***
“What?” Stefan demanded.
“They’re moving much more quickly now,” Hiram repeated. “They’ve more than doubled their pace.”
“Could they be running from predators?”
Hiram checked the log. “They’ve kept this speed up for more than half an hour.”
Stefan frowned. “There’s no way Francesca could run that far for that long. Are you sure they’re still together?”
Hiram tapped the display key. The red and blue pulsing dots were quite close. “Yes, sir. The Sansoussy is right next to Miss Francesca.”
“So he’s not carrying her or anything?”
Hiram shook his head. “No, sir. They’re about a meter apart, half the length of the cable.”
Stefan frowned even more. He chewed his lip reflectively. “Check the life sign scanners. I want to see if they’re running from anything.”
After several seconds of scrutinizing the console, Hiram looked up, his expression grim. “There’s a pack of them, sir! Twenty-three people, plus an animal of some kind—the scanner says it might be a lamel or a unicorn. The animal, the wild man, and Miss Francesca are right in the middle of the pack.”
“What?” Stefan roared. “Who are they?”
“The scanner only shows approximate species and location.”
Stefan tapped his finger tips on the control panel. “We need to see who these people are.” He pressed the control to call the pilot. “Take us straight up, as high as you can go, and then give Toth the controls.”
In seconds the flyter rose so fast, Stefan felt his stomach lurch. He gripped the arms of his seat from pure reflex.
When the pilot called back to say that Toth had navigational control, Hiram moved the flyter slowly forward. Once they were in position, he aimed the long-range camera at the transponder location. The large monitor at the front of the cabin popped on, and a long line of running men appeared. In the middle of the line, a lamel loped along, its long legs stretched out in a gait between a trot and a canter. The figure on its back sat crouched over like she was none too sure of her seat.
“There she is!” Stefan got up and walked closer. “Focus on Francesca.”
The image narrowed to the area around the loping animal. As awkward as she looked, Francesca was clearly well enough to sit up. Stefan let out an audible sigh of relief and turned his attention to the men nearby. That had to be Ran-Del running beside the lamel, but from above, his features were impossible to see. Stefan could tell what he was wearing, however, just as he could see the clothes of the men running in line.
“They’re Sansoussy!” Hiram sounded astounded.
Stefan chewed his lip. “They certainly look it. But how did they find Francesca and Ran-Del?” Could it be Ran-Del’s own clan? It seemed unlikely they could find him so quickly from so far away. On the other hand, a roving band of Sansoussy wandering onto Hayden land seemed too great a coincidence.
Hiram’s voice pulled Stefan out of his reverie.
“Can we go get her now, Stefan?”
He had used Stefan’s name, which showed how worried he was.
“How are Francesca’s vital signs?” Stefan asked.
Hiram checked his monitor again. “All right. No sign of stress.”
Stefan pondered. He had to get Francesca home safe, but was there any hope of saving his plan, too? “Call D’Persis. Have her send a flyter with some more guards, just in case we need backup, and a couple of probes, so we can get a better angle on them. Meanwhile, we'll track them from the transponder signals, but we’ll stay well back.”
Hiram creased his brow in a worried frown. “Why don’t we just get her back now? We could take those wild men out with the guys we have.”
Stefan didn’t like the sound of it. Swooping down on the Sansoussy in force could only be perceived as a hostile action. Any permanent injuries could make enemies of the entire Sansoussy nation, and utterly crush Stefan’s hopes for a Sansoussy son-in-law. Stefan shook his head. “I’d rather wait and see what they have planned.”
“Yes, sir.” Hiram’s expression said plainly he hoped his employer knew what he was doing.
Stefan hoped he did, too.
The Sixth Discipline Page 23
