by C. W. Gray
Horus sat outside his tent, eating his breakfast. “Quigley.”
Quigley nodded. He had discovered that with Horus, asking for permission was far worse than simply demanding his agreement. The elder admired strength. “Just letting you know, I’m going on a hunt. I’ll be back in a few weeks.”
“Are you finally taking those useless bags of stones to the deep desert?” Horus asked, smirking.
He had wanted Quigley to abandon Gram and the rest of his family for years. The man stopped just short of ordering Quigley to do it, but the order was coming soon. Quigley knew it.
“They’re still useful.” Quigley’s voice was gruff, and he hated equating his family to tools to be used, but that was all Horus understood.
“You’re the best hunter in the clan,” Horus said, giving him a hard look. “You should have settled down with a nice woman and had your own strong children by now. Instead you burden yourself with an old woman and two useless children.”
“We take care of ourselves and contribute to the clan,” Quigley said, his teeth clenched tightly.
The tent flap opened and Sara stepped out. Quigley’s sister was a beautiful woman, tall and strong, her long, dark hair in braids. Just like Quigley, her birth markings were prominent, curving in dark lines along her cheekbones and bare shoulders. Their family had always had a strong link to their inner fire.
She carried her newborn son, Cyrus, in her arms. “Hey, Quig. If you’re going on a hunt, will you ask Aster to try to find some Gaora cactus fruit for me?”
Quigley smiled. His sister always tried to remind Horus of how useful Quigley’s bags of stones really were. Aster may be blind, but she had an uncanny way of tracking. “Sure. We’re heading out this morning.”
Sara bowed her head to Horus. “Elder, may I walk my brother to his tent?”
Horus waved a hand at her. “Fine. Just be back in an hour. You have a husband to see to.”
Quigley and Sara walked in silence at first. He always had to rein in his temper when Horus or Dustin ordered her about. He hated that Sara had agreed to marry the elder’s son, but it had been her choice.
“Do you remember when we used to lie in the sands at night and look at the stars?” Sara asked, finally breaking the silence. “Grandfather used to tell us all about the constellations. He taught us how to follow them, but he also taught us their stories.”
Quigley smiled and nudged Sara with his shoulder. “Gram and I have been teaching Aster and David.”
“I want that for Cyrus,” Sara whispered. “I want him to grow up like we did.”
Quigley arched a brow. “You married Dustin.”
She looked away. “You know why I did.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that, Sara.” Quigley took a deep breath, trying to let go of his anger. “I didn’t ask you to try to protect me. No one knows about you know what, and they never will.”
She looked around, eyes panicked. “Be quiet. You never know who’s listening. Quigley, you’re my brother, and I will always do what I can to protect you. I thought marrying Dustin would give our family some protection from the elder’s vile laws, but I was wrong. He won’t stand up for his family, little less his in-laws.”
“What happened?” Quigley asked, voice low.
Sara licked her lips and gave him a worried look. “He’s going to find out about Cyrus. He offered to change his diaper yesterday, and I know it was only to look at his stomach.”
Quigley paled. “You think Dustin will leave him to the gods in the deep desert?”
“I think he’ll kill him on the spot,” Sara said, voice hoarse.
“We need to leave. Now.” Quigley frowned. He always packed up his household when they went on a hunt. He couldn’t trust the clan to watch out for them if he wasn’t there. That wouldn’t call attention to them.
“You go first,” Sara whispered. “Wait for me at Aster’s spot. I’ll sneak out tonight after Dustin goes to sleep. I’ll bring Cyrus, and we’ll meet you there.”
Quigley looked up at the clear sky again. “A sandstorm is coming. You need to leave earlier.”
Sara nodded, not even questioning him. She knew his bones didn’t lie. “I’ll do what I can.”
“I’ll pack food and water for you. Don’t bring more than your Oryx can carry.”
They stopped in front of the spot his tent normally stood. Gram and the kids already had it packed up and their Oryx ready to go.
“Hi, Aunt Sara.” Aster smiled toward them. She already sat atop her own mount and wore her hunting clothes. Her black hair was pulled back in a long braid, and her hand rested on her hunting knife.
Sara gave her a fond look. “Good morning, dearest.”
His adopted daughter had been born blind. When her birth parents decided to leave her in the deep desert, Quigley had stepped forward and taken her in. That was ten years ago, and Aster had proven she was more than capable of surviving with the love of a family.
“Are you coming with, Aunt Sara?” David asked. Quigley’s son was just climbing on his own Oryx. He was another child that was to be left to the gods. He had been born without any of the birth markings that were common amongst the Burnished. He would never be able to access his inner fire without them, so he was deemed too weak for survival.
Quigley smiled at his son. That had been seven years ago, and David was doing just fine. Like Aster, he was a valuable member of Quigley’s family simply by existing. The fact that he was good with a throwing knife and took care of the Oryx was just a bonus.
Sara patted his leg and looked around nervously. “Maybe next time. Go pick out one of the goats to take with you, sweet boy. You’ll need the milk. Tell the herd master that I gave you permission.”
David gave her a curious look, then slid down. “Okay. I’ll take good care of her for you.”
“I know you will,” Sara said, kissing the top of his head.
David ran toward the herds, and Gram gave them both a look before taking Cyrus from Sara and cuddling him. “Why the serious face, Sara girl? Wish you were going with us?”
“More than anything,” Sara said, eyes closing.
“We’re leaving for good,” Quigley said, voice low. “Cyrus’s safety is at risk.”
Gram’s eyes widened in understanding. “Alright then. We’ll go to Star’s Oasis. The Burnished Chieftain doesn’t have the same prejudices as our clan elder.”
“That’s the only safe place,” he said.
“I need to get back before Dustin gets angry,” Sara said and bit her lip. “Maybe, when we’re at Star’s Oasis, you can finally meet someone and settle down. I want to see you happy, Quig. I want to see you try to flirt and deal with all the awkwardness of courting.”
“Why would you want to see that?” Quigley laughed and pulled Sara into a hug. “Be careful, little sister. I’ll see you soon.”
After a day of successful hunting, Quigley led his family to the small, hidden cave that Aster had discovered a few years ago. His daughter had a way of finding the desert’s secrets that Quigley didn’t fully understand.
As the sun set, Aster worked on starting a fire, while Gram and Quigley unloaded the Oryx. They had a couple of bags of Gaora cactus fruit and two jackrabbits, which would make for a good dinner and breakfast.
“Come on, Gracie,” David said, tugging the lead for the small goat Sara had sent with them. “Let’s get you in the shade.”
The black and brown goat followed along placidly, adoring eyes focused on Quigley’s son.
Quigley grinned. “I think the goat’s part of the family now.”
“That boy of yours has a soft heart.” Gram patted the side of her Oryx, Nadine. “Just like us.”
Quigley took a moment to scratch his own Oryx’s long ears. Cactus had been with him a long time. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Gram’s long robe blew hard against her legs, and she gave Quigley a concerned look. “That storm’s definitely coming.”
He looked out ove
r the desert, noting the sand bouncing on the ground. “Sara should be on her way. She said she’d leave as early as possible.”
“I’m worried about her.” Gram set a bag down near the fire, then went back for another. “If Horus and Dustin find out the baby has a birthing line, they’ll kill him. It took a lot to hide your birthing line from your father, that’s for sure. If they’re already suspicious, they’ll be watching.”
Aster tilted her head. “Cyrus is like you, Dad?”
“Unfortunately.” Quigley set the last bag down and pulled the Oryx into the mouth of the cave.
“I like the dots you have on your tummy,” David said, hugging Quigley around the waist. “The gods made you special so you could have babies. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Quigley picked his son up and hugged him tight. “I like that idea, son. Thank you.”
Aster’s giggles echoed across the cavern. “The gods didn’t make him that way, David, offworlder blood did. Remember? Gram told us that once Burnished Outpost had all kinds of species living here, and they mated with the Burnished. Dad can have babies because of his ancestry.”
David rolled his eyes. “Whatever. He’s still special and so is Cyrus.”
Gram chuckled and patted his shoulder. “Why don’t you take watch, Quig? We’ll ready the camp and make dinner.”
Quigley squeezed David one more time, then set him on his feet. “Good idea. It shouldn’t be more than a few hours before Sara gets here. She’ll be riding the storm in.”
He went to the mouth of the cave and climbed up and over the rocks around it. Sara would be coming in from the east, using the stars to guide her.
He looked up at the night sky. Two moons shone bright against the deep black. The small, golden moon was called Helara, the blessed sanctuary where all the abandoned supposedly went. The larger moon, Braxia, glowed an eerie, dark purple. Gram had told him that once it held all the Burnished gods, but now lay abandoned.
Quigley didn’t know what he believed. He knew what he saw – a sky full of stars and two glowing moons. He knew the planets too – Grellweir, Cardinal Hold, Siren’s Lament, Fallow, and Haven.
Gram had told them stories of how the Burnished once traveled among the stars and planets. He wasn’t sure he believed that any more than he believed in the glorious paradise of Helara.
A few hours later, the wind had picked up and the sand danced on the ground in the light of the moons. Quigley knew they had less than an hour before the storm hit.
Gram held her hand over her eyes as she came to stand by him. “We’ve pulled the Oryx into the cave and barricaded as well as we can.”
“I’m going to ride out a bit, but I’ll be back before the storm hits.” He headed back to the cave. “She should be here already.”
“I’ll keep the children safe,” Gram said, helping him get Cactus ready to ride.
Quigley hopped onto his Oryx and rode fast toward the east, eyes searching for shadows against the pale sand.
It took him a half hour to find them. One lone Oryx rode fast toward him with at least thirty others chasing behind.
“No.” Quigley urged Cactus toward Sara.
As soon as he reached her, he turned and ran beside her. “What happened?” he asked, the wind grabbing his words. Somehow, they still made it to her.
“I killed Horus,” she yelled. “I heard them saying they would kill Cyrus, so I poisoned dinner. Dustin didn’t die, but Horus did. They won’t stop coming for me, Quig.”
“We’ll lose them in the storm,” he yelled back.
“No.” The faint moonlight glinted in Sara’s eyes. “There are too many, and my Oryx is exhausted.”
She rode closer and tossed him the bag she had strapped to her back.
Quigley yelped, fumbling to catch it. He could feel little Cyrus inside. “Damn it, Sara, I almost dropped him.”
“You always caught me when I fell.” Sara’s eyes watered. “I’ll hold them off while you get to Aster’s spot. Take care of him, Quig. Tell him the stories of the stars and love him as your own.”
“Not happening,” Quigley yelled back, strapping Cyrus’s bag around his front. Panic filled him at Sara’s stubborn expression. He knew that look. “I’m not leaving you.”
“I’m not the one who can get us to Star’s Oasis.” She loosened the cinch of her saddle. “I can keep them away from our family.”
“Sara, don’t –"
She tossed him the reins of her Oryx, then swung off his back, rolling into the sand.
He looked back and saw her fire igniting in the murky, dusty night air. The birthmarks lining her body went from black to a fiery red. The shadows following them lit up as the other Burnished called to their own flames. Compared to Sara, they were a weak imitation.
Sara screamed, and her fire grew bright as she sent flames dancing toward the mob.
Cyrus whimpered in his carrier, and Quigley closed his eyes. He wanted to stay. He wanted to fight beside his sister.
Cyrus whimpered again. Quigley opened his eyes and focused on the stars above to lead him back to his family. His body shook as he tried to hold back his sobs. Sara.
The sandstorm grew stronger, and soon he couldn’t see any flames behind him and very few stars in the sky. He almost passed the cave, but David called out to him.
“Dad, we’re here,” he said, waving his arms.
Quigley pulled the Oryx to a stop, and David was there in an instant to take their reins and pull them into the cave.
He slid from Cactus’s back, bracing a hand on Cyrus’s back through the bag.
Gram stared at Sara’s Oryx for a moment, eyes watering. “She’s not coming, is she?”
Quigley wiped at the tears making trails through the dust on his face. “She held them back so we could get away.”
Cyrus whimpered again, working his way up to a wail.
“I’ll get him some milk,” David said, voice breaking as tears filled his eyes.
Aster covered her mouth, holding back a moan. She moved to Quigley’s side, and he wrapped his arm around her. Gram pulled David with her, and a moment later, they clung together as they cried.
The next morning, Quigley rode back to the battlefield. Riderless Oryx milled around and seared bodies were half buried in the sand. He knew the survivors hadn’t lingered here during the storm. If they had, there would have been a lot more dead.
He found her after a moment. Her body was burned badly, her eyes open and unseeing.
Quigley fell to his knees beside her, fighting back fresh tears. Her body was stiff as he pulled her close for one last hug. “I swear I’ll protect him, Sara. I swear on the stars and Helara that he’ll always be safe.”
He forced himself to lay her down and step back. He watched a wisp of her hair blow in the wind and held his hands over her body, calling his hottest flames to his hands. His birthmarks glowed almost white as the flames covered Sara’s body.
A few moments later, her ashes mixed with the desert sand.
Quigley closed his eyes and pictured her laughing face. He would remember her that way. He would remember her as his strong, beautifully brave sister.
3
Anchor’s Rest System, Burnished Outpost
Fire pressed his face to the window and watched as the white sandstone spaceport grew closer. Star’s Oasis was in the middle of a desert, and Fire couldn’t wait to feel the hot sand between his toes.
Jellybean squeaked from where he rode on Fire’s shoulder. You like?
“I love it, Jellybean,” he said, breath moistening the window. “I can feel the heat from here.”
“You’re going to run as soon as we land, aren’t you?” Sebastian asked, amused.
Fire nodded and bumped his head on the window. “Will you watch Jellybean?”
Sebastian picked up the guinea pig and tucked him against his chest. “I’ll take care of him. Make sure you’re back by sundown or I’ll worry.”
“I will.” Fire looked over his sh
oulder. Hack, Leti, and all their kids gathered behind them. “Hack needs us.”
Coming back to Burnished Outpost after years of being gone was hard for Leti’s mate. The man hadn’t had a good life while he was there and had even been abandoned by his mother. Fire knew the only reason Hack had come back at all was to meet his three youngest half-brothers.
I’ll never abandon my babies, he thought and reached over to pet Jellybean. “I love you, Jellybean.”
Love you. Jellybean squeaked and wiggled in Sebastian’s arms. Want to run with you.
“We’ll go for a run together tomorrow, Jellybean. This run is gonna be fast, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Sebby will let you roll with him though.” Fire hurried and got Jellybean’s ball ready.
Sebastian sighed and put the wiggling guinea pig into the ball. “Now I have three kids to watch over while we’re here.”
Alois, Sebastian’s mate, grunted from beside him. He had their youngest, Mordy, strapped to his chest, and Nina, their eldest, held his hand. “Hello, love. I’m right here.”
Sebastian gave him an exaggerated look of surprise. “Oh yeah. I actually have four kids.”
Alois scowled but pulled Sebastian into his side. “Nina and I won’t get up to too much trouble.”
“Only because Mordecai is there to keep you in line,” Sebastian said, smiling softly.
Mordy grunted, sounding a lot like his papa. He swung his legs and grinned at them.
Fire pushed back the nasty ball of envy that upset his stomach. I’ll find my own mate one day.
The Blue Solace landed in the spaceport and everyone started grabbing their bags. They would be staying for a week, so Fire had made sure to pack extra snacks.
He hurried and grabbed Hack’s bag before the man could, then gave the big Burnished a hug. “It’s gonna be okay, Hack. Siblings aren’t so bad.” Fire paused. “Well, I don’t really have a sibling, so maybe they are bad. Death is kinda like my brother and friend both, and he’s okay. He’s my brother friend and Jellybean is my best friend.” Fire giggled hard enough to almost drop Hack’s bag.
