Scylla made no reply, but from the faint flush I could see rising up the back of her neck, I believe that she was ashamed of having made the accusation. He had given his word to help us and we had no reason to doubt him. If he had a small reserve of Life left to him, that was only sensible. No wizard depleted himself utterly, if he could help it. He had voluntarily gone out into the drenching rainstorm to guard me, and if he hadn't warned me of the Kij vines, I might well have floundered in among them so deeply that not even the Darksword could have saved me.

Eliza offered him a blanket, which he refused with a curt shake of his head. She said nothing; her face was calm and smooth. She still did not trust him and she made no apology for it. She tucked the blanket around me, made certain I was comfortable. She repacked the first-aid kit, then asked if there was anything else she could do for me. She offered me the electronic notepad, in case I wanted to write anything.

I indicated no, smiling, to show her that I was much better. And, indeed, I was. The horror was starting to recede. The air car was warming up rapidly. My shivering ceased, the pain was gone. The ointment deserved some credit, undoubtedly, but no salve can heal the terrors of the soul. Eliza's touch had been the true cure.

Some emotions need no words. Eliza saw in my eyes what I could not speak. A slight flush mantled her cheeks and she lookedaway from me, to the notepad in her hand. The pad provided her an excuse to change the subject.

"I don't want to disturb you, Reuven, if you're tired-"

I shook my head. She could never disturb me, nor could I ever be too tired to do anything she might ask of me.

"I would like to learn sign language," she said, almost shyly. "Would you mind teaching me?"

Would I mind! I knew she was doing this only out of kindness, to take my mind off the terrible experience I had suffered. I agreed, of course, hoping it might take her mind off her own horrors. She moved closer to me. I began by teaching her the alphabet, spelling out her name. She understood immediately. She was a quick student, and within a very short time she had the entire alphabet and could run through it, hand and fingers flashing.

The air car soared over rain-soaked gra.s.slands, lifted and climbed up over treetops. We were traveling very fast now, though I wondered if our speed would make up for the time we had lost in the storm. Mosiah maintained his cool, offended silence.

The sun continued to shine, though it was often hidden by racing clouds. Scylla turned down the heat in the air car, which- with the wet clothes-was beginning to resemble a sauna.

"Those Kij vines," she said abruptly. "They behaved rather oddly, don't you think?"

Mosiah looked at her, and though I was busy with Eliza, I saw a glint of interest flicker in his eyes. "Perhaps," was all he said noncommittally. "What do you mean?"

"They came after Reuven," Scylla said. "Did you ever know the vines to be that aggressive? And those vines had grown tall and thick. Isn't that unusual?"

Mosiah shrugged. "The Finhanish Finhanish are no longer around to keep them thinned out. The are no longer around to keep them thinned out. The Sif-Hanar Sif-Hanar are no longer here to control the weather. Of course, left alone, the Kij vines would thrive." are no longer here to control the weather. Of course, left alone, the Kij vines would thrive."

"Plants born of magic," Scylla mused. "Created by magic. One would think that when the magic in this land was depleted, the plants would lose their source of sustenance and they would die off. Not Not grow more abundantly." grow more abundantly."

"Born of magic?" Eliza interrupted our lesson to ask. "What do you mean? We grow corn and carrots and wheat and there's nothing magic about them."

"But there is about the Kij vine," Mosiah replied. "It was created at the end of the Iron Wars, when some of the D'karn-duuk D'karn-duuk-the warlocks and war masters-saw the battle ending with themselves on the losing side. They had already used their magic to turn humans into giants, or twist humans into a combination of beast and man, which became the centaur. The warlocks perverted plant life, developing the Kij vine and other deadly vegetation, used them to ambush the unwary.

"When the wars ended, the ranks of the D'karn-duuk D'karn-duuk were depleted. They could no longer control their own creations, and so the giants and the centaur and the Kij vines were left on their own, to do what they could to survive." were depleted. They could no longer control their own creations, and so the giants and the centaur and the Kij vines were left on their own, to do what they could to survive."

"I heard stories about the centaur," Eliza said. "They captured my father once and nearly killed him. He said they were cruel and loved to inflict pain, but that this came out of their own great anger and suffering."

"I have to work very hard to feel sympathy for the centaur," Mosiah said dryly, "but I suppose this is true. Or should I say it was was true, for they must have died when the magic died." true, for they must have died when the magic died."

"Like the Kij vines," said Scylla, her pierced eyebrow arching. "And certain bears of my acquaintance." She glanced back at Teddy, who smirked at her and winked.

"Here's a thought," she said. "What if the first Darksword did not not destroy the Well of Life, as everyone has always supposed. What if, instead, the Darksword capped it?" destroy the Well of Life, as everyone has always supposed. What if, instead, the Darksword capped it?"

"Impossible. The magic was released into the universe," Mosiah stated.

"The magic of Thimhallan was released, and perhaps a gush of magic from the Well. Then the Well was sealed. And ever since, the magic has been building beneath the surface. . . ."

"Well, really!" Simkin cried suddenly. "I won't won't stay to be insulted." stay to be insulted."

With that and a flash of orange scarf, Teddy vanished.

"What was all that about?" Eliza asked, bewildered. "Where did he go?"

"I wonder." Mosiah glanced sidelong at Scylla. "I wonder about a lot of things."

So did I. If Scylla's theory was right and the magic had been building beneath Thimhallan all these years . . . what would happen? One effect was most obvious. Magic-strong and powerful-was available to whoever might be able to use it.

But surely, I argued with myself, if that were true, then certainly the Duuk-tsarith Duuk-tsarith would have discovered it long ago. would have discovered it long ago.

Perhaps they had. Perhaps that is why they are so desperate to attain the Darksword. Not only could it destroy the Life that might be building beneath the Well, but if the new Darksword were to be given this powerful Life, its own power might be increased.

I turned the question upside down and inside out in my mind and never came to a satisfactory answer. It didn't seem to me that there could ever be an answer. Within forty-eight hours, we would flee this place, most likely never to return.

Mosiah said nothing more. Scylla appeared lost in thought. The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. I continued my lesson with Eliza.

I was relieved that Teddy was gone, until I remembered my master's warning-that it was always better to know where Simkin was than where he wasn't.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

"It takes nerves of stone to enter Zith-el in this manner." nerves of stone to enter Zith-el in this manner."

DARKSWORD ADVENTURES.

We reached Zith-el not long after sunset. The afterglow- bright beneath gray storm clouds-tinged the sky with a lurid red that tipped the snow-covered mountains of the Ekard range with blood. It was an ominous sign and one that was not lost on my companions.

"Of all the cities on Thimhallan, Zith-el was the one that suffered the most damage when the Well of Life was destroyed," Mosiah told us. "The buildings of Zith-el soared countless stories into the air. The people also tunneled deep into the ground in search of living s.p.a.ce. When the magic was withdrawn and the fearsome quakes shook the land, the buildings fell, the tunnels collapsed. Thousands died, crushed to death, trapped in the rubble, or buried alive beneath the ground."

The air car slowed. Zith-el's Outer Wall, which had protected the city from invasion, had been a wall of magic, completely invisible, much like what we on Earth know as a force field. The wall should have been destroyed.

Perhaps it was, perhaps it wasn't.

We had no way of knowing, and after the Kij vines we could no longer a.s.sume that magic on Thimhallan was as depleted as we had once thought. I remembered what the Technomancers had said about "residual pockets."

All that could be seen inside the city was the thick forest, which had been part of the marvelous Zoo, for which Zith-el was known. Oddly, if the wall was gone, the forest had not encroached onto the gra.s.slands.

"Were there any survivors in Zith-el?" Eliza asked. Her voice was strained. Mosiah said no word of blame, but the daughter of the man who had caused the downfall of Thimhallan must feel defensive.

"Yes," Mosiah answered, "and they were the most unfortunate of all. When the magic was weakened, the creatures of the Zoo were set free and took their revenge on those who had kept them prisoner."

Eliza gazed on the city that had once teemed with life, whose walls now encompa.s.sed nothing but death. She knew the history of her father and what he had done and why he had done it. Joram was honest, brutally honest, and I do not believe that he would have spared himself in the telling. In all probability he had judged himself more harshly than even his detractors.

But sealed up, safe and secure, inside the Font, Eliza had never been brought face-to-face with the knowledge of what her father had done to this world and to its people. Father Saryon and I had disturbed Eliza's tranquillity by bringing her visions of a different world. The Technomancers had shattered her happy life, her innocent pleasure in her home and her family. Mosiah's words and the crumbled walls of Zith-el shook her faith in her father, the worst and most painful shock of all.

The air car had slowed. Scylla lowered it into the tall stands of gra.s.s that surrounded the city. The shadows of the mountains had brought dusk to us on the plains, though the sky was still bright behind them. She kept the lights off.

She and Mosiah discussed how best to proceed, arguing over whether it would be better to remain in the air car or leave it outside the city and enter Zith-el on foot.

"The Technomancers know we are here," Mosiah observed. "With their sensor equipment, they've probably been following us since we left the Font."

"Yes, but they don't know how many we are or if we have the Darksword," Scylla argued.

"We're here, aren't we?" Mosiah returned bluntly. "Why else would we come?"

Scylla admitted that he had a valid point, but she urged stealth as opposed to driving right up to the gate. "At the least, we should not turn over the Darksword until we are a.s.sured of the hostages' safety."

Mosiah shook his head.

I left that decision to them. With four of us facing an army of Technomancers, it didn't seem to me to make the slightest bit of difference what we did. Pulling out my electronic notebook, I began looking up some reference material I had acquired on Zith-el, thinking to let Eliza read my notes.

When I found them, I started to show them to her, then checked myself.

Believing herself un.o.bserved, shrouded in the twilight shadows, she had leaned down and, with one hand, drawn off the blanket from the Darksword. It was dark against darkness.

Her father had forged the first Darksword. Father Saryon had given it Life. The blood of thousands had consecrated it. Now here was a second, another. Would blood stain its blade as well?

Her face was so open, so honest, emotions pa.s.sed across its surface like ripples on still water. I could guess her thoughts. Her words, spoken softly to herself, proved my guess right.

"Why did he forge it anew? Why did it have to come back into the world? And what should I do with it now?"

Sighing, she leaned against the seat, her expression sad and troubled.

And yet, what choice did she have?

None that I could see. Unable to offer help, I did not intrude on Eliza's private pain. I reread the notes written by an unnamed adventurer in the land of Thimhallan, notes that King Garald had taken with him into exile.

Zith-el is a compact city whose major distinction is that it is surrounded by the most wonderful Zoo in all of Thimhallan. Visitors traveling from other cities to see the Zoo's wonders provide a large portion of Zith-el's income.

History: Zith-el - -a Finhanish Finhanish druid of the Vanjnan Clans druid of the Vanjnan Clans-was born about 352 YL. He purchased a wife from a fellow clansman, who had captured the woman during a raid on Trandar. The woman, named Tara, was a talented Theldara. Theldara. Despite a turbulent beginning, the two grew to love each other. Zith-el gave up his wandering ways and promised to settle in one place with his beloved. Despite a turbulent beginning, the two grew to love each other. Zith-el gave up his wandering ways and promised to settle in one place with his beloved.

He, his wife, and their family traveled up the Hira River until Tara called a halt. Dismounting from her horse, she investigated the river, the trees, and the lands, and if legend is correct, she sat down on the spot and declared it to be her home.

The city was built around her.

Zith-el believed that the ground was sacred and . . . vowed to the Almin that he would never allow the city to expand beyond its original borders.

And that was the reason why, as its population grew, Zith-el was forced to build up and down. It could never expand outward.

I glanced up from my reading. The air car glided forward through the tall gra.s.s, which brushed against its sides with an irritating swishing sound. At first, we were able to see the trees of the Zoo above the waving sea of green, but we soon lost sight of them in the gathering gloom of night. The city itself was dark, that once must have glittered with light.

Moving out of the foothills toward the gate specified-the East Road Gate-we came upon the East Road , a trail once used by overland traders. So packed and rutted was the dirt that not even the tough prairie gra.s.ses had yet covered it over. It stretched out before us, visible in the faint afterglow that purpled the sky.

The stars were coming out. I looked at them and found myself wondering if any of those sparkling points of light were the battle cruisers of the Hch'nyv, bearing down on us. That reminded me forcibly of the time constraint. We had this night, the next day, and the next night before the window of safety slammed shut.

The moon shone, as well, silvering the ragged storm clouds, which had continued to keep clear of us. About three-quarters full, the moon was faint now, but would brighten as the night darkened. That comforted me, though, when I thought of it, I had no idea why it should.

Scylla brought the car to a halt. The East Road Gate was built into a small section of the Outer Wall to the west of the city. East Road therefore seemed a misnomer, but the East Road actually took its name as meaning "east road leading away from the Font," all directions in Thimhallan having been determined from the Font, which was considered the center of the world.

I went back to my notes.

There are two walls around the city, the Outer Wall and the City Wall. The City Wall runs along the lines originally laid down by Zith-el (the city's founder) and marks the place where the city ends and the Zoo begins. The Outer Wall surrounds the Zoo. Completely invisible, it allows a marvelous view of all the creatures, yet keeps them well confined. Its (the Zoo's) nearest point to the city is some four mila mila from the City Wall. from the City Wall.

Four gates in both walls provide the only entrances and exits for overland travelers. These gates are one-way only. You step through the open portal, only to find the back sealed shut. Gates leading into the city are located on the east and west sides of the walls, while gates leading out of the city are located on the north and south sides. It is said that all the gates through the City Wall can be deactivated by a word from the Lord of Zith-el in order to keep the city protected from attack.

The gates have a second and highly startling function. Upon entering the gate in the Outer Wall, the traveler must pa.s.s through the Zoo that surrounds the city in order to enter the city proper. Since it would disturb the sensibilities of those touring the Zoo to see other humans like themselves wandering about, the gates temporarily transform the unsuspecting entrant into the illusion of some animal.

We might all turn into Teddies, I thought.

Scylla shut off the engine to the air car. It settled down upon the road and we sat in darkness and in silence, watching the gate.

Nothing, no one appeared.

"They are waiting for us to show ourselves," Mosiah said, his voice harsh and overloud in the stillness. "Let's get this over with."

He drew his hood up over his head and put his hand on the door. Scylla reached out, clasped hold of his arm, halting him.

"You should not go. The Technomancers have no reason to harm any of the three of us. But you . . ." She leaned near him, said softly, "We are close to the Borderland. Stay hidden in the car. When the Technomancers are gone, return to the base. Go back to Earth and prepare King Garald and General Boris. They have to face the fact that the Technomancers will soon be in possession of the Darksword. They need to be forewarned, to make what plans they can."

He regarded her in silence for long moments, such profound silence that I could hear his breath come and go. I could hear Scylla's breathing, hear Eliza's, hear my own. I could hear my own heart beating.

"I wish I knew," Mosiah said at last, "whether you were just trying to get rid of me or whether you truly cared about" cared about"- pausing, he then said, somewhat lamely-"about King Garald and the Darksword."

Scylla grinned. I could see her face in the lambent light of stars and moon and the setting sun. Her eyes flashed with laughter and that cheered me, too, as had the moonglow.

"I care," she said, and her grasp on his arm tightened.

"About the people of Earth, I meant," he said gruffly.

"Them, too," Scylla responded, her grin widening.

He regarded her in frowning perplexity, for he thought she was teasing him and this was certainly no time for kidding around.

"All right, Mosiah, so I was wrong about you at the beginning," Scylla said, shrugging. "You're not your typical Enforcer, probably because you weren't born to it. And, as I said, you're much better-looking than your file photos. Return to Earth. There's nothing you can do here and you'll only put yourself in danger and maybe us along with you."

"Very well," he agreed, after another moment's thought. "I will remain inside the car. But leave the Darksword here with me, at least until you have proof that the hostages are alive. If the Technomancers try to seize it, they will find me guarding it; something they might not expect."

"A fine guard," Scylla scoffed. "You with no Life and no other weapon."

Mosiah smiled, for the first time since I'd met him. "The Technomancers don't know that."

Scylla looked startled, then she chuckled. "You have a point, Mosiah. If your plan is okay with Eliza, it's okay with me."