Salene's Secrets (46 page)

“You’re right,” Talus said.  “Jinjie, will you help with this?  You’re the only one who can make that stuff do what you want.”

“Yes, me do be helping.”

Salene put her pack down and opened it.  She removed four thermal sheets still in their packages, plus four that had been used for various things over the past couple of days.  “We’ll need more than this, I’m afraid.”

“We’ve got plenty,” Talus said, opening his pack and handing her a stack of them.  “Jon and I’ll go out and gather firewood and water.  I want everyone else to stay inside, and keep your suits on until we give the word.”

“All right,” Salene said.  She watched them leave then unfolded one of the sheets and spread it out for the children to sit on.  “Do you think you can open some of these for me?” she asked Mali.

“Yes, I can do that,” she replied eagerly, accepting the stack.  She immediately opened the first one the way she’d seen Salene do and handed it to her. 

“Thank you,” Salene said.  She unfolded the thermal sheet and shook it out, then she and Jinjie got to work lining the inside of the tree trunk.

The thermal fabric was thin, flexible, temperature resistant and very tough.  All good things until you wanted to attach it to something, or try to cut it.  A special annealer made it fairly simple to connect one sheet to another, but attaching a sheet to the stone tree would have been impossible without Jinjie’s magic, and even he couldn’t cut one.  Working together, with Kar reaching the high areas, it didn’t take long to finish the task.  They added another sheet over the entrance and Salene declared it a job well done.  She gathered the empty packaging and returned it to her pack, then gave Mali a kiss on the forehead in thanks. 

“We can’t light a fire yet, but I think we should go ahead and setup camp.”  She removed the shrunken bundle of blankets and sleeping bags from her pocket and set it on the floor.  Once Jinjie returned it to its normal size, Salene began setting things up the way they’d been the night before.  Mali got up and helped, earning an approving smile from Salene that made her flush happily.  By the time Talus and Jon returned with water and wood, camp was set up, including the Gryphons’ sleeping bags. 

Salene used one of her
Kunian
steel knives to cut kindling so when Captain Royce gave them the all clear a short time later, the fire was ready to light.  Within moments they had a fire going and two containers of purified river water heating for hot drinks.  With the thermal sheets lining the interior of the petrified tree and covering the entrance, the space was surprisingly warm and cozy.

“Shall I make stew again or do you have something better for us?” she asked Jon.

“We’ve got better,” he said, opening his pack and removing a large bulging bag.  He opened it up and removed several different prepackaged freeze dried meals.  Each meal was smaller than the palm of Salene’s hand, but once water was added and they were cooked for a short time, they’d expand into full meals.  They each selected what they wanted, the children going by the pictures since the food was completely unfamiliar to them.  A few minutes later their meals were simmering over the fire along with another roast for Tonka.

“How far are we from the silo?” Talus asked Tonka while they waited for dinner to cook.

“About half a day at the speed we’ve been traveling,”
he replied.
  “I could run there in about two hours in this terrain without snow on the ground, and from what I saw earlier, you three could do the same.”

“That’s good news,” Talus said with relief.  “I have a bad feeling about that patrol ship.”

“Why?” Salene asked.  “What are you thinking?”

“If that hybrid had a Controller as you and Jinjie suspect, then they’ve surely found it by now.  One look will be enough for them to know that Tonka didn’t kill it, so they’ll know he has help even though the hybrid never actually saw any of us.  I suspect they’ll assume he’s making his way to the silo to rescue the people they took from the settlement.”  Talus paused.  “Any arguments so far?”

Everyone shook their heads, including Tab and Mali, which made them all want to smile, though they didn’t.  “If I’m right, they’ll most likely be patrolling the area between the dead hybrid and the silo searching for us, which would explain that ship coming so close to us today.” Talus paused a moment, then added, “There’s also the possibility that they found your life pod.”

“They can’t have found the pod itself, but they could have found the site,” Salene said.

“You dissolved it?”

“Yes, I did.  Unfortunately, there were a few bits and pieces scattered around, and I never did see the pod door.”  Talus’s eyes widened at that, then went to the bump she still had high on her forehead.  He shook his head, chasing away the mental image of Salene in an open pod as it burned its way through the atmosphere before crashing into the ground.  That can’t have happened, of course, or she wouldn’t be sitting there in front of him, but that didn’t seem to stop the image in his mind from replaying itself in bright, vivid color.

“Our ships should get here by tomorrow night at the earliest, more likely the following day some time,” Kar said.  “Could we stay here until they arrive?”

“No,” Salene said.  “We can’t wait that long.”

“Do you know why yet?” Jon asked.  Salene shook her head. 

“I don’t think we should wait in any case,” Talus said.  “I think the longer we stay in one place, the more likely they’ll find us.  The one advantage we have is that they don’t know how fast we can move.  They probably think it’ll take us another full day at best to reach the silo since that’s how long it would take at a normal pace.  I suggest we leave at first light, and travel to the silo as fast as we possibly can.  They’ll never expect us to reach it so quickly.”

Salene looked over to where the children sat near the fire, not a bit surprised to find Tab yawning sleepily, or Mali listening.  She was very smart, and she had a need to know what was happening around her, something Salene understood very well.

“Tonka, do you know of a place outside the silo where the children could wait for us in safety?” she asked.

“Where we are right now is the closest place I would consider safe cover for them,”
Tonka said.

Salene shook her head.  “I can’t leave them here.  It’s much too far from the silo, and they’re completely defenseless.  If the Nomen didn’t find them, an animal could.”

“You’re right, leaving them here unprotected is not an option,” Talus agreed.  “I don’t think we have any choice but to take them with us.”

“Mom?” Mali said softly, causing Salene to smile as she always did when Mali called her that.

“Yes, honey?”

“I don’t want to go to the silo.  But I don’t want to stay here alone, either.  Can Jinjie stay with us?”

“I’m afraid not,” Salene said.  “We need Jinjie to handle the computer systems once we get inside.  I don’t have the knowledge he does, and it’s really important that we find out where the other silos are so we can help those people, too.  Tonka has to go because without him, we won’t be able to find the silo at all.” 

Mali thought for a few moments, then nodded.  “We’d better go with you then.”

“I’m sorry, Mali,” Salene said.  “I just don’t know what else to do.  I’d stay here with you, but I have to go, too.”

“Why?” Talus asked, earning immediate glares from Jon, Kar, Jinjie and Tonka.  He arched one brow, then shook his head.  “I wouldn’t think of leaving you behind, Salene, nor the children.  I just want to know why you said you have to go.” 

“I don’t really know,” Salene said thoughtfully.  “I just feel it.  I have to go.  I have to be there.”  She saw Mali open her mouth, hesitate, then lift her chin.

“Will you promise not to leave us there?”

“Yes, honey, I promise not to leave you there.  I’m your Mom, and I’d
never
leave my children behind.  Not
ever
.”

“Nor would any of the rest of us, Mali,” Talus added.

Mali nodded, her shoulders relaxing.  “Thank you,” she said softly.

Salene made a mental note to reassure Mali on this subject as often as possible.  The conversations they’d had so far helped, and she thought that getting off this planet would help a lot more.  Mali was intelligent, and understood things that most children her age wouldn’t have.  But, both Mali and Tab had suffered some fairly traumatic events in their short lives.  She had a feeling Mali was going to need a lot of reassurance for some time to come, and probably some professional counseling as well.  At the moment, all she could do was keep them safe, keep the promises she made, and reassure them as much as she could.  Which reminded her.

“Mali, Tab, if anything happens to me, Jinjie, Tonka, Talus, Jon, and Kar will take you back to Jasan, like we talked about.  Won’t you?” she asked, looking at each of them as she spoke their names.

“We will,” Talus promised while Jon and Kar nodded in agreement.

“You know I’m already sworn to protect you,”
Tonka said. 
“But yes, I too make this promise.”

“Jinjie do be promise, too.  Lady Bear do be liking children much.”

“Thank you,” Mali said, her voice stronger this time.

Salene got up and went to kiss Mali on the forehead, then she zipped her suit shut and stepped out of the tree into the cold night air before letting the tears fall.  She had a few minutes to herself before Talus, Jon, and Kar joined her.  Talus scooped her up without a word, then headed for the river.  He leapt over it, pulling Salene close against his chest to protect her from being jostled by the landing.  He waited for Jon and Kar to join them, then ran to the grove of living trees a little further up river before setting her on her own feet.  Salene wiped her eyes, but before she could say anything, she noticed a small grayish cloud forming just a few feet away from them.  She faced the cloud after signaling to her men that there was no danger, glad she’d remembered to tell them about Nia earlier that day.

“Hello, Nia,” Salene said after the cloud had finished forming.

“Greetings, Salene,” Nia said, bowing deeply with her hands pressed together before her. 

“Nia, these are my Rami, Talus, Jon, and Kar.”

“I greet you, Gryphons of the
Klanaren
, and offer profound gratitude on behalf of all the slaves of this world.”

“We haven’t done anything yet, Nia,” Talus said as he studied the gray-blue figure with interest.  “But we intend to.”

“Nia, you seem agitated,” Salene said, noting that unless she had them pressed together, Nia was having trouble keeping her hands still.

“I confess that I am,” Nia replied.  “I’ve been waiting for a chance to speak with you without the children nearby.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Salene said. 

“No, it is not good,” Nia said nervously.  “As you know, I am prohibited from telling you certain things, especially those things that have not yet occurred.  But I overheard something yesterday quite by accident, in my corporal form, that is not part of that which has been foreseen.”

“If you tell us and it turns out you shouldn’t have, your blood oath will kick in, won’t it?”

“By
kick in
I assume you mean activate?”  Salene nodded.  “Yes, that is my concern.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t tell us,” Salene said. 

“Perhaps not,” Nia agreed.  “But I have given this much thought and decided that I must take the risk.  It comes down to a choice between my life, and the lives of many others which, now that I’ve said that out loud, makes my choice even more clear.  I must tell you regardless of the consequences to myself.”

Salene pressed her palms together and bowed her head, honoring Nia for her choice.  “Whatever you tell us, be assured that we will do our utmost to act on it.”

“I thank you for your reassurance, Salene, though I never doubted that you would,” Nia said.  Then she took a deep breath, visibly preparing herself for what could be her last act.  Her jaw firmed and she met Salene’s gaze steadily.  “There is something circling this planet, a machine of some type that is beyond my knowledge or understanding, as so many things are in this place despite the many cycles I’ve spent here.  I’m afraid I cannot even describe it to you as I’ve never seen it, and I cannot remember the name I overheard the Nomen use for it.  When this object reaches a point in its orbit that is above Silo 56, it will release a weapon that will destroy the silo and all who reside within it.”

“
Demii
!” Talus growled.  “Nia, do you know when the satellite is expected to reach its firing point?”

“Satellite, yes, that was the word they used,” Nia said, relieved that they knew of such things.  “They were trying to determine what time the firing would occur for wherever we are now, and said it will go off when the sun is straight up over Silo 56.  They spoke also of new orders from the Doftles that require all Nomen and their machines to go to ground before that time, where they are to remain hidden at all costs until further notice.”

“They think Tonka shared information about the other silos with the prisoners of Silo 56,” Salene guessed.  “That makes Silo 56 a security leak, and Doftles are all about security.”