blew gently against their faces, the woods and rocks were filled
with tiny creatures that darted and flew, and the mountains were
at peace.
Despite all of that. Par was uneasy. He hadn’t felt that way
the previous two days, but he did so on this one. He tried to
dispel the uneasiness, telling himself it lacked any discernible
cause, that it was probably the result of needing something to
worry about when it appeared that Steff had been right about
this being the safest way after all. He tried studying the faces of
the others to see if they were experiencing any discomfort, but
the others seemed quite content. Even Teel, who seldom showed
anything, walked with an air of total unconcern.
The morning slipped away into afternoon, and the uneasiness
grew into a certainty that something was following them. Par
found himself glancing back on any number of occasions, not
knowing what it was he was looking for, but knowing neverthe-
less that it was back there. He hunted through the distant trees
and across the rocks and there was nothing to be seen. Above,
to their right, the ridgeline rose into the cliffs and defiles where
the rock was too barren and dangerous to traverse. Below, to
their left, the forest was thick with shadows that gathered in
pools amid a tangle of heavy brush and close-set black trunks.
Several times, the .trail branched downward into the murk.
Steff, who was in the lead with Teel, motioned that way once
and said, “That is what might have happened to those missing
Federation parties. You don’t want to wander into the dark places
in these mountains.”
It was Par’s hope that this was the source of his discomfort.
Identifying the source should allow him to dismiss it, he told
himself. But just as he was prepared to believe that the matter
had resolved itself, he glanced over his shoulder one final time
and saw something move in the rocks.
He stopped where he was. The others walked on a few steps,
then turned and looked at him. “What is it?” Steff asked at
once.
“There’s something back there,” Par said quietly, not shift-
ing his eyes from where he had last seen the movement.
Steff walked back to him. “There, in the rocks,” Par said
and pointed.
They stood together and looked for a long time and saw noth-
ing. The afternoon was waning, and the shadows were length-
ening in the mountains as the sun dropped low against the
western horizon, so it was difficult to discern much of anything
in the mix of half-light. Par shook his head finally, frustrated.
“Maybe I was mistaken,” he admitted.
“Maybe you weren’t,” Steff said.
Ignoring the surprised look Par gave him, he started them
walking again with Teel in the lead and himself trailing with
Par. Once or twice, he told Par to glance back, and once or
twice he did so himself. Par never saw anything, although he
still had a sense of something being back there. They crossed a
ridgeline that ran from east to west and started down. The far
side was cloaked in shadow, the sun’s fading light blocked away
entirely, and the trail below wound its way through a maze of
rocks and scrub that were clustered on the mountainside like
huddled sheep. The wind was at their backs now, and the sound
of Steff’s voice, when he spoke, carried ahead to them.
“Whatever’s back there is tracking us, waiting for dark or at
least twilight before showing itself. I don’t know what it is, but
it’s big. We have to find a place where we can defend ourselves.”
No one said anything. Par experienced a sudden chill. Coil
glanced at him, then at Morgan. Teel never turned.
They were through the maze of rocks and brush and back on
an open trail leading up again when the thing finally emerged
from the shadows and let them see what it was. Steff saw it first,
called out sharply and brought them all about. The creature was
still more than a hundred yards back, crouched on a flat rock
where a narrow shaft of sunlight sliced across its blunted face