Desert Guardian (25 page)

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. "Escort 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."