Ammonite Stars (Omnibus): Ammonite Galaxy #4-5 by Gillian Andrews Page A

that Six laughed.
    They looked around them. At least the appalling weather on the island would make it difficult to detect or follow them. On the other hand, it also made it nigh on impossible to find their own way about. They carefully curled up the long rope they had used, and hid it underneath one of the many loose boulders. Then Six, who was the one with the keenest sense of direction, took the lead, signing them to make no noise whatsoever.
    As they crept along the drenched and foggy undergrowth large metallic walls which surrounded the open-air compound suddenly loomed up out of the mist. Ledin gave a silent whistle. The walls were the rich colour of copper, covered with the unmistakable green patina of oxidation, but they were mottled with patches of black, so must also contain some of the carbon nanographite that caused Arcan so much trouble. He let his hand feel the texture. Some sort of composite, he thought. The walls were smooth and at least two stories high. He couldn’t see Grace getting over one of those, not as she was now. His frown deepened.
    But it seemed that Six had no intention of scaling the walls. Once in up close, under their shadow, he simply skirted around them, making more signs to all of them to be absolutely silent. At last they came to a heavily embossed pair of gates, flanked on either side by small turrets. Six signaled to them all to stop and then went on ahead himself to scout out the lie of the land.
    The others waited, frozen in place, and trying to breathe carefully, lest the noise of their mask packs be audible. Six must have been away for five minutes – though it felt like ten – before they saw his shape reappear through the streaming rain.
    He raised his thumbs and signaled again, to tell them to follow him. One by one they obeyed, edging carefully along the sides of the copper composite wall, still concentrating on minimizing the sound of their breathing. Grace could feel her own heart bounding inside her ribcage and somehow seeming to lodge itself in her throat. They passed the turrets and found, as Six had before, that the main gate had a smaller portal inset near the centre. This was closed, but unlocked – a few scratches on the surface showed where Six had worked his magic on the tumblers.
    It was a moment’s work to slip through, and close the door behind them. The key – very similar to those used on both Kwaide and Coriolis – had been left on a string hanging up behind the door, so Six abstracted the key, and relocked the door behind them. Then he made signs to the girls to follow him, and indicated to Ledin that he should bring up the rear, and keep a tight surveillance behind them. Ledin nodded his understanding. They stopped for a moment to change mask packs. Diva risked a slight breath of the air, and then regretted it, for it seemed to sear her throat as she breathed in, and she felt that it set her lungs on fire. She could taste a rather sulphurous tinge, too. With great difficulty, she managed to suppress the automatic cough, and returned Six’s glare with one of her own. The others made sure not to breathe the local atmosphere after seeing her distress.
    Six moved off. They were now inside the enclosure, but the undergrowth was much the same as it had been outside. There had been no sign of the local inhabitants, but that was about to come to an end. Six stopped dead in mid stride as he picked up movement in front of him, and the others immediately copied him. A shadowy figure passed, at the very edge of their perception. Even so, Grace almost recoiled, because the shape was much larger than she had imagined. She couldn’t make out any details, but it was almost twice her own height. She gave a gulp.
    The shadowy figure showed no signs of noticing them, moving slowly off and disappearing smoothly into the masking mist. They waited for some little time, and then continued their journey, creeping gingerly around the open-air compound. The only buildings which