Dragon and Herdsman

CHAPTER 3

The room beside Jack's cell was a cramped junior staffers' office, with desks and chairs for three people and a single window opening out the rear of the building. Draycos had only just started looking for something to attract the guards' attention when he heard Jack's pounding on the wall.

He leaped across the room and pressed one ear against the door. Had the mercenaries decided to begin the interrogation?

And then, seeping in under the door, he caught a whiff of something he'd smelled once back at the Whinyard's Edge training camp. It was sopor gas, a weapon used to put enemies to sleep.

Quickly, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs to full capacity before the gas could become thick enough to affect him. Then, carefully, he eased the door open a crack.

The two guards across the outer room were already asleep, lying crumpled on the floor. No one else was visible. Frowning, he pulled the door the rest of the way open and slipped around the corner to look into the cell. Jack was alone, and fast asleep.

There was no time now to try to figure out what was going on. He had to get Jack out of here, and the sleeping guards across the outer room were his best chance of doing that. If one of them had a key, he could perhaps get Jack out through the office window before he himself ran out of air.

He was crouching for a leap across the room when there was a click and the outer double doors began to swing open.

Draycos twisted around, darting instead back into the office. He flicked his tail at the edge of the door as he passed, trying to swing it closed.

But he missed, and then it was too late. He felt the subtle air currents as the far door swung all the way open, and heard the soft sounds of someone jogging quickly toward Jack's cell.

For a moment the footsteps seemed to falter. Then, they continued on.

Only now they seemed to be coming straight toward the half-open office door.

There was no time for anything clever. Draycos leaped to the far side of one of the desks, landing as silently as he could. He wormed his body past the chair and ducked out of sight.

He was barely in time. The steps paused, and the office door swung all the way open.

Draycos froze in place. Now, too late, he wondered if the intruder might have an infrared scanner that would penetrate the material of the desk. The other stood in the doorway for perhaps five seconds, and Draycos caught the slightly sinister hiss of a full-helmet gas mask. Then, to his relief, the footsteps headed away toward Jack's cell.

Silently, Draycos rose from his hiding place and padded back to the door. With the other's full attention on Jack, it was time for him to make his move. He eased one eye around the edge of the door—

And felt his tail stiffen in stunned surprise.

It wasn't Arthur Neverlin or one of his Brummgan thugs, as he'd first feared. Nor was it some local Malison Ring soldier who'd decided to go ahead and start Jack's interrogation on his own. It was, instead, possibly the last person Draycos would ever have expected to see again.

It was Alison Kayna.

A kaleidoscope of memories rippled through his mind as he ducked back out of sight. Alison had been the very best of the teenaged recruits whom Jack had joined in his infiltration of the Whinyard's Edge. She'd been smart, resourceful, and far more skilled than a raw recruit should have been. Especially one who was no older than Jack himself.

She and Jack had also been among the handful of those recruits who'd been marked for death. Only by working together had they managed to escape.

Now, against all odds, here she was in the middle of a Malison Ring office.

And for some reason she was trying to get to Jack.

The cell door snicked open. Draycos cased forward for another look, his brain and muscles frozen with indecision. He didn't have nearly enough air left for a long fight. But if Alison intended to harm his host, it was Draycos's duty to do whatever he could to prevent that.

Yet why would Alison want to hurt Jack?

There was another rustle of cloth, and Alison emerged from the cell, Jack's sleeping form slung over her shoulder in a variant of a Shontine hunter's lift. Staggering a little under his weight, she hurried toward the exit.

There was no way Draycos could follow them out, at least not without Alison spotting him. Fortunately, it also didn't look as if she intended Jack any immediate harm. That she could have done right there in the cell.

Which suggested that she'd come in here to help him escape.

There were a lot of questions Draycos didn't have answers for. But the ache in his lungs was an urgent reminder that he wouldn't be answering questions or doing anything else if he didn't get himself to fresh air.

A quick slash of his claws shredded the lock mechanism on the office window. It probably also set off a dozen alarms, but he doubted now that anyone in the building was in any condition to hear them. A tug on the sash and he was outside. Hitting the ground, he spun around and leaped upward onto the roof.

He paused there a moment to gasp in a few lungfuls of air. Then he set off toward the front of the building, wondering if there were other security cameras up here besides the four he'd dealt with.

But whether there were or not, he had no time to look for them. If Alison got Jack to a vehicle before he could overtake her, he might never see the boy again. Certainly not before his six-hour time limit ended and he died.

Fortunately, a burdened fourteen-year-old girl was considerably slower than an unburdened K'da. Draycos was at the parapet, searching the street and nearby buildings for signs of trouble, when Alison and Jack emerged through the front door.

There was a car parked in front of the building, a vehicle that hadn't been there when he and Jack had broken in. Alison hurried over to it, opened the back door, and rolled Jack off her shoulder onto the backseat. One of his legs twitched a couple of times, then kicked out to flop limply over the edge of the seat. Alison maneuvered it back inside and closed the door, then went around behind the car to the driver's side. With one last look around, she got in and reached for her door handle.

And Draycos leaped.

The timing had to be perfect, he knew, and once he was in the air there was nothing he could do to alter that timing. But warrior's luck was with him. Precisely as Alison slammed her door, he landed on top of the car, absorbing as much of the impact with his legs as he could.

He froze, muscles tensed, waiting for her to realize that the door had slammed with far more sound and vibration than usual. But with her full-helmet gas mask still in place, she apparently didn't notice. There was a hum as she activated the engine, and the car sped off into the night.

Draycos flattened himself against the roof, closing his eyes to slits to protect them from the wind rushing against his face. Digging his claws into the roof as deep as he dared, he held on. If any of Avrans City's citizens were wandering the streets at this hour, they were in for a remarkable sight.

Even if they weren't, he was already running out of time. Alison was driving straight toward the spaceport, and even at this hour the port would be bustling with people.

He had until they arrived to get out of sight.

Easing the tip of his tail over the edge of the roof beside the rear window, he rubbed it across the plastic. Those leg twitches he'd seen had suggested that Jack was starting to wake up. If so, this should work.

If not, they were in trouble.

Something soft slammed up against Jack's back, and with a rather foggy jolt he woke up.

He opened his eyes to find himself staring in partial darkness at an even darker curved surface no more than three feet from his face. He tried to move his legs, and got a second shock as someone grabbed one of them and pushed it toward him. There was a slamming sound from that direction.

And then, all the blurry strangeness came into focus. He was lying on his back on the rear scat of a car, his knees pushed up toward his chest. Someone had apparently taken him out of the Malison Ring cell, and they were about to make a run for it.

Without Draycos?

Jack caught his breath, his hand darting into the opening of his shirt. The last thing he remembered was dropping the dragon through the cell wall into the office. Then the sopor mist had come in. . . .

Jack swiveled around onto his side, trying to force numb muscles to push himself into a sitting position. If he could get the door open, he might be able to get back in there and find his partner.

Too late. A shadowy figure opened the driver's door and climbed in behind the wheel, slamming the door hard enough to shake the whole vehicle. "Wait!" Jack said, his hand fumbling for the handle.

"Relax," a girl's voice came from the front seat. She pulled off a full-helmet gas mask and tossed it onto the seat beside her.

And Jack felt his mouth drop open. "Alison?"

"You were expecting the tooth fairy?" Alison Kayna countered. "Hang on."

She keyed the engine, and with a lurch they were off. "Wait a second," Jack protested, trying to get his brain working. If they left Draycos behind, the K'da would be dead in six hours. "We have to—I mean, I wasn't done in there."

"Trust me—you were done," Alison countered. "Or do you really want to be in there when their air system finishes cleaning out the sopor mist?"

"No, but—" Jack broke off as something flicked past the corner of his eye. He turned to look just as the end of a whiplike K'da tail brushed against the top of the plastic.

So that was why the car door had slammed so hard. Most of the sound and vibration had actually been that of a K'da poet-warrior landing on the roof.

Clever. Now it was time for Jack to be equally clever and get the dragon inside.

Fortunately, this one was a no-brainer. "Oh, geez," Jack said, fumbling at the window release. "Open the window—quick."

"What's the matter?" Alison asked, frowning back over her shoulder.

"I don't feel so good," he said, putting a little grunt on the last word. "Just get it open."

"Yeah, yeah, right," she said, her shoulder moving as she hit the control.

The window rolled down, and Jack leaned his head outside. As he did, he gripped the top of the door with his right hand as if steadying himself.

And felt Draycos grab the back of his hand and melt onto his skin.

They were safe again. At least for now.

He held his pose another few seconds, just for show, then pulled his head back inside. "Okay," he said, slumping onto the seat cushions. "False alarm."

"I'll leave it open anyway" Alison said pointedly.

"Fine," Jack said. "So what in blazes are you doing here?"

"That was my question," she countered. "Are you trying to make a career out of messing up my life?"

"Seems to me the last time I saw you I was helping save your life," Jack growled, annoyed in spite of himself.

"You have an interesting memory," she said. "The way I remember it, you didn't do anything for me I couldn't have done myself."

A set of K'da claws pressed in silent warning against Jack's ribs. He grimaced, but the dragon was right. This wasn't the time for an argument. "Yeah, whatever," he said. "So how exactly did I mess things up for you this time?"

"I was trying to join the Malison Ring," she said. "In fact, I was having my final interview with them yesterday when I overheard someone saying you'd been spotted in the area."

"And you didn't think about maybe warning me?"

"I would, if I'd known where to find you," she said. "The last thing I wanted was for them to catch you and start asking questions, especially about your time in the Whinyard's Edge. So I came by tonight, hoping I could stop you before you walked into their trap."

"So what happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened?" she retorted. "I was waiting for you in back, that's what happened. I never figured you'd be crazy enough to walk in the front door."

Jack grimaced. "Yeah. Well . . . sorry."

She shrugged. "I'll live," she said. "Can I drop you somewhere?"

"I've got a ship at the port," he said. "Docking slot E-7."

She nodded. "Fine."

For a few minutes they rode in silence. Jack wanted to ask Draycos if he was all right but couldn't risk Alison overhearing his mutterings. Still, from the way the K'da had moved along Jack's skin, he certainly seemed to be unhurt.

Ahead, Jack could see the elaborately carved archway marking the entrance to the spaceport. "Keep an eye out for large men with guns," he warned.

"Thank you," Alison said dryly. "That had occurred to me. If you don't mind, we'll just go to my ship—it's in D-2—and you can walk the rest of the way."

"That's fine," Jack said. "By the way, thanks for getting me out of there."

"No problem," she said. "You owe me one."

They passed beneath the archway. Jack watched carefully; but if the Malison Ring had been able to get any men to the port, they weren't being obvious about it. Certainly no one stepped out into the street in front of them and started shooting.

So he and Draycos had lost this round. But that was all right. There were a dozen more major Malison Ring offices scattered around the Orion Arm. As soon as Jack got back to the Essenay he'd get Uncle Virge looking for another good target. They would come up with another scheme for getting in, figure out a better disguise this time—

"Uh-oh," Alison muttered.

Jack snapped his attention back. "What?"

"Trouble," she said, nodding toward a rather decrepit-looking light freighter off to the left. A half-dozen men in business suits were visible nearby, walking around it or standing idly near the entry hatch.

"They don't look like mercenaries to me," Jack said.

"They're not," Alison said. "It's still trouble."

She drove past the turnoff, and Jack half-turned to peer out the back window. The loitering men didn't seem to have noticed them. One of them shifted position slightly, bringing his face more fully into the glow of one of the port's lights—

"Did they spot us?" Alison asked.

Jack found his voice. "Doesn't look like it," he said, forcing his voice to stay casual. "I hope you have a backup plan."

"I do, but not on this planet," Alison said grimly. "I don't suppose I could talk you into giving me a lift."

Jack hesitated. Even if Draycos's existence wasn't exactly a secret anymore, they still didn't want to broadcast the news to the whole Orion Arm. Besides that, he'd taken great pains for over a year now to keep Uncle Virgil's death a secret. And that one hadn't yet leaked out at all. Having a stranger aboard for even a few days would be begging for trouble.

But on the other hand . . . "Where exactly did you have in mind?" he asked.

"It's a planet called Rho Scorvi," she said. "Ever hear of it?"

"I don't think so," Jack said, searching his memory. "Does it have a real name?"

"The natives probably have their own name for it, but no one else does," she said. "It's about eighty light-years past Immabwi."

Jack grimaced. Immabwi was off toward the southern edge of the Orion Arm, not exactly in the mainstream of civilization. It was going to cost either a lot of time or a lot of fuel to get there. And he and Draycos didn't have any extra time to spare. "You sure I can't just fly you twice around the galaxy?"

"That's the nearest place where I know I can find some friendly transport," she said stiffly. "If it's going to upset your delicate schedule, forget it."

"Don't get huffy," he said. "I just hope you've got enough cash to get us there, that's all."

"Don't worry; I've got plenty of fueling credits," she said, patting her jacket pocket. "Always carry them with me, just in case."

"That's handy," Jack said. "Rich uncle?"

"Careless travelers."

Jack made a face. And here he was, trying hard to stop stealing from people. "So how come the guys back there are after you?"

"I never said they were after me," she said. "That ship belongs to some other friends—I've just been hitching a ride. They must be after them."

"Fine" Jack said. "So why are they after them?"

"How should I know?" Alison retorted. "Can we just get out of here? Whoa."

"What?" Jack asked, twisting around to look over his shoulder.

"Is that your ship?" Alison asked, pointing ahead. "Oh," Jack said, relaxing again. "Yes. Actually, it belongs to my uncle."

"Your uncle's doing very well for himself," she said as she brought the car to a stop near the Essenay's air lock hatchway. "That's, what, a Pergnoir-7 light personal transport?"

"Hardly," Jack said with a snort as he climbed out of the car. His legs still felt a little wobbly, but he should be able to make it into the ship without Alison's help. "It's just your basic run-of-the-line light freighter."

"If you say so," Alison said, sounding doubtful as she followed him into the air lock. "Sure looks like a Pergnoir to me. You sure giving me a ride will be all right with your uncle?"

"Don't worry; he's not here at the moment," Jack said, looking warningly at the air lock's camera/speaker/micro-phone module. He hoped Uncle Virge would take the hint and keep quiet. "He's off-planet on a job."

"Handy," Alison said. "When do you need to pick him up?"

"He'll let me know," Jack told her, heading for the cockpit. "Come on—you can get us our lift clearance while I crank up the systems. The sooner we get out of here, the better."