Pandora's Genes (7 page)

The large man put down his bow and reached for Evvy, but the mount whistled in alarm and reared, baring her teeth.

“Zach!” cried Evvy, gripping the animal’s mane.

“Hold on!” said Zach. Then, to the men: “The mount won’t let anyone near her that she doesn’t know.”

“Evil-tempered beast,” muttered Orin, backing off.

“Take her from the mount,” the little man told Zach. “Now!”

Reluctantly, Zach swung Evvy down, while the mount continued to whistle in alarm. Zach put a hand on the beast’s head and stroked it to calm her, then tethered her loosely to a nearby tree. He did this slowly, trying to think. He knew his best chance was to maintain the bluff he had begun, to establish himself as a man used to commanding authority. He turned back to the highwaymen.

“I am a delegate of the Principal, traveling on official business,” he said. He showed his seal ring. There were very few such rings in the District; with the present state of technology they were impossible to counterfeit.

“It looks genuine,” admitted the little man. “What sort of business do you have in this remote area?”

Taking a chance, Zach went on. “I’m an emissary to the leaders of the Garden. You may know of it.”

“The place across the lake? We trade with them sometimes. But to tell the truth, we’re no more afraid of the Garden than we are of the Principal. Laws ain’t too important out here.”

“Laws are important everywhere,” said Zach. “Without them men become beasts.”

The small man shrugged. “Even beasts have to make a living.”

Zach took a moment to control his anger, then spoke again. “You seem to be sensible men. Take the metal I gave you and let us go on. I won’t report this.”

The highwayman’s eyes narrowed. “Can you give me one good reason why we shouldn’t just drown you in the swamp and take the girl?”

Zach sensed he was losing any small advantage he had. “The penalties for girl-stealing—” he began.

“Death by machine. Yes. Neither of us wants to die that way, but you know as well as we do the chances ain’t good we’d ever be caught.”

“Don’t be too sure,” said Zach. “A contingent of the Principal’s men is riding a few hours behind us.”

The brothers again exchanged glances. “I see no reason to believe you or not to believe you, stranger,” the small man said.

“Then let us go.”

“I don’t see how we can do that now. Especially if what you tell us is true.”

“If anything happens to me, the Principal himself will track you down and punish you, even if he has to spend the rest of his life doing it.” Zach spoke with conviction; this, at least, was the truth.

“Perhaps,” said the little man. “But that don’t change anything. You see,” he went on, “my brother and I have been lonely. A few months ago our wife ran off with the Traders. We’ve been looking for another, but unattached women ain’t so easy to find. And then you come along with this girl, and it seems like a deena-sent gift, if you see what I mean.”

Zach felt sick. After everything that had happened, his decision to betray the Principal, his promises to Evvy, he could not allow her to be taken by two such men.

“But lonely as we are,” the man continued, “now that we’ve taken a closer look at you and the girl, other possibilities come to mind. A girl like this would be worth a lot of money to somebody.”

“My daughter is not for sale,” said Zach.

The man looked closely at Evvy, then at Zach. “She is very beautiful,” he said. “But I don’t need to tell you that. I also don’t have to tell you that she doesn’t look anything like you. I don’t believe you’re her father.”

“He’s my second-father,” Evvy said quickly.

“Then why do you look at him that way? That ain’t the kind of look a girl gives to anyone but her lover.”

Zach tensed, but there was nothing he could do or say.

“Where did you steal her from?”

“Ermil,” said the taller brother, sounding nervous, “let’s get on with it.”

“Don’t worry,” said Ermil. “Look at his face. He’s lost and he knows it.”

“What about his seal ring?”

“Most likely he stole that too, or . . .” The little man stopped talking and thought for a moment. “Maybe you didn’t steal her at that,” he said to Zach. “If your seal ring is genuine, and you’re on business for the Principal . . . Well, we’ve heard things about the Principal, and I think I know what your business is.” He waited a moment, but Zach didn’t speak, so he went on. “You’re far from the Capital, my friend. Farther, I think, than you are supposed to be. You are one of the Principal’s procurers, but when you saw the girl you decided to take her for yourself. Is that right?”

Zach felt dizzy. The little man was very clever, and he could not think of a way of answering without letting Evvy know more than he wanted her to.

“You needn’t answer,” said Ermil. “Your silence tells me everything I want to know.” He paced a few steps, then stopped and approached Zach. Zach hoped for an opening, but the big man, Orin, still held his crossbow trained on him, while Ermil’s hand continued to touch lightly the throwing knife at his waist. The little man was looking at him with intensity, and Zach knew that anything he said or did might make matters worse. He waited.

“If I’m right,” Ermil said after a moment, “and I see that I am, you are in a great deal of trouble. You can’t go back to the Principal, no matter what we do. You mentioned the penalties for girl-stealing. I imagine the penalties for one of the Principal’s own men, one who took a girl intended for the Principal himself, would be much worse. Perhaps flogging and castration before a slow death in the machines?” He waited, then went on. “No matter. If, as you say, the Principal’s men are behind you, I don’t think you’ll want to be here when they arrive. And far from arresting us for the minor matter of collecting tolls, they will no doubt reward us for turning over to them a criminal like you. And the girl.”

Not for the first time, Zach wished he were quick and clever at lying. Everything the little man said was true, except for the fact of the Principal’s men being on the road. At last he spoke. “That is a very good story. But unfortunately for you, none of it is true. The fact is that I am a delegate of the Principal, on an important mission, and Evvy is my daughter.”

“I’ll say one thing for you, stranger. You don’t give up.” Ermil seemed relaxed, very sure of himself. “Still, my brother and I are not criminals. We may not be the Principal’s most loyal subjects, but we do believe in law, up to a point. I offer you a chance.”

“Well?” said Zach, knowing he should not have spoken.

“It is this. We will let you go on your way. As you know, you ain’t far from the western border. In return, you will leave us the girl. If you’re as clever as you must be, you will have covered your trail long before this, so there’s little danger to us. We can make good use of the metal we’ll get for this girl after we make some use of her ourselves. I imagine the Principal will pay a great deal to get her back.”

Again Zach had to control his anger. He took a deep breath and was about to speak, but Ermil went on. “I ain’t saying you have to like it,” he said. “But you don’t have much choice.”

Orin, who had been silent through this exchange, spoke now. “Why don’t we just kill him, Ermil. What if—”

“No,” said Ermil. “Not unless we have to. He is not what he claims to be, I’m sure of that. I’m beginning to lose patience, stranger.”

“Zach—” Evvy gripped his hand.

“Hush,” he said. “Let me think.” It had all happened so quickly; he wasn’t sure what to do. Of course he must fight the men, but he’d have to wait for an opportunity. The important thing was to give Evvy a chance to get away. As for the outcome of a fight, Zach had few illusions. He had never been outstanding with weapons, always relying more on his size and wits than his reflexes. Still, he had this on his side: Ermil seemed reluctant to kill him outright. Orin he was more unsure of, but he seemed stupid and Zach had observed that he moved awkwardly.

“Well?” said Ermil.

Zach let his shoulders sag. “All right,” he said. “I accept your terms. As you pointed out, I don’t have much choice.”

Evvy drew her breath in sharply but said nothing.

Ermil looked pleased. “Good,” he said. “My brother will escort you as far as the border, on your mount. Then he will leave you there. Of course, we’ll keep the mount and your weapons. If you get any ideas about coming back for the girl, we’ll be long gone by then.”

Zach nodded. Once again, as when he had crossed the river three days ago, he felt relieved. The decision had been made: he knew what he must do.

“One thing,” said Zach. “Let me have a few moments alone with the girl.” Ermil raised his eyebrows and Zach added quickly, “Just a few words. We’ve been together a long time.”

“Don’t trust them,” said Orin.

“What can they do?” said Ermil with a shrug. “He’s unarmed and she’s a girl. I don’t see the harm.” He turned to Zach. “My brother and I will be standing right here in case you decide to try anything.”

“And don’t think we can’t stop you,” said Orin. “You see the cap Ermil’s wearing? He took it from a fox-cat that he stopped with his knife.”

Zach was impressed. Fox-cats’ reflexes were such that they were said to be able to catch birds taking wing.

“I only want to say good-bye,” said Zach.

Ermil and Orin moved a few paces away. Zach squatted in the shade of a tree. His legs were shaking from tension. Evvy sat beside him.

He didn’t know where to begin, and she surprised him by speaking first.

“Is it true what he said? About what the Principal would do if he caught you?”

“If he caught me,” said Zach. “Evvy—”

“You don’t have any choice. I can see that!”

“Be quiet,” he said. “We don’t have much time.” He spoke urgently, keeping his voice as low as possible. A glance showed him that the brothers were watching closely, Orin plainly distrustful.

Evvy was crying now, and he put his arm around her and awkwardly stroked her shoulder as he had done that fast night when she’d had a bad dream. After a moment she calmed, and he took her chin in his hand, turning her face toward him.

“Do you remember what I promised you? That I won’t let anything happen to you?”

“As long as you’re with me,” Evvy said.

“I won’t break that promise. I have a plan. But I need your help.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“When it comes time for me to go, I’m going to create trouble. I can’t be exactly sure how or when, so I want you to promise me something.”

“Hurry it up, you two,” said Ermil. “It’s time to start for the border so Orin can return by dark.”

“Another moment,” said Zach. “As soon as both men are busy with me, I want you to run into the woods. Then you must go back in the direction of the lake, and follow it north until you come to the Garden. It shouldn’t take you more than a few hours to get there.”

“But you don’t have a weapon!”

He shook his head and went on quickly. “Even if you don’t get there tonight, you know how to live outdoors, and you have the flint and steel. I know you can do it.”

“But—”

“Promise me, Evvy. Promise you’ll do that.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll try to catch up to you. If I can’t, I’ll meet you later at the Garden.”

“That’s not what I mean. What if—” she stopped.

Zach understood her. “I’ll be all right. I’ve fought before. Promise me you’ll go there, and not look back.”

“If you’re so sure you’ll be all right, why do you want me to run away?” She sounded angry.

“Come on, that’s enough,” said Ermil.

Zach sighed. “I can’t fight them if I have to worry about protecting you. It’s the only chance we have.”

She was silent a moment. “Do you promise you’ll come there?”

“If I am able, I’ll come. If not, at least you’ll be safe.”

“You said you wouldn’t leave me until I was safe and happy. I could never be happy without you.” She looked at the ground. He watched as she twirled the bracelet he had made her, round and round her wrist. After a moment she looked up at him. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes as clouded as a stormy sky. Zach thought that she had never looked so beautiful. “I’ll do it,” she said.

Zach turned his body so that Ermil could not see his hands. He removed his seal ring and pressed it into Evvy’s palm. “Show them this when you get there,” he said. “Tell them I sent you.”

She nodded, then put her arms around him and squeezed tightly. “Be careful,” she said.

Zach returned the hug, then stood. “I’m ready,” he said.

Z
ACH WAS ON HIS MOUNT
, Orin behind him. Ermil, now holding the sword, was directing Orin in tying Zach’s hands to the mount’s lead.

The big man was awkward and, Zach sensed, afraid of the mount. He must make his move soon, and as Orin struggled with the leather thongs he saw his chance. Shifting his weight, he suddenly lunged back into Orin. The mount reared and the two of them slid off.

“Watch out!” shouted Ermil, but it was too late. The men were on the ground, and while Orin rolled frantically to get away from the mount’s kicking feet, Zach rolled with him. Ermil had jumped away from the enraged animal, and now Zach threw his arm around Orin’s neck from behind.

Slowly he stood, pulling the big man up with him. Orin’s hands had gone to Zach’s left forearm, and with his right hand Zach reached for Orin’s knife and jabbed the point of it against the man’s lower back.

All this took a very few seconds. Ermil had recovered and was moving toward them.

“Drop that sword or your brother dies,” said Zach.

Ermil looked disbelieving, then dropped the sword.

“I should have killed you,” he said.

“It would have been safer,” Zach agreed. “Now drop the knife and move over by that tree. Now,” he added, jabbing the knife point into Orin.

Orin let out a yelp. “I’m sorry, Ermil,” he said. “That deena-cursed animal—”

“Shut up,” said Ermil.

Zach took a moment to catch his breath. There was no sign of Evvy in the clearing. Thank the deenas, she had escaped. He would stall to give her a few minutes more, then try to get away himself.