Dragonback 01 Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn Read Free Book Online Page B

his comm clip.
"Better hurry. If the amount of ground-radio traffic is anything to go
by, they're starting to heat up the search for you."
    Jack nodded grimly. Terrific. "Right," he said. "Here we come."

CHAPTER 6

    The ridge Jack was headed for was yet another result of the crash:
a mound of smoking dirt that had been thrown up by the big ship as it
plowed across the ground. Most of the smaller trees in this zone had
been knocked over as the dirt swept past, but there were enough of the
larger ones sticking out at all angles to make navigation hazardous.
Earlier, on his way toward the wreck, Jack had nearly run into at least
three of them in the dense smoke, and he'd been able to feel the
burning heat of the dirt itself right through his boots.
    Now, as they angled toward the ridge going the other direction, it
didn't look a whole lot more inviting. What Draycos and his bare paws
were going to think of it he didn't know.
    It didn't take long for him to find out. Only a few steps into the
smoke Draycos, who had been in the lead, paused and let Jack catch up.
A silent leap, a brief weight on Jack's chest which quickly vanished,
and Jack was slogging his way through the crumbly dirt alone.
    He continued on, fighting hard not to cough as he waded through
the smoke, feeling more than a little annoyed. The least the dragon
could have done, he grumbled to himself, would have been to ask
permission before climbing aboard.
    He had gone perhaps ten paces more, and was passing a particularly
large tree trunk that had managed to stay mostly vertical, when a pair
of arms reached out from behind the tree and wrapped themselves solidly
around his chest. "Gotcha!" a deep human voice said.
    "Ye- owp !" Jack gasped, trying to pull away. A human voice? "Hey!"
    The man responded by lifting him completely clear of the ground.
"Oh, no you don't," he growled. "Settle down or I'll break your ribs."
    "No, no, let me go," Jack pleaded, still fighting against the grip
as he flailed his legs around helplessly. It was no use; the man was as
strong as an ox. "Help! Mommy!"
    "Oh, shut up," the man snarled contemptuously. He shifted grip
slightly, and there was a soft click from somewhere behind Jack's ear.
"Base, this is Dumbarton. I've got him."
    "Do you need assistance?" a fainter voice demanded. Jack
stiffened, a chill running through him despite the sweltering heat of
the ridge. Earlier, he had thought of Draycos's voice as being
snakelike, which made sense now that he knew the dragon's reptilian
nature.
    But for absolute snakelike quality, this new voice beat Draycos
hands down. It was human, but as cold and heartless and just plain
nasty a voice as Jack had ever heard.
    Considering some of the people he and Uncle Virgil had kept
company with over the years, that was saying a lot.
    "Negative, sir," Dumbarton said. His tone was suddenly respectful,
and Jack had the odd sense that this wasn't who he'd expected to answer
the comm clip. "Like the Brummy said, he's just a kid, maybe twelve or
thirteen. I can handle him."
    "He was alone?"
    "Yes, sir," Dumbarton said.
    "Very well," the evil voice said. "Bring him here. The rest of
you, spread out and continue the search. I want his ship, or his house,
or wherever it is he came from. And I want everyone who's still
there."
    There was a series of faint acknowledgments. "Okay, kid, let's
go," Dumbarton said, swinging Jack around toward the wrecked ship. As
he did so, Jack felt a brief tug of extra weight down by his left hip.
"You want to walk on your own, or—?"
    He never finished the question. From behind Jack came the faint
crackle of an electrical discharge; and without warning, Dumbarton's
grip loosened, and Jack found himself dropping through the encircling
arms to land flat on his rear in the blazing hot dirt.
    Stifling a yelp, he scrambled to his feet, legs and rear end
feeling flash-toasted even through his jeans. Dumbarton was sprawled on
his back, his eyes shut, his mouth hanging half open. Beside