Neq's ploy had almost worked. But that one small hitch--the random glance back of one spectator, perhaps only because a fly was bothering him--or because he was desperate himself to break up a pattern that did not favor him--had undone it all.
Now there would be hell to pay.
CHAPTER SEVEN
"After them!" Yod screamed. "Don't kill the girl!"
Men lurched to their feet, drawing their assorted weapons. Now they had to follow the leader they knew, for there was an immediate crisis. Had Neqa and the cage-man escaped cleanly while Neq fought, so that it was obvious that there was no chance to recapture them, then the leadership of Yod the Sword would have been open to serious question. Then Neq might have killed him quickly, and assumed command of the tribe. All that had been nullified by this one bad break.
Neq leaped from the circle and charged the chief. He still had a chance: he could take Yod hostage and buy time, and perhaps bargain for his own release and that of the other two. Or kill Yod outright, leaving the tribe no choice.
But Yod was too canny for that maneuver. Yod met him with drawn sword, yelling constantly to his men, stiffening their wavering loyalty.
Suddenly Neq was surrounded again. The warriors did not approach the battling sworders too closely, for he could still catch Yod in a desperation lunge; but that circle of weapons did prevent his escape. There were drawn bows--but again, he and Yod were moving so swiftly and the pack of other men was so great that the archers dared not fire until forced. "The gun!" Yod yelled.
Then Neq despaired. He knew what a gun was. Tyl's tribe had returned from the mountain with guns and grenades and demonstrated them on targets. Guns had been employed against the underworld, and without them the assault would have been impossible. They were metal tubes that expelled metal fragments with great speed and force. The effect was similar to that of an arrow--but the gun could shoot farther and quicker, and it required far less skill to use. A cripple could kill a master sworder, with a gun.
Tyl had later decided that guns were inimical to the nomad mode of existence, and had called all such weapons in and hidden them. But he lacked authority over the complete empire, and some few had been lost....
If Yod's tribe had a gun, Neqa and the surgeon would not escape. A gun could penetrate the metal of a truck.
Neq made his desperation lunge, breaking through Yod's guard and wounding him in the thigh. But as Neq recovered his stroke there was a blast of noise. Something struck his own thigh, and not an arrow.
The gun had been fired at him.
First he was relieved: they were not using it on Neqa!
Then he realized that it meant his own doom. The gun could kill him, and he would never get back to Neqa, and she would have to make the return journey alone. Unless the surgeon could protect her. But that man had not even been able to protect himself from being caged!
"Yield!" Yod panted. "Yield--or we shoot you down now!"
There seemed to be no choice. This was not a bluff. They might kill him anyway if he yielded--but they certainly had the means to do so if he did not. If Neqa was going to get away at all, she had had time enough; he could not help her by fighting longer.
Neq threw down his sword and stood waiting. "You're smart," Yod said, as men grabbed Neq by the arms. "You saved your life." He touched "his leg gingerly. "And you proved who you are. No lesser man could have wounded me in fair combat."
That was an exaggeration. Yod was good, but a score of empire sworders could have taken him handily. But Neq didn't feel obliged to enrage the man by pointing that out. He was now dependent on Yod's mercy, and the more Yod felt like an honorable victor, the more honorably he would act.
"But you did make a lot of unnecessary trouble by not yielding sooner," Yod continued. "And we can't trust you. I have promised you life--but I will consider your punishment. Tie him, men."
This time the tribesmen sprang to obey. They tied him: arms behind his back, tight, and a hobble-rope on his ankles. They propped him up against a post with his arms hooked behind it while they attended to other things.
Neq's wound smarted increasingly. The puncture was small, but through the large muscle. The fragment had to be lodged inside somewhere. There was not much bleeding; a sword would have been far worse. Except that the blade would have exited cleanly, permitting better healing.
There was a clamor as the pursuit party returned. "We got her!" A man exclaimed.
Neq saw to his grief that it was true. Neqa was being hauled along between two men, her wraparound torn, portions of her torso exposed. She did not seem to be injured, however.
"She had a knife. Stabbed Baf," another man said. "Real wild girl. But we didn't hurt her."
"The crazy got away," another said. "But who cares?"
Yod's wound, not serious, had been bound. He was probably in as much pain as Neq, but did not show it. He had to maintain his facade before his tribe. "So she freed the crazy and stabbed one of our men," he mused. "And her man messed us all up, pretending to be a crazy, and killed Tif." He looked calculatingly at Neq. "OK--we'll teach them both a real lesson."
Yod walked up to Neqa. While the men held her arms, he ripped away the remainder of her clothing, flinging pieces of cloth aside to the delight of the others. "Man, she's a beauty!"
Neq struggled with his bonds, but they were firm. Some of the outlaws, watching him, chuckled; they wanted him to struggle. As they would have wanted Yod to struggle, had things worked out otherwise.
"Han!" Yod cried.
A youthful dagger approached nervously. Neq judged him to be a novice, perhaps fourteen.
"You never had it with a woman, did you?" Yod demanded.
"No--no." Han said, not looking at Neqa's nakedness.
"Now's your time. Go to."
Han backed away. "I don't understand."
"This crazy doll with the smooth skin and the sweet breast--you got her first. Right now."
Han glanced at Neqa, then guiltily away again. "But she's--she has his bracelet!"
"Yeah. That's funny. Leave it on."
"But--"
"He's going to watch this. On his own band. That's his punishment. And some of hers."
Han's body was shaking. "That's not right. I can't do that."
Neq strained furiously, but only skinned his wrists on the rope. "I'll kill any man who touches her!" he screamed.
Neqa stood with her eyes closed, still held by two men. She seemed to have withdrawn from the proceedings. Her body was fair and slender and wholly out of place amid this rough crowd. Neq saw the outlaws looking at her, licking their lips.
Yod laughed. "You'll kill us all then, crazy-lover. 'Cause every man here's going to touch her--right now, where you can see."
"No!" Han cried. He ran at Yod.
Yod smashed him down backhanded. "You missed your chance, you sniveling kid. Now it's my turn."
Han stumbled back, bleeding from the lip, and fell near Neq. One of his daggers skidded on the ground.
Yod opened his pantaloons. The outlaws laughed. Neqa opened her eyes, struggled silently, and kicked her feet
"Hold her legs too," Yod said. Two more men jumped forward to grasp her thighs.
Neq jabbed Han with his bound legs. When the youth turned dazedly toward him, Neq nodded toward the knife just out of his reach.
Han looked at the struggle going on as four men held Neqa by the hands and feet, spread-eagling her on the ground. Then he swept the blade toward Neq. It was still out of reach, for Neq could not pick it up.
Now Neqa screamed. Neq did not look. He had to get that knife immediately. He arched his body against the post, sliding his shoulder up, until his arms unhooked over the top of it. He fell over to the side, rolled, grabbed. The blade of the dagger sliced his hand, but he had it.