Orion in the Dying Time by Ben Bova Page B

here."
    "I don't understand."
    "You don't believe I killed a dragon. Well, there are no dragons about this morning for me to show you how I did it, so I'll have to give you a different kind of proof. Shoot me!"
    Puzzled, wary, Kraal nocked an arrow and pulled the bowstring back. My men edged away from me; Kraal's seemed to lean in closer, eager to see the show. I noticed that Kraal pulled the string only back to his chest instead of his cheek.
    I willed my body to go into hyperdrive, and saw the world around me slow down. The pupils of Kraal's eyes contracted slightly as he aimed. A bird flapped languidly from one bough to another, its red-feathered wings beating the air with dreamlike strokes.
    Standing ten paces before me, Kraal let the arrow fly. I saw it wobbling toward me; it was a crude piece of work. I easily reached out with one hand and knocked it aside.
    The men gasped.
    "Now," I said, "watch this."
    Striding up to one of Kraal's men, I instructed him to hold his spear in both hands, level with the ground. He looked at his leader first, and when Kraal nodded, he reluctantly did as I asked. Swinging my arm overhand and yelling ferociously, I snapped the rough spear in two with the edge of my hand.
    Before they could say or do anything, I spun around and grabbed Kraal around the waist. Lifting him high over my head, I held him there, squirming and bellowing, with one hand.
    "Do you still want to fight us, Kraal?" I asked, laughing. "Do you want us to take your women?"
    "Put me down!" he was shouting. "This isn't the proper way to fight!"
    I set him down gently on his feet and looked into his eyes. He was angry. And fearful.
    "Kraal, if we fight, I will be forced to kill you and your men."
    He said nothing. His chest was heaving, sweat trickling down his cheeks and into his grizzled beard.
    "I have a better idea," I went on. "Would you allow my men to join your tribe? Under your leadership?"
    Noch yelped, "But you are our leader, Orion!"
    "I am a stranger here, and my true home is far away. Kraal is a fine leader and a good hunter."
    "But . . ."
    They both had plenty of objections. But at least they were talking, not fighting. Kraal's face went from fear-driven anger to a more thoughtful expression. His eyes narrowed, became crafty. He was thinking hard about this new opportunity. I invited him to come and see the place where the god speaks, and as we walked back toward the echo canyon we continued to talk about merging the two bands.
    The idea that had entered my mind was far greater than these two ragged gangs of Stone Age hunters. I reasoned that there were far more humans in these forests of Paradise than reptiles. If I could weld the tribes together into a coherent force, we would outnumber Set and his dragons. I knew that Set had a far superior technology at his command than my Neolithics did, but with numbers—and time—we might be able to begin fighting him on a more equal basis.
    The first step was to see if I could merge Noch's band of ex-slaves with Kraal's tribe. It would not be easy, I knew. But the first step never is.

CHAPTER 7

    Kraal was impressed with the echo—the god who speaks. But he tried to hide it. "The god only repeats what you say."
    "Most of the time," I replied, a new idea forming in my mind. "But sometimes the god speaks its own words to us."
    He grunted, trying to keep up an air of skepticism.
    He was also impressed with Anya, who greeted him courteously, seriously, as befits a man of importance. Kraal had never seen a metallic fabric such as Anya wore: it was practically impervious to wear, of course, and literally repelled dirt with a surface electrical charge. She seemed to glow like a goddess. He had never seen a woman so beautiful, either, and his bearded face plainly showed the confusion of awe, longing, and outright lust that percolated through him. He was an experienced leader who seemed to grasp the advantages of merging Noch's band into his own. But it had never been done