Kiteman of Karanga (15 page)

"Three small containers are safer than one big one," he said. "Take care of yourselves." He grabbed Karl's hand. "Karl, you may have doubts, but you're doing the right thing. By the Lizard! I know you are." Zanzu embraced them all, then, taking Lodi's man aboard, he gave the order, and the big boat faded into the darkness.

"Don't anybody move until we've put on a couple of drops of oja," said Athgar. "More than one rider has met his end in the jaws of his own lizard because he forgot that simple precaution. From here on out, apply two drops of oja every morning and whenever you've been sweating heavily. For now, we're just going to lead them on foot a couple of hours until we make camp. That will get them used to us. In the morning I'll teach you how to ride. Let's tie the baggage and the kitewings onto these beauties and get hiking."

The light, cross-country saddles had baggage racks on the rear, and once everything was lashed down to Athgar's satisfaction, he showed Karl and Rika how to hold the reins and how to lead the lizards. Two tugs meant come forward, one tug meant stop. The lizards had been trained to stay four steps behind without further commands.

Athgar led them eastward across the hills. On one of the pine-covered ridges they made camp for the night, but at the first hint of yellow on the horizon, they were up and loading the tethered lizards. After a quick morning meal, Athgar began to teach them how to mount and ride the lizards.

"Walk up to the lizard's head," Athgar began, "and run the palm of your left hand over his nose, up between his eyes, over his head, and along his neck and back until you reach the saddle. That way he gets a strong smell of oja, and if you never lose touch of him till you mount, he'll be more relaxed. Then your left foot goes into the stirrup, and up you go."

Athgar demonstrated on his own lizard, and a second later he was mounted. Karl was sure from Athgar's graceful, confident manner that he had mounted thousands of lizards in his life. Sitting astride his lizard, he looked as sure of himself as any Hrithdon rider.

From lizardback, Athgar told them how to make the lizards go forward, go left, go right, and stop. "Okay, let's mount up. We'll go slow until you're used to it."

Following Athgar's example, Karl placed his left hand on his lizard's nose. Then, following the flow of slippery gray-green scales the size of his fingernails, he slid his hand up over the huge, terrifying head and along the neck and back. With a smooth leap he was mounted. A rush of elation flowed through him. He glanced behind. Rika, too, was mounted, and she grinned back at him.

"Does anybody besides the Hrithdon ride lizards?" Karl asked.

"Nobody!" exclaimed Athgar. "Absolutely nobody except sworn-and-tried Hrithdon guardsmen. Not even the wealthiest of the wealthy ride dread lizards. You can't ride a lizard without possessing oja, and the penalty for that is death. Don't worry, though. We'll stick to the back country, so it isn't likely we'll be spotted."

"How was Zanzu able to buy these lizards so easily?" Rika asked.

"I don't know," replied Athgar. "My guess is that he knows some dark secret of the Costyra family. Zanzu is a man of many capacities, and if he weren't twice as ruthless as Murthdur, he wouldn't be alive today. Now lets get these scale-tails moving."

Athgar led them into the wild backland. Soon they came to a dense thorn thicket that formed an impenetrable wall fifteen feet high. But Athgar brought them to a narrow pathway, and single file they followed him into the heart of the thorn forest.

"We Eftians made this while we were fighting the Hrithdon," Athgar said proudly as they pursued the winding trail through the thickest thorn bush Karl had ever seen. "It took twenty of us six weeks to clear it, and then we salted the path. That's why it's still here today."

After a long, disquieting ride through the tunnel in the thorn forest, they emerged near a canyon with walls of red sandstone and a small creek flowing through the center. They made camp for the night in the first grassy spot they found.

"We'll follow this canyon upstream," Athgar said. "By tomorrow evening we'll be at Red Lizard Cave."

As they started along the trail the next morning, Karl and Rika marveled at the banded colors of the canyon walls, which varied from rose to dark rust. The canyon curved constantly, and every few minutes they passed from hot morning sun to cool shade.

They had just rounded a sharp bend when they suddenly found themselves facing a half dozen Hrithdon guardsmen sprawled out on the sand, resting. Their lizards were tied to some scrub trees nearby. Athgar, Karl, and Rika reined in their mounts as the guardsmen jumped to their feet, and for a moment both parties stared at each other.

Then the officer of the guardsmen strode forward. "Dismount and identify yourselves!"

Though he was standing only a few feet from Athgar's lizard, the officer spoke with the conviction that he would be obeyed immediately, which heightened his astonishment when Athgar challenged him in return.

"Guardsman, don't be concerned about who we are. What should concern you is that we are mounted, and you are not. We can destroy all of you before you can reach your own mounts. However, we will be merciful. In return for your lives, all we ask is your word as an officer that we will not be followed. You need not fear that Murthdur will ever be the wiser."

Karl could almost read the thoughts of the swarthy-faced Hrithdon as he considered Athgar's offer. The officer knew with certainty that he and his men stood no chance if the three riders before them were skilled lizard riders, but as he ran his eyes over Karl and Rika, he made his decision.

"Mount up!" he commanded. He and his men sprang toward the scrub trees where their lizards were tied.

Athgar spurred his mount to the attack, and before he had gone ten feet, the officer went flying, his neck broken. Pressing forward, Athgar's lizard dispatched a second guardsman with a lightning snap of its giant jaws. Then, in a blur of sand, Athgar swung his mount around and put himself between the remaining guardsmen and their lizards. With one bound his mount seized a third guardsman as he was diving into the stream and tossed him into the air. Wheeling around again, Athgar spied a fourth guardsman climbing into the scrubby trees, and urging his mount up onto its hind legs, he commanded it to claw the fugitive down from the low foliage. Stopping now, Athgar searched the scene for the remaining two. The fifth guardsman had scaled the canyons rock wall to a height that a lizard couldn't reach, and the sixth guardsman had disappeared.

"Karl, Rika, lets go," Athgar shouted as he started his lizard along the trail at a dead run.

They ran full tilt for what seemed an hour. Finally, Athgar slowed down to a walk.

"He was an honorable man," Athgar said of the dead Hrithdon officer. "He could have given us his word, let us pass, and then followed us with all six of them mounted."

"What about the two that are left?" Rika asked.

"I doubt they'll have the heart to follow now," Athgar said; but just then, as if to mock his words, the steady rasping noise of lizards running on sand echoed in the canyon behind them.

"Keep going," Athgar commanded. "I'll catch up to you." With that, he turned his mount around and raced full speed back down the canyon.

Karl and Rika continued on their way. A few minutes later, the terrible screeching of fighting lizards echoed along the rock walls. Then there was silence. Athgar did not reappear, so they started back down the canyon.

They did not have far to go. The scene that met them was awful. One of the guardsmen's lizards lay dead; Athgar's lizard lay gasping in a puddle of blood, its throat torn open. In the sand not far away lay Athgar, in a crumpled heap.

"Athgar!" Rika cried. Leaping from her mount", she ran to him. "Karl, Karl, bring some water."

Washing the blood and dirt from Athgar's face, Rika helped him lift his head and sip some water which Karl poured from his terry-skin bag.

"My ribs," Athgar gasped.

Karl checked Athgar over for other injuries. A cut on his forehead had covered his face with blood, and a long, raking gash ran across one shoulder.

"Where are the guardsmen?" Karl asked.

"Gone," Athgar answered weakly. "In the same shape I'm in, and the lizards they're on isn't much better. They won't be back."

"Can you ride?" Rika asked.

"I've got to. Help me up and tie me on," Athgar said. "We have to make it to Red Lizard Cave. If Zanzu finds we're not there, he'll assume we've left for the desert. And you need him now. I won't be going far."

Rika and Karl lifted the groaning Athgar onto one of their two remaining lizards. After tying him to the saddle, Karl got on behind to steady him. Rika mounted the second lizard and took the rear. With Athgar directing them as best he could, they reached the mountains and climbed up a rocky incline, fought their way through a dense growth of bushes, and entered a clearing. On the other side, a dark opening went into the mountain.

"Red Lizard Cave," rasped Athgar from his perch on the lizard's back. "Go ahead, take us in."

Cautiously, Karl and Rika led the two lizards into the cave. When their eyes had adjusted to the dim light, they saw that they were in a chamber large enough to house a flock of sheep. At the rear, several more passages continued deeper into the mountain, and across one wall an enormous lizard had been painted with red ocher and charcoal.

"We'll spend the night here," Athgar announced weakly.

Karl came around behind the big man and reached up under his arms to help him down, while Rika guided his feet toward the ground. But the wounded mans grip failed, and he screamed with pain as his chest full of broken ribs thudded against the lizards flank. Tears in their eyes, Karl and Rika helped him the rest of the way to the ground and eased a folded blanket under his head.

"Athgar, you rest here," Rika said. "We'll find something for a bed."

An hour later Athgar lay on the softest bed of leaves that Karl and Rika could make him. Rika knelt by his side, wiping his brow with a damp cloth. Close by, a small fire blazed brightly, and at the rear of the chamber the two lizards rested silently, blinking at the firelight with reptilian indifference. Behind them loomed the graceful, terrifying portrait of a dread lizard, put there, Karl guessed, in some ancient time, and for a purpose nobody would ever know.

Athgar developed a fever and rested only fitfully. Every so often he struggled, as if he were fighting some enemy, and mumbled incoherently.

"Athgar has to get better," Rika said to Karl, glancing over her shoulder at the two lizards. "We've got to leave here and find food for those lizards. They must be getting hungry. I hope they don't eat us in our sleep. Can't we tie them outside?"

"No, they might run away. They'll be all right for tonight," Karl answered. "We've got to have them to get across the desert and back again."

All night Rika and Karl took turns sitting up with Athgar, wiping his face and making him as comfortable as possible. But by dawn he had grown worse. His fever increased, and he refused water. His mumbling had turned into anguished cries of pain. As the stars were fading from the night sky, Karl went outside for a moment and then froze against a nearby boulder.

Coming up the escarpment was the clatter of some big animal. Running back to the cave, Karl whispered to Rika to keep Athgar quiet. Then he seized his spear and planted himself in the entrance.

The clattering ceased, the brush crackled, and a dread lizard bearing a rider burst into the twilight before the caves mouth. But as the great beast slowed and the rider dismounted and called in a booming voice, "Wake up in there," Karl felt a rush of relief.

"Zanzu," he cried. "I thought you were the Hrithdon."

"The Hrithdon don't rise this early," quipped the smuggler. "I see by your fire that everybody here is up."

Karl stopped Zanzu by the entrance. "Athgar is hurt. He's been delirious all night."

Handing his mount's reins to Karl, Zanzu hurried into the cave. Karl took Zanzu's lizard and tied it up with the other two, then went back to Athgar's bed. Zanzu was on his knees, supporting Athgar's head, talking to him.

"Athgar, it's me, Zanzu. Do you hear me?"

Athgar opened his eyes. "Zanzu, you've got to go with Karl and Rika."

"Yes, I know," Zanzu answered. "Now relax and let me look you over." Throwing back the blanket, Zanzu carefully inspected his friend's ribs one by one. He also looked at the two gashes which Karl and Rika had washed and covered as best they could. From a satchel he took out a packet of ointment, which he gently rubbed into the two wounds. Next, he uncorked a vial of brown fluid.

"Athgar, I'm going to give you some of this to make you sleep. We'll be passing through the village of Dorn, and we'll send someone to get you. You'll feel a lot better when you wake up." He grabbed Athgar's hand. "I'll see you when were back from Karanga."

Zanzu shook several drops of the brown fluid into Athgar's mouth and gave him some water. By the time the first shaft of sunlight shot into the cave, Athgar was sleeping soundly.

"He'll be all right," Zanzu pronounced, "but it will take a long time for all those ribs to heal. He won't wake up till the shepherds from Dorn have arrived. Now put out the fire and let's get moving. Someone must have raised an alarm. Last night the hills were swarming with guardsmen."

They led the three lizards from the cave and tied them in the sunlight. Zanzu unloaded his bulging saddlebags and started unpacking one of the bundles. First he pulled out three Hrithdon war shirts.

"Here, put these on." He handed the two smaller shirts to Karl and Rika. "They're not too uncomfortable when you get used to them, and they're good protection. Athgar would be in better shape right now if he had been wearing one."

Karl examined his war shirt. It was made of many flat plates of metal sewn into a cloth vest. He put it on. It was soft inside and in the cool morning air was a welcome addition to the thin cotton shirt he was wearing.

Zanzu then pulled out a dozen leather water sacks, knives, food, and most important to Karl, coil upon coil of strong, thin rope.