Shadowkill

##

Tinggal yelped and vanished from the screen.

He reappeared a moment later. “There were people in those suites. Important people. You killed them.”

Miralys snorted. “Turn about, worm. How many dead…” She broke off. “That doesn’t matter. You have ten minutes. After that we will remove another sector and another, one every ten minutes.”

He started to speak, then snapped his mouth shut and vanished once again.

Miralys turned to Anyagyn, ears up and quivering. Anyagyn wiggled her nose. “They can’t hear for the moment.”

“Any chance the worm can come up with a defense?”

“If Digby’s right, no.”

“Hmm. Get Hannys.”

“You sure? Her Mum raised crazy kits.”

“We need craziness right now.”

A side hexa pulsed awake. Hannys was a red Dyslaerin with bright yellow eyes and a round face. Her eyes sparkled and her lips were curled in a friendly grin, teeth carefully covered. “Toerfeles,” she said. “Can we bite ’em? Hey-hey, can we do it?”

“Maybe, cousin. I want you ready go in and snatch ours if the worm down there starts trying to argue with me.”

“Forget him. Let’s do it.”

“Cool your blood, cousin, you don’t move till I give the word, you hear?”

“Aaah.”

“Not a whisker, or I’ll snatch you naked and feed you to the nearest Ri-tors.”

Tinggal slid back into view. “I must apologize, Toerfeles,” he said easily, with a quick charming smile to underline what he intended to be a rueful sincerity. “We have two young guests who appear to be Dyslaera. It seems one of my subordinates was overzealous in his attempts to please our clients and acted without authorization. Be sure he will be dealt with. This will not occur again.

“Only two?”

“If you doubt my word, Toerfeles, ask them yourself.” He stepped aside.

Azram and Kinefray moved into the viewcone; they were thin and strained, but seemed otherwise unharmed.

Miralys sucked in a breath, then said quietly, “Azoe, Azram, Kinefray.”

Kinefray stared down at his feet; Azram answered her. “Azoisha, Toerfeles.” There was a touch of mischief in his reddened eyes.

“Worm says there’s only the two of you.”

Azram’s ears crinkled forward, his eyes glazed over, spilled tears despite his effort to stay calm. “True,” he managed. He rubbed at his nose with the back of his fist. “Rest ’re dead. ’Cept the Ciocan,” he added hastily. “That other lot kept him.” He looked to one side, nodded, then he and Kinefray shifted out of sight and Tinggal was back.

“As you hear, Toerfeles.”

“As I do see, slime. You’re not thinking nonsense like hostages, are you?”

“Certainly not, Toerfeles. Purely as a matter of curiosity though, say we were?”

“We take our own by force, then Black House and everything in it will be slagged to bedrock.”

“And if there is no further fuss?”

“We collect ours and leave. My word on it.”

“And what is your word worth?”

“More than anything you’ve got within your walls.”

“Very well. We will send the young Dyslaera out immediately. The main entrance. There is sufficient room in the garden there for one of your landers to alight.”