"And you let him go? Just like that? Fools! I will see you baking in the lime pits!" She spun away from the stammering worms and stormed back into the chamber. No one hadever lain with her and walked away, no one! She had been lax, she had wanted to make him last, that had been her mistake! Well, she would fetch him back and none of his clever manipulations would serve him this time, no matter how pleasant! Conan, he had called himself, was a dead man!

Rey still had a small hope that somehow all this would turn out in his favor. He had, after all, captured three of the loose humans wandering about in his caves, and had melted two others. As nearly as hecould tell, only the one, Conan, remained at large. True, the prophesy seemed centered on that man, but even now, half a dozen of his cyclopes marched at top speed to retrieve his quarry. Rey would have gone himself, but he had another foreboding feeling that he was better off for the moment in the seat of his power. Once Conan was returned, the wizard intended to slay all four of the troublemakers quickly and finish the entire unsavory episode. He had thought he might prolong it, taking certain pleasures in the slowness of it, but something about that felt altogether too risky. Puddle them and be done with it, he thought, and get back to business as usual.

Chuntha, even knowing the risk, once again called upon the spell of the metamorphic reptile. She took to the air, rage and shame filling her at hav ing lost a game at which she was most expert... to a mere man, and a barbarian at that. The monster flew, sharp eyes alert, seeking prey.

As Conan and his two new companions moved through the winding caveways, they found themselves faced suddenly with a half dozen cyclopes. Upon viewing Conan, the largest of the cyclops, one who seemed to be the leader, spoke sharply, obviously an order. The other five cyclopes spread out anid started for Conan.

The Cimmerian drew his sword and prepared to die. He might cross over into the Gray Lands, but by Crom, he would not go without taking some of them with him!

"That will not be needed," Wikkell said, raising one arm and gesturing at Conan.

The Cimmerian held the sword with both hands, point aimed at the throat of the nearest approaching cyclops. He did not relax his stance at his companion's comment.

Wikkell stepped forward and called out to the leader of the cyclopes, speaking in a harsh and choppy language that Conan did not understand. The leader replied, and a short exchange of dialogue followed, at the end of which the leader ordered his troops to stop.

Conan raised slightly from his bent-kneed fighting stance and lowered the point of his blade. "What did you say to them?"

"I told them there was about to be a revolution against the witch and the wizard. Anyone who stood against the action would certainly die for it, as would anyone who tampered with my short friend with the sword here-that is to say, you. Jalouri, the leader of Rey's guards over there, informs me that his loyalties to the wizard have never really been all that solid, and he has indicated that he and his troops would be more than happy to a.s.sist us in any way they can."

"Good of him," Conan said.

"One does not need to bea . fish to know which way the tide flows," Wikkell said.

Conan sheathed his sword. "Lead on, friend."

The party, now swelled by six, moved on.

"I think I might be able to slip my hands out of these manacles," Elashi said. "They are very loose upon my wrists."

"A stupid idea," Lalo said. "Neither Tull nor I can do so, and what good would it do you to be free? Do you think you can bypa.s.s the wizard and his guards?"

"Perhaps not," Elashi said, irritated, "but there might be something in this chamber I can use to free you.

At the very least we might be able to strike the wizard down, can we find a weapon."

"Her idea has merit," Tull said. "I'd rather take a few of 'em with me, do I have to leave this life."

Lalo merely shrugged and looked dubious. One of his smaller insults.

Elashi strained and tugged at the cuff on her right wrist. The skin peeled back next to the rusty metal and blood flowed, lubricating her hand. The two men watched as she managed to pull her hand loose. The left hand came free easier, since she had the right to help, but blood also oozed from sc.r.a.pes there when she was done. Her wrists hurt, but not so much as all that, especially considering what the alternative would shortly be.

Quietly, and with great care, she stole across the chamber toward a large trunk against the far wall.

Perhaps there would be something inside it she could use.

She wondered about Conan. Had he met his end at the teeth of the monster that had s.n.a.t.c.hed him into the air? She hoped not; for all of his faults, Elashi had grown to like Conan more than a little. Of course he was not so witty as Lalo, who despite his curse, seemed a most clever companion. Still, she would not like to think of Conan dead. They had gone through much together, and he was so young. It would be such a waste.

Do not worry about that now, Elashi, she told herself. Whatever has happened to Conan, you must try to keep yourself alive.

She hurried over to the chest.

Twenty-four.

In the largest chamber he had yet seen, Conan observed from a high ledge thousands of occupants: worms, cyclopes, Bloodbats, and Whites, mostly keeping together in like groups, but here and there a few mingling without regard for kind. A low rumble of conversation filled the cave as the thousands below talked among themselves.

Wikkell and Deek moved to the edge of the shelf, and the cyclops took a deep breath and yelled at the a.s.semblage: "Ho, brothers! Listen to me!"

The drone of speech faded to silence as those below looked up at Wikkell. There was a long pause, filled with antic.i.p.ation, before the cyclops spoke again.

"The time has come for us to restore our world to what it once was," he said. His voice boomed outloudly, carrying to all parts of the chamber. "Those who have held us in thrall for so long must be removed, forever!"

A loud cheer broke from the crowd, hoots and yells and high-pitched whistles. He definitely had their attention.

"Your leaders will tell you of your duties. The witch and the wizard will not relinquish their control easily, and they are powerful, but the time has come!"

Another wave of approbation swelled from the ranks, louder than before. Wikkell turned away.

"G-g-good sp-speech," Deek said.

"I hope it was not my last one," Wikkell said. He glanced at the barbarian. "Ready?"

Conan nodded. "Aye." He grinned. Here was a situation he could enjoy: battle, with no complexity to it.

The Whites would attack the sanctums of both witch and wizard simultaneously, followed by the bats, then a mix of worm and cyclopian troops. The bats would also fly back and forth, reporting messages as needed. Somewhere in the midst of all that, Conan would seek to find and free his friends. It was simple enough. His favorite kind of plan. It might fail, but at least it would not do so due to some serpentine twist that went awry.

Conan led Wikkell and Deek down the path toward Katamay Rey's cave.

Elashi rummaged around in the trunk, discarding items that offered no apparent use to her. She found a stoppered vial and turned to show it to Lalo and Tull.

"Should I open this?"

"Better you should not," Lalo said. "We do not know what resides within, and it might be something we would rather not know intimately."

Elashi nodded and tossed the vial into a pile of clothing already pulled from the trunk.

Further searching produced a rod of shining metal. The thing was the diameter of Elashi's little finger and as long as the distance between her thumb tip and forefinger. There was a k.n.o.bby protrusion near one end. Curious as to the object's function, Elashi pressed the k.n.o.b. Fortunately, the opposite end was not pointed at any part of herself; rather, the tip of the rod was aimed at the pile of clothes next to the trunk.

A bright and jagged white light erupted from the rod with a crackling noise like that of a large fire, and the pile of clothing sizzled and burst into flame.

Elashi dropped the rod. "Mitra!"

"Best stay away from that, girl," Tull said.

"No, fool," Lalo said. "Bring it here."

"You want me to touch that again? What if it discharges another of those lightninglike bolts?" "I hope that it does," Lalo said. "At the chains that bind us. Where is your wit, woman? And hurry, in case the wizard has heard the noise and comes to investigate!"

With the clothing burning and filling the chamber with flickering orange light, Elashi picked up the magical rod and scurried back toward Lalo and Tull.

In the guise of the flying reptile, Chuntha soared high around a wide turning in one of the major tunnels, and beheld a most surprising sight: below was a collection of Blind Whites, hurrying along the corridor.

Behind the Whites and not much above them, a flock of Bloodbats flitted along.

What misdeed was this? Whites and bats, intent on some purpose, and together?

Chuntha puzzled over the event, heretofore unseen.

There was more: behind the first two groups, at some distance, came a gathering of giant worms and cyclopes! Hundreds of them, moving along as if they had been born of the same mothers instead of enemies for scores upon scores of years.

Oh, dear.

Whatever the cause of this phenomenon, Chuntha immediately knew that such a collaboration of the cave's inhabitants wasnot to her advantage. In fact, she reasoned that it could mean nothing but disaster.

The only place they could be going was her chambers, and from the look of them, they did not intend to fall down and worship her when they arrived.

Sensha's d.a.m.nation! That prophesy of unnamed disaster had come forth despite all of her efforts to thwart it!

Given her present circ.u.mstances, wrapped within a spell whose longevity could not be depended upon, Chuntha had no desire to see if the weight of her magic could prevail against such an unruly looking mob as that below her. Besides, most of her magical apparati lay back at her chambers.

Had Rey done this? No, she thought, likely not.

Conan had somehow engineered it, as the prophesy had hinted he would. Frightening, to think that a man without any apparent sorcery about him could cause such things. Not only had he resisted her carnal magics, but now this.

The mark of a wise witch was the knowledge of when to stay and when to leave, and no doubt about it, it was time to move on. Better she should forget about Conan, the wizard, the caves, and everything connected with them. Chuntha was not fond of the idea of losing, but she was less fond of the idea of dying.

Unseen by.those below, the magical creature flew on with increased speed.

Elashi pointed the end of the rod at the chains holding Lalo to the wall. She closed her eyes and pressedthe stud.

Nothing happened.

The desert woman opened her eyes. She pressed the k.n.o.b again. A kind of thin whine came from the rod.

"So much for that idea," Tull said. "Looks like it only had one bolt in it."

"Maybe not," Lalo said. "Maybe it just needs to gather more magic for a time. Wait for a few moments and try again... unless you have pressing matters elsewhere to which you must attend?"

After a short wait, Elashi again pointed the rod at Lalo's chains and touched the k.n.o.b. She expected nothing, but Lalo's surmise proved correct: a bright bolt zapped forth and struck the iron links. Elashi again dropped the device, but the force of the magic had already done its job. The chains binding Lalo to the wall ring had shattered under the impact of the blinding energy.

"The wizard must be deaf," Tull said as Lalo moved to retrieve the magic rod.

"Perhaps he is out," Lalo said, "looking for flies from which to pull the wings." He picked up the rod and examined it. "Patience, Tull old fool. We shall have you free in a few moments."

Lalo waited for what he considered an appropriate length of time before he tried the device again. True to his words, the thing functioned as it had twice before, and Tull's chains fell away. They were free!

Rey had been sleeping soundly, but even so, the use of potent magic so near had roused him. He felt rather than heard it, and swam up from slumber. The first thing he noticed was the smell of burning cloth.

What had caused that? Fire was mostly a stranger to the caves, since virtually everything in them was too damp to burn without difficulty. But that was definitely the stench of scorched wool, and very near.

The captives. They must have done something they should not have been able to do.

Rey sighed. He could not even gather a few minutes of sleep without being interrupted. Enough of this.

He had planned to keep them alive, to guarantee the capture of their comrade, Conan, but not if it meant he had to suffer for it. He would kill them now and take his chances on the barbarian's recovery.

Rey arose from his bed and went to the chamber where he had left the prisoners.

He very nearly ran into them.

The three of them had somehow managed to get free of their chains! They were but a few spans from him as he entered the chamber, and apparently hurrying to leave. He raised his hands in a curse-casting posture.

"Stop where you stand!" he ordered.

One of them, the cursed grinning man, extended something in Rey's direction. The wizard immediately recognized it as his lightning rod. If it had sufficient charge to send a bolt, he could be in trouble. "Hot!" Rey yelled, waggling his fingers.

The grinning man yelped and dropped the rod, now a glowing orange from the small spell Rey had cast upon it.

"You have caused me enough trouble," Rey said. "I am about to be shut of you. Give my regards to the d.a.m.ned souls in Gehanna."

But as he raised his hands again to melt the three, a noise intruded on his concentration. It sounded as if someone was approaching the entrance to his chambers from the main corridor. A lot of someones, actually. Could it be his cyclopes, " returning with Conan already? No, it was too soon. Who, then?

The noise grew quite loud. A kind of droning chant.

Best he go see what it was; the two guards out front could not be trusted to handle anythingmore complex than feeding themselves and defecating.

"Stay here!" Rey commanded. "Move through this portal and you will certainly regret it."

With that, Rey turned to go see what all the noise was about.