Guns of Mars 91
A Martian action-adventure by The Legend Chuck Dixon
CHAPTER 27.4
“Meaning what?” The man’s voice was reedy, his throat raw from breathing fumes.
“Have those green-blooded bastards poisoned the lake with their ashes?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they have. Then again, the Eye of Water has survived this long. Maybe it will cleanse itself over time.”
“How much time?”
“What do I know about the science of all this?” the man barked causing him to break into a fit of coughing.
The thark raised himself and stood watching the tower of black smoke rising to blot out the stars. The thick column billowed from the peak of the lonely mountain to surge to where winds clawed at it, fraying its top and carrying the crown away toward the mountain peaks. Ribbons of smoke also rose from the many channels bored through the rock to allow in light. There was the scent of burning vegetable matter in the air, a cloying, oily stink.
The bounty man sat up and looked to where their thoats stood together, nosing at the ground in a futile effort to find feed.
“We’ve buried enough water,” he said after clearing his throat and spitting a long stream of black spit to the sand. “We could reach Yttrium in a few days ride.’
“I will not be defeated,” Kal said, crouching to scrub the slime from his blade with handfuls of sand.
“You tharks are a stubborn breed,” the man said with a snort. He was using handfuls of sand to rub greasy ash from his limbs.
“You said time might heal the well. We will give it time.”
“Both of us then?”
“You are free to go when and where you wish, little man. But you will not do so riding a thoat.”
“I’ll stay. For a time.”
Kal Keddaq nodded at that before resting his chin on the pommel of his saber to fall into a heavy sleep.
Special Note: GUNS OF MARS is now available in a hardcover edition. It is available at Amazon and at NDM Express.
