Chapter 9: In the Still of the Night

"Make way! Make way for the trade caravan!" The sentry in his tarnished breastplate strutted selfimportantly as he led the way into the raw, new village. Sullenlooking women with matted, straggly hair peered out of halffinished huts, glad of any diversion but not quite daring to crowd around the strangers. New as it was, without even a wall around it, the village already gave off a sour smell of dirt and garbage.

"Who you got there, Kellan?" The hoarse voice came from inside the most imposing structure in the whole village, a house that actually looked like it might have two rooms.

"Trade caravan, Parz. Trader Nurm, he calls hisself."

"Arright, you've done your job. You brought 'em in, now get back to your post." The owner of the commanding voice appeared at the door, dirty and unshaven, and Jewel suppressed a gasp as she recognized him. "Nurm the Trader, huh? Come on in where we can talk in private."

He lapsed into English as they approached, one hand rubbing absentmindedly at the raw scar that furrowed his cheek. "Yeah, it's me, all right. Tony Parrish in person, no imitations accepted. So, you finally got around to coming after me, did you? What took you so goddamned long? I've been here more than a month, already."

"We got here as soon as we could. We had to establish a cover, and learn the language. The important thing is that we did find you. Now, all we have to do is figure a way to get you out of here and back to Earth in one piece."

"Oh, so that's all, is it? And what if I don't want to go back to good old Portland, Oregon? I don't know what, where or when this place is, but I do know that I've got it made right where I am. These dumb creeps who grabbed me needed someone to do their thinking for them, and I was in the right place at the right time. I've got me a couple of women from one of the villages they raided, a roof over my head, and plenty to eat and drink. There's no government here to bother me, and no damned taxes, either. What else do I need?"

"Books, music, good food, indoor plumbing, medicine for when you're sick or hurt, people you can really talk to. Is that enough, or shall I think of a few more things?"

"That's enough, Mr. Marten. That last one I think I can take care of myself, thanks to you." Tony leered at them, his smile twisted even more by his scarred cheek. "In exchange for letting you leave here in one piece, I'll just keep your little Afrobaby playmate for company. How about it, Jennifer? Think that'll pay you back for running off and leaving me stranded in the first place? And don't try anything. My men are all around here, and they'll come running if I holler."

"No deal, Tony." Neal shook his head sadly, but his eyes were keenly alert. "If you want to stay here, that's up to you, but if you want to be left alone you'd better give me some kind of a letter for your Mr. Jordan that'll keep him off your trail. If you get the government in on this, they'll never let you stay here on your own."

Tony's gaze wavered as he thought this over, but he still wasn't convinced.

"I'll take that chance," he snarled, reaching for a sword that hung on the wall and drawing in a deep breath to shout for his men.

Amy had been standing back against the wall by the door to the outside, watching wideeyed as the two men argued. As Tony moved she stepped forward, drawing her dagger from the sheath at her belt. Before anyone could react, she threw it with a quick overhand motion. The knobbed hilt caught Tony behind the ear, and he dropped like a stone. She stepped forward in the same swift movement, picking up her knife and darting through the doorway into the inner room. In another instant she was back, herding two frightened women before her.

"Be quiet, and you won't be hurt," she snapped.

"Amaluetha!" The younger of the two women gasped as she recognized Amy. "We thought that you were dead. What are you going to do with us?"

"Don't hurt Parz," the other woman pleaded tearfully. "Please don't take us away from him."

"You'd rather stay here than go back with us?" Neal asked. "We'll take you with us if you want to go."

"What is there to go back to?" The older woman glared defiantly back at him, shaking her head. "Our old villages are wiped out, our men dead or run away. Here, our man is the leader of the village. No, we'll stay. We'll stay here even if you kill Parz. Are you going to kill him?"

"Not if we can help it. We came to rescue him, but it seems like he's decided that he doesn't want to go."

Tony was already straining at the makeshift ropes Jewel had tied him with, thumping his feet against the floor and making angry mumbling noises through a hastily improvised gag.

"Well, are you ready to talk sense?" Neal removed the gag, holding it ready.

"I'll see you in Hell first! HE... mmmph!"

"Our animals are still outside, and there are people watching," Jewel reported, glancing out at the village street. "What are we going to do?"

"We can't drag him back against his will." Neal considered their problem. "Killing him wouldn't solve anything, either. Jewel, get our things from number three pack beast. We'll make up light packs to carry when we leave."

"But, all the trade goods," Amy protested. "What about them?"

"Tony can have them, and be welcome to them. He can make good use of them, along with the animals, and this is no time to worry about trifles. Tony! Stop fighting long enough to listen to me! There are some basic medical supplies, along with a few other things in our gear that should be kept out of the hands of these people. If you ever do want to contact us, set up a flag at the spot where you and Jewel first landed. There's a goodsized pile of stones marking it, and if I'm able to I'll have the place checked once in a while."

Jewel wasn't sure that Tony even heard Neal's words, or understood them if he did. He strained against his bonds, face crimson with rage and strain. Neal opened the pack that she brought him, taking out a small black case. Carefully loading a small hypodermic needle, he gave Tony a shot in the left buttock in spite of his struggles.

"There, that'll take care of you for a few hours. We'd better be leaving now, before somebody comes."

Tony's eyes were soon closing, the action of the drug hastened by his struggles, so with a warning to the two women not to untie him until they were gone they slipped out the back way, melting silently into the forest. Neal set a rapid pace at first, alternately walking and running until he finally had to stop and rest.

"Whew, that's hot work," he panted, leaning against a tree trunk. "I've got to sit down for a minute, then we can go on a while longer. What do you think, Amy? Can his men catch up with us before we get back to the pickup point?"

"Easily," she answered bluntly. "It all depends on how badly they want us. Tony can send out two or three men who've had experience in tracking people. Since they were raised where things are this heavy, they can go much faster than you can."

"Only two or three? He won't send more than that?"

"Well, maybe four or five. No more than that, since he doesn't have all that many men to spare. He'll send out his fastest runners and trackers, not his best fighters. He won't expect us to be able to put up much of a fight against trained soldiers. They'll probably catch up with us some time during the third day."

"We'll face that when we have to," Neal decided. Jewel watched, concerned, as he got to his feet. He really wasn't up to this, she decided, but didn't say anything. "We'd better get moving again. I've got some pep pills that'll keep us going for a while, but I'd rather save them until they're really needed."

They were off again. Walking, running, walking through the still forest. They could use some rain to cover their tracks about now, Jewel thought to herself, but the sky stayed stubbornly clear. A few times they scared up wild animals, fleeter relatives of the pack beasts, and once a native carnivore that looked like a cross between a cat and a sixlegged bear. It snarled a warning at them but reluctantly got out of their way, much to Amy's relief. The next time they stopped to rest, Jewel swung up into a tree to study their back trail.

"All quiet, so far," she reported when she climbed down. "That shot must have put Tony to sleep before his women untied him, and he'll be out for several hours."

"I hope we lose them." Amy smiled at her. "I was so very frightened for you when he said that he was going to keep you there with him."

Jewel writhed inwardly, remembering her own feelings when General Essgant had made the same demand for Amy. "Don't worry," she reassured the blond girl, giving her a quick hug. "We'll all make it out of here together."

They kept going as the shadows lengthened, not even trying to disguise their trail as they made the best speed they could through the forest. The sky stayed clear, just as it had been every day since the storm. After the short twilight, the stars gave them enough light to keep on walking. Jewel led the way, her keen eyes best able to pick out a path in the dim light. It was close to the middle of the night and they were all staggering with fatigue when at last Neal called a halt.

Jewel woke with the soft light of dawn in her eyes, wondering why she felt so secure. She gently disengaged Neal's arm from around her shoulder and sat up. On Neal's other shoulder, Amy's blond head snuggled just as trustingly. She once again felt a twinge of jealousy, even as she looked fondly down at the peaceful picture they made.

"All right, you two." She nudged Neal with her toe, laughing softly at their bewildered expressions. "Time to get moving. Three babes in the woods, that's us."

They chewed on concentrated rations as they jogged along, stiff muscles quickly loosening and moving smoothly once they were on their way. They rested briefly during the heat of the day. Neal figured that the time they lost would be more than made up for in the cooler afternoon, since they wouldn't be as exhausted.

"Do you think that he'll be all right?" Amy looked worriedly over to where Neal lay stretched out with his eyes closed, his face lined with fatigue. "He's getting awfully tired."

"He isn't as young as we are," Jewel answered softly. "But I think he'll be all right. That night... At the temple of the MotherGoddess. The drink that they gave us, have you ever heard any stories about it?"

"Not really. I've been to their ceremonies, of course, but never anything like that one. Just the usual rituals, meetings where the Elder Sister talked to us, and we sang. Why?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm beginning to think that the drink that they gave us was something special, that maybe it did something to us. None of us have been sick, or had very sore muscles from sleeping out on the ground, or anything. The words she used during the ceremony were in an old form of the language, but what I did catch of them was something about 'the Salt of Life, without which your children must age and die, ' if I understood them right."