The men next to him gasped audibly and Kordan leapt from his seat. Lory grabbed his arm frantically to stop him doing anything stupid.
“Don’t!” she shouted, and put her hand to her mouth. All eyes at once appeared to be directed at her and she suddenly felt sick.
“She spoke! You see!” shouted the gaunt man. “She can’t even adhere to the simplest rules of society. This is a matter for the Prakat.”
“Lord Gnormos,” said a fat man, with four arms and tentacles on his head. “I don’t think that this is a wise procedure.” His yellow eyes moved with concern to Lory who sat frozen in her seat.
“You provoked us,” snarled Kordan.
“Absolutely. It was obvious that you intended for something like this to happen,” agreed Amano.
Charly was sitting next to him, her face pale, fighting off tears. She had put her hand over her mouth, it appeared, to stop herself from saying anything.
“What’s going on here?” asked an authoritative voice. A man with a bald head and a long beard had come up to them. He was wearing a red sash over his pink tunic.
“Honorable Prakat, that woman there spoke at the table. She should be punished immediately.”
“This man intentionally provoked us,” explained Kordan. “He insulted my mate repeatedly and did not hold back, despite my warning. As I was about to exercise my right to defend my mate, she wanted to stop me, probably because she thought it would be against the rules and put me in danger. That’s why she said this one word: Don’t!”
“Witnesses?” asked the Prakat.
“Yes. I can confirm what my cousin has said,” declared Amano.
“Me, too,” said one of the ambassadors. His counterparts agreed.
The Prakat nodded.
“Well, this woman has broken the rules concerning the ban on women speaking at the table, which would usually carry the death penalty. In this case she was insulted, which again is, likewise, a punishable act. As the mate of the injured party you can restore honor by cutting off the right ear of the guilty party. But then remains the crime of the insulted party who is, at the same time, guilty. As she was insulted, the punishment will be reduced and instead of decapitation, the Labyrinth punishment will come into force. As her mate you are entitled to take on the punishment in her place.”
“I will,” answered Kordan, casting a warning glance at Lory to signal that she should be silent.
“Good. Tomorrow morning, after the first gong, you will present yourselves on the market place.”
Kordan nodded.
“And what about restoring the honor of my mate?”
“Right. Indeed. You will have the opportunity to carry that out in the morning. Do you have a knife with which you’d like to carry out the sentence?”
Kordan nodded and drew a long blade from his belt. The gaunt man had grown pale and got up from his seat and fled. Just a few meters away, two of his counterparts grabbed him and brought the struggling, complaining man back to the table.
“Because of your attempt to escape you have worsened your fate,” said the Prakat, looking at the man in disgust. “You will also go into the Labyrinth tomorrow morning. As I don’t believe that you are honorable enough to appear voluntarily I will take you into custody.”
“No! I beg you! It was all just an awful misunderstanding. Surely we can talk about this? I …”
“Silence!” roared the Prakat.
Two guards, who had approached in the meantime, grabbed the man by the arms and led him away at a nod from the Prakat.
“He will be the first to go into the labyrinth. I wish you luck.”
Kordan nodded then the Prakat disappeared. Lory had followed the event as if in a trance and sat trembling in her seat. She could not believe what she had caused. She had only wanted to stop Kordan from making a supposed mistake - that would not have been a mistake at all - and in doing so had herself committed one that might now cost Kordan his life. Whatever the labyrinth was, it must be dangerous, otherwise that gaunt bastard would not have acted in that way.
“Come on, mene carisha. Let’s go to our quarters.”
He held out his hand to her and pulled her up from her seat then he led her away from the table. Charly and Amano followed them at some distance. At the door to Amano and Charly’s quarters Kordan stopped and turned to them both.
“We’ll meet in the morning,” he said.
Amano embraced him and slapped him on the back.
“We’ll be there.”
“It case I don’t make it out of the labyrinth …”
“I know. I will arrange everything as you would wish.”
Kordan nodded then pulled Lory away with him.
Once in their quarters, Lory fell limply onto the couch.
“I’ve ruined everything,” she sobbed. “It’s all my fault.”
Kordan sat down next to her and took her in his arms.
“It’s not your fault. That man had it in for you. But now he’s suffering himself because of it. One thing is clear: this weakling, and above all, coward, will not survive the labyrinth. My chances are very good. I think I can do it. I’m strong and I don’t lose my nerve. It should be feasible. Trust me.”
“So why did you say to Amano …”
“Just in case. So that you are taken care of.”
“So that I’m taken care of! I am not able or willing to live without you!” she said, beside herself. “If you die on me in that damn labyrinth I’ll find you in hell and cut off your dick and …”
Kordan laughed.
“Yes, I know. And stick it in my rectum. Fine, you may do that if that happens. Happy?”
“No! I’ll only be happy when we’re both safely back on board the Cordelia.”
***
The market place was rammed. Lory felt miserable. Kordan had made love to her half the night and it had been beautiful, but now she was back to reality. Today would decide whether she would leave this damn planet alone or with Kordan. The former did not bear thinking about. How was she to live without him? No! She had to trust in him. As he had said, he was very strong and his cool head would definitely be a great help to him.
“Are you OK?” asked Kordan, pulling her to him.
“How could I be? I’m horribly nervous.”
“I’ll eat dobbel wupper on your planet with you, I promise.”
Despite her fear, Lory had to laugh.
“It’s called a double whopper. And how are we meant to find our way to earth when that old astronomer still hasn’t told us where my planet is? You heard what the Prakat said. After carrying out the sentence, no matter what the outcome, we must be gone within three hours.”
“I just know that I’ll eat doppel wupper with you. I have a feeling. Have faith!”
Lory sighed.
“I’d like to have your calm.”
“Here comes the bastard,” said Charly.
They turned their heads in the direction that Charly was pointing in.
The gaunt Lord Gnormos was indeed approaching, led by two solemn looking guards. He was as white as a sheet and sweating so much that the sweat was dripping from his chin. He was led onto the platform that had been erected in the middle of the market place. The Prakat barely honored him with a glance. Instead, he turned to his public.
“Moronians and guests, we are here today to carry out three sentences. First, General Kordan of Arr’Carthian will exercise his right to defend his mate. General, if you’d like to come up here, please.”
Kordan kissed Lory on the forehead and briefly looked intently into her eyes.
“Doppel wubber,” he said, grinning, then he went to the platform and climbed the steps.
Lord Gnormos tried to free himself from the clutches of his guards. Once he realized that he would not be able to escape, he began to scream. Kordan went up to the man calmly and took hold of the Lord’s ear with his left hand, whilst driving the blade with his right. Lord Gnormos yelled, then Kordan raised the severed ear and the cro
wd applauded.
“The first sentence has been carried out,” declared the Prakat. “And now, first Lord Gnormos, then General Kordan, will enter the labyrinth. Guards, lead the convicted to the labyrinth! Everyone else should follow in a calm, orderly manner. I will not tolerate any commotion. Whoever causes trouble will be the next for the labyrinth.”
Charly grasped Lory’s hand and they followed the crowd, behind the convicted and the Prakat, through the corridors, to a big cave in which a massive labyrinth was located. The stands were high up so that people had an overview of the whole labyrinth. Her knees weak, Lory climbed the steps to the grandstand at the side of her friend. Once at the top, a kind of mini telescope was placed in their hands so that they could even see the furthermost parts of this large-scale maze properly.
“Come on! Along here. We have reserved seats as relatives of Kordan,” said Amano, leading them to another staircase that led up to a kind of box.
“Great. We’ve got a VIP box,” said Lory sarcastically. Charly squeezed her hand comfortingly.
Once they had taken their seats at the top, Lory cast her eyes across the labyrinth. Here and there she could see creatures scurrying about, but she could not recognize them at this distance. Right now she did not want to know, either, so she left her telescope in her lap. Some sections looked like a show jumping course. The Prakat and Lord Gnormos, with his guards, were standing at the entrance to the maze. A gong sounded and the excited hubbub around them silenced.
“Moronians and guests,” said the Prakat. “I will now carry out the second sentence. Because Lord Gnormos wanted to withdraw from going through with a legally binding sentence he will now go into the labyrinth. If he reaches the end of the labyrinth alive, he will be granted his life.”
The Prakat nodded to the guards and they grabbed the Lord’s right hand, cut into the palm of his hand, then pressed the bloody palm of the yelling man onto the panel at the entrance. The door to the labyrinth opened and the guards pushed Lord Gnormos inside. The man staggered and fell to the ground. Before he could pick himself up, the door had already closed behind him again. He banged on it, sobbing and pleading, and the audience shouted, indicating their displeasure at his cowardice.
“Why did they cut his hand?” asked Charly.
“The door can only be opened with blood. Normally the convicted cuts his own hand, but as Lord Gnormos is such a coward the guards took on this task. That’s shameful for a man. But Lord Gnormos probably doesn’t care about that anyway. All he’s concerned about now is surviving,” answered Amano.
“And I don’t think he’s going to do that for much longer,” uttered Lory and they all looked again at the spectacle below them.
Lord Gnormos was still banging on the doors whilst several little creatures were approaching him from behind. They were about the size of a cat and had wide jaws with lots of pointed teeth. There were about a dozen of these beasts. A murmur went through the crowd and Lord Gnormos froze. He turned round slowly. The creatures were still a good twenty meters away from him.
“I don’t know whether I want to see this,” said Charly.
Amano put his arm round her shoulders protectively and she buried her face in his chest.
“It’s OK, mene carisha. Close your eyes,” he said gently. “Are you OK?” he asked, directed at Lory.
“Yes, I have no problem seeing this bastard die, but when Kordan’s turn comes, you can ask me again.”
Lory’s voice sounded sarcastic, but there was a hint of panic in it that did not escape Amano.
A loud screeching sound drew their attention back to what was happening in the labyrinth. The beasts had attacked Lord Gnormos and pulled him to the ground. They were making loud growling sounds whilst pulling the flailing man to pieces.
“How is Kordan to get past there?” asked Lory, staring down at the bloody remains of Lord Gnormos.
“He’s armed and prepared. Have faith in your mate. He’s fought worse battles than this, believe me,” replied Amano.
The gong sounded again and the crowd cheered as Kordan stepped up to the entrance of the maze. He was waving to the people but his face showed the usual lack of emotion. Lory leant forward in her seat. Her heart was beating wildly. Kordan finally looked in her direction and for a millisecond his lips smiled. It was gone so quickly that she was not sure whether she had not just imagined it.
“Moronians and guests,” sounded the voice of the Prakat again. “The second sentence has been carried out. Lord Gnormos did not manage it, as expected. We now come to the third and last sentence. General Kordan will now enter the labyrinth.”
The people cheered Kordan like a gladiator in ancient Roman times. Basically, it was no different.
‘Just think, my stubborn alien, you promised me,’ Lory spurred him on silently.
Kordan took his knife, cut into his hand, then pressed the palm of his hand onto the panel where Lord Gnormos’ bloody imprint could still be seen. The door swung open and he entered the maze.
***
Kordan stood still briefly. He heard the door close behind him again. Ahead of him lay the bloody remains of his predecessor. There was nothing to be seen of the krizzis. It was possible that they would leave him alone, now that they had cooled down. They might be all the more horrible, though. He reached over his shoulder and drew his sword. Then he walked slowly along the corridor. The krizzis were lying in the middle of the path when he turned the first corner. They did not seem to be particularly interested but that was no wonder: it was fear that attracted them and Kordan had none. He would kill them if they attacked, but they carried on lying quietly as he went past them to the first fork in the path.
Left or right? Kordan looked hard in both directions then closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember what the labyrinth looked like from above. It had been many years since he had been here with his father.
Right! It was right, he was certain. Confidently, he turned into the corridor then stopped, carefully checking the walls on both sides. There was a trap here. The only question was - which one? He picked up a small piece of rock and threw it onto the ground a few meters in front of him. Immediately, pointed spears shot out of the walls and these would definitely have impaled him if he had carried on.
He made his way between the spears and came to a ravine that cut him off from the passageway on the other side. The gap was about twenty footsteps wide. The path over the ravine consisted of a narrow beam. That was definitely not everything. That would have been too easy. Kordan tried to remember what happened here. He had a vague image in his mind and raised his eyes to a high post. Of course, the vurltror: a large bird that possessed an extremely sharp beak and long claws. The creature was sitting on a post, dancing from one leg to another, not letting Kordan out of his sight.
“OK, you feathered bastard. Come on, then. I’m ready,” he murmured, stepping onto the beam.
He had just about reached the middle when the vurltror descended. Kordan could see him out of the corner of his eye, but only reacted at the last moment, by ducking, and the bird shot past him. The creature let out an angry screech and turned. Kordan had picked himself up immediately and was running at top speed along the beam. He had almost made it when the vurltror headed straight for him. Kordan swung his sword and stumbled in doing so. The audience screamed in horror as he fell forwards, but he was able to hold onto the beam – this was shaking dangerously, though. He had nearly lost his sword in doing this, but he had persisted in holding it tightly, knowing that he would still need it. Gasping, he got up again and took the last few steps. Once he had reached the other side, the crowd cheered at him.
Kordan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Without turning round again, he continued and came to another fork in the path. He walked through the labyrinth for some time without any incidences, but then he heard menacing growls and held his sword more tightly. Ready for battle, he turned the corner, to be presented with the huge, furry barbu. The animal was standing on its massive hi
nd legs, roaring terrifyingly. His black fur was matted. His small red eyes were fixed on him and a beam was shooting from them. Kordan jumped to the side, swinging his sword. He caught the animal on its paw and it roared and hit out with its other paw, sending Kordan to the ground. With a rumbling sound, the three meter high creature was falling onto him, but Kordan raised his sword at just the right moment and stuck it right into the barbu’s heart. With a roll to the side, he saved himself from the collapsing body of the huge animal.
Breathing heavily, he got up and the crowd cheered again, calling his name.
After a brief pause for breath, Kordan continued. He came upon what seemed to be a dead-end, but he knew that it went on. He just had to solve some sort of puzzle. At the end of the dead-end there were three symbols engraved onto round panels in the wall: the snake symbol next to the bird of the gods symbol with the sun symbol above it. It had something to do with an ancient story, one of the legends of the Moronians, and he thought long and hard about it. There had been the sun that had tried to set the snake against the bird of the gods, but the snake had told the bird of the gods about this and in the end the bird of the gods had eaten the sun. After that, according to the Moronian’s legend, the ice age had set in. So, what was he supposed to do with the symbols then? He stared at the symbols and thought and thought. Suddenly he noticed that some of the lines in the symbols had a reddish color and the others a blue one. He turned the symbols this way and that until, once the red lines were connected, they made sense - that is, they created the symbol for door. The rock face did indeed slide to the side and he found himself in the middle of the labyrinth. Three large spiders were standing in the middle of this area. They were so big that they easily came up to his hips. Their fangs were as long as his knife. Shuddering, he took a few steps forward. He hated spiders, even the small ones on his planet that were only the size of his hand. But these monsters here really were revolting. The first one ran towards him and he swung his sword. The first blow worked, splitting the animal’s skull. Both remaining spiders came closer. They seemed to be acting as if to a plan, because one went to the right and the other to the left. Kordan took a throwing star from his belt and flung it towards the animal to the right of him. It hit the creature right between the eyes and it let out a shrill sound. The third spider gradually came closer. It appeared to be fully focussed on him. Suddenly it covered the last few meters at turbo speed and Kordan had to dive to the side. He pushed the sword into the back of the beast’s fat body. Again the crowd cheered and he risked a glance towards the upper grandstand where Lory was sitting. He could not see her properly in the distance but he felt her looking at him. He raised his hand in greeting before leaving this place and turning into one of the passageways. Again, he walked for some time without any obstacles.
Fighting Lory (English Edition) (Lords Of Arr'Carthian 2) Page 14