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wall and took up positions on either side of him, Gilla in
{tout.
"We'll stay close," Gilla said. "Let's move along."
Somehow the presence of his companions on either side steadied Lugh.
When they went on, he was able to control the feeling of vertigo and
stay with them. As soon as they had crossed the gallery and moved from
it into the enclosed hallway, the feeling disappeared.
In the time it took them to reach the hallway, however, the two men
they had followed had disappeared as well. The hallway was empty, the
watts blank. But not far ahead it opened into a room. Toward it the
trio made their way carefully, cautiously, silently,
"I'm getting good at this, I am!" Gilla said brightly.
"Shhh!" Lugh warned, fearful of being overheard.
He need not have worried. The room ahead was empty. It was another of
those stark, coldly lit rooms, its only furnishings a row of simple
benches of grey metal lining one wall. Three doors were in the opposite
wall. Small ones were in each corner. An immense double door was in the
center.
Lugh approached the central ones and bent close to them, listening
intently. From beyond came a faint rumble of voices, one much louder
than the rest, but none understandable.
He took one of the door handles but then released it. There was no way
to know what waited beyond. His fists clenched in frustration. He
wanted to punch the shining metal. He couldn't have come so far, gotten
so close, only to be thwarted on the threshold of his goal!
A sharp hiss brought him around. Aine was standing at one of the
smaller doors, She had it open.
He and Gilla joined her. Beyond the door was visible a flight of stairs
leading up.
"I've been doing some exploring this time," she told them with a
triumphant air. "I think this leads into the room beyond. I didn't go
up all the way, but I could see bright light, and I heard voices quite
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clearly."
"Aine! Good work!" Lugh threw his arms about her in a joyous hug. She
put up very little resistance.
"No one hugged me when I found a way from the cold place," Gilla
complained, assuming a hurt tone.
"Ill do it later," Lugh promised. "But, quickly nowl Let's try to find
out what's happening in there!"
i
122
THE RIDERS OF THE SIDHE
THE MISSION
123
They all but crawled up the stairway. The way was gloomy thrown into
shadows by the blaze of light above.
The voices were growing in volume as they went. Lugh felt his
excitement surging higher at each step. All fears were cast aside now
in the expectation of final discovery.
At the top, they found themselves on a wide balcony Beyond its edge the
room dropped away into a large space filled with a brilliant, blue-
white light.
Lugh and his comrades moved gingerly to the silver rail along the edge.
He peered over, wondering how far this drop was going to be. He found
with relief that it was only to a level right below.
Still, it was a large room he looked into, a triangle that clearly took
up a corner of the tower, for both the outer walls the balcony faced
were made of glass. And Lugh realized that the blue-white light was
that of the sky beyond.
From their height, the whole sea seemed to stretch out before him, and
such a breathtaking sight might have claimed more of his attention if
he hadn't been so intent on the room itself. For in the center of the
floor below him stood the two men they had followed. They faced a
raised platform filling the outer corner where the glass walls met. And
upon that platform, something massive sat.
To eyes unaccustomed to the glare, it was at first little more than a
dark mass, featureless, its shape hard to define. But as Lugh's eyes
adjusted, he realized that what he looked at was a monstrous being!
XVI
BALOR OF THE EVIL EYE
AGAIN LUCH SAW a hulking black form come toward him out of a white
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glow, saw it raise a massive arm threateningly.
But that was an image from his dream, and this was real. Another part
of a childhood's nighttime terror had come to life.
It seemed to be a giant, seated on a heavy metal throne. Its haptf was
a P111"0^ ^ a mans. with two arms, two legs, hands, feet, a head, but
all in massive proportion. Each leg was thicker than a man, and the
head was like a huge, squat cauldron set directly upon the great width
of squared shoulders. Each hand looked fully capable of squeezing a man
in
The body seemed fully enclosed by some kind of armor with the same
black hue as the hulls of the metal ships. Even me great head was
covered by a helmet. Thus, the being had no visible features, save one,
and that one was the most terrible aspect of its appearance. For in the
center of what ought to have been the face there was only a single eye.
The metal lid that covered it was down, nearly closing the eye. But
through that narrow slit, Lugh could see a ruby-colored light that had
to be of incredible intensity.
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