The Wolf Worlds by Allan Cole, Chris Bunch Read Free Book Online

neck. Then swore to himself as the loosely held squad weapon crashed to the ground from the dying man's shoulder.
    The Jann noncom had time to whirl and start his weapon up.
    finger coming back on the trigger. Alex one-handed the weapon away, the barrel cracking, and his open palm went straight into the man's throat.
    Gettin' a wee sloppy, m'boy. Cartilage crackle and a gurgle, his mind reprimanded as Alex flat-dove forward. Hit the ground in what looked like a curled bellyflop as the point man heard his noncom's deathrattle. came around, and Alex was rolling, his legs thrashing, and the man came crashing down, his weapon flying a meter away.
    The pointman scrabbled for a knife, and Alex, now moving almost slowly, brought his knee up and then crashing down into the man's ribcage. He heard the dull sound of ribs crunching, and the Jann contorted and was dead.
    Alex held. flat. Waiting. Nothing. Up on his hands and knees, and looked back down the path.
    Y'mum'd be proud, lad. Five for five. Ah. well. Roll on demob.
    And Alex went back down the path to wait for the attack to begin.
    * * *
    Nem!i had never seen so small a being run so fast. He and Doc had taken position about one kilometer outside the crater's mouth, deep in the grasslands. Between them and the craters, the Stra!bo cattle moved leisurely toward the corrals.
    Doc was crashing through what was to him a jungle of grasslands, holding a heavy—again for him—bag of powder carefully to one side.
    The ripped corner of the bag was trickling powder onto the ground. Doc looked up, saw that he was parallel with the crater's far wall, turned, and—still at a dead heat—dashed back toward the Stra!bo chief.
    Came to a halt. The small bear and the tall chief looked soberly at each other.
    "A being such as yourself deserves the highest respect," Nem!i said soberly. "To these eyes, you were an elder advisor to your youths. But now to find that you are yourself still a warrior, in spite of your advancing years. And that your body can still function, even though you are as fond as I of feasting— it is an amazing sight."
    Doc ground his sharp little teeth and wished that the Empire hadn't done such a good job of conditioning him out of killing people who thought well of him.
    "I thank you, Nem!i." he managed. "Your pleasure can only be exceeded by mine, when I see you personally lead the charge against the black ship."
    Nem!i shook his head sadly. "I am afraid not. my friend. Men of my age are fit only for the mopping up and to congratulate the young warriors after their success. I will not be able to seek battle this night."
    Doc swore six words Alex had taught him and touched the toggle switch.
    And the powder caught, flashing high into the night. The tinder-dry grasslands roared into life, and, almost instantly, the two-kilometer arc of savannah outside the crater was a crescent-inferno, burning straight into the crater.
    The cattle caught the scent of the flames and lowed nervously.
    Their amble became a trot. Behind them was wildfire— a prairie firestorm.
    Burning brands flew high into the night, and the fire began overleaping itself, almost burning itself out.
    A blazing clump of bushes landed on one emasculate bellwether's back. He howled in dismay and broke into a gallop.
    The panic spread, and the ground thundered as the herds of the Stra!bo stampeded directly toward the crater's mouth.
    Hugin yowled nervously across the crater gap. Educated and mutated he may have been, but part of his tiger genes remembered what happened when large cats stood in the way of buffalo herds.
    Munin coughed back, comfortingly. Then squatted and urinated. Hugin, too. followed orders.
    The herd was just beginning to turn, unable to channel into the narrow crater pass, when the lead animals caught the scent of urine. What little ideas they had vanished in the acrid smoke and the scent of a hunting animal.
    Hugin and Munin had not only channeled the stampede into the crater but almost