Flora's Fury: How a Girl of Spirit and a Red Dog Confound Their Friends, Astound Their Enemies, and Learn the Impo (34 page)

The rooms were so cold that I could see my breath. I didn’t see a cage, but when I put my hand on the corner stove, the metal felt like ice. I lifted one of the burner covers and peered inside; two baleful ice-white eyes stared up at me.

Captain Oset dug through a trunk and tossed me a wad of clean clothes. “Here, I’m a bit big for you, but La Bruja left some of her duds and I think you might be about her size. I’m sure she won’t mind; she’s been gone for several weeks, and who knows when she’ll be back.”

“Who’s La Bruja?” I asked. I’d never seen garments so garish; this La Bruja had horrific taste. The shirt was a goddess-awful plaid: acid green, shocking pink, and a shade of orange that almost hurt my eyes. Compared to it, the kilt and weskit were sedate: bright purple.
Well, you’ll wear it and like it,
Nini Mo said. At least the clothes were clean.

“Oh, she scouts for us sometimes,” Oset answered.“She’s a bit of a tippler, but she knows this country well. I’ll give your duds to Tio—he does the laundry. Your shirt is stiff enough to carry its own rifle. My striker can clean off your buckskin jacket. There’s no loo, of course, but the bog is out back, and there’s a pot under your bed. Pan, she’s our striker, she’ll set up the bath in the kitchen. Don’t worry, there’s curtains on the window. I gotta go make sure the kids get everything squared away at the corrals.”

“Here, I’ll go with you,” I said quickly. I wanted nothing more than to sink into a tub and scrub the Arivaipa dirt off my skin, but Tiny Doom was here somewhere and the sooner I found her, the better. “The troopers come first.”

Captain Oset gave me an approving glance and waved me to follow her. I didn’t actually expect to find Tiny Doom hiding out among the troopers, but I thought I should cover all the possibilities. And it would give me a chance to look around and get my bearings.

Even though it was getting dark, I put my charged sunshades on. My heart thrummed with excitement, and my hands were shaking; I thrust them into my jacket pockets so Captain Oset wouldn’t see. I had come so far, and now—any moment—I would finally meet her. But at the corral I didn’t see anyone who could be Tiny Doom, only a passel of grizzled lifers and some sad-looking fresh fish, or new recruits.

Everyone on the post is required to attend Retreat, giving me a perfect chance to spot Tiny Doom among the garrison. But as I stood next to Captain Oset, scanning the faces of the troopers arrayed before us, I didn’t see anyone who could be her, not even Glamoured. I had thought the hard part would be over once I reached Fort Sandy, but now I realized how stupid that hope had been. If I could spot her, she wouldn’t be very well hidden, would she?

Of course, if I couldn’t find her, Espejo couldn’t, either. Or, at least, I hoped he couldn’t.

The last note of Taps drifted out into the purple sky. A small breeze was beginning to flutter. Captain Oset bawled dismissal and the troopers broke rank, wandering away toward the corral, the barracks, the sutler’s store. A private bawled, “Chow time!” at the dog pack, which had been loitering in the shade of the COO during the ceremony, and the dogs surged out of the shadows and raced to his call, Flynn jostling happily among them.

“Come have a drink with me, Captain Romney,” Major Rucker said. I could tell the difference between a request and an order, so I followed him across the parade ground and down a narrow rocky track. To the east, a pink gash of light flashed: lightning. The track ambled up and down several washes; we picked our way carefully through the darkness, heading toward flickering lamplight. We came to a small tented pavilion. Inside, a few rickety chairs were scattered on packed dirt. The bar was made of three boards balanced on barrels. A sad-looking man plucked aimlessly at a banjo in one corner.

We sat down on the rickety chairs and the barkeeper brought us two dirty glasses full of muddy liquor. Major Rucker held up his glass in a toast.

“Welcome to Arivaipa, Lieutenant Fyrdraaca.”

I choked on the burning liquid. Major Rucker leaned over and pounded hard on my back and the bug juice dribbled out onto my front.

“How did you know?” I asked when I could speak again. I glanced over at the banjo player, but he didn’t seem to be paying any attention to us. The barkeeper had vanished.

Rucker saw my glance and said, “Oh, don’t worry about Jamon. He was a Redleg. Now he can’t hear his own daddy calling him to dinner.” He took another swig and continued, “I met you once before. I suppose you don’t remember. You were just a baby You had chubby cheeks and growly little teeth, and when I picked you up, you bit my shirt. Little wolf puppy, your mamma called you. Then you blew out your nappy all over my only white shirt.”

“Sorry”

“I guess I’ve forgiven you after all this time, as long as you don’t do it again. I’d say, ‘My, how you’ve grown,’ but that would be silly. Of course you’ve grown. That was almost sixteen years ago. But I have to say that I’m surprised Buck sent you. Very surprised.”

He knew who I was, but he didn’t realize my orders were forged. I could salvage this. I said quickly, “She needed someone she could trust.”

“Well, that’s understandable, but—no offense, Lieutenant—you are awfully young.”

“She has a lot of faith in me.”

“I am glad to hear it.” The major slammed another shot down. “I have to say that I’m relieved that it will all be over soon. It’s very tiring, you know. I fear I’m not the wild young colonial boy I once was. This sneaking around at night is beginning to wear on me. I am glad to give it up soon, and leave the goat-sucking to the professional goatsuckers.”

“It must be tough work,” I said cautiously. Had he just implied that the chupacabra was a hoax? Then why had he requested a chupacabra hunter?

“I never did like livestock,” Major Rucker said dolefully “And goats are the worst of all. Those horrible slitty eyes. Still, one must do what one must do. Duty, honor, et cetera. I am Buck’s devoted servant.”

“We are all Buck’s devoted servants,” I said.
Keep it meaningless,
said Nini Mo,
if you don’t know the meaning
Major Rucker hollered for another bottle, and the barkeep popped out of the back room, thumped another bottle on the table, and disappeared again.

Major Rucker poured us each another drink and slammed his down, then continued. “Those damn miners. I think they know something is up; I swear, some of them can sniff out jade in their sleep. They keep creeping across the Line. We stop some. The Dithee get the rest, but each breach is an offense to them. I fear eventually it’s going to mean trouble.”

"The Dithee—you mean the Broncos?”

"Ayah. At some point they may grow annoyed enough by the incursions to call the treaty off. Or some miner will manage to make it back and tip the Birdies off about the jade.”

Jade? What jade? It began to dawn on me that whatever was going on at Sandy was bigger than a chupacabra—a chupacabra that apparently did not exist.

"That would be very bad,” I said, like I was completely clued in.

"Very bad indeed,” Major Rucker said. "So you can see why I am eager to get things settled before everything blows up. One more incursion across the Line and we may well have lost them. There is a detail patrolling day and night, but those miners are sneaky I don’t know how much Buck told you about the Dithee—”

"She said you’d fill me in,” I said quickly. I didn’t know squat about the Broncos.

"There are five major clans of Dithee. They are interrelated, of course, but they each control their own territory. Although all the clans are equal in practice, some are stronger than others. There’s no one leader of the whole tribe, but some clan leaders garner more respect. Tilithay is the leader of the Red Turtle clan. He’s a good man, steady and wise, and very deliberate in his actions. He has a lot of clout and he is all for this treaty Which is good for us, as the jade is in Red Turtle territory”

Suddenly, I understood. Jade. There was jade on the other side of the Line, in Bronco territory, and Buck was making a deal with them to get it. The chupacabra was code for jade. No wonder Major Rucker had been willing to give a year off his life to ensure the swift arrival of his dispatch.

Jade is probably the rarest stone there is, and incredibly valuable. But the biggest jade mines are in Bir dieland, and so the Birdies have almost a total monopoly on it. They control the flow of jade, and with this control comes their power.

But what if they lost the monopoly? I thought back to my most hated and boring class at Sanctuary School: Economic Theory in Practice. If the market is flooded with a commodity, that commodity loses value. A country whose wealth and power is based on that commodity finds itself with too much of something that nobody wants because everyone already has it. That country’s economy collapses. And often, too, so does its government. If Buck flooded the market with jade, the Birdie economy would turn into worthless mush. The Birdie empire would be forced to its knees.

Pigface, Buck had been busy not putting all her eggs in one basket. Secret alliances with the Kulani Islands; secret alliances with the pirates; secret alliances with the Broncos—

But. But. But.

I realized something else. There was no chupacabra. Buck was not sending a chupacabra hunter. She was sending someone to strike a deal with the Broncos. And thanks to my lies, Major Rucker thought I was that person. Oh, fike.

I sat there, stone cold, while Major Rucker went on. “I’ve sent a message to Tilithay that you are here. I expect an answer quickly, and not soon enough for me. The sooner we can get all this settled, the better. Cierra Califa, eh. May she be free at last.” He raised his glass, and I did the same, echoing his sentiment and wondering what the fike I was going to do now. I couldn’t lie my way through a deal between Califa and the Broncos. There was too much at stake.

“Cierra Califa!” Major Rucker said, raising his glass again.

“Cierra Califa,” I repeated automatically My voice sounded a bit squeaky, but Major Rucker didn’t notice—for barely had my words died away when Captain Oset burst into the tent. Behind her a private clutched his rifle nervously. For one horrible moment, I thought she was there to arrest me. Then she said, “Captain Romney, I guess you’d better come. The chupa just went through the remuda. It got the guard.”

T
HE FENCE AT ONE END
of the corral was busted down; something had spooked the mules so badly they had stampeded. A thick metallic tang overpowered the smell of manure and mule. In the middle of the corral, a pond of black liquid shimmered in the starlight; under lamplight, it shone crimson red. A dark lump lay in the center of this pool.

Trying very, very hard to look as though I had seen worse, I stepped forward cautiously as the bloody mud sucked at my boots. One of the privates helpfully dipped the lantern lower so I could see better. I had
not
seen worse, not even in my nightmares. I swallowed hard. An experienced chupa hunter would not upchuck in front of everyone.

“I got an arm over here!” a voice hollered.

Another voice called, “I found his boot. Oh, and his foot, too!”

I glanced at Major Rucker. He had pushed his hat back on his head, and the lamplight gleamed off his sunshades, turning them into shining little moons. He looked mighty unhappy Flynn abandoned the dogs, who were yipping and growling on the far side of the corral, to huddle up against my legs as I petted him reassuringly.

“What happened?” Captain Oset asked the sergeant.

“Corporal of the Guard heard shooting, ran over, and found Private Hajo. Or what’s left of him, that is.”

“Where’s the other guard?”

“Don’t know, sir, but I got troopers out looking for him.”

Major Rucker, with no trace of disgust, had been looking quite closely at the wreckage of the guard. Now he said, “I don’t think the chupa did this.”

“What else, then?” Captain Oset said. “I told you it was going to get a soldier one day Pow.” I guessed she was not in on the chupacabra ruse.

“I never heard of a chupacabra killing a human. Look, he’s been ripped from limb to limb, and his throat torn out. And”—Major Rucker poked with his swagger stick—“he’s been chewed on. Chupacabras don’t chew their prey They suck them.”

“Nyana?” Captain Oset said to me. “What do you think?”

I didn’t think a chupacabra had done this, either, and not just because I now knew there was no chupacabra. Chupas may not chew on their victims, but jaguars sure do.

Before I could answer Oset, a corporal materialized out of the darkness in a bobbing circle of lantern light. “We found Mustadine. He’s scared kiltless, but he’s alive. He says he saw it and it weren’t no chupa.”

We followed the corporal around the corral to the hay yard, where a shivering private sat on a bale, clutching a bottle in shaking hands.

“Buck up, Mustie. It didn’t get you,” Major Rucker said kindly. “Tell me what happened.”

“I knew I was on duty, sir, but I got the polka real bad, and sometimes you just gotta go,” Mustadine said after another pull on the bottle. “I gave over to Pongo and he said he’d cover for me, and I ran to the bog, but it was occupado. So I went looking for a nice bush, you know, and no cacti spines, and anyway, I found a spot, and I was getting down to the dance, when all of a sudden I heard a weird scratching sound. Well, of course I didn’t move an inch, thinking maybe it were a coyote, but then I looked up and on the rock above me was the biggest cat I ever did see, as black as pitch.”

Pigface. Espejo had caught up with me. Fike.

“A black cat?” Captain Oset said, scoffing. “You mean like a bobcat?”

“No, sir,” Mustadine said. “I mean like a panther, a giant fiking panther.”

“Language!” the sergeant said sharply.

“I cry your pardon, sir, but that cat was big. I saw a panther at the Califa City Zoo once, but this was bigger. And that one was all spotted, you know, yellow and gold. This was as black as Choronzon’s nose. That cat scared the donk right out of me, begging your pardon, Captain, and I grabbed my rifle and shot at it, and it disappeared.”