City of the Cyborgs (2 page)

Gulak laughed at this, but he said, “No, we will sell them as slaves.” He looked up at Josh and, grinning, prodded him with the knife point. “You will not like it in the mines,” he said. “You will go down there and work until you die. You will never see daylight again.”

One of the other dwarfs went up to Sarah. “I’ll take this one. I’ll pay for her myself. She can be my slave.”

He gripped her arm roughly, and she cried out.

“Let her alone!” Josh said. He had time to say no more, for Gulak swiftly reversed the knife and struck him right between the eyes with its heavy handle.

“Hold him!” he said, and instantly Josh felt his hands seized by several of the little men.

“I’ll give you a taste of what to expect in the mines!” Gulak laughed. He drew out a short whip that hung from his belt. It made a whistling sound as he swung it in the air. Then it struck Josh’s back.

A band of fire ran across Josh’s shoulders, and he bit his lips to keep from crying out.

Sarah twisted herself free and threw herself at one of the men holding Josh, dragging him backwards.

“Well, you have spirit,” Gulak said. He started toward Sarah. “I will keep this one myself!”

The one dwarf’s grip had been broken, and Josh struggled to get free. But other hands held him. Then he heard the hissing of an arrow, and Gulak fell to the ground.

Mudnor shouted, “Look out!” He had time to cry no more, for another arrow felled him.

Screams of rage and fear came from the other little men. One of them cried out, “Quick, we’ve got to get away!”

And the band of dwarfs took flight.

It all happened so fast that the Sleepers could only stand there speechless.

J
osh stood staring down at the still forms of their small attackers. What had happened seemed like a dream to him, and yet his back burned with the blow he had taken from the little man’s whip.

He noted that the horizon was pink. The sun was beginning to rise. He looked into the surrounding desert in all directions, but he saw nothing. They had camped in a small valley encircled by rising rocks and shale. He called toward the distant rocks, “Hello! Who are you?”

The desert was as silent as a tomb.

Dave whispered, “It couldn’t have been a ghost. Those guys with the knives were here—and these two are really dead.”

Even as Dave finished speaking, a figure suddenly stood up from behind a shelf of rock. Josh saw at once that this was no Grobundian, for he was tall and well formed. “Hello,” Josh said again and waited.

All eyes were upon their rescuer as he approached.

Abbey whispered, “He’s so good-looking, isn’t he?”

No one answered. Josh was studying the young man. He was indeed fine looking, tall and trim with blond hair that lay over his shoulders. He was deeply tanned. But there was a surly look about him.

Josh stepped forward to greet him. “You came just in time,” he said. “Thank you.”

“What are you doing out here in the desert?”

“We’re lost,” Josh said. “We’re trying to get to Madrian.”

“Well, you’re not more than a hundred miles off course!” There was something ill-natured about the reply.

The young man was less than twenty, according to Josh’s estimate. He was wearing light green slacks and a white shirt. He held a knapsack in one hand. On his back was a quiver of arrows, and in the other hand he held a curved bow. A wide-brimmed hat shaded his face from the rising sun.

The stranger snorted in a disgusted manner. “You’re fools to be out here in Grobundia in the first place. And with no weapons? Where are your weapons?”

Josh was taken aback by the surly tone. “We had a brush with some of our enemies a way back,” he explained. “We had to get out without a thing except the clothes on our backs. I admit we were careless. I guess last night we figured we didn’t need to be watchful in a place like this.”

“What’s your name? Who are you?”

“I’m Josh Adams, and these are my companions.” Josh went around naming each Sleeper, and each felt the piercing gaze of the blue-eyed stranger as he studied them carefully.

A laugh issued from the man’s lips. “A clan of babies out here in Grobundia! You won’t last long. It’s a wonder you haven’t starved to death already. Or run out of water.”

“Well, to tell the truth,” Josh said, “we almost did. If we hadn’t found this spring last night, I think we’d all be out of it.”

Wash spoke up then. “What’s your name? That’s my first question.”

“What’s your second?”

“Have you got anything to eat?”

The small youngster’s nerve—and humor—seemed to impress the blond stranger, and he almost smiled. “My name is Rainor.”

“This isn’t your country, either, is it?” Sarah asked. “You certainly don’t look like a Grobundian.”

“Not much. I’m headed out of here the same as you are—except that I’m not lost.”

“I’ve never been a beggar,” Reb Jackson said, “but if you’ve got a sandwich or a bit of hog jowl or anything to eat in that knapsack of yours, I’d sure appreciate a bite.”

Rainor looked at the tall boy and the high-crowned Stetson as if pondering his request. Then with a gesture of disdain he threw down the knapsack and said, “Not much there, but take what you want. You’re welcome.”

At once Sarah smiled. “Thank you so much, Rainor. We are really very hungry.”

“We’ll be glad to pay you. I did come away with a little gold.”

Rainor stared at Josh as he produced from under his shirt a leather bag hanging from a thong. Then he said, “Never mind payment. And you’d better keep that out of sight. There are people that would cut your throat for your shoes in this country.”

Hastily Josh dropped the bag back down inside his shirt. “That’s good advice,” he said. “I guess I’m not thinking very clearly. And thanks for your generosity.”

“Is there a village close by—or a place we can buy something to eat?” Jake asked. His eyes were on the girls as they began taking food out of Rainor’s knapsack.

“You’d starve to death before you got there,” Rainor
said. Ignoring them, he went over to the spring, lay flat on his stomach, and drank deeply.

Dave leaned over to see what the girls had found in the knapsack. “What’s in there?” he asked.

“There’s some meat and bread. Not a whole lot. I’d hate for us to eat it all. It’s all he has.”

“He can buy more when we get to a village,” Dave said. “We all can.” He eyed the food ravenously, and so did the rest of the Sleepers.

Sarah divided up the food and called out to Rainor, who was now walking around the campsite, standing on rocks at times and gazing off into the distance. “Come and have breakfast with us, Rainor. This is your food. We don’t want to eat it all.”

He shook his head but did not answer, and she said, “He certainly doesn’t have very good manners.”

“But he
is
good-looking,” Abbey commented.

Josh smiled and took a bite of sandwich. The bread was not fresh, and the meat was dry, but it was food. He thought it tasted wonderful.

When he and the others had finished what little there was of Rainor’s food supply, they walked to where their rescuer was again scanning the horizon. Josh felt awkward. He said to Rainor, “We don’t usually allow ourselves to get into this kind of a fix, and I’ll have to tell you I’m worried.”

“You should be!” Rainor motioned back toward the dead Grobundians. “There are plenty more where they came from. They’ll probably be back in an hour or two with the whole tribe. Bloodthirsty weasels they are!”

“I hate to have to ask you, but could you tell us how to get out of here?”

Rainor just looked at him. He was silent for a long
time, while Josh waited anxiously. Then Rainor sighed. “You can follow me,” he said finally. “If you can keep up.”

Walking to where his knapsack lay, he snatched it up and strapped it onto his back. Without even a glance at the others or another word, he picked up his bow and strode off.

“Let’s go with him!” Reb said quickly. “That guy’s the only game in town. Let’s not lose him.”

It was one of the hardest marches that the Seven Sleepers had ever been on. They had tramped through swamps and jungles, mountains and deserts, but Rainor seemed determined to walk their legs off. He did stop in the middle of the morning to take a drink from his water bottle and rest a few minutes, and the others did the same. At noon he simply stopped, lay down on the ground, and pulled his hat down over his eyes. He seemed to go to sleep at once, and this amazed the Sleepers.

“He sleeps just like a cat,” Sarah whispered to Josh.

“Well, we’d better rest, too. My legs are killing me. I never saw such a walker.”

Forty-five minutes later the march was on again. It continued all afternoon. By the time the sun was dropping low in the sky, Abbey whispered, “My water’s all gone again.”

“Mine too,” Sarah said. “This has been the hardest march I can remember.”

They staggered on until, thirty minutes later, Rainor abruptly halted. He waited until everyone had caught up with him. “Look,” he said, “there is water.” He pointed to his left, and they all turned and strained their eyes.

“Yep, I see some green over there,” Reb said excitedly. “Let’s go check it out.”

“It’s definitely water,” Rainor said. “You go make camp beside it. I’ll see if I can find something to eat.”

“Good luck,” Josh said. “We could all use some food.”

The Sleepers watched Rainor stride off into the apparently endless desert. Josh was amazed at his ongoing energy. “Well, let’s see what that water looks like.”

They trudged wearily across the sand. Rainor had been right. There was a small spring, as apparently they all were in this country, but enough for their needs. The place made a very good campsite.

After they had drunk, all the Sleepers threw themselves flat, panting for breath. It had been a hot day, and Josh was sure that the heat had drained every bit of energy out of his body. They all decided to take a nap except for Reb, who was always tougher than the rest. He said he would stand watch while the rest slept.

Josh was still dead to the world when he heard Reb yelling, “Here he comes!”

At once the Sleepers came to their feet. Here came Rainor, strolling into camp with a small desert antelope on his back. Throwing it down, he said, “There’s supper. If you’ll dress it, make the fire, and cook it, I’ll share it with you.”

“We’d be glad to do that,” Josh said. “Everybody scatter around and find something to burn.”

Finding wood proved to be quite a chore, but by fanning out they managed to gather enough. Quickly Dave built up the fire, and Reb expertly skinned and dressed the antelope with Rainor’s sheath knife.

“This here ain’t as big as the deer we had in
Arkansas,” Reb said, “but I expect he’ll make pretty good eating anyway.”

The smell of roasting meat tantalized Sarah and seemingly all the other Sleepers as well. Rainor had said not a word. He sat by himself, staring into the fire and lost in thought. He seemed to be totally in his own world. After a while he got up and walked off, still without speaking.

“He’s
so
strange,” Sarah muttered. “It wouldn’t hurt him to give us a pleasant word now and then.”

“Well, he brought home the bacon, so he can be as mean as he wants to.” Reb grinned at her. Then he poked at the meat with the sheath knife and said, “I reckon this is about ready. Somebody better go find that fellow.”

“I’ll do it,” Sarah offered. She got up and walked toward the sandy rise where Rainor had disappeared. Then she saw him, outlined against the dark red sky as the sun went down. “Rainor,” she called, “supper’s ready.”

He turned at once and walked by her without speaking. In fact, she had to hurry to keep up. “I can’t tell you how grateful we all are for saving us and now for sharing your food with us,” Sarah said.

Still Rainor did not speak. He walked into the camp and glanced at Reb slicing the roasted meat. He sat down, and Reb gave him the first chunk. “You filled the pot, so you get the prime cut, Rainor.”

Still the strange young man did not answer. Without a thank-you, he began to eat.

“Well,” Reb said to the rest, “lay your ears back and fly right at it!” He continued cutting off pieces of the antelope and passing them out.

The roast was tough, and there was no bread left to serve with it, but the meat flavor was delicious. Rainor had given them salt at breakfast time, and there was plenty of water. The Sleepers ate contentedly.

Finally Wash lay back and sighed. “That was super!”

“Sure wish I had some of my mama’s buttermilk pie, though,” Reb said. “That’d go down right good.”

“You remember the time we had to eat tiger meat when we were out in the jungle?” Josh asked.

“That was awful,” Sarah said. “I can’t imagine eating a cat—even a tiger.”

“At least we didn’t have to eat one of them dinosaurs,” Reb said.

Everyone was satisfied and content. Overhead the stars twinkled, and the campfire crackled merrily. A sense of peace came over Josh. For a long time, he and the other Sleepers sat talking about their adventures.

They talked about the time they had been in the land of ice and snow, fighting the Ice Wraiths. They talked about being made prisoners by flying men in the high mountains. They talked about going under the sea to live with the strange race that had adapted to that environment. Again and again they mentioned Goél, for he was the one that held them all together.

Rainor sat in silence, listening to it all.

Josh felt good. His back still stung from the blow he had taken from Gulak’s whip, but Sarah had put on it some soothing ointment that Rainor had furnished. He was warm and well filled, and he was with his friends.

And then, abruptly and for the first time that night, Rainor spoke up. His voice cut into their conversation like a knife. “I am also in the House of Goél.”

Immediately they all began to babble. Sarah was sitting close to the stranger, and she reached over and grabbed Rainor’s arm. “Are you really a follower of Goél?”

“I am. Not a very good one, I fear, but I believe he is the only one who can deliver us from the Dark Lord.”