by Suzanne Weyn
Zanara-Ki stepped forward, her head hung low. "See that my dinner is brought to my room tonight. I wish to dine alone," Mardock ordered.
Zanara-Ki bowed and backed away. Sheila shut her eyes and exhaled sharply as Mardock turned and resumed his walk. Suddenly he turned back to them. "Oh, and girl," he called, "another thing."
Once again Sheila froze, barely daring to breathe. "I need some equipment carried from my chambers to the torture room. Bring one of the other girls," said Mardock. "Come, follow me."
“Stay in back of Zanara-Ki," Illyria muttered to Sheila. Shaking all over, Sheila stepped forward, trying to hide behind her companion.
Mardock narrowed his eyes and studied the two servants standing timidly before him. "Oh, never mind, it can wait," he said, dismissing them with an impatient wave of his hand.
Again Sheila felt her whole body sag with relief as she turned and followed Illyria and Zanara-Ki down the hall. But just minutes later she heard the sound of many footsteps running down the hall. Checking quickly over her shoulder, she saw Mardock leading a group of at least twenty guards down the hall.
"Capture those women!" he screamed.
Sheila sprinted along the corridor, but was soon cut off by a troop of twenty more guards coming directly at her. Two guards grabbed Illyria just as she was reaching for her sword. Two others stepped up and seized Sheila and Zanara-Ki, holding knives at their throats.
Mardock laughed shrilly. "What a pleasant surprise. Did you honestly think I wouldn't recognize you?" He shoved his hate-filled face into Sheila's. "I would know you anywhere. I would know you in the dark."
Sheila breathed deeply to fight her fear. "And where is your magic pack?" Mardock snarled.
"I left it behind," Sheila spoke, trying to keep her voice steady.
Mardock's pupils widened with fury. He seized her by her caftan and ripped the material down the front. "Here it is!" he cried, greedily tearing the pack from her waist.
''Where is Dr. Reit?" Sheila shouted, fighting back tears.
Raising an eyebrow, Mardock chuckled. "News gets around," he sneered. "Or have you used your magic to contact him already? Yes, of course you have. How else could you know?"
"You'd better not have hurt him!" Sheila yelled.
A stinging slap seared Sheila's face. "Or what?" snarled Mardock, rubbing his hand.
"Or you will be hideously avenged by those who fight with me," threatened Illyria. "Now leave that child alone, you craven coward."
Mardock backed off from Illyria's wrath, his eyes darting about in search of more guards. "Take them to Ankzar," he commanded irritably.
12
In Ankzar's Prison
Ankzar peered down from his throne at the prisoners, his dark, black-lined eyes burning intensely. The yellow and brown silk shirt he wore over flowing trousers was open to his waist in the front and on the sides, exposing a hard chest and stomach.
He sat with his legs spread wide and his hands clasped together at his chin and continued to stare at them. When he finally spoke it was in a deep, rich voice. "I should have known it would not be so easy to get rid of you," he said to Zanara-Ki. "You can see how much I respect your fighting skills," he added with a chuckle, waving his hand toward the line of guards who stood against the wall.
Zanara-Ki twisted her mouth into a bitter smile. "Should I be honored?"
"As you like," Ankzar answered, unruffled. "But do tell me again what this is all about, other than some ridiculous threat on my life."
“We have come in pursuit of our friend, the great god of the future, and to demand that your spell be lifted from the unicorns,'' Illyria answered.
Ankzar ran a hand reflectively over his smooth, cleanshaven head as he studied this woman who dared demand anything of him. "You must be the one they call the Unicorn Queen. You are known to me. If I recall, you once stole a shipment of unicorns that was being sent to King Kumuru from Dynasian of the North."
"We stole nothing that was his. And truly, the unicorns belong to no one. Some of those gentle beasts allow us to ride them, and the others must be allowed to run free. Only when freed can their goodness bring joy to the land. Why do you wish to harm such creatures? They are of no use to you in captivity.''
Ankzar scowled and stood. "Do not question the might or the wisdom of Ankzar." He picked up the staff by his side and walked down two steps to the floor where they stood. Atop the staff was the sculptured head of a dog with long pointed ears and emerald stones for eyes. Ankzar banged the staff on the floor as he faced Illyria. "I will not be questioned!"
Illyria glared at him. "I have met kings and emperors before. You neither frighten nor impress me.”
To Sheila's surprise, Ankzar smiled broadly at this. "But you impress me, unicorn lady. I had not heard you were so beautiful." He stroked Illyria's cheek with the back of his hand.
Illyria turned her face away. "Do not touch me," she growled in a low, threatening voice. "If my hands were not tied I would kill you where you stand."
"And such fire! Most exciting!" Ankzar exulted. "I will have you for one of my wives." He started toward his throne, but then turned back dramatically. "No! I will have you for my head wife. My queen! I grow bored with the old one, anyway.
Illyria laughed bitterly. "I would rather die."
Ankzar's face lost every trace of good humor. "You may well get your wish," he hissed. "Guards, remove these females to the prison for now
Instantly the three prisoners were flanked by six guards on each side and marched out of the palace, through the back courtyard to one of the three great pyramids that marked the corners of Queelotoo.
It took five guards to hoist the ropes of the lever system that lifted one of the gigantic stones. ''In you go," said a guard, and then Sheila and the others were being shoved down a cool stone corridor lit only by torches on the wall. The procession stopped in front of a narrow wooden door with a barred window. One of the guards unlocked it and pushed them inside.
There was no furniture in the cold, stone cell, not even straw on the floor. And it was dark. Only two torches dimly illuminated the large windowless place.
But the room was not entirely empty. "Sheila!" came the sound of a familiar voice, as out of the shadows stepped Dr. Reit.
"Are you all right?" asked Sheila, running to the scientist.
"I have to admit that I've been better," Dr. Reit said with an ironic smile. He was still wearing his white lab coat and wrinkled trousers. There was a weariness in his dark eyes, and Sheila winced when she noticed the ugly black-and-blue welt on his forehead. "Your friend Mardock has quite a mean streak," Dr. Reit added, touching the bruise gingerly.
"I'm so sorry," Sheila apologized. "I know you told me not to come back here, but 1 just had to."
"Yes, well, I can't say I was surprised. I had a feeling you were determined to return, I was rather taken aback to find that Mardock fellow at the other end of your signal, however. I take it he obtained the Tracker from you forcibly?"
"I would never have given it to him in a million years!"
"I suspected as much. Luckily I didn't pull him through. I got such a strange series of blips and bleeps, I thought you might be in some sort of trouble, so I decided to come myself to see what was going on."
"Can you get us home again?" Sheila asked as she backed up against a jagged piece of stone and tried to cut away her bonds.
Dr. Reit sighed. "Yes and no. I took the precaution of setting the transporter onto a timer. But by my calculations the time has come and gone—and I'm still here. Of course, I may have failed to take the time divergence between the two worlds into account. Or perhaps the timer is simply malfunctioning."
As the scientist set to work untying Sheila, another figure stepped out of a dark corner. The woman was tall and painfully thin, with long, stringy black hair framing her high, bony cheeks. Coal-black eyes burned feverishly in the sunken hollows of her eyes.
"So, our mighty rescuers have finally arri
ved," she said in a sneering, contemptuous voice.
"Simi! You are alive!" cried Zanara-Ki.
The woman laughed harshly. "Do you mean they still remember Simi the old wizard's daughter in the outside world? After all these years, how flattering.''
"You are still spoken of as a mighty sorceress," said Zanara-Ki, rubbing her wrists as Illyria freed them. "Did you have anything to do with the spell that has overtaken our unicorns?"
"I?" Simi asked in an offended tone. "I have been locked in this prison for many years, as well you know. What do I care for your horned beasts?" Despite her dismissive words, Simi smiled in a knowing way that Sheila found eerie. The woman made her extremely uneasy.
"Listen to me," Dr. Reit said urgently. "I must tell you what I've learned. It seems Mardock has convinced Ankzar that if he captures all the unicorns and grinds their horns into powder, the powder will give him all manner of magical power.
"Not that again!" groaned Sheila. She remembered how Mardock had once convinced Dynasian of the same thing—only Mardock had planned to keep the powder for himself all along. If Illyria and the others hadn't stopped him, Dynasian would have slaughtered the entire herd of captured unicorns just to get their horns. "But how can he grind up their horns if he's making them all disappear?" she asked. "He can't just-"
"He could if I helped him," Simi said slyly, twirling a strand of her oily hair.
"But you have refused to be a part of this evil?" Illyria asked. "You are on our side?"
"Not exactly," Simi told her bitterly.
Sheila could feel Illyria's growing frustration. Simi was trying the Unicorn Queen's patience with this cat-and-mouse game of half clues. "By the heavens!" Illyria exploded. "Will you please give us what information you have so we can all find a way out of this dismal place! Don't you want to escape?"
Simi gazed at Illyria blankly, unmoved by her anger. “There is nothing for me outside these walls,"
"Surely there are those you love whom you wish to see again," Illyria said, trying to control her irritation.
Simi settled back down onto the stone floor. She held her gnarled hands out before her, turning them back and forth. As she studied them with a vacant stare, she seemed to have retreated to some faraway world of her own.
"Answer me," Illyria demanded. "You must have some friend, some relation or loved one who is waiting for you outside these prison walls."
The sorceress looked up at Illyria. "There is no one for me outside these walls," she said calmly, and went back to examining her hands,
Illyria turned her back on Simi in disgust and moved closer to Zanara-Ki, Dr. Reit, and Sheila. "That one is clearly mad and will be no help to us," she said.
"Do not underestimate her," Zanara-Ki warned. "She is known to be almost as powerful as her father,"
"The years in this dungeon must have sapped her powers,” said Illyria.
Zanara-Ki looked over her shoulder at the woman. “Her eyes burn with a great hatred," she observed. "Hatred has an evil power all its own.
"Let her hate whom she chooses," said Illyria. "But I cannot understand someone who prefers enslavement to freedom. I for one have no intention of remaining here one minute longer than necessary," she announced, and began moving slowly along the walls of the prison, running her strong hands over the seams, looking for weaknesses or openings in the stone. Zanara-Ki soon went to the opposite side of the room to do the same.
"I don't wish to discourage them," Dr. Reit said to Sheila. "But I've had a bit of time to examine this place, and I don't see any way out except through that rather well-guarded door."
"How long have you been here?'' Sheila asked.
Dr. Reit scratched his forehead and sighed heavily. "I'm not quite sure," he admitted. "One does lose track of time in here. The trip through the transporter seems to have stopped my watch, and without even a window to indicate day and night, well . . ." The scientist ran his large hand through his disheveled hair. "I certainly hope Einstein found the dried cat food in the bottom cupboard, or he'll be awfully upset with me.”
"I don't think much time has gone by in our world," Sheila assured him, "although several days have passed here."
The mere mention of time made Sheila suddenly realize how very tired she was, and a wide yawn escaped her lips.
"You must be positively pooped, dear girl," Dr. Reit said kindly. "Why don't you take a little nap. I could use a bit of shuteye myself."
At first it was hard for Sheila to get comfortable on the hard stone floor. Even when she curled up on her side, cushioning her head with her arm, sleep didn't come. Despite her exhaustion, her mind continued to race.
Seeing Dr. Reit again reminded her of home. If she were there now, she would probably be watching TV or talking to Cookie on the phone. Then she would go to sleep in her safe, soft bed. She suddenly wanted to be back there very badly.
Sheila tried to be brave—to act like a fearless warrior, but she was very frightened. It's because you're tired, she told herself. Things will seem better after you sleep. But she couldn't shut her mind down. What if Ankzar killed them all? Or maybe he would just keep them locked up until they were all as withered and weird as Simi. The thought sent a shiver up Sheila's spine, and she pulled the white gauze caftan more tightly around her.
Sleep eventually caught up with Sheila, but it was a fitful one, full of fragmented, unsettling dreams—dreams of Mardock. She saw his yellowish eyes glaring at her, heard his vengeful voice threatening her, She dreamed he was standing among the weakened unicorns, whipping them unmercifully. Then she dreamed she was a unicorn, and felt the lash of Mardock's whip.
Sheila opened her eyes with a start. She had no idea how long she had slept. A wooden plank with hard brown bread and water had been set inside the door while she had been dreaming. Was it supper or breakfast? Everyone else in the dungeon was asleep, so there was no one to ask.
Sheila ate some of the stale bread and drifted back to sleep. When she next awoke, the others all were up. Dr. Reit was writing on a small notepad. Illyria was pacing, deep in thought. Simi sat slumped against the wall, silently staring at nothing. The only sound was the low humming made by Zanara-Ki as she sat with her legs crossed and her back straight, meditating.
And so the time passed. How much time, Sheila couldn't be certain. "We'll get out of this,” Illyria told her, but the Unicorn Queen was too preoccupied with trying to devise a plan of escape to be much comfort.
Zanara-Ki had used the Gem of Speaking on Dr. Reit, having kept it hidden in her mouth earlier. Now she and the scientist passed the time together, Zanara-Ki filling the scientist in on the different aspects of Queelotoon culture. Simi continued to stare into space. In fact, everyone seemed to have escaped into a sort of quiet world of their own. Sheila felt her heart race, and she was filled with panic. Was this to be her life from now on? A life of dark imprisonment where there was neither day nor night.
One time Sheila awoke trembling with fear. Quiet tears flooded her eyes. She turned her face to the wall and tried to hide her feelings, not wanting to upset anyone else. She realized she just couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out of there or she would lose her mind. Something had to happen—anything!
At that moment a moving shadow caught Sheila's attention. She looked up and saw Mardock leering at them through the bars of the cell door. With a rattle of keys, he opened the door and stepped inside…
13
The Words of Reemergence
Illyria immediately stepped toward Mardock menacingly, but he turned and summoned a dozen guards who crowded into the cell behind him.
"Such a foolish group," he mocked, "all so unwilling to cooperate. All so nobly resisting the inevitable." He walked into the middle of the room. "I think it is time to move things along. I will begin with Dr. Reit, who refuses to teach me the ways of his time-traveling machine."
Without another word Mardock spun around and threw one of his green electric bolts at Dr. Reit, blasting t
he scientist off his feet and onto the floor.
"See here, Mardock," said Dr. Reit bravely, "that sort of attempt at intimidation will hardly convince me to change my mind."
"No?" Mardock screamed hysterically, standing over the fallen man. "Perhaps not. But never mind. I have no further use for you, you stubborn fool. I've got your troublesome little assistant now, and I’m sure she will be easier to break." Then Mardock simply waved his arms over Dr. Reit. A bright light flashed around the two men, and when it subsided, there was nothing left of Dr. Reit but a rough-cut diamond.
"This should fetch a pretty price," Mardock said with a laugh, picking up the gem and tossing it from hand to hand.
"Turn him back to himself!" Sheila cried in horror. "Do it now!''
"Mardock!” Illyria spoke fiercely. "I have a bargain for you.
"What can you offer me?"
"Ankzar desires me as his wife. Return Dr. Reit to his original state, and I will go to Ankzar. I will tell him it was you who convinced me.”
Mardock eyed Illyria suspiciously. "Why not?" he said at last. "I know the emperor is generous to those who help him fulfill his desires—though why he'd desire such a headache as you, I do not know.”
With another flash of light, Dr. Reit was returned to the cell. Sheila ran to him and supported the wobbly man with her shoulder. "That last zap made me quite dizzy," he muttered weakly.
"You will come peacefully?" Mardock asked Illyria, who nodded wordlessly. "Watch her carefully," he commanded the guards. And looking straight ahead, betraying no emotion, Illyria followed Mardock out the door
No sooner had they disappeared than Simi roused herself from her stupor and began to rant in a high, shrill voice. "Why her? Why is she the chosen? I am the daughter of a wizard! I once had great beauty. She must have bewitched him."
"Illyria's no witch," Sheila protested. "And she certainly doesn't want Ankzar. She just wants to help Dr. Reit. And now that she's out of here, I'm sure she'll find a way to free us all.''