Greyfax Grimwald (12 page)

Days passed into months, and autumn came and went, and winter settled in a pure white blanket on the valley, and still they had no word of Greyfax, or indeed anyone, save the birds and other wild kind that shared the valley with them.

Summer came and passed again; and they still busied themselves with their everyday lives, patching and mending, digging or building other wings, or forming new tunnels, playing or working, and had little time for thought as to what errand or journey either Greyfax or Froghorn might be on.

All this time, and more, was in swift movement while the two servants of the Light were with Lorini in Cypher, for all time there was in a constant flow, touching past, present, and future at once. In this fusion, time, as such, did not exist. There was dimension, but beyond the knowledge of the worlds, dimension as was in Windameir, the very heart of existence, the breath in the eye of the One. While Greyfax and Froghorn talked with Lorini, five years slipped by outside her realm, and five more as they dined. And at last, when Froghorn and Greyfax departed, fifteen years had marked the calendar of Dwarf in his little house with the living roof and floor, and all thought of the wizards had ceased to entertain their minds. Their dwellings had grown into homes to them, and each pursued his original quest as best he could, studying and planning, bnt Dwarf still had no idea what it was they should do, nor Bear, nor Otter. So each in his own way prepared himself for whatever had called him, and lingered still for it to declare itself as to what was to be done.

The lands beyond the valley grew barren and deserted, old men’s dwellings vanished into thick overgrowth, and for years at a time they saw no movements, save once, when a band of swarthy, bearded soldiers went through on their way to a destination beyond the horizon. Bear and Otter had followed them secretly, and tried to gather what news they could, but all the soldiers’ talk was of the war, and other topics that bewildered and frightened the animals, but nothing more. Another time, not long

after the soldiers’ passing, the western skyline was blotted out with great billows of black smoke, and far-distant thunder rolled and curled about the sun. That night, a blood-red glow lighted the distance until dawn. After that, they neither saw nor heard anything of Mankind.

Otter became acquainted with two blue jays that had come long miles from the direction where the smoke and light had been seen, but he could never get them to speak of it, and when pressed they would fly away, giving excuses for their reluctance to talk by saying they had food to seek, or a nest to tend to, and after a while Otter gave up questioning them about it. The only remark he ever heard them say that he imagined might refer to it was once when the husband snapped testily at his wife, “Well, if this tree doesn’t suit your nest, think what it would be like there now.” His mate chattered apologetically, and there was an end of that.

As the years grew on one to another, each of the three contented himself with his books, or river, or cave. Dwarf began polishing up his almost forgotten dwarf magic from a book he had taken from Tubal Hall. It had belonged to Bani, who, like Dwarf, had been a lore master.

Such were the lives of the three comrades during the time it took Greyfax Grimwald and Froghom Fairingay to seek their counsel of Lorini, and make their plans, and to set out once more from the halls of Light into the darkening world of Atlanton Earth.

I
n the World Between Time also, where Dorini, Queen of Darkness and the Frozen Night, ruled, time did not move as in the world. Her great ebony halls glowed with an evil greenish light when she held court or met with her servants to gather news of her progress in her war to capture Atlanton Earth. Doraki, her prince and next-in-command, came and went many times while Greyfax and Froghorn were at their business in Cypher, and Fireslayer and Suneater devoured armies and smote kingdoms with their fierce, frozen breath. All the others, including Cakgor, son of the vile two, Fireslayer and Suneater, chased the stars at night for sport and haunted the places of men by day. Still, there were those upon Atlanton Earth who had mighty powers to resist, and the war had fallen into a stalemate of half light, half darkness.

Dorini called for Doraki. In the throne room, greenish blue shafts of fire cracked upward into the frozen stillness as the two talked and made their schemes. A low rumble fell over the World Between Time as their two cold voices rose and fell, full of violence and destruction, and the icy touch of hopeless, eternal death.

“What have you learned of our accursed meddlers, my repulsive love? What of the Secrets? And that despicable box?”

Anger exploded her words into shards of steely darts that pierced his dark soul.

“Everything possible is being done to find and capture it. Or even if we had only one of the miserable Secrets, we could keep Atlanton Earth forever in the dark.” His laughter came, sharp and barbed. “All our reports lead me to believe Greyfilth still holds the box, although he has disappeared since his escape from us, and none of our eyes or ears have spied him out yet.”

“What of Foulingray? Anything of that squirming meddler? Oh, how I long to lay my hand just once more on those two.”

“We’ve discovered no sure sign of either of them, Your Darkness. I thought once we might have turned up something, near the stink hole of Tubal Hall, where old Creddin, the imbecile wretch was at watch for us, but it came to naught. I was close at hand at the time, but the fiends, whoever they were, slipped by me with some accursed magical stunt. I have no proof it was our delightful friends, although I am sure it was some of those of that vile Circle of your foul sister.”

“Accccch,” came the cold screech of reply, shuddering the dark hall to its cold, deep roots, and setting Fireslayer and Suneater quailing and howling at their chains. “Don’t drag the mention of her filthy name before me. I have been tricked and deceived by my sister and that lot she runs with for the last time.”

“Forgive me, Your Darkness,” trembled Doraki. “I know what grief she has done you, but I only tried to answer your question, Your Darkness.”

A fiercely gleaming finger of cold fire blazed from the Dark Queen’s eyes, huge and yellow-glowing in her wrath, but she spoke so softly Doraki had to lean closer to hear the words.

“I am denied my rightful throne beside my witless, spineless sister, and that miserable pack of fools she has thrown her lot with all conspire with her to keep me from what is given me by the High Crown of Windameir. Yet they shall see that it is I, and not she, nor even he who sits on the High Crown, who shall wax more powerful. And the grief, as you call it, that the fools have done me is but a small token of what I have in store for you if you fail to find me Greyfilth and his groveling friend.”

Doraki shivered before her.

“No, Your Darkness, there will be no failure.”

“My good friend Greyfilth will wish he had taken me up on my offer of half my realm before all is said and done.” Dorini suddenly laughed menacingly. “Does that bother you, my sweet, to hear me talk of replacing you with that monster Greyfilth? But you, my lovely, shall share it with me if you complete your errand successfully. And if not, perhaps I shall have my revenge I had planned for them on you.”

Shrill, jarring, pleasureless peals of mimicking laughter filed the huge black expanse of the throne chamber.

Doraki bowed low and fled, the darkness of his bitter heart frightened and angry, and he went to the chamber of Cakgor and took the gaunt, huge beast with him, and sped away into Atlanton Earth with vengeance welling inside him. At his heels came Cakgor, great wolflike jaws slavering and evil, vile frozen breath deadening the air, down, ever down into the world of men.

A great, ominous black cloud enveloped the sun with their passing, and all who saw it quivered and shuddered in their hearts and their minds were filled with a dark, unspeakable terror.

Those who served the Dark Queen gladdened at the black immenseness of the cloud, and planned new evils to strike against the light. Their bitter hearts feared the light, but also the darkness, and the icy fingers of the Dark Queen covered their eyes and numbed their minds to all but obeyance of her will, and new strife and crises spread like a raging black fire over the world of Atlanton Earth.

I
n the month of Mayfest, two strange events occurred in the valley that Broco, Bear, and Otter had dwelt in so long, both unknown to the friends, but which would bring eventual terror and force them once more to their long-neglected journey.

On the day of All Summer, four dim, cunning eyes watched from the hills above Dwarf’s now rather large house, for many wings and new windows had been built. He now had room for all the friends to live together under the same roof, but Bear wanted privacy, and apologized to the hurt dwarf that bears really wouldn’t feel right even in such a nice home as Dwarf had, and that he liked to ramble around in the little-used tunnels he had dug, then forgotten, then occasionally rediscovered. Otter simply said he’d be lost without the river close to paw, and scampered away, giggling. Dwarf solved the problem of having his roof shared by taking in a smallish, beautifully marked tabby cat that arrived drenched one night in a driving rainstorm. It showed such intelligence and affection for him he couldn’t bring himself to part with it, even when they fought, as they did often. They all came to love Froghorn well, which is what Dwarf named him, for he thought the animal’s eyes bore a striking resemblance to those of Greyfax Grimwald’s friend. The cat knew many strange tales, and often amused the friends after a long late night’s supper by reciting old histories or spuming yarns about the ghosts of men who dwelled under the earth, or telling funny little anecdotes about falcon hunting in far-off lands. Even Froghorn was unaware of the spies who watched them steadily on All Summer’s Day, hidden in the alder trees away from sight or sound that would give their grim presence away.

“Let’s eat them, says I,” growled the low voice, harsh as a sticker burr, and menacing. “We ain’t had the likes in days, and I’m hungry.”

A snarl of protest rumbled in the other huge wolfs throat.

“You know what He said. Any strangers are to be reported, and we’re not to touch anything till he says so.”

“He says, He says. Bah. His belly’s always full. Let’s at least have the dwarf, then we can tell him. My stomach don’t fancy animal meat, anyways not no more. We haven’t had man flesh since the war left these parts, and even a miserable dwarf would make an all-right snack now.”

“We leaves ‘em, I says. We can come back for ‘em if he don’t want ‘em.”

The great grayish-white hackles of the first werewolf rose and bristled, but the other gaunt beast bared his huge throat-tearing fangs. Their dull yellow eyes flashed in the silence, then the first beast retreated, snarling sullenly.

“All right, has it your way. We’ll tell him, but mark me, if He don’t want them, I gets the dwarf to myself.”

“We’ll see about that when He gets to it. Come on.”