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any pursuers had been too much to hope for. It had taken
Mavra to make him realize it, though.
For now they had to wait. He looked over at Campos. What in the world was she
doing with that machete?
"Just some vines and those metal cups," Campos was instructing the other two.
"That will do, yes.
Kuzi, get the pistols and put clips in them, then bring me one, and fast!"
Quickly Campos sliced through a small tree so that only a small stub remained
above the ground.
She twisted some thread from Audlay's sewing kit around it, secured it in a
notch, and tied the two metal cups to it so that they touched just off the
ground. She then unreeled the thread over to another stump so that it crossed
the most obvious path. She then tied it off to another cut trunk on the other
side.
Kuzi brought the pistol to her, looking nervous. "What is this?" "Just get
back behind the tent and keep Audlay out of the way," Campos whispered.
"There's something down there you can't see until it is too late. If those
two cups hit each other, stand and just fire as fast as you can anywhere
between the threads. Straight out. It's taller than we are."
"What is it?" Kuzi whispered back, suddenly scared. "That thing I saw?" "No.
Something else. Like a big lizard from hell, only for some reason you cannot
see it until it is eating you, so just shoot! I will be over by the rock and
doing the same. If we fire quickly enough, we may get it or at least knock it
back."
"Gee ... she really does know this stuff," Audlay whispered, terrified but
still confident in
Campos-more now than ever.
"I hope so," Kuzi responded. Giant blob creatures, invisible killer lizards
... This wasn't exactly the picture she'd had in mind of the trip. In spite
of his confidence at not being visible, Gus still proceeded cautiously. The
mud was slippery, and if he lost his balance and fell, he'd be seen, all
right, by just about everybody, maybe before he broke his fool neck. He
reached the bluff where Julian thought she'd seen something, and sure enough,
it looked as if somebody had been there, maybe for quite some time. What was
that- some kind of root there? He'd seen Cloptans chewing on that stuff, but
only the menial types. Somebody said it was some kind of mild drug, he
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remembered, more a habit than an addiction. He picked one up and sniffed it.
It smelled like, well root beer, sort of. He dropped it and looked around.
Well, if a Cloptan had the habit and was stuck here watching things as a
lookout, that would be about what one would expect.
They couldn't have gone much farther up, not in the dark. There were certainly
signs of some kind of boots or shoes, and was that a hoofprint or two? Maybe.
He moved on up, being extra careful, and as his head cleared a flat area just
above, he saw the tent and campsite and, over to one side-holy smoke! Could
that be Lori? The horn was right and it was kinda like the picture Kurdon had
shown them, but the colors were certainly all wrong.
They could dye the hair, but they hadn't cut off the horn.
And over there near the pony-a meter-high ball of feathers that kind of gave
off a whole riot of colors. Looked like a damned big owl, though, except for
that long pointed beak. Could that be
Mavra?
His heart started pounding with excitement. This close! Here they were! With
nobody else in sight, he moved swiftly to get up to the top and try to
introduce himself when he suddenly felt something catch on his foot. There was
a dull chatter.
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%2...20-%20Gods%20at%20the%20Well%2
0of%20Souls.TXT (100 of 157) [7/1/03 1:20:25 AM]
file:///F|/rah/Jack%20L.%20Chalker/Chalker,%20Jack%20L%20-%20...of%20Souls%200
3%20-%20Gods%20at%20the%20Well%20of%20Souls.TXT
Suddenly, the whole place seemed to explode. He felt something slam into him
like a hammer, and he fell backward and then began to slide down the slope,
bits of grass coming off as he slid farther and farther down the mountainside
toward the freight yard below.
"Did we get it?" Kuzi yelled.
"We're still here!" Campos pointed out. This was the most excitement she'd had
since waking up in that burg. The sense of danger coursed through her and
invigorated her in a way she'd felt only briefly since becoming Cloptan, that
having been when she'd disintegrated that bitch on the docks months earlier.
"Now what?" Audlay squealed, uncharacteristically excited more than scared.
She was actually enjoying this!
"I don't think that thing will be climbing up here anytime soon again," Campos
told the others, "but there are three more down there, and now they'll know
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