Conan the Indomitable Part 19

Deek and Wikkell looked at each other, and each knew the jubilation the other must feel. Success!

Well, to be sure, it was only half successful; still, with the worms' promise in hand, they had a potent weapon to sway the cyclopes to their argument.

Leaving the worms' chambers, Deek and Wikkell went to visit the cyclopes.

As his captor flew through the caves on its huge, leathery wings, Conan wondered which of the two magical rulers was responsible for his plight. That either the witch or the wizard had sent this beast was apparent. And it also seemed that he was wanted alive, else he would surely be dead by now. The flying monster merely had to loosen its grip and allow the fall to do the deed.

The answer to the Cimmerian's question was not long in coming. That tickle of words inside Conan's head came again:We shall be home soon, my beautiful barbar . Definitely female, that voice, and since it seemed to come from the toothed reptile carrying him, Conan figured that the witch was somehow within the form of the creature.

Indeed. As the cave's walls seemed to close in and the floor grew closer, the thing holding him turned and swooped down familiar tunnels, reaching at last the entrance to Chuntha's chambers. Two large worms stood guard over the portal. Conan could not be certain that those two were the same he had seen before, since all of the worms looked alike to him, but he suspected it was so.

The creature settled to the floor-, loosing its grip on the Cimmerian but remaining within the reach of the worms. A hasty move might be repaid with a slap of one of those ma.s.sive tails, and Conan did not desire to discover how powerful such a stroke might be.

Any thoughts of quick escape fled when the scaled reptile suddenly altered its shape. After a s.h.i.+mmer in the air, Conan beheld the form of the witch for the first time. He had expected a crone, wrinkled and crusty, bent with ages of evil, speaking in a cracked and raspy cackle, but that was not what he beheld, not at all.

Crom, she was beautiful! And naked! Her face, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her long and well-formed legs, her dark, silky hair... everything about her was altogether lovely.

The witch's smile was sensual and full of invitation.

"I have been searching for you for too long a time," she said. "We have much to... discuss."

Conan stared at the naked woman. Surely a woman who looked like this could not be as bad as he had been led to believe?

"Come," she said. "Into my chambers. You must be tired from your fight with the bats. You can lie down on my bed and... relax."

Relaxing was not high upon Conan's list of desired activities at the moment. Hardly. A man could not stand next to such a woman and think of rest, save in the most abstract of futures. Rest? Later. Much later. Added to his thoughts came the feathery touch of that mindspeech he had begun to hear recently: We shall lie together on my bed, strong one, and I shall show you pleasure beyond any you have ever known .

Chuntha turned, and the view from behind was as lovely as that from the front. Conan watched her walk away. Actually, it was more of sway than a walk, and the muscles moved under her smooth and silky skin in a most interesting manner.

Without prompting, Conan followed. He seemed to recall Tull's warnings about the witch, but the memory was dim and distant compared to the reality of the woman he beheld.

The escape tunnel that Tull, Elas.h.i.+, and Lalo had chosen was instead a dead end. It stopped abruptly at a flat wall, and there was no option save to turn around and retrace their steps.

The three had not gone a dozen paces, however, when they halted again. A pair of cyclopes stood there, blocking the exit. After a moment the cyclopes moved apart, revealing just behind them the form of Katamay Rey. "Ah, my friends," the wizard said. "You left so abruptly earlier that we did not have time to finish our discussion. And look, another has joined you." Rey nodded at Lalo. "Have I not seen you somewhere before?"

"I have only just dropped in," Lalo said, ever smiling.

"Mm. Of course, I recall. Sent by Chuntha, were you?"

"Not at all, you pea-brained fool."

Startled, the wizard raised one hand, then stopped. "There's something about you... ah, I have it! You are enspelled. My brother Mambaya Rey used to have such a curse at his disposal. Perhaps you know him?"

For once Lalo was struck with silence.

"Well, no matter, no matter. I see that your large companion has left you. Where is he?"

None of the three spoke.

The wizard grinned. "Ah, well, we can discuss this more at our leisure back at my chambers. You will come and visit, will you not?" He waved at the cyclopes flanking him, and they moved toward the three.

Tull and Elas.h.i.+ glanced at each other, and Tull shook his head. A knife and a sword would be of little use against these, and Lalo's wrestling less so. They were captured. Conan was gone. Things did not look good.

Wikkell's people seemed at first a bit more skeptical than had Deek's; still, the presence of the giant worm added to their interest.

"Talk is cheap, brother," one of the Cyclopes said.

"Indeed," Wikkell replied. He lifted the web device and pointed it at the doubting cyclops. The thin spray shot forth.

"Hey!"

In a moment the doubting one was so entangled he could not move, save to squirm.

"Help me!"

When half a dozen others moved to do so, Wikkell turned the floor into perfect smoothness, and the six slipped and fell and slid hither and yon.

"W-w-we s-seem to h-have g-gotten their a-attention."

"Yes, we have, haven't we?" Several hours later the discussions came to their conclusion. Yes, the cyclopes would join the worms in overthrowing the witch and the wizard. What exactly was the plan? How was it to be instigated?

Wikkell drew himself up and said, "Deek and I have that all arranged. First you are to choose a war council, with leaders. The worms shall do the same, and the two of us will then present our plan to the leaders of both sides at once, to save repet.i.tion. Naturally, Deek and I intend to be commanders of our respective troops."

With that, Wikkell marched away, Deek following. The murmur of the cyclopes as they began to vie for position trailed the two down the corridor.

At a distance at which they would not be overheard, Deek found a patch of speech rock. "Wh what p-p-plan? Th-this i-is th-the f-f-first I-I have h-heard o-of s-s-such a p-p-plan!"

"I had to say something, did I not? Frankly, I felt all along that our chances of ever getting this far were remote at best. I never really believed that we should actually have to mount a war against the witch and the wizard."

"W-w-well, w-we h-h-have c-come t-to i-it. N-n-now wh-what a-are w-we t-to d-d-do?"

"Devise a plan of attack, it would seem. Got any ideas?"

"I-I a-am b-beginning t-t-to r-regret I w-was e-ever h-h-hatched," Deek said. If it is possible for the body of a worm sc.r.a.ping over rock to intone regret, the voice thus produced indeed sounded regretful.

"Cheer up, Deek old slug. We are no worse off than we were before. Who knows? We might even win."

"I-I sh-shall n-not w-w-wager m-my n-n-nest o-on th-that p-p-possibility."

The witch proceeded to a large bed that lay in the center of the room. She climbed onto the bed, crawled to the middle on her hands and knees, then turned and lay upon her back. She smiled at Conan.

"Come here, my beautiful barbarian man. I would feel your warmth next to me."

Conan had been with more than a few women in his young life, but none who had ever called to him quite like this. His mouth was dry as he started for the bed.

Came the mindspeech:Come and enjoy total pleasure, big man, and give me your strength. It will be your finest thrill, and your last .

Conan paused at that. His last?

"Why do you keep me waiting? Am I not desirable?"

Spend your manly essence within me, and with it your life force. Hurry, I hunger for it!

Conan continued to move toward the woman-she was no less beautiful and enticing than before-but a note of caution sounded within him. This mindspeech was the truth, not the words she spoke, and herealized that to consummate his l.u.s.t with this creature-who was, after all, a witch-would be his death knell. But what was he to do? She desired him, and were he to thwart that desire, there was no foretelling what she might turn to next. An ordinary woman scorned was dangerous; what evil might a witch refused do him?

What was it she had said? She wanted his essence? Well, if he could somehow manage to avoid doing what she wanted, then perhaps he had a chance to survive.

How to manage that was another matter altogether. Death was an expensive price to pay for a few moments of pleasure. Crom would hardly welcome a man who would make such a foolish trade. This manner of combat was scarcely comparable to dying in battle with a sword in hand.

Conan searched for memories of ice and snow, and wading through freezing water.

Such thoughts helped but little.

"You are quite lovely," Rey told Elas.h.i.+. The desert woman stood next to Tull and Lalo. The wizard had taken their weapons, and they all were now inside his personal chamber. A pair of cyclopes waited just outside the door.

"I have had no need for women for some years," Rey continued, "but I might rekindle the old fires for one such as you."

"I would rather be boiled in oil than suffer your attentions," Elas.h.i.+ said.

"What?"

"Are your ears stuffed with mold?" Lalo asked. "The lady finds you repellent, a feeling in which I concur wholeheartedly."

"Cannot you two keep silent?" Tull said, his voice low. "You do not want to make him angry. He is very powerful."

"Wise," Rey said. "You will have a quick death for that. These other two will suffer a bit longer, after they have told me the whereabouts of whatever his name is... Conan?"

"I expect Conan is long gone from these caves and safe from either you or the witch," Elas.h.i.+ said.

"Would that it were so," Rey said, "for he is dangerous; still, I cannot take the chance that he might yet be free down here. You will aid me in his capture, like it or not. I am not a man to be trifled with, as you shall learn."

Tull, Elas.h.i.+, and Lalo looked at each other. This did not bode well. Elas.h.i.+ was most worried about Conan. She feared he was in dire straits indeed.

Twenty-two.

W-w-will th-the b-bats and Wh-whites d-do i-it?" Reluctantly Wikkell turned to face Deek. They werein the cave in which the cyclopes regularly bathed. A small cataract spilled from a high ledge upon which Deek and Wikkell perched, splas.h.i.+ng into the shallow pond below. The sound of the water covered their voices from the female cyclopes who were cavorting below them in the pond. An attractive lot, Wikkell noted, and he would certainly rather be down there with them than up here with Deek. "W-Wikkell?"

"What? Oh, sorry, Deek. Yes, I think they will do it. I doubt that the plants will be of much use to us, but given the weight of numbers, I do not believe they will oppose us either. I expect the initial charge of the Whites and the bats might prove costly to them, but if they want to continue to live in the caves, I feel it is only right that they share the risks of our endeavor."

"O-o-one c-c-cannot m-make m-m-mushroom w-wine w-without c-c-crus.h.i.+ng a f-few t-t-toad-stools."

"Well put, Deek. The time must be soon for our strike, are we to keep our intent secret."

Wikkell glanced back down at the female cyclopes. One of them saw him and waved. He waved back.

"S-s-someone y-you kn-know w-w-well?"

"Not yet. If we survive the upcoming confrontation, though, I hope to get to know her much better."

"A-as o-one-eyes g-go, s-she s-s-seems qu-quite l-lovely."

"I always knew you were a worm of good taste. You must introduce me to your nestmates when this is done."

"Wh-when i-it is d-d-done."

At least several hours had elapsed, although to Conan the pa.s.sage of time felt more like days; finally the witch fell into what the Cimmerian hoped would be an exhausted-and long-slumber.

He had felt better himself, he thought, as he hurriedly gathered his clothes. His belt pouch fell with a thump .that seemed terribly loud, and Conan froze at the sound. Several of the jewels rattled from the purse and onto the hard floor. Conan ignored them, even though one of them was the large gem than Elas.h.i.+ had given him.

Chuntha did not stir from her torpid pose, and the Cimmerian finished collecting his garb and quickly moved toward the cave's exit.

Conan considered the problem of the guard worms as he finished dressing. His sword lay back in the cave where he and his friends had fought the bats. A bare-handed struggle against the worms held little appeal. How was he to bypa.s.s the pair? True, they were set to guard the cave from intruders, not from one leaving. Utilizing surprise, he could most likely dart past them before they could gather their wits. By the time they recovered enough to pursue him, he would be well ahead, and he knew from his earlier experience that he could outrun the slithering beasts.

On the other hand, while such an action might gain him an immediate lead on the worms, they also might not bother to pursue him at all. The guards could just as easily enter the cave and rouse Chuntha, and Conan had considerable doubt about his ability to outrun the monstrous flying reptile into which the witch could transform herself. A dilemma. In the end he decided that the key lay in boldness. He had recognized the speech produced by the worms and could speak a fair portion of it. He took a deep breath and stepped out through the chambers' entrance.

"Ho, guards," he said in the tongue the worm had spoken earlier.

The two worms spun around, coiling as might serpents preparing to strike.

"Chuntha slumbers and wishes to be undisturbed," Conan said. "I am being sent to fetch a thing for her.

Move aside."

Conan gambled that the worms would a.s.sume his apparent nonchalance meant what he said was true.

The Cimmerian doubted that many, if any, of Chuntha's guests had ever left at all, much less without her express permission, and reckoned that the guards would know this and fear to question her orders.

The two worms seemed to look at each other, though whatever organs they used that pa.s.sed for eyes were not apparent to Conan. The Cimmerian suffered a long and tense moment...

Then, with a slight rotation that Conan took to be a shrug, the pair relaxed back into their earlier poses.