This corridor led them to a wide hall that stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see, the dark shadows hiding much from their view.

The ceiling was brightly colored and appeared to be made up of tiny pieces of mosaic tile. Closer examination revealed the tiles to be semi-precious gems struck square and unfaceted, reflecting the light dully.

The pictures they comprised were of nothing that Mika could recognize. Joyous swirls of bright primary colors clashed and conflicted with heavy threatening slashes of darkness-ebony opals and black sapphires. Somehow the riot of colors was disturbing in a way that Mika could not even begin to articulate, but he experienced a shiver of foreboding.

"What is this place?" he asked in a whisper.

"I don't know," replied Hornsbuck. "Creepy, ain't it? Over the center, there's this throne-like thing. Big. Bigger than any human would need. I don't know what sat there. I certainly don't want to meet it. Come over here and look at these pillars."

Hornsbuck held his torch up close to one of the hundreds of pillars that supported the roof. Mika cringed back.

Flames shot up the rounded sides of the pillars, reaching for the ceiling. Flames that were made of blood red rubies embedded in the stone and outlined in a dried rusty brown medium that looked suspiciously like blood. Circling the base and the top of the pillar, also embedded in the stone, were skulls, human skulls. Their empty eyes stared out at Mika, their jaws gaped wide in silent anguish.

"They're all like that," whispered Hornsbuck.

"Every one."

"Let's get out of here," said Mika, chills running down his back. "I don't like this place."

"I don't either," said Hornsbuck. "But at least no one seems to come here any more. There's that to be glad for."

As though waiting only for his words, the wolves began to growl, low ominous sounds rumbling deep in their chests. Their ears lay flat against their skulls, and their hackles rose thickly about their necks.

"What is it, Tam?" asked Mika holding out his torch and reaching nervously for his sword. But Tam never shifted his gaze and continued to stare into the darkness and growl. Slowly, RedTail began to move, gingerly stalking forward on stiff legs as though treading on eggsh.e.l.ls. Tam followed reluctantly, his thick silver-plumed tail curled tightly over his black furred back. He seemed uncertain, cautious and perhaps even afraid, but his gold eyes blazed with hatred, and Mika knew that a blood l.u.s.t was building in him.

Then Mika heard it, the rapid shuffling of a heavy body moving over the gritty floor. It was coming from his right. He held the torch up high, but there was nothing to be seen. The roan began to back and sidestep, yanking at his reins and whickering anxiously.

"What is it, Hornsbuck?" Mika asked, growing more and more anxious himself.

"I don't know," said Hornsbuck, unsheathing his sword. "But you'd best get ready. Tie that horse to one of those pillars. I suspect you might need both hands; the wolves say trouble's coming."

Mika tied the roan to the nearest pillar and unsheathed his sword.

They heard the breathing before they saw the creature, a heavy, stentorian sound that rasped on Mika's nerves like a sword striking bone.

Mika's hands grew sweaty and his sword drooped. A terrible roar cut through the darkness, and Mika stiffened, his sword springing to attention, quivering upright!

A darker shadow hovered in the shadows at the edge of the torchlight. Mika's spirit wilted. He could see that it was immense, over eight feet tall and more than five feet wide.

TamTur and RedTail were barking at the unseen enemy-short, harsh, staccato yaps-and their dewlaps were drawn back over their white slavering teeth.

"What is it, Hornsbuck?" asked Mika again, attempting to conceal the fear in his voice.

"I don't know!" growled Hornsbuck and, reaching over, wrenched a skull loose from the base of the pillar nearest him and threw it at the shadowy creature. There was an immediate roar of anger, and the thing lumbered into the circle of torchlight.

Mika wished with all his heart that it had stayed hidden in the dark. For now he could see the whole of the horrible thing. Never in his entire life had he faced anything more frightening. It was like the worst of nightmares come true.

Its head, if it could be called that, was merely a rounded extension of the whole. It had no neck. Its eyes were like four opaque stones, showing no glint of intelligence, cl.u.s.tered together and buried deep in the rolls of flesh in the center of its forehead. Its mouth was nearly as wide as its body and was lined with rows of gleaming, jagged teeth. Two great long teeth sprouted from the corners of the gaping maw and pointed toward the center. Curving out from the base of the two fangs for a distance of some two feet were two sharp-tipped, razor-edged, mandible-like devices that probed the air in front of the monster's face as though searching for prey.

Two ma.s.sive arms were attached to the huge, ponderous, bulbous grey body and ended in four clawed fingers each. Its ma.s.sive legs were similarly powerful yet primitive, resting on three-toed, clawed feet that advanced slowly, yet all too surely.

Its body reminded Mika of that of a giant tick, the grey skin stretched swollen and taut over the immense bulbous body.

"What is it!" shrilled Mika, backing up until he felt the warm bulk of the roan quivering fearfully behind him.

"Umber hulk," said Hornsbuck, backing up quickly and covering his eyes with his hand. "Don't look into its eyes, it'll stun you. Confuse you till you don't know your own name."

"What's it want?" asked Mika, wondering if the thing liked jewels or treasure or even horse meat!

"You, you dummy!" roared Hornsbuck. "What else? It eats anything and everything it can catch, but it likes folks best! We've got to make a run for it. There's no fighting it!"

This was the best news Mika had heard since before the cursed messenger had stumbled into camp with word of the kobold attack. He did not stop to argue but put his foot in the stirrup and swung himself into the saddle behind the princess. He was leaning forward to jerk the reins loose from the pillar when he heard a noise behind him. A chill ran down his spine.

He ripped the reins free and kicked the roan in the ribs. It shot forward, then dashed to the right, away from the awful umber hulk, which was still advancing slowly but steadily.

"RedTail! Tam! To me, wolves, to me!" screamed Hornsbuck, as the wolves barked and danced nimbly at the feet of the monster.

"Mika, call Tam. They don't know! They've never met one before! They think they can kill it!" yelled Hornsbuck, fear apparent in his voice for the first time, fear not for himself, but for his wolf.

"TAM! To me!" hollered Mika, equally terrified that Tam might be caught up in that horrible clawed hand and shoveled into the gaping mouth. But neither wolf obeyed the command.

The hulk was within three feet of the wolves now, swinging its arms before it like trees swaying in the wind, its teeth clacking audibly as the awful mouth opened and shut, opened and shut.

Mika was torn, afraid for his own safety, yet panic-stricken over Tam, who did not seem to realize his own danger. The barking, yapping, and slavering of the wolves was causing so much noise that Mika almost failed to hear the heavy, stentorian breathing of a second umber hulk! But the roan did not mistake it and reared, nearly tossing Mika from his back, and bleated in abject terror. Mika looked behind him and saw the other umber hulk, even larger than the first, ponderously making its way toward the wolves.

"Hornsbuck!" cried Mika just as the grizzled nomad darted forward and scooped a snarling RedTail up in his arms, wrestling him away from the approaching monster.

Hornsbuck turned and looked at the spot where Mika had stood only seconds before, but Mika had already mounted the roan and moved away. Hornsbuck found himself staring directly in the face of the second umber hulk, catching the full impact of its hypnotic gaze.

Hornsbuck stood there like a statue, holding a torch in one hand and his wolf and his sword in the other, mouth open, eyes wide, sensibilities gone, as the umber hulks moved toward him on their stumpy, clawed feet.

Mika cursed, knowing that he had to do something or the man was as good as dead, and there was no way that he would ever find his way out of the tunnels by himself. It was this thought more than any other that decided his course of action.

Kicking the roan hard, he drove him forward between the two hulks, now separated by no more than ten feet. As he came up to the stunned nomad, Mika threw his torch into the mouth of the nearest hulk and grabbed Hornsbuck by the hair, turning him about roughly and propelling him forward as fast as his feet could carry him. Mika prayed that Hornsbuck would not drop the torch or the wolf and would keep his footing.

"Tam! To me, Tam. Follow!" he screamed without looking back, praying that for once in his life, Tam would obey.

He heard the scamper of wolf claws on the floor behind him and, praying to deities long ignored, he raced into the gloom of the ancient amphitheater with the agonized screams of the hulk echoing around them.

The deities must have been amused and taken pity on him, for when he finally brought the roan to a halt and loosened his desperate hold on Hornsbuck's hair, there was no sound of pursuit.

"Hornsbuck?" said Mika, dismounting and staring up into the older man's eyes. But there was no answer. Hornsbuck's eyes, always so quick to spot danger or foolery, were open wide and gazing straight ahead, all signs of intelligence gone. A thin line of spittle drooled from the corner of his open mouth.

RedTail squirmed in Hornsbuck's arms, struggling to free himself from the tight embrace that pinned him to the nomad's chest.

Mika crouched at Hornsbuck's feet and took Red-Tail's chunky head between his hands, staring into the wolf's gold eyes in the light of the torch.

"RedTail, have I ever told you what a wonderful beast you are?" said Mika. RedTail looked at him with the same kind of derisive gaze that Mika was accustomed to seeing on Hornsbuck's face.

"And a wonderful wolf like you could help us out of this mess. I'd be willing to bet that you know the way out of here just as well as Hornsbuck, if not better. In fact, I'd be willing to bet a nice, fat, juicy . . . NO! Make that TWO nice, fat, juicy bucks, which I personally will kill, that you can show us the way out.

"All of us are counting on you, RedTail: me, Hornsbuck, the princess, and your old pal, Tam. You wouldn't want us to die down here, would you?"

RedTail's tongue lolled out of his mouth and Mika stifled an impulse to boot the beast. Calming himself, he continued.

"Look, RedTail, old pal, this is all your fault in a way. Yours and Tam's. If you'd come when we called you, Hornsbuck would be all right now and we'd be on our way. But you two wanted to stay and fight. So why don't you just cut out this nonsense and get us the h.e.l.l out of here, 'cause if you don't I'm going to kick you from here to Sunsebb!"

RedTail gazed up at Mika as though calculating, then, twisting his head free, stood next to Hornsbuck and sniffed him thoroughly. Rising up on his hind legs, he poked his muzzle into Hornsbuck's chin and nudged the man hard several times. Hornsbuck rocked on his feet and Mika took the torch from his hand and steadied him so that he didn't fall over.

RedTail whined plaintively and dropped to the ground. He looked up at Mika, all humor gone from his eyes, then turned and set off at a steady lope.

Chapter 20.

TIME Pa.s.sED. ENDLESSLY. Tunnels pa.s.sed. To their left. To their right. Up. Down. And sometimes sideways. RedTail led and Mika followed.

The pa.s.sage grew more and more elaborate once they left the great hall. The walls were smooth dressed stone or inlaid with mosaics that glittered in the torchlight. Intersecting pa.s.sageways were cause for high vaulting ribbed ceilings and elaborate columns and pillars with delicate carvings that Mika did not care to examine.

It was an extraordinary, fascinating place, rich with the artifacts of some bygone culture. But Mika was not interested in architecture, nor in solving the mystery of the vanished inhabitants. All he cared about was getting out.

The meat was beginning to go rancid; gra.s.s, water, and wood for the torches were nearly depleted. Mika and TamTur were exhausted and frightened. Hornsbuck still drooled and the princess still slept, dirty and uncombed, her dress hanging about her in tattered disarray.

"Man the barricades!" shouted Hornsbuck, his mind obviously drifting back to some ancient battle. Mika ignored the outburst, plodding stolidly ahead through the dark corridor, trying to believe that the wolf really knew where he was going and that they would not die down here in the dark, surrounded by cold stone.

The first time Hornsbuck spoke after the encounter with the umber hulk, Mika had rushed to his side, thinking that perhaps the older man had shaken off the effects of the spell. But it had not been so. "Flay him alive! Boil the rascal in oil!" he commanded, ordering unseen underlings to do his bidding.

Since that moment, Hornsbuck was alternately silent and staring, or loudly vocal, reliving much of his life in disjointed bits and pieces. He raved and hollered, chuckled and cajoled, and gave orders that went unanswered. But the worst of it was that he mistook Mika for someone named Lotus Blossom and frequently sought to enfold him in his hairy embrace. After the first mustachioed kiss, Mika was careful not to be taken unawares and made certain that Hornsbuck walked behind the roan.

Perhaps it is true that the G.o.ds protect fools and small children because the party met nothing more fearful during the rest of their journey than one measly foot-long centipede which quickly scurried out of their way.

Mika thought his eyes or the torch were failing when everything suddenly paled to grey. Slowly he realized that the pa.s.sage had been rising for some time and that it was daylight, blessed daylight, filtering down through the tunnel ahead.

Mika's step quickened as he hurried up the pa.s.sage, while Hornsbuck bellowed out some fragment of a nightmare.

"Greed! Sloth! Envy! Avarice! Hatred! Deceit! War! Obsession!" roared Hornsbuck, a litany of all the evils of the world spewing from his mouth like stones from a sling.

"Keep it down, Hornsbuck," said Mika. "No telling what's waiting out there."

"Oppression! Wickedness! Pain!" hollered Hornsbuck, and Mika shook his head and gave up, concentrating on the growing light ahead of him.

The roan snorted happily and trotted up the last few feet of the pa.s.sage, the light outlining his body in a shimmering aura. RedTail and TamTur followed, tails curled high above their backs.

Mika stood at the mouth of the pa.s.sage and leaned against the marble pillar that flanked it. He rested his forehead against the cool stone, closing his eyes against the bright sunlight that filtered down in dust-filled beams from the narrow openings that circled the columned dome high above his head.

In his heart he gave thanks to the Great She Wolf for bringing him out of the dark pa.s.sageways. Then he heard the roan neigh and stamp his feet in alarm and Tam growl low in his throat.

Danger! Mika lifted his head quickly and moved forward into the room, squinting his eyes against the bright light. He stepped over the hunks of broken stone that littered the floor, trying to focus. He drew his sword and blinked his watering eyes. Behind him, he heard Hornsbuck trudge into the room and stop.

"I thank you for bringing me the princess," said a creaky old voice, somewhere off to his left. Mika crouched low and whirled, facing the direction the voice had come from, holding his sword out in front of him and sweeping it back and forth.

"Put down the sword like a good lad," the voice said soothingly. "I know you don't want me to hurt you again."

Mika blinked his eyes furiously and things began to come into focus. Light and dark separated, flowed together, blurred, and then separated once again.

Outlined in the bright sunlight, dust motes raining softly on his shoulders, stood a small dark figure holding the horse's reins. The sunlight was so beautiful, the voice so gentle. And Mika was tired. Tired of danger. Tired of fighting. Tired of being afraid. All he wanted was for things to go back the way they had been, to be normal again. For one brief moment, his sword arm wavered, and he was sorely tempted to do as he was told.

But the roan had no such problems. His ears were plastered flat against his head and his eyes rolled wildly. His teeth were bared in a square-toothed grimace, and his breathing was harsh and rattled in his throat. His legs were stiff and braced hard against the pull of the bridle.

The wolves were in total agreement with the horse. Tam and RedTail circled the small dark figure, their tails curled above their backs and their ears twitched forward, alert, watchful.

Abruptly, Mika straightened up, alert now to the danger. He had no need to go closer. He knew who the old man was.

"I see you recognize me," said the little old man, his features slowly coming into focus. Mika shuddered and took a step backward.

"You have no reason to fear me," said the old man, his body still shrouded by the long, voluminous cape. "I have what I want now. Before, you made the mistake of coming between me and that which I sought. Now, thanks to your efforts, I have my prize."

"You mean the princess?" Mika blurted out in puzzlement. "Why would you want the princess?"

"It's a long story," said the old man with a dry chuckle. "A very long story. But since you've brought her to me, I suppose an explanation is the least I can offer."

"Lies! Oppression! Murder!" ranted Hornsbuck.

"Your friend understands," said the old man, nodding toward Hornsbuck, an amused look flitting across his withered face.

"This is my temple," he said, gesturing around him at the ruined building with a bony hand. "Or what little remains of it."

"There," he said, pointing at a ma.s.sive block of marble that had broken in two and fallen on its side, "was the altar. Sacrifices were laid on its surface, and the floor ran deep with their blood.

"These walls," he said, waving around the apse with his bony hands, "were filled with those who worshipped me and did homage in my name in honor or in fear.

"Once, this land was nearly mine. I held it in thrall and squeezed it tight. Nearly, nearly, was it mine. Then, other forces rose up, conspired against me and broke my hold, but never, never have I forgotten. I pledged that I would return and take back what is mine. And you, lad, have given me, this day, the instrument of power," the old man said with a trembling voice as flecks of spittle sprayed from his mouth and fell to the dusty floor with a soft hiss.

"What are you talking about?" asked Mika, beginning to wonder if the little man had taken leave of his senses. Magic-user he might be, but the Great She Wolf knew that the cities were crawling with hundreds of old has-beens who bored pa.s.sersby with imagined tales of their days of glory.

"You do not recognize me in this old and tired body," said the old man. "But perhaps you would know me by another name."

"And what would that be?" asked Mika, casually resting the point of his sword on the ground.

"Some know me as Iuz," said the old man, a harsh light glittering in his eyes.

Mika's blood ran cold.