half.
The third climber shouted in surprise, then fell silently to his death as the houseboat, unanchored, lifted like a balloon under the power of its antigrav generator.
Now, Haines thought, let us hope these ‘nappers didn’t want to disturb my neighbors’ sleep with nasty old overhead aircraft, because we’re screwed if there’s top cover.
Inside, she heard grunts as Sam’l woke, crashed to his feet, and evidently walked straight into a side table.
“What the hell… T
He was no Sten, no cop, no soldier, took half an hour to grunt awake enough to be able to hit the ground with his hat, and Haines loved him for all of those reasons… and a lot of others.
The nightwind caught the houseboat and sent it spinning over the forest. Haines heard crashes from inside as paintings came off the wall and plates shattered. She went inside, one hand steadying against a wall as the boat started drunken sashays through the air.
“A kidnap team,” she announced, even though in his present stupor it would probably take Sam’l several minutes to define kidnap. “All of them in uniform. Imperial thugs.”
Sam’l, astonishingly, was suddenly quite alert.
“Oh,” he said. Then nodded.
“Well, I suppose it had to happen,” he said. “Although I wish we could think of something more… active to do than just running.”
“First we run,” Haines reminded him. “Then we hide. We’ll have all the time in the world to figure out paybacks.”
She crossed to a chest, opened it, and took out two personal “chutes”—steady-drain McLean packs with harness that would drop an average-weight human safely from any distance up to two kilometers before the batteries went dry.
When the houseboat hit about four klicks altitude, they’d go out the door and free-fall half the distance to the ground, targets too tiny—she hoped—to be picked up by Imperial sensors. Sam’l was the one who’d taught her that sport.
Time enough for paybacks. Yes. With luck there would be, she thought, but didn’t say it aloud as she helped Sam’l into his rig.
Even now, even in the darkest part of the night, the tower still was a muted rainbow at the end of the gorge.
Inside, Marr and Senn slept uneasily, curled around each other. They looked almost the same age as they had been years earlier, when they were the Imperial caterers and Sten a young captain, in charge of the Emperor’s Gurkha bodyguard. Perhaps their fur had darkened slightly, to a deeper gold. But nothing else had changed. The two Milchen, financially stable in their retirement, still loved beauty and love itself. The lovers were not only Sten’s friends, although it had been years since they had seen him, but they had thrown the Grand Party after which Haines and Sten had become lovers.
Marr suddenly woke. Sat up. Senn whistled questioningly, huge eyes blinking.
“It was but a dream.”
“No. A gravcar. Coming up the valley.”
“I see nothing. You were just dreaming.”
“No. There. Look . It’s coming without lights.”
“Oh dear. I feel those fingers touching my soul. Cold. Cold. At night, without lights. If it stops, we do not answer.”
Marr didn’t respond.
“I said, we do not answer. In these times, with the Emperor not as he was, only a fool goes to the door after midnight. Those who move by night are not friends.”
Silence. The gravcar had stopped outside.
“The cold is stronger. Don’t you feel it?”
“I do.”
“The bell. Who is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t turn on the lights. Maybe they will go away.”
Marr’s slender hand moved through the air, and, outside, four single beams marked the parking area.
“You fool,” Senn snapped. “Now they know. Who are they?”
Marr peered out. ‘Two. They are human. One is a man. The other a woman. I don’t know the man… the woman looks familiar.“
“Yes. She does. Marr. She is carrying a gun. Turn out the light.”
“I know her,” Marr announced. “She is that
The third climber shouted in surprise, then fell silently to his death as the houseboat, unanchored, lifted like a balloon under the power of its antigrav generator.
Now, Haines thought, let us hope these ‘nappers didn’t want to disturb my neighbors’ sleep with nasty old overhead aircraft, because we’re screwed if there’s top cover.
Inside, she heard grunts as Sam’l woke, crashed to his feet, and evidently walked straight into a side table.
“What the hell… T
He was no Sten, no cop, no soldier, took half an hour to grunt awake enough to be able to hit the ground with his hat, and Haines loved him for all of those reasons… and a lot of others.
The nightwind caught the houseboat and sent it spinning over the forest. Haines heard crashes from inside as paintings came off the wall and plates shattered. She went inside, one hand steadying against a wall as the boat started drunken sashays through the air.
“A kidnap team,” she announced, even though in his present stupor it would probably take Sam’l several minutes to define kidnap. “All of them in uniform. Imperial thugs.”
Sam’l, astonishingly, was suddenly quite alert.
“Oh,” he said. Then nodded.
“Well, I suppose it had to happen,” he said. “Although I wish we could think of something more… active to do than just running.”
“First we run,” Haines reminded him. “Then we hide. We’ll have all the time in the world to figure out paybacks.”
She crossed to a chest, opened it, and took out two personal “chutes”—steady-drain McLean packs with harness that would drop an average-weight human safely from any distance up to two kilometers before the batteries went dry.
When the houseboat hit about four klicks altitude, they’d go out the door and free-fall half the distance to the ground, targets too tiny—she hoped—to be picked up by Imperial sensors. Sam’l was the one who’d taught her that sport.
Time enough for paybacks. Yes. With luck there would be, she thought, but didn’t say it aloud as she helped Sam’l into his rig.
Even now, even in the darkest part of the night, the tower still was a muted rainbow at the end of the gorge.
Inside, Marr and Senn slept uneasily, curled around each other. They looked almost the same age as they had been years earlier, when they were the Imperial caterers and Sten a young captain, in charge of the Emperor’s Gurkha bodyguard. Perhaps their fur had darkened slightly, to a deeper gold. But nothing else had changed. The two Milchen, financially stable in their retirement, still loved beauty and love itself. The lovers were not only Sten’s friends, although it had been years since they had seen him, but they had thrown the Grand Party after which Haines and Sten had become lovers.
Marr suddenly woke. Sat up. Senn whistled questioningly, huge eyes blinking.
“It was but a dream.”
“No. A gravcar. Coming up the valley.”
“I see nothing. You were just dreaming.”
“No. There. Look . It’s coming without lights.”
“Oh dear. I feel those fingers touching my soul. Cold. Cold. At night, without lights. If it stops, we do not answer.”
Marr didn’t respond.
“I said, we do not answer. In these times, with the Emperor not as he was, only a fool goes to the door after midnight. Those who move by night are not friends.”
Silence. The gravcar had stopped outside.
“The cold is stronger. Don’t you feel it?”
“I do.”
“The bell. Who is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t turn on the lights. Maybe they will go away.”
Marr’s slender hand moved through the air, and, outside, four single beams marked the parking area.
“You fool,” Senn snapped. “Now they know. Who are they?”
Marr peered out. ‘Two. They are human. One is a man. The other a woman. I don’t know the man… the woman looks familiar.“
“Yes. She does. Marr. She is carrying a gun. Turn out the light.”
“I know her,” Marr announced. “She is that
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