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188 lines
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188 lines
12 KiB
HTML
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<title>The Shadowmaster - Chapter 28</title>
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<h1>28</h1>
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<p>
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A desert wind scoured them with millions of sharp grains and dust-devils spun towards them in squadrons of small tornadoes, ripping at their skin,
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shrieking like demons as they passed. Jack led them on, trudging mile after mile until they reached a tall rock outcrop.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen walked round the rock. It was taller than they were, and worn from years of wind-blown sand. On its lee side, old lichens formed a thin dry skin.
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<p>
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"This looks like a statue," she observed.
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</p>
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It did look like an old statue. Like a kneeling man, head bowed. But it was so worn there were no features, just a vague shape.
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"It's just shape cut by the wind," Jack said. "It'll wear it away to nothing eventually."
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A few hundred yards further, another stone stood out on the sand.
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"That's definitely a statue," Kerry said, pointing up at it. "Look, you can make out the eyes and nose."
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<p>
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It towered over them, broad and solid. It was clearly the carved figure of a man, standing with feet apart and arms by his sides. His face was tilted
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upwards and the mouth opened in an eternal, silent cry.
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"Who'd put statues out here?" Kerry asked. "That guy looks as if he's been blasted between the eyes."
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<p>
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It was worn and cracked, corroded by the wind, but unmistakeably a human. The figure looked as if he was in perpetual agony. Jack was glad when it was
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behind them and they walked wards, guided by the steady beat of the heartstone. The further they walked, the stronger came a smell of burning and hot
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stone, and with each step, Jack felt a sense of oppression settle heavier on him.
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<p>
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Beyond the sand, the ground became bare rock, riven with cracks. Tremors shuddered under their feet and pieces of stone shaled off to fall in noisy
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avalanches. Misshapen creatures clambered in and out of the fissures and gaped hungrily at them, but came no closer.
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</p>
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<p>
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When they reached another statue, exhausted and footsore. Kerry fetched the canteen and they all drank gratefully. This figure was less eroded than the
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last, as if it had been carved more recently. The man was down on one knee, head bowed, resting his weight on a wide-bladed sword. He looked every inch the
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warrior. But for the worn stony surface, he looked as if he might wake, get to his feet and do battle.
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<p>
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"Looks like a tough guy," Kerry said.
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</p>
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<p>
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"He reminds me of my brother," Corriwen said. "He was a fine warrior."
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Kerry screwed the lid back on the canteen. "That's the water half-done. We won't get much further."
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<p>
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Jack looked ahead. The dark smudge on the horizon was noticeably closer, but in the hot, dry air, its shape wavered like a mirage and he couldn't tell
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whether it was a hill or a distant mountain. As they got closer it began to look ominously like the Black Tomb in Temair where Mandrake raised the Morrigan
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and her terrible power from eons of sleep.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen shaded her eyes and stared at it sombrely, lips compressed. Jack understood how she felt. Neither she nor Kerry nor himself would ever forget the
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nightmare time they'd spent within the Morrigan's lair. He put his arm around her shoulder and drew her attention. Corriwen tried to smile, but there was
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nothing much to smile about.
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</p>
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<p>
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Another, final statue stood out like a sentinel. When they reached it, they stopped and looked up at the tall figure. This last one could have been carved
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only yesterday. Every detail of the man was etched with such craftsmanship that even the weave of his cloak and tunic were clear to see. He stood with one
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hand held high. In the other he grasped a long, jagged spear.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack looked at the statue's face, strong and handsome, with a short beard and hair held back by a braided band. Its stone eyes stared ahead blindly. He
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looked at the spear and his heart did a double-thump.
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</p>
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<p>
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Hedda, the Scatha warrior woman of Eirinn had wielded a great spear she called the <em>Gae-bolg</em>, a deadly weapon with great barbs raking forward like
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thorns. This was an exact replica. He stepped nearer, marvelling at the similarity.
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's Hedda's spear," Kerry said. "Exactly the same, even down to the spikes."
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's an awful weapon," Rionna said. She reached out to touch it and as she did, Megrin's staff flared with electric blue light. Jack felt the heartstone
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vibrate and the great sword trembled in his hand. He moved to pull Rionna back, but she turned unexpectedly and his fingers touched the stone hand that
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wielded the spear.
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</p>
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<p>
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The heartstone flashed. A spark leapt between his fingers and the statue's hand. It seared through every nerve of his body. White light exploded behind his
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eyes and all sound and vision faded.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack staggered backwards, buckling at the knees. Kerry caught him before he fell.
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</p>
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<p>
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"<em>Jeez,</em> Jack, what happened?"
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</p>
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<p>
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The ground shuddered. Out on the plain, thin cracks opened in crazy zig-zags. In the far distance, thunder rolled across the sky and lightning forked
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upwards.
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</p>
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<p>
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As Jack's vision began to clear, Kerry was yelling something in his ear. For a few moments he didn't know where he was. The heartstone was vibrating,
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thrumming hard. The great sword felt as if it was trying to leap out of the scabbard.
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</p>
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<p>
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A harsh crack, like a gunshot, rang out and Corriwen let out a cry. Jack felt Kerry haul him backwards.
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's going to fall," he bawled, pointing at the statue.
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</p>
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<p>
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Another crack rent the air, and another, and then a whole fusillade of them.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Watch out!" Corriwen grabbed the back of his tunic and she and Kerry dragged Jack back.
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</p>
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<p>
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"What's happening?"
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</p>
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<p>
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There was a pop in his ears and sound came back with great clarity.
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</p>
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<p>
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And then the statue <em>moved.</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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The raised arm flexed. Pieces of stone broke off. The mouth opened in a snarl. The spear swung forward. Shards flew off in all directions.
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</p>
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<p>
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The man-shape took a step forward. It swayed and shook its head. Then the grey stone began to change colour in a terrifying transformation.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack saw the weave of the cloak fold and sway, turning from solid stone to a green fabric. The grey hand opened and closed and became flesh-coloured.
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's <em>alive," </em>Rionna cried. The blue light was flickering up and down the length of Megrin's staff. At the sound of her voice, the living statue
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turned towards her. Its beard was now jet black and the hair dark and streaked with grey. But the eyes, though they were wide open, remained the colour of
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polished stone.
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</p>
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<p>
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The statue let out a low cry and swung the spear towards them. Jack swept Rionna out of the path of the savage point.
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</p>
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<p>
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The figure spun again, stabbing blindly and the spear-point slashed through the hood of Kerry's tunic as if it were paper. Kerry yelped, dodged away, fell
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over his back-pack and sprawled on the stony ground.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack dashed forward and slammed the spear down with the sword. Another jolt of power sizzled up the blade and into his arm with such a shock he almost
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dropped it. The blind fighter stalled. Kerry found his feet, the bolas in his hand, the three stones whirling on their strings. He threw it and the weights
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wrapped the strings round their opponent's legs.
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</p>
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<p>
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The moving statue bellowed again, a great cry echoing over the barren plain, as it tried to take a step and fell headlong with an almighty crash. But still
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it managed to kick out, almost catching Corriwen on the side of the head, and quickly freed its legs from the entanglement. It was back on its feet in a
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flash.
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</p>
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<p>
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"To hell with this," Kerry bawled. "It can't even see us."
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</p>
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<p>
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With that, he bent scooped up a stone, slotted it into his sling and let fly. The rock caught the man on the back of the head. He went down on one knee,
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shook his head violently. Jack saw two small objects spin away.
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</p>
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<p>
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The statue turned and when he did, his eyes were open and they were piercing blue. The eyes found his and locked on. A line of blood trickled down the
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man's cheek.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Who are you?" he asked, in a Scottish accent almost exactly like the Major's. "And what in all the worlds are you doing with <em>my</em> sword?"
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</p>
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