Demon Lost (9 page)

* * *

"I have no idea why the Prince Royal would come to the military baths," Bel paced inside Aris' room later. "And he didn't take his eyes off Reah even once after we got out to dress."

"Her hair color is unusual. Perhaps that's what he noticed," Aris attempted to calm Bel. "His wives were with him. That should slow him down a bit."

It was Bel's turn to growl, although he couldn't do half as well as Commander Aris when he was angry. "At least we're leaving in a day and a half. Surely he won't come looking for her."

"He won't." Aris sounded sure of himself. Bel wasn't so sure but didn't disagree with his superior.

* * *

"How many did you lose during the attack?" Commander Aris was having lunch with the Prince Royal and the High Commander. Aris sipped his wine before answering the Prince's question.

"Six, with another twenty-seven wounded. Four of those were women," Aris replied.

"You didn't have them fighting as well?" The Prince lifted an eyebrow at Aris.

"Of course not. They were hit by flying glass when a window was shot out. Nothing serious; a few cuts with a little blood and fainting." Aris didn't add that if it hadn't been for Reah's actions and quick thinking, those women could very well be dead.

"Speaking of women, I saw a girl with two of yours at the baths last evening," the Prince lifted a tiny cake and bit into it. Aris knew the Prince had done everything possible to discover who the men were—he shouldn't have recognized Bel or Delvin for any reason. Reah wouldn't have any records—except at the outpost.

"If it's the two I'm thinking of, I'm not surprised they brought a young woman with them to the baths."

"Yes, but this one was delectable. Beautiful. Fragile. Long, white-blonde hair. You don't see that often, do you? I might be persuaded to pay for information on her." Aris wanted to reach across the table and strangle the Prince as he spoke. He held himself back.

"None of you will come looking for her," he said, power thick in his voice. "You will forget about her and not trouble me about it again. Do you understand?" The Prince and his High Commander nodded their heads like puppets at Aris' command.

* * *

"We're having dinner with Commander Aris tonight. You're invited," Bel informed me after we'd seen more of the city on our second day. At times, I saw the Prince lurking around every corner, but eventually pushed those thoughts aside—they were foolish. They only served to frighten me and make me jumpy when I should be enjoying myself.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The nicest restaurant in Crown City," Delvin teased. His words made me sigh. If things were different, I might have taken him to the best restaurant on all of Tulgalan. That option was now closed forever.

"What's their specialty?" I asked instead.

"They serve a great lamb rack with a fruit sauce," Bel replied. "Look, there's an outfit you'd look nice in." He steered me toward another clothing store.

* * *

"Little cook, do you think you might do something like this if we obtained the proper ingredients?" Aris was enjoying the lamb, as were the rest of us. If I had the proper ingredients I could do better, but I didn't say that.

"I think so," I replied. He, Bel, Delvin and I sat around a small, square table at Rodu's of Crown City. Aris wore his dress uniform, as did Bel and Delvin. I'd unwrapped my new blue outfit and worn it, braiding my hair more intricately than I normally did. I had no jewelry or I'd have worn that, too.

"Did you enjoy your trip, Reah?" Aris went on, smiling at me.

"Yes. I saw too many things I wanted to buy. I'll save more for next time."

"Next time will be in six moon-turns. Just so you'll be warned," Bel reached over and lifted the roll I hadn't eaten. He was welcome to it. The bread wasn't very good, in my opinion. The cheeses they'd brought out at the end of the meal made up for it, however. I was wishing we could get cheeses like that at the outpost. I could prepare all sorts of dishes with those, not least of which was serving them as an appetizer with fresh-cut fruit. We walked out of the restaurant later, and even I couldn't help but notice that Aris, Bel and Delvin formed a ring around me as we walked toward the public transport to return to the military station and our beds.

That night I dreamed. The dream was a good one—a comforting one. I was held against a broad chest while gentle fingers stroked hair back from my forehead.
My love, they cannot take you away. Not ever. Do not fear, my pretty one. You are
safe
. I slept a dreamless sleep after that.

The women who'd come with us were laughing, talking and stowing away many bags of purchases as they boarded the transports to return to the outpost. When all passengers were settled in, Delvin right next to me just as before, we drove away from Crown City, heading toward the desert.

Perhaps we'd traveled for two clicks, more or less, while the sun beat down upon our vehicles and we saw nothing growing in the desert except the occasional succulent plant. I imagined that there were stinging insects and snakes in abundance and had no desire to find these things out for myself. The transports were cooled with solar power and we were comfortable as we made our way along. I was drifting off to sleep when we were hit. The first two transports didn't survive the blasts—all aboard were killed immediately. Our transport was tossed into the air and landed hard on its side, knocking all of us around, even though we were strapped tightly into our seats. Most of the windows shattered as our transport slid for several ticks on its side before coming to a complete stop. The six women on the transport with us were screaming or crying. At least it meant they still lived.

Unbuckling my harness as quickly as I could, I climbed out of Delvin's way as he lowered himself to the opposite side of the transport, which now lay on the ground. Bel, Aris and the other Rangers were all getting out of their seats as well. Hish was holding his hands up and I saw light form around him—I learned later that he was placing a shield. It was a good thing, too, as another explosive landed near us. We might" have been destroyed in the second attack without Hish's quick thinking.

Commander Aris did something with his hands, blowing the front windows out of the transport before striding purposely out of it—as if that were his normal way of exiting any vehicle. The Rangers followed him, except for Hish, who was still holding a shield around us. I went to the women to see if any of them needed assistance. A rudimentary knowledge of medical aid was all I had, thanks to my military training, but a few cuts, bruises and scrapes were all that needed immediate attention. A medkit was supplied on every transport, so I grabbed it and treated what I could—washing out the deepest cuts first and then wrapping them to stop the bleeding. I heard additional blasts outside while I worked and hoped our Wizard contingent was safe. I didn't know what we could do without them, stuck as we were in the middle of the desert, halfway between Crown City and the outpost.

* * *

"Reah, do you know how to fire a weapon?" That was Commander Aris' question to me as I finished the last of my patch jobs—a couple of the officers had come to me after I'd treated the women. They'd gone without treatment, waiting for the women to go first. Altogether, there were nineteen of us aboard the third transport and Aris, when he'd returned with the others, announced that our communication devices had been blocked somehow, rendering them useless.

I was too frightened to go outside and see the damage done to the other transports. One of our officers had peeked out and come back inside, shaking his head. Forty-one others, dead in an ambush. Our driver, whose head I'd wrapped, looked to have a concussion but I didn't want to mention it and upset him more than he already was.

"Yes, Commander, I know how to fire a weapon," I whispered my answer while packing unused supplies inside the medkit. Who knew if we'd need it again?

"We have enough weapons for all aboard, but the other women don't have any skill. The Rangers and I will carry two weapons each in case they're needed. We should get away from here as quickly as possible. We'll have the women carry water and foodpacks. The rest of us will take what we can."

Aris' golden-brown eyes were concerned and I almost reached out to touch his face. Almost. I held back. I'd never had the urge to touch any man before and it frightened me that the idea had come now. It wouldn't have gone unnoticed, either; everyone inside the overturned transport was looking to our Commander for direction. Commander Aris had us drink from the water tank aboard the transport before we left it behind. We loaded as much water and as many foodpacks as we could carry into the backpacks stowed inside the emergency supply cabinet. The medkit went into my backpack.

I had a ranos rifle slung over my shoulder as we made our way into the blazing heat of the desert. The blasted hulks of the first two transports were left behind when we walked away. Two more clicks remained until sundown and we were walking in as direct a line toward the outpost as we could, Aris leading, Bel and Delvin coming behind the rest of us. I was positioned in the middle, walking next to the women. All of them seemed weary already.

* * *

I will likely never know how Aris found the outcropping of rock where he stopped us for the night. I had become more and more frightened as we walked through blistering heat, worried that we'd be spending our night on the sand of the desert with nothing surrounding us for protection. Aris found the impossible. Perhaps it was tied to his Wizard's ability—I knew now that he had it, just as the Rangers did.

The driver was nearly delirious by the time we stopped, and that was another concern. Would he make it through another trek? It would take us at least two more days to reach the outpost if help didn't come looking for us, first. The women, too, didn't appear to be holding up well. I was used to the heat of the kitchen, but this heat was inescapable and would be followed by a shivering cold during the night.

"Reah, can you stand early watch?" Bel was there this time, asking the necessary question.

"Yes, Ranger Bel." I nodded, just as any good recruit should.

"Take the southeastern side," Bel instructed. That would be the direction from which our help would come—if they came at all. I nodded, allowed the ranos rifle to drop into my hands and went off to do my duty.

Cold seeped into my bones after sundown so I walked back and forth to keep from shivering, my eyes always on the area I was watching. I could see Delvin off to my left and Hish to my right. The other Rangers and Aris were stationed at regular intervals around our small camp. No fires were lit—I wasn't sure if Aris was expecting an attack to come but it certainly felt that way.

Officers were scheduled to relieve us later; they'd eaten first and then slept as well as they could around the boulders Aris found for us. The tall rocks were a blessing, holding the heat and radiating it out to those huddled around them while the rest of us stood watch.

Silence surrounded us for the most part—I heard the occasional skitter of some small animal or other at times but nothing more. When four pinpoints of light appeared in my sight, however, I stopped walking and blinked, making sure I wasn't imagining things. The pinpoints were still there and man-high. Clicking my tongue in the way I'd been taught, I had three Rangers beside me in moments, silently watching what I was seeing. More points of light appeared. Commander Aris came.

"Don't fire recklessly," he ordered. "Aim for the lights on my command and don't miss."

Chapter 6
 

"Fire." Aris' command came. Sleeping officers had been wakened and now they stood with the rest of us as we shot at our targets. As quickly as one set of lights went out, they were replaced by others. I wanted to shake and shiver, but there was no time and it would have been foolish anyway. Had I ever thought as a recruit for the Alliance that I'd see combat? Even my superiors had said it was unlikely in the extreme, yet here I was, standing on an alien world, shooting at an enemy that defied logic.

Exhaustion set in and still the lights came. I was on automatic—sight a set of lights. Aim. Shoot. Another set of lights—aim and shoot. Perhaps it was a click or two before dawn when Commander Aris told us to stand down—the last of the enemy was finally gone. I was ready to drop where I stood. Wearily I followed the others to the rocks—I no longer felt cold; numbness had taken over instead. A foodpack was shoved into my hand so I sat and ate, not even tasting the mush inside the plastic. The others were doing much the same, eating and then falling asleep where they sat. The officers, fresher than the rest of us, took the daywatch while we rested as long as we could.

* * *

Little love, wake now and eat. We must go on
. The voice inside my mind woke me with gentle words. I almost jerked awake—my sleep had been dreamless and silent until then. "Here," Bel handed another foodpack over—he sat nearby as I rubbed my eyes and accepted the plastic tube of sustenance that he gave me. It was just as tasteless as the other had been. I was hungry, so I emptied it.

Our driver died during the night—we'd been engaged elsewhere so the poor man had likely died alone with no one to tend him. The six women had huddled together beside the boulders when the shooting started, never thinking that their help might have been needed. I could see the guilt in their eyes now—they hadn't realized they might have helped the poor man.