“I see.”
“But we’re in luck.” The two noticed they were sitting waist deep in water. A natural underground channel flowed around them and down the tunnel. “If we follow the stream, it’s bound to come out somewhere.” After a few minutes they wobbled to their feet. “Come on. We’ve got to get out of here and find food. Then we can find the causeway and look for Hardesty’s party.”
The two set off into the darkness. It was cooler below ground, but the humidity made it dank. Travis could smell the metallic odor of water on stone and the lush fragrance of the foliage. Thanks to the light of the algae, he could make out the shapes of their feet in the stream bed. He kept a sharp eye. This wasn’t called a viper pit for nothing. After a moment, he felt Ressa’s hand creep into his, and he squeezed in return. As they continued, Ressa moved closer. His hand slid to her waist, and hers to his. They walked together, the quiet sloshing of their steps the only sound in the dark. After a while, she spoke.
“Do you think Nahuatl made it?”
“I hope so. He wasn’t so bad. Did you see any sign of him?”
“No.”
“Then we won’t give up hope, will we?” Travis asked, giving her a squeeze.
“No!” she replied, letting her head rest on his shoulder as they walked. He heard her breath hitch as she began to sob.
“What’s wrong?”
“I am such a fool. If I had stayed home, none of this would have happened, and he would still be alive.”
Travis stopped and faced her. “We don’t know he’s dead,” he said. “Besides, we knew the job was dangerous when we took it. Did you think we would leave you to die? Shucks, every guy in the unit was fighting to be in the rescue party!”
Ressa looked deep into his eyes and smiled. “You are such a liar,” she said. Her arms went around his neck; her hands pulled his head down. Their lips met, parted, and meet again with more ardor. Her fingertips lightly traced his jaw line. His hands explored the small of her back and found her buttocks, pulling her into him. One of her thighs climbed to his hips. Travis was iron, his breath coming in gasps.
Ressa broke away with difficulty. “Not here,” she said. “There are better places.”
“If we live,” said Travis.
She flashed a knowing smile. “I have been without a husband for a long time, my love. But there are some things worth doing right. It will be worth the wait, I promise.” Ressa took his hand and they continued down the tunnel.
The two traveled on is silence, until, far ahead, Travis thought he saw what might be light.
“Look!” cried Ressa, “There it is!” About fifty yards ahead, the tunnel opened to daylight. A tangle of vines stretched across the exit.
“Thank God!”
They reached the end, broke into the sunlight, and stopped dead. About six inches from the tip of his nose stood the tip of a drawn obsidian-tipped arrow. The arrow was attached to a drawn bow, and holding the bow was not a lizard man, but an angry native, one of several, waiting to send it into his left eye.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” he breathed.
Chapter 16
“Diego, eres tú? Soy yo, Ressa!”
Travis was taken aback. His hand was hovering over the hilt of his field knife, but the girl had thrown her arms wide and was beaming from ear to ear. One of the six drawn bowmen looked back, puzzled.
“Ressa? Poco Ressa?” he asked.
“Sí! Sí, soy yo. Estoy tan contento de verte,” she cried, leaping into his arms and hugging him. “It’s all right, put those down,” she said, slapping down the arrows pointed at Travis. “He’s a friend.” She then launched into a rapid fire conversation in espa that went on for several minutes. The others relaxed, but continued to eye each other. The longer Ressa talked, the more incredulous their expressions became. Finally, Travis had to speak.
“Ressa, who are these guys?” he asked.
“Can you believe it?” she cried. “This is Diego, my old bow master. He taught me to shoot when I was a little girl. This is a hunting party from Copalta!”
“Where?”
“Copalta, Copalta! The city where I was born. I told you this already. Don’t you remember? He says the lagarijos have crossed the river in force and are searching for us. Diego is calling off the hunting party and taking us back to camp. This is great luck!”
Travis extended his hand to Diego. “Buenos días, señor,” he said. That was the limit of his high school Spanish. After a moment, the older man clasped his forearm in return.
“Buenas tardes,” he corrected. “Este camino, por favor.”
Without another word, the group turned and headed back up the barely discernable forest trail. Within a few minutes they rejoined the main force of the hunting party. Unlike the men of Asilyo, they wore tunics instead of loincloths. Only their leader wore a small cloak.
The men of Copalta moved fast. For the next hour, Travis concentrated on keeping them in sight and not being separated. The ground became less marshy as they left the delta behind and entered the foothills. Though the men said little, Travis got the distinct impression that things weren’t going well. He asked Ressa.
“We are still being pursued,” she explained. “The scout just told Diego that the main force has returned to the river, but a smaller group follows.” The trail had grown steadily more difficult, rising higher and higher as they followed the face of a cliff. The path was barely wide enough for one man to pass, and dropped precipitously into the treetops and a stream far below. Up ahead, Travis heard what could only be a curse. As they often do in a jungle, the trail had simply ended. As it rounded the cliff face it simply dropped away to nothing. The party had no choice but to turn around and go back. They had almost reached the bottom when Travis, who was bringing up the rear, stopped short.
A party of lizard men had almost reached the foot of the path. If they gained it, the hunting party would be trapped on the ledge. Diego saw it too, and gave some swift orders. The men held the high ground, and the path had widened enough that two could stand and fire. The men who were uphill could also bring their bows to bear, and Travis barely had time to flatten himself against the cliff wall as arrow fire began to rain down on the approaching reptiles. Hunters tend to be good shots, and very few arrows went wide. The first ranks of lizard men fell, but this only accounted for a handful. They used no tactics or formations, rushing forward in an effort to get at their prey. The ones on the ends flanked out wide, but that was the extent of their warcraft.
Diego knew he had to get away from the cliff in order to bring his full contingent of archers to bear, so after the first volley, he shouted for them to advance down the trail. Without a bow, Travis could do little but cover Ressa with his machete and knife as the bowmen spread out and began to fire in earnest. Within a few minutes the Copaltans’ superior numbers began to whittle down the retreating lizard men until none remained. When the last one fell, the archers walked among the dead, looking for as many undamaged arrows as they could recover.
After that, the hunting party turned east and made for the main camp, reaching it just before sundown. Travis and Ressa sat talking with Diego as the others broke camp and prepared to move out in the morning. Diego asked questions, Travis answered, and Ressa translated. Eventually, the whole story was told: the crash landing, the journey to Pericu, and the battle in the catacombs. Ressa grew more and more excited.
“This is good, Travis,” she said. “I think they are going to help.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means we are returning to Copalta.”
“I can’t go to Copalta, I’ve got to rejoin my unit,” Travis protested.
“Travis, Diego thinks my father will want to be involved in this fight. It is a matter of honor. The men of Asilyo are our allies. Plus, you and Nahuatl saved my life. He may even send a war party to join your people in Pericu. We are closer to Copalta now than Pericu anyway. It may be that you can serve your capitán better by returning to
the battle with more soldiers, no?”
Travis gave up, too tired to answer. Better to sleep on such things and decide in the morning. At least tonight he’d get a hammock, and not some muddy fighting hole. As he watched Ressa walk way, he thought how unfortunate it was that he’d probably be alone. For now. As she had said – some things are worth waiting for.
Chapter 17
Captain Bainbridge got his first look at Pericu as the sun rose. Even in ruins, it was imposing. Set on a broad, flat plain between the river and the sea, its walls rose fifty feet above the plain, and its shining minarets, domes, and towers still caught the rising sun. A closer look would reveal the crumbling parapets along the top edges, and the tangles of jungle vines which covered city structures from head to foot. Behind the city, a great stone bridge still spanned the great river. Even well past its heyday, Pericu was still formidable.
Derek Driveway crept up and tapped him on the shoulder. The Alpha commander was covered in camo face paint, but his smell caused even a veteran like Bainbridge to wrinkle his nose. “Lizard man urine,” explained Driveway. “I’m hoping it’ll cover my human scent.” Bits of leaves, stems, and foliage protruded from his head and shoulders in a effort to mask his outline. “The Machai boys are using their crawlers for watchdogs,” he said, “and one caught wind of me a little while ago. Lucky these things are nocturnal and not very awake first thing in the morning.”
“Good to know. First things first: do a quick scan for motion detectors and mines. Use these.” He handed Driveway a small electronic device about the size of an ear phone. They could be attached by clips and he had brought one for every soldier.
“Is that a mini-cloak?”
“You got it.” said the captain. When activated, the personal camouflage device, or mini-cloak, created a dampening field around a user that would prevent electronic scanners and motion sensors from being tripped. “Send the prince and his two scouts on a circuit of the city walls. I want to know how many crawlers there are in this place, and where every one of them is hiding. We’ll also need to map the city’s defenses. Where are the Machai guards posted? What ground does each cover, and what are their schedules? How many gates does this place have? How thick are the walls? Are there any drains or underground entrances? Who’s your demolition man?”
“Franks, sir.”
“Good. By sundown, I want an assessment on where the shape charges should go. I want a map of the premises, and I’d love to know what’s going on inside those walls. We may send the rover in after dark.” Bainbridge had found one packed up in the shuttle supplies. The original assault plan was to rely on satellite imaging taken from the Halsey, but someone had been wise enough to pack a scout rover amongst the equipment. This tiny, remote control anti-grav device could fly over the wall under cover of darkness and take infrared and night vision pictures of the city’s interior.
“You came prepared, didn’t you?”
“That’s what they taught me in the Scouts.”
“The what?”
“Never mind. You and Guererro take McCaskey and Nowitski and keep them plenty busy. Stay out of sight and get it done. We’ll rendezvous back here at seventeen hundred. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.” Driveway vanished.
Bainbridge sat back on his haunches. Josso had talked about the city’s dark history, and now the captain believed him. Even in the daylight it looked bad. He was not looking forward to being in the neighborhood once it got dark.
The day wore on. One after another, the remnants of Alpha Elite and Bandit company accomplished their objectives. The captain made careful notes, downloaded it all, then signaled the retreat. The thing he didn’t like were the results of the rover photographs. He had sent the floating camera over the wall as soon as it got dark, and after a brief reconnaissance it had returned unmolested. What it revealed, however, changed everything. Time, more than ever, was not on their side. The men ghosted en masse, heading back towards the river and the rendezvous they hoped would be waiting for them in the pre-dawn hours. Behind them, Pericu guarded its secrets.
Chapter 18
The Prelate leaned forward in his stone chair as Centurion Acrisius and his second, Principales Decimus, saluted him. He ignored them. “Report!” he barked.
“The harvest operation has ceased, as per your order, my lord,” he said. “All equipment and personnel are being ferried upriver as we speak.”
“What is our minimum departure time?”
“Just under twenty hours, sir. At minimum.”
“By the Dark One! You know, of course, that the forces of the Stellar Armada are in the area as we speak. Our lizard guards caught wind of their movements yesterday. There is electronic evidence of dampening fields being used to fool our sensors.”
“My lord, Armada technology is far inferior to our own, and the testimony of an animal is anything but conclusive. Even if they arrive in time, we should be more than capable of dealing with their token force –“
“Their extremely well armed token force, Centurion! That token force has the firepower of an entire Company at its disposal.”
“As you say, my lord. Nevertheless, we had planned on being here for a much longer stay. We unpacked a lot of equipment, and the repacking and transporting of over a hundred men can only be done so quickly.”
Within the shadow of his hood, the Prelate’s eyes narrowed. “I will not have the Emperor’s prize endangered. The harvest and the doctor must reach the homeworld unmolested. I will not have us pinned down here and delayed until the Stellar Armada itself comes down on our heads, do you hear?”
“Aye, my lord.”
“We will be ready to depart in sixteen hours, or I will have your children fed to you in a meat pie, do you understand?”
“Aye, my lord. Sixteen hours.” he grated.
“See to it, Centurion.” The Prelate left his throne and stormed out of the audience hall ahead of everyone.
A short time later his was banging on the door to Arnac’s laboratory.
“Can I help you?” asked the doctor.
“If I have to knock a second time, I’ll use your hand to do it with!” hissed the Prelate. “We are leaving.”
“So I’ve heard. I’ll need some help moving all this equipment.”
“Use them!” The Prelate pointed to the sullen lizard men caged in the back of the lab.
“I’ve been using them as lab animals. I vivisected one of them. They are hardly inclined to be of service at this point. I’ll need some human help.”
“Very well, then. How is your test subject?”
“He’s been decanted.” Dr. Arnac turned, smiling, and beckoned to something that lurked in the shadows at the rear of the lab. The Prelate became aware of the breathing sounds of something very large.
“Otto,” said the doctor, “show yourself.”
The hidden form stepped out of the shadows for a moment, then retreated. The Prelate, who was no stranger to terrible sights, took a half step backwards. The doctor smiled wider.
“His is, shall we say, twice the man he was before?” said Arnac, delighted.
“Dark Master! Is this result average?”
“With further modifications, I can make legions of Machai like him.”
“Even so,” the Prelate breathed. He regained his composure. “Warrior!” he said, “do you know who you are?”
The hulking form took a moment to answer, as if remembering the rudiments of human speech. When it spoke, it was with the voice of a beast.
“I was Otto Spielman, but now I am Machai,” it said slowly.
“Your former comrades will soon be knocking at our door. If I commanded it, would you bring me the head of your captain?”
From the shadows came a gruesome chuckle. The Prelate thought it one of the most evil sounds he had ever heard.
“It would be my pleasure to kill them all,” said the thing.
The Prelate began to laugh, and the thing laughed with him. After a moment, Dr. Arnac had
to stop up his ears. As the roar of the thing’s laughter eclipsed the Prelate’s, the lizard men began to squeal in terror and claw at their cages to escape the awful sound.
The Prelate nodded his approval. This might just work out after all.
Chapter 19
Worry nagged at Emil Hardesty’s gut. A seasoned campaigner, he controlled the worry and focused on getting the job done. The trip north along the causeway had been almost too uneventful. There had been no lizard man incursions at all. Four days out, he found the reason why.
“Lagarijos,” said Josso. Though the battle scene had been cleaned up, the blasted remains of the trees and foliage remained. There were almost no lizard man corpses to be found, though there was plenty of evidence of scavenger activities. Hardesty saw some giant footprints that set his teeth on edge. They had also found the shallow graves of two casualties who had been covered in cairns.
“What do you make of these tracks, Señor?” he asked. “Is it that big bastard we saw back at the Wall?”
“I do sense the beast god’s presence. He dogs our footsteps for reasons I cannot comprehend. He’s not been this far from his mountain in many a year.”
“Why hasn’t he attacked us?” asked the sergeant.
“It could be that he wisely fears your weapons. Maybe the darkness of Pericu calls him.” Josso shrugged.
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