Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice (4 page)

Erynn grabbed the open flap of his jacket and
tugged him close. “Then take me with you. I could help,” she
whispered against his lips.

He smiled and wrapped her in his powerful
arms. “You have done enough. Let me. Let us handle this.” His husky
voice danced across her senses.

Erynn drew back and gazed into his eyes. “If
it’s something I can help with, will you come get me?”

“Who else would I want by my side, using the
ancient language against an attacking animal?”

Erynn grinned. “See? I should go with
you.”

He shook his head. “I will not be getting
that close. We are armed and ready for the hunt.”

“But—”

Jaer ran his thumb across her lips, silencing
her. He gazed at her with his dark, smoldering eyes. “If I need
you, I will come for you,
Kipa
.”

Kipa translated from the ancient Comhra
language as
my heart, my life, my soul
.

Erynn returned alone to the high room after
Jaer left. Jaer had warned her not to go into the deeper tunnels by
herself. There was no danger here, above the warrens. Snow and ice
covered the ring of windows, shutting out the light. The room was
dark, cold, and silent. She stood in the center of the chamber,
eyes closed. Head back, she turned in a slow circle.

Pinpoints of orange and red flared under her
lids. The familiar spicy-sweet scent of the Anim Blath filled the
small space.

Her first physical encounter with the Anim
Blath had been in a dark, moist cave by the ocean. The Anim Blath
revealed their glowing, fragrant colony to Erynn during her race to
elude an alien intent on her capture. This collective colony of
part plant, part animal had communicated the way to an exit. This
initial link of their consciousness with Erynn’s opened a
connection to Arranon’s living spirit.

Erynn waited for the Anim Blath’s message.
The tree line below the base cleared in her mind. She watched
movement among the swaying limbs.

Enemy soldiers
!

Two men walked cautiously through the forest,
their uniforms displaying an alien insignia. Stragglers, left
behind and still alive after the fight against the invasion ended.
That they had survived this long was astonishing.

She opened her eyes. “Those two soldiers
could ambush our routine patrols in the forest. Or worse, they may
have the ability to make contact with others of their kind.” Erynn
straightened with determination. “They must be brought in, and
quickly. With Jaer gone and Cale’s attention on the murder of that
poor woman, I can take care of this.”

Erynn hurried down stone steps and through
dim, empty corridors to her quarters. She filled a small backpack
with protein bars and water, in case she was out overnight.
Strapping on a belt with a holstered staser, she threw the pack
over her shoulder and rushed to the transport bay.

A young man approached her, scanning the
empty corridor behind her. “Erynn Yager. You shouldn’t be walking
the tunnels alone. Not after…” He winced. “Well, you know.”

She reached forward, touching his arm. “I do
know. But I need to go out, and I need transportation. It’s
important.”

He frowned. “Does General Athru know?”

“Cale…General Athru is busy with…well, you
know.” She grimaced and used the same tactics the young man had
when talking about the murder.

He turned his face away, searching the bay,
his frown deepening. “I don’t know about this, you going out there.
General Athru made it quite clear. He wants no one roaming the base
alone.”

“I understand. You don’t want to get in
trouble. It’s okay.” She started to turn and paused. “But I’m not
asking to take a transport inside the base. There’s no danger in
the forest, just…something in the woods I need to check out.
Nothing I can’t handle, though. Not like blowing up a massive alien
ship in space preparing to attack our worlds. Oh wait…I already did
that!” Determined, Erynn pushed the young man. “If I don’t go,
our
inaction may cause a problem.” She knew military
procedure dictated that she implement a reconnaissance plan for
this little outing.

But if I take the time needed to do so the
soldiers may leave this area and contact others of their
kind
.

“At least take someone with you,” he
suggested.

“Really, I can take care of this. I don’t
want to remove necessary personnel from carrying out their duties
on the danger
inside
the base. I’m only trying to help by
not
bothering Cale during this emergency. I promise. I’ll be
all right.”

He sighed, shoulders slumping. “Okay. I’ll
get you a ski-speeder.” He stiffened and held up one finger. “Be
careful. It’s still snowing, hard, and the wind is coming up
again.” He went to a cabinet, pulling out a white helmet, jacket,
and heavy jumpsuit. “Be back before dark,” he warned, leading the
way to the far wall where the ski-speeders waited.

These small, one-passenger open vehicles were
made for quick trips in snow and ice. They had no cab and offered
no real protection from the weather or the other dangers of
Arranon.

Erynn nodded. “Dark. Right. I will be.” Her
smile quivered, and she altered her expression to one of serious
concern. “I’ll be careful. Thanks.” She climbed into the jumpsuit
he offered. With the helmet hooked by the chinstrap over the
handlebars, she pushed the lightweight speeder down the dark access
tunnel, switching on the headlight to see her way. She found the
control panel at the end of the wide corridor, and the door ground
open.

Snow piled against the stone barrier cascaded
over the smooth rock floor. Large crystalline flakes whipped in on
the wind, stinging her unguarded face. She pulled on the helmet,
lowered the visor, and secured the heavy white coat over the bulky
jumpsuit. She depressed the red key on the panel to close the door
and pushed the speeder into deep snow. A button next to the starter
lowered the skis, two out front and a broad one in the rear, while
retracting the two wheels. She climbed on, punched the starter, and
took off fast.

WIND DROVE THE HEAVILY FALLING snow sideways
as Erynn raced into the storm and down the mountain. She opened
vents on the sides of her helmet to prevent her breath from fogging
the inside of the face shield. Icy air rushed in, numbing her
cheeks. She sped around boulders, sliding out of turns. She
relished being outside and doing something useful. These two enemy
soldiers had probably had enough of Arranon’s extreme weather and
dangerous wildlife. They would gladly come with her. She could
bring them in peaceably.

The tree line loomed ahead. She slowed the
speeder, banking to a stop. Powdery snow fanned away, landing with
a soft plop in the growing drifts. She cut the power to the
speeder, and the humming engine whined to silence. A deep quiet
that only comes with snow followed. An occasional gust of wind
whistled around the high boughs, adding a lonely voice to the
soundless forest. Erynn raised her visor and gazed through the
trees. The faint, spicy scent of needle leaves swirled in. She
smiled. “Beautiful.”

“Now, where are you?” Her whisper plumed out,
darting among the dancing flakes to be spirited away. She faced
forward, then right, then left. Nothing. “Hmmm. Did you leave?” She
started the speeder, deciding to go deeper into the woods, straight
ahead but slower. Dark shadows scurried, keeping pace with her from
beneath drooping, snow-laden boughs.

Thoughts of meervorines, with their razor
teeth and claws, clamped an icy hand around her spine. No
aleuns
flew from tree to tree or chirped a song among the
branches covered in their thick white blanket. No
maejen
prowled the outer boundaries of the heavy boughs, yellow eyes
gleaming, their great heads low, muzzles sniffing at the snow,
tails tucked between long sinewy legs. Nor did they howl a greeting
from the tops of ravines. Not even the
katjaramuud
, with
their large, thick bodies poked massive round heads from the trees
to watch her progress.

“Where is everyone?”

A sudden icy gust pushed through the forest.
Limbs rose and fell, swaying under their mantle of white.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Erynn
lowered the helmet’s face shield and activated the infrared sights.
If something or someone was out there, she would see a heat
signature through the sensors imbedded in the visor. She continued
to creep down the mountain, rising up and over drifts, scanning the
area under and around the trees.

“Nothing.” She sighed. “Okay, so what has my
awareness on alert?” Her stomach tightened and rolled. She stopped
the speeder, cut the power, and threw her leg over the seat. She
stumbled through uneven drifts, moving only a few meters from the
ski-speeder, listening to the unusual silence while peering into
the storm and around the trees.

“What is going on?” She spun back toward the
speeder, staring beyond the vehicle and into the swirling snow.
Flakes skipped and darted, creating an illusion of flittering
shapes closing in. Her breath caught. Nothing lit up the sensors,
but something watched her. She could sense eyes, their gaze burning
into her like dagger points, sharp against her back. That feeling
of ice along her spine spread, tightening her chest.

She pushed through the deepening snow pack to
the speeder, jumped onto the seat, and hit the starter. Her gloved
thumb slid off, jamming against the speeder’s frame.
“
Batias
!” she cursed, shaking her hand to ease the pain
shooting up her wrist. That sense of others, of being watched, came
closer, studying her. Their scrutiny stabbed through the frosty
air. She punched the button again, but the speeder’s engine
remained silent. Her respirations increased. Fog misted the inside
of her visor, obscuring her vision. She flipped the shield up and
out of her eyes. Without the visor, she couldn’t observe an
approaching threat, but with it on, she was unable to see to start
the speeder.

“What’s wrong? Why won’t you start?” She
gritted her teeth, depressing the button repeatedly.

A small screen below the starter sputtered to
a dim yellow glow. Words in a faint red radiance blinked off and
on.

SYSTEM FAILURE. POWER RESERVE DEPLETED.

The light in the screen flickered and went
out.

“No! There was a full charge.” The heavy
blanket of white around her buffered her voice.

To her right, tree limbs shook, losing their
mantle of snow.

Erynn pulled her weapon with a smooth, fluid
motion. Yellow eyes appeared under long pointed leaves.

A heavy breath rushed between her pursed
lips, fogging into the icy air. “It’s you.” The relief in her voice
carried to the three white maejen, and they slipped out from the
shadows. Erynn glanced around, still holding the staser. “But you
aren’t what I sense out there, watching.”

The maejen circled her, yipping and dancing
nervously on round paws.

She frowned. “Something’s hunting me.”

The alpha threw back his head and howled, the
other two maejen joining his song.

“So what do I do?”

The group hurried under the limbs, glancing
back at her.

“Follow you. Good idea.”

Erynn abandoned the speeder and ran.

The den of downed trees covered with snow was
dry inside, and the wind didn’t penetrate. Erynn pulled off the
helmet and stripped out of heavy gloves, placing them inside the
upturned emptiness. She no longer sensed being watched, except by
the pack. This season’s pups were nearly full grown. Their
curiosity radiated to her. She sat back against a wall of sticks
and held out her hand.

One by one, the five young came forward,
sniffing her.

“Friends?”

The big alpha male chuffed, his teeth showing
in an obvious grin. He scooted in next to Erynn and sat down.

“Thanks. I owe you.”

He lay against her leg, head on her lap, his
blazing eyes gazing up at her, and whined.

“Okay, we’re even, kinda.” She brushed her
hand over warm, dense, soft fur. “I won’t keep score if you
don’t.”

Outside the small opening, the day gave over
to evening in faint degrees, finally succumbing to night and the
impenetrable dark.

Erynn opened her pack. She pulled out water
and a bland protein bar. More curiosity flowed from the young
maejen. She offered to share her meal.

The pups sniffed the portion she held out,
sneezed, and backed away, shaking their heads.

She chuckled. “I don’t blame you. They’re
pretty bad.”

Erynn finished her meal, washing the
tasteless bar down with a bottle of water. Wiping the back of her
hand across her lips, she curled against the wall to wait for
morning. When a fitful sleep came, unsettling dreams took her
underground.

Open caverns dimly lighted by distant
fires were alive with human-like forms. Screeching howls punctuated
the gloom. Shadows slithered behind rocks and at the periphery of
her vision. The dream shapes faded into nothingness, and she was
alone in the dark
.

Erynn woke to a gentle snowfall, but no wind.
Soft morning radiance crept lethargically through the small entry.
With a modest effort, the day created little more than a pale
silver puddle of light near the den’s opening. The maejen slept
around her, feet twitching, barking quietly as they ran after dream
prey. An unidentifiable carcass stripped of flesh and discarded in
the center of the den was evidence of a successful night’s hunt and
full bellies. She was glad she hadn’t been awake for that part.

Pushing into a sitting position, Erynn yawned
and stretched stiff arms over her head. She considered another
protein bar but decided to wait until she was back at the base to
eat something tastier, and warmer. Perhaps the bloody, raw smell of
the pile of ravaged bones was another factor in her lack of
appetite. She pulled on gloves, crawled to the opening, dragging
the helmet with her, and poked her head out into the fresh morning
air.