Pug and Magnus covered their ears to protect them from the shrieking sound. Nakor was knocked to the floor.
The entirety of the cavern shook and vibrated and many of those near the rim of the cavern fell over, screaming as they fell to their death. Nakor sat up and pointed. ‘Look!’
A circular column of air was swirling down from above, like a giant wind funnel, and through it fell more bodies. Flashes like lightning cracked through the gloom, illuminating the vast cavern with a blinding silver light. Above a giant hole appeared at the top of the funnel, and more bodies started falling through it.
‘They’re Tsurani!’ shouted Magnus.
There was no mistaking the armour and the human forms as thousands of men cascaded down through the hole. Suddenly the giant form of the Dreadlord shook and he began to shimmer and flow like silk in the wind.
Then from the surface of the malignant being tendrils of foul-smelling smoke rose up, and flowed into the funnel, combining with it, and seeming somehow to add to its volume.
‘What is happening?’ Pug shouted to Nakor.
‘The Dreadlord has opened a passage between this world and Kelewan,’ shouted the small man. ‘It is not like your rifts, Pug, or even the portals used to gain a foothold. Now this world and Kelewan are linked, and as the Dreadlord gains strength, he’ll push the area of his control outward. The greater the surface of Kelewan he covers, the more people under the dome of his control will die. The larger the number who die, the bigger the dome. Kelewan is to be his next home. He is using his own being, the energy he has stored inside himself from thousands of years of death, and he’s using it to pull himself through to Kelewan. Somewhere in this process, and soon I fear, he will begin his journey through that tunnel to Kelewan.’
‘What of the Dasati?’ asked Magnus.
‘They are dupes on an unimaginable scale.’ He looked at Pug. ‘Your father has already come to understand the truth about the Dark One. He is using them as a means to gain access to the next highest plane: the idea that he is opening up a new realm for the Dasati is a lie. He will abandon this world and move on, but not before he drains this one of all life.
‘Once he’s established himself on Kelewan, he’ll erect a Dark Temple, like this one, then return the planet to its former state, and whatever remnants of humanity exist on it will be allowed to breed and repopulate and form new societies while the Dreadlord sleeps. He will sleep for centuries, but his dreams will hold sway over the emerging tribes of mankind. He will make Kelewan a mockery of its former greatness, turning the Tsurani into murdering death-worshippers like the Dasati and start them moving upward to the next highest realm.’
‘How do you know all this?’ asked Pug.
‘Because it’s happened before, Pug,’ answered Nakor. ‘In other places and here, on this world.’ Nakor signalled for them to make their way to the relative shelter of the dais behind the TeKarana’s throne. He crawled around behind it on all fours, and they staggered against the wind and crouched down next to him. He said, ‘It’s that long story I mentioned.’
‘Is it time to tell us?’ asked Pug.
‘Yes,’ said Nakor. ‘It is time for the truth.’ He held up his hand and suddenly time stopped.
‘That’s a very good trick, Nakor,’ said Magnus, true awe in his tone.
‘Yes, it is,’ said Pug.
‘I can’t hold this for very long, but at least we’ll have a bit of quiet,’ said the little gambler. He sat down on the stones. ‘I’m very tired, Pug. I should have died a long time ago, I think, but as you know better than anyone else, sometimes the gods don’t care what you think should or should not be happening.’
‘What is this truth you’re going to tell, Nakor?’ Pug pressed.
‘There are some things I don’t know, and some things that are still in doubt and can’t be foretold. And even a few things I’m forbidden to tell you.’
Pug looked at his long-time friend and said nothing.
After a moment, Nakor said, ‘I have something inside me, Pug. As does Bek, but what he carries and what I carry are not the same. Inside Bek is a sliver of something very powerful.’
‘You said you thought he might have a sliver of the Nameless within him,’ said Magnus.
Nakor grinned and shook his head. ‘No, I lied. That’s not it. When he was a boy I think he was just a bad boy, a lout, a thug or killer waiting to get hanged or have his throat cut… but somehow he became entangled in this thing we do, this struggle to restore a long-lost balance in… well, in everything.’
‘Go on,’ said Pug.
‘The first night he stayed with me, outside the cave with all the Talnoy hidden inside, he was curious, as I expected him to be, and he sneaked inside to look. I pretended to be asleep. I knew then I’d either have to kill him or use him. So, I did something to him.’