Mika knelt beside the great wolf TamTur and watched the blood flow from the wound in his chest. He had tried applying pressure, but the blood continued to pour through his fingers. He had tried healing herbs-in fact, he had tried every herb in his pouch, erabbing great handfuls and pressing them against 'he gaping hole. But nothing had worked, and as Tarn's breath grew even more laint, it seemed likely that he would die.
Damn it, Tam, don't you dare die on me!" Mika кге.-.nicd. filled with frustration and panic, not itr.iг.с what else he could do to prevent the inevita- hte.
Desperate, he picked the wolf up in his arms, carried him across the cracked paving stones of the ruined 'emple. and laid him gently on the broken slab of the altar
Mika's dazed companions offered little encouragement. Hornsbuck, Mika's loyal clansman lay slumped against the walls of the temple, slobbering in a catatonic state; his eyes blank and fixed ahead. The venerable scout was watched over by his vigilant wolf RedTail, who lay curled at his side. Mika's faithful roan and Princess Julia-who had recently become a most ill-tempered wolf-were nowhere to be seen, and were doubtless foraging nearby, unconcerned over Tarn's fate.
Mika fumbled in his pouch and pulled out his book of spells, the book that had been his father's. The book of spells that he should have learned by heart years earlier but had somehow never quite found the time.
Mika flipped through the pages, turning them rapidly as he sought a spell that he could accomplish with his meager abilities and yet would be strong enough to save the wolfs life.
"Charm… confusion… fire… fumble… polymorph, hmmm, polymorph… wizard eye…" No, none of them would do. Except, maybe, just perhaps…
Polymorph… powerful spell… changes form and ability… may change personality and mentality…
Mika stopped reading and looked at Tain. He could scarcely see the rise and fall of the wolf s chest and, even as he watched, the blood began to drip slowly onto the stone altar instead of spurting thickly as before. Tam was nearly drained. If Mika were going to save him, he had best do so immediately.
Mika began to panic. All right! He would do it! He would try a polymorph spell. He could do it. He hoped. He'd done it twice before, hadn't he? All right, so he'd done it wrong once. That didn't count. This time he'd do it right.
But what was he to change lam into? Anything the wolf became would die jusi as easily as Tarn himself. Except a troll. Trolls didn't die. Not even when you lopped off their heads and limbs. They lived through the very worst wounds bv regenerating, replacing the fallen pans and healing wounds with ease, appearing a› good as new afterward, if a troll could еvег be termed good as new.
Bu: a troll? Trolls were hideous, gruesome things, and no one would turn into one willingly… unless their life depended on it.
Mika's mind was made up. He could think of absolutely no other way to save the wolf who was closer to him than anyone in the world… except maybe Celia. oh. and Amber, and Alyssa, and that girl in the bar in Yecha… what was her name?
Mika shook his head, dispelling the thought of nubile bodies from his mind. He read through the spell quickly, memorizing it faster than he had ever memorized anything before, except maybe the combination of knots binding Melanie's door that her brother foolishly thought would keep him out…
The spell called for the cocoon of a caterpillar. Mika spied a cocoon fortuitously attached to the wall behind the altar and pried it loose with the tip of his sword, hoping that it had been spun by a proper caterpillar. The Great She-Wolf alone knew what other strange creatures had inhabited this temple of evil.
Tarn would have to take his chances; he was so close to death now that worrying about what kind of web it was seemed ludicrous. Far more likely was the possibility that Mika would botch the spell and turn Tarn into a turtle or a toad. Well, he could but do his best.
He looked at the spell one last time, gripped the cocoon in his left hand, and placed his right hand on Tain's chest just above the terrible wound. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to chant.
Halfway through the spell Mika felt Tain's body tremble. Abruptly the wolf stiffened and his legs jerked spasmodically. Mika kept his eyes closed and kept on reciting.
As he reached the end of the spell Mika heard a strange sizzling sound and smelled ihe stink of burning blood. Uttering the last few words, he racked his brain worriedly, trying to think of what he had done or said to produce such results. Sizzling blood was not supposed to be one of the effects of the spell.
Then, just as he pronounced the very last word of the spell, there was a thunderous crash, and something struck him full in the chest. He felt himself thrown backward as though from some terrible explosion. Almost before he realized what was happening, he struck one of the many broken marble pillars that had once supported the lofty bell-shaped dome of the temple. His head struck the stone with great force, knocking all the breath out of his body. His back and his chest were a blaze of pain, and he saw a brilliant display of sparkling stars before his eyes. He gasped for air, but his lungs refused to work. He gagged and heaved, but the band of pain just grew tighter across his chest until it seemed that he would never breathe again.
The "tars before his eyes were sprinkled on a crimson background, and he writhed on the ground trying desperately to get his breath. Just as the stars began to fade from view, winking out one after the other, Mika felt something brush his face, lighter than a feather's touch. Suddenly the pain was gone. Completely.
Mika lay there, eyes still closed, the cessation of the terrible agony as sweet as pleasure. He drew air into his lungs and savored it as though it were a rare wine. He was content to lie there for a moment, grateful that he was still alive. He sighed deeply and resolved studv the spell book more carefully. Another mistake like that one, whatever it was, might kill him the next time. He'd been lucky.
Tarn! What had happened to Tarn? He opened his eves and shot to his feet, only to fall back in horror. There, leaning against the edge of the altar was a… a… a something horrendous. It looked like a man being burned alive… being consumed by flames… except the thing was twice as big as a man! It was hard to see. Mika held up his hands and shielded his eyes against the abnormal brilliance of the flames, jjid as he did so, the figure shifted and stood upright.
Mika stared at the figure, transfixed with terror. It couldn't be human. Nothing human could live wrapped in those terrible flames. Even at a distance, Mika could feel the heat of the fire. He felt his eyebrows shrivel and the hair on his scalp began to steam. But if it wasn't human, that meant that it could only be… not human. Mika felt his soul cringe with fear. He tried to scuttle backward but was brought up short by the pillar.
The frightening apparition lifted its arm and pointed at Mika with a long, blue, flame-tipped finger.
"Mika-oba!" it proclaimed in a deep, hollow voice that somehow vibrated deep within Mika's skull and the hollows of his bones and turned his insides to jelly. "Mika-oba!" it repeated, and Mika was sure he felt his teeth starting to melt.
"Mika-oba!" it thundered yet a third time, and Mika realized that it was waiting for him to reply.
"Yes-s-s-s?" he quavered in a small voice.
"Mika-oba, you have dared to defy me," roared the creature, and the flames shot out in ail directions in shades of deepest red that crackled and spat angrily.
"I… I didn't mean to, sir-your worshipful- ness," croaked Mika. The hair of his nostrils tingled with every inhalation as he tried desperately to remember how he might have offended this being. But try as he might, Mika could not remember any way in which he might have angered the being, and even worse, he did not even know who or what the thing was. He just knew that it was very, very real and could probably turn him into a crispy nomad chip with one wave of its fiery hand.
"It was an accident," Mika whimpered, hoping that the thing would accept an apology. "I didn't mean it. It'll never happen again, you have my word."
"Of that, I am quite certain," said the fire-thing. "You hive dispatched Iuz to a place from,which he will not return. But you have disrupted my plans, and that makes me very, very angry."
The creature lifted its hand and started to point at Mika again. Mika didn't know what was about to happen, but neither did he wish to find out.
"Wait!" he screamed. "I'm sorrv. I'm sorry! I didn't know you had plans. I mean, of course you had plans. Of course YOU are upset. I can understand that. Why don't vou let me fix it? I can do that! I can do anything if vou'll let me. Let me help fix the plans. Please' I'd be glad to.All right? Yes? All right! Tell me what you want.Just don't fry me!"
Mika heard the pleading words pouring from his lips in endless line of pitiful drivel. He hated himself. But he also hated the idea of being turned into a fried wood chip. He could drivel for hours if it kept him alive.
The thing lowered its arm, and the blue flames wrapped themselves around its wrist, coiling in sinuous bands like a gold bracelet. It put a fiery fist beneath its flaming face and pondered Mika's suggestion; its eyes gleamed a deep carnelian red like molten rock. It stared at Mika, unblinking.
Mika was transfixed by the thing's gaze. He felt naked to his very soul and beyond. He knew that the thing, whatever it was, could see into the heart of his being and knew all of his flaws. He suddenly felt with certainty that the creature would find him wanting and kill him on the spot.
If Iuz, the demi-demon whom Mika had helped dispatch to some netherworld, had belonged to this creature, that meant the fire-thing was a full-fledged demon, far too powerful for Mika to even ponder killing. Mika realized that he was as good as dead. He wilted visibly, too frightened to attempt to flee, too frightened to do anything but stand there and wait for the end which he hoped would be quick and merciful.
"All right," the demon said pleasantly, creasing its face in what Mika took to be a smile, the cnmson flames licking around the edges of its lips. " Allowing you to set matters right could prove amusing. I will permit you to live for the time being… as long a $ you do as you are told. I will know, of course.:t \ou deviate from that path, and retribution will be swift and final.
"Do not think your friends can help you," added the demon. "Your large friend, Hornsbuck, still sits against the far wall of the temple, his few brains quite addled by his encounter with the umber hulk. Your wolf, as you can plainly see, is near death. And the girl, the Princess Julia whom you cleverly turned into a wolf, is skulking over there in the shadows, still waiting for the chance to kill you. Nor will the magic gem that you obtained from the princess help. No, your only chance for survival is to do exactly as I bid. Do you understand?"
Mika shivered in spite of the heat emanating from the demon. His hand rose to clutch the great blue- green jewel that hung from the fine-spun chain around his neck. He gulped, trying to swallow the huge lump that was stuck in his throat, and nodded his understanding, unable to speak.
"The princess was but a pawn, her malady conveniently contrived," said the demon, referring to the enchanted sleep that had felled the princess. Before she had been mistakenly transformed into a wolf, that is.And before Julia-for that was the princess's г. агг. е and now the wolfs name, of course-before Julia, in a misguided pique, tried to kill Mika. And before in all the confusion, the earthly form of Iuz had been destroyed. Oh, what a muddle! Mika hivered again.
"My business was with her father," continued the demon, its voice still reverberating in Mika's bones and making him feel quite ill indeed. "The princess was but one insignificant portion of his payment."
"Payment?" asked Mika in a gravelly voice, all of his spittle dried to dust. "Payment for what?"
"Why. the price of power, of course," replied the demon "You don't suppose that power is given freely. do you? The man had a pact with me. I gave him power, and in return he gave me whatever I wanted."
The demon crossed its legs leisurely, planting its heel in a shower of sparks that skittered across the pavement toward Mika like iron to a lodestone. The demon laughed as Mika shrank back and gusts of burning air buffeted him, singeing the edges of his leather tunic and lighting tiny fires on his cape in a half-dozen places. Mika frantically beat out the flames, feeling the fire scorch his palms.
The demon's laughter diminished to a chuckle, which produced no new flames.
"So what happens now?" asked Mika, grimacing at the pain in his hands. "What happens to the king? What happens to the Princess Julia? Do you still want her?" he asked hopefully. "Will that set things right?"
"Oh, I don't want the princess," said the demon. "I never did. That was Iuz's business. I have no need of a princess. And I already have her father since he defaulted on his payment."
"Where is he?" asked Mika, wondering if he really wanted to know. "And what do I have to do to set things straight?"
The demon tapped its crimson chin with a long, tapering finger of flame and stared at Mika with its terrible carnelian eyes. Mika felt himself growing nauseous.
"That might be interesting," the demon replied at length. Then, standing upright, it walked around the far side of the altar and, resting its fiery palms on the broken slab, leaned over the silent body of the all but forgotten wolf.
"Go to Exag, the walled city. That is where you will find the king, where he awaits my displeasure."
"What am I to do once I get there?" asked Mika as he eyed Tam nervously, wondering if the wolf was alive or dead or if the nearness of the fire demon were cooking his poor, helpless flesh.
"I haven't decided yet," replied the demon. "I will let you know when I think of it. The price of power is quite costly, as is my forgiveness."
Forgiveness was something the demon had never granted to anyone or anything, but Maelfesh saw no need to mention that little fact to the human. The fire demon quite liked the manner in which Mika groveled. It was refreshing. It had been a long time since Maelfesh had been anything but bored. Living forever had its drawbacks. After you saw and did everything a few dozen times, things tended to get a little dull. It just wasn't any fun when you always knew the end of the story.
Maelfesh had ceased dealing directly with humans several millennia ago, having graduated to demi- demons and the like, higher life forms, according to way of thinking. The demon had regarded it as a promotion at the time, but had forgotten how predictable demons were, being programmed to accept leadership of the hierarchy. Humans were quite unpredictable and were seldom, if ever, willing to accept the existing hierarchy of power, human or otherwise.
Even now. this miserable, half-literate, over-sexed brute of a Wolf Nomad was contemplating the odds of successfully double-crossing the demon and escaping unharmed. Maelfesh felt the flicker of hope as it rose in the human, mirrored by the gem that hung from his neck. The demon smiled to itself as it pictured what was to come. Maelfesh was almost glad to have been thwarted; it was going to be great fun playing with this nomad. I might even miss him when he is dead, Maelfesh thought. But not for too long.
"Don't even think about trying to break your word," said the demon as a corona of white-gold flame shot out and formed a gleaming diadem around its head. "I will know what you are thinking, and should you deviate from my strategy, revenge will be swift."
"I would never do that!" said Mika, trying to stifle the thought that had crept into his mind unbidden, wondering how the demon had known. Surely it was but a lucky guess.
The demon seemed to fade for the briefest of moments and then it flared up brighter than before as it stretched to its full height.
"It was no lucky guess, human. To demonstrate my abilities, I will help you with the wolf. You did the spell wrong. You used the cocoon of a vampire moth, not a caterpillar. Details are very important, Mika. Had the spell worked, you would have been faced with a vampire wolf. However, I, Maelfesh the munificent, will help you this once and give you what you think you want… a troll wolf."
The demon gestured over the body of the wolf with its long, flaming hand. Unreadable runes burned in the air, glowed brighdy, then disappeared, leaving only a smudge of black smoke to tell of their passing.
As Mika watched, Tam stirred. The demon laughed, causing every molecule in Mika's body to dance as though possessed. As the bile rose in Mika's throat and he clutched at the marble column for support, the demon turned into a pillar of fire that spouted huge spires of sparks and flames which cascaded down on Mika, setting his cape and even his hair afire before disappearing from sight.