thought of before he fell asleep.

John slept for more than two hours, waking refreshed and
thoroughly restored. He immediately remembered all that had
happened and exactly where he was. He could hear someone
moving about the chamber and opened his eyes to see the
widow Illith.

"Hi!" he said. "I'm sorry to have caused you trouble. Where's
Eleanor?"

The widow turned to look at him, her eyes filled with concern. "How is my lord feeling?"

"I'm fine. I feel a whole lot better than I did. I guess I did
something rather stupid." Shame reddened his face, but he was
determined to continue. "I went to the temple to see if I could
learn something of Lord Lunacy's plans. They very nearly
caught me. Where's Eleanor?"

She gazed at him gravely, her bright eyes contrasting strange ly with the tired lines of her face. "You might have been killed.
What you did was exceedingly dangerous, my lord."

John swung his legs over the bed in which he had been lying,
a bed that fitted into a niche in the wall. "I know. It was a
horrible experience." He paused, "But where is Eleanor?"

"The lady Eleanor has gone to meet a follower of Gaal who
came in from the country. He needs to see our lord and master,
who is meeting with my son, Authentio, in a little while."

"Your son? You mean Authentio is going to be rescued?"

"Gaal plans to set him free this afternoon. They will meet in
the garden of the captain of the temple guard."

"Won't that be rather dangerous?"

"Our Lord and Master has no fear. His love for us knows no
limits. It is now two years since he set me free."

"But what about Eleanor?"

"Eleanor will only show Prodo Tehs where the garden is, and
then return here."

John's heart seemed to leap in his chest. "Did you say Prodo
Tehs? You mean Eleanor is taking Prodo Tehs to find Gaal?"

"Yes. You seem surprised. Do you know this Prodo Tehs?"

"I don't know him. But the Lord Lunacy said that he was the
man who would deliver Gaal into the hands of the Circle of
Light. He is no follower of Gaal. He is a traitor!" John's voice
was rising. "Widow Illith, they plan to execute Gaal tomorrow!"

The widow's hands had flown to her mouth, and she stared
at him. "He came here last night with Gandra, a girl who is
faithful and true. He came from a village in the country, telling
the story of his need to warn Gaal of a plot he must beware of.
Are you sure he is a traitor?"

"I only know what Lord Lunacy said." For a moment neither
of them spoke. Then, "When did Eleanor leave?" John asked.

"She left here ten minutes before you awoke," the widow
faltered.

"She did? And she's meeting him? Where?"

"At the fountain by the Northern Gate. Do you know where
it is? You might catch her if you hurry."

John hesitated. "The treasures," he murmured. "I can't carry
them all. But perhaps one of them (the key would be the easiest) and who knows how it may come in handy." He did not
wait for more, but seizing the key from its hiding place, and
with a hurried good-by to the widow Illith, he made his way
through the trap door into the tunnel. "I wonder which way she
went?" he mused. He remembered that there was a way to
reach the Northern Gate by the tunnel system, and that the
gatekeeper of the Northern Gate was a secret follower of Gaal.
The system led right into the gatekeeper's lodge. He had never
explored that part of the tunnel system, but was certain he
could find his way. "If I keep to the tunnels as far as the Northern Gate I can hurry all the way. If Eleanor went that way she'd
get there in loads of time for the appointment. But she probably
didn't. She probably took the route we've taken before. That's
why she set out so early."

It was a bad mistake. He did not know the tunnels of that
section, many of which were still being worked on, and which
led to a series of blind ends. He sped along a confusing interlocking of corridors, losing his way badly twice. The second
time he was sure he was lost, and by the time he found his way
again he had wasted considerable time. "What if I don't get
there in time? I don't even know what Prodo Tehs looks like."

When at last he emerged through the gatekeeper's lodge, he
was sweating and anxious. Was he in time? He glanced at the
crowded area around the fountain, but could see no sign of
Eleanor among the slowly stirring sea of heads and shoulders.
Perhaps she would be on the far side of the fountain. Trying
not to hurry, and forcing himself to keep his eyes down much
of the time, he shuffled toward the fountain.

Why had he let himself get lost? Sweat dripped from his
forehead and stung his eyes. He longed to put the Mashal Stone round his neck. It would make him feel better. Besides,
he would not need to shuffle slowly or keep his head down. But
he remembered his dream, and knew he dared not use it. Only
two more times, Gaal had said. When would they be? And how
would he know?

He reached the far side of the fountain, but his furtive glances revealed no Eleanor. He lifted his head, not caring for the
moment who might notice and stared all round him in panic.
A matmon stumbled against him. "Get your head down," he
hissed.

The matmon's back was turned to John, and he was slowly
shuffling away. Startled, John followed him. "Who are you?" he
asked.

The matmon tripped and fell, and without thinking John
stooped down to help him to his feet. "You O.K?" John asked.
The dwarf was young. A shock of yellow hair fell from beneath
his soft, pointed hat, and a thin yellow fuzz caressed his chin.
His eyes were veiled, and he did not look at John. "Follow me,
but at a distance," he murmured, hardly moving his lips. "You
seek the lady Eleanor. I know who you are. I was at Widow
Illith's chamber last night."

He turned and shuffled away again.

"Wait!"John cried, forgetting in his panic that he must mimic
the people around him. "Wait! Who are you? Where was Eleanor going?"

The matmon swung round to face him. "Fool! Do you want
the whole city to know what we are about? My name is Bomgrith. Now follow!"

Slowly, much too slowly as far as John was concerned, yet
rather faster than most of the shufflers, they made their way
through the crowded area around the fountain and entered a
broad street that ascended in the direction of the temple
grounds. For fifteen minutes they continued to make their way
upward. As they did so, the crowd gradually thinned. Eventually all the women and children had dropped away in ones and
twos, until there were only shuffling men and shuffling redhaired matmon left. And there was something about the shuffling matmon that seemed wrong, but John's mind was too busy
with other concerns to sort it out.

From time to time Bomgrith, who was still leading, would cast
furtive glances to the side and behind. Once he said, "There's
no one behind us now, yet there's all these people ahead.
Something is wrong and it bodes ill. At length he turned his
head and muttered, "There they are-ahead of us on the right.
We dare not approach them yet. They are being followed."

It was then that John saw Eleanor leading a tall fair-haired
Regenskind from whose shoulders a short brown cloak fell
loosely. The thought flashed through John's brain, "And that
is Prodo Tehs." Their two heads were bowed, and like everyone
else, they shuffled. John's stomach twisted itself into a knot.
How much time did they have? He longed to shout a warning.
Were Eleanor and the man really being followed? And by
whom?

"If we don't act now it may be too late," he hissed. "I don't
know where they're going, but it can't be too far away from
here. We're almost at the temple grounds."

The matmon made no reply, and the knot in John's stomach
tightened. Two minutes later Eleanor and the stranger turned
down a side street. The men and the handful of Habesh matmon ahead of them-everyone, that is, who was left in the
street-broke as one man into a run, hurrying, yet with a certain furtive stealth, to the corner. And it was then that John
realized what had puzzled him. Red-haired matmon never
shuffled. They were in the pay of the Circle. They were
members of the ragtag police force. Somehow their shuffling
gait and downcast eyes had lulled his mind to danger. Meanwhile the matmon Bomgrith had cried, "I knew it!" and was
also running helter-skelter for the corner. John followed. They peered round the corner and then cautiously entered the street

Both the men and the matmon had stopped running and
were walking slowly in watchful groups, as though waiting for
a signal. Their attention seemed to be focused on Eleanor and
Prodo Tehs who were a few yards farther ahead. Eleanor was
pointing to a high wall on their left, and Prodo Tehs was nodding. Then turning round to those behind he called, "He is in
the garden beyond this wall!"

Eleanor's hand flew to her mouth as she gave a startled cry.
So this was it! The wall was the garden wall where Gaal would
be. Eleanor was about to be captured. John yelled, "Eleanor,
look out! He's a traitor!"

The matmon Bomgrith shouted, almost screamed, "Gaal!
Gaal! Flee for your life! Your enemies are upon you! Flee Gaal,
flee!"

Even as Eleanor pointed, several men and matmon ran to the
wall and were scrambling over it while others had turned at
John's shout One of them took the time to open the garden
gate, and proceeded through it. To John's horror another,
along with Prodo Tehs, seized Eleanor. She struggled and Prodo Tehs struck her brutally about the head and shoulders with
his fist and with the back of his hand. But the remainder of the
men, those who had turned with surprise and anger on their
faces toward the matmon and John, were not about to let them
go. "Seize them!" one cried.

Before he realized he had done so John had plucked the
Mashal Stone from his tunic and flung it round his neck. A cry
of astonishment broke from the men's throats as he disappeared, and for a moment they stood stock still. But Bomgrith
spun round like a top and made a dash to escape. Bewildered
or not, they broke into a run to pursue him, hurtling past the
invisible John, whose rage grew even as his fear subsided.

He turned to look at Eleanor, standing between her two captors, each of whom gripped an arm. A red mark where she had been struck stood out against the whiteness of her face. Her
wide and staring eyes registered shocked bewilderment. Stealthily he walked toward them, wondering what to do. Rage was
shaking his bones. What would happen to Gaal?