Aurum: The Golden Planet

by Sharon Joss

  The sooner he got out of this place the better. He should just take the gold and leave now. He could probably load two chests on each traggah without much trouble, and fill his pockets with as much as they’d hold. He could out of here in less than an hour still be filthy rich. “You guys do what you want. I’m getting out of here.”

  He made a move as if to leave, but Lyle barred his way. “What are you doing? We’re all together on this. You agreed. Look at the size of that rock over there. All we have to do is play it smart and we can get out with both the nugget and the gold. We’re talking about a fortune here!”

  Sweat trickled down the side of Wayne’s face, but he resisted the urge to wipe it away. Lyle was becoming a real problem. “Weren’t you listening to him? There’s a fucking dinosaur outside. And in a few minutes, it’ll be coming inside.”

  “Oops,” the mandragon interrupted. “Two more shots. Sounds like more than one craggon is screaming up there.” He shook his head theatrically. “Can’t you guys hear any of this? Who’s the idiot firing a weapon, anyway? You can’t kill a craggon with a gun. Bullets can’t penetrate their hide. Shooting at them just makes ‘em madder.”

  “Gotta be Corey.” Even Nevers looked spooked.

  “I said shut up,” Wayne hissed. He clenched his fists. “One more word out of you and I swear I’ll shoot ya in the face,” He cursed himself for letting Nevers bring Corey along in the first place. Well, maybe Corey could kill the thing; or better yet, the thing could save him a bullet and get rid of Corey. K’Sati and Harkness were already good as dead; but they wouldn’t be able to get out with the gold with a bunch of craggons running around up there. There had to be another way out.

  “You’re the brother, right? Garrett Harkness?”

  The mandragon rose clumsily to his feet. “In a former life.”

  “Your kid brother is up there with them craggons. Came all the way from Terra to find you. Seemed to think you needed rescuing.”

  The mandragon snorted; he helped his bleary-eyed friend to his feet. “We aren’t close. Took me awhile to explain the concept to him.”

  Animal. Wayne shook his head. Nugget or no, they had to get out of here before the craggon came back. He had no doubt the craggon would kill them if he found them.

  “Fine.” Wayne leveled his weapon at the mandragon. “Show us the back way out of this trap and we’ll be on our way.”

  “What if I don’t?”

  Lyle grabbed Never’s gun from his holster and shoved it into the mandragon’s ribs. “You die.”

  “Easy, pal.” The mandragon, with Paul in tow, moved to walk past them. “You can’t threaten me. I’m family to that big lizard out there. You guys came here to rob me of my gold. Don’t expect me to help you.”

  Lyle’s shot echoed loudly in the cavern, and Paul sagged to the floor, black blood pouring from the point-blank chest wound.

  “You idiot!” Wayne snatched the gun away. “You want to get us all killed? You’re going to bring that beast down here on all of us.”

  The mandragon knelt over Paul and checked for a pulse. He shot Wayne and accusing look. “He’s dead.”

  Wayne felt his control slip away. In the ghastly light of the lanterns, the thing that had once been Renly Harkness’s brother gave him an utterly reptilian stare.

  “Once old Yellowsmoke gets a whiff of you three Terrans, she’ll tear this place apart trying to kill you. In fact, I have no doubt she’s whetting her appetite on my brother and your friends upstairs right now.”

  A rumbling roar echoed across the cavern.

  Wayne froze. Nevers and Lyle looked like they were about to cry. The mandragon Harkness dragged Paul’s body out of the cave, and out to the main cavern. “You better hope she finds his body and forget about looking for you, but I wouldn’t’ count on it.” He rose and crossed the cave to a narrow passageway and paused. “Paul had the pox. She’s gonna come looking for the intruder who killed her baby, and she won’t be looking for me. I’d kill those lights if I were you,” Garrett whispered. “Mommy’s home.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Renly estimated the yellow craggon’s leathery wingspan spanned at least forty feet from tip to tip. The creature clutched the big guard in one powerful claw while it snapped at Renly with a hooked, eagle-like beak edged with pointed teeth. Encumbered by his heavy pack, he scrambled backwards, but the craggon had the strap of his pack snagged on one claw. Being cuffed, he couldn’t get rid of the pack now, even if he wanted to.

  The guard struggled weakly. He didn’t know how the man could still be alive, but was too busy trying to get in a position to shoot. He caught a glimpse of first Silverbeard, then Neatfoot with K’Sati on board as they charged past, momentarily distracting the craggon’s attention.

  He scrambled to his knees, being careful not to drop the gun. He managed to get to his feet, only to fall again as the craggon lunged at the escaping traggahs, dragging the pack with her.

  Overhead, a smaller, greyer version of the great yellow swooped down to investigate. The yellow craggon, infuriated by the smaller trespasser, lunged at the grey.

  Leathery wings buffeted him from all sides. The yellow roared and leapt into the air at the smaller craggon. With a sharp jerk, Renly found himself suddenly freed from the craggon’s grip on his pack. He ducked low, then rolled away from the battling lizards. He scrambled beneath the shrubbery at the edge of the camp and tried to make himself inconspicuous, even as he gripped the pistol in both hands.

  The smaller craggon twisted out of the talons of the big yellow and screamed a challenge, but the yellow wasn’t going for it. She dropped the guard; and began scratching furious gouges into the dirt, as if to claim her territory. The grey rose higher in the sky.

  The guard landed in a bloody heap, less than a dozen feet away. Their eyes met. The guard screamed, but before Renly could react, the great yellow craggon bit him in two. He heard the crunch of bones and saw the guard’s eyes dim. He remembered Okoro telling him how young Khirjahnis were able to kill craggons with a single spear to the eye

  A shot rang out from inside the cavern. The craggon heard it, too. She paused to listen.

  The grey pounced on her from above.

  Quick as a cat she whirled and slashed out with her deadly claws. The thin membrane of his wing shredded, and he went for her throat. They rolled, each seeking to eviscerate each other with their deadly talons. Closer and closer they rolled.

  The yellow managed to grab the grey by his neck and trap him beneath her, using her superior size and weight. They were so close, he could almost touch them. The grey’s yellow eye faced him at point blank range.

  He pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He pulled the trigger again, but the gun was empty. The yellow delivered the killing blow to the grey with her wicked beak.

  He shrank back, but she was too busy to notice him. She continued to pound at the unlucky grey’s skull in a fury of blows, until she reached the brain. Finally, she seemed to realize that the grey was no further threat. She carefully sniffed the corpse, as if to assure herself he was no longer a threat.

  Renly waited, his heart in his throat, for her to notice him. His stonewood club lay on the other side of the dead craggon. The empty gun would not help him, and neither weapon would help him get the cuffs off. He was utterly defenseless.

  From the lavender skies above, other craggons screamed their challenges. Finally satisfied that the grey was truly dead, the yellow bellowed her answer at the circling intruders. The flyers retreated to tiny specs high in the sky.

  Renly waited in the dense brush, holding his breath, too terrified to move. Gradually, the yellow seemed to satisfy herself that there was nothing else to do but return to her cave. He watched her move down the trail leading to the cavern until the rocks hid her from view.

  He waited as long as he dared, but heard no more shots. Wayne and his men must be dead; Garrett and Paul too, probably. He would not mourn his brother’s passing. Garrett had chosen his life’s pa
th; time to leave him to it. He would not risk his life again for his brother. He needed to find K’Sati now.

  Cautiously, he edged his way out from the cover of branches, leaving the useless gun behind him. His club lay in the center of the clearing, twenty yards away. As he debated whether to go after it, two craggons landed in the middle of the camp. He withdrew, working his way deeper into the underbrush. Even as they began tearing at the corpse of the grey, he knew he would have to leave the club behind.

  Weaponless and handcuffed, he didn’t dare stick around. Maybe one of the tools in his pack would be able to break the cuffs, but first he needed to get as far away as possible from the camp.

  The pain in his ribs made breathing difficult, but not impossible. Grimly, he headed down the trail, realizing as he did, that he was all alone, wounded, and lost. Up ahead somewhere, he sensed K’Sati, Neatfoot, and Silverbeard, but they couldn’t help him. First sunset was less than an hour off; he was covered in blood, and the predators would be waking soon. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he began to jog.

  CHAPTER 36

  K’Sati clung to Neatfoot’s back, her heart hammering in her chest. In Neatfoot’s panic to escape the craggons, the traggah raced down the trail at breakneck speed. Low branches scraped at them as they flew by, and K’Sati feared the terrified traggah would stumble and kill them both in her frenzied escape, but Neatfoot never faltered. The traggah’s acrid sweat soaked her clothes; it seemed like hours before the traggah’s hysteria began to fade.

  By the time they reached the bottom of the trail, they both trembled with fatigue. Neatfoot made her way unerringly to the spring she and Renly had found two days before, and plunged knee-deep into the shallow water to drink. K’Sati slipped off her mount’s back and did the same. The cold water slaked their thirst, but now that they had outrun the immediate danger, both of them needed food.

  Neatfoot grazed hungrily on the tender grasses surrounding the spring, while K’Sati searched the lhossa bushes for berries; each a sweet explosion in her mouth, but not enough to sate her hunger.

  She kept her attention focused on the trail behind them, alert for any sound. Any moment, she expected Renly to appear, but as the minutes stretched, she began to fear the worst. The idea of traveling alone at night terrified her, but if he did not show up soon, she would have to leave without him.

  The thought that he might not be coming haunted her.

  He was not dead. She sensed his presence miles behind her, but not clearly. She sensed Silverbeard too; ahead of them, all alone, and desperate to find them. His forlorn unhappiness pulled at her; calling to her like a desolate beacon. She sensed Neatfoot’s anxiety-ridden longing for him as well. Traggahs did not belong in the mountains; they were children of the open spaces. She added her assurances to Neatfoot’s soothing thoughts; they would be herd together again soon.

  But none of them would be safe until they reached the herd out on the steppes. She took pity on hungry Neatfoot and curled up beneath the fronds of a large fern for a quick nap. In spite of her hunger, she fell asleep quickly.

  When she awoke, the deep violet of the sky told her true sunset was less than an hour off. She did not dare waste a minute more. After another deep drink of water from the spring, she swung herself up onto Neatfoot’s back, and they followed the game trail leading up and out of the mountains.

  The trail grew steeper in the fading light. She dismounted to walk beside the traggah, fearing the animal would stumble in the darkness. They settled into a mindless rhythm; of moving forward, ever upward. Sometimes she grabbed at branches to help her pull herself forward, at others she gripped a handful of Neatfoot’s mane and let the traggah pull her. With only the stars to light their way, she had no idea if they were still on the trail. She trusted Neatfoot’s sense of direction, and knew the only way out the mountains was up and over.

  Neatfoot began to huff and snort nervously. She skittered at shadows within shadows; sometimes dragging K’Sati with her as she shied. K’Sati began to hear small yips in the underbrush. At first, she thought they were the startled cries of awakened treboos, but before long, the calls were all around them.

  Her blood ran cold. Hunters had found their trail.

  She had no idea what kind of creatures these were. All she knew was that they were outnumbered. At least four, she thought. Maybe five. The darkness and rough terrain made it impossible to outrun them; they needed to find some sort of shelter.

  Panic sapped her strength; the darkness made her footing unsteady. She panted; sweat ran into her eyes, making it even more difficult to see. They’d seen a cave as couple of miles back; they should have stopped there for the night. It would have been safer than scrambling around at night. But it was already too dark to see if something hadn’t already claimed the shelter for the night. She’d hoped to walk all night, and escape the mountains in the morning, but realized neither she nor Neatfoot would be able to keep going much longer.

  The terrain began to level out a bit, and the brush thinned and gave way to boulders and rocky soil. Her spirits soared as she remembered the place. The dim light of the stars illuminated a clearing full of hulking forms; the boulders would protect their backs.

  She patted the traggah’s neck and led her across the clearing, toward the largest clump of boulders. Behind her, the yips became calls. She urged Neatfoot forward, sensing their pursuers were about to attack.

  They reached the sheltering rock formation and whirled to face their attackers. Neatfoot whistled a challenge.

  There were five of them.

  She couldn’t see them clearly in the dark, but they were light-colored and furry, with long tails like rahgs, but about half their size. Too small to threaten a traggah alone, but as a pack, she had no doubts as to their intentions. These were predators. Even in the dim starlight, she could see the gleam of their teeth as they paced nervously; looking for an opportunity to attack.

  The boulder at their back towered at least ten feet above her head, and smaller boulders flanking them on either side protected them from anything but a frontal assault. Neatfoot snorted and pawed the ground while she scrabbled around in the scree for fist-sized rocks.

  The first darted in, quick as lightning, but wary of Neatfoot’s hooves. She threw every stone with as much power as she was able. They dodged quickly, but she caught one with and it yelped sharply before limping away. The other four didn’t seem to notice.

  They had a strategy where they took turns darting in to bite at the traggah’s legs. She sensed Neatfoot’s anger, but her fatigue, too. Already, Neatfoot had taken several deep bites to her front legs, which bled black in the starlight.

  It seemed to be a coordinated, practiced attack. She recognized their affinity for each other as something similar to the traggah’s herd instinct. If she could wound more of them, she was pretty certain they would give up. She began pelting their attackers with rocks as fast as she could. Each time she scored a direct hit, she was rewarded with a sharp yip and cold satisfaction. Her arms ached. The pack grew bolder. She got one of them in the face, and another in the leg; hard enough so that he limped away on three legs. After they left, the final two disappeared into the darkness.

  Neatfoot trembled beside her, her head hanging dispiritedly. She ran her hands down the traggah’s injured forelegs. The wounds had bled freely, but weren’t deep. It was too dark to see the damage, but Neatfoot did not appear to be limping. She coaxed the traggah to bed down in the shelter of the rocks, and sent her mental images of watching over her as she slept. Finally, the injured traggah snorted a long sigh and fell into a deep sleep.

  Exhausted as she was, K’Sati could not close her eyes. What if those things returned with the rest of the pack? She did not believe they would last the night if they did. Alone, they were a target.

  She hoped Renly was safe. She reached out with her gift, searching for him, but his presence did not feel as close as Silverbeard. Renly felt faint in her head, but alive.

  As Neat
foot’s breathing slowed, her head began to droop. She leaned against the traggah’s broad, warm side, watching in case their attackers returned. She fought to keep herself awake and alert, but in spite of her fear, sleep overtook her.

  CHAPTER 37

  Another roar rumbled through the outer cavern. “Cool the lights, guys,” Wayne whispered. He snapped off his flashlight and Nevers followed, but Lyle had other ideas.

  “Are you crazy? There’s only one way we’re going to get this gold out of here without ending up like that damn lizard-man. We’ve got guns, man. We’ve got to kill this thing, and we can’t do it in the dark.”

  Wayne edged away from them, and picked up one of the blue-shielded lamps the mandragon had used. The guy had to be smart, to live with a craggon all this time. He wouldn’t be using a blue light if it hadn’t given him some kind of advantage. He switched on the lantern.

  And if craggons could be killed with basic Terran hand weapons, they would have been wiped out decades ago for the gold. Lyle was a hunter by trade; he liked to shoot stuff. But Lyle had never faced a craggon. If they listened to him, they could all end up dead. Let Lyle deal with the craggon, if that’s what he wanted.

  Wayne flashed his blue lantern toward Garrett’s retreating form. He was headed toward his personal sanctuary, where the gold was already packed up and ready to move.

  “Give me back my gun,” Nevers said to Lyle.

  “It’s mine now.”

  The craggon stink cranked up about a hundred notches as the beast circled the outer cavern. The creature sniffed noisily, searching for the intruders. He weighed the odds: take the risk that Lyle could kill the craggon, or hole up with the mandragon until things quieted down. To hell with it. Let the craggon take care of Lyle and Nevers. Once they were gone, he’d take care of the mandragon, take what he could carry and come back for the rest of the gold in his own time. He handed his gun to Nevers.