Although Kirek might have fooled the machines into to letting him depart, the guards here were very much human, however. Zical headed back to the sentries to ask more questions. Perhaps one of them had left his post and the other turned his back for a few seconds. Or perhaps the guards could be conspiring with those rioters in the city.

Fighting to hold on to his temper and keep his voice even, Zical kept his tone low. "If Kirek's not here, maybe one of the guards is lying."

Dora placed a hand on Zical's shoulder and he slowed. There're other possibilities.

Perhaps someone took him out another way."

"Then you don't think he left voluntarily?" Zical had to ask the question, pleased that Dora was thinking through her fears, not panicking.

Dora frowned in anger. "Leave voluntarily? Stars. Yesterday, he risked his life to save us all and you think he'd leave without so much as saying good-bye?" Her expression of anger faded to fear and frustration. "He told me"-her voice broke-"that he'd rather risk dying with us than living here alone. Does that sound like he'd just wander off?"

Dora banged her fist against the wall, took another step and banged again. At first Zical thought she'd gone crazy in her grief. But then he realized she was taking the initiative, listening to the echoes, checking the main hallway for signs of a fake door or a secret pa.s.sageway.

The crew and scientists gathered as word of Kirek's disappearance spread. They farmed out, all of them searching for a secret entrance. Meanwhile, the guards must have notified Deckar of the Oracle's disappearance. With no regard for his personal safety, the man ran into their compound, his movements graceful, his giant leg sliding to a stop before their group. Deckar was one unarmed man among many Federation people, and they could easily have killed Deckar before the Kwadii soldiers could save him, but the real concern on his face for the Oracle's whereabouts put them all on the same side.

Deckar's suspicious gaze sought Zical and Dora. "You saw to it that he escaped from us once before, shortly after your arrival." Clearly the guards had filled him in.

"How do I know you haven't done so again?"

'"You don't." Zical and Deckar stood toe to toe, both men bristling with anger. The Risorian might have an inch on him a height, but Zical's chest and shoulders contained more power. As a trained warrior, not a dilettante, Zical could take the Kwadii down- but he didn't want to fight. He needed this man's help and spread his arms wide to emphasize his words. "However, we had no reason to send Kirek away." He shot Deckar a searching look. "We, believe we're among friends and that you would do no harm to the Oracle."

"That is so." The tension in Deckar s shoulders eased and he relaxed, his clenched hands. "However, there are others on Kwadii who do not believe in Tirips."

165.

"You think the Selgrens took Kirek?" Dora didn't mince words.

"There are many possibilities. There are rumors about a Selgren fanatic, L'Matti who wants to prove the Oracle is a fake. He's determined to bring down Risorian control of the council."

"Would L'Matti harm Kirek Dora asked.

"I don't trow. The Oracle's presence has disturbed many nonbelievers and you've seen the violence on the streets of our cities. If the Selgren L'Matti has the Oracle, he might try to make him recant, then release the retraction to true believers. And the clerks might be just as vigorous in their testing to prove Kirek is truly Tirips's Oracle."

"He's just a little boy," Dora protested, her tone quivering with anxiety.

Deckar rubbed his forehead. To all Risorians, the Oracle is Tirips's messenger. The G.o.ddess speaks through the Holy Oracle. It's unlikely, but possible, he was taken by our most scared order of clerics who would test him to verify-"

"What kind of tests?" Dora interrupted with alarm.

"I'm not sure."

"How would the clerics gain access to this compound and smuggle him out?" Zical asked.

The holy orders are secretive but reputed to possess unusual powers. Normally, they don't interfere in our jurisdiction. But Tirips's Oracle would attract the interest of those who don't normally deign to speak with the rest of us who aren't so devout."

Dora's brows narrowed. "These tests-"

"The sacred clerics will not kill him," the Risorian said, but Deckar didn't sound certain.

"What if the Selgrens have taken Kirek?" Dora asked.

Deckar shrugged. 'They would want to prove he isn't the Oracle."

"And how would they go that?" Zical asked, not really sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Selgrens are unpredictable. I have a diplomatic call in to the council. They have yet to respond."

Zical was unsure that a call to the council and the Selgrens was a wise move.

Without knowing who had taken Kirek, Zical couldn't tell who was friend or foe.

In addition to Zical's concern for the boy's safety. Kirek's disappearance added complications to their mission and delayed their journey, a holdup that might ultimately prove costly. With the mission already behind schedule, Zical hoped it was merely a matter of another few hours until they found Kirek and departed Kwadii.

With his own seething frustration at delay, upon delay, Zical wondered what else could go wrong. He'd thought it only a matter of time until the Kwadii released them to continue on their quest. By now the Sentinel was likely long gone from its post, leaving the Zin free to enter the galaxy. Any more delay might prove disastrous.

166.

"You have my full cooperation," Deckar old them I've ordered sensor scans for this past day rechecked. We will thoroughly interrogate all the guards and examine any discrepancies in their stories. And I've sent search parties in every direction."

Dora's eyes were bleak, "Thank you. But we need to search for him with our ship. If you could remove the dampeners on our computer, we could make faster progress."

"I don't have that kind of authority" Deckar dashed Zical's hopes that the Risorian would go along with Dora's good suggestion. "And without the Oracle, your status here is once again suspect."

"First, we escape." Zical had called a conference, and it was a measure of his leadership skills that their people followed him without question. Each of them longed to leave the planet and continue their mission. All were frustrated and on edge. Dora watched the faces of the crew and scientists carefully as Zical spoke, yet despite their eagerness to leave Kwadii, discipline remained intact and all seemed determined to follow his orders. "Once we're free of this compound, then we go after three targets. Dr.

Laduna, you and your people must seek out the holy clerics and learn if they have Kirek."

"And if he's not there?" Dr. Laduna asked.

"Rescue him and bring him to the ship." Zical turned to his right-hand man "Vax.

See if you can find out more about the Risorians. Try to discover if Deckar's been lying to us and if Kirek is among them."

Vax frowned. "You think Deckar has Kirek?"

"It's the most likely scenario." Zical spoke thoughtfully. "Were on his home turf.

Who better than the Risorians to take the Oracle? Deckar may have kept him for his own purposes, or turned him over to their clerics."

"It makes sense to cover both possibilities." Dora nodded, anxious to put Zical's escape plan into action. They'd already waited hours for darkness to arrive, but with every pa.s.sing minute, Kirek could be taken farther away and hidden better. To think an abductor had slipped right past her to kidnap him was intolerable. Logic told her Zical was right and it was not her fault for failing to protect the boy. She'd had no reason to believe Kirek was in danger. However, the thought still didn't prevent the guilt from slashing her, and if they didn't find him safe, she might never heal.

"Dora and I will seek out Avanti and the Selgren L'Matti. Even if the Selgrens don't have Kirek, she may know which of her people would most likely abduct him."

"But will Avanti help us?" Dora asked "We'll deal with her when the time comes," Zical said, suspecting Avanti had been sympathetic to their cause, but had tried to distance herself to protect her feelings when she'd thought they'd be executed.

Cyn spoke over her shoulder, but the fingers of his chief engineer were busy with wires that Dora had found behind a wall panel during a search for Kirek. They still had 167.

no notion of how or why Kirek had been taken from them, but investigation for a secret pa.s.sageway had led to the discovery. Cyn believed she could use the nexus of wires to create a feedback loop into the Risorians' security hologrids to make the Risorians who monitored their "prison" from headquarters believe that they still remained inside.

Overcoming four guards shouldn't be a problem. Success would depend upon coordinating the attack on both exits without allowing the guards, to signal for additional help. From there, they would split up, making their recapture more difficult.

In human form, Dora had never been part of such an endeavor and she was shocked by her physical response to the antic.i.p.ation of danger. Despite her weariness, she was extra alert. Her muscles were tight, her stomach hard and churning. At the same time, she was filled with hope. For the first time they'd found a weakness in the Risorian prison. Soon, they would be free of their captors... or dead. Dora tried hard not to think about the second possibility. She was determined not to show her fear or allow it to stop her from doing whatever was necessary.

Zical spoke to his team leaders. "After you complete your investigation, rescue Kirek and return to our ship. The first team that arrives must find a way to nullify the dampeners, but don't activate the plan until we all arrive. Since we don't have communications, we must move quickly. All of us must at the ship within two days.

Hopefully, one of our teams will have rescued Kirek."

And if not? Did Zical intend to leave the boy behind? Dora's heart thumped painfully as she realized that they might not have a choice. They couldn't stay free on Kwadii for long and the mission must continue.

So many things could go wrong that Dora's head whirled with them. The Risorians might shoot them the moment they stepped outside. Even if they got away, they might never find Kirek. The Risorians or the Selgrens could recapture them. And even if they succeeded, the likelihood of returning to their ship and getting away from Kwadii seemed farfetched. Then, if they made it back into s.p.a.ce, she saw nothing to prevent the Kwadii from following and using the tractor beam to recapture them once again.

Yet she hadn't thought of a better plan than Zical's. She needed Ranth, wished she could use his ma.s.sive brain power to help them solve some of the technical problems and coordinate communications. But Ranth remained locked in his vault, hiding from the dampeners. The tenuous connection she'd shared with him was fading. Although she'd attempted to reestablish communications, she'd been so upset about the missing Kirek that her mind hadn't been totally focused.

Zical seemed to know how off balance she was. He hadn't asked much from her during the planning stages of their escape, but Dora was determined to contribute.

However, compartmentalizing her emotions from her intellect as a human was a very complex process. Before she'd become human, she'd worried about her friends, but she could isolate those concerns so they didn't interfere with her thoughts. The human brain was more organic, one section spilling into the others. Although she attempted to focus on the escape, staying to Zical's left and slightly behind him during the walk toward the guards, worry over Kirek never left her thoughts for long.

168.

She fretted about the tests, his captors might put him through. Although he'd already survived being alone on an alien world, his childish body wouldn't stand up to adult stresses. The thought that anyone might hurt him sickened her. And she worried that Cyn's feedback loop wouldn't work to cover their escape from those monitoring from afar.

As if sensing her distress, Zical placed an arm over her shoulders. "Please, at least try not to frown."

Zical's arm comforted her and she drew courage from his sympathetic tone.

Obviously, she could hold up better, and she tried a breathing exercise that Tessa claimed helped to neutralize muscle tension. Dora breathed in deeply through her nose and out through her mouth. If her muscles relaxed a bit, she didn't perceive a difference. However, since she'd tucked the top of her toga into her skirt's waistband, the exercise of expanding her lungs distracted the male guard by calling attention to her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Her inadvertent breathing exercise might be just the edge they needed. As a warrior Zical could take advantage of the guard's continued distraction. So she breathed deeper, then arched her spine, knowing the action would lift her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

While the guard gawked at her chest in admiration, Zical flattened turn with a one- handed strike to the throat. As the man fell, Zical released Dora's shoulder and front- kicked the second guard's chin. Both guards fell unconscious and Vax and a few scientists tied their hands behind their backs and gagged them, before lugging then into the conference room and locking them inside. Meanwhile Dora confiscated their weapons and changed into a modest Risorian garment to attract less attention. When the men returned, she handed one gun to Zical and the other to Vax.

Finally Zical pried open the door. They'd waited until dark, but the temperature outside remained hot. The air smelled of sweet gra.s.s, herbal spices, and the overwhelming bold floral aromas of nearby flowering trees. Moments after she stepped outside, her toga stuck to her, but she nevertheless kept the top en while they raced across the Risorian turf.

Vax and his people were departing out the other exit and starting down a dirt path as the scientists headed away from Zical and Dora, using a building for cover before advancing toward the city. In preparation for the journey, they'd drunk as much liquids as they could hold, but in this heat, finding water would always be a priority. Anyone who stayed outside all night would quickly dehydrate and weaken. Vax led his team out the back entrance and planned to head north. Dr. Laduna's group headed in the opposite direction. Zical was about to lead Dora west and into the wood she spied a two-person skimmer. "Over there."

He shook his head. "We don't have the code."

"Maybe I can override it."

"It's too dangerous." He tugged her toward the trees.

She tugged back." Waking through a forest in this heat is dangerous. Come on."

169.

He allowed her to persuade him and stood guard, the weapon at his side. She popped the door and crawled into the driver's seat, wishing she could connect with Ranth and hoping no one saw the interior light that had switched on automatically when she'd put her weight in the seat. At the sight of a color-coded keypad, she grinned.

Within moments, she'd pried off the plastic pad and pulled two wires loose. It took only a few seconds to twist the wires together to complete the circuit.

"Hurry," Zical whispered. "Someone's coming."

She didn't lookup but knew from his tone that she hadn't much time. "I'm almost done here." She snapped the keypad back into place and shoved open the pa.s.senger door. "Get in."

"You're driving?" He eyed her with dismay. No pilot ever liked anyone in charge of a vehicle except themselves, or perhaps another pilot.

"It would look strange if we suddenly switched places."

No alarms had gone off. At least none they could hear. And there were no signs of pursuit. The men in the distance kept walking and continued into a building. "The longer we go undiscovered, the more time we all have to get away."

Zical snapped a chest harness across himself. "Fine."

Dora gunned the motor, expecting to go forward. They boosted straight up.

"d.a.m.n."

Her stomach rose into her throat and she wished Zical were driving. To give him credit, he didn't try to tell her what to do, but clenched the weapon, his knuckles white.

She had to figure out the stick fast before they crashed. In the Federation, most vehicles had simple controls. Move a stick right, the vehicle went that direction. Move it left and it went left.

However, the skimmer used a tricky combination of foot and hand controls that took a few tries to figure out. The vehicle was dropping fast, too fast When they almost dived into a tree, Zical' s breath hissed, but he didn't complain, even as the branches scratched the skimmer's underside.

But once she finally gained control and put the skimmer into a sweeping curve over the compound before heading south toward the city lights, be made an odd choking sound, as if someone were strangling him.

"Are you all right?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder for signs of pursuit.

But she saw none.

And she realized that he wasn't choking. He was chuckling.

"What?" She frowned. "What's so funny?"

"I was thinking about your b.r.e.a.s.t.s."

"Why?"

"They're a secret weapon."

170.

"Huh?"

"That guard never stood a chance."

Zical kept chuckling, but Dora was d.a.m.n irritated. She didn't see what was so amusing. For months she'd wanted Zical to admire her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Now finally he was thinking about them-as a weapon. And he hadn't said one word of praise about her mastering the skimmer controls.

Men-they could be incredibly annoying.

She didn't know whether to be angry, frustrated, or upset. So she compressed her lips and concentrated on flying.