Call of Kerberos: Twilight of Kerberos, The - Jonathan Oliver Page 0,70

the centre of the Morat, they'd soon be buried in the avalanche.

Silus made for the steps but an explosion threw him to the ground as the remains of an inn collided with the side of the temple, demolishing the cloisters. He got to his feet and was about to battle onwards when - through the thickening fog of brick dust and debris - he saw his wife struggling up from the lower levels, Zac clutched to her breast. Behind her followed the rest of the crew.

"Thank the Lord." Silus said, embracing Katya. "We have to get to the Llothriall. Bestion, follow us."

But when Silus turned to address the priest, there was no sign of him. He only hoped that he wasn't amongst the tangled corpses trapped in the temple ruins.

There was no time to check, however, as the tremors that had besieged the city intensified. The stairs leading to the upper levels cracked as they raced up them. Silus looked back once to see that Morat had become a vast landslide; its beauty lost in a vortex of tumbling stone.

As they crested the last terrace, Silus almost stumbled as he saw what lay ahead.

"Holy Lord! What is that?" Win said.

A dark wall of flesh rolled across Morat, consuming everything in its path. Already the docks had disappeared into its black gullet and as it ate it made a horrendous sound. The sun reflected from its wet hide and Silus wondered what manner of creature the Chadassa had called to their aid.

There was no escape. Behind them the city continued to fall apart and ahead of them it was being consumed at an alarming rate. Silus had just a moment to consider what had become of the Llothriall before the creature was upon them. He reached out and took Katya's hand, but his grip was wrenched away as he fell into darkness.

His pulse was loud in his ears as he awoke. Something damp covered his head like a hood and when Silus opened his eyes all he could see was a weak, milky glow filtered through a web of veins that beat in time with his heart. His throat burned. Something was holding his jaws apart. He bit down on an obstruction that felt like bone encased in gristle and a bitter taste filled his mouth. Silus tried to raise his hands to pry away the hood, but found that they had been encased in something that felt like warm, moist flesh.

He wasn't sure how much time passed before the tube in his throat was withdrawn and the hood was peeled away.

Silus found himself in a room that was made entirely of flesh. Great bony ridges supported the ceiling and the floor beneath him rose and fell as the walls pulsed. To either side of him sat several figures, their hands sunk to their wrists into the floor and their heads covered in fleshy hoods that grew from the walls. Fat, ridged pipes extended from the walls and into the hoods, suspended from which were veined sacs that hissed and wheezed as they contracted and inflated. Even though their faces were covered Silus recognised Win and the crew of the Llothriall. Katya and Zac weren't amongst them.

Silus tried to pull his hands free of the grip of the floor but the more he pulled, the tighter the grip became, until the bones of his wrists began to grind painfully together.

"Dunsany! Kelos! Wake up."

A portion of the far wall flexed and dilated open like a vast sphincter. A Chadassa stepped through the opening and into the room. The door folded closed behind it with a sound that made Silus's guts turn.

"What have you done with Katya and Zac?" he shouted, pulling against his restraints, a fresh surge of hatred for the Chadassa flowing through him.

"Belck has them now. They are no longer of your concern. I am to prepare you for the Queen."

"I'd rather kill myself than breed with your kind."

"If you resist us then the things we do to your woman and her grub will make this seem but a pleasant dream." With that the Chadassa put its hand against the wall and barked several words in a harsh, guttural language.

The hood encasing Win's head contracted and the Archduke cried out, thrashing against his bonds. The hood was so tight now that Silus could see Win's features clearly through the taut material. The expression he saw was one of uncomprehending terror. Blood trickled down Win's neck as the bones of his