Beowulf's Children

"Come on, boy," Cadma

Aaron looked at the knife, looked at Cadma

"You don't have a lot of choice here," Cadma

"They would have listened to you." He held his wrists up, hands together. This boy was surrendering! What the hell was he supposed to do?

"They would have returned to the island. Everything would have been over."

"That's no reason to kill." But in the back of his mind, a voice whispered: For Aaron Tragon, maybe it is.

"Kneel down," Cadma

Aaron obeyed. His lower lip trembled. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Cross your ankles and sit on them." That was a satisfactory unready position. "Take off your belt."

Aaron's hands went to his belt, slid it out of its loops.

"Make a noose on the end, and put your wrists through it. Tighten it with your teeth." Aaron did, and then, unsolicited, wrapped the belt around again. Tears were streaming down his face. He looked up into Cadma

God. How had it all gone so wrong so fast? Cadma

Aaron's palms flat on the ground. Aaron's body uncoiled, spun. Aaron 's legs lashed out, caught Cadma

Cadma

Grabbed belt. Wheeled, pivoted, threw Aaron by the bound wrists. Perfect leverage and timing. Aaron wheeled though the air, hit hard, rolled over groggily, and his hands—

Found Chaka's rifle. Braced butt against chest. Fingers found trigger.

Cadma

Aaron's face twisted in anguish.

A single, tormented word:

"Father."

And then thunder.

Chapter 38

THE GATHERING STORM

But evil is wrought by want of thought

As well as want of heart.

THOMAS HOOD, The Lady's Dream

Edgar and Trish were alone in the communications shack. Because he had chosen this time to show her how to build weather models, they were the first to hear the choked and frantic words. "Mayday... Mayday..." Unmistakably, Aaron Tragon's voice. The voice of a man very near the edge.

Edgar was more curious than anything else. He leaned over Trish.

"Wasn't Aaron out with Cadma

"As far as I know," she said. She stabbed at virtual buttons with a single forefinger. "Go ahead, Aaron. We read you."

"In Skeeter Twelve. Coming over the ridge now. My God. Grendels.

Grendels everywhere."

Edgar sat bolt upright. "What?" He slammed the general alarm circuit, and across the entire camp, klaxons began to scream.

Justin heard the alarm and shot a look at Jessica, who narrowed her eyes. There was a paired series of electronic screams, not the dreaded single bleats that would have indicated visual sighting by guards at the periphery. Still, it was enough to raise the hair at the back of his neck.

Grendel guns, never far away, were snatched up by eager hands. The entire population of Shangri-La emptied into the square. Eyes alert, heads swiveling, voices raised in alarm.

Trish appeared in the door of the communications shed, and searched the crowd until she found Jessica. She headed straight for her friend. Justin watched the two of them huddle. When Jessica turned around, the blood had drained from her face.

Justin sca

The faint burr of a skeeter worked its way into his consciousness. Before he could fully register it, Jessica turned toward him, took a halting step, and then froze. Her face tilted to the ground. It tilted back up. Her eyes streamed.

They met in the middle of the press, and she leaned sobbing into his arms.

Skeeter Twelve landed four minutes later. Four dozen anxious Star Born surrounded the skeeter pad, silent as Aaron Tragon emerged.

He was muddy, and bleeding, and bruised. His shirt was torn almost completely away. He looked like a man utterly lost.

Justin was the first to his side, and said, "Tell me."

Aaron looked at him. "I tried. I tried, Justin."

Justin grabbed Aaron's shoulder. "Tell me, goddamn it!"

The autogyro's rotors slowed, then stopped. Aaron leaned back against the cab.

"We were heading back along ridge twelve. The clouds were looking bad, and we wanted to make better time. There is a cliff there above the river. Chaka stopped, told us to look down. God." Aaron's shook as he wiped his brow. "The grendels were spawning. The samlon. They boiled in the river. It was... it was spectacular. They were so far down, I thought we were safe. Then the ledge gave way under our combined weight. Cadma

He paused, and during that pause. Big Chaka pushed his way through the crowd and came to stand before Aaron, looking up at him with an expression Justin found unreadable. Justin started to speak, but Big Chaka put a hand on his arm, imploring silence.

"He slid halfway down before he caught himself. He twisted something. He was too close to the river. Cadma

"It had been raining up there. The bank was unstable. Cadma

"Grendels," Big Chaka said.

Aaron nodded with infinite regret. "They boiled up out of the water. Six, seven, eight of them. Little ones, but a flood, once they realized that there was food. Cadma

He buried his head in his hands. "They screamed. They screamed. Oh, God, I never want to hear anything like that again. They were screaming curses, and killing grendels. For every one they killed, two more appeared. And they both slid down into the water, and then there was nothing but blood.

"I don't know how long I hung there, watching the water. Then I climbed back up. I was numb." He held up his hands. They were torn and bloody. "I lost my grip a few times, but I made it back to the top. I'd . ...'d torn my shirt. Lost my comm card. By the time I got back to the skeeter, the weather was turning bad. I called in a Mayday. I couldn't think straight anymore. I flew back."

He met Jessica's eyes. Then Justin's. Then Big Chaka's. Jessica moved up to hold him.

The group was silent. Justin was shaking.

Big Chaka looked up at the sky. It was massed high with dark, angry clouds. "How long before the storm?"

Almost in answer, drops began to fall.

He hung his head. "When it is over, we must go out, and see what we can recover of my son." He looked at Aaron again. Something—not anger, not grief—stole across his dark face, and then was gone.