Sacrifice for the Quagga God (A Bunduki Jungle Adventure Book 3) Read online

  Tossing the quagga’s reins over its head to ground hitch it, the blond giant sprang from the saddle. While he was striding forward, he liberated an arrow from the bow-quiver and nocked it to the string. Engrossed in their would-be victim, whose skill as a warrior was known to them, none of the trio gave any sign of noticing him. Coming to a halt in his shooting stance, he drew and aimed his weapon.

  Crouching slightly and starting to draw her sword, Varbia knew that her position was desperate. While she could probably avoid the leading warrior’s charge, one or other of his companions was almost sure to get her. Even if they failed to do so from their saddles, they would dismount and attack on foot. In spite of being handicapped by the High Priest’s order to take her alive, their combined assault would prove more than she could handle.

  Watching the approaching riders and trying to decide upon her best means of resisting, Varbia heard something swish by her and saw a missile which she failed to identify plunge into the nearest man’s chest. Tilting his lance out of alignment as he was jolted backwards, he slid sideways from his ocha-gatah’s back. Amazement caused the woman to freeze and only luck prevented her from being run down by the riderless animal.

  Conscious that Beryl had not followed him, Bunduki did not waste time on thinking about her motives. Instead, he applied all his attention to recharging the bow as quickly as possible. While making his draw, he saw that the remaining warriors were becoming aware of his presence. Again the weapon twanged and its deadly missile sped away. Striking the second man in the left breast before he could react to the danger, the arrow sliced open his heart and tumbled him from his fast moving grar-gatah stallion.

  While Varbia was puzzled and startled, she saw an opportunity to escape. On losing its rider, the stallion began to swerve. Desperation put motion back into her limbs. Hurling herself forward, she grabbed hold of the saddle horn in both hands and, with a swing, went astride the animal’s back. Not until she was seated and catching up the reins did she pay any attention to her rescuer.

  Much to her surprise, Varbia found that the man standing at the top of the slope was wearing the helmet and tunic of a District Administrator. However, his features and bare legs confirmed her suspicions that he was not a Mun-Gatah. No member of her nation ever used a bow and he was already taking another arrow from the strange quiver that was attached to the one he held.

  For a moment, Varbia wondered if she was to be his next target. Then she realized that the remaining warrior was posing an even greater threat to the stranger than she was. Neither stranger nor warrior could take any action against her until he had dealt with the other. So she must get as far away as possible before the survivor was at liberty to pay further attention to her. Kicking her heels against the grar-garah’s ribs, she urged it to run faster and did not look back. If she had she would have discovered her position to be not quite as favorable as she imagined.

  Having concluded that she should keep her presence unsuspected unless Bunduki needed assistance, Beryl had not dismounted. Instead, she had only advanced far enough to be able to see over the top of the slope. Duplicating Varbia’s line of reasoning regarding the blond giant and the third warrior, she knew what she must do. Setting the banar-gatah into motion, she guided it behind Bunduki and after the fleeing woman.

  Realizing that his only chance of avoiding his companions’ fate was to kill the stranger, the surviving warrior did not offer to turn and follow Varbia. Educated in the belief that his breastplate made him invulnerable to archery, there was no time for him to wonder why those worn by the other two had failed. His grar-gatah gelding was carrying him onwards too swiftly for that. All his attention was devoted to controlling the animal and making sure of his lance’s alignment.

  Never had Bunduki’s skill as an archer faced such an exacting challenge. He had to rely upon his instincts to guide the movements he was making while he was keeping his rapidly approaching attacker under constant observation. Without looking, he extracted the third arrow from the clips which retained it in the quiver. Passing it over the bow’s upper limb, he laid the shaft on the handle’s rest and guided the nock on to the string. Then he commenced the twenty-eight inch draw without which the quadruple blades of the arrow’s head would lack the strength required to penetrate the warrior’s protective garment.

  In one respect, the blond giant was not sorry that the Mun-Gatah continued to charge at him. With so much at stake, he could not allow word of Beryl’s and his presence to reach Dryaka. So he preferred to be dealing with an assailant rather than a man who was running away. For all that, he knew it was going to be a very close thing. One fumble would cost him his life.

  With her borrowed mount building up to its best speed, Beryl could not look back to find out how Bunduki was faring. Although she had only been in contact with it for a short time, she had found there was little difference between handling the banar-gatah stallion and a horse. However, the animal was still sufficiently unfamiliar to require all her attention when riding at a gallop.

  By the time the blond giant had drawn his bow to the full and made sure of his aim, a scant six foot was separating him from the acute point of his attacker’s weapon. Straightening the fingers of his left hand, he released the string. Waiting only until he was sure that the arrow had passed clear of the bow’s handle, he sprang to his left.

  The evasion was almost too late!

  Passing below Bunduki’s still raised left arm, the head of the lance sliced through the tightly stretched angle formed by the sleeve and side of his tunic. Although the material ripped, he was spun staggering in a half circle. Managing to keep on his feet, he came to a halt reaching for another arrow. However, he saw that it would not be needed. Tumbling from the grar-gatah as it went down the slope, the warrior bounced and rolled a short distance after it before coming to a halt and sprawling motionless except for a few spasmodic jerks from his limbs.

  In addition to being considerably superior in quality to the animal it was pursuing, Beryl’s banar-gatah stallion was carrying less weight. So she found that the distance between them was decreasing rapidly. She was expecting the Mun-Gatah woman to look back at any moment. When she did not Beryl eased herself upwards with extreme care, until she was balancing with her right foot on the saddle.

  Like all of its kind, the banar-gatah was trained to take part in a number of riding tricks. Realizing what was happening and what would be expected of it, it moved until it was approaching the other animal from the off side. By the time that Beryl had attained her position, its head was level with the grar-gatah’s rump. Gauging how far she would have to leap and deciding to hold off until closer, Beryl saw that after all it would not be possible to wait.

  As she became aware that she was being followed, Varbia did not grow unduly alarmed. She thought that, having lost its rider, the third warrior’s gatah was coming after her. In her opinion, there would not have been time for him to have dealt with the stranger and taken up the chase. Deciding that it would be useful to have a second mount with which to ride relay, she looked over her shoulder and received an unpleasant surprise.

  Instead of the animal which was overtaking her grar-gatah being riderless, it was carrying a woman wearing similar attire to that of the foreign archer and the woman was moreover behaving in a significant manner.

  Finding herself under observation, Beryl realized that she must act immediately. Taking her left foot from the stirrup iron and dropping the reins, she propelled herself from the saddle. Her plunge across the intervening space was aided by the banar-gatah being two hands taller than the other animal.

  Before Varbia could think of taking any defensive action, she felt the blonde’s arms encircling her shoulders. The impact and Beryl’s weight combined to unseat her. Although she had sufficient presence of mind to release the reins and free her feet as she was swept from the grar-gatah’s back, there was nothing she could do to break her fall. So she landed with a force that knocked her unconscious.

  Snatc
hing her arms clear as soon as they had helped to achieve her purpose, Beryl came down on top of her victim and rolled away. On rising, she threw a quick glance in the direction from which she had come. Much to her relief, she found that Bunduki had survived the attack upon him.

  ‘Are you all right, Beryl?’ the blond giant called.

  ‘Yes,’ the blonde replied. ‘How about the men?’

  ‘They’re all dead,’ Bunduki answered. ‘I’ll go and catch their mounts unless you need any help.’

  ‘Go ahead,’ Beryl authorized, throwing a look at the supine and motionless woman. ‘I can take care of her.’

  Having been trained not to keep running when saddled and bridled, but riderless, the two gatahs were already coming to a halt at the foot of the slope. After mounting the quagga and collecting them, Bunduki found no greater difficulty in retrieving the animals which the women had been using. While he was doing so, Beryl disarmed and dragged their captive below the rim.

  When Bunduki returned with the four gatahs, Varbia had regained consciousness and was sitting up. Drawn over her shoulders, the elasticity of her halter’s material around her biceps kept her arms pinioned. Even if they had been free, she was in too much pain from the effects of the fall to think of trying to escape while alone with Beryl.

  Staring at her captors as Bunduki dismounted and joined Beryl in front of her, Varbia wondered what manner of people they might be. Their outer garments were undoubtedly Mun-Gatah, but they certainly were not. The woman had on the jewelry and sword of a high-ranking Amazon, but there were no men in that nation. Yet there was something alike about them and it was emphasized when she removed the helmet to display her hair. Turning her attention to Bunduki, Varbia was given a clue. The lance had torn open his borrowed tunic, exposing his leopard skin loincloth and the Randall bowie knife.

  ‘You’re “Apes”!’ Varbia gasped.

  ‘That’s correct,’ Beryl confirmed. ‘Who are you and why were Dryaka’s men after you?’

  ‘If you are his enemy, we won’t harm you,’ Bunduki went on and pointed to the helmet he was wearing. ‘This was given to me by Woltarn of Hera-Gatah as proof of what I’m going to tell you. After he and Administrator Korkar saw what had happened to Gromart’s party, they formed an alliance with us to depose Dryaka and Charole.’

  ‘The Administrators know that they intend to have them and the Council of Elders killed after the sacrifice and become the rulers of your people,’ the blonde continued. ‘We have come to rescue Dawn and the Amazon princess. So, as we have knowledge of the “Terrifiers”, they have accepted our offer to help them.’

  Turning her gaze from Beryl to Bunduki and back, Varbia thought fast. Although she had learned who was behind the two assassination attempts made upon Charole, she was persuaded not to expose them. Langord and Zongaffa were plotting to replace Dryaka with Baldrak, the District Administrator of San-Gatah. She had accepted their suggestion that she should become the next Protectress of the Quagga God.

  Even with a supply of ‘Terrifiers’ available to them, the conspirators had known they could not raise sufficient support for an open confrontation. Knowing how much the High Priest’s authority rested upon the coming sacrifice of the ‘Ape’ girl, they had hoped to turn it to their advantage. They had intended to abduct Dawn, producing her later as proof of the Quagga God’s concurrence with their claims, or kill her if they could not open the cell. Either way, outraged by Dryaka’s failure to ‘ keep his sacred oath, the population—including many of his and Charole’s adherents—would have risen and extracted the ultimate punishment.

  Unfortunately for Varbia, the scheme had failed. Knowing the brutal natures of the Brelefs when trained as guards, she felt sure that all her companions had been killed. Nor, despite having been successful in fleeing from Bon-Gatah, could she hope to survive so long as Charole and Dryaka were alive. Believing that she would know if Zongaffa had a supply of real ‘Terrifiers’ hidden away, they would never rest until she had been hunted down. While they remained in power, she would not be safe anywhere within the boundaries of their influence. So her only hope was that they could be broken and brought down. What was more, fate appeared to have presented her with a way of doing it.

  ‘Take me to Woltarn and Korkar,’ Varbia suggested. ‘I can help all of you achieve your purpose.’

  Chapter Twelve – We’ll Make Her Prove She’s An Ape

  ‘Have they brought back that bitch Varbia yet?’ Dryaka demanded, walking into his quarters on the first floor of the Temple of the Quagga God. He was occupying the Temple instead of his nearby town house so as to be more readily available in case there should be further attempts to prevent him from keeping his promise to sacrifice an ‘Ape’.

  ‘Not yet,’ Charole replied, rising from the divan at the side of the massive stone pillar which formed the right hand corner of the luxuriously furnished room. ‘What did the Council want? Do they know that the “Terrifiers” Zongaffa brought to us are useless?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ the High Priest answered, scowling at the reference to the Herbalist’s treachery. ‘If they did, they wouldn’t have hesitated to challenge my claim that Dawn is an “Ape”. Instead, they merely pretended that they were worried by the unrest being caused in the city because of the rumors that she’s only an Amazon—’

  ‘Damn Mador’s stupidity!’ the Protectress interrupted furiously. ‘Why didn’t he separate them before he brought them into the city?’

  The sun was setting on a day which had produced a succession of vexatious problems for Charole and Dryaka. The discovery that Zongaffa was involved in the attempt to murder the girl upon whom the success of their schemes depended had prompted them to examine the consignment of ‘Terrifiers’ he had delivered the previous afternoon. As they had suspected, not one was capable of performing its lethal function. Alarming as the disclosure had been, they had considered that they could bluff their enemies with the useless devices provided nobody else was aware of the trick the Herbalist had played. Wanting to keep the secret, they had not been able to send anybody to try and locate the genuine devices. All they could do was set the three warriors on Varbia’s trail, with orders to bring her back alive and not to return until she was captured.

  Another and more pressing source of anxiety had been the doubts which had arisen since the population had seen the two female prisoners behaving so amicably and sharing the same cage-cart. Dryaka and Charole suspected that the controversy had originally been started by Zongaffa’s associates, but it had not subsided with their deaths. In fact, it had become even more intense since noon. There had been fighting when supporters of the High Priest had tried to dispel the rumors. Finally, the Council of Elders had requested that Dryaka helped them to prevent the city from being split into two hostile factions. He had just returned from discussing how such a situation could be averted.

  ‘Take notice, all who hear!’ boomed a stentorian voice from outside the building, before any more could be said. ‘Tomorrow in the arena of the Temple, Lord Dryaka will show proof that the prisoner Dawn is truly an “Ape” and will keep his oath by giving her as a sacrifice for the Quagga God.’

  ‘What—!’ Charole ejaculated, her thoughts diverted from Mador. She knew that the information was being given by the official ‘Crier of News’ and he could do so only with the authority of the Council of Elders. ‘Were you aware—?’

  ‘Yes,’ Dryaka confirmed. ‘In fact, I agreed that the news must be cried and the population know what to expect.’

  ‘I don’t understand—!’ Charole said, frowning.

  ‘It’s simple, my lady,’ the High Priest put in. ‘We’ll make her prove she’s an “Ape” in a way that will end all doubts.’

  ‘How?’ the Protectress demanded, being aware that her life would also be forfeit in the event of failure.

  ‘You should have seen the Council, Charole,’ Dryaka almost purred, taking the woman’s hands in his and showing none of the alarm she was displaying. They were
as defiant as they dared to be, with me wearing this pouch and fire-box, confident that I had overreached myself and that, when I failed to fulfill my oath, our own people would turn the :”Terrifiers” against you, I, and everybody who remains loyal to us.’

  ‘And they will!’ Charole warned.

  ‘I pointed out that four of the Council had seen Dawn when she was brought a prisoner to the hunting camp,’ the High Priest explained, showing no sign of having heard the Protectress. ‘But Hulkona replied that none of them had other than our word she was what she claimed. They had not even seen the warrior who we said she had killed with an arrow.’

  ‘May the Quagga God take him!’ Charole spat out, guessing what had prompted such a comment.

  ‘“My Lord Dryaka,” Hulkona said to me, loud enough for all present to hear him, “What makes the ‘Apes’ different from every other nation? One thing above all. That they have arrows which can pierce our breastplates. Is that not correct?” I could do nothing but agree—’

  ‘Why?’ Charole almost wailed, realizing what dangerous paths such a conversation could lead to.

  ‘“Then, my lord,” Hulkona said. “If only the population could see such a thing happen, they would not be able to dispute that she is truly an ‘Ape’,”’ Dryaka continued, as if the interruption had never taken place. ‘Once again, I had to agree that, if it was seen, there could be no doubt. “My lord,” Eokan said. “We of the Council feel that there must be no delay in satisfying the population with regards to the prisoner’s nationality.” “Prove she’s an ‘Ape’,” yelled somebody in one of the public enclosures and others took it up. Again there was nothing I could do but agree.’

  ‘How are you going to do it?’ Charole asked, visualizing the scene. ‘Even if we could get her and the Amazon to fight, it won’t be proof enough.’