Read Starship Fall for Free Online

had a badly cut forehead, and her arm was injured. But Jyrik – the elder – he said the village’s doctor fixed her up and she left the village on foot today.”
    “Today?” Maddie said. “How early?”
    Hawk spoke to the elder, then reported, “She set off at first light.”
    “And how far is it to the sacred site?” Maddie asked.
    Hawk addressed the elder again.
    The old man flung out a hand towards the mountains and uttered a flow of whispery words.
    “A few hours,” Hawk relayed, unable to keep the smile from his face.
    Maddie said, “Then we might catch up with her before...”
    “If we follow in the car,” I said.
    Hawk was shaking his head. “I asked him about the terrain. The car wouldn’t stand a chance–”
    “What about the bison?” Matt said. “I could go back and see what state it’s in...”
    Hawk spoke with the elder, then said, “It’s worth a try. It’s pretty steep terrain, but we could go as far as possible and travel the rest of the way on foot. The elder said he’d provide a guide.”
    “We’ll go back to the bison,” Matt said. “Try to get it started.”
    While Hawk continued his conversation with the elder, Matt, Maddie and I hurried back to the car. Matt jumped into the driver’s seat and we sped back down the track. Ten minutes later we came to the bison.
    Matt hoisted himself into the cab while I moved to the rear of the vehicle and inspected the ditch; it wasn’t deep, and I suspected the bison’s tracks would have no difficulty in reversing out.
    I joined Matt and Maddie in the cab. Matt held up the ignition card, kissed it and said, “Now let’s just hope the smash didn’t do any irreparable damage.”
    He inserted the card and depressed the starter, and the engine roared to life. The bison bucked, and Matt yelled and hauled the gear-lever into reverse. With much revving and swearing, he eased the vehicle from the ditch and pointed it in the direction of the village.
    We bucketed along, laughing like kids on a fairground ride.
    By the time we reached the village, Hawk was unloading provisions from the car. We stowed them aboard the bison and climbed back into the cab. Hawk remained standing beside the vehicle, discussing – I presumed – the matter of directions with the elder. A minute later a young female Ashentay climbed warily into the passenger seat beside Hawk; her resemblance to Kai, to my untutored eye, was remarkable. She glanced unsurely at him, and then back at us, and reached out to touch the unfamiliar lines of the cab with timid wonder.
    We left the village, crashing along a track through the enclosing jungle, and began to climb.
    As Hawk wrestled with the steering wheel, almost manhandling the bison through the steep terrain, he spoke to the girl.
    She replied with monosyllables at first, hardly glancing at him. Then, as he gained her trust, she smiled and chattered more easily.
    Over his shoulder, Hawk reported, “Qah says that Kee went with a group of Ashentay, whose time it also was to smoke the bones. They were impressed that she’d come so far by herself, and they wanted to know more about her life with us humans. I don’t think she told them she was living with me; some tribes might ask how that came about, and if they found out... well, they’d probably shun her.”
    The fact was that, ten years ago, Kee had been left in the jungle by her family as an offering to the Koah tree; she was the youngest girl from a litter of twenty children, and therefore expendable, and great credit would accrue to her tribe when her spirit was absorbed by the holy tree.
    Then Hawk had happened along and rescued her, and the rest was history.
    He said, “I asked her how many of her tribe had undergone the smoking ritual over the years. She said perhaps a hundred, with around thirty fatalities.” He looked grim.
    “Don’t worry,” Maddie said. “We’ll get to her before it starts.”
    We held on as the bison rocked back and forth, riding the motion