Tara The Great [Nuworld 2] (49 page)

confines of the dome.

When Andru saw Tara, his arms reached toward her. Tara saw his mouth move as

he called out to her. His blond curls stuck to the side of his face, and Tara guessed he

had been crying hard enough to soak his cheeks. Her heart tore in two at the pain she

knew her son was suffering.

Tasha would die for this.

Tara pulled up alongside her sister to force her down.

Darius blocked the other side, keeping his eyes locked on Tasha’s glider.

“The way I see it, you’re two up on me.” Tasha looked straight at Tara. She saw the

crazed look in Tasha’s eyes. Her desperation. Her pain. “He raped me. You stole Tigo. I

owe you this.”

Tasha dove toward the ground.

A suicide dive. Crator, no!

Tara screamed.

Darius dove faster. He was almost underneath Tasha.

Tara saw her sister’s face. She looked confused.

Tasha pulled up to avoid hitting him, probably instinct. Her glider hit the ground,

bouncing but not losing control.

Darius raced his glider next to her, swerving in front of her, again forcing Tasha to

slow down.

Tara remained behind Tasha, on her tail, ready to dart to either side if Tasha tried to

take off over the rocky ground.

Darius slowed his bike further, and Tasha slowed as well. Tara matched their

deceleration from the rear. Finally, the three gliders stopped.

Tasha’s dome opened first, and she pulled out Andru.

His screams were hysterical, mixed with hiccups, and he twisted and thrashed his

body violently in his aunt’s arms.

Tara pushed herself free of her glider as soon as her dome rose. “Put him down,

Tasha.” Tara aimed her laser at her sister’s head, knowing without doubt she could kill

Tasha without harming Andru. But in the darkness, after being kidnapped and

subjected to a high-speed chase, Andru had been through enough in the past hour. Tara

wouldn’t force him to see bloodshed if she could avoid it.

Tasha tightened her grip around Andru and shook him until he stopped kicking.

Darius climbed off his glider and moved quickly to Tara’s side. He continued on,

passing her as he headed toward Tasha.

Tasha backed up and tried to grab her laser, although Tara could see it was almost

impossible for her sister to restrain Andru with only one arm. “Get away from me,” she

screamed.

Andru jumped from the loudness next to his ear and reached for Darius.

Tasha didn’t focus on Darius, but looked around him to see Tara. “The Runners

mock him, you know that, don’t you? They know he lies. A hypocrite and a liar. Some

ruler!”

“Papa, I want you!” Andru reached his hands out toward Darius.

“You don’t want him, Andru,” Tasha spoke loudly with her face pushed into the

boy’s hair. “He’ll raise you to be just like him, raping women, lying to his people, his

family, his claim.”

Darius aimed his laser, fired, and hit Tasha broad in the shoulder.

She screamed and staggered backward a couple steps, then released Andru.

The little boy fell to the ground. Tara ran past Darius and scooped the boy into her

arms.

“Mama, I will be like Papa. I will, I really will.” The little boy shook uncontrollably.

Tara wrapped her arms around him, as if she could block out the atrocities. “It’s

okay, baby. Don’t worry. You’ll be just like your Papa. He just saved your life.” Tara

shushed her son as she knelt on the ground rocking him.

The little boy continued to shake and cry, burying his head into her chest.

She wished she had more arms to wrap around him. Anything, so she could soothe

her baby. Tara tried to calm herself so she could better reassure her son. But her anger

still flared.

Darius stood over Tasha, a death grip still on his laser.

Tara could see his arm, every muscle flexed.

Tasha lay in her own pool of blood at his feet. Burnt flesh and fresh blood filled the

air with their vile smells. The laser, at close range, had dismembered her arm from the

shoulder.

Tara walked toward Darius, Andru embraced to her chest. He pulled both of them

into his arms. He felt good, holding them, and Tara leaned into him with her son, not

moving for a minute.

She’d heard about two soldiers, once they’d bonded, being able to act as one

person, without thought, without words. And that’s what she and Darius had just done.

Letting out a sigh, she knew, in her heart, that even though neither one of them were

perfect, they were bonded…for life.

“Take him. I’ll be with you in a moment,” Tara whispered.

Andru willingly crawled into his papa’s arms. “Be careful, mama. She’s bad.”

Tara didn’t speak but rubbed her hand along her son’s cheek and smiled.

Darius carried their son to the gliders.

Tara stood over Tasha. She would have to tell Patha about the whole terrible

episode. He wouldn’t be happy until he knew everything. And then he still wouldn’t be

pleased. She knew her papa well. He would know if parts of the story were missing.

She’d have to tell him she’d taken Tigo, even though she hadn’t planned to.

She breathed deeply and covered her mouth with her hand, staring at her almost-

dead sister.

The gurgling coming from Tasha’s mouth was sporadic. Blood poured from her

mouth, nose, and ears. It also gushed from her shoulder where the arm had been

severed. Her eyes opened and she looked up at Tara, moving her mouth.

Tara squatted next to her sister and studied her face, knowing her own expression

was blank as a sudden calm soaked through her.

“I’ll tell you,” Tasha’s voice came in spurts between choking fits. She spit blood

with each movement of her lips. “He said no. He told me to go away. I wouldn’t…” she

coughed again.

“Nothing you’ve said has changed my opinion of him,” Tara said to her dying

sister.

“But I tried to make you believe, I wanted you to believe…” She grimaced in pain.

“It’s done,” Tara said simply.

“I allowed evil to be born, no one else.” Tasha squeezed her eyes shut and coughed.

“He didn’t know. No one knew.”

Tara watched the blood soak the ground until it came within inches of her boots.

The smell of the blood and Tasha’s burnt flesh nauseated her, but she didn’t move

away.

“I wanted revenge,” Tasha continued. “You’re right. It’s done.” She tried to keep

speaking, but choked. Her one hand, now covered with thick, red blood, reached

toward Tara, but fell back to her chest. She whispered, “Not in my hands any more, not

in yours. It knows where he is. I can’t change it.”

She didn’t make any sense, and Tara didn’t ask her to explain.

Tasha coughed again. “Tara.” She made an effort to move her still attached arm, but

failed. “Tara?”

“What?”

“End it.”

Tara remained squatting, adjusted her laser for close range, and shot her sister.

Tasha lay still.

Tara looked at the mutilated woman for a moment, then sighed as she dropped

back to sit on the ground. All her life, Tasha had been a thorn in Tara’s side, taking

every opportunity to point out Tara’s mistakes, or a job not well done. The two of them

had fought over attention from Patha, how a task should be handled, even who had

more right to pursue a boy.

Tara had reminded herself again and again that Tasha despised her presence

because Tara had been brought into the family, and not born into it. Tasha had been

jealous and resentful of Tara’s accomplishments, when Tasha hadn’t been able to

measure up. But over the winters, Tara had learned that the two women chose their

own paths.

Tasha still remained Tara’s sister, however, and a sense of loss Tara hadn’t

anticipated crept through her. Maybe it was a result of all that had happened in the

recent past, but grief swarmed through her, and she felt her throat tighten. Her sister

lay mangled, bloody and dead on the ground in front of her, and she stared at Tasha

until her vision blurred.

Tara finally allowed her head to sag. She laid her head on her knees and cried.

“Tara.” Darius’ voice was gentle, but it seemed to travel over thousands of miles.

“Andru and I are going home.”

She looked over at papa and son, thankful for the darkness so Andru couldn’t see

the atrocity at her feet or the tears on her face. He’d been through enough. His face

seemed calm now, but the night and blurred vision from tears could be fooling her. His

tiny arms wrapped around his papa’s neck. He looked so small next to Darius, so

innocent. How long would that innocence last?

“Papa, look.” Andru pointed at Tara. No, he was pointing to something else. Tara

turned her head to see what he looked at.

The dog-woman stood on the opposite side of Tasha. She waved a deformed finger

at Andru and smiled her toothless smile. A cold breeze rippled through the grass. A

chill went through Tara, and she shook in spite of herself.

“Now is the Waiting,” the dog-woman said and looked down at Tasha. “Bury her

according to your customs and pray for her soul. She made her decisions and now she

stands before Crator.”

“Waiting for what?” Tara asked. She glanced at Darius and Andru.

Andru looked completely relaxed, no fear at all on his gentle face.

Darius watched her, and did not look in the direction of the old woman. He still

couldn’t see the dog-woman.

“I told you the evil was done. His tools are scattered, but not destroyed. He won’t

let go.” The old woman looked into Tara’s eyes. “Crator knows your heart, Tara-girl. He

knows your intentions and motives.”

“I didn’t know what the evil was. What was I supposed to destroy? If He knows my

thoughts, then He knows I didn’t know where the evil was.” Tara paused, then said

quieter, “I saw it in several places.”

“You saw the tools. Evil uses, destroys, and moves along.”