Aimee nodded. “I didn’t think she survived the crash.”
“You don’t know how surprised I was to see her with the Aqinas,” Chris went on, “but they said they had another human woman with them who just came to them a few days before. They described her, and Emily recognized her. Frieda is living with the Aqinas. She’s found happiness there, and she’s not coming back.”
Aimee scratched her head. “This is amazing. I thought Frieda was gone for good.”
“That’s what we all thought,” Chris replied. “But she’s alive and well. Don’t ask me when we’ll ever see her again, but at least she’s happy where she is.”
A twig snapped outside. Chris frowned toward the forest.
“Is it the twins again?” Marissa asked.
“It’s Turk.” Chris waved toward the trees. “What’s he’s doing back so soon?”
A shadow fell across the doorway, and Turk crossed the threshold. He nodded to the two visitors. “Good to see you, again, Turk.”
“What are you doing here, Aimee?” he asked. “Shouldn’t you be on patrol?”
“I took a leave of absence to visit Chris,” she replied.
He gave Chris a kiss. “I can’t stay, darling. I have to run back to the Ursidrean border before dark.”
Chris’s eyes popped open. “Why? Can’t you stay even one night?”
He shook his head. “This is an emergency. Donen, Faruk, and Menlo are on their way to rendezvous with Renier. They're all going to Avitras territory.”
Aimee stiffened. “The Avitras? What can they do there?”
“They’re going to try to talk Aquilla into joining their peace agreement,” Turk replied. “The Lycaon have to be there. I wish there was some way to send a message to Caleb. He should be there instead of me, but there isn’t time. I have to leave right away.”
Marissa stood up. “I’ll go back and tell him.”
“There isn’t time to walk back,” Aimee told her. “By the time you got there, the other Alphas would be long gone.”
“I won’t walk,” Marissa replied. “I’ll run it. Then Caleb can run out to the border and meet up with you, Turk.”
“But you said....” Aimee began.
Marissa cut her off with a chop of her hand. “This is too important. I’ll make it.”
Chris looked back and forth between her friends. “Do you mind telling me what the dickens is going on?”
Marissa faced her. “I’m pregnant. That’s why we walked here instead of running, but I’ll be fine. I can still run as fast as I ever did, and Turk’s right. Caleb shouldn’t miss this meeting. If you can convince Aquilla to join your peace agreement, this could be the biggest thing to happen to Angondra in years. We’ve all waited so long for peace and been through so much. We can’t miss this chance.”
Turk hesitated. “Are you sure?”
Marissa headed for the door. “I’m sure. I’ll be there in no time, and Caleb will meet you on the border.”
Turk turned to Chris and Aimee. “Aria is coming with Donen, Emily and Anna are coming with the Ursidreans, and Carmen is coming with Renier. They think all these human women will help convince the Avitras to bid for peace.”
Chris stepped forward. “That settles it. I’m coming with you. You come, too, Aimee. The men won’t turn their backs on the chance at peace with all of us there to convince them.”
Aimee nodded. “All right. I’ll come with you, but what about the twins? They’re out there in the woods somewhere. What will happen when they come back and find both you and Turk gone?”
Chris tore a strip of bright red cloth off a bundle by the door. She tied it to the crooked tree branch over the doorpost. “This is our signal to the twins to go back to the village. Marissa can tell Turk’s mother and sister the twins are on their way down to the village. The twins will go to their grandmother’s house until we get back.”
Chapter 3
Turk stopped running on a hill north of the Lycaon village. Enormous expanses of forest stretched to the horizon beyond. “Can you see anything from here?” Aimee asked.
“There’s a dust cloud rising over the plain,” he replied. “That must be the Felsite column approaching the border.”
“If they’re raising dust,” Chris told him, “it’s the Ursidreans in their armored vehicles. The Felsite travel on palanquins carried by huge snails. They don’t raise dust.”
Turk nodded. “That explains why they’re moving so fast.”
“Can you see anything coming from the west?” Chris asked. “That’s Felsite territory.”
“There’s nothing moving,” he replied, “but there is a smudge cloud closer to the border. The Felsite must already be camped there and waiting for the Ursidreans.”
“Did they plan to travel to Avitras territory together?” Aimee asked. “Why are they camping and meeting there when they could meet so much closer to their destination?”
“No one wants to risk a confrontation with Aquilla,” Turk told them. “They’ll hammer out a concrete strategy before they move closer to the Avitras.”
Chris nodded. “That makes sense. Aquilla hates the Ursidreans, and he isn’t too keen on the Felsite, either.”
“The Avitras are the only faction that hasn’t come around to the idea of peace,” Turk replied. “Convincing Aquilla to put aside decades of hostilities could be harder than we think.”
“Well, we aren’t getting any closer standing here,” Aimee pointed out. “Let’s get down there and find out what they have in mind.”
Aimee set off down the hill, and the others followed single file. The wind tugged at Aimee’s hair and the fringe of her buckskin jacket, and it brought the rich scent of the forest to her nostrils. She had never run like this before, with the wind in her hair. She shaved her head bald when she joined the Lycaon warriors, and she never ran in her life before she came to Angondra.
What was her life becoming? Only a few months ago, she thought she’d found her bliss patrolling the border with the warriors. Now, with peace on the horizon, all that could end in a heartbeat. She vowed in her heart never to give up the happiness she won when she joined the warriors. Now she let her hair grow and turned her eyes toward the village and the hearth. Who was she, after all, if she wasn’t a warrior? What would she be after this peace negotiation? How would she recognize herself?
Unlike the other survivors of the Romarie space ship crash, she didn’t hang onto her old self or grieve the loss of her old life. She dropped her past like a hot potato, much to the distress of her cousins. Anna and Frieda left the Lycaon partly as a reaction to losing the Aimee they knew on Earth. They couldn’t relate to the new Aimee—hard, spare, distant, warlike. They winced when they saw her. And Emily barely recognized her when they met again.
Aimee ran and ran. She could run and never stop running. She could never thank the Lycaon enough for the gift of flight she learned. All these women found their places in Angondran society when they found men to love and settled down, but Aimee found her place running under the trees with the wind stroking her bare scalp. She would never give that up.
In a few hours, the trio entered the narrow canyon cutting between Ursidrean territory and Felsite territory. Aimee never knew the canyon was there, but Chris and Turk knew it well. Felsite and Ursidrean rendezvoused in the no-man’s land between their territories to discuss peace no one ever dreamed possible.
Aimee didn’t see the narrow trail leading up out of the canyon to the plain until Chris turned around a big rock and climbed to the flat land above. Sure enough, a huge band of Felsite camped on the canyon rim. One big Felsite with a bushy orange mane rose from his place by the fire and approached them. He extended his arms, and his voice boomed. “So you made it after all. I hoped you would. We couldn’t conduct this negotiation without you.”
Turk clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you again, Renier. You know my mate, Chris, and this is Aimee Sandoval. She’s An
na and Emily’s cousin.”
Renier nodded and shook Aimee’s hand. “I’ve heard about you.”
“My brother is on his way,” Turk told him. “His mate has gone to get him, so he won’t be long in coming.”
“We will wait for him here, then,” Renier replied. “We have much to discuss, and the more of us appeal to Aquilla for peace, the less likely he will be to turn us away.”
Turk looked around. “Where are the Ursidreans? From the peak up there it looked as though they were right on top of you.”
Renier pointed back over his shoulder. “They are coming. Have no doubt of that. We have look-outs stationed to keep an eye on their progress, but they travel so slowly in their giant contraptions. I don’t know how they can stand it.”
Turk clenched his teeth. “I’m sure Aquilla will be delighted when we turn up on his border with all those siege guns trained on his territory. That won’t make much of an introduction to the peace process.”
Renier frowned. “Perhaps Donen could be convinced to leave them behind.”
Turk muttered something under his breath.
Renier waved toward the Felsite camp. “Come and join us while we wait.” He conducted them to the circle of Felsite sitting around the fire. He sat down next to a slight woman with short black hair. Chris sat on her other side. “How are you, Carmen? I heard you were pregnant.”
Carmen smiled. “I was. That’s my baby sleeping in the basket over there.”
Chris peered into the basket. “Congratulations. She’s beautiful.”
“What about your young ones?” Carmen asked. “Aren’t they too young to stay home alone?”
“They can run through the woods all day by themselves now,” Chris told her. “They stayed with Turk’s family in the village.”
Carmen gazed down at her daughter’s sleeping face. A fringe of bright orange hair rimmed her porcelain cheeks. “They grow up so fast.”
“This is my friend Aimee,” Chris told her.
Carmen shook Aimee’s hand. Then she handed both women bowls of steaming tea and plates of food. “You must be tired after your journey.”
“I enjoyed the run,” Aimee replied.
At that moment, a shout went up outside the camp, and Renier started to his feet. “The Ursidreans! They’re here!”
The company hurried to the canyon rim, but Renier waved his people back so only he and Carmen, and Turk, Chris and Aimee, representing the Lycaon, faced the east to welcome the Ursidreans.
The sun struck Aimee’s back and sent long shadows across the ground to meet the advancing army. Her heart skipped a beat. She’d never seen Ursidreans before, and now she would join their army advancing on the Avitras. The Avitras wouldn’t know they came to discuss peace. This adventure could spark the very war they hoped to avoid.
A gust of wind blew the dust away, and the army halted. The setting sun flashed on metal, and three men and three women broke away from the army. Renier moved forward with Carmen at his side. Turk nodded to Chris, and Aimee joined them. They dropped into the narrow path leading down to the canyon bottom, and the Ursidrean group did the same. They met at the stream in the bottom of the canyon. Renier clapped Donen on the back. Turk shook Donen’s hand, and then Faruk’s and Menlo’s.
The six women embraced with laughter and tears of joy. Emily brushed Aimee’s hair away from her forehead and petted her cheek. “You don’t know how good it is to see you. I didn’t think I would ever see you again.”
Carmen hugged Aria. “You look amazing. Happiness agrees with you.”
Aria laughed. “Where are you hiding that baby of yours?”
“Is Marissa coming?” Carmen asked.
“I don’t think so,” Chris told her. “She’s pregnant, and she can’t travel very well.”
Renier waved his hand. “Come to my camp, everyone. We’ll make you comfortable tonight while we wait for Caleb.”
The group climbed out of the canyon to the Felsite camp. The Ursidrean column broke up, and the general noise of camp-making floated over the canyon to the Felsite fires. The friends ate and talked and joked until the moon rose.
Donen stood up. “I better go back to my officers. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Aria stood up, and Emily hugged Chris, when a bellow and snarl erupted at the edge of the camp. The Felsite guards leapt to their feet and brandished their weapons. A hideous shriek tore through the night, and Renier’s hand flew to the blade at waist. “Stand back! Let him through!”
The guards didn’t hear him. They surged into the dark and bared their teeth. Renier launched himself forward and planted his legs in front of them. He swung his hooked blade at his own men to drive them back. Saliva flew from his teeth, and his eyes flashed fire. “I said let him through! Any man who lays a finger on him will answer to me.”
Aimee’s warrior training took over, and she found herself rushing forward with her own short blade in her hand. Turk appeared at her side, but the fight was over before it started. The Felsite fell back before Renier, and a shadow emerged from the darkness. “Caleb!”
The black ridge of fur on Caleb’s neck and shoulders stood on end, and he growled and hissed at the Felsite guards. Renier laid his hand on Caleb’s arm. “They didn’t attack you, did they?”
Caleb relaxed. “I would have ripped them to shreds if they had.”
Renier sheathed his weapon. “I expected something like this. Centuries of warfare can’t be wiped out in a day. We should all be ready to fight at a moment’s notice.”
Aimee couldn’t loosen her hold on her blade so easily. Anna appeared at her side. “It’s okay. It’s only Caleb.” Aimee nodded and drifted back to the fire. “You would have fought them, wouldn’t you?”
Aimee sat down in the warm glow of the flames. “They would have killed Caleb. He might be strong and brave, but he couldn’t stand against all those Felsite. No one could.”
“I would have fought, too,” Turk added. “I wouldn’t stand by.”
Aimee shuddered. “This meeting could’ve been disaster. If we had fought now, both these armies would have been drawn into battle. We might have wiped each other out before the peace negotiations got started.”
Anna laughed, and Aimee’s head shot up to stare at her. “What’s so funny?”
Anna stopped laughing. “Nothing. I’m just nervous, the same as the rest of you. It seems so crazy that the first real chance of peace could end this way. I can’t imagine it.”
Aimee stared into the fire. “I can.”
Renier led Caleb to the fire and sat down next to him. “We’ll all have to be on our guard not to let this happen. I should have cautioned my men more carefully to expect you.”
“You did,” Carmen told him.
“I told them to expect the Lycaon Alpha,” Renier replied. “They must have expected something like the Ursidrean army showing up here, not a shadow creeping alone out of the dark.”
Caleb stood up. “Not alone.” He whistled over his shoulder toward the path, and Marissa appeared.
Aimee jumped up. “What are you doing here?”
Marissa sat down next to her. “The same thing you’re doing here. I couldn’t let all of you take part in this negotiation without seeing it for myself.”
“But I thought....” Aimee stammered.
Marissa didn’t smile. “I threw up once on the way here, but other than that, I held up pretty well. At least I didn’t slow Caleb down.”
“She ran very well,” Caleb said. “I told her to wait out there in the dark while I approached the camp.” He nudged Renier. “I expected something like this, too.”
“So what are we going to do, now that Caleb is here?” Chris asked. “How are we going to approach the Avitras?”
“I really don’t know,” Donen replied. “Aquilla is likely to cut my throat the instant he sees me. Maybe the Felsite and the Lycaon should go without us.”
“Aquilla hates the Felsite
as much as he hates the Ursidreans,” Renier countered, “and I don’t want to face the Avitras alone. The only way to stop him launching an all-out attack is for all of us to approach him at the same time. He wouldn’t dare attack any of us with the others standing by.”
Anna spoke up. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot on the way here, and I think I have an idea.”
Donen pricked up his ears. “What’s that?”
“Instead of approaching Aquilla,” Anna replied, “we should approach Piwaka instead.”
“Who’s Piwaka?” Aimee asked.
“He’s the Captain of the Avitras Border Guard,” Anna replied. “He helped me free Menlo from Aquilla. I couldn’t have done it without Piwaka—and Penelope Ann.”
“Has anyone thought of contacting Penelope Ann?” Carmen asked. “Maybe she’s the one we should be working with instead of the men.”
“We’re here because we can work together in a way the Angondrans can’t,” Emily added. “Maybe Penelope Ann can get through to Aquilla.”
“If anybody can get through to Aquilla,” Anna replied, “you can bet Penelope Ann is doing everything she can to do it. But we can do more by approaching Piwaka. We should at least try it.”
Menlo spoke up for the first time. “I don’t like it. The Avitras are dangerous at the best of times. Going behind Aquilla’s back will only aggravate him more.”
“You’re still wary after your experience,” Anna told him.
“You bet I’m wary,” he shot back. “Anybody would be wary after what they did to me.”
“But you know as well as anybody that Piwaka is a reasonable man,” Anna pointed out. “He wants peace as much as we do, and he’s the one person who actually has some pull with Aquilla—except Penelope Ann, of course. If we can convince Piwaka, Aquilla’s bound to go along with us.”
“Not necessarily,” Menlo countered. “If Aquilla wants to dig in his heels, nothing will move him. Renier is right. We should all be prepared to fight.”
Anna shook her head. “I say we at least try to convince Piwaka. He controls the Guard, so he’s the real power behind the Avitras.”
Damen (Dragons of Kratak Book 2) Page 61