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batted at me ineffectually with his hands.
"If she can't live, then neither can you," I said, tightening my grip, watching
his eyes bulge, his tongue swell. "You want to wipe out the others and reign
supreme? You won't even last another minute!"
But powerful hands pulled my arms away and lifted me to my feet. I struggled
against them, uselessly, and then realized who was holding me.
"That's enough, Orion!" said Zeus sharply.
I glared at him, blood-fury still pounding along my veins. Four other male
Creators held my arms tightly. Still more of them, women as well as men, stood
grouped around the fallen Apollo and me, dressed in an assortment of tunics,
robes, glittering metallic uniforms.
Zeus waited until I stopped struggling. The Golden One lay gagging and coughing
on the dried-blood ground, leaning on one elbow, his other hand touching his
throat. I saw the purple imprints of my fingers there and I was only sorry that
I hadn't been allowed to finish the job.
"We asked you to find him for us, not murder him," Zeus said, his sternness
struggling against a satisfied little smile.
"I found him for myself," I said. "And when he refused to revive Ath... Anya, I
knew he deserved to die."
Shaking his head at me, Zeus said, "No one deserves to die at the hands of
another, Orion. That is the ultimate lie. Can't you see that he's mad? His mind
is sick."
New fury surged through me. "And you're going to help him? Try to cure him?"
"We will cure him," said the lean-faced Hermes. "Given time."
He knelt over the fallen Apollo and touched him with a short metal rod that he
had taken from his tunic pocket. The welts around the Golden One's neck faded
and disappeared. His breathing returned to normal.
"Physical repairs are the easiest," Hermes said, rising to his feet. "Repairing
the mind will take longer, but it will be done."
"He wanted to kill you all of you," I said.
Hera replied, "Does that mean we should kill him? Only a creature thinks that
way, Orion."
"He killed Anya!"
"No," said the Golden One, climbing slowly to his feet. "You killed her, Orion.
She became mortal for love of you, and she died."
"I loved her!"
"I loved her too!" he shouted. "And she chose you! She deserved to die!"
I strained against the men holding me, but they were too many and too strong.
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Even so, Apollo dodged backward, away from me, and Zeus stepped between us.
"Orion!" he snapped. "To struggle against us is pointless."
"He said he could revive her."
"That was his madness speaking," said Zeus.
"No it wasn't!" the Golden One taunted. "I can revive her! But not for him. Not
so that she can give herself to this... this... creature!"
"Bring her back to me!" I screamed, straining uselessly against the four who
held me.
Hera stepped before me, her taunting smile gone; instead her face was grave,
almost sympathetic. "Orion, you have served us well and we are pleased with you.
But you must accept what must be accepted. You must put all thoughts of Anya out
of your mind."
She reached up and touched my cheek with the tips of her fingers. I felt all the
fury and tension drain out of me. My body relaxed, my rage subsided.
To Hera I said, "Put all thoughts of her out of my mind? That's like teaching
myself not to breathe."
"I feel your pain," she said softly. "But what's done cannot be undone."
"Yes it can!" the Golden One snapped. He laughed and glared at me. Zeus nodded
at Hermes, who gripped him by the shoulders. The burly redhead I called Ares
also stepped close to the Golden One, ready to restrain him if necessary.
"I could do it," he said, his eyes wild. "I could bring her back. But not for
you, Orion! Not so that she can embrace a creature, a worm, a thing that I made
to serve me!"
"Take him back to the city," said Zeus. "His madness is worse than I thought."
"I'm not the mad one!" Apollo ranted. "I'm the only sane one here! The rest of
you are crazy! Stupid, shortsighted crazy fools! You think you can control the
continuum and save yourselves? Madness! Nothing but madness! Only I can save
you. Only I know how to keep your precious necks out of the noose. And you,
Orion! You'll never see Anya again. Never!"
The murderous rage was gone from me. I felt empty and useless.
Hermes began to lead the Golden One away, with brawny Ares following behind.
Zeus and the others began to fade, shimmering in the double sunlight like a
desert mirage. I stood alone on the strange world and watched them slowly
dissolve from sight.
Just before he disappeared, the Golden One turned and shouted over his shoulder.
"Look at you, Orion! Standing there like a forlorn puppy. No one's going to
bring her back! There's only the two of us who could, and I'm not going to, and
you don't know how!"
He howled with laughter as he faded out and disappeared with the others, leaving
me alone on a strange and alien world.
Chapter 44
IT took several moments for the meaning of the Golden One's words to sink home.
"No one's going to bring her back! There's only the two of us who could, and I'm
not going to, and you don't know how!"
I could return Anya to life. That's what he had said. Was it merely a taunt, a
final cruel slash intended to tantalize me? I shook my head. He is mad, I told
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myself. You can't believe anything he says.
Yet he had said it, and I could not get it out of my mind.
I gazed around the alien landscape and realized that if I was to have any chance
at reviving Anya, I had to be back on Earth to do so. Closing my eyes, I willed
myself to return. I thought I heard the Golden One's mad laughter, ringing in
the farthest distance. Then it seemed that Zeus spoke to me: "Yes, you may
return, Orion. You have served us well."
I felt an instant of cold as sharp as a sword blade slicing through me. When I
opened my eyes I found myself back in the great pyramid, in the burial chamber
of Khufu.
Drenched with sweat, I lurched against the gold-inlaid sarcophagus. Every part
of me was exhausted, body and mind. Somehow I dragged myself down the spiraling
stone stairway to the underground chamber where Hetepamon waited.
The fat priest was kneeling before the altar of Amon. He had lit all the lamps [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szamanka888.keep.pl
batted at me ineffectually with his hands.
"If she can't live, then neither can you," I said, tightening my grip, watching
his eyes bulge, his tongue swell. "You want to wipe out the others and reign
supreme? You won't even last another minute!"
But powerful hands pulled my arms away and lifted me to my feet. I struggled
against them, uselessly, and then realized who was holding me.
"That's enough, Orion!" said Zeus sharply.
I glared at him, blood-fury still pounding along my veins. Four other male
Creators held my arms tightly. Still more of them, women as well as men, stood
grouped around the fallen Apollo and me, dressed in an assortment of tunics,
robes, glittering metallic uniforms.
Zeus waited until I stopped struggling. The Golden One lay gagging and coughing
on the dried-blood ground, leaning on one elbow, his other hand touching his
throat. I saw the purple imprints of my fingers there and I was only sorry that
I hadn't been allowed to finish the job.
"We asked you to find him for us, not murder him," Zeus said, his sternness
struggling against a satisfied little smile.
"I found him for myself," I said. "And when he refused to revive Ath... Anya, I
knew he deserved to die."
Shaking his head at me, Zeus said, "No one deserves to die at the hands of
another, Orion. That is the ultimate lie. Can't you see that he's mad? His mind
is sick."
New fury surged through me. "And you're going to help him? Try to cure him?"
"We will cure him," said the lean-faced Hermes. "Given time."
He knelt over the fallen Apollo and touched him with a short metal rod that he
had taken from his tunic pocket. The welts around the Golden One's neck faded
and disappeared. His breathing returned to normal.
"Physical repairs are the easiest," Hermes said, rising to his feet. "Repairing
the mind will take longer, but it will be done."
"He wanted to kill you all of you," I said.
Hera replied, "Does that mean we should kill him? Only a creature thinks that
way, Orion."
"He killed Anya!"
"No," said the Golden One, climbing slowly to his feet. "You killed her, Orion.
She became mortal for love of you, and she died."
"I loved her!"
"I loved her too!" he shouted. "And she chose you! She deserved to die!"
I strained against the men holding me, but they were too many and too strong.
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Even so, Apollo dodged backward, away from me, and Zeus stepped between us.
"Orion!" he snapped. "To struggle against us is pointless."
"He said he could revive her."
"That was his madness speaking," said Zeus.
"No it wasn't!" the Golden One taunted. "I can revive her! But not for him. Not
so that she can give herself to this... this... creature!"
"Bring her back to me!" I screamed, straining uselessly against the four who
held me.
Hera stepped before me, her taunting smile gone; instead her face was grave,
almost sympathetic. "Orion, you have served us well and we are pleased with you.
But you must accept what must be accepted. You must put all thoughts of Anya out
of your mind."
She reached up and touched my cheek with the tips of her fingers. I felt all the
fury and tension drain out of me. My body relaxed, my rage subsided.
To Hera I said, "Put all thoughts of her out of my mind? That's like teaching
myself not to breathe."
"I feel your pain," she said softly. "But what's done cannot be undone."
"Yes it can!" the Golden One snapped. He laughed and glared at me. Zeus nodded
at Hermes, who gripped him by the shoulders. The burly redhead I called Ares
also stepped close to the Golden One, ready to restrain him if necessary.
"I could do it," he said, his eyes wild. "I could bring her back. But not for
you, Orion! Not so that she can embrace a creature, a worm, a thing that I made
to serve me!"
"Take him back to the city," said Zeus. "His madness is worse than I thought."
"I'm not the mad one!" Apollo ranted. "I'm the only sane one here! The rest of
you are crazy! Stupid, shortsighted crazy fools! You think you can control the
continuum and save yourselves? Madness! Nothing but madness! Only I can save
you. Only I know how to keep your precious necks out of the noose. And you,
Orion! You'll never see Anya again. Never!"
The murderous rage was gone from me. I felt empty and useless.
Hermes began to lead the Golden One away, with brawny Ares following behind.
Zeus and the others began to fade, shimmering in the double sunlight like a
desert mirage. I stood alone on the strange world and watched them slowly
dissolve from sight.
Just before he disappeared, the Golden One turned and shouted over his shoulder.
"Look at you, Orion! Standing there like a forlorn puppy. No one's going to
bring her back! There's only the two of us who could, and I'm not going to, and
you don't know how!"
He howled with laughter as he faded out and disappeared with the others, leaving
me alone on a strange and alien world.
Chapter 44
IT took several moments for the meaning of the Golden One's words to sink home.
"No one's going to bring her back! There's only the two of us who could, and I'm
not going to, and you don't know how!"
I could return Anya to life. That's what he had said. Was it merely a taunt, a
final cruel slash intended to tantalize me? I shook my head. He is mad, I told
a
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Click here to buy
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myself. You can't believe anything he says.
Yet he had said it, and I could not get it out of my mind.
I gazed around the alien landscape and realized that if I was to have any chance
at reviving Anya, I had to be back on Earth to do so. Closing my eyes, I willed
myself to return. I thought I heard the Golden One's mad laughter, ringing in
the farthest distance. Then it seemed that Zeus spoke to me: "Yes, you may
return, Orion. You have served us well."
I felt an instant of cold as sharp as a sword blade slicing through me. When I
opened my eyes I found myself back in the great pyramid, in the burial chamber
of Khufu.
Drenched with sweat, I lurched against the gold-inlaid sarcophagus. Every part
of me was exhausted, body and mind. Somehow I dragged myself down the spiraling
stone stairway to the underground chamber where Hetepamon waited.
The fat priest was kneeling before the altar of Amon. He had lit all the lamps [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]