Elric to Rescue Tanelorn - Michael Moorcock [75]
She was fair, with green-blue eyes and a light complexion. Her long robe was of a similar colour to her eyes. She was, in a secret sort of way, very beautiful and, like all the denizens of Kaneloon he’d encountered, a trifle familiar.
“You recognize Kaneloon?” she asked.
He dismissed her question. “Enough of this—take me to the masters of this place!”
“There is none but me, Myshella the Dark Lady—and I am the mistress.”
He was disappointed. “Was it just to meet you that I came through such perils?”
“It was—and greater perils even than you think, Earl Aubec. Those were but the monsters of your own imagination!”
“Taunt me not, lady.”
She laughed. “I speak in good faith. The castle creates its defenses out of your own mind. It is a rare man who can face and defeat his own imagination. Such a one has not found me here for two hundred years. All since have perished by fear—until now.”
She smiled at him. It was a warm smile.
“And what is the prize for so great a feat?” he said gruffly.
She laughed again and gestured towards the window which looked out upon the edge of the world and Chaos beyond. “Out there nothing exists as yet. If you venture into it, you will be confronted again by creatures of your hidden fancy, for there is nothing else to behold.”
She gazed at him admiringly and he coughed in his embarrassment. “Once in a while,” she said, “there comes a man to Kaneloon who can withstand such an ordeal. Then may the frontiers of the world be extended, for when a man stands against Chaos it must recede and new lands spring into being!”
“So that is the fate you have in mind for me, sorceress!”
She glanced at him almost demurely. Her beauty seemed to increase as he looked at her. He clutched at the hilt of his sword, gripping it tight as she moved gracefully towards him and touched him, as if by accident. “There is a reward for your courage.” She looked into his eyes and said no more of the reward, for it was clear what she offered. “And after—do my bidding and go against Chaos.”
“Lady, know you not that ritual demands of Klant’s Champion that he be the queen’s faithful consort? I would not betray my word and trust!” He gave a hollow laugh. “I came here to remove a menace to my queen’s kingdom—not to be your lover and lackey!”
“There is no menace here.”
“That seems true…”
She stepped back as if appraising him anew. For her this was unprecedented—never before had her offer been refused. She rather liked this solid man who also combined courage and imagination in his character. It was incredible, she thought, how in a few centuries such traditions could grow up—traditions which could bind a man to a woman he probably did not even love. She looked at him as he stood there, his body rigid, his manner nervous.
“Forget Klant,” she said, “think of the power you might have—the power of true creation!”
“Lady, I claim this castle for Klant. That is what I came to do and that is what I do now. If I leave here alive, I shall be judged the conqueror and you must comply.”
She hardly heard him. She was thinking of various plans to convince him that her cause was superior to his. Perhaps she could still seduce him? Or use some drug to bewitch him? No, he was too strong for either; she must think of some other stratagem.
She felt her breasts heaving involuntarily as she looked at him. She would have preferred to have seduced him. It had always been as much her reward as that of the heroes who had earlier won over the dangers of Kaneloon. And then, she thought, she knew what to say.
“Think, Earl Aubec,” she whispered. “Think—new lands for your queen’s empire!”
He frowned.
“Why not extend the empire’s boundaries further?” she continued. “Why not make new territories?”
She watched him anxiously as he took off his helm and scratched his heavy, bald head. “You have made a point at last,” he said dubiously.
“Think of the honours you would receive in