Strata
seen on the hilltop – part-human, part-animal, part-insect. It whistled shrilly as it was carried. As one of the men let go to reopen the cage door, it screeched and raked his chest with a claw. When he fell back it wriggled free, kicked another man in the stomach with a small hoof, and sank its teeth into a third’s arm before it was grabbed.
The man who had been clawed stood up silently and landed a swinging blow that crunched when it hit, like the crushing of beetles. It landed in a heap inside the cage, and lay still.
The men retreated but did not leave the area. After a while a watchman’s fire sprang up. Kin called up Silver.
‘They are staying,’ she said. ‘There must be ten of them now. Marco’ll never get in!’
‘I think the guard is for the benefit of your friend in the next cell,’ said Silver. ‘Marco has a plan, though. Two plans, in fact. If the first doesn’t work, he proposes to explode the ’waiter’s powerpack.’
Kin thought about it. ‘That would kill us all’, she said, ‘and leave a crater about a mile across.’
‘Quite so. But we would have won .’
There had never been a man–kung war, just a few early skirmishes now diplomatically forgotten. Kung had no concept of conquest, mercy, prisoners or rules. Marco was tainted with human ideas, but …
‘Is he serious?’
‘I think he is frightened almost to death.’
The big winged creature was watching Kin. She was aware of two pale lights in the gloom.
‘I have my own plan,’ said Silver.
‘Oh, good. I like listening to plans.’
‘I have compiled a speech. When a priest next approaches you will recite it to him.
‘You are an Ethiopian princess, left stranded in this country when your party was attacked by robbers. You demand to be released. You are a devout Christer, by the way. So is your father, who is a king, and who will be angry in very physical ways when he hears about this treatment.’
‘It sounds a bit contrived,’ said Kin. She was watching the giant in the next cell. Three metres high. What did it use for ankle bones?
‘ KIN ARAD ,’ said the winged demon.
She stared. Nothing had moved. The creature was still slumped against the bars, watching her. When he spoke again – Kin couldn’t be sure inthe dim light, but the lip movements didn’t seem to coincide with the sounds she heard, as if something was being badly dubbed.
‘I am Kin Arad,’ she said.
‘WHAT IS YOUR DOMINION? ’ said the demon in perfect allspeak.
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘I AM SPHANDOR, OF THE DOMINION OF AGLIERAP. I CANNOT DETERMINE YOUR DOMINION OR PLACE .’
‘It seems to be speaking shandi,’ said Silver.
‘SPEAK. ARE WE PARTNERS IN ADVERSITY ?’
‘I hear it in allspeak,’ said Kin urgently. ‘I think it’s using some kind of direct mind stimulation. Its lips aren’t moving properly.’
‘DO NOT MUMBLE. DO YOU THINK I DO NOT KNOW OF THE CREATURES TO WHOM YOU TALK BY THE POWER OF THE LIGHTNING? THE THINKING BEAR AND THE UPRIGHT FROG WITH FOUR ARMS? AND THE MECHANICAL DEVICE THAT PREPARED FOOD BEYOND THE POWERS OF HUICTIGRARAS? ’
‘Are you reading my mind?’
‘OF COURSE I AM, YOU STUPID BITCH. BUT IT IS DIFFICULT. YOU ARE OF THIS WORLD YET NOT OF THIS WORLD, NEITHER ARE YOU OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE DAMNED, YET THE PRAYING ONES HAVE CAPTURED YOU .’
‘Keep it talking,’ said Silver.
‘The Christers think I am a water sprite,’ said Kin.
‘SPRITES CANNOT SPEAK AND ARE OF LOW INTELLIGENCE, AS EVERYONE KNOWS. THEY ARE LIKE THIS THING .’
Sphandor kicked out and managed to hit the wheezing faun with a curved toenail. It whimpered.
‘It’s injured,’ said Kin. ‘Can we do anything to help it?’
‘ WHY SHOULD WE? IT BARELY KNOWS IT IS ALIVE. ELVES BREED LIKE FLIES IN THE WOODS. YOU THINK THEY MAKE NICE MUSIC, BUT IT IS AS A CRICKET CHIRPS - MINDLESSLY .
‘ I GATHER YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE EXPLOSION THAT KNOCKED ME OUT OF THE AIR THREE DAYS AGO? ’
‘Uh, yes.’ Kin thought quickly. ‘There was a flying chariot, you see—’
‘ A THREE THOUSAND TONNE STARSHIP ,’ Sphandor agreed, ‘ IMPACTING AT FOUR HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR .’
‘Do you know what those words mean?’
‘ NO, BUT THEY WERE AT THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR MIND. THE SHOCK WAVES KNOCKED ME OUT OF THE AIR, AND SOME CHRISTERS REACHED ME AND BOUND ME BEFORE I COULD RISE. IF I BUT HAD MY FREEDOM I WOULD TEAR THEIR EARS OFF .’
It must be vat-grown, thought Kin. Nothing like that could
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