The Greatest Works of Abraham Merritt. Abraham Merritt

— or bid my people seize her and bear her to the Shining One!”

      Tiny beads of sweat stood out on O’Keefe’s forehead, and I knew he was thinking not of himself, but of Lakla.

      “What do you want with me, Yolara?” he asked hoarsely.

      “Nay,” came the mocking voice. “Not Yolara to you, Larree — call me by those sweet names you taught me — Honey of the Wild Bee-e-s, Net of Hearts —” Again her laughter tinkled.

      “What do you want with me?” his voice was strained, the lips rigid.

      “Ah, you are afraid, Larree.” There was diabolic jubilation in the words. “What should I want but that you return with me? Why else did I creep through the lair of the dragon worm and pass the path of perils but to ask you that? And the choya guards you not well.” Again she laughed. “We came to the cavern’s end and, there were her Akka. And the Akka can see us — as shadows. But it was my desire to surprise you with my coming, Larree,” the voice was silken. “And I feared that they would hasten to be first to bring you that message to delight in your joy. And so, Larree, I loosed the Keth upon them — and gave them peace and rest within the nothingness. And the portal below was open — almost in welcome!”

      Once more the malignant, silver pealing of her laughter.

      “What do you want with me?” There was wrath in his eyes, and plainly he strove for control.

      “Want!” the silver voice hissed, grew calm. “Do not Siya and Siyana grieve that the rite I pledged them is but half done — and do they not desire it finished? And am I not beautiful? More beautiful than your choya?”

      The fiendishness died from the eyes; they grew blue, wondrous; the veil of invisibility slipped down from the neck, the shoulders, half revealing the gleaming breasts. And weird, weird beyond all telling was that exquisite head and bust floating there in air — and beautiful, sinisterly beautiful beyond all telling, too. So even might Lilith, the serpent woman, have shown herself tempting Adam!

      “And perhaps,” she said, “perhaps I want you because I hate you; perhaps because I love you — or perhaps for Lugur or perhaps for the Shining One.”

      “And if I go with you?” He said it quietly.

      “Then shall I spare the handmaiden — and — who knows? — take back my armies that even now gather at the portal and let the Silent Ones rot in peace in their abode — from which they had no power to keep me,” she added venomously.

      “You will swear that, Yolara; swear to go without harming the handmaiden?” he asked eagerly. The little devils danced in her eyes. I wrenched my face from the smothering contact.

      “Don’t trust her, Larry!” I cried — and again the grip choked me.

      “Is that devil in front of you or behind you, old man?” he asked quietly, eyes never leaving the priestess. “If he’s in front I’ll take a chance and wing him — and then you scoot and warn Lakla.”

      But I could not answer; nor, remembering Yolara’s threat, would I, had I been able.

      “Decide quickly!” There was cold threat in her voice.

      The curtains toward which O’Keefe had slowly, step by step, drawn close, opened. They framed the handmaiden! The face of Yolara changed to that gorgon mask that had transformed it once before at sight of the Golden Girl. In her blind rage she forgot to cast the occulting veil. Her hand darted like a snake out of the folds; poising itself with the little silver cone aimed at Lakla.

      But before it was wholly poised, before the priestess could loose its force, the handmaiden was upon her. Swift as the lithe white wolf hound she leaped, and one slender hand gripped Yolara’s throat, the other the wrist that lifted the quivering death; white limbs wrapped about the hidden ones, I saw the golden head bend, the hand that held the Keth swept up with a vicious jerk; saw Lakla’s teeth sink into the wrist — the blood spurt forth and heard the priestess shriek. The cone fell, bounded toward me; with all my strength I wrenched free the hand that held my pistol, thrust it against the pressing breast and fired,

      The clasp upon me relaxed; a red rain stained me; at my feet a little pillar of blood jetted; a hand thrust itself from nothingness, clawed — and was still.

      Now Yolara was down, Lakla meshed in her writhings and fighting like some wild mother whose babes are serpent menaced. Over the two of them, astride, stood the O’Keefe, a pike from one of the high tripods in his hand — thrusting, parrying, beating on every side as with a broadsword against poniard-clutching hands that thrust themselves out of vacancy striving to strike him; stepping here and there, always covering, protecting Lakla with his own body even as a caveman of old who does battle with his mate for their lives.

      The sword-club struck — and on the floor lay the half body of a dwarf, writhing with vanishments and reappearings of legs and arms. Beside him was the shattered tripod from which Larry had wrenched his weapon. I flung myself upon it, dashed it down to break loose one of the remaining supports, struck in midfall one of the unseen even as his dagger darted toward me! The seat splintered, leaving in my clutch a golden bar. I jumped to Larry’s side, guarding his back, whirling it like a staff; felt it crunch once — twice — through unseen bone and muscle.

      At the door was a booming. Into the chamber rushed a dozen of the frog-men. While some guarded the entrances, others leaped straight to us, and forming a circle about us began to strike with talons and spurs at unseen things that screamed and sought to escape. Now here and there about the blue rugs great stains of blood appeared; heads of dwarfs, torn arms and gashed bodies, half occulted, half revealed. And at last the priestess lay silent, vanquished, white body gleaming with that uncanny — fragmentariness — from her torn robes. Then O’Keefe reached down, drew Lakla from her. Shakily, Yolara rose to her feet. The handmaiden, face still blazing with wrath, stepped before her; with difficulty she steadied her voice.

      “Yolara,” she said, “you have defied the Silent Ones, you have desecrated their abode, you came to slay these men who are the guests of the Silent Ones and me, who am their handmaiden — why did you do these things?”

      “I came for him!” gasped the priestess; she pointed to O’Keefe.

      “Why?” asked Lakla.

      “Because he is pledged to me,” replied Yolara, all the devils that were hers in her face. “Because he wooed me! Because he is mine!”

      “That is a lie!” The handmaiden’s voice shook with rage. “It is a lie! But here and now he shall choose, Yolara. And if you he choose, you and he shall go forth from here unmolested — for Yolara, it is his happiness that I most desire, and if you are that happiness — you shall go together. And now, Larry, choose!”

      Swiftly she stepped beside the priestess; swiftly wrenched the last shreds of the hiding robes from her.

      There they stood — Yolara with but the filmiest net of gauze about her wonderful body; gleaming flesh shining through it; serpent woman —-and wonderful, too, beyond the dreams even of Phidias — and hell-fire glowing from the purple eyes.

      And Lakla, like a girl of the Vikings, like one of those warrior maids who stood and fought for dun and babes at the side of those old heroes of Larry’s own green isle; translucent ivory lambent through the rents of her torn draperies, and in the wide, golden eyes flaming wrath, indeed — not the diabolic flames of the priestess but the righteous wrath of some soul that looking out of paradise sees vile wrong in the doing.

      “Lakla,” the O’Keefe’s voice was subdued, hurt, “there IS no choice. I love you and only you — and have from the moment I saw you. It’s not easy — this. God, Goodwin, I feel like an utter cad,” he flashed at me. “There is no choice, Lakla,” he ended, eyes steady upon hers.

      The priestess’s face grew deadlier still.

      “What will you do with me?” she asked.

      “Keep