The River of Dancing Gods (35 page)

Two, though, were clearly pros, archers who jumped up, bows ready, and let loose two wild shots in the direction of the exposed party. While neither hit the mark, the archers were shooting and reloading with a fluidity that seemed almost inhuman.

Koriku sensed the immediate threat in the archers and lunged for them with a snort that became something of a roar, landing on both and knocking them down. Suddenly he was the enraged carnivorous beast Marge had seen in the fields, spearing men with his great horn and rending flesh with row upon row of sharp, pointed teeth set in powerful equine jaws.

By this time Joe had reached the guardpost itself. In maneuvering around the unicorn, he exposed himself to the no longer dazzled defenders. He felt an arrow pierce his side and he whirled and bore down on a crossbowman who was now trying to reload, running over the hapless man and trampling him. Joe's horse went down, rolling on top of a swordsman who screamed in agony, but Joe managed to jump off and come up on his feet, the arrow in his side now causing some bleeding he was too charged up to notice.

Between Joe and the unicorn, the defenders were turned inward, allowing the rest of the party to make it in relative safety. Posti hit the ledge with his hind legs, kicked off, and 208 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS landed full on top of another archer, who also went down— as did Macore, who flew from Posti's saddle and spilled onto the rocky ground, losing his sword for a moment.

Marge and Houma had managed to reload, and each took out a swordsman, one of whom was running for his horse, which was tied up in the rear. Another soldier leaped from a rocky bluff and carried Grogha over onto the ground. The portly man struggled with his larger assailant for a while, but blood was trickling from his month and he was in great pain. When it was clear that Grogha was out of the fight, the soldier abandoned him to writhe and moan there and turned to Macore, just now getting groggily to his feet. The soldier, a huge, bearded man in black uniform and chain mail, towered over the little thief, and the first blow of the soldier knocked Macore's sword away; a second, with the flat striking Macore's head, sent the little man reeling backward, coming to rest in a bush where he groaned once, then fell back, still.

Now the soldier smelled victory and turned on Marge. Koriku, finished with his archers, saw the move, turned, and in a great leap was upon the bearded man, first pushing him down, then knocking the sword from the man's hand with his great hom. As the huge equine head came down and the gaping, blood-soaked jaws filled the soldier's vision, all confidence vanished and he screamed in terror.

Page 182 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods Joe, for his part, took on another swordsman. It was quite a duel, since the soldier was extremely good and obviously well trained, but Irving's magic always seemed to provide the proper counterblow and move into every opening. Finally gaining the upper hand, Joe flung the sword from the other's grasp and then plunged his own into the soldier's abdomen. The man gave a terrible cry, bent over backward, then collapsed in a heap.

Marge saw another uniformed shape come from behind a rock, sword in hand, toward Joe's back. She let loose a bolt that penetrated the attacker's chain mail, and the man gave a horrible cry that brought Joe quickly around. Irving wasted no time in finishing the man off.

Houma looked around, saw the bleeding and broken Grogha, and cried out the man's name, riding swiftly to him. Joe spotted Macore's limp form in the bush and ran to him. Marge leaped JACK L. CHALKER 209 off Dacaro and ran first to Macore, examining him for vital signs.

"Is he dead?" Joe asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "Not yet. But he's in a bad way, I can tell. Help me get him down here on the grass and keep him still. I'll see about Grogha..

Houma was leaning over the portly man, and there were tears in his eyes. "Grogha, you filthy pig, don't you dare die on me!" he shouted. Marge had some trouble getting him away, but then she bent down and examined the fallen man's wounds.

Her moderate powers of witchcraft came to the fore, for they included diagnostic and healing arts. She tried to soothe Grogha, who was conscious but in terrible pain, while she probed his body.

Finally she sighed, got up, and went back to Joe, who asked her, "How is he?.

"Beyond my powers," she responded sadly. "So is Macore, although he's not nearly so bad off. Macore's got at least a nasty concussion and a broken rib or two; Grogha's got bad internal bleeding. I'm afraid a rib may have punctured a lung..

Joe thought frantically. "Wait a minute! Magic's gotten us out of a number of scrapes. Don't they use it instead of doctors here?.

She looked up at him, suddenly a little cheerier. "I'll ask Dacaro," she said and jumped up on the horse. "Can you do anything?.

"Perhaps," the adept replied. "Perhaps not. It will depend on the nature of the injuries. But there is no good way for me to treat them as it stands. It's not like spoon-feeding you a spell. I will have to project myself inside each and effect whatever repairs, major and minor, are needed as I go." He paused a moment, thinking hard. "There might be one way, though.

Do you trust me enough to let me take over your mind?.

Page 183 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods The question startled her. "Can you do that? If so, why should I object if you can help them?.

"Because if you consent and assist, I can. But consider— I do not have to reverse it once it is done. You will have to trust that I will do so..

She understood what he was saying now, but she looked at the unconscious Macore and the limp form of Grogha, which, 210 THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS even now, had only the most tenuous of threads to life, and made her decision. "What do I do?.

"I'm certain Huspeth taught you the trance state. Clear your mind. Make it as blank as possible. You will feel me enter— but do not resist, for that will simply seal me off. Let it happen.

Understand?.

"I can do it. Let's hurry, though. I'm afraid we're already too late..

"That is up to the gods," the adept responded fatalistically.

"Let us do what we can..

One of the archers was badly wounded but still alive. Joe checked all the soldiers' bodies out, finding little or nothing on them, and then went to the archer on whom his horse had fallen. The horse itself was in bad shape, he could see, and would probably have to be destroyed. Posti, at least, had come through with nothing more than a bruise.

Like the others, the injured soldier was dressed in a silvertrimmed black uniform of some kind, chain mail, and a partial helmet, and was ruddy-faced and bearded. The man writhed and groaned in agony, but stopped when Joe approached and just stared with eyes blazing hatred at the man who'd done him in.

"How many did the Baron send to the cave with you?" Joe asked coldly.

"Barbarian!" the soldier gasped defiantly. "I die, but I tell you nothing!.

"You die slowly, friend," Joe noted and looked up, then back at him. "Already the buzzards and other scavengers are gathering. You could last a long time here—picked alive by beak and claw. It's a pretty unpleasant way to go..

"Do what you will," the man responded.

"I'll pull you out from that horse and give you swift release,.

Joe offered. "Swift release and burial from those that eat the dead. I'm not asking for a betrayal. Only the answer to a couple of questions..

Page 184 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods The man seemed to think it over, and Joe knew he'd hit a nerve. "What does it matter, anyway?" the soldier asked mostly himself. "What questions?.

"How many in the Baron's party?.

"Thirty-six of his best fighters..

JACK L. CHALKER 211 Joe felt uncomfortable. If that was the truth, there were still thirty like this man ahead.

"How far ahead are they?.

"More than half a day," the soldier told him. "They left at dawn..

That, too, was disturbing—but if it was only a few miles to the cave, why hadn't they returned by now? Joe wasn't sure whether he should feel better or worse that they hadn't returned.

The fact that they hadn't meant they'd walked into some big trouble—and they were thirty seasoned army men. As of now, he had Marge, himself, and Houma in any shape to go on.

"One more question. They went up the main road here?.

The dying soldier nodded. "Yes. There really is no other way..

That was enough. He looked down at the man and drew his sword. "Too bad you're with the bad guys," he said softly, "but you're a good soldier, a gallant fighter, and you die with honor..

The man looked genuinely pleased and touched by that.

"Hold, barbarian, one moment. That sword is a magic one that will slay me. Which great name does it bear?.

"Irving," Joe replied.

The man looked aghast. "Irving?" he repeated unbelievingly.

Irving came down and severed his head from his body at that moment. Then Joe tried to get the body out from under the horse, and almost made it, when he suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed over the horse's torso.

CHAPTER 14 THE GENIE WITH THE LIGHT BROWN HAREHARE All magic lamps, charms, etc., shall be guarded well.

—LXXX, 494, 361(b) HE WAS ROLLING DOWN INTERSTATE 80, A BUXOM BLONDE AT HIS Page 185 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods side, a beer in his hand, and Merle Haggard on the tape deck as the miles flashed by. It was a wonderful, satisfying life, and it was good to be alive ...

"He's coming 'round!" a voice called out from somewhere, somewhere far from 1-80 and the blonde and the beer.

"Clean towel!" another voice ordered, wrenching him farther and farther away. Something was wrong, really wrong, and even Merle Haggard was singing English madrigals in a foreign tongue...

He opened his eyes and looked around. It took a minute or so for him to remember where he was, and who these people were, and the details of the day. He could see that it was dark now, and there was a small fire in the wooded glade. He saw Marge come to him with a towel soaked in hot water, bend down, and wipe his face.

"Wh—what happened!" he managed, his voice sounding like a croak.

"You had an arrow in you. Went almost through you, too.

You're very lucky, Joe. Dacaro says a one-inch difference and you'd be dead now. As it is, the wound's already healing, although you might feel it for a few days yet..

"Macore? Grogha?.

"Much worse off, I'm afraid. Macore will recover, but he'll need a couple of days before he's up to riding. Grogha, however —he was real bad, Joe. His back is broken. I've given him a potion that's knocked him out, but even the magic's no good unless you know exactly what to do. Dacaro's a good sorcerer, but he's no healer. He was able to repair your hole 212 213 JACK L. CHALKER pretty well and fix up Macore's leg and ribs, but Grogha lost a lot of blood, mostly internal, and he's too cracked up for anybody but a specialist. The nearest specialist would be in Kidim. I doubt if he could stand the ride..

Joe whistled, coming out of it now. "I don't know. Until today it still was something like fun and games. That bartender, it didn't seem real somehow, and none of the rest made much difference. No matter what we did, no matter what scrape we got into, we always got out of it. Now this." He suddenly grew tense. "The rest of the Baron's men—any sign?.

She shook her head from side to side. "We've been watching.

Nothing. Not a sign..

He sighed. "Well, keep a watch. But, somehow, I don't think we have to worry about them. Just a feeling. Still—we'll know soon enough." He pulled off the moist towel and brought himself to a sitting position. It hurt like hell in his side when he did, but it was bearable. "I'll be okay. Just whip me up something to dull the pain a bit, give me the night, and I'll be ready to ride tomorrow..

Page 186 Chalker, Jack L - The River of the Dancing Gods "Tomorrow! How can we possibly go tomorrow?.

"We have to," he told her. "For one thing, either those nasties are going to come back, in which case we're dead if we stay, or they aren't—in which case the reason why they aren't is going to come sometime to see who else might be in the neighborhood. We're too close to stay put. Besides—we got a wishing lamp to get, huh? Maybe one of those wishes can be used on Grogha..

She thought about it. "Yeah! You're right! It may be the only way. But if thirty hardened soldiers couldn't do it....

"We have no choice. And we have to know what's going on in advance." He looked up. "That's almost a full moon up there. Where's Houma?.

"By Grogha..

"Get him..

She did as instructed, and soon the lanky farmer and former goat was by Joe's side. It was clear he'd been crying some, and Joe didn't hold it against him at all.

"Houma, I'm sorry I got you both into this mess," he said sincerely.

"Oh, hell, you didn't exactly torture us," the other replied.

THE RIVER OF DANCING GODS 214 "We did our share today, didn't we?" There was a certain pride in his sad tone.

"You sure did. But you know we're going to lose Grogha unless we get the Lamp..

Houma brightened. "Sure! The Lamp! I damn near forgot! Then there's a chance!.