Having sex with a young girl without her father's permission was not precisely a violation of the Law itself, but it was definitely frowned on. Saorm probably would not object to the chief's son becoming the father of his grandchild, but other people would certainly talk. Blade was quite sure Peython was quite tired of his son's doing things to make people talk. He was also sure that the chief would be happy if he kept Bairam out of Geyrna's bed, for he had not yet met her nor had a chance to approve of her.
If Blade tried to keep the young man away from Geyrna, however, Bairam wouldn't take him to the fire jewels. He suspected they were far more important to the future of Kaldak and the whole Dimension than one girl's virtue or what people would say. He also suspected that to obtain the fire jewels he would have to break the Law again. Blade recalled the old saying, «They can only hang you once,» and refused to worry.
«I'll come with you to Saorm's house,» said Blade. «After that I'll turn my back, if you'll do the same.»
«Thank you, Blade. I swear to do as you wish.»
They went to Saorm's house late in the morning, in the hope of finding the man out doing his shopping. He was a widower, and his daughter kept house for him.
They were lucky. The house was empty except for Geyrna and the slave who did the heavy work. The girl looked much older than fifteen, and she was not only beautiful but clearly delighted to see Bairam. In fact, she looked ready to tear his clothes off right in front of Blade. Bairam led her off to the back of the shop, the slave went out to draw water from the well, and Blade was left alone with the fire jewels.
They were all rectangular blocks of metal, three times as long as they were wide, with a small ring on one end. They came in a number of sizes, the smallest about three inches long and the largest nearly a foot. Blade studied them carefully. They might be what he suspected, but he'd need a piece of Oltec to prove it. He started looking.
Fortunately most prosperous houses in Kaldak had a piece of dead Oltec somewhere, as a kind of household totem. In a few minutes Blade found the merchant's piece, a pistol-shaped object with a hollow metal tube sticking out of the muzzle. Blade couldn't tell if it was a weapon or a tool but knew there should be a place for the «fire jewels» somewhere in it, if he was right. There was definitely a switch on the top.
He started poking and prying at the «pistol.» At last he felt something give. With his thumbnail he pried open a corroded metal cover on the handle, exposing a rectangular slot the exact size and shape of the smallest fire jewels. Blade snatched one off the table, held his breath, and tried to insert it into the slot.
It slipped easily into place.
Now Blade pointed the muzzle at the ceiling, then thumbed the switch forward. For a moment many years of dirt and corrosion resisted. Then the switch snapped forward.
With a shrill whine, the metal tube started to turn.
Blade let out a war-whoop of triumph and danced around the room, waving the tool until he collided with the table, which promptly fell over with a crash. Blade ignored the pain in his shins. He'd never had the sensation of holding in his hands the whole future of a Dimension before. He felt almost drunk with delight.
As he'd suspected, the fire jewels were miniature power storage cells, far beyond anything in Home Dimension technology. Inserted into «dead» Oltec, they could make it «live» again. The Kaldakans and the other cities of the Land would have more tools and weapons than they'd ever dreamed of. Then if they could find a way to recharge the power cells…
Yes, but how many of the fire jewels were there, and how many still held power? Blade realized that he didn't know, and the realization sobered him. So did the appearance of Bairam and Geyrna, drawn by the uproar he'd made. Both were stark naked, but they looked so contented that Blade knew he hadn't interrupted their lovemaking too soon. The girl smiled and shook her head so that her long dark red hair fell down over her bare shoulders. Then she saw what Blade was holding, and her smiled faded.
«England-man Blade, that is-«Blade flipped the switch and the tool's whine filled the room. «That is-it was dead. Bairam! It was dead! Now it lives! But-«She didn't have the words for what she wanted to say. Bairam put an arm around her and comforted her, although his own face was twisting and his mouth hanging open.
«Bairam!» said Blade sharply. «Where is there a dead Oltec weapon I can have?»
«You can't have-the Law-«Bairam now seemed to be nearly as confused as Geyrna.
«I must see if I can make other dead Oltec live,» said Blade as patiently as he could. «It is most important to make the weapons live again-«
«Yes,» said Bairam, understanding dawning on his face. «If you make Oltec live again, then the Law must be changed. What you did to the great-hawk will be no breaking of the Law, not if there is more than enough live Oltec to go around. And you-«
«Will not have a death sentence hanging over my head,» finished Blade, grinning at the boy. Whatever faults Bairam might have, he certainly wasn't stupid. «Now where is an Oltec weapon?»
«In my rooms in my father's house,» said the boy. «I have two of them. One is not only dead but hurt. The other maybe you could make-live again.» He said the words as if he still couldn't quite believe them, then turned to the girl. «Geyrna, I must-«
At this moment Saorm the merchant walked in. He took one step into his shop, then stopped. Bairam bolted out the door, not bothering to put on his clothes. Geyrna knelt, murmuring «Oh, the Law protect us, the Law protect us.» Blade lifted the tool and turned it on. As he saw his household totem of dead Oltec coming to life, the man's eyes bulged until Blade thought they would fall out of his head. Blade scooped up a handful of the fire jewels, turned off the tool, and put it down by the fallen table. Then he followed Bairam out the door before Saorm could recover from his confusion.
Chapter 7
Although Bairam was running fast, Blade caught up with him before they were out of sight of Saorm's door. He seized the boy by the arm and whispered fiercely, «Slow down, you young idiot! If you run, everyone will notice you. We don't want that until we've tested the rifles.»
«Yes, but if we don't hurry, Geyrna's father will spread the word all over Kaldak. I think what you've done breaks the Law and-«
«If you hadn't bolted like a frightened munfan, we wouldn't have to worry about Saorm! We could have stayed and told him what we'd done. Then he might have kept his mouth shut. As it is-«Blade made a gesture of utter disgust.
The boy sighed. «I am sorry, Blade. But-I could not think as I should have. I-«
«I know. Well not much harm was done this time. But you're going to have to think first and then act, from now on. Do I have your word of honor on that?»
«Yes, Blade.»
They returned to Peython's tower without attracting any attention or hearing any unusual uproar behind them. Blade hoped that Saorm was on his knees along with his daughter, and would stay there for a while.
The two rifles in Bairam's rooms each had a slot in the butt, about the right size for one of the six-inch fire jewels. The slot of one rifle was a cracked and corroded mess. Blade scraped the other slot clean with a knife and dropped the fire jewel into place. Then he raised the rifle, mentally crossed his fingers, and pulled the trigger.
Fzzzzzzzttttt!
A beam of dazzling green light as thick as Blade's thumb lanced across the room. On the far wall a six-inch circle turned black. Smoke curled up and hot bits of stone sprayed the room. Blade fired again, the smoke made him cough, and now there was a hole in the wall several inches deep.