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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
bandages he'd used. All of it for this, his only child, and now it was
stuck in a long-abandoned mine and could not move.
The last draconian would be coming. It'd have no trouble finishing off
a gnome, a gully dwarf, and an unconscious human. Then it would free
the dragon, and then...
A blast of steam blew out from one of the side valves on the great
machine. The boiler pressure had built up inside the Iron Dragon over
its long idle. Gilbenstock reached up automatically for a control that
would widen the valve and let off the steam.
His hand gripped the wheel valve, then he hesitated. The gnome stood
unmoving, his eyes looking at the valve but seeing beyond it. He bit
his lip, and a tic caused his left eye to twitch.
I must be a dragon inside. I must be a dragon, too.
A precious minute passed. Then the gnome's hand gripped the valve
tightly and began to turn, but not in the direction he had originally
meant to turn it. The steam blast was shut off by degrees until it was
gone.
Gilbenstock felt the floor creak. He reached up and turned another
valve, closing it as well. He turned three more, moving more quickly
now, then turned the boiler up to full power with a set of backup
controls. He left the cabin quickly. He thought he was going to cry,
but no tears came. He did not even look back.
At the bottom of the ladder, Gilbenstock found the gully dwarf hunched
over Zorlen's semiconscious form. Squib again had a cup of warm, meaty
broth and was feeding it to the human in sips, holding Zorlen's head in
one dirty hand.
"We'll have time for that later!" the gnome said quickly. "We must
abandon the Iron Dragon! Let's drag him with us and get out!"
Squib stared in astonishment at his friend, then looked up at the
towering bulk of the black engine. The Iron Dragon was starting to
rumble slightly and made loud knocking sounds as its pipes and boiler
walls began to expand.
"Run for it! Flee! Escape! Evacuate! Abandon ship!" shouted
Gilbenstock, waving his arms in Squib's face. "A draconian is coming up
the tunnel! The driver brake's jammed! Let's go!"
Squib drew back, bug-eyed and openmouthed. He dropped his cup of broth
on Zorlen's head in astonishment. The human sputtered and groaned.
Gilbenstock and Squib grabbed Zorlen's clothing at the shoulders and
heaved. The human weighed a ton, but he could be moved, head lolling
back, hair just brushing the rocky ground.
Grunting with effort, the gnome and gully dwarf made for the dimming
light at the tunnel's mouth. It was almost nightfall. Coughing on the
dust they stirred up, they stumbled over wheel ruts and nearly fell on
loose gravel. The entrance grew nearer. Thirty feet. Twenty feet. Ten.
Behind them, a pipe burst in a wheel housing. Metallic debris
ricocheted off metal and rock. A pressure-warning whistle went off, the
shriek washing through the tunnel like a dying animal's scream. They
reached the entrance.
Gilbenstock paused, looked back. The Iron Dragon blazed in his
infravision like the sun. Even at this distance, he could feel the heat
from the boiler through his clothing. Warping metal cried out. Small
seams burst and steam roared out.
"Good-bye, " Gilbenstock said without breath, so his words were silent.
"Good-bye. "
They pulled Zorlen from the mine into fading daylight and dragged him
about fifty feet away from the entrance to one side, behind a large
boulder. The wind was cool, the evening sky almost free of clouds.
Overhead were the planets and the first stars of night.
"Gods, my leg hurts, " Zorlen mumbled as they sat together, exhausted.
It was the first thing he'd said in many minutes. Bleeding and pale, he
looked for all the world as if he were already dead.
"Yes, I recall your mentioning that, " said Gilbenstock. He got on
hands and knees and crept around the rock to take a last look at the
mine entrance. He was half tempted to go back and see his creation once
more. Maybe it wouldn't explode after all, in which case he could-
Gilbenstock froze.
The last draconian was at the mine entrance.
It was holding Zorlen's hunting knife, now clotted with dark blood. As
its eyes roved the scenery, the draconian spotted the motionless gnome.
Its eyes widened slightly, and a slow, thick smile played over its
features.
"Gilbenstock, " it called, its voice like rocks grinding together.
"I've been looking for you. You haven't finished your job for us yet.
Your Iron Dragon is overheated but unharmed. Don't leave now. " The
smile grew. "We have a use for your friend Zorlen, too. I know he's
there. You tried to trick us, I think, and that won't go over well. You
weren't supposed to tell anyone about this, but you did. "
The tip of the long knife rose slightly.
"We'll sit down and talk about things after you finish this last job
for us, " the draconian said. Its teeth came together, shining and
white. "Business first. You're a businessman, so you know that. Then,
when the business is done-"
The ground jumped.
In the blink of an eye, the draconian was gone. A monstrous jet of
flame, smoke, and rock exploded from the mine entrance. The blast leapt
up at the sky and mountaintops, carrying away a part of the mountain
with it.
The gnome threw himself flat and covered his head with his short arms.
Shards of rock tore at his hands and neck. The mountains across the
great valley rang over and over, repeating the Iron Dragon's last great
roar.
And then, all was silent.
Minutes went by as things calmed down. When it seemed safe, Gilbenstock
raised his head and blinked away dust. The mine entrance was gone. A
mound of fallen rock buried it to a depth of hundreds of feet. There
was no sign of the draconian. Not even scales.
Gilbenstock remembered to breathe. He filled his lungs with the cool
night air.
"Well, " he said. "That should do it. " He got unsteadily to his feet
and wiped at his eyes. Turning around, he saw Zorlen and Squib staring
at him in amazement.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plcs-sysunia.htw.pl
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