Son of Thunder - Murray J. D. Leeder [123]
Civilized vanity, he thought. The shamans of Uthgar often described mirrors as the symbol of civilization's flaws. They represented the tendency to become distracted with oneself, and to become useless and nonproductive. An Uthgardt warrior was trained not to be drawn into excessive contemplation, but Sungar knew that was happening to him now.
His sword fell from his hand, landing on the floor with a thud. Those blue eyes in the mirror-his eyes, but somehow not his eyes-drew him in deeper and deeper.
Suddenly, the mirror smashed in front of him, a thousand shards falling to the carpet. It shook Sungar from his reverie, his moment of weakness shattering. A familiar axe head was embedded in the mirror's frame. Sungar turned to face its wielder, and his heart soared with joy.
"Thluna!" His cry echoed off the walls. He embraced the boy, pulling him close. "My son! Can it be you?"
"Sungar," Thluna wept. "Thank Uthgar you're alive. Thank Uthgar."
Breaking their embrace, Sungar's eyes went to the axe. "Is this…"
"Yes," said Thluna. "It is what you think."
Sungar gripped the axe handle, the head still stuck in the wall.
"We now know that it was once the weapon of Berun himself, in an age past," said Thluna, "and also that Uthgar himself wielded it."
"I know," said Sungar. "How?" asked Thluna.
"King Gundar came to me in a vision. He showed me that you'd be coming to rescue me."
"And we feared the Battlefather had abandoned us!" Thluna declared. "He never forsook us. He was on our side all along."
Sungar pulled the axe from the wall. It felt comfortable in his hands-better than any weapon he had ever wielded. He offered it to Thluna. "This is for the chief of the Thunderbeasts," he said.
Thluna shook his head. "I am not the chief of the Thunderbeasts. I played that role in your absence, wielding this axe with pride, but only because I knew it was in your stead. This axe belongs to you. Besides, I have my own weapon now." He reached to his belt and drew up the heavy oaken club. "This was a gift from Chief Gunther Longtooth of the Tree Ghosts." He paused a moment before adding, "It, too, is a magical weapon."
Sungar breathed heavily, looking at the axe in his hands. It seemed so long ago since he threw it away on that desolate plain in the Fallen Lands. It felt so good to have it in his hands again. It felt like a part of himself long missing, now restored.
Sungar's strength rose in him again. "To war!" he cried, and together once again, the two Uthgardt dashed through the halls.
CHAPTER 22
Sungar and Thluna raced up two flights of stairs to a small anteroom. Another stairway led up to a heavy iron door, guarded by a massive metal statue-the top of its head almost scraped the ceiling. The figure was depicted in a suit of night-black armor, with a skull within a sunburst-the emblem of Cyric-etched into its chest.
"This is where we'll find Geildarr," said Sungar.
"How do you know?" asked Thluna.
Sungar pointed up at the statue's face, chiseled, youthful, and as beautiful as a god, but recognizable as Geildarr all the same.
Thluna allowed himself a slight chuckle. But when he reached for the door, the statue lurched into life. Purple fire lit up within its eyes, and it turned to face Thluna. Thluna ducked fast. The statue's arm swung about and slammed against the door behind him with a loud clang. He rolled backward, barely avoiding the golem as it brought its foot down hard, setting the walls trembling.
Sungar swung the axe, striking its left shoulder with a metallic ring and digging a dent in the iron body. The golem swept out with its iron arms, but Sungar jumped beyond their reach. Thluna struck the automaton with his club, denting the metal, but the golem showed no reaction to the blow.
"Strong and physical," said Sungar, dodging another blow from the golem. "No wonder Geildarr gave