Melome

Sometimes a prisoner tries to escape and when he does the authorities write him off. The cats get him,' Valaban explained. 'Use him for sport. If he's lucky he dies fast.'

'Has Reiza had them long?'

'Since they were kittens. Shakira bought them for her. I cut their claws and blunted their fangs and she used to sleep with them. To build an affinity, you understand. Before they will obey they must accept her as one of themselves.' Valaban paused then added, 'Maybe she became more like them than she realized. A creature of whims and fancies and sudden impulses. Hayter said that once.' He glanced at Dumarest. 'You know about Hayter?'

'Her dead lover? Yes, I know. The cats killed him, didn't they?'

Valaban took a sip from his bottle and lowered it to stare at the lamp.

'Hayter was a good man and I liked him. The cats ripped out his life but I figure he was dead before he entered the ring. His mind wasn't on the job which was bad enough but I think there was something more. An animal,' he said. 'But walking on two legs like a man.'

Zucco? A possibility, he had become Reiza's lover and Hayter's death had been a convenient accident. If it had been an accident.

Dumarest said, casually, 'I've heard of such things. Used them at times when hunting for a living. A special mix which attracts the prey. A scent they can't resist and I suppose you could make one which would induce an attack. Was it something like that?'

'Maybe.'

'You didn't spot it?'

'Hayter was covered in blood and his stomach was a mess. The stink was enough to cover all others but I remember, just before he went into the ring, he dabbed at his face with a cloth. To dry the sweat, I guess, but he could have been putting something on as well as taking it off.'

'Did you tell any of this to Shakira?'

'I tried but he didn't seem to want to listen. And who am I to go up against his man? Not that I give a damn for any of them. With my skills I can go anywhere. Every farmer will want a man who can handle his beasts and this isn't the only circus in the galaxy.' Valaban used his bottle again. 'Maybe it's time to quit the way it's being run.'

'Zucco?'

'It's not just him. Every circus needs a strong ringmaster but there are other things.'

'Like too many empty seats?'

'You've noticed,' said Valaban. 'The take's too low. We've been here too long and lost our novelty. We should be up and moving to greener fields. In the old days this place would be on its way by now. The animals sold, acts thinned, half the tents deflated and packed. We even started-' He broke off, rearing to his feet as the klachen screamed its rage. 'What the hell's going on?'

Metal clanged and, suddenly, the creature was before them.

It was the size of a horse, scaled, the head like that of a lizard. A vestigial tail ended in a knotted mass of bone and spine, the feet tipped with round and blunted claws. Beneath the hide and across the broad platform of its back muscle rippled in smoothly coordinated motion.

'Freeze!' Valaban's voice, while gentle, held the snap of command. 'Something's scared it. Move and you'll make it worse. Leave this to me.' He faced the animal, talking as he moved slowly toward the creature. 'Easy, now. Easy. Just rest easy, now. Easy.'

Words which became a soothing drone directed at the lifted head, the orifices of the ears. A demonstration of his skill, the talent which gave him mastery over the majority of animals. Dumarest remembered a man he'd once known who could calm the most frenzied horse by whispering in its ear. Valaban had the same attribute but the klachen wasn't a horse and, if it charged, the old man would be dead.

And Dumarest knew it would charge.

Knew it with the instinct which had served him so often before. Even as Valaban stepped closer Dumarest was on the move. A lunge which closed the space between them, sent his shoulder slamming into the other man, hurling him down and to one side.

Falling beside him as the beast tore past where he had stood.

'Earl! I-'

'Your bottle!' Dumarest climbed to his feet. He didn't look at the other man. 'Give me your bottle!'

His knife was in his hand ready to slash and stab but used it would fill the air with the scent of fresh blood. An odor which would madden the other beasts within the area into a destructive outburst. Already they deafened him with their snarls and growls, the metallic clash as they fought the confines of their cages.

'Leave this to me, Earl.' Valaban, shaken, was on his feet beside Dumarest. 'I know how to handle it.'

'Get close and it will kill you.' Dumarest pointed to where the klachen stood, head weaving, nostrils dilated as it snuffed the air. 'You can't move fast enough to dodge. Now give me that bottle and your blouse. Or something to hold the liquid. Move!'

Time was against them. The creature, disturbed, could run amok. But to wait was to allow its fear to build, to explode in a killing fury.

'Here!' Valaban handed over the bottle and a blanket. He watched as Dumarest tore loose the cork and spilled the fluid over the material. 'You going to blind it?'

'I'm going to try.' Dumarest sheathed his knife. 'Stand ready. Once I get this over its head it'll start to rear. When it calms run forward and do your stuff.'

He edged forward before Valaban could answer, the blanket in his hands, booted feet silent on the floor. As the scaled head turned toward him he froze, standing motionless until the ruby eyes had moved away. Closer, he froze again, the blanket held high before him, the smell of the fluid masking his scent. As the head turned away he was running, jumping high to land on the broad back, the blanket falling to wrap around the head, blinding the eyes.

As it settled the klachen exploded into violent action.

Dumarest felt the surge and lift of muscle, the jarring impact as the creature landed. He slipped, almost fell as the beast reared, clamped his legs tight as it darted forward and came to a sudden halt. A moment in which he tasted blood and felt the strain on nerve and sinew then the animal was rearing again, the tail lashing to free itself of the rider on its back.

'Earl! Watch it!'

Dumarest heard Valaban's yell of warning and felt the blow which scraped over his spine. One which would have knocked him to the ground with a shattered back if he hadn't heaved himself forward to lock his thighs around the base of the klachen's neck. A hold he maintained as the creature threshed beneath him, stooping forward to wrap the blanket over the jaws, twisting to clamp them shut. Locking the fabric with his left hand he pressed his right over the nostrils, blocking the passage of air and filling the beast's lungs with the fumes of Valaban's bottle.

Choked, near to asphyxiation, the creature slowed its wild lungings, came at last to a quivering rest.

'You've got it,' said Valaban. 'You can leave the rest to me.' He came close, moving the blanket as Dumarest released his grip, his voice low as he stroked the scaled head.

Dumarest watched, waiting, then as the old man looked up and nodded he slid from his position to land softly at the side of the klachen. As Valaban continued to soothe the beast he stepped over to its cage.

The lock was simple but far too sophisticated to ever be released by an animal. Dumarest checked the cage and the area around it. The rear was masked in shadows which blurred detail and he stood among them looking toward the bench and the single lamp. Someone with a stick could easily have opened the cage without being seen. He moved farther back to where a wall rested close to the bars. The smooth surface gaped in a long, vertical cut. Dumarest fingered the material; thin plastic meant only for a flimsy screen. At the base of the cut a silken scarf rested like a smear of yellow.

One bearing a perfume he recognized.

'Reiza's.' Valaban snuffed at the fabric. 'That's her perfume.'

'You certain?'

'She wears it like a brand. It's hers all right.' Valaban glowered at the scarf. 'Expensive stuff. Zucco bought her a bottle once and she's worn nothing else since. But why would she want to open the cage?'