Storm Season tw-4

by Robert Lynn Asprin

  He was forced to slow. A man-shape stood there waiting, a god in armor and helm beaked in imitation of a bird of prey, shield up and ready, sword a dark silver of death ready in his fist. Shield took blow and shield took blow, but its bottom edge was banged in to impact Hanse's body at the waist so that he groaned and half-doubled and staggered back, trying not to fall, but falling, sprawling backward, a grounded target ready for the death-stroke of a god he never should have fought. His elbow banged into a snake-shape of ochreous rock and the sword leaped from it as if eager to flee.

  Hanse had the ridiculous thought I knew I should never have done this as he tried to writhe and wriggle and watched death rushing at him with upraised sword. Mignureal saved him, leaping in from the side with a screech. Hanse, flailing and groaning, trying to will himself onto his feet and yet despairing utterly, saw the vicious black-bladed stroke that cut her nearly in two almost precisely at the waist.

  Now it was a god's turn to show his teeth in feral smile worthy of the lowest beast, and after spinning completely around from the exertion of destroying that poor pale-clad body, he came bounding again, sword rising for the second death blow in seconds, and the absolutely desperate Hanse reverted: he thrust his left hand up his tunic sleeve, half-rolling as he did to free his arm all the way, and hurled the long flat knife.

  He watched its rush as he had never tracked a cast before, none of his thousands and thousands of practice casts. The leaf of shining metal seemed to take minutes, floating through eternity to reach the rushing oncoming god who, though racing toward Hanse, took as long to near. Lightning sundered the sky and thunder followed, but it was the voice of enraged, triumphant Vashanka, at the charge.

  "I CANNOT BE SLAIN BY WEAPONS OF YOUR PLANE, IDIOT, LITTLE THIEF, POOR DEMI MORTAL, INCONSEQUENTIAL INSEC-"

  And then his charge met the knife's. The knife struck, beautifully and perfectly point-first, just under the adam's apple. Vashanka shrieked and the shriek burbled. That impossible plane of infinity came alive with blinding and coruscating light.

  ... down in Sanctuary those up at dawn saw the late-rising moon vanish as the sky was hurled alight by heat lightning bright as day...

  that surrounded Vashanka utterly, that was Vashanka, as his bellow of rage and pain was thunder and lightning. Pierced, he went flying backward as if by smashing impact, and the wind of his passage was as the gale of a storm booming in off the sea. And on he went, until he was so distant to the staring, squinting Hanse that he was tiny, and then that tiny Vashanka vanished.

  Us appeared before Hanse then, radiant. His face was that of the statue in the destroyed temple.

  At that, Hanse wondered; he saw the radiance and yet dimly. Why was it darker; why was his god not all triumphant in pure lambence?

  Why can't I move my damned head, damn it? "m the end," Ils said, "he was right and yet not wise enough. He said true in that he cannot be slain by weapons of this plane. But the knife flew true, the mortal knife off its proper plane here on the Plane of Infinity, and it struck him a killing blow, so that he began to die. But that was not possible. Thus a paradox existed. That is against the nature of things, Hanse, for the God of Gods who created all existence-aye, and who created Me-that god is Reality. Since my cousin's son Vashanka could not be slain by weapons of your plane, this dimension, he could not die in this chamber of the House of Infinity that is the domain of Lord Reality."

  Of course Hanse said, "I don't understand."

  "Hmp! I am sure you don't! It's heady stuff for a god! Explanations for all this won't be discovered by your kind for thousands of years, Son of Shadow. Suffice it to say that Vashanka is gone from here, and that meaning of 'here' is a broad one, indeed and in deed! Vashanka is gone from here because he cannot exist here, in this universe. He has been blown backward through a wormhole in space, which is no easier for you to understand, eh? Accept this truth, Hanse: Vashanka is ElseWhere. And though there is an infinity of possibilities, of dimensions or chambers, one is closed to him forever; used up. That one-yours-is impossible to him and does not exist for him.

  "That which can never exist is the combination of Vashanka on this plane of Reality. Since he is dead but gods may not die from the weapons of mortals, he cannot be here. He can never return to this chamber of the House of Infinity."

  Hanse felt that Ils had said the same thing three several ways, and all were nicely logical and avoided paradox, but ... A wormhole? In space? Yet he was not concerned with that and could not be. Vashanka was gone; Hanse must have won. He felt fine, too, except that he could not seem to lift his head or feel anything. Yet somehow being a hero made him behave as one; he did not mention that but asked a hero's question: "And Mignureal?"

  "She is asleep in her bed. Was-she is risen now, and seeing to her siblings, for in Sanctuary it is dawn. As I and mine are all-powerful here now.... !"

  And Eshi rose, whole and unscarred, and rushed to the prostrate Hanse.

  She knelt beside him and he knew her hands were on him because he could see them. She looked up at the Lord of Lords.

  "I want him, father! I want him!"

  "But-me!" Hanse said. "What of me?"

  Us gazed down on him. "You, beloved Son of Shadow, have defeated a god and restored Me to my own people in Sanctuary. Further, as Va-shanka had become the most powerful of the gods of Ranke, that people's power will wane. Empires die slowly, but it has begun, as of this moment."

  "Yes," Hanse said almost plaintively, not even realizing the enormity of his service to gods and Ilsigi and world, "but... now? What of me- now?"

  "Fa-ther," Eshi said with the sound of accusation in her voice, "his neck is broken!"

  Us said quietly, "Now, Hanse, hero, you are dying."

  "But-"

  "His head struck this nasty damned stone and he's paralyzed from the neck down! He feels nothing, nothing!"

  "But that cannot be," Ils went on, as if he had heard neither of them. "You cannot be dying, for you cannot be dead, for he who did death on you does not exist on this plane. Therefore a paradox exists, if you are dying. Therefore you cannot be dying."

  Pain rose up in Hanse then, as again his body came alive, and he moved his head to look down at Eshi, whose weight was partially on him, and then that was all he felt, for all pain fled and so did each scratch and bruise.

  "Uh-pardon me, uh, Lady Goddess," he grunted, and Hanse rose to face his god. To him clung the daughter of that god, herself a god. "And now? After all this, my god-what am I?"

  "Now, Hanse, you return. For ten circuits of your world around the s-that is, for ten circuits of the sun-you shall have what you wish. All that you desire. We shall not be available to you. Then we shall, and you will face me again, beloved Hanse, and tell me what is your desire."

  "But-"

  Eshi clung to him, but her grip was broken, her fingers torn free of the mailed hero of the Ilsigi by the wind of Ils that rushed him back to Sanctuary; back to his own beloved, squalid little Thieves' World.

  A glance upward showed him more of the impossible that had lately become all too commonplace for the Son of Shadow. The sky was precisely as it had been when he departed on his mission. He even recognized the oddly formed little cloud 'way out there above Julavain's Hill. It looked just like a-

  But even as he paced along the narrow Maze "street," the cloud was coming apart, changing, never to be the same again.

  Information was yielded Hanse by that. But it was for realization later, the fact that while hours or days had been consumed in that mighty combat in a chamber of the House of Infinity, in Sanctuary exactly no time had passed at all.

  Just now, in the darkness of Slick Walk, an accoster separated itself from the shadows along one wall and glided into his path. The fellow bulked large, too.

  "You're not in a hurry are you, little fellow?" the voice said, mocking him. "Carrying a purse?"

  "Not tonight," Hanse said, stepping into the light that fell between them.

  He drew a long sword from a
silver-flashing sheath buckled over fine dark armor that rang softly with the movement of mailed sleeve on chest. At the same time he showed teeth and the blade moved up to catch the light and the footpad whirled and ran for absolutely all he was worth.

  Chuckling softly, Hanse moved on along Slick toward the Serpentine.

  Now those gods with whom he was so intimate had a strange way of expressing themselves sometimes, but he was sure Ils had said that he could have anything he wished for... what did He mean? Ten circuits of the sun was subject to interpretation.

  Did the god mean only ten days? Surely He had not meant ten years?

  Oh well. Ten days or ten months or ten years, Hanse would take them as they came-each as it came. One at a time, he mused, and he yawned.

  To begin with he wished that he were not at all tired, and then he made another wish as well, grinning, and when he entered his room there she was, waiting all low-lashed and smoky-eyed, in his bed.

  (Sleeping entwined, they were awakened later by a horrific vivid lighting of the sky that quite occluded the late-rising moon, but that was the sort of paradox that both Reality and minor gods such as Vashanka and Ils allowed, and countenanced. It was enough to bring anyone wide awake and it was frightfully early, but Hanse found something to do.)

  FOOTNOTES:

  [i] "The Vivisectionist," in Shadows Of Sanctuary; Ace Books, 1981.

  [ii] "Shadowspawn," in Thieves' World; Ace Books, 1979.

  EPILOG

  The fishing fleets of Sanctuary made the first sighting.

  Haron saw a strange sail and called Omat to show it to him. By the time he had shaded his eyes from the sun's glare and located the strange ship, there were five sails-then twenty, all with the strange lateen rigging he had seen the day of the Old Man's disappearance... only these ships were larger, much larger.

  He began working quickly, his one arm aching and cramped with the effort of quick-hauling his nets. The alarm spread from boat to boat and soon the entire fleet was on the move to shore. Some abandoned their nets and traps, preferring to lose their equipment to remaining there on the fishing grounds.

  By the time they reached the piers, over a hundred sails were in view, all on an unwavering course for the town called Sanctuary.

  * * *

  Word spread through the city like wildfire. A fleet, a big one-bound for Sanctuary. Some said it was an invasion from the north. Others argued hotly that the design of the ships was not northern; their specific point of origin was unknown, save that they could not be from the Northern Kingdoms.

  All that was known for sure was that before nightfall new feet would tread the streets of Sanctuary. Some panicked, fleeing to the palace or the temples for reassurance. Others, more practical, began boarding up their shops and hiding their valuables.

  * * *

  Hanse Shadows? awn heard the news with mixed feelings, wishing anew he could be certain how long his guarantee of divine protection would last. Finally he decided that discretion really was the better part of valor and headed for the ruined estate that had been the scene of his recent adventures. An estate that was well outside the boundaries of Sanctuary proper. Things had been so much simpler before he had anything to lose.

  * * *

  Myrtis, ruling the Street of Red Lanterns from her Aphrodesia House, was perhaps the best prepared of any in town. A few curt orders were all that would be necessary to begin relocating her "staff to the tunnels beneath the city. Though worried about the chronic shortage of supplies in the chambers below, she was more worried about Lythande. The mage had been absent from town for some time now-and the oncoming fleet boded ill for any traveller's return.

  * * *

  The magical community of Sanctuary viewed the fleet with a mixture of anticipation and dread. There was magic in those ships, strong magic of a type they had never encountered before. Some, like Enas Yorl and Ischade, with nothing to lose, waited with curiosity, eager to add to their already great wealth of knowledge. The rest wove hurried spells of defense around themselves and prayed secretly to varied gods that strength alone would suffice.

  * * *

  Molin Torchholder, head priest of the Temple of Vashanka, had his hands full reassuring his cadre so that they might, in turn, calm the crowds of believers who pressed through the temple doors. Amidst his attempts to organize things, he was haunted by his own fears. He had worked to ground the Storm God's power, leaving the priesthood free to explain and interpret as was their god-given right and duty. He had thought himself successful, for lately Vashan-ka's presence was noticeably lacking in town.

  Now this.

  Perhaps his schemings had backfired. Where was the Storm God's protection now that a force threatened them? Just one good windstorm...

  With a sigh Molin reminded himself that the trouble with the gods was that they were never there when you needed them, but always there when you didn't.

  * * *

  Jubal cursed aloud when Saliman arrived at their new hideout with word of the fleet. Their plans to rebuild a power structure had been going well, old employees being infiltrated through the existing structures of the town and new hirelings being bought or frightened into cooperation. With only weeks to go before their first act of power, this new force could mean complications and disruption of the existing order. He would need to completely re-evaluate and probably revise all their plans.

  After months of painful healing and careful planning, Jubal was not one to accept inconvenience with a smile.

  * * *

  Prince Kadakithis shooed his advisors out of the meeting chambers so that he might speak privately with Tempus. It had already been decided that a messenger would be dispatched for the capital immediately with news of the fleet. There was no reason to believe they'd be able to get word out after the fleet landed.

  Sanctuary's military situation was bleak. Counting the Stepsons, the garrison and Wale-grin's newly formed company, the city would muster less than two hundred swords. If this incoming fleet were indeed hostile, their opposition would likely number in the thousands.

  The Prince angrily rejected Tempus' suggestion theft he accompany the messenger north to the safety of Ranke. He was royalty, pledged to the service and protection of the town. When one enjoyed the fruits of position, Kitty-cat said, then one occasionally had to bear the burdens too- even if that burden included the possibilities of capture, ransom and worse.

  Tempus argued that this was illogical, citing numerous historic examples, but Kadakithis remained unswayed. The citizens of Sanctuary could not flee and, therefore, neither would he. Good or bad, he would remain with the town and share its fate.

  * * *

  Confronted with another prophecy come true, Walegrin sought his half-sister in the bazaar, only to find his path blocked by silent S'danzo men. Dubro's appearance averted potential bloodshed; the smith drew Walegrin aside and explained what he knew of the situation.

  Illyra was in a meeting with the other S'danzo women-a meeting closed to outsiders. As near as Dubro could determine, they were pooling the information each had received through visions of the approaching ships and arguing over the best course for the S'danzo to follow. Until the meeting broke up, there was nothing to do but wait.

  Walegrin fumed but settled back to sweat out the time until the meeting was over, knowing full well the value of the information that might be forthcoming if he could convince Illyra to share the tribe's secrets with him.

  * * *

  The Downwinders were jubilant when they heard the news. As those currently at the bottom of the social structures, any change would have to be for the better, though the more imaginative cautioned that this need not be true. Still, the scavengers anticipated the fleet's arrival with far more enthusiasm than could be found anywhere else in town.

  * * *

  The Vulgar Unicorn was crowded with those seeking to stave off the future with a tankard of ale. One-Thumb stoically refused to give either discounts or credit, wishing secretly that he
had the courage to raise the prices instead. It took men to man ships, and men drank, especially when they landed in a new town. He could be rich by tomorrow, rich enough to leave this town for good, if ...

  If these low lifes didn't drain his cellars completely before the fleet arrived. With an angry bellow he answered the next request for credit by smashing the asker in the face with a tankard.

  * * *

  The docks were deserted now. The fisherfolk had fled inland, leaving the area free for the garrison troops. The city's soldiers had not yet arrived and there was some doubt that they ever would. Most felt the Prince would keep them at the palace rather than run the risk of having them desert before they reached the enemy.

  Only one person kept the seabirds company as they watched the fleet move closer. Hakiem, the storyteller, sat crosslegged on a crate in the shade of a ragged canvas awning that flapped noisily in the stillness of the empty wharf. He had purloined two bottles of good wine from an abandoned tavern and he sipped at them alternately as he squinted at the distant sails.

  He had not been idle since his conversation with Omat and he knew now the approaching ships matched the descriptions of those used by the Fish-Eyed-Folk of old legends...and that a similar ship had captured the Old Man and his son months before.

  Whether friendly or hostile, the fleets' arrival promised to be the most noteworthy event in this generation's history-and,Hakiem intended to witness it firsthand. He was not unaware of the potential danger, but he feared even more the possibility of missing the moment of landfall.

  It might prove to be the end of the Old Man's story, and it would definitely be the beginning of a new story for Sanctuary. The fact that it might be the end of Hakiem's story was inconsequential.