As though that was a signal, a burst of sound broke from the assembled spectatorsthe shouting of humans and the long, undulating howls of wolves.
Looking smugly at Pizi, Sisoka said in a loud, ringing voice, “It is over. Blood-sniffer has accepted Ryan Cawdor into the pack. He is now a Wolf Soldier.”
Since she made the announcement in English, Ryan knew it was for his understanding alone. He stood in the center of the arena. Breathing was an agony.
Blood oozed and took his strength with it, and every muscle, ligament and joint was a separate ache and pain.
He wasn’t sure what to do next, so he did the first thing that occurred to him. He lifted his head and joined in the chorus of howls.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Joe’s finger tightened on the trigger of the Uzi, his knuckle turning white. “If any of you have the least bit of influence over your young friend, now is the time to exert it.”
Jak’s crimson eyes were locked in a sardonic challenge with Joe’s black, unblinking gaze. The blade in his hand was rock steady.
Silence fell on the room. A child’s laughter from outside sounded huge and hollow. Joe’s dark eyes shadowed with menace.
“One knife against two blasters,” he said. “Don’t be stupe.”
“For smart man, you stupe,” Jak replied. “Chill me, sure. You die, too.”
Krysty edged forward, hands up, palms open, fingers spread. “Enough, Jak. Put away the blade. You can only chill Joe.”
“What I want.”
“What about you?”
“Don’t care.”
“I care,” she said in a tone deceptively casual. “We all care. And you’ve got to care, too. When you drop Joe, Little Mountain will open up with the scattergun. All of us will die.”
The teenager’s gaze wavered slightly.
“It’s not necessary,” Krysty whispered. “Joe said we’re in a fix, and he’s right. But we’ve gotten out of plenty of fixes and fixed the fixers. Remember?”
The knife didn’t so much as tremble in the white fingers.
Krysty kept talking, kept moving slowly forward. “You fixed the General, remember? Took you a while, but you fixed him.”
At the mention of the man who was responsible for the murders of his wife and child, Jak blinked, his gaze wavering even more.
“Give yourself, give all of us, that same while to fix Joe.”
Jak lowered his arm and dropped the knife, and it sank point first into the wooden floor. His white face was grave, his eyes angry and bitter with memories and frustration.
Doc made a muffled exclamation, and Mildred sat on a bunk, running a hand over her face. The moment of relief quickly came to an end when several warriors swarmed into the room and bound their wrists with strips of rawhide.
Joe dabbed at the fine dew of perspiration on his upper lip. “Young Lauren is in your debt.”
“So are you,” Krysty said coldly as a man tightened the knots binding her wrists together. They were held out before her.
Two warriors collected the blasters from the table. J.B. winced at the clatter and the rough handling.
“Now what?” he demanded. “You going to chill us before you ride down on the Wolf Soldier encampment?”
“No,” Joe answered. “You will ride with us. Your presence is required to spur on my more superstitious warriors. Their vanity will not allow them to stay behind while wasicun kagas fight in their stead.”
” Wasicun whats?” J.B. asked.
“White demons,” Joe explained.
“If you inspire so little confidence among your troops,” Doc ventured, “then how can you hope to succeed in your military endeavor?”
Joe shrugged. “Do you think me naive, Dr. Tanner? I have traveled far, farther than any man in this valley, and seen many lands, many people. I have lived among the whites and read many books. I know the fears of my warriors are smoke. With your weapons in their hands, they will know it, too.”
He spoke sharply to Little Mountain, who gestured toward the door with the barrel of the scattergun.
“I’ll fetch you when I need you,” Joe said as they walked past him.
“That,” Mildred muttered, “is what we’re afraid of.”
ONE OF THE FOUR HUMAN Wolf Soldiers acting as an honor guard pulled aside the flap, allowing Ryan, Sisoka, Blood-sniffer and Pizi to enter the tepee.