Dragon and Herdsman: The Fourth Dragonback Adventure
Timothy Zahn
Language: English
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0765314177
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
In the months since fate threw them together, they've been through a lot. But when Jack tries to hack the computer in an office of the notorious Malison Ring, their quest nearly ends in the jaws of that mercenary organization's trap.
Luckily, Alison Kayna, a girl Jack had worked with as a reluctant mercenary for another outfit, comes to his rescue. Evading pursuit, they escape to the primitive world of Rho Scorvi, where she's planned a rendezvous with friends.
But at the edge of Rho Scorvi's hundred-mile-wide forest, they make a shocking discovery: traveling with a group of the planet's native Erassvas is a small lost colony of Draycos's own race, the K'da. But unlike Draycos's people, these K'da--known as Phookas--are slow, lethargic, and unintelligent. When the Malison Ring tracks Jack's ship, the Essenay to Rho Scorvi, Jack realizes that unless he and Draycos and a reluctant Alison can lead the Phookas to safety in the forest, these unfortunate creatures will become the latest victims of the genocide that threatens to wipe out their entire race.
Jack has already been a thief, a soldier, and a slave. Now he must become a herdsman, protecting the Phookas from danger as they travel deep into the unexplored forest. But even more importantly, he must protect from the mercenaries and Alison the dark secret of the herd and Jack's poet-warrior ally. Only if they succeed do they stand a chance of surviving Rho Scorvi to continue their quest . . .
The Obsidian Blade (Klaatu Diskos, Book 1)
Anomaly (Anomaly Trilogy, Book 1)
Second performance.” “Looks to me like the cast is leaving the stage,” Jack said. “Maybe there’s a dinner theater later for the—” “Jack!” Uncle Virge’s voice came suddenly from the comm clip. “Incoming ships: one Kapstan long-range transport and two Djinn-90 pursuit fighters.” Jack’s breath caught in his throat. Djinn-90s? “Get out of there,” he snapped. “Go to ground and hide.” “Too late—they see me,” Uncle Virge said grimly. “I’m getting a signal—” There was the click of a relay. “Hello,.
Wasn’t going to ask what in blazes she was talking about. “Good,” she said. “Does that mean you’re over your twitchies?” “Being cautious in enemy territory is not being twitchy,” Jack insisted stiffly. “And, no, I think we ought to stay here a little longer.” Alison peered up at the sky. “If we do, we may be here all night,” she warned. “We don’t have much daylight left.” “I think it’s worth it,” Jack said firmly. “I’m staying, anyway.” “Fine,” Alison said, resettling herself against the.
Below him. The gunfire faltered; and then, to his surprise, it started up again at full force. But this volley wasn’t directed at him and his tree. Instead, it seemed to be concentrated on something at ground level. Jack? Hissing helplessly between his teeth, Draycos forced himself to look. But it wasn’t the boy he spotted running at full speed through the trees. It was, instead, one of the Phookas. How the creature had ended up here in the middle of the battle he couldn’t guess. But for the.
Through the middle of a dangerous forest, only this time with no true K’da there to look after them. “They’ll be all right,” Draycos assured him. “The Erassvas still have the altered odor that seems to ward off predators. And the Phookas, too, seem somewhat more alert than they were when we first met them.” “Spending a few days running for your life will do that, I suppose,” Jack agreed reluctantly. “I just hope it lasts long enough to get them all the way to the other side of the forest.” He.
Raised his eyebrows at Alison. “What about you? You want to go back and wait for your friends to show?” “With Frost still here?” Alison snorted. “No thanks. I’ll give them a call and tell them I’ve made other arrangements. That is, if you don’t mind me tagging along a little longer.” “Just like the baby sister I never had,” Jack said dryly. Alison’s eyes narrowed a little. “Watch it, pal,” she warned. “I’m at least five months older than you are.” “Can we hold off a comparison of birth.