Shardik (32 page)

‘We don’t want to hurt you. We’re your friends.’

There was a burst of jeering laughter and
then
a big man with grey hair and a broken nose stepped forward and answered,

‘You’ve done enough. Let us alone, or we’ll kill you.’

Kelderek
felt less afraid than exasperated.

Try and kill us, then, y
ou fools I’ he shouted. ‘Try it!
’

‘Ah, and have his friends come back,’ said another man. ‘Why don’t you go and catch your friends up? They’ve not been gone an hour.’

‘I’d say, take his advice,’ said Baltis, who had approached and was standing at
Kelderek
‘s shoulder. ‘No point in waiting till they work
them
selves up to rush us.’

‘But our people are tired,’ answered Kelderek angrily.

They’ll be worse than
that
, my boy, if we don’t get out of here,’ said Baltis. ‘Come now - I’m no coward and neither are those lads of mine: but there’s nothing to be gained by staying.’ Then, as
Kelderek
still hesitated, he called out to the men, ‘Show us the way,
then
, and we’ll go.’

At
this
, like a pack of pic-dogs, they all took a few wary steps forward; and then began shouting and pointing southwards. As soon as he was sure of the way, Kelderek drew a line in the dust with his foot and warned them not to cross it until
the
Ortelgans were gone.

‘Ay, we can leave Gelt without any help from you,’ shouted Baltis, laying hold of the ropes once more to encourage his weary men.

They plodded slowly away, the townspeople staring after
them
, chattering together and pointing at the huge, brown body stretched behind
the
bars.

Outside the town the road fell away downhill. Soon it became so steep that their task was no longer to drag the cage after them but rather to control its downward course. Coming to a broad, level place above a long slope,
they
turned it about and took the strain on the ropes from behind. At least the ground, dry and gritty, gave good foothold and for a time they made better speed than during the morning. A mile or two below, however,
the
road narrowed and began to wind along the rocky side of a ravine, and here they were forced to let the cage down foot by foot, straining backwards while Sencred and two or three of his men used poles to lever the front wheels
this
way and that. At one place, where
the
bend was too sharp, they had to set to work to broaden the track, prising out the rocks with hammers, iron bars and whatever came to hand, until at last
they
were able to shift an entire boulder and send it plummeting over the edge into
long seconds of silence. Furthe
r on, two of the men slipped and the rest, cursing and terrified, were jerked forward and nearly pulled off their feet.

Not long after this,
Kelderek
saw that play had increased in the wheels and that the whole structure had shifted and was no longer true on the frame. He consulted
Baltis
.

‘It’s not worth trying to right it,’ answered the smith. ‘The truth is, another hour or two of
this
is going to shake the whole damned thing to pieces. The frame’s being ground Like corn, d’ye see, between the road below and the weight of the bear above. Even careful work couldn’t stand up to that for ever, and
this
lot had to be done quick - like the loose girl’s wedding. So what d’ye want, young fellow - are we going on ?’

‘What else?’ replied Kelderek. And indeed for all their hardship and near exhaustion, not one of the men had complained or tried to argue against their going on to overtake the army. But when at last they had done with the precipices and the steep pitches and were resting at a place where the road broadened and entered an open wood, he allowed himself for the first time to wonder how
the
business would end. Apart from the girls, who were initiates of a mystery and in any case would never question anything he told them to do, no one with him had any experience of the strength and savagery that Shardik could put forth. If he were to waken in the midst of the Ortelgan army and burst, raging, out of the flimsy cage, how many would be slaughtered? And how many more, through
this
, would become convinced of his anger and disfavour towards Ortelga? Yet if
Baltis
and the rest, for their own safety, were told to abandon Shardik now, what could he himself say to Ta-Kominion, who had sent word that Shardik must be brought at all costs?

He decided to press on until they were close behind the army. Then, if Shardik were still unconscious, he would go forward, report to Ta-Kominion and obtain further orders.

But now it became a matter of finding men with enough strength left to pull on the ropes. After the past twelve hours some were scarcely able to put one foot before the other. Yet even in this extremity, their passionate belief in the destiny of Shardik drove them to stumbl
e, to stagger, to hobble on. Oth
ers, in the very act of pulling, fell down, rolling out of the track of the wheels and gasping to their companions to give them a hand. Some set themselves to push behind
the
cage, but as soon as it gathered a
little
speed, fell forward and measured their length on the road. Sencred cut himself a forked crutch and limped on beside his splayed wheels. Their pace was
that
of an old man creeping the street, yet still they moved -as a thaw moves up a valley, or flood-water mounts in minute jerks to burst its banks at last and pour over the land. Many, like Zilthe, put their arms through the bars to touch Lord Shardik, believing and feeling themselves strengthened by his incarnate power.

Into this bad dream fell the rain, mingling
with
sweat, trickling salty over puffed lips, stinging open blisters; hissing through the leaves, quenching the dust in the air. Baltis lifted his head to
the
sky, missed his footing with the effort and stumbled against
Kelderek
.

‘Ra
in,’ he grunted. ‘The rain, lad!
What’s to be done now?’

‘What?’ mumbled Kelderek, blinking as though the smith had woken him.

‘The rain, I says, the rain! What’s to become of us now?’

‘God knows,’ answered Kelderek. ‘Go on - just go on.*

‘Well - but they can’t fight their way to
Bekla
in the rain. Why not go back while we can - save our lives, eh?’

‘No!’ cried Kelderek passionately. ‘No!’ Baltis grunted and said no more.

Many times they ground to a stop and as many times found themselves moving again. Once Kelderek tried to count their lessening numbers,
but gave up in confusion. Sencre
d was nowhere to be seen. Of the girls, Nito was missing, Muni and two or three more. Those who were left still kept beside the cage, daubed from head to foot with rainy mud churned up by the wheels. The light was failing. In less than an hour it would be dark. There was no sign of the army and
Kelderek
realized with desperation that in all probability his band of fireless stragglers would be forced to spend the night
in the wilderness of these footh
ills. He would not be able to keep
them
together. Before morning they would be shivering, sick, mutinous, victims of panic fear. And before morning, if Zilthe were right, Shardik would awaken.

Baltis came up beside him again.

‘It’s a bad look-out, y’know, young fel
low,’ he said between his teeth
. ‘We’ll have to stop soon: it’ll be dark. And what’s to be done then? You and I’d better go on alone - find the young baron and ask him to send back help. But if you ask me, he’ll have to come back out of it himself if he wants to stay alive. You know what the rains are. After two days a rat can hardly move, let alone men.’

‘
Hark!’ said Kelderek. ‘What’s that noise?’

They had come to the top of a long slope, where the road curved downhill di rough thick woodland. The men on
the
ropes stood still, one or two sinking down in the mud to rest. At first there seemed to be no sound except, all about them, the pouring of the
rain in the leaves. Then, faintl
y, there came again to
Kelderek
‘s ears the noise he had heard at first - distant shouting, sharp and momentary as flying sparks, voices confusing and overlaying one another like ripples on a pool. He looked from one man to the next. All were staring back at him, waiting for him to confirm their single
thought

‘The army!’ cried
Kelderek
.

‘Ay, but what’s the shouting for?’ said
Baltis
. ‘Sounds like trouble to me.’

Sheldra ran forward and laid her hand on
Kelderek
‘s arm.

‘My lord I’ she c
ried, pointing. ‘Look! Lord Shar
dik is waking!’

Kelderek
turned towards the cage. The bear, its eyes still closed, was haunched on the rickety floor in an unnatural, crouching position, suggesting not sleep but rather the grotesque posture of some gigantic insect - the back arched, the legs drawn up together under the body. Its breathing was uneven and laboured and froth had gathered at its mouth. As they watched it stirred uneasily and
then
, with an uncertain, stupefied groping, raised one paw to its muzzle. For a moment its head lifted, the lips curling as though in a snarl, and
then
sank again to
the
floor.

‘Will he wake now - at once?’ asked
Kelderek
, shrinking involuntarily as
the
bear moved once more.

‘Not at once, my lord,’ answered Sheldra, ‘but soon - within the hour.’

The bear rolled on its side, the bars clattered like nails on a bench and
the
near-side wheels lurched, splaying under the mas
sive weight. The sounds of battle
were plain now and through the shouting of the
Ortelga
ns they could discern a rhythmic, intermittent cry - a concerted sound, hard and compact like a missile.
⁴Bek-la Mowt! Be
k-
l
a Mowt!’

‘Press on!’ shouted Kelderek, hardly knowing what he said. ‘Press on! Shardik to the
battle
! Take the strain behind and press on!’

Fumbling and stumbling in
the
rain,
they
unfastened the wet ropes, hitched them to the other end of the rickety bar
s and pushed the cage forw
ard down the slope, checking it as it gathered momentum. They had gone only a short distance when
Kelderek
realized that they were closer to the battle than he had supposed. The whole army must be engaged, for the din extended
a
long way to right and left. He ran a short distance ahead, but could see nothing for the thick trees and failing light. Suddenly
a
little
knot of five or six men came running up the hill, looking back over their shoulders. Only two were carrying weapons. One,
a
red-haired, raw-boned fellow, was ahead of the others. Recognizing him,
Kelderek
grabbed his arm. The man gave
a
cry of pain, cursed, and aimed
a
clumsy blow at him. Kelderek let go and wiped his bloody hand on his thigh.