LITMIR.BIZ

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companions aimed their collection of blasters at the newcomers, dozens more of the wrapped people came from the sand, then even more on both sides. Turning about slowly, Ryan and the others saw they were now surrounded by an army of the beings, every one of them armed with a needle-tipped metal spear or sicklelike longknifes. The ebony blades were worn from constant use, the handles stained with dried blood.

      The figures stood at average height, sporting two legs, two arms and head, but each was so heavily wrapped in strips of loose cloth it was impossible to tell if they were men or women, even if they were norms or muties.

      “I am Alar,” the first stranger said, “the leader of the Core.”

      Even through the thick wrappings, Ryan could hear the capital letter being used. The Core, eh? That could mean anything. But there was something oddly familiar about how the being held the short spears in his bandaged hands, and Ryan grunted softly as he recognized the military postures from the guards at the Anthill. These were the descendants of army troops, copying the port arms and such of drilling troops. Only they were armed with spears instead of longblasters. The Core as in U.S. Marine Corps, or a nuclear core? Could be either way, and there was no way of telling.

      “I’m Ryan,” he said gruffly, then introduced the rest of the companions.

      Alar bowed to each, the rest of the Core copying the gesture. At the end, the masked people put away their weapons, and the companions hesitantly did the same. Since they were outnumbered by a fifty-to-one ratio, it seemed prudent to stay on smooth terms with these…people?

      “Here you go,” Dean said, walking up with the spear from the Drinker and offering it to the Core leader.

      Nodding his head, Alar took the weapon and stabbed it twice into the ground to clean the tip of the sticky pink blood.

      “Thank you, small one. A weapon returned is a bond of peace with my people. I grant you free passage through our desert until the next moon.”

      “The blessings of Gaia upon you, great leader,” Krysty said, making a gesture in the air too quick to be described.

      With a scowl, Ryan asked, “And what happens if we’re still here by the next moon?”

      Alar shrugged. “Then you must leave or join the Core forever.”

      “Yeah? Nothing more?”

      A warm breeze tasting of salt blew over the crowd, making the horses shift about to hide their faces.

      “No, Ryan of the horse riders,” Alar said calmly, the sand dancing at his feet. “We are a peaceful people with only one enemy. We welcome all to join the Core.”

      Or else you prefer to strike from behind, Ryan thought to himself.

      “Sounds good,” J.B. admitted, rubbing his mouth on the back of a hand. “How about we go to your ville and talk. Any chance you got water to trade? We have a few spare blasters that are better for acing a Drinker than those pig-stickers you’re carrying.”

      “Ville?” Alar muttered, crouching so that he rested on his heels. “We have no stone place. The desert itself is our home. We live in the sand, on the sand. We are of the sand!”

      The entire crowd of masked people shouted a word in an unknown language.

      Doc, Mildred and Krysty exchanged glances. They didn’t know the language, but the tone was familiar. The Core was chanting like a choir in a church. This Alar was more than their leader; he was probably also the local high priest.

      “However, we can offer you drink and food,” Alar said, gesturing at the crowd.

      Scurrying to obey, another being stepped forward to hand Ryan a clear plastic jug. The fluid inside was blue in color, almost a topaz.

      “Doesn’t look like water,” Ryan said suspiciously.

      “There is no water here,” a tall member of the Core announced sternly, thumping his spear twice on the ground at the word. “We drink jinkaja.”

      “Drink,” Alar said in a friendly tone. “Drink and live forever!”

      That stopped Ryan cold. “What do you mean, forever?” he demanded hostilely.

      Still holding the spear, Alar spread his bandaged hands wide. “We do not die with the passing of the decades like you norms. The members of the Core are as ageless as the sands!”

      “Right,” Mildred said slowly, taking the container from Ryan. The physician didn’t know whether that was a sales pitch, but either way she wanted no part of this jinkaja stuff.

      While the others waited, Mildred inspected the blue fluid carefully. It was thick with a high viscosity, almost like a British beer. Removing the cap, she took a careful sniff. The smell was very pleasant, slightly citrus in nature.

      “How is it made?” Dean asked, copying the squatting position of the Core leader.

      “From the essence of the Holy Ones,” Alar said, bowing his head. “Once consumed you can take no other nourishment, not animal flesh or water. But you live forever!”

      “As long as we keep drinking it,” Ryan said, feeling his temper rise like a red madness. With a major effort of will, he forced it under control for the moment.

      Since Alar was covered in the cloth rags, it was impossible to read his facial expressions, but his body language was that of a parent explaining something very basic to a child. “Of course. To live forever you must drink forever. It is the way of the Core.”

      Pale red ants had discovered the dead mutie and were now covering its remains, carrying away tiny pieces of its flesh. Then a scorpion appeared and began to feast upon the ants using both pincers. In a flash of movement, a Core member thrust out a spear and impaled the scorpion, lifting it high for the others to see until the mortally wounded creature went limp. Now he lowered the spear and shook off the tiny corpse so that it fell amid the ants. Without hesitation, the bugs swarmed over their dead enemy and began tearing it apart along with the mutie.

      “Made from Drinker?” Jak asked scowling. “That Holy One?”

      Throwing back his head, Alar actually laughed. “No, top-walker, it is made from the essence of the night-walkers, whose numbers are greater than their legs. Greater than the grains of sand!”

      So the Holy Ones had a lot of legs, eh? Suddenly, Krysty recalled where she had seen blood almost the exact same color as this jinkaja.

      “Millipedes,” she said in disgust. “It’s made from triple-cursed millipede blood.”

      The crowd of masked people began to mutter at that, and more than one shifted their grip on a weapon.

      “How dare the filthy top-walkers to defile the Holy Ones!” the tall Core member shouted. “Punishment!”

      For a moment the world seemed to spin, and Ryan felt nauseous as if he had just emerged from a bad jump. As his vision cleared, he could see the others were also reeling slightly, Dean and Doc having both dropped their blasters onto the burning-hot salt. Only Krysty seemed unaffected, but her hair was writhing like he had never seen before.

      “Stop!” Alar shouted, and the word seemed to resonate in both mind and ears.

      Instantly, the queasy feelings were gone as if they had never existed and Ryan pulled out the SIG-Sauer again, the handle slick with the sweat from his shaking hand. The damn Core was ruled by doomies of some sort! Muties with mental powers. Mildred sometimes argued that they weren’t actually muties, but the next step in evolution unlocked by the cataclysm of skydark.

      “Silence, Kalr,” the leader demanded. “It is not for you to decide.”

      “It is the law!” Kalr shouted. “All drink or they must die!”

      Doc and Dean bent to recover their weapons, but the rest of the Core seemed to be paying no attention to the outlanders. The group was splitting apart into two groups of about the same size.

      “The

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