美铁之战系列 第六卷 EarthThunder 第5部分

thoughtI'dhavetotellyouthat."

'Youdon't.Itwas,well-aslipofthetongue.Whensomethinggood

happenstoyou-likewhat'shappeningbetweenus,youdon'twantto

loseit...makesyourealisehowpreciouslifeis."

'Andhowprecarious..."

'Exactly.ThefourofusmayhavebeenbornintheshadowofTalisman

butthatdoesn'tmeantosaywe'redestinedtolivehappilyever

after."Hesawhereyescloudoverandmovedonrapidly.'SiouxFalls

isaboutfivehundredmilesfromhere.Weoughttoleavesoontomake

sureofgettingthereingoodtime."

TheimageofthefearsomeShakatakD'Vineandtheviciousduelthey

foughtcameintohismind.'Thingis-therearequiteafewD'Troitand

C'NatticlansbetweenhereandSiouxFalls.Theymaynotbetoo

pleasedtofindustreadingontheirturf."

'Wecouldalwaysflythere."

Cadillacshookhishead.'Wecan't.Rememberthosebearsteakswehad

theotherday?"

'unforgettable.Theywereenoughtoputmeoffmeatfortherestof

mylife."

'Yeah,well,IcollectedthoseupinthehillswhenIwentuptocheck

outtheSkyhawk.Didn'tsetoutto,butIfoundmyselfhalfwaythere,

so..."

'Youwent..."

'Yeah.AndwhenIgotthere,Ifoundawholefamilyof'em-climbing

alloverit.Abigmale,aboutninefeettallonhishindlegs,two

mothersandfivecubs-''Babies?Oh,IwishI'dbeenthere!"'I'm

gladyouweren't.Theportaileronhadbeentornoffandthey'dripped

greatholesintheundersideofthewing.ItwasluckyIhadmy

carbine."

'Didyoumanagetodrivethemoff?."

'Andstoreupmoretrouble?Ofcoursenot.Ikilledthem."

'Oh,Caddy!Howcouldyou?!"Rozpoundedhisshoulderswithher

fists.

Cadillaccaughtthemandsqueezedhard.'Listen!"hehissed.'The

bearisananimalyoudon'tmessaroundwith.Thosecuddlylittle

babiesyou'resoupsetaboutgrowuptobebigandmean,withpaws

twicethesizeofaman'shandandclawsthatcantearyourheadoff

yourshoulderswithoneswipe!"Rozwassurprisinglystrongbutit

wasn'tthephysicalforcesheexertedthatmadehimletgo.Itwasthe

lookinhereyes.ThesamelookthathadchilledStevetothe

marrow.

'Notmyhead..."Shestoodup.

Cadillacgottohisfeetwithaplacatorygesture.'Ididn'tmeanto

hurtyou.Iwas-''Youdidn't..."

'Roz.There'sanotherquestionIneedananswerto.

Thenightwe..."

'Yes,Iremember..."

'Whenyouwentintothehutyousaid-"Thereisnoneedtostand

guard.Mypowerwillprotectusboth."Stevementionedsomething

aboutit.Areyouasummoner-likeClearwater?"

'Akindofsummonerperhaps.I'mnotsure.Ihaveneverseenanyone

useearthmagic.AndIhavenotseenor.readaseeing-stone,butnow

andthen-likeyou-mymindreceivesglimpsesofthefuture."

'Whydoyousmile?"

'BecauseStevehasalwaysthoughthewasgiftedwithasixthsense,

secondsight.ButitwasIwhoglimpsedwhatwasgoingtohappen,and

sentamessage-inthatsameinstant-intohismind."

Cadillacstaredatherinsurprise.'So...thatevening,whenthetwo

ofuswereontheshoreofLakeMi-ShigaandIsawtheseaburning,it

wasyouandnotSteve''-whosawyoutrappedunderwaterandaboutto

drown.Yes.FromthatmomentonIknewyouwerebothapproachinga

pointofextremedanger.Ididn'thavethefullpicture,butIkeptmy

mindopen-readytoreceiveandactuponSteve'scalltheminutehe

camethrough."

'Amazing..."

'NomoreamazingthanthegiftsyouandClearwaterpossess.I'mgladI

wastheretohelp.OtherwiseyouandIwouldn'tbeherenow."

'No.ThisotherpowerStevespokeof..."

'Ahh,youmeanthis...?"

CadillacfoundhimselflookingatClearwater.Andthen,ashereeled

backinastonishment,ClearwaterbecameSteveBrickman,andthen,

beforehecouldreactfully,BrickmanbecameMrSnow!

'OldOne!"criedCadillac,stumblingforward.

MrSnow,hisblueeyestwinkling,reachedouttosteadyhisyoung

protege,andchuckledmischievously.

'DidyouthinkIhadabandonedyou?WhydoyouthinkIbroughtyou

togetherwiththisyounggirl?"

Itwasincredible.Thevoice!Everydetailofhisface!

Theodouroftheskinsthatmadeuphislongcloak.Thebonyhands,

attachedtosinewyarmsfullofvigour!Hecouldnotbeimagining

this,itwasfartooreal!MrSnowhadnotdiedonthewagon-train.

Hehadcomeback!

'Don'tgo,OldOne,'hebegged.'Staywithus!"MrSnowmethisplea

withanotherthroatychuckle.

'Fearnot!Aslongasyoukeepmymemoryaliveinyourheart,Ishall

neverbefarawayfromyou.Thepowersthatweregiftedtomeby

Talismannowdwellwithinherandwillprotectyoubothintimesof

danger!Loveherandcherishherand-aboveall-bevaliant!There

areperiloustimesahead!"Sosaying,MrSnowturnedonhisheel,his

outstretchedarmdescribingagreatsweepingarconthegroundand,as

heturnedfullcircle,Cadillacfoundhimselfsurroundedbyaringof

D'Troitwarriors,armedtotheteethandbayingforblood.Hisstomach

turnedoverandhismindwentnumb.Itwaslikebeingthrownintoa

pitwiththeHoundsofHell.

HeturnedtoMrSnowforhelp,buttheOldOnehadvanished.Looking

down,hefoundaTrackercarbineinhishands.Therewasabayonet

mountedunderthebarrelclusterandmagazinesinallthreebreeches.

Withtremblingfingersheselectedfullautoandbeganfiringfromthe

hip,spinningroundtocoverthecircleasthescreamingwarriors

closedin.

Volleyuponvolleyofneedle-pointroundschewedholesintheirbodies,

andshreddedtheirfacesinasprayofblood.Butaseachmanwent

down,twomoreappearedtotakehisplace!Ontheycame-drawing

closerandcloser-thesunlightcatchingtheirflickering,probing

blades.

Theroaroftheirvoicesdrownedhissenses.Hekeptfiring,firing,

severingknifearms,pulverisingboneandmuscle.Hecouldfeeltheir

hotbreath,theirspittleonhisface.Hedrovethebayonetsavagely

intothenearestbody,feltthebarrelsofthecarbinepressagainst

thechestofthewarriorasthebladesankinuptothehilt-and

foundhimselflookingintothegrinningfaceofShakatakD'Vine!He

shuthiseyesbuthecouldnotblotoutthevision,couldnotescape

fromthenightmarethathadengulfedhim.Hefelthisownbody

convulsewithshockasadozenice-coldsteelbladespiercedhisflesh,

feltthehotrushofblood,thescreamingpain,thecrushing,

suffocatingweightasthewarriorsfelluponhimandbegantotearhim

limbfromlimb.Oh,SweetMother.Saveme.Ahhh.A-AHHH.AAA-AA-AA

HHHHHH.

Ashisbraincavedin,overwhelmedbyterror,hisphysicalandmental

agoniesvanished.Anincrediblelightnessfilledhisbodyand,with

it,awonderfulsenseofrelease.Hefeltacoolhanduponhisbrow,

thesofttouchoflipsuponhismouth.Heopenedhiseyesandfound

Rozkneelingbesidehim.

Whatwasshedoinghere?Hadtheykilledhertoo?Cadillacstaredat

herforawhile,unabletounderstandthen,asthememoriesofhis

deathfloodedbackintohismind,hethrewhishandsacrosshisface.

Andwhenthatfailedtohaltthetideofblood,heturnedoveronhis

bellyandhuggedtheground.

Rozstrokedthebackofhisneckandwhispered,'It'sallright.You

aresafe.It'sover."

Cadillacsmeltthegrassandtheearthbeneathhim.Itseemedreal

enough.Heslowlyeasedhimselfupontohiselbowsandscanned,his

immediatesurroundings.Theywerealone.Noshatteredbodies,no

blood,nothing.

TheD'Troitwarriorswhosebreath,weightandsteelhadoverwhelmedhim

hadbeensummonedoutofthinair.InrecreatingShakatak,Rozhad

drawnuponandfleshedouthisdeepestfears.Andshehadusedthe

samepowertotransformherself-inhiseyes-intotheOldOne,

ClearwaterandBrickman.

Itwasterrifying...

Shestoodupandofferedhimherhand.Astheycamefacetofaceshe

said,'IfIcandothattoyou-whomIlove-justimaginewhatIcan

dotoourenemies..."

Cadillacnoddedbutsaidnothing.

Theyateinsilenceandlater,whentheirbodiescametogetherinthe

dark,hehadnotstillutteredaword.

Asheenteredher,Rozwhispered:'Iknowwhat'sgoingthroughyour

mind.Relax."Shelockedherlegsaroundthesmallofhisbackand

thrustupwardstomeethim.'Whatyoucanfeelisnotafigmentof

yourimagination.Trustme.Thisisforreal!"Anditwas.Oh,

yes.

Itwas.Itwas....

CHAPTERTWO

IntheheartoftheFederation,athousandmilessouthwestofthe

pine-forestedslopesoftheLaramieMountains,SteveBrickmanwasbusy

workingbothendsagainstthemiddle.

Sixweeksafterhispromotiontocaptainandprobationarymembershipof

theFirstFamily,hestillfoundithardtobelievehisgoodfortune.

InCloudlandsthelargeovergroundestatewheretheFirstFamilylived

incolonial-stylesplendour-Stevewasnowtheacknowledgedcompanion

andbed-mateofFranklynneDelanoJefferson,acloseandfavoured

relativeofthePresident-General.AndtheliaisonwithFranprovided

himwithanentreetothehighestlevelsoftheFamily.Thecontacts

atthisstagewerepurelysocialbuttheyprovidedStevewithan

opportunitytomakehimselfknownand,aboveall,tobeseen.

Ineighteenaction-packedmonths,hehadrisenfromaworkganginthe

A-Levelstothecharmedinnercircleatthetopofthetree.Andin

between,hehadtravelledfurther,seenthingsthatothersonlydreamt

of,andhadbeeninvolvedinmoreviolenceandintriguethanmostother

Trackerswouldmeetintheirentirelifetime-andhewasstillonly

nineteen!

Uptoafewshortweeksago,Stevehadalwaysfiguredhehadonly

anothertwentyorsoyearsaheadofhim.

Trackerswhoavoidedaviolentdeathusuallydiedfromnaturalcauses

betweentheageof40and45.ButStevehaddiscoveredthatheandhis

kin-sisterRozwerePlainfolkMutes-smooth-bonedclear-skinned

'super-straights'-rearedintheundergroundworldofthe

Federation.

Forsomereasonhehadyettofathom,Muteshadagreaterlife

expectancythanTrackers,remainingalertandactiveintotheir

mid-sixties.LiketheFirstFamily.

Theywerealsoimmunetothelethalradiationstillpresentinthe

atmosphere-againliketheFirstFamily-afactthathadonlybecome

apparenttoSteveafterhisarrivalinCloudlands.

Atthefirstmentionofthenamehehadguesseditwasanoverground

installation,buthehadbeensurprisedtodiscoveritwasnotasealed

environment.Theentireestatewasopentothesky.

Giventhefavourablecircumstancesinwhichhefoundhimself,Steve

decideditwaswisertoacceptthesituationwithoutcomment,butit

raisedseveralquestionsthatwereimpossibletoignore.Theproblem

was-howcouldhediscovertheanswerswithoutjeopardisinghis

newly-acquiredlife-styleandtheprospectsoffurtherpromotion?

HisdelicatebalancingactinsidetheFirstFamilywasnottheonly

problemhehadtocontendwith.Clearwaterwasstillheldin'soft

confinement'attheLifeInstitute.

Hershatteredleftthighwasmendingwellandshewasexpectedtotake

herfirsttentativestepsinSeptember-thesamemonthinwhichthe

PlainfolkwereduetoholdtheirfirstcouncilatSiouxFalls:anitem

ofnewswhichStevehadnotyetpassedontohismasters.Thechild

Clearwaterwascarryingwithinherwasscheduledfordeliveryin

mid-December.TheofficialFederationcalendar-designedforan

undergroundworlduntouchedbythepassingseasons-haddiscardedthe

twelvepre-Hmonthsinfavouroffourquartersandthreeterms,but

evenafterninecenturiesoldhabitsdiehard.

ThefactthathehadactuallyfatheredachildwassomethingelseSteve

founddifficulttoaccept.Andhewasnotquitesurehowhewasmeant

toreacttothesituation.Fromthemomenthewasoldenoughto

understand,StevehadbeentaughtthatthePresident-Generalwasthe

FatherofAllLife,butnoweventhat-oneofthebasictenetsof

Trackerdom-wasnolongertrue.

HisfeelingsforClearwaterhadnotchanged,buttheywerenowtinged

withacertainconfusionandmorethanalittleguilt.Hekepttelling

himselfthathisphysicalrelationshipwithFranwasnothingmorethan