"If we can get her out of there when this is over," Lendill observed. "I know Aurelius plans to bring her out, but anything can happen."
"How long do you think that will take?" Norian asked, sipping his tea. He and Lendill had met in a coffee shop in Lissia, the capital city on Le-Ath Veronis.
"No idea—last I heard, Aurelius thinks the vermin have allied with the hedge wizards in a few of those small desert villages. That doesn't bode well for the others."
* * *
I carried my weapon and my backpack. I also had something new—a long knife in a sheath clipped to the back waistband of my trousers. We wore black; Commander Aris had given me two black uniforms, in addition to three desert regulation uniforms. The black was to be worn only at night in the desert.
"Re, I shouldn't have to tell you to keep your eyes and ears open and let us know if you see anything," Bel told me before we set out. Aris wasn't coming—he seldom went out with his Rangers. These were the only Rangers the Prince Royal had besides those commanded to guard the Royal city—the other two outposts taken by demons had no Ranger Wizards at all. That had made them vulnerable, according to Delvin. He and I had talked after Bel sent me to the gathering room. The others were already picking up weapons and waiting for instructions. Hish arrived and gave out information, too. Seven wizards and I—that's all that slipped through a small, hidden gate after dark. Bel, Delvin, Hish, Lin, Jorvis, Max and Pell were the seven I now walked beside.
"We'll walk for two clicks—those hits came from the northeast when our convoy was attacked," Bel said softly as we walked along. I was just to his left, Hish on his right. I figured Hish was already providing some sort of shield around us. Delvin and Max came behind, leaving Lin, Jorvis and Pell in the center, spaced out to watch carefully for any signs of the enemy.
We'd walked for nearly the entire two clicks, only seeing or hearing small desert animals. I almost jumped when a predator captured a small rodent, causing the rodent to squeak out his last breath into the cooling desert air. Bel gave me a look and I nodded—we both knew if I'd given the least sound, Bel would have had a hand over my mouth immediately. Working to steady my nerves, I turned back to searching for any signs of the enemy.
Hish clicked his tongue and we turned swiftly in his direction. I saw them—at least six points of light in the distance. Bel had given instructions before we left the station—he would give a hand signal when we were to shoot. We all waited for that signal—right then, the lights were too far away for our ranos rifles to be as effective as they should be. I waited, holding my breath, almost, my rifle at the ready.
None of us expected the lights to turn away from us. Had they seen us? Bel still held us back. I wondered what he was waiting for. Did he want to chase them? He gave the motion to move together in a tighter knot. Hish had his hands up—the sign that he was building a stronger shield. I was in the center of the knot that drew together quite tightly. If I hadn't been so frightened at the moment, I might have been concerned at the press of male bodies all around me.
The first blast came and was diverted to the desert floor around us, outlining Hish's shield held over our heads. Sand and earth sprayed high into the air and then splattered across the shield and the desert surrounding us, causing me to duck reflexively. These beings, whatever they were, seemed determined to kill us.
Another whistling blast was hurled against us—stronger this time, followed closely by another. Both exploded with a deafening boom. Hish groaned with the last one—the earth was cracking beneath our feet from the power thrown at us. I, never having any experience with power wielders of any sort, was frightened out of my wits. What would we do if Hish could no longer protect us? Two more blasts came and it felt like an earthquake. I'd never experienced one of those, either, but had read about them and been in simulations. This was worse.
Delvin shoved me closer against Bel's back. The others were crowding in too; Hish was making his shield smaller. Perhaps it was easier to hold. I hoped so—for his and our sakes. We all nearly fell, the ground shook harder and two more blasts rocked us, spaced closely together. Hish fell, even with Max attempting to hold him up. The last two blasts had clearly broken his shields. We stood there, then, waiting to die while Bel prepared a send-off of his own.
Bel aimed his hands at the last place we'd seen the lights and sent out a blast of light. An explosion boomed and hit, but it had fallen short. Now I knew why he hadn't done this earlier—the enemy had been out of his range. Had this been planned? Had the enemy known what the range of our Wizards was and acted accordingly? I would likely never know. Would Aris know what had happened to us? I barely had time for that thought when another blast came our way, whistling through the air before it hit, knocking all of us to the ground and exploding into thousands of stars around us.
Chapter 7
"We're still alive." Bel whispered while Max attempted to wake Hish. Hish was unconscious from his failed attempt to cover us earlier. "How are we still alive?" Bel added, his voice so soft I barely heard. Another whistle was heading in our direction. We all crouched down, expecting to die this time. The enemy wanted to make sure we were dead.
This blast, when it came, blew up the desert around us in a huge ring. We should have been at the direct center of that blast. Instead, we sat on a small island of undisturbed ground—sand, pebbles and bits of earth raining down on us. Some larger chunks made me whimper in pain as they hit. How were we still alive? How? "Get up," Bel ordered quietly. We all rose—Max, being the tallest and strongest of the wizards, hefted Hish over his shoulder after he stood.
"Stay as close together as you can and walk," Bel hissed, and we began to walk behind him, still in the tightest of knots. More blasts came, some almost causing us to stagger and fall, but we remained upright, marching the entire way back to the military station. When Max grew tired of carrying Hish, Pell took over, carrying him the last half click. Aris must have heard or known somehow—he was waiting at the gate for us with a physician and a stretcher for Hish. We hadn't been attacked for at least a click before getting back to the gate. We were all covered with sand and filth when we arrived—I could see it clearly once we were in the artificial light.
"How did this happen? How are you alive?" Aris demanded, once Hish had been taken to the hospital at the station and we'd gathered in Aris' office; all of us dirty, sand-covered and puzzled.
"No idea," Bel rubbed the back of his neck. "I was hoping the Prince's wizards had followed us. Now I know that isn't the case." Aris had blown that idea away immediately as we walked toward the gathering room. He said that there hadn't been anyone leaving the walled city except us. I wondered how he knew that. Perhaps he was in contact with the High Commander, still.
"How did we survive?" Delvin asked, now. "The strength of the blast spells sent against us should have fried us where we stood after Hish's shields failed. There wasn't anything there to stop it from happening." That statement told me what Delvin's ability was—at least in part. He could sense and gauge the strength of wizard's spells. I wanted to ask him how he did that. Sometime. Not now—I was still shivering from our unexpected escape.
"Let me work on this," Aris sighed, rubbing a knot between his eyes. He was just as surprised as the rest of us that we still lived. I sat on a chair at the end of the row where six other wizards sat. Had the enemy been testing them all this time, waiting for enough information and the right time to strike, killing all of them at once? If so, they'd failed miserably. For tonight, anyway. "Go to the physicians if you have injuries or trouble sleeping." Aris dismissed us—there wasn't anything else to be learned tonight.
"Sleep as long as you can tomorrow—we'll meet after dinner in Aris' office," Bel told me as we walked out the door. I was scrubbing myself in a hot shower when the message came and it was wordless this time—an expression of fear and concern that sent me to my knees in the tiled cubicle. Hugging myself while it lasted, it eventually subsided, leaving me with a tender caress as if someone
had physically touched my face.
* * *
"You know I cannot interfere, except as required as Liaison," Renegar the Larentii sat in a chair enlarged with power and spoke with Aris.
"At least tell me how they all survived—I had nothing to do with it." Aris rose from the chair behind his desk and paced, raking a hand through his thick mane of hair.
"What was different this time?" Renegar's blue eyes twinkled with humor.
"Nothing. Nothing other than Reah going out with them. She's the best marksman I've ever seen," Aris mumbled. Renegar shrugged his wide shoulders—a humanoid trait that he found enjoyable. Most Larentii found no need for gestures, but then most Larentii conversed in mindspeech, so gestures weren't necessary.
"Then I cannot help you past that," Renegar replied.
"That's all you're going to say—what was different?" Aris' voice held a note of incredulity.
"I cannot interfere. You hold the answer; you just do not realize it." A smile tugged at the corner of Renegar's mouth. He smiled easily at times, contrary to most of his race. Renegar attributed it to his mother, who had a fine sense of humor. Most Larentii didn't know their mothers, or their mothers were deceased. Renegar's was neither deceased nor unknown. In fact, he'd spoken to her only that morning.
"You're going to make me puzzle this out, when I have the worst headache in centuries," Aris grumped.
"Now, the headache I can remove," Renegar stood, reached out and placed a hand on Aris' forehead. The headache was gone in seconds. Larentii were likely the best healers among all the races, they just kept that information to themselves.
"But what am I to do about Reah?" Aris flopped onto his chair again. Renegar didn't fail to notice and knew anything of that nature coming from Aris was unusual in the extreme—he always held himself properly.
"You have to make her yours before I can interfere any more than I have already."
"But she won't be able to make that decision for herself until she knows me better, and there's no opportunity for that here." Aris gripped hair in both hands and stared at the top of his desk.
"A conundrum," Renegar nodded, holding back another smile.
"I should know better than to ask any Larentii for advice," Aris muttered.
"That I have heard before," Renegar chuckled and disappeared.
* * *
Sleep was long in coming; the night's events kept repeating themselves in my mind. How were we not dead? And Hish—was he all right? Those creatures in the desert—whatever they were—did all of them hold power like that, or did only a few? Bel, Aris and the other wizards, did they have a way to fight this or would Crown City be next to fall under attack? I wondered how strong the Prince's Wizards were. Until this night, I'd thought Hish quite capable. His shields had fallen quickly. Delvin had said there was a lot of power thrown at us. Wizard's power. Who wielded it? Midmorning arrived before sleep came, and I found myself thankful that I had no windows in my small room. No light filtered in to disturb the sleep I managed to get.
* * *
"So, what do you think of the food in the mess hall?" Delvin sat next to me for our meeting in Aris' office.
"It makes me suicidal," I said without thinking. Delvin laughed. Laughter was a good sound to hear after our experiences the night before.
"Re, what are you saying?" Aris was behind his desk quickly and frowning at me. He'd overheard my statement to Delvin. A worried crease appeared on Aris' forehead as he studied me closely.
"Mostly that the food is terrible in the mess hall," I said, lowering my eyes.
"Ah. Well, not everyone is a master cook," Aris observed. His frown disappeared.
I wasn't a master cook—on Tulgalan, you had to be certified to be a master cook. I had no hopes of that, now. My current desire was to live through the day, considering recent events. The rest of the wizards wandered in, with the exception of Hish—he was still in the infirmary. A few held cups of tea in their hands. I wish I'd thought of that—tea sounded good after the quality of the meal I'd gotten at the mess hall.
"Any ideas on last night's survival?" Aris asked right away.
"There's only one thing different about last night," Bel said. "We all know it, we just can't determine how it's significant." I was leaning forward in my chair so I could see Bel as he spoke. Bel had turned to look at me at the same moment. Cold and fear held me immobile. I was the different thing. Blasts had been leveled at me before, while I was inside the transports. I swallowed nervously. I'd survived every one of those attacks, when many others hadn't.
"But I don't have anything—what you have," I stuttered.
"We know that—do you think I couldn't tell?" Delvin huffed. I should have remembered that about him. He could gauge a wizard's power. He didn't get anything from me. I wasn't a wizard. I breathed a shaky sigh.
"Bel, stand." Aris had Bel standing in a blink. "Re, stand up as well." I blinked at Aris, looking into his golden-brown eyes in shock. What was he doing? What was he going to do? "Bel, I have the disguise spell in place. I'll remove mine. You place one of yours," Aris said. I thought Bel already had one on me. As it turns out, I was wrong. Aris did something with his hands; I have no idea what. Delvin was nodding—he'd registered the removal. Now Bel came forward and light formed around his hands. Delvin was still nodding—he felt Bel's power. The other wizards, Bel included, gasped in shock.
"What happened?" I couldn't tell. I hadn't felt the one Aris had placed on me to begin with.
"Re—nothing happened—Bel's disguise spell didn't work, and his is almost as strong as mine," Aris was standing behind his desk, now.
"It's as if the spell is being deflected—I feel the power around her, it just isn't settling on her," Delvin breathed. Max was on his feet, now.
"That's how it happened—we were all in a tight knot so Hish could cover us. That spellwork was deflected around Re. She—he—was right in the middle of the rest of us. We thought to protect him. The opposite happened instead."
"I've only known a few races that can do this," Aris breathed, coming to stand in front of me. I looked up at his face—it was a good face—a handsome face. "Re, what can you tell me about your family? Bear in mind everyone inside this room is safe. Your information is safe with them."
Delvin nodded encouragingly at me. They all knew. Aris had told them. It frightened me.
"Re, it will be all right," I blinked up at Aris as he spoke.
"M-my father is Addah Desh," I muttered.
"Addah Desh? Master cook Addah Desh from Tulgalan?" Bel had heard of him.
I couldn't answer, so I nodded.
"Re, what about your mother's family?" Aris pushed for answers.
"My mother died when I was born. They tell me I look like her. That's all I know—nobody would give me information on her side of the family."
"Your father withheld this information?" Delvin couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"My father still has seven wives and twenty-six sons. I was his only daughter. I got nothing from my father. He shipped me to my second oldest brother when I was eight. I was working with him when the conscription notice came." I slapped a hand over my mouth at the last admission—I hadn't meant to say that.
"Reah, it's all right," Aris' voice was mesmerizing. "How did you come to be here?" Somehow, I was compelled to answer him.
"I was assigned to work in the kitchens of the Governor of the Realm. The master cook was jealous. I think he tampered with my pod during a drill, sending me into space as fast as the pod could travel. If he programmed as well as he cooked, then he likely didn't know what he was doing," I muttered.
"So, not a misfire but close enough," Bel sighed.
"I almost died—the oxygen was running out when I hit this atmosphere," I added. "The next thing I knew, Chlind and Seval had me on their transport and Chlind was telling me I'd die in the desert if I tried to escape and to keep quiet or I'd die anyway."
"I'm going to thrash Chlind if I ever see him agai
n," Bel said angrily.
"Don't be so hasty," Aris said, turning to Bel. "If he'd turned her over to the crown, you'd all be dead, now."
"Well, there's that," Bel agreed, taking his seat.
"Now, I'll have to do some research on which races have the ability to deflect a wizard's power," Aris returned to his desk. "Re, sit down before you drop."
He was right—my legs felt as if they would collapse beneath me. "You know," Bel said, "the ones trying to kill us won't be expecting us out again tonight." I jerked my head in his direction. Surely he couldn't mean going out again—now?
"Bel, you are more devious than I thought," Aris was smiling. "Who can hold Re up if she can't walk?" Every hand went up. That's how I found myself dressing in my second black outfit, my fingers shaking and tears threatening as we made ready to go into the desert for the second night in a row.
"Keep close to Re," Bel commanded as we walked through the small gate again on our way into the desert.
* * *
The enemy wasn't prepared when we found them, just as Bel suggested. They lobbed a few power blasts at us, but the knot of wizards tightened around me and everything burst and exploded ineffectively around us. How was I doing this? It was involuntary; I knew that. It took no effort from me—I was terrified, not just for myself but for the others as well. When the blasts stopped, Bel had us running in tight formation, firing as we went.
That was the first time I saw what the demons became when they were older. Their façade of humanity had fallen away, revealing an ugly, mud-gray creature with a wide mouth and fangs. I killed at least thirty of them—there was a pod of them behind three rogue wizards. Bel killed the wizards with power. The rest of us were firing into the creatures who'd rushed forward to attack as soon as their wizards were down. They died too, as quickly as we could shoot them.
"Re, put your rifle down." Bel pushed the barrel of my rifle downward. I was frozen in the firing position, waiting for the next creature to appear. I nodded eventually and lowered my head. "Here," Bel offered me his canteen. Mine was in my backpack, but I wasn't even thinking about that. He stood by and watched while I drank.
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