Dragonback 02 Dragon and Soldier (23 page)

He took a deep breath. No. He'd never been a killer, or even an
avenger. He'd been a thief; and even there he was supposed to be
reformed.

And he was probably selling Draycos short anyway. The dragon had
gotten that look in his eye before, and he hadn't murdered anyone yet.

"You are a small, petty, pathetic little man," he told Elkor
quietly. "You deserve to die. With any justice, it'll be at the hands
of your own people."

Elkor's mouth twitched in a lopsided smile. "So you don't even
have the guts to kill me, huh? You're no soldier, Montana. You never
will be."

"I can live with that," Jack told him. "Incidentally, I
have
lived in the real world, sometimes among people who would have pushed
you out of this tree ten minutes ago if you'd done this to them."

Elkor snorted. "If you're hinting that you've got friends, save
it," he said. "I don't scare that easily."

"I'm not trying to scare you," Jack said. "And none of them are my
friends. I was simply pointing out that none of
them
ever tried
to kill the casual acquaintances of people they were mad at. Even
they
had more class than that."

"Did I say I needed your approval?" Elkor asked. "Or even wanted
it?"

"Hardly," Jack said, suddenly thoroughly weary of this man. "Fine.
We're going. Where are your transports?"

A slight frown creased Elkor's forehead. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Jack retorted. "So we can get out of here.
Don't worry, I'm not going to steal it. All I want is to use the comm."

"And you think I'm going to tell you?"

With a sigh, Jack pulled out the small folding knife from his belt
pack. He locked it open and waved it under Elkor's eyes. "That cable
you're tied with is pretty tough," he reminded the other. "Even with
this, it'll take you quite awhile to cut through it. Would you rather
use your teeth?"

Elkor eyed the knife. "They're on the west side of the outpost,"
he muttered. "In a clearing about two hundred yards due west of the
sentry cage on that side. But you'll never make it past the guards."

"We'll take our chances." Reaching up, Jack drove the tip of the
knife blade into the tree trunk a couple of feet above Elkor's head.
"Help yourself after we're gone," he said, pulling the colonel's hood
over his eyes again.

Catching Draycos's eye, he nodded. "Come on, buddy," he said.
"Let's go."

They headed down the tree, Draycos climbing down backwards as Jack
dangled onto his tail beneath him. They reached the ground without
incident and headed off through the woods toward the area where Elkor
had said the transports were located. If they weren't there, Jack
promised himself darkly, he would make sure to send Draycos back up the
tree and get his knife back.

"Then the disturbance outside the training camp was a diversion
for Alison's benefit?" Draycos murmured as they slipped through the
trees.

Jack blinked, forcing himself back from half-hoped-for scenarios
of revenge. "What? Oh. Yeah, I suppose that makes the most sense. I
wonder who she's working for."

"We had already decided it was not the Shamshir," Draycos reminded
him. "Could it be a different mercenary group?"

Jack frowned. With his own chances of escape weighing heavily on
his mind, the last thing he was interested in right now was Alison
Kayna's possible background and friends. Still, it was an intriguing
question. "I don't think so," he told the dragon slowly. "With all
that's happening here, it would make sense for the Shamshir to send in
whoever they had handy to grab some quick information about the Edge's
plans for Sunright. But any other merc group ought to be able to take
the time to find an adult to use as a spy instead of a kid."

Draycos seemed to digest that. "Then who
is
she working
for? Were we wrong about her connection to the Shamshir?"

"I don't know," Jack said as a sudden and very unpleasant thought
sent a creepy sensation tingling across the back of his neck. "You
don't suppose she might be working for Neverlin, do you?"

"I thought we decided he was too busy hiding from Braxton to
bother us."

"
You
decided that," Jack countered, "I never did."

The dragon twitched his tail. "I do not believe Neverlin could
have moved this quickly," he said firmly. "And how could he have known
we would be joining this particular mercenary group? Alison was clearly
already signed up before we arrived."

"I suppose," Jack conceded reluctantly. "Yeah, you're probably
right."

But the creepy sensation refused to fade completely away.

They were making their cautious way around the perimeter of the
outpost before Draycos spoke again. "Where are we going?"

"Weren't you listening?" Jack asked. "We're going to find a
transport, you're going to knock out whatever guards there are, and
we're going to whistle up the
Essenay
."

"We are leaving, then?"

Jack grimaced. "Look, Draycos, I'm sorry," he said. "It just
didn't work out. We'll back off, regroup, and try to get the Djinn-90
data some other way."

"I was not thinking about the information," Draycos said. "I was
thinking about those still in Shamshir hands."

"What about them?"

"Did you intend to simply leave them there?"

Jack frowned down at the dragon padding soundlessly through the
dead leaves at his side. Uh-oh. "Hey, I know how you feel about that
sort of thing," he said cautiously. "K'da warrior ethic, and all that.
But I think that asking Colonel Elkor for a rescue party is pretty much
out of the question."

"Certainly," Draycos agreed. "That means we will have to do it
alone."

Jack took a careful breath. "Look," he said, as if talking to a
very small child. "I know you're upset. But you have to understand the
realities of the situation. We're talking about two of us—you and
me—against a whole mercenary force."

"Dahtill City is not a military base," Draycos pointed out. "There
will be a limit on the number of soldiers to oppose us."

"Unless they brought in more after our escape," Jack countered.
"They could have, you know."

"If more soldiers were summoned, it would be to search for you
outside the city," the dragon pointed out reasonably. "Not to reinforce
those inside."

Jack clenched his teeth. This was not going well at all. "We
hardly even know these kids," he said. "Anyway, it's Alison's fault
they're there, not mine."

"Fault is of no matter," Draycos said. "They are your comrades.
Your fellow soldiers. A warrior does not simply abandon those of his
own side. Not when there is a chance of saving them."

"Even if it means getting killed?" Jack shot back harshly. "We
could, you know. Those guns of theirs weren't just for show. We go
charging in, and they're going to start shooting. What happens to your
people then? Hmm?"

For a long minute they walked in silence. "Do you remember our
first meeting, Jack?" Draycos asked at last. "Despite your objections,
I took the time to aid a wounded soldier of the other side."

"You kept him from burning his hands and neck in hot dirt," Jack
said, grimacing at the memory. "And I still think it was a waste of
time."

"The point is that a warrior does that which is right," the dragon
said. "Not because he may profit from it. Because it is right."

"What if I say no?" Jack challenged. "Are you going to go in
without me?"

Draycos didn't answer, and after a moment Jack sighed. "You got a
plan?"

"I do not believe it will be difficult," Draycos said. "As you
pointed out, neither side wishes to risk a serious battle near the
daublite mine. With two armed vehicles, we may be able to persuade them
to surrender the prisoners without a fight."

It could work, Jack realized grudgingly. Particularly if
Lieutenant Cue Ball had already discovered that none of the squad could
do anything with the stolen computers. There wouldn't be much point in
hanging onto them. "You mentioned two transports. You planning on
flying the second one yourself?"

"I actually referred to only one transport," Draycos said. "The
other armed vehicle will be the
Essenay
."

"And how do you expect to call in Uncle Virge without everyone
from here to Dahtill City knowing the plan?"

"You may leave that to me," Draycos said. "Will you assist me?"

Jack sniffed. "Do I have a choice?"

"Yes," Draycos said quietly. "You are my host. If you refuse to
help me rescue the others, I will honor your wishes."

"That's part of the warrior ethic, too, I suppose?"

"Yes."

They walked a few more steps in silence. "You're going to make a
liar of me, you know," Jack finally said in resignation. "I told
Colonel Elkor we weren't going to steal his transport. Now we're going
to do it anyway."

"Do not worry," Draycos assured him. "When you made that
statement, it was indeed the truth. There was no intent to deceive.
Hence, there was no lie."

Jack looked down at him. "That was supposed to be a joke."

The dragon turned his green eyes upward, his jaws opening
slightly. "Yes, I know," he said. "Shall we go?"

Jack shook his head. "Lead the way."

There were two soldiers standing guard beside the Lynx transports
when Jack and Draycos arrived at the edge of the clearing. Two minutes
later, the guards were no longer standing.

"Can you start the engines?" Draycos asked as Jack dropped into
the pilot's seat.

"I think so," Jack said, studying the control board. "But it'll
take a couple of minutes. This pilot was smart enough to lock it down
before he left."

"Your sewer-rat technique?"

"A version of it, yes," Jack said, keying in the program and then
taking a moment to peer out the cockpit windscreen. So far there
weren't any other Edgemen in sight. But that could change at any time.

"What about communications?"

"The comm isn't locked," Jack said doubtfully. "But I still don't
know how you're going to tell Uncle Virge anything without bringing the
whole Shamshir army down on top of us."

"You shall see," Draycos said. "Will you make the correct
settings?"

Jack reached over and tuned the equipment to his comm clip's
frequency. "Okay, it's set," he said, pointing to the microphone
switch. "Punch that, and you're on the air."

"Understood," Draycos said, leaning his torso up onto the control
board. "You must stay quiet while I speak. Both Shamshir and Whinyard's
Edge listeners may recognize your voice."

Jack nodded. "Got it."

Reaching over, Draycos touched the switch. "Until the brave
achieve their rest," he called, his voice deep and formal, "the warrior
must put forth his best. And to the last our home defend."

Jack blinked. He knew that tone. Knew it all too well. It was the
rather pretentious style Draycos liked to use when reciting his poetry.

What in the world was he doing?

Uncle Virge must have been wondering that, too. For a handful of
seconds there was no response. Then, to Jack's amazement, the
computer's voice came over the speaker, in the same overbearing tone.
"The warfire blazes all around, the killing fields do beckon," he
announced. "By curve or straight-line reckon?"

"The dog tells all; the fires blast," Draycos responded. "Until
the fury's spent at last."

There was another pause, a longer one this time. "You speak in
riddles in my ear," Uncle Virge said. "While all is dark and dank and
drear, how can one silence fears unseen?"

"By what foul deed is treason learned?" Draycos came back. "By
what hand are we crushed? The fields and vineyards hushed."

"They held it strong against our might," Uncle Virge said. "But
through the desert we did go, and took it ere the fall of night."

"The scoffers say we face the night," Draycos came back. "That
none shall from that road return. The scoffer's words and fears I
spurn."

"The world will tremble, warns the foe," Uncle Virge said. "And
all will fall like burning leaves. To stand, though none endure to
grieve."

With a delicate flick of his claw, Draycos shut off the comm. "How
soon may we leave?" he asked.

Jack had been staring at the dragon in fascination. Now, with an
effort, he tore his eyes away and found the status board. "Uh . . .
we're ready now, looks like."

"Then let us be away," Draycos said. "The
Essenay
will
meet us at Dahtill City."

Jack cut in the lifters, and the transport started up into the
night sky. No one appeared at the edge of the clearing as he cleared
the treetops, shouting at him to come back. Even better, no one showed
up and started shooting.

The nav system included a map of the local area. Jack studied it a
moment, then turned the transport's nose toward Dahtill City. He did a
quick sensor scan of the sky around them, but no one was visible there,
either. Apparently, everyone was still out searching for him.

"We are on course?" Draycos asked.

"Sure," Jack said, leaning back in his seat and looking over at
the dragon. "Okay, I give up. What in the name of self-buttering
brussels sprouts was
that
all about?"

"I was giving him information on our destination," the dragon said
blandly. "Did I not say I would do so?"

"Don't be cute," Jack growled. "It's not a good night for it. Just
tell me what you did."

Draycos ducked his head. "My apologies. As I have mentioned, I
have been translating my poetry into your language and reciting it to
Uncle Virge."

Jack frowned, thinking back over the conversation he'd just heard.
It had sounded like poetry, all right. But there had been something
wrong with it. Something odd about the pacing, or the flow, or the
rhyme scheme . . .

And then it hit him. "You were missing a line," he said. "Each
stanza of the poem was missing a line."