Escape From Zulaire (9 page)

When the column moved out, Andi toiled up the ridge behind Rogers and Latvik. As the forest thinned, a stomach-churning combination of smells assaulted her nose—stale smoke with a sickly sweet odor overriding everything else.
I hope I can deal with this. Lords give me strength.
Nausea roiled Andi’s gut, and her head swam.

“Close up, close up. Stay together.” Deverane’s impatient, harsh reminders kept coming.

Reluctantly, she trudged the last few yards into the village, past the fringe of houses and small kitchen garden plots. Domesticated animals grazed in their pasture around a burnt tractor, displaying supreme indifference. Andi stopped for a second as she approached the first pitiful
 
cluster of bodies, then averted her eyes.
I’m never going to get this out of my nightmares. Lady Tonkiln, the cook, these poor people—so much senseless suffering and death. And for what?

Crossing to the opposite side of the dusty street, Andi covered her mouth and nose with her hand. Resolutely, she stared at the rutted track they were following to the heart of the settlement
. I can’t look at anymore pitiful scenes, I just can’t. My heart aches for everyone who’s suffering and dying in this conflict.

Andi walked into the large circular gathering place at the center of the village and stopped. A line of eight bodies lay crumpled against the wall of the largest building. Streaks of dried blood painted the clay bricks where the victims had been placed for this execution. The signs of violence and hate were all around her whether she wanted to see them or not.

“Obati.” Startled by the guttural hatred in Abukawal’s voice, Andi turned to the warrior.

“The Obati did this.” Abukawal pointed at the graffiti painted with blood in sprawling loops on the walls. He kept a tight grip on Lysanda’s hand. Oblivious, she remained in her own little world, could have been on a stroll through the gardens back at her home for all the emotion she displayed. The Shenti warrior stared around him, a muscle in his cheek twitching.
 

“Calm down.” Deverane was unemotional, his tone contrasting with the anger in Abukawal’s voice. “I doubt if the Obati have even had time to think since the massacre at the summer compound. And this appears to have happened at about the same time, judging by the condition of the corpses. Someone is setting up a nice little double play, to make it look as if the Shenti and the Obati in this region have been at each other’s throats.
We
know better.”

“I saw Naranti Clan killing members of Lord Tonkiln’s family last night,” Andi said, walking closer to Abukawal, keeping her tone low and steady. “You claim you have proof about the Naranti involvement in all this.”

Abukawal nodded, but the veins still throbbed in his thick neck. Face flushed, eyes narrowed, he clenched and unclenched his fist. “We must stop this before the whole planet erupts in flames and death.” Thick and clogged with emotion, his voice rumbled.

“We’re working on it, but first we have to get ourselves safely back to the capital. That’s my focus here.” Deverane marched up to Abukawal, forcing the warrior to take a step back. The captain kept his eyes locked on the Shenti’s face, even though he had to look up to do it. “My only focus here. Clear?”

There was a long minute before Abukawal lowered his gaze. “Clear.” His shoulders slumped.

Deverane watched him for another minute before turning away, apparently satisfied. “All right then, Rogers, you and Abukawal have the guard duty here in the market square. Latvik, Wilson, foraging detail. You know what to look for.”

“How much time, sir?” the sergeant asked.

He checked his wrist chrono. “Ten minutes and we meet back here. No exceptions. We have to keep moving.”

Andi looked at the carnage around her.
Lords, I can’t stand here just thinking about what happened
.
I need to do something, too.
We’re wasting time
. “Any suggestions where I should start my search?”

“I’ll go with you
.
” Deverane came to her side. “
You
don’t go alone.”

“I don’t need a guard. I know how to use this—” She waved the blaster. “I can take care of myself. Didn’t you want to check out the com room at the shrine?”

“Well, yes.” He looked her up and down. “You’re stubborn at all times, aren’t you?”

“Better believe it.” She gave him a tiny push. “Go on, I’ll be
fine.
We need to know if there’s a working comlink.” Andi walked away, heading for the nearest house that had no corpses anywhere near it.

“
Watch the time,
”
 
he yelled.

Waving a hand to acknowledge the reminder, she kept walking. She was glad to have a few moments alone, since Abukawal had volunteered again to watch over Lysanda and Sadu. Halfway down the street, she forced herself to select a house to search. Avoiding contact with the blood-smeared threshold, she stepped through the half-open door of the dwelling. As her eyes grew accustomed to the gloom inside the front room, she whispered a small prayer for the dead to the Shenti household spirits and made herself keep walking.
One foot in front of the other, Markriss. Find what we need to help us survive. That’s your priority.

Great gouges had been hacked in the walls of the house. The furniture lay piled in the center of the main room and had been set on fire but had burnt itself out, probably from lack of proper air circulation. Passing through into the kitchen, Andi found all the drawers had been emptied onto the floor, the storage baskets dumped out. Smashed dishes crunched under her feet as she walked cautiously through the debris.

Andi squatted by a likely pile of fruit and vegetables, picking out a few that weren’t too spoiled then stowing them in her backpack. From her vantage point on the floor, she spied an unbroken clay jug lying where it had rolled under the table. When she unstoppered it, the sharp scent of cider reached her nose. Taking one cautious swig, Andi found the cider tart on her tongue, although warm. As she pushed the cork back into the mouth of the small jar, she noticed a yellow, webbed carryall hanging from the back of the kitchen door. Grabbing it, Andi tucked her finds in the bag, scooped up half a dozen hard rolls that had evidently come out of the oven right before the attack. Munching one, she retraced her steps to the stairs leading to the sleeping quarters on the second level. Blaster in hand, Andi peeked slowly over the top riser before standing up and hurrying into the bedroom.

Quickly, nervous as a cat, Andi picked through the storage baskets and a cabinet. She found a pair of stout, thick-soled walking sandals close to her size. Sliding them onto her feet, Andi breathed a sigh of relief.
Much better
. Looking further, she selected a long, green skirt fringed at the bottom and a wraparound tunic for herself and a similar outfit in blue for Lysanda. These she bundled into the webbed carryall to change into later. She discovered a basket of baby clothes, unfortunately too small for Sadu, and a stack of clean, folded diapers, which she did take.

As she passed back over the threshold into the open again, Abukawal and Rogers waved at her as she walked to the next more or less intact house, further along the street. Quickly ransacking the kitchen, she found some supplies and filled her borrowed canteen.
 
Leaving the house, Andi felt she couldn’t face another destroyed home, so she retraced her steps.

As she hurried through the jumbled marketplace, she saw baskets of fabric spilled in a crumpled heap at a weaver’s stall. Thinking about the cold nights facing them on the trail, she bent to pick up a shawl woven through with glints of silver thread. The material flowed through her fingers like silk, and she recognized the wool of the rarest highland grazing animals. Abstract lavender, green and turquoise patterns twined around the silver thread accents.
Probably would have been sold to be someone’s bride gift
. Folding the fabric into a small square, Andi stowed it in her pack.

Wilson and Latvik arrived at the gathering spot just as Andi walked up. There was no sign of Deverane and it had been exactly ten minutes.
Where is he? I hope nothing’s happened to him.

Tipping his hat back with his thumb, Sergeant Wilson sighed, assuming command as the next in rank. “I’ll go after him, see what’s so interestin’. Rogers, Latvik, you pack this lot up and get ready to move.”

“I’ll keep you company, Sergeant.” Andi set down her carryall.
 

“And what if he’s gotten into a tight spot? An ambush? Do you think he’d appreciate me bringing you into danger?” Wilson had a skeptical look on his face, one eyebrow raised.

Andi lifted the blaster. “In that case I’ll back you up. But we didn’t hear any explosions or weapons fire, did we?”

Reluctant grin on his face, the sergeant shook his head. “No, we surely did not. Okay, then, but stay behind me and follow my lead.” He set off on the street leading to the village shrine.

Two minutes’ brisk walk, interrupted by a short pause to adjust the straps of her sandals while the sergeant forged ahead, and Andi came around a curve in the road to run right into Wilson’s outstretched hand. “Stop, don’t look.” He made an effort to grab her around the waist and turn her back.

Annoyed, she evaded him then saw the burnt-out hulk of the shrine straight ahead. Charred bodies lay everywhere, in and beside the ruins. She realized the rebels must have herded all the remaining survivors into the shrine and burned it to the ground, shooting any who tried to escape. Doubling over as cramps assaulted her, Andi threw up the hard roll she’d eaten earlier, retching until she had the dry heaves. Wilson supported her, keeping her hair out of the way.

“Andi?” Deverane had come from somewhere to stand beside her. He gently touched her arm. “You all right?”

“No, I’m not
all right
. How can the rebels do such unspeakable things?”
 
She rubbed her abdomen gingerly, sore from the vomiting.
 

Deverane gathered her against his broad chest, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace. “Go ahead, let it all out. You’ve been so stoic. I figured the emotional dam would break sooner or later.
Shh
, it’s okay.” His hands stroked softly through her hair. Andi sighed, lowering her head, listening to the reassuringly steady beat of his heart through the uniform shirt. Shuddering, she concentrated on breathing in and out slowly, regaining her self-control.
 

“I’ll get the others, sir.” Wilson draped the two packs over his arm and left.

“We’ll be going out by the west,” the captain said, over Andi’s head. “No need for anyone else to have to look at this today. The three of us are enough.”

Deverane tightened his arms around her. Andi was acutely conscious of how the two of them stood pressed together, their bodies meeting.
I want to linger in his arms forever. Let him keep all the bad things of the world at bay. But we need to be going. I’m not staying in this village after dark.
She took a deep breath, the constriction on her chest easing, and moved away. “Hadn’t we better get going, join the others?” She risked a look at him. He still watched her with a warm, tender look in his eyes. Andi made her voice stronger, more positive. “I’ll be all right.”

“Take your time.” Deverane reached out and tilted her face with a gentle hand on her chin. His gaze locked onto Andi’s for a long moment before his hand fell away, and he looked at the trail beyond her. His impassive military demeanor snapped back into place. “I want to be well away from here by dark.”

“My thoughts exactly.” She walked down the dusty street behind him, hurrying to catch up with the rest of their party.
 

Andi found Sadu, cooing and laughing as he rode in a complicated harness on Abukawal’s back. The toddler was clearly delighted by this newfound perspective on the world.

Latvik saw Andi eyeing the carrier. Grinning, he pointed his thumb at his own puffed-out chest. “Found it next to one of the overturned carts. I figured it had to be for a baby.”

“Makes managing him on the trail much simpler, yes?” Abukawal said with a wide smile, apparently enjoying Sadu’s happiness.

Deverane said, “I checked the shrine thoroughly. Whoever did this made a special target of the priest and his comlink. What happened here was a well-planned attack, not random, mob-driven slaughter. Doesn’t look like these poor people had any warning and little chance of defending themselves. A few tried—I found the bodies of several Naranti rebels. The Shenti villagers managed to exact a little payment before they died.”

Andi took a swig of water from her canteen, swirled it in her mouth then spat it out into the dust. “Good.”

Chapter Four

Hours of hiking later, Deverane approved Latvik’s choice of camp site. The place was a small, rocky plateau jutting from a sheer cliff with a peaceful lake rippling on two sides. An unlimited field of vision from the summit allowed the soldiers to watch for any raiding parties, or anyone on the trail.
 
“This is the most defensible place I’ve seen all day,” he said.
 

Wearily, Andi set about feeding Sadu some dinner off to the side of the plateau so the others could construct a camp without a toddler underfoot. Sadu dined with noisy satisfaction on fruit that Andi sliced in small bits, using one of the deadly combat knives. She mixed the raw juice with water from the canteen and got him to drink some. He toyed with a hard roll, enjoying the process of shredding it into crumbs, a few of which made the journey into his mouth. In the middle of tearing at the roll, the toddler fell asleep and the bread fell from his chubby hand.