We trudged back to Crown City, going through the gate a half click before dawn. Aris was waiting on us again. "Success," Bel grunted as he passed Aris. We were all looking for our beds. My head was empty of thoughts—weariness had taken over. It didn't occur to me until later that not once had anyone been forced to carry me. I discovered I was proud of that.
* * *
Love, I'm sending a tray. Wake and eat. Those words woke me from a sound sleep around midday. I barely had time to throw a tunic and trousers on—I'd gone straight to bed when I'd arrived at my room, just slipping out of my clothing and crawling into bed naked. I found a recruit on the other side of my door, holding a tray in his hands. I thanked him, took the tray and pushed the door shut with my foot as the young man walked away. I didn't recognize him, except to note that it wasn't Nods or any of his pack of followers.
The tray held food; that's the best compliment I could pay it. I bemoaned the fact that I wasn't likely to get a good meal ever again unless I could cook it myself. I ate because I was hungry and because Aris had wakened me to eat. I'd only had three meals in two days instead of the usual six. I couldn't go haring into the desert on short rations.
* * *
"Where are we going?" Aris had pulled Bel away after they finished their evening meal.
"Shopping," Aris grinned. Bel stared at Aris—he seldom grinned or laughed.
"Commander, that is so unlike you," Bel grinned back. "Where and for what are you shopping?"
"Clothing," Aris replied. They walked through the eastern gate and into the shopping district next to the military station. The shops stayed open later, hoping for the troops' business. They were getting Aris' custom that night.
"Those aren't going to fit you," Bel teased as Aris looked at young men's tunics and trousers.
"Re doesn't like orange or red," Aris muttered to himself, setting those colors aside. He lifted blues and greens instead. Black went into the pile. A dark gray. Shoes came next—two pairs of good leather boots. Aris' purchases were wrapped and bagged.
"Now what?" Bel asked as Aris continued his journey, carrying the bag of clothing.
"This," Aris breathed, stopping at a shop that sold women's clothing. "She lost something like this when we got hit the first time." Aris was fingering the cloth of a lovely aqua tunic with rich embroidery.
"Aris, Delvin and I were with her when she bought that other outfit. It didn't cost nearly this much."
"How much is your life worth?" Aris turned his eyes to Bel.
"I'm buying," Bel pulled out his money pouch.
* * *
Dane, Gin and Dory had become regular dinner companions. When Nods and his bunch came by, the abuse was spread among the four of us.
"I'm surprised the military accepts babies," Nods taunted as he passed.
"That's why they took him," I muttered as soon as he was past us. Dane burst out laughing and then slapped a hand over his mouth.
"They're looking this way," Gin whispered urgently. Feigning innocence, we turned back to our food.
"That'll cost us," Dory said as we dropped our trays off and walked away from the mess hall.
"Yes. I should learn to keep my mouth closed," I said. We wouldn't know any details before it happened, but my money was on a swift plot hatching between Nods and his friends to get back at us.
* * *
Bel and I were back to accounts and other work the following morning. He called it paperwork. I just shrugged and accepted the new term. We also turned out for inspection in the afternoon—a regular occurrence there at the military station, I learned. Every second eight-day, according to Bel. The Station Commander came through Bel's office, looked around, didn't find much in the way of dust or clutter, told us to clean anyway and then stalked off. If I were he, I wouldn't insult Bel. I'd seen him fry three wizards with the power he had.
"This is for you," Bel handed a large bag to me before I left his office to get dinner. "Aris sent this." I nodded and carried the bag to my room. Clothes were inside; a young man's clothes. What else would I get? These added to my meager closet and were colors I might choose for myself, including two more black outfits. I wondered if that meant there were more treks into the desert soon. Shaking my head, I headed toward the mess hall.
"Nods and his private military didn't even stop by our table," Gin noted later as we sat eating.
"Lulling us into thinking he's backing off," I said quietly. "The calm before the hurricane comes."
"You think he's got something planned?" Dane sounded worried.
"Yes. I think that," I said. "The questions are what, where and when." We kept eating, our thoughts chasing each other over what Nods would do when the evacuation drill sounded. These weren't scheduled like the inspections—they came irregularly. We had to turn out wherever we were. Dane, Gin, Dory and I had to leave our unfinished dinner behind and rush out of the building—in an orderly fashion, of course.
"New recruits this way," someone shouted. A rush of newly trained troops followed that voice. Dane and the others hurried along behind the others. I went, but warily. I didn't trust that voice—it didn't sound like one of the officers to me. I found recruits crowding into a space between buildings. It resembled a blind alley; the buildings were so closely spaced. I didn't see signs of officers anywhere. Later, I attempted to puzzle out how Nods had learned of the drill, unless he was behind the drill itself. I learned that with Nods, almost anything was possible.
None of the recruits were prepared for what happened—the hoses that gushed water with extreme force were built to put fires out quickly. These hoses were now aimed at the recruits and they were soaked and slipping in the muddy sand between buildings in very little time. I backed away as quickly as I could—I hadn't gone into the alleyway to begin with—it looked too suspicious to me.
Officers were arriving quickly, shouting for the water to be turned off. I watched from a distance as all the recruits were dressed down as if they were at fault for the entire incident. None were allowed to speak. I'm sure the officers knew—they did it anyway. It made me angry, but what could I do? Aris would certainly have something to say if I called attention to myself. I slipped away, unwilling to watch any more injustice that evening.
* * *
"Take the afternoon off and sleep if you can, then get dinner and meet in Aris' office," Bel told me the following morning. That meant we'd be heading into the desert again. I nodded and went to deliver messages for Bel and Aris.
* * *
"You knew it was a trap," Dane muttered over dinner.
"You ran off; I was trying to get you to slow down," I pointed my fork at him. "Next time, look for the officers issuing the commands. If you don't see any, that could be a problem."
"We have extra duties for an eight-day," Dory grumbled.
"And a lot of embarrassment," Gin elbowed his friend.
"This could stop with your class, you know," I said. "If you all decide that the next batch of recruits gets left alone, then it may stop. It's a stupid practice and only allows the bullies to do what they like with very little chance of punishment." I'd seen some of the officers the night before, grinning and laughing at the recruits as they slipped and slid in the mud while trying to exit the alley at the same time. Nods had given the officers and other troops fine entertainment. I'd seen him off to the side with his group. They hadn't been given extra duties—I'd bet money on it.
In a way, I had extra duties myself—they just weren't handed out as punishment. I hadn't slept well during the afternoon so I'd dropped off clothing to be washed at the station laundry. I was to pick them up in two days. The Alliance did your laundry free of charge. Here, you paid if you had anything other than uniforms to be cleaned. My pay would be docked for laundry services. I'd signed the slip pushed across the counter at me, describing the clothing to be laundered and what the charge would be.
At least the trooper at the counter wasn't one of Nods' level—he was older and looked as if he'd been doing
his job for several turns. Nods hadn't been at the station for a turn, even. Classes of new recruits were turned out every three moon-turns here, just as they were with the Alliance. Half a sun-turn might describe Nods' length of service. It might describe his maturity level, too.
"What are you doing tonight?" Dane asked as I placed my tray in a slot to be washed.
"I have extra duty, too. Ranger Bel has things for me to do," I replied.
"You work with the Rangers?" Dane's voice sounded breathless and his eyes were wide with something close to awe.
"It's not that exciting," I said, trying to cover what might have been a gaffe. "I deliver messages, run errands and do paperwork."
"Oh." Dane's face fell. I wondered what he'd do if I told him that I'd gone out to the desert twice in the past eight-day. I didn't mention it and resolved not to talk about my duties again. Working with the Rangers sounded exciting to the others. They had no idea how dangerous it was.
Did I expect the attack on the way back to the Rangers' quarters? I'm afraid to say I didn't. I should have been paying more attention, rather than allowing my thoughts to distract me. I wouldn't allow it to happen again.
The first punch landed before I had a chance to react. Nods delivered it himself. He and his followers didn't land another—I shoved Nods into the other three and ran. They might have been fast—I was faster. They didn't catch me as I slammed through the door into the Rangers' quarters. Nods and the others wouldn't follow me into a building—there was too much opportunity for them to be caught. Nods would never take responsibility for his actions—not if he could help it.
"Re, what happened?" My right eye was already turning purple when I walked into Aris' office a few ticks later. I'd put a cold cloth on the eye where Nods hit me, but ice would have been better. There was precious little of it at the station and I knew not to ask for any.
"The bullies. I didn't fall for their water trap last night, so they made sure to get me tonight," I said, sitting down in my usual spot.
"Is this going to affect your ability to spot the enemy?" Bel asked, coming closer to examine my eye. At the moment, I could still see out of the eye. He placed fingers on the darkening bruise anyway, checking it carefully. "Let's hope it doesn't get much worse," Bel sighed and went to sit down.
* * *
We were heading out the gate in a quarter click, going northwest this time. A group of stragglers had arrived at the gate the day before, telling tales of monsters that had attacked their remote village. Most of their fellow villagers had been killed. Aris had gone to their questioning himself, just to see if they were being honest. Could he tell that? Some wizards could test your honesty? That could be frightening. I didn't like to tell lies, but small ones came occasionally, like the one I'd told Dane earlier, making my work for the Rangers sound boring and dull. Much of it was—that wasn't an untruth. I just hadn't mentioned the occasional trek into the desert.
"Max is going to get us part of the way," Bel announced after we'd walked perhaps a click. I didn't know what he meant. Somehow, Max could transport a few people. That was his talent. He just needed to know exactly where to transport them, and his range was limited. That's why we'd walked the length of time we had. The villagers had given Aris their location in the desert, so Max knew where to take us. He had a target to hit. He couldn't do this without a specific location.
When Max transported us, it felt as if I were being squeezed—all the breath was forced from my lungs as we relocated. I was trying to catch my breath when we were set down within sight of an abandoned village. Feeling much as I had the few times I'd fallen hard on my back, gasping for breath when the air had been slammed out of my lungs, I worked desperately to draw air into my body. Max walked over and straightened my cramping frame. I'd bent over in agony, desperately trying to pull in air.
"Slow, Re," he said, holding my arm to keep me upright. Thinking that I might never breathe again and considering smacking Max if I did, I kept trying, eventually getting the much-needed air through my nose and mouth. I coughed.
"First time's always the worst," Pell said, walking past me with a grin on his face. He just got added to the smacking line.
Our rifles were up and Bel was at the ready when we approached the village a few ticks later. Lights appeared. Bel gave us the signal to be prepared. We moved closer and pandemonium came.
* * *
Nods was on his way to the barracks with the three who followed him constantly. They made a turn to walk between the exercise facility and the bathhouse. It was a shortcut they weren't supposed to take—a garden was planted there by the Station Commander's two wives. Cautiously they made their way around the plants; the vegetables and flowers were watered daily, just to keep them alive. Nods and the others were halfway through the garden when something dropped from above.
Nods jerked backward with a curse, bumping into his three friends. Whatever had fallen didn't hit them and Nods realized it was someone instead of something rather quickly. The buildings were quite tall on either side and Nods, if he'd had more intelligence, may have wondered how any person might have survived the leap from the rooftop to the ground. He didn't—he was backing away from the one in front of him.
"You're the one doing all the mischief, aren't you?" Nods stared at the man stalking him. He moved like one of the big jungle cats—silent and deadly. Nods knew who it was—Commander Aris of the Rangers.
"No—we did nothing," Nods stammered.
"That's a lie," Commander Aris growled. Nods didn't know to be more frightened of the growl—he was already quite frightened. "You attacked my recruit earlier. Punched him in the face." Aris reached out and gripped Nods by the throat, lifting him high in the air with only one hand. Aris growled again. Nods' three friends cowered behind him.
"He-he's your recruit?" Nods didn't have much control over his voice now, and he squeaked.
"Yes. And he needs both his eyes and a healthy body to do his chores. Interfere with that again and I'll make sure you and your friends suffer." Nods could only gurgle at Aris' words—Aris had him gripped quite tightly.
"We understand one another—good." Aris let Nods drop. The sophomore recruit dropped like a bag of sand to the ground, crushing several of the Station Commander's prized tomatoes.
"Who's there?" A guard shouted as Nods attempted to get his breath back. Nods' three friends turned to run, but another guard at the opposite end of the alley blocked their exit. Commander Aris had disappeared like wisps of fog in bright sunlight, leaving Nods and his followers to face the Station Commander's punishment.
Chapter 8
We gathered into the designated tight knot, guns pointed outward and firing, even as the blasts rocked all of us on our feet. Hish hadn't come with us—he was still recovering. I was their protection. My eye was swelling, I could barely see as I fired. The next blast blew everything up around us, leaving a crater behind. We stood on a small island of desert sand, gaping at a trench ten hands deep around us. The outer edges of our circle were irregular—the explosion had seen to that. Our island was perhaps thirty hands across—two very tall men might have fit lengthwise across that distance. The circle was large enough to hold all of us, with a bit of extra room. We were covered with dust, sand and detritus as we went back to firing at the points of light coming in our direction.
The number of the enemy killed may remain a mystery—we fired until our rifles ran out of power. We hadn't brought extras—Max could only transport so much. He had to transport us back to the site from which he'd taken us in the beginning when more of the enemy poured out of the village, intent on taking us down. I didn't think whatever I had protected against a physical attack—only one sent by wizards. That's why I now had a black eye. Again, I was gasping for breath after we landed, but I wasn't as frightened this time. That helped and I was able to breathe faster. Aris was waiting for us at the gate when we returned three clicks before dawn.
* * *
"How many do you think were out ther
e?" Aris sipped a cup of tea while he questioned us.
"We killed around six hundreds—we had power for eight hundred shots, and using the normal figures for the miss ratio, I'd say that's how many dusted. We didn't get close enough to do anything about the two wizards. That's how many Delvin sensed." Bel drank a cup of water while Aris considered his words.
"So, how many do you think were left?" Aris steepled his fingers. His eyes were on Bel as Bel calculated.
"At least a thousand," Bel replied. "Maybe more. We might have taken them all down if we'd had extra weapons."
Aris nodded—he knew Max had stretched his talent to the limit, taking what he did.
"We can try again tomorrow night," Bel suggested.
"No, they'll be waiting," Aris waved Bel's words off. "We did what we could with the information brought to us. I'll have to do a location spell."
"They may still have a blocker—we don't know which ones we killed last time," Delvin pointed out. Delvin could only sense the level of power or talent; he couldn't discern individual abilities.
"And we now know the limit of Re's ability—we stood on an island about thirty-three hands in diameter," Bel added. "A ten-hand deep ditch lay around us, after they threw their best in our direction."
"Amazing." Aris still wasn't looking at me. I didn't mind—my eye was now swelled shut and I'm sure the bruise around it was so deep a purple it looked black. It made me wonder how many times I'd missed while shooting earlier. I wanted to curse Nods—he might have cost us in our attempt to take down the enemy.
We were dismissed shortly after that. I was just out of the shower and dressing in a nightshirt when the knock came. Aris was at the door with the old physician from the outpost. He had a pack of ice and herbs with him. "Keep this on as much as possible, it'll help with the swelling," the physician had me lie down on my bed and placed the pack over my eye. "It won't matter if you fall asleep with it on there." He and Aris left shortly afterward. Aris hadn't spoken the entire time.
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