The Lost Star's Sea

by C. Litka

  01

  The rain was slanting across the half-opened engine room door, hissing on the lake surface, not ten meters below, as we slowly drifted across Chasm Lake. It was as dark as night. Chasm Lake City was a long smear of vague light through the rain and mist. Little glints of its stray light danced on the rain speckled surface of the lake. We were circling in to make our landing on the strand beyond the dark line of fishing boats drawn up on it. KaRaya brought us smoothly around and then a gentle, crunching landing on the gravel shore, barely stirring the birds along the shore. 'Done with engines', she called down the voice tube. I released a head of steam as the propeller slowed to a stop. Back once again.

  We had arrived early in the second sleep watch, the second of two vaguely defined sleep watches which could be translated as after midnight to morning. In any event, Chasm Lake was in its quiet phase. We were unlikely to get our cargo unloaded before the next watch. Captain DenMons and King wisely opted to get a nap in before opening for business and our two general hands, Sap and Gil, could stand watch over the ship, so KaRaya, Hissi and I were free. I would've taken to my hammock as well, but...

  'Hissi and I are off to MorDae's,' said KaRaya, calling down from overhead grill in the mess room.

  'It's the middle of the sleep watches. Why don't you wait till everyone's up?'

  I heard her laugh. 'You know... And Hissi is anxious to get playing cards. MorDae's never closes.

  'Right. Give me a moment and I'll be right out.'

  'You needn't bother, we can look after ourselves, can't we?'

  I heard Hissi bark a laugh.

  'Hurry up Wilitang. We've got dates!'

  I just grabbed my black spaceer jacket, slung my cutlass belt over my shoulder and donned my tricorne hat, telling Sap, my assistant to finish up. I joined them, waiting impatiently, on the glistening pebbles of the strand.

  'You don't need to come along, you know,' said KaRaya.

  'I want to see who's around. I'm sure you'll be shortly engaged in something other than card playing, and since Hissi will be on her own, I want to see who's playing.' There were a set of regulars who knew and enjoyed Hissi's company. If she could join a table with several of them, I knew they'd look after her. But with strangers, no. I still wasn't letting her play with strangers. She accepted that, grudgingly.

  It was strange, I thought as we crunched through the last of the rain up towards the subdued lights of the Lake Street establishments, how well a two-and-a-half-meter dragon fit in with people. How well she could both understand and communicate. She's been my constant companion since she hatched, so I knew her well - her barks, her growls, her hisses, the angle of her head, every way she communicated her thoughts and wishes. Treating her as an equal pretty much came natural to me, what with my experience with Siss. What was surprising was how easily everyone else came to understand her as well as I did. I've watched her playing cards, and she wasn't just laying them down - she was every bit as engaged in the social aspects of the game, the banter and drama, as the humans, without saying a word. I suspect that perhaps her telepathic abilities are more than read only, she may, in fact, subtly communicate with them as well. There may be more than a bark and wiggling of the tip of her tail to her laughter. But I can't say for certain, it's that subtle.

  By the time we reached MorDae's, the rain had all but ceased, but it was still as dark as night under the thick cloud cover. The fisheries and smoke house had not yet returned to operation, so the smell of rotting fish guts was almost, but not quite, gone, so the cool air carried the smell of wood smoke, and the spicy tang of the tall pines. Beyond the log buildings of Lake Street, the tall, black pine trees rose up the mountain until they were lost in the dark mist and clouds. The smooth stones of the strand glistened faintly in the lights from the saloons as KaRaya and Hissi, her little coin pouch in claw, eagerly skipped their way towards MorDae's with Litang reluctantly in tow.

  MorDae's Palace was the brightest, grandest dive in Chasm Lake. Its walls of freshly cut logs still smelled of pine. It had a large, two story high dining, gambling and dancing hall with a long bar on one side and two stories of rooms with a balcony on the other side - the Palace Hotel and Bolero. It was relatively quiet when we pushed through its doors. The band finished playing for the night, half the tables were empty, the drunks were mostly quiet, and the card players were intent on their games - the games had gotten serious and would be lasting as long as the players, or their coins did.

  DeVere was lounging, half asleep at an empty table, keeping a weary eye on business, but he brightened up considerably when he saw KaRaya, and hurried to welcome her with a hug and a long kiss. To be fair, he hugged and kissed Hissi as well, but it wasn't the same. We settled for the customary clutching of the wrists.

  Hissi saw some old friends with an empty chair, barked a greeting and hurried over to the table - DeVere, KaRaya and I followed. Hissi had just clunked her coin pouch on the table after having been cheerfully greeted and invited to join the game, when I noticed that it had suddenly grown even quieter. I looked back at the door. Perhaps a dozen men in long black, damp, oil-cloth coats were filing through the door and slipping around the edge of the room, springer pistols in hand. They wore black scarves over their faces, leaving only their eyes visible under the brims of their wide-brimmed, feathered hats. Everyone but the most intense card players and the sleeping drunks warily watched them while rapidly considering their options.

  One of the masked men, sword in hand, stood at the bar until the men had taken their places around the room, with several going up the stairs as well. He then banged his sword on a table, sending the glasses and plates bouncing to draw the attention of the card players and announced cheerfully, 'Hands on your heads, ladies, gentlemen. Don't do anything foolish. And not a sound, we don't want to wake up the sleeping guests. We're here for your gold, not for your lives. Cooperate and no one gets hurt.'

  We all complied. Only the sleeping drunks, or the drunks with enough wits about them to feint sleep, ignored the order.

  'The Black Mask Gang,' whispered DeVere, as he put his hands on his head. 'Didn't think they'd dare tackle MorDae.' And then, in a louder voice, he said, 'You might want to reconsider what you're doing, gentlemen. I don't think MorDae's going to appreciate this, and I really don't think you want to get on his bad side. There are plenty of other establishments up and down Lake Street that would be a safer mark. Just a friendly suggestion,' he added with a smile.

  The spokesman laughed. 'Don't worry, we know what we're doing. We can handle MorDae if he wants to kick about it. It's share and share alike. Rob one, rob all. We can't make exceptions, that wouldn't be fair. We want to be fair, don't we boys?'

  The boys growled and grunted behind their masks. They wanted to be fair.

  DeVere shook his head. 'I think you're making a big mistake. MorDae's got a pretty big crew, and can hire as many hands and springers as needed. I'm thinking it would be a lot healthier if you stick to the Lake Tavern or Doynie's Place.'

  'Small fish,' the bandit replied, dismissively. And then with a nod to one of the gang, added, 'Collect the table stakes. Sorry, they're just our tips. We're here for a bigger haul.'

  The bandit drew a leather bag from under his long coat and began making the rounds of the tables, sweeping the coins into the bag.

  He quickly reached the table next to us, with Hissi, now standing alongside me. She was having none of that, and grasping her coin pouch, bared her teeth and gave the fellow her lowest, most, menacing hiss. It certainly frightened me. As I've mentioned, my long association with her gives me a different impression of her than people who just meet her. Standing upright, she can look a man in the eyes, and opening her crocodile mouth suggests that she could, if she cared to, take your head off in one bite. I didn't know if she had it in her, but I didn't want her to try. The last thing we needed was trouble.

  That growl, however, had its desired effect. The bandit stopped and looked back, not at the fellow giving comm
ands, but at another, a large hulking fellow in the shadows under the balcony, with a springer in hand.

  'She can keep hers,' the big bandit rasped in a low rough, voice.

  DeVere, standing on the other side of me, started ever so slightly. The big bandit caught his reaction and there was a soft hiss and clunk of the pistol's spring being freed. DeVere gave a quiet 'Huh?' staggered back and looking down at the small hole in his jacket that the springer's slug had made, slowly started to collapse.

  KaRaya, screamed 'Vere!' and hugging him, eased him slowly to the floor. Hissi let out a loud angry growl, and would've I feared, leaped towards the big bandit, had I not wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her close, thinking fiercely, "Don't. You'll get us all killed!"

  Looking around, all the springers were aimed at us.

  Everyone stood frozen for a long, silent moment, before the spokesman stirred himself and, after a nod from the big man who seemed to be the gang's actual leader, asked, 'Anyone else looking to get a hole in you?'

  No one had a chance to reply, for even as he finished his question, Mordae's Palace jumped - the office door, behind the bar, flew open and half off its hinges with a flash, a bang, a great chorus of rattling bottles and glasses followed by a rolling wave of acid smelling smoke that tumbled out of the back room.

  'The bank's open,' laughed the spokesman. 'Everyone stay still. No one's in danger, if you just keep sitting and let us go about our business.'

  On the other side of the barroom and above us, the bedroom doors flew open and frightened, half-dressed customers staggered out. Most of them blades or springers in hand.

  MorDae himself, lunged out of his room on the ground floor, also armed with a long springer pistol

  'Drop 'em now!' yelled the spokesman, 'You've got only a second. We're here for gold, not you.'

  A score of weapons clattered to the floor. No point shedding blood for MorDae's gold.

  MorDae, still with his springer in hand, glared around, settling on the masked man with a long barreled springer not a meter from his side.

  'I'll track you down,' he said.

  'No need,' replied the cheerful spokesman. 'We'll be around again, unless you pay up. Now, drop the springer or I'll drop you.'

  MorDae glared at him for a second, and then dropped his weapon.

  'The rest of you, back to your rooms,' ordered the bandits' spokesman. The two masked men at either end of the balcony growled as well, sending the guests scurrying back inside, bolting their doors. And then we all stood in silence for several minutes until one of the gang, who'd apparently come in the back way, stepped through the unhinged office door and said. 'We've got it all, chief.'

  It was the big, silent man who nodded, but left it to the spokesman to order 'Right. We'll be going. The rest of you stay put. We'll leave some watchers behind, with orders to shoot anyone who comes out too soon.'

  The silent chief stayed until all the gang but the spokesman had drifted back out the front door.

  'Thank you for your cooperation,' said the cheerful spokesman and saluted with his blade before slipping out the back way.

  When he was gone, several of the more foolhardy rushed to the doors to peer cautiously out. I knelt down beside KaRaya and the body of DeVere, a red stain seeping up through the hole in his jacket.

  KaRaya was unbuttoning DeVere's jacket to get at the wound, when he opened an eye, looked around. 'Best leave it buttoned, my dear,' he whispered. 'I'll live, but I think it would be best if I be thought to be dying...' He then put a finger in the small pool of fresh blood on the jacket, and touched his lips and chin with it. 'I'm dying. Got it?' And closed his eyes once again.

  KaRaya, sobbing quietly, who was thinking far faster than I, nodded, said quietly, no doubt for my benefit, 'Alive, but likely to die,' adding more hysterically and louder, 'Vere! Hold on, we'll get a doctor! Please, just hold on! Help me get him on the table.'

  We'd just lifted the limp body of DeVere when MorDae dodged through the tables to arrive at ours. 'Vere! how'd this happen?'

  'They just shot him for no reason,' cried KaRaya. 'We need to fetch Doc Mryn straight away!'

  'Not dead, you say,' MorDae said, eying the bloody hole over his heart for some time. 'I'm not sure Doc Mryn can help, but let's get him to the back room, and see what we can do.' Then looking around, added, Maci, help Raya and Litang get Vere to the storeroom. I'll find someone to wake up Doc Mryn,' adding in a loud voice. 'Sorry about this, folks. Everyone should go home now. We're closed!'

  We carefully lifted DeVere and carried him around behind the bar and through the door at the far end, leading to the storeroom in back. We laid him on a table in middle of the dim lit backroom, its walls lined with supplies in crates and boxes. Having delivered his charge, Maci cleared off, closing the door behind him. Hissi stood silently, watching the proceedings.

  As soon as Maci closed the door KaRaya went to work, unbuttoning DeVere's jacket to reveal a blood soaked shirt - and the thick sword belt that Rane wore over his shoulder.

  DeVere opened his eyes. 'I don't think it's in too deep. I felt it hit a bone. It was my belt that slowed it down, wasn't it?'

  'Aye,' said KaRaya, carefully lifting up the thick leather belt. 'And that knife you have tucked in the belt sheath.'

  He grinned weakly. 'It's saved my life several times now. But get the belt off of me, I think it's going to be a lot healthier for me if I'm as close to dead as I can appear to be.'

  'Why?' she asked, unbuckling the belt and slipping it off.

  'Because I made a stupid mistake. A rookie player's mistake. One I should never have ever made.'

  KaRaya unbuttoned his shirt. 'Which was?'

  'I gave away my hand. This is what I deserve.'

  'Your hand?'

  'I recognized the voice of the big fellow, the gang's real leader, PinTear. He's MorDae's right hand man and the manager of MorDae's Lormia Flats' Palace. I know him well enough to recognize his voice, especially since it matches his looks, mask or not.'

  'A traitor?' KaRaya asked as she splashed some spirits on his chest began to clean the blood from his chest with the bar rag she'd found.

  DeVere winched and gasped for air as the spirits entered the wound, and then continued, 'I think not. All a smoke screen. All a show to remove any suspicion that MorDae's men are behind the Black Mask gang.'

  'Well, it cost him his safe,' muttered KaRaya, as she wiped his chest clear of blood, which was still welling up from the wound. 'Do you have your glass knife on you, Wil?'

  'Yes,' I said, and kneeling down, lifted up my pants cuffs and peeled out the knife. I handed the rolled up knife to KaRaya.

  'I see the pellet, she said, poking about. It's not deep at all. But just keep talking, it might hurt a bit...'

  'It's hurting now,' said DeVere softly.

  'The cost of a rookie's mistake. So who or what is the Black Mask Gang?'

  He gasped as KaRaya probed with the knife, and then said, 'Since you've been gone, three Lake Street establishments have been raided by the so called, Black Mask Gang.... ouch. Be careful, my dear. If PinTear is their leader, he's either struck out on his own or MorDae's the brains behind the gang. Array!'

  'Don't be a baby...' muttered KaRaya still poking around with the knife. 'I'm going to pop it out...'

  DeVere gritted his teeth as she probed and then lifted the small, skirted lead slug from his chest.

  'There, another one to add to your collection,' she said, cheerfully, holding the slug and handing my knife back to me, adding. 'Look around for something we can use as a bandage.'

  I found a pile of laundered dish towels. 'Will this do?'

  'For now.'

  I tossed one to her and used another to clean my knife before replacing it in my calf sheath.

  'Go on,' said KaRaya as she doused the cloth in spirits and stuffed the folded towel under DeVere's bloody shirt. 'You're almost as good as new.'

  'I'm pretty sure MorDae's behind it all. He's a very ruthless
and greedy man. I know he's hired at least two dozen rough hands to guard the goods and gold he moves between his operations in the Flats and Zin's town. That strikes me as far more than he needs to protect his pack trains, even if things are getting rather rough on the other side of the ridge. It's what they do in their spare time that makes for an interesting question... I suspect he's decided to take a cut of the action in Chasm Lake. I've heard rumors that the Black Masks were extorting money from the local stores and dives, so he may've decided to hit his place as well, just so it wouldn't stick out. He couldn't afford to stand out, untouched without getting people to wonder.

  'Which is why I think we need to clear out now. PinTear suspected I recognized him, and once MorDae finds out, he'll have the gang back and I, and all of you as well, will be as good as dead,' he said as KaRaya helped him to sit up.

  'Don't worry. With ol'Wilitang here we can just walk back to the barge. Anyone that challenges us, he can just put to sleep.'

  DeVere gave me a questioning look as he slipped carefully off the table to stand somewhat tentatively.

  I reached into my jacket pocket, and the inner darter pocket that came with the armored suit, and found it empty. I let out a string of curses.

  'You left your little stinger on the barge, didn't you?' said KaRaya, still not alarmed.

  'Yes. In my trouser pocket back at the barge. I wasn't planning on going out, and then I was only going to see what was up at MorDae's. Didn't think to check.' I was wearing my engine room jumpsuit rather than my old spaceer trousers and shirt. I hadn't bothered to change.

  KaRaya laughed. 'Well, don't panic, We're hale, healthy, and armed with blades. Our old employer, Magistrate Py, would be envious of us if he knew about this. I'll have to tell him all about it, though I doubt we'll lead anyone back to the Greater Way...'

  She was right about the panic. My darters and armored clothing had been my insulation from the Pela. With the exception of those red feathered telepaths from the great and ancient looking ship, I hadn't encountered anything that could stand up to my weapons - if I kept my wits about me. This technological advantage had allowed me not only to survive, but to feel comfortable in the Pela. And though I knew some day I'd run out of either darts or charge, that day seemed to be in the distant future, so it wasn't haunting me. Until then I thought I was safe. But I needed to keep my wits about me, and I had been careless...

  I checked my other pockets, just to be sure. No luck. The storeroom door swung open, and two men with drawn springer pistols slipped inside followed by MorDae, also holding one as well.

  'Ah, up from the dead already, are we?' MorDae asked. 'I figured you were playacting. You would've been dead if the slug had gone home. What stopped it?'

  DeVere smiled, shrugged and winched with pain. 'My sword belt.'

  'Well, I'm afraid, dead is your fate,' sighed MorDae with a sadness no one believed, and continued, 'Business is business, and as much as I regret this, I find that my business no longer needs your services. You're a wee bit too slick to have taken you into our whole operation, and well, now that you know about it, I think I need to make sure you and your friends won't talk.

  'Sorry, Raya, he's just too good of a man to let live. And I'm even more sorry that, you and your friends must die as well. The Black Mask Gang leaves no witness behind. Boys...'

  He never finished. Hiss knowing his intent, launched herself at the thug to his left. I'd never seen her attack more than butterflies and beetles as a baby, so it came as a shock to see her grasp the man's spring pistol arm in her jaws, and grasping him with her claws, give it a tearing twist. More of a shock to him, I'm sure, but still, an unexpected fierceness from the gentle card playing dragon. He screamed and sent the slug into the ceiling, falling back against MorDae.

  KaRaya had her sword drawn in an instant, as I reached for mine.

  The second thug fired his springer, hitting me with a painful, but apparently glancing blow along my left upper chest. I felt the slug ricochet off my jacket, just missing my chin. The blow knocked the wind out of me for a moment. I was useless.

  KaRaya lunged at MorDae who sent a shot flying. It thumped into the table next to me and skipped out of the storeroom and back into the barroom. KaRaya didn't have time to pursue him as the second thug was already cocking his springer. She slashed his arm upwards with the back of the sword's blade, knocking the springer out of his hand, plunged the blade into his shoulder, and then took a slice at his legs to cut him down. She then turned to the fellow Hissi was chomping on.

  'I'll deal with him, Hissi,' she said, 'Get clear.'

  As soon as Hissi disengaged herself from her thug, KaRaya again ran her sword through the thug's shoulder and cut his legs out from under him. We weren't taking prisoners, it seemed.

  'You're lucky I took minor Laezan orders, or you'd be dead,' she growled, as they slowly collapsed to the floor, groaning and vainly trying to staunch the bleeding from their wounds. Still, they were alive - she'd been kinder to them than they were going to be towards us.

  Hissi lunged for me, and gave me a quick licking kiss on my nose. I pulled her close for an instant. She was trembling.

  'It's alright,' I said. Every movement of my left arm and upper body, every breath was painful as the energy of the impact had been spread across my chest. 'Thanks, Hissi. That was very brave of you. You saved all our lives.'

  'You alright, Wilitang?' KaRaya asked turning to me

  'No. But I'll live. Let's lift.'

  'Got hit?'

  'Just a glancing blow,' I replied, and taking a calming breath, added, 'It didn't penetrate my jacket. I'm a bit sore, that's all. Don't worry, I can still fight and run.'

  'We need to get clear soon. MorDae has plenty of help to call on and I rather doubt the Black Mask Gang went very far...' DeVere said quietly, 'Collect their springers and let's go.'

  'Front or back way?' asked KaRaya cheerfully, bending down to collect the two fallen weapons and yank the ammo pouches off the wounded bandits, sword point over their hearts to forestall any objections. She handed one to DeVere, and replaced her sword with the other captured springer.

  'There's likely half a dozen men in the main room. I don't know if they're all up for killing, but they're all likely armed. I'd suggest we slip out the back and take a little more roundabout way to your barge... But if you think that's too big of an imposition, I could just hide out in the mountains, and let you find your way back some other way,' said DeVere, carefully. 'It's me they need dead.'

  'Oh, I think we're on the list as well, now. We need to get to the barge. I don't think we have a choice. Mom won't mind - she's not one to shy away from trouble. Besides, the barge is easy to defend, especially once we have Wilitang's weapons at our disposal.'

  'Right, the back way...' he said, and reached to grab his scabbard off the table, winced, and then stepped around the table to unlatch the rear door, carefully. He glanced around the muddy yard that bordered the ragged, former alley, now known as Gold Mountain Street. 'Looks clear.'

  'We're right behind you, my dear,' said KaRaya, as she pried open the door to the bar and snapped off a shot, shattering a bottle on the bar. 'Just to give them something to think about.'

  We staggered out into the damp, near-night. Gold Mountain Street was a twisty, narrow lane running along the back yards of the Lake Street establishments. Dozens of hastily built log and tent stores, stables, taverns, and dives now lined it. Most were set back into the hillside under the tall pine trees that had escaped, somehow, the rapid expansion of Chasm Lake. Rainwater in the thin wheel ruts glistened in the yellow lights from this ragged string of establishments.

  DeVere turned right, and started cautiously up the lane as we followed, searching the shadows for any of MorDae's men who might've come out another door. Hissi took to the branches overhead. 'We can cut through SinGer's Yard to get to the barge. It's only half a dozen buildings away,' he whispered.

  We were half way there when I felt something brush against my
jacket. Turning back, I saw a figure silhouetted in the faint light from MorDae's back room, cocking his springer for a second shot. 'Behind us.'

  KaRaya turned and snapped off a shot of her own. It fell short, but kicked up enough mud to send the fellow, scurrying back under cover. We took off as well, loping the last thirty meters to the tall fence between SinGer's Yard and the Lake Tap Room and painfully vaulted over it into the dark, empty yard. Thank goodness for the island's minor gravity. I'd have never made it otherwise. We hurried through the shadows to the Lake Street fence and peered over.

  There was still a small crowd of customers in the street outside the Palace talking over events. But there were also four men and MorDae spread out on the gravel strand before the dark silhouette of the Shadow Bird. As we watched, another joined MorDae and pointed our way. How would MorDae act in front of witnesses, should we appear?

  'Chance it or not?' asked DeVere quietly. 'They'd only get a shot or two apiece. Moving targets are hard to hit... But, five or six men...'

  'Will he shoot with that crowd still around?'

  'Oh, I'm sure he'd come up with some tale of us being accomplices of the gang, or some such story. I'm not sure how many would believe him, but I'm pretty sure no one in Chasm Lake would be bold enough to challenge him on it. He's the big man in town at the moment,' replied DeVere.

  'So, Wilitang?' KaRaya whispered. 'What do you say?'

  'If we can't count on support from the bystanders, we'd have to go it alone. A desperate dash might work, but even if one of us got hit, I'd call it a failure. With that in mind, I think we'd have a better chance of making it to the barge untouched if we advanced behind some cover. We could borrow a cart or wagon and push it before us. I don't think it'd slow us down too much, and not only would it give us cover, but it would allow us to return more accurate fire as well. I know Cam's General Store has several carts. I'd like to see us all get to the barge. '

  'Sounds like a workable plan. Back to the lane and on to Cam's,' said KaRaya, in her captain mode, ducking down, and starting off. DeVere and I followed, and with another painful vault, landed back in the lane. Single file, hugging the shadows along its Lake Street edge, we hurried down the line of buildings and fences for Cam's.

  There were a few people about - staggering down the lane or standing around outside the various taverns - Chasm Lake never sleeps.

  From behind us came the rhythmic sound of splashing. We pressed ourselves further into the shadows as a dark rider on a lopemount, bounded up the lane. He spied us as he passed, and whipping out his springer, snapped off a casual shot, missing us, but telling us who he was.

  DeVere snapped off a shot of his own, also missing. 'Off to recall the gang,' he said grimly.

  We picked up the pace, but not for long. Round a jog in the lane, we halted. A hundred meters or so ahead, the lane was filled with lopemounts and dark riders. The Black Mask gang had not gone far. They had nothing to fear. The lone rider had reached them, said something we couldn't catch and they started off, towards us. They'd be on us in seconds. At this point, the Lake Street buildings all leaned together without a gap, so we had only one option.

  'To the woods,' said KaRaya, leaping across the lane. We followed, dodging between a large, dark wood framed tent and low log cabin under dripping pines, and started scrambling up the steep, slippery, pine needle carpeted hill. Hissi followed, staying in the tree limbs.

  I could hear the riders pull up the lane behind us. A few shouted commands that had them spreading out along the lane and peering into the shadows around and beyond the ramshackle line of buildings twenty meters below us. We continued up the slippery slope, dodging around the trunks of the great old pines that marched up the steep slope. Glancing back, I could see the gang urging their mounts into the shadows and up towards us, their lopemounts carefully picking their way up the steep slope. I rather doubted the mounts would give them much, if any, advantage on the rocky, pine needle slick slope. I hoped not, anyway.

  I looked across to KaRaya who had also paused to look back. She pointed upwards, and started off again. We followed, keeping low and trying to keep as many trees and occasional clumps of underbrush between us and the slowly advancing riders. Wearing my black spaceer jacket and my soot stained jumpsuit, I was just a dark shadow amongst lots of dark shadows. The soft pine needle forest floor allowed us to move silently. As long as you missed stepping on the twigs.

  Looking back, we seemed to have gained ten meters. We probably outpaced them on foot.

  KaRaya slipped close to me and whispered, 'Let's see if we can edge out of their line of advance,' and angled off, skipping from tree to bush, in the direction we had originally been heading. We all followed, scrambling along the steep mountainside.

  Had it been clear, we'd have been in plain sight, but with the heavy overcast and misty conditions, it was as dark as night under the thick tree cover, which allowed us to remain unseen and keep ahead of the gang. And truth be told, I didn't think the gang was all that determined to track us down. The terrain was not well suited to lopemounts, they could only walk them - any faster pace would be dangerous for the lopemount footing. And if we were armed - and we were - it might be dangerous for anyone who happened upon us, so they rather quickly became discouraged. They turned back within a few minutes. We continued on for a while longer until we came to a small, rock sheltered ravine, where we stopped to catch our breath and take stock.

  Which was fortunate, since DeVere was gasping for breath and staggering by the time we settled in. All the climbing and running wasn't doing his wound any good. Hissi joined us from the trees, and we all huddled in the hollow and caught our breaths, saying little. KaRaya inspected DeVere's wound, adjusting the bandage and the belt that held it in place.

  I needed to catch my breath and examine my wound as well. As far as I could see in the darkness, my injuries were nothing more than a big bruise near my collar bone. Painful, but it didn't feel like any bones had been broken. I'd been lucky it had only been a glancing shot. A direct hit might have been far more serious, even if the jacket had prevented the slug from penetrating.

  KaRaya finally called the meeting to order. 'Any proposed change of plans?'

  'I still think a cart for cover is best, but we should now wait until everyone's awake and about,' I said. 'I doubt MorDae could have us shot down in plain sight of everyone.'

  'But that won't stop the Black Mask Gang from doing so. They're feared enough these days that they can operate openly if they care to. No one is strong enough to challenge them,' said DeVere wearily.

  'Any other suggestions?' asked KaRaya.

  'What do you think?'

  'Can we get a message to Captain DenMons? Perhaps we could arrange to meet the barge down the strand rather than run the gauntlet.'

  'Who?'

  'I'm thinking Hissi could take the message. You still can fly, can't you?' she asked Hissi.

  Hissi gave a tentative hiss. She abandoned flying more than a few meters at a time since her arrival on Daeri.

  She continued, 'As long as it's cloudy and misty, she could probably soar right over anyone waiting for us on the strand, without them even noticing her. She'd just have to make it from the roof of the nearest building to the barge.'

  'Do we have anything to write the message with and on?' I asked.

  'Ah... Well, we've got Vere's blood, and my nails. We just need something to write on. Vere should have a deck or two of cards on him.'

  He shrugged, and twisted about to one of his belt pouches, drawing a deck out.

  'There. All set.'

  'It's an idea,' I allowed, 'But let's see what she'd have to run through to get the message to Mom. If Vere's right, the whole gang might be waiting by the barge, or even taken it over. We can't send her in blind.'

  KaRaya nodded. 'Fair enough. I'm no more prepared to risk her than you. I say let's push on towards the smokehouse and see if we can get a read on what's happening. Perhaps we could commandeer one of the fishin
g boats and sort of drift that way and make a dash from the lake. But we don't know that until we see how MorDae's playing the game.'

  'I agree. When everyone's ready, we can start towards the smokehouse,' I said. 'We still have some hours before everyone will be up, so there's no hurry.'

  DeVere grunted, and slowly stood. 'I'm ready. We need to move. The gang won't give up easily. Or MorDae won't, anyway. He has too much to lose if word gets out.'

  We moved, but slowly, staying well up the slope away from the string of establishments along Gold Mountain Street at its foot. And silently, keeping an eye for riders or other searchers as we made our way around the dripping trees, rocky outcroppings, and wet bushes. A half an hour or so later, it started to rain again, hissing in the branches overhead and drifting slowly down in a dark mist, cold and wet. We had to keep moving to keep warm. In the darkness and the rain, we heard their voices before we actually saw them, three faint silhouettes vaguely outlined through the mist and dripping trees, within a ten meters of us. We froze in our tracks.

  They were standing, hands raised, their backs to us, outlined by a small campfire hidden in a little rocky hollow.

  'Not who we're looking for,' said an unseen rough voice from the darkness beyond them. 'Look to be prospectors.'

  'Check out what they have in their packs,' said the rough voice.

  Two figures emerged from the darkness beyond the prospectors and rummaged through their gear, hidden in the shallow ravine. Less than a minute later, one of them stood up behind them, holding what appeared to be three waxed canvas tubes. 'Look'ee what I've found. I think we've struck gold!'

  'Bring them over. Let's have a look.'

  'Take your cut and let us be,' said one of the prospectors. 'We haven't resisted.'

  The bandit with the tubes stepped around the prospectors and approached what we could now just make out as a rider on a lopemount. He handed one of the tubes up to the rider, who carefully undid the sewn seal with a knife and poured a little of the dust in his hand.

  'We have indeed struck gold,' he said.

  'I told you, take your cut and leave us be,' repeated the prospector.

  The dark shadow-figure of the rider carefully poured the gold dust back into the tube and said. 'Put the other two in my saddle bag, along with this one.'

  'What! The understanding is that if we don't resist, you only take half,' protested the prospector.

  'Ah, yes,' allowed the bandit. 'That's the way it is in the digs, but this ain't the digs. Mount up boys,' he called to his detachment.

  Then turning the prospectors. 'You were mighty lucky, mates. That's a lot of gold dust you found. But I'm afraid your luck has run out... Boys...'

  At that moment, there came an eerie call, low, but rising in a savage crescendo to a scream that raised the hair at the back of my neck. It didn't do the lopemounts any good either. I could see them rearing and bouncing about, their riders desperately trying to control them. And then the scream started again, this time, closer to them.

  KaRaya raised her spring pistol, and steadying it with both hands, sent a slug nearly silently on its way as the scream reached its savage peak. Whether she was aiming for the lopemount or not, I don't know, but that's who took the hit, sending it and its rider leaping into the branches overhead with a frightened scream of its own. It landed ten meters away, riderless and crashing through the low branches in panic, streaked out of sight, raced along with the rest of the terrified lopemounts and men desperately trying to stay on them.

  The prospectors broke their poses and scrambled back towards their small campfire, to retrieve their long springer rifles. Armed, they stood, staring about the darkness close around them.

  'Peace, brothers. Friends!' cried out KaRaya.

  They peered into the darkness towards us. 'Come ahead, slowly,' one said, spring rifle on his shoulder, pointed slightly down.

  We did. Slowly.

  The broad-feathered folk don't have facial hair or feathers, so I recognized DenBarn and DenOrn right off when we got close enough to see their faces. Their faces were leaner, tougher, but familiar. Cookie had a full black beard and I wouldn't have recognized him at all. As they watched us approach out of the shadows warily, their eyes widened in recognition as KaRaya and I emerged into the dim firelight.

  We all uttered cries of amazement and then joy followed by pounding on the back greeting. A very damp feathered Hissi joined us from the trees to complete the party. After we had hugged and slapped each other on the back, wondering out loud how we could've met on this rainy night in this forest, with bandits to boot. Recalling the bandits, we realized we'd better have a look at the dismounted rider and search for any others who may've been knocked clear of their lopemounts in the lopemounts' panic to see if they presented any pressing danger.

  We found only the one. He presented no pressing danger. It appeared that the panicked lopemount's great leap had taken the rider into a low branch of a great pine with such force that it broke his neck, killing him. We left him as he lay, taking only his supply of springer slugs for the pistol we found on the ground nearby. This wasn't the Unity, and he was about to kill my friends, so I didn't shed a tear.

  When we had all gathered around the little campfire in the hollow, we began to sort out our various stories.

  'We're on our way back. We've had to move cautiously, taking a very roundabout way home. The main trails are guarded by all sorts of very ruthless men and there are bandits constantly prowling the woods between here and the flats,' said Barn. 'We should have been home free, having gotten this far. It's just ill luck that we should fall in with bandits so close to Chasm Lake. We was just relaxing and waiting for the Shadow Bird to arrive when they showed up. We felt we were safer here than holed up in town.'

  'I take it you did alright in the digs?' I asked.

  'Aye. Thanks to Cookie here. He's the one that knew what was what and what we had to do to work a claim and stay alive.'

  'Seen a rush or two before,' he muttered.

  'So he knew what to look for. How to dig it and what to expect as the rush settled down and the bolder, more ruthless men decided to get their gold at the point of a springer. By that time, we were well prepared for that eventuality with defensive co-ops and redoubts. So we made it out alive and with our gold. Until now.'

  'Sorry. If we'd know it was you, we'd have tried to intervene sooner,' KaRaya said. 'You see, we'd only two springers, and well, we're the folks they're looking for...'

  'What was it that made that terrible screaming? Was that you?'

  KaRaya laughed and looked to Hissi curled around us. 'It was you, wasn't it?'

  She gave her barking laugh and somewhere her tail wagged.

  'What in the blazes was it? A hunting cry or mating call?" KaRaya asked with a laugh.

  Hissi just laughed again, and wouldn't say.

  'Well, whatever it was, we may well owe you our lives, Hissi,' said Orn. 'There had to be half a dozen of them and they was fixing to put some holes in us.'

  'Aye, slugs would have been flying,' KaRaya admitted.

  After we'd told our tale, we all agreed that the sooner we made our way down to the strand and had a look at what we'd have to face to reach the barge, the better. We smothered the fire, and started off down the hill towards the abandoned smokehouse. There were seven of us now, all armed, so we moved boldly through the woods to the far end of the strand.