And that one Draycos hadn't pushed him into doing, Jack remembered. In fact, the dragon had been rather surprised by his decision. "I guess your warriors' ethic is starting to rub off on me," he said.
"It is indeed," Draycos agreed. "And it shows how my faith in you has been justified."
"Maybe." Jack looked up at the trees arching over them. "Let's just hope that all that faith doesn't get to go out in a blaze of glory."
CHAPTER 24
They made it to evening still without having seen, heard, or smelled any sign of Frost's mercenaries. Alison found them some partial shelter at the base of a steep hill, and within an hour they were fed and watered and settled in for the night.
"Tomorrow's the day," she warned as she and Jack and the two K'da sat together on top of the hill finishing their ration bars. "I'm guessing we'll reach the river by midafternoon at the latest." She eyed Jack. "At which point, it's going to be up to you."
Jack nodded. "My main comm clip's still wandering the forest attached to one of the hornheads, but I've got a spare in my shoe heel. Once we're close, I'll try giving Uncle Virge a call. With luck, he'll have a floater antenna up and will be able to hear us."
"And if we're not that lucky?" Alison asked. "You have a Plan B ready?"
"We have that covered," Draycos assured her before Jack could answer. "But I do not intend to give up on Uncle Virge quite so quickly."
"I'm not giving up on him," Alison protested mildly. "I'll be the first to cheer if we hit the riverbank and find the Essenay sitting there with its hatch open, ready to lift." She frowned. "Essenay," she repeated thoughtfully.
"What is it?" Jack asked.
"I was just thinking," she said slowly. "Essenay is a really odd name for a ship. Is that its christening name?"
Jack shrugged. "It's the only name I've ever known it by. Why? Does it mean something?"
"Not to me," Alison said. "Though now that I think about it I suppose it could be initials—'S and A.' Did Virgil Morgan have two middle names?"
"As far as I know, he didn't have any," Jack said.
"What is this christening name you speak of?" Taneem asked.
"That's a ship's official name, the one registered in the Orion Trade Association files," Alison explained. "A lot of people then give their ships what are called private or personal names."
"Like a nickname," Jack added. "A ship might be listed as the Rick's Café of Casablanca III, but its owners just call it Ricky. There are an awful lot of ships flying around out there, and they all have to have unique christening names."
"And again, Essenay sounds like a private name," Alison said. "Have you ever looked it up on the official lists?"
Jack snorted. "This may come as a shock, but I've spent most of my life avoiding everything official that the Orion Arm has to offer. This doesn't strike me as a good time to change that policy, either."
"I understand that," Alison said patiently. "I was just wondering."
"Wondering is wonderful exercise as long as you don't overdo it." Jack looked back at Draycos. "You think we should wonder about scouting ahead a ways and see what Frost might have cooking?"
"I don't think that will be necessary," Draycos said. "I have not heard the floater or the Kapstan at all today."
"But he could have sent some troops in along the river by boat," Alison pointed out.
"True," Draycos agreed. "We shall have to be careful as we near the river itself."
"So we don't take a walk?" Jack asked.
"I take a walk," Draycos said, standing up and stretching, cat-style, with his forelegs thrust forward and his tail high in the air. "There is no need for you to go with me. But I will require your comm clip."
"Be careful," Jack warned, digging the comm clip from its hiding place in the sole of his left shoe and handing it over. "Out here in the middle of nowhere, Frost wouldn't have much trouble locating it."
"I understand," Draycos said, fastening the clip to his crest at the back of his neck. "Alison, can you adjust your comm clip frequency to match Jack's? We may need to use them together at some point."
She nodded. "No problem."
"Good." Draycos lifted his head and darted his tongue in and out a few times to taste the air. "I will be back as soon as I can." With a final look at Jack, he loped down the hill and disappeared into the forest.
"He should not go alone," Taneem murmured, her tail lashing restlessly as she gazed after him.
"Draycos knows what he's doing," Jack assured her, trying to hide his own quiet misgivings. "He can take care of himself."
"You mean up to now he's been lucky," Alison said bluntly. "We all have been, mainly because Frost has been trying to take us alive. But sooner or later, even the best warrior's luck runs out."
"Not tonight it doesn't," Jack said, glaring at her. "And you're not going to talk that way again. Understand?"
For a moment they locked gazes. Then, Alison's eyes flicked to Taneem, and her lip twitched. "You're right," she apologized. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah," Jack growled. "Give me the gun and go find someplace to lie down. I'll take the first watch."
"Sure." Alison handed over the machine gun. "Taneem, you feel up to doing a little night patrolling?"
"Yes, of course." Taneem stood up, her eyes still on the spot where Draycos had vanished. "What do you wish me to do?"
"Nothing fancy," Alison said. "Just take a few circles around the camp, watching for predators and soldiers. If you smell or hear anything that seems threatening or even strange, you come and get either Jack or me. Understand?"
Taneem ducked her head. "Yes."
"We just want to make sure nothing sneaks up on the Erassvas and your fellow K'da," Jack added.
"Phookas," Taneem corrected him, looking down at the group of dragons at the bottom of the hill. "They are not K'da."
She looked back at Jack, an oddly intense look in her silver eyes. "Not yet."
The river turned out to be considerably closer than Alison had guessed. Barely two hours after leaving camp, Draycos caught his first scent of the water. He spent the next half hour moving cautiously toward it, his senses stretched to their limit, watching for the ambush that must surely be waiting.
But there was nothing. No soldiers, no booby traps, no Kapstan, no floater, no boats, no hint of the enemy. It was as if the Malison Ring had given up.
He'd remembered from their earlier aerial view that the river was a wide one. But natural features always looked larger and more impressive at close range. For a minute he stood at the edge of the river, gazing outward at the water flowing slowly past, its edge rippling quietly against the bank. Even at night, it was a majestic sight.
But majestic or not, a river was a terrible barrier for a soldier to be trapped against. Perhaps that was why Frost's soldiers hadn't bothered to capture the riverfront. Perhaps their plan was to simply sweep in from the south, behind the fugitives, and pin them here with nowhere else to go.
Alison had said that the Erassvas and Phookas spent their lives circling the edge of the forest as they foraged for food. That meant they had to cross the river twice per circuit, which implied they either could swim or else knew how to construct boats.
But in this case neither method would do them any good. As soon as they were on the water and out from under the protection of the forest canopy, they would be easy targets for airborne gunners. That was undoubtedly what Jack had been thinking about when he'd suggested that he and Draycos slip away and try to draw Frost's attention.