The Quest - Smith Wilbur (читать лучшие читаемые книги TXT) 📗

'I have missed you also, but they must have been feeding you too much dhurra,' he admonished her. 'Either that or you are in foal again.'

They mounted and followed Tinat's troop out through the colonnade and across the lawns to the lake's beach. Taita turned in the saddle and looked back as they reached the point where the path entered the forest.

The sanatorium buildings seemed deserted: there was no sign of life except the plumes of steam rising from the vents of the flues that carried the hot waters from the springs under the floors. He had expected that Hannah might come to see them off, and was mildly disappointed. They had shared unusual experiences over the previous weeks. He respected her learning and dedication to her calling, and he had begun to like her.

He faced forward again and followed the escort into the woods.

That rode ahead with the vanguard. He had spoken to Taita just once since they had left the clinic, to exchange a brusque, formal greeting.

Taita felt his unnatural desire to remain in the Cloud Gardens recede as they approached the entrance to the tunnel through the crater wall that led into the outer world. He thought of being reunited with Fenn, and his spirits soared. Meren was whistling his favourite marching song, a monotonous, tuneless sound, but a sure sign of his good humour. Taita had grown accustomed to it over the thousands of leagues that he had listened to it and it no longer irritated him.

As the gates of the tunnel appeared, That fell back and rode beside him. 'You should don your cloaks now. It will be cold in the tunnel and freezing on the far side. We must keep together when we reach the

entrance. Do not straggle. The apes are unpredictable and can be dangerous.'

'Who controls them?' Taita asked.

'I do not know. There was never a human being in sight when I came this way before.' Taita studied his aura and saw that he was telling the truth.

He avoided the brutish stares of the apes as they drew level. One hopped forward and sniffed his foot, and Windsmoke skittered nervously.

The other two bobbed their heads aggressively but allowed them to pass.

Nevertheless, Taita sensed how close they were to violence and how easily provoked to attack. If they did so there was nothing he could do to restrain them.

Taita stooped forward in his saddle as they entered the mouth of the tunnel and the hood of his cloak brushed against the rock. As before, the tunnel seemed endless, but eventually they heard the dismal howl of the wind and saw fitful grey light ahead.

They emerged into the austere, magnificent grandeur of the mountains, so different from the beautiful serenity of the Cloud Gardens.

The apes crowded round them, but reluctantly they shuffled and hopped aside to let them pass. They rode out on to the pathway and into the scourge of the wind. They huddled in their leather cloaks, and the horses lowered their heads to plod into the gale. Their tails streamed out behind them, their breathing steamed in the icy air and their hoofs slithered on the ice.

That was still beside Taita and now he leant towards him until his lips were level with Taita's ear. 'I have not been able to speak to you before this, but now the gale will cover our voices,' he said. 'I do not know which of my men has been set to spy on me. It goes without saying that we can trust nobody at the sanatorium, from Hannah herself downwards. They are all spies for the oligarchs.'

From under the leather hood Taita studied him closely. 'I know that something troubles you, Colonel, and I think by now that you have learnt to trust me.'

'I am troubled that you should look upon me as a renegade Egyptian, a traitor to my pharaoh and my country.'

'Is that not an accurate description?'

'It is not. I long with all my soul to escape this haunted place and the great evil that has sunk its roots deep into the land and the souls of its inhabitants.'

'That is not what you told me before.”

'No. That was when Onka was close at hand. It was not possible for me to tell you all that is in my heart. This time I have been able to escape from under his eye. He has a woman who is one of us. She placed something in his wine to discourage him from acting as your guide back to Mutangi. I volunteered in his place.'

'What role does Onka play?'

'He is one of the high-ranked spies of the Supreme Council. He has been set to watch over all of us, but you in particular. They are fully aware of your importance. Although you might not know it, you have been deliberately enticed to Jarri.'

'For what reason?'

'That I cannot tell you, for I do not know. I have been here less than ten years, but I have observed many men of special worth and talent come to this land as though by pure chance. But the oligarchs knew they were coming. Just as they knew you were coming. You are not the first of these whom I have been sent to meet. Can you imagine how many of these superior men and women have been brought to Jarri in this manner over the centuries?'

'There seem to be many layers in this society,' Taita said. 'You speak of them and us as though we are separate bands. Who are they, and who are we? Are we not all Egyptians? Do you include me in your band or am I one of them?'

That replied simply, “I count you as one of us because I now know enough about you to believe that you are a good and just man. I perceive that you are gifted. You are a man of power. I believe that you may be the saviour sent to put an end to the pervasive evil that directs the oligarchs and controls all things in Jarri. I hope that, if any man can, you will destroy the greatest evil of all ages.'

'What is it?' Taita asked.

'It is the reason I was sent here originally. Why you were sent after me,' That replied. 'I think you understand what I refer to.'

'Tell me,' Taita insisted.

That nodded. 'You do well not to trust me yet. The reason that Pharaoh Nefer Seti sent you south was to seek out and bring down the barriers that have been placed across the rivers that feed our Mother Nile so that she may run down once more to Egypt, revive and renew our nation. Then it is your purpose to destroy the one who raised those barriers.'

'I retract what I said of you before. You are a loyal soldier and a

 I THE QUEST

patriot. Our cause is one and it is just. How should we proceed? What do you propose?'

'Our first concern must be to identify our enemy.'

'The oligarchs?' Taita suggested, testing his understanding of the quest.

'The oligarchs do not stand alone. They are straw men, puppets, who strut and puff on the stage of the Supreme Council. There is aught that stands behind them. An unseen thing or person. They carry out its dictates, and the worship of this nameless power is the religion of Jarri.'

'Do you have any conception of what this thing may be? Is it a god, or do you believe it is mortal?'

'I am a soldier. I know how to fight men and armies. I do not understand this other dark presence. You are the magus. You understand the other world. It is my fervent hope that you will command us, that you will guide and counsel us. Without somebody like you we are not warriors but lost children.'

'Why have you not risen up against the oligarchs and seized power from them?'

'Because it has been done before, two hundred and twelve years ago.

There was a rebellion in Jarri. In the first days it was successful. The oligarchs were seized and executed. Then a terrible plague swept the land. The victims died in agony, bleeding from their mouths, ears, noses and the secret openings of their bodies. It was a disease that selected only the liberators and spared those who were loyal to the Supreme Council and worshipped the secret godhead.'

'How do you know this?'

'The history of the rebellion is engraved on the walls of the council chamber as a warning to all the citizens of Jarri,' That replied. 'No, Magus, I am fully aware of the power we seek to bring down, and the risk we shall run. I have thought on it without ceasing since I found you at Tamafupa. Our only hope of success will be if you can hold the dark power in check while we destroy the oligarchs and their human supporters.