Escape From Zulaire (14 page)

He’s right. Bhengola requires around-the-clock drugs to get safely through an incident.
Closing her eyes for a second, Andi tried to remember the pertinent section of the Loxton medical-training material. The few facts that came to mind weren’t reassuring.

“He’ll need careful nursing to survive,
do you agree?” Rahuna’s head was tilted as he regarded the sergeant. Stroking his chin, the cleric seemed thoughtful.

“Yes.” Wilson jabbed the second injectable into the captain’s upper arm, rubbing the spot to work the medication into the muscle. “This buys us some time.” Rolling Tom’s sleeve down, he sat back on his heels, hands resting on his knees. Watching his patient relax under the drug’s influence, the sergeant’s face remained set in grim lines. “Better but temporary. He won’t regain consciousness until the entire bhengola cycle is over.”

“How long?” Andi was unable to remember the exact course of the symptoms.
A week? Two weeks?

“Could be three or four days, ma’am. Maybe longer, with no quine.”
 

“Have you the map handy?” Rahuna held out one hand. “We can’t care for him in the open elements, Sergeant. I believe there may be a safe haven we can reach by morning, if we walk through the night, and if Sanenre chooses to smile on this effort. Captain Deverane is a good man, and Zulaire has need of him. I must see the map.” Rahuna’s insistence spurred the sergeant into action.

Wilson sent Latvik running to retrieve his pack. When it was brought to the front of the column, the sergeant searched through the contents until he found the map readout token, which he keyed into a full view for Rahuna. Muttering under his breath, His Serene Holiness took a minute to orient himself to the representation of the surrounding area. Studying first one segment of the map then another, Rahuna returned to the first quadrant.
 

Holding one of Tom’s limp hands curled in her own, Andi sat cross-legged in the grass, hoping Rahuna would find what he sought.
 

“Yes, here.” The priest stabbed a thick finger at a spot close to the route they’d been following. “We can obtain help here, I believe.”

“That’s in the damn mountains, sir.” Putting his hands on his hips, Wilson studied the surrounding area on the holographic map.

Andi came to look at the map herself. She had trouble reading the shimmering, translucent image, hanging in thin air as it did, then she realized what Rahuna was talking about. “The Monastery of the Clouds?”
 

He nodded. “The monks there can assist us in nursing the captain. Or at least making him comfortable while he fights off this fever you speak of.”

Uncertainty made her anxious. “Isn’t the monastery a myth?”
How much faith do I dare put into such a destination? Should we risk Tom’s life on a decision to go there?
 

Rahuna jabbed at the colorful dot pulsing on the map. “Not a myth, I assure you.” He stood, arms akimbo, eyebrows raised as if he was amazed they didn’t believe him.

“What if we carry him all the way there and find it abandoned?” Andi made a small gesture at the red dot. “We can’t afford to waste time.”

Wilson took Tom’s pulse, counting the beats with a furrowed brow. “Pulse is racin’.” He stared at Andi and Rahuna. “You know the territory and I don’t, so I’m open to suggestions.”

“We won’t find the cloister abandoned.” With a wave of his hand, Rahuna refuted Andi’s worry. “The Monastery of the Clouds is a venerated shrine of Sanenre. There are always those who choose to serve and meditate in a place close to Heaven, far from the rest of the world.”

Wilson stood up, dusted off his pants and walked over to stand right in front of Andi. “What do you think, ma’am?”
 

Taking a deep breath, Andi shifted her eyes from his, looking down at Tom.
 
“If there are monks still at the monastery, then His Serene Holiness has a point. We know there’s no other help closer than the capital. We can’t carry Tom all the way there in his condition. I say we go for it.” She brought her gaze back to Wilson’s face.

Nodding, he swiveled to address the other soldiers. “All right. Latvik, get Abukawal. The three of us will have to make a litter and lash the captain to it. Then we’ll take turns carryin’ him. Any chance of a comlink at this place?”
 

The old priest shook his head at the sergeant’s question. “Sorry, no. The monks shun all aspects of modern life as part of their discipline. It is meant to be a secluded, private place, remaining unchanged through the millennia.”

“Too much to expect, I guess. Our luck has been flat busted this trip.” Wilson kicked at a rock. “Damn. Well, then, Miss Markriss, if you’d stay here and keep an eye on the captain for a few minutes? He should be fine for a while, after the inject I gave him, but call me if you see any real change.”

“I’ll tend to Lady Lysanda and the child,” Rahuna said. “Keep them amused, so that Abukawal can be free to help you.”

Andi sat beside the unconscious captain for the next half hour, alternating between staring anxiously at him and watching Wilson with his two designated assistants cut branches and lace together a crude litter. They shifted Tom’s tremor-racked body onto the litter and restrained him. Rahuna led them out of the valley and up a faint path into the higher peaks.

***

Hours passed in a blur for Andi.
 

This is the most grueling march we’ve done yet.
Her knees throbbed, her shoulders ached and her head was pounding.
Staring at the dry ration bar in her hand, Andi was tempted to toss it over the nearest cliff. She kept herself walking and forced herself to chew and swallow.
I can rest the next time Wilson calls a halt to rotate litter bearers. We must be due for that soon. Thank the Lords for Zulaire’s two moons. Between them and the hand lamps, I might manage to stay on the trail and avoid falling off the mountain.

During the night, Andi marveled more than once at the superb physical conditioning of the soldiers. The men kept climbing at a steady pace, even carrying the litter and their packs. She’d always regarded herself as being in good shape but had increasing difficulty keeping up. The higher altitude caused her shortness of breath and a nagging headache behind her eyes that threatened to become a full-fledged migraine before the night was over.

Sadu fell asleep in his carrier on Abukawal’s back. Head bobbing with the warrior’s every step, the toddler slumped over. Lysanda walked without complaint, although eventually she lagged behind the rearguard.
 

The column halted. Lysanda had collapsed by the side of the trail, her eyes closed.

Sighing, Andi trudged back to see what she could do.

Abukawal was already crouched beside the princess. “We’ll rest awhile then come along after you. I can carry her, too, as well as the child, if need be.” He made shooing motions at Andi with his hands. “You go on.”

“I promised the captain I’d look after them both,” Andi said. “He made it a condition for bringing them. They’re actually my responsibility—”

“And seeing the demands on you, I’ve gladly made them mine,” the warrior answered. “This is a duty I can handle very well, Miss Markriss. I have younger brothers Sadu’s age at home. And the lady trusts me. I won’t violate her faith in me.”

Tempted, Andi looked over her shoulder at Tom, unconscious on the crude litter. Concern for him was foremost in her mind. “He needs me—”

“He does.” Abukawal nodded, giving her a gentle push. “Divided loyalties are no good in our current situation. I take the Tonkilns as my first priority now. You go with the captain, care for him with your outworlder knowledge.”
 

Wilson rolled his shoulders. His words were terse, to the point. “I can’t leave anyone back here with you, Abukawal. I need Rogers and Latvik to help carry the captain.”

“I understand. I have the blaster you lent to me. The Serene One says we are getting very close to our destination. If you find the monastery, then you can send help to us.” Abukawal pointed at Tom, moaning and thrashing in ever-more-violent convulsions. “I think we don’t have much more time to get him to shelter, do you?”

Wilson wiped at his forehead. “He’s slippin’ into the most severe part of the bhengola fever cycle. Even if I had the right medication, his survival would be touch and go. Sure hope these monks have something to help.”

We’re wasting time.
Andi came back to the litter and touched Wilson’s arm. “Rahuna says it can’t be far now. Shouldn’t we move out?”
 

Wilson’s shoulders slumped for a brief moment. The movement was the only outward sign of stress Andi had seen him display. Resolutely, he straightened, turning back toward the litter. “All right, Latvik, I’ll spell you.”

“Good luck,” Abukawal called as the litter bearers trudged onward in the predawn grayness.

“Take good care of her, okay?” Andi took a last look at Lysanda, feeling a certain amount of guilt at prioritizing Tom over the royal’s needs.
Has he really come to mean that much to me in such a brief time?
The cold dread rushing through her at the idea of losing the captain to the fever was her answer.

Taking a deep breath, Andi turned away, choice made.

Even the stoic Sectors soldiers were reaching the limits of their endurance. Sheer willpower was keeping them all going. Finally, Wilson called a halt. “Rogers, scout ahead and don’t come back until you find the damn place, all right? We have to know how much farther. Don’t fall off a cliff in the dark, soldier.”
 

Jogging slowly away, Rogers gave them a tired half smile and a wave in return.

Wilson stretched full-length on the hard-packed dirt of the trail, sighed and laid his head on the lumpy pack. “Can you put a fresh cold compress on the captain’s forehead for me?”

“Of course.” Andi ignored her own aches and sore muscles to tend Tom. They wouldn’t let her carry a corner of the litter, although she’d offered more than once. She was happy to do anything to help Wilson with his care.
 

Tom remained unconscious, muttering under his breath. Sweat poured down his face, and when Andi laid a hand on his forehead, she jerked it back. The captain was burning hot. “Can’t you give him something else for this fever?”

“If I do, it sends him into the chills. Those are by far the worst, ma’am. Better he run the fever as long as possible and stave off the chills. See if you can get him to take a little water. Dehydration’s a big risk at this stage.” Wilson stayed where he’d flung himself, close to the litter.

Without much success, Andi tried to dribble a few drops of lukewarm water from the canteen between Tom’s cracked, bleeding lips. After a minute, the captain jerked his head away fretfully.

Wilson took a catnap.

“How much chance does he have?” Andi pitched her voice low. She didn’t want anyone but the sergeant to hear her.

With a groan and obvious effort, he sat up, stretching from side to side, trying to unkink the knots in his back muscles, avoiding Andi’s gaze.

Leaning across the litter, she put a hand on his arm, waited till he met her inquiring gaze. “I want to know what to expect, to be prepared. I care about him, too, you know.”

“I plain don’t know, ma’am. He’s always beaten the bug off before.”

Offering him the unstoppered canteen, Andi frowned. “But you had the, what did you call it? Quine?”
 

“Right. And this time we don’t.” The sergeant took a long drink.

Pointing up the mountainside, Rahuna left the rock he’d chosen as a resting place. “I think your man is returning.”

Rogers was indeed coming back down, running at a breakneck pace. “The monastery is right around the bend. But you aren’t going to believe this—the place is built right into some kind of a mountain peak, as if it was floating on anti-grav lifters. There’s one hell of a rickety bridge going across.”

“Anyone home?” Wilson asked, closing the canteen and handing it back to Andi.

Rogers shook his head. “I didn’t stop to see, Sarge. There’s some kind of gong thing right at the edge of the bridge. I figured the priest here would have more luck talking to whoever answers the gong than I would.”

“Very wise, young man.” Rahuna nodded, turning to address the sergeant. “The Monastery of the Clouds has its defenses against the unknown. Let us proceed. Sanctuary is at hand.”

Staring at him with narrowed eyes for a minute, Wilson shrugged. “Yeah, okay. Latvik, you and I have the duty. Rogers, lead the way.” He glanced at Andi. “Can you make it a little farther, ma’am, or do you need a longer break?”

I’ll make it to the monastery or else.
Hands on her hips, tapping the toe of one foot, she said, “Let’s just go.”

 
The sergeant leaned over to speak quietly to Andi as he walked past her to take up the litter again. “I wish I felt as sure as you do that there’s actually help to be had at this place.”

She stared after him.
There has to be help or the captain is going to die.

Chapter Five

As Andi rounded the last bend in the mountain trail, Zulaire’s huge red sun peeked over the far horizon. A shaft of crystalline morning light flowing between two peaks like a river of molten fire struck the small monastery.