Erynn reacted. Energy danced off her fingers as she tossed a mild charge soaring toward the back of Whill’s head.
His hair rose and fanned with the static. He smoothed the flying strands down and turned, tilting his head to hide his smirk. Whill waved to the crew. “Stand by,” he stated in a loud voice. He moved toward the back wall, searching between and behind the staggered transports. “Erynn? Is that you?” Whill whispered. He frowned, hesitated, and slowed to a cautious approach, glancing around the bay before turning back to the troop carriers. “Where are you? Cale told me to expect you.” His eyes narrowed. He stood less than a meter in front of Erynn and Nev, facing a few degrees off their location. “And that you might get my attention in a less than customary way.”
“We—I’m here, Whill.”
His head snapped around to the sound of Erynn’s voice, locating their position. He moved deeper into the shadows. “Where? I can’t see you.”
“That’s okay. Probably better you don’t see us—me.”
Whill nodded and relaxed, glancing back out to the bay. “How can I help?”
Nev squeezed her fingers and mouthed, “Ask if any transports are missing.”
“Can you tell me—are there any transports missing?”
“You think someone has taken one of my transports?” Whill stiffened, his head shaking in denial. He half turned and surveyed the bay. “No. I would have known.” He twisted back. “With all that’s happened, security is tight. Who do you think would—” Whill’s eyes widened. “Dhoran. You believe Dhoran might have taken a transport?” His expression changed, like a man deep in thought, trying to process a difficult equation, attempting to work out an incredible possibility. Whill’s eyes cleared and he nodded, a slow, deliberate rising and lowering of his head. “I can check and make sure, but no, I don’t believe any transports are missing.”
Erynn glanced at Nev and then back to Whill. “Could you get me a transport?”
Whill rubbed long fingers over the white stubble of his gaunt pink cheeks. The lines around his gray eyes and mouth deepened. “I can’t justify releasing a transport without a very good reason, and General Gaden has the final word. As for trying to sneak one out . . .” He faced the busy bay, teeming with security officers. “I don’t see how.”
“What about later, after dark?” Erynn asked eagerly.
Nev tugged on Erynn’s hand. “Time,” he whispered.
Whill shook his head, long gray hair spilling over his shoulders. “There’s been a curfew initiated—a total lockdown of the base.”
Erynn snorted softly. “Kinda late. I mean, Dhoran’s already escaped.”
Whill scowled. “Escaped? You’re sure, then?” His square jaw tightened. “Never mind. Something better left unsaid. For now.” He moved farther into the shadows and lowered his voice. “I believe it has more to do with keeping certain people out. Since Cale’s disappearance, several outsiders have arrived, on General Gaden’s request.” Whill chuffed. “More like ordered.” He sighed. “This base is no longer a secret. Just moments ago, a group from halfway around Arranon showed up—more of the general’s guests.”
“What’s that about?” Erynn asked. Icy fingers wrapped her in a cold grasp and she shivered.
Nev stiffened. “Dhoran’s followers.” He exhaled. Fine particles of ice drifted in a light mist.
“I don’t know—other than Gaden is up to no good.” Whill glared at Erynn without seeing her. “But Cale said we should expect trouble.”
“I understand.” She took in a breath. A question had to be asked, difficult as it was. “Jaer’s family?” The words shuddered out, barely a whisper.
Whill nodded. “I was advised. They’re not due for several days.” He glanced behind him again. “You haven’t much time, Erynn.”
“Aven,” Erynn murmured. “He’s buying me some time.”
“It’s all about time,” Nev agreed.
Erynn nodded. “Okay. We—I need to leave the base. We’re—I’m going after Dhoran. Can you help?”
“I can supply survival gear, but no transportation. I’ll do my best to slip you out the access tunnel unnoticed.” Whill held his hands palms up as if in an offering to Erynn. “That’s the best I can give you.”
“I’ll take it. That’ll be enough.” Erynn gazed up into Whill’s sad gray eyes. “Thanks.” She would have to tell Whill about Nev. They both needed gear.
“Stay here and be ready. I’ll stall the troop’s deployment. They’ll never find Cale anyway. He’s long gone,” Whill stated with satisfaction, a ruthless grin catching at his lips. “Give me twenty timnents. I’ll have the gear you need in packs just inside the tunnel entrance. Before the troops exit the tunnel to the outside, I’ll open the interior door and unlock the exterior. You can sneak out then. You’ll have to hurry. Once they get outside, they’ll be searching for anything with a heat signature that moves.” Whill glanced at the troops and shook his head. He faced the wall, scanning the shadows. “Good luck, and be careful, Erynn . . . and you, too, Nev.”
Erynn gasped. “Wait, how did you—”
“Cale told me . . . things. See both of you soon.” Whill turned away without looking back and disappeared among the transports, security, and crews in the bay.
Erynn and Nev settled in to wait, staying in a crouch behind the last vehicle, watching the flurry of activity in front of them. The tunnel access was only meters away, on their right, but two security officers, standing alert at each side of the locked panel, guarded it.
“Wait.” Nev tugged Erynn’s hand, turning her to face him. “Why do you think I can see you, and you me, when no one else can?”
Erynn frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe because we’re connected?”
“Hmmm. Maybe.” Nev’s deep voice carried in the shadows beside her. His gaze shifted to Whill. “You have good friends, Erynn—people who respect and honor you.”
His hand was warm in hers. She felt the soft skin of his palm, not Dhoran’s cool, smooth scales. “They’re doing this for both of us.” Erynn’s frown faded and a small smile lifted her lips. “Aynn, Cace’s mom, is very concerned about you.”
Nev shifted his position, his fingers turning a button on his jacket pocket. He cleared his throat, the sound more like a grunt. “What . . . uhhh . . . what did she say? I mean how . . . When did you talk to her? Is she okay?”
Erynn nodded. “Other than being afraid, Aynn’s fine. She cares about you, too. I could tell. She’ll be in Glaskra after we . . .” Erynn stared up at Nev, frowned, and sighed. “What will we do when—if we catch up with Dhoran? Is there a way to kill him so he doesn’t return, and without hurting his current host body?”
Nev leaned forward, getting his legs under him. “Yes. There is. But we can talk about that later. It’s complicated. Besides, something’s happening. Look.”
Transport bay personnel led the security troops back out into the main tunnel, handing them survival suits as they passed into the corridor and disappeared. One of the support crew shouted as they ambled out, “Go pick up ration packs from food service and come back to the bay. The transports will be ready by the time you return.”
Not a moment after the last trooper disappeared down the corridor, from across the bay and to the right, a woman yelled, “I told you the stabilizers were shot.” Her face reddened, eyes pinched. “Why didn’t you replace them while the tracks were off? Now we have to start all over again.”
A man spun on her. “You said put it back together. ASAP.” His shouted words relayed his frustration. “I followed your orders.”
Erynn pushed back into the shadows against the stone wall with a clear view of the exit. Her heartbeat picked up speed. Fear and exhilaration surged through her. “Be ready,” she whispered.
They could no longer see the commotion toward the left of the bay from their position, but they heard. More loud voices joined the first two. Tools were dropped. The clang of metal on stone rang over shouts and curses.
The two o
fficers guarding the access started forward, stopped, and glanced at each other.
A young man approached at a run. “Are you just going to stand there?” His gaze swept from one officer to the other. “You’re security, aren’t you? No one else is here. Do something before this gets ugly.”
That was all it took. The security officers dashed off, the young man following at a safe distance. Before he’d passed the transports, he turned, smiled, and winked in Erynn and Nev’s direction.
Whill reappeared carrying packs and survival suits. He unlocked and opened the access to the outer tunnel and tossed the gear inside before hurrying away.
“Let’s go.” Erynn stood up and tugged Nev with her.
He didn’t need encouragement. Nev was soon leading her through the access and into the wide transport tunnel. Nev dropped her hand and bent to grab both packs. Erynn took the survival suits, and they ran into a blackness that seemed to possess mass.
Erynn’s fingers trailed the rough rock wall for guidance as she trotted forward in pitch black. She sensed Nev’s presence right beside her, warmth radiating from him.
Darkness closed in, setting her imagination spinning. She hurried ahead, putting distance between them.
Have I set Dhoran free?
Erynn shivered, her breath coming in shuddering gasps.
Nev’s footsteps slowed and halted. “I won’t hurt you, Erynn. Besides, if I was Dhoran, leaving would not be my intention. Those strangers gathering at Gaden’s invitation are Dhoran’s followers. Gaden believes this is the end to his hiding behind a mask of compliance to Cale’s rule. He is taking action—getting ready.” He hesitated and breathed out through pursed lips. “He planned to deliver you to Dhoran.”
Erynn stopped and spun on Nev. He maintained a slight distance from her. She sensed his presence, a darker shape in the black of the tunnel. Her heart jumped, pounding against ribs and tensed muscles. “What about Jaer and Cace and Tam and . . . all the others? Are they safe?” She leaned against the moist, icy rock. Her world seemed to be collapsing. Gaden had conspired against her, intending to hand her over to Dhoran. The majority of the base thought her crazy. They wouldn’t believe her story about Dhoran’s escape. She couldn’t see Jaer—wasn’t even allowed near him. She had to believe friends would keep Jaer safe.
Nev whispered in the dark, “We have to trust that Cale’s plans are already in motion. Come on, let’s go. We have our own problems. We have to stay focused.”
She depressed the controls on the power pad, and the access ground across wide tracks, opening slowly. An icy wind whipped through the growing gap, chilling Erynn’s cheeks. Late morning sunlight, cold and biting, streamed inside the dark tunnel. Erynn blinked and turned away from the brightness.
Nev held his hand over his face, shading his eyes. He breathed deeply.
“We should put on the survival suits.” Erynn sorted the suits she carried, handing the larger to Nev. She stepped into hers, zipped the front, and pushed her arms into the heavy hooded jacket. Then she secured one of the packs over her shoulders. Nev finished as she did and they slipped out into fresh forest-scented air and a brilliant day.
Erynn depressed the control to close the access. She watched the panel seal with an all too familiar sense of finality. This time it wasn’t her life at risk—it was Jaer’s. And again, the survival of Arranon was at stake.
Chapter 14
CALE SNARLED HIS FRUSTRATION INTO the confines of the cockpit, rage and pain expressed in a single intelligible word—“Why”? He slammed his gloved fist against the Interceptor’s instrument panel. Lights blinked and then steadied to a constant glow of yellow, red, green, and blue. His decision to leave the base had been the most difficult in his life with the exception of just one other. Both equally disturbing to Cale’s ethical and personal standards, he understood—on a deeper level—that the previous solution, too, had been the only choice. Many years ago, Zander’s fantastic proposal set them and their worlds on a collision course with a future forever changed by what they’d done.
He stared out the thick panel at the quickly passing land below. Dark shadows stirred beneath the wind-tossed forest. Treetops swayed, flashing past under Cale’s speeding Interceptor in the race to Glaskra. The rising sun colored the woodland canopy in a pale-pink blush. He took no pleasure from the world’s exquisite beauty. His only objective, the one thought pressing on his mind—get his people out of danger. Cale’s apprehension over the fate of those left on the base pierced his soul with a grief as real as if he’d been stabbed.
Cale whispered through gritted teeth, “Jaer. Aven will get his brother home— alive.” He shook his head, voice rising. “How could I allow this to go so far? I grew complacent, careless in the belief all was well. Why did the warnings come too late?” Cale’s jaw tightened. He glanced at his directional screen, adjusting his course. “Well, thankfully, not all of them did.”
Huairs before his escape, a relentless and terrifying vision had plagued Cale’s waking mind and chased him into dreams when fitful sleep came. He closed his eyes a moment and slowed his breathing, pulling back his anger. Sorrow replaced fury, and his voice wavered. “Had I stayed, many would have suffered and died.” Cale gripped the controls to steady his shaking hands. “Tiar will rescue our people. Whill, Aven, and Roni, with the remaining Anbas, will succeed in this overwhelming task.”
Tiar encouraged Cale and Sean’s hasty departure, having seen a similar frightening prophecy. He would stay—initiate Cale’s plan, set the evacuation in motion, and get everyone away safely.
Again, difficult as it may be, they had no other choice.
Cale glanced back, checking Sean’s position, slightly behind and to the right of his fighter’s wing. Sean hadn’t said a word since the flight began. His opinion was clear—leaving seemed an act of cowardice, of betrayal. Even with his understanding of the vision, Sean resisted. Cale opened to the young man’s emotions, taking in the pain as if he could relieve Sean’s distress.
He couldn’t.
Cale sighed and keyed the mic. “Tell me what’s on your mind, Sean.”
After a brief silence, Sean’s low, seething voice crackled with a metallic resonance. “We shouldn’t have left them. They’re in danger. And we just left them.”
Cale understood. He felt the same. “Sean, I agree. This was a difficult decision to make. The threat would have been worse had we stayed.” He murmured, “You know that.” They flew on in silence. The sky lightened. Vibrant colors—green, gold, and brown—returned to the surface. Stars faded in the orange glow on the horizon.
In the distance, a shaft of brilliant white light shot up from the ground, marking their landing site in Glaskra.
A tinny, female voice sounded in Cale’s helmet speakers. “General Athru, you are clear to begin landing sequence.”
Cale pulled back on the throttle and turned the sleek white fighter in a tight circle. He hovered over the spot indicated, activated a series of switches, and depressed a button on the stick. The Interceptor descended slowly, engines roaring.
Leathan Tal, guardian of the nine mixed-blood children living in Glaskra, stood at the edge of the pad in the bright glow of the aircraft’s landing strobes. His tall frame appeared thinner than the last time Cale had seen him. Eyes shaded by a steady hand, Leathan’s gray hair lifted in the backwash of rushing air from the fighters. He watched the Interceptors settle softly, the roar cutting off to a decelerating whine.
The Interceptor’s metal cooled in the frosty morning air, ticking in an irregular tempo. Cale tossed his helmet on the seat and climbed down the ladder from the cockpit. He turned and trotted to Leathan, Sean in step behind him. “Have you heard anything from the base?”
Leathan nodded, gesturing for Cale and Sean to follow. “Let’s get in my office. I’ll tell you what I know.” He led the way down a narrow spiral staircase. His deep-blue tunic brushed the ancient Comhra symbols carved into the centuries-old gray stone wall. He continued through a wood
and iron door into a compact office.
A fire blazed in the hearth behind a massive desk. Shadows danced in flickering firelight. Tall lamps with a muted amber glow gave the cozy space a comforting appearance. Leathan perched on the edge of the desk, his silver pants reflecting the fire’s radiance. He motioned to two chairs in front of him.
Sean sat, his expression somber, arms crossed. He stared down at the smooth, dark stone floor.
Cale remained standing. He stripped out of his gloves and heavy flight coat, tossing them over the seat. He wanted to pace, to act, to react, but only careful execution of his plan already set in motion and a level head would save his people—his family—on an installation that would all too soon be Gaden’s. They had to move fast, evacuate without raising suspicion, and get Jaer home. Jaer’s safety was the least he could do for Erynn. After all, Cale was to blame, even if only partially, for her present condition. His decision, along with a few others, was the reason Erynn existed.
Leathan poured Arranon oakale brandy into three short glasses, handing one each to Cale and Sean. He tipped his own into his mouth, downing the clear brown liquid in a single swallow. He cleared his throat. “Erynn and Nev have escaped. I don’t know if they’ve made it to Tamaagra yet, but I can tell you they are off the base.” He poured another drink for himself, sipping at the brandy this time.
“And?” Cale nearly shouted.
Leathan looked up from his glass. Deep lines around his hazel eyes and downturned lips etched his face, intensifying his obvious concern. “There’s nothing more I can tell you, Cale—nothing you don’t already know.” He motioned toward Cale’s glass. “Drink. Aven, Tiar, and Roni can handle the evacuation on the base. As for Erynn, we’ll just have to wait to hear from her or Nev. She’s resourceful. You know that better than the rest of us. If there is a way, Erynn will find it.”
Cale stared into the fire. He tipped the glass past his lips, realizing he’d done so only when he felt the burn sliding down his throat. In a trembling voice he whispered, “I couldn’t stay.” He drew his gaze from the fire and met Leathan’s sad eyes. “Not after . . .” Cale sighed and studied his empty glass. “Gaden planned to torture those closest to me. And I’m not even sure why. There was nothing Gaden needed from me, not information or control . . . nothing. Gaden had the power he wanted.” Cale dropped into the seat. “Gaden just wanted to hurt me. How could I have been so blind to his hatred of me?”
Storm of Arranon Allies and Enemies Page 10
