Hero (35 page)

Trag eyed the vast expanse of snow behind them with distaste. Clearly, the very

last thing he wanted to do was to trudge through any more of it, and the fact that the roads were open probably suited him right down to the ground. Micayla suspected that getting him to enjoy snow would be difficult, but then a mental picture of sledding with him down a snowy hillside with his arms wrapped around her popped into her head and she thought she might have to revise that notion. He'd probably end up laughing his head off and throwing snowballs at her. Then they'd go back inside, curl up beside the fire with some hot chocolate...

"What? You mean nobody ever walks on Earth?" he said, bringing her thoughts back to the present.

"Oh, of course they do!" Micayla said. Enjoying snowball fights with Trag would have to wait for a while--unfortunately. "They clear the sidewalks for foot traffic, but everyone usually takes care of that on their own property. This was obviously done by someone else." She shuddered slightly as all thoughts of snow sledding and hot chocolate evaporated. "They could be all around us and we'd never know. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it."

"Their scales only let light pass around them," Trag said. "I doubt it would work with blowing snow--I mean, you'd see the snow being diverted by them--wouldn't you?"

"I'll be damned if I know," Micayla said. "If light can slip around something, maybe snow can do the same thing--though snow is visible, and light particles aren't."

Trag shrugged. "All I know is this is one strange planet. Look at those buildings.

Don't you think that's weird the way they stand on end like that? Must take some kick-ass structural engineering to keep them from falling over."

Micayla had to admit, they were odd. Some of them looked like pyramids

standing on the point, rather than the base, while others were perfectly spherical. "I wonder if they rotate."

"What, to dump the snow off the top?"

"Maybe. Then again, the bottom base could just be invisible."

Trag walked up to the edge of one of the larger structures. There wasn't any snow there, nor did the light from the hovering globes which illuminated the rest of the street reach the ground beneath it. Tentatively putting out a hand, he came up against the solid but completely invisible side of the structure. "There's your answer," he said. "Snow doesn't make them visible, except for the fact that there's no snow underneath them."

"Why would anyone design a building to be partially concealed like that?"

"Purely for fashion," Slurlek said, suddenly materializing beside Micayla, who let out a shriek and leaped forward into Trag's arms.

"Don't do that!" Trag exclaimed. "Gives me the--what is it Jack calls that?--the willies?"

"Probably," Micayla replied. "Couldn't you guys warn people when you're about to appear?" Though it did get her closer to Trag--which was a plus in any situation.

"But we like to make people jump," Orlat said, suddenly appearing behind Slurlek. "It's fun."

She could understand the appeal, but it was bound to get old eventually. "Yes, but you guys probably don't even notice it, do you?"
"True," Slurlek said. "Happens too often."

"Have to wait for offworlders to come around," Orlat added.

"So, how did you know where we were?" Micayla asked. "Obviously you didn't track us through the snow." The wind had already obscured their trail from the ship, piling it into sloping drifts behind them.

"Trade secret," Orlat replied. "Can't tell you everything."

"I suppose not," Micayla reluctantly agreed. "It's just that I know where Grekkor is now--or where he'll be when we get there." Frowning, she added, "It's hard to explain, but we may not need you guys after all."

Orlat looked hurt--at least, Micayla thought he did, though with Neriks it was

difficult to tell. "Not even for moral support?"

"Well, maybe for that, but not much more." She paused for a moment

remembering her earlier thought that these men could just as easily have been working for Grekkor and had been sent back to capture them and turn them in for the bounty.

"Didn't rat on us, did you?"

It might have been a Terran figure of speech, but Orlat obviously understood it.

"To Grekkor?" he scoffed. "Like we'd ever work for someone like him. That is one scary son of a leckler."

"What the devil is a leckler?" Trag asked.

Orlat's upper lip clicked into an expression of distaste. "A flat, slimy thing that lives in ponds," he replied. "Not a nice thing to be."

Trag nodded. "Just checking."

"So the buildings are like that for fashion?" Micayla asked. "Kind of expensive, isn't it?"

"Terribly," agreed Slurlek. "It's a measure of high status to have a house that can be completely cloaked. Not everyone aspires to that, though. Far as I'm concerned it's a waste of credits."

"Well, you certainly wouldn't need to put up curtains," Micayla mused as she studied the buildings. "Some people would see that as an advantage. On the other hand--"

She broke off as another thought struck her. "Hey, do you have any idea why our comlinks still don't work? I figured you two were jamming the ship, but why don't they work now?"

"It's the snow," Slurlek said, shaking his head sadly. "Messes up everything on this planet. Something about the shape of the dust particles in the atmosphere that alters the crystalline nature of the flakes. Most signals are distorted by it. We can make things disappear but can't get decent reception in a snowstorm--well, some things work, like beacons and such, but nothing very complex can get through."

"Nobody's perfect," Trag said with a shrug. "So the snow's different from that on other worlds? I'd have thought snow was the same everywhere."

"Not here," Slurlek said. "Lots of things are different here--and some things are too much the same."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Every life form on this planet has black scales and white eyes," Slurlek replied.

"The birds, the other land animals, the fish--everything except the plants."

"Whew! Talk about your lack of biodiversity!" Micayla exclaimed. "Can they all disappear?"
"Nope, only us bipeds can do that," Orlat said smugly.

"What about lecklers?" Trag asked.

"Flat, slimy, with black scales and white eyes," Orlat replied. "We just wish they could disappear."

"Must have missed that chapter in the book," Trag muttered.

"You never read the book," Micayla reminded him.

"What?" Orlat said.

"Never mind," said Micayla. "We've got to keep moving if we want to get to Grekkor in time."

"In time for what?" Orlat asked.

"In time for him to meet his destiny," Trag said grimly.

"Destiny?" Slurlek echoed.

"Just deserts, perhaps?" Micayla suggested.

"Yeah, all of that," said Trag. "Oh, and just to be sure, which way is it to the Palace Hotel?"

Micayla, Orlat, and Slurlek each pointed in the same direction at once.

"Well, at least you all agree," said Trag. "How far?"

"Might get there by midday," Slurlek said. "It's a big city."

"And catch him just sitting down to lunch," said Trag. "Perfect. Nice, crowded restaurant--you do have restaurants here, don't you?"

"Of course we do," Slurlek said stiffly. "What kind of planet do you think this is?"

"I dunno," said Trag. "You've got weird snow, no biodiversity, the buildings are mostly invisible, and the planet spins backwards." He tapped his chin as though giving this careful thought. "Screwed up?"

"Well, you've got that right," Orlat admitted. "But we do have restaurants--and pretty good food in most of them." He paused for a moment, considering. "Well, you might not think so, but--"

"Doesn't matter," said Trag. "We've got our own food anyway."

"Might be best to get to him before the big reception," Micayla agreed. "And a restaurant would be a great place to do it--lots of people around to hear him confess."

Trag nodded. "Security won't be as tight either. I'll bet even a leckler couldn't squeeze past the guards at that hotel."

"You've obviously never dealt with lecklers before," Orlat pointed out. "They can squeeze past anything."

"I didn't mean that literally," Trag said with a withering glance. "Come on, then.

Let's get going."

The snowfall picked up again and as they journeyed through the city, the reason

for the lack of snow on the streets became clear.

Micayla stifled a shriek as a giant scaly worm with brush-like teeth emerged from a hole on the side of the road and vacuumed everything within its reach. Then it

disappeared back inside the hole and the lid snapped shut.

"What the devil is that?" Trag exclaimed.

"Snow sucker," Orlat replied. "Just ignore them."

Trag figured that they were yet another reason why there weren't many people out

on the streets, aside from the late hour, for the only warning the snow suckers gave was a soft beep whenever they were about to pop out. Trag had to pull Micayla out of the way
more than once and shuddered to think where the thing would have spewed her out--if, indeed, it ever did. He also found out the hard way that the streetlights weren't actually hovering; they were set on poles, cloaked poles.

"Why would anyone do crap like that?" he said after he'd run into the second one.

"It makes no sense whatsoever!"

Orlat shrugged. "I thought it was a stupid idea too, but nobody asked me. The city planners thought it would be cool to have the lights there with no visible means of support."

"Well, I hate to tell them this, but the technology for hoverlights does exist,"

Micayla said. "We have them on Earth."

"Must be where they got the idea," Orlat said. "Too bad they didn't think to buy any of them."

"Probably wouldn't work in the snow," Trag commented. "Hey, if I end up with a concussion, you guys just drag me along behind you, okay?"

"Sure," said Slurlek. "No problem, but if you look for those little round shadows on the pavement, you can avoid them."

"Important safety tip." Micayla chuckled.

They tried their comstones at various intervals but still got no reply from Jack.

Trag was beginning to doubt that they were even on the planet yet, but Micayla was fairly certain they were just out of range.

Trag would have preferred to carry Micayla after rescuing her from a snow sucker

the second time, but figured she'd fuss at him for trying. It was still something he wanted to do, though. His protective instincts kicked in every time she slipped or hesitated and he wondered if it would be like that all the time or just while she was pregnant. If it was constant, she was bound to get pissed at him eventually.

Slurlek and Orlat were chattering away to Micayla, but Trag kept his thoughts to

himself. The question of where they would go and what they would do after this

adventure was plaguing him mightily. He went over in his mind all the planets he'd been to and couldn't come up with a single world he wanted to live on--and not so much himself as his children. He wanted them to grow up on a world as they could play outside without him having to worry about them every second of the day and night. A world like Zetith had been. Not remembering his homeworld would have been a blessing at this point, he decided, because then he wouldn't be so choosy. Even though he'd never been there, Earth was his first choice, but there were other worlds with similar climates--Terra Minor was one that came to mind, particularly because it hadn't been colonized for long and wasn't densely populated. Plus, if his information from Bonnie and Lynx was correct, it was a good place to raise children.

Jack and her shipmates didn't seem to mind having their children grow up on a

starship, but Trag had misgivings and wondered if Micayla was having similar thoughts.

Granted, Jack and Tisana's kids had seen more of the galaxy, but there was a lot to be said for a nice home with green trees to climb.

Then there was Darconia. It wasn't as out of the question now as it had been in the past, but a desert world was no place for Zetithians either. He knew there were verdant spots on Darconia, but living among reptiles wasn't such a great idea--certainly not the place for them to find mates when they grew up, as he knew from personal experience.

If only Zetith still existed! He imagined taking Micayla home to a world where
they both belonged and would be welcomed. Too bad there wasn't another planet quite

like it in the galaxy--at least none that he'd seen or heard tell of--and the fact that there wasn't made settling down somewhere else seem second best. Then it occurred to him that as long as Micayla was with him, it truly didn't matter. Home was wherever she was, whether it was Earth, Darconia, or even--though he didn't care much for the idea--Nerik.
Chapter 26

Grekkor leaned back in his chair, thoughtfully sipping his wine. The trio of Neriks sitting across the table from him disgusted him excessively, but then Neriks always had.

In his mind, they were even more hideous than Norludians, though most people would have disagreed. Neriks were notoriously treacherous creatures; he'd hired a number of them in the past and knew from experience that they couldn't be trusted. Having to deal with them at all went against his better judgment, but they possessed a technology that no one else could duplicate--and since they made you pay through the nose for it as it was, it wouldn't do to tick them off, especially these three, who were all high-ranking officials.

Ilegret was the sklarth of Rechred, which, if Grekkor understood correctly, was a post similar to that of mayor. Tularnek, whom he had met before, was the local Consortium representative, and Narelna was the government agent in charge of approving the sale of starships--not easy men to get together. It had taken several hours of diligence on Worrell's part to arrange this particular meeting.

"My dear Ilegret," he said pleasantly. "What delightful wine you have here. Is it produced locally?" It tasted worse than pond water, but Grekkor wasn't about to say so.