The Gods Awaken

sea.

Towering over the island was the volcano. He knew in an instant this was one of the islands that made up Hadin. But how could that be? Hadin was on the other side of the world from Esmir-the continental opposite of his homeland.

Had the violence of the spellcast hurled him so far?

Or was he only dreaming of his boyhood vision, when he'd foreseen the end of the world?

The song grew stronger, rising up to enfold him … 'Surrender. Oh, surrender … ' It drew him down like a netted fish. 'Surrender. Oh, surrender … ' Fear lanced his heart when he saw the dancing people of his vision and their lusty young queen. 'Surrender. Oh, surrender…'

Panicking, he tried to struggle free, but the song flowed through and around him until he became a part of it. 'Surrender. Oh, surrender…'

And he had no choice but let it take him. He fell into a stupor, floating downward.

Then he found himself among the dancers. Except, now he was one of them. Dumb and gaping at the nubile Queen. Warm sun on his suddenly naked back. His bare feet beating against the sand. Open palms slapping his chest in time to the music: ' … Night and Moon./Stars and Sun./Honey androse;/Lady, oh Lady, surrender…'

Yes, that was how he came to be here. Safar suddenly felt quite calm-reassured that his mental faculties were returning. Only one small step was left. Once he retrieved the remaining words to the spell he'd cast in Caluz he could free himself.

Then excitement blossomed as another piece came: '… Piercing our breast with poison,/Whisperingnews of our deaths…'

Yes! That was it! Now, there were only two more lines. Two more and the spell could be broken.

Safar heard the Queen shout and he looked up at her-dismay poisoning his resolve-and his concentration was broken.

The Queen was crying out to her subjects, pointing at the volcano. The column of smoke was thicker, blacker and pouring out more furiously. Great sparks swirled in the smoke, showering upward like blossoms from the Hells.

Any moment the volcano would explode. Just as it had in Safar's vision. Just as it had…

A great shock rocked Safar to the core. Not the shock of the volcano's eruption-that was still to come.

But a shock of realization that he'd lived and died in this very same scene hundreds of times before.

The volcano would erupt. A deadly shower of debris driven by typhoon winds. Followed by a river of lava that would kill any who survived.

Even those who fled into the sea wouldn't be able to swim or canoe out far enough to escape. They'd be boiled alive like shellfish in a roiling pot.

In the long ago vision Safar had only been a witness to these events. But now he was one of the dancers doomed to die not once, but an endless number of deaths until the world itself was dead.

Only then would his soul be released.

Just then the last two lines came to him: '… For she is the Viper of the Rose/ Who dwells in farHadinland!'

But even as he reached for them, desperate to complete the spell, he knew he was nearly out of time.

Still, he rushed on-no time to hope, much less pray. He started reciting the spell: 'Hellsfire burnsbrightest/In Heaven's holy shadow…'

Then it was too late.

And the volcano erupted.

But just before it did, he thought he heard someone calling to him: 'Father! Father!'

Desperate, he cried out: 'Palimak! Help me, Palimak!'

And everything vanished-except pain.

CHAPTER TWO

OF SONS AND LOVERS

Palimak peered over the railing, clutching his cloak against the damp chill as the airship slowly descended through the clouds.

Behind him he could hear Biner cautioning the crew in his rumbling baritone, 'Steady, now … Keep her steady, lads…'

The clouds thinned and he could see the forbidding north coast of Syrapis: jagged reefs rising out of a stone- gray sea; a narrow pebbled beach ending at black cliffs that ascended to forested mountain peaks.

There came a rattle of chain mail and a faint breath of perfume as the warrior woman moved up behind him. 'Over there,' she indicated. 'On the easternmost peak. Do you see it?'

The moment she spoke, Palimak spotted the castle. It was a black stone crown sitting atop the lowest peak, with eight turrets strategically positioned around the thick walls.

Palimak grimaced. 'I see it, Aunt Leiria,' he said. 'But it doesn't look like how I remember it.'

Leiria patted his arm. 'That was more than three years ago,' she soothed. 'And you were on horseback, sitting behind your father.'

Palimak shrugged. 'I hope you're right,' he said. Then he turned to the airship's bridge, where Biner held forth, directing the crew.

'Can you maneuver around the castle, Uncle Biner?' he shouted.

'Sure thing, lad,' Biner called back. He barked orders and the crewmen scrambled around the airship's deck. Some tended the magical furnaces that pumped hot air into the huge twin balloons. Others checked the lines that held the ship's body suspended beneath the balloons. Still others spilled ballast to help stabilize the airship when Biner made the turn.

As they sailed around the peak, Leiria studied the fortress with a professional eye. On two sides the castle was protected by steep, rock-littered slopes. Obviously the rocks had all been piled up by the castle's human defenders.

One small stone hurled into the right place would set off an avalanche that would pour down on any ground troops foolish enough to climb the slopes.

The castle's front was just as steep and the road winding up to the gates was edged with low walls and a series of stone guard shacks, with slits for arrow holes.

The rear of the castle came right up to the edge of a sheer cliff shooting down to the hissing seas that beat against the little beach.

In the center-about twenty feet below the castle walls-a waterfall spilled out of a wide cave mouth. It fell hundreds of feet before it thundered into waves that crashed over the beach and against the base of the cliff.

'On the whole,' Leiria said at last, 'I'd rather defend it than attack it.'

Palimak touched the hilt of his sheathed sword, eyes flickering demon-yellow. 'I don't want a fight,' he said. 'We have more important things to do. But if that's what King Rhodes wants…' he grinned, displaying surprisingly sharp teeth … 'That's what he'll get.'

Leiria nodded approval. 'I'm sick and tired of all these little Syrapian despots and their game playing,'

she replied. 'They think the only purpose of a truce is to give them time to get behind you and stab you in the back.'

Palimak shrugged-what would be, would be-and returned his attention to the castle.

The airship sank lower and he could make out the crowd waiting for them in the center courtyard. All eyes were turned upward to see the airship's approach.

He could imagine the amazement on their faces. The airship was a wondrous sight to behold, with the tattooed face of a beautiful woman on the front balloon. And the words 'Methydia's Flying Circus'

emblazoned on the other.