The Zero Stone

by Andre Norton

  “A source of revenue, which also means power.” It was very easy to forget at such times he was only a small furred creature. His communication was not that of an equal, but soared only too often into patronizing explanations. “This was a mine of - how many years ago we cannot guess. But I would say the diggings of one of the Forerunner civilizations. Unfortunately for the present-day seekers, they have been picked clean.”

  “But you said Nactitl was just not looking in the right place-“

  “He searches the old diggings. If he looked among the ruins he might find other clues. Unfortunately we cannot linger to investigate on our own. I would suggest that we find your ship,” he said to Hory, “and lift as soon as possible. To hide out in this area is unwise. The sniffers are out-“

  “Sniffers?”

  “The natives; they hunt largely by scent. At any rate the Guild activity here is drawing more and more of them and they have established a ring about the landing field. As yet they are not ready to attack, but they very efficiently serve as a means of confining offworlder activity to this general vicinity. Even to reach your ship will be something of a problem which will increase materially with every passing moment. But one man alone is not going to change Captain Nactitl’s Mind and-“

  I felt Eet’s body stiffen, his head go up and forward.

  “What is it?”

  “We have less time than I had hoped!” His message flashed to us. “They endeavored to reach your late guard by hand com. When he did not answer they ordered a general alert.”

  We had only those few instants of warning. The beamer mounted on the sentry post went into stepped-up action, sweeping its light wider and farther. But bright as it was in the open, it still could not penetrate the hollow pools of shadow which were to be found among the ruins. And we had luckily dropped into one of those.

  “To the right-“ Eet took over direction. “Move out at the next sweep.”

  “To the left.” Hory was equally insistent. “My ship-“

  “It will not be that easy,” Eet snapped. “We must go right to eventually win left. And we shall have to go deeper into the fringe of the ruins, maybe even out into the open-“

  “Do we cross the river?” To my mind that would be the point of greatest vulnerability. I did not see how we could pass that under the fire of an alerted camp.

  “For so much favor we may thank whatever gods or powers your species recognizes,” Eet returned. “Luckily this representative of your law chose to set down on this bank. But it is necessary to flank their post and to avoid any party coming from their ship to reinforce the guard there. Now- right-“

  I had been watching the sweep of the beam and it now touched the point farthest from us. So no prompting from Eet was needed to send me scuttling to the next patch of dark I had already marked as a good hiding place. Hory did not leap with me, but my move must have spurred him to action, for he was little behind me in reaching that new lurking place.

  Unfortunately the cover seemed designed to lead us farther and farther from our real goal. Yet we could now hear sounds from over the river and see the flash of beamers, which marked a search party setting out from the ship. One of those beamers was set up to illuminate not only their bridge, but a goodly portion of land on our side, an open field of light I saw no way to avoid.

  “Not over, but under - at that next hole.” Eet’s hind claws dug convulsively into my flesh as I gathered my legs under me, readying for the next dash.

  He must mean the next patch of deep shadow, but what his “under, not over” meant I was not to learn until I reached it, or rather was engulfed in it. For it was not merely a lurking place behind a pile of stones, but indeed a hole, into which I tumbled.

  I flung out my arms and my fingers scraped rock on three sides. Then Hory landed half on me, sending me teetering toward the fourth. I did not strike any barrier there as I fought for my balance, my feet in their pack coverings skidding on a smooth stone surface. Again I felt about me. Walls not too far away on either side - but open before. And I heard Hory scuffling behind.

  “Ahead-“ Eet urged.

  “How do you know?” I demanded.

  “I know.” He was confident. “Ahead.”

  I felt my way along. I was in a passage. Whether it was indeed some runway planned by the builders I did not know. It might have been fashioned by the tumbling of walls. The flooring inclined and I splashed into a pool of water. There was a dank smell which grew thicker as we advanced.

  “Where do we travel? Under the river?” I asked.

  “No. Though perhaps river water does seep here. Look now to your right”

  Ahead was a faint glow which brightened as I slipped and slid on. Through my mind shot a memory of those slime trails within the wreck. Would we find those here also? But at least we could depend upon Eet for a warning-

  I came to the site of the glow. There was a square opening in the wall to my right where a block had been removed or had fallen out. And through this improvised window, I looked down into a chamber of some size. Down its center ran a table of the same stone as formed the walls, save that this was not so eroded. And set on it were boxes. They had been metal; now they were pitted and worn, and some had fallen into rusty dust, only their outlines marked on the table. But there was one very near to our window which appeared whole, and in it were stones which gave forth feeble sparks of life. The glow which had drawn my attention did not come from those, but from what lay beside the box. Eet uncurled from my shoulders and passed in a leap through the window to the surface of the table. He raced along it until he came to the ring, thrusting one of his handpaws through it, using the other to draw it farther up his shoulder like a barbaric armlet.

  He made a second leap, back onto the stone ledge of the window, then climbed to my shoulders, stuffing the ring inside my tunic, where it lay, almost too warm for comfort, against my skin.

  “What is it?” To my surprise Hory’s voice did not come from behind me, but from some distance farther back along the passage. “Where are you? What did you stop for?”

  “There is a wall opening here,” Eet reported smoothly. “But it is of no service to us. The way ahead, however, is clear.”

  I was puzzled. I had believed Hory directly on my heels and I had been sure he must have seen what lay in the room. Now it appeared that he had not. But I asked no questions of Eet.

  Once more the passage sloped - but now up. It was leading us in the direction we had been aiming for. We took it step by careful step. I listened intently and knew the others must be doing the same.

  “There are many loose stones ahead,” Eet informed us. “You must move with the greatest care. But it is not too far now before we reach the fringe of the ruins. Beyond that we have yet to avoid the sniffers.”

  We emerged into heaps of loose rubble. My sight had returned to normal and I saw enough to guess that this material marked the miners’ dump. We plotted a path through it with caution. But luckily the higher heaps were between us and the sweeping beam. The activity was now on the cliff side of the river, and at the ruins nearest the tunnel beamers were turning the night to day.

  But our luck held as we crept from the edge of the last rubble pile into the brush. This was tangled and thick, but it made a curtain for us.

  “They will expect us to make for the Patrol ship,” I pointed out to Eet.

  “Naturally. But they will expect that to be bait in a trap for both of you. Probably they have already taken steps there-“

  “What!” Hory stopped short. “But they could not interfere with the ship itself - it is on personal time lock.”

  “Such trifles might not deter a determined Guild expert,” Eet replied. “But Nactitl has not been able to foresee my presence or some other minor mishaps. I tell you, keep on. Once we reach the ship we need not worry about escape off world.”

  Knowing Eet, I trusted that tone of assurance. Hory probably did not, but he followed as if he had no choice - which in truth he did not, u
nless he proposed to skulk about the terrain or go into suicidal battle with the Guild.

  FOURTEEN

  “Sniffers!”

  Eet’s warning halted me. There was enough light and noise behind us to inform the natives that those of the ship’s camp were hunting.

  “Where?” Perhaps Hory was now willing to depend upon Eet’s senses, if not to accept his advice.

  “Left - in the tree.”

  That was not as tall as the forest giants, but it did tower well above us. And its foliage made so impenetrable a cone of dark that no eyes of ours could sight what might hide there.

  “He waits to leap as we pass beneath,” Eet informed us. “Swing well away; he will leap but fall short.”

  This time we were not unarmed. Hory had one of the X-Tee’s lasers, I another. To spray about without a definite target, however, would be folly. I held the weapon at ready and started around the tree.

  It was like a blow in my face, striking deep into my head, then seeming to center in my ears. I staggered under it and heard Hory cry out in equal torment.

  Eet twisted on my shoulders, thrust in his claws to keep his position. I forgot all about any menace from the natives; all I wanted was to be rid of the agony in my head.

  “-hand - take Hory’s hand - hold-“

  Eet’s mind voice was almost muffled by the pain in my head. His hand-paws had gone to my ears, gripping them, and I could feel his body resting against my head, an addition to my misery.

  “Take Hory’s hand!” The command was emphasized by a sharp twist of my ears. I tried to lift my hand to pull that tormentor from my shoulders, but found that, instead of obeying me, my flesh and muscle were flung around, and my fingers seemed to close of their own accord on warm skin and bone, in a grip riveted past my breaking. The Patrolman, moaning, tried to break away from me, to no effect.

  “Now- on!” Again Eet twisted my ears. Dazed from the pain in my head, I stumbled in the direction he aimed me, towing Hory behind.

  There was a shrilling from the tree, and something dark fell, not leaped, from it, to lie writhing on the ground. We dimly heard other sounds, a rustling of movement throughout the brush. Things hiding there were now moving past us toward the cliffs.

  Only Eet’s sharp hold and constant misuse of my ears kept me going. For, as I moved, it was as if I waded through a swift current determined to bear me back toward the ruins and the Guild ship, which I had to fight with all my strength.

  It was dark here, but Eet rode me as a man might mount a beast of burden, guiding me by his hold, steering me here and there. And I could only obey those tugs, always drawing Hory along by a grip I could not release.

  For years, or so it seemed, that zigzag march lasted. Then I smelled charred vegetation and we came to where the growth was shriveled by rocket blast, or burned off altogether. Before us, standing on its fins, was the Patrol scout ship.

  Only a dark bulk - I could not make out a ramp, or any dark hatch open on its side. And I remembered Hory’s talk of a time seal. If he could not lift that at will, we had reached our goal but were still barred from safety.

  The pull on me, the pain in my head, still existed, but either its force had lessened, or I was now so accustomed to it that the agony had decreased. Eet still kept his grip on my ears, but when I paused before the ship he did not urge me on.

  Instead he turned his attention to Hory, though my brain, too, received his imperative command:

  “Hory, the time seal - can you denegate it?”

  The Patrolman swayed back and forth, tugging feebly against my grip, trying to turn toward the ruins.

  “Hory!” This time Eet’s demand for attention was as painful to the receptive mind as the torment from behind.

  “What-“ Not quite a word, more nearly a moan. With his free hand the Patrolman pawed at his head. The laser was gone; he must have dropped it at the attack.

  “The seal - on - the - ship-“ Eet’s words were heavy in impact, like the ancient solid-type projectiles when they struck into flesh. “Deactivate the seal - now-“

  Hory turned his head. I could see him only dimly. With his free hand he fumbled at the front of his tunic. All his movements seemed so uncoordinated that one could not believe he could complete any action. He brought out a hand com.

  “Code!” Eet kept at him relentlessly. “What - is - the - code?”

  As if he could not even be sure of the position of his mouth, Hory raised his hand in a series of jerks. He mumbled. I could understand none of the sounds clearly. And whether, in spite of his clouded mind, he was responding to Eet’s order, I had no idea. His arm dropped heavily, to swing by his side. It seemed he had failed.

  Then there was a noise from the ship. The hatch opened and the tongue of a narrow landing ramp licked forth, to touch the seared earth only feet away.

  “In!” Eet’s order rang almost as shrill as one of the sniffers’ screams.

  I dragged Hory along. The ramp was very narrow and steep, and I had to negotiate it sideways in order to tow the Patrolman. But step by step we climbed the span to enter the hatch.

  It was like walking into a soundproofed chamber and slamming the door behind us. Instantly the tumult in my head ended. I leaned against the wall of the compartment just within the hatch, feeling the drip of my own sweat from my chin. My relief was so great it left me weak and shaking.

  By the glow of the light which came on as the hatch closed behind us, I could see that Hory was in no better state. His face was greenish-white under the space tan and slick with sweat. He had bitten his lip and drops of blood still gathered there in bubbles, to feed a thin trickle down his chin.

  “They- had- a compeller- on us-“ He got out each word as if to form it with his savaged lips was a fearsome task. “They-“

  Eet had released his hold on my ears and had dropped down to my shoulders once again.

  “Better get off planet.” If the compeller had affected the mutant, he did not show it. And now it was far easier to follow his suggestion than to undertake any action on my own.

  I think Hory was in much the same state. He lurched away from the wall and drew himself through the inner hatch. As we followed I heard the clang of the rewinding ramp, the automatic sealing of the door behind us. Again I felt a wave of relief.

  To get at us now they would have to use a superdestruct. And the Guild ship, as well equipped as it might be, could not carry one of those - it was not large enough.

  Hory took the lead, pulling up the core ladder of the ship. Then Eet climbed with a speed which left both of us behind. We passed by two levels to enter the control cabin. The Patrolman reached the pilot’s swing chair and began to buckle himself in. He moved as one in a dream and I do not think he was really aware of my presence, though he must have been of Eet’s.

  Patrol scouts are not meant to carry more than one man. But in emergencies there might be exceptions, and there was a second blastoff seat in the rear of the cabin. I got into that and was making fast the straps when Hory leaned forward to press the course tape release. Eet sprang from somewhere and lay full length along my body.

  There was an awakening of lights on the board, a vibration through the ship. Then came the pressure of blast-off. I had known that of the Free Traders and small freighters, which had seemed so much worse than that of liners. But this was a huge hand squeezing me down into darkness.

  When I saw dizzily again, the lights on the board no longer played in flashing patterns but were set and steady. Hory lay in his seat, his head forward on his chest. Eet stirred against me. Then his head arose slowly and his beads of eyes met mine.

  “We are out-“

  “He set a course tape,” I said. “To the nearest Patrol mother ship or base, I suppose.”

  “If he can reach it,” Eet observed. “We may have bought time only.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that Nactitl cannot afford to lose us. The Guild are playing for the largest stakes they have yet found - for
many of your human centuries. They will not allow the fate of a single Patrol scout to upset their plans.”

  “They cannot mount a destruct - not on their ship.”

  “But they may have other devices, just as useful to them. Also, do you yourself want to be delivered to a Patrol base?”

  “What do you mean?” I glanced at Hory. If he was conscious he must be able to “hear” Eet’s communications.

  “He still sleeps,” the mutant reassured me. “But- we may not have much time, and I do not know how much an unconscious brain can pick up to retain for the future. This is true - what Nactitl seeks he has not yet found. There are only the stones in the storage vault. But they were not mined on that planet, as Nactitl and the Patrol may continue to believe.”

  “How do you know that? What about those cliff tunnels?”

  “They sought something else there, those old ones. No, the cache under the ruins held their fuel supply. But Nactitl will believe they found them in the mines, and so will others. However, the man who does eventually find the true source of the stones can make his own luck, if he is clever and discreet. Also - those stones looked dead, did they not?”

  “Very dead.”

  “Your ring stone partly activated them. Just as it can give a boost to any conventional fuel in these ships of yours. You have a bargaining point, but you must use it well. There will be those who would kill you for that ring. And you have more to fear than just the Guild.”

  His head swiveled around on that exceedingly mobile neck and he looked meaningfully at the Patrolman.

  “To stand against the Patrol would require more resources than I have,” I answered. The illegality of it did not bother me. The ring was my heritage, and the fact that some musty law made by men I had never seen or heard of might be produced to wrest it from me only raised my anger. I added, “But I will fight for what I now hold.”

  “Just so.” There was satisfaction in Eet’s agreement. “You can seem to yield and yet win.”

  “Win what? A fortune - with everyone sniping at me to get at the secret and tear me down? I want none of that.”