Dragonback 04 Dragon and Herdsman (10 page)

The Malison Ring soldiers were probably smart enough to spot
Jack's camouflage. But they were also probably smart enough to be
suspicious of it. With this second and considerably less obvious
barrier a few feet farther along, they might conclude that Jack's was
merely a decoy.

Draycos put a few more finishing touches on his camouflage, making
sure it was better than Jack's but still detectable if they looked
closely enough. Then, leaping into the trees, he headed back to the
clearing.

The soldiers had finished their consultation and were on the move
again. Unfortunately, whether through luck or tracking skill, they were
heading straight for the path the group of K'da and Erassvas had taken.
Even with the barriers he and Jack had erected, it wouldn't take the
soldiers long to catch up to the refugees.

Draycos would just have to slow them down a bit.

The main force paused as they reached the entrance to the path,
giving the two pairs of outriders time to work their way into new
flanking positions. Then, guns held ready across their chests, they
headed in.

For a moment Draycos studied their movements. The outriders were
moving through the undergrowth nearly as quietly as a K'da warrior
could have, keeping in sight of both the main force and each other. The
second of each pair seemed to be trying to walk in the footsteps of the
first, minimizing the chances of snapping a dry branch hidden beneath
the leaves.

Each pair was also staying far enough apart that a K'da dropping
on them from above couldn't take out both with a single attack.
Clearly, they were well trained and well-informed.

But they weren't informed quite well enough. Easing down from his
tree, Draycos headed into the forest to prepare his attack.

He was curled out of sight beneath a fan-shaped group of wide-leaf
ferns when the two left-flank outriders arrived.

He let the first pass him by without interference. Then, as the
second stepped into range, he reached out a paw and stabbed a claw
neatly through the heel of the soldier's left boot.

The man gave a strangled gasp as his leg collapsed beneath him.
"What?" his companion demanded quietly, hurrying back to his side.

"My ankle," the first ground out, crouching down to clutch at his
heel. "Something bit me, right through my boot."

"You mean like a snake?" the other said, starting to take a hasty
step back.

But he was too late. Reaching behind him, Draycos jabbed him in
the same spot.

Either this one didn't handle pain as well as his companion or
else Draycos's claw had found a more sensitive spot. Instead of a
stifled gasp, the man let loose with a full-bodied bellow as he dropped
to one knee.

"Alki, you idiot," someone snapped from the path. "Shut up—

"We got trouble, Lieutenant," the first outrider called back, his
voice taut with pain. "Snake or something. We both been bit."

The lieutenant swore. "Get back here," he ordered. "Imre, Quars—go
help them."

Two of the main force left the path and pushed their way through
the bushes. They reached the injured men and slung their weapons over
their shoulders to leave their hands free to help them up.

And as they did, Draycos leaped straight up through the concealing
ferns into view.

There was just enough time for the soldiers' eyes to widen in
shock; and then K'da paws slapped hard against the sides of their necks
beneath their helmets, dropping them unconscious to the ground. Draycos
slapped his tail across the throat of one of the two men he'd first
hit, sending him flying, then paw-slapped the other.

But quiet or not, his attack hadn't gone unnoticed. "There!" one
of the remaining four soldiers in the main group shouted as Draycos
landed back on the ground. "There he is!"

"Fire!" the lieutenant snapped.

And as the four men swung their weapons around toward him, Draycos
deftly inserted the tip of his tail through the trigger guard of the
nearest fallen soldier's gun and squeezed the trigger.

The gun wasn't aimed at anything in particular, certainly not at
any of the remaining men. But to soldiers with trained combat reflexes,
the sound of nearby gunfire was all it took. As the first chattering
salvo of slugs tore into the landscape, the remaining soldiers of the
main group forgot their own weapons and dived for cover. Draycos fired
a second salvo, just to encourage them to keep down, then unhooked his
tail and slipped away into the forest.

He'd made it perhaps ten yards before the soldiers behind him
pulled themselves together enough to begin raking the forest with fire
of their own. But the shots were wild, and none of them even came close.

If they followed immediately, he knew, they would have a good
chance of catching both him and the rest of the group ahead. But he
also knew that they probably wouldn't. Four of their number were down,
two of them with ankle injuries serious enough to put them out of
action for days or possibly weeks.

And even people bent on genocide wouldn't be foolish enough to go
charging madly into a dense forest full of unknown dangers and proven
enemies. They would deal with their injured, regroup, and rethink their
strategy. Only then would they try again.

He'd bought Jack and Uncle Virge some time. Hopefully, it would be
enough.

A few yards beyond the low cliff they'd had to detour around, the
band of tightly packed bushes began to thin out. By the time Jack
caught up with Alison, the brush had cleared out enough that the group
no longer had to travel in single file.

Of course, that also meant anyone coming up from behind would see
them from a lot farther away. Trying not to think about the eyes—and
guns—that might be lining up on his back, he passed through the throng
of Erassvas and K'da to the front.

Alison looked back as he came up beside her. "Well?"

Jack shrugged. "Did my best. We'll see what happens."

"I guess." She measured him with her eyes. "So what exactly are
these Erassvas and Phookas to you, anyway?"

It was a question Jack had known she would eventually ask.
Unfortunately; he still didn't have a good answer to it. "What do you
mean?" he stalled.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" she retorted crossly. "You and
I would be twice as far along right now if we weren't dragging these
lotus-eaters and their entertainment herd along with us. I repeat: what
are they to you?"

"I wish I could explain," Jack said with a sigh. "But I can't." He
hesitated. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

He kept walking, his eyes forward, not looking at her. But he
could feel her gaze on him. "Don't think I'm not tempted," she said at
last. "But I saw how you handled forest duty back on Sunright. You
wouldn't last an hour out here without me." She gestured over her
shoulder. "Especially not with a transport full of Malison Ring
soldiers on your—"

She broke off as a stutter of gunfire erupted from somewhere
behind them.

Jack spun around, his heart seizing up. But there was no sign of
pursuit. A second bunt sounded through the trees and bushes, followed
by a much longer sustained chatter of fire.

Finally, almost reluctantly he thought, the weapons fell silent
again. This time, they stayed that way.

"Mother-of-pearl," Alison breathed. "What kind of trap did you
set
back there?"

"Like I said, I did my best," Jack said, trying to keep his voice
steady. If Draycos had been killed . . . but he wasn't going to think
about that. "You were saying something about me not lasting an hour out
here?"

He had the immense satisfaction of seeing some actual
embarrassment flicker across her face. "Okay, so maybe I was wrong,"
she admitted. "In that case, how about you take Greenie here for a
while, while I go back and take rear guard?"

"Good idea," Jack said, getting a grip on the green K'da's crest.
"You spot any trouble, just whistle."

Draycos was waiting for him another hundred yards ahead, hidden
behind a particularly large tree. "You all right?" Jack asked anxiously
as he stretched his hand behind the tree, glancing back first to make
sure Alison wasn't watching.

"I am fine," the dragon assured him. He touched a paw to Jack's
hand and vanished up his sleeve. "Four of the enemy have been
neutralized, at least temporarily."

"Great. Tell me about it."

He listened as the dragon gave him a quick summary, the
gold-scaled head draped as usual across Jack's right shoulder. "Good
job," he said when the other had finished. "Hamstringing those first
two was especially smart. It'll take a week of re-growth treatment
before they can do anything but hobble."

"Thank you," Draycos said. "Unfortunately, I will probably not be
able to use such a trick a second time."

"That's okay," Jack assured him. "Now they'll have to keep an eye
on what's going on above them, around them,
and
below them.
That's bound to slow them down a little, and every bit helps."

"Agreed," Draycos said. "Has the first K'da switch taken place
yet?"

Jack nodded. "About ten minutes ago." "How did Alison react?"

Jack glanced back again. "Actually, I don't think she noticed."

"How could she not?" Draycos countered. "She is right in back
where she can see everything."

"I know, but everyone was very cool about it," Jack told him. "The
next batch of K'da just sort of drifted over to their chosen Erassvas;
then they went up one sleeve while the old batch came out the other.
Very slick. I'd told Hren to keep it a secret, but I hadn't really
thought he and the others could pull it off."

Draycos was silent a moment. "We can hope they will continue to be
as capable." he said, sounding doubtful. "Still, now that I'm here, we
can take rear guard while Alison leads. That way, she will be facing
away from the K'da for the next transfer."

"If she'll let me," Jack warned. "Don't forget, she's the one with
the gun."

"You do not need a gun," Draycos pointed out. "You have me."

"I know that, but Alison doesn't," Jack reminded him.

"You will find a way to convince her," Draycos said. "I have
confidence in you."

"Thanks," Jack said. "Any ideas on what we do when it's Greenie's
turn, by the way?"

"Greenie?"

"Our leader of the pack," Jack said, nodding at the green K'da
padding along beside him. "Alison's bound to miss him. Especially if
she's the one leading him at the time."

"That would certainly make her wonder," Draycos agreed with the
first touch of humor Jack had heard from him since they'd arrived on
this world. "We will have to call a rest break when that time comes."

"I suppose that'll work," Jack said. "Any chance you can give me
some warning before he needs a host?"

"I can do that," Draycos assured him. "Tell me, did Taneem return
safely?"

Jack frowned. "Who?"

"I mean the gray-scaled K'da."

"Oh—him," Jack said, looking around.

"Her." Draycos corrected. "She is a female."

"Ah," Jack said. He'd wondered earlier whether there were any
females among the group. "Yeah, there she is—over to the left." He
half-turned his torso so that Draycos could see her through the opening
in his shirt. "Looks okay to me."

"Good," Draycos said. "She followed me, and I had to send her
back."

"Did she give you trouble?"

"I doubt any of these beings are capable of giving genuine trouble
to anyone," Draycos said scornfully. "I was merely concerned that she
had returned safely."

"Ah," Jack said, nodding. "You called her Taneem?"

There was a short silence, and he had the odd impression that
Draycos was actually embarrassed. "She looks very much like someone I
once knew," the dragon said at last, reluctantly. "I apologize for the
confusion."

"No, that's all right," Jack assured him. "We can call her Taneem
if you want to."

"I do
not
want to," the dragon growled. "My Taneem was
nothing like this. I do not wish her name associated with these . . .
creatures."

"Okay, fine," Jack said hastily. "I'm sorry I even brought it up."

He felt the dragon move restlessly against his skin. "I am sorry
in turn," Draycos said more quietly. "I will try not to—just a moment."

"What?" Jack asked, coming to an abrupt stop. He knew that tone,
and it usually meant trouble.

"Something ahead," Draycos said. His tongue flicked out through
Jack's shirt as he tasted the air. "Animals. Many of them."

"A herd of something?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Or a pack of something," Draycos said grimly. "There is no way to
tell whether or not they are predators without seeing them."

Jack looked over his shoulder. He could see Alison through the
trees, but her attention was on something off to her right. "Clear," he
told Draycos, putting his hand around the side of the nearest tree.
"Go."

Draycos shot out of his sleeve, his claws catching the tree trunk
in a solid grip as he passed. Scampering up the trunk like a giant
golden squirrel, he vanished into the foliage above.

"Jack?" Alison called. "You'd better come see this."

"Corning," Jack said. Giving Greenie a pat on the flank, he headed
back.

He found her staring up into one of the larger trees. "What do you
think?" she asked, gesturing.

Jack followed her pointing finger. Eight feet up the trunk was a
spot about a foot and a half across where the bark had been almost
completely torn off. "Looks like something was trying to carve its
initials in the tree," he said.

"And kept making mistakes and having to erase," Alison agreed.
"You can see claw marks there at the edge."

Jack nodded. They looked very similar, in fact, to the marks made
by K'da claws.

Except that these scratch marks were much farther apart, which
meant this animal had much larger paws. And they
were
eight
feet off the ground. "I don't think we want to run into this guy," he
said.