The Marine's Queen (7 page)

The long hop to the ground jarred Callie’s legs and back, stiffened by hours in the saddle. She and Yalo helped the other women dismount as quickly as they could. They waddled over to a large rock outcropping while the men worked on the boarks.

Vin worked like a dust demon, loosening the straps and untying packs one-handed from the back of his boark. As soon as he finished he took the reins of one of the other animals so Joe had a free hand. The unburdened mount plunged into the water, sending the other two into a frenzy. Somehow the marines stripped the equipment and harnesses from the dangerous animals.

Vin walked over to the women while Joe went to work gathering their gear.

“
This way.” Vin led them around the side of the tall rock. He ducked into a large hole seen only as a darker splotch in the gathering night. After a moment a small glow shone from the opening. “Come in and watch your step.”

Callie went first, her feet and hands numb with the icy cold already blanketing the twilight. She had to duck for a few steps but then the tunnel opened into a cave more than twice her height and at least ten yards wide. Vin knelt over a small fire in the sandy middle of the floor.

The others crowded in behind Callie. They spread out to surround Vin and the welcome warmth of the small fire. He added some chunks of black rock to the blaze. The stones caught quickly and doubled the size of the blaze.

Without a word, Vin rose and disappeared out through the opening. They stretched their hands toward the fire, the simple pleasure of the heat enough for the moment. Vin returned within moments, dropping the bed sacks and newly-filled water sacks before leaving again.

They spread out the sacks around the fire and passed the water around.

“
This is an ancient form of fuel called coal on old Earth.” Acacia poked at a piece of the black stone and pushed it into the flames. “It burns easily and hot, but it’s too bulky to carry in quantity.”

“
They’ve stored a fair amount in here.” Yalo pointed to the back area of the cave.

“
I’m hungry, momma,” Glory said.

“
We’ll eat soon,” Grace promised.

The certainty in Grace’s answer disturbed Callie. Each hour the marines protected and provided for them, it became more difficult to hold onto her distrust.

“
How long can they stay out in the cold?” Riba wondered.

“
Their clothing is insulated enough to keep them from freezing for a little while.” But Yalo looked worried.

They quieted, listening for the return of the men they’d come to depend on. Callie looked around the small shelter, wondering how the marines had discovered it.

After a half of an hour or more, the men entered including Roz and Tar. Glory sprang off her mother’s lap and ran to Roz. The little girl planted her chubby hands fists on her hips and glared at him.

“
Where were you, Roz? I was really thirsty, tired and cold, and now I’m hungry. I’ve been waiting forever for you.”

Roz knelt and put himself on eye level with the child. “I’m here now and we brought some food.”

Glory smiled at him. “I knew you would.”

Joe glanced at Callie and then quickly away. He strode to the back of the cave and returned with a metal rack on long legs. He set it over the fire, and then Vin spread long, bloody strips of meat on it. Soon fat dripped into the fire, hissing and popping while a tempting aroma filled the cavern.

The marines worked without small talk, bringing things into the firelight from the shadows deeper in the cave. Tar poured water into two pots. Then Roz dropped dried leaves into one and some type of dehydrated beans into the other. They nudged the pots close to the flames and set two long metal spoons nearby.

Joe emerged from the shadows and handed each of his men a folded piece of camouflage material. They walked out of the cave without a word.

“
Don’t waste time with casual conversation, do they?” Acacia picked up one of the spoons and stirred the pot of beans.

Riba used the other spoon to carefully flip the sizzling meat strips. Callie barely had time to worry about the marines out in the cold when they returned. She gasped as loud as the other women.

Water glistened on their bare chests and legs. Ice crystals stuck up from their short hair and shone on the lengths of cloth they’d wrapped around their waists.

“
Cold bath?” Acacia asked around a choked laugh.

Callie saw the humor, but she couldn’t close her mouth enough to laugh. They were magnificent! Her gaze followed Joe as he and the other marines walked into the shadows in the back of the cave. He reappeared wearing clean pants and a loose shirt, clutching an armful of metal mugs. His feet remained bare and his hair as mussed as it could be in its short fashion.

He sat beside Callie and handed out the mugs. Using the hem of his shirt, he lifted the hot pot of tea and poured some in each metal cup. Callie’s watched his lean, tanned hands expertly serve the beverage like any trained maid.

Joe sipped the hot tea and then offered the mug to her. Her fingers brushed his. The sharp intake of his breath drew her gaze back to his face. In the firelight, his eyes seemed almost black, their depths as unfathomable as the deepest opal mine.

“
Thank you,” Callie whispered.

Joe turned away, but she continued to stare at him. She tried to look beyond the perfection of his features and noticed dark circles beneath his eyes. His normally erect posture seemed less stiff. She looked around at the other men and saw they all slumped a little.

“
Yalo, take the first watch,” Callie ordered. “Joe, you and your men rest tonight, and we’ll share the sentry duties.”

Joe started to speak but Callie spoke over him. “We know how to stand guard. I’ll take second shift, and Acacia will spell me. Grace, you have the last.”

“
I can take a turn,” Riba insisted, shifting her infant on her lap.

Callie’s spirits rose as love and pride for her companions swelled in her chest. The trial of the last few days had found them still loyal and strong. She smiled and gestured toward the meat cooking over the fire. “What is this?”

“
Goat meat,” Vin answered after a long moment of silence.

“
It’s a really small goat,” little Glory said.

“
We gave the rest to the boarks.” Joe’s voice was as cool as the air from the cave opening. “Thank you, Lady Callie, for the offer, but we’ll stand watch. It’s one of the duties we were created for.”

* * * *

Joe checked the tarp across the opening and then swept his gaze over the sleepers. Despite the women’s offer to share sentry duty, they all sprawled in exhausted slumber. He understood little of civilians in general but figured women surely were softer than men. But Callie and the others had endured the rugged trek to reach the hills. Even the children had survived and perhaps thrived. Were all little people so hardy?

He stepped carefully over the prone forms and added more coal to the fire. With the tarp to keep out most of the night air the cave stayed quite comfortable. With more than an hour left in his turn at guard, Joe leaned against the wall near the entrance. His thoughts drifted to the immediate future.

They would reach the main camp soon. He and his men scraped a living from the spring-fed valley, hunting, fishing and harvesting native fruits and grains. Using parts from their crashed ship, they’d rigged a solar-powered heating and cooling system for a small barracks but their lives had been mere survival. Now everything would need to be expanded.

He heard Callie rise, her scent floating before her. His body reacted to her nearness, forgetting the fatigue weighing on him.

“
Joe?”

He turned and straightened. The firelight shone behind her, framing her body in a golden nimbus. Her light brown hair hung free to her hips, providing his first sight of the true beauty of the mass. It swung as she walked and drew his eyes to the lush curve of her hips.

She put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll stand watch.”

He froze, wanting to prolong the contact. “Go back to sleep.”

“
I can’t. I know you’re exhausted. Let me take my turn.” She stepped closer, warmth and something soft in her eyes, reminding him of the look Riba often gave her child.

Agile thought deserted him as always when she spoke to him. She licked her lips and called his attention to her mouth. The first woman paid to bed him had spent hours teaching him the pleasure of kissing, among other things. She’d found amusement at his complete ignorance. Joe wanted to kiss Callie more than he wanted his next breath.

“
Go back to your bed, my lady.” He couldn’t help the roughness in his voice.

“
Joe, I’m sorry about what I said before. I don’t think you’re a robot.”

Her reminder cooled his undisciplined thoughts. She owed him no apology for her harsh words.

“
I was shocked you had no family name but later when I thought about it, I understood.”

Unusual anger rose in Joe but he kept his voice quiet and even. “Lady Callie, you understand nothing about me as I comprehend little about you.”

“
But we need to change that.”

“
Why?” Joe turned away from the questions in her eyes. “We’ll be soldiers, protecting and hunting for you. You will be … women, and do whatever that entails.”

“
Being a woman isn’t an occupation. Together….”

Joe spun back to face her. “Not together.”

Her hand went to her throat and her eyes widened. Fear? Of course she feared him. Why did he expect different? Should he forget her disdain and distrust because she sometimes spoke to him as a person instead of a piece of expendable hardware?

“
Callie.” He couldn’t find words to dispel the tension suddenly between them.

She moved back quickly. “You’re right. I should go back to sleep. You stay here and be a soldier.”

Joe watched her settle back onto her bed. She turned her back to him. He’d been trained in enemy tactics and even psychology but had never turned his lessons on himself. Why did this woman tilt his emotions off kilter? He’d been taught to feel nothing, his emotions schooled out of him. But now foreign feelings plagued him.

“
Help me, Unon,” Joe murmured as he leaned back against the wall. The idea of prayer to some superior spiritual being discomforted him even after all these months, but he needed help. “I’m so lost.”

* * * *

“
They drilled a hole in the ceiling through yards of stone so smoke wouldn’t fill the cave. Then they stocked it with coal from another rock formation not far to the south.”

“
How do you know all this, Yalo?” Callie sipped water from one of the metal mugs. The spring water remained achingly cold even now with the sun glittering on its surface.

“
Vin told me.” Yalo shot Callie a puzzled glance. “How else would I know?”

Callie shrugged. “I didn’t know the two of you were sharing information so freely.”

Yalo looked toward the pool. The other women worked at washing their clothing, wearing loose shirts and too-long pants borrowed from the marines. Glory splashed in the shallows, chasing the silver fish darting around her legs. “It wasn’t a secret. I need to learn everything I can in case something happens.”

“
What do you mean?” Callie wondered at the lines of worry creasing Yalo’s forehead.

“
Someone might come after us or something could happen to the marines. I need to be able to take care of us.”

“
You’re right, of course. I guess I’m surprised Vin volunteered all this.”

“
He only told me about this wing camp.” Yalo’s gaze shifted to Vin. He stood on the other side of the pool, using a short pole and line to fish. “He’s opened up a little since the first day.”

“
You mean he’s less rude?”

They both laughed drawing Vin’s gaze. It lingered on Yalo for a moment before returning to his fishing.

“
Did Vin tell you how long they’ve been here?”