Tales of Erogenia: Book 1 - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Escape

Zenaria knelt in the sawdust of the arena, gazing into the eyes of the woman she had surrendered to. She did not think of herself as defeated; she had voluntarily yielded when she could just as easily have killed her just moments before. But she could not bring herself to kill the sister of the man she... of Tren.

Slowly she got to her feet as Ulua dropped the points of her weapons. Both women could barely stand, and now that the exhilaration of battle had worn off, her injured shoulder throbbed in pain, a trickle of blood flowing from the wound and down over her chest and between her breasts. She saw Ulua wince painfully as she moved, the long gash in her belly weeping blood.

Then a scream from the stands made both women look toward the source of the noise. Kund was on his feet, shouting into the arena. "Barbarian bitch! Why did you capitulate so cravenly? I thought you a warrior. Go, and good riddance to you."

From the other side of the arena came Tanar's dry laugh. "Admit it, Kund. The barbarian is not the warrior you thought. She could not bring herself to kill a woman. And now she belongs to me."

As Zenaria and Ulua stood in the arena the sliding doors opened and several armed men entered the arena. One of them dragged heavy chains through the sawdust until he reached Zenaria. They were much more massive than anything she had worn before and it actually took two men to hold them while they shackled her, placing a heavy iron collar around her neck and thick manacles and leg irons on her wrists and ankles. Each link was as thick as her thumb and Zenaria staggered under their weight.

Was this was what it meant to be defeated in the arena; to be weighed down like a beast of burden? She could barely move. "Fear not," Ulua whispered as Zenaria staggered under the weight of iron. "It is Tanar's way to burden his latest acquisitions. He thinks to break their spirits and mould them to his will."

At that point the guards intervened, separating the two women. Zenaria was prodded forward. Already exhausted from her combat, she could barely place one foot in front of the other as she was marched from the arena. Ulua walked in the rear unfettered, although her weapons had been taken away from her and she was flanked by four guards.

This time she was marched in an entirely different direction, as of course, she was no longer Kund's slave. She forced herself to place one foot in front of the other, marching is silence between guards who also did not speak. The walk seemed to take forever, but Zenaria refused to break. Desperate for water, and bleeding badly from her shoulder wound, she would not give her captors the satisfaction of seeing her forced to her knees. Being dragged before Tanar would be a complete admission of defeat and she would not give her new master the pleasure of seeing her so completely degraded.

She finally entered a compound that led off the long walk and found herself in an open area similar to that where she had been confined before her defeat. She guessed that the arena must be surrounded by many such compounds, set aside for the gladiators and owned by the various wealthy members of Sandak society. This time instead of serving girls, Tanar was waiting for her.

The presence of the High Thuski of Uhra Don partly explained the chains. Up close she could see that in spite of his golden robes, he was a rather unimpressive individual, standing eight inches shorter than her and probably old enough to be her grandfather. But he remembered that this was the man who had publicly shouted his intention to force her to his bed. Would he indeed chain her down and rape her, or was that all some sort of bluster intended to impress other members of the Sandak nobility?

She remembered Ulua's whispered advice and tried to meet his gaze and hold herself erect in spite of the great weight of metal that tried to drag her down, and the heat and exhaustion that had her swaying. It was an act that Tanar apparently found disconcerting.

"Barbarian bitch," he growled. "Lower your eyes when you are in my presence."

"I am not one of your docile Sandak she-goats," Zenaria replied. "Were I not chained I would kill you where you stand."

"Another like that Beni Sidra bitch. It might be well if I stripped the flesh from your back in order to teach you some humility."

"That would hardly add to my value as your slave," Zenaria replied, her voice dripping scorn, "but I would expect no less from a Sandak."

"You will find that having your tongue removed will not impede your ability to fight," Tanar growled. "I suggest you shut your mouth while I decide your fate."

With some effort Zenaria bit back a retort. She had no doubt that if pushed far enough Tanar would carry out his threat. She waited while he inspected her, the heat added to her exhaustion, but she held herself erect and feigned indifference to what was happening to her.

"You are strong," Tanar said as he circled her. "And I know you can kill. Why then did you spare my fighter? You had her at your mercy and then meekly surrendered. I would not want to see that repeated if you fight for me."

"The warriors of the Snow Leopard do not fight women," Zenaria answered.

"And yet, barbarian, you allow women to become warriors in complete defiance of what Aroo has planned for them."

Zenaria knew she was treading on dangerous ground, but felt she had little to lose. She was Tanar's property and she gambled that he would want the right to claim ownership of the two greatest gladiators in Uhra Don. "Have you spoken to this god you call Aroo? If not how do you know what she has ordained?"

"A clever answer," Tanar replied, "but one that would see you stoned by the Servants of Aroo should they hear it. But it shows you are more than just an ignorant savage. There is a brain beneath that thick barbarian skull. I will have you instructed in the true faith. Perhaps you will see the light."

Tanar motioned to the guards. "Remove the chains and see that she receives the treatment deserving of one of my gladiators. Stable her with the Beni Sidra. It will be interesting to see if the assassin and the barbarian can refrain from killing one another."

Zenaria managed to keep her feet as her chains were removed and the guards escorted her across the compound, but she almost fell as she was ushered into still another compound and the door was closed behind her. Gentle hands on her arms kept her upright and she was helped to a stone bench. As before she saw that she was surrounded by several young women, two of them barely into their teens. However, there was someone else there as well.

Ulua mad no attempt to rise from the deep pool where she was being attended to by two nude serving girls, but her dark almond-shaped eyes fastened Zenaria like a hunting cat stalking its prey. Without the slightest preamble she spoke. "Who are you and how did you learn the name, Tren?" Her voice was not particularly friendly, but neither was it hostile.

Zenaria countered with a question of her own as the female attendants stripped off her armour. "I am called Zenaria and you are Tren's sister aren't you? The one he seeks. He did not tell me your name."

"That is not an answer," Ulua replied. It was apparent from her tone that she was used to having her way, at least so far as her fellow slaves were concerned.

He rescued me from Sandakar slavers," Zenaria answered, "and then I travelled with him to Uhra Don to look for you."

"And how came you to be in the arena?" Ulua asked as Zenaria was helped toward the same pool in which the golden-skinned girl was immersed.

"Tren took me into the city and I was discovered and taken prisoner. I was then sent to the arena."

"Hmm," Ulua commented. "You are very good. You surprised even me. I thought I was finished until you held back. Obviously you do not share Tren's mission."

"His mission?" Zenaria winced as one of the serving girls began to probe her shoulder wound, but she held still knowing that it was necessary.

"Does he not seek my death?"

"He did say that," Zenaria gasped as the girl attending her pushed a long slender needle into the wound, forcing it open, and then another girl used a hollow reed to drip some stinging liquid into the wound.

"Yes," Ulua mused. "He would think that I would tell all under torture. But I was spared that. Tanar decided to use me in the arena instead. However, I suspect that when I have served my usefulness he may decide that torture would be an appropriate ending to my career." She too winced as another girl began to stitch closed the nasty cut on her belly, using a needle so tiny that Zenaria could not even see the stitches.

"It is clean," mistress murmured her female attendant. "Your blood washed it clean. Now we will stitch it closed."

Zenaria ignored the jab of the tiny needle and continued her conversation with Ulua. "How did you come to be here?" Zenaria asked.

"A botched assassination attempt," Ulua said ruefully. "I was caught outside Tanar's bedchamber and brought down with a poisoned dart before I had time to kill myself."

"What stops you now?" Zenaria asked. "If you wish death would it not be a simple matter to die in the arena."

"It would," Ulua admitted, "but Tanar is clever and quite ruthless. He kept me in an iron cage for the first month of my activity and had me attended by the servants you see here plus a few others who have other duties. My personal retinue now numbers twenty young maidens, all taken as slaves by Sandakar raiders. On the final day of the month Tanar came to me and told me of his plan to use me in the arena. He then told me that if I died all of my servants would be put to death, but not before they had been turned over to the city guard for their entertainment. And so here I remain. I dare not escape even if given the chance."

Zenaria nodded her agreement. It appeared that there was no way for Ulua to escape or be rescued without dooming a score of innocent young maidens. She thought of the five girls who had served her when she had been Kund's property and felt a similar attachment in spite of the fact that the girls had served her for only a day.

Suddenly Zenaria felt remarkably tired. So much so that she could barely keep her eyes open. It was almost certainly a reaction to the ordeal she had been put through as it was still only mid-afternoon. The servants seemed to sense her exhaustion and helped her from the water. Draping a soft cotton robe around her the led her to a pile of cushions placed in the shade of an awning. As they settled her down she saw the other servants helping Ulua to an identical resting place. Then she closed her eyes and slept.

---

She awoke very hungry and thirsty, but she need not have worried. Although it was now dark, the female attendants were still there and they immediately brought her food and drink. A few feet away, Ulua still slept, but a short while later she awoke, and wincing as the movement stretched the wound in her belly, she sat up and helped herself to the food and drink set before her.

Both women ate in silence until they were satiated and then Zenaria rolled from her pile of cushions and moved over to Ulua. The girl looked up in surprise, but then nodded in understanding as Zenaria looked at the serving girls. With a motion of her fingers, Ulua shooed than away and then waited for Zenaria to speak.

"I think escape is possible," Zenaria said, "but we must be willing to do the unexpected."

"What do you have in mind?" Ulua asked.

"I know nothing of the layout of this place, but you are an assassin. My short association with Tren has taught me that you see and know things that others do not. You must have figured out a way to escape by now."

"That is true," Ulua said, "but I cannot leave my attendants to be raped and murdered."

"That is why we must attack instead of retreating," Zenaria said. "You came here to assassinate Tanar. What if we were to take him alive instead? Could he not be forced to grant you and your servants free passage in return for his life?"

"It is a plan," Ulua agreed. "But if it fails then many innocent lives will be forfeit"

"I realize that," Zenaria replied. "But we might now have a chance. There are now two of us instead of one. Acting together we might be able to succeed. However, I will leave it to you. You know the layout of our prison much better than do I."

Ulua thought on Zenaria's proposal for the next few hours before finally making up her mind. "Death is preferable to a life in slavery," the golden skinned girl said. "It is a bold idea and it might just succeed, but not in the way that you think."

Zenaria listened while Ulua spoke. "You are a strong woman. Much stronger than I, as I have reason to know. I have a plan, but it will require the cooperation of the High Thuski in order for it to work. Here is what I am going to do...."

At the end Zenaria nodded. "Yes. I can do that. As you say it is a desperate plan, but will probably be most unexpected. It might just work."

---

It took a week before Zenaria's wound was healed enough that she could move her arm properly, but she resumed training long before that as did Ulua. Although they were not allowed weapons, both warriors went through their moves, strengthening their bodies and stretching their injuries carefully to work the stiffness out of them.

As they regained their ease of movement each observed the other. Both warriors' moved quite differently and watched with interest as the other went through the drills she had been taught. Zenaria especially found Ulua's movements fascinating. It was a form of combat that resembled dance more than warfare, but she had no difficulty in understanding its deadly purpose and frequently asked Ulua to show her how to perform a certain move. Soon both women were practicing together, something that was apparently noted by someone who reported to Tanar, as he showed up one day to watch while they trained.

He did not exactly enter the compound where Zenaria and Ulua lived. Instead he had his guards escort him to a small walled compound where he could watch them from the safety of an observation deck some fifteen feet above the floor of the enclosure. As the two warriors entered the compound they looked at one another. They had not expected this. Their opportunity had come sooner than expected. "On my signal," Ulua, whispered. Zenaria acknowledged the command with a faint smile.

They warmed up for ten minutes, working up a good sweat and lulling Tanar into a state of complacency. Then Ulua gave a slight nod and broke into a full run toward Zenaria. It was an unrehearsed move, but one that they had discussed during their sparing routines, and they would have just one chance to pull it off.

Ulua launched herself toward Zenaria, leaping at the last second as if she intended to drive her foot into Zenaria's inviting bosom, but instead Zenaria went into a crouch, extending her cupped hands and catching Ulua's foot as she came down. Then Zenaria straightened her powerful body, extending her hands as she pushed upward with all of her strength. At the same time Ulua pushed off, her body uncoiling like a steel spring. The combined effort propelled the golden-skinned girl almost straight up and level with the balcony where an astonished Tanar toppled backward out of his chair as Ulua caught hold of the edge of the balcony and vaulted into the stands.

The four guards who were with the High Thuski were caught completely flat-footed and Ulua was on to Tanar before he could scramble to safety. Tangled in his gold robes he could only flail helplessly as the Beni Sidra assassin slammed into him. "Mercy!" he screamed. There was a strong ordour of urine as Ulua snapped his head into a death dealing armlock, her forearm over the great vein in his throat. "Call off your dogs'" she commanded as Tanar went white with fear. "Quickly or I break your neck!"

"Hold!" Tanar cried hoarsely. "Come no closer. You master commands it."

The four guards, who had been rushing to his aid, came to a complete halt barely a sword-length away. "Tell them to back off," Ulua ordered, tightening her grip slightly, "and give orders that no one be admitted to the viewing stand."

Tanar did as he was told, ordering his guards to stand back. Only then did Ulua release her hold, however, she plucked Tanar's jewelled knife from its sheath and held the blade to his throat. "Strip off your robes," she commanded.

"You cannot do this to me," Tanar protested. "I am the high Thuski. You will be flayed alive."

In answer Ulua grabbed his hair, jerking his head back and held the point of the knife to his eye. "I have no time for fools," she said. "Do as you are told without protest or you will live the rest of your days as a blind man."

Tanar's dusky features, which had regained some of their colour, whitened even further. He hastily shucked his elaborate gold-threaded robes and lay shaking with rage, fear, and embarrassment under the blade of Ulua's knife. "Now," Ulua said with obvious relish, "I shall bind you in a way that is sure to catch your attention.

She took Tanar's robe and expertly cut off a strip of cloth that she used to bind his hands behind his back. Then she cut off another strip and with a malicious grin on her face she tightened it around his genitals, taking obvious pleasure from the panicked look that crossed the High Thuski's face. "Now," she said, "I expect you will obey me."

All this time Zenaria had been watching from the pit that was the bottom of the arena. Although Ulua had only been gone a matter of a few hundred heartbeats it seemed much longer and she breathed a sigh of relief when the assassin turned her attention to her. Ulua cut three more strips from Tanar's robe, and tying one end to a stone column that flanked the Thuski's seating place, she tossed the other end to Zenaria. It took her only seconds to scramble up the makeshift rope to stand beside her companion.

"Now," Ulua said, speaking to Tanar, "we are going to leave, the gladiator's compound and you are going to make sure that we leave alive, otherwise you will die. Any hesitation on your part and I pull this." She gave the length of cloth binding Tanar's genitals a sharp tug. The High Thuski's cry of pain indicated that he had received the message.

"First, however," Ulua continued, "there are a few things I want brought to me and you will order it so."

Visibly sweating, Tanar stammered out a reply. "What do you want?"

"I wish all of my servants brought to me. Remember that I know them all by sight so I will know if one is not present. They are to bring me all of my equipment and a hundred pieces of gold each."

A sly look came into Tanar's eyes, but he nodded his acceptance.

"I too want something," Zenaria said. "I wish the five serving girls who attended me when I was Kund's servant brought to me. And I want the return of my sword."

"Zenaria's serving girls are to be given one hundred gold as well," Ulua added.

Zenaria experienced a slight start of surprise. She had supposed that Ulua wanted the gold for herself, but that appeared to be not the case.

"It will be done," Tanar said grudgingly. "But could I not at least have my under-robe?"

"You had no problem in parading me nude before you and you companions. Now you will be presented in the same manner."

"If I agree to all of this," the High Thuski said, "then you must release me."

"Think yourself lucky that I have not gelded you and stuffed your balls into your mouth," Ulua replied. "There is no negotiation. You do as you are told or I end it here."

"I am your safe passage out of here," Tanar replied angrily. You dare not kill me."

From his comments it was obvious that Tanar had gotten over his shock, but Ulua was not about to concede an inch to the High Thuski. "So you are," she replied calmly. Then she gave a sharp tug on the rope.

Tanar screamed as the cord tightened around his family treasures. "Stop," he pleaded. "I'll do as you say."

Ulua nodded as if there had never been any doubt. Zenaria had to admit that the Assassin certainly seemed to know what she was about. The older woman almost frightened her with her cold intensity.

As it transpired things worked out very much the way Ulua had planned them although waiting in the seating area of the pit for the two hours it took for all of the serving girls to arrive was one of the hardest things Zenaria had ever had to do. At any moment she expected a surprise raid by Tanar's guards and the hair on the back of her head stirred at every little sound.

Eventually, however, two dozen young women filed into the observation deck of the practice pit, among them were the five who had served Zenaria. They were a highly confused bunch as might be expected. And were especially mystified by the one hundred gold pieces each of them had been given. When they discovered that the High Thuski was the helpless prisoner of the two female warriors their reaction ranged from horror to malicious delight. The former were mostly too frightened to say anything except to wonder at what might happen to them for daring to defy the most powerful man in Uhra Don. The latter wanted to remove pieces of Tanar's anatomy with rather dull instruments. Neither attitude, however, was acceptable to Ulua.

"We are leaving Uhra Don," Ulua said, standing at the top of the viewing stand so that all could see her. Tanar knelt at her feet and Zenaria stood just inches away, her newly returned sword in her hand. "The High Thuski will ensure that we are not stopped."

"But we will never cross the desert," wailed one of the girls. "We will die of thirst and our bones picked clean by vultures."

Ulua simply smiled. "Trust me," she said. "There is a way."

Her calm demeanour seemed to calm most of the girls and if that didn't Zenaria's menacing presence cowed the rest into following her.

There were a few more arrangements to be made before Ulua was ready, such as obtaining proper desert robes of all of the semi-nude young women and enough food to see them on a journey of about a week. Once again, Zenaria fretted through the arrangements, while Ulua seemed oblivious to the passage of time. It was obvious that she thought her control of the High Thuski would be enough to ensure her escape, but Zenaria kept on thinking of ways that things could go wrong.

One thing that especially troubled her was finding a way out of Uhra Don and across the desert without being followed by a horde of armed men. For the moment threatening to kill Tanar might work, but eventually she was sure that the Sandakar would decide that he was expendable, especially as his political rivals might see his death as a most convenient outcome. But she held her peace and waited until Ulua was ready.

By this time Zenaria had not only had her sword returned to her, but had been dressed in a fine robe under which she had been fitted with some of Ulua's armour. Ulua's own attendants helped put it on; fitting the pieces to Zenaria's much larger frame. The armour that fit was highly polished black leather studded with bronze rivets for added protection. It consisted of a pair of greaves and thigh protectors and leather bands fitted to cover a portion of her breasts. On Ulua the bands would have offered complete protection, but Zenaria's had to be content with what was available. And she was quite pleased with the leather cuffs that protected most of her forearms and the leather coverings that fitted over her upper arms and shoulders.

It was a shame that such fine armour had to be hidden under her desert robes, especially the crested leather helmet that, like Ulua's, hid the upper portion of her face. Her vanity was piqued and she would have liked nothing better than to study herself in front of some reflecting surface to see exactly what she looked like. However, the only mirror the serving girls had brought was a small hand held piece of silvered glass that did not allow Zenaria to see more than a small part of her body. With a frown of resignation she handed the mirror back to the girl who had given it to her and pulled on her black desert robes. It was time to go.

It was an odd procession that marched out of the practice arena. Twenty six young women moved in a tight formation with Tanar in the middle. Zenaria stood right behind the High Thuski, sword in hand, leaving little doubt as to what would happen to Tanar should the Sandakar attempt any foolish rescue attempt. Ulua walked in front, her dark eyes alert for danger, and towing the High Thuski forward with not so gentle tugs on the leash around his genitals.

Their formation protected the two warriors from arrows, although it left the girls extremely vulnerable. It was a situation that Zenaria did not approve of, but she reflected that there was probably little choice if they were to escape. The only thing that could keep them alive was to keep the High Thuski under their control and they could only do that by not being filled with arrows. Their precautions seemed well founded when they finally exited the narrow corridors of the gladiators' compound. They found themselves in a large plaza lined with hundreds of Sandakar. Only Tanar's screams for them to keep their distance held them off. The question was, however, whether or not they would continue to obey their ruler or whether in their anger they would decide he was expendable.

As a result it was a tense few minutes as the young women paraded through the streets watched by the dozens of glowering soldiers. "You can't get away, you know," Tanar said. "There is nowhere you can hide that my soldiers can't follow. Even if you kill me, you will all die."

"As you once said to me," Zenaria replied. "You can still walk without your tongue."

"Or your balls," Ulua added, giving the rope another painful jerk.

Zenaria's composure hid the tension within her. The soldiers kept their distance, but they closed in on the procession as it passed. It would take only a single word to send a wave of soldiers against them and against such numbers the two warriors would have had no chance. At any moment she expected to hear a shouted order and the thunder of a thousand feet charging toward her.

But their desperate gamble held until Ulua directed them into a large and beautifully constructed building on the far side of the plaza.

"You can't go in here," Tanar protested. "This is sacred ground."

Ulua and the others paid him not the slightest bit of attention as they mounted the twenty steps leading up to a columned portico and entered the building. Zenaria had to force her mouth closed to keep from gaping. Inside the building was even more magnificent than it was on the outside. The dozen columns fronting the building continued inside running toward the back in seemingly endless rows.

"This is sacrilege," Tanar complained. "You profane Aroo's sacred precincts."

"Don't worry," Ulua replied. "We are not staying long." She hurried toward the back of the temple forcing the Thuski to break into a run to prevent a certain portion of his anatomy from being ripped from his body.

"You are a fool," Tanar gasped. "You have trapped yourself. There is no escape from here, and my presence will no longer protect you."

He appeared to be right about the last statement. As they penetrated the temple there were angry shouts from all sides. Fortunately, no one in the temple other than Zenaria and Ulua were armed, but from behind them they could hear the shouts of the guards as they poured across the threshold of the temple. Ulua, however, kept going, reaching the back of the temple where she led the two dozen women behind an alcove and into what appeared to be a dead end.

"You see," Tanar said, wheezing from exertion. "You are trapped. Surrender and I will grant you all quick deaths."

Ulua ignored him. She handed over her leash to another woman and moved to the middle of the floor. "Quickly," she said pointing. "Lift this up."

Zenaria saw that there were four large bronze rings set into the stone beneath their feet. Several of the women grabbed hold and heaved. There was a hollow grinding sound and a section of floor about four feet wide and six feet long moved. However, in spite of the efforts of the four women straining at the rings, the stone would not move. "Harder," Ulua ordered. "We do not have much time."

Sheathing her sword Zenaria strode forward. Pushing two of the women aside she seized the rings and pulled. The stone came up suddenly and Zenaria continued to pull until the slab was clear of its seating and then she dragged it aside, revealing a large black hole.

Ulua grabbed a torch from a nearby wall sconce and stepped into the hole, revealing that a flight of stone steps descended into the darkness. She handed the torch to the closest girl. "Go quickly. I will follow shortly."

Zenaria stepped forward, unsheathing her sword. "You go," she said. "You know the way. I will follow after I've given the Sandakar something to thing about."

Ulua hesitated and then nodded. "Come as quickly as you can," she said, and then hastening after the other woman she disappeared into the darkness.

Zenaria could hear the sound of feet rushing toward the alcove. She waited until the sound was almost upon her and then she charged from her hiding place. Her appearance so startled the soldiers that confronted her that two of them actually lost their footing as they slid to a halt on the stone floor. Several others fell over them, resulting in an untidy heap on the temple floor.

Zenaria gave them no time to recover; swinging her sword two-handed she cut into them, scattering bodies and pieces of bodies in every direction. For a minute pandemonium reigned as those closest to her tried desperately to get away, colliding with those at the back who were still pushing forward. It was a bloody and chaotic mess, the screams of the wounded mingling with those who shouted in rage at the defilement of the temple.

Zenaria stepped back and retreated to the hole in the floor. Wiping her bloody sword on her robe, she sheathed it and grabbed the rings of the huge slab, pulling it up on its edge and then dragging it toward the hole. She moved as quickly as she could, the sounds of the enraged soldiers coming closer as they recovered from the turmoil she had created. She descended the stairs, still holding the rings of the slab and then dragged it after her, pulling the slab into place with the rings facing down so that they could not be reached.

Darkness closed around her, but far down the stairs she could make up the glow of a torch. Placing her right hand against the wall she hurried after it and a minute later found Ulua waiting for her. "They won't follow that quickly," Zenaria panted. "Where is Tanar?"

"The girls are looking after him. I suspect he wishes that he was safe with us." Ulua looked back up the passage, the flickering light of the torch glinting off her high cheekbones. "What did you do?"

"Reversed the stone. They'll have to get pry bars to lift it. That should give us a little time."

"Then let's take advantage of your strength," Ulua replied. She headed down the stairwell.

"What is this place?" Zenaria asked. There was no stench as in the sewers, but the walls were damp with water, and the air was definitely moist.

"You will see," Ulua asked. "Did you not wonder where the people of Uhra Don got all of their water?"

As a matter of fact Zenaria had wondered. And she soon got her answer. She and Ulua descended for another minute and then she saw the other women standing on a stone shelf next to what appeared to be a body of water. She and Ulua were soon standing beside them and then she saw Tanar on his knees surrounded by the women who had once been his slaves.

"What shall we do with him?" Zenaria asked.

"He has served his purpose," Ulua answered. "I see no reason why we should not cut his throat."

"No, you cannot," Tanar pleaded, raising his hands as if in prayer. "I kept my part of the bargain."

"We made no bargain," Ulua replied coldly. "We simply told you what to do."

"The warriors of the Snow Leopard do not kill prisoners," Zenaria said flatly.

"But I am a Beni Sidra assassin," Ulua said. "I have no such reservations." She stared at Zenaria and then back at the trembling High Thuski. "Alright, I will respect your sense of honour, but I would just as soon be bitten by a scorpion." She motioned to Tanar. "Go before I change my mind. And thank your unforgiving god that the barbarian shows greater mercy than he does."

Tanar needed no further urging. He scrambled up the stairway, stumbling and falling several times in his eagerness to put as much distance between himself and Ulua as possible.

"Come," Ulua commanded. "We have wasted enough time. She walked to the edge of the shelf, where it met the walls confining the underground lake. The flickering light of the torch revealed a narrow walkway about a foot wide that ran off into the darkness. Without a moment's hesitation she strode out along it as if it had been the widest highway.

Hardly a single one of the gaggle of young women followed. Instead they bunched up at the edge and looked despairingly at the narrow ledge. "I can't go on that," one of them wailed. "I'll fall off." Her protest was immediately followed by wails from most of the rest of the girls.

"Go!" Zenaria commanded. "She won't wait. I'll follow and make sure no one falls in."

"I can't swim," another girl cried.

"I can," Zenaria said firmly. "I won't let you drown. Now move or I'll push you in myself."

The threat and the promise, plus Ulua disappearing into the darkness, had the desired effect. The girls set off, the bolder going first and the most timid bringing up the rear. They went slowly at first, then more quickly as they gained confidence, but they were still painfully slow and Zenaria had to resist the urge to push the girls in front of her in order to get them moving more quickly. Her only consolation was that as slowly as they were going, any pursuer had to follow the same route. The narrow walkway would enable her to defend against any Sandakar that dared to follow them into the stygian blackness.

The underground lake was immense. It faded away into the darkness, its roof supported by row on row of pillars that loomed out of the water like the trunks of branchless trees. And the walkway that skirted it, and along which Ulua led them, seemed to go on forever. Most of the girls were snivelling in fear-induced exhaustion by the time they finally came to a second landing and another stairway. Ulua led them up the stairs, but not, as Zenaria had expected to the top. Instead she stopped halfway up and turned into a dark hole.

"Not so far, now," she whispered. "But we must be very quiet."

The blubbering stopped immediately, and then Ulua moved on. Zenaria was immensely relieved. Not only were most of the girls close to collapse, but the torch had burned down to a nub. However, it was not needed. Ulua stubbed it out on the stonework and it was revealed that a faint light trickled down the tunnel as well as a strange grinding noise.

Ulua crept along the tunnel. It was almost perfect circular and just high enough that Zenaria had only to crouch a little. The light got brighter as they progressed, and the grinding sound became steadily louder. Underfoot, Zenaria could detect a faint vibration which also increased with every footfall.

Ulua held up her hand, bringing the column to a halt. Zenaria pushed forward, elbowing the compliant serving girls aside as she moved to the front of the line. Ulua nodded as she came up, but said nothing. However, what was revealed to Zenaria needed no explanation. The tunnel opened over a large cavern that to Zenaria was the perfect Erogenian vision of hell.

At the bottom of the cavern was a deep pool of water that was probably a continuation of the underground lake they had seen earlier. Over against the far wall were several gigantic wheels position one above the other. The rim of the lowest wheel was immersed in water. Attached to the outer rim were buckets that scooped up the water as the wheel slowly rotated and delivered the water to a cistern at the very top of the wheel. From the cistern the water flowed to the buckets of the second wheel which carried the water to a still higher cistern. There were six wheels in all, each one with a diameter of about eight yards, raising the water almost a hundred and fifty feet from the lower reservoir. It was an ingenious work of engineering, and like many things about Uhra Don, it was something that left Zenaria wide-eyed. However, it also left her burning with rage.

Powering the huge wheels were male slaves. Under the watchful eyes of Sandak overseers a half dozen poor souls trod the interior of each wheel, forcing them to turn and delivering the water to its destination. Scattered about the machinery were over twenty guards. There was no escaping this dreadful drudgery. All of the overseers were equipped with whips, which they used liberally to keep the naked men in the wheels moving. Without thinking Zenaria drew her sword.

Ulua placed her hand on Zenaria's arm. "Hold," she murmured. "What do you think you are going to do?"

"I can't just leave those men there," Zenaria hissed. "The goddess would curse me for it."

"They are heavily guarded and we are just two," Ulua said quietly. "There are thirty men down there."

"Then the odds are even," Zenaria said.

"We have a score of young women in our care already. Would you jeopardize their safety to save the others? And what are we going to do with them? I am going to have enough trouble trying to hide those we have without adding to the number. It would serve us poorly if we attempted to save those poor men and it resulted in those we have already saved being recaptured."

"Then why are we here?" Zenaria asked.

"It is the way out," Ulua replied. "Let us go, but keep down so that we will not be noticed." Moving into a crouch she moved off, traversing a walkway overlooking the rim of the cavern. It was just wide enough that by keeping close to the wall and crouching down those below could not seen them. In this fashion the procession of young women crossed the roof of the cavern and entered another tunnel. This one sloped toward the surface and then levelled out. It then ran straight for several hundred yards before ending it what appeared to be a dead end, but by this time Zenaria had enough faith in Ulua to know that there must be more to it than that.

Her faith was rewarded as Ulua found a hidden catch and a small hole appeared in the wall. It was just big enough for a man or woman to enter, and Ulua went first. A second later she poked her head back out. "Follow me," she invited.

Zenaria waited until the last woman passed through before following. Ulua was waiting and closed the opening as Zenaria passed through. She looked around. She was standing in a natural cave that was somehow vaguely familiar. "Come" Ulua commanded. The golden-skinned assassin once again took the lead and moved through the cave. From somewhere enough light entered the cave that although it was dim, Zenaria and the others could make their way without difficulty.

They turned a corner and entered a more open area; one that Zenaria knew well. She felt a strange sensation near her heart and stepped into the middle of the cave, looking out toward the deep pool at its mouth where she had once gone swimming. She looked around, but the one she hoped to see was nowhere in sight. Ulua, however, was not fooled. She turned as a dark figure suddenly materialized as if out of nowhere.

Zenaria's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. "Tren!" she gasped.

Continued in Chapter 17

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