Beneath the Eye of God (The Commodore Ardcasl Space Adventures Book 1) (24 page)

"You're right, of course. Time is critical. We can do it in your study. My associates are experts in the science of extracting information. You might enjoy watching. It is swift, but exceedingly painful."

"Yes, my study. Bring the girl, Em."

"And it might be best to dismiss the rest of your men," the Commodore whispered. "The fewer who know who your enemy is, the better. His spies may already be among us."

"Spies!" Nol was horrified. "Yes, by all means." He turned to Leahn's two burly guards. "You two, bring the girl. The rest of you, get out."

***

"Will you stop shaking? I've almost got it."

"Who was that fat guy? I thought we'd had it."

"Keep your voice down."

"I don't get it. Why didn't he come in?"

"He probably went for the guards."

"Let's get out of here."

"Stand still. I've almost got it. He didn't go for anybody. He didn't even see us. My grandmother made us invisible."

"Invisible?"

"How do you think we got in here so easily?"

"You call hiding in the garbage pit, then climbing into a second story window on a drainpipe, easy?"

"That was just a precaution. Invisibility doesn't work as well on some people as it does on others."

"Well it must not have worked too well on that fat guy. He looked pretty surprised."

"Naw. That's how people look when they suddenly remember they've forgotten to uh, go to the bathroom. I've seen that look plenty of times. There, I've got it." The skin fell over Malie's head.

"I don't know, he looked . . . Hey! Let go of my nose."

"I can't see."

"Will you two stop fooling around. I don't see why we're wasting time on this old fur rug anyway. You said there'd be jewels and silver in here. This old sword you got so excited about might be worth something but I don't think all three of us can retire forever on it."

Malie extricated herself from the skin and leaped nimbly down from the mantle. "Go listen at the door. I've got to talk to my grandmother."

"Do you hear anybody out there?"

"No."

"Take a peek."

Feren pushed the door slowly open and looked out. "I hear them. They're in the big room at the end of the hall."

"Who cares?" Erig demanded. "I thought we came here to steal stuff."

"We did." Malie had tied the arms and legs of the skin around herself. It covered her completely with part dragging on the floor. "But this is going to be better than that. We've uh . . . we've stumbled into a demons' convention. That fat guy was my grandfather. That's why he was so surprised to see me."

Erig was skeptical. "I thought it was because he had to go to the bathroom. And how come you didn't recognize him right away?"

"He wasn't using his regular body. But this is a great opportunity for us."

"Right. Listen, Malie, it's been fun and I hope you and your whole family have a really nice time at the convention but I think it's time me and Feren went home."

They headed for the window. "OK, if you really want to spend the rest of your lives as tree newts."

"Tree newts?"

"Yeah. They're those slimy little guys who live under the bark of . . ."

"We know what they are."

"I told you. These guys are demons. They don't fool around. If they see that you're scared, they'll do all kinds of terrible things to you. But if you catch them they'll have to give you some of their magic powers. You'll become demons yourselves."

"Who wants to be a demon? We ain't even getting very rich, so far."

"When you're a demon, you'll have the power to make money and jewels and stuff out of thin air whenever you need them. You can be invisible, you can make anybody do anything you want, you can . . ."

"Anybody?"

"Sure. You can . . ."

"Even girls?"

"Women will fall at your feet. You can have anyone you want. They will obey your every command. You can . . ."

"You're sure about this?"

"I've already made you invisible. What more can I do?"

Erig looked doubtfully at Feren who shrugged. "We've come this far. And she did make us invisible."

Erig sighed. "What do we have to do this time?"

"We have to lay an ambush."

"Where?"

"Here. Have you guys got any weapons?"

"We sell all the knives we steal. We've got this big old sword and the two throwing knives you found."

"They'll have to do. Do you know how to throw one of these things?"

Erig flipped the knife almost into the center of one of the baskets hanging on the wall. Malie ran to pull it out but was too short to reach it. She turned in panic. "I hear them. They're coming. Get behind the curtains." She grabbed her basket and Leahn's sword and hunched down in the corner in a fair imitation of a furry footstool.

***

The Commodore was first inside the door. His eyes darted anxiously around the room. He was followed by Blackman Nol, the twins, Leahn, her two guards and Hossen Em.

"I hate to set my lads loose on another human being. Especially one as lovely as your niece. It's not a pretty sight, my dear Blackman. You might not care to watch. But the results are sure and swift and, as you say, time is of the essence. Even now your enemies may be on the move against you."

"Your concern for my feelings is touching, Commodore." Nol smiled thinly at Leahn. "I too, have had some experience in these matters. Though I prefer to take my time."

He sighed. "I had been looking forward to spending several leisurely hours with my dear niece. But that may still be possible after your friends are finished with her. And we are in a hurry. Let them begin."

Erol took over. "If I may have your guards cut her bonds and then hold her arms firmly outstretched, one guard on each arm."

The two men looked at Nol. He nodded. One guard took his dagger and cut the ropes. Each took one of Leahn's arms. They held them straight out beside her.

"That's fine, gentlemen," Erol said as he and Elor stepped around behind Leahn. "Now if you will each pull her arm gently away from her body, by brother and I will apply a little pressure."

With a single swift movement, each twin wrapped his long fingers around a guard's windpipe and began to crush it. Identical looks of bewilderment appeared on the two men's faces. Both still clung tightly to Leahn's arms. One began to gurgle and reached for his knife but found a twin's hand already there.

Nol had been watching in amazement. Now he reacted. "What's this?" he shouted. "Betrayal! Em, seize them."

The Commodore was behind Nol, one hand on the man's shoulder, the other pressing his tiny jeweled dagger firmly into Nol's neck just behind his ear. "Correct as always, my dear Blackman. It is indeed betrayal. Malie, would you please hand Leahn her sword."

The furry footstool unfolded into a small child who scurried out of the corner with the sword. Leahn's arms were free. Each of her guards was using both of his in his struggle for air.

Leahn tried to grip the hilt but her hands, so long tied, refused to work. It fell with a clatter to the floor and she dropped to her knees trying to pick it up.

"I can't," she sobbed.

"Kill them, Em," Nol shrieked. "Kill them all."

Hossen Em took a step toward his struggling guards, his dagger raised.

"Think, Em!" the Commodore cautioned. "You are the loose cannon in this deck. Do you really want to turn the tide in Blackman Nol's favor? Will you then help him torture your wife's sister to death? Earlier this evening you denied being a murderer or a rapist."

"Em, you fool," Nol screamed, "kill them! I'll make you a king."

"Some women are coming down the hall," Malie said.

One guard had fallen to his knees. The other was still struggling. The door burst open and Silane and Laral stood looking in. Hossen Em turned and plunged his dagger deep into the wall.

***

"A lot of help you guys were," Malie said to Erig and Feren as they came cautiously from behind the curtains.

"My knife's still stuck up there in the wall," Erig said sheepishly. "Besides, we couldn't tell which were the good demons and which were the bad ones. Great fight, though."

The two guards lay dead on the floor. Leahn was still kneeling between them while Elor massaged the circulation back into her hands. Erol had taken charge of Blackman Nol. Em was leaning morosely against the wall with Silane standing speechless beside him.

"Did I understand your young friend to call us demons?" the Commodore asked Malie.

"Yeah. Don't mind him. He gets confused."

"And is Feathered Shield still with us?"

"He wanted to go when we got his skin but I asked him to wait. I thought you might need his help. He's glad he stayed. He enjoyed the fight. He says for a smooth-skin, you're a pretty clever warrior. Oh." She looked around in confusion. "He's gone."

She paused as if searching inside herself. "He's gone. I'm all alone."

The Commodore wrapped her in a bear-hug. "No, Malie, my sweet, you have a lot of friends. You'll never be alone."

Leahn stood up, moved her fingers tentatively and picked up her sword. She shook her head. "Sorry, guys. I couldn't do it when the time came. If Em here, hadn't changed sides at the last minute, we would have had it. I let you down."

"And you'll pay for your treachery, Em, you filthy scum," Nol snarled. "If it hadn't been for your cowardice, I could have . . ."

"There, there, Blackman," the Commodore said soothingly. "We all knew Mr. Em was the right sort and would disappoint you in a showdown. How else could he have won the love of a woman like Silane?"

He held out his hand to Leahn. "And as for you, my dear, fret not. You were quite marvelous. You held up splendidly under trying circumstances."

"You mean you people know each other?" Laral asked incredulously.

"We have been enlisted by your sister to assist in righting a grievous wrong done to her and to you all."

"Before we start congratulating ourselves," Leahn said, "let's not forget the rest of the armed riders out there. And where's Ohan?"

One of Nol's men burst into the room. "They're coming," he shouted. "There's a big crowd of . . ." He stopped and stared at the scene before him.

"Who's coming? Em demanded.

The man snapped out of his reverie. "A crowd of slaves, sir. They escaped from the barracks. They've got some kind of weapon, a light beam that kills at a great distance. They're coming here. We're calling out all the riders and guards but . . ."

"Ha!" Blackman Nol struggled but Erol held him fast. "Now we'll see who is the prisoner and who is not. Run, you fool," he shouted at the messenger. "Forget the slaves. Order the riders to attack this house. Kill everyone in it. Kill them all!"

The startled messenger turned to flee. He paused for a moment, then fell over dead, a knife buried deep in his stomach. Feren walked up and pulled it out. He smiled at Malie. "This guy was working for the bad demons, right?"

***

Ohan had stepped carefully around the body of the man with the lantern. Harz grabbed the man's knife. Another boy picked up the big man's sword while others searched the body of the guard with the bad teeth.

"Where'd you get that thing?" Harz asked. "What is it?"

"It's a long story," Ohan said. "I'm sort of keeping it for a friend. If someone will show me the way to Blackman Nol's house, the rest of you can try to escape."

"Won't nobody be going nowhere," someone behind him said, "unless you use that thing on that building down there. That's where most of the guards sleep. They'll be wondering what happened to their pals."

As they watched, a light flickered on in one of the windows.

Ohan raised the laser cannon and opened the switch. The beam of light shot out, found the hillside in front of the building and then wandered up to the middle of the wall. He pushed the slide forward. The beam went through all the colors of the rainbow and the center of the structure exploded.

After a moment's silence, Harz said, "I'm going with you, Ohan." There was a murmur of agreement behind him.

They decided to go over the hill behind the compound to avoid meeting mounted riders on the road. The gates to the corrals were locked. Ohan used the weapon to cut the wires. He tried to find the lowest setting. It melted the wire, cut the fencepost and felled a tree in the woods beyond. The explosion of the building had thrown the compound into confusion. They met only two guards as they made their escape. The boys attacked them with a ferocity Ohan could not watch.

They entered the woods above the compound. Several boys who had worked in the area took the lead. At the crest of the hill the trees thinned and they found themselves at the edge of a wide meadow in a broad shallow valley. "That's Nol's house way up at the far end," one of the boys said. "The road goes up the other side of the meadow. We had to fix it where the last rains washed it out."