CHAPTER XXII
THE LOOSING OF THE POWERS
When I came to myself again, it was daylight. I saw the calm, gentleface of Oros bending over me as he poured some strong fluid down mythroat that seemed to shoot through all my body, and melt a curtain inmy mind. I saw also that beside him stood Ayesha.
"Speak, man, speak," she said in a terrible voice. "What hast chancedhere? Thou livest, then where is my lord? Where hast thou hid my lord?Tell me--or die."
It was the vision that I saw when my senses left me in the snow of theavalanche, fulfilled to the last detail!
"Atene has taken him," I answered.
"Atene has taken him and thou art left alive?"
"Do not be wrath with me," I answered, "it is no fault of mine. Littlewonder we were deceived after thou hadst said that thou mightest summonus ere dawn."
Then as briefly as I could I told the story.
She listened, went to where our murdered guards lay with unstainedspears, and looked at them.
"Well for these that they are dead," she exclaimed. "Now, Holly, thouseest what is the fruit of mercy. The men whose lives I gave my lordhave failed him at his need."
Then she passed forward to the spot where Leo was captured. Here lay abroken sword--Leo's--that had been the Khan Rassen's, and two dead men.Both of these were clothed in some tight-fitting black garments, havingtheir heads and faces whitened with chalk and upon their vests a rudeimitation of a human skeleton, also daubed in chalk.
"A trick fit to frighten fools with," she said contemptuously. "But oh!that Atene should have dared to play the part of Ayesha, that she shouldhave dared!" and she clenched her little hand. "See, surprised andoverwhelmed, yet he fought well. Say! was he hurt, Holly? It comes uponme--no, tell me that I see amiss."
"Not much, I think," I answered doubtfully, "a little blood was runningfrom his mouth, no more. Look, there go the stains of it upon thatrock."
"For every drop I'll take a hundred lives. By myself I swear it," Ayeshamuttered with a groan. Then she cried in a ringing voice,
"Back and to horse, for I have deeds to do this day. Nay, bide thouhere, Holly; we go a shorter path while the army skirts the gorge. Oros,give him food and drink and bathe that hurt upon his head. It is but abruise, for his hood and hair are thick."
So while Oros rubbed some stinging lotion on my scalp, I ate and drankas best I could till my brain ceased to swim, for the blow, thoughheavy, had not fractured the bone. When I was ready they brought thehorses to us, and mounting them, slowly we scrambled up the steep bed ofthe water-course.
"See," Ayesha said, pointing to tracks and hoof-prints on the plain atits head, "there was a chariot awaiting him, and harnessed to it werefour swift horses. Atene's scheme was clever and well laid, and I, grownoversure and careless, slept through it all!"
On this plain the army of the Tribes that had broken camp before thedawn was already gathering fast; indeed, the cavalry, if I may call themso, were assembled there to the number of about five thousand men, eachof whom had a led horse. Ayesha summoned the chiefs and captains, andaddressed them. "Servants of Hes," she said, "the stranger lord, mybetrothed and guest, has been tricked by a false priest and, fallinginto a cunning snare, captured as a hostage. It is necessary that Ifollow him fast, before harm comes--to him. We move down to attack thearmy of the Khania beyond the river. When its passage is forced I passon with the horsemen, for I must sleep in the city of Kaloon to-night.What sayest thou, Oros? That a second and greater army defends itswalls? Man, I know it, and if there is need, that army I will destroy.Nay, stare not at me. Already they are as dead. Horsemen, you accompanyme.
"Captains of the Tribes, you follow, and woe be to that man who hangsback in the hour of battle, for death and eternal shame shall be hisportion, but wealth and honour to those who bear them bravely. Yes, Itell you, theirs shall be the fair land of Kaloon. You have your ordersfor the passing of yonder river. I, with the horsemen, take the centralford. Let the wings advance."
The chiefs answered with a cheer, for they were fierce men whoseancestors had loved war for generations. Moreover, mad as seemed theenterprise, they trusted in their Oracle, the Hesea, and, like all hillpeoples, were easily fired by the promise of rich plunder.
An hour's steady march down the slopes brought the army to the edgeof the marsh lands. These, as it chanced, proved no obstacle to ourprogress, for in that season of great drought they were quite dry, andfor the same reason the shrunken river was not so impassable a defenceas I feared that it would be. Still, because of its rocky bottom andsteep, opposing banks, it looked formidable enough, while on the crestsof those banks, in squadrons and companies of horse and foot, weregathered the regiments of Atene.
While the wings of footmen deployed to right and left, the cavalryhalted in the marshes and let their horses fill themselves with the longgrass, now a little browned by frost, that grew on this boggy soil, andafterwards drink some water.
All this time Ayesha stood silent, for she also had dismounted, thatthe mare she rode and her two led horses might graze with the others.Indeed, she spoke but once, saying--"Thou thinkest this adventure mad,my Holly? Say, art afraid?"
"Not with thee for captain," I answered. "Still, that second army----"
"Shall melt before me like mist before the gale," she replied in a lowand thrilling voice. "Holly, I tell thee thou shalt see things such asno man upon the earth has ever seen. Remember my words when I _loose thePowers_ and thou followest the rent veil of Ayesha through the smittensquadrons of Kaloon. Only--what if Atene should dare to murder him? Oh,if she should dare!"
"Be comforted," I replied, wondering what she might mean by this loosingof the Powers. "I think that she loves him too well."
"I bless thee for the words, Holly, yet--I know he will refuse her, andthen her hate for me and her jealous rage may overcome her love for him.Should this be so, what will avail my vengeance? Eat and drink again,Holly--nay, I touch no food until I sit in the palace of Kaloon--andlook well to girth and bridle, for thou ridest far and on a wild errand.Mount thee on Leo's horse, which is swift and sure; if it dies theguards will bring thee others."
I obeyed her as best I could, and once more bathed my head in a pool,and with the help of Oros tied a rag soaked in the liniment on thebruise, after which I felt sound enough. Indeed, the mad excitement ofthose minutes of waiting, and some foreshadowing of the terrible wondersthat were about to befall, made me forget my hurts.
Now, Ayesha was standing staring upwards, so that although I could notsee her veiled face, I guessed that her eyes must be fixed on the skyabove the mountain top. I was certain, also, that she was concentratingher fearful will upon an unknown object, for her whole frame quiveredlike a reed shaken in the wind.
It was a very strange morning--cold and clear, yet curiously still,and with a heaviness in the air such as precedes a great fall of snow,although for much snow the season was yet too early. Once or twice, too,in that utter calm, I thought that I felt everything shudder; not theordinary trembling of earthquake, however, for the shuddering seemed tobe of the atmosphere quite as much as of the land. It was as though allNature around us were a living creature which is very much afraid.
Following Ayesha's earnest gaze, I perceived that thick, smoky cloudswere gathering one by one in the clear sky above the peak, and that theywere edged, each of them, with a fiery rim. Watching these fantastic andominous clouds, I ventured to say to her that it looked as though theweather would change--not a very original remark, but one which thecircumstances suggested.
"Aye," she answered, "ere night the weather will be wilder even thanmy heart. No longer shall they cry for water in Kaloon! Mount, Holly,mount! The advance begins!" and unaided she sprang to the saddle of themare that Oros brought her.
Then, in the midst of the five thousand horsemen, we moved down uponthe ford. As we reached its brink I noted that the two divisions oftribesmen were already entering the stream half a mile to the right andleft of us. Of what befell them
I can tell nothing from observation,although I learned later that they forced it after great slaughter onboth sides.
In front of us was gathered the main body of the Khania's army, massedby regiments upon the further bank, while hundreds of picked men stoodup to their middles in the water, waiting to spear or hamstring ourhorses as we advanced.
Now, uttering their wild, whistling cry, our leading companies dashedinto the river, leaving us upon the bank, and soon were engaged hotlywith the footmen in midstream. While this fray went on, Oros came toAyesha, told her a spy had reported that Leo, bound in a two-wheeledcarriage and accompanied by Atene, Simbri and a guard, had passedthrough the enemy's camp at night, galloping furiously towards Kaloon.
"Spare thy words, I know it," she answered, and he fell back behind her.
Our squadrons gained the bank, having destroyed most of the men in thewater, but as they set foot upon it the enemy charged them and drovethem back with loss. Thrice they returned to the attack, and thrice wererepulsed in this fashion. At length Ayesha grew impatient.
"They need a leader, and I will give them one," she said. "Come with me,my Holly," and, followed by the main body of the horsemen, she rode alittle way into the river, and there waited until the shattered troopshad fallen back upon us. Oros whispered to me--"It is madness, the Heseawill be slain."
"Thinkest thou so?" I answered. "More like that we shall be slain,"a saying at which he smiled a little more than usual and shrugged hisshoulders, since for all his soft ways, Oros was a brave man. Also Ibelieve that he spoke to try me, knowing that his mistress would take noharm.
Ayesha held up her hand, in which there was no weapon, and waved itforwards. A great cheer answered that signal to advance, and in themidst of it this frail, white-robed woman spoke to her horse, so that itplunged deep into the water.
Two minutes later, and spears and arrows were flying about us so thicklythat they seemed to darken the sky. I saw men and horses fall to rightand left, but nothing touched me or the white robes that floated a yardor two ahead. Five minutes and we were gaining the further bank, andthere the worst fight began.
It was fierce indeed, yet never an inch did the white robes give back,and where they went men would follow them or fall. We were up the bankand the enemy was packed about us, but through them we passed slowly,like a boat through an adverse sea that buffets but cannot stay it.Yes, further and further, till at last the lines ahead grew thin as theliving wedge of horsemen forced its path between them--grew thin, brokeand vanished.
We had passed through the heart of the host, and leaving the tribesmenwho followed to deal with its flying fragments, rode on half a mile orso and mustered. Many were dead and more were hurt, but the command wasissued that all sore-wounded men should fall out and give their horsesto replace those that had been killed.
This was done, and presently we moved on, three thousand of us now, notmore, heading for Kaloon. The trot grew to a canter, and the canter to agallop, as we rushed forward across that endless plain, till at midday,or a little after--for this route was far shorter than that taken by Leoand myself in our devious flight from Rassen and his death-hounds--wedimly saw the city of Kaloon set upon its hill.
Now a halt was ordered, for here was a reservoir in which was stillsome water, whereof the horses drank, while the men ate of the food theycarried with them; dried meat and barley meal. Here, too, more spies metus, who said that the great army of Atene was posted guarding thecity bridges, and that to attack it with our little force would meandestruction. But Ayesha took no heed of their words; indeed, shescarcely seemed to hear them. Only she ordered that all wearied horsesshould be abandoned and fresh ones mounted.
Forward again for hour after hour, in perfect silence save for thethunder of our horses' hoofs. No word spoke Ayesha, nor did her wildescort speak, only from time to time they looked over their shouldersand pointed with their red spears at the red sky behind.
I looked also, nor shall I forget its aspect. The dreadful, fire-edgedclouds had grown and gathered so that beneath their shadows the plainlay almost black. They marched above us like an army in the heavens,while from time to time vaporous points shot forward, thin like swords,or massed like charging horse.
Under them a vast stillness reigned. It was as though the earth lay deadbeneath their pall.
Kaloon, lit in a lurid light, grew nearer. The pickets of the foe flewhomeward before us, shaking their javelins, and their mocking laughterreached us in hollow echoes. Now we saw the vast array, posted rankon rank with silken banners drooping in that stirless air, flanked andscreened by glittering regiments of horse.
An embassy approached us, and at the signal of Ayesha's uplifted armwe halted. It was headed by a lord of the court whose face I knew. Hepulled rein and spoke boldly.
"Listen, Hes, to the words of Atene. Ere now the stranger lord, thydarling, is prisoner in her palace. Advance, and we destroy thee and thylittle band; but if by any miracle thou shouldst conquer, then he dies.Get thee gone to thy Mountain fastness and the Khania gives thee peace,and thy people their lives. What answer to the words of the Khania?"
Ayesha whispered to Oros, who called aloud--"There is no answer. Go, ifye love life, for death draws near to you."
So they went fast as their swift steeds would carry them, but for alittle while Ayesha still sat lost in thought.
Presently she turned and through her thin veil I saw that her facewas white and terrible and that the eyes in it glowed like those ofa lioness at night. She said to, me--hissing the words between herclenched teeth--"Holly, prepare thyself to look into the mouth of hell.I desired to spare them if I could, I swear it, but my heart bids me bebold, to put off human pity, and use all my secret might if I would seeLeo living. Holly, I tell thee they are about _to murder him!_"
Then she cried aloud, "Fear nothing, Captains. Ye are but few, yet withyou goes the strength of ten thousand thousand. Now follow the Hesea,and whate'er ye meet, be not dismayed. Repeat it to the soldiers, thatfearing nothing they follow the Hesea through yonder host and across thebridge and into the city of Kaloon."
So the chiefs rode hither and thither, crying out her words, and thesavage tribesmen answered--"Aye, we who followed through the water, willfollow across the plain. Onward, Hes, for darkness swallows us."
Now some orders were given, and the companies fell into a formation thatresembled a great wedge, Ayesha herself being its very point and apex,for though Oros and I rode on either side of her, spur as we would, ourhorses' heads never passed her saddle bow. In front of that dark massshe shone a single spot of white--one snowy feather on a black torrent'sbreast.
A screaming bugle note--and, like giant arms, from the shelter of somegroves of poplar trees, curved horns of cavalry shot out to surroundus, while the broad bosom of the opposing army, shimmering with spears,rolled forward as a wave rolls crowned with sunlit foam, and behind it,line upon line, uncountable, lay a surging sea of men.
Our end was near. We were lost, or so it seemed.
Ayesha tore off her veil and held it on high, flowing from her likea pennon, and lo! upon her brow blazed that wide and mystic diadem oflight which once only I had seen before.
Denser and denser grew the rushing clouds above; brighter and brightergleamed the unearthly star of light beneath. Louder and louder beat thesound of the falling hoofs of ten thousand horses. From the Mountainpeak behind us went up sudden sheets of flame; it spouted fire as awhale spouts foam.
The scene was dreadful. In front, the towers of Kaloon lurid in amonstrous sunset. Above, a gloom as of an eclipse. Around the darkling,sunburnt plain. On it Atene's advancing army, and our rushing wedge ofhorsemen destined, it would appear, to inevitable doom.
Ayesha let fall her rein. She tossed her arms, waving the torn, whiteveil as though it were a signal cast to heaven.
Instantly from the churning jaws of the unholy night above belched ablaze of answering flame, that also wavered like a rent and shaken veilin the grasp of a black hand of cloud.
br /> Then did Ayesha roll the thunder of her might upon the Children ofKaloon. Then she called, and the Terror came, such as men had never seenand perchance never more will see. Awful bursts of wind tore past us,lifting the very stones and soil before them, and with the wind wenthail and level, hissing rain, made visible by the arrows of perpetuallightnings that leapt downwards from the sky and upwards from the earth.
It was as she had warned me. It was as though hell had broken loose uponthe world, yet through that hell we rushed on unharmed. For always thesefuries passed before us. No arrow flew, no javelin was stained. Thejagged hail was a herald of our coming; the levens that smote andstabbed were our sword and spear, while ever the hurricane roared andscreamed with a million separate voices which blended to one yell ofsound, hideous and indescribable.
As for the hosts about us they melted and were gone.
Now the darkness was dense, like to that of thickest night; yet in thefierce flares of the lightnings I saw them run this way and that, andamidst the volleying, elemental voices I heard their shouts of horrorand of agony. I saw horses and riders roll confused upon the ground;like storm-drifted leaves I saw their footmen piled in high and whirlingheaps, while the brands of heaven struck and struck them till they sanktogether and grew still.
I saw the groves of trees bend, shrivel up and vanish. I saw the highwalls of Kaloon blown in and flee away, while the houses within thewalls took fire, to go out beneath the torrents of the driving rain,and again take fire. I saw blackness sweep over us with great wings, andwhen I looked, lo! those wide wings were flame, floods of pulsing flamethat flew upon the tormented air.
Blackness, utter blackness; turmoil, doom, dismay! Beneath me thelabouring horse; at my side the steady crest of light which sat onAyesha's brow, and through the tumult a clear, exultant voice thatsang--"I promised thee wild weather! Now, Holly, dost thou believe thatI can loose the prisoned Powers of the world?"
Lo! all was past and gone, and above us shone the quiet evening sky,and before us lay the empty bridge, and beyond it the flaming city ofKaloon. But the armies of Atene, where were they? Go, ask of those greatcairns that hide their bones. Go, ask it of her widowed land.
Yet of our wild company of horsemen not one was lost. After us theygalloped trembling, white-lipped, like men who face to face had foughtand conquered Death, but triumphant--ah, triumphant!
On the high head of the bridge Ayesha wheeled her horse, and so forone proud moment stood to welcome them. At the sight of her glorious,star-crowned countenance, which now her Tribes beheld for the first timeand the last, there went up such a shout as men have seldom heard.
"_The Goddess!_" that shout thundered. "Worship the Goddess!"
Then she turned her horse's head again, and they followed on through thelong straight street of the burning city, up to the palace on its crest.
As the sun set we sped beneath its gateway. Silence in the courtyard,silence everywhere, save for the distant roar of fire and the scaredhowlings of the death-hounds in their kennel.
Ayesha sprang from her horse, and waving back all save Oros and myself,swept through the open doors into the halls beyond.
They were empty, every one--all were fled or dead. Yet she never pausedor doubted, but so swiftly that we scarce could follow her, flitted upthe wide stone stair that led to the topmost tower. Up, still up, untilwe reached the chamber where had dwelt Simbri the Shaman, that samechamber whence he was wont to watch his stars, in which Atene hadthreatened us with death.
Its door was shut and barred; still, at Ayesha's coming, yes, beforethe mere breath of her presence, the iron bolts snapped like twigs, thelocks flew back, and inward burst that massive portal.
Now we were within the lamp-lit chamber, and this is what we saw. Seatedin a chair, pale-faced, bound, yet proud and defiant-looking, was Leo.Over him, a dagger in his withered hand--yes, about to strike, in thevery act--stood the old Shaman, and on the floor hard by, gazing upwardwith wide-set eyes, dead and still majestic in her death, lay Atene,Khania of Kaloon.
Ayesha waved her arm and the knife fell from Simbri's hand, clatteringon the marble, while in an instant he who had held it was smitten tostillness and became like a man turned to stone.
She stooped, lifted the dagger, and with a swift stroke severed Leo'sbonds; then, as though overcome at last, sank on to a bench in silence.Leo rose, looking about him bewildered, and said in the strained voiceof one who is weak with much suffering--"But just in time, Ayesha.Another second, and that murderous dog"--and he pointed to theShaman--"well, it was in time. But how went the battle, and how earnestthou here through that awful hurricane? And, oh, Horace, thank heaventhey did not kill you after all!"
"The battle went ill for some," Ayesha answered, "and I came not throughthe hurricane, but on its wings. Tell me now, what has befallen theesince we parted?"
"Trapped, overpowered, bound, brought here, told that I must write tothee and stop thy advance, or die--refused, of course, and then----" andhe glanced at the dead body on the floor.
"And then?" repeated Ayesha.
"Then that fearful tempest, which seemed to drive me mad. Oh! if thoucouldst have heard the wind howling round these battlements, tearingoff their stones as though they were dry leaves; if thou hadst seen thelightnings falling thick and fast as rain----"
"They were my messengers. I sent them to save thee," said Ayesha simply.
Leo stared at her, making no comment, but after a pause, as though hewere thinking the matter over, he went on--"Atene said as much, but Idid not believe her. I thought the end of the world had come, that wasall. Well, she returned just now more mad even than I was, and told methat her people were destroyed and that she could not fight against thestrength of hell, but that she could send me thither, and took a knifeto kill me.
"I said, 'Kill on,' for I knew that wherever I went thou wouldst follow,and I was sick with the loss of blood from some hurt I had in thatstruggle, and weary of it all. So I shut my eyes waiting for the stroke,but instead I felt her lips pressed upon my forehead, and heard hersay--"'Nay, I will not do it. Fare thee well; fulfil thou thine owndestiny, as I fulfil mine. For this cast the dice have fallen againstme; elsewhere it may be otherwise. I go to load them if I may.'
"I opened my eyes and looked. There Atene stood, a glass in herhand--see, it lies beside her.
"'Defeated, yet I win,' she cried, 'for I do but pass before thee toprepare the path that thou shalt tread, and to make ready thy place inthe Under-world. Till we meet again I pledge thee, for I am destroyed.Ayesha's horsemen are in my streets, and, clothed in lightnings at theirhead, rides Ayesha's avenging self.'
"So she drank, and fell dead--but now. Look, her breast still quivers.Afterwards, that old man would have murdered me, for, being roped, Icould not resist him, but the door burst in and thou camest. Spare him,he is of her blood, and he loved her."
Then Leo sank back into the chair where we had discovered him bound, andseemed to fall into a kind of torpor, for of a sudden he grew to looklike an old man.
"Thou art sick," said Ayesha anxiously. "Oros, thy medicine, the draughtI bade thee bring! Be swift, I say."
The priest bowed, and from some pocket in his ample robe produced aphial which he opened and gave to Leo, saying--"Drink, my lord; thisstuff will give thee back thy health, for it is strong."
"The stronger the better," answered Leo, rousing himself, and withsomething like his old, cheerful laugh. "I am thirsty who have touchednothing since last night, and have fought hard and been carried far,yes--and lived through that hellish storm."
Then he took the draught and emptied it. There must have been virtuein that potion; at least, the change which it produced in him waswonderful. Within a minute his eyes grew bright again, and the colourreturned into his cheeks.
"Thy medicines are very good, as I have learned of old," he said toAyesha; "but the best of all of them is to see thee safe and victoriousbefore me, and to know that I, who looked for death, yet live to greetthee, my belove
d. There is food," and he pointed to a board upon whichwere meats, "say, may I eat of them, for I starve?"
"Aye," she answered softly, "eat, and, my Holly, eat thou also."
So we fell to, yes, we fell to and ate even in the presence of that deadwoman who looked so royal in her death; of the old magician who stoodthere powerless, like a man petrified, and of Ayesha, the wondrous beingthat could destroy an army with the fearful weapons which were servantto her will.
Only Oros ate nothing, but remained where he was, smiling at usbenignantly, nor did Ayesha touch any food.