Elric in the Dream Realms - Michael Moorcock [56]
“Oh, quite possibly, Prince Elric. For, see, there’s a hellish sort of creature stooping on your friend at this moment and us without a weapon between us!”
The three-headed bird must have flown at such a great height it had not been seen to approach, but now it was dropping at terrifying speed from above and Oone, alerted by Elric’s cry of warning, began to run, perhaps hoping to divert it in its descent upon her. It was like a gigantic crow, with two of its heads tucked deep into its neck, while the other stretched out to help its downward flight, its wings spread behind it, its claws extended, ready to seize the woman.
Elric began to run forward, screaming at the thing. He, too, hoped that this activity would disturb the creature enough and make it lose its momentum.
With a terrible cawing which seemed to fill the entire heavens, the monster slowed its descent a trifle in order to make a more accurate strike on the woman.
It was then that Jaspar Colinadous cried from behind Elric.
“Jack Three Beaks, thou naughty bird!”
The beast wavered in the air, turning all heads towards the turbaned figure who strode decisively towards it across the sand, his cat alert on his arm.
“What’s this, Jack? I thought you were forbidden living meat!” Jaspar Colinadous’s voice was contemptuous, familiar. Whiskers growled and gibbered at the thing, though it was many times larger than the little cat.
With a croak of defiance the bird flopped onto the sand and began to run at some considerable speed towards Oone, who had stopped to witness this bizarre event. Now she took to her heels again, the three-headed crow in pursuit.
“Jack! Jack! Remember the punishment.”
The bird’s cry was almost mocking. Elric began to stumble through the desert in its track, hoping to find a means of saving the dreamthief.
It was then that he felt something cut through the air above his head, fanning him with unexpected coolness, and a dark shape sped in pursuit of the thing Jaspar Colinadous had called Jack Three Beaks.
It was the black and white cat. The beast flung his little body at the bird’s central neck and sank all four sets of claws into the feathers. With a shrill scream the gigantic three-headed crow whirled round, its other heads trying to peck at the tenacious cat and just failing to reach it.
To Elric’s astonishment the cat seemed to swell larger and larger as if feeding on the lifestuff of the crow, while the crow appeared to grow smaller.
“Bad Jack Three Beaks! Wicked Jack!” The almost ridiculous figure of Jaspar Colinadous strutted up to the thing now, wagging a finger at which beaks snapped but dared not bite. “You were warned. And now you must perish. How came you here at all? You followed me, I suppose, when I left my palace.” He scratched his head. “Not that I recall leaving the palace. Ah, well …”
Jack Three Beaks cawed again, glaring with mad, frightened eyes in the direction of his original prey. Oone was approaching again.
“This creature is your pet, Master Jaspar?”
“Certainly not, madam. It is my enemy. He knew he’d had his last warning. But I think he did not expect to find me here and believed he could attack living prey with impunity. Not so, Jack, eh?”
The answering croak was almost pathetic now. The little black and white cat resembled nothing so much as a feeding vampire bat as it sucked and sucked of the monster’s lifestuff.
Oone watched in horror as gradually the crow shrank to a tiny, wizened thing and Whiskers at last sat back, huge and round, and began to clean himself, purring with considerable pleasure. Clearly pleased with his pet, Jaspar Colinadous reached up to pat his head. “Good lad, Whiskers. Now poor Jack’s not even gravy for an old man’s bread.” He smiled proudly at his two new friends. “This cat has saved my life on many an occasion.”
“How had you the name of that monster?” Oone wished to know. Her lovely features were flushed and she was out of breath. Elric was reminded suddenly of Cymoril, though he could not exactly identify the similarity.
“Why, it was Jack frightened