Escape From Zulaire

by Veronica Scott

She caught at his hand. “Thanks for saving my life.”

  “My pleasure. Thanks for saving mine.”

  Arching up from the couch, she pulled him toward her. He met her halfway, kissing her with pent-up hunger. Andi teased at his lips with her tongue, penetrating his warm mouth, exploring. His arms came around her, holding her close as his tongue tangled with hers in a delicious dance. Breaking off, he kissed his way along the side of her neck, nuzzling the soft spot at her shoulder.

  Andi resisted when he tried to pull back a moment later. She tugged at his shirt, pulling it loose so she could run her hands underneath the fabric, resting her fingers on his warm back. He sat on the couch beside her. “I thought you were tired?”

  “Maybe all of those drugs Mitch gave me have kicked in.”

  Stroking her hair, combing out tangles as he went, Tom smiled. “Even if the meds are working overtime, you’re injured and I need you to rest before we start the last leg of the journey.”

  Yawning, accepting the truth of his assessment, she curled up carefully on her good side, pillowing her hand under her chin. “You were all I thought about, when Iraku was going to kill me.”

  “Finding you was the best thing that ever happened to me, lady.” He kissed her cheek.

  “Likewise.”

  “Remember what I told you that night by the lake, when we were camped out?” he said. “How I didn’t think I could ever settle down in one place?”

  “Yes, of course.” A woman doesn’t forget a remark like that.

  “Now that I’ve found you, I know I can stay wherever you are. You are everything I need. Nothing else matters.” Leaning over, he kissed her, taking exquisite care not to aggravate any of her wounds.

  Touched he felt such security with her, Andi returned the kiss with intensity, happy in the knowledge they could have a future together.

  With obvious reluctance, he broke the embrace a long moment later. “I hate to say this, but I have to go. We’re running out of time.” Tucking his shirt in and then readjusting the tablecloth that was to be her makeshift blanket, he kissed her forehead. “Try to sleep, okay?”

  As she heard the door shut behind him, Andi closed her eyes with a grateful sigh. No nightmares waiting for her now, only sweet dreams.

  Chapter Eight

  When Andi woke, Rahuna was sitting in the chair next to the couch, reading a small book of meditations. When he saw she was awake, he gave her his beautiful full smile. “Good, you’ve slept yourself out, child.” Sliding the book into a pocket, he stood.

  “For now.” Andi tried to move, but her stiff, sore limbs were aching, her reflexes sluggish. Her left side where the blaster shot had come so close was the worst, aching and burning as if she’d three broken ribs. It even hurts to breathe. Those drugs of the sergeant’s must have worn off. “What time is it?”

  “Still the middle of the night, I fear. Come, I have some food if you’re hungry.” Rahuna walked over to the couch.

  “Starved. You must be my guardian angel.” When was the last time I ate? “Any coffee?”

  Rahuna tugged her to her feet with elaborate caution while she clutched at her side. Matching his steps to her halting pace, he supported her as she hobbled out of the office. She picked the closest chair at the first table in the restaurant. Like a waiter at a fancy restaurant, Rahuna pulled the seat out for her with a flourish. “There’s coffee. The soldiers said since this was our last stop before the capital, we might as well finish the supply. I saved two cups for you.”

  Before she could thank him, Rahuna hurried out, returning with a large tray from which he spread a bountiful meal for her, including an omelet, fruit, breads, preserves as well as the promised coffee.

  “Where did all this come from?” she asked around a mouthful of fruit.

  “South Amri was abandoned by its owners in a great hurry. The power was still on when we arrived. There’s a big generator out back, behind the buildings. Corporal Rogers wouldn’t let us use many lights when we got here, but we were able to cook. Well, I was able to cook.”

  Andi took a bite of the omelet, which was tasty and, although not hot any longer, still warm enough to eat. “Where is everyone?” Taking some of the toast, she made a sandwich with the omelet in the middle and munched happily.

  “Lysanda and the boy are asleep in a small, private dining room over there.” Rahuna pointed vaguely to the other side of the restaurant. “She wasn’t comfortable to be left alone in this big, open space. Abukawal is on guard on the roof, watching the off-ramp. The soldiers are outside behind the restaurant, working on the truck and the other vehicle you brought in.”

  “It was Gul Tonkiln’s car.” I still can’t believe he might be dead. Assaulted by memories and the pang of sorrow, Andi closed her eyes for a moment. Yet another person who didn’t deserve to die in this insane Clan war.

  “Andi?” Rahuna laid his hand over hers. “Come back from wherever your mind is roaming.” He handed her another triangle of toast. “It would seem Lord Tonkiln has lost his firstborn, as well as the others who perished at the summer compound.” Voice low and hushed, he said, “Tonkiln’s paid a high price for refusing to take the early warnings seriously.”

  “You don’t think there’s a chance the rebels might be holding Gul for ransom?” Appetite gone, Andi set the toast down, untouched.

  Rahuna shook his head, lips pursed, eyebrows drawn together. “This doesn’t seem to be the rebels’ pattern. I fear poor Gul has passed to the next world, murdered no doubt. I continue to give thanks to Sanenre your captain intervened on my behalf, to spare me a similar fate.”

  “Mmm, my captain.” Andi felt like purring. “Has Tom said what he’s planning to do now? How do we get to the capital from here?”

  Picking up a ripe fruit and contemplating its bruised skin, Rahuna shook his head. “Not to me. He and his men have been modifying the two vehicles. The captain wouldn’t even take time to eat, nor let the sergeant have a break. I brought them food out back, in the garage. The men gulped bites here and there as they worked. So, I believe we’re going to take the vehicles.” Rahuna bit into the fruit and munched on it, giving a small sigh. “The comlink here at the station was inoperable, by the way. A severe disappointment to the captain. Rogers said several vital parts were missing.”

  “Tom hoped to call for an air evac.” Andi sipped her coffee then devoured the last two bites of her omelet, which now tasted like cardboard. Doesn’t matter what the food tastes like, I need to eat while there’s food available. I need my strength. “You’re quite a cook, sir, if I may say so.”

  “As a young candidate for priesthood, one is set many tasks to learn, you know. I was assigned to cook for the brothers at the south coast monastery. The supplies left here didn’t run to much more than tibu eggs and basic spices, so I was unable to be creative.” He frowned at the fruit and set it on the platter, fastidiously cleaning his fingers with a cloth napkin.

  Andi finished her cup of coffee in one unladylike gulp and pushed her chair away from the table, wincing at the pain in her left side from the hasty move. “Let’s go find Tom and see how they’re doing. I don’t want to linger at South Amri a minute longer than we have to.” She took a few steps then stopped, hand pressed tight to the bandages on her side. “I’m so stiff my joints are about paralyzed. Mitch said I’ll need a short session in rejuve, but if this gets worse I’ll need a week.”

  “Take your time. Lean on me.” Rahuna escorted her out of the restaurant and around the back, supporting her the whole way. The soldiers had rigged a dozen work lamps, now trained on the two vehicles, making the garage area as bright as midday.

  Tom stood off to the side of Gul’s car, supervising Rogers while he cut a major portion of the roof off. Tools pilfered from the station’s garage lay everywhere. As Rahuna and Andi paced around the corner, arm in arm, Tom made his way to them, yelling “Mitch!” over his shoulder as he did so.

  “You shouldn’t be strolling the premises.” He folded Andi in
his arms for a quick kiss. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rogers and Latvik open-mouthed and staring at this affectionate display.

  The sergeant ran up behind him. “What’s the emergency?”

  Tom nodded toward Andi. “See if she’s okay, will you? I don’t want her to aggravate the blaster sear.”

  “So considerate,” Andi murmured.

  “You have to be able to drive when we’re ready to roll out of here.” He loosened his grip on her waist a bit as she winced.

  “You always have an agenda.” Andi laughed. She glanced at him, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. “Must it always be a military objective you need me for?”

  “Minx.” He kissed her again. “Wait until we get back to the capital, and then we can discuss other objectives I might have in mind.”

  “If you’d go over there, ma’am, sit down, I’ll be one minute.” Mitch left, presumably to retrieve his medkit, returning as Rahuna and Tom got Andi settled onto an empty crate off to the side of all the frenetic activity.

  “What’s the plan for the car?” She stared across the service bay, to where Rogers and Latvik strained to lift the severed portion of the roof off the vehicle’s body.

  As Mitch did a quick but careful examination of her various injuries, Tom braced her with his arm behind her back. “You’ll drive the car—if you’re strong enough.”

  “I’m good to go.” Putting her shoulders back, she straightened from her slouching position.

  Nodding in support of her self-diagnosis, Mitch re-taped the bandages on her side. “She’ll do fine, sir. The sear isn’t any worse. Does it ache yet, ma’am?”

  “Yes. I’m also stiff everywhere, like an old lady.”

  “I have somethin’ for the pain, but best to wait til right before you need to drive.” Mitch held the inject in his hand but glanced at it with a troubled frown. “If I administer it too soon, the drug will wear off in the middle of our run for the capital.”

  “Makes sense. I can wait.” Andi pushed his hand back toward the open medkit. The sergeant dropped the inject into its receptacle and shut the lid.

  Clapping him affably on the shoulder, Tom said, “All right, thanks. You can get back to the cargo hauler and I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “The rest of the plan?” Andi prompted.

  “Sorry—I’m dog tired.” Tom ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. “We don’t have time to reset the car to allow anyone else to drive it. I’m afraid if we do a rush job, we’ll short out the whole system, leaving it useless. So you are the designated driver. I’ll ride shotgun, and Rogers will be crammed into the back with a piece of heavy-caliber hardware we found in Iraku’s truck.”

  Andi stared at the men working on the beat-up hauler. An impressive pile of munitions had been stacked with military precision off to the side. She pointed at the cache. “Were all those weapons in the truck?”

  “Oh, yeah.” His eyebrows drew together in a grim frown. “Enough to equip quite an operation. All Betang-made imitations of Sectors hardware, which will serve as confirmation of your story, once we get to the capital. Those damn Naranti hotheads are taking this planet to hell, begging your pardon, sir.” Tom nodded respectfully to Rahuna.

  Hands in his pockets, Rahuna bowed. “I don’t disagree. It saddens me, for my Clan and for all Zulaire. I hope you’ll be able to save us from this disaster.”

  “How many Betang do you think are here already? There was one in the village, which was enough for me.” Andi crossed her arms and hunched forward, adrenaline rising as she remembered how terrifying the creature had been.

  He rubbed her shoulders carefully for a minute, soothing some of her stress away. “An advance team can be anywhere from one to five agents. Then, if things go their way, the enemy arrives in waves, followed by Mawreg heavy cruisers. The planet’s lost then. Fortunately for Zulaire, the advance team usually needs a year or two, Terra Standard, to create enough chaos.”

  “When do we leave here?” Andi rubbed her arms as the night chill sank in. “This place makes me jumpy. Anxious.”

  “Mitch. How much longer to rig the cargo hauler and the car?” Tom’s voice carried across the din of the service area.

  Waving a grav wrench, the sergeant didn’t even look up. “Two hours max, sir.”

  “Okay. I want to hit the transportway before dawn, if we can.” Not waiting for the sergeant’s answering nod, Tom turned back to Andi and Rahuna.

  “And we’re just driving directly home?” Andi drew a straight line in the air with her hand.

  “Right. It’s about four hundred miles, so I figure maybe a shade under two hours, if we’re lucky and don’t run into any roadblocks or renegades. There’s no cover between here and the capital—it’s pretty much a flat plain. Well, you two know.”

  “Why not stay here until night falls again and make our run under cover of darkness?” Rahuna asked.

  “We’re still too close to the village where Andi was held prisoner,” Tom said. “Iraku will be missed and once someone goes to look for him and the weapons, it’ll be simple to figure out where we went with the cargo hauler. Our obvious destination would have to be the capital. Any commander with any sense at all would check for us here since South Amri is the only rest stop or building along the route.”

  “And not defensible,” Andi clarified, earning a nod from Tom.

  Smoothing his robes, Rahuna stood away from the wall. “I’d better get back inside to check on Lysanda and Sadu. She’ll be terrified if she awakes alone. Are you coming, Andi?”

  She shook her head. Those familiar butterflies were back in her stomach, making her queasy. Being outside in the open, near the soldiers with weapons, soothed her anxiety. The fresh night air was bracing. Proximity to Tom was also high on her list of must-haves. “I’ll just sit here out of the way and watch.”

  Rahuna nodded and strode away, the long skirts of his robe flapping around his legs.

  Tom watched the cleric for a moment, then glanced at Andi. “I’ve got to get back to work—we’re running out of time.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

  He kissed her. “Not even if you were an expert mechanic. I need you rested and ready to drive. But I appreciate the offer.” He walked to the cargo hauler, grabbing a load of tools from a cart as he went, then disappeared behind the hulking vehicle.

  Jittery, Andi leaned her head against the wall to get more comfortable, closing her eyes against the glare of the work lamps. The clamor of men at work became white noise around her, almost soothing, and she drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  A loud bang startled her awake, to the cold sensation of tendrils drooping over her arms and legs. Andi jumped off the crate, eyes wide open, her fists clenched, heart racing. “Tom!” She started frantically rubbing at her arms, even though she could see there were no tentacles grabbing at her.

  He sprinted from wherever he’d been, followed by Mitch. Catching her in his arms, Tom captured her hands to halt the desperate arm-rubbing. The sergeant hovered nearby. Rogers slid out from under the cargo hauler, and Latvik leaned around the side, blaster in his good hand, to see what the fuss was about.

  “I’m sorry if we woke you. We just sealed the hauler’s engine compartment. Was the noise what startled you?” Running his hands up and down her arms, Tom tried to examine her as she cringed, shuddering against him.

  Unable to quell the trembling, she buried her face against his chest. “I couldn’t breathe,” Andi said. “I felt like there were tentacles wrapping around me, squeezing the life out of me. The Betang was invading my mind like at the river village. It has to be somewhere close to us. We’ve got to get out of here or we’ll die.”

  “Andi, you were asleep, you were probably dreaming—”

  Impatiently she shoved away from him. “No, this happened after I woke. The Betang’s touch is unmistakable. Trust me. We’re out of time. The enemy knows where I am, and it’s on the road to us.” Unable to sit st
ill, needing to be in motion, she started pacing back and forth, wringing her hands.

  Tom swung into action, raising his voice and snapping out commands. “Okay, we move now, people. Rogers, get Rahuna and the others, and don’t forget Abukawal on the roof.” Turning to Andi, taking her by the elbow, he steered her toward Gul’s car. “Come on, let’s get you situated. Mitch, she’ll need the next medinject so she can drive.” He scrutinized her face. “Can you handle driving, sweetheart? Is the Betang touch still there?”

  Trying to calm her nerves, Andi breathed in deeply, one hand on her chest. She shook her head. “No.”

  He beckoned to the sergeant. “Double-time it with that inject, damn it.”

  As Mitch gave Andi yet another one of his endless supply of drugs, Rahuna and Abukawal rushed around the end of the restaurant building, the cleric carrying a drowsy Sadu, the Shenti warrior towing a vacant-eyed Lysanda.

  Waving the newcomers toward the cargo hauler, Tom pulled Andi toward the car. She had to wait while Rogers squeezed himself into the back. He’d have to ride in a half-crouching position, so he could work the weapon rigged on a crude turntable in the rear of the much-revamped speedster.

  Handing Andi into the driver’s seat, Tom shut the door. “Start the motor and be ready.” He ran over to the cargo hauler to confer with Mitch and Abukawal.

  Once she got the car’s engine idling, she craned awkwardly to check on Rogers. “Will you be okay back there for two hours?” She eyed the very small space and the gigantic gun. The soldier was built on the husky side.

  “I’ll be fine, thanks. I’ll sure be glad to get back to the city, ma’am.” Rogers was shoving extra charge capsules into the side of the weapon, feeding them into the magazine. “This has been one hell of a patrol.” Pausing for a second, he flashed a crooked smile. “Wish we had the APC instead of an old truck, though.”

  “You and me both.” I’d also like a clear road back to the capital, please. The trip so far had been nerve-racking and often terrifying, but the idea of driving on the center line of the transportway, visible to any pursuers, gave Andi the shakes. But there were no other viable routes left to them.