Planet X - Michael Jan Friedman [29]
But the parapet beneath him was twisting and cracking. Large stones were coming loose and striking the ground with lethal force. Finally, with a sound of thunder, the wall wavered and caved in on itself—not in one place, but in several at the same time.
Osan fell, too. He dropped out of sight into the clouds of dust that billowed in the yard. For several long seconds, Erid choked and gasped for air. Then, as the clouds settled, he spied the administrator lying on a chunk of the ruined wall.
But was he alive? Erid hoped so. He hadn’t wanted to kill anyone, just win his freedom.
Rahatan himself approached Osan, inspected the administrator’s face. Then he turned to the other transformed, all of whom seemed to have the same question in their eyes.
“He’s hurt, but alive,” he announced. “Not that he deserves to be, after what he did to us.”
Erid breathed a sigh of relief.
“But we’re not done yet,” Rahatan announced, his voice full of urgency. “Before the guards regain consciousness, we’ve got to bind them and place them in what’s left of the cells. And those of us who were stunned must be revived. Quickly, now …”
Erid didn’t hesitate. Though covered with dust and sweat, he started to help with the binding of one of the guards.
Then Denara came over to him. “Rahatan wants us to check on Mollic.”
Erid recalled the name. Paldul had mentioned it the other day. He’s insane, the telepath had noted. And dangerous, too. He can set things aflame just by looking at them, so they don’t dare let him out into the yard.
That was why Rahatan wanted Erid to accompany Denara—because Mollic was too dangerous for one of them. Getting up, he followed Denara in the direction of the cells.
When they got there, he saw that one of the outer walls had crumbled half away—the result of Rahatan’s efforts, no doubt. Stepping over the rubble, Erid and Denara went inside and waded through the dust-ridden air.
There were barred cells on either side of a long corridor. Three of the ones on the left displayed ruined masonry and twisted bars. No doubt, they had held Rahatan, Denara, and Leyden.
The cells on the right, however, seemed perfectly intact, despite the tremors to which Rahatan had subjected the entire fortress. If Mollic was inside one of those those cells, as Denara had indicated, he might well have gone unscathed.
Before Erid could find out one way or the other, he heard a bizarre croaking sound. It repeated itself over and over. Turning to Denara, he noticed her lack of surprise.
“What is that?” he asked.
She grunted. “That’s the man we’re looking for.” Then she pointed to the last cell on the right.
Erid followed her gesture. There was something about the croaking that made his skin crawl. Nonetheless, Rahatan had given him a job, and he meant to see it through.
As he walked the length of the corridor, the croaking grew louder and louder, echoing from wall to wall. Erid took the opportunity to glance to his right and left. All the other barred compartments were empty, he noticed. Only Mollic’s was occupied.
Finally, he came to the cell he was looking for. All at once, the croaking seem to diminish in intensity, signifying Mollic’s awareness of him. Clenching his jaw, Erid peered inside the compartment.
Mollic was in there, all right. But the fellow was naked, his garments shoved into a corner of his cell as if he no longer had any need of them. His skin was covered with razor-thin black stripes, and there were sacs on either side of his neck that inflated and deflated as he breathed.
“Are you all right?” Erid asked him.
For a moment, Mollic just stared at him. Then he smiled slyly and created a flash of fire in the space between them.
Instinctively, Erid flinched. That made the transformed in the cell smile even more. He made another flash, and another.
“Mollic,” he said in a reedy voice. “Mollic Mollic.”
It was the sound Erid had heard before—but now, he knew it wasn’t just a croak. It was the poor man’s name.
“Mollic Mollic,” said the prisoner.
Erid wanted to free him—but in this case, at