From The Ashes (Life After War) (29 page)

Sent by Adrian to help hold the hose, Cynthia spun around, covered in soot and sweat. “No! Get lost.”

The Eagles around were surprised, but Tonya was hurt. She and the reporter had almost been friends before, bonded by their determination to have Adrian removed from power.

“
Oh, okay. Sorry.”

Cynthia heard the misery, but she didn’t take it back. Tonya had done enough to hurt the dream. Cynthia wasn’t letting her do more.

“
I think I can find something for you.”

Adrian’s words caused more silence as he joined them. He smirked in its wake. “You won’t mind getting dirty, will you?”

Tonya was shocked into honesty. “No. For a change, I actually want to help.”

Adrian stared at her for a long minute, feeling Kenn’s silent plea from across the chaotic camp.

“
Is it over?” he demanded.

Tonya didn’t pretend ignorance, but it was a slight struggle to give him what he expected in front of all these witnesses. “Yes, and... and I’m sorry.”

Amid the murmurs, Adrian pointed toward the shadowy figure of the Vet, who was trying to calm his animals. “Go help. He’ll think you’re finally being punished, so expect to work.”

Tonya didn’t care, just glad that Adrian was giving her another chance. She wanted it now. Still not as much as power, but that need was starting to ease. If Adrian would make it so she wasn’t an outcast anymore, Tonya thought she could forgive and forget. Kenn had converted her.

Chris had noticed Adrian pointing and waited. Tonya’s words went a long way in soothing the vet's panic.

“
He said to help you–and I’m not being punished. I volunteered.”

Chris wanted to sneer at the whore anyway, but he was too relieved to do more than nod. He’d thought Adrian knew something. He would already have to do something about Mitch. If Adrian had seen him, the vet planned to flee.

“
Sing to the animals if you can carry a tune. It calms them. Hum if not.”

Tonya snorted as she followed the surly Veterinarian. Couldn't she just feed them her brownies and fill a water bucket? They’d mellow right out.

9

“
I can cook for you.”

Adrian and Angela turned to see one of the new arrivals standing nearby.

Angela studied the short man carefully as flickering shadows moved through camp. “He’s okay, just old and wants to be around people.”

Too busy to be gentle, Angela caught Li Sing’s hurt expression and grunted. “We do need you.”

The man’s expression lit up, and he held his hands together as he bowed to them. “Let me know. Li Sing very grateful to have a safe place for family.”

Adrian waved him toward the Mess, where the crowd was gathering. “Help get them settled down. Ask for Hilda.”

The man went that way, motioning for his large family to go back inside their tents. They quickly obeyed and Adrian was struck by the newest part of the camp’s integration plan. Li Sing was spry and he had his family in line. If a few of them joined the Eagles, might not more minorities do the same?

Adrian grunted, having a personal moment. With the situation, he shouldn’t be sparing time on thoughts for the future, but progress on the camp’s reform was something he tended even at the worst moments. All around him, long shadows flickered restlessly. Most were straggling camp members going to the Mess like they’d practiced during drills, but some were rushing away from that crowded area, still searching for loved ones or friends. Not everyone was accounted for, and Adrian flipped his radio on, hoping the sparking was over.

An immediate buzz and smoking told him the radios were useless. He quickly unsnapped the box and let it drop to the ground to finish smoldering.

Kyle joined Adrian, spotting Jennifer at the Mess with Dog. He had Charlie to thank for that. “We’ll have the perimeter men write down who they’ve come across. What’s next?”

“
Roll in camp-slide us south as you do it. We’ll go from there.”

Making it smaller would allow them to keep track of everyone while helping anyone who may still need it. The sinkholes themselves appeared to be slowing, and nothing new had opened up. Even the animal noises were calming, and Adrian hoped it was all over.

Samantha moved to Adrian's side, trying to ignore all the eyes watching. Neil and Jeremy were a few feet away, writing down the names of who they had seen on perimeter duty.

“
We need concrete for a while–that or something that goes deep enough to hold us in place if the bottom drops out.”

Adrian felt Samantha's concern for the camp, but also the lingering fear that she wouldn't be believed. He looked at Neil. “Recon for an area according to those specifications. We move at daylight–sooner if the holes grow quicker than I've accounted for.”

Neil motioned to Jeremy and the two men left the area without even a glance at Samantha. She was glad to see them working together and feeling like a team–clearly, they weren't fighting anymore, so her plan had worked–but it didn't stop that ache in her gut. It, too, continued to grow.

Adrian let his feet carry him away from the crushed camper, sure of what he should be doing. Thanks to how fate had gifted him, all of the major issues were being tended, but there was a smaller one that could become just as big a threat.

Ten minutes later, Adrian and a few of the others were out patrolling with the dogs, the wolf relaying commands and keeping the animals interested as they hunted for intruders. It was no coincidence that the threat had come from under their feet. Nor was it coincidence that they'd been distracted by the first hole so that Nature could take a cut of kids. They were at war again.

10

When Zack reached the first sinkhole, he spent a minute helping direct people away from the edges, and then delivered messages to Kenn, who was keeping watch over the area. Once he finished, Zack wasn’t a part of any of the aftermath scenarios taking place across camp, and it gave him time to observe some of these people without Adrian’s calmness to shelter their true selves. Like Ray. He was currently fawning all over Dale as he led him from the Mess. That would have repercussions, but so would Tonya helping to recapture animals that had gotten free when cages toppled over and locks rattled loose.

Safe Haven’s in the midst of her own global warming
, Zack thought. Changes, big and small, were arriving, and the trucker neared the edge of the twenty-foot sinkhole with that thought in mind.

Kenn was taking a minute to get his own thoughts together. Why did it feel like they were under attack? And doomed to lose?

Kenn felt the magic–that connection Adrian was so good at building–and raised a brow at his right hand man. “Truce?”

Zack wanted to deny, but at that moment, the sense of being desperately needed for this camp’s survival was impossible to ignore. “Yes.”

Kenn grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Despite all their security and the magic they had here, he had to tell Adrian they’d lost someone. Behind Kenn, Alex and Anderson were bringing up a towel-clad body. So far, it was the only one, but the blow from this would be harsh for their leader.

“
Do you want me to tell him?” Zack offered, moving closer. A week ago, he wouldn’t even have considered it.

Kenn noted that Lexa appeared to have broken her neck–meaning it was quick. At least one mercy to tell the boss. “No. This is part of my job.”

Kenn didn’t want anyone else to witness Adrian’s grief, and Zack’s rage lowered to normal anger. Ass or not, Kenn was loyal to Adrian, and he was good at what he did. After the Marine delivered the news and handled the blowback, he would spend the rest of the wee hours setting this camp to rights. Come dawn, it would be back together.

“
Anyone need the doctor here?”

Kenn and Zack both answered, stepping back to let John through.

“
No.”

“
Not here.”

John knelt down to confirm what a first glance had already shown. Lexa, the gun store owner from the City of Angels, wasn’t going to join Adrian’s army or any other.

John looked up at Kenn. “Does he know yet?”

Zack found the blond leader now comforting camp members near the Mess. “In about five minutes he'll start rounds, but head here first. Maybe less.”

Kenn grunted. Why couldn't it have been someone else? Adrian wouldn't take this well.

“
He’ll pick it up from us even if we take her away,” Kenn stated. “Get a sheet. Leave her face uncovered and put an honor guard here. Let him know before he sees her.”

Zack took care of it, giving Kenn a nod of respect as he left.

John stood up too quickly and had to sit down to keep from falling. Pain ripped through his stomach and stole his breath.

Kenn offered him an arm, and a quick mutter. “Anne saw, not Adrian.”

John let the Marine help him up, and Kenn stayed with his body shielding the sick doctor from view of most of the camp. “Tell me what you need.”

“
He needs a pill and rest.”

Anne appeared and took John’s other arm, turning them toward the trees. “He doesn’t want Adrian to take him off duty yet. Help me get him out of sight, and you can scold him from there.”

Kenn grunted, doing as the woman ordered. He wasn’t worried about Adrian–the boss already knew John was getting worse–but he didn’t want the camp any more upset than they already were. It was what Adrian would have done.

Anne didn’t scold her husband, and her touch was gentle, loving. She understood a man’s pride all too well, but did John understand a woman’s? Did he realize this would drive her harder, make her more determined to be able to protect him? The shootout at the QZ wouldn't be the last. Even a dying MD was better than none at all, and John was an easy target.

They got him inside the medical tent to find people already waiting for them.

Anne took charge. “Unless you’re bleeding, give me a few minutes to get him settled.”

“
She’s bleeding.”

Jennifer and Charlie were in the flap behind them, Dog at her side. The girl was pale, pulse in her neck pounding rapidly. She sank to her knees as another contraction hit, groaning.

Anne let go of John, causing him to grab a cot and roughly slide down on his own. “Go get your mom and then Adrian. I can’t handle all of this.”

Behind them, Lilly’s face glowed with satisfaction in the light of the flickering fires.

11

Jennifer and John both grunted in relief when the orbs began swarming over them. Hidden by a small sheet, those in the tent watched the glowing lights behind the partition and wondered.

The lower-ranked Eagle inside the medical tent was on guard, but not for camp protection. He and Adrian had exchanged one brief moment that made it clear what Zack’s job was.

“
If she uses magic, no one comes out of this tent until you handle them.”

Lurking in a corner near the flap, Zack kept a hand on his gun and eavesdropped on the quiet conversations to see who might be a problem.

The higher-ranked Eagle in the tent was able to see what Angela did, but Kyle couldn't have told anyone afterward, even if he'd wanted to. He wasn't watching the healer. He only cared about Jennifer.

“
If I don't make...”

“
Sshhh...” Kyle refused to let her talk that way. He wiped the sweat from her brow. “Save your strength.”

Jennifer felt the cramp easing and let out a tired breath. “Didn't know it would hurt so much.”

John thought of giving the girl a painkiller and Angela shook her head, red eyes glowing. “Do not interfere.”

John hastily retreated and stopped in stunned shock at the pain-free movement. He felt...
good!

John sank into a nearby chair and began to weep. “Thank you! Oh, thank you!”

Angela ignored him, straining to keep the orbs working, though they’d already repaired what damage they were capable of.

In the far corner of her mind, the Witch watched silently.

Angela knew the demon was waiting to be called, but didn’t want to admit that there was little more she could do without crossing a line that couldn’t be returned from.

“
What would you do?”
the Witch questioned reasonably as Jennifer’s breath became a low moan.
“You have one life to save, one more time you can fully heal. Will you use it now?”

Angela hated the rules–the limits–on her magic. She received only one life credit for each birth and she’d used the first for Marc. If Charlie ever needed help, she wouldn’t be able to give it.

Is there another deal I can make?”
she asked reluctantly.

The Witch came closer slowly, glowing crimson in front of an enormous mental construction project. It was one they’d worked on all of Angela’s life, but only recently had it begun to take shape. It was as if being around Adrian and his light had increased their workers and supplies. Hammering and grunting was a common sound in her thoughts these days.

“
You can borrow from the mother’s double luck, but the price is moral responsibility for them,”
the Witch finally answered, coming close enough to fight for control if she wanted.