Salene's Secrets

by Laura Jo Phillips

  Salene grimaced. “A perfect example of why biological warfare is banned throughout the Thousand Worlds. It’s unpredictable, inhumane, and devastating.”

  “To put it mildly,” Tesse said, and Salene nodded.

  “How many of you still live here, on this world?”

  “Not many,” Nia replied. “I know of only eighteen, counting myself. But, as Tesse’s existence proves, there may be others that I’m unaware of.”

  “Why would you want to hide from your own people?” Salene asked Tesse.

  “It was not my intent to hide from my people. Unfortunately, it was necessary in order for me to hide from the Doftles. When they brought the Brun in as guards, some of the Lurra took the opportunity to remain as human as possible at all times. We never used our ability to blend into our surroundings, or speak of our true heritage, but we did use it to make ourselves look as though we’d aged, as you can see by the gray in my hair. In time it was forgotten that we’d ever been anything but human.”

  “Why did the Doftle and the Xanti want your people in particular, and why only the females?”

  “They wanted us because we live for a long time, which means we last longer, so have no need to be replaced as often as humans do. It took us a bit longer to understand that they wanted the women because we were smaller and weaker than the men, and because we do not have the same nature as the men. Where they would fight to the death before submitting to the rule of others for one moment, we women will bend if necessary. That makes us easier to control.”

  “Fils de putain,” Salene muttered with clear disgust.

  “What’s that mean?” Tesse asked.

  “Nothing,” Salene said, glad she wasn’t prone to blushing. “Just something my Aunt Summer would say in a situation like this. Nia, since Tab definitely exists, does that mean that you and the other women still on this world were not infected with the virus?”

  “We were not infected, no,” Nia said, her eyes sad once more. “Not long after our arrival, some of our women mated with human males, and four of them bore children, three of which were males. The Doftles were not happy about that because they wanted no male Kinahns in the silos. They murdered the infants, including the female, and then they sterilized us.

  “I learned many years later that one of the Lurra of Silo 56 had given birth to a girl at the same time as another woman, a human woman who was a good friend of hers. She’d discovered that the Doftle were killing the babies of the other Kinahns, and sterilizing all of us, so she asked her friend for help. The human woman pretended that both babies were hers, which saved the baby’s life. The baby grew up, had one child, a female, who grew up and also had but one female child. It continued that way for centuries until the most recent female to reach adulthood and bear a child bore a son before dying in childbirth. That son is your Tab. Even though he is more human than Kinahn, he is still important to us.”

  Salene was suddenly terrified that she would lose Tab. “Are you Tab’s grandmother?” she asked Tesse.

  “No, I’m not,” Tesse said wistfully. “I didn’t lie when I told you that neither child had family living, Highness, though I have often wished that I was his grandmother. If I were, I could have taken him in myself rather than lay the burden for his care in the hands of a four year old girl. I considered offering to take him on anyway, but I was afraid to bring that much attention to Tab, or to myself. Taking on a child not of one’s family is an enormous burden in the silo, and is almost never done.”

  “Do you know why he doesn’t talk?”

  “No, I do not,” Tesse said. “But if there is a reason, and it can be found and corrected, I have no doubt that you, Princess Salene, will find it.”

  “You will allow me to keep him?” Salene asked in surprise.

  “Of course you should keep him, unless you’d rather not.”

  “No, I want him, we all want him,” Salene said quickly. “We love him and he’s a vital member of our family.”

  “Not even our seers were able to see how the future of our people would come about, but they promised that there was a future,” Nia said. “Tab is a symbol of hope for that future. But we haven’t forgotten that he is, first and foremost, a child. A child who needs and deserves a home, a family, and parents who love him. This is the first chance either Tab or Mali has had for those things, and if we were to take him from you, we would be no better than the Doftles.”

  “I’m not sure I would go so far as to say that, but nevertheless, I thank you,” Salene said, bowing in relief and gratitude. “The eight of us are a family now. It would break all of our hearts to lose any one of us, but to lose one of the children would be more than we could bear. However, I believe that it’s very important for Tab to learn as much as possible about his heritage, and the people he comes from. I ask that you share with us as much as you can about your people so that we can pass that knowledge on to him as he gets older.”

  “You are as generous as you are brave, Princess Salene Dracon,” Nia said. “We would be pleased and honored to help you with your request.”

  “Thank you,” Salene said, bowing to Nia. “By the way, I understand now why you called me Firehair, but I still don’t know what Jakitu means.”

  “Happily, it is now acceptable for me to tell you that in our language, jakitu means key.”

  Salene smiled. “I like that. We would never have found a way into that silo without detonating those bombs without Jinjie. I doubt we’d have broken through the Doftles’ data encryption and downloaded those files, either.”

  “Just so,” Nia said, returning the smile. “I do wish I could remain longer, but I’m afraid my energy is at an end.”

  “We will find the other silos, Nia,” Salene said. “We won’t stop searching until we do.”

  “I thank you,” Nia said with obvious relief. “May the Light shine upon you.”

  “May the Light shone upon you as well, Lady Nomad,” Tesse replied.

  Chapter 16

  Kar sat with Tab in his lap after breakfast the following morning, patiently teaching him how to tie his boots. Salene sat with Mali a few feet away, teaching her how to braid her hair. They’d all slept well the night before, had a long, leisurely breakfast together, and were relaxing in the knowledge that they didn’t have anything to do for a change.

  They’d managed, barely, to get everything set up and all of the people from the silo under shelter before the storm hit, though a large share of the credit for that went directly to Captain Royce. He’d gotten Jon to send up images of the clearing they’d chosen as their campsite, then had some of the crew create their ceiling on board the Aegl using special tools to attach the thermal sheets together, and cut holes for rope. All they had to do was tie it to the trees after the shelters were set up. Now they had nothing to do other than wait for the Jasani ships to arrive, and they were taking advantage of the respite.

  A sudden chorus of screams broke the peaceful silence and galvanized all of them. “Jinjie, please stay with the children,” Salene said, leaping to her feet. She grabbed her weapons vest and pulled it on, glad that she’d gotten so used to wearing weapons that she was already wearing her holster and arm sheath. She watched the Gryphons scrambled out through the small entryway as quickly as they could, Tonka right at their heels as she zipped up her vest. “Protect them for me, Jinjie.”

  “Do be not worry,” Jinjie said, orange sparks already flashing around him as he waved his arms in the air. The moment Salene left the tree, he placed a transparent shield over the entrance that would prevent anyone from entering, yet still allow him to look out so he could monitor the situation.

  The Gryphons took one look at the cloud of hybrids descending on the grove, and shifted. They launched themselves into the air while Salene ran along the river behind Tonka, drawing on the power of the dragon bond. She watched as Talus flew above a hybrid with a humanoid face, stretched out his rear legs and slashed at the thing with his leonine claws, severing one wing. The creature sh
rieked loudly as it spiraled toward the ground, but Talus was already facing off with his next opponent. Tonka raced toward the wounded hybrid and dispatched it quickly before leaping across the river to help the men from the silo as they fought to keep the things away from the women and children with nothing more than sticks and their bare hands.

  Salene watched as Jon used his eagle talons to grab one hybrid by the wings, then used his beak to snap its neck. It went limp and he released it, then turned to face another one that was rushing up behind him. But as fast as they dispatched the hybrids, more arrived to take their places. Salene realized she was moving faster than should have been possible and looked down to find that she was several feet off the ground and once again covered in golden scales. The snapping and crackling sound told her that her hair appeared to be on fire, but she ignored that, concentrating all of her will on rising up over the grove of trees where her men now fought, a spinning sai in each hand.

  She entered the fray without a moment’s hesitation, surprised to find that her smaller, human form gave her an advantage over the hybrids. Unlike them, she didn’t need wings to stay in the air, and could maneuver in ways that weren’t limited by the laws of aerodynamics. She had only to think clearly of where she wanted to be, and her body just went there. She slashed at the creatures that came within her reach, and glared lasers at those that were further away.

  A sudden screech from Jon caught her attention and she spun around, shocked to see his claws slice at a blue creature from above without causing it the slightest harm. It was the blue color that told her why his claws hadn’t so much as scratched it. She slapped one of the sai into a loop on her belt, then drew a Kunian steel knife and threw it all in one motion. It cut right through the hybrid’s back and out its front, taking its heart with it. She drew another knife and turned around, searching for more of the blue hybrids that, thanks to her Kunian steel knives, only she could kill. She found and dispatched three more of the things, blessing Aisling Gryphon each time, and then saw no more.

  In fact, she realized as she looked around, they’d managed to kill all but a few of the hybrids, and those were hanging back warily, circling the grove at a safe distance. It surprised her that the four of them had been able to kill so many hybrids until she realized that most of them had probably never even been outside of their tanks until now. They had no experience living, let alone fighting.

  She looked into the distance and her heart sank as she saw another cloud of the things heading toward them. There had to be at least a hundred of them. With only four of them to fight them off, experience would soon cease to be a factor.

  She watched the cloud of hybrids while the gryphons flew around her above the grove, wishing she could think of a way to keep them away. She glared at the first two hybrids to reach the grove. Red lasers shot from her eyes, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. She turned around and did the same to another, and another before she realized that her strength was waning. The lasers from her eyes grew thin and she noticed that she’d lost some of the golden scales that covered her in a protective layer. She drew more knives and decided not to use the lasers again so that she could stay in the air longer.

  She spotted two blue hybrids, and moved toward them. When they were within her throwing range, she threw both knives at once, taking both of them down. She didn’t see any more blue hybrids, so she reached for her hand lasers instead, not wanting to waste the knives on the hybrids that could be more easily killed. She was looking for her next opponent when she suddenly heard a familiar voice from somewhere behind her.

  “Guard the people in the grove!” Salene spun around and smiled as she watched Nica fly up over the grove on enormous blue wings. A squawk from Talus warned her to duck just in time to avoid the talons of a hybrid that had swooped down on her while she wasn’t paying attention. She glared at it, using her laser sight without thinking, and it fell to the ground, still in one piece. She started to go down to finish it off, but spotted Tonka racing toward it in a silver streak and left him to it. Then she heard Nica’s voice again and her heart swelled as it filled with hope just as something struck the back of her head.

  “I am Rani de Alara, Queen of the Winged Creatures, Ruler of the Skies, Heir to the Throne of Clouds,” Nica declared in a booming voice. “All unborn creatures, hear me now! I command you to return from whence you came and take no more lives. Depart now and never return!”

  A high pitched chorus of shrieks and wails filled the air as the hybrids were forced to obey her commands even though they fought it as hard as they could. Nica remained in the sky over the grove, watching to be sure none of them managed the impossible and disobeyed her. When she was certain that the creatures would not return, she was surprised to find herself alone. She looked around for the Gryphons and Salene, but didn’t see them anywhere. Frowning, she glanced back at the retreating horde. She wanted to find Salene and ask her how she managed to fly without wings, why she had golden scales, and why her head was wreathed in flames. There was a story there and she was looking forward to hearing it. But her curiosity would have to wait until there were no more of those disgusting creatures in sight.

  ***

  Mali screamed. It was sudden, unexpected, and came from somewhere deep inside of her, making the sound far more than the thin scream of a child. “Let me out Jinjie! Let me out!” she yelled as she began pounding her fists against the invisible barrier preventing her from leaving the tree.

  Jinjie hesitated. Mali’s fear and panic were very real, but he didn’t know the reason for it. He could see that the creatures were no longer flying over the grove on the other side of the river, but he didn’t understand why they’d left. He’d promised Salene that he’d keep the children safe and since he didn’t know what had happened, he didn’t know if it was safe out there yet or not.

  Mali turned to face Jinjie, tears streaming down her cheeks. “She’s going to die if I don’t help her, Jinjie! Let me out, please,” she begged. Jinjie didn’t need to wonder who Mali was talking about. He immediately waved his hands, removing the barrier. The moment it was gone, Mali raced out of the tree as fast as her little legs could carry her.

  Talus was nearly frantic with fear. Just as Nica ordered the hybrids away, he’d seen one of them hit Salene from behind. It had been a glancing blow, causing no external injury that he could see, but it had been hard enough to knock her unconscious. He’d raced toward her, getting his gryphon beneath her plummeting body just before she crashed into the trees below. He coasted gently to the ground at the edge of the grove, then landed as carefully as possible. Jon had seen the hybrid hit Salene too and was already waiting on the ground in his human form to lift her off of Talus’s back. Talus shifted and watched as Jon laid Salene on the ground while Kar landed behind him. Then the three of them knelt around her.

  “She’s barely breathing,” Kar whispered, stroking an arm which was no longer covered in protective scales. “What do we do, Talus?”

  “I don’t know,” Talus admitted, his heart racing with fear and uncertainty. A small golden ball of light materialized above Salene, coalescing into the form of a small dragon. Talus bit his tongue to stop himself from peppering Wolef with questions when he was obviously focused intently on Salene. After a few moments that seemed to drag on forever, Wolef looked up, meeting Talus’s gaze.

  “This is bad, Talus Gryphon,” he said. “Her neck is broken.”

  “You can’t help her?” Talus asked.

  “Even when I lived I had no talent for healing, and I have no powers at all now. She needs a Healer.”

  “One is being transported down now,” an unfamiliar male voice said from a short distance away. The Gryphons tensed as they looked up at the man, then relaxed a little when they recognized him as Nica’s husband, though they didn’t know him.

  “We thank you, Ian Fadden,” Talus said, surprising himself when he was able to drag the man’s name out of his memory. “Who is it, if I might ask?”

&nbs
p; “It’s me, Talus,” a familiar voice said. They all looked up again as a young woman that they hadn’t seen in several years hurried toward them.

  “I’m glad to see you, Princess Kapia, but I fear Salene’s injuries may be beyond your powers,” Kar said.

  “Why do you say that?” Kapia asked, glancing curiously at the golden dragon as she knelt on the ground beside Talus.

  “This is Wolef, Kapia,” Talus said, not bothering with formal introductions. “He has a power bond with Salene and just told us that her neck is broken.”

  “Damn,” Kapia said softly as she reached for Salene’s hands, ignoring the dragon’s intense stare.

  “Your powers would heal Salene enough to save her life if given enough time, Healer Princess,” Wolef said, surprising her. “But you do not have that time. Her life force is fading quickly.”

  “I have to try,” Kapia said, then looked up at Talus. “There’s a little girl on the other side of the river calling for you.” Then she closed her eyes and cleared her mind the way the Tigrens had taught her.

  Talus watched Kapia for a moment, then got to his feet and turned to see Mali standing waist deep in the river, screaming his name. He didn’t want to leave Salene, but he was afraid Mali would try to cross the river on her own if he didn’t go to her, and considering the limited life she’d lived, he was certain she didn’t know how to swim. He shifted quickly, then leapt into the air, his powerful wings stretching out. It took just a few moments to reach the far side of the river. By the time he landed, Mali was already out of the water and running toward him. He stretched one wing out and she ran up it without hesitation, then grabbed a fistful of the thick mane around his neck.