Quest for Lost Heroes (38 page)

Once inside, a circle of fire leapt around them like a wall. The heat was incredible and the light burned at their eyes.

'I can hold this for moments only,' said Asta. 'Be ready!' He began to run, the others loping alongside him. The circle of fire remained constantly with them, no matter their speed.

From beyond the silent flames came the sounds of padding feet, talons on stone and the chilling cries of hunting beasts. Still Asta ran on, seemingly tireless.

The flames grew thinner and Tanaki began to see shapeless forms beyond the fire, keeping pace with them. When she glanced at Chien his dark eyes met her gaze and he gave a tight smile.

A scaled arm lashed at the flames. The skin shrivelled and a ghastly scream sounded.

'Almost there!' called Asta.

Suddenly the fire flared - and died.

Asta screamed. A huge creature swooped down from above them, its leather wings knocking him from his feet. Tanaki plunged a sword into the beast's belly and pulled Asta to his feet; he tore clear of her grasp and sprinted away.

A scaled monster leapt from the darkness. Chien's sword flashed out and down and the beast fell writhing to the ground.

'As you value your lives, RUN!' came the voice of Asta. Risking a glance back, Chien saw giant white wolves bearing down on them. The small warrior took to his heels. He saw Asta vanish ahead of him, followed by Tanaki. For a moment Chien experienced panic, feeling the hot breath of a beast upon his neck.

A great weight landed on his back and he fell and rolled. As the wolf beast scrambled up, twisting to attack, Chien's sword slashed through its throat. The pack howled and charged. Chien spun on his heel and flung himself forward through the opening - falling to his knees before Tanaki and the shaman.

Tanaki offered a hand and Chien accepted it, pulling himself to his feet. He glanced back. 'How is it the creatures do not follow us?' he asked.

'They cannot pass through. Think of it as a lake,' said Asta. 'We can dive through the surface, but the fish cannot leave; that is their world. It is possible to make a Gateway for them, but the power needed is great and would require many hundreds of souls.'

'I would not wish to sound defeatist, shaman,' said Chien, 'but upon our return I cannot see the woman Ravenna sprinting away from those wolves. It would be a great pity to rescue her, only to see her die in the Void.'

'She will not die there,' said Asta. 'But my power is finite and I gave you all I could spare. With her I will hold the circle. Now let us move on.'

The tunnel widened, and for the first time it was possible to see the works of men here - the walls smoothed, reinforced with timbers. There was a stairway carved into the rock and Asta mounted it, moving up to squat beneath a low ceiling. He signalled for silence and called Chien and Tanaki to him.

'Above us,' he whispered, 'is the throne room. It is now almost midnight. There should be no one there. Are you ready, Princess?'

'Yes.'

'If the throne room is not empty - we are doomed,' said Asta, for once seeming nervous and unsure.

Chien chuckled softly. 'No life is without peril, shaman,' he reminded him. Asta muttered an obscene curse and lifted the flagstone above his head. It creaked and juddered. Chien helped him with the weight and they twisted the stone to lay it alongside the opening. Tanaki levered herself up into the darkness of the throne room and Chien followed her.

'I will wait here,' said Asta.

Tanaki ran to the main doors, pressing her ear to the crack. Chien moved alongside.

'There should be no guards in the corridor,' Tanaki said. The Khan's sleeping quarters are on the other side of the palace. But the women's quarters will have sentries on the outside and eunuch swordsmen within.'

Chien nodded. 'I will come with you - and wait.'

She eased open the door and stepped into the torch-lit corridor. All was silent. Keeping to the shadows they moved on, cutting left through a narrow doorway and out into a side street. Tanaki led the warrior through the deserted streets until at last they came to a broad square beyond which was a high wall; three sentries patrolled the outside of the wall.

'How will you get in?' whispered Chien.

Tanaki smiled. 'Distract the guards,' she said. Removing her sword-belt but keeping a curved dagger, she waited until the sentries had passed and then ran to the wall, crouching in the shadows.

Digging into the pocket of his breeches, Chien came up with four golden coins. Tucking them into his belt he waited for the sentries, took a deep breath and then began to sing. He staggered out into the open, belched, half fell and then ambled on towards the men.

'Good evening, my brothers,' he said.

'What are you doing here, fool?' asked one of the sentries, moving forward and touching the point of his spear to Chien's chest.

'Fool?' repeated Chien, giggling and swaying sideways. 'You think I am a fool? Not me, brothers. I . . .' he looked left and right, as if fearing to be overheard. 'I have discovered the Great Secret. I learned it from a shaman. And never will I be poor again. Fool? No brothers, I am celebrating riches beyond your dreams.'

'Riches?' said another. 'What nonsense is this? Be off with you!'

Chien glanced over the man's shoulders. Tanaki had begun to climb the wall behind them.

'Nonsense? You don't believe me.' He waved his hand. 'Give me a copper coin and I will prove it to you. I will turn it into gold before your eyes. Then we'll see. Oh, yes. We'll see.'

The men chuckled. One of them laid his spear on the ground and fished into the pocket of his jerkin. He handed Chien a rough stamped copper coin bearing the head of Tenaka Khan.

Chien rolled the coin in his fingers and flicked it into the air. He caught it deftly and held up his fist, then he began to chant. The words were in an obscure Kiatze dialect.

'Get on with it,' said one of the sentries, losing patience.

'It is done,' said Chien. 'Here is your coin.' He opened his hand, and the gleam of gold was caught by the moonlight. The man took it, his mouth dropping open.

'Do one for me,' said the second sentry.

Tanaki was almost at the top of the wall.

'Why is it always you first?' retorted the third. 'Do mine!'

'I will do them both together,' Chien told them. He accepted their coins, and repeated his chant.

Tanaki clambered over the wall. 'There!' said Chien, handing them the gold coins.

'More! Do us more,' urged the first.

'Tomorrow, when I have rested,' promised Chien. 'Where shall we meet?'

'You know the Clay Pony, behind the Wolves' barracks?'

'Of course,' said Chien. 'But it must be only you. I could not do this for everyone; it would exhaust me. Just you three.'

'Yes, yes, just us. Be there at noon, yes?'

'Oh yes,' agreed Chien. 'I will be there. And now I am for bed. And you should be at your duties.'

He walked away, back into the shadows.

The Princess was inside, and that was a victory.

But getting out would not be so simple, he knew.

Tanaki rolled to the ramparts, dagger ready. There were no sentries. Swiftly she moved to the steps and ran down to the courtyard below. To her left was the guardhouse; she could see lantern light through the shuttered windows, and hear the sounds of men talking and laughing - these would be the eunuch guards. Straight ahead was the garden walkway and, to the right, the long, elaborately furnished rooms where the Khan's women spent their days. Here would be the baths and the pools. Beyond these were the sleeping quarters. Many of the concubines slept in dormitories, only the privileged few having rooms of their own.

Tanaki crept across the courtyard and into the darkened day room. Keeping to the wall she walked to the far end of the chamber, opening a door which led to a curtain-hung corridor. Several cats were sleeping here. She moved on past the dormitory rooms to a set of stairs, which she ascended swiftly.

Knowing the layout of the women's quarters, she tried to decide in which of the major rooms Ravenna would be housed. Not the nearest to the Khan's secret corridor -that would be reserved for his latest concubine. No, Ravenna would have been moved closer to the midwives' quarters in the east. She padded on, coming at last to a narrow door which led, she knew, to a suite of rooms overlooking the eastern Steppes. Here sunlight bathed the rooms, bringing heat in the morning but staying cool in the afternoon. Opening the door, she slipped inside. The bed had been moved to the window and Tanaki could see a young woman lying on her back. As she crept closer, it was obvious she was pregnant. Tanaki moved to the bedside and sat down, touching the woman's arm.

'Ravenna,' she whispered. 'Ravenna, wake up!'

The woman's eyes opened. 'What is it?" she asked sleepily.

'Kiall sent me.'

'Kiall?' Ravenna yawned. 'Is this a dream?'

'No. Listen to me. I am here to take you from the city. Your friend Kiall has crossed the Steppes to rescue you. For pity's sake, wake up and listen to me!'

The woman eased herself to a sitting position. 'Kiall? The dreamer?'

'The very same.'

'We could never get away from here,' whispered Ravenna. 'There are guards everywhere.'

'I got to you,' argued Tanaki.

Ravenna winced and put a hand to her distended belly. 'He kicks hard,' she said, smiling. She was an attractive girl, Tanaki realised, but no beauty. Her chinline was too strong, her eyes too small. But her smile was radiant.

'Get dressed, Ravenna. I will take you to Kiall.'

'Why has he come for me? I don't understand.'

'Neither does he. Do you want to leave?'

'You have no idea how much I want to leave. I hate this place, I hate these people. But most of all I loathe the Khan. May a thousand curses fall on his blood-line!'

'Be careful what you wish for,' snapped Tanaki. 'Your babe is of that line.'

Ravenna looked instantly contrite. 'I didn't mean . . .'

'Just get dressed,' said Tanaki. Ravenna slipped into a long robe of soft blue-dyed wool and some silk shoes. 'You have no cloak or walking shoes?' Tanaki asked.

'Why would I need a cloak in here? They never let us out.'

'Follow me,' said Tanaki, leading the woman out into the corridor. Ravenna moved slowly and Tanaki glanced back, her irritation growing, but there was nothing to be done. The pregnancy was well advanced, the swelling huge.

When they reached the door to the courtyard, Tanaki opened it a fraction and looked out. Two sentries were now patrolling the ramparts and she cursed.

'What is it?' asked Ravenna.

'Guards. Two of them.'

'Can we get past them?'

'Not at the speed you move.' She opened the door once more, watching the men, counting the seconds as the sentries passed by one another. Their only chance lay in moving as the warriors reached the angle of the walls, before they turned back. She watched them repeat the manoeuvre three times, then seized Ravenna's arm. 'Now!' she hissed.

They moved from the doorway on to open ground and crept across the courtyard to the wall. 'We'll never get out,' Ravenna whispered.

Keeping to the shadows, the two women edged closer to the postern gate. The sentries were directly above them now as Tanaki ran her hands over the gate-bolts. They were rust-covered and she cursed softly - and eased back the bolt. It moved no more than an inch, then creaked. Tanaki froze. But the guards had not heard and she moved it again. This time the bolt slid clear. Tanaki swallowed hard, took a deep breath and pulled open the gate. Glancing outside, she saw three guards were standing no more than twenty feet away. There was no way past them, and she could not kill them all.

Then she saw Chien-tsu. He walked across the open ground towards the guards and one of them turned and raised his spear. Suddenly the little warrior spun and launched a kick which cannoned against the sentry's temple to send the man catapulting from his feet. A second guard fell with a knife in his throat. The third rushed at the Kiatze warrior, but Chien-tsu stepped aside from the thrust of the spear and rammed the blade of his hand into the man's neck.

'Swiftly now!' said Tanaki, leading Ravenna into the open.

A sentry on the wall shouted an alarm as Chien raced to Ravenna, taking her arm and urging her to run. The trio made it to the first alleyway, ducking into the shadows. Ravenna was breathing heavily, her face deeply flushed. 'I am sorry,' she said, sagging against a wall. 'I cannot run any further.'

They could hear the sounds of pounding feet in a parallel street, and the calls of the soldiers.

The trio moved on. Chien drew his curved sword and took the lead. The sound of the pursuing warriors faded away. 'They are trying to cut us off from the main gates,' said Tanaki. That's good.'

Chien felt there was little good in this entire adventure, but he held his tongue. They reached the palace corridor and ran into the throne room.

Warriors raced from the shadows but Chien cut the first from his feet, ducked under a wild slice and skewered another. Tanaki hurled her dagger into the face of a charging warrior - then saw Tsudai. All thoughts of the quest vanished as she dived to the floor, scooping up the sword of a fallen warrior and rolling to her feet. Tsudai ran to meet her, screaming a battle cry. She blocked his cut, spun and rammed her sword through his chest.