Orphans - Kevin Killiany [33]
The column of pipes she’d sensed in the darkness rose from the floor and curved to run parallel with the ceiling eight meters above. The pipes ended, without apparent purpose, at a row of boxy apparatus just inside the opening of the “cave.”
Pattie’s speculation on the purpose of the pipes ended abruptly as she focused on the boxes, or rather the surface of the boxes. The pipes were clearly hot, but the boxes were not, which in this moist atmosphere meant condensation: water.
The dripping sound she’d been hearing was cool, clear water dripping from the metal boxes into shallow pools worn in the stone floor.
Pattie remembered Carol Abramowitz warning of the heavy metals in the vegetation and knew enough botany to know that heavy metals in plants indicated heavy metals in the water. But metal poisoning was cumulative and five days of thirst was immediate; she did not hesitate. The water tasted dusty and metallic and was the most delicious thing she had ever drunk in her life.
Not wanting to lose all the wonderful water to nausea, she paced herself and forced herself to sit back between sips.
She was leaning back against a wall, considering a nap before making her descent from the cave, when the pumping stopped. She sat up, wondering if she could recognize a problem—or what to do about it without tools—with the alien equipment.
Above her the metal boxes groaned and clanked in unison and a deafening roar almost drove Pattie into a defensive ball. Huge columns of steam blasted from the row of pipes, shooting far out over the landscape below.
Of course,Pattie thought. The atmosphere is too shallow for real weather. We’re making rainstorms.
Meanwhile spillage from the pipes cooled as it fell in the cave. Pattie’s laughter was lost in the roar of steam as she took advantage of the long overdue hot shower.
CHAPTER
18
Again the splash and drip. Testing the breeze, Kairn scented water first, then a native, different from the baron’s guardsmen, but clear, and something herbal. Medicinal? He wasn’t sure. But someone, singular, was definitely bathing in a pool very close to the other side of the boulder.
Kairn pressed close to the stone and listened. No need to risk detection by peeking around the boulder; his ears told him all he needed to know of his quarry’s movements. Scrubbing, the herbal scent strong, followed by a long silence. Had he been detected? He relaxed slightly when a sudden splash and gust of expelled breath assured him the native had merely submerged to rinse.
He knew that to attack while the opponent was still in the pool would be foolish. The water would slow him down, eliminating surprise and giving the other time to prepare. Also, his heavy clothing would put him at a disadvantage should the enemy carry the fight to deeper water. As would the fact that he couldn’t swim.
Best to wait until the native was out of the water, preferably preoccupied with dressing, before launching his attack. Kairn felt certain there was no dishonor in taking every advantage with an adversary twice your height and three times your mass.
Particularly when one was so lightly armed. He balanced his Master’s dagger uncertainly in his hand. The edges were of course not sharp; honing them would have distorted the measuring scales. But the point was sharp, and thrust with sufficient force should find some vital organ, even on a being as large as the natives. His best chance was to get to whatever blade the native carried before he did. A doubtful plan since he would not know where the other’s weapons were until he’d rounded the boulder and battle was joined.
For a moment he considered retreat—finding a way around the native without confrontation. But he was not mountaineer enough to scale the walls of the gorge, and backtracking to the beginning to find another way through the barrier ridge would lead him directly into the baron’s forces. He had to go forward, and forward meant through the native barring his path. He hoped