James Axler Deathlands 066 Separation

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hadn't been so damned useless. And we'll do it because we have to. We have no
choice now, no going back. I do not intend to travel to the whitelands knowing
that Mildred and her little friends have that knowledge as power over me. Is
that clear?"
Chan had nodded, his throat too tight and dry to speak. As with many others on
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Pilatu, he had always thought of Elias as untrustworthy but harmless, too laid
back to be of any danger.
The look in the giant's eyes told him that he had been wrong. And the thought
of being alone in the woods with this revelation was a more frightening
prospect than taking on the companions.
So now, as the night hit its stillest and darkest
watch, he found himself stumbling after the giant as Elias made his way
through the woods, from the copse where they had taken shelter to the
riverbank by the outcrop and caves, where the whiteland treasure lay hidden.
They followed the same path as they had taken that afternoon, only traveling
in reverse. It wasn't long before they gained the riverbank, with the crop a
few feet out into the water, rising to a peak with a cave beneath.
"There it is, just sitting there waiting for us,"
Elias said with a chuckle. "See, my cowardly little friend. It's not that
hard, is it?"
"I CAN HEAR SOMETHING," Markos mouthed at Mildred and Sineta as the sound of
the two men thrashing through the woods reached their hiding place.
Mildred nodded and pointed in the general direction of the sound. Markos
assented.
"Wait till they are in the open," he said softly.
"Wait until Jak moves," Mildred amended.
Markos looked puzzled. "But surely-" Mildred shook her head. "Just do it." She
looked around at
Sineta. Even in the dim light of the half moon it
was plain to see that the woman was anxious and hyped up in anticipation.
Despite Sineta's willingness to be here, Mildred found it obvious that the
woman had never been in a fighting situation before, and she was terrified,
even though prepared to fight.
Let's hope her nerve holds, Mildred thought, taking in the tight grip that
Sineta had on her blaster.
She looked back in the direction of the sound.
They were nearing the clearing that delineated the riverbank and would soon
come into view.
Now was the moment of truth. Looking at
Markos's face, intent but impassive, prepared for combat, she wondered how he
would take it when his beloved brother came into view.
The brush at the edge of the woods was swept aside and Elias strode out onto
the riverbank, looking around him. His eyes-even at this distance-blazed, and
Mildred sucked in her breath. It looked like the giant had cracked under the
strain and was quite mad, which would make him completely unpredictable.
His companion stayed hidden while the giant looked up and down the bank and
across to the
outcrop, where Jak remained silent and still in the shadows. Elias saw nothing
and assumed that the cave was empty. He turned to the brush, where his
companion stayed hidden, and laughed loud and harsh, gesturing with his
blaster.
"Come out, you cretin. She has done nothing as yet and we have all the time in
the world."
Mildred looked at Markos, whose eyes were intently trained on the scene.
"Now we'll see who his accomplice is," the sec boss whispered, cradling his
H&K.
From the brush, peering out as though disbelieving of his compatriot, Chan
cautiously emerged.
Mildred braced herself, watching Markos's face. The sec boss appeared to pay
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the revelation no heed whatsoever-although if she could have seen in clearer
light, Mildred would have noted a hardening and tightening around his jaw.
"This is too easy," Chan said in a voice that, although not loud, carried
across the space between himself and his brother in hiding. "She must have
said something, if not to her pale
friend then to that cretinous Sineta and my fool brother."
"What? You dare to mock your wonderful brother?" Elias chided. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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