Turning sharply with a grimace, Blake held up a hand. “Keep it down, can’t you?” he hissed.
“Now I can’t even raise my voice?” the dwarf protested. “First smoking, then talking?”
Blake shook his head, muttering under his breath: “Christ, spare me from pig-headed dwarfs,” before swiftly beckoning. “Alright, come on. We’ve got to make a detour.”
“Detour?” Maddox was the first to start up the rise. “Why?” And as he swiped aside a low-hanging branch, Blake suddenly noticed movement in the trees above them that immediately brought his head up with alarm.
“Maddox!” he cried. “Look out!”
But it was too late.
Through the foliage the snaking coils, much like sinuous, brown vines, shot down with the swiftness of striking snakes. Maddox was directly beneath them, and his reactions weren’t quick enough to fend them off. Not that he would have had the strength to do so had he been more alert. For as soon as one of the coils looped about his arm, another was curling about his leg and waist, and he was stricken. Maddox let out a squawk of surprise. He desperately tried to drag his rifle off his shoulder, only for the grasping hand to be clasped by another tendril. He was yanked off his feet.
“By the gods!” Uldo exclaimed. He was the first to draw a weapon, snatching one of his lightning axes from its magnetic plate on his back. The blade crackled with jags of energy as he tossed it out of his hand. It was well aimed, too, shearing the dangling coils before they drew Maddox up into the canopy, spilling him to the ground again.
Above them there was a high-pitched, unnatural screech of pain, and as Blake unshouldered his rifle, he saw a dark, shaggy shape retreat into the higher branches. It was not alone either. Other figures were amassing in the canopy above them.
“Dryads!” he yelled, and yanked at the bolt of his Jag rifle, jamming the weapon into his shoulder. He swung it toward the nearest shape and as more coils shot through the leaves, he pulled the trigger.
The blaze of automatic rifle fire was enough to briefly illuminate the ugly, gnarled face of the creature. Black eyes and ferocious teeth were set in a dark green face, and growths like gnarled twigs grew up from its head. Even more hideous was a squat, powerful body writhing with horrible tentacles, which it used to snatch up its prey. It moved quickly too, scurrying across the branches like a monkey, although not fleet enough to avoid Blake’s aim as it let out a shriek when it was hit. The dryad landed, jittering, onto the shelf of rock next to where Maddox was trying to crawl to his feet, spraying him in a gout of dark brown, oily liquid.
“They’re everywhere!” Uldo roared, racing over to the tree where his axe was lodged, still sparking fitfully.
“Then let’s not hang around, shall we?” Blake dropped his rifle to his side and grabbed Maddox by the arm, hauling him to his feet.
By now, Cid had turned his glowing eye to the screen of branches above him. His Starfall blasters swivelled along his line of sight and locked onto their target. Then came a spray of gunfire through the canopy, splintering wood and mowing through leaves and slamming into dryads alike. More ear-splitting screams filled the air, and another body crashed through the vegetation and dropped at the golem’s feet. But more tendrils had also dropped from above, and three of them had managed to snag Cid’s left arm, preventing him from holding aloft his torch cannons attached to his wrists.
“They have me…” came his plaintive metallic rasp, and as Blake and Nyara retreated with Maddox, Uldo was forced to hasten back down the shelf of rock to aid his friend.
With a swing of his axe, more vines were severed and Uldo grabbed hold of Cid’s arm. But the golem shook him off and swung about again, this time managing to send a blast of white heat from his torch cannons, setting branches and dryads alight. Then, finally listening to Uldo’s urging, Cid followed the dwarf back up the shelf of rock, dropping down on the other side of the shelf and into the trees, with Nyara leading the way.
“Are they following?” Maddox gasped, his eyes wild as they stumbled through the brush.
Blake chanced a look over his shoulder and up into the trees. To his relief it seemed the dryads had quickly given up pursuit, faced as they had been with such surprising firepower. Besides, Blake seemed to remember that dryads didn’t strike out too far from their territory, being opportunistic hunters working in close groups. And after a short while he was able to advise the others to slow and eventually stop, judging the threat to have been left behind.
“Dryads!” Uldo gulped, pawing at his beard and breathing heavily. “That’s a new one on me. They came out of nowhere.”
“Yes, they’ve become so close to the trees they’re almost part of them.” Nyara hardly seemed to be panting. “Very difficult to spot.”
“You’re not joking. Powerful little buggers too. How many of them were there, do you suppose?”
“Hard to say. Perhaps ten or twelve in a tribe. They also seem to like congregating around the mires for easy game. Here they wait until something gets stuck and exhausted. Then they hoist them up into the trees where they’re eaten alive.”
“Well, lovely place you have here, elf. Must we now look above our heads all the time as well as in front of our noses?”
“Not once we get closer to the river. The trees will be sparser there. Although we must be vigilant of other dangers.”
“Oh. That’s comforting.”
Blake turned his attention to Maddox. “You alright?”
Greasy brown streaks coated Maddox’s face. He wiped at them with a trembling hand. “I think so. Sorry. I wasn’t much use back there.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Blake replied, even though Maddox’s lack of awareness and slowness to react was indeed worrisome. He hadn’t even drawn his weapon. What would happen when they finally reached the lair? If they reached the lair. Would he fall to pieces so easily there too?
“We should keep moving,” Nyara suggested. “At least until we’ve put some distance between us and the mire. Then we can find a suitable place to camp. A fire should deter most curious creatures. Fire is always feared here.”
“Then that makes you our greatest weapon, Cid,” Uldo said, slapping the golem on the back and issuing a dull clang. All at once, the dwarf seemed in lighter spirits, as if a bit of action had been just the tonic he needed. It had certainly heightened the company’s awareness of their surroundings, thought Blake, and perhaps now Uldo would begin to take this trek and the threats they faced more seriously.
FIFTEEN
1
Through her binoculars, Gemini scanned the surrounding trees, then turned and lifted them to where she had landed her Chaser. For all intents and purposes there was no craft sitting on the wide shelf of rock just above the thundering waterfall. The cloaking shield she had applied was a necessary precaution to evade any unwanted detection. Still, as her ship was parked about three hundred feet above the forest floor, she didn’t anticipate there were many creatures that would disturb it unduly. At least, that’s what she hoped when she returned.
“If you return,” Gem said aloud as she dropped her binoculars, putting them back in their case and clipping it to her belt. While she had anticipated the party would probably be a few hours ahead of her, she’d hoped that her pursuit would have taken her along the river, keeping her away from the deeper woodlands. No such luck. For after managing to lock onto the faint energy trail the RV had left behind it as it dropped through Terevell’s atmosphere, it soon became apparent there had been a mishap. The only decent landing site for miles around was Garia’s Point, the flat shelf of rock where Gemini had landed her ship next to the thundering Arak Falls. This the RV had never reached, and for some reason her quarry had plunged to earth somewhere in the forest.
They’ve crashed then, Gemini had realised, with a mixture of grim satisfaction and apprehension. For while in some ways this might have determined the outcome of the hunt before it had even begun (or at the very least slowed them down), this did not mean she coul
d relax. Rather, she would still need to be sure what the outcome of the crash had been, and that meant a twenty klick hike to the west. At least according to the triangulation coordinates from her tracker. And as there was no way she could have landed her Chaser in the Deep Forest, she had been forced to opt for the plateau, high above the treetops, with a three-hundred-foot climb to negotiate down the side of the falls.
Never had she been so glad of her basic training than when she had finally dropped safely to the ground. The rock face had been slippery and the gradient sheer. And who knew what kind of deadly critters lurked within the numerous nooks and crannies dotting the cliff face, ready to strike out at her while she descended? But that was one hurdle overcome, at least, and soon
Gemini started off again, the sound of the falls receding in the background. She only hoped she could reach the crash site before dark. It was already late afternoon, and there wouldn’t be many hours of light left in the day.
2
“Sir?” A pause. “Chief Hanaway?”
Hanaway’s eyes creased. Once again, he had found himself drifting into a soporific daydream. It was happening all too often these days. And it was not a pleasant reverie either. Rather, in this particular moment of disconnection, his mind was assailed with images of the icy, benighted landscape of the Narinall Plains, lashed by a harsh wind. He was standing in the thick of the storm too, his skin flayed by particles of black dust and grime, barely able to breathe. And when he suddenly emerged, as if he had somehow carried the experience of the dream with him, his body felt raw, and his eyes hurt when they turned to the lamp on his desk. It was why he could hardly see who it was standing on the brink of his office, and his innards involuntarily tightened.
“What is it?” he demanded gruffly, pushing the hood of the lamp aside and squinting. Now Hanaway could see it was a young officer with a palm reader in his hand. He had probably knocked, but Hanaway hadn’t heard it.
“Sorry to disturb, sir. But I have a call on the red line.”
“Hmm?”
The communications officer stepped a little into the room. He was young with sandy hair. A new recruit then, Hanaway thought. What was his name again? Rice? Pryce? He couldn’t remember. But he wondered idly how long it would be before the lad would begin to have bad dreams too, like so many who ended up stationed in permanent quarters.
“From the Border Gate, sir,” the officer said. “Southern Hemisphere Approach. Supervisor Raabus Janik would like to speak with you. He said it was urgent.”
“Janik?” Hanaway felt his innards tighten even more. Although now for a different reason. “You sure?”
“Quite sure, sir. Should I patch him through?”
Hanaway didn’t answer at first. Instead, he turned his attention briefly to the window and looked out across the grim landscape and up to the Toran Ridge. He remembered his dream and thought, God how I hate this place. For there was a time he was sure he could have survived almost anywhere. Prided himself on his resilience. Now, all he wanted was to see the back of this rock, and as soon as possible.
“Chief Hanaway?”
Hanaway swivelled his attention back to the new recruit. “Alright, yes,” he muttered. “Put him through. And encrypt the line. Understand?”
“Of course, sir.”
The communications officer turned smartly and left the room.
3
“You said nothing could go wrong …” said Director Raabus Janik in dismay as Hanaway stood before his projection plate, arms folded. By all intents and purposes Janik was standing right before him. The only interruption to the illusion were the wavering lines that trembled up and down the holographic image. “But then, not two hours ago, who should I find rooting through the databases and checking out codes in the Cypher Golem Suite? One of your rangers, Hanaway. On an unsanctioned mission. How could you let this happen?”
Hanaway’s face was stony. “Calm down, Janik.”
“Calm down he says. Calm down! Do you have any idea what this means? If even a shred of this information gets out, and it ends up being investigated by the Assembly Panel, not to mention the Elven Overseers Commission, it won’t take a genius to follow the breadcrumbs to me. Of course, if that happens, you can be sure I won’t be the only one going to Icefall over this.”
“I take it that’s your attempt at a threat.”
“Of course it’s a threat. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have agreed to be part of any of this debacle.”
“That’s funny. From what I remember, you were only too happy to take the money, Janik. Even though I warned you about the risks.”
“Well, I’d just like to say for the record, none of this is my doing. I did my part. I got you a couple of Border Guards who would keep their mouth shut. I reprogrammed the destination files in the Cypher Suite myself. So it’s my fingerprints are all over this job, Hanaway. And I’m not going to take the fall for your incompetence.”
Hanaway tried to keep his temper in check. While on paper he and Janik were of a similar rank, Hanaway wasn’t used to being spoken to like a subordinate. It didn’t help that Janik had attained his position, not through hard graft, but from glad-handing. This overweight fool had never had to put his life on the line for anyone.
“So?” Janik was saying now. “What the hell are we going to do? She’ll have been down on the surface for at least two hours by now.”
“Which begs the question why you didn’t contact me sooner.”
“Don’t turn this around on me. It took me over an hour to decrypt the quick link drive she left behind. She knows it was an inside job, Hanaway. She knows that someone at the Border Gate tampered with the triangulation points. And then there was the Border Guard who received your ranger at our Command Post. I had to interview her to find out precisely what this ranger of yours told her.”
“And?”
“And Sohn was vague, thankfully. Just that there was a hunt going on, and that she’d come to stop it under her own steam. Still, I think the guard is suspicious, so I’ve put her up on the Spire for the time being. Make sure she doesn’t get it into her head to talk to anyone from the EOC.”
“Yes, that would be bad,” Hanaway admitted.
“You’re telling me. But that’s just one worry in a hundred. What if this ranger of yours has already caught up with the hunting party? It could all be over by the time we finish talking.”
“Well, I doubt that. If Sohn had intercepted the hunt by now, and somehow stopped them, we’d have heard something. And bear in mind, she’s just one ranger against four very determined hunters. Fully armed.”
“Except, Sohn is a Sweeper. Aren’t they used to going up against larger, heavily armed numbers? Isn’t that what they do?”
Hanaway flexed his jaw. “That’s irrelevant. She won’t have any back-up. And she’ll have to track them through the Deep Forest. A very hostile environment.”
“Why doesn’t that fill me with confidence? Besides, isn’t the only evidence she needs the existence of the hunt to begin with? Once she finds the RV it’s all over.”
“Not necessarily. The existence of a Research Vessel in the wrong place isn’t in itself proof that the crew are an illegal hunting party. Maybe with the right lawyers, they might even be able to plead innocence.”
“That’s highly unlikely though, don’t you think?”
“Who can say? I’ve sat in enough witness boxes in my time, with enough cast-iron evidence to put any number of scumbags away for a thousand standard years, only for them to get off Scot free. The system never works the way you think. And bear in mind, Sohn is not there simply to prove she’s right about the hunt. She’s there to stop it happening. Which means, finding the RV, and even the pilot if they’ve left them behind, won’t be enough.”
“Well, I hope you’re right about that. Because if the High King even gets a whiff of what’s happening, he’ll more than likely contact the EOC right away. And that’s when all hell could break loose.”
�
�Except the High King isn’t going to find out what’s going on,” Hanaway said, having reluctantly begun to formulate the only way out of the mess presented to him. “Not if we get to Gemini Sohn before she gets to her target.”
A seam of static skittered across Janik’s face as he frowned. “And how do you propose we do that? You don’t mean sending a Pick-up Squad, do you? Because by the time you get them here, who knows where we’ll be?”
“No. You’re right. It would take too long. And as rangers are the only ones who can cross the Border Gates without needing permission from the EOC, you can’t send a platoon of Border Guards down there either. Not that they’re trained for the terrain. And even if I could get some rangers to the gates in time, they’d need to be vetted to my satisfaction. It would just cause too many loose ends.”
“Then would you mind sharing with me your idea?” Janik asked caustically.
Hanaway ignored the jibing tone and said, “Let’s just say I think I have the means to stop her. It was a little insurance I put in place, but with another agenda. It wouldn’t take much to redirect the resource, though.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, if this plan comes off, Gemini Sohn definitely won’t be leaving Terevell alive. It’ll be expensive though. You’ll have to forgo some of your cut.”
“How much?”
“Enough to get us out of this mess and no more,” Hanaway said. “Although not so much you won’t still be a very rich man, Janik, when all this is over.”
SIXTEEN
1
By the time dusk began to spread through the Great Eastern Forest, Skreet pushed up his welder’s goggles and studied his smoking handiwork. In a relatively short space of time, he had managed to fix the damage to the fuselage and guessed that the RV would now, at least, be airworthy. All the other difficulties were more-or-less superficial apart from the landing gear, and he was confident he could have that repaired over the course of the next day or so.
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