“Shall I make stew again or do you have something better for us?” she asked Jon.
“We’ve got better,” he said, opening his pack and removing a large bulging bag. He opened it up and removed several different prepackaged freeze dried meals. Each meal was smaller than the palm of Salene’s hand, but once water was added and they were cooked for a short time, they’d expand into full meals. They each selected what they wanted, the children going by the pictures since the food was completely unfamiliar to them. A few minutes later their meals were simmering over the fire along with another roast for Tonka.
“How far are we from the silo?” Talus asked Tonka while they waited for dinner to cook.
“About half a day at the speed we’ve been traveling,” he replied. “I could run there in about two hours in this terrain without snow on the ground, and from what I saw earlier, you three could do the same.”
“That’s good news,” Talus said with relief. “I have a bad feeling about that patrol ship.”
“Why?” Salene asked. “What are you thinking?”
“If that hybrid had a Controller as you and Jinjie suspect, then they’ve surely found it by now. One look will be enough for them to know that Tonka didn’t kill it, so they’ll know he has help even though the hybrid never actually saw any of us. I suspect they’ll assume he’s making his way to the silo to rescue the people they took from the settlement.” Talus paused. “Any arguments so far?”
Everyone shook their heads, including Tab and Mali, which made them all want to smile, though they didn’t. “If I’m right, they’ll most likely be patrolling the area between the dead hybrid and the silo searching for us, which would explain that ship coming so close to us today.” Talus paused a moment, then added, “There’s also the possibility that they found your life pod.”
“They can’t have found the pod itself, but they could have found the site,” Salene said.
“You dissolved it?”
“Yes, I did. Unfortunately, there were a few bits and pieces scattered around, and I never did see the pod door.” Talus’s eyes widened at that, then went to the bump she still had high on her forehead. He shook his head, chasing away the mental image of Salene in an open pod as it burned its way through the atmosphere before crashing into the ground. That can’t have happened, of course, or she wouldn’t be sitting there in front of him, but that didn’t seem to stop the image in his mind from replaying itself in bright, vivid color.
“Our ships should get here by tomorrow night at the earliest, more likely the following day some time,” Kar said. “Could we stay here until they arrive?”
“No,” Salene said. “We can’t wait that long.”
“Do you know why yet?” Jon asked. Salene shook her head.
“I don’t think we should wait in any case,” Talus said. “I think the longer we stay in one place, the more likely they’ll find us. The one advantage we have is that they don’t know how fast we can move. They probably think it’ll take us another full day at best to reach the silo since that’s how long it would take at a normal pace. I suggest we leave at first light, and travel to the silo as fast as we possibly can. They’ll never expect us to reach it so quickly.”
Salene looked over to where the children sat near the fire, not a bit surprised to find Tab yawning sleepily, or Mali listening. She was very smart, and she had a need to know what was happening around her, something Salene understood very well.
“Tonka, do you know of a place outside the silo where the children could wait for us in safety?” she asked.
“Where we are right now is the closest place I would consider safe cover for them,” Tonka said.
Salene shook her head. “I can’t leave them here. It’s much too far from the silo, and they’re completely defenseless. If the Nomen didn’t find them, an animal could.”
“You’re right, leaving them here unprotected is not an option,” Talus agreed. “I don’t think we have any choice but to take them with us.”
“Mom?” Mali said softly, causing Salene to smile as she always did when Mali called her that.
“Yes, honey?”
“I don’t want to go to the silo. But I don’t want to stay here alone, either. Can Jinjie stay with us?”
“I’m afraid not,” Salene said. “We need Jinjie to handle the computer systems once we get inside. I don’t have the knowledge he does, and it’s really important that we find out where the other silos are so we can help those people, too. Tonka has to go because without him, we won’t be able to find the silo at all.”
Mali thought for a few moments, then nodded. “We’d better go with you then.”
“I’m sorry, Mali,” Salene said. “I just don’t know what else to do. I’d stay here with you, but I have to go, too.”
“Why?” Talus asked, earning immediate glares from Jon, Kar, Jinjie and Tonka. He arched one brow, then shook his head. “I wouldn’t think of leaving you behind, Salene, nor the children. I just want to know why you said you have to go.”
“I don’t really know,” Salene said thoughtfully. “I just feel it. I have to go. I have to be there.” She saw Mali open her mouth, hesitate, then lift her chin.
“Will you promise not to leave us there?”
“Yes, honey, I promise not to leave you there. I’m your Mom, and I’d never leave my children behind. Not ever.”
“Nor would any of the rest of us, Mali,” Talus added.
Mali nodded, her shoulders relaxing. “Thank you,” she said softly.
Salene made a mental note to reassure Mali on this subject as often as possible. The conversations they’d had so far helped, and she thought that getting off this planet would help a lot more. Mali was intelligent, and understood things that most children her age wouldn’t have. But, both Mali and Tab had suffered some fairly traumatic events in their short lives. She had a feeling Mali was going to need a lot of reassurance for some time to come, and probably some professional counseling as well. At the moment, all she could do was keep them safe, keep the promises she made, and reassure them as much as she could. Which reminded her.
“Mali, Tab, if anything happens to me, Jinjie, Tonka, Talus, Jon, and Kar will take you back to Jasan, like we talked about. Won’t you?” she asked, looking at each of them as she spoke their names.
“We will,” Talus promised while Jon and Kar nodded in agreement.
“You know I’m already sworn to protect you,” Tonka said. “But yes, I too make this promise.”
“Jinjie do be promise, too. Lady Bear do be liking children much.”
“Thank you,” Mali said, her voice stronger this time.
Salene got up and went to kiss Mali on the forehead, then she zipped her suit shut and stepped out of the tree into the cold night air before letting the tears fall. She had a few minutes to herself before Talus, Jon, and Kar joined her. Talus scooped her up without a word, then headed for the river. He leapt over it, pulling Salene close against his chest to protect her from being jostled by the landing. He waited for Jon and Kar to join them, then ran to the grove of living trees a little further up river before setting her on her own feet. Salene wiped her eyes, but before she could say anything, she noticed a small grayish cloud forming just a few feet away from them. She faced the cloud after signaling to her men that there was no danger, glad she’d remembered to tell them about Nia earlier that day.
“Hello, Nia,” Salene said after the cloud had finished forming.
“Greetings, Salene,” Nia said, bowing deeply with her hands pressed together before her.
“Nia, these are my Rami, Talus, Jon, and Kar.”
“I greet you, Gryphons of the Klanaren, and offer profound gratitude on behalf of all the slaves of this world.”
“We haven’t done anything yet, Nia,” Talus said as he studied the gray-blue figure with interest. “But we intend to.”
“Nia, you seem agitated,” Salene said, noting that unless she had them pressed together, Nia was having trouble ke
eping her hands still.
“I confess that I am,” Nia replied. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to speak with you without the children nearby.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Salene said.
“No, it is not good,” Nia said nervously. “As you know, I am prohibited from telling you certain things, especially those things that have not yet occurred. But I overheard something yesterday quite by accident, in my corporal form, that is not part of that which has been foreseen.”
“If you tell us and it turns out you shouldn’t have, your blood oath will kick in, won’t it?”
“By kick in I assume you mean activate?” Salene nodded. “Yes, that is my concern.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t tell us,” Salene said.
“Perhaps not,” Nia agreed. “But I have given this much thought and decided that I must take the risk. It comes down to a choice between my life, and the lives of many others which, now that I’ve said that out loud, makes my choice even more clear. I must tell you regardless of the consequences to myself.”
Salene pressed her palms together and bowed her head, honoring Nia for her choice. “Whatever you tell us, be assured that we will do our utmost to act on it.”
“I thank you for your reassurance, Salene, though I never doubted that you would,” Nia said. Then she took a deep breath, visibly preparing herself for what could be her last act. Her jaw firmed and she met Salene’s gaze steadily. “There is something circling this planet, a machine of some type that is beyond my knowledge or understanding, as so many things are in this place despite the many cycles I’ve spent here. I’m afraid I cannot even describe it to you as I’ve never seen it, and I cannot remember the name I overheard the Nomen use for it. When this object reaches a point in its orbit that is above Silo 56, it will release a weapon that will destroy the silo and all who reside within it.”
“Demii!” Talus growled. “Nia, do you know when the satellite is expected to reach its firing point?”
“Satellite, yes, that was the word they used,” Nia said, relieved that they knew of such things. “They were trying to determine what time the firing would occur for wherever we are now, and said it will go off when the sun is straight up over Silo 56. They spoke also of new orders from the Doftles that require all Nomen and their machines to go to ground before that time, where they are to remain hidden at all costs until further notice.”
“They think Tonka shared information about the other silos with the prisoners of Silo 56,” Salene guessed. “That makes Silo 56 a security leak, and Doftles are all about security.”
“Yes, that is correct,” Nia said. “I’m afraid they also know of your presence.”
“How would they know I’m here?” Salene asked, shocked.
“I apologize, Highness,” Nia said. “I don’t mean you specifically. But they know others are here, on this world, and they know you are from Jasan. I’m sorry but I don’t know how they came by that information.”
“They must have found my landing site, or they know about the Aegl.”
“We scanned for satellites when we arrived,” Jon said. “Since we didn’t find any, it seems logical to assume they’re hidden by Blind Sight. It’s also logical to assume they have surveillance satellites as well as satellites configured as weapons platforms, or even satellites that perform both functions, as well as communications, weather observation, and navigation reference.”
Salene nodded. She hadn’t thought of that. “They either know, or suspect, that we’ve called for help. So they’ll destroy the silo along with everyone they think knows too much. Then they’ll wait for our ships to arrive, decide there’s nothing else to find, and leave.”
“Yes, that is their plan,” Nia said. “When your ships leave, they will move all of the silos to another world, and destroy this one.”
“Our ships will not be leaving until the silos are found, the people freed, and every last one of the Doftles’ creations are destroyed,” Talus declared in a calm, but cold voice.
“On behalf of all of the captives on this world, I thank you most deeply, Talus Gryphon,” Nia said, bowing from the waist and holding it for a long moment. When she straightened again she was smiling. “Since I am not now dead, this information is not covered by my blood oath, which is a relief. It is also somewhat troubling.”
“Because it wasn’t foreseen,” Salene said, nodding slowly.
“Just so,” Nia replied. “I must think on this.”
“We thank you for telling us about the satellite, Nia,” Salene said. “I knew there was a reason we had to hurry, but I didn’t know what it was, or even how much time we had. Now we do. Don’t worry. We will do all in our power to get the people out of that silo before the satellite fires.”
“I have no doubt that you will, Princess Salene Dracon. I will return if I learn anything new. May the Light shine upon you, and guide you in your efforts tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Nia,” Salene said. They waited in silence as Nia’s form faded then Salene turned to face her men. “Now we know.”
“Yes, we certainly do,” Talus said.
“This issue raises a question I’ve wondered about,” Salene said, frowning. “I know I read that Aunt Hope helped the Bearens decode Blind Sight signals once, a long time ago. How come we can’t do that now?”
“As you probably know, Khurda of Garza knows more about Blind Sight than anyone,” Jon said. Salene nodded. “Even though he’s built a few of them, and is now training people to help him build more, he hasn’t been able to find a way to neutralize them. The current Blind Sights have a constantly shifting and totally random frequency matrix that can’t be nullified for more than a brief second, and that rarely and only by accident. He’s working on it, of course, but no solution has yet been found.”
“I guess we should count ourselves lucky that the Doftles can’t neutralize Blind Sight either,” she said.
“How do you know this?” Jon asked as all three of them focused intently on her.
“Because the Armadura had Blind Sight and used it to get close enough to the Facility to rescue me, and then destroy it without being seen,” Salene said. “And because we followed the Doftle yacht carrying you for ten days without being spotted.”
“Even though we don’t remember those things, you’ve told us about them,” Jon said. “We should have put that together sooner.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Salene said. “The Bearen-Hirus know it, and they’ve shared the information.”
Talus nodded, but she could see that they were upset once again over things they had no control over. She took a breath and moved on. “Okay, so there’s a satellite out there that will be pointed at the silo at noon tomorrow. According to Tonka, we can get there in a couple of hours if you use Air magic. I wonder how long it will take us to evacuate the place.”
“We don’t have any knowledge of the silo so we can’t even begin to guess,” Talus said. “We need to discuss this with Tonka.”
“I don’t want to take the children into a place we know is about to be destroyed unless we have lots of time to spare,” Salene said worriedly.
“We would not risk you or the children in so careless a manner, Zerura,” Talus said. “We’ll get there in time one way or another, even if we have to rise at midnight to do so.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” Salene said. “I’m just worrying. It seems I’ve dragged you into one heck of a mess, and I’m sorry for that.”
“You didn’t drag us into this, Salene,” Kar said. “We chose to be here.”
“I know you already told Mali you would, but I need your promise that if anything happens to me, you’ll take care of the children. If you’d rather not raise them yourselves, please take them to my parents. They’ll love them and raise them and keep them safe.”
“Of course,” Talus said. “You have our word.”
Saline dropped her eyes and nodded. “Thanks,” she said, hiding her disappointment.
“Hey,”
Talus said. She looked up. “We would take the children ourselves, Salene, and raise them with all the love in our hearts, but we’ve already experienced life without you. It was only for a few weeks, but each and every minute of it was torture. We can’t do it again. If you travel to the next plane, we travel with you.”
Salene felt like she should argue with that decision but at the moment she just didn’t have it in her. Instead she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, sighing when Kar and Jon immediately moved closer so that all three of them surrounded her with warmth and love. She lifted her head and fulfilled her impulse from earlier by kissing Talus on the neck just below his ear. He growled softly, sending a deep wave of heat through her. Then she felt him sigh. She looked up and saw the regret on his face.
“As much as we wish otherwise, and believe me when I say we wish it more than anything at the moment, it’s not a good idea to stay out here without our hoods much longer, let alone without our suits.”
“I know,” she said, then stretched up to kiss him on the jaw.
“Don’t worry, love,” Jon said. “In another day or two we’ll be on the Aegl behind a door with a lock.”
“Won’t that be fun,” she said, smiling.
“It’ll be fun for us, anyway,” Talus said, picking her up before turning back toward camp. “You’ll be too busy begging us to let you come to think about how much fun you’re having.”
“That sounds like punishment to me,” she said.
“That’s because it is,” Jon laughed.
“What did I do to deserve that?”
“Who says you have to deserve it?” Kar asked. “If we had to wait for you to deserve punishment we wouldn’t get to enjoy it nearly as often as we’d like.”
“Oh,” Salene said, unable to think of any other response. Luckily, Talus chose that moment to start running, effectively ending the conversation.
***
After dinner Salene brushed out Mali’s hair, something they both enjoyed a great deal though Salene wasn’t exactly sure why. After washing up and brushing their teeth, she helped the children into bed and made sure they were warm and comfortable, then she accepted a cup of hot chocolate from Talus and sat listening to the males talk with half her attention. Before long the children fell asleep and Jinjie worked his magic to be sure they couldn’t hear if they happened to wake up. Then Selene told Tonka and Jinjie what Nia had told them.
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