Blade frowned, trying to look uncertain. «I heard some of his men speaking of doing this. I do not know if there are any, or where there are. They would not trust me with the knowledge.»
«That is more wisdom than I would expect of Bairam,» said Nungor. «Blade, I think you are lying.» He raised a hand to the men around Kareena. Before they could move, Blade was on his feet. Nungor jumped back and drew his sword, obviously impressed at Blade's size and his feat of jumping up with his hands still tied behind his back.
«Nungor, hear me,» said Blade. «You can chop Kareena into small pieces if you wish. I cannot stop you. I can keep you from gaining anything by it, however.
«I know the fighting arts of England. I can make you choose between killing me or dying yourself. When I am dead, all my knowledge of Kaldak and England will be dead with me. Even if I do not kill you, I wonder if you will live long after your mistress Feragga hears our tale. You will have done a foolish thing. I have not heard that Feragga of Doimar is gentle with fools, or keeps them long in her service.»
That was only a guess, based on what Blade had heard of the ruling lady of Doimar. Apparently it was a good one. Nungor took another step backward, and Blade thought he saw the man swallow. Then the Doimari shrugged.
«Very well, Blade. It seems that you know how to put yourself in a strong position even when a prisoner.»
«I have traveled in many lands, Nungor. If I had feared death, it would long since have taken me. As a warrior, I am sure you know this as well as I do.»
Nungor jerked his head, acknowledging the praise. Then he pointed to one of the men around Kareena. «Yabo. Take three men and go down. Take bags and bring up as many fire boxes as you can carry.»
«Yes, Shro Nungor.»
Blade mentally erased the idea of trying to escape while Yabo and his squad were down the tunnel. Four down left sixteen on the surface-too many, unless matters got so desperate that it was simply a question of finding a clean death.
Yabo and his men marched out briskly and disappeared into the basement. Blade sat down and leaned back against the nearest wall, working his concealed hands back and forth steadily. The wire was tight, but it felt brittle enough to break if he worked at it long enough. Maybe the Doimari wouldn't spring the trap in the tunnel. In that case by the time they got to the one in the shaft, they'd have more men down below and Kareena would have recovered a little strength. It wasn't completely impossible that
Whrrrrummmmppppp!
A cloud of dust, smoke, and fragments shot out of the basement like the blast from a cannon. One of the booby traps had been sprung! Nungor's men jumped up with shouts and curses. One had his mouth open when a flying fragment hit him in the stomach and smashed him against the wall. Then a second explosion came, with a long hissing sound. A wavering blue light shone in the heart of the smoke cloud. Some of the power cells had been affected by the grenade explosions and were burning themselves out. Blade tried to take shallow breaths as the smoke and fumes filled the street. All around him, half-invisible in the murk, he heard Nungor's men coughing and choking. Then above that sound he heard a long drawn-out rumble, growing steadily until it seemed as if the earth itself would start shaking any minute.
Blade knew it was no earthquake. Through gaps in the murk he saw the walls of the building swaying and cracking, then shedding pieces themselves the size of a small house. Shaken by the waldo's attack the explosions last night, the booby trap, and finally the power cells, the building was collapsing.
Then the roar increased until Blade had to open his mouth to equalize the pressure on his ears. The dust billowed so thickly that he could barely see Nungor's men around Kareena. Then he saw them break and run, as fear of the unknown overcame their fear of Nungor. Nungor vanished on their heels, shouting curses and waving his sword, and Blade was alone with Kareena.
He made one last furious effort against the wire on his wrists, felt metal gouge skin and flesh, then felt the wires snap. His hands were free.
Blade reached Kareena in three long steps and bent down to shout in her ear. «Kareena! Can you hear me?» He thought he saw her nod, even though her eyes were closed. «I'm going to cut you loose, and we'll try-«
Kareena's eyes opened, and she licked dust-caked lips. «Blade, you've got to run! I can't come with you. My leg-it's broken. Don't-«
Blade swore under his breath. He should have thought of this possibility, but he'd been too concerned with keeping the girl from being tortured to death. «Then I'll stay with you.»
«Blade, you can't-«
«Kareena, I will. Now close your eyes and pretend to be unconscious again.» He wanted to add, «And say your prayers,» because he wasn't at all sure what mood Nungor would be in when he returned.
Slowly the crash and roar of the falling building died away. The breeze thinned the fog of dust until Blade could see nearly fifty feet. At the limit of his vision was Nungor, holding a laser rifle aimed at Blade.
Blade slowly stood up, shifting his footing as he did so that he was in position to strike down at Kareena's ribs with one heel. That would give her a merciful death, before Nungor could kill him with the rifle. Nungor could either kill them both or spare them both. Blade refused to consider giving the man any other choices.
His unspoken message seemed to reach the Doimari leader. Slowly Nungor lowered his rifle. «It seems your honor binds you to Peython's daughter, England-man.»
«It seems so.»
«Well, then I shall do nothing to you for now. Whether Feragga will be so gentle, I do not know.»
«That is for Feragga to say.»
«True.»
Blade looked at Kareena and winked. He thought he saw her wink back. Then he turned to look at what was left of the building. A short stretch of wall about three stories high was the only thing still standing from a building eight stories high and a block square. It would take a Home Dimension engineering crew months to dig anything out from under that hill of rubble. In this Dimension it would take years. Whoever won the war might someday dig out the treasure below, but it would play no part in the war itself.
That wasn't a bad day's work, for two nearly helpless captives. Blade sat down and watched Nungor's men trickling back, under the lash of their chief's curses. None of them came anywhere near either of the prisoners.
Chapter 14
The Doimari left Gilmarg before noon that day. Blade walked, his hands unbound but several rifle-armed guards always close at hand. Kareena was loaded onto the back of a munfan like a sack of loot. She was obviously in pain, but Blade noted that her broken leg had been thoroughly splinted. He knew she would have an uncomfortable trip, but it should not be a fatal one unless the broken leg became infected.
The expedition set such a pace that the towers of Doimar were in sight by noon on the fifth day. By then Kareena's bruises were healing, and her broken leg showed no sign of infection. It still gave her so much pain that Blade knew the escape from Doimar would have to wait until Kareena could walk or until he found some sort of vehicle.
Both choices had their dangers. The first would mean staying in Doimar at the mercy of a notoriously merciless ruler for weeks or even months. Apart from the danger to Blade and Kareena, there was the danger that Feragga would launch her armies and waldoes against Kaldak before the prisoners could escape with their knowledge. The second course could get them home more quickly, but this was far from certain. There might not be any vehicles. Even if there were, finding one could take as much time as the healing of Kareena's leg. It would certainly take a good deal of luck, or else the cooperation of the Doimari themselves in giving Blade freedom to explore their city.