Castle War! by John Dechancie Read Free Book Online Page B

Sorry. Don't know what got into me. Earthquakes are hazards.”  
    Thaxton tapped the ball in. “Double bogey, damn it all.”  
    Just then a plume of steam erupted from the ground not far from the fairway. It sounded like a teapot gone mad.  
    â€œWhat the devil's this, now?”  
    The steam dissipated. Then they watched smoke and fire pour from a quickly widening vent. Ash drifted down and began powdering the rocks.  
    â€œLooks like the start of a volcano,” Dalton said.  
    â€œI suppose volcanoes are hazards, too.”  
    â€œCertainly. Shall we move on?”  
    â€œI'm with you.”  
    They made for the beginning of a path that wound its way through an oasis. A mushroom cloud of black smoke rose at their backs, and gray ash sifted onto the fairway.  
    The gravel path wound through date palms and mimosa. Pink blossoms spangled the shrubbery. Dalton paused and drank it all in.  
    â€œNice place for a picnic. ‘A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—’ Omar Khayyám never had it so good.”  
    â€œDon't remind me of food. I'm still ravenous.”  
    â€œYou have no romance in you.”  
    They walked on and soon came out of the oasis. Moving to the edge of the next tee, they looked out.  
    â€œIncredible.”  
    The fairway seemed a mile long, the green a faraway dot on the other side of a daunting network of sand hazards.  
    â€œOmar Khayyám? You'd have to be bloody T. E. Lawrence to get through that. And the green's miles away.”  
    â€œIt does look a challenge. About a par seven, I should think.”  
    â€œPar seven? This is obviously not a regulation course. It's one of those balmy universes, I tell you.”  
    â€œMighty interesting place, all the same.”  
    â€œOh, it's interesting , all right. Dragons, volcanoes—what next?”  
    Something came out of the rocks to the right of the fairway. It was a strange animal about ten feet long and five and a half high at the shoulders. It had a feline body and the head and wings of a bird of prey. Talons tipped its two front feet, cat paws the rear.  
    â€œLooks familiar,” Thaxton said.  
    â€œI believe I had two of those on the front stoop of my brown-stone,” Dalton said.  
    â€œYes, I know what you mean. Sphinx?”  
    â€œGryphon.”  
    â€œRight. Beautiful thing, in a way.”  
    The beast turned its head and regarded them. It opened its curved beak and emitted a piercing cry.  
    Thaxton took a step back. “Then again...”  
    It did not move toward them. Instead, it flapped its wings, stalked across the fairway, and went out of sight behind a multicolored outcropping.  
    â€œYou're up,” Dalton said.  
    â€œBut ... that . No telling if it might come back.”  
    â€œI promise we'll stop and have lunch after nine.”  
    â€œLunch? What does that have to do—? Where , for the love of God?”  
    â€œWe'll find someplace. This is a golf course. It's open for business, and patrons must be served. There'll be something.”  
    â€œYou're a bit balmy, if you don't mind my saying so.”  
    â€œWell, we can hardly go back, can we?”  
    Thaxton seemed defeated. “Bloody hell, I suppose that's true.” He snorted and drew himself up. “Right! Well, then.”  
    â€œAbout a par seven,” Dalton mused.  
    Thaxton teed his ball, cupped a hand to his mouth, and yelled, “Fore!”  
    â€œNice touch.”  
    â€œWell, we don't want any gryphons getting their craniums whacked, do we?”  
    â€œCertainly not.”  
    â€œAll due respect for endangered mythical species.”  
    A geyser of smoke and fire burst forth from the desert to the right of the fairway, close to where the gryphon had broken from cover.  
    â€œUh-oh.” Thaxton stared at the incipient