They ate a quick meal while they stuffed warm clothing, food, and shelters into framed packs. When they finished, they each grabbed a backpack.
“It’s important we all stay together. No one should wander off for any reason,” Tiar cautioned, staring at Erynn.
Before the sun officially made an appearance, they climbed the hill behind the farmhouse.
***
Sunlight chased the shadows under the dense bushes they wound through. Ascending dusty, brush-choked hills to descend the other side, they sent small landslides of lose soil and stone sliding down ahead of them. The city disappeared. Erynn reminded herself she’d made a promise, determined in the task ahead of her. Jaer also made a promise. He would be there to help her. She would not stop trusting him now.
Chapter 29
DURING THE NIGHT, JAER POPPED his dislocated shoulder back into place using his shirt and the trunk of a tree. The arm was tender but functional.
Jaer focused his attention on the mountains just visible in the distance. Gray morning light cloaked the towering peaks of snow and ice. He hoped Roni had returned to the farm and that Tiar would have them well on their way into the hills at the base of those mountains. Newell’s troops would discover they weren’t hiding in the city and start combing the hills and farms for Erynn. If he continued this pace, he was sure to catch up by dark, maybe sooner. He pushed through dense brush growing in the stony soil of the ridge that ringed Tamaagra.
With any luck, Jaer’s plan had succeeded. Newell would believe there were two less among the fugitives to deal with. Newell’s resolve in searching for Erynn puzzled Jaer.
What did Newell think Erynn would accomplish for him? It had to do with Erynn’s abilities—her powers—but for what purpose? Newell must need Erynn to aide in his victory over Korin.
Jaer stopped. The recognition hit him. Not Korin. Newell required help with Arranon. Newell needed Erynn and her connection to Arranon to complete his take over of the system. Jaer smiled and resumed his brisk pace.
So, Newell is finding Arranon difficult—a test of his experience and technology.
His smile widened. He glanced behind as the tops of the low hills below Tamaagra silvered with dawn’s approach.
Chapter 30
FAYLEN REREAD THE REPORTS OF the “accident” that claimed the life of two of the fugitives. He switched off the computer and turned to stare out the window at the blush-touched dawn. The large man in black was dead and would no longer be a problem.
But who was with him? Erynn Yager? If not, where is she? What does she need in Tamaagra?
All good questions he should have the answers to. Instead, he had no positive news. Maybe Major Birk hadn’t been the fool Admiral Newell claimed. This assignment proved to be more difficult than Falen anticipated. Perhaps underestimating this world, the inhabitants, and Erynn Yager had been Newell’s, and Birk’s, shortcoming from the beginning. He would approach this battle from another position, not making the same mistakes. Birk’s self-assured arrogance in his superiority over these people, over Erynn Yager, had been his downfall. She was special. Therefore, she would require special consideration and treatment.
Faylen summoned his lieutenant. “I want every possible hiding place in the city searched before morning is over. If Yager isn’t discovered, I want troops scouring the outlying areas until she’s found.” Faylen’s eyes narrowed. He gazed out at the orange sun rising above the hills.
Beautiful.
He gazed into the brilliant new day with a strange yearning that swelled inside his tightening chest.
Chapter 31
AFTER RECEIVING THE REPORT OF the ship hidden in the barn at the uninhabited farm, Faylen chose to inspect the scene himself before relaying any information to Admiral Newell. He would follow his earlier decision—to proceed cautiously with reports regarding Erynn Yager. Faylen turned to the open land that lay between him and the city. The late afternoon sun shone down on fields of ripe grain. Faylen watched as tall golden stalks blew in the wind like waves on water, turning their silvered undersides up to catch the light.
Erynn had been here.
How long ago? Where had she gone, and why?
A soldier in gray-green body armor strode up to Faylen. “We’ve found evidence of their passage into the hills, that direction.” He indicated the way with a sweep of his arm.
Faylen stared into the dark eye guards of the soldier’s helmet.
The soldier’s tone became condescending, apparent even under the mechanical sound of his voice. “At least all that remains of their pathetic group.”
Faylen narrowed his gaze, glaring into the soldier’s shaded eyes. “This pathetic group has managed to kill several of our men while repeatedly evading capture. I expect all of you to exercise due respect and caution on this mission. I don’t want to follow Major Birk’s recklessness regarding this planet, the people, or Erynn Yager.” With his voice raised, Faylen asked, “Do I make myself clear, Sergeant?”
The trooper stood to attention, all traces of arrogance gone. “Your meaning is understood, sir. What are your orders?”
Faylen turned back to the waving grain. “This is a beautiful world, don’t you think, Sergeant?”
The trooper glanced in the direction Faylen faced. “If you say so, sir.”
“It will be night soon. We don’t want to be out after dark. We’ll return to the city. I want to know what’s up in those hills before we go blundering around out there.” Faylen smiled and turned his face into the sunshine. “They won’t be able to get far on foot.”
“Sir, what do you think is going on? Where are they going, and why?” The soldier’s head turned in a quizzical gesture.
Faylen’s eyes closed. He enjoyed the cool light radiated by the sun. “All good questions, Sergeant—questions we should’ve had the answers to before now.” His tone was pleasant. With a sigh, Faylen opened his eyes and turned away from the brightness. “Move out.”
Chapter 32
TIAR KEPT UP A STEADY pace throughout the day, allowing only brief breaks and a quick, cold meal well into the afternoon. Sweat and dirt streaked their faces. With her eyes downcast, Erynn trudged on. Dark-green leaves on heavy, entangled limbs caught at her clothing leaving an oily texture and astringent odor behind. The stress of the last few days and the physical exertion wore on her, on all of them.
“This reminds me of pilot survival training,” Tiar said as they climbed up the next seemingly endless hill. “Remember, Sean? We were sent out in groups into the wilderness with no food and minimal gear for several days at a time.”
Sean nodded, smiling. Sweat trickled from his dark hairline. “The idea was to make it to a designated point in a set time.” He paused, his expression amused. “There was one simulation in particular we were meant to fail. It was designed to be a no-win scenario, to see how we would react in the result of a catastrophic event.”
Roni glanced at Sean and then Tiar. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t fail,” Tiar said, turning his face to Roni.
“There have only been five people to take the simulation and pass. Three of them are here.” Tiar glanced toward Erynn and back at Sean.
Roni seemed impressed with the information. She gave Sean a sideways glance before gazing ahead at Tiar. Her wide green eyes revealed her amazement. Tiar had managed to lighten the mood and take their minds off the situation. He glanced back at Erynn, again gracing her with one of his rare smiles.
The view of windswept brush around them never changed as they wound through a natural labyrinth. The terrain became steeper, the rocky soil looser. Erynn turned her attention up to the tree line. The forest was a long way off, far up the mountain. They wouldn’t reach the concealing woods before dark. Her gaze shifted to the distant mountains. They appeared no closer than when they’d set off that morning. Erynn wondered if she was going the right way, doing the right thing. She wasn’t positive Cale was there.
Am I endangering all of us on some wild cait
ni chase because of a dream?
Erynn was deep in thought when Roni reached out, pulling her to a stop. She glanced first at Roni and then up the steep bank to Tiar. Late-afternoon sunlight surrounded him, shining off his long black hair. He surveyed the descent into the ravine. Erynn moved up to stand beside him. The brush-covered slope below was steep, the soil loose, but no more treacherous than what they’d already traveled.
Erynn glanced into his stony face. His green eyes revealed nothing. “Is something wrong?” He was so hard to read, so intensely centered. Tiar wasn’t like Jaer. Jaer’s emotions flashed instantly in his deep-brown eyes and across his strong features. Heat rose in her cheeks and she turned away from anyone that would see the rising blush.
A small creek ambled at the center of the deepest cut of the ravine. The dark path of water was a vivid contrast to the surrounding light soil. Scarce, spindly brush scattered the bottom. Several meters of bare land bordered the stream. Erynn presumed frequent flooding kept the vegetation scrubbed from the canyon floor.
Tiar gazed to his left, up the ravine, and pointed. “We’ll make camp there, beyond the curve in the wall.” Large boulders protruded far out into the ravine’s bed, directing the stream’s flow around their massive forms.
“Good,” Erynn said in a breath, her emotions under control.
Tiar stared at her, his eyebrows raised.
“I’m tired and hungry, aren’t you?” She met his gaze.
“Is that all?” Tiar asked.
Erynn reached out with her mind. She sensed no danger. She sensed nothing. “I think the area is safe,” she said, staring up the ravine.
“Oh, it’s safe,” Tiar said. “Jaer is there.”
Erynn’s head snapped around to Tiar. She stammered, “Hu—how do you know? What makes you think—”
“Jaer left a clearly marked trail. I’ve been tracking his progress for some time now,” Tiar said, cutting off her questions.
Erynn frowned up at him, her voice stronger. “I didn’t see any sign of recent passage. Why didn’t he join us? Why is he up ahead?”
As if Tiar had not heard Erynn, or the doubt in her voice, he continued. “It’s where I would make camp.” His tone was low, directed at no one in particular. He again pointed up the ravine. “The many channels of this canyon will act as a chimney scattering the smoke from our fire, making it impossible to determine the origin. The outcropping of boulders will provide shelter around us, and there is fresh water.” He stared down at Erynn. “I told you Jaer knew what he was doing.”
Erynn broke eye contact with Tiar to survey the ravine.
Is Jaer really there?
Tiar seemed sure he was. He set off down the steep bank.
Sean and Roni moved up, pushing Erynn ahead of them. They reached the bottom and turned, moving opposite the flow of the creek. Erynn listened to the gentle singing of the water as the stream moved over small rocks and swirled in pockets lined with pebbles and sand. The sound was comforting, reminding Erynn of her time alone in the forest.
This was a different place, less alive. There was no constant chatter from creatures living in treetops, no howls of maejen, no sighing of wind through boughs—only empty, dense brush and the dry rustling of leaves in the constant wind. The rocky soil rolled and crunched beneath her boots, dust boiling up with each step.
They reached the bend and moved around protruding boulders. Tiar stopped, removed his pack, and began gathering the large stones that littered the area for a fire ring.
Erynn quickly searched the area. “Where is Jaer?” she whispered. She removed her pack and moved up to help Tiar.
The creek had eroded an area nearly ten meters across. The water churned in the small pool before heading out and away. Erynn stood at the edge, holding two large rocks, and stared into the water. Light danced across the rippling surface, sparkling like jewels. The stones fell from Erynn’s grasp. A warm, bubbling sensation surged over her.
Swept away from the ravine, she floated into bright purple, green, and blue pinpoints of light. Shrill voices spun around and through her mind. A high keening wind began, buffering the Anim Blath’s words.
“You’re doing well, Erynn. Keep going.” Zander’s voice swirled in the wind.
Erynn hung weightless. The bright colorful lights bounced around her, off her, through her. “Where are you? Don’t leave. I need your help.” She fought the force suspending her, searching among the dancing firelight for Zander.
Did I say that out loud? Am I thrashing about? Or is this all in my mind?
Zander chuckled. “Our enemy fears you—fears what you can do.”
“They aren’t the only ones afraid.” She hung her head. The velocity of the lights accelerated around her, emitting a fierce orange glow.
“Erynn, it’s all right to be afraid. That’s normal. You’ve proven yourself. Damon taught you well, and you shine. He would be proud of who you are. I am.”
“I’m not so sure. I’m less able to sense anything lately.” Her frustration at her inabilities since the previous day flooded into her. “I can’t find Jaer.” The words escaped before she could stop them. Erynn could barely see the pinpoints of light, and the wind had abated to a soft sigh. The floating sensation receded. She fell through the warm darkness enfolding her.
Zander’s voice was less than a whisper in the dark. “Sometimes nothing is a good thing. Sometimes nothing is all there is.”
With a loud pop, Erynn hit the ground, the air forced from her lungs. She gasped for breath, sitting at the edge of the pool in the dark. From behind her, firelight glowed, casting an orange sheen on the black surface of the rippling water.
A hand reached out, grabbed her coat, and pulled her into a standing position. Erynn’s first reaction was to fight. She pushed away, kicking out and sweeping empty air. Her actions pitched her off balance. The same hand that pulled her upright firmly held her, keeping her from falling.
“Easy. It is me. Are you all right?” Jaer whispered next to her ear.
His immediacy startled her.
How did he manage to be so close without my knowing?
Erynn took a deep breath and stopped struggling. “What happened?”
“You tell me.” His voice was still low, but no longer at her ear.
“When did you get here? Are you all right?” Her head spun.
How long was I… gone?
Time caught up to her. At least time as she knew it. She took deep breaths of the cold night air, and her head cleared.
“I am fine and I have been standing here for some time—watching over you,” Jaer spoke softly, still holding the back of her coat.
“Then you heard… everything?” Erynn asked in a whisper.
Jaer stood between her and the fire, blocking the meager light produced from the low flames. She couldn’t make out his face. Jaer was a dark form against the night.
“What should I have heard? You have been standing here, quietly staring into the water.”
So the experience had all taken place in her mind. “Nothing. I just…” Erynn sighed. “Nothing,” she said, glad Jaer couldn’t see the heat rising in her face.
Jaer chuckled. “You are blushing again. I can feel your heat.” He loosened his grip on her coat. “You do blush a lot.”
She covered her face with her hands, the heat growing and swayed slightly under her own weight, but remained upright.
“Roni has food for you. Then you should get some sleep. I want to leave early in the morning. We need to reach the cover of the forest before dark. The climb will not be an easy one.” Jaer stepped away and stared into the dark toward the direction of the tree line.
“Newell’s troops will be coming after us.”
You mean me,” Erynn said. She wondered if she should tell him what she knew. It didn’t matter. Newell was after her. The reason was irrelevant.
Jaer moved behind her. His warm breath touched her right ear. “You have a purpose—a destiny.” His lips brushed her left ear.
“My job is to ensure you accomplish your purpose.” His movements were silent, unseen.
“How do you do that?” Erynn asked, intrigued. She spun to face him. He was gone. The muted glow of the fire and the vague huddled forms of the others beneath their blankets met her gaze.
“I will teach you,” he whispered in her ear, again behind her.
Erynn closed her eyes and opened to the sensations and her awareness of the space around her.
Jaer moved to her right.
She couldn’t hear him, couldn’t see him, but she did feel him. She turned, catching the front of his coat in her right hand, and stared into the dark silhouette of his face.
“Well done, Lieutenant. It seems you can still sense what is around you.” Jaer’s whisper was husky.
Erynn released his coat, pushed at him, and stepped back.
Did he hear what I said to Zander after all? Or did Tiar pick up on my frustration, my uncertainty, and relay his concerns to Jaer?
“I’m glad I passed your test, sir,” Erynn said. She turned away and walked toward the fire, hearing Jaer’s sigh of exasperation as she went.
Chapter 33
FAYLEN WOKE, HIS BODY COVERED with sweat, a yell caught in his throat. The same dream always drew this intense response from him.
The pretty young woman smiled down on him, backlit by sunshine. A gentle wind tousled her long dark hair, and her brown eyes sparkled.
He experienced and savored every moment.
The heat from the sun warmed his skin. A fresh breeze washed over him. The woman laughed into his ear, her breath sweet. She hugged him, her arms comforting. Then the woman’s face changed, her eyes wide with fright. Everything went dark, cold, silent.
The end was the unpleasant part.
He’d hoped the dream was finally erased from his mind. The deprogrammers tried to wipe these persistent memories from his awareness, but clearly, and painfully, his consciousness refused to relinquish them. Apparently, his short time spent on Arranon triggered a return.
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