Suddenly another rushed from the forest. Halfway across the clearing, it stopped over a piece of fallen carnage ten feet from Geo’s hiding place. As it crouched before them, they watched the huge fingers upon broad flat palms, tipped with bronze claws, convulse again and again in the fibrous meat. The tusked mouth ripped.
A third entered from the woods now, slowly. It was smaller than the others. Suddenly it sighted a slain body from the night’s encounter. It paused, stooped, then fell on the throat with bared teeth. Whether it was a breeze or a final reflex, Geo couldn’t telclass="underline" one of the membranous sails rose darkly and beat about the oblivious thing that fed.
“Come on,” Urson whispered. “Let’s go.”
A thin scream sounded, and they started.
The first figure crouched apishly before them, head to the side, with deep, puzzled eyes blinking below the ridged brow. The clawed fingers opened and closed like breathing, and the shaggy head was knotted with dirt and twigs. The breath hissed from the faintly shifting, full lips.
Urson reached for his sword, but Geo saw him and whispered, “No, don’t…” Geo extended his hand and moved slowly forward.
The hulking form took a step back and mewed.
Iimmi suddenly caught the idea. Coming up beside Geo, he made a quick series of snaps with his fingers and said in a coaxing, baby voice: “Come, come, come…”
Geo laughed softly to Urson back over his shoulder. “It won’t hurt us.”
“If we don’t hurt it,” added Iimmi. “It’s some sort of necrophage.”
“A what?” asked Urson.
“It only eats dead things,” Geo explained. “They’re mentioned in some of the old legends. Apparently, after the Great Fire, so the story goes, there were more of these things around than anything else. In Leptar, though, they became extinct.”
“Come here, cutie,” said Iimmi. “Nice little, sweet little, pretty little thing.”
It mewed again, bowed its head, came over and rubbed against Iimmi’s hip. “Smells like hell,” the black sailor observed, scratching behind its ear. “Watch out there, big boy!” The beast gave a particularly affectionate rub that almost upset Iimmi’s balance.
“Leave your pet alone,” said Urson, “and let’s get going.”
Geo patted the simian skull. “So long, beautiful.” They turned toward the river again.
As they emerged on the rocky bank, Geo said, “At least we know we have seven days to get to the Temple of Hama and back again.”
“Huh?” asked Iimmi.
“Don’t you remember the dream, back on the ship?”
“You had the same dream too?”
Geo put his arm around Snake’s shoulder. “Our friend here can relay other people’s thoughts to you while you sleep.”
“Who was thinking that?” asked Iimmi.
“Jordde, the First Mate.”
“He makes everybody look dead. I thought I was having a nightmare. I could hardly recognize the Captain.”
“You see one reason for believing Jordde’s a spy?”
“Because of the way he sees things?” Again Iimmi smiled. “A poet’s reason, I’m afraid. But I see.”
The thin shriek sounded behind them, and they turned to see the hulking form crouched on the rocks above them.
“Uh-oh,” said Urson, “there’s your friend again.”
“I hope we haven’t picked up a tagalong for the rest of the trip,” said Geo.
It loped down over the rocks and stopped before them.
“What’s it got?” Iimmi asked.
“I can’t tell,” said Geo.
Reaching into the bib of its pelt, it brought out a gray hunk of meat and held it toward them.
Iimmi laughed. “Breakfast,” he said.
“That?” demanded Urson.
“Can you suggest anything better?” Geo asked. He took the meat from the beast’s claws. “Thanks.”
It turned, looked back, and bounded up the bank and into the forest again.
Geo turned the meat in his hands, examining it. “There’s no blood in it at all,” he said, puzzled. “It’s completely drained.”
“That just means it’ll take longer to spoil,” said Iimmi.
“I’m not eating any of that,” Urson stated.
“Do you think it’s all right to eat, Snake?” Geo asked.
Snake shrugged and then nodded.
“Are you eating any?”
Snake rubbed his belly and nodded again.
“That’s enough for me,” said Geo.
With fire from the jewels and wooden spits from the forest, they soon had the meat crackling and brown. Grease bubbled down its sides and hissed onto the hot stones they had used to rim the flame. Urson sat apart, sniffed, and then moved closer, and finally plowed big fingers across his hairy belly and grunted, “Damn it, I’m hungry!” They made room for him at the fire.
Sun struck the tops of the trees for the first time that morning, and a moment later, light splashed concentric curves on the water, the gold stain spreading farther and farther.
“I guess time’s getting on,” said Urson, tearing a greasy handful of meat. He ducked his head to lick the juice running down his wrist.
“Well,” said Geo, “now we know we have two friends.”
“Who?” asked Urson.
“Up there.” Geo pointed back to where the ape-beast had disappeared in the forest. “And down there.” He pointed to the river.
“I guess we do,” said Urson.
“Which reminds me,” Geo continued, turning to Snake. “Where the hell were you before you got here last night? Come on, now, a little mind yelling.”
Beach…said Snake.
“And our fishy friends got you up here by way of the river after us?”
Snake nodded.
“How come we didn’t find you on the beach before when Urson and Iimmi and me got together?”
Not…yet…get…there…Snake said.
“Then where were you?”
Ship…
“You were back on the ship?”
Not…on…ship…Snake said. Then he shook his head. Too…complicated…to…explain…
“It can’t be that complicated,” said Geo. “Besides, even with all the help you’ve been, you’re under some pretty heavy suspicion.”
Suddenly Snake stood up and motioned them to follow. They rose and followed him, Urson still chewing a mouthful of meat. As they scrambled up the bank again, back into the woods, Urson asked, “Where are we going now?”
Snake merely beckoned them on, accompanied by a gesture to be silent. In a minute they were back in the clearing by the barracks. There was not a bone or body left. As they went, Geo glimpsed Urson’s fallen stave, dark with blood on one end. It lay alone in the leaves. Snake led them to the base of the ruined barracks. The sun was high enough to put yellow edges on the grass blades blowing against the wall. Snake paused once more, lifted the jewel from Iimmi’s neck, and made a light with it. A second time he cautioned silence and then stepped over the broken threshold of the first empty cubicle.
They crossed the cracked cement floor to the black rectangle of another doorway. Snake stepped through. They followed. Just beyond the edge of the sunlight, in the artificial illumination from the jewel, huge rumpled black sacks hung close together along naked pipes of the exposed plumbing along the ceiling. They walked forward until they found one single sack more or less alone. Snake brought the light close to its bottom and waved it there.