Cursed Be the City Henry Kuttner

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.Cursed be the City by Henry KuttnerIllustrations by Virgil FinlayAn A\NN/A Preservation Edition.NotesThis is the tale they tell, O King: that ere the royal banners were lifted upon the tall towers of Chaldean Ur, before the Winged Pharaohs reigned in secret Aegyptus, there were mighty empires far to the east.There in that vast desert known as the Cradle of Mankind—aye, even in the heart of the measureless Gobi—great wars were fought and high palaces thrust their minarets up to the purple Asian sky.But this, O King, was long ago, beyond the memory of the oldest sage; the splendor of Imperial Gobi lives now only in the dreams of minstrels and poets.…The Tale of Sakhmet the Damned.CHAPTER IThe Gates of WarIN THE gray light of the false dawn the prophet had climbed to the outer wall of Sardopolis, his beard streaming in the chill wind.Before him, stretching across the broad plain, were the gay tents and pavilions of the besieging army, emblazoned with the scarlet symbol of the wyvern, the winged dragon beneath which King Cyaxares of the north waged his wars.Already soldiers were grouped about the catapults and scaling-towers, and a knot of them gathered beneath the wall where the prophet stood.Mocking, rough taunts were voices, but for a time the white-bearded oldster paid no heed to the gibes.His sunken eyes, beneath their snowy penthouse brows, dwelt on the far distance, where a forest swept up into the mountain slopes and faded into blue haze.His voice came, thin piercing.“Wo, wo unto Sardopolis! Fallen is Jewel of Gobi, fallen and lost forever, and all its glory gone! Desecration shall come to the altars, and the streets shall run red with blood.I see death for the king and shame for his people…”For a time the soldiers beneath the wall had been silent, but now, spears lifted, they interrupted with a torrent of half-amused mockery.A bearded giant roared:“Come down to us, old goat! We’ll welcome you indeed!”THE prophet’s eyes dropped, and the shouting of the soldiers faded into stillness.Very softly the ancient spoke, yet each word was clear and distinct as a sword-blade.“Ye shall ride through the streets of the city in triumph.And your king shall mount the silver throne.Yet from the forest shall come your doom; an old doom shall come down upon you, and none shall escape.He shall return—He—the mighty one who dwelt here once…”The prophet lifted his arms, staring straight into the red eye of the rising sun.“Evohé! Evohé!”Then he stepped forward.Two steps and plunged.Straight down, his beard and robe streaming up, till the upthrust spears caught him, and he died.And that day the gates of Sardopolis were burst in by giant battering-rams, and like an unleashed flood the men of Cyaxares poured into the city, wolves who slew and plundered and tortured mercilessly.Terror walked that day, and a haze of battle hung upon the roofs.The defenders were hunted down and slaughtered in the streets without mercy.Women were outraged, their children impaled, and the glory of Sardopolis faded in a smoke of shame and horror.The last glow of the setting sun touched the scarlet wyvern of Cyaxares floating from the tallest tower of the king’s palace.Flambeaux were lighted in their sockets, till the great hall blazed with a red fire, reflected from the silver throne where the invader sat.His black beard was all bespattered with blood and grime, and slaves groomed him as he sat among his men, gnawing on a mutton-bone.Yet, despite the man’s gashed and broken armor and the filth that besmeared him, there was something unmistakably regal about his bearing.A king’s son was Cyaxares, the last of a line that had sprung from the dawn ages of Gobi when the feudal barons had reigned.But his face was a tragic ruin.Strength and power and nobility had once dwelt there, and traces of them still could be seen, as though in muddy water, through the mask of cruelty and vice that lay heavy upon Cyaxares.His gray eyes held a cold and passionless stare that vanished only in the crimson blaze of battle, and now those deadly eyes dwelt on the bound form of the conquered king of Sardopolis, Chalem.In contrast with the huge figure of Cyaxares Chalem seemed slight; yet, despite his wounds, he stood stiffly upright, no trace of expression on his pale face.A strange contrast! The marbled, tapestried throne-room of the palace was more suitable to gay pageantry than this grim scene.The only man who did not seem incongruously out of place stood beside the throne, a slim, dark youth, clad in silks and velvets that had apparently not been marred by the battle.This was Necho, the king’s confidant, and, some said, his familiar demon.Whence he had come no one knew but of his evil power over Cyaxares there was no doubt.A little smile grew on the youth’s handsome face.Smoothing his curled dark hair, he leaned close and whispered to the king.The latter nodded, waved away a maiden who was oiling his beard, and said shortly:“Your power is broken, Chalem.Yet are we merciful.Render homage, and you may have your life.”For answer Chalem spat upon the marble flags at his feet.A curious gleam came into Cyaxares’ eyes.Half inaudibly he murmured, “A brave man.Too brave to die…”Some impulse seemed to pull his head around until he met Necho’s gaze.A message passed in that silent staring.For Cyaxares took from his side a long, bloodstained sword; he rose, stepped down from his dais—and swung the brand.CHALEM made no move to evade the blow.The steel cut through bone and brain.As the dead man fell, Cyaxares stood looking down without a trace of expression.He wrenched his sword free.“Fling this carrion to the vultures,” he commanded.From the group of prisoners near by came an angry oath.The king turned to face the man who had dared to speak.He gestured [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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