Bunduki 3: Sacrifice for the Quagga God by J.T. Edson

Author:J.T. Edson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: james allenvale bunduki gunn, philip jose farmer, zillikian, tarzan, jt edson, bunduki, dawn drummondclayton, lord greystoke, new world fantasy
Publisher: Piccadilly
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine – I Stand With Empty Hands

Despite having been in the forefront of his party, Gromart had survived the attack. His wife and several others who were standing close by had been killed outright, but the blast created by the exploding Terrifiers’ had only flung him to the ground with considerable force. Before he had lost consciousness, he had seen the remainder of his adherents being slaughtered by more of the High Priest’s men who must have approached unnoticed while he was talking with Mador.

Dawn was just breaking when the Administrator came to his senses and found he was the only living human being by the lake. The attackers had gone, taking the cage-carts with them. Nor had he recovered any too soon. The first of the scavengers were just putting in an appearance. Although his legs would not function and he had but a fraction of his normal strength, he managed to drag himself to a rock some distance from the bodies. Bracing himself in a sitting posture, he drew his sword. Wracked with pain, fighting off the waves of dizziness which threatened to engulf him, he contrived to drive away such of the hyenas, vultures or marabou storks that approached him. Fortunately, with so much food readily available, none of them made a determined attempt to press home an attack. He knew that it was only a matter of time before one did so.

The time came. Having just arrived, a massive spotted hyena was darting towards Gromart. He tried and failed to lift the sword. Nor could he raise his voice in a bellow which might scare the beast away. He was too parched with thirst to do more than croak. Frustrated rage filled him. He wanted to stay alive and avenge the murder of his wife.

Even as Gromart decided all was lost, there was a hissing sound followed by a thud. Instantly, the hyena let out a howl of pain. Something had flashed through the air, sinking into it just behind the shoulder. Arching its body, it snapped at the fletching of an arrow which had penetrated so deeply that nothing else protruded at the point of entry. Staggering a few steps, the stricken beast collapsed.

Hearing the drumming of hooves and feminine yells, Gromart’s relief at being saved was tempered by the knowledge that no Mun-Gatah ever used a bow. He could not imagine why a member of another race would come to his aid. Turning his head, he saw two Amazons charging at and scattering the scavengers. As neither was equipped for archery, he looked for his savior and found him to be of considerable interest.

The killer of the hyena was not, as Gromart would have expected, another female warrior. Nor, despite being mounted on a quagga was the white-haired young giant a Mun-Gatah. The strange-looking bow in his left hand offered a solution to his nationality. Attached to it was a quiver of arrows similar to one of the pair taken from Dawn of the Apes.

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