“Just so.” There was satisfaction in Eet’s agreement. “You can seem to yield and yet win.”
“Win what? A fortune – with everyone sniping at me to get at the secret and tear me down? I want none of that.”
Perhaps Hywel Jern, who could have had wealth and yet had settled prudently for comfort, and might have finished out his life in peace had he not been a curious man, had molded me. Or perhaps the need to be free which had kept Vondar Ustle on the move had rubbed off on his assistant.
“You can buy freedom.” Eet’s thought followed mine easily. “What have you now with Vondar dead? Nothing. Bargain well, as he taught you, when the time comes. You will know what you want most in that hour.”
“What you want,” I countered.
Now his head turned so that he could eye me. “What I want – just so. But our trails run together. I have told you that before. Apart we are weak, together we are strong, a combination to accomplish much if you have the courage-“
“Eet – what are you?”
“A living being,” he replied, “with certain gifts which I have placed at your disposal from time to time, and certainly not to your disadvantage.” Again he read my thoughts and added, “Of course, I have used you, but also you have used me. You would have been dead long since had we not. And to your species, death of the body is an end – do you not believe it so?”
“Not all of us do.”
“That is as it may be,” he replied ambiguously. “But at any rate, we are together in this life and it is to our mutual advantage to have this pact continue.”
I could not deny his logic, though still the suspicion stayed deep in my mind that Eet had plans of his own and would eventually maneuver me into serving them.
“He is waking.” Eet looked at Hory. “Tell him to check his speed.”
I was no pilot. But I could see there was a red light flashing on the board. That had about it a suggestion of alarm. Hory made a snorting sound and straightened in his web seat, setting it to swinging. He rubbed his hands across his eyes and then leaned forward to look at the board, his attitude that of one alerted to trouble.
“Eet says – look to the speed-“ I said.
His hand shot out to thumb a red button under that red flash. The red spark vanished, a yellow one flashed in its place, held steady for a short space, then became red again. Once more Hory tried the button. But this time there was no change in the light. His fingers played a swift pattern over the other buttons and levers, but the signal remained stubbornly red.
“What is the matter?” I asked.
“Traction beam.” Hory spit out that explanation as if it were a curse. “They have lifted behind us and slapped a traction on. But a ship of that size, how could they be so equipped?” Still he continued to try his keys. Once the light paled, but only momentarily.
“They can pull us back?”
“They are trying. But they cannot down us – not yet. They can only keep us out of hyper. And they may think they can board – if so they are going to be surprised. But they can keep us tied near that planet.”
“Waiting for reinforcements? Why cannot you do the same – call for help?”
“They have a com blanket over us. If they expect reinforcements they were already sure of their coming. I have heard of Guild superships; this must be one of them.”
“What do we do then – just wait-?”
“Not if we are wise,” Eet cut in. “They do expect aid and it will be of such nature as to take this ship easily. What you stumbled on here, Hory, is a Guild operation of such magnitude that they are willing to throw many of their undercover reserves in – or did you arrive here with a suspicion that that was so?”
“I suppose you have a suggestion?” Hory asked bitingly. “I can maintain my shield but not break their hold – to do that is to lose my own escape force. They could reel us in before I could fire effectively.”
Eet did have an answer. “The ring stone, Murdoc-“
“How?” I had felt the action of the ring on my own body, its drawing power across the wastes of space, and on the planet below. But in what way could it be used on this ship to break a traction beam which held so powerful a vessel in bonds?
“Take it down, to the engine room,” Eet ordered.
His knowledge was certainly greater than mine, and I continued to wonder where he had gained it. Reading minds seemed easy enough for him, but how he knew uses for the baffling gem I could not understand. Was it all part of Eet’s mysterious past, before he had, as he put it, obtained a body to serve him in the present? Was – could Eet have a link with those who had once used the stones for motive power? How long had Eet been a seed, or stone, or that thing Valcyr had swallowed?
Even as I speculated I was unbuckling, preparing to leave my seat. I had learned my confidence well; if Eet thought there was a chance the ring might save us, I was willing to try it.
“What will you do?” Hory asked sharply.
Eet answered. “Try to augment your power, Patrolman. We are not sure, we can only try.”
It was thoughtful of him to say “we,” since, as always, I was merely the one to carry out plans hatched in that narrow head of his.
We descended the ladder to the lowest level and made our way to the reactor room. Eet made the same questing movements of nose and head as he had used to steer us through the forest. Then with a quick stretch of his neck, he pointed his nose at a sealed box.
“There, but you must make it fast. Use a weld torch-“
With the air of one humoring madmen, Hory opened a small compartment on the wall and took out the tool Eet had asked for. I brought out the ring slowly. In spite of Eet’s suggestion that we needed its aid, I could not be sure of that. And I had the greatest reluctance to release it to Hory. I had come to trust no one in relation to the stone, which had already left a trail of blood, and blood belonging to those who meant the most to me, across several solar systems.
For a moment I thought Eet was wrong. The stone displayed no signs of life; it was as dead as it had been the first time I saw it. Very much against my will I laid it on top of the box as Eet had ordered.
Then slowly, almost protestingly, it did show life. It did not blaze as it had in space, or even as it had in the underground room, when it had rested near its fellows, bringing them in turn to a glow. That blaze had been blue-white; this was duller, yellow. Hory stared at it, his astonishment so great that he made no attempt to use the welder.
“Affix it – quick!” Eet cried. His whip of tail lashed back and forth on my back as if he would so beat me to the task. I reached for the welder, but Hory roused and touched its tip to the ring metal against the box, joining them firmly.
“Look-“ But Eet was not to finish that warning. Hory struck out with a follow through of the weld rod. By the good grace of whatever power might rule space, the lighted end of that improvised weapon did not hit Eet. But the rod swept him from my shoulder and hurled him to the floor with such force that he lay limp and unmoving.
I was so astounded by the attack that I wasted a precious moment in sheer amazement. When I started for Hory that rod swept up again so that the glowing point menaced my eyes. There was such determination to be read on his face I did not doubt he meant to use it were I to jump him.
So I retreated as he advanced, unable to reach for Eet, for Hory thrust at me when I attempted that. Since the compartment in which we stood was small, my back was swiftly at the wall.
“Why?” I asked. He had me spread there, my hands at shoulder height, palms empty and out, the glowing point of the rod weaving a pattern of threat directly before my eyes.
Hory, the rod in one hand, searched in the front of his tunic. What he produced was a more refined example of the tangler the Guild men had used on him. It flicked out from the tube, not to weave my whole body into a helpless cocoon, but to loop about my wrists, bringing them tightly together.