Dilvish, The Damned Read online

  "… And your dagger."

  He repeated the process.

  "I am sorry," she said, "about what happened. I was as surprised as you. It was my brother's doing, not mine."

  "I think I am willing to believe you," he said. "How did you locate me?"

  "I waited until I was certain that Ridley was back in his tower. Then I sought you in the cells below, but you had already gone. How did you get out?"

  "Walked out."

  "You mean you found the door that way?"

  "Yes."

  He heard her sharp intake of breath, almost a gasp.

  "That is not at all good," she said. "It means that Mack is certainly abroad."

  "Who is Mack?"

  "Ridley's predecessor as apprentice here. I am not certain what happened to him—whether he tried some experiment that simply did not work out, or whether his transformation was a punishment of the master's for some indiscretion. Whichever, he was changed into a dull-witted beast and had to be imprisoned down there, because of his great strength and occasional recollection of some noxious spell. His woman went barmy after that. She's still about. A minor adept herself, at one time. We've got to get out of here."

  "You may be right," he said, "but finish the story."

  "Oh. I've been looking all over for you since then. As I was about it, I noticed that the demon had stopped screaming. I came and investigated. I saw that he had been freed. I was fairly certain that Ridley was still in the tower. It was you, wasn't it?"

  "Yes, I released it."

  "I thought then that you might still be near, and I heard someone moving in the dining hall. So I hid in here and waited to see who it was. I brought you your weapons to show that I meant you no ill."

  "I appreciate it. I am only now deciding what to do. I am sure you have some suggestions."

  "Yes. I've a feeling that the master will come here soon and slay every living thing under these roofs. I do not want to be around when that occurs."

  "As a matter of fact, he should be here very soon. The demon told me."

  "It is hard to tell what you know and what you do not know," she said, "what you can do and what you cannot do. Obviously you know something of the arts. Do you intend to stay and face him?"

  "That was my purpose in traveling all this distance." he replied. "But I meant to face him in the flesh, and if I did not find him here I meant to use whatever means of magical transportation might be present to seek him in others of his strongholds. I do not know how my special presents will affect him in a disembodied state. I know that my blade will not."

  "You would be wise," she said, taking his arm, "very wise, to live to fight another day."

  "Especially if you need my help in getting away from here?" he asked.

  She nodded.

  "I do not know what your quarrel with him may be," she said, leaning against him, "and you are a strange man, but I do not think you can hope to win against him here. He will have amassed great power, fearing the worst. He will come in cautiously—so cautiously! I know a possible way away, if you will help. But we must hurry. He could even be here right now. He—"

  "How very astute of you, dear girl" came a dry, throaty voice from back up the hall, whence Dilvish had come.

  Recognizing it, he turned. A dark-cowled figure stood just beyond the entrance within the dining hall.

  "And you," he stated, "Dilvish! You are a most difficult person to be rid of, bloodling of Selar, though it has been a long while between encounters."

  Dilvish drew his blade. An Awful Saying rose to his lips but he refrained from speaking it, not certain that what he saw represented an actual physical presence.

  "What new torment might I devise for you?" the other asked. "A transformation? A degeneration? A—"

  Dilvish began to move toward him, ignoring his words. From behind him he heard Reena whisper, "Come back…"

  He continued on toward the form of his enemy.

  "I was nothing to you…" Dilvish began.

  "You disturbed an important rite."

  "… and you took my life and threw it away. You visited a terrible vengeance upon me as casually as another man might brush away a mosquito."

  "I was annoyed, as another man might be at a mosquito."

  "You treated me as if I were a thing, not a person. That I cannot forgive."

  A soft chuckle emerged from within the cowl.

  "And it would seem that in my own defense now I must treat you that way again."

  The figure raised its hand, pointing two fingers at him.

  Dilvish broke into a run, raising his blade, recalling Black's spell of protection and still loathe to commence his own.

  The extended fingers seemed to glow for a moment and Dilvish felt something like a passing wind. That was all.

  "Are you but an illusion of this place?" the other asked, beginning to back away, a tiny quavering note apparent in his voice for the first time.

  Dilvish swung his blade but encountered nothing. The figure was no longer before him. Now it stood among shadows at the far end of the dining hall.

  "Is this thing yours, Ridley?" he heard him ask suddenly. "If so, you are to be commended for dredging up something I'd no desire whatever to recall. It shan't distract me, though, from the business at hand. Show yourself, if you dare!"

  Dilvish heard a sliding sound from off to his left, and a panel opened there. He saw the slim figure of a younger man emerge, a shining ring upon the left forefinger.

  "Very well. We shall dispense with these theatrics," came Ridley's voice. He seemed slightly out of breath and striving to control it. "I am master of myself and this place," he continued. He turned toward Dilvish. "You, wight! You have served me well. There is absolutely nothing more for you to do here, for it is between the two of us now. I give you leave to depart and assume your natural form. You may take the girl back with you as payment."

  Dilvish hesitated.

  "Go, I say! Now!"

  Dilvish backed from the room.

  "I see that you have cast aside all remorse," he heard Jelerak say, "and learned the necessary hardness. This should prove interesting."

  Dilvish saw a low wall of fire spring up between the two of them. He heard laughter from the hall— whose, he was not certain. Then came a crackling sound and a wave of peculiar odors. Suddenly the room was a blaze of light. Just as suddenly it was plunged into darkness again. The laughter continued. He heard pieces of tile falling from the walls.

  He turned away. Reena was still standing where he had left her.

  "He did it," she said softly. "He has control of the other. He really did it…"

  "We can do no good here," Dilvish stated. "It is, as he said, between them now."

  "But his new strength may still not be sufficient!"

  "I'd imagine he knows that, and that that is why he wants me to take you away."

  The floor shook beneath them. A picture dropped from a nearby wall.

  "I don't know that I can leave him like that, Dilvish."

  "He may be giving his life for you, Reena. He might have used his new powers to repair the mirror, or to escape this place by some other means. You heard how he put things. Would you throw away his gift?"

  Her eyes filled with tears.

  "He may never know," she said, "how much I really wanted him to succeed."

  "I've a feeling he might," Dilvish said. "Now, how are we to save you?"

  "Come this way," she said, taking his arm, as a hideous scream came from the hall, followed by a thunderclap that seemed to shake the entire castle.

  Colored lights glowed behind them as she led him along the corridor.

  "I've a sled," she said, "in a cavern deep below here. It is filled with supplies."

  "How—" Dilvish began, and he halted, raising the blade that he bore.

  An old woman stood before them at the head of the stair, glaring at him. But his eyes had slid beyond her, to behold the great pale bulk that slowly mounted the last few stairs, h
ead turned in their direction.

  "There, Mack!" she screamed suddenly. "The man who hit me! Hurt my side! Crush him!"

  Dilvish directed the point of his blade at the advancing creature's throat.

  "If he attacks me, I will kill him," he said. "I do not want to, but the choice is not mine. It is yours. He may be big and strong, but he is not fast. I have seen him move. I will make a very big hole, and a lot of blood will come out of it. I heard that you once loved him, lady. What are you going to do?"

  Forgotten emotions flickered across Meg's features.

  "Mack! Stop!" she cried. "He's not the one. I was wrong!"

  Mack halted.

  "Not—the—one?" he said.

  "No. I was—mistaken."

  She turned her gaze up the hallway to where fountains of fires flashed and vanished and where multitudes of cries, as of two opposing armies, rang out.

  "What," she said, gesturing, "is it?"

  "The young master and the old master," Reena said, "are fighting."

  "Why are you still afraid to say his name?" Dilvish asked. "He's just up the corridor. It's Jelerak."

  "Jelerak?" A new light came into Mack's eyes as he gestured toward the awful room. "Jelerak?"

  "Yes," Dilvish replied, and the pale one turned away from him and began shuffling in that direction.

  Dilvish looked about for Meg, but she was gone. Then he heard a cry of "Jelerak! Kill!" from overhead.

  He looked up and saw the green-winged creature that had attacked him—how long ago?—flapping off in the same direction.

  "They are probably going to their deaths," Reena said.

  "How long do you think they have waited for such an opportunity?" he said. "I am sure that they know that they lost a long time ago. But just to have the chance now is winning, for them."

  "Better in there than on your blade."

  Dilvish turned away.

  "I am not at all sure that he wouldn't have killed me," he said. "Where are we going?"

  "This way."

  She took him down the stair and up another corridor, heading toward the north end of the building. The entire place began shaking about them as they went. Furniture toppled, windows shattered, a beam fell. Then it was still again for a time. They hurried.

  As they were nearing the kitchen, the place shook again with such violence that they were thrown to the floor. A fine dust was drifting everywhere now, and cracks had appeared in the walls. In the kitchen they saw that hot ashes had been thrown from the grate, to lay strewn about the floor, smoking.

  "It sounds as if Ridley is still holding his own."

  "Yes, it does," she said, smiling.

  Pots and pans were rattling and banging together as they departed the kitchen, heading in the direction of the stairwell. The cutlery danced in its drawers.

  They paused at the stair's entrance, just as a great, inhuman moan swept through the entire castle. An icy draft followed moments later. A rat flashed past them from the direction of the kitchen.

  Reena signaled Dilvish to halt and, leaning against the wall, cupped her hands before her face. She seemed to whisper within them, and a moment after the small fire was born, to hover, growing, before her. She moved her hands outward and it drifted toward the stairwell.

  "Come," she said to Dilvish, and she led the way downward.

  He moved behind her, and from time to time the walls creaked ominously about them. When this happened, the light danced for a moment, and occasionally it faded briefly. As they descended, the sounds from above grew more muffled. Dilvish paused once, to place his hand upon the wall.

  "Is it far?" he asked.

  "Yes. Why?"

  "I can still feel the vibrations strongly," he said. "We must be well below the level of the castle itself —down into the mountain by now."

  "True," she replied, taking another turn.

  "At first I feared that they might bring the castle down upon our heads…"

  "They probably will destroy the place if this goes on much longer," she said. "I'm very proud of Ridley —despite the inconvenience."

  "That wasn't exactly what I meant," Dilvish said, as they continued their downward flight. "There! It's getting worse!" He put out a hand to steady himself as the stair shuddered from a passing Shockwave. "Doesn't it seem to you that the entire mountain is shaking?"

  "Yes, it does," she replied. "Then it must be true."

  "What?"

  "I'd heard it said that ages ago, at the height of his power, the ma—Jelerak—actually raised this mountain by his conjuring."

  "So?"

  "If he is sufficiently taxed in this place, I suppose that he might have to draw upon those ancient spells of his for more power. In which case—"

  "The mountain might collapse as well as the castle?"

  "There is that possibility. Oh, Ridley! Good show!"

  "It won't be so good if we're under it!"

  "True," she said, suddenly moving even faster. "As he's not your brother, I can see your point. Still, it must please you to see Jelerak so hard pressed."

  "It does that," Dilvish admitted, "but you should really prepare yourself for any eventuality."

  She was silent for a time.

  Then: "Ridley's death?" she asked. "Yes. I've realized for some time now that there was a strong possibility of this, whatever the nature of their encounter. Still, to go out with such flare… That's something, too, you know."

  "Yes," Dilvish replied. "I've thought of it many times myself."

  Abruptly, they reached the landing. She turned immediately and led him toward a tunnel. The rocky floor trembled beneath them. The light danced again. From somewhere there came a slow, grinding sound, lasting for perhaps ten seconds. They rushed into the tunnel.

  "And you?" she said, as they hurried along it. "If Jelerak survives, will you still seek him?"

  "Yes," he said. "I know for certain that he has at least six other citadels. I know the approximate locations of several of them. I would seek them as I did this place."

  "I have been in three of the others," she said. "If we survive this, I can tell you something about them. They would not be easy to storm either."

  "It does not matter," Dilvish said. "I never thought that it would be easy. If he lives, I will go to them. If I cannot locate him, I will destroy them, one by one, until he must need come to me."

  The grinding sound came again. Fragments of rocks fell about them. As this occurred, the floating light vanished before them.

  "Remain still," she said. "I'll do another."

  Several moments later another light glowed between her hands.

  They continued on, the sounds within the rock ceasing for a time.

  "What will you do if Jelerak is dead?" she asked him.

  Dilvish was silent awhile. Then: "Visit my home-land," he said. "It has been a long while since I have been back. What will you do if we make it away from here?"

  "Tooma, Ankyra, Blostra," she replied, "as I'd said, if I could find some willing gentleman to escort me to one of them."

  "I believe that could be arranged," Dilvish said.

  As they neared the end of the tunnel, an enormous shudder ran through the entire mountain. Reena stumbled; Dilvish caught her and was thrown back against the wall. With his shoulders, he felt the heavy vibrations within the stone. From behind them a steady crashing of falling rocks began.

  "Hurry!" he said, propelling her forward.

  The light darted drunkenly before them. They came into a cold cavern.

  "This is the place," Reena said, pointing. "The sled is over there."

  Dilvish saw the vehicle, took hold of her arm, and headed toward it.

  "How high up the mountain are we?" he asked her.

  "Two thirds of the way, perhaps," she said. "We are somewhat below the point where the rise steepens severely."

  "That is still no gentle slope out there," he said, coming to a halt beside the vehicle and placing his hand upon its side. "How do you propose gett
ing it down to ground level?"

  "That will be the difficult part," she said, reaching within her bodice and withdrawing a folded piece of parchment. "I've removed this page from one of the books in the tower. When I had the servants build me this sled, I knew that I would need something strong to draw it. This is a fairly elaborate spell, but it will summon a demon beast to do our bidding."

  "May I see it?"

  She passed him the page. He unfolded it and held it near to the hovering light.

  "This spell requires fairly lengthy preparations," he said a little later. "I don't believe we have that kind of time remaining, the way things are shaking and crumbling here."

  "But it is the only chance we have," she said. "We'll need these supplies. I had no way of knowing that the whole damned mountain was going to start coming apart. We are simply going to have to risk the delay."

  Dilvish shook his head and returned the page.

  "Wait here," he said, "and don't start that spell yet!"

  He turned and made his way along the tunnel down which icy blasts blew. Snow crystals lay upon the floor. After a single, brief turn, he saw the wide cave mouth, pale light beyond it. The floor there had a heavy coating of snow over ice.

  He walked to the entrance and looked out, looked down. The sled could be edged over the lip of the ridge at his feet at a low place off to his left. But then it would simply take off, achieving a killing speed long before it reached the foot of the mountain.

  He moved forward to the very edge, looked up. An overhang prevented his seeing anything above. He moved half a dozen paces to his left then, looked out, looked up, looked around. Then he crossed to the right-hand extremity of the ledge and looked up, shading his eyes against a blast of ice crystals.

  There… ?

  "Black!" he called, to a darker patch of shadow above and to the side. "Black!"

  It seemed to stir. He cupped his hands and shouted again.

  "Diiil. . .viiish!" rolled down the slope toward him, after his own cry had died away.

  "Down here!"

  He waved both arms above his head.

  "I… see… you!"

  "Can you come to me?"

  There was no answer, but the shadow moved. It came down from its ledge and began a slow, stiff-legged journey in his direction.