The Secret City

by Brian K. Lowe

  It had taken us four days to reach the desert, but we had been careful to avoid detection. Now that we had taken on our cargo, and were on our way toward Jhal in earnest, my spirit was crying in frustration even after I directed the Librarian to sacrifice stealth for speed. It would still be a three-day return journey, and only constant work allowed me to keep my sanity.

  In my isolated idle moments, I received Sanja’s reports. The tribesmen were willing to accept her leadership, and of their loyalty she was certain, but they were unused to confinement, let alone flying. They wanted to know who they were to be fighting, and what I planned to do when we reached Jhal. Of the former she was able to tell them until they had heard their fill, but as to the latter, even I was unsure. So much rested on chance—!

  “Over the years,” Gaz Bronn told me, “we have charted all of the natural entrances to the cavern, and tunneled some new ones of our own. We have always feared being trapped in case of a cave-in. Some of them are used regularly, like the one I used the day we met. And there is the vent we used to escape. Those will be guarded against our return.”

  “I wish we could use the tunnel from your office, but we have to assume they have found it by now. And if the invasion has started, they will be using the main vent to launch their attacks,” I said. “That will be very well guarded.”

  “They’ll use some of the auxiliary exits, too,” Gaz Bronn agreed. “They may even have opened up some new ones that they didn’t tell me about. But some of the tunnels haven’t been used in a long time, probably before I was born. As kinlama, I thought it was my duty to memorize them all in case of emergency.” He bobbed his head in his reptilian manner. “This qualifies, I think.”

  “We need a tunnel large enough to get a grav-sled through. Once we’re in the cavern, we will leave ten men to guard that entrance while the rest of us move to the palace. Of course, the closer we can get to there without being seen, the better. We get in, grab Maire and our crew, and float them out again. Once Maire’s in Crystalle, she can make the Council of Nobles see reason, and we can stop Fale Teevat’s war before it starts.”

  Gaz Bronn took a moment to consider. “It’s not so much the placement of the tunnel. The cavern is big, but Jhal isn’t, and an escape route too far from the city wouldn’t do anyone any good. I’m more worried about whether the entrance we use will already be guarded. Fale Teevat has a lot more men than we do.”

  Our entire plan rested on the enemy failing to take an action that we could neither predict nor monitor. The fact that it was our only option did not make me hate it any less.

  Nor was the choice of tunnel and the possible army awaiting us at the end of it that constituted the entirety of our problems. First we had to sneak up on an enemy in full battle-readiness with a lightly-armed pleasure vessel. The first time The Dark Lady had flown these skies, we had been set upon by a klurath pursuit ship and barely escaped with our lives—an outcome, Gaz Bronn had since told me, that had only ensued because the lizard-men wanted our crew for slaves. This time, if we were caught, we would probably be shot on sight.

  We were fortunate that the Nuum seemed little more prepared for war now than when we left. In the Twentieth Century, the great nations were so ready for war that they could muster fleets, and battalions of men, almost on an hour’s notice. The Council of Nobles was in all likelihood still trying to figure out if I could be trusted after I disappeared. They would still be debating when the klurath armada blackened the skies over Crystalle. Yet in their incompetence they had done us a favor, for dodging a proper blockade just to cross into enemy territory would have been a delicate and dangerous undertaking, even with a computer at the helm of our ship.

  As it was, I directed the Librarian to take us as close to the abandoned city as I dared—and far closer than I was comfortable with—before we set down in a forest so dense that no human pilot could have safely made the descent. Gathering up our gear, we swiftly debarked—the Zilbiri being only too happy to set foot on solid ground once more—and using our gravity sleds as our transports, we moved as quickly as we could, trusting to the trees to cover us. With every yard we gained I felt more secure; anyone hunting us would detect The Dark Lady first, no matter how sheltered she was, and so long as I did not hear a massive explosion behind us, I was reassured that we had not been found out.

  Of course, when we reached the ruined metropolis that we must traverse to find Gaz Bronn’s tunnel, we would have no cover at all…

  The only help for that was darkness, so I called a halt a hundred yards before we left the forest. Sanja had assured me that a moonless night on the desert was as dark as anywhere, and any child of her tribe could find his way without a lamp—although if you found yourself alone in the desert at night, apparently getting lost in the dark was the very least of your many worries. As the klurath had already demonstrated their ability to navigate in poor light, that left me as the weak link in our chain, but Sanja had also promised to hold my hand for as long as I needed. She conveyed it with a smattering of fond condescension, but I swallowed my pride and thought of what lay ahead.

  We were in luck; the night held only the sliver of a moon. We moved into the city and chose a narrow avenue for our approach. Unless a ship passed directly overhead, the chances of our being seen from the air were virtually nil.

  The chances of our being spotted by the klurath patrol marching down the street toward us, however, were alarmingly high.

  Chapter 38

  Back to the Underworld

  I held up a peremptory hand and my soldiers froze, bringing their gravity sleds to a complete halt as though they had been born on them. In a flash I recalled that the klurath had poor eyesight, depending on their sense of smell and the feel of vibrations in the ground. We were too far away to smell yet, and as we were riding, our feet made no vibration. I frantically waved the group to split off to the sides, trusting them to follow me and Sanja as we veered away to the nearest domes whence we could not be seen.

  In seconds the street was empty. No visible sign of our presence remained. I watched from the doorway of a dome as the klurath approached, never changing their pace, to all appearances unaware of us. They numbered perhaps a score, and I quailed to see, as they drew closer, that they were carrying guns of some kind. Whether they were projectile-launchers like my pistol, or ray-guns like the Nuum employed I could not tell at this distance and in the poor light, but from the way they were carried, they were plainly firearms. Evidently the ancient taboo against such weaponry being used inside Jhal did not extend to the outside world, and the klurath were not so naïve as to avoid them when their enemies would be well-equipped. I had known, of course, that their ships were so armed, but I had hoped that personal pieces were still outlawed, a hope now dashed.

  I had hoped simply to let them pass, or if they were to be confronted, to wait until our force was between them and the tunnels. Now my options had narrowed terribly. If the klurath discovered us, our greater numbers would not guarantee that we could take them all without allowing any to escape—it was far more likely that the choice to fight or flee would be theirs.

  And at that moment they reached the center of the street directly across from our hiding place—and stopped.

  I had my pistol; I could hardly miss such a crowd at this distance, and as long as I stood inside the dome, they would never hear the shots. I might take three or four down before they understood what was happening. As quickly as it arose, I quashed the idea. We would still face over a dozen foes more heavily armed than we, and the same domes that protected us also confined us. The klurath would know instantly whence the attack originated, and we would be unable to emerge. Half of their force could find cover and pin us down while the rest sent for reinforcements.

  However we looked at it, in fact, we were already pinned down. Our only hope was that the klurath had stopped for some reason other than that they had detected us, and eventually move on.

  Sanja had taken her contingent into a dome acro
ss the way. What was she thinking? I prayed that she would not attempt some foolhardy foray to distract the klurath with the hope that we could take them from behind…but would her Zilbiri, chafing at their long confinement, bolt despite her orders? I had no way of measuring the time we waited, but the tension was eating me alive.

  And then it broke. One or two of the klurath sniffed the air in a disinterested manner but followed their column when called to order, and the group marched off. I gave them several minutes before poking my head out, and when nothing happened, I waved my lot together. We pointed our sleds into the direction of Jhal and propelled ourselves faster than I warrant our steeds were wont to go, conscious at all times that a bolt from behind could end our expedition with lethal suddenness. It took some time before I was able to relax, and almost immediately Gaz Bronn called a halt. We had reached the secret entrance to our chosen tunnel.

  We were at a point where the city abutted a line of hills. Gaz Bronn carefully swept dust away from a patch of hillside that looked no different from any other while I checked our surroundings uneasily. Many smaller domes clustered together here, as if it had been a less desirable neighborhood where the lower classes lived in less grand quarters than their betters. All around us yawned the black openings of buildings the size of small bungalows. Even at that size, those dozens of structures could have held an army and we would never know.

  “Let’s go,” I said to Gaz Bronn. “I’d rather die fighting than be shot just standing around here.”

  At that moment he punched a complex pattern and a hidden door slid open with a screech that made me cringe.

  “Get everyone inside, quick! Move those sleds,” I ordered. “I want this door closed again.”

  If nothing else, the Zilbiri were swift on their feet, flowing into the shelter of the tunnel like water, and with hardly as much noise. The sleds were more cumbersome. I leaped on the last as Gaz Bronn and a Zilbiri slipped the others inside ahead of me.

  A flat skipping sound and a small cloud of dust on the rock in front of me preceded by moments the sound of a far-off rifle shot, and suddenly the air was filled with the zinging of deadly bees. I threw myself as flat as possible, not even waiting to see how close the klurath patrol was, and surged into the tunnel, shouting a warning and barely avoiding a rear-end crash with another precious grav-sled.

  Gaz Bronn was already at the interior controls and the door slid shut with a gravelly scrunch the moment I shot past.

  I idled the sled and jumped off. “Will they be able to follow us?”

  He shook his head. “Not unless they have the code, and that’s not likely.” He patted the door. “And they could pound on it for a year and all they’d get would be sore claws.”

  “They don’t have to,” I replied glumly. “All they have to do is wait in one of those houses for us to come out. They would be completely invisible. Two of them could hold the exit forever. Even if we can reach the cavern before they send word to Fale Teevat’s men, even if we can rescue Maire, we can’t go back this way. We’re trapped—unless you can find another tunnel.”

  “If I were Fale Teevat, I would put soldiers on every single tunnel exit as soon as I heard we were back,” Gaz Bronn said. “And Fale Teevat taught me everything I know.” He placed a claw on my shoulder, then stood looking at it.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  He shook himself. “It’s just that I’ve never done that. It isn’t a klurath gesture, and I’ve never had a human friend before.” He gave a klurath shrug. “Hm. Well, Keryl, I guess you’re going to have to change your plan. Instead of rescuing your wife, running back to Crystalle, and having her convince the Council to end the war—you’re just going to have to end the war yourself.”

  Chapter 39

  No Way Out

  “Fale Teevat has about a million men. You told me so yourself.”

  “But at least twenty of them are on the other side of that door, so you don’t have to worry about them.”

  Was it my imagination, or was Gaz Bronn suddenly beginning to sound a lot like Timash? He, too, had always shown a faith in me that I hardly deserved—and yet we had found our way out of some truly horrific messes… But this—!

  “You and Timash,” I said aloud. “You make a pair.”

  “See?” Gaz Bronn turned me around and started walking toward the rest of our men, who were starting talk amongst themselves. “You’re thinking already. If we can reach the palace and set your crew free, we will have increased our numbers significantly. Now move,” he added in a kinlama tone of voice.

  He was right. Not, perhaps, about reinforcing our little army, since another score fighters would failure to register as a blip against Fale Teevat’s horde, but about moving forward. Hardened as they were and loyal to Sanja, the Zilbiri were once again being hustled through an alien environment; after days spent flying through the air, they had only briefly enjoyed the Earth under their feet and wide open spaces before they were underground, a new and doubtless unnerving sensation. I had not cared for it when I first came, either. As their leader, I had to attend to them, keep them busy, focused on a goal.

  And the walk to the cavern would give me time to think of a new plan.

  My klurath friend had at least chosen our tunnel well; it was easily wide enough for our gravity sleds, if only one at a time, and the walls and ceiling had been sealed to a texture almost like glass long ago and still stood firm. They seemed to glow with a soft inner light that made our electric torches unnecessary, and I was glad of the chance to save energy.

  The gravity sleds, or pallets as Skull had called them, were constructed as they sounded, large flat platforms mostly used for loading and unloading cargo, but rails could be raised when carrying passengers. We had more people than three sleds could comfortably carry, and on the way here we had had men straddling the rails. Here there was no room for that, but since we could hardly make speed, walking was just as efficient.

  I made my way into the middle of the pack, where I could easily be heard. I feared to speak too loudly, as these walls looked as if they would echo for miles.

  “The plan hasn’t changed. When we reach the cavern, we will immediately mount the sleds and use them to assault the inlama’s compound. The klurath do not use ranging weapons, so we should be safe until we land.” More than a few of them gave me a skeptical look, and some glanced back toward the entrance we had been forced to abandon. I nodded in acknowledgement. “All right. The klurath do not use ranging weapons inside the cavern. They are afraid of cave-ins.

  “The difference now is that we will not be effecting a rescue and extraction. We will be effecting a rescue and staying put. There are considerable forces loyal to Gaz Bronn here, and we will seek them out. I know this is not the task you signed up for, but I’m going to double every man’s pay.”

  To a man, they halted in their tracks. Only some quick action by the sled pilots prevented a serious collision. I should do something about that, but I wanted fighting men at the head of the column, not stuck behind the sleds.

  “You’re going to pay us twice as much?” one man demanded, his face two inches from mine. I stammered out a confirmation; even as an ally, the Zilbiri were ferocious. “For what? We’ve been marching for days! When do we get to kill something?”

  I thought I heard a reptilian snort of approval, but I could have been mistaken.

  “Believe me,” I said to the assembled tribesmen, “it should not be long now.”

  Giving orders that the sleds drop back a few yards for safety and cautioning everyone about the need for stealth, I took the lead and we headed downward. For the most part the tunnel ran straight, and the shadowless lighting made our path clear. When the floor began ever so gently to rise up, I halted and signaled to Gaz Bronn. I had placed him in the rear in case we ran into trouble so he wouldn’t be killed by mistake. Despite his acceptance of the idea, it had not pleased him.

  “There won’t be a door at this end,” he reminded me. “It would
n’t be much of an emergency escape route if you had to unlock it first. So it’s possible someone has noticed it and put guards on it.”

  “Do you think the soldiers upstairs could have gotten word down here by now?”

  “No,” he said after a moment. “We weren’t anywhere near one of the main entrances, and my kind don’t run very quickly. They’d have to send someone around to the nearest entrance and then he’d have to run all the way down and into the city. Assuming he wasn’t eaten by cave spiders, of course.” He might have been joking. “And then he’d have to report to someone in authority. You were in the army, how long do you think that will take?”

  I grinned. “If it’s anything like my army days, we’ll be back in Crystalle by then. On the other hand…” I pulled out my baton and it turned into a slender sword. Behind Gaz Bronn, fifty-one Zilbiri mimicked me in eerie silence.

  Chapter 40

  Assault from Above

  To my relief, if somewhat to the disappointment of my men, there were no guards at the end of the tunnel. We hustled the gravity sleds into position in any event, for someone could come walking down the path at any time—or worse, a hundred someones. As it was, we were protected from casual observation by the high rock walls and giant stalagmites that marked the edges of the cavern.

  “Given the isolation and the cover from the rocks, why doesn’t anyone guard this tunnel?” I asked. “I would think that slaves would be using it to escape.”

  Gaz Bronn made a point of taking a leisurely look around before answering.

  “Do you see anything crawling around in those rocks?” I did not, and I said so. “You wouldn’t,” he continued, because the cave spiders blend in. Three thousand years ago, when we first came here, the cave was overrun with them. The story is it took a hundred years to clear them out enough to feel safe. For a long time they would still come into Jhal, looking for small animals and occasionally someone walking alone—usually a slave—but eventually they were pushed out. We let them live because…well, that way we don’t have to guard the tunnels.”