Desert Guardian

by Duvall, Karen

  She shrugged, looking sheepish. "When we left, I was afraid to take the road for fear of being followed, so I drove around in loops and zigzags to disguise our trail."

  "You didn't look at the odometer beforehand?"

  "No."

  When he saw her wounded expression, he said, "You got us out of there alive, and that's what counts."

  She nodded. "How far away is the police station?"

  He peered toward the horizon. "A lot farther than we are from the camp. The station's in town, which is a good twenty miles or more from this part of Devil's Playground. We wouldn't make it halfway."

  "Valya believes we've gone to the police," she said, sounding worried. "If she thinks the cops are on their way, they might move up the time of their suicide."

  He shook his head. "You forget how well I know these people. I know their habits, their rituals, their obsessive behaviors. It's vital their plan take place at precisely ten this morning. Her entire life, Valya has been counting the hours until this day, believing it a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see her 'home planet.' There's no way in hell she'll change the ritual now."

  He looked inside the Jeep. "Good. Jake's asleep, which is the best thing for him right now. The withdrawals are bound to get worse."

  Sweating from the desert heat and bare-chested beneath his jacket, Sam didn't dare take it off and risk a sunburn. He grabbed a pair of binoculars from a case between the two front seats. His slit pant leg flapping like an unfurled sail, he hobbled toward an incline leading to a ridge above where they were parked.

  "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

  He didn't stop walking, or hobbling was more like it. "To see if I can spot the camp from up there." Cody crawled out from where he'd taken refuge from the sun beneath the jeep and trotted up behind him.

  "You'll break your neck trying to hike up there on that leg."

  Sam waved her off. He knew what he was doing. "It's not that steep. Get moving, Kelly. We need water, and we need it now."

  "What about Jake?"

  "He's not going anywhere." Sam felt confident the kid was in no shape to walk off. "I'll keep an eye on him from up there."

  With Cody in the lead, Sam trudged up the hill, making slow progress as the pain made walking difficult. He glanced down at his leg now and then to see if had started bleeding again. His bandage remained clean and white.

  The sun continued its lazy rise, and fingers of early-morning warmth danced across his back. Close to the top of the ridge, he stopped to look through the binoculars and spotted Kelly jogging toward the creek bed. Something shimmered at the base of the canyon. When she arrived at the pool's edge, she looked up at him and waved.

  His heart gave a jolt as her lithe figure crouched beside the water. He could spend hours studying each precious movement of her body—the dip of her hips as she stooped down, the gentle slope of her shoulders, the graceful curve of her long, slender neck. A feeling of tenderness overwhelmed him. He wanted to go to her, envelope her in his arms, and ravish her right there in the water, rolling her naked body in the cool mud as they made love. He savored the fantasy and wondered if the reality was something he could look forward to. He hoped so. Kelly was nothing at all like Valya, and he couldn't fathom how he'd ever believed they could share the same selfish motives when it came to sex.

  Though he would always regret his time in Valya's bed, he would never regret the result of that union. He had a daughter. How something so precious could come from something so evil he would never understand. But Lynette was his, and he'd get her safely away from the monsterous creature who had raised her.

  Sam faced north, in the direction of Star Mother's camp, and there it was. Unable to judge the precise distance, he knew the camp couldn't be more than a few miles away. Relief washed over him as he realized they could make it back in time.

  The cultists roamed outside their tents and trailers. He didn't recognize any faces, but the fact they were active gave him hope. Though he couldn't see either generator from where he stood, he knew they were there somewhere getting prepared for their deadly intent. The first thing he'd do when they arrived back was shut the generators down before carbon monoxide fumes could kill everyone in camp.

  Facing east again, he waved down at Kelly, who was returning with the filled bottles. He swung his arms more furiously above his head and pointed north, toward the encampment she couldn't see. He resisted the impulse to shout. A loud voice in the clear desert air might give them away, especially if any sentries were scouting the area. Kelly waved back and quickened her pace to a run.

  He started down the hill then stopped. A figure staggered in the distance. Shielding his eyes from the sun's glare, he lifted the binoculars to peer at whoever was stumbling across the desert. He recognized the filthy white robe and the young man inside it. Kelly's brother.

  "That crazy son of a bitch." Sam would be damned if the fool wasn't trying to make it back to the source of his addiction.

  He hurried down the hill, his leg an agonized bundle of nerve endings that screamed with each step. He used his crutch to keep him steady, but it was only slowing him down. Dropping to his left hip, he let gravity carry him the rest of the way across the loose sand, carefully dodging fist-sized rocks as he went.

  Once at the bottom, he hopped over to the Jeep. The backseat was empty. How could Jake have had the presence of mind to run off like that? Sam knew the power of morphine overrode common sense, but the man had barely been conscious. Jake's craving must be more intense than he'd thought.

  Sam yanked the roll of electrical tape from his spilled toolbox and hustled to the front of the Jeep, where the hood was still propped open. He hurriedly wrapped the busted radiator hose.

  "What happened?" Kelly asked, hardly out of breath from her run. "You look upset."

  "Upset?" What an understatement. "You could say that. Your brother's run off. Now give me the water."

  Appearing dazed, she handed both bottles over. In a toneless voice of disbelief, she said, "You told me he wasn't going anywhere."

  "I was wrong." He sniffed the bottle before taking several long gulps, giving barely a thought to its possible contamination. If he got giardia, he really didn't care. He had more dire problems to worry about. He poured the rest of the first bottle into the radiator. "Jake's moving fast, and he's headed straight for Star Mother's camp."

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jake was wandering the desert alone? Kelly had to find him. She ran to the driver's side and jumped in. "How did he know which way to go?"

  Sam hobbled to the passenger side and slid in with a grunt. "If you know which way's north, it's not hard. He obviously knows where the camp is, just not how far away."

  "How far?"

  "Two, maybe three miles."

  Her hands trembled as she grasped the key and turned it in the ignition. The engine sputtered then died. She slapped the steering wheel and tried again. Nothing.

  "To hell with this." She leapt out and slammed the door. Jake was too sick to take a stroll through the desert alone. The exposure could kill him. She still had half a liter of water in the second bottle that she had saved just for him. "He could die out there. We have to find him."

  Sam clambered out of the Jeep. He teetered on one leg before hopping over to take another look under the hood. "Don't give up so easy."

  "I'm a fast runner, Sam. It'll only take me a few minutes to catch up to him."

  He tugged at the radiator hose. "That's a wide-open desert out there. If you veered too far one way or the other, you could miss him and get lost yourself."

  "I know which way is north," she said, feeling defensive. This was her brother. Her problem.

  "And when you find him, what then?" Sam's hands moved over the workings of the engine, twisting and turning, pushing and thumping. "You planning on dragging Jake back here? And how long will that take? An hour? Two hours? Seeing as how it's already after eight-thirty, we don't have that much time."

  She paced besi
de the Jeep. He was right. Time was slipping away, and Sam's little girl was at risk. Of course he was desperate to get the Jeep started. How else could they make it back to camp and put an end to this? But what about Jake? She couldn't leave him wandering in the desert to die. Feeling defeated, she stopped pacing and covered her face with her hands.

  Sam limped over to where she stood. "Come here."

  He held his arms open, and she fell against him, folding herself into his broad, protective chest. She couldn't keep up her façade of forced strength any longer. "Help me?" she asked, forcing out the words she'd have rather held back.

  He kissed the top of her head. "Of course I'll help you. And I'll help Jake and Lynette. And we'll both help the rest of those Star Mother loonies before their fantasy starship comes to take them away."

  She blinked back tears, hating this weaker side of herself. She lifted her chin and said, "Okay."

  "Okay." He grinned down at her. "Now let's start her up."

  They returned to the Jeep, only this time Sam slid behind the wheel. He whistled for Cody, who eagerly hopped in back.

  "Are you sure you can drive?" she asked, giving a pointed look to his mostly bare leg.

  His lopsided grin tugged at her heart. "You betcha," he said, and turned the key. The engine sputtered, caught, and Sam eased the Jeep around to head north.

  ****

  Valya stared down at her husband's serene face and smoothed a few stray hairs from his forehead. She smiled, pleased with his silence. Of course he had nothing to say. He was dead.

  "It's just as well, Von," she told her dead husband, who lay supine on a cot at the center of the royal tent. An identical cot was set up beside him, but with a silk pillow instead of a cotton one to ensure Valya's hair didn't get mussed. "You're preparing the way for the rest of us. I hope you're getting acquainted with the starship captain, and please don't be rude to him. He's come a very long way to pick us up and take us home."

  She stepped back to study the body, noting how Von's legs hung over the end of the cot, almost bending at the knees. The man was a giant, and it was only right that her husband have an exceptional presence, seeing as how they were both superior beings on this world. Too bad he'd been incapable of producing children.

  The Arrow, on the other hand, was especially fertile, and Sam would have made an extraordinary mate. She should have realized his potential while he was still a boy, but she'd thought she had plenty of time to groom him for a high position in Star Mother, a position she would create for him. A lieutenant? A general? Perhaps even a prince? There had been no way of knowing he'd denounce his faith. Pity. But minds could be changed. Valya had mastered that ability years ago, and with the help of her new elixir, she could gain the loyalty and devotion of almost anyone. All she needed was time. And though her time on this planet was over, she would have an eternity on the next one.

  Where were the promised police? Valya chuckled and glanced out the screened window of the tent. If Sam and his girlfriend had made it to the police station, she seriously doubted they could have convinced anyone that Star Mother was about to commit mass suicide. The police would be more focused on getting Jake to a hospital and not some hair-brained story about a religious group with a death wish. There would be interrogations, reports, phone calls, computer searches.... Based on Valya's experience with such things, by the time any law enforcement found its way to camp, there would be nothing left but eighty-eight empty human shells. Valya and her followers would already be comfortably ensconced in a plush starship headed for their new home on Atria.

  She paced in front of the window and fingered the bloodstained bandage that covered her forearm. That coyote could have taken her arm off. She should have killed it, and she would have if Sam hadn't distracted her. She had wanted to kill him as well, which would have ensured his rightful place at her side when they arrived on Atria. If it hadn't been for that damn Kelly Bancroft, all would have turned out perfect for Valya and her daughter, who needed both her parents at this critical time. Ah, well. Best to make the most of it. It was too late to do anything about it now.

  She adjusted the sling that secured her shoulder, which still throbbed painfully from that ridiculous little arrow Kelly had shot her with. Remembering last night's disastrous episode, she ground her teeth in sudden rage then breathed deeply to calm herself. It would do no good to get upset all over again.

  She turned her attention to the activity going on throughout the camp and studied the faces of her followers. As they packed their meager belongings, none of them expressed the excitement they should all be feeling. This puzzled Valya. These people should be ecstatic over this marvelous opportunity—an exquisite new life on a utopian planet light years away from this hellish rock called Earth. She shook her head while watching a woman slump onto a wooden bench at the center of the camp's courtyard and cry. She should be shedding tears of joy, but from the expression on the woman's face, she was anything but joyful. This image would not reflect positively on the rest of her followers.

  "Jason?" she called to the sentry posted at the tent's entrance.

  "Yes, Lady Valya?"

  She gestured toward the window. "There's a woman in the courtyard who appears... unhappy. Please escort her to her tent."

  "Right away." He disappeared into the throng of cultists outside.

  "Mommy?"

  Valya spun toward the small voice of her youngest child. "Yes, Lynette?"

  The girl, clothed in a clean and blood-free nightgown, shuffled toward her. She held a large stuffed bunny in her arms, its white fur powdered with amber grains of desert sand. She gave Von's cot a wide berth and hugged the tent wall as she made her way to her mother. Lynette stared at her with gray eyes that looked so much like her father's that Valya held back a gasp. The child's eyes were moist with unshed tears.

  Valya crouched in front of her and placed both hands on Lynette's shoulders. "What's wrong, darling?"

  Lynette jabbed her thumb in the direction of the tent's opening. "Those people outside are scaring me."

  Valya darted her gaze toward the window then back to her daughter. So much irrational fear made no sense at all. "There's nothing to be afraid of. We're just going on a very long trip to a wonderful new home. Aren't you excited?"

  The girl stared at her for a long moment before shaking her head.

  Valya frowned. "Why not?"

  "I don't want to leave without my daddy."

  Her mother sighed. "I'm sorry, Lynette, but it's your father's decision to stay here."

  Looking guilty, Lynette said, "He told me I could stay here with him if I wanted to."

  "Do you want to?"

  "I want you to stay, too."

  Valya hugged her. "I know. But you need to understand that I have a responsibility to all the people who follow Star Mother. It's my duty to take care of them, and they'll need me in our new home. I can't abandon them just because you want me to stay. That wouldn't be fair to them, now would it?"

  Her cherubic face looking uncertain, Lynette shook her head.

  Valya straightened and gazed down at her daughter, taking a minute to figure out a way to lift the child's spirits. If Lynette had been affected by the morose mood of some of the others, there was a good chance her siblings were feeling the same. "I tell you what. Let's go through all your toys and clothes and decide what to bring along. And your brothers and sisters can do the same with their things. Won't that be fun?"

  Lynette's eyes had lost their teary shimmer, and she shrugged. "I guess so." Then she cocked her head to one side and asked, "Mommy, how will everything get up to the starship?"

  "Well, it's like magic," Valya said, unsure of a correct answer, but she believed the displacement of physical matter through time and space must be possible. For Star Mother's people, anything was possible. "It all disappears from here then reappears on the ship."

  The girl scowled up at her. "I don't get it."

  So much like her father. "It's all very scientific and h
as to do with molecules and atoms and the like. I'm not a scientist, so I don't have any better way to explain it to you."

  Valya caught a flash of movement from the corner of her eye. She twisted around to follow it and saw Consuela Martinez walking hurriedly by the rear exit of the tent.

  "Consuela?" she called out. "Will you come in here, please?"

  The young woman peeked her head inside the tent. Eyes focused on the floor, she slowly stepped inside but remained close to the exit as if ready to make a quick escape.

  "Is there a problem, Consuela?" Valya asked, smelling the woman's fear. It had a heady scent of sweat and desert heat, and it seemed to be catching all over camp. "Something I should know?"

  Consuela shook her head. Her gaze darted to Von's body and quickly back to the floor.

  "It's only a shell of the man himself. No need to be frightened of it. He isn't here, he's up there." Valya pointed skyward then approached the body and laid her hand on Von's thigh.

  Consuela winced.

  Lynette hugged her stuffed bunny to her chest and drew closer to the tent wall.

  "For pity's sake, Consuela, have you learned nothing from Star Mother's teachings after all these years?"

  The young woman's eyes grew large, and she edged back a step.

  Disgusted by Consuela's timidity, Valya rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you." She fluttered a hand at Consuela's neck. "You've hurt yourself enough already."

  Consuela's fingers brushed the scar on the front of her throat.

  Valya should have known better than to try having a conversation with a mute. "Look, Consuela. I need your help. Take Lynette to the nursery tent and help her go through her things. Gather the rest of my children and have them do the same."

  "But Mommy," Lynette said in a tearful voice. "I thought you were going to help me."

  "Sorry, but I have way too much to do." Valya glanced at the gold watch she'd had to move from her right wrist to her left. She spoke as much to Consuela as to Lynette when she added, "It's after nine o'clock, and the ritual begins promptly at ten. Everyone needs to mentally prepare for our departure, and that goes for me as well."