Elana raised a tired grin. “I’ll grant that it may be an unnecessary risk. I’m not so certain which is more foolish.”
With a chuckle, Diana agreed. “Let’s try over there, behind the reef, shall we?”
The early rest drew gratitude from every inch of their stiffened bodies. That, combined with the cold meat provisions and warmed toes from the compact heater, almost made them forget the rubble beneath them.
As the wind started to rise, Di’nay invited her nearer, and Elana admitted that they had chosen their nook rather well. At least the wind was well deflected.
They were literally dug into a natural cleft in the reef mountain that offered a wind break. The heater was pushed into the loose rock, a bit more secure than their packs. They sat back into the slope with the thermal blankets wrapped around them making a toasty cocoon. Diana had dug deep into the rubble, creating a form-fitting, if rather tenacious chair for them. As uncomfortable as the seating was, the view was more inspiring.
Above them the last of the overcast clouds had scattered and the clear black void of space was speckled with stars so vividly near that the red and blue tints of some were visible. The towering silhouettes of the rocky spirals ascended and met with the velvet dome — pillars holding a cathedral ceiling high.
“Where is your home?” Elana asked quietly. The peace of this evening was not something to be broken lightly.
“You can’t see her from here,” Diana said just as softly. She liked the feel of this woman cradled back against her body. She was undeniably in love. There was no other explanation for feeling quite so contented in such an impossible environment.
“Is it so far away?” The soft, curious voice called Diana back from her musings.
“Yes, and it’s in the wrong direction.”
“Nehna?”
Diana smiled at the Sororian. At Elana’s insistence, she begrudgingly tutored her during their snowy retreat. “The nearest star cluster is only visible from your southern hemisphere. But even that marks only about the half-way point.”
“Ann…” Careful, but secure in Di’nay’s grasp, Elana turned, seeking Di’nay’s face as she teased, “…you really are a Southerner?”
She had never thought of it that way. Diana asked, “Are you insulted?”
“Certainly not.” Elana feigned disgust and settled back. Then after a moment she asked, “Is the disputed galactic border visible from here?”
“Yes.” Diana’s voice took on a somber tone. Her finger reached to trace a white haze on the black velvet and her head bent near to Elana’s as she sighted for her. “That ribbon… that looks like a faint cloud. That’s it.”
“Is it as close as it seems?”
“Closer.” Diana thought, Goddess, Garrison — don’t you dare be dead!
“Are your Sisters far enough away to survive, if this brings war?” Elana asked, hoping Di’nay would have a safe haven.
“Possibly… probably. Many things would become uncertain.”
Elana nodded. She knew from her Keep’s studies that on Aggar the ramifications of war were eventually felt world-wide, although it might take generations. So much was interwoven. It would be the same across a galaxy as well.
“I would not leave here. My ship — the transport I would have to take — would never escape this quadrant safely, if war came.”
Elana’s heart thumped at that deadly forewarning. Slowly she shook her head. “I will send you home before war comes, Di’nay. This I promise.”
“By the time we know, Darling, it will be too late.”
The arms about Elana hugged her more tightly for a moment. But she again shook her head. “No, Di’nay, it will not be.”
The Council had forbidden this disclosure, yet her allegiance, as Shadowmate, as lover — was not just to the Council but to this woman as well. “This pilot, Garrison, carries information regarding an assassination plot, Di’nay.”
The figure behind her tensed.
“Your Imperial Chairman is to be the target. The Seers projected there is at least six of your Terran months before the attempt. The Seers could not tell exactly where or when the attempt would be made. The Council took that as a sign that — that an overland rescue would be the best response.”
Reasonable, Diana granted. Much could happen in six months — no, five now. Plans changed. Spies were uncovered… the Chairman might be disposed of anyway. It would have risked too much to reveal such a vague threat to Thomas. The resulting military search for Garrison would have near destroyed Aggar’s tentative autonomy — still, if the planet disintegrated, what use was independence?
“Thank you for telling me,” Diana said finally, and consciously she released the tension from her body. She had always known there was urgency in this mission. It was almost like a reprieve to be given a realistic deadline of five months. Deadline… the ironic smile never got to her lips; it was a poor choice of words.
“I am sorry,” Elana murmured in Sororian. Di’nay’s amarin had become too indistinct for her to decipher.
“For what?”
“For not speaking sooner.”
“It was the Council’s decision not to tell Thomas, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Wise move,” Diana admitted. “He would have summoned starblasters at the mere mention of the Chairman’s involvement.”
“Then you understand why he must not know now.”
Diana nodded and tightened her embrace. Her lips brushed the bared neck, and she whispered, “And I find no grudge to hold.”
Elana laughed with relief. “You seldom do, I think.”
“Then why are you always so fearful?” Diana teased, but with a real interest.
That stilled her laughter with an emotional pain that was very real.
“Tell me?” Diana urged, sensitive to the fluttering that closed those bright eyes and quieted Elana’s body.
“When I send you back there,” Elana nodded toward the twinkling silver speck above, “I want you to have only the most beautiful of memories to take. And if I can keep you from discovering I’m human, perhaps you have a chance.”
Yes, you will send me away, Diana thought, and what will you remember of me, dearest Elana? Will you remember my hands are easily cold with my alien blood? Or that I’m your elder by more than a decade and was blinded by your youth for too long? Or will you remember how my hands warmed against your body? — How soft the whiteness of my skin is against your deepening color? Will you remember our passion until another — a man? — is sent to your charge and you are touched again…?
I do not want you to forget, Diana thought and clasped Elana nearer, burying her face against the warm, soft skin of her neck. The woman arched as Diana’s tongue traced the curve of bone, her hands spreading wide where they molded about the tunic-clad ribs.
The gravel beneath them shifted and Elana gave a startled shout. Rock and she so seldom got along.
A chuckle started deep as Diana recognized the riskiness of her intentions. “We’re going to kill ourselves, aren’t we?”
Elana began giggling at the same realization. She grabbed Di’nay’s arms as their laughter moved them again.
“I’ve got you!” Diana said, only somewhat reassuring.
Elana gasped, leaning back into Diana’s body. “You — I trust! But not this bed!”
† † †
Chapter Six
“It doesn’t look much more fun than what we’ve been through,” Diana noted.
They were again standing in the pass overlooking the wastelands. The beige sandstone plain stretched monotonously north, a shimmering, glaring white further out that ended against a thin line of black. In the west, there were faint hues of orange and rust as the land began to break up into bluffs. Neither direction looked very inviting. “The fastest route is the straightest.” Elana pointed to the faint black strip of the Maltar’s lands. “It’s roughly three-and-a-half days across.”
“Is there water?”
She nodded tossing her braid over her shoulder. “A little… this far east it’s always uncertain. The trail along the reef’s edge is well marked. It has a few shelters and some of the mountain run-offs, but it is scouted by the Maltar’s troops just as a matter of course. We’d have to be extremely careful not to be seen.
“West — it is a day-and-half to the bluffs. Many of the canyons can be followed the width of the plateau then. The Council has friends among the lone dwellers. They might have news of the Maltar’s doings. By that route we would eventually have to double-back east — on this side of the river or in Maltar — if Tartuk’s information is still correct and the Maltar is at the Priory.” Elana hesitated a moment before adding, “You should know, the Changlings roam in the west. But most likely they’ve migrated toward the sea by this time, in preparation for winter.”
Diana looked at her curiously. “Your father mentioned the Changlings. He does business with them, doesn’t he?”
“The Council often needs their help and they need weapons, so my father becomes a natural mediator. They’re not quite human. And they are mercenaries — although not particularly trustworthy ones. They have a tendency to sell information to any and all bidders. Tartuk would be considered saintly in comparison.”
“Charming.” Diana nodded ahead. “You have a preference?”
“If you believe your Garrison-pilot is still at the Priory, then I’d suggest cutting across the plateau.”
“Do you think he’s there?”
She shrugged. “I do not know. I am not a Seer.”
“A wager?” Diana’s dark eyes swept the dusty horizon. Hadn’t she just been complaining about rain a few ten-day back? “What are the odds that Tartuk’s friends would be following the eastern edge, if they were not going to the Priory?”
“Their route is the safer. Also once across the river they could make up a lot of time, if they have horses waiting. And they would not have the dangers of the Changlings’ scouts in Maltar’s country. They could ride openly and safely. Still…”
“Still,” Diana continued, “marching straight across would save them precious time, and they would not be threatened by the Changlings, if they crossed the river before turning west again. But it seems odd that the patrol was sent all the way out here to meet the two from Colmar unless it was to update their instructions.”
“Perhaps someone from Black Falls — the owner of that dead hawk Papa spoke of? Perhaps they found Tartuk’s body?”
“Perhaps.”
Elana looked at Di’nay. “If it were your prisoner, would you move him?”
“Not particularly — not unless I knew someone was coming. But then, if I was expecting only one or two, I’d be more apt to set a trap and use him for bait.”
Elana felt her throat tighten. She had not thought of that possibility. It made her feel vulnerable to be so bound by her limitations when the stakes were so high.
“What would you do?” Di’nay turned to her again. “You know more of this Maltar than I do. What would you expect him to do?”
“I do not know,” she repeated, nervously.
Diana’s gaze narrowed. “What’s wrong, Elana?”
“Nothing. Why do you ask?”
“Your hunches have been well played so far,” Diana said. “The river trail, their rendezvous in Colmar… tracking Tartuk. Yet now?”
“Those were not hunches,” Elana corrected her, matter-of-factly. “I read their signs and deciphered their amarin. As for Tartuk? I was following you, and they assumed you’d be following them. I merely ran into him first.”
“You anticipated him well.”
“No, I was being protectively cautious. I was covering the possibility that they would send someone back after you. I check and double-check because I do not double-guess my adversaries very well. It is something the Mistress taught me to do a long time ago. With luck, it will be enough to keep us alive.” For an instant, her eyes caught Di’nay’s. “I am an excellent guide, Diana n’Athena, but you would not enjoy a game of strategy with me… it would grow tedious with my clumsiness.”
A hand brushed a wisp of hair from her cheek. “I’ve not found you clumsy. Perhaps you give yourself too little credit?”
Elana smiled softly before she shook her head. “My talents lie in many directions, but of the Maltar’s plans — I have no inkling. The Blue Sight is notorious for its advantages and less renowned for its drawbacks. I can decipher cloudy amarin, anticipate imminent movement, and confound with illusion — but to unravel the scheming designs of men? That I rarely do well.”
Diana’s lips twisted cynically. “Whether fortunate or not, I seem to do that well enough. I suspect it’s bred from a lack of trust.”
“Because you are an Amazon? I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Then more seriously she asked, “Which way, Di’nay?”
“Across.” Diana pointed into the sandy emptiness below. “I’ll gamble this troop commander is a weary old career man who is trudging over the standard route. If any of them suspect Tartuk failed and the Southern Trader is following, then a bit of a detour will be to our advantage.”
† † †
The trail beneath their feet was firmer and less treacherous in the descent. Diana was still sliding a half-step here and there, but at least there was more solid ground beneath the gravel. The leagues steadily passed under them.
Rounding a bend, Diana called a halt. The path had twisted sharply into towering reefs, but below it angled back in a narrow ledge, finally dropping to the plateau. She glanced at the sun with satisfaction; it wasn’t even mid-morning. They had made good time.
Elana offered her a waterskin, warning, “We need to be careful now. There will be one or two waterholes on our path, but they may be dry or polluted.”
Diana returned the water after a single sip. “I don’t know if your Council’s records have it or not, but you should know — we Terran-types do very poorly after about three days without water.”
“Yes, I know that.” Elana laced the bag to her hip. “I won’t let you die of thirst.”
“I don’t expect you would.”
A wisp of breeze stirred the air. Puzzled, Elana turned to the path ahead of them. An odd breeze, she thought, her blue gaze searching, but the rock hid much. There were a few small creatures and a nest or two, but nothing seemed out of place.
“What do you see?” Diana asked quietly.
“I don’t know.” Elana looked above and then behind them. Perhaps a bird somewhere was hunting? But she should have been able to Sight that. “It’s nothing….”
Diana watched her carefully. The woman’s tone was too cautious for ‘nothing.’
Elana moved down the trail. “I don’t understand? It’s different. But….”
“But?”
“There is nothing.” Her blue gaze swung back to Di’nay. The Amazon stood, wary but patient. Her amarin’s undertones of tenderness, respect — the passion — were all there — the woman she knew.
But this other… thing that was not? Elana studied the rock wall beside them, the crevice below… everything was there, yet… dormant? “There is… an emptiness.”
Diana watched Elana struggle for words. The back of her neck prickled.
“Perhaps it is just the wastelands,” Elana murmured, her gaze returning to that endless stretch of barrenness. “I’ve never actually stood beside a desert.” But there was very little conviction in her voice. Diana’s gloved hand silently drew her sword. Her shoulders flexed beneath the pack and long bow, shifting in preparation — gaining mobility.
Elana pulled her crossbow free, snapping the twin bows into place.
“There is only one way down,” Diana muttered grimly.
“It may truly be nothing.”
“Then it will be nothing,” Diana said quietly, stepping forward to take the lead.
“I am here to protect you!” Elana tried to stop her.
“Then protect my back!” Diana retorted and pushed past.
She was irritated, but Elana clamped it down firmly.
Their march was silent and tense. Diana’s own senses grew uneasy with the passing of time, but Elana could only shake her head in puzzlement. There was still nothing specific to be named and so they went on.
The three came suddenly. Hoarse war cries rang as the soldiers sprang from the rocks above, jumping recklessly with knives drawn. The first finished his leap on Diana’s blade. She slammed another into the cliff wall with her shoulder.
The crossbow swung like a club into the third giant, but Elana’s footing slipped. She dropped the weapon and tumbled beneath his bulk, twisting his elbow as they fell. His knife folded between them, steel flat against her hand, and they rolled. Her glove slit as it guided the blade into his breast and his own weight pushed it deep.
Diana gasped as a knife’s hilt pummeled into her shoulder blade. The soldier arched against the stone, using the leverage, and they both went to the ground. Her knife flew free from a solid punch to her wrist as her other hand deflected a downward thrust. Diana twisted, her leg locking about the man’s knees as she sought to gain the top. Rubble gave way and suddenly their roll became a somersault.
A scream pierced the air as Elana grabbed and missed. A sharp crack rang up and echoed out into the steep canyon below as Di’nay’s long bow broke with the impact. The soldier died when the two hit the bottom of the pit, his neck broken.
“Out! Get out!”
Diana blinked, disoriented. Her head cleared enough to let her feel the pain in her shoulder as it bathed everything in white. For an instant she lay stunned, gritting her teeth — fighting back unconsciousness. Something moved near her ear.
Her eyes flew open as Elana’s voice penetrated the fog. “Climb! Di’nay! It is a cucarii nest! Climb!”
The adrenaline pumped as she heaved the soldier’s body from her waist and scrambled to her feet. Her head was spinning, but she grabbed for rock and climbed toward that voice.
Shadows of Aggar (Amazons of Aggar) Page 27
