THE REALM OF THE NEETHA.

THEY HAD COME to a point where their ravine met another smaller one-a Tjunction of two ravines nestled among three extinct volcanoes-and suddenly they found themselves in avery wide s.p.a.ce.

A broad lake lay in the middle of what could only be described as an ancient village built into the walls of the giant ravine junction.

It looked like nothing they had ever seen.

Dozens of stone stuctures dotted the walls of the junction, some at dizzying heights, and they ranged in size from small huts to a large freestanding tower that rose up from the waters of the lake itself.

Ladders led to the upper huts while swooping rope bridges crisscrossed the minor ravine to the left, connecting the structures.

For Zoe, it was the bridgebuilding skills of these people that was most remarkable: rope bridges the concealed stone bridges that she had walked on from the main gate she even saw a series of drawbridges giving access to the tower out on the lake.

"Wizard," she said, "did these people-"

"No. They didn"t build this place. They just moved in. Like the Aztecs did at Teotihuacn."

"So what civilization did?"

"I imagine the same one that built the Machine. Would you look at that..."

They"d stepped out onto the main square of the town and Wizard was gazing off to the right, out over the lake.

Zoe turned. "At what-"

She cut herself off.

An incredible structure lay across the lake.

It was utterly immense, literally carved out of the cone of the extinct volcano that lay on the far side of the ravine.

It looked like a modern stadium, an enormous circular arena. A series of round walls could be seen inside it-a maze of some sort. And rising up out of the very center of the circular maze like the needle on a sundial was a superthin yet superhigh stonestaircase easily ten stories high.

Made of hundreds of steps, the thin staircase was wide enough for one person only and had no rail, and it rose precariously to a squat trapezoidal doorway built into the rock face on the far side of the maze.

The challenge was clear: only if you made it to the center of the maze could you ascend this mysterious staircase.

There was one other thing that Zoe noticed about the village area: there was a small triangular island located out in the middle of the lake, in the exact center of everything, as if it were the focal point of the entire ravine junction.

Erected on this little island was a bronze tripodlike device that looked to Zoe like some ancient kind of inclinometer.

And on a pedestal next to the "inclinometer," raised for everyone in the village to see, were two very sacred objects: A smokedgla.s.s Pillar and a beautiful crystal orb.

Wizard saw them, too, and he inhaled sharply. "The Second Pillarand the Seeing Stone."

They weren"t able to stare at the little sacred island for long, however, for just then their guards brought them to a deep semicircular pit off the main square: in it were two square granite platforms that rose twenty feet above the pit"s muddy base.

Down in the mud, looking up at Lily and Alby with unblinking eyes, prowled two large crocodiles.

Two drawbridges thunked into place and the group was shoved at sword point onto the granite slabs: the two girls on one, the two men and Alby on the other. Each towerlike platform was about ten feet from the edge and seven feet from each other, so escape was impossible. Both bore frightening axe marks and b.l.o.o.d.y scratches on their surfaces.

The drawbridges were removed.

A crowd had gathered around the platforms-curious Neetha townsfolk, all of them possessing bony growths on their faces, and all staring at the captives, murmuring animatedly among themselves.

But then the whispering ceased, and the crowd split as a series of flaming torches cut through their ranks, and an official party emerged.

Twelve men, led by a great obese fellow whose animalskin outfit was covered in weapons, skulls, and ornaments. His fleshy face was disgusting, covered in growths.

Among the weapons on his belt, Wizard saw a nineteenthcentury Winchester rifle.

The chief of the tribe. Bearing the weapons and skulls of those his line had vanquished over the centuries. Good Lord...

Seven younger men, all standing tall and proud, escorted the chief.

Probably his sons,Wizard thought.

The other four men in the leadership group were different:three were clearly warriors lean and muscled, with fierce eyes and warpainted faces.

The fourth and last man, however, was just bizarre.

He was old and gnarled, hunched, with the worst facial growths of any of them. He too had a warpainted face and he possessed the most terrifying eyes Wizard had ever seen in his life-this hunched old man had diseased yellow irises that stared crazily at both everything and nothing.

He was the warlock of the Neetha.

Their belongings were emptied in front of the warlock.

Watched by the chief, the warlock rummaged through their stuff, before with a cry he held aloft the clear First Pillar.

"Neehaka!"he yelled.

"Neehaka...ooh, neehaka..."the crowd murmured.

"Neehaka bomwacha Nepthys! Hurrah!"

Wizard didn"t have a clue what was being said.

But then, from the other slab, he heard Lily say: "He"s speaking the language of Thoth.

Speaking it. "Neehaka" is"nee," "The First," and"haka," "Great Pillar." The first Great Pillar."Bonwacha" means infused or impregnated. "The First Great Pillar has been infused by Nepthys.""

"Nepthys is another name for the Dark Star," Wizard whispered. "Its Greek name."

Then the warlock extracted the Philosopher"s Stone and the Firestone from Lily"s pack and his eyes went even wider.

He shot a look at Wizard and barked a flurry of phrases.

Lily translated timidly. "He wants to know how you came upon the great tools of cleansing."

"Tell him, "After much study and many years of searching."" Wizard said.

In a frightened voice, Lily conveyed this.

The warlock inhaled sharply and muttered something, his eyes remaining wide.

Lily said to Wizard, "He"s surprised that I can speak Thoth. He finds this prophetic. He is a warlock, and he thinks that you must be one also-"

A shout from the warlock silenced her.

Then the warlock turned suddenly and called for someone. Again the crowd parted, and now a woman stepped forward from the back of the group.

When she saw her, Lily gasped.

So did Wizard.

It was a white woman, perhaps fiftyfive years of age, with grayblond hair and an elfish face that seemed beaten down, worn. She was dressed like the other Neetha women, in a leather hide and with primitive jewelry.

Wizard breathed, "Dr. Ca.s.sidy? Dr. Diane Ca.s.sidy?"

The woman looked up sharply at his words, as if she hadn"t heard English in a long, long time.

The warlock barked at Ca.s.sidy, and instantly she bowed her head.

So this was what had become of Dr. Diane Ca.s.sidy, expert on the Neetha. She had found the lost tribe and in return they had enslaved her.

The warlock spoke curtly with Ca.s.sidy.

Lily listened to their exchange. "He"s calling her "the Great Chief"s Eighth Wife." He mustn"t trust me. He wants her to translate."

The warlock spun and gazed angrily at Wizard, speaking harshly and quickly.

Diane Ca.s.sidy translated slowly and softly in English:"The great warlock, Yanis, desires to know if you have come here to steal the Pillar of the Neetha?"

"Oh no," Wizard said. "Not at all. We have come here to beseech you for the use of your Pillar, to borrow it in our quest to save the world from the Dark Star, the one your warlock callsNepthys."

Dr. Ca.s.sidy translated.

The warlock reeled at the response, shocked beyond measure. When he spoke, he spat.

Ca.s.sidy translated:"Yanis says that Nepthys rules as he pleases. Such is his divine right.

Who are you to deny Nepthys his will?"

Wizard said, "I am one of a small few who wish to save our world."

The warlock spat again.

"Yanis says if Nepthys wishes to destroy this world, then that is what Nepthys will do. It is our privilege to be alive when he unleashes his G.o.dly power. Yanis will speak with you no more."

And with that the warlock swirled on the spot and stormed off, taking all of their belongings-including the Firestone, the Philosopher"s Stone, and the First Pillar-with him.

LILY AND THE OTHERS were left to sit on their bare stone platforms for the rest of the evening: waiting, helpless, fearful.

The warlock had retreated to a large fortresslike building to the north of the platforms which backed onto the central lake.

Fitted with dozens of outwardpointing elephant tusks, this templefortress was guarded by four whitepainted priests bearing spears. A few also wore guns on their hips.

Wizard said, "Warriormonks. The finest Neetha warriors join the holy cla.s.s. There they receive special training in fighting and the art of stealth. Hieronymus once said that by the time you discovered a Neetha priest had hunted you down, your throat would already have been cut."

Throughout the evening, the townsfolk gathered to gawk at the mysterious prisoners, gazing curiously at them as if they were animals in a zoo.

The children eyed Alby with particular curiosity.

"What are they saying?" Alby said, unnerved.

"They"re wondering about your gla.s.ses," Lily said.

The women pointed at Zoe, whispering among themselves. "Because of your cargo pants and short hair, they"re not sure if you"re a woman or a man," Lily said.

But then some men came and the Neetha women and children scattered, and the atmosphere around the platforms changed.

The men were clearly persons of standing in the tribe and they gathered before Lily and Zoe"s platform, pointing and gesticulating at them like horse traders. Clearly the biggest fellow among them was the leader of the group and the rest his entourage.

"What are they saying?" Wizard asked, concerned.

Lily frowned. "They"re talking about Zoe and me. The big one is saying that he doesn"t want Zoe, since she has most likely already been touched, whatever that means-"

Without warning, the biggest Neetha man shouted at Lily and spoke quickly.

Lily was taken aback. She shook her head and said, "Ew, no.Niha. "

The cl.u.s.ter of Neetha men instantly fell into a huddle of intense muttering and whispering.

"Lily," Wizard said. "What did he just ask you?"

"He asked if I had a husband. I said no, of course not."

"Oh, dear," Wizard breathed. "I should have antic.i.p.ated this-"

He was cut off as the big fellow laughed loudly and marched back to the largest house in the village, followed by his entourage.

"What was that about?" Lily asked Zoe.

"I don"t think you want to know," Zoe said.

Late in the night, sometime long after midnight when all the villagers were sleeping, Lily awoke to see a procession of warriormonks led by the warlock cross the lake via the drawbridges and, holding flaming torches aloft, head for the large circular maze on the other side.

One of them, Lily saw, carried the Firestone reverently, with outstretched arms. Another carried the Philosopher"s Stone with equal veneration. Behind him, a third warriormonk carried the First Pillar.