Dragon and Herdsman

But it wasn't. It had taken Alison a full day to awaken Taneem, and both of them had been effectively helpless the whole time. It would take far too long to build up the kind of fighting force Taneem and Jack were talking about. "In principle, you are correct," Draycos said reluctantly. "But in actual practice, we simply do not have enough time."

"Unless we can find a way to get Frost off our backs for a while," Alison said.

Draycos looked sideways at her. The girl was watching him, a darkly suspicious look on her face. Had she guessed what he was planning? "Indeed," he said, forcing himself to meet her gaze. "We shall have to think about ways of doing that."

"Looks like they're done," Jack commented, nodding to the Phookas as he got to his feet. "Time to be off."

"Draycos will have to stay up front with me today—he's the only one who knows exactly where we're going," Alison reminded Jack. "Unless you'd like to take point this morning and let me handle the Phookas?"

"No, you go ahead," Jack said. "Their day's going to be strange enough without breaking the routine right out of the box."

"Okay," Alison said, standing up as well. "Taneem can stay with you and help with rear guard. You'd better take the machine gun, though."

"Fine by me," Jack said, scooping up his pack and the weapon. "Go get Greenie, and I'll tell Hren we're breaking camp. Come on, Taneem."

Jack headed off, the gray K'da trotting alongside him. "We will be going that way," Draycos told Alison, indicating the direction with a flick of his tongue. "I will await you."

"Just a second," Alison said as he turned to go. "I want to know what you and Jack are planning that you haven't seen fit to tell me about."

"Jack and I have no private plans," Draycos said, choosing his words carefully.

Alison snorted. "Fine; I'll rephrase. What are you planning that you haven't seen fit to tell me about?"

Draycos's first impulse was to again deflect the question. But if he was going to leave Jack in her care, she deserved to know the entire truth. "Unless we can make contact quickly with Uncle Virge, I intend to take the comm clip and head downriver," he told her quietly. "With luck, I will be able to draw the Malison Ring soldiers into pursuit before they realize that Jack is not with me."

"And then what?"

"And then, as you suggested, you and he must try to hide until your friends arrive."

"I meant what happens when your six hours are up."

Draycos turned to look at Jack, busily urging Hren to his feet. "I will die."

For a moment Alison was silent. "I gather Jack doesn't know anything about this," she said at last. "How were you planning to keep him from finding out?"

Draycos grimaced. "I expect the Malison Ring to be gathered in force by the time we reach the river," he said. "In the fury and confusion of combat, I should be able to slip away unnoticed."

"Leaving us to fight them alone?"

"I will make sure you have made it to safety before I leave," Draycos said. "At that point, it will be up to you to lead."

"Terrific," Alison growled. "My first military command. That'll look really impressive on my grave stone."

"Do not speak that way," Draycos said sternly. "You have had military training. I can see that. You can do it."

She exhaled noisily. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." She tapped her collar. "I presume you still want me to code my comm clip to the Essenay's frequency?"

"With Jack's comm clip dangling from a tree, yours is now our only way to contact Uncle Virge," Draycos reminded her.

"I'll take that as a yes," Alison said dryly. "Easy enough to do while we're traveling—"

"Quiet." Draycos cut her off as the sound of distant lifters caught his ears. "They are in the air."

"Where?"

"To the west," Draycos said. "Moving . . . southeast, I believe."

"Southeast?" Alison echoed, frowning. "Like they're circling around behind us dropping troops?"

"That is the correct pattern," Draycos confirmed. "But they are not dropping soldiers. The transport is moving too quickly and too steadily for that."

"Which means Frost has something new planned," Alison said, grabbing her pack and slipping it over her shoulders. "Great. Jack! Hustle it!"

Jack looked quizzically up at her; and as he did so, Draycos's straining ears caught a new sound. "Quiet," he warned Alison. "The floater is coming this way."

"Good morning, Jack," a booming voice came faintly from the direction of the floater. Frost's voice, amplified by a set of loudspeakers. "I hope you had a good night's sleep. My men tell me you're in this area somewhere, so I'm assuming you can hear me."

"Come on," Alison said, beckoning to Draycos.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble, Jack," Frost continued as they scrambled down the hill and came alongside Jack and Taneem. "Way more trouble than you should have. Almost more trouble than you're worth. But that trouble ends right now."

"Any idea what he's up to?" Jack murmured, peering up at the trees in the direction the voice was coming from.