skull, however, large eyes still shone bright with hatred and madness. Currently they were locked upon those of Lord Muln-Rolak, standing just a few feet away, his sword point held casually-and unwaveringly-less than an inch from Rasik’s nose.
“My lord,” Rolak said, addressing Matt, “we were mistaken. Somehow, the beast still lives. Clearly, the punishment we expected for him was far too mild.” He grinned horribly. “Or perhaps even the Grik could not stomach the thought of eating him!”
Matt’s first reaction was one of rage. He hated Rasik-Alcas more than any living creature-but he hadn’t known he was living, had he? The bastard was responsible for the death of Harvey Donaghey, and probably Tom Felts and half a dozen other destroyermen as well. God knew how many Lemurian lives were lost to his treachery. Matt started to order Rolak to hack the miserable murderer down. Then his hand strayed to his Academy sword. He’d do it himself! Pulling the sword free with a snarl, he took a step forward.
“Ah, Skipper?”
“What, Pete?” Matt snapped.
“Well, hold on just a second. Please.”
Matt paused, blood thundering in his ears, and looked back at Alden. The chamber was large, but much was in shadow. Large, arched passages that once opened upon a balcony were covered over with planks. The full heat of the day pounded against the wooden barriers, radiating inward. It was hard to see anything, though, except for Rasik and Rolak, who stood in a beam of light that must have been purposely channeled to rest upon the throne.
“We ain’t alone in here, Skipper,” Pete said.
For the first time, Matt peered hard into the gloom. Evidently, Gray did too, because there came a muttered, “Shit!” and the unmistakable sound of the Thompson’s bolt being yanked back.
“My God,” Matt said. He could now discern other figures in the chamber that he’d missed in his single-minded concentration on the Aryaalan king. Half a dozen forms stood stationary along the walls, each covered by two or more Marines. At first, he thought he must be imagining things, that the gloom was playing tricks on his vision, but he quickly realized that wasn’t the case. They were lizards. Grik. He’d seen quite enough of the monsters to identify them at a glance. These were the real thing, not aboriginals or a different species like Lawrence. These were the exact same creatures they’d come here to fight, but here they stood, almost alone, and their reaction to the situation wasn’t right at all.
“What the hell’s going on here, Mr. Alden?” Matt demanded, pausing his killing advance on Rasik.
“Damned if I know, Skipper. We came in here and found ’em like this: Rasik on his fancy chair and a bunch of lizards standing around like guards. His guards. Lord Rolak went to kill the bastard and he told the Griks to defend him! It’s been like this since: Rolak ready to stick Rasik and the lizards ready to fight. Wouldn’t be much of a fight,” he added, “but, well, I figured you ought to see it.”
“Rolak?”
“The beast says they are his ‘children,’ his ‘pets.’ They do seem willing to defend him. Just as odd, he spoke to them in the language of the People, which he must have taught them.”
“Ask them what this is all about!” Matt ordered.
“I tried. I think they even answered me, but I could not understand. They seemed to understand me, though, and I managed to get them to lower their weapons, at least.”
Matt had never personally met the Aryaalan king, but that didn’t matter. They knew each other through their deeds. He was glad he’d finally polished his ’Cat enough to vent his rage without an interpreter: “Rasik, you sick bastard! I figured when we left you here, you’d wind up on a stick! I thought that a fitting punishment for what you did. Even then, I never dreamed you’d collaborate with these monsters! They killed your people, your city! Have you seen what they did outside? Have you even been outside?”
Rasik turned his gaze upon the captain, the hate and madness still bright. “I did not ‘collaborate,’ you fool! I fled! I went into the wilderness with my few loyal guards and we evaded the Grik and sometimes killed them. We even fed upon them, on occasion,” he added with some satisfaction. “But I stayed when all my people left me, left our sacred city to the Grik! You are to blame for what has befallen us! You led this evil here! If you had not come, all would be as it has always been. We would have defeated the first, smaller Grik horde and then turned our attention back to B’mbaado! Well, that city is mine now too, as is all of Jaava! None remain to contest me; even the Grik have fled! But I stayed. I stayed! All this land is mine!”
Rasik’s rant was so wildly untrue and preposterous, Matt couldn’t even bring himself to respond to it. Instead, he looked at the Grik guards. “Not all the Grik fled, it seems. If you didn’t collaborate with them, why do they protect you?”
“A simple thing. They collaborated with me. They are not the same as the vermin that infested my city. They are some of those that scattered after the battle I so wisely kept my warriors”-Rasik paused and glared at Rolak-“ most of my warriors from joining. My companions and I hunted them at first,” he admitted, “like any Grik. We did not know the difference. When we discovered they were different, we… allowed them to enlist in our army of liberation! Never have there been such loyal troops! Lift a finger against me and they will strike you down and eat your bones!” Rasik chuckled and it sounded like a wood rasp dragged across a rock. “We came to hurl the invaders from my city and discovered it all but abandoned! The horde must have learned that I was coming to reap my revenge! All that remained were a few feral Grik, like are known to inhabit the islands nearby. Their masters must have left them here.” Rasik flicked his wrist. “We disposed of them.”
Matt wondered whether the crucified creature downstairs was one such Rasik had “disposed” of, and if all had been given similar treatment.
“Where are your other ‘companions,’ king?” asked Rolak. The word “king” dripped sarcasm.
“They were like you, Lord Rolak,” Rasik replied matter-of-factly, with equal sarcasm. “They were disloyal. They disobeyed me just like you and I was forced to punish them.”
“So,” Matt said, taking a few steps closer. “Now you’re the uncontested king of all Aryaal, all Java-with nothing but a handful of Grik for subjects!”
“My people will return!” Rasik hissed. “They will return now that I have driven the Grik away!”
“You didn’t drive them away,” Matt retorted harshly, unable to stomach Rasik’s lies any longer. “ ‘Your’ people did!” He paused. “ They did it, Rasik, and they have returned! They’ve come back to scour this city and make it their own again. They left you, sure enough, but they left you here to die.”
“You did that!” Rasik screeched.
“Yeah, I did, and I’m sorry. I should have killed you then, like your people said I should!”
“Guards!” shouted Rasik, turning toward “his” Grik.
“Wait!” yelled Matt, in Lemurian. “You say you think they’ll understand me?” he quickly asked Rolak.
“Yes, lord… if you are careful about your accent!”
Matt ignored the jibe. “You… you Grik warriors,” he said carefully. “Listen to me. This creature is evil… Do you know what that means?” Rasik prepared a shouted retort, but Rolak waved his sword point to regain his attention. “He has led you down a false path, a dark path… a wrong path. He does not want what is best for you, only for himself. He sacrificed his own people to his selfishness and he’s ready to do it again. To sacrifice you.” Matt rubbed his eyes, hoping he was getting through. “If you try to fight us, you will die. That’s the truth. You won’t even get any of us.” He nodded toward the Marines covering each of the creatures. “If you put your weapons down and come with us, you’ll be well treated; I promise! You’ll never be ‘prey,’ and you’ll never have to be afraid again. I’m the commander of the forces that defeated you to begin with, the forces that defeated your Invincible Swarm and finally drove your people from this city. I have the power to make this promise, and it is a promise! Think of it! Plenty of food, nothing to fear”-he looked at Rasik-“and no more dying at the whim of a wild, unfeeling traitor. A traitor that made prey of his own people and would do the same to you!” There was total silence. “ Think on it!”
Suddenly, with what almost sounded like a whimper, a sword fell to the floor. Then another. Incredulous, Rasik squirmed on his throne to see, but anything he might have said was silenced when Rolak’s blade caressed his neck. The rest of the Grik weapons hit the floor with a cacophonous crash and Matt felt a wild feeling of relief… and something else.
“Goddamn,” muttered Gray. “Skipper, you just talked to Grik!”
I just talked to Grik! Matt screamed to himself. What does it mean? What can it mean? Quickly but carefully, since no Grik was ever unarmed, the Marines rounded up the prisoners- Grik prisoners! -and led them from the
