Sung In Blood

XXI

Rider stepped over the fallen tribune, knelt beside Spud, held an open phial beside his nose.

He told Su-Cha, "Get the rest of these men tied."

Spud revived swearing and swinging. Rider plucked his fist out of the air. "Easy, Omar."

"Rider! How'd you get here?"

"Might ask you the same thing," Su-Cha chirruped. "You're supposed to be buried under a ruin on the Hurm Islands."

Soup reiterated Spud's behavior and question.

Su-Cha said, "We were thinking about rescuing you in a couple days. All that brainwork wasted."

"How come you're here, Rider?" Spud asked.

"We were tracking a creature that killed the chief of the King's Shadows. The trail passed near the military yards. We saw smoke. We arrived in time to see you being brought in here. Once the situation became clear, I used a knockout spell. Hurry, Su-Cha."

"We know why Shai Khe was in the area, now. And by now he must suspect his plan has gone sour.

Let's find him before he gets away again. Omar. This soldier, Baracas. Do you trust him to keep this lot under arrest?"

"He knows what would happen to him if he didn't."

"Put him in charge, then. We have to go."

Minutes later they departed the military yards. Baracas came behind, leading the prisoners.

All had been stripped of togas and badges of rank. They seemed a well-kept chain of convicts.

Baracas headed for the Citadel.

Rider headed toward the waterfront, along the yard fence.

"Look there," Soup said. "One of our eastern friends got away."

A man had dropped over the fence. He spotted them hastening toward him. His eyes got big. He whirled and ran.

Soup whooped and charged after him. Rider followed in a deceptive lope that ate ground fast.

Over his shoulder, he told Su-Cha, "Get upstairs and follow him."

The imp stopped laboring to keep up. Soon he was a bird circling high above.

Rider snagged Soup's shoulder. "Let him lose us now."

Puffing, Soup glowered. "I'm not finished with those guys."

"He won't lead us while he can see us. If he loses us he'll run to his master."

And so it proved. Touching Rider through the web, Su-Cha reported their quarry moving more cautiously, watching his backtrail, yet now traveling with obvious purpose. Rider said, "Keep a sharp watch. Shai Khe will have sentries out."

That, too, proved true. But Rider's crowd kept them from reporting. They left a half dozen snoring thugs behind.

"This is the place," Rider said, staring at the blank face of a brick warehouse. Su-Cha circled above. "This time let's not let him get away." He dipped into his pockets, passed out what appeared to be green hens' eggs. He assigned posts around the warehouse. "Don't challenge him," he said. "If he comes your way, throw that, yell, and get under cover."

"What are they?" Spud asked.

Rider might not have heard. "Move out. I'll keep track through the web. I'm going inside on the count of a hundred."

The door through which the would-be airship pirate had fled stood ajar. Rider gave it a minute examination. It was as safe as it seemed. He slipped inside.

The warehouse was dark and seemed empty. The scurry of mice sent hollow clackings tumbling into the distance and back. Shai Khe was fond of dark places.

He slipped a green egg into each hand and advanced slowly. His eyes adjusted. Enough exterior light leaked in to permit navigation.

He heard a voice raised somewhere below, then the sounds of men moving hurriedly.

The fugitive had reported. His master was about to make his exit.

Rider ran, hunting a descending stairway.

He was too eager. He failed to notice a black silk trip line at ankle level. His toe hooked it.

He pitched forward, twisting. He hurled the egg in his right hand so he would not crush it when he broke his fall. He managed that in adequate silence, but the breaking egg sounded like a bottle smashing against pavement.

The sound was heard. Orders barked in an eastern tongue. Feet hammered on the steps. Rider ghosted into the concealment of a pillar. Three men pitched out of a shadow he had not recognized as a doorway. He flung his second egg.

It broke against a man's chest. The man flopped down immediately. The man behind him took three steps before collapsing. The third, to one side, halted in consternation. Rider leapt, felled him with one powerful punch.

Through the shadowed door and downstairs he loped—directly into a pair of guards with drawn blades.

He could not stop. It was too late. He flung himself through the air. His shout froze them for a second. A boot connected with a chin. A fist hammered the crown of a skull. Rider hit the floor and rolled, looking for more resistance.

A vast cellar surrounded him, dank and rank. There wasn't a soul to be seen.

A faint noise caught his ear. He hurried forward to a narrow canal leading into one wall of the basement. Shai Khe was escaping through the sewers!

The sound came again. It was the creak of an oar in an oarlock.

Rider extended himself through the web. The sewers were not well known to him. He traced them in his proximity. They formed a maze. He tried pinpointing Shai Khe, had no luck. The easterner used some clever sorcery to blind the web to his presence.

Had Rider had the proper tools he could have raised a spirit to set tracking Shai Khe, but he did not have the tools. The easterner had evaded him again.

Or had he? There was the thing Rider had been tracking when the uproar at the yards diverted him. Did Shai Khe's invisibility extend to it? It must be with its master.

He reached out, tugged at the web, took it in mental fingers, wove a net that would capture the whereabouts of the killing creature. And there it was! Moving away slowly, underground ...

Rider raced upstairs, through the warehouse, into the bright street, touching his men as he went. They gathered quickly. "Shai Khe escaped into the sewers, but I'm tracking him through the web. Follow me."

His lope was deceptive. Soon even Chaz was puffing and straining.

Rider slowed till everyone caught up. He beckoned Su-Cha down. The imp perched on a balcony railing. Rider said, "Shai Khe is almost directly beneath us here. There is an outflow into the Bridge a few hundred yards away. There's nowhere else he can go."

"We going to jump him?" Chaz puffed.

"Yes. And don't hesitate an instant. He'll be ready. Don't take any needless risks, either."

He loped off again. People paused to admire his swift, easy grace. He reached the outflow well before he expected Shai Khe.

The others joined him.

The outflow debouched between wharves. Small grain ships were tied up alongside each. Rider subjected them to a swift visual examination, saw nothing suspicious. He sent Soup and Spud aboard the nearest vessel on the right side, left Preacher and Chaz above the outflow, took Greystone aboard the vessel to the left. The masters of both ships protested.

A boat shot from the sewer mouth.

Eggs hailed against it. Rider hurled a grapnel appropriated aboard his ship. In a moment he was hauling the boat in. The sea breeze began to disperse the green mist hiding it.

"Where the hell is he?" Chaz shouted.

Shai Khe was not aboard.

The boat contained only an unconscious, shaggy, monkey-like thing slightly smaller than Su- Cha.

"Somewhere enjoying his joke at our expense," Rider said. He did not hide his disappointment.