Allan Cole - The Gods Awaken

When the day finally came, Tabusir followed the other beggars up the long road and took his place among them. When they'd seen his mutilated tongue no one questioned Tabusir's right to be with them.

As the grand procession moved past the beggars it had taken the sharp-eyed spy only a few minutes to realize that Safar was blind. It was the way Timura carried himself that'd given him away: a certain stiffness of the head, with the eyes staring blankly forward no matter what happened.

For instance, when he'd called his two men forward to disperse the silver coins, he hadn't looked at them when they came running up. Nor had he looked left or right as the beggars crowded close, crying for alms and singing Safar's praises.

The moment he caught Safar out, Tabusir had realized that even if he came up with nothing else for his king Rhodes would be mightily pleased with the outcome of Tabusir's mission. The spy smiled in anticipation of the fat purse of gold he'd receive as a reward.

Rhodes had also directed Tabusir to try to get his hands on some personal item from either Safar or his great horse. The coins the soldiers had dispensed might not meet that qualification, since there was a chance Safar himself had never handled them.

So he'd gone for the stallion, pretending clumsiness, then grabbing a few long hairs from the animal's tail as he struggled to regain his balance.

But then he'd heard Palimak shout and his perfect mission had been spoiled.

Now, as he sprinted down the road toward the place where he'd hidden his boat, he burned with resentment. What could have given him away? How had his clever disguise failed him? Then it came to him that Palimak-well-known for his powerful wizardry-must have used magic to ferret Tabusir out.

Yes, that was the answer: Magic.

Still, it didn't make him feel any better. Perfection was his constant goal and Palimak had marred that perfection. But then, as he pulled the boat from the rocky cove, he wondered why no else had pursued him? It didn't make sense. Palimak had somehow discovered Tabusir's presence and yet he hadn't sent anyone after the spy.

Tabusir pondered on this while rowing toward Rhodesa€™ island hideout. The only answer he came up with was that something more important must have distracted Palimak.

The spy cursed himself for running away so quickly. He should have found a hiding place nearby to see what was so important to the young prince. As he thought about this he recalled Safar shouting something to Palimak. But Tabusir had been too busy getting away to hear what was being said.

He stopped paddling. For a long moment he seriously considered turning back. He could easily adopt some other disguise and again attempt to get close to the Timuras. But then he thought of Palimak's magic and decided against this plan. The young prince would be wary now he knew an enemy had come within assassination distance of his father.

Tabusir started paddling again. He wouldn't tell Rhodes about being discovered. There was no sense in spoiling his king's respect for his abilities.

It would be enough to inform Rhodes that Safar was blind. Then hand him the hairs he'd stolen from the stallion's tail.

Tabusir's failure would remain his own little secret. Thinking of it that way made him feel a whole lot better.

But then the good feeling vanished as he once again wondered why the Timuras weren't pursuing him.

He paddled onward, cold fingers of dread running down his spine.

Rushing to answer Safar's call, Palimak pushed through the crowd of beggars to his side. Renor and Sinch accompanied him, shouting for the other Kyranian soldiers to help them untangle the mess.

"Gundara and Gundaree just spotted a spy, father!" Palimak said. "It's one of the beggars. A man without any legs. Or at least he's pretending he doesn't have any legs. But he's getting away, so we have to act fast if we want to catch him."

"Forget about the spy, son," Safar said. Although his voice was calm, Palimak sensed extreme tension.

"We'll worry about him later," Safar continued. "There's something much more important happening."

Palimak frowned. "What is it, father?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

But no sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt a heavy, throbbing presence roil the magical atmosphere. All the wild bits of magic suddenly coalesced into a single deadly entity. An entity that was neither animate or inanimate. It just was. A soulless thing that somehow had a purpose.

"Can't you feel it, son?" Safar demanded. "It's a machine. Just like the one in Caluz!"

Then Palimak remembered that fearful machine from the Hells and said, "Yes. I can feel it."

He looked up at Safar, mouth dry. "What do we do, father?"

And Safar replied, "There's nothing we can do-except go on!"

When the procession topped the rise overlooking the Valley of the Two Kings the intensity of the machine's magic struck Safar with full force. He threw up a hand, as if protecting his face from a blazing sun.

In his nesting place Iraj was shaken to the core by the magical storm and its effects on his host. He said to Safar: Aren't you going to do something about this? You could make some kind of shield, likethe one you used in Caluz.

At the same time, Palimak cried out, "We need a shield, father! But I don't know how to make one."

Jooli too was suffering from the magical blast. "Is this a trick, Safar?" she asked. "Has the queen led us into a trap?"

Meanwhile, Eeda was pushing her mount forward, Coralean at her heels. Her face was twisted in agony from the sorcerous assault.

"Please, Lord Timura," she begged. "We must do something. I fear for the life of my unborn child."

Safar had rarely felt so frustrated. He knew where the machine was. As he turned his blind face from side to side he could easily spot the point of the heaviest magical concentration. But without visual coordinates to support him he was helpless to cast the shielding spells.

"Patience, my friends," he said as reassuringly as he could. "I need to think."

Jooli guessed what was happening. She'd been as shocked as the others when Palimak had informed them of his father's blindness. However, as Palimak had assured everyone, magic rarely required the power of sight. He had said that Safar's wizardly powers were unaffected by his infirmity and they could proceed as planned.

But Jooli's deep studies of magic, plus her instincts, told her this situation presented a unique problem. To build a shield one not only needed to know the location of the danger, but also the location of everyone you wanted to protect. To accomplish this the sorcerer needed eyes.

"Tell us what to do, Safar," she said. "We want to help you."

Palimak and Eeda quickly came to the same conclusion and urged Safar to instruct them. Meanwhile, the machine's assault was slowly draining everyone of their energies.

Safar realized he didn't have much time to act. If only he could see, the danger could be countered within seconds.

Iraj rose up, saying, Give me your eyes, brother. I can give sight to both of us!

Safar hesitated, fearful of allowing Iraj the slightest control over his body.

A bolt of magic struck Eeda and she groaned in terrible pain, gripping her pregnant belly. "Please, Lord Timura," she cried. "Please!"

Safar relented, opening a gateway for Iraj to scramble forward. At the same time Safar's whole body crawled with sensation-like little worms of pulsating energy wriggling a burning path along every vein, every nerve.

And then the whole world became an explosion of colorful light. It was so sudden and painful that he cried out, jamming palms into his outraged eyes. Then the pain passed and he opened his eyes and saw the Valley of the Two Kings for the first time.