“I said there’s woods all around, didn’t I? What, you don’t think people fuck at the fair? Whoring is even more popular than picking pockets.”

“That’s enough,” Kane said, and drummed his claws on the top of his pack as he considered. It was a risk, or Raven thought it was, much more than the other hunts Sue-Eye had led them on. But Sue-Eye believed it could be done, and that she’d had experience in a similar hunt. Nine vials of dopamine would render down to four of concentrated Vahst, maybe five if he cheated it out a little. And once they got into the woods and left the roads, he wasn’t likely to find enough humans to fill even one vial more before he returned to the ship. This could be his last chance for a big hunt.

“Pull us over, Raven,” he said. Immediately, that sense of ghostly warning grew and he wished he could call the words back. But he couldn’t show uncertainty, not to his ichuta’a. “We’ll have a look at least,” he said instead.

Both his females nodded, although Raven had that too-still quality to her features which meant she wasn’t happy. But she’d obey. She knew who her commander was.

Kane settled back into his chair and watched the forests of Earth slide by. He flexed his claws to hear them scrape on his pack and feel the resistance of the hard synthetic material, putting himself in the mindspace for hunting. For some reason, it was more difficult than it usually was to work up the killing mood. He wondered why and heard, as if in reply, the wordless timbre of his father’s voice.

It bothered him. It kept bothering him as Raven slowed and turned off the road onto a dirt path and into a rough parking bay. Sue-Eye, sitting quietly and perfectly behaved beside him, kept drawing his frustrated eye as Raven slowly prowled for a place to put the groundcar. She was responsible for this scratchy feeling, somehow. If she weren’t here, he could simply tell Raven he’d changed his mind and she’d take them away without a question or even a glance. But Sue-Eye would see weakness. And Sue-Eye might try to use it.

He really should just kill her. Fifty crona wasn’t worth this kind of aggravation.

But they were here already. He might as well look around.

Raven found a place to dock and Kane could feel Heat sinking into him almost the instant he stepped out of the car. It was crowded, too; more humans milled about in the parking field than Kane had ever seen in one place, outside of a breeding facility. Males, females, pregnant females, old ones, young ones, even infants, all of them exhibiting the high mania of celebration that so often flared into temper. It was easy to see why Sue-Eye considered this to be good hunting grounds. It was easier to see Raven’s caution.

Kane stood at the rear of the groundcar and pulled his hat down low over his eyes, feeling sweat bead up already along his brow, and watched the humans stream around him. He had wondered if he could really fill nine vials with dopamine on one hunt in broad daylight. Looking around now, seeing all these unknowing targets, he knew for damn sure he could. It put the blood in him for hunting, but his unease lingered. He listened for his father’s voice and heard nothing.

Well, what did he expect? He had always been the thought behind his father’s ghost. But it bothered him all the same.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Raven asked, stepping to his side.

The words, so close to his own thoughts, scratched at him and he answered with more fang than she merited. “Don’t question me, Raven. I’m not your partner, I’m your commander.”

She drew a breath and nodded, not in the least surprised by his venom, and Kane instantly felt annoyed with himself, which in turn made him want to snap at someone else. If there weren’t so many humans around, he’d have given Sue-Eye a sound cuff. But there were, and they might raise an alert if he was seen punching one of his females, so he got a grip on his simmering temper and started walking, following the flow of humanity.

He could smell smoke and sweat from here, but the closer they came to the gates, the stronger the smells of food became, reminding him of his hunger. There was music also, many different strains of it, and screams that might be born as easily of fear as excitement. Piercing child-screams stung the worst, but Kane contented himself with knowing that it was all temporary.

Sue-Eye bought their entry, and then they were inside. The ‘fair’, as it was called, went on as far as Kane could see, although the trees rose in the distance on every side as proof of finite borders. It stretched out in orderly streets, flanked by single-room shelters that acted as shops, display booths, information kiosks, and food stores. And all around, visible in colorful bursts over the flimsy roofs, were some dramatically unsafe-looking structures the humans were using as playthings—riding in cars on modular tracks, spinning in wheels, swinging on hammers. For the fun of it, by all appearances, although when Kane thought of fun, squeezing into an open car and riding it through a loop on a rusted metal bar was nowhere on his lengthy mental list.

Gradually, the staggering unfamiliarity of the place began to fade. Kane walked slowly, camouflaging himself with motion as he studied the hunting grounds. The first order would be to find the perimeter. The interior of the fair was simply too dangerous, even to patrol like this. With so many humans around him, he was well aware that he stood out from them in appearance and in dress. If a body were discovered, as eventually it would be, it was not far-fetched to think Kane would be suspected merely because he would be best-remembered. So, find the perimeter and stay there, away from the greater crowds. Hunt his fill, keep Heat at arm’s reach, and maybe take a meal on his way out to the parking bay. Trade the car out as quickly as possible afterwards, too, just in case. After that, one last drive, and then cool space, floods of money, and home.

Kane got Raven on one side of him, Sue-Eye on the other, and aimed himself at the nearest stretch of forest. All around him was Vahst. He prepared himself for one last hunt.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter Thirty-Six

Dozing on the road again, damn it all. He’d given Daria orders to keep him engaged in conversation, but driving made her nervous and it was too easy for her to forget to talk when hazards such as curves, crossroads or other drivers came into sight. Likewise, occupying himself with Grendel was the worst way to combat fatigue, as the cat merely curled up under his hand and taunted him with blatant sleep. It was a nuisance, really, as it meant that he would not be tired enough to sleep when they stopped for the night and that would make him drowsy (and thus prone to doze off) the next day. A vicious, self-perpetuating cycle.

Tagen was irritably sinking into a doze nonetheless when Daria made that gentle coughing sound that meant she had something to say. He straightened up at once, displaying wakefulness, and she said, “Are you hungry?”

She must have meant the question rhetorically, he decided, glancing out the window. He could see nothing but trees.

“Because I’m about ready to stretch my legs,” she continued. “I know it’s hot, but if we park in the shade and leave the windows open, I’m sure Grendel will be all right. We won’t be all day or anything. Just long enough to grab a bite and shake the needles out, you know?”

This was sounding less and less like a rhetorical matter. Tagen looked again. The trees persisted. There were no towns. There were a few houses here and there, but surely she wasn’t planning to pick one at random and invade a kitchen.

“Where are you thinking to stop?” he asked finally.