David Gemmell - The Legend of the Deathwalker

'Calm yourself,' he said soothingly, taking her to the bed and sitting her down. Moving to the window Talisman called out to Gorkai, who came running up the stairs. Talisman told him of Zhusai's fears.

'I have heard of this,' said Gorkai grimly. 'Spirit possession.'

'What can we do?' asked Talisman.

'Find out what she wants,' Gorkai advised.

'Supposing she just wants me?' asked Zhusai. 'My life?'

'Why have you not spoken to your own shaman?' asked Gorkai. 'His knowledge is greater than mine in these matters.'

'I won't have him near me,' said Zhusai, her voice breaking. 'Not ever. I don't trust him. He. . would want her to kill me. She is Shul-sen, the Mother of the Nadir people. A witch. She has power and he would seek to use it. I have nothing.'

'I have not the skill to deal with this, Talisman,' said Gorkai. 'I can cast no spells.'

Talisman took hold of Zhusai's hand. 'Then it must be Nosta Khan. Fetch him.'

'No!' shouted Zhusai, struggling to rise. Talisman held her tightly, pulling her in to his chest.

'Trust me!' he urged her. 'I would let no harm come to you. I will watch Nosta Khan carefully. If there is danger, I will kill him. Trust me!'

Her body jerked in a wild spasm, and her eyes closed momentarily. When they opened all fear was gone. 'Oh, I trust you, Talisman,' she said softly. He felt her shoulder draw back, and some sixth sense made him pull away from her — just in time to see the knife-blade. Throwing up his right arm he blocked the blow, and slammed his left fist into her jaw. Her head snapped back and she slumped to the bed. Retrieving his knife from her limp hand, he flung the weapon across the room.

Nosta Khan entered. 'What happened here?' he asked.

'She took my knife and tried to kill me. But it was not Zhusai. She is possessed.'

'Your servant told me. The spirit of Shul-sen seeks release. You should have come to me before, Talisman. How many more secrets do you keep from me?'

Without waiting for an answer he moved to the bed. 'Tie her hands behind her back,' he ordered Gorkai. The warrior glanced at Talisman, who gave a curt nod. Using a slender belt of cord Gorkai lashed her wrists together, then he and Nosta Khan lifted her, propping her back against the bed pillows. From an old pouch that hung at his belt, Nosta Khan drew a necklace of human teeth which he tied around the unconscious woman's neck. 'From this moment,' he said, 'no-one is to speak.' Placing his hand upon her head, he began to chant.

It seemed to the two watching men that the temperature in the room was dropping, and a cold wind began to blow through the window.

The chant continued, the sound rising and falling. Talisman did not know the language used — if language it was — but the effect within the room was astonishing. Ice began to form on the window frame and walls, and Gorkai was shivering uncontrollably. Nosta Khan showed no sign of discomfort. He fell silent, then drew his hand back from Zhusai's brow. 'Open your eyes,' he commanded, 'and tell me your name.'

The dark eyes slid open. 'I am. .' A smile formed. 'I am she who was blessed above all women.'

'You are the spirit of Shul-sen, wife to Oshikai Demon-bane?'

'I am she.'

'You are dead, woman. There is no place for you here.'

'I do not feel dead, shaman. I can feel my heart beating, and the rope around my wrists.'

'The form is one you have stolen. Your bones lie in a chamber of volcanic rock. Or do you not remember the night of your death?'

'Oh, I remember,' she said, her lips thinning, her eyes glittering. 'I remember Chakata and his spikes of gold. He was human then. I can still feel the pain as he slowly pushed them home, deep enough to blind but not to kill. I remember. Oh, yes, I remember it all. But now I am back. Release my hands, shaman.'

'I shall not,' said Nosta Khan. 'You are dead, Shul-sen — as your husband is dead. Your time is gone.'

She laughed then, the sound filling the room. Talisman felt the terrible cold bite into his bones. Beside him Gorkai could scarcely stand, and was now trembling and shaking. The laughter died away. 'I am a witch with great powers. Oshikai knew that and he used me well. I know from the memories of the girl that you are facing an army, shaman. I can help you. Release me!'

'How can you help?'

'Release me, and you will know.'

Talisman's hand crept to his knife scabbard, but it was empty. Reaching out, he pulled Gorkai's knife clear of its sheath. The woman turned her dark eyes on him. 'He means to kill you,' she told Nosta Khan.

'Do not speak — either of you!' warned the shaman. Turning to the woman, he began to chant. She winced, then her lips drew back in a bestial snarl. One word of power she spoke. Nosta Khan was hurled from the bed, striking the wall just below the window. He rolled to his knees, but her voice sounded once more and, flung back, his head cracked against the window-sill and he sank to the floor, unconscious.

The woman looked at Gorkai. 'Release me,' she said. On stumbling legs Gorkai tottered forward.

'Stand where you are!' ordered Talisman. Gorkai gave a cry of pain, but he forced himself to halt. Sinking to his knees, he groaned and fell face forward to the floorboards.

'So,' she said, looking at Talisman, 'you are a man of power. Your servant obeys, despite the pain he feels. Very well, you may release me.'

'Did you not love Oshikai?' he asked suddenly.

'What? You question my devotion, you ignorant peasant?'

'It was an honest question.'

'Then I shall answer it: Yes, I loved him. I loved his breath upon my skin, the sound of his laughter, the glory of his rages. Now release me!'

'He searches for you still,' Talisman told her.

'He died a thousand years ago,' she said. 'His spirit is in Paradise.'

'Not so, lady. I spoke with him, when first I came here. I summoned his spirit. The first question he asked was, "Do you bring news of Shul-sen?" I told him there were many legends, but that I did not know what had happened to you. He said: "I have searched the Vales of Spirit, the Valleys of the Damned, the Fields of Heroes, the Halls of the Mighty. I have crossed the Void for time without reckoning. I cannot find her." And as for Paradise, he said: "What Paradise could there be without Shul-sen? Death I could bear, but not this parting of souls. I will find her, though it take a dozen eternities."' She was silent for a moment, and the feral gleam faded from her eyes. 'I know you speak the truth,' she said, 'for I can read the hearts of men. But Oshikai will never find me. Chakata drew my spirit to the Dark Place, where it is guarded by demons who once were men. Chakata is there, but no human would recognize him now; he taunts me and tortures me whenever he wills. Or at least he did, before I made my escape. I cannot go to Oshikai, Talisman. If I died here I would be drawn back to the Dark Place.'

'Is that where you have sent Zhusai?' he asked her.

'It is. But what is her life compared with mine? I was a queen. I will be again.'

'Then you will leave Oshikai searching for an eternity, risking his soul in the terrors of the Void?'

'I can do nothing there!' she shouted. By the window Nosta Khan was stirring, but he remained silent. Gorkai too lay very still, scarcely breathing.

'Where is this Dark Place?' asked Talisman. 'Why can Oshikai not find it?'

'It is not a part of the Void,' she said tonelessly. 'Do you understand the nature of the Underworld? The Void is set between two levels. In the simplest terms, it sits between Paradise and Giragast, Heaven and Hell. The Void is the place in between where souls wander, in search of final rest. Chakata chose to trap me in the dark centre of Giragast, the pit at the centre of the lakes of fire. No human soul would travel there voluntarily, and Oshikai would know of no reason why I would be there. He trusted Chakata. He would never have guessed the depth of the man's lust, nor the heights of his treachery. But if he were to know, then he would die the second death, the lasting death. There is no way a single warrior — not even one as mighty as my Lord — could pass the demon-haunted passageways. Nor conquer the creature Chakata has become.'