David Gemmell - Quest for Lost Heroes

'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.

'Rot in Hell!' she hissed as he sagged to the floor.

Chien was surrounded now, and Tanaki wrenched the sword clear of Tsudai's body and ran to his aid. There were six warriors against him, but she could hear more running in the corridor outside. She stabbed one man in the back and slashed her blade across the face of another. They all fell back briefly.

Asta Khan rose from the opening in the floor and uttered a weird howl. An icy wind blew across the throne room and the Nadir staggered back, screaming. The first three warriors stumbled to their knees with blood streaming from their eyes.

Tanaki grabbed Ravenna's arm and dragged her back to the hole in the floor. 'Down!' she ordered.

Ravenna clambered into the hole and Tanaki followed her, leading her down the steps, Chien bringing up the rear.

'Swiftly,' said Asta. 'The spell will not hold them long.' Ravenna staggered, but stayed upright, and Chien took her arm.

Behind them they could hear the Nadir pounding down the steps. .

They reached the darkness. Asta took Ravenna's hand and she flinched away from the shaman, but he held her tight. 'Now is the time for courage, woman,' he said, and pulled her into the Void.

As before a circle of flames sprang up around them, and they moved across the darkness. Behind them the Nadir ran — unsuspecting — into the Void. Their screams were terrible.

The circle of fire began to fade and the dwellers in the dark closed in. Sweat shone on Asia's brow as he struggled on. Taloned hands reached out for them, but the flames held them back. At last they reached the outer limit — and passed through. Asta collapsed to the stone floor. Seeing Ravenna, Kiall ran forward to take her in his arnib. Tanaki watched the scene and turned away, her thoughts confused.

Chareos helped Asta to his feet.

The old man shrugged clear of his aid. 'We must get out of here,' he said. 'Help the woman. Carry her if you must.'

Back they went through the honeycomb of tunnels, arriving at last at the fissure. Kiall, Chareos, Tanaki and Chien climbed to the surface, Kiall carrying the rope. They lowered it down and Asta made a loop in which Ravenna sat. Slowly the three men pulled her to the top.

Then they began to walk towards the hills. Chareos glanced back to see that half a mile away the city gates had opened and a column of riders was galloping out towards them.

The sound of hoofbeats came from the left. Chareos drew his sabre and spun. . Harokas dragged his horse to a halt, behind him a string of ponies.

'You had better mount,' said the assassin. They helped Ravenna into the saddle of the first, then the others mounted.

There is only one place we can reach,' said Asta Khan. 'Follow me.' He kicked his pony into a run and set off towards the west. The questors followed him, cutting to the right through a series of narrow passes. After an hour's hard riding, with the Nadir closing on them, they emerged at last into a narrow valley.

The moon was high and Chareos groaned as he saw the broken tower and the stretch of battlements silhouetted against the sky. 'No!' he whispered.

But they rode on into the ghostly fortress of Bel-azar.

The eastern gates lay open and the questors rode their weary mounts inside. Chareos and Kiall dismounted and ran back to the gates, forcing them shut. Harokas found a thick beam which he and Tanaki wedged into the great bolt-plates. Then they mounted the rampart steps and watched from the battlements as the thirty Nadir riders drew rein outside. Asta Khan joined them. He leapt nimbly to the wall and stood looking down at the riders, letting them see him.

'Will they attack?' asked Kiall. Chareos said nothing.

Asta Khan began to dance on the precarious footing, twisting and leaping. He howled like a wolf, the sound eerie and chilling as it echoed in the mountains. Three Nadir riders turned their mounts and rode back towards the city, but the others dismounted and sat on the rocks. Asta turned and jumped back to the ramparts, his dark eyes gleaming.

'They are frightened,' he said. 'This is a haunted place. They know dark spirits walk here.'

In the open ground below Ravenna cried out and clutched her belly. Kiall and Tanaki ran down to her, helping her into a ruined guardhouse where there was a dust-covered bed. Tanaki pulled aside a rotted blanket and placed her own on the mattress; then they lowered Ravenna to it.

'It's coming,' cried Ravenna. 'I can feel it.'

Kiall heard a movement behind him and saw Asta Khan standing in the doorway. The shaman's face was shining and the glint of triumph was in his eyes. It chilled Kiall.

'Leave us,' Tanaki told Kiall and gladly he obeyed, easing past the shaman and moving out into the dawn light. Chareos was still on the ramparts, below the ruined gate-tower. Chien-tsu and Oshi had lit a fire near the main barracks building, and were sitting together talking in low voices. Harokas had led the ponies back to a paddock section, where he had unsaddled them and was brushing their lathered frames. Kiall walked to the steps and climbed to where Chareos sat watching the Nadir.

'We did it,' said Kiall. 'Whatever happens now, we did what we set out to do.'

Chareos looked up and smiled. 'Yes, we did it. We found your lady, and we brought her back to Gothir lands. That is a feat in itself. But do not hold out any great hopes, Kiall. I do not wish to sound defeatist, but I do not believe five warriors and a shaman can hold off the Nadir nation.'

Kiall chuckled. 'I cannot explain it, Chareos, but I don't care any more. All my life I've been a dreamer. Now I feel that a dream has been achieved. I'm not even frightened of dying.'

'I am,' admitted Chareos. 'Especially here.' He pointed to the gate-tower. 'There it is, boy — the scene of great deeds. From there Beltzer leapt to win back the standard. There we sat talking with Tenaka Khan. And it was here we were dubbed the ghosts-yet-to-be. It is not a good feeling to be sitting here waiting for death.'

'And birth,' said Kiall. 'Okas told us the child would be a great king — perhaps the greatest who ever lived. That's something, isn't it?'

Chareos nodded and turned away. The fortress loomed around him, grim and threatening, and he could feel its memories in the cold stone, hear again the screams of the dying and the clash of iron blades.

Tanaki joined them. 'It was a false alarm,' she said. 'She is resting now. Is there any sign?'

'No,' answered Kiall. 'They just sit there and wait — I don't know what for.'

'They are waiting for Jungir Khan,' she said. 'They don't know why we took their queen, but they dare not risk anything that might cause her harm. Jungir will decide what to do.'