The Renegades (The Superiors) (17 page)

“Why
haven’t you told me of these pains?”

“I
don’t know. I felt bad complaining when you’re carrying everything and all I
have to carry is a knife.”

“Then
we shall rest a bit. Let me see your feet.”

Cali
pulled an edge of blanket free from Leo and clumsily situated herself beside him.
She stretched her legs towards Draven, who knelt before her and removed her
socks, careful to move slowly and lift them away from her blistered skin.
Though he could not see well during daylight, he could tell the condition of
her feet had deteriorated since he’d last seen them. Removing his hat to
increase his scenting abilities took away most of his vision, but he could
scent an infection with his senses unhindered. His fingers explored her feet
with gentle thoroughness, finding their way over the soft swells of her new
blisters, the sticky flaps of shriveled skin where others had recently broken,
and the smooth spots where thicker skin had formed in place of her oldest
blisters.

“I
can ease a bit of the pain in your feet,” he said, satisfied that she had
escaped infection, if not discomfort. “But little can be done for your legs.
You will grow stronger as we continue, and they won’t hurt anymore.”

“So
all I can do is wait?”

“I
know it is little comfort now,” Draven said.

“Well…yeah.
But I guess I can’t do much about that.” She drew away when he took up her foot
and raised it to his mouth. “What are you doing?” she asked warily.

“My
saliva has properties that will help you heal and stop bleeding.”

“But…my
feet are dirty.”

“Very
well,” he said, kneeling to scoop her up. She uttered a shrill cry of surprise
and clutched his neck, then relaxed as he carried her to the stream. When he
set her down on the shore, she gave him an odd look before stepping into the
water. She gasped and hugged herself, lifting one foot and then the other as
she stood in the edge of the water. After a few moments, she retreated. Draven
smiled at her trepidation concerning water, but he didn’t mention it. Instead,
he carried her back to the bluff without a word. When he’d settled her into her
spot at the edge of the blanket next to the baby, he resumed his earlier task.

Lifting
her foot, he again brought it to his mouth. She watched him as she did when he performed
any task she’d never seen done, such as cleaning meat or carving wood. But when
his tongue touched her instep, she jerked spastically and began giggling.
Draven ceased and drew back to look at her. He’d rarely heard her laugh, and
never in such an unthinking way, as if it burst forth from her with no
restraint. Her giggling was so unexpected, so new to Draven, that he couldn’t
help smiling.

“What
amuses you?” he asked.

“It
tickles,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Sorry. I’ll try to be still.”

But
she did not still. She jerked uncontrollably all the while, tugging at her foot
while Draven cleaned it, giggling and apologizing until she woke Leo, who let
out one hoarse cry before settling back into his fitful slumber. After wetting her
broken skin and blisters with saliva, Draven held her foot, unsure if he should
allow himself some measure of amusement. After a moment, he flicked his tongue
between her toes.

“Stop,
stop,” she said, gasping for breath. She rocked back and forth, kicking her
foot at him.

Chuckling,
he released his hold on her ankle. “You’re quite an amusing girl,” he said, capturing
her other foot.

“No,
no, don’t do it again. Please stop,” she said, though he could hardly
understand her words through her laughter.

He
bit back a smile. “You agreed to do anything I asked,” he said. “You promised
when I returned for your child.”

While
she giggled and thrashed against his hold, he ran his tongue over her blistered
skin. When he finished, he pulled away, laughing with her, caught her other
foot and pulled her towards him. He used a bit more force than he’d intended,
and Cali’s braced hands slipped from under her and her body slid towards him,
pulling the blanket with it. Now on her back, she looked up at him kneeling
between her knees. Both halted their laughter abruptly.

Draven
pushed her back and cleared his throat.

“I
cannot heal your legs, as the soreness originates in your muscles,” he said, again
taking her foot into his hands. He cupped her heel in his palm and began massaging
his thumbs into her ankles and the tendons at the back of her foot, working his
way up her leg tentatively. He knew he could easily bruise her and cause more
discomfort than he alleviated. Avoiding her gaze, he studied the movement of
his hands, although his fingers, rather than his eyes, guided him—the sunlight
that filtered into their protected spot under the cliff nearly blinded him.

“Tell
me if I’m too hard,” he said after a bit.

“No,
it feels good.”

He
could not disagree. The icy water had chilled her feet until he’d forgotten for
a moment how her warmth captivated him, how he craved it almost as much as her
sap. It was part of the same magic, inextricably linked. Her bodily warmth reminded
him of the warmth of sap, the warmth of life that flowed in her veins. He could
no longer remember why that heat had so disgusted him for most of his Superior
life.

Suddenly
Cali’s hand covered his. “Stop,” she whispered. He glanced up at her face for
the first time since he’d begun, a bit disconcerted. Lost in thought, he’d
forgotten her, forgotten himself. Her tense fingers squeezed his, a resistant
reminder of what separated them. Smiling to himself, he shook his head, but he acquiesced,
working his fingers down her thigh instead of continuing.

Perhaps
it was not so silly to her—perhaps a Superior had hurt her when she’d worked in
the restaurants. And certainly a breeder would have been unpleasant, and she’d
mentioned that Larry had paid her unwelcome attention.

Draven
lowered her right foot and took up the other, cradling it between his hands at
first, moving on to her calf and thigh, stopping at the height he estimated
she’d protest. When he finished, Cali pulled the blanket tight around her
shoulders and sat up. The sudden movement sent Leo tumbling off the side of the
blanket onto the stone floor. Instantly he awoke and let out a mournful wail,
clearly indignant at receiving such treatment. Cali snatched him up and kissed his
reddening face repeatedly, sneaking guilty glances at Draven all the while. He
shook his head again and returned to the fire, contemplating her oddness.

After
feeding the fire, he surveyed the most shadowy section under the overhang. “I
will take sleep for a few hours,” he said. “Rest if you wish. Please awaken me
when the sun is in the middle of the sky. We will leave then.” Having donned
his hat and shades while he spoke, he turned his back to the light and curled
up on the hard stone floor to sleep. He’d not slept in a real bed for so long that
the backseat of a car had felt like luxury. Now, sleeping in a snow bank would
have seemed a luxury compared to this.

When
he awoke, the sun was hurtling off center towards the west. Pushing himself
into a sitting position, he saw what he had sensed the moment his consciousness
returned. All his things, the backpack and supplies and gear, lay just as he
had left them. Cali had vanished.

His
sense of panic rising every moment, he sprang from the cold stone floor and
into the entrance of the shelter, scenting in either direction. Her scent
lingered over everything, but only coals remained in the fire pit, radiating a
dull heat. For a moment, two, more, Draven waited for a tangible signal, anything
to indicate which way she’d gone. A fragment of sound found its way to him,
half a word of Leo’s babbling, curling over the rustling leaves and sighing branches,
the gurgling water, the forest sounds that suddenly deafened his exerted
senses.

In
an instant, Draven leapt from the ledge and started in the humans’ direction.
He had not gone far before he spotted them. Leo sat on the bank of the creek,
half wrapped in the blanket, gathering handfuls of the small stones around him,
depositing some in his mouth and some in his lap. The babbling sounds that had
failed to escape Draven as successfully as his human captives poured forth from
the sapling’s mouth, now easily discernible over the noises around them.

Draven’s
eyes swept across the child, absorbing the necessary information before being
arrested by the sight before him. Cali stood in the creek with her bare back to
him, the icy water circling her thighs as she bathed herself. For a few moments,
perhaps longer, Draven stood watching, in the grip of her strange spell. Of
course, he had every right to watch his saps so they did not attempt an escape,
especially a repeat offender like Cali. Only…he did not watch her in that
capacity. He did not watch her as if she were a sapien at all.

Realizing
the direction of his thoughts, he turned abruptly and hurried back to the cave.
He could not imagine what strange enchantment had taken hold of him, or how to
rid himself of it.

Chapter 30

“I
know it’s Kidd and that’s a fact,” Byron said. “I guarantee you he’s involved.”

“Can’t
guarantee unless you got proof. And you,” Milton said, stabbing his index
finger onto the surface of his desk for emphasis, “don’t have proof.”

“But
you should have seen him,” Byron insisted. “He knew about my runaway sapien,
and no one knew about that. He said someone told him. I ask you this, who could
have told him?”

Milton shrugged his broad, hard shoulders. “I don’t know, but I don’t guess we can arrest
a man for knowing your business.”

“I
know
. He has people hiding out in the woods, working for him. That’s where
these missing people went. That’s where he’s taken my saps. They’re working for
him, and that incubus is in on it, too.”

“I
hate to tell you this, Enforcer, but you’re starting to worry me.”

Byron
had to admit, he couldn’t blame the man. He had no proof, and now he’d started
spouting theories about people hiding in the woods. If Marisol had heard him,
she would have said he sounded ‘cuckoo.’ Still, he knew the kid was just not
right.

“Fine,
but I still want to know how he found out. I’m telling you, he could barely
contain his glee at my loss. He must have done it.”

“So
the kid’s a little shit. I’ll give you that. He can’t control his own property,
so he takes pleasure in the same misfortune befalling others. That doesn’t mean
he’s involved. He doesn’t even live around here. He registers when he leaves
town, and he was in Texas when that happened.”

“I’m
telling you. He’s got all those missing saps hidden away somewhere. And mine
with them.”

“Or
maybe they just ran away. More likely, though, this Draven fellow stole them.
We have proof of that. Don’t worry, when the trackers bring him in, we’ll
convict. If he says Kidd’s involved, that’s evidence. But the simplest theory
is usually correct. Things are usually just what they seem.”

Byron
seethed. He didn’t need this arrogant prick telling him what every Enforcer
knew, as if he’d just won the job. He knew as much as Milton, and this time,
more.

“I’m
not worried about Draven,” Byron spat. “He’s only a Third. But I would like to
pursue investigating this kid. I’ll do it on my own time.”

Milton
sighed and ran a big hand over his polished scalp. “Byron, I know you think
he’s a suspect, but we’ve already sent Enforcers into his private property
twice, and nothing came of it. And he contacted me personally to tell me that
Enforcers have been following him to meetings and lingering around his home.
Know anything about that?”

“Sure.
I told them to tail him for a while.”

“Byron,
you can’t do that. No evidence, no suspect. I don’t think the government will
be too happy to learn you’ve been employing their Enforcers against policy. I’m
going to have to ask you not to be involved with him anymore.”

“But
he’ll be here in a month, less than a month. He’s already invited me over.”

“Accepting
that invitation would not be wise, Enforcer. You’ve gotten involved personally.”
Milton pushed back from his desk and studied Byron before continuing. “We
understand, of course. You lost your sapiens, and that’s hard on anyone. It’s a
big investment. But unless Meyer becomes a suspect, I don’t want you
communicating with him in any way, or ordering others to do so. Believe me, we
all want this case solved, but you can’t start pointing fingers just to fit
your fancy.”

“Milton,
I respect your orders. But how is Meyer going to be a suspect when no one is
collecting evidence against him? I can build this case. I know I can.”

“Maybe
you should take some time off, concentrate on settling into our fine city. Are
you making friends?”

Byron
turned and stalked out of the office. Milton’s appearance alone aroused his
ire. Now he had insinuated he’d take him off the assignment altogether. Byron
would not let that happen. He would not let his temper get the better of him.
That damned kid would slip up eventually. And Byron would be waiting when he
did.

And
though Milton had ordered him not to communicate with Meyer, he hadn’t said
anything about watching him. As soon as Meyer arrived, Byron would hound him
every second of the night, staying just close enough that Meyer could feel the
pressure, but not so close that he could accuse Byron of wrongdoing.

On
his way home, Byron stopped to get a case of canned sap to supplement what he
got from his remaining sapien each night. Back at his apartment, he collapsed
into his chair, but immediately stood again, yanked off his jacket and flung it
across the room. This souldamned job, city, friends, sapiens. His whole life
had gone to shit since he’d taken this assignment.

He
cursed as he stalked around the crummy apartment, wishing he’d stayed at home,
where he had a family, a big house with all his things, obedient saps,
respectful colleagues, warm weather, and all that he was accustomed and entitled
to as a Second. But no use wasting time with homesickness. If he wanted to go
home, he knew how to make it happen—solve the damn case.

Having
calmed himself, he returned to his desk, sat, opened a can of sap, and called
the trackers.

“Sir,
your signal’s coming in,” Lapin said. “What can we do for you, Enforcer?”

“Got
anything? Any news?”

“We
found some things, sir. We’re on the trail. But they had a good start on us,
sir.”

“What’d
you find?”

“A
few fires they buried, sir. Somehow they aren’t leaving a scent, but we found
two fires and we’re looking for a third to put us on some sort of path. We
picked up the scent of your sapien around both fires, so we know it’s them.
Funny thing is, they aren’t leaving a trail on the ground. We don’t know what’s
going on, sir.”

“Maybe
he’s carrying her?”

“Could
be, sir. His scent would have faded by now. We can’t trace him after this long,
sir.”

“Can
you set your pod to track his?” Byron asked, though he didn’t know if Thirds,
even trackers, had this feature on their pods. He had access to these things,
but as an Enforcer, he had access to many resources that Thirds, and even most
Seconds, didn’t have.

“He
doesn’t have a pod, sir. That’s typical of criminals. But of course you know
that, Sir Enforcer. But we’re experts at scenting, and we usually pick right up
on a trail and don’t need hi-tech gadgets. Sir.”

“Dammit.
Let me think what I can do for you.” Byron could activate a tracer on Draven’s
pin, but that would mean he’d have to hunt him in the woods himself. Trackers
didn’t know about pins any more than any other Third did. And of course, he
couldn’t trace Cali’s locator chip anymore. Even a dumb shit like Draven would
have cut hers out the first chance he got. The scrambled code was only a
temporary fix—an expert could overwrite it and get a good signature as long as
the chip hadn’t yet been destroyed.

“All
due respect, sir, I don’t think we’ll need anything. Lathan just found another
fire. There’s a pattern of sorts, we know the direction they’re going.
Shouldn’t be too long, sir. If we don’t find them in two more weeks, we might
call in a couple more trackers, but I don’t see us needing that, sir.”

“Call
with any news.”

“We
won’t be coming back until we find your sapiens, sir. I’ll help look for clues
around the fire when you’re done with me, sir.”

“Of
course. I wouldn’t want to hold up your progress. Thanks for keeping me
updated.”

“Anytime,
Enforcer. Call any night you like, sir.”

Byron
disconnected and leaned back with a sigh. Things were looking up again. If he hadn’t
learned his lesson on the folly of encouraging Thirds who looked promising,
he’d have taken a greater interest in Lapin. But after Draven’s betrayal, he’d
never waste his time on a piece of Third Order trash again. Besides, he had more
pressing concerns, like Kidd’s arrival, and getting his saps back and punishing
them. Nothing to get too excited about until then, but in two weeks, things
should liven up around this hillbilly hellhole.