Shadows, стр. 40

Chapter 18

Tanavuna’s mind replayed the faint cry over and over again in his mind, until no doubt remained that it had been Kesteluni who’d cried for help. He’d considered responding, but that would only alert Subitorni that he was being followed. Because he had no doubt it was Subitorni who’d taken her. The question he couldn’t answer was why.

Although the lighting was dim, once his eyes adjusted, occasional skylights in the tunnel allowed Tanavuna to move without fear of stumbling. So far, there had been no pits or traps of any sort. Given the nature of the tunnels, as underground refuges for the worst days of the Sear and unseen escape routes during crises such as this one, the lack of safeguards was no surprise.

However, despite the need to hurry after Subitorni, an inner instinct warned him not to step blindly into a tunnel intersection. It left him conflicted when he came to each one. He would be exposed for ten feet, and even if he were not killed outright, being hit in the leg or foot would allow Subitorni to escape with Kesteluni.

So, he stopped, closed his eyes, and listened.

He heard no voices, but, in the otherwise absolute silence at the third intersection, there came the faint, unmistakable sounds of someone breathing. So, it was an ambush, and even if he got past without being shot, there was nothing to stop whoever was waiting around the corner to chase him from behind.

Just then, footsteps came from the direction of the stairs. More than one man, and they were coming his way. Tanavuna turned around, knelt, and took aim. The dim blob of a figure materialized in his sights, becoming sharper as it neared.

Scussian! With three men following behind! Yukannak had kept his word. The sergeant and his men joined him and knelt close. Remembering their training, no one spoke. Tanavuna outlined the tactical situation with hand gestures. Scussian’s men nodded their understanding. The sergeant put up two fingers and pointed at Tanavuna, asking where are the other two? He mouthed their names: Kuun and Ammaii. Tanavuna cast his eyes down, the custom in his village when referring to the dead.

Scussian was never one to hide his feelings, and Tanavuna saw the anger that came over him. He and Kuun had been close friends; he wanted a chance for vengeance. Tanavuna backed up, slung his M14 over his shoulder, got a running start, and crossed the intersection. At the same time, Scussian ordered suppressing fire, which caught the J’Stull off guard; their shots missed Tanavuna. Shooting continued as Tanavuna ran down the tunnel.

He still could not puzzle out the full meaning of the room with the legendary healer, the stone tablets, and all the dried and preserved healing plants. Kesteluni’s original capture made sense if she had been intended to treat the F’ahdn. But he didn’t understand why Subitorni was making off with her now: she would only slow him down. So he had to have a reason to keep her alive…but for how long? If he was threatened, would he kill her before fleeing? There was no way to know.

The tunnel twisted back on itself three times and branched off repeatedly. Tanavuna realized that if he stopped at every one to consider his choices, it wouldn’t matter if he chose well, Subitorni would be too far ahead to catch. He took only a few seconds to make up his mind, and he gambled on the hope that he was making for an escape tunnel that emerged beyond the city itself. As best he could tell, they had been going generally southeast, so he did the same.

He passed more intersections and several shafts of sunlight, but while mostly level, the overall direction was down, which would be consistent with an escape route that passed well beneath the city and its upper tunnels.

For a man used to the heat on R’Bak’s surface, the cool air in the tunnel allowed him to move faster and longer than he usually could. With no way to gauge distance, Tanavuna only knew he’d run a long way.

His doubt grew as he went on with no sign of either Subitorni or Kesteluni. If he’d chosen wrong, he might never see his wife again. But, as the tunnel began to angle sharply upward, he heard the faint sound of water. The stones became slick with condensation and the air heavy with moisture. He had slowed to find niches in which to plant his foot, when a man’s voice rang from beyond the lip at the top of the ascending slope.

“Stop that, you bitch!”

“I’m not going with you!” a woman yelled back.

It is Kesteluni! he realized, in the same instant that Subitorni yelped in pain. A meaty slap followed.

Slinging his rifle, Tanavuna’s brain ceased to be guided by rational thought as he scrambled upward, tearing his fingernails as he fought for purchase on the wet rocks. Once at the top, another skylight reflected off water droplets like sunlight off the river. With his eyes adjusted to the underground darkness, a corona of red sparkles filled his vision. He turned away from the sudden brightness and the stock of his rifle hit the wall with a dull but loud thunk.

Through his semi-blindness, Tanavuna saw, no more than forty feet down the passage, Kesteluni lying on her