Read Online The Web and the Stars by Brian Herbert - Free Book Online
Authors: Brian Herbert
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metamorphose into any number of flying creatures, such as the one she favored now. Her movements were always graceful, like those of an aerial dancer.
“Come with me, my love,” she finally said. “I am a great white gull, with a built-in saddle on my back for you to ride. Let me take you to our favorite beach-by-the-sea.”
In no mood for a holiday, Hari shook his head. He did not notice a shadowy creature moving along beside them in the woods, just out of view.…
Parais flew toward the woods and fluttered between tall evergreen trees. Moments later, she returned.
“Someone is watching us,” she said. “I saw no one, but I know they are there.”
He stopped and looked in that direction. “How do you know?”
“I sense it.” She tucked her wings and landed beside him.
“But you are not telepathic; you are not a hydromutati … a Seatel.”
“Nonetheless, I sense something,” she said, looking nervously in that direction. “Come with me now. Let me fly you away from here.”
Hari was not pleased, and not afraid. “Someone doesn’t approve of our relationship,” he said. “Just like that time in your village. Is it one of your people again? How did they get past security?”
“I … I’m not sure who it is or how he got here. I just think we should go.”
“This is my home. I’ll be damned if I’ll run from my own home!” He marched toward the woods.
She flew beside him. “Don’t!” she said. “Please listen to me. At least summon the guards.”
“We have a right to life without being spied on, without Mutatis questioning our lifestyle, the choice of whom I wish to love. I’ve always tried to follow the rules, but I keep finding too many reasons not to. Somewhere along the line, life got in the way, I guess. Now let’s see who’s spying on us.”
Consumed with rage against the intruder, Hari heard her saying something about danger, but he didn’t interpret that as physical peril, only as a risk to his reputation, and hers. As he rushed headlong into the woods, he wished he wasn’t even a Mutati, that he was a Human instead, and that he had at least crossed over and changed his racial appearance, as Princess Meghina of Siriki had done. She had been widely scorned in Mutati society for doing that, but she had followed her heart. She had shown tremendous courage, and he had always admired her for it.
Just then a Xou&pop rang out, and in the trees Hari saw the distinctive, silvery muzzle flare of a jolong rifle. A projectile whizzed past his head, and ripped a nearby sapling in half. As he ducked, another shot rang out and thunked loudly into a tree.
Hari heard Parais scream behind him.
The Emir did not travel unarmed. He pulled a white handgun out of his tunic, and pressed the top of the handle to activate it. “Did you see who shot at us?” he asked her.
“Mutati. No wings.” Parais pointed. “He’s on the move. Look!”
Seeing the slight movement of underbrush, Hari set the weapon’s seeking mechanism so that it would home in on the heat signature of a Mutati. It was a gun his father had obtained on special order, one that only the elite of their society had.
Hari didn’t even have to aim. He just fired in the general direction he wanted, and saw a flash of fire tear through the underbrush. A piercing scream echoed through the woods.
“Get on my back,” Parais urged.
The Emir did so, and clung to the bar of the saddle. Parais extended her wings partway and lifted off powerfully through the trees, rising higher and higher until the two of them cleared the treetops. She had taken additional mass from nearby vegetation to become a large bird, but there were limits that she could not exceed in this process. From medical tests, Hari knew that she—like most other Mutatis—could only become large enough to carry one adult shapeshifter on her back, and that any additional mass absorption would be dangerous to her cellular structure and to her life.
Below, he saw his
“Come with me, my love,” she finally said. “I am a great white gull, with a built-in saddle on my back for you to ride. Let me take you to our favorite beach-by-the-sea.”
In no mood for a holiday, Hari shook his head. He did not notice a shadowy creature moving along beside them in the woods, just out of view.…
Parais flew toward the woods and fluttered between tall evergreen trees. Moments later, she returned.
“Someone is watching us,” she said. “I saw no one, but I know they are there.”
He stopped and looked in that direction. “How do you know?”
“I sense it.” She tucked her wings and landed beside him.
“But you are not telepathic; you are not a hydromutati … a Seatel.”
“Nonetheless, I sense something,” she said, looking nervously in that direction. “Come with me now. Let me fly you away from here.”
Hari was not pleased, and not afraid. “Someone doesn’t approve of our relationship,” he said. “Just like that time in your village. Is it one of your people again? How did they get past security?”
“I … I’m not sure who it is or how he got here. I just think we should go.”
“This is my home. I’ll be damned if I’ll run from my own home!” He marched toward the woods.
She flew beside him. “Don’t!” she said. “Please listen to me. At least summon the guards.”
“We have a right to life without being spied on, without Mutatis questioning our lifestyle, the choice of whom I wish to love. I’ve always tried to follow the rules, but I keep finding too many reasons not to. Somewhere along the line, life got in the way, I guess. Now let’s see who’s spying on us.”
Consumed with rage against the intruder, Hari heard her saying something about danger, but he didn’t interpret that as physical peril, only as a risk to his reputation, and hers. As he rushed headlong into the woods, he wished he wasn’t even a Mutati, that he was a Human instead, and that he had at least crossed over and changed his racial appearance, as Princess Meghina of Siriki had done. She had been widely scorned in Mutati society for doing that, but she had followed her heart. She had shown tremendous courage, and he had always admired her for it.
Just then a Xou&pop rang out, and in the trees Hari saw the distinctive, silvery muzzle flare of a jolong rifle. A projectile whizzed past his head, and ripped a nearby sapling in half. As he ducked, another shot rang out and thunked loudly into a tree.
Hari heard Parais scream behind him.
The Emir did not travel unarmed. He pulled a white handgun out of his tunic, and pressed the top of the handle to activate it. “Did you see who shot at us?” he asked her.
“Mutati. No wings.” Parais pointed. “He’s on the move. Look!”
Seeing the slight movement of underbrush, Hari set the weapon’s seeking mechanism so that it would home in on the heat signature of a Mutati. It was a gun his father had obtained on special order, one that only the elite of their society had.
Hari didn’t even have to aim. He just fired in the general direction he wanted, and saw a flash of fire tear through the underbrush. A piercing scream echoed through the woods.
“Get on my back,” Parais urged.
The Emir did so, and clung to the bar of the saddle. Parais extended her wings partway and lifted off powerfully through the trees, rising higher and higher until the two of them cleared the treetops. She had taken additional mass from nearby vegetation to become a large bird, but there were limits that she could not exceed in this process. From medical tests, Hari knew that she—like most other Mutatis—could only become large enough to carry one adult shapeshifter on her back, and that any additional mass absorption would be dangerous to her cellular structure and to her life.
Below, he saw his
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