Quest for the King (36 page)

"You mean-"

"I mean that is what you are looking at. I had to make you invisible
somehow, so I reduced you to the size of microbes. It was just as
effective as any other way. In a moment the officer will tread on you
all. But have no fear. A boot of that size is far too big to get into the
spaces where you stand. In any case, such are the indentations on the
under surface of the sole, that they would arch like vast bridges over
your heads."

Risano talked as though what he said was reasonable-ordinary
and unremarkable, even-like an explanation of why you wear warm
clothes in winter, or cooler ones in summer. His tone of voice suggested that, of course, to be invisible, to be as small as a microbe, was
nothing out of the ordinary. The stamping of cosmic-sized boots was
an everyday affair. And to observe everyone but Kurt, you would say
they had not woken up. They appeared alive yet tranquil, serenely
alive, so to speak. Indifferent to danger. Profoundly at leisure.

The rest were roused from their trance by the distant rumble of
thunder far above them. "What's the thunder?" Lisa eventually asked.

"Thunder? Oh, yes! It is the soldiers. They are talking, and it does
sound like distant thunder down here. They are wondering where you
are, and are concluding you must have gone deeper into the system
of caverns. They saw all your donkeys outside (where their horses are
now tethered), and the officer has concluded they should explore in
search of you. However, they are wondering how safe it will be. They believe you are armed and dangerous. They fear a trap!"

Mary nodded, smiling, as though fearful, suspicious troops were
something she encountered frequently. She looked at Gaal, who still
held the crouching Risano's hand, looking up at him. Softly, Risano
addressed him. "Thus will my Lord destroy death and darkness, by
being small and weak. You, my Lord, will entitle yourself to every
crown that exists, and do so by your very weakness."

Mary shook her head slowly. Wonderingly, yet softly, she asked,
"Small? Weak? How can you destroy great power by weakness? After
all, we're facing not just the priests, but the spiritual forces with them. All by smallness and weakness?"

The strange calm began gradually to wear off them.

"It seems curious, does it not, Mary?" said Risano. "The greatest
power of all overcomes by a display of weakness; it wins by letting
itself apparently be defeated."

Mary drew in a long breath. "It makes no sense."

"How are we overcoming King Tobah Khukah's power right now,
Mary? Are we fighting it? Are we at the moment bigger and strongermore impressive, more fearsome than our foes?"

"Oh!" Mary began to giggle. Gaal was watching her closely.

"He who has real power does not concern himself with whether he
appears to have power or not. Infinite power can afford to appear
defeated and undignified. What matters is how the war ends. Darkness is easily fooled by those who understand it. Self-conceit destroys
itself if you give it a chance."

Mary looked thoughtful. After a moment she said, "Yes, but Gaal is
going to die when he grows up!"

"Exactly. He will fool his enemies by his apparent weakness. But tell
me something, something your Uncle John has already described to
you. Did he win, or did he lose the battle with the dragon-bull-serpent?"

"Uncle John said he won." She shook her head and continued. "Uncle John saw Gaal pull the horns from the black bull. But even
so, Gaal died!"

"Yes. At that point he began his greatest conflict-with the might
of Death itself. And in his struggle with Death, are you saying he lost?
Did Death defeat him-or did he defeat Death?"

Mary frowned, then looked surprised. "You know, I'd forgotten.
No-I didn't realize he was fighting Death. You mean even in his
death he was fighting? Obviously he won."

"He won by what somebody once called `a deeper kind of law, a
law that stood at the core of creation.' It is the law of love, the law
of purity and self giving. In the end it always wins over hate."

"That's why he'll never die!" Mary spoke wonderingly.

"Nor will you!"

"I won't?"

"Oh, you will look as though you are dead. You will pass through
death, all right. But that is just it. You will pass through-and come
out the other end with a body that defies time, one like Gaal himself
will have!"

A low murmur seemed to pass through the group. Suddenly a menacing shadow closed over their heads. Immediately they looked up.
The precipice that had dominated the scene a moment previously had
disappeared. Instead, they found a roof over their heads, a high,
rough roof, looking for all the world like an arch of black rock It was
a boot.

The distant thunder seemed to rise to a crescendo.

"The captain is urging the rest of them to get moving," interpreted
Risano. "He claims knowledge that you are unarmed, that you can be
taken easily."

Alleophaz, who looked as though he was still under the spell of the
remarkable peace, sounded mildly puzzled. "But however did the officer find out where we were-I mean, where we are?" he asked.

The dark ceiling lifted as suddenly as it had descended while from
the dim and distant regions above, the rolling of gentle thunder continued. Lord Nasa asked the same question that Alleophaz had asked.
"Yes, I am quite sure that even if suspicions were awakened in the inn
at Karsch, word could never have reached Bamah soon enough to mobilize any troops."

Risano said, "The troops were already in the area. The captain who
leads them was once one of the temple priests. He is in touch with
the dark powers himself. They knew you were here, and also knew
you would not return to Bamah. Therefore they hastened to come to
destroy you. But I have for the moment shrouded you in secrecy. The
dark powers do not know everything."

"They were going to destroy us? We are under the protection of the
Glason Crown!" Gerachti raised his eyebrows. "Surely they would
never dare!"

Risano laughed. "The Glason king knows nothing about your present whereabouts. You could have suffered another shipwreck for all
he knows. Besides, would he embark on a costly, overseas war over
the deaths of three of his citizens? And remember, the children from
distant worlds do not enjoy even the small protection of a Glason king.
As for Lord and Lady Nasa of Chereb, their deaths would become
known as a tragic mistake. Gerachti, you are protected by powers far
greater than those of your king!"

He paused and then laughed again. "Oh, but we are better protected than by any earthly kings or queens of any age!" He looked down
at Gaal. "It is this little one that his Emperor-Father has sent us and
the pigeon you have sometimes seen who will protect you. Who do
you think sent me?"

Lady Roelane asked, "So what will happen?"

"Right now, the troops are leaving this part of the cave to penetrate
its endless passages and depths. This will take some time, for the
system of caves and tunnels is extensive. It may take them as much
as a day and a half to assure themselves you are not in the cave at
all. Meanwhile, the dark powers will be focusing too much on your
possible whereabouts to pay attention to your real whereabouts. Therefore, you will soon have a chance to escape from the cave."

"And then what?" Lord Alleophaz asked.

"Then you will try to conduct the young king and his parents to
safety."

"But to safety where?" Wesley asked. "After all, we've still had no
instructions. I wouldn't have a clue as to where safety could be found."

Risano smiled. "One thing at a time. Your first task concerns the
temple. In any case, I doubt you will get to safety without an encounter
with the legions of darkness. The Emperor will not hide your presence from the dark powers forever."

Kurt grinned at Risano. "You wouldn't happen to be the column
yourself, would you?"

Risano returned the grin. "In one sense, yes. But in another sense,
no!"

Kurt frowned. "What kind of an answer is that?" he demanded.

"Well? Are you all ready?" was the spirit's only answer.

"Ready for what?" Kurt asked.

"To leave the cave and enter the next phase of your adventure."

"You mean right now?"

Risano nodded. "There are soldiers at the door of the cave, guarding it, and two or three inside it. They were left in case you returned
from some hiding place they were not aware of. Do not be afraid.
When they see me, I doubt they will remember anything else."

There came a sense of vertigo as their bodies resumed normal size.
But once restored and again in a normal-sized cave, Risano himself
became a blazing and dazzling sunlike vision of greatness, pouring
forth a torrent of light. They caught a glimpse of soldiers, their faces
bleached white in the shocking light, falling unconscious on the floor
of the cave. Risano did not wait, but strode to the door. The watchers
inside the cave dimly perceived shocked faces and the instant collapse
of the guard outside the cave.

"They will be like that for several hours longer," Risano said as he
reentered the cave and the blazing light faded. "The other soldiers,
seeking you in the depths of the cave, will be long in returning, for
they have lost their way in the darkness. And beyond that I will find
means to keep them here until you are well away."

He paused, and they stared at him. "I have another little surprise
for you." They waited expectantly. "Time does strange things when you are in another dimension. It is now dawn of the day following
the day you entered. It is, so to speak, tomorrow, now."

There was another pause. Events had happened too rapidly for
them to adjust. Finally, Captain Integredad asked the obvious question, "So what now, my lord? We shall be delighted to get well awaybut where to? Where are we going?"

Risano held the door open. "You will soon find out. You will find
out as the adventure opens before you."

Once outside the cave they saw more guards-like statues of slain
warriors, still as death in their unconsciousness. Clearly it would be
many hours before they came to. Time seemed now to be on their
side. It was also barely light with the dawn of the following day.

In the early morning light they glanced down at a series of poolsall that was left of the small stream below them. Some of the soldiers'
horses drank there. Other horses, along with their own mules,
scrabbled for food in the dry grass on the banks of the stream, while
some browsed the moors above. The horses were still saddled, their
panniers still attached.

Kurt, prompted by some obscure instinct, scrambled back over the
edge of the valley and onto the moor. A few seconds later he returned,
shouting loudly, his voice echoing across the valley. "Hey, guys, it's
here! It's actually happening! It's begun!"

"What d'you mean? What's begun?"

"The adventure! You know, the one Risano said would `open before us'! The queen's coming! And thousands of her soldiers with her!"

The captain climbed up and gazed across the moor. "Thousands of
soldiers, my lord Kurt?" he murmured, grinning, "There may be a
hundred or so. Perhaps not even so many!"

Immediately there was a hurried scramble over the ridge above
them. Forty or fifty yards from the edge of the valley they saw a large
company nearing, and at their head, the queen, the old prophet and
Duke Dukraz. In their excitement they waved, and many of the soldiers waved back, shouting. All were on horseback, and a few, they
noticed, rode two to one horse.

The sun's first rays lit up random patches of grass and chased away
the lingering mists. Everyone sensed they were taking part in a grand
occasion, that protocol would have to be observed. Captain Integredad's party restrained themselves respectfully, waiting for the queen
to speak. As she drew rein, she hailed them. "How delighted I am to
see you all, and to see you looking so well!"

The men bowed, and the boys, remembering their manners, also
bowed, while the women and girls curtsied. The queen and Duke
Dukraz and many of the soldiers dismounted. The duke immediately
turned to assist the prophet down from his horse.