Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
QUETZAL'S FLOCK<br />
which they didn't expect to be squandered. He resisted the urge to drain it and took<br />
only a few sips. He handed it back and gave the man Hammadi a quick appraisal.<br />
There was no doubt that he had come to the right place. They were about his<br />
height, perhaps even a little taller. Hammadi's hood piece had fallen back. His hair<br />
was long and straight and in the red light, it appeared to be dark rather than blond. His<br />
ears were neither large nor small, but the lobes were almost absent. His face was<br />
similar to that of the image contained in the exposed Pentacle, but he was not that<br />
man. His nose was long and his eyes were steady and piercing. He could have been a<br />
desert warrior who had once ridden to war on Old Earth.<br />
Kane realised that Hammadi had been giving him an equally frank appraisal.<br />
He smiled and was rewarded with a slight relaxation of the steely expression.<br />
"Is it the wish of my Lord Quetzal that he accompanies us to the Master of<br />
Dreams?"<br />
It was the best offer Kane had received all day.<br />
"It is my wish."<br />
They gave the Bole a curious look. Kane didn't enlighten them about its<br />
capabilities.<br />
"It was a sad thing - the loss of your companion."<br />
One of the others answered.<br />
"He was only two."<br />
"Two?"<br />
"Two days old, Lord Quetzal."<br />
Kane cautiously changed the subject.<br />
"What do they call you?"<br />
"I am Dagh, Lord Quetzal - and he is Motya."<br />
They started moving deeper into the dunes, away from the ocean. Kane gave<br />
one last look at the place where their companion had met his death. They had shown<br />
little emotion, perhaps life was so tough on their world that the death of one man<br />
meant nothing. He gave him a silent salute, after all, if he hadn't been one of the party<br />
sent to meet Kane Ashford, he wouldn't have been a target for the monstrosity which<br />
had dragged him to his doom.<br />
It seemed to grow hotter, but it was more than likely imagination. Kane<br />
wondered how his companions could stand wearing the enormous cloaks in which<br />
they were enveloped. They moved with ease through the undergrowth and Kane<br />
began to labour to keep up. He didn't think he could stand much more of the effort<br />
which was being demanded of him. He was fast becoming a candidate for a coronary.<br />
There was no sign of habitation and his heart sank when he contemplated the<br />
prospect of walking to their destination. There was a pervasive, cloying smell, which<br />
intensified as they pushed deeper into the undergrowth. It became a pungent, choking<br />
stench. Hammadi and his companions didn't seem to mind it, they were searching for<br />
something or someone. Hammadi kept uttering a peculiar hoarse whine. After a while,<br />
it started to jangle the nerves. He explained solemnly.<br />
"It's the mating call of the Picun. It's the only thing which will get them away<br />
from the Schwarm."<br />
Kane wasn't much wiser. The exercise continued. Hammadi's two companions<br />
joined in and between them created enough noise to excite a whole herd into a sexual<br />
frenzy. Not knowing what to expect, made Kane apprehensive. There was a thrashing<br />
through the undergrowth and there suddenly appeared a strange looking monster,<br />
travelling at a full gallop in its eagerness to make their acquaintance. Kane retreated<br />
behind his three companions and tried to assess the newest aberration.<br />
5
Change language