Demon Lost (10 page)

As it was, Aris ordered the body left behind—we had no shovels or tools to bury him and no rocks small enough to cover his body. He would be left to the desert scavengers. Hoping that his family never learned the truth of his death and what came after, I shouldered my rifle and my backpack, swinging into the line of trudging people as we made our way into the blinding light and heat of Mandil's desert.

"Demons like the night best, and they certainly don't like the heat," Delvin said beside me after a while. "Commander will call a halt soon." He nodded to two of the women ahead of us; both were walking drunkenly. I nodded at Delvin's assessment—I'd already gotten the two to drink some water while we walked. Heatstroke was a dangerous probability, making me think we could lose more of our party before we reached the outpost. All of us were using the white caps in our emergency backpacks to cover our heads, keeping the sun off as much as we could. The caps shaded our eyes; mine had stopped watering from the brightness long ago—a lack of moisture was likely responsible. I admit I was more tired than I'd ever been when Aris called a rest break. Nothing was available to shade us as we sat on heated sand, drinking a ration of water and lowering our heads.

We were set to guard again once we stopped for the night, but Bel and Commander Aris came to me after only a click had passed. "We think one of the women is dying—this was too much for her," Bel said softly, taking my ranos rifle away. "Can you make her last few hours more comfortable?"

"I can try, but there's not much in the medkit for this sort of thing," I sighed, following the Commander—Bel was taking my place on the perimeter.

"Reah, the killshot is in the kit," Aris informed me quietly. I stopped at his words and he did, too. The killshot was for those who were in a hopeless situation or were dying anyway, with no help or the possibility of getting any. The killshot sent them on their way as painlessly as possible.

"Aris—Commander," I stammered over my slight, "I'm not sure I can do that." My hands trembled at the thought of administering the drug.

"Reah, it will be a mercy. The poor woman is already hallucinating. How much agony is enough before you do what is right?" I gripped my bottom lip in my teeth to keep it from trembling. Lowering my head, I nodded at the Commander's words. Perhaps the gods—if there were any—would have mercy for me as well. "Good girl," Commander Aris patted my shoulder and led me toward the dying woman.

It took two clicks of the woman thrashing and moaning before she became extremely feverish and comatose. The time had come—she was suffering and there wasn't anything else we could do for her. I spoke softly to her as I pulled the syringe from the kit. Enough killshot syringes were in the medkit for all of us, if needed. I desperately hoped they weren't needed. This was the limit of my brief medical training—I slipped the needle into her upper arm and pushed the small plunger. It didn't take much—only a minute amount of the medicine would ease the pain and bring the sleep from which she wouldn't wake. I wiped tears away as I placed the used syringe in a box inside the kit. In less than a click, the woman was dead. Two officers came to carry her to the edge of the camp—the other sick one was feverish but still lucid and they were giving her as much water as they could, cooling her down with wet strips of cloth. It was a kindness—I didn't think she would last through the following day.

"Reah, we all have to make terrible decisions at times," Aris brought me a foodpack later as I sat hugging myself and staring out at the darkness. I wasn't hungry, but I might be the next to fall if I didn't eat and drink enough. He handed me a canteen after I consumed my mush, encouraging me to drink as much as I could. I did, shivering as I drank.

"Try to get some sleep—we may need to wake you later to stand guard. Some of the men aren't doing very well either," Commander Aris told me as he stood up and stretched. I blew out a sigh and rested my forehead against my knees. One more day before we could hope to reach the outpost. None had come looking for us, which made me worry about what we'd find when we arrived.
If
we arrived.

I was wakened before daybreak and took over for one of the men. My eyes felt as full of sand as the desert beneath my feet while I stood my watch. Thankfully, no lights came that night.

The remaining sick woman fell after walking two clicks. She began to convulse so I pulled the medkit out of my backpack and went to her. Aris ordered the others away from us while he watched me give the second dose of the killshot. It didn't take long—she was gone in less than half a click. At least she died peacefully—the convulsions had stopped quickly.

I wondered if we would leave any other bodies behind as I trudged along afterward. The four other women were beyond weariness now, as were several of the men. Aris and the Rangers must have been cut from a tougher cloth—they strode along resolutely. I supposed they all walked miles in the heat on a regular basis. Our skin was reddened now; every bit of exposed flesh was burned. Our caps kept our faces shaded, but our hands and necks were a deep red.

I learned that Hish had kept us from burning the first two days with one of his shields, but he was exhausted now, just as the rest of us were and unable to use his ability. I hoped the outpost physicians were waiting on us to arrive with plenty of burn relief medication on hand.

One of the officers dropped four clicks later, so Aris and I did our duty again, leaving his body behind after a short break. I was beginning to stagger at times, and in my more lucid moments, I was frightened that I'd be left behind like the others. Those thoughts wandered through my mind and at first I believed I was hallucinating when an image shimmered before my eyes.

Only a little farther—you can make it, love
, came the voice. Truly a hallucination, I knew. My mind was telling me what it wished to hear. I struggled to keep up with the others.

"Drink the water you have left and drop everything you're carrying except your weapons—the outpost is in front of us," Aris' voice sounded as dry as the sand beneath our feet as he walked down the line. Fifteen of us had made it this far, and it was a miracle that this many had survived. We did as Aris instructed, emptying our canteens and leaving our backpacks behind. It took the better part of a click to reach the outer walls of the post, but we did it. Troops waited inside the gate and they were helping us as quickly as they could. At least half were carried to the hospital on stretchers. The physicians were there, waiting with water, burn relief and other medicines. Our faces were washed with cool cloths, clothing was removed and many of us were slathered in the gel made from the cooling plant.

* * *

"Commander, we were too afraid to venture out—we have been attacked every night for the past four nights," the captain raked fingers through his hair as he paced. "And since we could not contact you, we were worried that everyone had perished."

"You did right," Aris sipping the juice he'd been given while the physician worked on blistered skin. "Physician, are the others going to make it?"

"Your Rangers for sure. Most of the officers. We may lose one of the women—she is not responding well."

"Which one?" Aris almost came out of his chair.

"The tall, red-haired one," the physician replied, causing Aris to relax. "I hear you lost two women and two men in the desert. An amazing feat—only losing four. I'd have guessed at least half would go down before you walked the distance."

"I too, am surprised," Aris muttered.

"Now, you will rest or I will administer a sedative," the physician said, sending Aris to his bed for some much-needed sleep.

* * *

An eight-day. That's how long the physicians insisted I rest before taking up my duties. Others got more time than that to recover. Another of the women died, too, despite the physician's best efforts.

"It happens, at times—they stop fighting to live," the oldest physician—the one who'd treated me for the sickness before—informed me as he examined my burns. My fair skin would show signs of the sunburn for a long time, and I was miserable while it was healing. When I saw Hish in passing on my way to work in the kitchens again, I thanked him for the shields he'd supplied. He smiled and nodded his acceptance. I made the best midday meal I could for everyone when I went back to work. Even Stef seemed happy to see me.

* * *

"The High Commander is coming," Widnal announced three days later.

"I hope he makes it," I slapped a hand over my mouth after the words left it. Too late; by that time, I'd already spoken my mind.

"I am in complete agreement," Widnal nodded at me as we put vegetables on to cook. We hadn't seen any of the locals since the fifteen of us walked out of the desert, and Widnal told me it had been longer than that since they'd come. We had no fresh vegetables or fruits—relying solely now on what was in the freezers. The High Commander was coming with the food shipments from Crown City. The Rangers had gone out again—twice I think, since we'd gotten back. They didn't get as much rest as the others, including me. I felt guilty about that. Aris drove his Rangers harder than anyone else at the post.

We hadn't been attacked again by the demons, but it was whispered that some of the villagers had thrown in their lot with the monsters in order to save their lives. I just shook my head—you didn't throw in your lot with something that would likely eat or turn you before everything was done. I remembered, too, walking past piles of dark dust after the night of our attack in the desert. Some of those piles were deeper than others, as if many of the creatures had died in the same place after we'd shot them with our ranos rifles. No humanoid bodies were found among them.

* * *

The outpost underwent a concentrated campaign of cleaning—we barely had three days before the High Commander was supposed to come. The kitchens were in fine shape but the pink wing and the barracks had to meet the Commander's expectations. I didn't have any part of that, but Stef and Nedis were right in the middle of it. Widnal grinned at their moaning whenever they weren't looking. All was made ready, having passed the Commander's inspection on the day the High Commander was to arrive. We all waited. The kitchen had produced a good meal for our visitors but the time for their arrival came and went. Darkness was falling and we held our breath. Commander Aris, Bel and two captains walked into the kitchen as I was putting uneaten food away.

"Reah, come with us," Bel said. Struggling to hide my concern, I removed my apron and followed them to Aris' office. "This should fit," Bel handed a uniform to me. The shirt and pants were in the regulation colors of the desert—just as theirs was. The uniform had been tailored to fit me. It looked as if they'd planned this.

"We have to search for the High Commander and his officers," Commander Aris said after I'd returned from his private bath wearing the uniform and boots they'd given me. "Reah, it didn't get past us that you didn't miss when you fired your rifle while we were under attack in the desert. We won't ask questions, we're just happy to have someone so accurate with her shots. We'll take two of our armored transports—Hish is fresh and can provide shields for a while. I expect you to help watch on our way to retrieve the High Commander. You'll let us know if you see anything."

That was a command, so I nodded at his words. I followed the others from Commander Aris' office and we picked up charged ranos rifles, a backpack filled with foodpacks and water before climbing into the armored transports. The Rangers were split between both vehicles; I saw that right away. I rode with Commander Aris while Hish, Bel and Delvin climbed into the other transport.

The window through which I kept watch was bullet and fireproof. Wondering how strong a blast it could sustain without shattering, I kept careful watch as we drove along, the second transport right behind us and in continuous communication. Commander Aris repeatedly attempted to get the High Commander and his convoy to reply to his communications. Only silence met his queries.

"Commander," I hissed—I'd seen movement from my window. Aris heard and was beside me quickly.

"They're out there," he agreed, peering through my window. I'd seen tiny lights, just as before. It must have been the reflection of the moonlight in their eyes—I was afraid to assign any other explanation to it. "Reah," Aris whispered, "only the wizards and I can see what you see. I am still attempting to puzzle that out. In the meantime, don't discuss this with anyone other than the Rangers or me." His breath stirred the hair at my temple—I had it braided tightly otherwise. I nodded at his instructions. How could I see what only the wizards saw? I didn't have a drop of talent—nobody on Tulgalan did.

We drove on for a while, though the lights seemed to be following us. We came upon the transports that had been hauling the High Commander and his escort. Most were dead; we discovered that quickly after climbing out of our vehicles. The High Commander was severely wounded and what was left of his troops formed a ring around him, all equipped with ranos rifles. Altogether, seven of what had once been fifty-six were alive, while no working communication remained.

"Reah, do what you can," Bel and Delvin hauled the High Commander into our transport so I pulled out the medkit. The High Commander had a concussion and the heat of the day hadn't done him any good. I convinced him to take some of the painkill and then gave him as much water as he would willingly drink.

"Just rest, we'll take care of this," I patted his shoulder. Delvin had stepped inside the transport, motioning me outside. It looked as if we were going to be attacked again.