King Of Zunga

His spear rose high, held crossways in both hands. The sword came down, again jarring Blade to the marrow of his bones as it struck the spear shaft. But he held onto the spear, and slammed the tough wood of the shaft down across Kleptor's forehead. The king wore no helmet. The sledgehammer blow made him reel. The sword rose again, but it was wavering now. Blade swung up his spear butt, knocking the sword away, then thrust down. There was a thick layer of fat over Kleptor's ribs, but the downstabbing spear point got through the fat, between the ribs, and into the king's heart. The wide-set eyes rolled up in the fleshy face, the pudgy hands came up and clawed at the beard. The mouth opened and blood spurted out all over the beard, over Blade. Then the king fell.

Blade turned to the High Priest, spear flashing up again. The High Priest still stood. But as Blade's sweat-dimmed eyes focused on the man, he saw that the High Priest still stood only because he was supported by half a dozen Zungan spears thrust into his body. A seventh Zungan warrior strode over to the High Priest's ba

Whether that alone was what brought victory, no one could tell later. In the exact moment that the ba

By chance and the skill of the Zungan charge, that route lay through the ranks of the Rulami. The panic-stricken Kandans smashed into the ranks of their allies, breaking them apart, dying on Rulami swords, communicating their own panic to the Rulami. As word of Kleptor's fall spread through the Rulami, their second division began to waver and leak stragglers. Then it broke, and before Blade's eyes the entire center of the Rulami army dissolved into a mob of scattering fugitives.

Blade neither joined in the pursuit that Nayung led, nor held his men back from following Nayung. He watched the warriors he had led to victory go tearing out across the plain after the fleeing Rulami, and then turned toward the Zungan center. He had seen and heard nothing of what might be happening there, since he had led his warriors out for their charge. He badly wanted to fund out what had happened to Afuno.

He had to wait a while longer, because the stouthearted soldiers of the Rulami first division did not break and flee. The Great D'bor of the Zungan left had to finally lead his division around and encircle the Rulami. Even then the sound of clashing weapons and dying men rose into the air for the better part of half an hour. When it faded, another third of the army of Rulam lay dead. The Zungans took no prisoners.

Blade was finally able to rise and walk toward where he had last seen Afuno. If he had wanted to, he could have walked every foot of the way without touching the ground. The bodies lay that densely, both Rulami and Zungan.

He was approaching a circle of Zungan warriors standing in the middle of a particularly thick patch of bodies when two things happened. A blinding pain stabbed through his head, making everything go black in front of him for a second. The computer had lunged like a spear at him across the dimensions. It had missed this time, but the next time would come soon. He would be on his way back to Home Dimension soon. But there was still more that he had to do here, damn it!

He was still shaking his head, trying to clear the spots from in front of his eyes, when the Great D'bor who had commanded the center division came up to him. The Zungan's left arm dangled limply, slashed open for much of its length and roughly bound up in blood-caked cloth. But his voice was steady and urgent as he spoke.

«Blade, King Afuno has been wounded.»

Blade swallowed. «Badly?»

The Great D'bor nodded. «The Sky Father has laid his hand on him and will take him soon. He wants to speak with you before then.»

Blade nodded and followed the Zungan. The circle of warriors opened to make a path for them, then closed behind them as Blade knelt beside the king. The Sky Father's hand was indeed on Afuno. His mahogany face had paled, and the piercing black eyes had softened. Looking down at him, Blade could see why. Any one of the gashes that crisscrossed Afuno's belly and thighs would have been sufficient to kill. That he was still alive now was a miracle. And that he was able to speak was a still greater one.

But he did speak.

«Blade, will you obey me?»

«You know that I will, Your Majesty.»

«Good. Soon-soon you will not have to obey anyone at all-anyone except Aumara,» The king managed a faint smile. «Even kings must bow to their wives at times. But you-will be king in Zunga.» He beckoned the Great D'bor to him. «Swear by the Sky Father.»

«I swear.»

«You are-witness. Witness according to the-laws of the Sky Father.» Afuno's voice gained strength, and for the last time it came out as the voice of a king as he said the ritual words. «I, Afuno, King of Zunga, find Richard Blade of the English, Great D'bor of Zunga, most worthy as consort and king with Princess Aumara. Say you yea or nay?»

«I say yea, oh, King,» said the Great D'bor.

«Good.» Afuno's voice faded. «The Sky Father keep you, Blade.» The last effort had exhausted him. Presently his eyes closed, then his breathing stopped. The Great D'bor knelt beside him and spread a cloth over his face, then remained kneeling, tears ru

Blade was not far from doing the same himself. But, he knew there remained still more to do before he could accept calmly the computer's snatching him home. He turned to a warrior. «Go quickly, and summon the Great D'bor Nayung and the Princess Aumara. I must speak to them.» The tension must have showed in his voice, because the warrior stared at him.

«Is the hand of the Sky Father on you, King Blade?»

Blade started at being addressed as king. «Not yet, but it may be soon. The Sky Father deals in strange ways with those of the English. Go quickly!»

«There is no need to summon me,» said a familiar voice from behind him, and he whirled to see Aumara standing there. She held out her hands. «Zunga is ours, Blade. Or rather, it is yours. You have broken all our enemies and offered them up to the Sky Father. This is the greatest victory in all the history of our people. And my father-did he. ?»

«He lived long enough to see it, Aumara. And he found me most worthy to be king after him. Will you have me?»

She came into his arms. «When I bear your child within me? How could it be otherwise, even if I wanted it?» Tears began to trickle down her face, cutting paths in the dust that caked it. Blade lifted her face to his and kissed her on the lips. They stood for a time in each other's arms. Then Blade stepped back to arm's length and spoke quickly.

«Aumara, I must tell you this now. The hand of the Sky Father may be upon me also. If it is, I want you to choose the Great D'bor Nayung as your next consort. He is a wise man and a good one. He will do well for Zunga, and justly for our child.»

Aumara nodded, reluctantly. «He is what you say. But the Sky Father will not lay his hand on you, Blade. Not you and my father both. He has no thought for Zunga if he does so!»

Blade shook his head-then stiffened as another tentative pain struck through it. «No, Aumara, I am the Sky Father's creature. I have come from him, and I must go to him when he calls. He is calling me now, Aumara.» He reached out his hands and took Aumara's, clutching them hard as another stronger pain hit him.