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good story of making do and outwitting higher authorities.
But as well as things were going, and as much fun as he was having, Blade knew
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the horizon was still far from clear. Neither he nor Afuno nor Nayung believed
that the Ulungas would overlook the tricks and evasions of their decision
indefinitely. Even if the Ulungas were not sufficiently familiar with things
military to recognize what was happening, the On'ror certainly was and would
pass the word to his masters. And then the fat would be, in the fire-Blade's
fat, Afuno's, and Nayung's.
Meanwhile, the On'ror was also pushing his suit for Aumara. The princess would
neither encourage nor discourage him. As long as he kept coming around on
visits and talking to her, she would be able to learn at least some of what he
was thinking and planning. And what she learned, she passed on to Blade each
time she slipped into his room at night.
For many weeks there was nothing in the On'ror's words to cause Blade much
alarm. In fact, Aumara's mocking recitals of the man's constant boasting
became something he looked forward to almost as much as to their lovemaking.
Aumara had a savage gift for mimicry. But he listened closely to those
recitals while laughing at them. A boastful man who may drop hints of his
plans while boasting is an easier enemy.
Finally the day came when he gathered his ten students together and told them
that tomorrow they would go north to hunt slave raiders. If he had just
offered each of them a ton of gold or half a dozen beautiful women, they could
not have been happier. When the cheering died, he reminded them to bring three
spears and two water bottles each. He warned them not to expect that the slave
raiders would lie down and die when the new spears were waved in their faces.
He made it clear that this was very much a trial run, and they were not going
to fight a pitched battle if the Sky Father made it possible. And he was quite
sure that they had not heard half a word of all his warnings and advice.
Hoping that the Zungans' luck would hold until they got their overconfidence
out of their systems, he went off to his chamber.
Aumara came to him that night. As she slipped into his bed and flowed up
against him, he felt her trembling. Not with desire this time, but with fear.
He held her gently and murmured in her ear as though he were comforting a
child, but the trembling went on. Finally he pulled her tight against him and
whispered in her ear, "What is it, my princess?"
She swallowed. "The On'ror knows that you are taking your men out tomorrow."
"So? That's not a secret. Why should it be? The slave raiders aren't going to
find out about it. And what good would it do if they did?"
"Are you sure, Blade? Are you sure the slave raiders don't know?"
It was Blade's turn to stiffen. "What have you heard? Has the On'ror been
saying something?"
"Yes. He came to my chamber this evening and drank more beer than usual. He
seemed happier than I
had ever seen him. I gave him more beer, and... " she paused, "I even let him
make love to me. You are not angry?"
"Of course not," said Blade. "Go on."
"When we were in bed together, he kept muttering something about 'The English
warrior's time is coming. He has had his run. Now he thinks he will go out and
get so famous he can have you. He won't.
He won't even come back alive.' And then he laughed. He laughed for a long
time, then he fell asleep."
Blade let his breath out in a long whistling sigh. Did these boasts mean that
the On'ror was prepared to betray his own people to the slave raiders? That
was an ugly thought. And it put Blade in an awkward position, to say the
least. If he canceled the mission to the north, how could he convince his
warriors that he hadn't simply lost his nerve? But if he took them north and
the On'ror had passed the word on to the slave raiders to lay a trap, what
then? Would it look as if he had led his ten picked men into a trap? Not to
mention what losing many of the trained instructors in their first battle
would do to the Zungans' morale.
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Unfortunately there was no way back. He would simply have to march out
tomorrow and be particularly careful. The plains and forests to the north were
vast, his patrol small, the number of slave raiders limited.
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