“They are not—strong. They have no—it takes great concentration to make their bodies move, because the—circuits are even less familiar than those of the animals. Foreign. It needs—willing units.”

Aton’s sympathy was small. “What’s the going rate for a ‘willing unit’?”

“Security. Sanity,” she said.

Aton’s laugh was harsh. “I’ll make it this deal: I’ll refrain from killing what’s left of these ‘sane,’ ‘secure’ people, if it guides me to the surface safely.”

“Yes,” she said.

“Yes?” Aton did not believe it could be so easy. “Chthon agrees?”

“Yes.”

“Now?” He was looking for the catch. Was it planning to spirit away the zombies when his attention wandered, then renew the siege for him? “We travel together—the four of us,” he amended, “or I’ll kill them now.”

“It will take—six marches,” she said. “The—others cannot travel that far. They will die.”

“Uh-huh. I can shorten their misery.”

“You will die—if Chthon summons an—animal—and releases its mind.”

Power politics. The thing was learning rapidly. Could it bring the chimera, or was this a bluff? But this gave him an idea.

“If Chthon can summon animals, our problem is solved. Have it bring something to ride.”

There were further negotiations; but before long Aton found himself mounted on the back of an enormous rock-eater, knees braced against the soft scales of its sides, hands gripping the great loose folds of its neck. His weight required it to travel on all fours, but the creature was sturdy enough to carry him easily. The others were similarly steeded. The long trip began, calculated at only two marches this way.

This was the Easy Trek.

The pace was swift. The huge pseudo-reptiles, released from Chthon’s direct control after being given the message, hunkered along at a good ten miles per hour. The gray caverns passed as they picked their way through the maze. Aton saw that he could never have found his way out alone. He became drowsy, but did not dare to sleep. He might wake to discover the zombies gone. A strange twist of fate that made such onerous half-people valuable!

Yet common sense told him that there would be no practical way for him to catch the zombies if their animals deviated from the course his own steed was taking. They would be lost in seconds, and Chthon could stun his own mount and prevent any pursuit. With hostages gone, he would have no bargaining leverage. He was really much more at the mercy of the cavern god than it seemed to realize.