Aurum: The Golden Planet

by Sharon Joss

  “Here. Take mine.”

  “You’re not coming with us?”

  Wayne eased his way over to the muddy area surrounding the giant nugget. “I’m no hero. I’m gonna find me a place to hide, until that thing calms down.”

  Lyle snickered, but Wayne didn’t care.

  After Lyle and Nevers moved into the outer cavern, he scrambled over to the massive nugget. He choked back his nausea as he grabbed handfuls of the fetid mud and slathered the muck all over his pants and shirt. Let those two idiots feed the monster, and it would be far less interested in looking for anyone else; especially if he smelled no different from the guys who were already living here.

  In only a few minutes, he’d coated his clothes in reconstituted craggon shit. If that didn’t protect him from becoming craggon fodder, he figured the stink would probably kill him.

  He grabbed the blue lantern and moved down the passage toward the mandragon’s sleeping quarters. Garrett Harkness would be his ticket out of here, and he did not intend to let that guy abandon him to the craggon.

  A shot rang out. The craggon’s scream echoed through the narrow passage like a physical presence.

  Two more shots rang out, and he heard someone’s scream abruptly cut off.

  He listened to the sudden silence. Had the scream been Nevers or Lyle? Or both? Wayne decided it didn’t matter. He wondered if he ought to risk a peek. If the craggon was dead, he’d have heard from his men already. If Nevers and Lyle were dead, well, too bad. Every man for himself.

  He thought about trying to retrieve one of the guns, but quickly decided against taking the risk. No guarantee the craggon was really dead. The risk wasn’t worth it. All he really needed was for that Garrett Harkness creature to show him the other way out. And there had to be one.

  Wayne knew lots of ways, quiet ways, of convincing the mandragon to tell him what he wanted to know.

  And then all that gold would be his for the taking.

  More than he ever expected to win betting on Golden Boy. Getting the load out of the mountains might be dicey, but the traggahs would be able to carry more than half of it. Whatever they couldn’t, he’d leave. No point in getting greedy, but long as he didn’t have to share, he’d still be richer than Midas. He would just have to make sure there were no survivors.

  Once he got the gold back to where they’d stashed the sleds, it would be easy to get back to the coast and arrange passage off Aurum. But the Gold Festival was nearly over. Figure two days to get back to the sleds, and then another two to get back the coast. Tight, but doable, if he pushed it. And for that kind of payoff, he would.

  He wiped his hands on his pants and drew his Bowie knife from the sheath on his belt. The entrance to Garrett Harkness’s living quarters was just ahead of him. He picked up the blue lantern and headed after the mandragon.

  CHAPTER 38

  The next morning, K’Sati ran her hands down Neatfoot’s swollen and enflamed legs. The traggah stood stoic, her head low, her nose close to K’Sati’s cheek, blowing little puffs of breath as if to say, ouch ouch. She winced as she probed her traggah’s injuries; sensitive to the animal’s pain, unable to ease her misery.

  Renly still had not caught up to them, but she could not wait any longer. They had to get out of the mountains and onto the steppes before dark, where she was certain Silverbeard and the herd would quickly find them. With the other traggahs to protect them, they would be able to wait in safety.

  They started slow; as the morning progressed, Neatfoot seemed to improve. By the time the twin suns showed midday above them, they’d begin their final descent from the mountains, and were nearing the rocky zone, which bordered the high steppes. Neatfoot’s demeanor seemed to improve, and her ears perked up.

  The herd must be near. She reached out with her gift and called to Silverbeard.

  The quiet was shattered with the piercing call traggah whistles, warning of danger. Neatfoot whistled an answer and tossed her head in agitation. Without thinking, K’Sati swung up onto her back and they raced toward the sounds of distress.

  They rounded a set of low cliffs and came upon Silverbeard and Golden Boy fighting a losing battle against a pack of longteeth. Neatfoot thundered into the melee, striking out with her hooves and scattering the eight longteeth, who backed off but did not leave. K’Sati clung to Neatfoot’s mane, but had little control over the furious and determined traggah.

  Blood dripped from huge gashes at Silverbeard’s neck and shoulders. He held his bloodied right rear leg well off the ground. Both traggahs were white-eyed and covered in a sweaty lather. They would not last much longer.

  The longteeth circled closer. At the base of the cliffs K’Sati caught sight of three hover sleds tucked beneath a low overhand. This must be where Wayne and his men had cached their sleds! She attempted to coax Neatfoot back toward the overhang, but two longteeth lunged for them. In her panic, Neatfoot slipped on the loose shale and K’Sati screamed as the traggah stumbled and came down on top of her. The bones in her lower leg snapped beneath Neatfoot’s weight.

  The longteeth swarmed over them, lunging at Neatfoot as she struggled to rise. Trapped beneath her traggah’s bulk, she could do nothing but shield her face from her attackers and wait to be ripped to shreds.

  The longteeth ignored her and focused on Neatfoot.

  Golden Boy and Silverbeard rushed in, their huge hooves slashing at the longteeth. One longtooth, which had Neatfoot by her throat, had his skull crushed in the melee. Neatfoot struggled to regain her feet, and K’Sati grunted in pain as her thigh snapped under the pressure.

  The three traggahs faced off against the seven longteeth. Silverbeard limped on three legs and blood flowed freely from Neatfoot’s neck; only Golden Boy remained unscathed.

  She had to get to the sleds. Grunting with the effort, K’Sati used her arms and elbows to drag herself across the scree toward the sleds at the back of the shallow cave. One leg was useless; the other numb and uncooperative. If she did not reach the sleds, she would die.

  Outnumbered, the traggahs fought gamely against the longteeth. They were running out of time! With trembling hands, she finally pulled herself to the nearest sled, only to find her hopes dashed. The sleds were designed to be operated from a seated position; both feet were required to start the vehicle. The heart-pounding pain in her leg would not allow her to get into the seat without assistance. Even if she did manage it, she would not be able to operate the pedals.

  A longtooth, one of the young ones, circled closer. She had never been this close to one. The massive skull and six-inch canines dwarfed the savage yellow eyes, but there was no mistaking the sly intelligence behind them. It darted forward and made a grab for her.

  Instinctively, she kicked out with her good leg, but the longtooth grabbed her by her injured leg and began to drag her away from sleds, back to his pack. The pain in her thigh flared white hot. She screamed in agony before the darkness took her.

  CHAPTER 39

  Renly gave a satisfied grunt as the chain linking his handcuffs broke apart. His hands shook so badly, he worried he would not be able to free himself. He slipped the chasing hammer back into his pack, then rubbed his bloody wrists where the tight metal cuffs remained locked in place. Getting enough leverage to pound the chisel into the metal links had been tricky, but at least now his hands were no longer bound together. He’d used the leather of his vest to cushion the sounds of the iron hammer striking steel chisel, and so far, no craggons had appeared. He hadn’t held a burin in his hand in months. The weight of it comforted him. He slipped the chisel beneath his belt and felt better than he had in days.

  Walking away from the stonewood club nearly broke him, but after the two craggons landed to feed off the corpses, he knew better than to stick around. He stayed off the trail, where the circling craggons might see him, and used the underbrush as a screen. Keeping to the trees and brush, it took him hours to put a safe distance between him and the craggon’s den. He dared not return to the trail
until after first sunset.

  Worry for K’Sati kept him going. He hoped she was safe. She had no more experience in this wilderness than he, and only the traggahs to protect her. With any luck, he would find her bedded down in the same place they’d found before. But as the shadows lengthened, his hopes of catching up with her faded.

  He was forced to halt at full dark. With no rocks or caves for shelter, he chose the base of an enormous cedar-like tree with a nest of roots extending from its base like the arms of a massive octopus. Cave-like crevices, big enough for him to crawl into, riddled the soil beneath the roots. He groped beneath the tree blindly; terrified of being bitten by something even worse than a tree lizard. He finally found a den-like space, barely big enough for him to curl up in. The nest-like root structure gave him a sense of safety he hadn’t felt for some time. The pain in his ribs made lying down for sleep impossible, so he settled himself into a sitting position, with his back supported by the moist earth of the cave. Compared to the disgusting hellhole of the craggon’s den, the clean smell of earth and tree roots reminded him of home.

  Garrett was dead to him. He felt nothing; no sense of loss. Only a lingering pity for the creature his brother had become. As his memories returned, so too did the shame and pain and anger for what he’d been forced to endure. Even the bad man had been shocked by Garrett’s callousness.

  And as horrified as he’d had been by the mandragons, his conversation with Sully convinced him that at heart, they were still capable of human feelings and emotions. Only now did he realize that Garrett’s total lack of empathy could not be blamed on the pox. Garret must have been a sociopath long before he came to Aurum. Not that it mattered any more. He’d heard the gunshot. Garrett was gone. Wayne and his men merely accelerated the inevitable. And now they were gone, too.

  He closed his eyes. It’s over. Finally. The festering wound of his forgotten childhood had been lanced. Garrett had undone himself, and could never hurt him again.

  Tomorrow he would find K’Sati and the traggahs. They would head back to the coast and then…What?

  Anything you want.

  The idea was too big to contemplate. He thought of K’Sati, but would not allow himself to dwell on thoughts of her. Or Silverbeard. Enough to feel safe within his nest of tree roots, and be thankful he survived the day. No longer haunted by the ghosts of his past, and in spite of the danger and strange night sounds around him, he slept.

  * * *

  The shrill sound of a traggah whistle woke him in the full light of mid-day. Golden Boy stood some twenty feet outside his den, pawing and snorting. Renly winced into the bright morning, while Golden Boy snorted and bucked as if to say, hurry up!

  Painfully, he managed to crawl out of his sleeping den and stagger to his feet. The stabbing pain in his ribs twisted like a knife with every move. Purple bruises, cuts, and scrapes covered his arms, but he felt wide-awake and alert.

  “What is it, boy?”

  Golden Boy sidled nearer, and held his near foreleg cocked, as Neatfoot did to assist K’Sati to mount. The traggah had no bridle, no reins, or anything to hang onto, but the message was clear.

  Renly stroked the traggah’s neck, and as he made contact, he sensed the animal’s urgency and deep agitation. Something was wrong.

  Using Golden Boy’s leg as a step up, he launched himself onto the traggah’s back, gasping in pain as his ribs protested. No sooner had he swung his leg over than Golden Boy took off at a dead run, and Renly was forced to grab the traggah’s sparse mane to hang on.

  Golden Boy was bigger and more powerfully built than Silverbeard. The traggah pounded down the trail as Renly clung to him, praying he would not fall. He murmured soothing words to him, hoping to calm the excited traggah, but even as he saw Golden Boy flick his ears back to listen, they flew down the trail at breakneck pace.

  An hour later, they reached the floor of the ravine, but the traggah paused only long enough for a snatched slurp of water before galloping up the slope.

  He heard the whistles of alarm well and snarling before they arrived. Golden Boy rounded the trail and burst onto the scene: three Longteeth fought over the remains of Neatfoot while Silverbeard struggled valiantly against a longtooth at his throat and another on his back. Two dead longteeth lay trampled and lifeless in the dirt.

  Renly slipped the chisel out from his belt and dug his heels into Golden Boy’s side.

  Without hesitation, Golden Boy threw himself at the longtooth hanging from Silverbeard’s neck. Renly lost his balance and allowed himself to slide off rather than fall. He stepped around Golden Boy and stabbed at the longtooth on Silverbeard’s back with all his might.

  The predator was quicker. It leapt out of range and circled around to join the rest of the clan dining on Neatfoot.

  Silverbeard screamed in terror, but even as Golden Boy slashed out at his attacker at his throat, Silverbeard went to his knees and collapsed. Still the longtooth did not let go. Renly slammed his chisel into the top the longtooth’s skull over and over until it fell senseless into the blood-soaked dirt beside Silverbeard.

  He knelt beside his traggah but his friend was already gone.

  “I am so sorry, boy,” he choked. A great emptiness filled him. He stroked the blood-soaked fur of Silverbeard’s neck. Not even Garrett’s absence filled him with such as sense of grief. His magnificent protector was gone.

  “Be at peace, my friend. Ever may you run with the great herd.”

  While Golden Boy furiously trampled Silverbeard’s killer to a pulp, the other longteeth fought over the remains of Neatfoot.

  “K’Sati?” he called. A moan sounded from behind him. Beneath the overhang, he recognized three land sleds. He ran up the incline toward the shallow cave. At the back of the overhang, he spied K’Sati lying behind one of the sleds. “K’Sati!”

  “Take a sled and get out of here,” K’Sati called out weakly. “You cannot help us.”

  He gathered her into his arms and kissed her damp forehead. She felt cool to the touch. Too cool.

  The sight of her mauled leg sickened him. So much blood.

  Golden Boy edged closer to the sleds, as the remaining pack of five longteeth continued to snarl and fight over their meal.

  Her pulse fluttered beneath his fingers. They needed blankets. And weapons. The longteeth would turn on them any minute. He leapt to his feet and began to search the sleds.

  “There are no weapons here,” she said. “I have already looked. There is nothing. Take Golden Boy and head for the coast. If you hurry, you may be able to catch the final transport leaving Aurum.”

  Tenderly, he lifted her head into his lap and wiped her damp hair off her face. “How can you believe I’d leave you here?”

  Her eyes were dull with pain. “My leg is broken. I cannot walk or ride. If you stay they will kill us both.”

  Anger and frustration coursed through him. This couldn’t be happening. Not after all they’d already come through. Not for the first time, he wished he’d brought the club with him. Without a weapon…

  He eased her back to the ground and inspected the sleds. Any one of them was large enough for her to stretch out on the back. He’d never piloted a sled before, but the controls looked similar to the Personal Flight Vehicles on Earth. In the sleds, they could hover high enough above the ground to avoid the longteeth. The sleds would take them to safety.

  His gaze rested on Golden Boy. One lone traggah would not stand a chance against four longteeth. Weariness washed over him. The traggah had brought him here to help. He’d fought so bravely, and even now, he stood before the entrance, quivering with outrage as the longteeth tore into his stable mates. His herd.

  The traggahs could easily outrun the longteeth, yet Golden Boy chose to stay, even though he was not bonded to either K’Sati or himself. He had never known such loyal, noble creatures. Golden Boy should have run his race, won the richest prize in the universe, and been released to join his herd in the wild. It wasn’t fair that he would die
like this.

  He ran his hand through his hair and stared out beyond the bloody arena to the steppes stretching wide and empty, all the way to the horizon. His lips trembled, and he shook his head.

  He slipped over the barricade to stand by Golden Boy.

  “What are you doing?”

  She sounded so weak. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you.”

  The traggah seemed to be waiting for him. He sensed the animal’s demanding question in his mind. The three younger longteeth had been driven off Neatfoot’s carcass; they now began tearing at Silverbeard.

  Heat rose into his face. Renly shouted at them and shook his chisel at them. They startled, but continued to tear at the Silverbeard’s neck and stomach, gorging themselves. Not even longteeth could easily penetrate the thick hide of traggah skin, but watching them tear into Silverbeard’s soft underbelly was something he would not stand for. Something he would not allow to happen to Golden Boy.

  Not if he could help it.

  He turned to Golden Boy and put his hand on the brave animal’s neck. He closed his eyes.

  I am Renly, and I am herd to Silverbeard, but Silverbeard is no more. I would bond with you, Golden Boy, if you will accept me. I pledge my friendship and loyalty to you. I will feed you and care for you and warn you of danger for as long as I am able. You are herd to me, Golden Boy. I will protect you with my life.

  The traggah trembled beneath his touch. In his mind, a bright light flared, like the flame of a single candle. A voice that was a more than a feeling resonated within him.

  I am Golden Boy of the stripe legs clan. You were herd to Silverbeard, who is no more. I will not leave you, through the Rahgs may chase us through the trees, the longteeth may surround us on the steppes, and the craggons may seek to snatch us into the sky. You are herd to me, Renly. I will protect you with my life.

  The traggah bowed his head and leaned into hand. He caressed the sides of Golden Boy’s head, gazing into the creature’s intelligent eyes. He made a mental picture of the traggah herd, as clear and as detailed as his memory could provide.