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33 - Nine Sci-fi Stories by Poul Anderson by Poul William Anderson · Nine Sci-fi Stories by Poul Anderson

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Section thirty three of nine Scyphi's Stories by Paul Anderson.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Which of
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: the demon sees chapter nine. The first explosion came as
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  Speaker 1: a muffled roar. Koran felt the floor trembled under his feet.
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  Speaker 1: Men and Zanthi stood motionless, looking at each other with
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  Speaker 1: widening eyes, in which a common doom arose. So it
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  Speaker 1: ended Chazan and Tsathu and the wizard cohorts would be gone,
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  Speaker 1: but Crisius mad lovely. Crisius was loose, and the guards
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  Speaker 1: knew what hell she could brew among the leaderless Xanthe.
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  Speaker 1: The walls groaned as another boom echoed down their length. Well,
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  Speaker 1: death came to every man, and he had not done
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  Speaker 1: so badly. Koran began to realize how weary he was.
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  Speaker 1: He was bleeding from wounds, and breath was raw in
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  Speaker 1: his lungs Umlotuns hammered on the door and panic, but
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  Speaker 1: the twenty or fewer survivors could never break it down.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: The devil powder roared, the floor heaved sickeningly under Koran's feet.
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  Speaker 1: He heard the crash of collapsing masonry. Wait, wait, one chance,
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  Speaker 1: One chance by the gods be ready to run out.
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  Speaker 1: When the walls topple, he shouted, we'll have a little time.
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  Speaker 1: The xanthig were flaying in terror. The humans stood alone,
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  Speaker 1: waiting while the explosions rolled and banged around them. Cracks
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  Speaker 1: zigzagged across the walls. Dust choked the dank air crash.
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  Speaker 1: Korn saw the narrow wall swaying toppling. The floor lifted
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  Speaker 1: and buckled, and he fell to the lurching ground. All
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  Speaker 1: the world was an insanity of racket and ruin. The
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  Speaker 1: lintel caved in, the portal sagged. Korn leaped for the
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  Speaker 1: opening like a pouncing erinne. The men swarmed with it
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  Speaker 1: out through the widening hole, while the roof came down
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  Speaker 1: behind them. Someone screamed a faint lust sound, and the
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  Speaker 1: grinding fury of sundering stone rocks were flying. Korn saw
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  Speaker 1: on of them crack a man's head like a melim.
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  Speaker 1: Wildly he ran As the outer facad came down. There
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  Speaker 1: was a madness of storm outside. Wind screaming to fell
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  Speaker 1: the sky, driving solid sheets of rain and hail before it.
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  Speaker 1: The incessant blinding lightning glared in a cold, shadowless brilliance.
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  Speaker 1: The bawling thunder drowned the roar of exploding devil powder.
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  Speaker 1: They fought out through the courtyard, passed the deserted outer gate.
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  Speaker 1: There came a blast which seemed to crack the sky.
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  Speaker 1: Korn was knocked down as by a giant's fist. He
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  Speaker 1: lay in the mud and saw a pillar of flame
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  Speaker 1: lift toward the heavens, with the castle fattening up on
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  Speaker 1: its wings. Thunder roared over the earth, shouting to the
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  Speaker 1: storm that raged in the heavens. Karan picked himself up
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  Speaker 1: and leaned dizzily against a tree stripped clean by the blast.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Rains slanted across the ground, churning the mud beneath his feet.
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  Speaker 1: The livid lightning glare blazing above. Vaguely through ringing deafened ears,
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  Speaker 1: he heard the wild clamor of the sea. Looking down
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  Speaker 1: the cataract which the upward trail had become, he saw
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  Speaker 1: the Prisayer rocking in the wind, where she lay on
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  Speaker 1: the beach. He gestured to a Maazu, who staggered up
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  Speaker 1: to join him. His voice was barely audible over the
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: shouting wind. Take the man down there. We can't sail
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  Speaker 1: in the storm. We make the ship fast, stand God
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  Speaker 1: over her. If I'm not back when the starm is done,
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  Speaker 1: start for home. Where are you going? Bied the Omlotouan,
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  Speaker 1: I'll be back. Maybe stay with the ship. Koran turned
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  Speaker 1: and slugged across the ground toward the jungle. Weariness was gone.
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  Speaker 1: It was like a machine running without thought or pain
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  Speaker 1: until it burned out. Crysius would have fled toward high ground,
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  Speaker 1: he thought dully behind him. Imazu started forward, then checked himself.
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  Speaker 1: Something of the ultimate loneliness that was in Koran must
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  Speaker 1: have come to the Omlotuan. It was not a mission
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  Speaker 1: on which any other man might go, and they had
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  Speaker 1: to save the ship, he jested to his few remaining men,
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  Speaker 1: and they began the slow climbed down to the beach.
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  Speaker 1: The castle was a heap of shattered rock, still moving
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  Speaker 1: convulsively as the last few boxes of devil powder exploded.
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  Speaker 1: The rain barreled down over it, churning through the fragments.
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  Speaker 1: Lightning flamed in the berserk heavens. Corn pushed through underbush
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  Speaker 1: that clutched at his feet and clawed at his skin.
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  Speaker 1: The sword was still hanging loosely in one hand, nicked
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  Speaker 1: and blunted with battle He went on mechanically, scarcely noticing
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  Speaker 1: the wind whipped trees that barred his way. It came
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  Speaker 1: to him that he was fighting for Croman with the
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  Speaker 1: lassocrat of a Kairah ruler by right of conquest over Connahr.
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  Speaker 1: But there were worse things and foreign rule if it
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  Speaker 1: was human, and one of the great evils had fled
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: toward the mountain. Presently he came out on the bare
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  Speaker 1: rocks above the fringe of jungle growth. The rain hammered
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  Speaker 1: at him, driven by a wind that screamed like a
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  Speaker 1: maddened beast. Thunder boomed and rolled overhead a roar of doom,
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  Speaker 1: answering the thud of his heart. The water rushed over
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  Speaker 1: his an ankles, foaming down toward the sea. She stood
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  Speaker 1: waiting for him atop a high bare hell. Her cloak
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  Speaker 1: was drawn tightly about her slender body, but the wind
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  Speaker 1: caught it, whipped and tore it. Her rain wet hair
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  Speaker 1: blew wild corn. She called under the gale, corn, I'm cuming,
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  Speaker 1: he said, not caring if she heard him or not.
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  Speaker 1: He struggled up to where she stood, limbed against the
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  Speaker 1: sheeted fire in heaven. They faced each other while the
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  Speaker 1: storm raged around them. Corn she read death in his eyes.
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  Speaker 1: As he lifted the sword. Her form blurred, The outlines
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  Speaker 1: of a monster grew to his eyes. He laughed bitterly.
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  Speaker 1: I know what your magic is, he said, you saw
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  Speaker 1: my Kilzatho. She was human again, human and lovely in
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  Speaker 1: light footed spirit of the hurricane. Her face was etched
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  Speaker 1: white in the lightning glare Peris, She screamed. The Aerigner
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  Speaker 1: crept forth, bellied to the ground, tail lashing, Hell glared
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  Speaker 1: out of the ice green eyes. Coran braced himself, sword
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  Speaker 1: in hand. Perius sprang, not straighted the man, but into
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  Speaker 1: the air. His wings caught the wind, whirling him aloft.
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  Speaker 1: Twisting in mid flight, he arrowed down. Horan struck at him.
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  Speaker 1: The Erinnye dodged the blow, and one buffeting wing tip
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  Speaker 1: caught the man's wrist. The sword fell from Coran's hand
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  Speaker 1: at once. The Urinne was on him. Coran fell under
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  Speaker 1: that smashing attack. The Urgne's fangs gleamed above his throat.
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  Speaker 1: The claws sank into his muscles. He flung up an arm,
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  Speaker 1: and the teeth crunched on it, grinding at the bone.
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  Speaker 1: Coran wrapped his legs and a scissor lock around the
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  Speaker 1: gaunt body, pressing himself too close for the clawed hind
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  Speaker 1: feet to disembowel him. His free hand reached out, gouging.
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  Speaker 1: He felt an eyeballed tail loose, and the erinne opened
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  Speaker 1: his mouth in a thin scream. Coran pulled his torn
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  Speaker 1: arm free. He struck with a bald fist of the
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  Speaker 1: devil beast and felt his knuckles break under the impact,
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: but bones snapped. Perius's jaw hung suddenly loose. The arignye
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  Speaker 1: sprang back, and Koran lurched to hands and feet. Perius
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  Speaker 1: edged closer. Stiff legged, Koran stumbled direct and Perius charged.
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  Speaker 1: One great wing smashed out brought the man toppling back
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  Speaker 1: to earth. Perius leaped for his exposed belly. Koran lashed
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  Speaker 1: out with both feet. The thud was dull and hollow
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: under the racketing thunder. Perius tumbled back and Korn sprang
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  Speaker 1: on him. The barbed tail slashed, laying Koran's thigh open.
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  Speaker 1: He fell atop the struggling beast and got his free
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  Speaker 1: hand on the throat. The mighty wings threshed half, lifting
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  Speaker 1: man and arne. Karan pulled himself over on the writhing back.
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  Speaker 1: He locked legs round the body, arms around the neck,
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  Speaker 1: and heaved. Ernye yowled. His wings clashed together with skull,
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  Speaker 1: cracking force, barely missing the head of the man who
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  Speaker 1: hugged his back. His tail raked against Koran's back, seeking
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  Speaker 1: the vitals. Koran gave another yank. He felt the subtle
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  Speaker 1: spine bending eve Perius lifted a brassy scream. The strange,
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  Speaker 1: dry sound of snapping vertebrae crackled out. Korun rolled away
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  Speaker 1: from the threshing form. Perrius gasped, lifted his broken head
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  Speaker 1: and looked with filming green eyes at Crysius, where she
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  Speaker 1: stood unmoving against the white fire of the sky. Slowly, painfully,
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  Speaker 1: he dragged himself toward her. Breath rattled in and out
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  Speaker 1: of his blood filled lungs. Perris Grysius bent over to touch
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  Speaker 1: the great head. Erennye sighed, his rough tongue licked her feet.
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  Speaker 1: Then he shuddered lay still. Peris Karan climbed to his
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  Speaker 1: feet and stood shaking. There was no strength left in him,
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  Speaker 1: was running out through a dozen yawning wounds. Ground whirled
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  Speaker 1: and tilted crazily about him. He saw her standing against
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  Speaker 1: the sky, and slowly, slowly, he came toward her. Graycius
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  Speaker 1: picked up a stone and threw it. Seemed to take
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  Speaker 1: an immense time arking toward him. Some dim in honor
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  Speaker 1: of his buckling consciousness realized that it would knock him out,
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  Speaker 1: that she could then kill him with the sword and
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  Speaker 1: escape into the hills. It didn't matter, nothing mattered. The
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  Speaker 1: stone crashed against his skull, and the world exploded into
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  Speaker 1: darkness and of Section thirty three