The Minstrel Boy started to protest. 'How did I get elected to walk into the jaws of death?'
'You and I can most likely mingle with these raiders in the dark.'
'So can Blaisdell.'
'I prefer to work with you.'
'Thanks a lot.'
'You're welcome.'
Renatta planted her hands on her nips. 'And what are we supposed to do while you two are out playing heroes? Sit here twiddling our thumbs and waiting?'
'Get the boat out into the middle of the river and be ready to go fast at the first sign of trouble. Give us two hours. If we 're not back by then, take off and warn the city.'
The galley moved up to the pier, and Reave and the Minstrel Boy jumped ashore. They watched as the galley backed up, positioned itself in the middle of the stream, and dropped a light anchor. The rowers skulled lightly to keep it from dragging with the current. Satisfied that everything had been done, Reave and the Minstrel Boy turned and walked purposefully away.
'You know something? I'm not going to forget how you volunteered me for this.'
Reave laughed grimly. 'Let's hope you have lots of time to remember it in.'
A well-trodden path ran away from the pier and then curvedand zigzagged up a steep hillside for over a mile. After a half hour of solid climbing, both men were close to winded.
'We've been living soft for too long.'
'Let's take a break.'
Reave got no argument from the Minstrel Boy, and both men flopped down on the soft turf.
'Goddamn.'
When the Minstrel Boy had caught his breath, he propped himself up on one elbow. 'How long do you figure we should go on following this trail? We've got to be nearing the lake by now.'
Reave looked up at the crest of the hill that still loomed over them. 'I'm assuming that when we get to the top of this hill, we're going to be able to see the lake and probably whatever kind of camp there is. If anyone's got half a brain, they'll have posted pickets out on the road at the hilltop.'
'So we go cross-country from here?'
'Have to. Though I wish I'd seen this country in daylight. We're working on too many blind guesses.'
They got to their feet and, leaving the road, started up the hillside, at times climbing on their hands and knees. After about five minutes, they hit a dry streambed and began using it as a guide. Then Reave slipped and almost stumbled.
'Watch out for loose rocks. They last thing we need is for one of us to break his ankle.'
Slowly the crest of the hill came closer. When they were only fifty yards away, Reave signaled to the Minstrel Boy. 'Keep low; we don't want to skyline ourselves.'
In a half crouch, they crested the hill. The lake was in front of them, contained in a bowl formed by the sculpted hills. Its mirror surface reflected the dozen or more bonfires that burned along its far edge. By the standards of the force that had attacked Krystaleit, the camp was a small one. Three armored cars stood side by side, and maybe a dozen tents were pitched in a loose circle. They could just make out the shapes of men moving around.
The Minstrel Boy lay in the grass and stared. 'There don't seem to be that many of them, but these're more than enough to make a mess of Palanaque.'
'Let's move in closer.'
'Do we have to?'
'Can't stop now.'
The Minstrel Boy sighed and followed Reave down the slope.
Things are bad
How bad?
Real bad
Bad
Bad
You know what I mean by bad?
Bad
Bad
Real bad
Awful bad
Bad
Bad
So bad
Too bad
Bad as hell
Bad
Bad
And you know something else?
It's getting worse.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It was, beyond any doubt, a human arm. One of the fingers even wore a ring that no one had bothered to remove;. The filthy hunched figure with the highspikes and bone earrings dragged it from the fire, oblivious to the fact that it was hardly cooked, and, juggling the hot meat from hand to hand, began snatching bites from it. The way the creature's teeth flashed in the firelight suggested that they were made of stainless steel. The Minstrel Boy stared in horror as blood and grease dripped down the thing's chin.
'They've sunk to cannibalism.'
Reave took hold of his arm. 'Just walk on slow and don't look surprised at anything.'
'That's easy to say.'
'Our lives depend on it, so walk on.'
A second figure lurched up to the one crouched over the arm and tried to grab it from him. They scuffled together, grunting and cursing. In front of a nearby tent a human head had been set up on the end of a spear. The face was bloated and unrecognizable, but the spear looked uncommonly like the ones used by the Palanaquii hoplites. Beyond the tent two vulture bats, the kind that the DNA Cowboys had first seen in Santa Freska, were picking at something in the grass.
'What the hell is happening to humanity?'
Reave could scarcely repress a shudder. 'I'm damned if I know, buddy. I'm damned if I know. It's like we're on the fast slope all the way down.'
They walked slowly on through the camp, avoiding the large knots of men. As far as Reave could estimate there were about 150 in the force, heavily armed, about the same mixture of shootists, Margin boys, and neoprimitives they had seen atKrystaleit. They were in very bad shape. The only things there seemed to be plenty of were guns, ammunition, and rotgut booze. The soldiers looked ragged and haggard, and the whole camp stank of filth and unwashed men. The stink alone was a major shock after the perfumed courtyards and splashing fountains of Palanaque. The small army looked to be starving, and it was altogether possible that the cannibalism Reave and
