Timothy Boggs - Hercules Legendary Joureneys 01 (10 page)

Hercules didn't have to ask about that one, either. He had already seen a handful of examples of what happened when Hephaestos blew his top. Mountains tended to disintegrate, lava tended to flow, and Hades tended to have a whole lot more people to deal with that he hadn't counted on during the normal course of collecting the spirits of the dead.

"Which top?" he asked.

' 'You know the mountains just north of King Arclin's new palace?"

Hercules' eyes widened. "What? You mean he's under one of those?"

Hermes nodded.

"But... but if he ..." Hercules slapped his imagination a good one before it could complete the sequence of images it was bent on conjuring. "But how can 1 find Zorin, get the sword, and get it back to Hephaestos in four days?"

"Oh, that's easy. Have you seen those mountains up close?"

Hercules shook his head.

"There's a heavily guarded valley between them. Zorin's army camps there."

Hercules leaned away and stared at his half brother, leaned closer, and said, "If..." He shook his head, closed his eyes, opened his eyes, and said, "If Hephaestos is right next to the camp, why doesn't he get the sword himself?'

"I asked him that." "And he said?"

"He said to remind you about the day of the pilgrims."

Hercules usually enjoyed visiting Hephaestos' forge. He wasn't all that thrilled about the constant heat, and the casual way Hephaestos handled a hammer and the fire made him nervous. But there was no doubt that the god was an artist. There was nothing he couldn't create out of iron and fire; and what he created, while not always magical, was always beautiful, always perfect.

One afternoon, Aphrodite had joined them, suggesting they come to the surface with her to enjoy the lovely spring day and get away from work for a while. Although Hephaestos, as was his manner, grumbled and complained and balked, there was nothing he wouldn't do for his wife. When they arrived, a group of pilgrims happened to pass, and while they were taken by the exquisite beauty of Hephaestos'

wife, they were, to a man, terrified by Hephaestos himself.

It was the artisan god's curse that he was not only lame, he was ugly as well.

Hercules had never really noticed it; his half brother was, after all, his brother. In punishment for a past sin, Aphrodite had been given to Hephaestos as a wife, and ironically, they had turned out to be more devoted to each other than any other couple Hercules had ever known.

But the reaction of the pilgrims had hurt the virtuoso blacksmith deeply, so much so that he had vowed never to return to the land of Man again.

"If I did," he had said, "and even one of them laughs, I'd have to kill them all."

He hadn't been kidding.

And there was no doubt that Zorin's warriors were not the type to be sensitive to a man's feelings.

Or a god's.

"Great," Hercules muttered. "Oh ... great."

Hephaestos comes out, someone laughs, and he blows everything up; Hephaestos doesn't come out, he doesn't get his sword back, and he blows everything up.

"Great. Just... great."

On the one hand, at least it won't take four days to reach the raider valley; on the other, Hercules was hardly the type to blend in with such a band. For one thing, he wasn't dressed for it. It wouldn't take them long to spot him, and despite his strength and agility, taking on an entire army was not a pleasant prospect.

He was a son of Zeus, but he definitely wasn't immortal.

"I hate quandaries," Hermes said blandly, "don't you?"

Hercules stared at the flames, at the images that flowed within them, letting his mind's eye trace paths only he could see. None of them seemed to lead to success.

What might have been a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

Maybe...

Sparks rose silently. A twig snapped almost noiselessly.

Without lifting his head, he looked up at Hermes. "I need to get into that palace."

"What?"

"I need to get arrested."

Hermes opened his mouth to ask the obvious question, but immediately closed it when the obvious answer occurred to him.

"It's dangerous," he said.

"So's a volcano."

"You could be killed outright."

"Maybe not."

"That shrimp of a king already knows what you look like. You're not going to fool him."

"I don't have to fool him, just a couple of guards. Just long enough for me to break those men out and have them lead me into the camp."

"What makes you think they'll do it?"

Hercules made a fist, and smiled without amusement.

Hermes shrugged one shoulder. "It could work. But how will you get into—'' He stopped. He stared.

He grabbed the caduceus, when it made a desperate attempt to fly away. "No. Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Carry
you? Carry
you"?
Are you out of your little demigod mind?"

The caduceus made another break for it, but Hermes was too quick.

Hercules laughed silently. "It's not that far, don't get so excited. Short hops so we can get there while it's still dark. Up and over the wall, and leave the rest to me."

Hermes shook his head. "Get serious, Hercules. 1 carry messages, not people. It's impossible. I'm sorry, but—" He frowned and looked off into the dark. "Did you hear that?"

"It's got to work, Hermes. It's the only way."

"Hush." The messenger rose into the air, hovered for a moment as he frowned, and suddenly darted away.

Hercules scowled, and jabbed the stick angrily at the fire. All right, so it wasn't the most brilliant plan in the world. All right, so maybe it was fundamentally flawed. But it was either that or have this part of the world buried in fire and ash, and its people nothing more than a memory.

His memory.

Which he would have to live with for the rest of his life.

Well, if Hermes wouldn't help him, he would have to do it himself.

He stood, looked fondly at the sleeping Nikos, and hoped that a good easy run would get him close enough to King Arclin's city before dawn. After that, he'd have to—

He jumped when something landed hard in the dark beyond the fire, yelped in pain, and yelped again when something smacked it.

"Hercules."

It was Hermes.

"Hercules, come here."

Cautiously Hercules walked around the pit, fingers flexing, peering into the far reaches of the firelight.

He stopped when he saw his brother hovering over a bundle on the ground.

"I hope you're happy," Hermes complained. "I think I've strained my back."

The bundle groaned and shifted.

When it sat up, Hercules didn't know what to say, and so said, "Hello, Theo. Your horns are dented."

King Arclin II sat on his throne and meditated.

He meditated on the throne itself, which was nice enough in its way, but only temporary until his artisans were finished the big gold one with the etchings and bas-reliefs and fancy scrollwork and jewels.

He meditated on meeting the famous Hercules that afternoon, and hoped the big ox wasn't going to try anything stupid. He knew the man suspected all was not as it appeared in the kingdom. He also knew the man would probably have to die before the Grand Scheme had all its parts in place. It didn't bother him.

People died. It was the way of life.

He meditated on the throne again, just long enough to order someone to bring him a cushion because this wood was getting pretty hard on his royal buttocks.

He meditated on the Grand Scheme. It wasn't terribly elaborate, and, in fact, hadn't been grand, or even a scheme, for that matter, until Zorin had let him know of a certain recent acquisition, which, unless the king was amenable to plans and schemes, would make sure the king wouldn't be king for much longer.

But the king, being the king, wasn't as stupid as some thought he was because of his height. Which, he insisted, wasn't so much short as it was compact and chock full with potential.

He went along with Zorin's plan because it suited him. And because it had done wonders for the trea-sury.

The plan, however, became a scheme, and a grand one at that, while Zorin was off on some filthy little battlefield, getting muddy and bloody and all the rest of the stuff that comes with being on a battlefield.

Arclin's battlefield, however, was the battlefield of the mind.

He had one; Zorin had one, too, but Zorin's mind was not as agile or twisted or clever as his.

Why, just this evening, as word of Drethic's acceptance of his sovereignty spread—with a little help from the king's runners—two more not inconsiderable communities had offered to enter into negotiation for voluntary assimilation. And one worried ruler had threatened him with dire consequences should he accept those offers.

Arclin wasn't worried.

The ruler had a pretty fair army.

Arclin, however, had Zorin and Zorin's Fire.

Which, when the Grand Scheme was nearly done, would then be known as Arclin's Fire.

He laughed.

Loudly.

His retinue laughed with him. Loudly.

Until the captain of the guard, quivering with fear, entered the throne room, dropped on his knees, and announced that the raider prisoners taken only this day had escaped from their inescapable confines.

"They... what?" Arclin boomed, which was something he had been practicing practically forever, since usually, when he got mad, he squeaked.

"Escaped, sire," the captain said, wincing in anticipated pain.

"Have you sent a patrol after them?"

"Yes, sire. But they've been gone quite a while."

Angrily Arclin rose from the throne, whose substantial dais allowed him to tower over the rest of the court. "Do you anticipate success, Captain?"

"
M
y
men will do their best," the man replied simply, and bravely.

Arclin glared.

The court glared.

The captain quailed.

Arclin thought the man was overdoing it a little, but no one else seemed to notice. He sighed resignedly to be sure the others understood that the weight of ruling lay heavily upon his shoulders, sank back onto his throne, and said, "Very well, Captain. All we can ask in these troubled times is that our brave men in uniform do their level best. As soon as you have word, come to me again."

The captain rose, bowed, and backed out of the room.

Arclin waited precisely twenty-six seconds before he looked around and said, "So. Is it just me, or is it chilly in here?"

Zorin paced his tent, hands clasped behind his back, gaze on the ground.

By this time, Theo and his men would have been freed from the king's jail. Given the distance, he didn't expect them back in camp until at least noon tomorrow. Yet he couldn't help wishing he knew now what they brought with them—the message he had been waiting for, or the message he dreaded.

Despite the late hour, he could hear others moving around outside. They were restless. They hadn't really been on the road since Drethic had been threatened and taken without so much as a single punch.

Disappointment had lowered their morale. Fighting was what they did, and they did it well. They always took surrender badly.

"You're going to wear yourself out," Crisalt observed with a grin. He sat on the bottom step of Zorin's dais, legs crossed, hands loosely clasped against his stomach. "Have something to eat."

"I don't want anything to eat," Zorin snarled. "I want to know."

"We all want to know," Crisalt answered patiently. "But we can't know until they get here."

"I know, I know."

"So sit down. Or go beat someone up. You're driving me nuts."

Zorin whirled, a hand on the hilt of his sword, taking no satisfaction in the fleeting alarm that passed over his lieutenant's face. Unfortunately, he was right. But it didn't stop him from pacing. That was the only thing that kept him from going outside and beating someone up. That was even worse for morale than not fighting.

Crisalt cleared his throat. ' 'There is good news, you know."

Zorin stopped.

"Hercules and his innkeeper friend are on their way back to Markan."

Zorin shook his head.

"What? You don't think that's good news? That Hercules is gone?"

"It only delays the inevitable, Crisalt."

"Yes, but why ask for more trouble? You'll get him sooner or later. In this case, if I may say so, later is probably better."

Again Zorin knew his lieutenant was right, but it didn't make him feel any better. For his plan to work, for him to continue to work with that miserable little ant of a king until he chose the time to end the alli-ance, he required as little opposition as possible.

Hercules was not little opposition.

As long as he was out there, nothing would be certain.

Success would be tenuous at best.

"What I want to know," Crisalt drawled, "is why Hephaestos hasn't come for his toy."