Kiteman of Karanga Read Free

him into the crater.
    Down, down, down. Karl dove until his kitewing hummed with the speed. Then he climbed steeply and brought his wing up and over in a perfect loop so that now he was following Garth. He stayed behind Garth while he looked for the hunters above. One by one, encouraged by Garths shouts, they too were entering the crater.
    Karl knew he must act quickly. He could outmaneuver three or four flyers easily, but there were a dozen wings above him now, crowding him deeper and deeper into the crater. He had to try to come up through them.
    The wingman on his right, his spear drawn, was closing in fast. Karl pulled back and around, and used his speed to climb on a collision course with the diving hunter. In the second it took for them to converge, the pursuing flyer swerved. With his own spear, Karl slashed his opponent's wing as he brushed by. No longer able to contain all its air, the kitewing dropped and the wingman collided with the hunter below him. There was a splintering crunch as both damaged wings began to spiral out of control. Anguished cries echoed from the crater walls as the doomed men whirled to their deaths in the lava far below.
    More kitemen were bearing down on Karl from above. He had to get away quickly. Diving again, this time straight down, he sped past Garth faster than before, faster than he had ever dived a kitewing. The framework of his wing began to vibrate and bend.
    As he pulled out of the dive Karl headed straight for the huge column of smoke rising in the center of the crater. Like a cloud, it would provide refuge from his pursuers; but unlike a cloud, it was poisonous to breathe. As he entered the column, wisps of vapor swept past him. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes as the smoke engulfed him. He doubted that any of Garths band would follow him through the smoke. They would fly around it, which would take longer.
    Cautiously, Karl sniffed the air. A biting pain seared his nostrils. He would not be able to stay hidden long, for he had to hold his breath and fly blind the whole time. It was impossible for any flyer to keep a wing upright for many minutes without something to look at for reference. Not disturbing his wing from what he guessed was level flight, and judging his speed by the sound of the air on the terry leather, Karl continued. He hoped he was going straight through the center of the column of smoke.
    Loud shouts came from behind him. Karl's wing began to jerk and bounce. He tried not to shift his weight as the air grew rougher. The bumps meant lift; he might even exit the smoke higher than he had entered it.
    Karl tested the air often now because he was running out of breath. The shouts behind him seemed echoes to his alarmed thoughts. He leaned forward, pulling the bar under his chest in order to go faster. His lungs screamed for air. He had to get out of the poisonous smoke quickly. His wing picked up speed. The shouts behind him became more frantic. When he didn't think he could hold his breath a second longer, Karl opened one eye slightly. Instantly, a stinging pain blinded it. He shut his eye as the wind drew the tears away. He must breathe! He let the air out of his lungs and started to inhale. The air was sweet. He opened his eyes as a few smoky swirls of vapor swept by. He had made it. He was clear now on the other side of the smoke.
    But even as he was gasping for more air, Karl realized that he was in a dive that was quickly becoming a spiral. He checked it by straightening his wing and leveling off smoothly. Then he flew back in close to the smoke, where the air was bumpy with lift. With the few moments he had gained he would climb as fast as the thermal would take him. Once he was above his pursuers, he would be free. No Karangan could catch him in a thermal.
    As Karl worked the currents at the edge of the rising column of smoke, the shouts from the other side faded. Then they were silenced by a harsh scream. Not far below Karl saw Garth come out of the