Abuud: the One-Eyed God (15 page)

Niki exited the alley and stood in the street staring at nothing in particular as she tried to think of what type of diversion to create so that she could steal the diamond. Her thoughts centered on a magical diversion as she mentally cataloged her known spells. Perhaps a magical fire to make everyone run screaming out of the temple, she thought. Or an earthquake to shake the walls and floors, but she did not know such a spell. Niki sighed and kicked a stone into the street as her eyes locked on a passing wagon. She stood there with her mouth hanging open in amazement and then her eyes narrowed in rage as she thought of Tanya.

"So your uncle is dead, is he?" she said to herself as the wagon of Boris Khatama passed by and circled the decrepit park. "I never did believe anything you said. Let's see what I can find out about your dead uncle. Then I will tell everyone what a phony you really are."

Niki stole cautiously along the street towards the park. The wagon had gone around the small park and had then parked alongside it. She could just see the heads of the horses and she wanted to read the name on the side of the wagon one more time before trying to get information out of the old man. Niki crept around the corner and stared at the wagon.

"Doesn't look burned up to me," Niki snarled under her breath as she slid behind an old dying tree at the edge of the park.

***

Wylan slipped down the corridor in the forbidden area of the temple. Perspiration dripped off his brow as he sought the location of Arik and Tedi. He had managed to check the rooms off of one whole corridor already and there was no sign of them. He checked the corridor in both directions before putting his ear to the next door to listen for voices. Hearing nothing, he opened the door narrowly and peered in. A tremor coursed through his body as he saw the back of the Prophet Azmet standing before a bookshelf. The Prophet of Abuud must have heard the noise of the door opening because he started to turn around. Wylan swiftly pulled the door shut, cushioning the closing with his free hand so that the door did not make a noise.

Rivers of sweat cascaded from Wylan's brow as he frantically sought a place to hide when Azmet opened the door to check the corridor. With nowhere close enough to hide, Wylan swiftly opened the door on the other side of the corridor and barged in. He closed the door and leaned against it as he heard the door across the hallway open and Azmet step into the corridor. Wylan scanned the room he had entered and was relieved to find that nobody occupied it. He looked around the room for a place to hide in case Azmet decided to check the room. There was a large desk at the far end of the room and Wylan raced for it. He curled up on the floor behind the desk just as the door to the room opened.

Looking under the desk, Wylan could see the legs of the Prophet of Abuud. The man stood in the doorway and Wylan could picture the man scanning the room. After a few long minutes, Azmet left the room and closed the door. Wylan breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not move from his position of concealment. As his eyes wandered they locked onto something leaning against the wall in the corner. He stared at it for a long time before he realized what it was. Stealthily Wylan crept over to the corner for a closer look and realized that he had found Arik's sword, the one they called the Sword of Heavens. He was marveling at his good fortune in finding the Sword of Heavens when he realized that he must be in the Prophet's office. Surely they would not leave such a valuable artifact in just any office.

Wylan stood as he grabbed the Sword of Heavens. He looked around the room more analytically now and noticed the bookshelves lining the walls. The overstuffed chairs were clearly designed to impress visitors. The fact that he had seen Azmet at a bookshelf across the hall only meant that there was not enough space in this room for all of the books that Azmet had acquired. His forehead began perspiring again, and Wylan crept to the door of the room. He placed his ear against it as he tried to figure out the quickest way out of the temple. Just being caught in the forbidden area would result in a public beating, but being found with the Sword of Heavens would mean certain death.

Wylan made his mind up to flee the temple. It had become obvious to him that Arik and Tedi were not going to be found tied up in one of the offices. Wherever they were they would be under some type of guard. He wondered if he might be able to trade the Sword of Heavens for their lives, but he realized that he would have to escape the temple before he could think more about that. Hearing nothing at the door, Wylan opened it and stepped into the corridor. He eased himself towards the closest intersection of corridors and peered around the corner.

Wylan's stomach rose to his throat as he saw Azmet and six men marching down the corridor towards him.

"I think we have a spy or a thief," Wylan heard Azmet say. "I know someone opened the door to the library I was in. I checked my office, but did not see anyone there. Be cautious. It may be a magical thief."

Wylan knew the guards would do a room-by-room search and that he would not be able to hide from them this time. Looking behind him at the long corridor and the next intersection in the far distance, Wylan turned and ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He knew his life depended upon his speed and he gave up any thoughts he had about silence. Wylan heard the shouts behind as someone must have heard his running. Within seconds, his pursuers turned the corner and their shouting was very clear. They had seen Wylan and were splitting up to catch him.

Wylan reached the intersection and sped around the corner, bumping into one of Azmet's men and sending him sprawling. Wylan careened into the wall of the corridor as he bounced off the man he had bowled over. He pushed himself off the wall with his free hand and continued running, the Sword of Heavens securely in his other hand. Wylan began to feel the exertion as he raced along the corridor. His legs became numb as one foot pounded before the next. His mouth opened wide as his lungs screamed for air and he felt the strain in his hand from clutching the Sword of Heavens tightly, lest it fall and ruin his chances of escape.

Wylan saw the main chamber of the temple before him and he noticed that the worshippers were starting to stare at him. By the time he entered the main chamber, all of the worshippers were on their feet and pointing at him. Wylan charged into their midst and most of the worshippers dove out of his way. Shouts rang across the chamber from the direction of where the other corridor entered the chamber, and Wylan turned his head to look. Three of the men that had been with Azmet were entering the chamber and shouting at the worshippers to stop the thief. Suddenly, the worshippers were no longer diving out of Wylan's way, but were rather trying to grab him. Wylan brought his free hand up and started shoving people away as they sought to lay hands on him.

Wylan's lungs felt as if they would burst, and he nearly tripped as he leaped over a worshipper who had thrown his body in front of Wylan. Without a glance behind him to see how close his pursuers were, Wylan charged through the doors of the temple and into the street. He turned towards the park as his legs continued to pump mechanically. He reached the end of the block near the park and sped around the corner as he glanced back to see men pouring out of the temple and giving chase. He turned his head too late to see the old man standing in the road before him. They collided, both men falling to the ground and the Sword of Heavens sliding across the street to hit the wheel of the wagon parked there.

The old man was surprisingly spry as he leaped to his feet and grabbed the Sword of Heavens. Wylan picked his exhausted body off the ground and scowled at the old man as he ran towards him to retrieve the old sword. The old man opened the flap of his wagon and threw the Sword of Heavens inside.

"That is mine," protested Wylan with a raspy voice.

"Then follow it into the wagon," retorted the old man. "I doubt the sword is yours, but I do not believe it belongs to the men chasing you either. Get inside and cover yourself up."

Wylan could hear the shouts of his pursuers and did not have time to think of his actions. He dove into the wagon as the old man held the flap open. He realized that quick movements would make the wagon rock so he slowly crawled as far into the wagon as he could and looked for something to cover himself as he heard Azmet's men round the corner and stop. He heard the men discussing where Wylan might have gotten to, and then they started asking the old man which way Wylan had gone.

"I do not waste my time watching the young people of today," snarled the old man. "Perhaps he went up that alley over there. You will have a better chance of finding him by looking for him than you will by standing here talking to me."

"Perhaps we should search your wagon old man," quipped one of the pursuers.

"Perhaps you should wait until I have my goods properly displayed on a tarp like the rest of the citizens of Cleb," retorted the old man.

"We are wasting time with this fool," growled another pursuer. "He wouldn't give us the right season if he knew it. Let's split up. The thief could not have gotten far."

"They do not seem like friendly people," the old man said softly to the wagon after the men had left. "You have either great courage for stealing from them, or you are more fool than anyone deserves to be. Which is it?"

"Perhaps both," sighed Wylan. "Is it safe to come out?"

"Not hardly," replied the old man. "My name is Boris Khatama. Who do I have the pleasure of hiding?"

"My name is Wylan," the thief answered as he found the Sword of Heavens where it landed and dragged it close to him.

"Why did you steal the sword?" asked Boris. "I know it is valuable, but you cannot spend gold if you are dead. Perhaps it is best if I buy it off you."

"The sword is not for sale," scowled Wylan. "At least not to you."

"Not very grateful are you," chuckled the merchant.

"I am grateful, old man," replied Wylan. "It is just that you do not have what I want for the sword."

"Boris," the merchant said sternly. "You may call me Boris or Master Khatama. Do I call you child?"

"I am sorry Boris," Wylan apologized. "I am grateful for your help and do not mean to be angry with you."

"Do you think my gold is not a good as the prophet's?" questioned Boris.

"It is not gold that I seek for the sword," answered Wylan. "Two of my friends have been captured by Azmet. I seek to use the sword to free them."

"Then once again I have to wonder how much a fool you might be," frowned Boris. "Azmet will never free your friends for the sword. He will negotiate until he has both your friends and the sword. I suspect he will have you as well."

"Even though he preaches a weird religion," posed Wylan, "he is still a man of religion. Is he not? How could he not honor his word?"

"Azmet is not concerned about religion," retorted Boris. "He cares about power. Religion is only the tool he uses to achieve his power."

"But Abuud spoke to him in the desert," offered Wylan. "Why would a god choose a prophet and give him the sacred statue if he was going to be a false prophet?"

"Azmet no more spoke to Abuud than you did," chuckled Boris. "The statue is as much a fraud as Azmet himself. I have seen the true sacred statue of Abuud. It resides on the Island of Storms off the Horn of Lanoir."

"So everything about Azmet is fake?" questioned Wylan from inside the wagon.

"Not everything," cautioned Boris. "The people he kills remain dead. Do not underestimate that man. He is evil and his followers are capable of great destruction. I want you to remain in the wagon for a while. I have to take a walk, but I will be back soon. Then I will get you out of the city."

"I do not want to leave my horse," worried Wylan. "I cannot travel well without it."

"Then we shall gather your horse on the way," declared Boris. "Stay hidden and try not to rock the wagon."

Boris turned and entered the nearby alley. Unseen by either Boris or Wylan, Niki moved out of her hiding spot near the wagon. She walked casually up the street leading to the temple. There was something about the old merchant that she did not like, but listening to him had given Niki an idea about getting the diamond. Niki walked up the steps and into the temple. The worshippers were spread throughout the room, but it was not overly packed, and Niki was able to get fairly near the statue. She gazed up at the diamond eye far above her and wondered how she would be able to reach it and how much effort it would take to pry it out.

***

Niki looked around the vast hall for the Prophet Azmet, but she did not see him anywhere. Also missing were Azmet's henchmen. Niki walked around the room looking for something that she would be able to stand on when the time came to steal the diamond. Unfortunately there was nothing that would raise her high enough to reach it. Niki decided to look further down one of the corridors running off of the worship chamber. There were no guards to stop Niki from entering the forbidden area of the temple.>

***

"I can't stand this any more," Tedi screamed.

"Try to stay calm," advised Arik. "The purpose of these types of cells is to drive you to the point of telling them whatever they want to know."

"Stay calm?" shouted Tedi. "You want me to stay calm while these slimy things are burrowing under my skin? The rats biting are one thing, but I do not want these worms, or snakes, or whatever they are, inside my body. And they hurt like you would not believe when you pull them out while they are burrowing."

"Do you think they are attacking just you?" queried Arik. "My body itches all over just thinking about what is in this cell that we cannot see. My rat bites are bleeding and I bet I have as many of those burrowers as you do. I shudder to think of what will happen if I miss one and it gets inside my body."

"All we would have to do is fall asleep in here," complained Tedi. "We would probably never wake up. We would end up just like the rotten corpses that are stinking up this place."

"Probably," nodded Arik in the dark, "but I fear that we would wake up. I am sure these burrowers would probably eat us from the inside out. I do not want to imagine what that would feel like."