Desert Guardian

by Duvall, Karen

  She scooted a child-sized cot out from beneath a table along the wall and propped it up beside her own cot. She glanced at Lynette, then at Consuela, both of whom gazed at her in wide-eyed amazement. "What is it?" she asked, as she smoothed the canvas on the cot.

  Consuela visibly swallowed, and Lynette asked, "Is that for me?"

  Valya smiled. "Of course it's for you. Don't you want to ride next to Mommy?"

  Lynette bobbed her head, her tiny chest heaving as if her breathing had quickened.

  Valya wondered what was making everyone act so strangely today. They were all about to have the adventure of a lifetime, and they should be leaping for joy.

  "Run along," Valya said with a dismissive flick of her hand. "You both have work to do."

  ****

  Kelly studied the compass in her hand then glanced up, her eyes darting left to right. A brisk wind had started the minute they’d set out looking for Jake, and it blew clouds of sand in front of the Jeep, making it difficult to see.

  "Where is he? We should have found him by now."

  "We'll find him." Sam's gaze skimmed the dashboard before refocusing on the terrain ahead.

  She peered at the temperature gauge on the dash, her heartbeat stuttering when she saw the arrow dip into the warning zone of an overheated engine. "No, not now. Please, not now."

  He gave her a quick glance and patted the steering wheel. "Not to worry. This baby ain't done yet."

  She nodded and again studied the baked landscape of scattered yucca, flying tumbleweeds, and various low-growing cacti. Countless miles of gray and brown sand seemed to ripple in the heat like undulating ribbons. A crisscross of tire tracks marked the route she'd taken earlier, proof they were headed in the right direction. A distant rumble like an engine competed with the roar of escalating wind. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

  "You mean the wind?"

  "No, not that. It sounded more like a motorcycle." She listened again but heard only the whistling wind and the sand clattering against the windshield.

  She expected to find Jake huddled beneath a rock or under a mesquite tree, but there was no sign of him anywhere. If he had veered off in another direction, a possibility Sam had mentioned, they might never find him.

  The Jeep's engine pinged and grunted in protest as they drove up a hill and headed alongside a tall cluster of boulders. Kelly peered into the shadows, keeping an eye out for a filthy, white-robed figure hiding from the wind. When they reached the end of the of rocks, Sam jerked to a stop. He immediately reversed several feet before braking.

  She craned her neck out the window. "Did you see him?"

  "No." Sam's jaw muscles clenched and unclenched. "But I did see the camp. It's about a half mile beyond these rocks."

  "You're kidding."

  He shook his head.

  The engine coughed one last time then went silent.

  He checked his watch. "Good timing."

  Her pulse picked up speed. "Do you think Jake got there ahead of us?"

  Sam cast a squinted gaze into the distance. "No way he could have beat us. He's around somewhere, probably behind us. We'll find him, but we have to get to Lynette first."

  He was right. Lynette's untimely death would be certain if they didn't act now. And though it tore her up to admit defeat, Jake would have to wait a while longer. Her calm acceptance of that fact came as a puzzling surprise, but she welcomed it. It helped reduce her stress.

  With a grunt, Sam swung his good leg out the open door of the Jeep and stood on one foot. Kelly followed him to the outer edge of the natural rock wall hiding them from view.

  The crude assembly of campers and tents stood out against the baked desert floor. A few vehicles sat tireless among them, trunks open and spare tires propped against the sides of cars and trucks. They must have tried to fix the problem Sam had created, then given up. After all, what was the point when they would soon be flying through outer space?

  Sam adjusted the lens on his binoculars. His baritone voice was nearly muted by the wind when he said, "The ritual has started."

  Kelly's shoulders twitched with the need to hurry and get Lynette so they could continue their search for Jake. "I'm guessing everyone will go inside the tents just before the gas is turned on. Is that when we make our move?"

  "Yeah." Still watching through the binoculars, he paused before saying, "Hoses are hooked up to the generators, and the ends of them lead into two of the largest tents, one of them Valya's." He lowered the binoculars. Dirt had settled in the smile creases around his eyes. He looked at her and added, "The rest of the cultists will gather in the second tent."

  She peered off in the direction of the camp. "So we'll shut down the generators before they can run long enough to asphyxiate everyone. Save them all at the same time."

  Sam nodded, his gaze redirected toward the camp.

  Kelly needed a closer look. She grabbed the binoculars from him and studied the crowd in the camp's courtyard. "What's in the cups the sentry is passing around?"

  "Probably Valya's elixir, a standard for all the rituals I remember. Meditation and prayer will follow."

  She watched through swirls of blowing sand as the congregation sipped from their cups. "Having partaken of the witch's brew myself, I know how strong it is. They'll just get dizzy, right? Maybe a little paranoid?" Her own experience had left her confused and frightened.

  He stared at her. "This is a mass suicide, Kelly." His gray eyes darkened, and his mouth pulled down at the corners. "Valya's good at poisoning people."

  She sucked in a breath, remembering his mother's murder. "You mean there could be poison in what they're drinking?"

  "Valya uses morphine to addict her followers. Too much of a good thing in this case would be lethal, but I doubt that's her plan. To her, this whole transmigration thing is as natural as taking a nap. She wouldn't jeopardize it with poison because that would only ruin the experience."

  "How?"

  "Poison would make death too quick, too jarring. She wants it slow and painless, to gently ease away from physical life into the energy essence of life. The gradual buildup of carbon monoxide in the poorly ventilated tents will provide the experience Valya is going for."

  Kelly looked at Sam, studying the blank mask that wiped his face clear of emotion. He was feeling something. Anger? Regret? Grief? It was like steam wafting from his pores. But she understood his need to keep it hidden. He had to hide it, to keep it to himself, or its intensity would destroy him. Denying his emotions helped him function under pressure. She could accept this about him because it was part of who he was. And she could relate because she was much the same way.

  ****

  Valya crumpled the empty cup in her fist. "Drink up, everyone. This is the last time you'll partake of the elixir that frees your mind to embrace Star Mother. You'll feel her caress the moment her envoy takes us all to our true home at the far end of the universe."

  She studied her group of followers, nearly ninety in all, each one relaxing into the euphoria they had come to expect at all rituals. Valya breathed deeply and closed her eyes, feeling the tingling rush of the drug suffuse her senses. "Let us pray."

  The benches lined with white-robed cultists grew silent, and they bowed their heads.

  "Star Mother," she said, her voice rising above the screeching wind that gusted in fits and starts around them. "Grant us safe passage to our utopian home world of Atria, where we will resume the life we had before our Essence was deposited on this planet eons ago. We have learned what you wanted us to learn. We have suffered among the humans, and we have rejoiced in their triumphs and shared in their failures. It is now time for us to return to the bosom of your love and protection. We are thankful for the great comet you have sent us, and for your generous gift of a starship that rides the comet's tail. May we be worthy of your love and devotion until the end of time. Amen."

  "Amen," chorused the crowd.

  She motioned toward the two sentries standing beside her. "Esco
rt everyone to the main tent."

  Both men nodded. They merged with the milling crowd that stood on unsteady feet while being steered toward a large tent at the center of camp.

  Lynette, who had sat with her brothers and sisters in the front row, stood to follow the others.

  Valya clasped the girl's shoulder. "Where are you going, Lynette?"

  "Aren't we all riding to the starship together?"

  Valya cocked her head. "I already have a place for you beside me, remember?"

  Lynette frowned as she watched her nine brothers and sisters disappear into the biggest tent. "But I thought—"

  "This is a special occasion, one that just you and I will share," Valya told her favorite child. She didn't want Lynette out of her sight. She peered uneasily into the sandstorm, feeling a warning prickle at the back of her neck. "Your brothers and sisters understand. They know we'll all be together soon."

  Lynette's round, gray eyes gazed longingly at the tent that now housed the rest of her family. After a few seconds she asked, "Will it hurt?"

  "Will what hurt?"

  "Leaving our bodies to go up to the starship."

  Valya chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. "Of course not. It's just like going to sleep then waking up somewhere new and exciting. We have quite an adventure ahead of us. Now come along and—" She glanced at a damp spot on the ground where Lynette had been sitting. "Sweetheart, did you spill your drink?"

  Lynette blinked. "Just a little. Robbie bumped my arm. It was his fault." Her lower lip trembled.

  Valya blew out a weary sigh. "No matter. I'm sure you had enough. But now we must hurry and strap ourselves in for the trip."

  As she steered the girl toward the royal tent, another damp spot of ground by the benches in the back row brought her up short. Who else had spilled his drink? Her gaze swept the campsite for any stragglers, but she didn't see anyone.

  "Mommy, what's wrong?"

  Valya hesitated, listening to the wailing wind that scattered sand against the tents and sides of the trailers. It sounded a lot like rain. "Nothing's wrong, Lynette." She snatched up the child's hand and led her purposefully toward the black tent.

  ****

  "What are they doing now?" Kelly asked Sam, who held the binoculars.

  "Everyone just went into the main tent," he said, staring hard at the evacuated benches lined in rows in the camp's courtyard. "The sentries led them away. Most of them staggered like they were drunk." And not from alcohol.

  She pulled the binoculars away from him and gazed into his eyes, her expression anxious. "Poison?"

  "No. Just enough morphine to keep everyone happy and tame." A reasonable assumption, considering what he knew about Valya.

  Kelly peered into his eyes as if looking for something. He stared back, saying nothing, keeping his emotions in check. A war went on inside him, a battle between his feelings for her and his need to stay focused on the task at hand. But it was a tough fight. He kept thinking about what would happen when this was over. When she went back to Arizona, what would life be like without her? Just her presence had gladdened his heart and taught him how to freely care for someone and experience what it was like to be cared for in return. How could he exist without that now?

  "Sam?" Her fingers gently massaged his forearm, their pressure hot and soothing. "Are you still angry with me?"

  He blew out a breath, his emotions dangerously close to the surface. "Of course not, but you knew that."

  She grinned, her eyes warm with understanding. "Yeah, I guess I did."

  He smiled back. "It'll be awfully quiet without you around. I think even Cody will miss you."

  She glanced down at the coyote sitting patiently beside Sam. "I don't think so."

  The coyote let out a muffled bark.

  "See?" He crouched down beside the animal. "Cody, my friend, I need you to do me a favor." He grabbed the blanket that had covered Jake and held it out for Cody to sniff. "Smell that? I need you to find him. And when you do, don't let him out of your sight. Understand?"

  Cody buried his nose in the blanket and whined.

  "That's right," he said. "It's Jake. He's lost and he's sick. Find him and protect him."

  The coyote yipped once then ran off into the desert, clouds of blowing sand swallowing him from sight.

  Tears glistened in Kelly's eyes. "Do you really think he'll find him?"

  "I know he will."

  "Thank you, Sam." She leaned against him, her slender body molding perfectly to his. "Your life is about to change. You're going to be a father. Think you're ready?"

  His heart skipped at the word father, though he hadn't had much time to think about it yet. The concept was about as alien as Valya's fantasy ETs. "What's to be ready for?"

  "Getting Lynette into school, clothing her, feeding her, keeping her healthy, planning for her future. Having a child is a big responsibility."

  He came a breath away from asking Kelly to stay and share that responsibility with him. It wasn't difficult to imagine her as a mother. She was a natural. Just seeing the way she cared for Jake was proof of that. But she already had a life, a life in Phoenix, and it didn't include him. He couldn't expect her to give that up without giving her something in return. "Raising a kid can't be so tough. I raised myself okay. I think I can handle it."

  She glanced up at him then at the camp. "I don't see anyone out in the open now. It's probably safe for us to go in."

  He grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him. "A kiss for good luck?"

  After a momentary pause, she nodded and slid her arms around his neck, her gaze lingering on every part of his face but never meeting his eyes. She looked so sad. Her eyelids closed, and she tilted her head to the side, her lips parting in invitation.

  He bent and touched his mouth to hers, tentatively at first, testing her acceptance. When her lips softened against his, he deepened the kiss, savoring the sweetness he remembered from the day before. Breathless, they separated.

  Stepping back with her head bowed to stare at her feet, she said softly, "I'll miss you when I go home to Arizona."

  "I'll miss you, too." And he meant it with all his heart.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kelly approached the end of the rock pile, her ears still buzzing from the blood that had rushed there when Sam kissed her. Her memory of yesterday's lovemaking had come back to her all at once, and delicious sensation melted through her skin. She was on fire all over again. It took the reality of their situation to quench the flames.

  Too much had happened between them all at once. Were they now in a real relationship? She wanted it to be. Never having had a lover who mattered enough to commit to, she wasn't sure she understood what real love felt like.

  And where in the world was Jake? He couldn't have simply disappeared. Though she worried for his safety, just knowing that Cody would find him and stay with him offered some comfort.

  "You better run ahead of me," Sam said as he limped up beside her. "I've got a hitch in my giddy-up, and a tortoise could outrun me now."

  She hated the idea of returning to the camp alone. The welts on her back throbbed at the very thought. "I don't know how to shut down the generators."

  "Leave that to me," he said. "You just get yourself inside Valya's tent and take Lynette. I'm guessing they'll both be unconscious by the time you get there."

  Unconscious. Or worse. "How long does it take carbon monoxide to kill someone?"

  "Both tents are large and not air tight. A lot of the gas will leak out through gaps in the canvas, and it will take time for it to lethally affect the people inside. But exposure for too long isn't healthy."

  Time was something they had in short supply. "You're sure?"

  He nodded. "Just grab Lynette and get her the hell out of there. Do you know CPR?"

  "Yes." Kelly's heart beat double-time. "I'm a phys ed teacher. It's a job requirement."

  "Good. Because she may need it."

  "What about Valya?"

&n
bsp; Sam narrowed his eyes. "Lynette first. Then Valya, if it's not too late. Von, too, of course, if he's still alive."

  "And the others?" A picture formed in her mind of more than eighty people gasping their last breath. There was no way she could resuscitate them all.

  "God willing, I'll have the generators shut down before the carbon monoxide can do permanent damage." He pointed at the largest tent, the one that would house the most people. "The tent windows and door flaps need to be opened as soon as you can get to them."

  Jake had left behind the towel they'd used to cool his forehead, and Kelly grabbed it off the backseat, ripping it in half. She offered a piece to Sam, saying, "Sand in our lungs is the last thing we need." She wrapped the rag around her nose and mouth then knotted it behind her head, and did the same for Sam.

  He reached inside the Jeep to pop open the glove box and withdrew two pairs of sunglasses. He handed her one.

  Looking like a couple of bandits from an old Western movie, they emerged from behind the rocks to stand out in the open. They gazed into the distance, where the cult's camp seemed to waver in the sandstorm. The canvas walls of the smaller tents billowed in the wind and looked like sails in a sea of sand.

  He grabbed her hand. "Be careful."

  She slipped on the dark glasses and breathed deeply through her cloth mask, preparing herself for a hard run. Her words muffled, she looked at Sam and said, "No macho stuff."

  He said nothing.

  She sighed and added, "Don't get yourself hurt, Sam. Lynette needs you. And so do I."

  Without waiting for a response, she took off at a dead run.

  Gusts of amber sand whipped through the desert air, making it hard to see far into the distance. They had judged the camp at about a half mile away, maybe less. She rarely sprinted like this, but she couldn't risk a leisurely jog. The towel mask filtered out most of the sand, and though her mouth was gritty with the stuff, her lungs were clear, and she felt no need to slow down.

  Tiny grains of sand pinged off the lenses of her sunglasses. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and she swiped it away with the back of her hand. Lungs burning, Kelly worried that she had farther to go than she had originally thought. Her thigh muscles began to cramp, and the saliva in her throat thickened as she gasped air through the mask. If she didn't arrive at the camp soon, she'd have to slacken her pace.