"Well, it is no secret." Sufan shrugged, a gesture which minimized the importance of the event. "I would have told you long before we landed. An essential part of the plan, Earl. Our number is not yet complete. There is another we have to collect."
"A man?"
"A woman."
"And the cargo of Chelach meat?"
"To buy her."
Sufan rose and stepped to where a container filled with a murky liquid stood on a small table beside the cot. Touching its base, he activated the device and watched as a pale luminescence grew within, swirls of color which gained strength to take on a vaguely amorphous shape, delicate membranes moving with slow grace in a sea of divergent hues.
Without turning he said, "To buy her. Earl. Money would have been simpler but my funds are exhausted. My herd, too, now that I have turned it into meat. Unless we find Balhadorha I am ruined."
A doubt, the first he had expressed, and Dumarest was conscious of the man's tension, the strain barely controlled, masked by his apparent interest in the luminous toy. As it glowed still brighter Dumarest leaned forward and switched it off. Even though never still the man's eyes could reveal hidden intent.
"Is Chamelard a slave world?"
"No, but the woman is special, a product of the Schell-Peng Laboratories. She has been trained, her special attributes strengthened, skills honed and developed to a high degree over the years. We need her if we are to navigate the Hichen Cloud."
Then, as Dumarest made no comment, he said, "The essence of my plan, Earl,. If a few men and a ship could find Balhadorha, then why hasn't it been discovered before? The area around the Hichen Cloud is thick with worlds and traders are always on the search for a profit. Given time, it would have been found; instead it remains a legend. Why? A question I pondered for years and then had what must be the answer. Balhadorha is within the Cloud and the entire region is a mass of conflicting energies. In it normal instruments are distorted and true navigation impossible. You have been close to such regions, Earl, you know what happens."
Sensors at fault, readings turned into meaningless information, a ship twisted and torn, helpless to aim for safety, not knowing even where safety could be found. The generator would be overstrained, units fail, the Erhaft Field collapse. Once that happened, unless the vessel was crushed like an egg, it would drift helpless in a sea of destructive radiation.
Something the crew members would have known, and Dumarest wondered at their silence. Or perhaps, even now, they were ignorant of the true extent of the danger.
He said, "Does the captain know you intend to penetrate the Cloud?"
"Rae Acilus has my confidence."
"And the others? Do they think, as I did, that you merely intended to skirt the edges?"
"Does it matter?" Sufan was bland. "They have come too far to back out now."
A mistake-when the trouble began they would lose their hunger for riches, the need to survive would see to that. Then he remembered Usan Labria and her determination. She had nothing to lose. Neither did Pacula, who would take any chance to find her daughter. Marek? He would welcome the challenge.
It was enough to worry about himself. Once on Chamelard the expedition could go to hell without him.
Chapter Eight
It was a cold world, a frigid ball of ice circling a dying sun, the ruby light from the primary doing little more than to paint the snow and frost with deceptively warm radiance. The town was small, the houses huddled close, the field deserted aside from the Mayna. The few men in attendance were shapeless in thick garments, a rime of frost over the fabric covering their mouths.
A planet strange to Dumarest, but he knew at once it was not one on which to be stranded. And there were other complications: a man who stood watching without apparent reason as he and Sufan Noyoka left the vessel, another who followed, a third who moved quickly from the gate as if to relay a message.
Small things, but his life rested on trifles, the ability to spot as unusual pattern, to sense the presence of danger.
And a cyber had landed on Teralde.
The knowledge was a prickle which stimulated him to continual awareness. Dumarest never made the mistake of underestimating the Cyclan and knew too well the subtle ways in which the organization moved. The cyber could have learned from Avorot of his presence on Teralde. He would have searched, found nothing, used the power of his mind to determine the obvious. Sufan Noyoka had an association with Chamelard, and if the cyber had learned of it, already the Cyclan could be poised ready to strike.
The Schell-Peng Laboratories rested a mile from town, a long, low, rambling structure, the walls unbroken,, the roof steeply pitched. Inside it was warm with generated heat, the receptionist waiting as they opened the thick clothing they had worn for the journey.
"Sufan Noyoka? A moment." He turned to a file and busied himself with the contents. "A woman, you say?"
"Number XV2537. There was a special arrangement."
"Which would place it in the special file." The man moved to another cabinet. A purposeful delay or merely an accustomed lethargy? Dumarest turned and studied the area with apparent casualness. Aside from the receptionist they were alone in the chamber except for a man engrossed in a book. A strange place in which to read if he were not waiting the result of an inquiry.
"Sir?" The receptionist looked up from the file. "The subject in question is not available at this time."
"Why not?"
"A matter of payment. Two installments have been missed and-"
"A lie!"
"Perhaps. An investigation will clear the matter. In the meantime she is being held in storage." The man came to the counter, smiling. "A small delay, sir, no more. The records will have to he checked and the discrepancy isolated."
Dumarest said, "How much does he owe?"
"The installments came to-"
"The total?"
"The sum for outright purchase is ten thousand elmars. That naturally, includes the installments and full compensation for storage and revival."
It was too much. Dumarest knew it before Sufan Noyoka protested.
"Our agreement was for five thousand. My cargo has been sold for four and a half and I have the rest in cash. I demand that you hold to our agreement."
"But of course, sir. The reputation of the Schell-Peng is well-known and all contracts will be honored. It is just a matter of the records. Once we have made an investigation I'm sure that all will be well. A matter of a few days. I will make a special clearance order on the query."
"I want the woman now!"
"That is impossible. Of course, if you have the full amount? No? Then, reluctantly, I must insist you exercise patience. A few days, sir."
Dumarest's hand clamped on Sufan's arm as he was about to object. Quietly he said, "A few days? Well, at least it will give us a chance to see the sights. What do you recommend?"
"The Signal Mount is very good at this time of year. I think you will enjoy it. And if you have a mind to ski the Frendish Slopes are ideal."
"And a place to stay? Never mind," said Dumarest before the man could answer. "We'll find something. In three days, then?"
"Yes, sir. That will be fine. Three days and all will be ready."
As they left, Dumarest glanced at the man reading the book. He was a slow reader. Not once had he turned a page.
At night Chamelard turned into a frozen hell, the air crackling with cold, the thin wind which blew from the open stretches touching with the burn of knives. Above, the stars burned with a cold ferocity, seeming to suck the warmth from living flesh, the sprawling mass of the Hichen Cloud a malignant eye.