The Cyber Chronicles Book III - The Core Read Online Free Page B

information."
    The eagle
spread its wings and launched itself into the air, its eyes fixed
on the unsuspecting mage.
    "Without the
Queen, there would be no point in installing them, would
there?"
    The eagle
sailed towards the mage on silent, predatory wings.
    "Still,
Torrian will be interested -"
    Gearn whipped
around just in time to receive the eagle's attack in his face. He
and the bird screamed together, a mingled shriek of pain and rage,
and he released the Queen to beat at the raptor. Tassin stumbled
away, turning to stare as the eagle's claws ripped into Gearn's
face. Sabre reached her in two strides and pulled her aside, then
took hold of the mage's robe. Gearn reeled, howling and beating at
the bird whose talons gripped his face.
    The cyber's
hum changed pitch, and the eagle released the wizard and rose into
the air with powerful strokes of its long-pinioned wings. Sabre
jerked the mage towards him and crushed his skull with a punch. The
thin corpse collapsed in the dust, twitching. With a grimace of
disgust, Sabre turned to Tassin. Her hands were clamped over her
mouth, her eyes wide. When he approached her, she flung herself
into his arms and buried her face in his chest.
    "You killed
him."
    "Did I have a
choice? That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
    "It was
horrible."
    He patted her
back. "Violent death always is, but that guy was nuts. He would
have hounded us all the way back to Arlin, maybe even tried to kill
you. Even if we had evaded him, Torrian would probably have killed
him a lot more painfully than that. It was a better end for him; he
would never have given up."
    "He didn't
even use any magic."
    "He didn't
have time. Magic seems to involve a lot of chanting and arm waving,
but the eagle took him by surprise and I didn't give him time to
recover."
    She glanced at
the corpse with a shudder, and Sabre disentangled himself and took
her hand, leading her back towards the cart.
    She looked up
at him. "Shouldn't we bury him?"
    "What's the
point? It would take ages to dig a grave in this ground; it's
mostly rock. And what difference does it make whether the worms eat
him, or the vultures?"
    She shuddered
again. "It seems wrong."
    "Do you think
he'd have buried you? Some cultures leave their dead for the
vultures on purpose; they believe the birds carry the spirit to the
next world."
    Tassin looked
up at the eagle, which rode the thermals above them. "He was a good
ally."
    "Yeah. She,
actually. The males are smaller."
    "I knew you
would find me. How did you do it?"
    "One of the
cyber's less useful functions, being able to see through rock.
Although it can't detect life signs through it, it can map it for a
limited distance."
    They
approached the tree to which the donkeys were tethered, and Sabre
stared at it in amazement. The tree had been denuded, save for some
withered leaves at the top, which the donkeys could not reach.
After they had finished the leaves, they had stripped the bark, and
the tree looked as if it had been the main course for a swarm of
locusts. The culprits stamped and swished at flies, looking
bored.
    Tassin burst
out laughing, her eyes shimmering with tears.
    He grinned.
"Makes you want to laugh and cry, doesn't it?" She nodded, wiping
her eyes, and he addressed the donkeys sternly. "I can't leave you
two alone for five minutes!"
    She doubled
over with mirth, clutching her stomach.
    He shook his
head at the tree. "That poor thing will never be the same
again."
    "Stop it,
Sabre!" she said. "You'll make me bust a gut!"
    Sabre
chuckled, glad she had this opportunity to vent the pent-up
emotions accumulated over months of adversity. The colour had
returned to her cheeks and her eyes sparkled once more. He untied
the donkeys and helped her, still giggling, into the cart.

 
     
    Chapter Two
     
    Sabre made
camp early that night. Tassin drooped with weariness after her
ordeal in the caves, favouring her abused arm. When Sabre sat
beside the fire roasting a wild chicken, the Queen opposite, she
smiled