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.She saw his frightened expression change to resolve as he struggled all the harder, trying to turn so that the guard was on the edge of the hole.But he was held tight in a bear hug now, unable to move his arms.Any second the guard would give a final heave, open his arms, and propel Nicholas backward into the volcano.Any second.‘Wait!’Everything stopped.Everyone turned towards the voice.Benny assumed at first it was Nusek shouting down from the gallery, though she doubted it was to offer a free pardon.But the figure that had spoken was in the chamber with them, hurrying down the incline towards the dais.His progress was slow, his old limbs struggling to keep balance on the slope as Reddik made his way towards them.‘What is this? Reddik, what are you doing?’ Nusek shouted from above.But Reddik was at the dais now, climbing the steps, breathless.‘Thank goodness I got here in time,’ he said to the nearest guard, the one holding a blaster on Benny.The noise was deafening.The percussion echoed round the chamber, stinging Benny’s ears.She felt the searing heat of the blast, saw the hole appear in Reddik’s robes as the energy ate through them.The guard was blown past her by the impact, crashing to the floor behind.Almost at the same instant Braxiatel kicked the blaster out of the second guard’s hands.Then he turned and jumped down from the dais, running up the slope towards the door.The blaster skittered across the floor, the guard diving desperately after it.But Reddik had drawn his blaster from its concealment inside his robes, tracking the guard with it.The guard grabbed his gun, rolled, almost made it to a crouch before Reddik’s shot caught him in the shoulder.He spun backwards, colliding with the third guard, who was still holding Nicholas on the edge of the volcano.Nicholas’s guard held his grip as his comrade glanced off them.But the grip was loosened.With surprising speed Nicholas broke free of the embrace.He kicked backward, catching the wounded soldier even as he tried to regain his balance at the edge of the drop.The soldier teetered on the brink, one arm windmilling, the other limp at his side.His scream wailed its way back to them as he toppled over and down.A moment later the scream was cut off by a violent hiss of steam.Flames licked out of the pit, spilling over the edge for a moment and sending Nicholas and the last guard staggering back from them.Then they collapsed back like a breaking wave.The remaining guard lunged for Nicholas with a cry of anger and determination.Nicholas clenched his hands together into a single fist and swung at him.The guard took the blow under the jaw, his own full weight behind the impact.His head snapped upward and he went over backward, slamming to the ground without time for a cry.His head lolled to one side, eyes wide in unseeing surprise.It had taken only a few seconds from the time Reddik fired his first shot.But already there was noise from the gallery.Nusek and Mastrov were shouting instructions.Guards were rushing to positions on the balcony and training blasters on the chamber below.‘Terrific,’ Benny said.‘Now what’s the plan?’‘We die with honour,’ Reddik said, ‘as soldiers should.’Nicholas was with him, the two of them standing back to back, guns raised, as if about to begin walking at the start of a duel.Benny was not impressed.Dying with honour was, in her book, a very poor second to not dying at all.She looked round for Braxiatel.He was at the main door.But he did not seem concerned with escape.He was crouched at a control panel set into the wall beside the door.As Benny watched, there was a small explosion of spark and flame from the panel.Then Braxiatel straightened up, rubbed his hands together with apparent satisfaction, and walked quickly back down the slope towards them.‘You’ve done something clever, haven’t you?’ Benny accused him as he approached.He nodded.‘I jammed the lock on the doors for one thing.’Benny pointed up at the gallery.‘We do have other problems,’ she said.‘They don’t actually have to get in to get us.’‘Oh, that,’ Braxiatel said dismissively.‘Fire at will.’ Nusek’s angry voice carried to them clearly.‘Your name Will?’ Benny asked.It wasn’t much of an epitaph, but she thought it would do under the circumstances [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]