Asgoleth the Warrior - By Bill Kirkwood Page 0,36

would have done. He knew then that this man had met a fiend here in the darkness, a fiend which had torn him apart and had scattered the bloody remains all over the floor of the passage.

Asgoleth was no stranger to bloody and violent death but he shuddered at the savagery that had been inflicted upon this fellow. He could imagine the man’s terror as the foul night weird that guarded the jewel had fallen upon him here in this lightless place. In his mind’s eye he envisioned the short, savage struggle as the man, knowing he was doomed, fought with whatever had come out of the darkness to claim his life in such a hideous manner. He heard the shrieks of the victim as he was ripped apart, saw the blood spurt blackly, heard the dull, wet, thuds as the torn body fell and imagined the terrible satisfaction of the inhuman guardian as it returned to its lair to await its next victim.

He stood there among the grisly remains and felt dread trickle down his spine. He feared no mortal enemy but this was black devilry. Then he cursed as the torch he held began to gutter low. He fumbled in his haste to free another torch from the bundle on his back and relight it from the one that was dying. He did not want to be left in darkness to face whatever lay ahead.

As the new torch burned brightly he shook his head, angry at himself. He had almost allowed himself to give in to fear and fear was the worst enemy a warrior could have. If a man lost his faith in his own ability then he was already defeated even before he met his foe.

Lifting his sword he felt the weight and power that lay dormant within the mighty blade and he grinned wolfishly. This demon, though a creature of ancient magic, was yet composed of earthly elements and as such it could be killed. It would find that Asgoleth of Calthia was no terrified wretch, too frightened to fight well. The thing might defeat him but, by Ragnar, it would pay a heavy price for its victory. Grimly, sword ready, he advanced into the menacing gloom

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Demos watched Asgoleth vanish into the blackness of the passage and smiled coldly as General Valshin, the commander of his personal guard said,

‘Do you think he will succeed, my lord? Can we trust him?’

‘Oh we can trust him to try, Valshin. He desires the freedom of his princess and he believes that this is the way to obtain it. It matters little though whether he succeeds or not. I have plenty of men and one of them will succeed if he fails.’

Valshin looked at Demos in fear. He himself was a hard and cruel man but his cruelty was as nothing compared to the wickedness he felt emanating from his master. He knew that Demos would think nothing of sacrificing thousands of lives to attain his ends. He fell silent and they both watched the entranceway in silence.

After a time, Demos grew bored and turned back towards his tent.

‘Inform me at once should the barbarian reappear, Valshin. If he has not done so by noon then you must select another to go in.’

Valshin bowed and replied,

‘It shall be done, my lord.’

Demos nodded and turned away and as he did so his eye fell upon the princess Amira and he grinned. He had some time to kill and she would provide some delightful entertainment while he waited for the Calthian to return. Soon now her usefulness would be at an end and he would have to destroy her. He knew that back in Torr there were still some who believed that they could rise up again to destroy him and replace their royal family upon the throne. They would find that a little difficult to do when he had Amira, the last of the line of Aractus, publicly executed as a sacrifice to Balzar. But that was the future; the present was what interested him now.

He laughed as he caught her eye. She knew what he intended to do and a moan of horror escaped her lips but that was her only sign of defiance against him. Helplessly she followed him inside the tent and General Valshin shuddered and moved away as the sobbing screams began once more

CHAPTER TWELVE

As he went deeper and deeper into the tunnel Asgoleth noticed that the shaft he followed had begun to slope gently