“Thanks,” Rebo replied, as he turned toward the group gathered behind him. “Who would like to enter fi?rst? How
’bout you, Hasa? The king would be impressed.”
“You honor me,” the minder replied gravely. “But guests must go fi?rst . . . Such is our custom on Haafa.”
That wasn’t necessarily the case, not judging from the smirks the soldiers wore, but Rebo wasn’t surprised. The runner said, “Watch my back,” to Norr, and slipped into the coolness within. The sensitive went next, closely followed by Hasa and the squad of winged variants. Then, having been triggered by a sensor, the hatch irised closed. A trio of blueclad wings landed on the spot a scant two minutes later, placed an explosive charge over the door, and took off again. The result was a loud boom, a cloud of dust, and a brand-new scar. But, seemingly oblivious to additional damage that had been done to it, the pyramid sailed on.
NINE
The Planet Haafa
Why, God? Why us?
—Wall graffi?ti found deep within the city of Kahoun There was total darkness within the fl?oating tomb as the sound of the external explosion faded away—followed by a shower of dust that caused most of the group to sneeze or cough. Then, as Rebo, Norr, and Hasa began to operate their squeeze-powered glow lights, three beams of fl?uctuating light came into existence. The vaguely pistol-shaped devices had been copied from a unit “harvested” from Kahoun and made a distinctive click-whir noise as the powerproducing handle was clenched, then released. Even though the dynamo-powered light kept Rebo from fi?sting both of his handguns at the same time, the runner was happy to have the device because a lantern would have been even more cumbersome.
The wings were less fortunate, however, since no one had seen fi?t to supply them with glow lights, causing File Leader Lartha and his subordinates to bunch up behind Hasa rather than be left back in the darkness. “Okay,” Rebo said fatalistically, as he directed a beam of light down a slight incline. “We might as well get this over with. . . . I’ll go fi?rst, Lonni will follow behind me, and you guys can bring up the rear.”
“No!” the minder replied vehemently. “I will go fi?rst—
and the wings will follow me. You will bring up the rear.”
Rebo was surprised, but pleasantly so, and happy to let Hasa lead the way. But, having sampled the other man’s personality, he knew better than to say so. “Well, okay,” the runner allowed reluctantly. “But it doesn’t seem fair.”
“I have very little interest in your opinions,” Hasa replied arrogantly, as his glow light washed over a beautifully executed mural. “Come, Lartha. . . . Let’s see where this passageway leads.”
Norr caught a glimpse of Rebo’s expression in the side wash from her squeeze light, knew that her companion was on the verge of laughter, and poked him as Kufu’s functionaries proceeded down the tunnel. Everything went smoothly at fi?rst. So smoothly that the runner was about to conclude that his earlier fears had been groundless, when he heard a clacking sound, and File Leader Lartha vanished. Hasa’s glow light bobbed erratically, and pandemonium ensued as the remaining wings looked for their leader. But it wasn’t until Norr made her way forward that the mystery was solved. “Look!” the sensitive said as she directed her beam downward. “Do you see those cracks?
He fell through a trapdoor.”
The revelation did nothing to comfort Hasa. A sheen of sweat covered the minder’s forehead, and his eyes were huge as he looked from left to right. “Where is Lartha now? Do you think he’s alive?”
“No,” Rebo replied reasonably. “I don’t. . . . But we can’t stay here. Watch for cracks, and you’ll be okay.”
“Oh, no you don’t!” Hasa objected heatedly. “I know what you’re up to. . . . You’re hoping that I’ll be the next one to die! Well, I’m too smart for that. Yo u go fi?rst . . . And the spook goes second. The wings and I will bring up the rear.”
“Okay, have it your way,” the runner agreed grimly. “But take a look over your shoulder from time to time. We wouldn’t want anything to sneak up on us from behind.”
It was clear from the way that the minder’s eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets that the possibility of being attacked from the rear hadn’t occurred to him until that point. Hasa was still trying to fi?gure out if he’d been wrong to give up the lead position when the other two brushed past him.
“Keep your light on the fl?oor,” Rebo instructed, “and I’ll use mine to look ahead. Between us, we should be able to see what’s coming up.”
Norr nodded in agreement, directed her glow light down, and made an attempt to engage her psychic senses as well. But it soon became apparent that there was nothing to detect beyond the auras strung out behind her, a fi?nding that would have been more comforting had it not been for the fact that machines don’t generate any spiritual energy and would therefore be “invisible” to her. The thought sent a shiver down the variant’s spine and caused her to focus on the physical plane.
The need to watch for trapdoors slowed their progress, but paid off when Norr spotted a second set of telltale cracks, and the rest of the party was able to jump over the potentially fatal trap. The passageway turned to the right shortly thereafter and emptied into a small antechamber. A large, heavily embossed metal door waited ahead, but rather than rush forward and attempt to open it, Rebo decided to pause. It wasn’t long before the rest of the group caught up, and Hasa began to champ at the bit. “What are you waiting for?” the minder demanded impatiently. “Cross the chamber and open the door!”
“Be my guest,” the runner said, as he stepped aside and motioned for Hasa to proceed.
It was a trap. The minder could see that now. But he couldn’t back down without losing face. Hasa stepped into the dome-shaped chamber, pistol at the ready. The response was instantaneous. A simply dressed man appeared out of thin air and raised a bejeweled hand. “I am Emperor Hios,”
the apparition intoned. “This is my tomb . . . And, should you be so stupid as to pass through that door, it will become yours as well.”
Having become entangled with the semitransparent specter, Hasa gave a yelp of fear and stumbled backward. Rebo made a grab for the missing amulet and clutched the religious medal instead. Norr felt a sudden and completely unanticipated sense of sorrow as she looked at the holographic likeness of the man who had once been her father. A man that only she, as the emperor’s daughter, could kill. Had killed, and given birth to, each time Lysander occupied her body. “Stay!” Norr commanded. “Lead us to your body that we might reclaim your true legacy.”
But the computer buried deep within the fl?oating pyramid didn’t understand the reference and hadn’t been programmed for such interactions. The image shimmered, collapsed in on itself, and exploded into a thousand motes of light.