"Nothing's certain in any of the multitudinous universes," Wolff said. "And even for the immortal Lords, Death waits around every corner. So let's go around the corner."
They passed through the gate into the Weltthier. There was no sign of the chronobeasts. Wolff took heart at this, thinking that the chances were very good that the animals had gone into Urizen's stronghold.
Back upon the waterworld, Luvah went off to accomplish his mission. Wolff watched him go. Perhaps he had been wrong in suspecting Vala of alliance with her father. But she had been too lucky in getting to a safe place whenever danger threatened. She had acted too quickly. Moreover, when they were in the river of the icerock planet, she had been too buoyant and just a little too assured. He suspected that the girdle around her waist contained devices to enable her to float. And there was the choosing of the gates by her. Every tune, these had led to a secondary. They should have gone through one of Urizen's gates at least once. She had been too self-assured, even for her. It was as if she were playing a game.
Although she hated her father, she could have joined him to bring her brothers and cousins to death. She hated them as much as she hated her father. She could have transceivers implanted in her body. Thus, Urizen would be able to hear, and probably to see, all that she did. She would enjoy the game as a participant, perversely enjoy it even more if she were in some danger herself.
Urizen could take pleasure in the deadly games as if he were watching a TV set. It would be a genuine spectator sport for him.
Wolff returned to the hill to start the next-to-last phase. The natives were just about finished loading the ship with black powder, ammonium nitrate, and mercury fulminate. The half-built craft consisted of two skeletons of hollow bamboo in which the gas cells had been installed. One was the lower decks of the planned ship; the upper part was supposed to be attached at a later date.
From the beginning, he had known that using the ship as a space traveler was impossible. He doubted very much that it would work, or, if it would, that the voyage between this world and Appirmatzum could be made. The odds were far too high against success.
But he had pretended confidence in it, and so the work had gone on. Moreover, any spy among the Lords, or any other monitor for Urizen, would have been fooled.
Perhaps Urizen was watching him now and wondering what he meant to do. If so, by the time he found out, it would be too late.
The natives released the two halves of the ship from its moorings. They rose several feet and then stopped, weighed down by the several tons of explosives. This altitude was all that Wolff desired. He gave the signal and the natives pushed the crafts up the hill until their prows were almost inside the frame. There was just enough room for the ship to slide through the frames. Wolff had ordered it built in two sections because the fully built ship could not have negotiated the space. Even the partial frames had only an inch on either side on top and bottom to spare.
Wolff lit the fuses on each side of the two floating frameworks and signaled his men. Chanting, they pushed the crafts on in. Wolff, standing to one side, could see the landscape of the island on the other side of the gate. The first ship seemed to be chewed up, or lopped off, as it floated through the gate-frame. Presently, all but the aft of the second was gone, and then that, too, had disappeared.
Luvah appeared from the jungle with Vala's unconscious body over his shoulder. Behind him were the other Lords, alarmed, puzzled, and angry or frightened. Wolff explained to them what he meant to do. He said, "I could tell no one except Luvah because I could trust no one else. I suspect Vala of spying for our father, but she may be innocent. However, I could not take a chance on her. So I had Luvah knock her out while she slept. We'll take her along in case she is not guilty. By the time she wakes up, she'll be in the midst of it. Too late for her to do anything then.
"Now, get into the suits. As I've explained, they'll operate under water as well as in space. Better, since they were designed for diving."
Luvah looked at the gate. "Do you think the explosives went off?
Wolff shrugged and said, "There's no way of telling. It's a oneway gate, of course, so there'll be no indication from the other side. But I hope that by now Urizen's initial traps have been destroyed. And I hope he's very upset, wondering what we've done."
Luvah put a suit on Vala and then donned one himself. Wolff supervised the touching off of the fuses to the explosives planted at the bottom of the ditch around the hill. The fuses led through hollow bamboo pipes to the gunpowder, ammonium nitrate, and fulminate of mercury.
XV
THERE WAS A RUMBLE AND A SHAKING OF THE EARTH. UP ROSE THE decayed vegetation and the roots in a great cloud of black smoke. When the debris had settled and the smoke had blown away, Wolff led the Lords towards the hill. It was sinking swiftly; its anchorage to the rest of the island severed and the lower part ripped apart. Under the weight of the heavy golden hexagons, it went down.
Wolff threw several fuse-lit bombs at the base of the gates to hasten the descent to the sea. The gates began to topple. Wolff held his men steady until the upper part struck the sides of the pit formed by the explosion. As the gates slid into the water below, he gave the order to jump. His mask over his face, the air tanks turned on, a flint-tipped spear in one hand, and a flint knife and flint axe in his belt, he leaped into the water.
The top of the gates disappeared just as he came up to the surface for a better look. The water was so foul with bits of roots and humus that he could not see anything. He grabbed the top of the frame and let its weight pull him down. It was on its way to the bottom of the sea, but he could go only a little way with it.
He felt Luvah, who was holding Vala in one arm, grab his ankle with the other. Another Lord should be getting hold of Luvah's ankle. Theotormon would be the only free swimmer until they got through the gate.
Wolff made sure, by feeling, that he was at the left gate. Then he began swimming. He had no trouble entering the gate. The inrush of sea-water carried him on in.
The current carried him down a long hall. The walls were self-luminous and radiated enough light for him to make out details.
Some of the wall-plates were partially ripped off or bent. Down at the end of the hall, two thick white metal doors were twisted grotesquely. The explosion had done its work well. It was conceivable that the doors could have sealed off the rest of the palace from the flood of water. Eventually, the pressure of water from the sea bottom would have burst them open. By that time, the Lords would also have been dead from pressure.
Wolff went through the crumpled doors and on down another corridor. Seeing it come to an end, he twisted around until his feet were ahead of him. The water boiled at its end, striking the wall and then going off down a slightly sloping corridor. Wolff took the impact with his feet, shoved, and was off with the current down the hall. The light showed him a series of long metal spikes below him. Undoubtedly, they were prepared for the invading Lords, who were now passing above them.
The corridor suddenly dipped, and the water was racing down a fifty-degree angle. Wolff barely had time to see that it branched into two other corridors before he was carried helplessly out the great window at the end.
He fell, whirling over and over, seeing the palace walls rush by and a garden below. He was being hurled down by a cascade formed by the sea spouting out the window.
The crash into the pool at the bottom of the falls stunned him. Half-conscious, he swam up and away and was at the edge of the pool. Originally, the pool had been a sunken garden. Lucky for him, he thought, otherwise, he would have been smashed to death. He dragged himself up over the lip of stone, still clutching his spear.
The other Lords came bobbing up one by one. Theotormon was first. Luvah was next, with a conscious, and frightened, Vala behind bim. Rintrah swam in a few seconds later. Tharmas floated into the edge of the pool. He was face down, his arms outspread. Wolff pulled him up and turned him over. He must have smashed into the side of the window be
fore being carried out. His leg was snapped at the knee and the side of his face was crushed in.
Vala stormed at Wolff. He told her to shut up; they did not have time for talking. In a few words he explained what he had done and why.
Vala recovered quickly. She smiled, though still pale, and said, "You have done it again, Jadawin! Turned Urizen's own devices against him!"
"I do not know if you are guilty of allying yourself with our father or not," Wolff said. "Perhaps I am overly suspicious, though it may be impossible to be that when dealing with a Lord. If you are innocent, I will apologize. If not, well, our father must by now be convinced that you have betrayed him and are with us. So he will kill you before you can explain, unless you kill him first. You have no choice."
"Jadawin, you were always a fox! So be it! I will kill our father the first chance I get! Who knows, I may have the chance! I would have sworn up to a few hours ago that we would be trapped as soon as we entered his domain! But here we are, and he has a deadly problem on his hands!"
She pointed up at the great window through which the sea was cataracting. "Obviously the gate is on the highest level of the palace. And water flows downward. If he doesn't do something soon, he will be drowned like a rat caught in its own hole."
She turned to indicate the land outside the palace. "As you can see, the palace is in a valley surrounded entirely by high mountains. It will take some time, but the entire sea of the waterworld will come through the gates, unless the matching gates on the waterworld settle on a shallow bottom. This valley will be flooded, and then the water will spill over the mountains and inundate the rest of the planet."
Rintrah said, "Why don't we just climb the mountains and watch our father drown?"
Wolff shook his head. "No, Chryseis is in there."
Rintrah said, "What is that to the rest of us?"
"Urizen will have flying craft," Wolff said. "If he escapes the palace in one, he will pick us off. Even if we should hide from him, we would be doomed. He has merely to leave us here. Eventually, this world will be flooded. We will be trapped, perhaps to starve again. No, if you want to get away from here and back to your own universe, you will have to help me kill Urizen."
He said to Theotormon, "You were allowed a little freedom while you were his prisoner. If we could find the area you know, we could better avoid traps."
"There is an entrance at the bottom of the sunken garden, which is now a pool," Theotormon said. "That would be the best way to enter. We can swim up to the levels that are not yet flooded. If we avoid contact with the floor and walls, we can prevent setting off the traps."
They plunged into the water and, hugging the sides of the pool to avoid the impact of the falling waters, swam around behind the cataract. It was easy to locate the door, since a current was roaring through it. They let it sweep them through until they came to a staircase. This was broad and built of sculptured red and black stone. They swam up it and after many turnings, came to another level. This, too, was flooded, so they continued their ascent. The next floor was inches deep in water and filling swiftly. The Lords climbed on up the stairs until they were on the fourth story.
Urizen's palace was like every Lord's, magnificent in every respect. At another time, Wolff might have lingered to look at the paintings, drapes, sculptures, and treasures, loot of many worlds. Now he had but two thoughts. Kill Urizen and save his great-eyed wife, Chryseis.
Wolff looked around before giving the word to advance. He said, "Where's Vala?"
"She was behind me a moment ago," Rintrah said.
"Then she's in no trouble," Wolff replied. "But we may be. If she's sneaked off to join Urizen. . ."
"We'd better get to him before she does," Luvah said.
Wolff led the way, expecting at every second a trap. There was, however, a chance that Urizen had not set any here. Undoubtedly, there would be defenses at every entrance. But Urizen may have thought himself safe here. Moreover, the water pouring through from above and below might have deactivated the power supplies. Whatever contingency Urizen had prepared himself for, he had never thought of another planet's seas emptying themselves into his domain.
Theotormon said, "The floor above is the one where I was kept prisoner. Urizen's private apartments are also there."
Wolff took the first staircase they came to. He walked up slowly, looking intently for signs of traps. They came without mishap to the next floor and then stood for a moment. The closer they got to Urizen, the more nervous they became. Their hate was beginning to be tinged with some of the old awe they had felt for him when they were children.
They were in a huge chamber, the walls of which were white marble. There were many bas-reliefs carved on them, scenes from many planets. One showed Urizen seated on a throne. Below him, a new universe was forming out of chaos. Another scene showed him standing in a meadow with children at play around him. Wolff recognized himself, his brothers, sisters, and cousins. Those had been happy times, even though there were shadows now and then to forecast the days of hate and anxiety.
Theotormon said, "You can hear the rumble of the water above. It won't be long until this floor, too, is flooded."
"Chryseis is probably held in the same area in which you were prisoner," Wolff said. "You lead the way there."
Theotormon, his rubbery legs acting as springs, went swiftly. He traced bis way without hesitation through a series of rooms and halls that would have been a bewildering labyrinth to a stranger.
Theotormon stopped before a tall oval entrance of scarlet stone with purplish masses that formed ragged silhouettes of winged creatures. Beyond was a great chamber that glowed a dull red.
"That is the room in which I spent most of my tune," he said. "But I fear to go through the doorway."
Wolff extended his spear through the archway. Theotormon said, "Wait a minute. It may have a delayed reaction to catch whoever goes in it."
Wolff continued to hold the spear. He counted the seconds, estimating how far within the chamber he would have gone if he walked on in. There was a flare of light that blinded him and sent him reeling back.
When he regained his sight, he saw that his spear was shorn off. Heat billowed out from the expanding air in the chamber, and there was the odor of charred wood.
"Lucky for you that most of the heat was localized and went upward," Theotormon said.
The trap covered about twenty yards. Beyond that the room might be safe. But how to get past the death that waited?
He stepped back some paces, cast the butt of the spear through the archway, and turned his back. Again, light burst forth, driving the shadows of the Lords down along the corridor and then sending a wave of heat out after them. Wolff turned and threw an arrow into the room and gave the archway his back again while he counted. Three seconds passed before the trap was sprung again.
He gave an order and they returned to the level staircase, which was half below the rising waters. They put on their oxygen masks and dipped themselves into the water. Then they ran down the hall as swiftly as they could, hoping that the water would not dry off them. At the archway, Wolff tossed another arrow through. As soon as the light died, but before the heat had thoroughly dissipated, he dashed into the chamber. Behind him came Theotormon and Luvah. They had three seconds to cover twenty yards and a few feet. They made it. With the heat drying off the film of water on their suits and warming their backs. But they were through.
Rintrah cast an arrow into the room, and he and Tharmas ran into the heat. Wolff had turned around to watch them as soon as the light disappeared. He cried out because Tharmas had hesitated. Tharmas did not heed his warning to wait and try again, perhaps because he did not hear it. He was racing desperately, his eyes wide behind the goggles. Wolff shouted to the others to turn away as Rintrah sped past him. There was another nova of light, a scream, and a thud. Heat billowed over the Lords; they smelled the charred fish skin of the suit and burned human flesh.
Tharmas was a dark mass on the floor, h
is fingers and toes almost burned off.
Without a word, the others turned away and went on through the room. Near its other archway, Theotormon led them through a very narrow doorway, although he did not do so until after it had been tested. They came into a hemispherical room at least one hundred yards across. Within the room were many large cages, all empty except for one.
Wolff saw the occupant of the cage first
He cried out, "Urizen!"
XVI
THE CAGE WAS TEN FEET BY TEN. IT WAS FURNISHED ONLY WITH A thin blanket on the floor, a pipe for drinking water, a hole for excretion, and an automatic food dispenser. The man within it was very tall and very thin. He had the face of a bearded and starved falcon. His hair fell down his back to his calves, and his beard hung below his knees. The black hairs were threaded with gray, by which Wolff knew that his father had been a long time in the cage. Even after the so-called immortality drugs were cut off, their effect lasted for years.
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