Heart's Lair Read Online Free PDF Page A

nimbly dodged his way toward the beckoning trees.
    There was hope now as the forest grew ever nearer. Once within its dark safety the blasters would be useless. Once within the forest, he'd be back in his element. He quickened his pace until he thought his heart would burst from the effort.
    He was almost there when a sharp, searing pain slashed through his right thigh, nearly toppling him over. Karic staggered, then righted himself, though he hardly could see where he was going. He had to make it to the trees!
    Karic stumbled into a large tree trunk before he realized he'd reached his sanctuary, and he stood there gasping, as much for air as for the excruciating pain that vibrated through his leg. If he lost consciousness now, it would all be over. Karic forced himself to limp on.
    He thought he heard voices, fading fainter and fainter, but perhaps it was only the murmur of the wind-tossed trees and distant thunder. After a while it didn't matter. Time melted into a meaningless haze. The effort necessary to put one foot in front of the other, to drag his torn and bleeding leg behind him, required all his concentration.
    He must go on, escape, get back to his people.
    It began to rain, at first a gentle patter that intensified to large, heavy droplets and then an outright downpour. The leaves underfoot quickly slickened, and Karic slipped and fell.
    This time it wasn't so easy to pull himself up, as his strength rapidly ebbed. He lay there for a time, the rain drenching him and draining the warmth from his body. Then Karic stirred. He knew he had to find a hiding place soon, or they'd find him lying here.
    When he rolled over on his side to lever himself up with his bound arms, he slipped again on the wet leaves. The effort cruelly depleted him of his remaining strength. When Karic tried again, he found he couldn't rise at all.
    There was nothing left. Two sols without food and water, the endless neural torture, and now the massive blaster wound to his leg had finally sapped everything. He lay there in the cold dampness of a suddenly hostile forest, until exhaustion claimed him.

    >

    A strident baying woke Karic. For a moment, he couldn't fathom where he was. Then the frigid rain, pouring down through the trees, brought it all back. He was in the forest. From the looks of it, he'd slept nearly the whole sol away.
    The usual benefits of sleep had eluded him. His tightly bound arms had gone numb horas ago, the deep leg wound throbbed fiercely, and his battered body still ached with exhaustion.
    Struggling to climb to his feet, he barely managed to draw his knees under him when his leg's tortured flesh sent a surge of nauseating agony through him. Karic doubled over, panting to fight back the gorge that rose in his throat.
    The baying drew closer. In some detached part of his mind, Karic wondered if the Bellatorians would set their search canus on him when they found him. He'd seen the beasts tear into a dead Cat Man's body once, and the memory sent a fresh wave of nausea through him.
    He'd have to hide. He couldn't go on, not yet, not without more rest. If luck were with him the incessant rain would cover his scent from the search canus, and he knew he could cloak his presence from the Bellatorians. With any luck, they just might pass him by.
    A dense thicket lay to the right of him, just ten meters away. It was as good a shelter as any. He crawled over to it. The sound of voices, mixed with the excited yelps of the canus, grew nearer. He could almost make out the individual voices of his pursuers now.
    Karic slid beneath the thicket's dense foliage and attempted to cloak his presence. His trackers continued to draw closer. A vague uneasiness wound its way through him. Why were they coming so near? They couldn't penetrate his psychic deception. No Bellatorian could.
    The thought of Liane flashed through his mind an instant before he heard her voice.
    "I cannot be certain, with all the tumult from the rain and wind," Liane