Quest for the Well of Souls - Jack L. Chalker [36]
"Do you know who smashed the Chang compound?" the Yaxa asked.
That was an easy one. "No. But we think it was a gang hired by Antor Trelig."
That answer seemed to satisfy the Yaxa. "I can assume that the Ambreza have activated all their antiescape plans and followed every conceivable procedure?" the Yaxa asked.
Vistaru nodded. "She is almost certainly not in Glathriel or Ambreza, nor does she seem to have crossed the border into Ginzin."
"Then she went by ship, as I suspected," the Yaxa said. "The question is, willingly or unwillingly."
"Trelig would have no use for her male companion, Joshi," Vistaru pointed out. "With hypnos available, one doesn't need any other pressure on a source of information. But he's gone, too. We assume that they got away." The Lata stopped, suddenly not sure that she hadn't given away too much.
"You needn't concern yourself,"' the Yaxa told her, as if reading her mind. "I had already come to similar conclusions. I assume that you are out here, in the middle of nowhere, for the same reason I am—you are hoping to intersect the Toorine Trader."
The Lata didn't reply, but her expression told it all.
The Yaxa continued to think hard to itself, its overall intent still a mystery. But its next statement stunned Vistaru.
"Lata, I could kill you, but I will not. Yet if I release you, you might try to sting me, or we will continue to parallel each other's movements in hunting the Trader, which should not be far off to the north now—and eventually we will come into conflict some other way. I could just leave you here with your wings tethered, but while you could eat the moss, eventually you would die. This bleak rock is off the shipping lanes, and only the Trader brought us together here by chance. So I propose an honorable truce. You will agree not to sting me, and I will agree to do nothing to you and remove the clips. We shall seek out the Trader together, and remain together until we ascertain the whereabouts of Mavra Chang. Do you agree?"
She considered it. She had no hope of removing the clips on her own, and without her wings she was trapped. On the other hand, could she trust the Yaxa? What was its motive? Why was it here?
Still, she had no choice.
"All right, I agree. A truce. At least until we find out what is happening here. You have my word I will not harm you."
"Your word is good enough." A long sticky tongue emerged from the Yaxa's curved proboscis and gently lifted the clip from one pair of wings and "handed" it to a front tentacle, which replaced it in a small pack glued to the creature's underside. The same procedure was followed three more times, freeing Vistaru. She flexed her wings gratefully, and stretched.
The Yaxa remained frozen, motionless on the cliff wall, watching her. Vistaru knew that, if she suddenly took off or tried to sting the creature, it was ready for her.
She wouldn't. Her word was good, at least until they found where Mavra Chang was. After that—well, there was venom, and it would keep.
"You know where the ship is?" she asked the Yaxa.
"Follow me," it replied, and took off from the cliff, great orange-and-brown wings spread wide to catch the breeze. Vistaru followed, having to work hard just to keep up with the great creature.
"Slow a bit!" she pleaded, and the Yaxa complied. She moved up, just a little under and to the right of that black, shiny death's head. "What are you called?" she asked it.
"My name is Wooley," the other replied.
Ecundo
Their basic problem was that they couldn't do the logical and safe thing—stick to the beach. Obviously, anyone looking for them would eventually come upon the Toorine Trader and put everything together.
"But didn't we blast those things that were after us?" Joshi complained as they headed through low brush, which caused a lot of discomfort despite their toughened skin. "Why are we running away?"
Mavra considered the question. How could she explain the situation to him in a way he could understand? That they were running from captivity toward freedom, the right to determine