Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice (5 page)

Snow-burdened trees lay beyond deep drifts.
With eyes closed, she sent her senses flying. Like the aleun, her
awareness soared, out and away. After a careful search, she
reversed her probing consciousness. There was nothing threatening
in the forest this morning. She crawled the rest of the way out but
stayed tight against the opening, scanning the spaces around and
under the trees.

A nose pushed gently against her back.

Erynn side-crawled to the right.

A massive white head popped out of the
entry.

“Morning.” She watched the alpha. His intense
gold eyes searched the woods. Her gaze tracked where the maejen’s
had. Nothing.

He snorted snow from his twitching nose and
glanced at her. Showing his teeth, he trotted into a deep drift
outside the den.

“Yeah, I don’t sense any danger either.
Whatever was out there is gone now. Thanks again. I gotta get back
before they send out a search party.” She sighed. “If they haven’t
already.”

The alpha dipped his head, staring at her. He
chuffed, showing more teeth.

Erynn returned the smile. “At least you’re
finding humor in this.”

His head swung in the direction they’d come
from yesterday.

She frowned. “Yes. I’m going back for the
speeder. There has to be a reason the power source is reading a
complete failure.” She shook her head. “Strange.” She stood up,
brushed snow off her pants, and set out through the forest.

The speeder was a lump among others in the
snow. Erynn stood a moment, catching her breath. Walking through
the deep drifts was a workout. When the ache in her chest eased,
she began brushing the powdery blanket off the speeder.

She crouched, took the protective cover off
the small engine, and examined the wiring. She could find no reason
for the failure. Replacing the cover, she worked her way around the
vehicle, checking each connection. On the other side of the
speeder, she found the problem. The main power cable appeared to
have been
chewed
through.

“When—” Erynn bolted upright. The watchers
had returned. Every muscle in her body coiled to react as she
peered into the falling snow. Icy fingers crawled from the base of
her spine to her neck, and her skin prickled with the chill. “Okay,
time to go.” She opened the repair kit from a case affixed to the
rear of the seat. Electric blue and purple tendrils wound around
her gloved hands. She knelt next to the damaged wiring and began to
fuse the separation.

Movement in the distance to her right
screamed for her attention, but she ignored the cry.

“Get this fixed. Get out of here,” Erynn
whispered with urgency. When she had the heavy wires twisted
together, she wrapped the spot in strong tape. “That should get me
home. I hope.” She stood up and returned the tools to the box, her
gaze drawn to the right. Several dark, human-shaped forms darted
between the trees, edging closer. Her lungs hitched, and she jumped
onto the speeder, throwing her hood off and her helmet on. Hot,
fetid breath brushed at her neck. The stench of putrid flesh filled
her nostrils.

Imagination
?
Yes
.
No. Maybe.
Go
!

Bright purple static popped off her hands as
she reached down to the starter. The snapping currents enfolded the
chassis. The speeder started without punching the button. Erynn
twisted the throttle full open and sped away, up the mountain.

Jaer stormed into the transport bay. Cale was
already there. A young man appeared to shrink at Cale’s menacing
posture, intense gaze, and barrage of questions.

I will not be so kind
.

Stammering, the young man turned at Jaer’s
approach and paled. “General Athru, sir.
Fayn
Jaer.
Sh-sh-she said she’d be back before da-dar-dark,” he whimpered.

Jaer reached out, saying nothing, and grabbed
the front of the man’s jacket. He lifted, pulling him slowly
forward until their faces nearly touched.

“Jaer, take it easy,” Cale warned. “We won’t
get any information out of him if you kill him.” His eyes cold and
hard, Cale turned on the young man. “Tell me everything Erynn said
to you.”

Jaer dropped the young man, and he struggled
briefly to stay upright. Jaer crossed his arms and waited, his
blazing glare never leaving the frightened, shaking young man.

If anything has happened to my Kipa, he’ll
know real fear
.

“Yes, sir, General. Captain Yager said she
needed to go out and that there would be trouble if she didn’t.”
The words tumbled from his lips. He ducked his head, his gaze
darting between Jaer and Cale. “She said she’d be back before
dark.”

“I am going. I will take Aven and Roni with
me.” Jaer pushed by the young man, and he stumbled backward. “Ready
three speeders, Whill,” Jaer ordered an older man with long gray
hair who stood back, watching the interrogation.

Whill nodded. “They’re ready, Fayn.” He
glared at the young man. “Figured you might be needing them.”
Whill’s use of Jaer’s impressive title was further meant to
intimidate the young man.

Cale’s tone held an angry quality Jaer had
never heard from him. “Whill, I’m closing all access points to the
base until further notice. No one and I mean no one comes in or
goes out without Jaer’s or my approval.”

“Understood, General. Consider it done.”
Whill turned to the young man. “And what about Rand here?”

Cale whirled on Rand. “Whill, I’m putting
Rand on report. I trust you to mete out an appropriate punishment
for not following SOP, [Standard Operating Procedures].”

Whill nodded. “I’ll handle this,
General.”

Rand stared at the floor. “I’m sorry, sir.
I…She…” He shook his head. “There’s no excuse for what I did.”

Roni hurried up to Cale and Jaer from the
outer tunnel. “A speeder is approaching the first waypoint.” She
smiled, the warmth of her expression spreading across her young
face and into her green-brown eyes. “It’s Erynn.”

Jaer felt his shoulders loosen. His breathing
resumed its unrestrained rhythm of inhalations and exhalations, and
his heartbeat slowed to a more normal pace.

Erynn is all right, at least for
now
.

Erynn entered the bay through the wide
corridor. Jaer, Cale, Roni, and everyone on duty stared at her.

Maybe I should turn around and go back
out. No, they need to know what I saw
.

She stopped in front of them, pulled off her
helmet, and climbed from the speeder. Cale glared at her. Jaer’s
dark eyes blazed with an internal fire. Their anger and fear
bombarded her. To reduce her exposure to their emotions, she
visualized a tunnel of light becoming a pinpoint speck. “Yell at me
later for not following procedure. There’s something out in the
forest. Something not normally there. My speeder was damaged.
It…They…were hunting me.” Her voice sounded thin, a fragile ribbon
stringing her words together, barely holding. She put her hand to
her forehead and rubbed. Now that she knew she was safe, relief and
fatigue dropped over her like a heavy weight. Erynn glanced up, her
attention divided between Jaer and Cale. “I saw them.”

Cale’s frustration was evident in his voice.
“We’ll get to that. But first, what prompted you to go out, alone,
all night?”

Jaer said nothing. He only stared at her.
That was worse. She wished he’d say something and get it over
with.

“I told you. I hadn’t planned to stay out
that long. My speeder was damaged.
They
did it, somehow.
Chewed the main power cable in two.” She sucked in a deep breath
and let it out through pursed lips. “Two enemy soldiers were in the
forest just below the tree line.” She glanced at Cale. “You were
busy with the murder of that woman.” Her gaze shifted to Jaer. “You
were out searching for what killed her. This was something I knew I
could take care of. I could bring the soldiers in without a
fight.”

Jaer glanced at Roni and nodded. “Take Aven
and check it out. Find the soldiers. Bring them here, alive.”

Roni spun back to the main tunnel and rushed
away before Erynn was able to protest.

Erynn narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t you hear
what I just said? Something is out there. A lot of those…things are
roaming the forest. You’re only sending Roni and Aven?”

Cale’s irritation receded. “I believe you,
Erynn. Aven and Roni are Anbas. Sometimes less is better. They can
handle whatever is out there. Besides, their goal is to find the
soldiers, not some strange animal roaming the woods.”

Erynn sighed. Her shoulders slumped under her
weariness. Cale was right. She was worried about Aven and Roni
after what she’d experienced, and maybe she didn’t need to be. The
alien soldiers were more of a threat.

Cale nodded to Jaer. “We need to find those
soldiers. If they have the ability to contact others of their kind,
the invasion of our worlds could start all over again. And this
time I don’t think we’d be so fortunate.” Cale turned to Erynn.
“What did you see? Can you describe the animals that stalked
you?”

Erynn sighed. “Yes. No. Not animals. They
were tall, thin, human shaped.” Her jaw tightened. “They appeared
to be black, their skin shiny, oily looking.”

Cale inhaled sharply and whispered,
“Shifters?”

Jaer’s attention snapped to him. “It cannot
be. They are a myth.”

“No. They are very real,” Cale said with
emphasis. “Zander claimed Shifters were Dhoran’s select soldiers.
His forward guard.”

“But if they are back, that would mean…”
Jaer’s gaze darted to the dark tunnel Roni had run into. “The
attack. Could it have been Shifters, sent by Dhoran?

“There’s no access below ground. I’ve checked
every millimeter of the tunnels and warrens.” Cale’s gaze followed
Jaer’s.

“What’s a Shifter?” Erynn thought of the Anim
Blath’s warning. The colony feared that the alien invasion on
Arranon would stir the evil soul of Dhoran, waking his spirit and
rekindling his desire to rule Arranon, above and below.

Jaer’s attention returned to Cale. “They
should be checked again. I will establish search teams for any
unauthorized way in.”

“What’s a Shifter?” Erynn glanced from Jaer
to Cale.

Cale sighed. “Yes. Tell the teams to evaluate
all tunnels for air pockets behind the walls. This could take a
while.”

“What is a Shifter?”

“We will get right on this, Cale. I will have
all my Anbas working the tunnels.”

“Fine. I’ll go find one for myself.” Erynn
turned and started toward the access tunnel.

Jaer grabbed her hood, pulling her back. “You
are going nowhere, except to your quarters.”

Cale’s eyes narrowed and he glanced at Jaer.
“If you’ve got this handled, I’m going to set up a search grid for
teams. Can’t have them overlapping.” He hurried to the exit,
disappearing into the gloom of the main corridor.

Jaer spun on Erynn. “I told you not to go out
alone.”

“No. You told me not to go into the tunnels
alone. I didn’t.” Erynn matched his hard gaze.

Jaer’s teeth ground, making a harsh grating.
“Should I have confined you to your quarters?”

Erynn’s eyes widened and her jaw tensed. “I’d
like to see you try.”

“Do not challenge me, Erynn. You will lose.”
Jaer turned and stormed out of the transport bay.

Erynn took in a deep breath and let the air
escape slowly through clenched teeth. “Well, that didn’t go exactly
the way I’d hoped,” she whispered. She was again alone.

Emptiness pressed in around her.

“WHY DO I KEEP DOING this? I know military
SOP. I should have at least notified someone other than the
transport tech what I was doing,” Erynn mumbled and kicked at a
meerat
running across the shadow-filled corridor in front of
her. “I could have taken Roni with me. She would have gone.” She
sighed. “But that would have endangered her as well as myself.” She
turned down the tunnel to her quarters, a warm meal forgotten for
the moment. “I’ll find Jaer and Cale. Apologize.” It would be
easier to let the incident slide and forget her poor judgment. “No.
I am accountable for my actions. If I make a mistake, I need to be
responsible.”

Erynn entered her quarters to clean up and
change clothes.

I must be saturated with the subtle
bouquet of a maejen den, wet fur, raw bones, and ages of
dirt
.

She stared with longing at the bed as she
stepped toward the washroom door near the foot of her bunk and
closed her eyes briefly. “Shower first. Apologize. Then sleep.” Her
stomach growled. “Okay, shower, apologize, eat, and then
sleep.”

She stripped out of her clothes, tossing them
in a bin set into the wall across from the shower. There was still
an odd lingering scent in the small room. She picked up one of her
boots, sniffed, and jerked her head back. “Time for new boots.” The
old ones followed her clothes down the chute.

Steam from the spray of hot water in the
shower swirled and condensed on cool surfaces. She stood under the
stinging surge, letting it warm and loosen tight muscles. When her
stomach protested its empty condition yet again, Erynn turned off
the water and stepped out.

A panel above and to the left of the bin
allowed her to choose clean clothing and new boots. Directly over
the bin, ducts connected to the laundry ended in a closed cabinet.
She made her selections, white being the only color choice, and
waited. When she heard the whoosh of air through the ducts, she
opened the cabinet and removed her clean clothes.

Erynn left the warm, moist interior of the
washroom. The bed beckoned once more, and Erynn slowed. Her stomach
objected at the delay. “All right. I’m going. Best to get this over
with. Quick and painless. Right.” She nodded decisively, pulled on
a clean coat, unlocked her outer door, and moved into the narrow
hall.