Charon: A Dragon at the Gate by Jack L. Chalker

Author:Jack L. Chalker
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction - Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Fiction - General, General, Non-Classifiable
ISBN: 9780345293701
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 1982-10-12T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

All Hell Breaks Loose

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"Who's this Yatek Morah, anyway, that he can come in and order us around like this?" Zala wanted to know.

"Chief of Security, he says, and I know little more except that Tully is scared stiff of him and he comes directly from Aeolia Matuze."

"Well, I don't think he's got any right doing this. I've got half a mind not to show up."

I stared at her, wondering a bit at her sudden show of spunk and bravado—or was it? She wasn't very good at hiding things, and in her eyes I saw a tinge of fear and uncertainty. For a brief moment I wondered if maybe there was more going on here than I realized.

"You have to go," I told her. "We all do. Anybody on the list who doesn't show up when ordered will automatically be branded an enemy of the people, and they can take whatever action they want. Besides, you saw the ships out there?"

She nodded nervously.

"I don't know how many troops he's got with him, but they're a nasty bunch and very well trained and efficient— and according to Tully they're all at least apts." I paused a moment to let that sink in. "Besides—aren't you just the least bit curious to see what they're going to do?"

"I—I suppose. Well, let's do it."

We left the house together and walked up the road toward the square. Everything was closed today, even the bank, and there was the general feeling of a community under sudden siege. I didn't like it—the eerie stillness, the tension so thick you could feel it, like cobwebs or dense fog oozing around, despite the fact that this was one of our few bright, rainless days.

Most of the first group had already gathered in and around the square, which nonetheless looked oddly barren without the vendors and cafe tables. A small stage had been erected in the center of the square, on the grassy plot where Zala and I had been ceremoniously married only five months before. The four streets leading into the square were all filled with men in the black and gold imperial uniforms of Charon. I was struck by their tough, nasty appearance and by the fact that they were all armed with very ugly-looking rifles of unfamiliar design. I looked around on top of the market buildings and the town hall and saw indications of movement, reflections in the light, everywhere. Morah was taking no chances. I had no idea what those rifles shot or their rate of fire, but I was pretty sure that, in a pinch, this force could probably mow down everyone in the square. Not a comforting thought

Zala looked nervously at the troops and gulped, grabbing and squeezing my hand for reassurance. "Park?" "Yeah?"

"Let's stay close to Tully in this. At least we'll have some measure of protection."

"Good idea—if we can find him in this mob." I looked around but the wizard was nowhere to be seen. "Let's try the town hall. That'll be where Morah will come from.

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