Voodoo Planet [Andre Norton]

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.A shrill, sweet humming arose as red motes, vivid as molten copper in the sunlight, climbedon wings beating too fast to be seen.The debris of the nest smoked into nothing.But no needle ray could hope to stop all the poisonous army issuing forth from it, fightingmad, to seek any warm-blooded creature within scenting distance.The men threw themselves into the brush, rolling in the thick moldof the vegetable decay on the ground, rubbing its moist plaster over their bodies in frantic haste.Red-hot fire, far worse than any of the splinter torment Dane had undergone the night before, pierced between his shoulders.He rolledon his back, shoving himself along, both to kill the fire-wasp and coat the sting with cooling mold.Cries of pain told him that he wasnot the only sufferer, as all dug hands into the slimy stuff under them and slapped it over their faces and heads.Voodoo Planet 16/38Voodoo Planet"Apes." That half shout got through to alert the men on the jungle floor.True to their nature, the rock apes, now streaming downhill,were coughing their challenges, advertising their attack.And it was only that peculiarity of their species which saved their intendedvictims.The apes came forward, partially erect, at a shambling run.The first two, bulls close to six feet, went down under fire from Asaki'sneedler.A third somehow escaped, swerving to the left, and came bounding at an angle toward Dane.The Terran jerked free his forceblade as that swine snout split wide to show greenish tusks and the horrible stench of the creature's body made him gasp.A taloned paw clawed at him eagerly, slipped from his slime-covered body just as he brought the force blade up.Foul breath coughedin his face and he stumbled back as the heavy body of the ape crashed against him, cut in half by the weapon.To Dane's sickenedhorror the paws still clawed for him, the fangs still gnashed as he rolled free of the mangled body and somehow got to his feet.The roar of a blaster, of two blasters, drowned out the clamor of the apes as Dane drew his fire ray, set his shoulders against a tree boleand prepared to fight it out.He fired, saw a smaller and more nimble enemy go down screeching.Then there were none left on theirshaggy feet, though some on the ground dragged themselves forward, still striving to reach the men.Dane slapped a fire-wasp from his leg.He was glad of the support of the tree at his back as the smell of the ape's blood drenching himfrom chest level down, and the mess on the ground, made his stomach churn.When he could control his retching, he straightened.To his relief he saw that all the others were on their feet, apparently unharmed.But Tau, catching sight of the younger spaceman, gasped and started for him."Dane! What did they do?"His junior laughed a little hysterically."Not mine." He swabbed with a handful of grass at his bloodied breeches and blundered oninto the sunlight.Nymani found them a foam-flecked stream below a miniature falls where the swift current prevented the lurking of sand worms.Theystripped eagerly, cleaning first themselves and then their fouled clothing while Tau tended the wealth of fire-wasp stings.There waslittle he could do to relieve the swelling and pain, until Asaki produced a reed-like plant which, chopped in sections, yielded a stickypurple liquid that dried on the skin as a tar gum--the native remedy.So, glued and plastered, they climbed away from the water andprepared to spend the night in a hollow between two leaning rocks, certainly not as snug as the cave but a fortress of sorts."And credit-happy space hoppers pay a fortune for an outing like this!" Tau commented bitterly, hunching well forward so that acertain stung portion of his anatomy would not come in contact with the rock beneath him."Hardly for this," Jellico replied, and Dane saw Nymani grin one-sidedly, his other cheek puffed and painted sticky purple."We do not always encounter apes and fire-wasps in the same day," supplied the Chief Ranger."Also, guests at the preserves wearstass belts."Jellico snorted."I don't think you'd get any repeats from your clients otherwise! What do we meet tomorrow? A herd of graz onstampede, or something even more subtle and deadly?"Nymani got up and walked a little way from their rock shelter [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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