Chorus Skating by Foster Alan Dean

Author:Foster, Alan Dean [Foster, Alan Dean]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
Published: 2010-06-15T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

AS WAS SO OFTEN the case with Jon-Tom’s spellsongs, the confidence expressed in his efforts was premature. The swamp buggy ran for all the rest of that day and well into the following afternoon before it choked, sputtered, and died. They had covered miles enough to reduce the threat of Silimbar to a discomfiting memory but were still a long way from Mashupro. The marshland they found themselves drifting through was little different from that they had left behind.

“Bloody big place, this Karrakas.” Mudge surveyed the endless stretches of reed and sawgrass thoughtfully.

“What’ss happened?” Seshenshe wondered.

“Yes, why have we stopped?” Umagi shifted from her seat near the back of the buggy. Relieved of her weight, the boat’s hull slapped at the water.

Pivver gestured at the immobile propeller. “See, the captured storm has abated. Has the spell run down?”

Jon-Tom looked up from where he was bending over the engine and wiped grease from his fingers. “In a manner of speaking. We’re out of gas.”

“Gas.” Aleaukauna’s long, pointed muzzle gave a twitch. “You mean like swamp gas?”

“You’re closer to the truth than you think, but what we really need is a special kind of liquid.”

“Can you maybe sing some up?” Mudge eyed his friend questioningly.

“Don’t know. I have a feeling that would take a pretty specific spellsong. It’s not the sort of subject to inspire.”

“’Ows about the thought o’ driftin’ around ’ere for another six months?” the otter countered. “Ain’t that adequate inspiration?”

“Perhaps something to eat first.” Ansibette knelt to inspect their meager stores and Jon-Tom resolutely looked elsewhere. “I’m so hungry I could eat just about anything.”

Mudge was preparing to comment as Jon-Tom hastily suggested that the two otters take a dive to see what edibles they could scrounge.

“A rest would do everyone good,” declared Naike. “It’s been a tense few days. I know that if we’re going to have to row from here, I could use a break.”

Jon-Tom was too tired from wrestling with the buggy and the cranky engine to argue. Naike was right. It would be nice simply to drift with the current till evening, eat a decently prepared meal, and get a good night’s sleep. He could work on composing an appropriately fuelish spellsong and then try it out first thing in the morning.

As Mudge and Pivver brought up mussels, clams, crawfish, bubble crawlers, and other edibles, those on board did their best to unwind. Heke and Karaukul’s curiosity drove them to prod and poke at the engine. Jon-Tom thought of warning them away from the silent mass of metal, then decided that since it was out of gas, there was little they could do to make trouble.

Evening was falling when the first sobs arose from Seshenshe: a plaintive, high-pitching yowling. One by one, the other princesses joined in as the buggy took on the atmosphere of a funeral barge.

“Now wot’s all this?” Mudge moved to comfort Pivver, who did not push him away.

“Seshenshe’s right.” She rubbed at her muzzle. “You males have done so much to help us and we nearly went and threw it all away for reasons of avarice and vanity.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.