Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys by Mick Farren Page B
Authors: Mick Farren
Tags: Science-Fiction
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day and night, summer and winter. All we can do is weather it.'
The Minstrel Boy raised a questioning eyebrow. 'Doesn't it seem like this is shaping up to be a particularly hard winter?'
Diamenti nodded. 'It does rather look like that.'
'Maybe we won't weather it.'
Diamenti smiled. 'Maybe we won't. I'm something of a fatalist in these things. After all, there's only one death per customer.'
At that moment Heet returned with a bottle of very good cognac and cut short the philosophy. It must have come from Diamond's private stock. Despite all the trouble they were in, the Minstrel Boy examined it admiringly. 'This is excellent.'
Heet was not alone. Axel was with him. He whispered something to Diamenti and then handed him two small objects. Diamenti placed them on the table where everyone could see them.
'These were on the body. Do they mean anything to you?'
The Minstrel Boy felt his blood chill. One was a small gold insignia — a tiny sword. The other was a wafer of transparent crystal. He glanced quickly at Renatta. She also looked frightened.
'The sword is the insignia of the Hunters in the Caverns,' he replied. 'The crystal is one of the wafers they give to their designated victims.'
'And you were a designated victim?'
'They hit on me just as I was leaving.'
'They seem to have followed you here.'
The Minstrel Boy did not believe what he was seeing. 'This isn't possible. The Hunters are just a bunch of localized sickos. They couldn't track me across the nothings, let alone employ an urthugee.'
Billy Oblivion was stunned. 'An urthugee?'
Diamenti shot him a hard look. 'We're trying to keep that to ourselves.'
Billy nodded. 'I can understand that. What I don't understand is how come an urthugee is working for these Hunters. Like the Minstrel Boy says, they're just localized sickos.'
Diamenti's face was grave. 'Things change. The kali-rouge Yuba is supposed to last 200,000 years before Shiva is finally slain by the goddess and chaos takes over. Perhaps the goddess has done a deal with the Presence. You can pick up a lot of strange allies in 200,000 years.'
Reave was shaking his head. 'That's ridiculous. All this is legend.'
'What isn't these days?'
'Hell, I don't know.'
'The evidence is on the table.'
Billy picked up the tiny gold sword and turned it between his fingers. 'The immediate question is what you're going to do about this. It's your place — you call the shot.'
Diamenti poured a sizable shot of cognac into his sampling cup. He seemed to be thinking. 'You'll all have to leave here. That goes without saying.'
Billy started to protest. 'Why do Reave and I have to leave? It's only the Minstrel Boy that's in trouble.'
'Can you be sure of that? The world sees you as a trio. All for one, one for all, and the rest of the male bonding rituals.'
'It's those words again.'
Diamenti went on. 'I'm not going to argue about it. I want the three of you out of here inside of forty-eight hours. You're trouble, and that's all the cause I need. If you'll take a piece of good advice, though, I'd stick with each other for the moment. Times are getting rough, and you three always do well in rough times. You may not like the idea anymore, but you'll find that you're a lot less vulnerable as a triad.'
The DNA Cowboys were silent. The reunion was beginning to look inevitable.
Diamenti finished his brandy. 'Forty-eight hours. It'd be better if you kept away from the public halls during that time. I don't want any young hopeful trying to score a rep by taking a crack at one of you. To make things easier, I'm going to detail Heet to keep an eye on the three of you, just to make sure there's no more trouble.'
Reave looked Heet up and down. 'I'll feel a whole lot safer.'
Heet grinned. He appeared to have stainless-steel teeth. 'I'll take good care of you boys. There is one thing, though.'
'What's that?'
The grin broadened. 'Don't get me excited. I tend to get lycanthropic fits when I get excited.'
With that,
The Minstrel Boy raised a questioning eyebrow. 'Doesn't it seem like this is shaping up to be a particularly hard winter?'
Diamenti nodded. 'It does rather look like that.'
'Maybe we won't weather it.'
Diamenti smiled. 'Maybe we won't. I'm something of a fatalist in these things. After all, there's only one death per customer.'
At that moment Heet returned with a bottle of very good cognac and cut short the philosophy. It must have come from Diamond's private stock. Despite all the trouble they were in, the Minstrel Boy examined it admiringly. 'This is excellent.'
Heet was not alone. Axel was with him. He whispered something to Diamenti and then handed him two small objects. Diamenti placed them on the table where everyone could see them.
'These were on the body. Do they mean anything to you?'
The Minstrel Boy felt his blood chill. One was a small gold insignia — a tiny sword. The other was a wafer of transparent crystal. He glanced quickly at Renatta. She also looked frightened.
'The sword is the insignia of the Hunters in the Caverns,' he replied. 'The crystal is one of the wafers they give to their designated victims.'
'And you were a designated victim?'
'They hit on me just as I was leaving.'
'They seem to have followed you here.'
The Minstrel Boy did not believe what he was seeing. 'This isn't possible. The Hunters are just a bunch of localized sickos. They couldn't track me across the nothings, let alone employ an urthugee.'
Billy Oblivion was stunned. 'An urthugee?'
Diamenti shot him a hard look. 'We're trying to keep that to ourselves.'
Billy nodded. 'I can understand that. What I don't understand is how come an urthugee is working for these Hunters. Like the Minstrel Boy says, they're just localized sickos.'
Diamenti's face was grave. 'Things change. The kali-rouge Yuba is supposed to last 200,000 years before Shiva is finally slain by the goddess and chaos takes over. Perhaps the goddess has done a deal with the Presence. You can pick up a lot of strange allies in 200,000 years.'
Reave was shaking his head. 'That's ridiculous. All this is legend.'
'What isn't these days?'
'Hell, I don't know.'
'The evidence is on the table.'
Billy picked up the tiny gold sword and turned it between his fingers. 'The immediate question is what you're going to do about this. It's your place — you call the shot.'
Diamenti poured a sizable shot of cognac into his sampling cup. He seemed to be thinking. 'You'll all have to leave here. That goes without saying.'
Billy started to protest. 'Why do Reave and I have to leave? It's only the Minstrel Boy that's in trouble.'
'Can you be sure of that? The world sees you as a trio. All for one, one for all, and the rest of the male bonding rituals.'
'It's those words again.'
Diamenti went on. 'I'm not going to argue about it. I want the three of you out of here inside of forty-eight hours. You're trouble, and that's all the cause I need. If you'll take a piece of good advice, though, I'd stick with each other for the moment. Times are getting rough, and you three always do well in rough times. You may not like the idea anymore, but you'll find that you're a lot less vulnerable as a triad.'
The DNA Cowboys were silent. The reunion was beginning to look inevitable.
Diamenti finished his brandy. 'Forty-eight hours. It'd be better if you kept away from the public halls during that time. I don't want any young hopeful trying to score a rep by taking a crack at one of you. To make things easier, I'm going to detail Heet to keep an eye on the three of you, just to make sure there's no more trouble.'
Reave looked Heet up and down. 'I'll feel a whole lot safer.'
Heet grinned. He appeared to have stainless-steel teeth. 'I'll take good care of you boys. There is one thing, though.'
'What's that?'
The grin broadened. 'Don't get me excited. I tend to get lycanthropic fits when I get excited.'
With that,
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