by Suzanne Weyn
"You don't know Ankzar," Simi snarled, rising to her feet. "There was never a man more charming. I should know. He once used that charm on me—until my father fell from his favor. Your friend will be unable to resist him."
"Don't be silly! Illyria hates Ankzar!" Sheila exclaimed.
"And, besides, she loves someone else. She would never forget about Laric."
"Ankzar can make a woman forget any man on earth," Simi insisted before collapsing to the stone floor in a heap of pitiful sobs.
Sheila and Zanara-Ki exchanged glances. For days Simi bad sat like a zombie—barely moving, emotionless. Now here she was, weeping and wailing. And over Ankzar!
Simi cried on and on. When she had finally run out of tears, Sheila picked up the bowl of water from the plank near the door and offered it to her. With her eyes red from crying, the wizard's daughter seemed softer, more vulnerable, and Sheila sensed she might be ready to talk now.
"Simi, please tell us what you know about this spell," she requested gently.
"Everyone wants to know about the spell," Simi said, a bit of the old bitterness creeping back into her voice. "Ankzar has been trying to get me to reveal its secrets for years. I've always refused him. But now he's set his new wizard to decoding my father's secret books. From your words I take it he's been successful. So Ankzar thinks he doesn't need me anymore." The woman laughed to herself. "But that's where he's wrong.”
''What do you mean?" Sheila asked.
Simi gave Sheila a twisted smile. "I'm not sure I wish to reveal that."
Sheila tried again. "Why would Ankzar want to make all the unicorns disappear? It doesn't do him any good."
Simi suddenly realized that Zanara-Ki and Dr. Reit were listening intently to her words. She seemed to enjoy having an audience and drew herself up into a regal posture. Even her voice took on a deeper tone as she assumed the bearing of a great sorceress. "Isn't it obvious, child? Anything that has been made to disappear can be made to reappear! All it takes is the chanting of certain words over the dog's head on the staff Ankzar keeps by his side, All the focused power of the spell resides within that head."
"That's why Ankzar has such an abundance," Zanara-Ki gasped with sudden realization. "All the crops and animals he made disappear, reappeared in his own storeroom and stables!"
"Exactly," Simi confirmed. “At least they reappeared until my father was murdered. My wise father left the words of reemergence out of his books, revealing them only to me. Not even Mardock can find them. Since Ankzar knows I know the words, I imagine that's the reason I am still alive."
"But if you love Ankzar," Shefla said, "why not tell him the words? I don't understand."
"You wouldn't," said Simi, turning her back on Sheila and the others as she spoke. "Love and hate can be strangely entwined. I once loved Ankzar and offered to help him—if he would make me his wife." Simi's voice became choked with rage at the memory. "He laughed in my face. Now I would do anything to hurt him, even if it means I rot in this prison forever."
With these words, Simi seemed to collapse back into the madwoman she had appeared to be before. She slowly turned and walked to the darkest corner of the prison, where she pulled herself up into a ball. With eyes wide open, her face went blank. It was clear that Simi would tell them nothing further, at least not now.
"You did well," Zanara-Ki said to Sheila.
"At least we know what's going on," Sheila answered.
"But now what?" asked Dr. Reit, looking up from a page of notes he had been scribbling. ''I hate just sitting around idly, not doing anything to help the situation."
"What's that you're writing?" Sheila asked.
"It's useless, really. I've been working on a possible connection between this spell and my own work in molecular acceleration—moving matter to different planes and realms of reality. It might help in some way, yet I don't see how words can affect molecular movement.”
"Magic is a powerful force," said Zanara-Ki. "The words simply focus the wizard's energy.”
"Hmmm," muttered Dr. Reit thoughtfully. "Why don't you have a look at my notepad. Perhaps we can figure something out."
The scientist and the mystic sat together near the torch at the far wall and went over Dr. Reit's theory.
Though Sheila somehow doubted they would get very far, she left them to their work and wandered over to the bread and water a guard had just brought in. Sheila had learned that it was slightly better if tasted immediately. As she picked up the loaf, she saw a folded white piece of paper underneath it. She grabbed it up and took it over to the other torch.
By the flickering light Sheila saw the note was from Darian. He must be in Queelotoo!
"I bribed a guard to give you this," she read. "I hope you get it. Sad news. All the unicorns have weakened and disappeared. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Morning Star was the last to go.”
Sheila staggered back against the wall. "No!" she gasped, tears flooding her eyes.
At that moment Simi rose up, wild-eyed, and ran to Sheila. "You will die," she whispered, reaching for her throat.
Sheila pushed the woman away. "What are you saying, Simi?"
"And you, Ankzar, you serpent," Simi hissed, pointing at nothing. "You will die first."
Sheila looked into Simi's vacant eyes and realized the sorceress was sleepwalking.
"Simi, you're not awake. Go back to sleep," Sheila coaxed the woman.
"No," Simi snarled, shrugging off Sheila's hand on her arm. ''I can never sleep while Ankzar has that blond devil for a wife. I am the one he needs."
Sheila tried to remember what she had heard about sleep-walkers. She knew it wasn't a good idea to startle them. She had heard that if you couldn't guide them back to bed, then it was best to distract them until they either woke up or fell back to sleep.
Zanara-Ki looked up from her conversation with Dr. Reit, but Sheila waved her back. She could handle this.
But how could she distract the woman in this empty cell? Then the hard bump of her tape recorder gave her an idea. Mardock had missed it when he ripped the pack off her. She had kept it strapped to her waist, hidden under her caftan. Now she pulled it out as Simi continued to wander about the cell whispering and waving her arms angrily: “Die, die, I will make sure they both die.”
"Hey, Simi! Want to see something interesting?" Sheila held the recorder out. Simi looked at it blankly and then at Sheila. "See,” -Sheila pressed the Record button-"it can record voices.
Simi knocked the machine from Sheila's hands. "Fools' magic!" she growled. "Simi, the daughter of the great wizard, has real magic. Only I know the sacred words of reemergence; Aza ka moseti! Azataka atut mazut adatiaba…”
Simi continued spouting strange words for almost another fifteen minutes without faltering. Sheila marveled that the woman remembered it all after so many years. "It is I whom Ankzar needs. I whom he should love. I who will triumph!" Simi concluded. And still muttering angrily, she finally stretched out on the floor and went back to sleep.
Sheila sighed wearily. "Thank goodness," she said to herself, and returned to the note. After all the unicorns had faded, she learned, Darian had waited for the women's return. But when days went by with no word from them, he'd become worried and followed them into Queelotoo.
Hearing the news that Ankzar had taken a new blond wife from across the seas, he jumped to the obvious—and correct—conclusion that it was Illyria. Darian then made his way to the palace, where he bribed one guard to let him in to see his sister, and when Illyria told him what had happened to the others, bribed a second guard to deliver this note.
Pressing her back against the stone wall, Sheila let herself slide down to the floor. Now her nightmare was really coming true: Morning Star had disappeared.
But Morning Star wasn't really gone, Sheila told herself firmly. Ankzar was determined to make the unicorns reappear. She would beg Simi, plead with her, to say the words of reemergence over Ankzar's staff. And then somehow, some way
, Illyria's warriors would stop the slaughter. Sheila knew it was a long shot, but it was worth a try. For as long as the unicorns remained in this strange, suspended state of invisibility, there was no hope at all for them.
After telling Zanara-Ki and Dr. Reit the news from Darian, Sheila made a silent vow to the one who was not there: We won't give up, Morning Star. Be brave, girl, and I'll try to be brave, too.
Sheila closed her eyes to better conjure up the image of her beloved unicorn, but her intense concentration was broken by a sudden sharp clicking sound. It was the tape recorder shutting off. The cassette must have wound down to the end. Sheila had forgotten about it. She crawled a few feet across the room and picked the recorder up. At least it's not broken, she thought, reaching under her caftan and restrapping it, before settling down to sleep. .
Sheila was abruptly awakened by the clanking of keys in the lock. As the door was pushed open, her jaw dropped in astonishment.
Illyria stood before them, dressed as a queen. Her abundant hair had been piled high on top of her head, falling in a long, loose tail down one shoulder. She was sheathed in a sheer dress of shimmering gold, bordered with jewels of every kind—emeralds, rubies, sapphires, pearls. The dress was clasped at one shoulder with a dazzling blue diamond, leaving the other shoulder bare. Illyria's eyes had been expertly made up, lined all around in black pencil. Her full lips were painted a cherry red.
It wasn't the woman Sheila knew at all. Yet she had to admit that Illyria looked breathtakingly beautiful.
"I have come with a message," Illyria said in a stranger’s flat, toneless voice.
14
Simi's Revenge
Ankzar stepped into the cell beside Illyria. He was dressed as the day before, only now he had draped a silken cape over his shoulders and held his staff regally before him. And after Ankzar came Darian.
Illyria's brother had also been transformed. He was wearing a shirt of red silk that was open on all sides, like Ankzar's. Soft white trousers flowed loosely around his legs and were gathered at the bottoms. It looked to Sheila as if his eyes had also been finely rimmed with black pencil. His face was as blank and emotionless as Illyria's.
"Your queen has come to help you make wise choices," Ankzar announced. Three guards stepped into the cell behind him. The last one in relocked the door.
''Yes, I have come to urge you all to join forces with Ankzar," Illyria spoke to them gently. "Our cause is lost. Let us now align ourselves with the victor, so that our lives may continue in comfort and productivity."
Dr. Reit caught Sheila's eye. His raised eyebrow seemed to ask: Is this real or a bluff? Sheila bit her lip. She wasn't sure. Illyria would never want them to surrender—but she sounded so convincing! Could she have fallen under one of Mardock's spells?
"Mardock will use the power from the unicorn horns to create a super army that will ride against Campora," Illyria continued in the same monotone. ''That is our fate. To resist it is senseless.''
"You've forgotten one thing," snarled Simi. "Only I know the words of reemergence. You need me to create your super army. And I will never say those words for you."
“But you will," Illyria told her calmly. "Mardock has come up with a spell that compels the will of another. You have only to gaze into his eyes and you will be under his command."
''Hypnosis," muttered Dr. Reit under his breath.
Sheila clasped her hands together to keep them from trembling. Mardock must have hypnotized Illyria! If Illyria had fallen under his control, then the situation was truly hopeless.
"You can't betray Laric!" Sheila cried out, beside herself with despair.
"Nor shall I!" shouted Illyria. And with a blindingly quick movement, she grabbed a torch off the wall with one hand and seized Ankzar around his neck with the other. She held the torch threateningly close to the emperor's face.
The first guard drew his saber, but Darian was on top of him instantly, wrestling him to the ground. Zanara-Ki kicked the next guard's saber from his hand with a single well-aimed blow.
Sheila scrambled for the sword as it slid across the floor. She seized it tightly and, with a clang of metal, engaged the third guard in a duel.
Sheila's fingers tingled as she clasped the hilt with both hands. A lesson Illyria had once given her ran through her brain. "You must throw yourself into the fight with a battle madness that banishes fear. Become part of the weapon, moving through space with only one goal—victory."
Still, the guard was strong and skilled. He sliced the air in front of her; she leaned back and checked him with an upward stroke of her saber. He shifted to the right, and Sheila slammed her blade down on his. On and on they fought.
Out of the corner of her eye Sheila caught sight of Illyria. The Unicorn Queen had gotten hold of the first guard's saber and was embroiled in her battle with Ankzar, who had somehow freed himself from her grasp.
Ankzar slashed the air with his staff, twirling and spinning it like a master. Yet time and again Illyria managed to leap and somersault out of its reach. And then her saber clattered against the stone floor as she tried unsuccessfully to crack the staff in hall.
Dr. Reit came up behind Sheila's opponent and grabbed him by the throat. The guard whirled around and shoved the older man back hard. But that single second of broken concentration gave Sheila the advantage she needed. She was able to meet his saber with her own and send it sailing across the cell.
The unarmed guard pounced on Sheila, throwing her to the floor. Zanara-Ki seemed to fly across the room and was quickly on top of him. She had left her guard unconscious, and now she pulled this one up and kicked him squarely across the jaw. He staggered back, but Zanara-Ki was relentless. She flew into the air with one leg extended and kicked him in the stomach.
The guard went down, out cold. Sheila looked around and saw that Darian had finished off his foe, but Illyria was still battling Ankzar. Then, with one powerful blow, the Unicorn Queen swung at the staff and connected. The dog's head went flying across the cell. Ankzar froze, stunned by the loss of the headpiece to his magical staff. All eyes turned to Simi, who had scooped up the blue sculptured head.
Holding it up high, the sorceress sang out in triumph; “Aziwr, melvo, papisar, akaa!"
Even as the last strange syllable echoed through the cell, the stones of the pyramid began to rumble. A tremendous crack arose from the base of the floor and crept up to the ceiling, splitting the stones in two.
"You fool!" Ankzar roared at Simi. "You don't know what you're doing!"
"I know that these are the words of destruction!" Simi screamed back at him. "I know, too, that I will never say the words of reemergence!" And she went back to her chanting, growing more frenzied with each word.
The walls and floor of the pyramid continued to shake violently. Sheila leapt back as the comer of a giant stone came crashing to the floor. They were going to be buried alive—or crushed to death—by these falling rocks!
"Stop this madness!" Illyria cried to Simi. "You will kill us all!" But her words fell on deaf ears. Enthralled with her own power, Simi was oblivious to the danger around her.
Illyria scooped up the keys to the cell from the floor. Once again the walls of the cell shuddered, throwing the Unicorn Queen to the ground. "Come, we must get out of here," she called to the others, scrambling back up and unlocking the cell. But just as she pulled the door to her, a giant piece of stone crashed in front of it, sealing off the passageway.
“Please, Simi, stop this!" Illyria cried out to the woman.
"I could not stop it now even if I chose," Simi crowed as a jagged crack opened up at her feet, splitting the prison cell in half.
"Ha, ha!" she shrieked maniacally. "I will destroy you all!" At that moment the floor rumbled again, knocking Simi off balance. Seeing that the woman was in danger of falling into the crevice, Illyria leaped across the gap and only barely managed to grab Simi's wrist as she toppled over.
Simi looked up at Illyria with the burning e
yes of a lunatic. In the hand of the wrist Illyria grasped, the sorceress still clutched the dog's head. Illyria tried to drag the dangling woman back to the top, but Simi's skin was slick with perspiration. She slid from Illyria's hand, shrieking as she plummeted to her death.
On the other side of the crack Sheila stared down into the gaping hole, her eyes wide with horror. There was no sign of Simi. Sheila looked to Illyria, who appeared stunned, as she, too, stared into the pit. At last Illyria raised her hand and with shock-glazed eyes studied the object now clutched in it. Simi had let go of the dog's head as she slipped, and now Illyria was left holding the magic sculpture.
Another quake rocked the prison and sent the entire inside wall crashing down. Illyria jumped to her feet, her sharp eyes searching for Ankzar. Sheila quickly followed her gaze. Where was the evil emperor?
"There he is!" cried Zanara-Ki, pointing to a dark, shadowed corner of the cell. Sheila caught a fleeting flash of Ankzar's golden trouser leg as he slipped out a secret doorway opened wide by the last rockfall.
Illyria leaped back over the crack in the floor, and another large stone crashed at her feet. "Come," she shouted, "we must follow him if we want to save ourselves!"
One by one the warriors hurried through the narrow doorway and down a steep flight of steps. At the bottom of it they found themselves knee-deep in muddy water. Overhead, a series of deafening crashes continued to rock the pyramid.
A huge square stone cracked above Sheila's head, sending a torrent of slimy water pouring down her neck. In the next second the stone fell to the ground and became wedged in the passageway, cutting Darian and Sheila off from the others who were just ahead of them.
Darian scrambled up its side and, grimacing with the effort, squeezed through the narrow niche between the stone and wall. "Come on, Sheila!" he shouted. “If I can make it, so can you.
Sheila tried to clamber up, but the rock was wet and slippery. She kept sliding back down the slick surface. "I can't get up!” she cried, a note of panic in her voice. A horrible rumble behind her made Sheila jump. The entire ceiling of the passage had collapsed, and a torrent of filthy water was rushing toward her.