[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

"They failed in their assassin's assignment," the voice in his skull explained. "Death is the penalty-not
only for failure, but to ensure their silence. Don't protest it."
But Flint didn't like it. He could kill in the heat of battle, but not coldbloodedly. He realized Queen
Bess was still testing him. A true friend of hers would not hesitate to do her bidding. "The Dragon
does not deign to kill curs," he said. "Let them redeem themselves by serving loyally as attendants to
the Queen's chariot dragon." A probable sentence of death, as Old Scorch would not take kindly to
such types-especially if the Good Queen wanted them dead. But it shifted the responsibility back to
her. "If they fail to perform well, their bodies shall be exposed to the scavengers of the wilderness,
and when the bones are clean they shall be buried under the floors of their living quarters. In this
manner their ghosts shall continue to serve their Queen."
There was silence. Flint had prescribed the honorable tribal burial of Outworld, but he was aware it
would seem otherwise to these more civilized people. And he had dodged the actual sentence of
death. How would the Queen react?
"My man is almost there," the Ambassador said.
"Get lost, Imp," Flint mumbled subvocally.
"Your sword, Dragon," the Queen said, holding out her blue hand.
Somehow he had miscalculated. Whom did she plan to dispatch-him or them?
Flint put his fingers on the upper blade and drew the sword out, placing his hilt in her hand. As it
touched her, something like an electric current traveled along it to his hand. It was the channelized
impulse of a strong Kirlian aura!
"Kneel," she said firmly.
Well, he had done his best. The penalty for failure might be death, but he was not going to beg for his
life. If he had misjudged her, it was his own fault. He kneeled.
Queen Bess raised the sword, then brought it down. The tip tapped one of his shoulders, then the
other. "I knight thee Lord of Valor," she intoned. "Rise, Sir Dragon."
Flint stood, amazed, as she handed back his sword.
The Queen winked. "I suspected you had a strong aura when you tamed Old Scorch," she murmured
so that only he could hear. "He is a very special beast-my own pet. Tonight, after the party, you shall
have opportunity again to prove your valor. Come to my chambers."
The last was said loudly enough for others to overhear. There was a murmur of surprise and awe.
"She means it," the Ambassador in his skull said, sounding awed himself. "She hasn't taken a lover in
months. You'll have to go, unfortunately. We'll try to slip you an aphrodisiac so you can perform-"
Flint poked his tongue up under the radio unit, dislodging it from the roof of his mouth. He swallowed
it. Now the voice was gone. "May the union of the Imperial Empire be as strong as that we shall
experience tonight," he said with a flourish.
"So you ditched the Imp radio," she murmured.
She had known! She probably had a constant monitor on it. The culture of this planet might be pre-
Machine Age, but there would be ways to obtain samples of higher technology, and a smart ruler
would see to it. There was no law against it, after all; Earth wanted the colonies to progress. No
wonder she was right on top of the situation-and no wonder she had been provoked by him. He must
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
have seemed like a very active spy, with his constant advice from the Sol embassy.
"The Imp insulted me-and you," he said. "I don't need civilized snooping. It takes a man to know a
real woman-though she be a queen."
"You may be surprised at how young a queen can be when she washes off her makeup."
"Not beneath the age of consent, I trust," Hint said, raising an eyebrow.
"There is an age of consent in your culture?"
"Of course not."
She smiled, glancing down at the fallen dandies, and she looked younger already. He had supposed
the makeup was intended to make her look younger than she was, but the opposite could be true. "So
you are from Outworld," she said.
"Yes. But I do work for Earth, in what capacity you surely know."
She smiled. "I admit we have had our doubts about Imperial policy in the past. But I doubt very much [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]