me. The dry ice—'
'Pardon?'
'Dry ice,' Jack repeated. 'That's what we call frozen carbon dioxide. The stuff evaporated slowly enough over the four-day trip to Cordolane for the Essenay's air system to handle the extra gas without triggering any alarms.'
The cinnamon smell was getting stronger, he noticed. A bakery nearby, maybe? He hoped so. He was starting to get hungry, and it had been a long time since he'd had a good cinnamon roll.
'What is this place?' Draycos asked. 'The smells are not those of humans.'
'I'm not sure,' Jack said. 'I've only been here a couple of times, and never to this side of the port. If I'm remembering the map right, it's the Wistawki area.'
'Are they friendly to humans?'
Jack shrugged. 'I don't think they're unfriendly, for whatever that's worth. I remember Uncle Virgil conning a couple of them once; they seemed friendly enough. Gullible, too.'
There was silence from his shoulder. Jack winced, realizing that last comment had probably offended his companion. He opened his mouth to apologize—
'Behind us,' Draycos murmured.
'What?' Jack asked, his apology and rumbling stomach both abruptly forgotten.
'Footsteps,' the dragon said. 'It is those who sought us in the warehouse.'
Chapter 12
Jack didn't even bother to ask how in the world the dragon could tell they were the same footsteps. 'We'd better hide,' he said, picking up his speed as he looked around. No alleyways; no open doors; no bushes or shrubs he could duck behind. He peered ahead, looking for a cross street, but the nearest one was a long ways away.
'Those platforms,' Draycos said. 'Would one of those do?'
'The plat—? Oh, the balconies.' Jack looked up at the nearest one. It stretched across the full length of the second floor, a good six feet above his head. 'Sure, they'd do great. Problem is, they're a little high up, and there's no way to climb them.'
There was a sudden weight and pulling at the back of his collar, and out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Draycos leaping out from the back of his neck. 'It can be done,' the dragon declared as he landed on the ground.
'Are you nuts?' Jack hissed, spinning around. 'You want someone to see you?'
'That way,' Draycos ordered, jabbing his snout ahead.
'Run to that building. When I say jump, you will jump up toward it.'
Jack turned, frowning. The indicated building had a balcony, all right, one with enough of a gap between the potted plants for him to lie down in. But it was no lower than any of the other balconies. 'I can't jump that high, Draycos,' he insisted, turning back. 'If you think—'
He broke off. Draycos had moved twenty feet back and was crouched down in the middle of the street like a sprinter getting ready to run.
And in the dim streetlight, he could see that the dragon's gold scales were turning black. 'Go,' the dragon ordered again. 'Run.'
Warrior ethic, Uncle Virge's phrase flitted through Jack's mind. What did a K'da warrior do, he wondered suddenly, if an underling disobeyed a direct order? That might be something to ask about when this was all over. 'Yeah,' he managed. 'Right.' Turning, he took off toward the building as fast as he could run.
He wasn't alone. Draycos's feet were silent in the quiet street, but Jack could hear the dragon's breath rapidly catching up behind him.
He could also hear the faint sound of footsteps now, approaching from the direction they'd just come. They sounded like they were running, too.
Jack clenched his teeth. Directly ahead of him, he suddenly realized, was the building's main door, half hidden in the balcony's shadow. Was that what the crazy dragon had in mind? That Jack should slam into the door hard enough to break it down? He opened his mouth to object—
'Jump!' Draycos ordered, his voice sounding nearly as close as if he'd been riding Jack's shoulder. Automatically, Jack obeyed, bending his knees and jumping as hard as he could. Something slammed into his back, two other somethings jammed hard up under his arms—
And to his shock he found himself arcing upward straight at the balcony.
He didn't have time for anything but a startled yelp before the balcony rail caught him just below the tops of his boots, flipping him over toward a headfirst landing.
Draycos, still gripping him under his arms, got there first. He rolled around beneath Jack as they fell, taking the full brunt of Jack's weight on himself as they sprawled onto the balcony.
'Quiet—they approach,' Draycos whispered into his ear. 'Down, and behind me.'
Jack rolled off onto the dragon's far side, too winded by their landing to say anything. The footsteps were much closer now, and definitely running. Pulling his knees to his chest, rubbing his shins under the tops of his boots where the railing had hit them, he clamped his teeth together hard and lay still. Behind him, he felt Draycos curl around his back, protecting him from view from the street.
The footsteps came to a point just beneath the balcony and faltered to a halt. 'What the frunge?' a human voice said quietly. 'Where'd the little blinker go?'
