She gazed at the shimmering green radiance. “That doesn’t explain everything, but it explains most of the mysteries of Ti-Ra’-Wa, including the intelligent wolves. Over the centuries belief in the kinship with the animals manifested itself in a human-level intelligence in them.”
Ryan was more than a little at sea, but he understood enough to be a little disappointed. “So Joe was right. It’s a power that he can manipulate.”
“No, he was wrong.” Krysty’s voice was flat, “What he wanted was to make an overnight change, all over the planet. That can’t be done. The energy is focused in this valley, and one man, no matter how willful, can’t bend the earth powers to do his bidding. Ti-Ra’-Wa evolved over centuries, and it became what it was due to concerted, generational effort.”
Ryan gazed at the glow and tried to absorb all that he had heard. It still sounded fantastic, but no more than many other things he’d heard and seen in his life. Pizi had said that much ancient knowledge from the First People had been lost, and Ryan realized with a sense of sadness the Ti-Ra’-Wa that had so entranced him was but a mere shadow of its former glory.
Suddenly Blood-sniffer whirled and snarled, lips curling back from his fangs.
“Touch-the-Sky comes now,” Sisoka said calmly.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ryan pivoted on his heel and looked toward the steps leading up through the stone opening. He couldn’t see anything, yet he trusted the wolfs instincts. “How many?”
Blood-sniffer voiced seven grunting growls.
“Seven of them made it over the bridge, or they found another way. I’ll try to get them as they come through the passage. Triple red, everybody.”
Ryan gave no one the opportunity to object, but as he ran toward the stone stairs, Blood-sniffer bounded at his side. Man and wolf exchanged one glance, then they crept into the shadowy mouth of the opening.
At the top of the steps, Ryan crouched, blaster in one hand, the other restraining Blood-sniffer’s taut, shaggy body. The SIG-Sauer had a full clip, but only three rounds remained in his gun belt. He couldn’t afford to fire bullets indiscriminately. Every shot had to find a target.
He heard the slipping, scratching sounds of moccasined feet, and the wolf tensed beside him. “Not yet,” he breathed. “Not yet.”
The scuffing of feet grew louder. Ryan waiting, counting seconds silently. He couldn’t lift his head above the round entrance without giving away his position, so he waited until he felt sure they were only yards away.
He raised himself and squeezed off three rounds.
Thunderous echoes rolled and died, then there was utter silence in the cave. When he heard a mechanical clicking, Ryan grabbed the wolf by the scruff of the neck and dragged him down the steps.
The rapid-fire cracking of the Gewehr rang out, murderous wads of lead ricocheting off the rim of the opening and whizzing down the stairs. They burst into the cavern, Ryan cursing himself for failing to realize that the amplification of sound in the hollow chamber had tricked his ears.
Blood-sniffer’s hair bristled, and his fangs gleamed in a snarl. He was angry, and Ryan wouldn’t have blamed him for sinking his teeth into his ass.
He and the wolf ran along the walkway bordering the well and reached the others on the far side, near the base of the ziggurat.
“They’re still coming,” he said grimly.
Sisoka nodded. “I think Ti-Ra’-Wa dies tonight. If it does, I have no wish to live in a world without it.”
Joe’s calm voice came to them, floating from the area of the stone stairs. He and his companions hadn’t come out into the Cavern of Creation. Ryan knew whythey were afraid of being outgunned.
“Ochinee!” he called. “Are you ready to stop behaving like a fool?”
“How’d you get here, Joe?” Ryan shouted back.
“I lost two men on that booby-trapped bridge.” The Lakota’s voice was flat, toneless. “But farther down we found a ledge that almost spans the chasm. I knew that from my research into the legends. Something Sisoka evidently forgot or never knew.”
Joe paused, then declared, “Ochinee, you joined the losing side. You and your friends are trapped, but I see no reason to kill you. Give yourselves up, and you and your people are free to leave Ti-Ra’-Wa.”