He recalled Haplo’s report:
Creatures thirty feet tall. Skin that blends in with its background, making them difficult to see. No eyes; they’re blind, but they have other senses that more than make up for their lack of sight. They are obsessed with one thing: the citadels. They ask questions about the citadels of everyone they meet, and when these questions aren’t answered satisfactorily (and no one has yet discovered what a satisfactory answer is) the creatures fly into a murderous rage, killing any living being near them. Created by the Sartan to oversee the mensch (and possibly for some other purpose having to do with the light) they use a crude form of Sartan magic....
These creatures very nearly destroyed me. They came close to destroying my ship. They are powerful, and I see no way of controlling them.
“You saw no way of controlling them,” Xar remarked. “But then, Haplo, my son, you are not me.
“Nothing could withstand a fighting force of these creatures!” he added with satisfaction to Sang-drax. “They don’t look all that dangerous. They’re certainly not bothering us.”
The dragon-snake appeared nervous, however. “True, Lord Xar. I think it likely that they are under some type of spell. If you are going to the citadel, you should go now. Before whatever spell they are under wears off.”
“Nonsense, I can deal with them,” Xar replied with scorn. “What is the matter with you?”
“I sense a presence of great evil,” Sang-drax said in a low voice. “A malevolent force—”
“Not these mindless entities, surely,” Xar interrupted with a glance at the tytans.
“No. It is intelligent, cunning.” Sang-drax was silent a moment, then said softly, “I think we may have fallen into a trap, Lord of the Nexus.”
“You were the one who advised me to come,” Xar reminded the dragon-snake.
“But it was not I who put the idea into your head, Lord,” Sang-drax returned, his single red eye hooded.
Xar was displeased. “First you badger me to come here, now you’re warning me to leave. If you continue talking out of both sides of your mouth, my friend, you’ll choke!”
“I am only concerned about my lord’s safety—”
“And not your own precious skin, eh? Well, come on, if you’re going with me. Or will you stay here, hiding from the ‘evil’ force?”
Sang-drax made no response, but he also made no move to leave the ship. Xar opened the hatch, descended the ship’s gangplank to the floor of the jungle. He cast a swift glance around, eyed the tytans warily. The monsters paid him no attention. He might have been a bug at their feet. Their heads were turned in the direction of the citadel. The rainbow light bathed the creatures in radiance.
And it was then he heard the humming sound. “Who is making that irritating noise?” the lord demanded.
He motioned to a Patryn who stood on the ship’s upper deck, ready to run and do whatever his lord might require of him. “Find out where that strange humming sound is coming from and put a stop to it.”
The Patryn left swiftly. “My Lord,” he reported on his return, “everyone in the ship can hear it, but no one has any idea what is causing it. The sound does not appear to be coming from the ship itself. If you notice, Lord, it seems to be louder out here than inside.”
True, Xar admitted. The sound was louder out here. He cocked his head. It appeared to be coming from the direction of the citadel.
“There are words in that sound,” said Xar, listening intently.
“It’s as if it were speaking to someone, Lord,” the Patryn offered.
“Speaking!” Xar repeated to himself. “Yes, but what is it saying? And to whom?”
He listened closely and carefully; he could distinguish alterations of pitch and tone that might indicate words being formed. He could almost make out what they were, but never quite. And that, he concluded, was what was so irritating about the sound. All the more reason, then, to reach the citadel. He stepped onto the moss, started walking in the direction of the citadel. He was not worried about finding a clear path. His magic would cut a swath through the thickest tangle of undergrowth. He kept his eyes on the tytans, however, moving cautiously, prepared to defend himself.
The tytans paid no attention to him. Their sightless heads faced in one direction—the citadel.
Xar had ventured only a short distance away from his ship when Sang-drax suddenly appeared at his side.
“If the citadel is now working, it could mean that Sartan are inside, operating it,” Sang-drax warned.
“Haplo reported the citadel uninhabited—”
“Haplo is a traitor and liar!” the dragon-snake hissed. Xar saw no reason to respond to that. Keeping his attention fixed on the tytans, he ventured farther and farther away from his ship. None of the monsters appeared to take the slightest interest in him.
“More likely, the light has something to do with the starting up of the Kicksey-winsey,” Xar returned coldly.
“Or both,” Sang-drax rejoined. “Or worse,” he added beneath his breath. Xar flicked him a glance. “Then I will find out. Thank you for your concern. You may now return to the ship.”
“I have decided to go with you, Lord.”
“Indeed? And what of this ‘evil force’ that so terrified you before?”
“I wasn’t terrified,” Sang-drax replied sullenly. “I respect it, as you would be wise to do, Lord of the Nexus, for it is your enemy as much as mine. I have been asked to investigate it.”
“By whom? I did not give any such command.”
“My brethren, Lord. If that meets with your approval?” Xar detected a note of sarcasm in the snaky voice, disliked the implication.
“There is no greater enemy than the Sartan, no more powerful force than theirs—and ours—in the universe. You will do well to remember that. You and your brethren.”
“Yes, Lord,” Sang-drax said humbly enough, apparently chastened. “I meant no insult. I have found out that the Kicksey-winsey has been started on Arianus. My brethren have asked me to see if there might be some connection.” Xar didn’t see how there could be—or why there should be. He gave the matter no more thought, left the clearing, and entered the jungle. His magic caused the tree branches to lift to allow him passage. The tangled vines slithered apart to give him clearance. He looked back at his people, lined up on the deck, ready to come to his defense if necessary. He indicated with a wave of his hand that he was going on. They were to remain with the ship, guard it, keep it safe.
Xar rounded the bole of a tree and suddenly came face to shinbone with one of the tytans. The creature gave a grunt, began to move. The Lord of the Nexus instantly prepared to defend himself. But the tytan had not sensed him, apparently. It was taking a slow and halting step forward.
Xar, staring up at the creature, saw on its sightless face an expression of happiness.
And then he could distinguish the words of the humming.
Return... return to...
And just when he thought he was going to be able to sort out the rest, the humming stopped. The rainbow light went out. And although Pryan’s four suns continued to shine in the sky, the jungle seemed vastly darker by contrast. The tytan shifted its head. The eyeless face turned toward Xar. The tytan no longer looked happy.
24
“Shut the machine off!” Roland yelled.
“I can’t!” Paithan shouted.
“It’s calling the tytans!”
“Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. Who knows? Besides, look at the tytans. They act like they’re drunk...”
“Drunk, my ass! You just don’t want to turn off your precious machine. You think more of that damn thing than you do of us!”
“Oh, Roland, that’s not true—” Rega began.
“Don’t you ‘Oh, Roland’ me!” he snapped at his sister. “It was you who said that very thing last night!”
“But I didn’t mean it,” she said hastily, with an apologetic smile for Paithan.