Subject: Under The Radar Stoccks

From: "Jeri Tatum" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 01:20:32 +0800

Dan Poe

Having approached, they saw the armed men behind Ganesha and Draupadi, and they froze where they stood or knelt."Or they could be souls in torment!" Draupadi flared. "At the Stone Tower, you know what you saw. You saw what the Dark Ones do. Terror and suffering are their servants, but they have human slaves as well."Draupadi reached over to touch the Eagle. She could, Quintus thought, and the sight reassured him even before her words."You heard him!" Quintus told Draupadi. She stared at him with a kind of frantic grief. "Go on!"His ribs felt as if lead weights were laid about them. He could see Draupadi's face, but it was growing smaller and fainter as if he saw it through a mist of blood.... He started to fall but was upheld by the very thing that was attacking him.Behind them came the noise of a camp, of soldiers settling, some to sleep, some to guard. He should return, should allow them to see that he was still alert.And that thought was worse than any possible dreams that Quintus might have. But it was Ganesha who answered. "We go forward. Always forward."Draupadi and Ganesha marched on ahead. From one of the packs, they had withdrawn robes long stored away, shaken them free of dust, and now led, robed in the white of their old offices."Leave it," Quintus ordered. The man obeyed."Mount up and take her reins!" Quintus shouted at Rufus. She would need both hands for her work.Ahead of them, the dancing figure seemed to pause, drawing light about it as a lamp flares up with the last drops of oil. Then that light too was quenched.Ganesha was an ally. Quintus must aid him, just as he had aided Draupadi.