Free The League of Night and Fog by David Morrell Page B

helped them without knowing it.
    Scrambling lower, she shifted her gaze from one Arab to the other as they flanked the ravine below her. Her handgun wasn’t accurate at this range. They shot again into the ravine. She stopped and fired, hoping that the bullet would at least distract them.
    It didn’t.
    The Arab on the left dropped into the ravine. The Arab on the right moved parallel to it, glancing warily toward her, making sure she wasn’t close enough to be a threat, then darting his eyes toward the depression his partner had entered.
    “Look out, Drew!”
    The echo of her scream merged with another scream.
    The Arab who’d entered the ravine staggered halfway up itssteep slope, his face in agony. Raising his eyes toward the sky as if in prayer, he shuddered and fell back out of sight.
    The second Arab froze in astonishment. His paralysis lasted just long enough for Drew to crawl to the top of the ravine, aim a rifle, and shoot him in the face.
    The rifle’s echo subsided. Drew collapsed back into the ravine.
    By now, the sun was high enough to scorch her. Despite the brutal strain on her body, she ran even harder. Scrambling into the ravine, she found him.
    His voice was guttural. “Be careful. There’s a cobra down here.”
    She whirled.
    The snake lay coiled on the sand fifteen feet away from her. Unblinking, it assessed her.
    “It’s going to strike!” She aimed her pistol.
    “Wait,” Drew said.
    “But … !”
    “Give it a chance to live.”
    The cobra poised itself. Just as Arlene decided she couldn’t afford to delay, the snake sank its head to the ground again, flicked its tongue, and slithered away. It seemed contemptuous, dismissive.
    “I froze when I saw it,” Drew said. “The gunman jumped down here. The sudden motion diverted the snake’s attention.”
    “And it bit the gunman instead of you?”
    “With a little help.”
    She shook her head, not understanding.
    “The snake was only an arm’s length away from me. When it turned toward the gunman, I grabbed it behind the head and threw it. It flopped across his shoulder.”
    Arlene felt sick.
    “It bit his stomach. When he screamed and dropped the rifle to shove the thing off him, I yanked the gun off the ground. He tried to crawl to the top of the ravine. The snake bit him again. By then, I was over here, out of its reach.”
    “And while the gunman’s partner was distracted by the screaming, you shot him.” She studied him with admiration.
    “I was lucky.”
    “No, you made your luck. As weak as you are, when you had to, you thought and moved fast. Instinct. Reflex.”
    “I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”
    He stood with effort. She steadied him and helped him from the ravine. After its shadow, the sun stabbed her eyes.
    “The snake reminded me of the lizard,” he said. “I hated it. Now I love it.”
    “As long as we don’t have to eat it. There’s a sure test to learn if you’re a mystic. Can you bring yourself to love the men who tried to kill you?”
    “No.” Drew stared at the body of the Arab he’d shot in the face. “God help me, I can’t.”
    They searched the corpse. Inside a packet attached to the gunman’s waist, they found dates and figs.
    “That solves our food problem.”
    “Extra bullets for the rifle. No papers. No identification.” Drew turned to her. “It’s clear they were after me, not you. Why?”
    Arlene shook her head in puzzlement. “I do know this. In case they’re from the nearest village, we’d better avoid it.”
    “Sure. But they weren’t from the village.”
    She followed his gaze toward the gunman’s mouth and tingled when she realized what he meant.
    The bullet’s impact had parted the gunman’s jaws, exposing his teeth. Even those in back were clearly visible. They glinted from the rays of the sun, amazingly perfect, stunningly white.
    “No fillings,” Drew said.
    “But
everybody
has fillings.”
    “In America maybe, if you’ve got the money to go to a dentist.