[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
shop, ate, and went back out when somebody came to say Men fu was out there
again."
"What about Besand?"
"It's all over town. The new Monitor is furious because he didn't leave. Says
he won't do anything about it. The Guards are calling him a horse's ass. They
won't take his orders. He's getting madder and madder."
"Maybe he'll learn something. Thanks for the tea. Is there anything to eat?"
"Leftover chicken. Get it yourself. I'm going to bed."
Grumbling, Bomanz ate cold, greasy chicken wings, washing them down with tepid
beer. He thought about his dream. His ulcer gave him a nip. His head started
aching. "Here we go," he muttered, and dragged himself upstairs.
He spent several hours reviewing the rituals he would use to leave his body
and slide through the hazards of the Barrowland.... Would the dragon be a
problem? Indications were, it was meant for physical intruders. Finally:
Page 72
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"It'll work. As long as that sixth barrow is Moondog's." He sighed, leaned
back, closed his eyes.
The dream began. And midway through he found himself staring into green
ophidian eyes. Wise, cruel, mocking eyes. He started awake.
"Pop? You up there?"
"Yeah. Come on up."
Stancil pushed into the room. He looked awful.
"What happened?"
"The Barrowland.... The ghosts are walking."
"They do that when the comet gets close. I didn't expect them so soon. Must be
going to get frisky this time. That's no call to get shook up."
"Wasn't that. I expected that. That I could handle. No. It's Besand and Men
fu."
"What?"
"Men fu tried to get into the Barrowland with Besand's amulet."
"I was right! That little... Go on."
"He was at the dig. He had the amulet. He was scared to death. He saw me
coming and headed downhill. When he got near where the moat used to be, Besand
came out of nowhere, screaming and waving a sword. Men fu started running.
Besand kept after him. It's pretty bright out there, but I lost track when
they got up around the Howler's barrow. Besand must have caught him. I heard
them yelling and rolling around in the brush. Then they started screaming."
Stancil stopped. Bomanz waited.
"I don't know how to describe it, Pop. I never heard sounds like that. AH the
ghosts piled onto the Howler's barrow. It went on a long time. Then the
screaming started getting closer."
Stancil, Bomanz concluded, had been shaken deeply. Shaken the way a man is
when his basic beliefs are uprooted. Odd. "Go on."
"It was Besand. He had the amulet, but it didn't help. He didn't make it
across the moat. He dropped it. The ghosts jumped him. He's dead, Pop. The
Guards were all out there.... They couldn't do anything but look. The Monitor
wouldn't give them amulets so they could get him."
Bomanz folded his hands on the tabletop, stared at them. "So now we have two
men dead. Three counting the one last night. How many will we have tomorrow
night? Will I have to face a platoon of new ghosts?"
"You're going to do it tomorrow night?"
"That's right. With Besand gone there's no reason to delay it. Is there?"
"Pop.... Maybe you shouldn't. Maybe the knowledge out there should stay
buried."
Page 73
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"What's this? My son parroting my misgivings?"
"Pop, let's don't fight. Maybe I pushed too hard. Maybe I was wrong. You know
more about the Barrowland than me."
Bomanz stared at his son. More boldly than he felt, he said, "I'm going in.
It's time to put doubts aside and get on with it. There's the list. See if
there's an area of inquiry that I've forgotten."
"Pop...."
"Don't argue with me, boy." It had taken him all evening to shed the ingrained
Bomanz persona and surface the wizard so long and artfully hidden. But he was
out now.
Bomanz went to a comer where a few seemingly innocuous objects were piled. He
stood taller than usual. He moved more precisely, more quickly. He began
piling things on the table. "When you go back to Oar, you can tell my old
classmates what became of me." He smiled thinly. He could recall a few who
would shudder even now, knowing he had studied at the Lady's knee. He'd never
forgotten, never forgiven. And they knew him that well.
Stancil's pallor had disappeared. Now he was uncertain. This side of the
father had not been seen since before the son's birth. It was outside his
experience. "Do you want to go out there, Pop?"
"You brought back the essential details. Besand is dead. Men fu is dead. The
Guards aren't going to get excited."
"I thought he was your friend."
"Besand? Besand had no friends. He had a mission.... What're you looking at?"
"A man with a mission?"
"Could be. Something kept me here. Take this stuff downstairs. We'll do it in
the shop."
"Where do you want it?"
"Doesn't matter. Besand was the only one who could have separated it from the
junk."
Stancil went out. Later, Bomanz finished a series of mental exercises and
wondered what had become of the boy. Stance hadn't returned. He shrugged, went
on.
He smiled. He was ready. It was going to be simple.
The town was in an uproar. A Guard had tried to assassinate the new Monitor.
The Monitor was so bewildered and frightened he had locked himself in his
quarters. Crazy rumors abounded.
Bomanz walked through it with such calm dignity that he startled people who
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]