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you a story.
It was the story, somewhat distorted and with many omissions, of his
experiences with the Sheewash Drive on the far side of the Empire. It didn't
mention Karres and didn't mention klatha. Neither did it mention that he'd
picked up three witch children on Porlumma. Otherwise, it came comfortably
close to the facts.
"I don't have any such drive mechanism on ship," the captain repeated, staring
at her, wondering how she could possibly have got that information. "Whoever
told you I did was lying!"
Sunnat smiled unpleasantly. He knew by now that she wasn't drunk or drugged.
Neither was she out her mind, at least by her own standards. She was engaged
in a matter of business, in the old Uldune style. And she looked the part. The
poker was cooling but could be quickly reheated; She might have been some
pirate chieftain's lady, who had volunteered to interrogate a stubborn
prisoner.
"No, you're lying," she said. "Though it may be true that the drive mechanism
is not on the ship presently. But you know where it is. And you'll tell me."
As the captain started to speak, she brought some small golden object from a
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pocket of her trousers and lifted
it to her mouth. There was a short, piercing whistle. Sunnat turned away from
him, smiled back at him over her shoulder and returned to the fireplace, the
poker dangling loosely from her hand. He heard sounds from the stairway,
shuffling footsteps.
Filish and Bazim appeared, coming carefully down the stairs side by side,
carrying a chair between them.
Goth was in the chair. There was a gag in her mouth; and even at that distance
the captain could see her arms were fastened by the wrists to the sides of the
chair.
"Over here!" Sunnat called to her partners. They started towards her with
Goth. She put the poker back in the coals, its handle resting on the grate,
and stood waiting for them. As they came up, she reached out and snatched the
gag from Goth's mouth. Goth jerked forward then settled back while the two men
put the chair down beside the table, facing the fire. Sunnat tossed the gag
into the coals.
"No need for that here, you see!" she informed the captain. "This is a very
old place, Captain Aron, and there's been a great deal of strange noise made
down here from time to time, which never disturbed anybody outside. It will
cause no disturbance tonight.
"Now then, we have your brat. You're quite fond of her, I think. In a minute,
or two, I'll also have a very hot poker. If you don't wish to talk now, you
needn't. On the other hand, you may tell me anything you wish, until I
decide the poker is as hot as I want it to be. After that I'm afraid I'll be
too busy to listen to what you have to say, if I'm able to hear you, which I
doubt, for well& . perhaps ten minutes& ."
She swung to face him fully, jabbed a finger in his direction.
"And then, Captain Aron, when it's become quiet enough so you can speak to me
again, then I'll be convinced that what you want to tell me is no lie but the
truth. But that may be a little late for your little Dani."
He felt like a chunk of ice. Goth had glanced over at him with her
no-expression look, but only for an instant;
she was watching Sunnat again now. The two men clearly didn't like this much,
Bazim was sweating heavily and Filish's face showed a frozen nervous grimace.
He could expect no interference from those two. Sunnat was running the show
here, as she usually did in the firm. But perhaps he could gain a little time.
"Wait a moment, Sunnat," he said suddenly. "You don't have to hurt Dani, I'll
tell you where the thing is.
"Oh?" replied Sunnat. She'd pulled the poker out of the coals, was waving the
glowing tip back and forth in the air, studying it. "Where?" she asked.
"It's partly disassembled," the captain improvised rapidly. "Part of it is
still in the ship, very difficult to find, of course& ."
 Of course," Sunnat nodded. "And the rest?"
"One small piece is in the house. Everything else has been locked up in two
different bank vaults. I had to be careful& ."
"No doubt," she said. "Well, Captain Aron, you're still lying, I'm afraid!
You're not frightened enough yet....
Bazim, get the water ready. Let's test this on the brat's sleeve, as a start."
Bazim reached into the wooden tub beside the table and brought out a dripping
ladle of water. He moved behind Goth's chair, stood holding the ladle in a
hand that shook noticeably. Water sloshed from it to the floor.
"Steady, now"' Sunnat laughed at him. "This won't even hurt the brat yet, if
I'm careful. Ready?"
Bazim grunted. Sunnat's hand moved and the poker tip delicately touched the
sleeve of Goth's jacket. The captain held his breath. Smoke curled from the
jacket as the poker moved up along the cloth. There was a sudden flicker of
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fire.
Bazim reached over hastily. But his hand shook too hard, water spilled all
over Goth's lap instead of on the sleeve. Sunnat stepped back, laughing. Bazim
turned, dipped the ladle back into the tub, and flung its contents almost
blindly in Goth's direction. It landed with a splat and a hiss exactly where
it was needed. The line of fire vanished, and Sunnat let out a startled
yell....
The captain found he was breathing again. Crouched and tense, he watched.
Sunnat was behaving very strangely! Grasping the poker handle in both hands,
she backed away from Goth and the others along the wall, holding the poker out
and down, arms stiff and straight. The partners stared open-mouthed. The
captain saw the muscles in Sunnat's arms strain as if it took all the strength
she had to hold the poker. Her face was white and terrified.
"Quick!" she screamed suddenly. "Filish! Bazim! Your guns! Kill him now! He's
doing it.
He's pulling it away from me!
Ah-no!"
The last was a howl of despair as the poker twitched violently, spun out of
Sunnat's hands and fell. It twisted on the flooring, its fiery tip darting
back up towards her legs. She gave a shriek, leaped high and to one side,
looked back, saw the poker rolling after her. She dodged away from it again,
screaming, "Shoot! Shoot!"
But other things were happening. Bazim began to bellow wildly and went into a
series of clumsy leaps, turns and twists, clutching his seat with both hands.
Filish swung around towards the captain, reaching under his coat.... and the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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