'I haven't got it with me, you fool! Haven't you been notified?'
The voice said coldly, 'I am Major Bran Mellia in full command of security appertaining to Rham Kalova's holdings. If you hope for cooperation, Captain, you had better change your attitude. As things stand you are trespassing. Do I make myself clear?'
'Perfectly.' To his marksman Kline said, 'Can you see who's behind that laser trained on us? Could you get him?'
'Not before he burns us, Captain. It takes time to draw a bead.'
‹›He would be seen doing it and some trigger-happy fool would fire. A single shot could start a battle he would lose; he was outgunned and outmanned and if it came to an inquiry the major was in the right. Why hadn't he been notified of the gained permission? How the hell did Zao expect him to find and capture those men unless he had free access to all areas?
The man!
What had happened to the raft?
Dumarest had sent it diving fast and low, adding the pull of gravity to the pulse of the engine so that air whined thinly past the vehicle. A chance created by the confrontation of the opposing forces and one he had taken advantage of. Too busy arguing, Kline had forgotten them; precious seconds gained in which to reach a pass winding between ragged hills, to follow it as it looped south, to gain another and to move on beneath a narrow band of clear sky.
A rat scuttling frantically through a tortuous maze.
'Neat,' said Vardoon. 'Think we'll make it?'
'We'd better.'
'If we don't we lose it all.' Vardoon glanced at the pouches of eggs. His face was hard with ridged scar tissue; a determination evident in the hands clamped on the gun he held before him, muzzle pointed upward. 'If that happens we won't go alone. I'll take some of those so-called soldiers with us. Did you hear them talk? They wouldn't last five minutes in any real conflict. I could have taken them all with a couple of rafts and a dozen men who know their business.'
Talk, but if it gave him consolation there was no harm in it. There could even be gain, a man needing to talk often said more than he intended. As Dumarest chose another pass down which to send the raft he said casually, 'Did you catch the names? The Maxim… Maxom…'
'The Maximus.' Vardoon took the bait. 'Rham Kulova- well, he was ripe for the job and it was only a matter of time before he won it. A hard bastard, greedy, too. I guess that's why he's after us. If we get away he could have reason to regret it.'
'You know him?'
'Sure, I-' Vardoon broke off, added, 'When I was here before I heard of him. Emil had no cause to love him.'
'And the other? The cyber?'
'Zao? Never heard of him. He must be a recent arrival.'
But established long enough to have gained influence and power. The implication of what Kline had said was plain and had removed any doubt as to why they were being chased. Why he was being chased-Vardoon had been unlucky enough to choose the wrong partner.
Now he said, 'Can't you go faster, Earl?'
'No.'
'If we're caught in the hills at night we're dead. If we lift they'll spot us and catch us before we clear the area. Willing to take a chance?' He explained as Dumarest nodded. 'There's a trick I learned with models of this type. A way to short the engine so as to boost the output. It wrecks the plant but I guess we don't have to worry about that. You want me to try it?'
Dumarest said, 'How long will the extra power last?'
'It depends on the engine and how greedy you are. Maybe a few hours, maybe less. It's a gamble but what can we lose?'
All they had if the engine burned out too soon. The same if Vardoon overestimated his skill. Dumarest looked at the sky and tried to guess the position of the sun. Already shadows dusted the bottoms of the passes and peaked silhouettes softened the walls of the hills. It was past noon, then, but how long until night?
How far did they have to go?
'Earl?' Vardoon was impatient to get busy. 'What'll it be?'
'Go ahead. Just get everything ready to trigger the boost.'
'Why not finish the job?'
Dumarest said patiently, 'We'll save it until we need it. It's a long walk back even after we leave the hills and I'd rather ride slow than do it the hard way. Need any help?'
'No.' Vardoon swung from the seat and produced a short-bladed knife. 'Just keep this thing steady and yell if you see our friends.'
A warning for him to get the gun into action, something Dumarest wanted to avoid. He steadied the raft as it bucked beneath him, felt it drop to touch stone, bouncing as it lifted to ride evenly down the pass. Mounded rock lay ahead, a thermal catching the vehicle as it swung past the heap and lifting it high. Too high, another updraft of heated air caught it, lifted it like a scrap of thistledown to reveal a glimpse of the sun, a dark fleck uncomfortably close.
It vanished as he sent the raft diving into the shelter of a pass, solid rock blocking it from sight as it shielded them from any observer. But if they had been spotted the raft would follow and it had the advantage of height.
Behind him Dumarest heard scrapings, a grunt of satisfaction as Vardoon ripped away panels to expose leads and conduits. Within minutes he was ready.
'When you give the word, Earl.'
They had time to spare and the longer they could stay hidden the better their chances. Dumarest swung to the left, glided along a defile, turned to the right and into a narrow gap masked from above by jutting outcrops of stone. One path wended, dipped, rose to reveal open sky at the far end, deceptive in its apparent innocence.
'Earl!'
Dumarest saw the thing as Vardoon yelled a warning. It dropped from where it had clung to the underside of the rock, a flattened disc two feet in diameter, fringed with tendrils, more rising in a spined frond from its center. Sparks flashed from it, numbing Dumarest's arm as he knocked it to one side. Another burst as he kicked at it, a third hit the side of the raft as it scraped against stone. From it, from the rock itself, the very air, came a sudden, acrid vapor.
'Hart! Hold your breath!'
Dumarest felt the sting of acrid gases catch at eyes and throat as he voided his lungs. Behind him, slower, Vardoon retched from the invisible fumes. Exudations from the creatures or a part of their environment-unless they could win free they would die.
The raft scraped against more stone, veered as Dumarest adjusted their flight, hit again as tears fogged his vision. Ahead the clear expanse of sky seemed to shimmer, to become ringed with a contracting ring of darkness. Within his chest his empty lungs demanded air.
A pain he ignored as, blinking, he sent the raft arrowing along the narrow passage to the clear air ahead. Reaching it, he aimed for height, blasting the craft with manufactured winds before gulping air into his starved lungs. The inhalations cleared his head. Behind him Vardoon retched again, coughed, drew in air with a moist rattling.
'Hart?'
'I'm all right.' Vardoon coughed again. 'That damned stink got at me. Burned my throat a little, I guess, but I'll manage. How are we?'
Up and riding away from the hills. Ahead lay the rugged wilderness leading toward the south, the sea and the town. The sun was halfway toward the horizon; a ruby ball ahead and to the west. The sky was touched with puffs of white and flecks of darkness. Cloud-and the rafts hanging like vultures ready to strike.
As they closed in Dumarest said, 'Now, Hart! Now!'
He felt the raft surge beneath him, the rush of air a whip lashing at his eyes, his face. Below, the ground
