Dragon and Herdsman

The gun wasn't aimed at anything in particular, certainly not at any of the remaining men. But to soldiers with trained combat reflexes, the sound of nearby gunfire was all it took. As the first chattering salvo of slugs tore into the landscape, the remaining soldiers of the main group forgot their own weapons and dived for cover. Draycos fired a second salvo, just to encourage them to keep down, then unhooked his tail and slipped away into the forest.

He'd made it perhaps ten yards before the soldiers behind him pulled themselves together enough to begin raking the forest with fire of their own. But the shots were wild, and none of them even came close.

If they followed immediately, he knew, they would have a good chance of catching both him and the rest of the group ahead. But he also knew that they probably wouldn't. Four of their number were down, two of them with ankle injuries serious enough to put them out of action for days or possibly weeks.

And even people bent on genocide wouldn't be foolish enough to go charging madly into a dense forest full of unknown dangers and proven enemies. They would deal with their injured, regroup, and rethink their strategy. Only then would they try again.

He'd bought Jack and Uncle Virge some time. Hopefully, it would be enough.

A few yards beyond the low cliff they'd had to detour around, the band of tightly packed bushes began to thin out. By the time Jack caught up with Alison, the brush had cleared out enough that the group no longer had to travel in single file.

Of course, that also meant anyone coming up from behind would see them from a lot farther away. Trying not to think about the eyes—and guns—that might be lining up on his back, he passed through the throng of Erassvas and K'da to the front.

Alison looked back as he came up beside her. "Well?"

Jack shrugged. "Did my best. We'll see what happens."

"I guess." She measured him with her eyes. "So what exactly are these Erassvas and Phookas to you, anyway?"

It was a question Jack had known she would eventually ask. Unfortunately; he still didn't have a good answer to it. "What do you mean?" he stalled.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" she retorted crossly. "You and I would be twice as far along right now if we weren't dragging these lotus-eaters and their entertainment herd along with us. I repeat: what are they to you?"

"I wish I could explain," Jack said with a sigh. "But I can't." He hesitated. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

He kept walking, his eyes forward, not looking at her. But he could feel her gaze on him. "Don't think I'm not tempted," she said at last. "But I saw how you handled forest duty back on Sunright. You wouldn't last an hour out here without me." She gestured over her shoulder. "Especially not with a transport full of Malison Ring soldiers on your—"

She broke off as a stutter of gunfire erupted from somewhere behind them.

Jack spun around, his heart seizing up. But there was no sign of pursuit. A second bunt sounded through the trees and bushes, followed by a much longer sustained chatter of fire.

Finally, almost reluctantly he thought, the weapons fell silent again. This time, they stayed that way.

"Mother-of-pearl," Alison breathed. "What kind of trap did you set back there?"

"Like I said, I did my best," Jack said, trying to keep his voice steady. If Draycos had been killed . . . but he wasn't going to think about that. "You were saying something about me not lasting an hour out here?"

He had the immense satisfaction of seeing some actual embarrassment flicker across her face. "Okay, so maybe I was wrong," she admitted. "In that case, how about you take Greenie here for a while, while I go back and take rear guard?"

"Good idea," Jack said, getting a grip on the green K'da's crest. "You spot any trouble, just whistle."

CHAPTER 10

Draycos was waiting for him another hundred yards ahead, hidden behind a particularly large tree. "You all right?" Jack asked anxiously as he stretched his hand behind the tree, glancing back first to make sure Alison wasn't watching.

"I am fine," the dragon assured him. He touched a paw to Jack's hand and vanished up his sleeve. "Four of the enemy have been neutralized, at least temporarily."

"Great. Tell me about it."

He listened as the dragon gave him a quick summary, the gold-scaled head draped as usual across Jack's right shoulder. "Good job," he said when the other had finished. "Hamstringing those first two was especially smart. It'll take a week of re-growth treatment before they can do anything but hobble."

"Thank you," Draycos said. "Unfortunately, I will probably not be able to use such a trick a second time."

"That's okay," Jack assured him. "Now they'll have to keep an eye on what's going on above them, around them, and below them. That's bound to slow them down a little, and every bit helps."

"Agreed," Draycos said. "Has the first K'da switch taken place yet?"

Jack nodded. "About ten minutes ago." "How did Alison react?"