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The people gaped in excited avarice at the blasters in the companions'
possession. More than once the whisper of "Maza Wakan!" rippled through the
crowd. Both Ryan and J.B.
recognized the Lakota word for "blaster." In lower, almost frightened tones
they heard
"
kaga"
repeated over and over.
"I don't get it," J.B. said lowly. "A big place like this, yet they're crazy
over a few blasters."
Joe led the way toward a complex of structures made of a wide belt of
gigantically trunked trees. The huge limbs were intertwined, like wooden
fingers, connecting one tree to the other. A canopy of leaves and branches
formed a vast roof that blotted out the star and moonlit sky.
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Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
Little Mountain, with the captive wolf, went around the center tree. Joe
reined in and dismounted. The other warriors followed suit.
"We need not talk to the other chiefs until morning," he announced. "All of
you must be tired."
Ryan hadn't realized the full depth of his weariness until he dismounted.
"Where do we sleep?" he asked. Joe gestured to the central tree. "I will show
you. Your weapons must remain with me."
Ryan sensed his friends stiffening with sudden tension. "No need."
Joe's response was unruffled and smooth. "I can assure you they will be well
guarded."
"They will," Ryan replied stolidly. "By us." Joe and Ryan locked stares for a
long moment. The warriors looked back and forth from their chief to the
one-eyed outlander.
Not caring to participate in a second firelight in less than half an hour,
Ryan said, "It's for the best, Joe. In unskilled hands our weapons would be
dangerous to the people they're supposed to defend."
Joe considered the response for a second, then shrugged and walked through the
archway into the tree.
The door was like that of a cathedral, and the interior was broad and empty.
Light flickered from torches of resinous wood flaming in crude sockets that
looked like knotholes. Joe led them through an empty expanse into a small
suite furnished with wooden chairs and bed frames piled high with soft furs.
The workmanship was passable, utilitarian and not fancy.
The room had only one window, covered by the pelt of some small animal.
"Food will be brought to you shortly," Joe said.
"Tomorrow, after you're rested, we will talk."
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Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
"Yes," Ryan agreed. "About many things."
Joe's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. "Many things, indeed."
Chapter Eighteen
As Joe left the room, J.B. stared after him, suspicion hardening his sallow
face. "He's too goddamn cagey. He's got a joker in his pack."
Ryan sank onto one of the beds. The fur robes were soft and almost sensually
comfortable. "Then we've got to find an ace on the line to play against him."
Krysty sat beside him, brushing a few strands of flame red hair away from her
face. "I've never received impressions like this before."
Doc sat gingerly in a chair, wincing as his backside met the hard wood.
"Unfortunately I
have. Like the one I'm receiving from my gluteus maximus."
"What kind of impressions are you receiving?" Mildred asked.
Krysty frowned. "It's a jumbled mixture of human and animal emotions."
"Animal?" Jak questioned, eyebrows raised.
"I've picked up animal emotional impressions before," Krysty explained. "The
higher animals, anyway. Generally their feelings are simple fear, hunger,
curiosity. What I
detected from the wolves was stronger, very pure and clean. The animals here
might not be as intelligent as humans, but their emotional reactions are
similar in intensity."
Grunting, J.B. stretched out on a bunk, pillowing his head with his arms.
"What was that business Joe pulled with the gold piece?"
"Some sort of psionic accelerator, mebbe," Krysty said. "Crystals and precious
metals,
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Dlands 37- Demons of Eden particularly heavy ones like silver, gold and
platinum, are believed to be conductors of psychic energy."
"Yeah," Mildred commented wryly. "I remember that vogue. Used to be called the
New
Age. Crystals and certain metals supposedly enhanced your spiritual awareness,
purified your auras, drained off negative energy& and a fortune from the
gullible."
Doc nodded in agreement. "In my day it was called spiritism. Some learned men,
like Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, maintained telepathy was a transmission of electric
thought waves.
Some exponents of this theory believed the right instrument could serve as the
transmitter. Maybe that is what these primitives are using. Not very
sophisticated, however."
Krysty shrugged. "If that's what the gold-and-crystal pieces are, they don't
have to be sophisticated. Quartz crystals have inbuilt electromagnetic
properties."
"It sounds like 'far out, man' mumbo jumbo to me," Mildred said.
Krysty smiled tolerantly. "Mebbe it does to you, and mebbe it truly was in
your day, but the fact remains that some Indian tribes discovered long ago how
to interchange energy with certain kinds of crystals, thought pattern energy
included. Mother Sonja once told me crystals were used for sending and
receiving telepathic messages, but because people lost the art, the
discipline, the majority of the communications degenerated into three-
dimensional visions, in a manner that became known as fortune-telling. In fact
my mother could 'far-see' with a crystal. She called it scrying."
"Also called crapping," Jak stated. He was testing the edge of one of his
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throwing knives against the ball of his thumb.
Ryan almost envied the young man's single-mindedness. The mystery of the
valley and even of the strange forest city hadn't disturbed Jak at all. Lack
of fear served him well.
A young, slim woman entered. Not even the shapeless doeskin smock and fringed
mantle she wore disguised the full-breasted figure swelling beneath it. Ryan
had always thought
Indian women were supposed to be shy, but she gave Jak a speculative stare
with dark, bold eyes. She placed a wicker tray of food platters on the table,
and as she left, she strode by Jak, her hips swinging in an inviting fashion. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]