“Perhaps,” Everynne said. “At the moment, I am as helpless as you. But I promise: if you take me to the gate and I survive the next few weeks, then it will be in my power to pay your fee.”
Gallen offered his hand, and Maggie said, “Gallen, no!”
“Why not?” Gallen asked.
“It’s a trick-” Orick cut in. “There’s things she’s not telling you. If you help her, you might not die of old age, but those giant vanquishers can come back and knock your head in! Listen to Maggie. You’ve no cause to be concerning yourself in her affairs.” Orick’s heart pounded, and he stared at his friend. Orick was a practical bear, and Gallen’s bargain here just didn’t make bear sense. Obviously these were magical creatures, and by bargaining with them, Gallen might win eternal life, but would he have a soul when he finished?
Gallen raised an eyebrow, questioned Everynne without saying a word. “If I live, the vanquishers will become my servants,” Everynne said, “and to my knowledge they will never return to this world to harm you or your family. Gallen, I cannot promise you that all dangers will fade from your life. There are worse things than vanquishers. If I die, I suspect that you and your people will learn more about what lies beyond the Gate of the World than any of you ever wanted to know.”
“What do you mean by that?” Maggie demanded.
“We are at war,” Veriasse cut in.
Orick looked hard at Gallen, and it was plain that the young man was wrestling with his thoughts. “Then,” Gallen said, “I think I know what price I must ask.”
“Which is?” Everynne asked.
Orick’s nose was dry from fear, so he licked his snout. He waited for Gallen to ask for eternal life, but Gallen said, “I want to come with you beyond the gate into the realm of the sidhe and make sure that you reach your destination.”
“No!” Everynne said. “You cannot even guess the kinds of dangers we will face. I cannot take you. You would not be a help-only a hindrance.”
“You are a traveler and you need guards,” Gallen said. “That is what I do.”
Orick thought the man crazy, but Gallen had eyes only for Everynne. It was a case of lust, sure and through. And when Gallen got that set look in his eye, you could more easily pull a badger from his den than deter Gallen from his goal.
“Last night,” Gallen said, “you would not tell me your name because you knew that these vanquishers would be following you.”
“Yes,” Everynne answered. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Yet the vanquishers came. Inadvertently, perhaps, you have touched our world. Now I want to touch yours.”
“It’s not that simple,” Everynne said. “I could let you come through the gate, but it does not lead to one world, it leads to a maze of worlds, and you are not prepared to enter. Even if you did, you would only want to come home again. In these last few days, I have grown to appreciate this world immensely for its simplicity, its ease of life.”
“I don’t know about other worlds,” Gallen said. “But I suspect that this one is damned boring.”
“A boring world is a valuable commodity,” Everynne said. “I would that all worlds were so innocent.”
Gallen thought a long moment, shrugged. “Then I’ll take nothing in return for my aid. Only a scoundrel would extort money from a woman in need.”
Orick shook his head, confused by Gallen’s sudden turnabout. He wondered if he’d ever understand humans. The Lady Everynne smiled gratefully, raised her brow as if her opinion of Gallen had just raised dramatically.
In the distance was a sound Orick could just barely make out, though none of the others could have heard it. Voices shouting, “Vanquishers, to the south!”
“They’re coming back!” Orick said. “Hurry!”
Gallen leapt into the woods, and the others followed.
Chapter 5
Everynne raced through the forest, following Gallen and Veriasse while Maggie and Orick brought up the rear. Everynne found it hard to toil through the thick undergrowth of Coille Sidhe. Everywhere, trees grew in a riot: dark pine brooded over the wrinkled hills and valleys. Tangled vine maple and ironwood climbed high to capture the dappled sunlight, their limbs twisted like snakes. Dense undergrowth covered the forest floor. Everywhere, ancient fallen pine trees lay molding.
Everynne wished she could hear the vanquishers’ calls in the woods, but the pine needles and leaves of lesser trees muffled all sound. If the vanquishers fell upon them, there would be no advance notice.
Veriasse and Gallen ran side by side, Veriasse carrying his incendiary gun in both hands. Gallen kept glancing at it, but did not immediately ask what it was.
Veriasse hung his shoulders as he ran, weary. Everynne herself felt weary to the core of her soul, and she knew she needed more help. She needed a man like Gallen, and she considered taking him for a servant. She studied him as she ran.
After thirty minutes, Gallen reached a hill where a trio of tall stones hid them. Inside this natural fortress, he called a halt. He stood panting and asked Veriasse, “Those vanquishers, will they try to follow our tracks or are there enough of them so that they can beat the brush and force us out of cover?”
Veriasse heaved for air, said, “They will hunt us both by scent and by track. Gallen, we must take great care. If they have already found the gate, they will be guarding it. We will need to sneak up to it. Yet with vanquishers at our heels, we cannot afford to be timid.”
Gallen considered. “You said that the vanquishers can kill from a distance, and they carried rods like the one you have. Is this the weapon they use?”
“It’s called an incendiary rifle,” Veriasse said. “When you discharge the weapon, it fires chemicals that burn very hot.”
“So it’s something like a flaming arrow?” Gallen asked.
“Yes, only far hotter. Where we come from, some creatures can only be killed with such a weapon. It has become our weapon of choice.”
“How does it work?” Gallen asked. Everynne was surprised at how casually he asked it. She imagined that the young man, being a Backward from such a low-tech world, would find such weapons to be somehow shocking. But Gallen asked in a brusque, businesslike manner.
Veriasse held the weapon up for Gallen to examine. “Down here under the guard is a trigger. When I pull it once, the weapon becomes active and a red beam of light shoots from this lens above the barrel.” He pointed the rifle at a stone, and the red dot of a laser shone on the rock. “You will also feel a vibration in the weapon when it’s active. Whatever the red dot shines on, that is what you will hit if you pull the trigger a second time.”
Veriasse flipped the weapon on its side, pointed to a little indicator light. “These lights show how many more shots you can take with the weapon.” His indicator showed ten shots.
“How far can it shoot?” Gallen asked.
“Officially, it can fire about a hundred and fifty yards,” Veriasse answered. “But the flames can carry farther if you aim high. You must never fire at an opponent who is too close-unless you want to burn with him. Once the weapon sits without firing for three minutes, it deactivates.”
Gallen touched the rifle’s stock. “This can kill an ogre?”
“Yes,” Veriasse said.
“How tough are they?” Gallen asked.
“There are three main types of vanquisher,” Veriasse answered. “Orick here killed a tracker last night-a creature with long legs and arms that walks on all fours. The ‘ogre’ that you saw is one of their infantry. They are tough warriors, and I would not advise you to fight them in hand-to-hand combat. They are very strong. Still, their vital organs are much the same as ours.
“In days gone by, my people created these creatures as guardians, to keep the peace on many worlds. But things have changed. The dronon warriors conquered our people and enslaved our guardians. The dronon are the third kind of vanquisher, and the most dangerous.”
“Dronon?” Maggie asked, panting. Her face was pale, frightened.