Free The Warlock Wandering by Christopher Stasheff Page B

little rope here that's come untied. All it needs is a proper square knot. Now, you just put your finger on it, right there..." Gwen did. Of course, that necessitated bending over, and swaying closer to the young man. He swallowed hard, and gave the knot a jerk that almost broke the cord. Behind his back. Rod was tossing a loop of rope up to catch around one of the inch-thick spikes that studded the top of the Wall, and beckoning. Chornoi clambered up it, hand over hand, with Yorick right behind her. Rod came last, and tossed the rope over the far side of the Wall. Yorick slipped down first, then Chornoi. Rod glowered down at the young sentry's back, then turned to leap, catch the rope, and glide down. He landed lightly, and Chornoi stared.
    "How did you do that? Without breaking your arches, I mean."
    "Practice," Yorick grunted. "Come on, let's get out of here." He bolted across the open stretch of brightly-lit land, into the shadow of a copse fifty feet away. No alarms went off; the sentry was looking at something else at the-moment. Rod held his breath, feeling the jealousy climb up to consume him. Then a whisper and a rustle, and he whirled 64 Christopher Stasheff
    about to see Gwen gliding in for a landing on her broomstick. Chomoi turned around, did a double take. "How did you get here?"
    "I trust that young man will count himself amply repaid for his kindness." Rod snapped.
    "Husband, I prithee." Gwen laid a gentle hand on his forearm. "What choice was there? He'd ne'er ha' trusted Demoiselle Chomoi."
    "True enough." Rod clipped off the words. "May I congratulate you on a successful flirtation—I mean, diversion. And I'll cut out that kid's liver and lights if I ever bump into him again."
    "Truly, husband, 'tis unworthy of thee." Gwen's eyes were large with reproach. "Be mindful that the lad spoke to a Gramarye witch, and, moreover, one who can cast thoughts and feelings. Truly, the lad had no chance."
    "In more ways than one," Rod sighed, "and you don't need to mention your powers to explain it. I suppose I don't have any right to be angry with him, do I?"
    "Nay, certes," Gwen breathed, swaying close to him.
    "But we tarry."
    "How the hell does she know where to go?" Rod muttered to Yorick. "Okay, so the planet has a moon or two, so we've had light almost all the way, and when the big moon set, she just had us wait twenty minutes till the other one rose. But even with it, I can scarcely see twenty feet in front of me!"
    "Well, / can see fine." Yorick grinned. "You Sapiens have just gone soft, that's all. Too many millennia of lighted streets."
    "What's she?" Rod grumbled. "A Neanderthalette?" Yorick shook his head. "Not a good enough build. Kinda scrawny, y' know? And the face is kinda flat and angular. But I think she's a nice kid underneath it all." Actually, Rod had been thinking that Chomoi was a clasTHE WARLOCK WANDERING
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    sical beauty—or would have been, if her face hadn't been constantly pinched with hostility. And her body was anything but "scrawny." However, he could understand why she wouldn't measure up to the Neanderthal ideal of femininity. The comment on her interior self, though, he doubted.
    "You must be seeing deeper than I am." Yorick shrugged. "You Saps must be damn near blind." Rod wondered if he meant that to be interpreted both ways.
    "Come on." Yorick stepped up the pace. "We've got some serious catching up to do."
    Chomoi strode ahead of them, as briskly as though she hadn't realized she was climbing a thirty-degree slope. Finally she came to a stop, and the men huffed and puffed up beside her, with Gwen silent at Rod's shoulder.
    "Here it is." Chomoi waved a hand.
    They stood on top of a ridge, oriented roughly east-west. The moonlight showed a plain stretching out for miles about them, unending grassland broken only by the occasional copse and a line of stunted trees that straggled across the prairie, marking a watercourse.
    Rod took a deep breath. "Quite a view." Chomoi nodded. "It's