Part 4 (2/2)
”Better on own,” Jak said hoa.r.s.ely with an agitated shake of his head.
”You've got nothing to fear from us, honey,” Gloria said softly, aware that she was intruding but feeling it was important to make her point.
Jak fixed her with his glowing red orbs. ”Not you. Something beyond. Not to
trust anyone...anything. Can't explain, but-”
”You a doomie?” Gloria asked him.
Jak gave a curt head shake. ”No, but had strangest feeling.”
”I know there's been something-something you haven't been able to talk
about,” Ryan said quietly, ”but this is necessary for both of us. We go with them, and that's final.”
Jak shrugged.
Gloria smiled at him. ”We're not that frightening, sweetie. And we've got this far in one piece.”
Mildred was once more aware of the way Gloria regarded Jak before she turned to her warriors and snapped her fingers twice.
With an understanding that could only have been born of traveling and hunting for so long, the group that had been covering the companions dispersed into the veld and the surrounding bush, while Gloria raised a hand to stay Ryan and his people when they made to move. She waited, with her head raised and a distant look in her eyes. Her nose quivered gently at its upturned tip as she sniffed the early evening air.
From the distance came the sound of whistles, differing in pitch and length. Jak could tell that they came from five different mouths, and from an equally differing number of locations. Each whistle told Gloria something that she needed to know, and when the last whistle had died away on the darkening air, she nodded her approval.
”Okay, we can move out now. Follow me, and stay together.”
”I think we've got some idea what to do,” J.B. murmured laconically to Mildred as he watched the warrior queen stride out onto the veld, hair swaying in time with her hips. She made no attempt to stealth, so confident in the abilities of her scouts that she felt no danger.
Mildred turned to the Armorer. ”I feel as diffident about this as you, John, but we'll just have to go with it for now.”
The Armorer nodded. ”Ryan's right to go with it right now. I just wish we knew more about them.”
The party left the confines of the charnel house clearing and entered the veld, strung out in a line behind Gloria. As soon as they were out into the open, the atmosphere lightened. They were clear of the stench of death and the oppressive enclave of trees. The veld itself was a beautiful sight by the light of the setting sun, the last rays of the day stretching fingers of opaque orange light across the gra.s.sland. They were walking directly into the sun as it sunk beneath the horizon, and the warrior queen was outlined in silhouette, a shadow fanning out behind her to cover the first two of the party that followed-Jak being in the lead, as he had still been at the head following the initial exit from the forest.
Mildred found a strange significance in the fact that the albino was absorbed by the shadow of the woman, and she headed toward Krysty, catching up to her.
”Is it me, or have you noticed the way that Gloria keeps looking at.Jak?” she whispered into her friend's ear.
”Yeah, and that could cause us problems, right?”
”If you're thinking what I am, then it surely could,” Mildred replied. ”I don't know what the h.e.l.l is bugging Jak, but it has to do with whatever happened in the mat-trans jump, and somehow he thinks it involves Gloria. Because he sure as s.h.i.+t hasn't been looking at her the way she's been looking at him.”
”Right,” Krysty agreed, ”and if she comes on to him and he freaks, then that could really put us right in the s.h.i.+t. Which is exactly what we don't need right now.”
”So you think someone should mention this to Ryan? Just in case he hasn't noticed...”
”I'll talk to him about it when we're alone. He knows something's up, but whether he's picked up on this aspect...” She tailed off, before adding, ”Well, he'll know soon enough.”
IT WAS an uneventful trek across the veld. As they continued along the trail, the light faded slowly into twilight, and the temperature dropped. The hum of insects decreased in the night air, and the companions followed Gloria across the plain.
The woman walked at a steady pace, seemingly untroubled by the possibility of any attack from man or beast as darkness fell, her trust in her tribe sisters total and born of long experience and the natural arrogance of one born and bred to lead. It was reflected in the lazy hip sway of her walk, which Ryan realized was deceptive when he looked back over the territory they had covered.
As they traversed the plain, the warriors of the tribe who had dispersed to scout the territory a.s.sembled around their queen, forming a party that flanked the companions, offering them protection but also-if looked at it in a certain light- hemming them in.
Both Ryan and J.B. noted, with admiration and also for future reference, that the female warriors seemed to glide across the veld and slip in and out of the shadows, seeming to join up with the main party as though from the very air itself. They were obviously well trained and possessed a natural grace that had become a tribal trait through sheer necessity and survival over the years.
Margia, the blond armorer of the tribe, was the last to join, appearing from the shadow of a nearby outcrop and falling into step beside Doc.
”Madam, may I congratulate you on your companions' ability to deceive in the darkness,” the old man murmured with an inclination of his head.
Margia chuckled. ”You're a strange man, old one. You make me laugh, and I like that. It's going to be good to have you around. Most men are dullards and are only useful as packhorse or for stud.”
”I fear that both functions may find me past my best,” Doc commented.
Margia chuckled once more, a harsh, throaty sound that echoed across the plain, its resonance making it carry more than its volume.
Gloria looked over her shoulder. ”Shut it, Marg,” she snapped. Then she caught Jak's eyes as he studied her from behind.
Her tone softened as she said to him, ”Whatever's worrying you, sweets, don't think about it until we reach camp.”
Jak looked away without answering.
They continued in silence for another twenty minutes before they came within sight of a clump of trees. It was a smaller wooded area than the forest the companions had traversed earlier in the day, and barely visible in the darkening sky were small tendrils of smoke from a campfire.
Gloria tsked. ”Stupidworks men. They never learn, never. The only safety is in invisibility.”
”What do you expect?” Margia murmured. ”Only good for two things.”
”Don't be too harsh,” added the tall tribe member with the auburn curls, her voice fluting and melodious against the harsher tones of the blond armorer. ”Petor and Jon are in trust with the fires, and they're still only boys.”
”Tell that to us when we have our b.a.s.t.a.r.d throats cut,” Margia rejoined.
”Enough,” Gloria snapped as they approached the woods. ”I'll deal with it soon enough. Best just to get home first.”
They had reached the edge of the woods, and the warrior queen gave a sharp whistle that pitched up in tone toward the end of its duration. As it died away on the night air, two women appeared to materialize from the shadows, leaving their posts to acknowledge the return of their queen.
As the companions entered the wood and the relative safety of the Gate camp, each wondered in turn what they would find there.
Chapter Six.
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