[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Promises! But despite the painful cynicism, Laneff felt reassured. An hour
passed in which they watched the dwindling fuel supply and the unconscious
pilot. Laneff endured the backwash of shock and the lingering ache of
unsatisfied need. She had been days away from her scheduled transfer. She kept
telling herself she wasn t really in need, but it didn t help. It wouldn t
take much to make her go for another kill. But Yuan steadied her with his
nager.
And then the rotors chugged into a descending rhythm, each individual beat
audible. We re going down! said Yuan. Not too bad, though.
Before them was a highland meadow, thickly wooded except for a flat rock
outcropping near a cliff face that blocked the eastern approach. They came in
from the west and with the very last beats of the rotors bounced to a landing
on the flat rock.
Gasping, they laughed together to have survived once more. Then Laneff
noticed a wooden cabin built against the cliff. It was old, weathered to a
bare gray, the roof beam swaybacked, but the windows were glazed, and new wood
shone here and there. A curl of smoke rose from the chimney.
As they scrabbled out of the cockpit to open the cargo bay door, an elderly
Sime emerged from the cabin, whipcord slender and tough, weathered to a
leathery brown startling against white hair.
Yuan jumped down first and went to the Sime, yelling his greeting, Callen!
Callen! You ve got company!
What s all this? called the old man back.
Excitement adventure and challenge. We re going to change the course of
history! As Yuan announced that, the two men met. Yuan scooped the smaller
Page 22
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Sime into a quick embrace and walked him toward Laneff, who was sitting on the
deck of the chopper, her legs dangling high above the ground. Let me
introduce Laneff Farris ambrov Sat htine, the most important person in the
world today.
Ambrov Sat htine? The old man scrutinized her duoconsciously. Ain tno one
sick here! But if Yuan says you re welcome then you re welcome! He turned to
Yuan. Back room is ready like always. You go on in. I ll fetch some more wood
and find something for you to eat. He gave her one more appraising glance.
He d certainly perceived her junct condition. It was a nageric stigma that
felt to Laneff like a deformity. But maybe he didn t recognize it. How many
people these days had ever zlinned a junct up close? And there was something
odd about his nager, too.
Yuan said, A meal would be nice, but let s get this chopper covered. And
we ve got to haul out the transmitter and arrange to get us out of here before
the Tecton net closes on us. Maybe Callen, maybe you should go with us?
Nope.This s my place. Picked out my dyin spot already. Get you on inside
before you freeze!
A brisk wind was blowing dark clouds over the sun, and here the air was
somehow thinner colder than in the city. Flower-tipped ground cover whipped in
the wind, and a pond at the far side of the meadow rippled with waves on which
ducks and geese bobbed contentedly.
Yuan helped Laneff down, saying, We ve got a Diet prisoner
inside.Unconscious.Probable concussion. Make him comfortable in the side room,
and let me know when he comes to.
Leave it to me, said the Sime, waving them away.
Again Laneff wondered what kind of people she d fallen in with: people who
casually harbored Tecton fugitives, took Diet prisoners, and maintained secret
hideouts. But the wind gusted sharply and big pats of rain hammered into them.
Come on! said Yuan, scooping her along in the crook of his arm.
They dashed under the roof of the wooden porch, and clattered inside. Here it
was warm, with a cheery fire going in an open hearth in the center of the
room. Nearby, some books were spread on a rough table, a pair of wire-frame
glasses tossed on top of them. An oil lamp gave reading light. The walls were
lined with shelves of books, making them almost a selyn-insulated density. She
could barely zlin the outside.
One end of the room held a deep-red couch and a couple of high-backed chairs
that could swallow a person whole. The other end was a kitchen, with a sink
rigged with a hand pump for water, and a foam-and-plastic cooler chest. Herbs
hung from the rafters in dry bundles, and racks held myriads of sacks and
bottles. Near the hearth, a crockery teapot steamed trin aroma into the air.
Under Yuan s touch, a section of bookcase swung out revealing a heavy door
behind which opened a tunnel leading back into the living rock of the
hillside; something one only read about in storybooks, a place Gens could hide
from Simes come raiding. The cabin could be that old.
Come on, coaxed Yuan. He lit an oil lamp and closed both doors behind them.
Then he stopped at a door on their left, went into a dark room sparsely
appointed with rough-hewn furniture, and turned on a heater. Callen will
bring blankets to keep the prisoner warm. Come!
Page 23
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
At the end of the tunnel, a room opened a natural cave that had been nicely
wood-paneled and -floored. There were two large beds, a studio couch, and two
chairs around a small table. A selyn-powered heater started at Yuan s touch,
and then he had regular selyn-powered lights going. In one corner, an opulent
antique transfer lounge was surrounded by a heavy drape of modern insulating
fabric. The carved-wood scrollwork made it worth a fortune, but Laneff liked
the sensuous emerald-velvet upholstery.
Like it? asked Yuan, warming his hands at theheater.
You can t zlin this from outside!
Even Mairis couldn t zlin us if he were right outside!
But does it have facilities? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
Promises! But despite the painful cynicism, Laneff felt reassured. An hour
passed in which they watched the dwindling fuel supply and the unconscious
pilot. Laneff endured the backwash of shock and the lingering ache of
unsatisfied need. She had been days away from her scheduled transfer. She kept
telling herself she wasn t really in need, but it didn t help. It wouldn t
take much to make her go for another kill. But Yuan steadied her with his
nager.
And then the rotors chugged into a descending rhythm, each individual beat
audible. We re going down! said Yuan. Not too bad, though.
Before them was a highland meadow, thickly wooded except for a flat rock
outcropping near a cliff face that blocked the eastern approach. They came in
from the west and with the very last beats of the rotors bounced to a landing
on the flat rock.
Gasping, they laughed together to have survived once more. Then Laneff
noticed a wooden cabin built against the cliff. It was old, weathered to a
bare gray, the roof beam swaybacked, but the windows were glazed, and new wood
shone here and there. A curl of smoke rose from the chimney.
As they scrabbled out of the cockpit to open the cargo bay door, an elderly
Sime emerged from the cabin, whipcord slender and tough, weathered to a
leathery brown startling against white hair.
Yuan jumped down first and went to the Sime, yelling his greeting, Callen!
Callen! You ve got company!
What s all this? called the old man back.
Excitement adventure and challenge. We re going to change the course of
history! As Yuan announced that, the two men met. Yuan scooped the smaller
Page 22
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Sime into a quick embrace and walked him toward Laneff, who was sitting on the
deck of the chopper, her legs dangling high above the ground. Let me
introduce Laneff Farris ambrov Sat htine, the most important person in the
world today.
Ambrov Sat htine? The old man scrutinized her duoconsciously. Ain tno one
sick here! But if Yuan says you re welcome then you re welcome! He turned to
Yuan. Back room is ready like always. You go on in. I ll fetch some more wood
and find something for you to eat. He gave her one more appraising glance.
He d certainly perceived her junct condition. It was a nageric stigma that
felt to Laneff like a deformity. But maybe he didn t recognize it. How many
people these days had ever zlinned a junct up close? And there was something
odd about his nager, too.
Yuan said, A meal would be nice, but let s get this chopper covered. And
we ve got to haul out the transmitter and arrange to get us out of here before
the Tecton net closes on us. Maybe Callen, maybe you should go with us?
Nope.This s my place. Picked out my dyin spot already. Get you on inside
before you freeze!
A brisk wind was blowing dark clouds over the sun, and here the air was
somehow thinner colder than in the city. Flower-tipped ground cover whipped in
the wind, and a pond at the far side of the meadow rippled with waves on which
ducks and geese bobbed contentedly.
Yuan helped Laneff down, saying, We ve got a Diet prisoner
inside.Unconscious.Probable concussion. Make him comfortable in the side room,
and let me know when he comes to.
Leave it to me, said the Sime, waving them away.
Again Laneff wondered what kind of people she d fallen in with: people who
casually harbored Tecton fugitives, took Diet prisoners, and maintained secret
hideouts. But the wind gusted sharply and big pats of rain hammered into them.
Come on! said Yuan, scooping her along in the crook of his arm.
They dashed under the roof of the wooden porch, and clattered inside. Here it
was warm, with a cheery fire going in an open hearth in the center of the
room. Nearby, some books were spread on a rough table, a pair of wire-frame
glasses tossed on top of them. An oil lamp gave reading light. The walls were
lined with shelves of books, making them almost a selyn-insulated density. She
could barely zlin the outside.
One end of the room held a deep-red couch and a couple of high-backed chairs
that could swallow a person whole. The other end was a kitchen, with a sink
rigged with a hand pump for water, and a foam-and-plastic cooler chest. Herbs
hung from the rafters in dry bundles, and racks held myriads of sacks and
bottles. Near the hearth, a crockery teapot steamed trin aroma into the air.
Under Yuan s touch, a section of bookcase swung out revealing a heavy door
behind which opened a tunnel leading back into the living rock of the
hillside; something one only read about in storybooks, a place Gens could hide
from Simes come raiding. The cabin could be that old.
Come on, coaxed Yuan. He lit an oil lamp and closed both doors behind them.
Then he stopped at a door on their left, went into a dark room sparsely
appointed with rough-hewn furniture, and turned on a heater. Callen will
bring blankets to keep the prisoner warm. Come!
Page 23
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
At the end of the tunnel, a room opened a natural cave that had been nicely
wood-paneled and -floored. There were two large beds, a studio couch, and two
chairs around a small table. A selyn-powered heater started at Yuan s touch,
and then he had regular selyn-powered lights going. In one corner, an opulent
antique transfer lounge was surrounded by a heavy drape of modern insulating
fabric. The carved-wood scrollwork made it worth a fortune, but Laneff liked
the sensuous emerald-velvet upholstery.
Like it? asked Yuan, warming his hands at theheater.
You can t zlin this from outside!
Even Mairis couldn t zlin us if he were right outside!
But does it have facilities? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]