Book Of Shadows Part 17

'One learns quickly,' said Stranger too quietly for him to hear.

3.

Night came with still no sign of Siel. Eric had spent what remained of the day with Gorb and Bald, offering what help he could on the design of their new gun. There were now five versions spread on the floor by the Engineer's bed. Bald's latest model was beginning to resemble a thin length of plumbing pipe nailed to a block of wood. The trigger mechanism was an impressively complicated web of black metal he'd used magic to make. Eric picked up one of the cruder versions, a c.u.mbersome blocky thing which didn't even have a trigger. 'Guys. I'll say it one more time. These things are never going to fire. You realise that, right? Copying the shape isn't going to be enough.'

But Gorb was quietly confident and Bald cackled and babbled non-stop. He'd even begun to work on projectiles for the 'guns'.

Aziel still slept where she had lain after pa.s.sing out. None of them dared touch her. The necklace sometimes glowed brightly enough to fill the room with strange light. At times it was nearly invisible, little more than a slight lump about her throat the same colour as her skin.

Eric understood that Stranger felt the necklace was made for him. He was glad Aziel had taken it. But deep into the night he couldn't sleep, despite the soothing sound of lapping waves and breeze throughout the tower. While the others slept, he went downstairs to the window he and Siel had climbed through. The drake opened one eye and sighed. It had given up trying to speak to him; it had tried to do so every time he'd come near it, as though it had important things to impart.

He gazed out at the water's sleepy waves. Luminous fish could be seen flitting about through them. He thought of Case, of his lost friends and family, of Siel. Then he pondered himself. Most vexing were these insinuations that he was of sudden importance to this world he hardly knew. At times these hints ('you are Shadow ...') invited him to live out fantasies he'd had early on, of being a hero to Levaal. But he could wield a sword no better than he could have in his old apartment; he could perceive magic but could not use it. Nor was he even striding toward any destiny but being moved toward it, often reluctantly. He was- He was staring at himself, out there by the water's edge.

He jumped, startled. His likeness down there stood at a strange sideways-leaning angle. Utterly motionless, his arms hung limp from his sides. Eric waved but got no response. The being just stared up at him. Waiting.

Eric put his shoes on and climbed out the window, stepping awkwardly onto the branches of the tree embedded into the tower's side. His feet sc.r.a.ping on the bark as he climbed down seemed a storm of noise he half expected to hear Loup hollering out the window at any moment, telling him to get back inside.

The strange being at the water's edge just watched as Eric waded into the waves. When he was a stone's throw away Eric said, 'You're Shadow. Aren't you?'

Shadow replied, 'I need to go up there, through the window. I can't. The water won't let me.'

'Answer me. Are you Shadow?'

'I think people call me that. They made stories about me, I don't know if they're true. I don't remember any of it. I don't remember killing dragons, riding drakes, saving people. They say I did all that. But I have only been here a little while.'

'And they say I am you,' said Eric. 'I've done none of those things either. Do you know someone named Vous?'

'No.'

'Are you sure?'

'Listen. I can't get up there.' Shadow pointed to the window Eric had just climbed down from. 'Can you help me?'

Empty black pits stared into Eric's eyes. Inwardly he recoiled but tried to keep it hidden. He said, 'Why do you want to go up there, Shadow?'

'The girl came from there. So did you. I want to see what's up there.'

Something about how he said this indicated Shadow was new to the skill of lying, and not very good at it. 'There's another reason too, isn't there, Shadow? You can tell me what it is. I'm you, remember? We can trust one another.'

Shadow looked at him, giving no indication of what if any thoughts or emotions went through him. There were only his words, lifeless as the pits of his eyes. He said, 'You're clever. I don't think I can shadow you, to see what's inside you. You're different.'

'What's up there that you want, Shadow? And who is the girl you speak of?'

'There's ... I don't know what it is. Something up there is calling me, pulling at me. I need to see what it is. It hurts when I'm this close to it. I followed it all the way here. But the water won't let me cross it. I tried going underneath, too. It won't let me.'

'Who is the girl, Shadow?'

'That's a bad question.'

'It's Siel, isn't it? My friend? Where's the girl now, Shadow?' 'I don't know. A long way away. She went on her own, below-ground. It's not my fault.'

'Are you sure about that?'

Shadow was suddenly leaning forward at an utterly unnatural angle. 'This is as close as I can get,' he said. 'It's a strain. Hurts, if I stay here.'

'I'll help you get up there,' said Eric, pointing at the tower's window. 'If you do something for me. Go and rescue Siel. The girl. Wherever she is. Find her.'

'Rescue her,' said Shadow as though dealing with a very strange idea. 'How?'

'Just do as she bids you. If you do that, if you bring her here alive and well, I'll be in your debt. I'll help you.'

'I might. If I can find her. If she isn't already dead. She might be. You can't put them back together, when they're dead. When they've spilled out all their ugly insides. Or I might kill her. It depends.'

Eric was taken aback by a ghastly twist of Shadow's face as his lips pulled into a rictus made more terrible by the dark ghost-like pits of his eyes. For a moment those pits widened till they were huge yawning caverns Eric was falling toward, into nothingness. He felt himself pulled forward till he fell face-first into the shallow water. When shaking he raised his head, Shadow was gone.

4.

To Siel's consternation the little people were now in a great hurry and less open to her pleas for a rest break, as though by walking faster they'd be hundreds of miles to the south in just a little while. Already exhausted, she soon lagged a fair way behind them, and only when the groundmen came upon another group did they pause long enough for her to s.n.a.t.c.h a brief rest, while they excitedly told their friends of their escape. Soon, far too soon, a little hand shook her shoulder and they told her it was time to go on again, ignoring her protests. The newly arrived groundmen she counted seven of them looked at her with great suspicion, and two insisted on walking behind her with their weapons at the ready, despite what sounded like strong objections from the ones she had freed.

Their path wound steadily upward for uncounted miles, past tunnels where the lightstones were large and visibility was much better. This was good, for their path was often a narrow bridge across gaping chasms, surely narrow enough to make small-footed groundmen nervous, let alone big people. She wondered if these paths were designed for this purpose, to keep potential slavers at great peril.

Sounds carried a long way in these depths. There was what sounded like something huge gnawing on bone, the sound drifting up from one of the deep caverns, with a meaty reek like a beast's hot breath. The groundmen whispered reverently among themselves when they'd left it behind, the word 'Mundang' repeated many times, but would not tell her what they knew.

At last they stopped for a break and a meal of some root vegetable one of the groundmen had foraged. Siel's piece squirmed in her hand like something living even after she'd eaten most of it, each bite filling her mouth with tangy juice that cheered the heart like wine. The groundmen nattered among themselves, until they heard a growling sound drift their way on a draft of stale air, and fell watchfully silent. The sound was high pitched and didn't seem far away. 'What is it?' Siel asked one of the freed slaves.

'Devils,' he said. 'They front and behind. Problem. No way up or down, this part. Have to dig. Dig make noise. Noise bring devil. Too much devil! Since bad things, devil take wrong tunnels. Bother us more.'

'Noise bring devil, so you talk, talk, talk,' said one of the newcomers angrily. 'Everyone, shh! Wait here. Devils move soon.'

They waited for what seemed a very long time. There did not seem any more sound from ahead or behind, save the usual underground noises that seemed to find them from far away like messages being pa.s.sed along by the murmuring stone encasing them. Someone shook Siel awake and put a mining pick in her hand. The newcomers had not trusted her enough to let her wield it earlier, or to wield anything else. 'Move now,' the groundman whispered. 'Be ready. Might be fight, bad fight.'

'Won't the stones tell you when it's clear?' she whispered back.

'Devils talk to stone too. They not same as big people. They live here, they hide in it.'

Slowly, cautiously, one of the group's newcomers crept forward around the bend with his spear in hand till he was out of sight. The rest of them tensely waited, but nothing happened. They got up to follow him when there was a sudden squeal of pain.

With a cry the rest of the groundmen rushed forward. Siel went with them. The pa.s.sage ahead two human arm-spans wide was alive with movement as three pit devils set about tearing the unfortunate groundman scout to pieces, spraying his blood over the large lightstones in the walls and tinting their light red. The groundmen rushed forward and stabbed their spears at the thrashing mess. They drew back when they saw their companion was lost.

Siel drove her pick down into the devils, knowing that only by luck would she strike a good blow and avoid being gored herself. The pick handle jarred badly in her hand, but it caught on something, and as she fell back she saw it had lodged point first between one of the creatures' horns. It shrieked and scurried up the tunnel, drunkenly thrashing at the walls and falling into them hard, driving the pick in deeper till the beast finally fell and stopped moving. The remaining ones grabbed another of the newcomer groundmen who'd strayed too close, and tore him to pieces.

In the midst of the carnage there formed what looked like a small ring of fire. From it an infant pit devil the size of a small puppy fell, the flame about it lighting up the tunnel. The groundmen had been backing away, but they rushed forward to kill the infant with their spears while the parents were suddenly caught up in a squabble among themselves.

Siel had heard that the creatures bred this way, that in a killing frenzy new ones would simply appear as though called from another world by screams of pain. She had always thought it was myth, that these creatures bred in the fashion of most other living things.

'Run!' she cried, dashing past the fighting devils and expecting a stray claw to slice through her as she went. The others came. One unfortunate groundman made it through, but a headless stump spurted blood atop its shoulders before it collapsed. The claw had swiped too fast to be seen.

They ran on till Siel was out of breath. The growls and scuffling of claws on stone were far behind them with no indication of pursuit. The groundmen all went on ahead except for one of the freed slaves, who paused with her. 'Hurt?' he said.

'I'm glad one of you stopped,' she gasped. 'What must I do to prove myself a friend? Not enough to set slaves free. Not enough to risk my life fighting for you.'

'You friend,' it a.s.sured her, patting her knee.

'Then why did they leave me here?' she said, tears in her eyes. Even the traitor Kiown had not abandoned the rest of them, even during danger.

'They come back. Scared! Running! Not see you. Don't be sad.'

She got to her feet with a renewed surge of anger at the thing which looked like Eric, for abandoning her here. Then, as though it were summoned by that anger, they were suddenly not alone in the tunnels, and Shadow stood before her.

5.

The groundman squealed in surprise.

'What do you want?' said Siel.

'To go through the window,' he answered. 'But I have to help you first.'

'Help? You brought me here and left me.'

'You asked to be brought,' he said, tilting sideways like a clock's hand.

'Don't do that! Stand straight.'

His lips curved in a smile, the first time she'd seen anything other than blankness on his face. But he did as she asked and righted himself. 'The fellow told me to bring you back. He said to do as you bid. So ... bid.'

Do as I bid? she thought, baffled. Shadow stared and waited. 'You will take me back to Eric and the others?'

'Yes,' said Shadow.

'Eh-Rick?' said the groundman, creeping toward Shadow for a closer look.

'Don't approach him,' she warned it. 'Shadow. Will you bring my friend back too? He has knowledge we need. He's going to show me where Tormentors come from.'

'Is that what you bid?' he said, seeming to enjoy the word.

'Yes. Take us both to the tower again, if you can.'

She recoiled as he rushed forward and took her and the groundman in his arms. She heard it cry out in surprise. Then the world fell away, fast.

6.

Eric went back to the small platform of turf. He sat with his feet in the warm water, fish flitting between them with streaks of light making patterns as though for his personal amus.e.m.e.nt. Just occasionally a sight like this would make him glad he had come to this world to see occasional miracles buried among the horrors. He longed to go back home and tell people some of what he'd seen, whether or not they'd believe him.

With no warning or ceremony, there was Siel at the water's edge, staggering around dizzy and exhausted. She collapsed.

Eric hadn't recovered from his surprise at seeing her again before he was halfway across the water. He had taken Shadow's little eye-trick as refusal to help.

The shape lying beside her he a.s.sumed was a backpack or something, but it rolled across the ground and made a sound like something quite ill. There was no sign of Shadow. 'Siel!' he said, gently shaking her shoulder.

'Let me sleep,' she murmured. She opened an eye, saw him and recoiled.

'It's me,' said Eric. 'Not Shadow.'

When he spoke the word Shadow appeared, moving up from the ground sideways like a fan's blade. His arms hung dead from his sides, on his face was that ghastly imitation of a smile. Eric quickly lifted Siel by the armpits and dragged her into the water, where Shadow claimed he couldn't go. Some strength returned to her legs, enough for her to stand on them.

'Get the small one,' she said. 'He didn't take the journey well.'

'Nor did you,' said Eric, taking the groundman in his arms, finding it weighed more than Siel did.

Shadow watched all this unfold with an air of expectation. 'Now take me to the window,' he said. 'It hurts, that pull. It's worse when I'm close to it. Make the water let me cross.'

'No! Don't let him come inside,' Siel whispered fiercely.

Eric gestured to be quiet. 'I'll go and open the window for you, Shadow. We won't be long. But it's difficult work. Be patient.'

Shadow didn't answer and didn't move as they went through the waves. Siel groaned at the thought of climbing up the tree. 'Go under,' said Eric. 'Are you strong enough to take the midget?'

'No.'

He eyed off the dark s.p.a.ce beneath the tower, where both Loup and Far Gaze had warned him not to go. Beyond the water Shadow was a silhouette tilted sideways. 'I'm not letting him in,' Eric told Siel. He explained his phoney promise to get her rescued. She listened without comment.

He'd have known, even if she had thanked him, that she did not hold him and Shadow very far apart in her mind at all. He knew then that she would never love him, if that had even been possible before. She had not seemed like someone capable of love as he understood it, but the faint hope of it had been sweet. Faint as the hope had been, it was a strangely bitter loss.

Holding the groundman's head carefully above water he paddled through the arch beneath the tower, surprised by the strength of the whirlpool's downward pull. Swimming made pain flare in the wound where a groundman had stabbed him with its spear. There was a deep spot to the staircase's left, one of three visible from the steps by daylight, where water could be seen winding down in a funnel. He let the pull from it take him toward the stairs, fumbling ahead for the steps he couldn't see in the dark. His hand hit something hard. With Siel's help, he lifted the groundman up onto the floor.