“It’s only a few hours until dusk. We can’t wait for the rest to wander in whenever they want.” Furcho paced the length of the long table, ignoring the platter of hot wraps prepared for quick, easy consumption. “As soon as Azar transforms, I’m aloft. The rest of you can sit here and plan until dawn, but I’m taking action.”
That was her cue. Kyle swung the door open and strode in. “We are a team. We’ll all go when we have a cohesive plan.”
Furcho’s eyes blazed. “You are not in charge here.” Saliva dotted his unshaven chin as he spat the words at Kyle.
“You’re wrong, Furcho. Second Warrior Kyle is in charge.”
They all turned as Jael emerged from the darkened office at the opposite end of the large open room, with Alyssa following.
Kyle caught the silver battleskin that Jael tossed to her. She stared at the rank on the shoulder, then around the room. Tan gave her a thumbs-up. Michael, Raven, and even Diego nodded as she met each elite warrior’s eyes. When she looked to Furcho, she realized that Alyssa had led him to a comfortable chair nearby and was rubbing his arm as she murmured something unintelligible in his ear. He was calm now and wiping the spittle from his beard stubble. He looked up, his eyes dark and wounded, to give Kyle a curt nod.
Kyle dropped her chin in a slight bow and thumped her fist against her shoulder. “The Guard honors me. It’ll be difficult to fill Danielle’s boots, but I’ll do my best.”
Jael strode over to clasp her shoulder. “I don’t want you to be Danielle. I want you to be Kyle. You are the second-strongest pyro among us. Second to me, of course.” Jael’s wide grin eased Kyle’s nervousness. “Effective immediately, you are promoted to commander. Lieutenant Antonia is now promoted in absentia to captain and will move up to commander when she returns to take over the quartermaster unit. When this war is over, I’ll need you to oversee the rebuilding of those communities that these weather disasters have devastated. And, we need to come up with a plan to better protect our food sources from future disasters.”
Kyle’s heart beat faster as her mind instantly filled with the prospect. “I’ve got a million ideas.”
Jael clapped her on the shoulder. “I was counting on that.” She faced the group. “But first, we must restore peace to The Collective.” She propped herself against the back of a long lounge that divided the eating area from the common room and extended her hand for Alyssa to join her. “Second Warrior, catch me up.”
“The specific location of the City of Light is closely guarded. It wasn’t even revealed to the believers that I infiltrated, even though it was to be our destination. So, earlier today we made plans for Tan to use the Network connections that proved useful in San Pedro Sula and distributed other duties among us to ready the army to mobilize as soon as we had reliable reports of the plane’s route. However, I might have updated info—”
Furcho sprang to his feet. “We’re wasting time.” He whirled on Jael. “Are you still a telepath or not?”
Jael dropped the arm she had wrapped around Alyssa’s waist and stood. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped into his personal space. “I am.”
“Then why in blue blazes haven’t you contacted Nicole to find out where they are?”
“If she’s a prisoner on a plane, do you think they’ve let her in the cockpit to check their coordinates?”
Furcho’s face reddened, and his eyes grew wild. “You could at least find out if my child is okay.”
Alyssa stepped forward. “Your child, Furcho? Don’t you mean Nicole and the child she carries?”
He grabbed Alyssa’s forearm, his knuckles white as his grip tightened. “You don’t understand—”
In an instant, Jael’s long fingers gripped his forearm. “Release her, Third Warrior.”
Furcho persisted, and Alyssa’s face twisted in pain as his hand heated against her skin. “This child is special. Maya foretold it. The child is most important.” He barely got the words out before he dropped his clench on Alyssa’s arm and howled. The odor of burnt flesh permeated the room, and the imprint of Jael’s palm and fingers blistered up on his forearm.
Tan shook her head and walked into the food-prep area, where a first-aid kit was kept. She returned with a canister of burn spray and a hypo-injector and walked to the three of them. “Give me your arm,” she said.
Furcho glared at Jael but held out his blistered arm. But instead of the numbing spray, Tan wielded the injector in one swift move to administer a hypo of mild tranquilizer. Then she gently grasped Alyssa’s hand and raised her arm to coat the pink skin on her forearm with the numbing spray.
Alyssa protested. “I could have calmed him. You didn’t have to do that.”
“It was only enough to help him control himself so he can still participate in the meeting.” Tan gestured to Kyle. “As you were saying?”
Kyle eyed Furcho warily. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something more was at play here. “Yes, well, I might have more updated information.” She looked to Tan. “Did you tell them before I arrived?”
Tan shook her head. “Yours to share.” She took a med-scan from her pocket and motioned for Alyssa to step back. It was time again for another comparative scan of Jael.
Kyle drew in a breath. “This is pretty incredible, but here it is. Sunfire, the filly out of Phyrrhos and sired by Specter, is now fully bonded with me.” She held Jael’s gaze and straightened her shoulders. “She doesn’t transform.”
Diego frowned. “What’s that mean?”
Raven’s whistle was low and followed by a First People phrase the rest couldn’t interpret. “You’re saying she doesn’t lose her dragon during the daylight hours?”
Kyle shook her head. “She never loses her dragon. She flies night and day.”
“She’s been different from the start. Sunfire went from foal to yearling in a matter of days,” Tan said. “I’m dying to get some medical scans of her.”
“Back on subject.” Kyle raised her voice to refocus the team. “Sunfire has informed me the kidnappers’ plane has crashed in a wilderness area. From the aerial image she showed me, the plane is in two intact pieces, which means there’s a high possibility of survivors.”
“I would feel it if she has perished.” Furcho’s words were mumbled, but everyone heard in the quiet as they absorbed the information about Sunfire and the plane.
“Location?” Jael asked.
Kyle shook her head. “I didn’t recognize any landmarks she showed me, so I’ll have to ask her to take us there.”
“Can you tell us why you haven’t contacted Toni or Nicole telepathically, Jael?” Raven’s question held none of Furcho’s accusing tone.
Kyle waited with the rest. Until now, everything had been speculation among The Guard.
Alyssa wrapped her arm around Jael’s waist, lending emotional support. The First Warrior was not accustomed to confessing weakness.
“I’m still telepathic. Stronger than ever, according to Han. But I have a conflict. I trained several lifetimes ago to construct shields against the millions of thoughts that constantly bombard me or filter so only certain ones come through. Also, I learned to focus to transmit thoughts to a single person or a select group.” She massaged her temples. “You all are familiar with Danielle’s natural block against mind probes. She trained to do just the opposite, to dismantle her natural shield to allow my telepathic messages in.” She twisted her head back and forth in a move to loosen tense neck and shoulder muscles. “I wasn’t hiding in that dark office to surprise you. I was meditating away the headache that followed a session with Han, who’s giving me a crash course in Danielle’s training.”
Tan looked up from the med-scan. “That might not be necessary. These scans we’re running every three hours indicate that your brain synapses are rearranging themselves in a pattern more consistent with your previous medical records. And the process seems to be escalating.”
Kyle straightened. “That’s good news. Let’s hear the rest of the reports. Diego?”
“I’ve reserved three engines, passenger and stock cars for fifty warriors and priority track passage for any time during the next week.”
Kyle called for the next. “Raven?”
“We don’t have fifty dragon-horse teams, and the number we do have changes from day to day, depending on whether the warrior or their dragon horse is healed or still recovering from injuries. Best guess is around twenty-five to thirty.”
“Michael?”
“I can have a week of provisions for at least fifty packed and ready by dawn. We can use all able-bodied pyros, even if their dragon horses aren’t fit for battle. And we’ll need some support staff.”
A blood-curdling dragon scream rattled the windows, and a loud bang preceded the cracking of two thick planks in the door. A second bang, and the door splintered into pieces as Dark Star pushed his way in.
“I’m afraid he missed puppy training class,” Jael said, shaking her head. “Tan, grab your scout pack and meet Kyle and me outside. Let’s see if Sunfire can show us where that plane landed.”
“Already packed up and tucked in the corner over there. I included a med-pack in case I need to treat injuries.”
“I’m coming, too,” Furcho said, rising from the lounging chair where he’d sat when the tranquilizer kicked in.
Kyle still felt responsible for Furcho. She’d known him since childhood, and usurping his advance to Second Warrior surely was aggravating an already difficult situation. She tensed to intervene, then jerked in surprise when a soft whoosh preceded a tiny dart that embedded in Furcho’s neck.
Tan lowered the blowgun from her lips as Furcho’s eyes rolled upward. Michael caught him when Furcho’s legs buckled and guided him into a lounging chair. Furcho was snoring before Michael hit the control to recline the chair. Tan grinned at Jael. “I’ve never been so glad to hear your meddling voice in my head.”
Jael rubbed her temples again. “I’m just glad you had that dart handy and I managed to get the message past Danielle’s thick skull.”
* * *
Kyle dashed to the second-floor quarters she shared with Tan and pulled on her new battleskin. When she turned to redress in her T-shirt and field pants, Tan was standing in the doorway with an odd expression.
“Wow.” Tan walked forward and touched the red insignia on Kyle’s upper arm. Only the First Warrior’s battleskin was adorned with a red dragon horse on the chest and single red reversed chevron on her arm. While the Second Warrior’s dragon horse image was black, like the rest of The Guard, the two reversed red chevrons on her shoulder indicated the succession of command in the event the First Warrior was disabled. Tan wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “You’re really hot in that uniform…in fact, sort of blazing,” she said, grinning at her play on Kyle’s nickname.
But Kyle didn’t feel playful. “I don’t want to leave you out there alone.”
Tan’s smile faded. “Your job is to advise the First Warrior when she asks your opinion, but you never question her decision or voice a doubt about her orders in front of anyone. If you feel she’s made a risky decision, you speak to her only in private and always with respect.”
“I know, but—”
Tan shook her head, sliding her hand behind Kyle’s neck to grasp her nape and give her a small shake. “No exceptions. Not even when her decision is about me. I trust her with my life. But I do understand. I have to trust her with your life, too.” She touched her lips to Kyle’s in a soft caress. “And that’s very hard for me, because I don’t think I could finish this life without you.”
Kyle captured Tan’s mouth, plunging her tongue deep to capture her lover’s unique taste. The kiss was too brief, but she withdrew at the polite throat-clearing coming from the doorway. Still, she pressed her forehead to Tan’s. “And my world would be too dark to bear without you in it.”
“Jael’s waiting,” Raven said quietly when they stepped back from each other.
“We’re coming,” Kyle said, tugging her clothes on over the battleskin, then grabbing her small tool kit.
Downstairs, Michael had gathered a bottle of water, a hot wrap for each, and a tubular pack filled with pro-chow and a handful of freeze-dried meals. “I made sandwiches since you’re leaving before dinner,” he said. “The pro-chow is in case the situation you find prevents you from flying back by dawn.”
“Good,” Jael said. “It always pays to be prepared.”
They stuffed the water and sandwiches into the side pockets of their field pants, and Kyle claimed the pro-chow pack, lifting it over her head and settling it at an angle from her right shoulder to her left hip. Focusing on physical tasks kept her from thinking too much. She didn’t want to be separated from Tan again. Jael had separated them before by sending Kyle to infiltrate The Natural Order. She watched as Jael drew Alyssa into her arms for a quick kiss. She flushed at her petty thoughts. They had paid an even higher price when that laser and missiles took out Jael and her first dragon horse. And, they too were newly reunited. Kyle straightened her shoulders. She was Second Warrior. If the First Warrior and First Advocate could face separation and whatever dangers might be ahead after everything they’d already been through, she could buck up, too.
“Ready?” Tan asked.
Kyle reached for Tan’s scout pack. “Ready.”
Tan growled and swung her pack out of reach. “Watch it, Blaze. Don’t get all macho and try to carry my pack just because you outrank me now.”
Kyle laughed. That was the grumpy Tan she loved. “I wouldn’t dare.”