Butler, Octavia Patternists 3 Survivor

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Suddenly Neila screamed. When Alanna turned to see what was wrong, she found herself looking
through the door of her own bedroom into a wall of flame.
She could hear it now, would have heard it much sooner crackling along with the burning storehouse,
had she not been so intent on the battle outside.
Jules moved at once to the pile of supplies in the corner beside the fireplace. Understanding, Alanna and
Neila moved to help him. These were essentials. Everything else was to be abandoned anyway.
Bundles were carried out under the eyes of the Tehkohn gate guards, and placed near the wall. The
Garkohn all seemed too busy to take any notice of what the three Missionaries were doing yet at least
one Garkohn had found time to set fire to the house. That thought made Alanna watchful as she set her
load down. Jules and Neila hurried back for the rest. Alanna was about to follow them
when her watchfulness paid off. She saw the partially camouflaged Natahk just before he reached her.
His camouflage was good, but he had paint on one shoulder. What Alanna saw first was little more than
a flash of red coming at her out of the shadows.
Instantly, she launched herself to one side, barely avoiding the grasping hands. Even as she moved, she
remembered his speed. He was so much faster than he should have been as a hunter possibly faster
than she was. He was, after all, the best of the Garkohn hunters.
She fell, rolled, kicked savagely, seeing that he was almost upon her. He had taken almost no time at all
to recover from his futile lunge. She could not let him get his hands on her. With his skill and strength,
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he could kill her without exerting himself.
She leaped to her feet as he regained his balance after her kick. But again his recovery was too swift. He
managed to seize her arm.
Instantly, she folded to him, unexpectedly yielding. She raked the short hard nails of her free hand
across his eyes.
He flared yellow, made a choked sound of pain, threw her to the ground with stunning force.
For a moment, the scene was frozen. Natahk, his body glowing yellow with pain, stood silent, hands to
face; and Alanna only half conscious on the ground. Alanna was dimly aware of people gathering.
Someone took hold of her shoulders to drag her away from Natahk. At that instant, Natahk came to life.
He swept up Alanna's rescuer much as Diut had lifted a Garkohn earlier, and threw him at the
surrounding Tehkohn.
Clearly, he could still see. Alanna tried to focus on him. Yes, he could still see. Out of one eye.
He dragged her to her feet by her hair and one arm. The arm he twisted agonizingly behind her. The hair
he looped around his hand and used to pull her head back so far that she almost forgot the pain of her
arm. Apparently, this stopped the advancing Tehkohn.
"I thought so," said Natahk. "Now who will keep me from the gate? Who will cause me to kill the wife
of the Tehkohn Hao?"
Pain made it difficult for her to think. The extreme angle of her head made speech almost impossible.
She felt herself dragged toward the gate, heard Natahk's command.
"Open it! And if there are Tehkohn outside, clear me a path through them."
She heard someone open the gates, but for what seemed a long time, Natahk did not move with her. She
felt herself losing consciousness. Her eyes refused to focus and her head throbbed. She thought she
heard Missionary voices Jules and Neila calling. Others shouting. Then she heard another voice, quite
close. Diut.
"If you kill her, I'll make your Garkohn tortures seem pleasant to you."
"Let me pass," said Natahk. "And she need not die."
"I would kill her myself before I would leave her to you."
Impasse.
Alanna fought to remain conscious, strained to hear past the roaring in her ears.
"Release her," said Diut. "And my people will not harm you."
"And you?"
"We fight. Defeat me, and you go free. I command it now. If you kill me, my people are to let you go."
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"Fight a Hao!"
"Did you not tell your people that I was no more than a man?"
"A man with two eyes!" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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