“See that you keep silent on our association.”

“Look,” she said hotly, “you had your shot and you missed it. That was business and I understand. Now I’m telling you that you don’t need to silence me. I won’t talk because I’ve got my professional pride. And the same professionalism lets me ignore what you tried to do. Let’s call it even.”

“As you wish! Ms. Hart, we shall let the past lie.” His smile showed his gleaming, perfect teeth. “But let us not part in anger. You have impressed me with your fire and integrity. I wish to continue to retain your services. Say, 25,000 nuyen per month. Call it a retainer.”

“I told you that I don’t take hush money. You want my services, you pay the usual rates.”

“You are a most unusual woman, Ms. Hart. I begin to believe that you will hold to your self-imposed standards of conduct. Now, are we on working terms again?”

She held out her personal comp to him. He smiled in assurance that he had regained the upper hand as he slotted his credstick and made the funds transfer. To demonstrate her trust, Hart ran a confirmation of the transfer as soon as he returned the camp.

“Your money’s good.”

“Good as gold, Ms. Hart.”

“Better,” she said hefting her comp before slipping it back into her bag. “Gold’s too heavy.”

As she stared down the stairs, Drake’s hand shot out to grasp her arm in a painful grip. He fixed her with a stem took. “You are sure that there is no evidence at the site of our Renraku switch.”

She dropped her gaze from his eyes to his hand, waiting until he released her before answering. “The van with our other guest was rigged to explode, per your orders. If there is anything left, they’ll probably assume that it was just one more runner.”

Drake’s toothy smile returned. “And none of the dupes who were supplying the cover for our operation survived? A wounded captive could say too much.”

“Last I saw of the man, the Tir mage had fireballed him. The woman went up when the patrol torched a van. The others are all history as well.”

“A satisfactory solution. From your report, that Renraku salaryman seemed rather too perceptive in his questions, Had he remained alive, he might have intrigued the wrong people with his tales. It is far better that all witnesses be dead.”

All but me, Hart thought. But I’m still on the payroll, right? Safe enough as long as I have some value or until you get what you’re after.

“I will allow no one to compromise the plan,” was the last thing Drake said.

18

Sam was surprised to find himself alive.

The flames had flared all around him, igniting the trees and his clothes. He had passed out from the pain and must have fallen, tumbling down an unseen bank into the sluggish stream where he now lay half-submerged The water must have put out the flames. He was scratched and bruised from his tumble and scorched from the fire, but alive.

He could not have been unconscious long. He heard a voice that must belong to the Elven mage that had burned him. The Elf was probably so sure of his powers that he hadn’t bothered to check on Sam. Sam strained to make out the words.

“I’ve downed the tusker and one norm, Grian.”

“Roger,” came a reply fuzzed with the static hiss of a radio transmission. “Both vehicles burning. We’ve got three probable kills, but the clearing’s in flames and we can’t land there to confirm.”

“Want me to do a ground sweep?”

“Negative. You know the procedure, Rory. Nobody goes into an unsecured zone without backup. Besides, you’ve been pumping a lot of power.”

“Null perspiration, Grian. I’m fresh enough. These gutter scum weren’t as tough as the briefing indicated. I won’t have any problems.”

“One more time, Rory. Head back to the rendezvous point. I’m bringing the flight down there. We link up, then we all go in together.”

“Don’t you think I can handle them? I am a noble class sorcerer.”

“That’s not the point, Rory. They already winged me. I don’t want anymore casualties. Meet us when we land.”

“Understood.” the mage said finally, but his next words were mumbled, obviously not intended for the other Elves to hear. Sam couldn’t make them out either, but the tone was surly enough to guess the meaning.

Sam was suddenly terrified that the Elf might want proof of his kill. He began to pray that the mage would just leave, preferring to let others confirm his prowess. The night grew quiet as the helicopters moved out, their fading sound leaving the forest to its own noises. Once more the leaves rustled in the wind, but the animals, frightened by the noise and flames, were silent. Sam decided to follow their example. It was time for him, too, to be very still.

He waited.

Tense minutes passed and he tired of shivering in the water. He moved his arm, careful to avoid splashing or dripping water as he raised it before his face. The screen of his watch was dark. He tried the reset button, and the light feature activated only long enough to show him that the screen was misted on the inside. Useless. He flipped the toggle to release the catch, only to have the band snap in his hand, Reaching back to toss it away in disgust, he remembered that he was trying to be quiet. He slipped his band underwater and let the broken timepiece sink to the streambed.

He waited some more, then dared to crawl back up the slope, his passage accompanied by the cracking and snapping of twigs and branches. Each sound increased his fear that he had not waited long enough for the mage to leave. When he finally poked his head above the bank, the mage was nowhere in sight.

The two Caravaners still burned, but the grass fires had mostly died. Kurt and Black Dog lay sprawled in death, along with pieces of Sloan. Hanae was incinerating in one of the vans. Of Roe there was no sign. Between him and the devastation in the clearing lay the pool of slime that had been Chin Lee.

He was alone.

In the distance, Sam heard the howling again. This time another, different howl seemed to reply. The sound made him realize how alone he was, lost in a forest somewhere within Tir Tairngire, a nation that had demonstrated its hostility to him. The forest would be home to many paraspecies that wouldn’t mind making a meal of him. Thoughts of Griffins and Basilisks raced across his mind. And Dragons. Sloan had said that the Elves used Dragons as border guards. His recent close encounter with the feathered serpent made him realize that such a beast could swallow him in a single gulp.

Chin Lee’s assault gun lay nearby, lost and forgotten when the Ork got hit by the Elf’s spell. Sam stared at it. Its metal parts were dark, looking cold even though faint reflections of flames danced on its surface. The ergonomically designed plastic stock and grips hinted at a seductive ease of use. Its sleek metal parts spoke of deadly efficiency. The assault gun was a weapon designed to kill people, yet Sam had vowed never again to touch such a thing.