[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
The Indian pressed the edge of his knife into Mildred's flesh. She didn't cry
out, but she bit her lower lip.
Doc held up a hand. "Very well," he said wearily, his voice thin and reedy. "I
shall do as they ask."
Shoulders slumped, he shuffled painfully toward the open door, leaning heavily
on his cane. When he reached the opening, he ducked his head as if to go
through it, then he paused and half turned, a questioning look in his eyes. He
opened his mouth.
The warrior with the crossbow snarled, "
Hoppo
!"
Sighing, Doc lifted the cane as if to administer an admonishing wag, then he
snapped his wrist and whipped the black sheath from the blade of gleaming
Toledo steel. In the same motion he hurled the sword point first at the Wolf
Soldier.
The blade traveled only three feet before the point struck into the warrior's
open mouth and became fixed in his brain stem. With the sword hanging out like
a ghastly metal tongue, the Wolf Soldier's eyes bugged, his knees buckled and
his fingers closed convulsively on the crossbow's trigger. The string hummed
as the tension was released, and the long shaft drove past Doc's head, close
enough to feather-whip his right ear.
The reaction of the other warrior was almost comical. He gave a great leap
backward, dragging the edge of the knife along the side of Mildred's neck and
drawing a thread of
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20Eden.html (111 of 258) [12/30/2004 8:13:13 PM]
Dlands 37- Demons of Eden blood.
She spit out a curse and rolled off the bench. When she came out of the roll,
the ZKR was in her fist and seeking a target.
The Wolf Soldier's extravagant back-leap had carried him against the hidden
door panel.
His back struck it, knocking it open, but his heels caught on the raised lip
of the narrow portal, and he fell just as Mildred squeezed the revolver's
trigger.
The bullet sped toward the shaggy wolfs head, but it dropped down and the slug
missed one of the pointed ears by less than a finger's width. The warrior
struggled to his feet and raced away from the cabin, across the rear of the
compound. Mildred rushed to the opening, aligning the frantically sprinting
figure within the sights of her blaster. Her finger had just begun to squeeze
the trigger when a huge tawny shape bounded in from her left.
The monster mutie cougar, trailing the length of rusty, clanking chain, caught
up with the fleeing human with two spring-steel-legged bounds. A swipe of
curving, unsheathed claws flayed the wolf skin and almost all the flesh from
the warrior's back. He went down amid flying liquid ribbons of crimson.
As Mildred watched with a horrid fascination the giant cat gutted the man with
a single slash of a hind paw. Loops of blue-pink intestines spilled onto the
ground. Huge jaws closed over the warrior's head with a sickening crunch, and
the cougar's neck jerked back and forth. Arms and legs flopped, like those of
a disjointed marionette's.
The cat gathered itself and bounded from sight, the flesh-stripped,
eviscerated body dangling from its blood-flecked jaws.
Doc came to her side, Le Mat in hand. He scanned the compound over her
shoulder, demanding, "Where is he? Did he get Oh."
When he saw the thick whorls of blood and coils of viscera glistening on the
barren ground, he swallowed noisily and stepped back with haste.
Page 69
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"It happened so fast," Mildred said huskily. "Like it had been waiting for
him."
"He had," the old woman said. "He has sharp teeth and a keen nose. He had
already sniffed out who was fated to die."
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20Eden.html (112 of 258) [12/30/2004 8:13:13 PM]
Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
Mildred and Doc released their pent-up breath in loud exhalations, but the
woman's was punctuated by a loud curse. Holding one hand to the blood-oozing
line on her neck, she advanced on the crone, blaster cocked.
"You old bitch! How about if I show you your doom?"
Doc restrained her with a hand. "She's old enough to be your grandmother."
Grunting, the old woman turned back to stirring the contents of the pot
hanging over the fire in the hearth. She ignored the dead, sword-transfixed
man sprawled on the floor.
"When the cat came this morning," she said cheerfully, "I knew you were in no
danger."
"How?" Mildred asked angrily.
The crone touched one of her eyes. "I see through his eyes. He knew who would
die, and so did I."
"So& " Doc hesitated. "You mean that vicious predator was never chained up?"
"Oh, no. That would be cruel."
Closing her eyes, shaking her head, Mildred pinched the bridge of her nose. "I
don't understand any of this."
The woman gestured to a five-pound burlap sack in a corner. "There is your
flour, Dr.
Wyeth. You'd better get it back to your friends. They have heard the shot and
are already on their way down."
Doc worked the blade of the sword loose from the Indian's open mouth. "What do
we owe you?"
"I've been paid."
Doc frowned. "At least allow us to remove this carcass from your home."
The old woman straightened and tapped the spoon against the rim of the pot.
"You don't
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20Eden.html (113 of 258) [12/30/2004 8:13:13 PM]
Dlands 37- Demons of Eden understand." she said gently, as if trying to
explain a complex equation to a child.
She gestured with the spoon toward the corpse and repeated, "I've been paid."
Chapter Fifteen
"What I can't figure," Mildred said, "is if that old lady meant to trap us or
the Indians."
Doc shrugged. "Since we're still alive, I presume she meant the Indians." He
tapped the five-pound sack on his saddle. "Besides, we acquired the flour,
didn't we?"
Doc and Mildred had rejoined the rest of their companions and told them the
story of the
Wolf Soldiers and their grisly fates. Only Joe didn't appear overly
disconcerted by the tale of the doomie, her cannibalistic diet and her
partnership with a mutie cougar. His only comment was "Life is strange and
cheap out here on the basin."
They rode away from the ridges and rock slants and emerged onto the prairie
again.
Multicolored wildflowers grew among the high grasses. The sound of muted
thunder reached them, yet the sky overhead was clear.
"Coming up on the buffalo soon," J.B. said with an eager smile.
Page 70
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Urging their horses to the top of a gentle bluff, they gazed awestruck at the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
The Indian pressed the edge of his knife into Mildred's flesh. She didn't cry
out, but she bit her lower lip.
Doc held up a hand. "Very well," he said wearily, his voice thin and reedy. "I
shall do as they ask."
Shoulders slumped, he shuffled painfully toward the open door, leaning heavily
on his cane. When he reached the opening, he ducked his head as if to go
through it, then he paused and half turned, a questioning look in his eyes. He
opened his mouth.
The warrior with the crossbow snarled, "
Hoppo
!"
Sighing, Doc lifted the cane as if to administer an admonishing wag, then he
snapped his wrist and whipped the black sheath from the blade of gleaming
Toledo steel. In the same motion he hurled the sword point first at the Wolf
Soldier.
The blade traveled only three feet before the point struck into the warrior's
open mouth and became fixed in his brain stem. With the sword hanging out like
a ghastly metal tongue, the Wolf Soldier's eyes bugged, his knees buckled and
his fingers closed convulsively on the crossbow's trigger. The string hummed
as the tension was released, and the long shaft drove past Doc's head, close
enough to feather-whip his right ear.
The reaction of the other warrior was almost comical. He gave a great leap
backward, dragging the edge of the knife along the side of Mildred's neck and
drawing a thread of
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/J...thlands%20037%20-%20Demons%20of%
20Eden.html (111 of 258) [12/30/2004 8:13:13 PM]
Dlands 37- Demons of Eden blood.
She spit out a curse and rolled off the bench. When she came out of the roll,
the ZKR was in her fist and seeking a target.
The Wolf Soldier's extravagant back-leap had carried him against the hidden
door panel.
His back struck it, knocking it open, but his heels caught on the raised lip
of the narrow portal, and he fell just as Mildred squeezed the revolver's
trigger.
The bullet sped toward the shaggy wolfs head, but it dropped down and the slug
missed one of the pointed ears by less than a finger's width. The warrior
struggled to his feet and raced away from the cabin, across the rear of the
compound. Mildred rushed to the opening, aligning the frantically sprinting
figure within the sights of her blaster. Her finger had just begun to squeeze
the trigger when a huge tawny shape bounded in from her left.
The monster mutie cougar, trailing the length of rusty, clanking chain, caught
up with the fleeing human with two spring-steel-legged bounds. A swipe of
curving, unsheathed claws flayed the wolf skin and almost all the flesh from
the warrior's back. He went down amid flying liquid ribbons of crimson.
As Mildred watched with a horrid fascination the giant cat gutted the man with
a single slash of a hind paw. Loops of blue-pink intestines spilled onto the
ground. Huge jaws closed over the warrior's head with a sickening crunch, and
the cougar's neck jerked back and forth. Arms and legs flopped, like those of
a disjointed marionette's.
The cat gathered itself and bounded from sight, the flesh-stripped,
eviscerated body dangling from its blood-flecked jaws.
Doc came to her side, Le Mat in hand. He scanned the compound over her
shoulder, demanding, "Where is he? Did he get Oh."
When he saw the thick whorls of blood and coils of viscera glistening on the
barren ground, he swallowed noisily and stepped back with haste.
Page 69
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"It happened so fast," Mildred said huskily. "Like it had been waiting for
him."
"He had," the old woman said. "He has sharp teeth and a keen nose. He had
already sniffed out who was fated to die."
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/J...thlands%20037%20-%20Demons%20of%
20Eden.html (112 of 258) [12/30/2004 8:13:13 PM]
Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
Mildred and Doc released their pent-up breath in loud exhalations, but the
woman's was punctuated by a loud curse. Holding one hand to the blood-oozing
line on her neck, she advanced on the crone, blaster cocked.
"You old bitch! How about if I show you your doom?"
Doc restrained her with a hand. "She's old enough to be your grandmother."
Grunting, the old woman turned back to stirring the contents of the pot
hanging over the fire in the hearth. She ignored the dead, sword-transfixed
man sprawled on the floor.
"When the cat came this morning," she said cheerfully, "I knew you were in no
danger."
"How?" Mildred asked angrily.
The crone touched one of her eyes. "I see through his eyes. He knew who would
die, and so did I."
"So& " Doc hesitated. "You mean that vicious predator was never chained up?"
"Oh, no. That would be cruel."
Closing her eyes, shaking her head, Mildred pinched the bridge of her nose. "I
don't understand any of this."
The woman gestured to a five-pound burlap sack in a corner. "There is your
flour, Dr.
Wyeth. You'd better get it back to your friends. They have heard the shot and
are already on their way down."
Doc worked the blade of the sword loose from the Indian's open mouth. "What do
we owe you?"
"I've been paid."
Doc frowned. "At least allow us to remove this carcass from your home."
The old woman straightened and tapped the spoon against the rim of the pot.
"You don't
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/J...thlands%20037%20-%20Demons%20of%
20Eden.html (113 of 258) [12/30/2004 8:13:13 PM]
Dlands 37- Demons of Eden understand." she said gently, as if trying to
explain a complex equation to a child.
She gestured with the spoon toward the corpse and repeated, "I've been paid."
Chapter Fifteen
"What I can't figure," Mildred said, "is if that old lady meant to trap us or
the Indians."
Doc shrugged. "Since we're still alive, I presume she meant the Indians." He
tapped the five-pound sack on his saddle. "Besides, we acquired the flour,
didn't we?"
Doc and Mildred had rejoined the rest of their companions and told them the
story of the
Wolf Soldiers and their grisly fates. Only Joe didn't appear overly
disconcerted by the tale of the doomie, her cannibalistic diet and her
partnership with a mutie cougar. His only comment was "Life is strange and
cheap out here on the basin."
They rode away from the ridges and rock slants and emerged onto the prairie
again.
Multicolored wildflowers grew among the high grasses. The sound of muted
thunder reached them, yet the sky overhead was clear.
"Coming up on the buffalo soon," J.B. said with an eager smile.
Page 70
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Urging their horses to the top of a gentle bluff, they gazed awestruck at the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]