Dragonback 06 Dragon and Liberator Read Online Free PDF

be."
    "You say we were designed," Taneem said. "Designed by whom?"
    "No idea," Alison said. "Passing aliens, some ancient human
civilization's genetic engineers, God Himself. Take your pick. The
point is that you and I are the same human/K'da team that Jack and
Draycos are. If Draycos can drop safely off Jack's back over a wall, so
can you."
    "Perhaps," Taneem said. "But whether you're right or wrong, we
have no choice, do we?"
    "Not that I can see," Alison admitted. "I'm sorry."
    The tapping tail slowed and then stopped. "Then I will do it."
    "Thank you," Alison said. "All right. You remember that it was the
third and fourth indentations. The combination is
three-seven-twelve-nine-twenty. You line up the little diamond on the
rotator with the right place around the rim, push the center of the
rotator until it clicks, then go on to the next one."
    "I understand," Taneem said. " Twelve is the one and two,
correct?"
    "Right, but the dial isn't marked with human numbers," Alison
said, feeling a fresh layer of sweat ooze out onto her forehead. She'd
worked with safes for so long that she didn't even think anymore about
the fact that most of them used entirely different number systems.
"When I say twelve I mean the twelfth symbol around from the
top. I think it's a squiggle with a short line angled through it. The
very top symbol is what I call twenty, the symbol just to its right is
one, the next is two, and so on."
    "I see," Taneem said. "I should have realized that. I'm sorry."
    "No problem," Alison said. "You ready?"
    "Third and fourth indentations; three, seven, twelve, nine,
twenty," Taneem said. "Yes, I'm ready."
    "Then let's go for it," Alison said, pressing her back firmly
against the metal again. "Good luck."
    She felt Taneem move into position, peering over the wall. There
was a moment of anticipation that reminded Alison somehow of her first
experience gazing down from the end of the swimming pool's high-dive
board.
    And then, suddenly, Taneem was gone.
    Alison twitched violently in reaction. The movement bumped her
head against the self-destruct bomb set into the safe's ceiling.
    She rubbed gingerly at the spot. As if she'd needed that reminder
that her fate was now directly tied to Taneem's. If the K'da had fallen
wrong and disappeared into that strange fourth-dimensional space, then
Alison was also dead. Either her air would run out or someone else
would open the safe and the bomb would blow her head off. . . .
    She was almost startled when, with no fuss at all, the safe door
swung open at her feet.
    She blinked sudden tears of relief from her eyes as Taneem's
gray-scaled face peered in at her. "You were right," the K'da said, her
jaws cracking open in a wry smile. "Number twelve was a
squiggle with a line through it."
    "Ah," Alison said, filling her lungs with fresh air as she worked
her way out of the safe. Stretching stiff muscles, she looked around.
    The room was dark except for the handful of small red night-lights
marking the door and the tastefully concealed emergency kit. Another
door led off one of the side walls, its lack of red night-lights
showing that it wasn't an exit.
    "What now?" Taneem asked quietly.
    "Shh," Alison warned, touching her finger to her lips. She pulled
out her mascara tube again as she moved carefully to the door. If
Neverlin had any brains, he would have left guards outside in the
corridor.
    He had. Two of them, she guessed, from the sounds of their
breathing.
    Just as carefully she backed away again to the farthest corner of
the office. Taneem, her silver eyes glittering in the darkness, padded
silently over to join her.
    "There are bad people out there?" the K'da murmured.
    Alison nodded. "Two, I think," she said. "But don't worry. It
doesn't sound like they're planning to come in and snoop around."
    "Unless we give them reason to do so."
    "So we make sure we don't," Alison said, trying to think.
Originally, a quiet look around had been first on her list of things to
do. Once she had