The Keys to Paradise by Robert E Vardeman

Author:Robert E Vardeman [Vardeman, Robert E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, sci fi, sf, Fantasy
ISBN: 0450016609
Publisher: NEW ENGLISH LIBRARY
Published: 1986-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Nine

Giles stared, caught up in the agony of indecision. To plunge into that maelstrom of cutting sand meant his death, too, but to leave Petia? He didn’t think she could have survived.

The indecision vanished when he heard the djinn’s mocking laugh. Without hesitation, Giles fought his way into the leaping, cutting pillar of dust, searching for Petia. His lips thinned to a line; he dared not let the sand fill his mouth and choke him. Blindly, he flailed about seeking her. The flesh dissolved from his hands, his face. Red agony burned in his veins now. The bone goggles he wore blinded him in the darkness of the djinn’s mischief and did little to hold back the dust.

He fought against the buffeting winds – and he found her. Giles almost fell over the writhing woman but managed to keep his balance. He grabbed Petia’s shoulders and assisted her to her feet. When she was standing, he put one arm around her waist and drew his sword, awkwardly thumbing the inscription and feeling the blaze of energy. The enemy might be only a mass of swirling dust, but Giles’ anger knew no bounds. If the power of the sword allowed them to fight their way out, he’d use it!

Barely had he levelled the sword when a corridor through the shroud of brown opened before them. Giles held the sword before him and half carried Petia to the perimeter of the dust storm. As they cleared the edge of the whirlwind and stumbled into the hot desert sun, Giles swung his blade mightily at the axis of the vortex. He knew that it was an empty gesture, but his anger at the djinn knew no limits.

Giles heard a howl from the miniature tornado’s core. The whirling dust stilled and fell to the desert floor, revealing an immense djinn in human guise who made an obscene gesture and disappeared.

Giles sheathing his sword and assisted Petia, lowering her to the ground to examine the scratches she had suffered.

‘You’re not to bad,’ he said. ‘No, don’t try to talk.’ He wiped away a gooey mixture of spittle and sand from her lips. ‘You must rest now.’ She tried to speak again, but he silenced her, knowing what she tried to ask. ‘Anji is fine. Now sleep.’

This time, Petia did relax. Whether she slept or not, Giles didn’t know, but she was safe. That was all that mattered.

Keja dropped down beside Giles, face strained. ‘The djinn is gone. I tried to reach you but the dust…’

‘We’ll be all right,’ Giles said. Whether Keja had tried to reach him was a moot point. He laughed, somewhat harshly. ‘We survive a sea of moving sand and yet a prankster spirit almost kills us.’

‘I’ll stand guard,’ Keja declared, hand on sword.

‘Do as you wish. I just want to rest.’ Giles curled up in a shady spot, not noticing the hard rocks beneath him. As tired as he was, he might have been lying on a bed of flower petals. He came groggily awake when he heard Anji cry out.

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