title: The Sorcerer's Skull (Cenotaph Road, No. 2)
author: Robert Vardeman
description: Lan Martak, Krek and Inyx are stuck in the white, cloudy abyss between worlds. Lan and Krek are helped out of the void to a new world, while Inyx remains trapped in the infinite fog. Lan and Krek are taken to the walled city of Melitarsus where they become pawns of the Sazerain, Nashira. Little does he know it, but Lan's sexual encounters with Ria are being viewed by Nashira and others as an aphrodisiac. Meanwhile, Krek is sent to the coliseum where he is used to battle other warriors who cannot even compare with Krek's fighting abilities. Both are held by Nashira's magic. After finally escaping, they join a group of religious fanatics that worship the Earth so much that they constantly roll in the dirt to be as close to their god as possible. Both parties have the same goal--to get to the top of Mount Tartanius. Lan wants to go there to retrieve the Kinetic Sphere while Ehznoll and his followers travel there for religious enlightenment. The Sorcerer's Skull is the second book in the Cenotaph Road series. This is a fantasy story about Lan Martak, his companion spider, Krek, and Inyx as they pursue the evil sorcerer Claybore. Lan is attempting to prevent the sorcerer from getting all of his body part back together, which would bring him back to full power.
zlib_text:  
  
   
  1 
    
    
  The Sorcerer’s 
  Skull 
  Cenotaph Road - 02 
  Robert E. Vardeman 
  
   
  2 
    
  CHAPTER ONE 
    
  Lan Martak screamed in silent agony. The world shifted and turned to soft white 
  all around. His words rattled and fell like tiny pebbles, but he didn’t hear them, he 
  saw them. He reached out, cut his finger on them. The dripping blood wasn’t seen as 
  much as it was tasted. His senses were jumbled and confused. 
  Sight, taste, smell, hearing, touch, all changed in a bewildering kaleidoscope. 
  Lan heard himself falling, tasted the impact against velvet, heard the dim outline of 
  someone near. 
  “Lan!” came the cry. “I’m frozen solid. Help meeeee!” 
  “Inyx!” He fought to order the universe, failed. Lan worked toward where the 
  woman had been and found himself wrapped in down-soft clouds of vapor. He 
  sought her. He didn’t find her. 
  For an eternity he staggered, senses altering in some unknowably random 
  fashion. He felt his brain turn to liquid fire, things crawl through it, other things 