The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [16]
Bur-Al was flustered, as if he hadn’t considered the question himself. “I wanted to look into your face when I made my accusations. I wanted to see your eyes—and you’ve shown me that I am indeed correct.”
Zod sighed. The man was an idiot. “Why should you need that, if you have incontrovertible proof? You haven’t thought this through very well, Bur-Al.”
The young man sniffed, taking the insult as a badge of honor. “I apologize for not being as well practiced in deceit and scheming as you are, Commissioner.”
Zod walked over to where Nam-Ek had just finished oiling the third hrakka and stood wiping his hands on a rag. “You give me nothing to work with, and most serious of all, you have wasted my time. These few minutes of nonsense with you are minutes that I can never have back. Very inefficient.” Bur-Al clenched his small fists at his sides. Zod turned to Nam-Ek. “The only redeeming factor is that I can make the event entertaining.”
The charioteer clasped the thick chains with his bare hands, twisted them, and uprooted the anchor from the wall. The black hrakka stood up, thrashing, snarling. Nam-Ek broke the second chain, then the third.
“They are very hungry after the races,” Zod explained. “You can make up for the waste of my time by at least saving me money on food.”
The hrakkas bounded out of their pen before Bur-Al knew what was happening. The black lizards fell upon the hapless man, snapping and tearing. They gutted the young administrator, and blood sprayed in the air. A fanfare of resounding exit music played outside in the stadium, drowning out his screams. The last of the departing audience members cheered and laughed. Apparently the clowns were running along the track again, raking the gravel.
Bur-Al lay twitching in the sand and dust, and the three hrakkas continued their meal in the dim stable.
Zod said in a deadpan voice, “By the red heart of Rao, this is terrible. I simply don’t know how they could have broken loose.”
Nam-Ek could not tear his soulful eyes from the feeding frenzy. Zod could see the mute’s misery, and his heart went out to the big man. “It’ll be all right, Nam-Ek. I won’t let them do anything to you.”
Because murder was exceedingly rare on Krypton, no one would suspect anything sinister. The deadly animals had simply gotten loose. An accident. Hrakkas were predators, after all, and had shown their penchant for violence during the running of the races. They were a hazard.
Nam-Ek pointed a blunt finger toward the three lizards, and Zod realized that his silent friend was distraught that the animals would now have to be destroyed. “I am sorry, Nam-Ek. There’s nothing I can do about it.” He racked his brain, unable to think of another way. “I’ll get you new pets. I promise.”
Clearly resigned, Nam-Ek nodded, and Zod felt a slight pang of guilt. It had seemed like the perfect way to get rid of Bur-Al, but perhaps he should have been more careful, should have thought of a subtler method that would not have jeopardized Nam-Ek’s beloved hrakkas. “I promise I will make it better.”
Once he was sure that his silent and muscular friend was all right, Zod calmly went out to sound the alarm.
CHAPTER 5
Even in Zor-El’s beloved Argo City, most Kryptonians were too comfortable, their ambitions were too few, and they noticed too little of the world around them. They had forgotten the heady taste of danger. Zor-El, on the other hand, found it exhilarating to place himself in hazardous situations—at least when it was scientifically necessary.
According to his seismic sensor network, a tremendous volcanic eruption had occurred eight days earlier, and even now the aftermath contained enough hellish fury to incinerate him if he made a single misstep. The dark-eyed, ruddy-faced scientist stood alone among the brimstone and chaos of the wild southern continent—no safety nets, no guards, only his own wits and reactions. Many Kryptonians would have thought him mad to take such a risk.
Sulfurous smoke and fumes boiled into the air, and bubbling pools simmered around him. Zor-El let the