Blood Royal by Will McDermott

Author:Will McDermott [McDermott, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub

YOLANDA GLANCED BEHIND her. She'd been running for only a few minutes, but already Scabbs had fallen a full dust dune behind. The Wastes were inside the Hive, but the strange ventilation-spawned wind patterns from the surrounding domes that had brought the dust to this area in the first place, also produced dunes that looked almost natural.

The Wildcats were maybe two dunes behind Scabbs and would start firing soon. Yolanda could see the curved wall of a dome ahead, but she knew the Eschers would be on top of her before she could find the entrance tunnel, and would reach Scabbs before he even made the wall.

They had to make a stand. The question was, did she make it before or after Scabbs got shot? Better to have a wall behind her, but by then Scabbs would be dead. 'Helmawr's rump,' she said. 'I'd better save the little scabber.'

Yolanda dived to the ground at the bottom of the next duue, and then crawled back to peer over the top. When Scabbs crested the dune, she reached out and tripped her partner, sending him rolling down the dune. 'Get up here,' she hissed and then pulled out her laspistols.

As the Wildcats reached the top of the dune behind her, Yolanda fired two blasts that slammed into the hive dust, melting it into slag under Vicksen's feet. 'That's far enough!' yelled Yolanda. 'Speakyour piece and leave, or I'll shoot you where you stand.'

Yolanda could just see Vicksen's head and shoulders and the tops of two or three Wildcats behind their leader without exposing herself too much. Vicksen turned and said something to one of the girls and then turned back and cupped her hands around her mouth. Yolanda watched the other ganger as Vicksen spoke.

'We need your help, Yolanda,' she called. 'Let me come over there - alone - and we'll talk about it.'

The ganger Vicksen had spoken to had her head bowed, like she was working on something. Whatever, it was, it made Yolanda suspicious. That, and the fact that Eschers were not known for talking out their problems. 'I don't believe you,' she said and punctuated the statement with another blast from her laspistol that went right past Vicksens's ear. 'The next one goes between your eyes. Now leave!'

'I've got a better idea,' said Vicksen. 'You leave - in pieces.'

The other ganger turned, with a grenade launcher in her hands. Yolanda pushed away from the dust and rolled sideways down the dune as the top exploded, sending a cloud of dust and metal fragments raining down around her. She slammed into Scabbs, who had made it halfway up, and both of them rolled, bumping and jostling each other, all the way to the bottom.

By the time Yolanda and Scabbs got themselves untangled and stood up, the Wildcats were coming over the top of the blasted dune. Yolanda looked for her guns and saw them sticking out of the dust near the top of the dune. She pulled out her sword instead.

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