"2568-16" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 6 - In Harms Way)"IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Sixteen "You could be `in harm's way'," I said to Carol, well aware that the High Priestess doubtlessly "knew" by now that I killed her agent when I found him sabotaging the Diana. If the Priest- ess decided to take "matters in hand" herself I didn't want to think of the sort of dangers that I might be exposing Carol to... "I have no desire to be a `widow' either," Carol answered, gently patting the great beast that Maris had given us for "pro- tection". The gigantic dire wolf as big as a shetland pony sit- ting there, its head on a level with Carol's shoulders as she stood beside it. It had been a "gift" from Queen Valeris to the Queen of Dularn, who had quickly found that such an animal was not to be completely "trusted" on crowded teeming city streets. Kathi quietly regarding the crossbow that I had armed her with. "These may give us an `edge'," I said, checking the brace of flintlock pistols that we'd keep on the two bedstands. If Martis came after us herself, she was not likely to be following the "weapon laws". What "sort" of weapons the Priestesses of Lys had was something I didn't know, but I could assume that they would at least possess the most advanced weapons of the 21st Century!!! The "attack snarl" of a mutated seven hundred pound Canadian dire wolf is something I hope to never hear again as I was sud- denly woke from a fitful sleep by the great beast's sudden attack upon the white gowned figure now standing there in our bedroom!!! There was a dazzling bright flash of a blue-white beam of light as the Priestess raised her right arm, the gigantic wolf for an instant seeming to "glow" as she jumped to one side of it! "Die!" the High Priestess screamed, a beam of bright blue- white light sizzling just over us to strike the wall, the flint- lock pistol in Carol's hand deafening as she fired over my shoul- der! A smell in the room like that of some great electric storm as High Priestess Martis fired an uncontrolled shot up into the ceiling over our heads! The "buck" of the pistol in my hand un- noticed as I fired, dropping her then and putting an end to this! "Fire!" Kathi cried, the smoke and flames now visible from the effects of the Priestess' weapon, some sort of "laser" I sus- pected, although nothing like anything I'd ever seen before now!! "Put it out!" Carol snapped, jumping from the bed, her sword in her hand, running to the still form of the Priestess while our slave girl and I bent our efforts at beating out the two fires... "She's dead," I said, holding the lamp, Carol now squatting down, removing the silvery tube like device from Martis' hand. It was little larger than a "pocket flashlight" from our own era, although its "deadliness" was obvious from the still form of the wolf who had died attempting to protect us. The cause of death I quickly determined to be most likely electrocution, such weapons "killing" in much the same way as a lightning bolt does, I sus- pect. The "power supply" is quite "limited", and the weapon really is not as "effective" as say a Lorr blaster pistol might be. It is not very "accurate" as you have seen from this story both from its design and the lack of any sort of a "sighting sys- tem". On the other hand it certainly doesn't lack for "stopping power" as it "dropped" our Canadian mutated dire wolf instantly. "You killed a `Priestess'...," Kathi "muttered", looking on. There was blood on the white gown, and a hole in her forehead. Carol's shot had hit her in the chest, mine there in the head. The back of the head was a blasted bloody mass of bone and brain. "An evil woman, who `betrayed' her vows," Carol answered. "Kathi, go to Queen Maris, bring her here," I ordered her. The slave girl nodding, shivering in terror as she scampered off. "How did she get in?" Carol said to me, Kathi dashing down the stairs towards the street, almost as if driven by demons now! The front door had been locked, and there was no other way into our home, or was there now? I glanced "up", my wife now nodding! "I've heard of `these'," I said, looking at the "flyer", a device that muchly resembled a "wet bike" of the 20th Century in some ways. The question was how to get "rid" of the damm thing!! "Bob! You Don't Know How!" Carol protested as I "straddled" it! It was a moonless night, the sky overcast. No doubt Martis had flown it over the city from the Temple to here, landing on our roof! That explained too how she'd managed to gain entrance! "They're just women with an `advanced technology'," I said, studying the flyer's controls there in the light of Carol's lamp. "Ohh," Carol gasped, the flyer floating up a bit just then! "Think I've got the `hang' of it," I smiled, twisting the control, the rooftop dropping away there beneath me! I'm not too bothered by "heights", but this wasn't the most enjoyable "ride"! Arsana spreading out there beneath me as I rose up into the sky!! It was a "hairy" thing to "ride", especially if you really didn't know what you were doing. The right twist grip acted as an "accelerator", the left controlled "up and down", while push- ing the "handlebars" controlled direction. Just what the flyer's "range" was I didn't know, although I didn't think it was likely to be too far, the craft obviously controlling gravity some way!! I swung it around towards the harbor, the lights of the city there below, well aware of the instant death that awaited me if I did the least thing wrong now! I needed to get "rid" of the flyer, but HOW? I could land outside the city, leave it, but I wanted to get rid of it in a way that couldn't be traced back... "Wrap up the body in several blankets," the Queen ordered standing there in our bedroom, a hooded cloak thrown over her- self. Carol did so without a word while Kathi whimpered to her- self in terror at the very idea of what might happen to them all if the Priestesses of Lys found out that we had just killed one of their number. There is an automatic death penalty for killing a Priestess, although I didn't think that it would have been "en- forced" in this case as the High Priestess of Dularn had obvious- ly come to us with murder in her heart and our deaths in mind...! "How are we going to dispose of it?" Carol asked Maris Marn. "The Diana's boilers are large enough to hold a body," the Queen answered. "And a coal fire is hot enough to destroy it." "You have a carriage?" Carol asked. Maris nodding, smiling. Her captain of guards, Tori Wells, she trusted to keep "secrets"! "There are certain `advantages' to being a `Queen'," Maris said to me as I carried the blanket wrapped body aboard the ship. Maris' "authority" being such that no one asked her "questions". Captain Wells in her chain mail watching us all silently. I was dripping wet now from my swim back to the Diana after crashing the flyer into the water. Thankfully it had sunk as I had hoped! Due to the darkness of the night I doubted anyone saw anything... "Hope someone doesn't wonder why we're getting up steam in the middle of the night," Carol said, closing the hatch behind us and dogging it shut. The interior of the Diana pitch dark but for the starlight streaming down through the overhead hatches. I was thankful for Maris' lamp, although I know the Diana by heart. Tori's eyes gleaming into mine for an instant as I glanced back. She was a sexy looking woman, almost another "Carol" in looks... "I doubt that she told anyone what she was `planning'," I answered. This had been no doubt a "solo operation" given the actual nature of what the High Priestess had attempted to "do"... "Let us `hope' so," the Queen of Dularn "smiled" in reply. "Boiler room one," I said, Maris lifting up her lamp. "That should be enough coal," I said, setting down the shov- el. I lifted the blanket wrapped body, pushed it in through the door, laying it out on the coal, and then closed the door after tossing in a match to light the lamp oil soaked coal. A few more strokes of the pump sent enough lamp oil into the boiler to get a good fire going, Carol peeking in through the little port in the door to see how well the fire was burning up the Priestess' body. "Be careful with that," Maris warned as I once again took out the Priestess' weapon she'd given me and studied it. I had already determined what was the "trigger" and what was the "safe- ty" on it. I debated whether to keep it or not. I had no idea of how to "recharge" it, and was doubtful that it could be done in any case... It really didn't seem too wise to keep it around. "Throw it away, Bob, Get Rid Of It!" Carol then warned me. I walked down to the end of the dock alongside the Diana, the smoke pouring from the funnel tower at the stern, rising up into the star sprinkled sky above, the lights of the city re- flected in the rippling waters of the bay, and flung the weapon as far out into the bay as I could. For a few seconds I thought that would be the "end" of it, then suddenly there was a "flash" in the water and a "whoom" as water flew up as from an explosion! "Lousy engineering," I smiled to myself, seeing the water now settle back. "What you'd expect from some bunch of `women'!" It being rather "obvious" that the Priestesses weren't all that great as "engineers" despite their "technological advantages"... Fortunately the flyer had been somewhat better designed that way! "The Priestesses of Lys have `reported' that their High Priestess is `missing' and they fear `foul play' has occurred," the Queen of Dularn said to me the next afternoon as Jard Sandar and I were going over the Diana inch by inch just to "check" what sort of sabotage had been done to the ship at Martis' orders. I had not told him, of course, that her ashes were now at the bot- tom of the bay after being "dumped" from boiler number one. I was well aware that a number of the Priestesses had "telepathic" powers to a certain extent, but as neither Carol or I were "tem- ple goers" as such, I wasn't too worried about "that" right now. Maris wasn't either, although I wasn't too sure about Tori here. She was a married woman, her husband a Physician, with children. Maris said she was "trustworthy" even in a "matter" such as this! "We used to have the same sort of `problems' in the Twenti- eth Century," I answered, giving the Queen a big "grin" and see- ing her "nod" in reply. "They used to pass an additional `anti- gun law' after such `incidents' but I guess you can't do that as `guns' don't exist in this time." Jard looking at me curiously. "A search will be made of the city, but I do not expect to `find' anything," Maris Marn smiled back, well aware that she was as "involved" in all this as we were. Kathi was utterly terri- fied of what could happen to us, but I wasn't too concerned now. "There's someone coming up the steps!" Carol breathed as we ate dinner that evening there on the roof of our house, a golden head and azure eyes suddenly popping up as Tais climbed up to the roof, the breeze from the strait gently ruffling her hair a bit. The rays of the sun low in the west sending sparkling beams of light from her diamond encrusted ankh there between her breasts. "You probably `know all'," I told the Priestess, aware that Tais had the power to read our thoughts. The First Priestess smiling back. I was well aware that the house had been locked from below, but I supposed that wouldn't have been a "problem" for Tais any more than it had been for Martis the night before! Kathi cringing down like a whipped cur, shaking with open terror! The slave girl suddenly then actually wetting the roof beneath her as she voided urine in her terror like I've seen animals do. "You saved us the `trouble' of a trial and execution," Tais answered. "And perhaps a great deal more had it become `known' that one of us had `misused' her powers for the service of evil." "Couldn't you `detect' such with your telepathic powers?" Carol asked, motioning for Kathi to set a place for Tais to sit. The First Priestess drawing up a chair, and then seating herself. Kathi then dashing off to wash herself and put on a clean strap. "I did not believe that she would break her `programming'," Tais answered. "It hasn't ever `happened' before," she added. I had suspected "such" was the case, knowing what I did about them. I supposed it had come as a great "shock" to the Priestesses that one of their number could actually attempt to commit a "murder"!! "Maybe I'm `trespassing' where I don't `belong', but have you ever considered the `fact' that this `war between good and evil' that you told us about could perhaps be `stopped' before it ever happens?" I challenged, Tais' azure eyes blazing into mine as she sat there with a piece of meat on her fork halfway to her mouth. "That perhaps a small force could be sent forward into time to put a `stop' to it before it ever happens?" I added then. "It could be a `suicide mission'," Tais answered me softly. "Are you familiar with the caste codes of the Warriors?" I asked the First Priestess. Such "things" are spoken of in them. I glanced at Carol, at her swollen belly, at the life within her. I thought of a certain "blonde" I knew, brave beyond all others, who might be just the "sword companion" for such an "adventure". I am a proficient rifleman, fairly "good" with a handgun too... "Bob! You could get killed!" Carol protested then as I had suspected that she would. I had no doubts that was possible too! "There are things worth dying for," I said, seeing her nod. "And I want my daughter to live in a world safe from danger..." "IN HARM'S WAY" AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Robert J. Simmons Chapter Sixteen "You could be `in harm's way'," I said to Carol, well aware that the High Priestess doubtlessly "knew" by now that I killed her agent when I found him sabotaging the Diana. If the Priest- ess decided to take "matters in hand" herself I didn't want to think of the sort of dangers that I might be exposing Carol to... "I have no desire to be a `widow' either," Carol answered, gently patting the great beast that Maris had given us for "pro- tection". The gigantic dire wolf as big as a shetland pony sit- ting there, its head on a level with Carol's shoulders as she stood beside it. It had been a "gift" from Queen Valeris to the Queen of Dularn, who had quickly found that such an animal was not to be completely "trusted" on crowded teeming city streets. Kathi quietly regarding the crossbow that I had armed her with. "These may give us an `edge'," I said, checking the brace of flintlock pistols that we'd keep on the two bedstands. If Martis came after us herself, she was not likely to be following the "weapon laws". What "sort" of weapons the Priestesses of Lys had was something I didn't know, but I could assume that they would at least possess the most advanced weapons of the 21st Century!!! The "attack snarl" of a mutated seven hundred pound Canadian dire wolf is something I hope to never hear again as I was sud- denly woke from a fitful sleep by the great beast's sudden attack upon the white gowned figure now standing there in our bedroom!!! There was a dazzling bright flash of a blue-white beam of light as the Priestess raised her right arm, the gigantic wolf for an instant seeming to "glow" as she jumped to one side of it! "Die!" the High Priestess screamed, a beam of bright blue- white light sizzling just over us to strike the wall, the flint- lock pistol in Carol's hand deafening as she fired over my shoul- der! A smell in the room like that of some great electric storm as High Priestess Martis fired an uncontrolled shot up into the ceiling over our heads! The "buck" of the pistol in my hand un- noticed as I fired, dropping her then and putting an end to this! "Fire!" Kathi cried, the smoke and flames now visible from the effects of the Priestess' weapon, some sort of "laser" I sus- pected, although nothing like anything I'd ever seen before now!! "Put it out!" Carol snapped, jumping from the bed, her sword in her hand, running to the still form of the Priestess while our slave girl and I bent our efforts at beating out the two fires... "She's dead," I said, holding the lamp, Carol now squatting down, removing the silvery tube like device from Martis' hand. It was little larger than a "pocket flashlight" from our own era, although its "deadliness" was obvious from the still form of the wolf who had died attempting to protect us. The cause of death I quickly determined to be most likely electrocution, such weapons "killing" in much the same way as a lightning bolt does, I sus- pect. The "power supply" is quite "limited", and the weapon really is not as "effective" as say a Lorr blaster pistol might be. It is not very "accurate" as you have seen from this story both from its design and the lack of any sort of a "sighting sys- tem". On the other hand it certainly doesn't lack for "stopping power" as it "dropped" our Canadian mutated dire wolf instantly. "You killed a `Priestess'...," Kathi "muttered", looking on. There was blood on the white gown, and a hole in her forehead. Carol's shot had hit her in the chest, mine there in the head. The back of the head was a blasted bloody mass of bone and brain. "An evil woman, who `betrayed' her vows," Carol answered. "Kathi, go to Queen Maris, bring her here," I ordered her. The slave girl nodding, shivering in terror as she scampered off. "How did she get in?" Carol said to me, Kathi dashing down the stairs towards the street, almost as if driven by demons now! The front door had been locked, and there was no other way into our home, or was there now? I glanced "up", my wife now nodding! "I've heard of `these'," I said, looking at the "flyer", a device that muchly resembled a "wet bike" of the 20th Century in some ways. The question was how to get "rid" of the damm thing!! "Bob! You Don't Know How!" Carol protested as I "straddled" it! It was a moonless night, the sky overcast. No doubt Martis had flown it over the city from the Temple to here, landing on our roof! That explained too how she'd managed to gain entrance! "They're just women with an `advanced technology'," I said, studying the flyer's controls there in the light of Carol's lamp. "Ohh," Carol gasped, the flyer floating up a bit just then! "Think I've got the `hang' of it," I smiled, twisting the control, the rooftop dropping away there beneath me! I'm not too bothered by "heights", but this wasn't the most enjoyable "ride"! Arsana spreading out there beneath me as I rose up into the sky!! It was a "hairy" thing to "ride", especially if you really didn't know what you were doing. The right twist grip acted as an "accelerator", the left controlled "up and down", while push- ing the "handlebars" controlled direction. Just what the flyer's "range" was I didn't know, although I didn't think it was likely to be too far, the craft obviously controlling gravity some way!! I swung it around towards the harbor, the lights of the city there below, well aware of the instant death that awaited me if I did the least thing wrong now! I needed to get "rid" of the flyer, but HOW? I could land outside the city, leave it, but I wanted to get rid of it in a way that couldn't be traced back... "Wrap up the body in several blankets," the Queen ordered standing there in our bedroom, a hooded cloak thrown over her- self. Carol did so without a word while Kathi whimpered to her- self in terror at the very idea of what might happen to them all if the Priestesses of Lys found out that we had just killed one of their number. There is an automatic death penalty for killing a Priestess, although I didn't think that it would have been "en- forced" in this case as the High Priestess of Dularn had obvious- ly come to us with murder in her heart and our deaths in mind...! "How are we going to dispose of it?" Carol asked Maris Marn. "The Diana's boilers are large enough to hold a body," the Queen answered. "And a coal fire is hot enough to destroy it." "You have a carriage?" Carol asked. Maris nodding, smiling. Her captain of guards, Tori Wells, she trusted to keep "secrets"! "There are certain `advantages' to being a `Queen'," Maris said to me as I carried the blanket wrapped body aboard the ship. Maris' "authority" being such that no one asked her "questions". Captain Wells in her chain mail watching us all silently. I was dripping wet now from my swim back to the Diana after crashing the flyer into the water. Thankfully it had sunk as I had hoped! Due to the darkness of the night I doubted anyone saw anything... "Hope someone doesn't wonder why we're getting up steam in the middle of the night," Carol said, closing the hatch behind us and dogging it shut. The interior of the Diana pitch dark but for the starlight streaming down through the overhead hatches. I was thankful for Maris' lamp, although I know the Diana by heart. Tori's eyes gleaming into mine for an instant as I glanced back. She was a sexy looking woman, almost another "Carol" in looks... "I doubt that she told anyone what she was `planning'," I answered. This had been no doubt a "solo operation" given the actual nature of what the High Priestess had attempted to "do"... "Let us `hope' so," the Queen of Dularn "smiled" in reply. "Boiler room one," I said, Maris lifting up her lamp. "That should be enough coal," I said, setting down the shov- el. I lifted the blanket wrapped body, pushed it in through the door, laying it out on the coal, and then closed the door after tossing in a match to light the lamp oil soaked coal. A few more strokes of the pump sent enough lamp oil into the boiler to get a good fire going, Carol peeking in through the little port in the door to see how well the fire was burning up the Priestess' body. "Be careful with that," Maris warned as I once again took out the Priestess' weapon she'd given me and studied it. I had already determined what was the "trigger" and what was the "safe- ty" on it. I debated whether to keep it or not. I had no idea of how to "recharge" it, and was doubtful that it could be done in any case... It really didn't seem too wise to keep it around. "Throw it away, Bob, Get Rid Of It!" Carol then warned me. I walked down to the end of the dock alongside the Diana, the smoke pouring from the funnel tower at the stern, rising up into the star sprinkled sky above, the lights of the city re- flected in the rippling waters of the bay, and flung the weapon as far out into the bay as I could. For a few seconds I thought that would be the "end" of it, then suddenly there was a "flash" in the water and a "whoom" as water flew up as from an explosion! "Lousy engineering," I smiled to myself, seeing the water now settle back. "What you'd expect from some bunch of `women'!" It being rather "obvious" that the Priestesses weren't all that great as "engineers" despite their "technological advantages"... Fortunately the flyer had been somewhat better designed that way! "The Priestesses of Lys have `reported' that their High Priestess is `missing' and they fear `foul play' has occurred," the Queen of Dularn said to me the next afternoon as Jard Sandar and I were going over the Diana inch by inch just to "check" what sort of sabotage had been done to the ship at Martis' orders. I had not told him, of course, that her ashes were now at the bot- tom of the bay after being "dumped" from boiler number one. I was well aware that a number of the Priestesses had "telepathic" powers to a certain extent, but as neither Carol or I were "tem- ple goers" as such, I wasn't too worried about "that" right now. Maris wasn't either, although I wasn't too sure about Tori here. She was a married woman, her husband a Physician, with children. Maris said she was "trustworthy" even in a "matter" such as this! "We used to have the same sort of `problems' in the Twenti- eth Century," I answered, giving the Queen a big "grin" and see- ing her "nod" in reply. "They used to pass an additional `anti- gun law' after such `incidents' but I guess you can't do that as `guns' don't exist in this time." Jard looking at me curiously. "A search will be made of the city, but I do not expect to `find' anything," Maris Marn smiled back, well aware that she was as "involved" in all this as we were. Kathi was utterly terri- fied of what could happen to us, but I wasn't too concerned now. "There's someone coming up the steps!" Carol breathed as we ate dinner that evening there on the roof of our house, a golden head and azure eyes suddenly popping up as Tais climbed up to the roof, the breeze from the strait gently ruffling her hair a bit. The rays of the sun low in the west sending sparkling beams of light from her diamond encrusted ankh there between her breasts. "You probably `know all'," I told the Priestess, aware that Tais had the power to read our thoughts. The First Priestess smiling back. I was well aware that the house had been locked from below, but I supposed that wouldn't have been a "problem" for Tais any more than it had been for Martis the night before! Kathi cringing down like a whipped cur, shaking with open terror! The slave girl suddenly then actually wetting the roof beneath her as she voided urine in her terror like I've seen animals do. "You saved us the `trouble' of a trial and execution," Tais answered. "And perhaps a great deal more had it become `known' that one of us had `misused' her powers for the service of evil." "Couldn't you `detect' such with your telepathic powers?" Carol asked, motioning for Kathi to set a place for Tais to sit. The First Priestess drawing up a chair, and then seating herself. Kathi then dashing off to wash herself and put on a clean strap. "I did not believe that she would break her `programming'," Tais answered. "It hasn't ever `happened' before," she added. I had suspected "such" was the case, knowing what I did about them. I supposed it had come as a great "shock" to the Priestesses that one of their number could actually attempt to commit a "murder"!! "Maybe I'm `trespassing' where I don't `belong', but have you ever considered the `fact' that this `war between good and evil' that you told us about could perhaps be `stopped' before it ever happens?" I challenged, Tais' azure eyes blazing into mine as she sat there with a piece of meat on her fork halfway to her mouth. "That perhaps a small force could be sent forward into time to put a `stop' to it before it ever happens?" I added then. "It could be a `suicide mission'," Tais answered me softly. "Are you familiar with the caste codes of the Warriors?" I asked the First Priestess. Such "things" are spoken of in them. I glanced at Carol, at her swollen belly, at the life within her. I thought of a certain "blonde" I knew, brave beyond all others, who might be just the "sword companion" for such an "adventure". I am a proficient rifleman, fairly "good" with a handgun too... "Bob! You could get killed!" Carol protested then as I had suspected that she would. I had no doubts that was possible too! "There are things worth dying for," I said, seeing her nod. "And I want my daughter to live in a world safe from danger..." |
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