was good. He made quick, evasive maneuvers to try and ditch them. Kasha matched him, turn for turn. They were like two jet pilots in a dogfight.
“Don’t lose sight of him,” Kasha ordered.
The klee pulled out of his dive into a steep and sudden climb. Kasha wasn’t fooled. She stayed with him, pointing the nose of their gig to the sky. The sudden change pushed both of them back into their seats with such g force that it slammed Bobby’s head into the back of the seat. It felt like a ten-ton giant just sat in his lap. The only thing he could move were his eyes.
“Look!” he shouted.
The klee’s gig suddenly began to fall straight down, as if he had lost power. It plummeted toward the ground, twisting in the air like a feather.
“What happened?” Bobby shouted. “Is he crashing?”
“No, he cut the rotors,” Kasha said. “He’s good. I’m better.”
Kasha didn’t use the same maneuver. Instead she went into a power dive that was so sudden, it made them both go weightless. Seconds later, after Bobby fought back the urge to puke, he looked around for the yellow gig. It was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is he?” Bobby shouted.
Kasha had lost sight of him too. She looked around quickly, then shouted, “There!”
Sure enough, the yellow gig was back under power. It had righted itself far below them and was headed in the opposite direction, back toward Leeandra.
“He’s going back,” Bobby shouted. “He’s giving up!”
Kasha watched the yellow gig, trying to guess her quarry’s thoughts. “He knows he can’t outmaneuver us with that heavy tank in front.”
“Exactly! That’s why he’s going back.”
They both watched as the yellow gig dropped low to the ground, barely at treetop level. The side rotors twisted to the horizontal position, parallel with the body, which slowed the gig down considerably.
“Why’s he slowing down?” Bobby asked.
“Because he’s not going back,” Kasha exclaimed. “He’s setting up for a run.”
“What does that mean?”
“He’s getting in position, as if he were going to spray fertilizer,” Kasha said.
“But why would he-” Bobby didn’t finish the question because the answer hit him a second later. The klee pilot knew he didn’t stand a chance against Kasha, so he was going to make sure he was successful in at least one part of his mission. He was going to go back and dump the poison on the thousands of gars on the ground.
Gunny trotted out from the crevice on his zenzen and looked out over the beautiful crater of waterfalls. He was followed right behind by Boon and Mark.
“Wow” was all Mark could say as he got his first glimpse of the wooded valley and the seven waterfalls that fed the lake at the bottom. The sunbelt had made its way up over the rim of the crater, bathing the lake in light, making the waterfalls sparkle.
“It’s more beautiful than Pendragon described it,” Boon said. “Which one is the entrance to Black Water?”
“Second waterfall from the right,” Gunny answered.
“Should we wait for Courtney and Spader?” Mark asked.
Gunny frowned. “We can’t risk it,” he answered. “We don’t know how much time is left. I’m sorry, Mark.”
Mark was pained, but chose not to argue. The thought of leaving Courtney behind was horrible. A wave of guilt washed over him for having gotten her involved in the first place, but he pushed it out of his head. He knew he couldn’t look back, at least not yet. They had to get the antidote to Black Water.
“Stay close together,” Gunny said. “We’re almost there.”
He coaxed his tired zenzen off the rocky ledge and down the steep slope. Boon and Mark followed close behind. The two animals were near exhaustion, so they let gravity do most of the work. They descended along the grassy slope and into the trees that became more and more dense as they drew closer to the lake.
“Once we get into Black Water,” Gunny said, “we should find Aron. We’ve got to explain to him the danger that’s headed this way and get him to-” Gunny never finished the sentence.
The tang didn’t let him.
With no warning the beast leaped from the thick underbrush and knocked Gunny off his zenzen.
“Gunny!” Mark shouted as the tall Traveler hit the ground.
Boon instantly leaped off his zenzen to help Gunny. On his way down he slapped the animal on the backside and shouted “Yeahhh!” The animal bolted forward, with Mark still on board.
“Get out of here!” Boon shouted.
Mark lunged forward to grab the saddle so he wouldn’t fall off and break his head. He took one quick glance back to see Boon leap at the tang. But turning around threw him off balance and he nearly fell again. He turned back forward as the zenzen charged through the thick forest, out of control. He dug his fingers under the front of the saddle in a death grip. Branches whipped by, tearing at his arms and legs. The zenzen may have been exhausted, but surprise and fear gave it a second wind. Mark knew he had to get control before he was knocked off, or thrown off, or crashed into a tree. He gripped the saddle even tighter with his right hand and tentatively let go with his left. He reached forward to grab the reins, butthey bounced freely on the zenzen’s neck, out of reach. If he was going to get them, he was going to have to move forward and let go of the saddle.
The zenzen flew past a tree branch so closely, it hit Mark’s shoulder, nearly knocking him off. It was the last bit of convincing he needed. He had to act. He gripped the saddle with his hands and let go with his sore legs, pulling himself forward and into the seat. He locked his legs around the animal and let his hands leave the saddle, lunging for the reins. His chest hit the zenzen’s neck, snapping his head back and making him nearly bite through his lip, but he grabbed hold of the reins with both hands.
“Whoa!” he screamed, and pulled. The zenzen didn’t stop. Mark pulled harder, but the zenzen kept galloping through the forest. Finally Mark wrapped the reins around each of his hands, got a tight grip, and yanked both straps as hard as he possibly could. “I…said…WHOA!”
The zenzen bucked, whinnied, and finally jogged to a stop. Mark sat in the saddle, exhausted but still in one piece. He felt the tank to find it hadn’t moved. He was still in business. He glanced around to find he was in the middle of an unfamiliar forest. He had no idea how long his wild jaunt had gone on, but he knew he was nowhere near the spot where Gunny was attacked. Looking up, he saw that he wasn’t far from his destination-the base of the waterfall to Black Water. Mark knew his mission. He had to get the tank to Aron.
But he also knew that Gunny may be hurt. Along with Boon. And if he was being totally honest with himself, he’d admit that he was terrified to go ahead without them. So rather than press on toward the waterfall, Mark grabbed the reins the way he had been watching Boon do for hours. The zenzen responded. It was too tired not to. The animal turned around. Mark gave it a kick, and they trotted back toward the spot where they had been attacked.
Courtney scrambled up the rock face as quickly and expertly as if she were climbing a jungle gym at home. There were plenty of places for her to find handholds and spots to wedge her toes. Her soft, rubberlike Cloral swim shoes were almost as good as climbing boots. They weren’t much protection, but they allowed her to feel the rock and find safe purchase.
Spader climbed beneath her, doing his best to keep up without taking dangerous chances. He didn’t have the experience that Courtney did, but what he lacked in technique, he made up for in strength.
“There’s only one rule,” Courtney shouted down to him. “Keep moving and don’t look down.”
“That’s two rules,” Spader said.
Both tried not to think how a single misstep would be disaster. “How did the tangs get up here? I thought they couldn’t climb?” Courtney asked.
“Maybe there’s an easier way up,” Spader offered. “And we’re not on it because?”
“Because we don’t have time to look for it,” Spader answered quickly. “Less talking and more climbing, please.”
“Don’t climb directly under me,” Courtney warned. “Just in case.”
Spader knew what she meant. If she fell, there was a good chance she’d knock him off the face too.
