With an angry glare at him, Zashou sat.
“Jaisa,” said Goran, turning to the girl, “your folks have shown up back at home. There’s a roundup scheduled for your village later tonight. We’re the nearest unit. Idea is to go and get them before the Valtegans do. Can you draw us a plan of the area immediately around your house?”
Jaisa looked dazedly around the room as she lowered herself into a chair. “Yes, but…”
Goran reached in his pocket and pulled out a notepad and stylus and handed it to her. “You just do that drawing and leave the worrying to us.”
“I’m coming,” said Rezac, picking up the gun that lay on the small table beside him. Slipping it into his side holster, he folded away his cleaning kit.
Goran looked at him and nodded. “Glad to have you. Pity you’re part of this program. I’d have you on my team any day.”
“Count me in,” said Tiernay. “I won’t ask others to do something for my people that I’m not prepared to do myself.”
“Shanka and I’ll come,” said Zashou, glaring at Rezac.
“You’re not a fighter,” said Rezac. “Don’t come just to make an impression. You’ll be more liability than help.”
“Who elected you leader?” demanded Shanka. “And stop insulting my wife! We’re coming, Goran.”
“I’ll need folk to stay with the van, give us covering fire if needed once we’ve got them. You can do that,” said Goran, his eyes still on Rezac.
*
Two hours later, they were crouched against the hedges lining the street where Jaisa’s family home stood. The night was bitterly cold: An icy wind gusted the scudding clouds across a jet-black sky. From behind them, the twin moons cast an intermittent, pallid glow. Though the snow had been cleared from the pedestrian paths, it still lay deep in the gardens and surrounding fields.
“I don’t like this,” Rezac muttered to Goran. “It feels wrong. Like a trap.”
Goran nodded. “Can you sense any Valtegans?”
“Can’t tell. I’m picking up the usual static, but too much to be able to make sense of it. It isn’t what I’d expect so close to telepaths, though.”
“Suppressed?”
“Could be. Jaisa, what d’you get?” He turned to the female behind him. “Don’t try to reach them. If they’ve been collared, it could warn the Valtegans.”
“It doesn’t feel like them at all,” she said, her nose creasing with concern as she mentally scanned the house opposite for the thought patterns of her family. “Are you sure they’re here?”
“They were seen earlier today,” confirmed Goran. “Come up here with me. I’ll get us closer.”
Rezac let her pass him. Then, as Goran and Jaisa moved nearer to the end of the lane, he and Lamas got ready to give covering fire if necessary.
While Lamas checked the hedge for any openings, Rezac began checking the houses opposite. His gentle probe brought him a contact and, without warning, he suddenly found himself sucked into the other’s mind.
The Valtegan towered over them, energy rifle trained at their heads in case they made the slightest sound. Three more stood at the window, watching the street.
Shock catapulted him back to his own mind. Dazed, he reeled against Goran.
“What the hell… !” exclaimed the other, grabbing hold of him to prevent him crashing through the hedge.
“Trap,” Rezac managed to gasp.
Even as he steadied Rezac, Goran issued the animal call that was their alarm signal. Jaisa sent to the others but it was too late; one of Tiernay’s group had already vaulted into the garden alongside them. They’d disclosed their presence.
Across the street and beside them, doors were flung wide, the lights within briefly silhouetting the Valtegan soldiers as they rushed out.
“Over the hedge!” yelled Goran, diving into the bushes for cover as energy beams lanced through the night.
Adrenaline hit Rezac’s system like a shock wave, and grabbing the nearest person, he flung her over the hedge then followed himself. He rolled as he landed. Leaping to his feet, he grabbed his companion, dragging her across the garden to the far side of the house. Vaulting the ornamental brick wall at the rear of the building, he ran, keeping his head low, till he reached Goran and deposited Jaisa at his feet.
“Lamas?”
A quick mental check of their group confirmed his fears. Rezac shook his head. “Didn’t make it. Rest are fine.” As he unslung his gun, he noted that Jaisa had managed to keep hold of hers.
“Tiernay?” demanded Goran as he began returning fire to the garden opposite.
“They’re working around behind us,” Rezac replied, waiting for a lull before standing up to send off a spray of bullets in the same direction. “Got one,” he muttered, ducking down again as a reptilian scream rent the air and Valtegan fire increased.
Fragments of brick from the wall splattered down on them as a shot came too close for comfort. In front of them, sections of the hedge burst into flames, sending clouds of acrid smoke drifting across the road.
“All to our good,” muttered Goran. “We need to even the odds a little. On my signal.”
The barrage began to diminish as the Valtegans realized there was no return fire. Rezac could now sense a group of them to his right.
“Now!” said Goran, springing to his feet and sending a hail of bullets into the hedge opposite.
Rezac faced the other way, shooting across the junction, barely aware of Jaisa’s dogged supporting fire. A few seconds’ burst, and he ducked down again. Realizing she hadn’t, he reached out and grabbed her leg. Down!
More screams, none of them Sholan. Sharp, sibilant voices called to each other, then silence fell save for the sound of running feet. Rezac risked a look. Three Valtegans were heading for more substantial cover. He raised his gun, managing to clip one as the other two dived for shelter behind a low wall.
“This lot are as useless as the last,” Goran said with satisfaction. “They can slaughter us from the safety of their aircars, but on the ground, they’re worthless.”
Coming up behind you, sent Tiernay as the group he led cleared the back gate and began crawling through the snow on their bellies to join them. What now?
“Tiernay,” Rezac warned Goran verbally, as the other, hearing their movements, swung round, weapon pointed at them.
“The door’s opening!” said Jaisa, beginning to stand up as she saw a pool of light from her parents’ front door spill onto the pathway. The gun in her hand hung loosely by her side. “They’re coming out!”
“Get down!” hissed Rezac, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her back beside him. She collapsed on her knees in the snow, the gun falling unnoticed from her grasp. Rezac grabbed it up and thrust it through his belt. She was in no fit state to be carrying a weapon now.
Into the night stumbled three Sholans, held firmly by their Valtegan captors.
“Stop shooting! Surrender, or we kill!” came the shout from the lead soldier. “No escape! We many.” Though his Sholan words were mangled, his message was clear.
“I want that van fired up and ready to go,” Goran said quietly. “Get the rest, especially Jaisa, down the lane to cover our escape. You stay with me.”
Automatically Rezac reached for Tiernay, passing the message on. As he did, he quickly checked on Zashou. She was safe.
“Done,” he said, peering through the brick latticework at the prisoners opposite them. He knew their options had just run out. “Jaisa, go back with the others.”
“I’m staying,” she said, her voice unsteady as she pushed herself up onto her haunches.
As the van’s engine burst into life, Jaisa leaped to her feet. “You’re leaving without them! If you won’t save them, then I will!”
Rezac lunged after her, grabbing her by the belt to prevent her from clambering over the wall. She struggled, trying to pull free, but he held on. “Jaisa, stop it, damn you!” he hissed. “You’ll get us all killed!”
“Get a grip on her, dammit,�
� Goran snarled, glancing briefly at them.
Desperately she flailed at him with her fists, knocking his gun to the ground. With a growl of anger, he cuffed her hard enough to stun. Grasping her by the scruff, he bent to retrieve his weapon. She sprawled in the snow beside him, a crumpled, sobbing heap.
Goran caught his eye. He twitched first one ear, then the other, toward the hostages.
Standing up, Rezac hauled Jaisa with him. Pinning her against his side with his free arm, he flicked his gun onto single shots. He watched the hostages, waiting for a clear shot as Jaisa’s young brother, kicking and yowling for all he was worth, tried to break free. For a moment, the tussle drew the attention of the other two soldiers.
As Rezac bought his gun up, Jaisa’s mother looked directly at him. Their minds touched, then her eyes closed in quiet acceptance. He fired.
She fell instantly, the sudden weight of her body making her captor stagger. Goran’s first shot reached the father at the same moment; his second missed the cub, hitting the guard instead as the Valtegan continued to twist and turn, trying to shake off the biting and clawing fury attached to his arm.
*
Jaisa’s body arched against him, her keen of anguish almost deafening. Then shock hit her and she slumped in defeat, unable to accept what she’d just seen.
“Go!” hissed Goran, waiting for a second shot at the child. “Get back to the van!”
Lifting Jaisa free of the ground, Rezac backed down the garden. He got as far as the gate before she started to fight him again.
“You killed them!” Her voice was a high-pitched scream of agony. She struggled to free her arms, lifting her feet and trying to rake his legs with her claws. “You killed them, Rezac!” she howled.
Stop it, Jaisa, he sent. We couldn’t save them. Better we killed them than the Valtegans. At least it was quick. Inwardly he began to curse. Of all the lousy breaks, hers had to be the worst.
He tightened his grip, trying to keep her struggles under control. “Shut up, damn it, Jaisa! You’ll draw the Valtegans to us!” He had to drag her now as her feet sought for purchase in the snow-covered grass.
“Let me go!” she howled, baring her teeth as she turned her head toward his unprotected face and neck. “Let me go, Rezac! I’ll kill you for this!” She snapped at him, her head darting for his throat as she tried to deliver a mortal wound.
Swearing, he pulled back just in time. Ahead of them, Tiernay was standing at the open gate.
“What the hell’s up with her?” he demanded, stepping forward.
“Cover me,” Rezac ordered, stuffing his gun in its holster as he struggled with Jaisa. Scooping her up, he threw her over his shoulder and ran down the alleyway, stopping only when he reached the side door of the van. Willing hands pulled him inside.
“Let me go!” Jaisa snarled, kicking and struggling as he tried to swing her down to the floor. “Let me go, damn you! My brother’s still out there!”
Rezac’s head spun as she landed a crack across his forehead with her fist. He lost his footing and tripped, crashing down to the floor of the van on top of her. Stunned, they lay there as the rest of the team tumbled in. Goran was last. The van accelerated violently, throwing them all backward.
“Get that bloody door shut!” ordered Goran. “Any pursuit, Maro?” he yelled at the driver.
“None yet! They expected us to shoot it out!” he yelled over his shoulder.
Rezac rolled off Jaisa and scrambled up onto his hands and knees. “You all right?” he asked. When he got no reply, he touched her shoulder. “Jaisa, are you all right?”
Muted sobs came from her as she jerked away from him.
Goran pushed himself up off the van floor, helping the figure beside him to sit up. “Jaisa, we got your brother,” he said. “Somehow he got away and ran in the right direction.”
Jaisa raised her head and peered at the small shape crawling toward her.
“Jaisa?” His voice was small and very unsteady.
“Oh, Tal!” she wept as the cub flung himself into her arms.
The van took a corner at speed, spinning violently on the icy road, pitching them from side to side until it finally recovered and righted itself.
“Watch it!” yelled Goran, scrambling his way up front to join his own people. Tiernay followed close behind.
On all fours, Rezac crawled forward to join them.
“What happened back there?” asked Tiernay. “Where are Jaisa’s parents? Did the Valtegans kill them?”
Rezac glanced at Goran.
“We had to do it,” Goran said, keeping his voice low. “We walked into a trap. There were just too many of them.”
“You killed them?”
“Would you rather leave them for the Valtegans to torture?” asked Rezac.
“It was quick and clean,” said Goran. “We couldn’t leave them alive. They knew too much.”
“In the name of the Gods, we came to rescue them, not kill them!”
Goran shrugged. “Rescue if we could, kill if we couldn’t.”
“Dammit, Goran, you had no right to do that!”
“How’d you manage to get the cub?” asked Rezac, ignoring Tiernay’s outburst.
“He got real lucky,” said Goran, staring at Tiernay with narrowed eyes. “I’m in charge out here, not you. We might not have rescued her parents, but we saved lives tonight, boy, the cub’s for one. Told you, you got to be hard to lead. Now you know just how hard.”
“You’d have killed her brother, too?” Tiernay asked in disbelief.
“You’re nothing but murderers,” said Zashou angrily. “Hired killers!”
“You got it,” said Goran. “Hired to protect you with our own lives.” He turned his head to look at her. “We’re at war, girl. Those lizards’ll turn you into just so much dead meat as quick as look at you. Wouldn’t put it past them to eat you, too! Killing them was the kindest thing we could do for her folks. Hope if ever I’m caught, you’ll do the same for me.”
“You make me sick, both of you,” she said disgustedly, turning her back on them and moving closer to Jaisa and her brother.
Shanka opened his mouth in a grin. “You’ve tarnished your reputation again, Rezac,” he said, putting a protective arm around his mate. “Not doing too well, are you?”
Rezac looked away, trying to keep his hackles from rising. That male had a knack for getting under his skin. He stretched his fingers, claws extending until they were fully flexed.
He felt Goran touch his arm. Forcing his hands to relax, he looked up. The older male was holding out a stim twig. He shook his head.
Goran offered it again. “Go on,” he said. “Won’t hurt once in a while. That was a good shot back there. You got a steady hand when it counts.”
Rezac acknowledged the compliment with a slight movement of his head. Hesitating, he changed his mind about the twig and took it from the older male. Putting it in his mouth, he crushed the end with his back teeth. The slightly bitter taste made him swallow convulsively. Moments later, a feeling of light-headedness swept through him. He spat the twig out into his hand.
“Nice looker, that one,” Goran said quietly, ear flicking briefly in Zashou’s direction. “Got some strange ideas, but she’ll learn. She’ll come round to you, don’t worry. Females like her prefer strong males.” Goran grinned conspiratorially at him.
Rezac looked sideways at him and blinked, trying to focus on his face. “Don’t know what you mean,” he mumbled, taking several deep breaths in an effort to clear his head.
Goran grinned again. “It only makes your head swim like that the first few times. Try it again now.”
Rezac stuck the twig in his pocket. “Maybe later,” he said, taking hold of one of the grab ropes as the van swept round another corner.
*
Within minutes of the van hitting the back roads, snow began to fall, a blizzard so thick there was no chance of them being followed. Tiernay sat up front to help navigate, mentally checking the road ah
ead for any other vehicles.
When they finally reached the monastery, Dr. Kimin and her nurse Layul were waiting for them at the tunnel entrance. While Kimin took immediate charge of Jaisa, Layul saw to her brother.
“So you’ve come to live with us, have you?” he said, taking the cub by the arm and drawing him into the shelter of the tunnel. “I think you’ll like it here. I’m taking you up to the surgery to check you out first. Then while they sort out a bed for you, you can have something to eat. You hungry? Of course you are. Cubs your age are always hungry!”
Rezac followed them, listening with half an ear to Layul’s steady stream of chatter. It seemed to be working. Already Tal’s mind had begun to relax and lose its brittleness.
He stopped in their lounge to grab a bowl of stew and a mug of c’shar from the hot plates before heading for his room. He didn’t feel like company, and after being dropped in the snow, his gun needed cleaning as soon as possible. Wiser not to do it in front of the others tonight. Besides, he was tired.
*
A knock on the door roused him from sleep. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and looked at the timepiece on the wall. It was the twenty-first hour! Who could want him at this time of night?
Before he even reached the door, he knew it was Jaisa. He could sense the drug-induced calmness that almost kept the grief and terror at bay. Opening the door, he tensed himself for her anger and accusations.
She stood in the dim hallway, ears flicking uncontrollably. “Can I come in?” she asked, looking up and down the hall, obviously hoping not to be noticed.
Rezac stood aside to let her enter. “How’s your brother?”
“They didn’t hurt him,” she said, moving over to the bed and perching on the end of it. “He’s still upstairs. Dr. Kimin sedated him and put him up in her room for tonight.”
“That’s good,” he said, closing the door. He waited, knowing she’d tell him why she was here when she was ready.
“Goran told me what the Valtegans do when they’re interrogating our people,” she said, pulling her toweling robe tighter. She shivered and looked up at him, her eye ridges meeting. “I hadn’t realized they were so brutal.”
“We’re not people to them,” he said, returning to his bed and making himself comfortable at the opposite end from her. “We’re possessions, and there are plenty of us. What do the deaths of two or three, or even a hundred of us mean to them? Nothing.”
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