Nelson S. Bond

“ Grensu's fearful bleat ended in a choked wail of agony ... something snapped like a forest twig....
Grensu lay still.
Afterward, one of the Wild Ones came to Daiv where he stood with Meg beside a god-box that now lay quiescent on the ground.
"They call for the Priestess, Master," he grinned. "The Old One lies dying. Will you bring the lovely one to the hoam?"
Daiv said, "I have told you, Wilm, that it is not necessary to call me 'Master.' I am a Man, like yourself; we are all Men, proud and noble. Do not forget." To Meg he said, "You remember Wilm; don't you, Golden One?" ”

“ Meg made a happy-sound deep in her throat; slipped from Nessa's back and covered Daiv's lips with her hands.
"There is nothing to fear, Daiv. The Men of my Clan—pah!—they are not like you. They are weak things, meant only for breeding. The Mother will know, the moment she sees you, that you are one like the Gods. She too made the pilgrimage. She will rejoice and be glad. And—" Meg moved closer into the circle of his arms. "She will be gladder still when she sees our happiness." ”

“ What is the law? Death for her, as well as for this hairless Man-thing? Or, having taken herself a Man, must she become a breeding-mother?"
But the Mother stayed her. There was a faraway look in her eyes; Meg knew that the aged leader of the Clan was remembering a pilgrimage made many, many years ago to the Place of the Gods. The Mother, Meg knew, had once looked upon the majestic figures of Jarg, Ibrim, Taamuz and Tedhi on their great, rocky promontory at Mount Rushmore and had seen, as Meg had seen, that the Gods were, in truth, Men like Daiv. ”

“ Meg's cheeks were hot with sorrow for Daiv as the Warrior Chieftain scorned him with her eyes.
"It is a Man-thing after all!" she spat. "A hairless Wild One with the cowardly instincts of all Men. Fool! Know you not the dying one babbled foolishness in her delirium? Sticks that dwarf Warriors! Walls without bricks!"
Daiv gritted, "I have no time for argument, Warrior." To the Mother he cried beseechingly, "There is little love lost between me and thy Clan, O Mother. But because you are Meg's sisters, I would see you live. ”

“ Daiv said humbly, yet at the same time pridefully, "So Meg believed, O Mother, until I taught her differently—and until she learned the Great Secret at the feet of the Gods. I am Daiv, known as 'He-who-would-learn'; I come from the place of the Escape. My people live by the Laws of the Ancient Ones. In our land Man and Woman are equal; we give and take love in the sacred customs of marriage." ”

“ The dying Warrior's leg was firm and round from hip to thigh; ten inches above the knee it ended abruptly in a scoriated stump from which depended an ugly, wartlike excrescence which—Meg saw with sickening horror—was the perfectly formed simulacrum of a human limb.
Daiv was muttering savagely, "Speak on, Warrior!"
"They come," persisted Vivyun, "to capture Women. Like the Wild Ones, they die out for lack of Mates. Out of the far southland they come, from a land called Mayco. They bear other strange weapons. A stick that shoots lights of insanity ... a wall they build of invisible bricks...." ”

“ Let these fools die; let them become stiffened twigs of humans as the branches we saw in the forest were stiffened and dwarfed trees! I will take you to safety—"
Meg took a step forward. And then—one of the Women laughed. A sneering laugh. Meg's cheeks flamed, and her outstretched hand dropped to her side. She shook her head.
"No, Daiv." Sadly. "I had not dreamed you were—"
"A coward?" Daiv supplied the word wrathfully. "I am a coward to wisely flee from the magic of men who know the secrets of the Ancient Ones? By the Gods, Golden One, it is you who have lost your senses. ”

“ Here a cherry-flame, wielded by a retreating dwarf in tarnished armor, winked its ruddy eye amongst Men who cried out, steamed, and fell. There a dozen Wild Ones hurled themselves upon a tiny knot of Japcans, literally ripped the yellow men into bloody shreds, and raced on—with one of the Wild Ones now brandishing a lethal ray-stick! ”

“ Many things had Meg seen; curiosities that would thrill the Women of her Clan to startled, "Aiees!" of astonishment when she told of them. She had seen the long, straight roads built by the Ancient Ones; their smooth creet now cracked and worn but still easier to travel than the tortuous woodland paths. She had seen the remnants of a gigantic hoam called Sinnaty, where once had lived a great folk called "the Reds." She and Daiv had lingered for three days with the tribeswomen of Loovil (whose Mother knew the Mother of Meg's Clan, and had sent greetings and gifts of ripe, fragrant bacca) ”

“ He joined at a little distance a group of invaders huddled over a strange, shining box. From this emanated fine bars of soft god-metal. There was brief conversation between Grensu and the workers, then one of the yellow dwarfs nodded and pressed down a standing lever.
There rose a startled cry from the captive Jinnia tribeswomen. For a crackling wave of thunder rolled about the camp; arcing out from the two arms of the magic box came an invisible something that sent dust flying as it scratched a mysterious circle about the entire village. ”

“ Her death shall be a slow one; one in which, shrieking for mercy, she shall have time to remember this moment!"
He stood quivering, shaken, searching the dregs of his mind for a fitting torment. Meg, waiting, saw from the corner of her eye a faint movement to her right. The Warrior Chieftain, Lora, had stolen close to one of the stunted invaders; her hand was even now reaching for his sword. Meg knew the meaning of that trial. Lora well knew she had no chance to fight or escape; her sole purpose was to clutch that sword and plunge it through Meg's heart to spare the priestess worse horrors. ”

“ She was halfway across the open walk-avenue of the village before the first startled cry of warning seared an invader's throat. She was flaming down upon the god-box, the narrow gateway of the magic wall, by the time that shout had spun its guardians' heads about. ”

“ Lora cried, "Walls without bricks!" and Meg looked at the guard incredulously.
"What marvel is this, ochre toad?" she asked. "I see no beam, no ray, yet a bird is slain."
Leekno growled, "Mind your tongue, Woman!" but he grinned. "The bird must have been right above the circle when Togi switched on the force-field."
"Force-field?" repeated Meg dazedly. She was not sure, now, but that the Clan had erred in opposing these invaders. Surely men—howsoever ugly and miscolored—who possessed magics like this must be Gods in themselves. It might be wise to submit to them without further ado. ”

“ The Mother's voice grew weaker, and a hurt-devil pierced Meg's heart. "There will be peace and amity between Women and the Wild Ones. I see a day—a day in the future to come—when mankind may again attain to the heights of the Ancient Ones. In that day the children of the Ancient Ones may return from the evening star to find a new world happier than that from which they fled—"
Daiv whispered to Meg, "Her holiness is one with the Gods. ”

“ Lora, Chieftain of the Warriors, broke the spell that bound them all with a thunderous cry.
"Invaders? No invaders can take the village of the Jinnia tribe! To arms, Warriors! To your posts. Let these yellow dwarfs attack us, and—" She laughed evilly.
Daiv sprang to his feet; his voice a peremptory challenge. "Hold, Warrior! Did you not hear what Vivyun said? These invaders have magic weapons; sticks that spit insanity and crumpling death. It is best we should flee to the hills. ”

“ Even then there were in Mayco many of our race, children of the Sun.
"But when mankind destroyed itself and the Ancient Ones died out, battling first each other, then between their sexes, we stayed aloof; we waited and planned and bred. Our Japni blood mixed well with that of the Maycans, giving rise to the mighty stock we now represent—the Japcans." Grensu glanced down his own obese frame pridefully. "Now, not only are we the possessors of the secrets of the Ancient Ones' war-weapons, but we are become perfect in body and brain." ”

“ Meg was strangely stirred by it. Not so the angular Lora, who sniffed aloud.
"The Mother's word is the Law, O hairy thing that smells." Her voice was derisive. "What Woman of our Clan so excites your fancy? One of those, I suppose?" She nodded toward a young and buxom breeding-mother, white-fleshed and not yet plump from over-bearing, who strolled down the walk-avenue with hips swaying enticingly.
But Wilm shook his head.
"That?" he exclaimed. "Pah! What Man would want such a wobbly thing? I like a strong Woman; a Woman with arms like a weathered oak. A fighting Woman. ”

“ Listen, my children—Meg was right. In her pilgrimage she learned, as did I many winters ago, that the Gods were Men. Men like Daiv. She rebelled against the Law that said a Priestess might not mate—but she was right in her rebellion.
"List, now, for with the all-seeing eyes of one on the threshold of death I tell you truth. It is right that Women should mate with Men. There should be no Workers, no Warriors, no breeding-mothers. Our Clan should own no stud-males, pale chattels like our kine and horses. ”

“ Still another place a handful of Mayco invaders fought vainly to fight a diverse foe—the Women before them and the Wild Ones who charged upon their flank. Up to now the Japcans had been content to subdue this Jinnia uprising with the green, stupefying ray; now they broke out their red weapon. Meg curdled with agony to see Women die beneath that cherry-flame. ”

“ Grensu, warfare forgotten now, was anticipating a pleasant interlude. "You will not find me a bad companion," he boasted. "I am a mighty leader and a strong man, my wild doe—"
Doe! Suddenly it was all clear in Meg's mind. The Japcans had, upon seizing the village, immediately taken into custody the few horses owned by the Jinnia Clanswomen. But there was Nessa! Surely no one could suspect that soft-eyed creature of being anything but a camp pet; of being a steed broken to the rein and spur.... ”

“ No, her Gods were the true Gods....
"You don't know what a force-field is, eh, Woman? Well, I suppose not. Come along, then; I'll show you. It will teach you that you can't escape."
Leekno led the way to the spot where armed guards huddled ever the god-box. Grensu had left; with his engineers he had gone off to some privy conference. Beside the scratched soil which marked the barrier, Leekno paused. His grin was mocking deviltry.
"I think, Woman," he said, "I shall let you escape. Flee now, while no one is looking."
Meg's heart leaped in her breast as a startled fawn at the voice of a hunter. ”

“ And once more death stalked amongst the attackers, choosing his victims with fingers of cherry-flame....
Lora's grasp shook the dread from Meg's eyes.
"You are the swiftest among us, priestess," cried the Warrior Chieftain. "You must reach the god-box."
Then Meg saw that Lora had not been inactive. She had gathered about her all those of the Clan who were not disabled. A motley crew they were. Hard-lipped Warriors, coarse-skinned Workers. There were even—amazingly—three breeding-mothers in that little band! ”

“ Lora, her harsh-lined face sagging with confusion, cried, "But, Mother—the Wild Ones!"
"Never again must we prey upon the Wild Ones. Do you not see that the Gods avenged our doing so when they permitted Meg to be captured in one of the pits we dug? ”

“ He was but a Man, Meg; a Man, weak and cowardly. With the first breath of fighting he turned and fled the camp. Into the hills beyond."
The Mother intervened, "Perhaps it is better so, my daughter. Perhaps your own madness escaped on his limbs? If ever we win free of this host—"
Meg's new-found world of love and happiness crumpled into shards about her feet. There was a redness on her cheeks, for Daiv and for herself who had let his mouth touch hers. The rains of weakness filled her eyes, and she said, "So be it, Mother—" ”

“ Their ray-sticks were poised and ready. A signal came from Grensu, grinning evilly in the center of the walk-avenue.
"Drop screen! Fire! Up screen!"
As swiftly as he spoke, the events occurred. The engineer at the god-box threw up his lever; instantly sticks in two score hands spewed cherry flame into the ranks of the Wild Ones. Steam rose; bodies disappeared; weapons dropped from hands now dwindled into cinders. Then the force-field was replaced. By sheer chance, one or two hurled weapons flashed through in the brief instant the barrier was down. ”

“ Meg saw, then, that she was part of a group huddled in the center of that which had been the fortress of their Clan. They numbered more than three score; a mixed group of battle-grimed Warriors, Workers, breeding-mothers, even one or two pale-faced, weeping Men. The studs of the Jinnia Clan.
But there was another group at the far end of the court. These would never again either laugh or mourn. They were the dead. Workers and Warriors for the most part, although a few plump, bulbous bodies fed the mound. In still another place lay the bodies of the slain invaders ”

“ Meg's Daring
But not at that moment was Meg to be forced to make the choice between submission and death. For there came an interruption. One of the Japcan lieutenants approached the group, hailed his leader.
"The wall is set up, O Grensu! The men await your inspection before setting its field into operation."
Grensu snarled, "Away, sluggard. Cannot the men do the least thing without—Very well. I will come immediately. Leekno, stay you here and keep a watchful eye on my reluctant priestess. I will return soon."
He waddled away, a lecherous ball of dough in gold armor. ”