to depart for Pohua until the early hours of the morning.”
The combat variant shimmered slightly as he looked toward Phan and back again. “It’s the sensitive. . . . The one named Norr. Phan believes she saw both the variant and the runner leave the ramp with a couple of men dressed in Menkur green.”
Tepho’s gaze shifted to Phan. His eyes were like lasers.
“Well?” the administrator demanded. “You ‘believe’ you saw them? Or you actually saw them? Which is it?”
Phan swallowed. “I saw them, sir. All of them were dressed in green and carrying a metal man up out of the city.”
Tepho frowned. “A metal man you say? Why would they do that?”
The assassin shrugged. “I don’t know, sir. But based on the fact that Rebo and Norr aligned themselves with Kufu shortly after they arrived, the green livery could be by way of a disguise.”
“Which would have been successful had it not been for your sharp eyes,” the technologist observed approvingly.
“But we have Logos. . . . So, what were they doing in the ruins? Rooting around for artifacts like everyone else?”
The AI knew the correct answer but couldn’t tell them about Sogol without revealing the extent of his own duplicity, so he took the opportunity to nudge the conversation in a different direction. His voice originated from the vicinity of Tepho’s neck. “There’s no way to be sure,” Logos put in,
“but they are persistent and could be engaged in some sort of plot to recover me.”
“That’s a good point,” Tepho agreed soberly. “And even if they aren’t trying to take you back, they know far too much about the Techno Society and the star gates. “So,” the administrator said, as he looked from Shaz to Phan, “bring me their heads. I could use a pair of bookends.”
Even though it had been dark for quite a while, the main road was busy, because that was the time of day when most teamsters preferred to haul supplies out into the desert. Primarily because it was cooler then. But some, like Certa, had additional motives. By working at night, Certa rarely had to interact with his wife, and that left him free to drink all day at his favorite tavern. Besides, there were thousands of glittering stars to gaze upon during the hours of darkness, and his fellow drivers to trade jibes with. The wagon, which was loaded with empty water barrels, rattled as it lurched through a dry riverbed.
It was then that Certa heard the thunder of hoofbeats, waited for the group to pass, and was surprised when they drew up alongside instead. It was dark, but both of Haafa’s moons were up, which meant there was suffi?cient light to see by. The lead riders wore Tepho blue, not that it mattered much, since the teamster prided himself on his neutrality. “Hey, old man,” the nearest rider shouted, as he pulled up next to the wagon. “We’re looking for a female sensitive and a male norm. Have you seen them? There’s a reward.”
It was a stupid question given the fact a couple matching the rider’s description were seated behind him. Certa was about to say as much when he turned to discover that the hitchhikers were gone. And, given the rider’s insulting manner, the teamster saw no reason to help him. Not even for a reward. “No, sir,” Certa lied. “I ain’t seen nothin’.”
The answer was consistent with those given by all the drivers encountered thus far, so Shaz spurred the angen forward, closely followed by Phan and a half dozen heavily armed riders. Once they were gone Certa grinned toothlessly, sent a stream of spittle down toward the surface of road, and felt for the bottle beneath the seat. It was half-full, and the teamster took pleasure in the way the serat warmed the back of his throat before exploding in the pit of his stomach. Others could scrabble for artifacts if they chose to—but Certa was content with what he had. Meanwhile, a couple of hundred feet back down the road, protected by the darkness that lay like a blanket over the bottom of a dry watercourse, Rebo and Norr came to their feet, dusted themselves off, and took a look around.
“Damn,” the runner remarked evenly. “That was close. How did you know?”
“I would recognize Phan’s energy anywhere,” Norr replied grimly. “It looks like they saw us leave the ramp. . . . And they’re hunting for us.”
“But why?” Rebo wanted to know. “They have Logos.”
“Who is determined to destroy me,” Sogol reminded the runner, from her position on Norr’s forearm. “It’s my guess that Logos is behind the search.”
“Terrifi?c,” Rebo responded darkly. “So, what now?”
“We have to reach Pohua,” the sensitive answered, as she readjusted her pack. “And we need to arrive before dawn. Any later than that and King Tepho’s wings will spot us.”
“Okay,” the runner said wearily, as he gave her a hand up onto the road. “We might as well get started.”
They walked for hours as Haafa’s twin moons followed their own inevitable path across the sky to fi?nally disappear in the west, fi?nally entering the outskirts of Pohua just before dawn. But the danger wasn’t over, and wouldn’t be until such time as they were able to fi?nd a safe place to hide and plan their next move. The runner had dealt with such situations before, however, and knew that their best chance was to hide in a place where their pursuers were unlikely to look, such as a monastery. And not just any monastery, but a red-hat temple, where the medallion that still hung around his neck would serve as their introduction. But how to fi?nd one? And do so quickly? During his travels, the runner always made it a practice to avoid asking for directions lest he identify himself as a stranger and therefore a potential victim. But there were times when he was forced to take a chance. That was why Rebo made his way over to a roadside tea stand, where he fumbled some coins out of his belt pouch. “Good morning. . . . Two cups of tea please—and directions to the monastery.”
The woman behind the rickety counter had skin that looked like poorly tanned leather, sky-blue eyes, and brown teeth. Having been up all night brewing tea for the teamsters, she was tired. “There is no monastery, not in Pohua,”
the woman replied dully, as she poured hot water into a pair of badly stained mugs. “But the nunnery is located two blocks from the market. Just follow the main road to Pua Street. . . . Take a right and follow Pua to Bako. Go left on Bako. The nunnery will be on your right.”
Rebo thanked the woman, tipped her, and handed a mug of tea to Norr. Hopefully, with any luck at all, the
