Monster Of The Maze rb-6 Read online

  «Something amuses you, Hirga? Tell me. Matters have not gone so well today that I could not use a laugh.»

  Hirga laughed. She covered her breasts with her arms and swung her feet off the cot and smiled at him. «It is nothing, Blade. Nothing you will know of, or understand, ever. I am sorry. Goodbye, Blade. I will see you next at the marriage ceremony. Casta wishes it so. Until then goodbye.»

  For the second time in half an hour he had been summarily dismissed. He nodded coldly and left the cubicle. Anger rose in him and he forced it down. He must walk carefully. He would marry her, for in that direction lay his fortunes of the moment, but he did not look forward to it.

  And he rankled-never in his life had he failed to satisfy a woman, to bring her to cries of pleasure and orgasm. What had gone wrong with Hirga?

  Blade scowled and shrugged it away. Matters of greater moment were afoot. There was no time to waste in vanity or in brooding over lost sexual powers. But that was just the point-he had been strong and of long duration, had used time-proven techniques, and yet Hirga had not come to climax. She had not bothered to fake and she had not reproached, but they both knew. And her knowing look at the last-what did she know? Blade cursed heartily and made himself forget it.

  The tall priest waited for him by the platform. He was led out into the sunlight at the entrance where Ogier paced impatiently. He greeted Blade and scowled darkly at the priest.

  «Another few minutes, Blade, and I meant to come seeking you, priests or no. I would love to put my steel into those black bellies, in any case.»

  They were alone by the archway. The two priests had gone. Ogier’s men lolled a little way off. Blade clapped the Captain on the shoulder.

  «Listen to me, Ogier, and listen well. Then you must decide. For much has happened and I need a friend now as never before.»

  He told Ogier of the interview with Casta and that the Izmir was dead. He spoke of his promised marriage to Hirga. He said nothing of the interlude in the cubicle.

  Ogier, arms akimbo, stepped back a pace and surveyed Blade. His face was dark. «And you agreed to all this?»

  «I had to, Ogier. I was in a weak position. I had no power to strike a better bargain.»

  Ogier shook his head. «You have me. I have sworn an oath and I will bide by it. So will my men.»

  «Ogier! Think, man. You and a dozen soldiers, no matter how loyal?»

  «I could get other men. I am not the only soldier who hates the priests.»

  «How many men, Ogier?»

  The Captain scratched at his stubble. «Perhaps a thousand. Or even more.»

  Blade smiled wryly. «And how many priests are there in Zir? I want a cool answer, Ogier. Forget your prejudice and anger. Give me an officer’s answer.»

  Ogier frowned. «At last intelligence, Casta had some ten thousand priests to his back. I admit the number. But it is of no matter. Give me a thousand good men and I will slit their throats as if they were pigeons and not black crows. Only we had best hurry before Casta can organize. Give me the word, Blade-«

  Blade shook his head. «No. It is my game and I will play it my way.»

  Ogier looked his disgust. «As you say. I promised the Izmir I would obey you, and I will-but you are a fool. For one thing-cannot you see why Casta sends you to invade the Hitts? To get you out of the way, and at the same time do his dirty job for him. For it is true that the Hitts are a menace to our north flank and we dare not invade elsewhere until they are pacified.»

  Blade grinned at him. «That is better. That is the soldier thinking. Keep to such thoughts, Ogier, and let me worry about the plots and the intrigues. I am not a child at such matters. Now take me to this Thane.»

  With his little party trailing along behind, Blade was directed to a cluster of huts nearby on the plain. In the largest of the huts he found the man called Thane and so glimpsed his first Hitt.

  Thane was as tall as Blade and thicker in the chest and shoulders. His yellow hair fell to his shoulders and his eyes were wide set and an icy blue. He wore leather trousers and a vest and the hair on his bare chest was thick and as yellow as his head. He did not rise as they came into the hut. There was a cup on the table and a large jar of wine nearby and it was evident that Thane was drunk. For a moment Blade thought to come another time, or have the man brought to him, then he realized that here was a man who could drink and still hold to his senses. The voice was thick and the eyes bloodshot, but Thane knew what he was about.

  Ogier spoke first, introducing Blade, and then stood back. Thane stared at Blade, still not rising, and if there was no overt disrespect in his tone and mien, neither was there respect. Blade was secretly amused, and not displeased. He did not want a serf. And it was evident that Thane could draw the line just short of insolence.

  «So you are the babe grown to a man so soon, eh? I have been wanting to see with my own eyes, for one must be a fool to believe these Zirnians. But now I see and I must believe. But how, I ask? I would give a lot to know the trick.»

  Blade smiled. «So said the High Priest Casta.»

  Thane scowled and smashed at the table with a huge fist. «Do not speak to me of that black corpse. It sickens me to think of him. But he is a brain-picker for all that-I admit it. He is always after my secrets. Not that I tell him. I lie to him. Not that he believes me. Aha, what games we play, the crow and me!»

  Blade sat down and poured himself a cup of wine. Ogier looked on, arms crossed on his barrel chest, and refused drink. «One of us must stay sober,» he commented dourly. «This is not a time for drinking, Blade. It is a time for thought and preparation.»

  Blade grinned and winked at Thane. «I know, Ogier. I will have but the one cup. And why am I here, if not for thought and preparation?» Thane drank off his wine and splashed his cup full again. «You speak like a warrior, Blade, and you look like a warrior. Are you one?»

  «I am,» said Blade mildly. «As time will prove. And it is of war that I came here to speak, Thane.»

  Thane belched. «You want something of me, then? I thought so. What is it?»

  «I plan to invade the Hitts. I need an engineer. I will make you a Captain and you will have full authority in your field, also a full share of loot and treasure.»

  Thane shook his head. «I am well enough here. Anyway, the work is not finished yet. Now that the old man is dead I would like to finish it quickly, even though he will never see it.»

  «I could command you,» said Blade softly, «but I will not. An unwilling man gives poor service. But hear me out. There is no great hurry to finish the block. The Izmir will sleep as peacefully. Whereas I would take the Hitts off balance and strike as swiftly as possible after my preparations are made. I plan to build a pontoon over the narrow water so I will not have to depend on boats or wind.»

  Thane began to laugh. He spilled wine into his chest hair and daubed at it and roared. «A pontoon? A bridge? Aha-ho-ho-it has been tried, Blade. It failed. The Hitts swam out and cut it in the middle and those Zirnians who did not drown were slaughtered when they reached land. Ho-ho-ho-A pontoon! You will have to do better than that.»

  Blade glanced at Ogier. The Captain nodded. «It is so. Some half-dozen years ago. The last time the Izmir tried to tame the Hitts.»

  Thane drank wine and roared on, slapping a leg like an oak limb. «You may be a warrior, Blade, but you are no general. You do not interest me. You have no ideas. You will never beat the Hitts.»

  «I will beat the Hitts.» Blade was calm. «I said to hear me out. I plan to build two pontoons-one with much bustle and show above the water. The other pontoon-the one we will use-will be built at a distance from the first and it will be a foot below the water. It will be built at night and in secrecy. But it will be difficult, such a task, and very likely beyond your powers, Thane. I will find another man. Thank you for the wine. Come, Ogier, it is time we rode back and-«

  Thane was staring at Blade. The big blond man smiled and slapped at the table, sending a pool of wine splashing.

&
nbsp; «Two pontoons, eh? One as a feint, a decoy, and the other under the surface? By the gods-I never thought of that. It might work. But you are right-it will be a hard task.»

  «Probably impossible,» agreed Blade. «Forget it, Thane. I dreamed. I doubt that it can be done. Not even by you. So-«

  Thane regarded Blade for a moment with a scowl. Then he laughed and filled his cup again. «I know your method, Blade, and how you seek to lure me. I am not fooled, not taken in. But it can be done. It is a challenge and I will undertake it-as soon as I am sober.»

  «When will that be?»

  Thane waved his wine cup. «In a day or so. I am in mourning for the Izmir.»

  Blade smiled. «That is as good an excuse as any.»

  «Yes. When the time comes I will build your two pontoons for you. But there will be a price.»

  «Name it, Thane.»

  The Hitt put his elbows on the table and leaned over it. His breath came wine-laden to Blade.

  Thane leered. «Has Ogier told you of why I fled my own country?»

  «Not I,» said Ogier. «How could I? You never told me.»

  Thane looked puzzled for a moment and scratched at his yellow mane. «I didn’t? No, I suppose not. I was too busy trying to save my head. Well, no matter-here is the truth of it. There was a woman. Her name was Trosa and she was wife to Galligantus, chief Captain to Loth Bloodax. But she was my woman first and loved me and I her, but when Galligantus asked for her she was given. I had no say. Loth Bloodax rules the Hitts. I offered to fight for her, but Bloodax would not permit it, the truth being, of course, that he knew I would slay Galligantus and he would be out a Captain. Oh, Galligantus is a great warrior and a fine Captain, I give him that, but I would have slain him just the same. I was in love and would have found the skill and strength in that love. But Bloodax refused to sanction the duel. So I had to let Trosa go. But I did not give her up, if you take my meaning?»

  Blade and Ogier exchanged glances. Blade nodded. «I take your meaning, Thane. The story is somewhat familiar.»

  «Ah? Mayhap, but not to me. Anyway I did not give up my Trosa. Whenever Galligantus was away, I was in her bed. Somehow it was sweeter so.»

  Ogier laughed harshly. «And you were caught?»

  Thane nodded and reached for the wine again. There were tears in his eyes now and he spilled wine as he drank.

  «Aye, I was caught. Among the Hitts the punishment for adultery is to be torn apart by horses. I was made to watch the death of my Trosa. She was put naked into a public place and beaten to death with clubs.»

  There was a pause. Thane swilled wine. «That night I escaped and swam over the narrow water …. As far as I know, Galligantus still lives. Promise me his head, Blade, and I will build your pontoons for you. And anything else that needs building.»

  «You have it,» said Blade. «If we can come by it. But why Galligantus and not this Loth Bloodax? You say that Bloodax is the ruler of the Hitts-surely his word was the last?»

  «No.» Thane shook his head, then lowered it to the table, cushioned on his thick arms. «No. Bloodax left it up to Galligantus. His was the last word. He could have spared her. He did not. He struck the first blow.»

  Thane began to weep. Ogier signed to Blade and they left the hut. «We had best hurry,» said Ogier. «It will be dark before we get back to the palace. You will, of course, move into the Izmir’s palace now?»

  Blade had not thought of it, but he nodded assent. He had no real power in Zir yet, but a display of the trappings would do no harm. He drew away and rode alone, thinking hard. Events were rushing on and he must meet them and be ready. And tonight, when the palace was quiet, he must use the crystal, must get in touch with the computer. Diamonds. Mountains of diamonds.

  Chapter 9

  The Izmir was entombed and Richard Blade was married. He kept away from the first ceremony and, though it was permitted in Zirnian law to marry by proxy, attended the second. He moved into the Izmir’s palace and spent his wedding night there. It was not a great success. Blade sensed that he did not content Hirga, though she said nothing, and within a week they agreed to separate chambers. Blade came to understand the arrangement and, apart from a wound to his vanity, was not displeasured. Hirga was his wife and always willing to couple with him, but her first and chief duty was to provide liaison with Casta.

  The High Priest remained in his cavern and made no visit to the palace-city that Blade knew of. He sent no word other than that Blade get on with the invasion of the Hitts.

  Blade sent for Valli on several occasions and bedded her and listened to her reports. He learned little of value. Rumors and rumors of rumors. The black priests were making themselves scarce in the palace-city but were converging on the Plain of Pyramids in great numbers. Work continued at a great pace on the Izmir’s monument and it was to be finished in a few weeks. The black priests, coming from all over Zir, were set to work alongside the slaves. Blade pondered all this and made no great sense of it other than the obvious-Casta was grouping his manpower, collecting his forces against the time he might need them.

  Blade had his own manpower troubles. The Zirnian army was in a sad state. Morale was poor, the pay low and the common soldiers lazy and inefficient. Blade began to change all that. He organized a general staff and appointed Ogier as chief. Thane was made head of logistics and engineering and began to build a pontoon over the narrow water. To do this, Blade had to introduce labor conscription. This, Valli told him during one of her visits, was the cause of much discontent among the ordinary people of Zir.

  All in all, Blade made good progress and was content. There was one incident, though, that occurred on the night before he was to ride to the coast with Thane and Ogier. It disturbed and upset him because he could not understand it and he feared things he could not understand, especially in his present ambiance where he thought of himself as superior-with the possible exception of Casta-and it was maddening to know that certain matters were beyond his ken.

  He chanced to visit Hirga’s chambers unannounced-she lived in another part of the palace and had her own retinue-and he found her half asleep and with the rosy and contented look of a woman satiated. She made no effort to rise but greeted him courteously enough, though with a certain soft-voiced scorn. She had trouble keeping her eyes open and there was languor and fulfillment in the sprawl of her lovely body on the huge bed. Blade, who cared nothing for her, was nonetheless rankled. And did not at first notice the odor.

  Blade stood at the foot of her bed, hand on sword, and surveyed his Princess wife, «You do not miss me, Hirga? You have taken a lover.»

  Her mouth was puffy and her lip salve smeared. She still breathed hard. She could hardly open her eves as she answered. «Why do you say that, Blade? How can you know such a thing?»

  «By the look of you, woman. I am neither a child nor a fool. You have just been filled, stuffed, and not long ago. It must have been greatly to your liking, by the look of you.»

  Hirga gave him an enigmatic smile and wiggled a finger. «I do not admit it. Or deny it. It is a pity that you cannot do so for me.»

  Blade glared, knowing he was a fool, but there is a time when the child in every man will surface.

  «Would you care to tell me who it is? I promise I will take no revenge, for I do not care that much, but if it is one of my Captains I should know. For it bespeaks lack of loyalty to me-I will retire him and you shall have him as a companion.»

  The truth being, he told himself, that he longed to see this man who was a better cocksman than himself.

  Hirga opened her eyes wider and laughed at him. «Do not concern yourself, Blade. It is none of your Captains, none in this palace or in the city, and none of your affair.»

  Blade began to anger. She sought to make a fool of him. «How can that be?» he snapped. «I came by the single corridor that leads to these chambers and I met no one. The place swarms with guards. You die swooning, a woman who has just left off making love, and yet you tell me the man is not near! Mind y
ourself, Hirga. I know that we play games, you and I and Casta, for mutual benefit, but do not push me too far. I care not a damn whom you bed with, you slut, but I will have you preserve the amenities and be secret about it. I have a task to accomplish in Zir and if I am laughed at it will be the harder done.»

  «I am secret about it,» said Hirga. Her smile mocked him. «I am very secret about it, Blade. You may believe me in this-nobody sees my lover come and go.» And suddenly she buried her face in the pillow and went off into wild laughter.

  Blade was puzzled, baffled, and it made him the angrier. It was then he noticed the odor, the foul smell he had noted in the cubicle in the cavern. It was fainter now, barely evident, but it was there. He frowned and wrinkled his nose.

  Remembering, he stalked about the bed and the room and searched the floor. He found three of the silvery scales and picked them up and sniffed. The smell. He flung them away from him and looked at Hirga, She had turned and was watching him through fingers spread over her face. Still laughing at him.

  Blade was beaten and knew it. There was a mystery here he could not guess at, and she would never tell. He flung the insult as he left.

  «I was wrong, mayhap. You have no lover-other than your fingers. I think you do it yourself and call it lover. It is why I can never content you, for no man could. It is said that such women can never find satisfaction of a man, but must always turn to self-love. I wish you joy of it, Hirga.»

  She screamed something at him as he stalked out, but he made no sense of it. Something about a little man with nothing between his legs who pretended godship. Blade slammed the door and made a vow-as soon as this thing between Casta and himself was resolved he would see that something was done about Hirga. For now it must bide as it was.