Sivan shot the sled inside and slammed the ramp shut behind them. ‘Down! Now! As quick as you can.’ Tsen drove the glasship down as fast as it would go. Dozens of men on linxia were riding across the desert, closing on them. As soon as the gondola touched the sand, Sivan opened the ramp. ‘Out! Out! Get them out!’ he shouted, pushing at the eggs. His sword-slaves tried to lift them but they were too heavy. ‘Roll them!’ Dozens of riders were converging on the gondola. Sivan waved, urging them on. Four were pulling gold-glass sleds behind their linxia, each the right size for a dragon’s egg but dressed to look like a desert trader’s wagon. As each egg rolled out of the gondola, it was hauled up onto a sled. Sivan shouted at them to hurry. The first egg vanished on its sled into the darkness with twenty desert men riding beside it. The second and the third followed. Sivan drew out a knife as the desert men hauled the last egg onto its sled. He looked at Tsen and shook his head.
