Cenotaph Road Omnibus : Books 1-3 by Robert E. Vardeman

Author:Robert E. Vardeman [E. Vardeman , Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lume Books
Published: 2021-05-04T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

“Krek, don’t!” screamed Lan. The spider bounded away, bouncing once or twice off the face of the cliff, climbing swiftly, leaving Lan and the other humans behind to face their deaths.

The rumbling grew greater, deeper, more powerful. Lan glanced from side to side, estimating his chances. A wall of water coming down from high in the mountains would easily fill this ravine. Merely getting up on the slopes of the arroyo wouldn’t help much if the flash flood proved too large.

“Krek, use your web to save us!”

The spider’s bulk diminished as he scuttled over the top of the cliff. Lan saw his friend shiver and shake in fear. The only thing the arachnid feared more than fire was water. Lan took no time to berate Krek for his cowardice. Much had happened to the spider to shake what little self-confidence he had. He had to move quickly. Saving his own life took precedence.

“Up the slopes. Hurry. Flood!” he cried to the pilgrims. They stared at him, eyes wide, expressions blank. They were so lost in their religious ceremonies that they hadn’t felt the vibrations beneath their feet — or if they had, they thought their earth god answered their supplications.

Lan rushed forward, using the flat of his sword to smack bottoms and chivvy along the pilgrims. They moved — too slowly.

The entire planet shook under Lan’s feet. A quick look up the ravine made him shake as hard as Krek had. A grey-green wall of water forty feet-high smashed its way down, ripping out dead trees, picking up boulders five feet in diameter, promising sudden death. Lan forgot about the pilgrims; his own life hung in the balance. He scrambled up the side of the sandy embankment, fingers clawing frantically.

The first rush of the water ripped him loose from his precarious hold. Flung outward, he smashed painfully into a rock. As agonizing as this was, it saved his life. The powerful current earned him around the rock and up against earth. The pounding of water against his body wedged him further and further into the crevice between rock and dirt. Gasping, sputtering, he fought weakly against the water.

He survived. That thought went over and over in his head. He struggled harder and pulled himself up onto the rock that had saved his life. The man looked downriver at the watery maelstrom boiling around the site of the battle with the scorpion. Neither the carcass nor the boulder that had crushed the life from it remained.

If he’d been swept into the raging river, no amount of swimming ability could have saved him.

He turned, slipped, caught himself, then more carefully sat on the rock and peered upstream. Tiny water droplets exploded into the air, caught the sun, and turned into colorful prisms splitting the sun’s rays. Even in destruction came beauty. The awesome tide abated but little. Lan Martak peered at the banks, seeking some sign of life, some indication that Ehznoll and the others had lived.

Nothing.

“Ehznoll!” he cried out. His words were sucked under by the roaring waters just a few feet away.

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