That's his arm there, the one with the maggots.'
Ignoring Mika's grimace of disgust and the cries of the crowd, the two combatants sat down at the table once more. Lotus Blossom accepted a heavy pouch placed on the table by the proprietor of the tavern. Mika guessed that she received a portion of all money spent on food and liquors during such contests.
Lotus Blossom dropped the pouch down the front of her tunic without even counting the coins and then looked around as though seeing the place for the first time. Spotting the haunch of ox on Mika's table, she seized it and placed it in front of her. Touching it with a finger, she frowned.
'This meat be cold,' she said, perhaps forgetting that it had been ordered more than half a day earlier. Seemingly out of nowhere, the ragged youth instantly appeared at her side and removed the offensive cut of meat. He returned almost immediately bearing a new haunch that sizzled and popped with heat. Following a hand signal from the woman, the youth brought a second for Hornsbuck. Bowls of ground beans, stewed fruits, steamed whole onions sprinkled with garlic, and a platter of marmots stuffed with wild mushrooms soon filled the table. An immense skin of burgundy, unwatered, was placed beside each plate.
Without speaking, the combatants fell to eating and did not stop until every last scrap of food had been consumed. Their tunics bulged, and their hands and faces were shiny with grease. At last, Lotus Blossom pushed herself back from the table and uttered a deep, rumbling belch. Putting his hands to his midriff, Hornsbuck echoed the thunderous sound.
Mika could do naught but drink and watch them until he was nearly green with discomfort. But it didn't matter, for they paid him no mind. It was as though he had ceased to exist.
Rising together at some unheard signal, Hornsbuck and Lotus Blossom wrapped their arms around each other's waists and began to wend their way toward the staircase again.
'Hornsbuck, wait!' Mika cried, leaping to his feet. 'Don't leave, there are things we must discuss!' For a moment it seemed that Hornsbuck might ignore him, intent on lust rather than duty, but at last he turned. Making his way back to the table, he and Lctus Blossom glowered down at him. 'Well?' he said in a forbidding manner.
Mika's heart sank. Try as he might to think of the right words, they did not rise to his tongue. Speechless, yet knowing that he had to do something to prevent Hornsbuck from leaving, Mika held up his gaundet and took off the glove.
Hornsbuck and Lotus Blossom stared at his hand in absolute horror, their eyes wide, their faces pale. Slowly, without a word, they sat down at the table. Mika looked down at the hand, his own eyes drawn to it, even though he dreaded the sight. There… there where once there had been one, were now two scaly, green demon fingers!
CHAPTER 9
Mika thought that he might throw up. He clutched his wrist and rose half out of his chair. He stared at his hand, blinking his eyes rapidly, hoping that there was some mistake, that the finger would go away if only he wished hard enough. But the finger remained.
To be more specific, it was his thumb. It was, if possible, even more hideous than the pointer finger, for it was wider, more spatulate than a thumb, and the talon four times thicker than a fingernail, ridged and lumpy and dull yellow in color. The talon curved back over the tip of the thumb and ended in a sharp, vicious edge.
'Mika, tell me what has happened,' Hornsbuck said, severely shaken by the sight of Mika's deformity.
Mika told his tale in a dull monotone, scarcely able to take his eyes off his hand, picking up the story at the point where Hornsbuck had lost his wits to the umber hulk and finishing with their presence at the tavern.
'Then I owe my life to you,' Hornsbuck said when Mika was finished. 'I would not be here with Lotus Blossom now, were it not for you.'
Mika said nothing, staring at the awful thumb. In truth, he hadn't even considered the fact that he had saved Hornsbuck's life. It just never occurred to him to leave Hornsbuck behind. RedTail had led them out of the confusing labyrinth of underground caverns, and the wolf would never have left Hornsbuck's side. And they could not have found their way out of the tunnels without the wolf, so Hornsbuck's presence had been mandatory. But it would have taken more energy than Mika had to explain matters, so he said nothing.
'I'm in your debt, Mika,' Hornsbuck continued. 'I'll never forget what you've done.'
Depressed as Mika was, the huge warrior's words cut through the fog that gripped his mind. One could do worse than to have Hornsbuck in one's debt. Mika slipped the gauntlet back on his hand, then sat up and paid attention.
'I confess, I used to think you were all talk and little action,' said Hornsbuck, 'but this has proven me wrong. It will be hard to repay you, lad, but it's a matter of honor now.
'Mika, we're going to Exag, just like that demon told you to, and we're going to find the king and bring him his daughter,' Hornsbuck continued. He leaned across the table to grip Mika's arm painfully and look into his eyes with an earnest expression. 'And somehow, I don't care how dangerous it is, how perilous, or at what risk, we're going to face that demon and get your hand back! You can count on me, Mika. I promise you, I won't change my mind!'
Mika sat up straight in his seat at Hornsbuck's words, the very center of his being riveted to what the nomad was proposing. Although going to Exag might be unavoidable and finding the king might be necessary, Mika had absolutely no desire whatsoever to face down the demon-not even to get his hand back!
'No, Hornsbuck, I… I couldn't let you do that,' he stammered. 'This is my problem.'
'No, Mika. It's our problem-yours and mine,' Hornsbuck said firmly. 'I'll not let you do this alone. After all, we're Wolf Nomads, comrades in arms, brothers in spirit. We're not afraid of anything. No demon can tell us what to do. No threat, no fight, no torture will ever stop us. Not even if they rip us limb from limb-not even then. Right, Mika?' Hornsbuck boomed, his eyes shining with excitement. He slammed Mika on the shoulder, nearly felling him with the force of his enthusiasm.
'Uh, I'm not so sure about the torture part and being ripped limb from limb…' Mika ventured.
'Ha, ha, ha! There was a time that I might have believed you meant that, Mika. And I'd have despised you for it. Now I see that it's just a ruse to put people off your true nature. Clever lad! Well, it certainly worked. I never even suspected that you had it in you!' Hornsbuck thumped Mika again, a blow that knocked the turban down over his eyes and nearly threw him from his chair.
'You've left something out,' said Lotus Blossom, who had been unusually silent. 'I'll be going with you. Let you out of my sight for just a moment and you get all confused and strange. Had to work right hard to straighten you out again, I did. I'll go with this time to keep my eye on you and save myself some work in the long run.'
'No, Lotus Blossom, I couldn't let you do that,' Hornsbuck said solemnly. 'This is man's work; it's no place for a woman!'
Mika gawked at Hornsbuck in total disbelief. Was he a lunatic? Lotus Blossom was twice the man Mika was! Mika wished he could let Lotus Blossom go in his stead, but he could think of no way to suggest it. When trouble starts, maybe I can just find a convenient hole and let the two of them take care of it, Mika thought to himself. In any event, Lotus Blossom would certainly be a fine addition to the party.
'Uh, Hornsbuck, I think that maybe you should let Lotus Blossom go with us,' Mika said persuasively. 'If there's any trouble, I'm sure that you and I can handle it, and this way we can enjoy the pleasure of the lady's company as well.'
Hornsbuck glowered at Mika. But with Mika on her side, Lotus Blossom soon reduced Hornsbuck's arguments to feeble rumbles, and in the end, he acquiesced.
'Well, what did you do to earn this second finger?' asked Hornsbuck, anxious to change the subject. 'And where's the princess? 1 haven't seen her around anywhere.'
'I don't know what I did,' answered Mika. 'And I don't know where the princess is, either. She's probably lurking around here somewhere, thinking of ways to kill me.'
As Mika sat there, ruminating over the proposed expedition, he slowly realized that it had been some time since he had seen the princess. When had he seen her last? Some time during the night. Right before that fellow shared his flask. The flask that left such an odd taste in his mouth. Right before he fell asleep… or was drugged!
