BLACK THUNDER

grotesque and unnatural beast. yet something about the beast, face seemed similar, in its alluring femininity, to the
elf. he pushed his speculation aside, focusing instead on the rigors of the climb. the warriors straggled across a swampy
valley bottom, a flat depression that marked another barrier in their long march up the pass. from here he could look
before him into the black dome of the star-speckled sky and faintly see the outline of the narrow pass above. it looked
impossibly remote and distant, yet somewhat closer than the last time he had seen it most of the itza people should
be passing through it even now. you have made us a good plan, said zochimaloc, appearing out of the darkness to walk
softly beside gultec. the high route must be the safest. the jaguar knight sighed. i wish it were true. but i fear no place
is safe from the kind of enemy that pursues us. you must know that your attack was successful, countered the old man,
stepping nimbly over a low vine. they have fallen behind us now, and this gives us time to escape. time? can it be enough
time? gultec wondered. is there enough time in the world? zochimaloc chuckled, a patronizing, grandfatherly sound that
somehow made gultec feel more confident there is time, now, for the old people, the children and the mothers ° go
through the pass and over the mountains. perhaps there is time, too, to have faith. the warrior looked up at the pass,
still outlined against the stars. perhaps zochimaloc was right. indeed, many of the itza must have already reached the
far side of the mountains. by morning, the warriors would reach the summit of the poss. once there, they would have to
turn and face the inevitably pursuing enemy. there they would make their stand. night of the cat-god from the
chronicles of coton: in wander at the mysterious ways of the one true god. oround me the dwarves pace and grunt in
agitation over our missing companions. lotil, too, fears for his daughter. he tries to work, but his fingers cannot perform
their pluma-weaving. instead, they tremble in a way i have never seen before. and in truth, the disappearance of
halloran and erixitl is sudden and mysterious. yet i find it difficult to express fear for them. there is too much of destiny
about the woman for her to suffer a random mishap in the jungles, this short of our goal. she may not triumph, j know,
but her ultimate resolution will be countered at twin visages. of this, i am certain. wherever she has gone, it is good to
know that she has halloran’s strength with her. whatever her lot on this dark and impenetrable night, i feel certain
that it has a purpose in the pursuit of our goal. the dwarves will seek them in the morning, and i will wish them well.
perhaps my optimism is but the senile dodderings of an old man. my companions may be correct in their assessment of
danger. in any event, we must wait for the morning to know. halloran placed one arm oround erixitl’s shoulders and
moved himself between her and the source of the rumbling growl. he felt very conscious of the baby within her and
terribly vulnerable in his own unarmed state. he was determined to die before allowing harm to reach erix. the couple
stared across the darkened pit and slowly their eyes adjusted to the dim light. the stoutly barred door remained
closed, but again they saw shadowy movement beyond it. then that resonant growl rolled through the pit again. it’s
opening! erix gasped. they saw the barred door rise slowly, and then the black shape beyond it crept forward with an
oily smooth motion. ft crept toward them, slowly moving away from the shadows around the wall of the pit. as it
reached the center of the enclosure, they saw its sleek black pelt, its ears laid back along a broad, flot skull. a black
jaguar! hal hissed, shocked at the horribly menacing visage of the great cat. its yellow eyes burned through the
darkness like glowing spots of hellfire, while its jaws gaped open just enough to reveal long, wickedly curved fangs. the
animal’s shoulders equaled hal’s waist in height, even as the creature crouched. it stared unblinking, the dark tail flicking
hack and forth in excitement its too huge. it can't be a jaguar! erix objected, though she couldn’t imagine what else
menaced them in this night-mare pit. there are other great cats in the world tigers, lions, even more horrible things like
displocer beasts, hal whispered, desperately seeking a plan of action maybe it’s something like that. i am the lord of
the jaguars. for a moment, the voice shocked them into stillness. it flowed with oily smoothness, yet it contained traces
of the deep growl that had already raised their hackles in fear. the great cat blinked, and halloran swore those jaws
twisted