Runner (24 page)

But as the shuttle touched down, Rebo knew it was important to put all such thoughts aside and focus on the matter before him. “All right,” he said, in a voice pitched just loud enough for his allies to hear, “stick with the plan. And whatever you do, remember to keep moving, because if they surround us, it will be next to impossible to break out.”

Norr nodded, Lee forced a smile, Hoggles produced a grunt of acknowledgment, and the red hat warriors sketched religious symbols into the air in front of them. Then the hatch opened, fresh air surged into the cabin, and it was time to leave. Rebo came up out of his seat, made a
clacking
sound with the three-foot-long fighting sticks that he had shaped for the occasion, and uttered a roar intended to freeze the rest of the passengers in place.

The unexpected sound had the desired effect, and that allowed the runner and his friends to exit first. Rebo had not been to Ning before, and there was no time in which to appreciate the scenery as he led the rest of the small company down a metal ramp onto heat-scorched duracrete. He had the lead, with two Dib Wa warriors to either flank, and Norr at his back. Hoggles, who still insisted on taking part, brought up the rear with Lee riding high on his shoulders. It was a sturdy formation, or so it seemed to the runner, who spotted the waiting crowd and charged straight at it. But his movements weren't as quick as they would have been aboard the ship—and it was like trying to run through deep water.

Jevan Kane had been watching for Norr and spotted the young woman right away. But while the technologist had been aware of the fact that Norr had what he assumed to be
a lover, he had no reason to expect an escort that included four red hat warriors and an unkempt heavy. All of whom were not only armed but clearly ready for trouble. That took the operative by surprise. How could they know? Then he had it. Lysander had been present during the meeting on Anafa but refused to manifest through Dyson. But he could have listened in and, having done so, told Norr what to expect. The rotten bastard was switching sides!

But there was no time for further thought as the metal men rushed forward in an attempt to surround and capture Norr while bystanders screamed and ran in every direction. The robots were dressed in nearly identical black robes that flared as they ran. Each android was armed with a wooden cudgel, which judging from the nicks and cuts they bore, had clearly seen action.

Wood clanged on metal as Rebo closed with the first machine and brought both of his fighting sticks together in the attack called “clapping hands,” shifted his weight to his right foot, and turned to let the robot's club brush his left shoulder. Then, having brought his left foot up and back, the runner launched a kick that struck the machine's torso. The automaton toppled over backward, hit the ground, and was struggling to rise when Norr took its head off with her vibro blade. Sparks shot from the neatly severed neck, and the machine's limbs jerked spasmodically before the metal man finally went limp.

Rebo, who had been unaware of the fact that the sensitive's staff concealed yet another weapon, barely had time to say “Thanks!” before the next robot came at him. Meanwhile, the Dib Wa were engaged as well. One of the warriors brought his sword down only to have it blocked by a wooden cudgel, and then, while working to free his blade, took a fatal blow to the head.

Metal rang on metal as another red hat sought revenge, but discovered that unlike Norr's vibro blade, ordinary steel couldn't part the android's alloy skin in a single blow. But the religious warriors were resourceful, and it wasn't long before they learned to bring the automatons down by throwing shirts over their heads and beating them to death. But the heavier gravity put them at a disadvantage, and another Dib Wa fell, tried to rise, and was slaughtered where he lay.

In the meantime Kane, who had chosen to follow the robots into battle rather than lead them, saw the opportunity that he'd been waiting for. Having conserved his strength, and with both sets of combatants fully engaged, it was a simple matter to slip between the skirmishers and make for Norr. But the blond hair was hard to miss, and the sensitive was preparing herself to fight the operative, when she came under a different kind of attack. With so much of her attention focused on the physical battle, the sensitive had inadvertently lowered her psychic defenses, opening herself to Lysander. Norr attempted to resist, but it was too late by then, and the discarnate took control of her body. He took a swing at Kane, swore as the vibro blade sizzled over the operative's head, and felt his former ally wrap his arms around Norr's torso.

Lysander felt a sudden stab of fear as he struggled to keep Kane from simply lifting the female body off its feet and carrying it away. But Norr was heavier than Kane expected her to be, and the discarnate took advantage of that fact to knee his onetime son in the groin. “You're fighting for the wrong side,” Lysander lectured Kane, as he brought the vibro blade's hilt down on the back of the other man's skull. “We need to restore the gates, but for the benefit of humanity, not ourselves! That's where we went wrong last time.”

Kane let go of his aching privates, felt a moment of vertigo, and struggled to keep his feet as the planet sought to pull him down. “Lysander? You old bastard . . . Is that you?”

“You bet your ass it is,” the scientist replied, and was about to take another swing with the vibro blade when a metal man seized him from behind. Lysander struggled, but soon discovered that Norr's body wasn't strong enough to break the machine's steely grip, and saw Kane smile as the machine pulled him backward. “We have what we came for,” the operative shouted. “Take her away!”

But Norr's capture had not gone unnoticed, and even as the metal man began to carry the sensitive away, Hoggles brought his homemade war hammer down on the android's head. Metal crumpled, circuitry failed, and sparks shot out through the metal man's eyes.

Lysander felt the robot's arms fall away, and was about to counterattack, when a wave of androids swept around him. Strong though he was, Hoggles was hard-pressed to stay upright, and thereby keep Lee safely above the fray, as three of the machines attacked simultaneously.

The last of the Dib Wa warriors had fallen by then, and as he and his remaining companions were surrounded by what seemed like an army of cudgel-wielding metal men, Rebo knew that the battle was lost. Or so it seemed until a huge shadow spilled over him, a blast of hot air washed across his shoulders, and a huge skid nicked the side of Kane's head. It was a glancing blow, but one from a large shuttle, and the Techno Society's operative fell like a rock.

Hewhotravels
had never been in a fight before. And had it not been for the fact that the little boy who might be Nom Maa was involved, would have stayed clear of this one. But given humanity's steady decline, and so little reason for hope, the ship found itself unable to sit by while what
might be a great teacher came under attack. And though not specifically equipped for combat, the AI discovered that he didn't need to be, as he sent combatants scattering in every direction.

Rebo got a grip on Norr's arm, and was about to drag the sensitive to safety, when Lysander jerked it loose. “Not yet, you fool! The lump under Kane's shirt . . . It's a gate seed! We need it!”

The runner wasn't so sure about the “we” part, but took the opportunity to plod over to where the operative lay and cut the thong to which the metal sphere was attached. Then, with the seed safely stashed in a pocket, Rebo led Norr, Hoggles, and Lee off the pad. The surviving metal men attempted to follow, but
Hewhotravels
wasn't about to allow that and moved to block them. So, with no way to pursue their quarry, there was very little that the surviving robots could do other than give aid to their fallen leader. Once Kane had been carried away, dozens of vendors, pickpockets, and guides returned to the pad. They neither knew nor cared what the fight had been about. All that mattered to them was the possibility of profit and the fact that the day was still young.

Zand was a complex city, which made it both hard to govern
and easy to hide in. First, because there were numerous distinct neighborhoods, each of which wanted to govern itself. That meant that local officials were sometimes less than cooperative where the city's police force was concerned. And making the situation even more difficult for local authorities was the fact that many of those who lived in the city made their livings from the hundreds of caravans that entered and left Zand on a daily basis. Since those caravans transported not only all manner of legitimate goods but
contraband, too, the axiom
ASK ME NO QUESTIONS AND I'LL TELL YOU NO LIES
was inscribed over the eastern gate to the city.

All this meant that Rebo, who had quite a bit of experience where such things were concerned, had little difficulty locating a place where he and his companions could stay. The key, as his mentor Thomas Crowley had taught him, was “to find the middle.” By which the sickly runner meant accommodations that weren't so posh as to be targeted by the thieves guild, nor so low as to be the focus of whatever passed for the local police force. “What you want,” Crowley had advised, “is to render yourself invisible.”

Easily said, but hard to do, when you're traveling with a sensitive, a heavy, and a ten-year-old religious leader. Still, after a bit of research, Rebo managed to locate a small hotel that was located on the edge of a middle-class neighborhood called Levels, because of the way it had been terraced into a hillside. The hostelry was located on a sleepy street, in a wood-frame stucco-covered building, not far from a small but serviceable market. Just the place to rest, regroup, and prepare for the cross-country trek that would take the travelers to the spaceport in Cresus—a city located more than a thousand miles away.

Ideal though the hiding place might be, Rebo knew that all sorts of people would be on the lookout for both Norr and Lee. Norr, because the Techno Society was not going to give up, and Lee, because Zand was something of a black hat stronghold, and senior members of that sect were sure to learn that four red hat bodies had been left on the landing pad. What was less certain was whether the monks would hear about the presence of a little boy and jump to the right conclusion. But
if
they did, and the runner thought it was best to assume that they would, it seemed likely that Lee
would be targeted. That was why he insisted that everyone remain in their rooms and out of sight.

Norr, who was still recovering from her latest encounter with Lysander, was quick to agree. As did Hoggles, a fact that came as something of a surprise to Rebo since he would have expected some sort of objection from a man who had spent the last few years on board a spaceship. Still, it was nice to have something break his way.

That left Lee, who had been devastated by the loss of all four Dib Wa warriors and blamed himself for their deaths. He wanted to leave the hotel, not to explore the city as he normally sought to do, but to visit a temple where he could apologize to the dead warriors. Norr and Rebo had attempted to dissuade the boy but to no avail.

And, making the problem that much more difficult, was the fact that the only temple in Zand belonged to black hat monks. A fact that didn't bother Lee, who swore he could go there without being recognized, but worried Rebo no end. All those factors accounted for the tension in the room where the group was gathered. A table had been pulled out away from a wall, chairs had been brought in so that everyone could sit, and a curtain had been drawn in front of the single horizontal slit-style window that local architects favored. While that ensured their privacy, it was necessary to light candles in order to see. The hotel's owner claimed that later, when the power came on, the disk-shaped fixture mounted on the ceiling would start to glow, but Rebo had his doubts and made a mental note to request an oil lamp.

Norr, who had a tendency to become moody when surrounded by large groups of people and their emotions, was even more so immediately after one of Lysander's invasions. She sat with the newly acquired metal sphere balanced on her fingertips. The hair-thin lines that zigzagged across the
object's surface seemed to suggest that it could be opened somehow, but no amount of twisting and turning had been sufficient to make it do so. The metal housing felt warm, and that suggested some sort of internal power source, as well as a purpose. The sensitive frowned. “What did Lysander call this thing?”

Rebo sighed. He had already answered that question half a dozen times. But Norr had a tendency to gnaw at things, especially when depressed, and wasn't aware of how annoying that could be. “He called it a ‘gate seed.' ”

Not to be left out, Lee, who had voiced the same possibility before, did so again. “We could grow a star gate!”

“Or trigger some sort of disaster,” Rebo said darkly, as he fingered the amulet that hung round his neck.

Hoggles, who hadn't commented on the subject until then, broke his silence. “Maybe you should give it back. Otherwise, they're going to come after you.”

Rebo looked at Norr. “Bo has a point . . . Why keep it? Kane is alive. Once the bastard recovers, he'll be after you with a vengeance.”

Candlelight reflected off the ball as the sensitive continued to rotate the sphere with her fingertips. She knew that both men were correct. If she kept the seed, both Kane
and
Lysander would come after her. The latter was the worst in some ways.