Heth.” He nodded toward the deformed man in the corner. “The blood of his parents was old.”
Too much inbreeding? Cordie wondered. She didn’t realize it could create such monstrosities.
“You will give yourself to any man, until you are with child. After your firstborn, you may accept those you wish, rejecting others.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Now we must go.”
Her heart slammed. “Where?”
“To your friends.”
“I don’t… Who?”
“Those who escaped with you from the trees. You will go to them.”
“I don’t know where they are.”
“They have taken shelter in the house of the Devil. You must go to them, and bring them out.”
“Me?”
“Only you, among us, may enter the land of the dead.”
“Oh Jesus, I don’t…”
“The women are young. Like you, they will give us many children. We must have them.”
“But there’s a guy.”
“You will take his life.”
“Me? Kill him?”
“You have killed others. You killed Kigit, who was gurlaw.”
“This guy’s got a gun.”
“You are a woman.”
“That’s not…” She stopped herself. Defiance would do her no good—and might get her killed. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll do whatever you say.”
“I hear deceit in your voice.”
“No. I’ll do it, honest. I’ll kill the guy. I really will. Then I’ll make the women come out.”
“If you betray us, your death will be horrible beyond nightmares.”
In a dry voice, she said, “I won’t betray you.”
“Heth.”
The creature scuttled forward.
“Your hand, girl.”
She raised her left arm.
The old man lightly took her wrist. He guided her hand toward Heth. She made a fist.
“Open your hand.”
Her fingers fluttered open.
“Please,” she whispered.
“You must learn a lesson in obedience,” Grar said, and moved her little finger toward Heth’s mouth. The dry lips sucked it in. She felt the edges of his teeth. The tongue stroked the length of her finger.
Then he bit.
She saw her bleeding stump. She saw Heth chewing. The ceiling of the hut tilted strangely, and went dark.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“What time do you think it is?” Neala asked, staring through the doorway.
Sherri shrugged. “Cordelia’s the one with the watch.”
“I’d guess it’s past noon,” Johnny said. “Maybe.”
“It gets dark around eight?”
“Yeah,” said Sherri. “That gives us seven hours. Can you die of thirst in seven hours?”
“I doubt it,” Johnny said.
Neala wiped her face. “I wish night would get here.”
“It will,” Johnny told her.
“And then,” said Sherri, “the real fun starts.” She lay down on her back, folded her hands beneath her head, and stared at the ceiling. “Hide and seek with the bogeymen.”
“We can’t stay here,” Neala said.
“If we had water, we could.”
“But we don’t.”
“Maybe just one of us should go out, tonight, and bring some back. He could fill that pot…”
“You volunteering me?” Johnny asked.
“Sure.” She grinned at him. “You game?”
“Not hardly. By the time I could make it to water, I’d be home free. I might as well keep going.”
“Right! Great idea! Keep going, and get help. Bring in the cavalry. Get us out of here in a chopper, and blow these fuckers to hell.”
Johnny remained silent. Neala turned to him, alarmed. “You’re not seriously considering it!”
“Well…”
“Damn it Sherri!”
“Hey, it was only a suggestion.”
“It has some merits,” Johnny said.
“No!”
“I probably could get help. Search and rescue, over in Melville, has a copter. If I get to them, they could set down right outside the door. Only thing is, it would take a while. I’d have to make it to the road, and get my hands on a car. My car, if it’s working. Then I’d have to make it through Barlow.”
“What’s the problem with that?” Sherri asked.
“Barlow? Everyone knows me. If I’m spotted, they’d try to stop me. But Melville’s only half an hour past Barlow, so I could get there pretty fast, if nothing goes wrong.”
“Yeah,” Neala said. “If nothing goes wrong. In the meantime, we’d be sitting here alone. No food, no water, no way of knowing if you made it.”
“The thing is, you’d be safe here. Out beyond the heads, you’d be vulnerable.”
“Just like you.”
“I can move fast, alone. If I make it, I’d be back by morning with that copter.”
“And if you don’t make it?”
“You’re no worse off than if you’d been with me.”
“It’s a good idea,” Sherri said.
“Hold it. Just a minute, damn it. Johnny, didn’t you say it’s twenty miles to get out of Krull territory?”
He nodded. “That’s if you head east.”
“What’s this
“If I go out alone, I’ll head west.”
“Back the way we came?”
“I’ll try to get back to my car. If I can get it started…”
“The place was
“Last night,” Sherri added.
“Okay, last night. So do you think they just vanished since then?”
Sherri smirked. “They’re right outside.”
“That’s right,” Johnny said. “Right outside. Must be fifty of them surrounding this cabin. That’s fifty who aren’t prowling the woods. If I can just sneak past the ones right here, the rest of the way should be a cinch.”
“If it’s a cinch,” Neala said, “let’s all go together.”
