Salene's Secrets (49 page)

“Thank you.  We won’t be long.  We need to get as far away from this place as we can, as fast as we can.” 

Mali nodded, relieved to hear that.  Then she remembered her cousin.  “Tab,” she said softly, looking up toward the control room window worriedly. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll find him,” Kar promised.  Mali nodded again.  They were trusting her with Salene and she knew that she could trust them with Tab. 

***

Salene opened her eyes, one hand already rising toward her head which ached terribly.  She blinked several times to clear her blurred vision.  When she found herself looking up into Mali’s worried eyes, she smiled.  “Hello, honey,” she said softly.

Mali offered her a trembling smile in return.  “Hi Mom.  Are you all right?”

“I think so, yes,” Salene said, taking stock of her body.  “I’m tired, and my head aches a bit.  Why am I lying here?”

“You…fell down and went to sleep,” Mali said, struggling to explain what she didn’t have a word for.

Salene’s eyes went to Jinjie, who stood on Mali’s shoulder studying her carefully.  She arched a brow at him and he nodded slowly, his relief at finding her unharmed so strong she felt it rolling off of him in waves.  “Power bond with Wolef do be stronger than you know.”

Salene frowned as she thought about that.  After a few moments the memories came back to her, slowly at first, then in a flood.  “Yes,” she said finally.  “It certainly is.  Is anyone hurt?”

“Thanks do be for you, your Gryphons, and Tonka, none here do be hurt,” Jinjie replied.  “Cannot be saying same to Nomen.”

Salene turned her head slightly when she heard what sounded like gentle murmuring, surprised to find a large group of people standing several yards away, watching her.  She was embarrassed to be lying on the floor and immediately tried to push herself to her feet.  Suddenly, Talus was there, lifting her into his arms.

“You might want to give yourself a little time before you start flying around again,” he said, his tone light, but his eyes serious.  “How do you feel?”

“My head hurts,” she replied, her eyes searching the crowd of people watching.  “Where’s Tab?  And Tonka?”

“Tab’s right here,” Kar said.  She turned her head and saw Kar holding Tab, the boy’s head resting against his shoulder.  Jon held his arms out to Mali, who walked right into them without hesitation.  The expression on his face as he picked her up and settled her in his arms brought tears to her eyes.  Tonka approached a moment later. 

“How are you, Tonka?”

“I’m fine,”
he said. 
“I would have preferred to kill more Nomen, though.”

“Salene does have a tendency to go a bit overboard when she’s in protective mode,” Talus said, winking at her. 

She rolled her eyes and shook her head.  “Shouldn’t we be getting away from this place?”

“Yes, we just had to wait for you to wake up from your little nap.”

“Nap?” she asked, smacking him lightly on the shoulder.  There was a soft murmur of laughter from the people watching, and she smiled at them.  “Is everyone all right?”

“Everyone is fine, thanks to you and your…companions,” the woman with short brown hair said, stepping forward shyly, but determinedly.  “We have no way to repay what you’ve done, I’m afraid, other than to offer you our deepest gratitude.”

“We seek no payment,” Salene said.  “We want only to see you safe and free.”

The woman smiled, then stepped back into the small crowd.  Talus nodded to Tonka who led the way up and out of the silo through the bay doors.  The Nomen had killed all but three of those who’d been in the settlement with Tonka and the children, one woman and two men.  Of the people now following them out of the silo, those three were the only ones who’d ever had a glimpse of the world outside, so many of them froze in shock until someone nudged them forward. 

Salene was still too tired to walk at much more than a snail’s pace so she was forced to let Talus carry her.  They had to move slowly now that there were so many of them, but it was still too fast for her as yet.  She remained tense until they left the valley and the silo behind.  After that she let herself relax a little and even dozed for a while.  When Talus stopped walking she opened her eyes and looked around, surprised to find that the entire group was spreading out in a small grove of bare trees to rest. 

“You want down?” Talus asked.  She nodded and he set her on the trunk of a fallen tree, releasing her slowly until he was sure she was steady.  He offered her a cup of water which she drank thirstily, then someone offered her some food which she accepted even though she wasn’t sure what it was, exactly.  Some sort of meat and vegetable dish baked in a pie.  Talus used Fire magic to heat it up for her while she looked around for the children.  She spotted them just as Jon and Kar set them down.  Mali took Tab’s hand and led him straight to Salene, her expression worried and pensive.  When Salene smiled, her shoulders relaxed a little.

“I’m fine, honey,” Salene assured her. 

“Your hair was on fire,” Mali said, blurting the words out quickly like she was almost afraid to say them.  Salene stared at her in surprise. 

“What?”

“She’s right,
Zerura
,” Talus said.  “Your entire body was covered in golden scales, and your hair turned into red flames.  A manifestation of the dragon power, I’m sure.”

“Interesting,” Salene said.  “Now I know why Nia called me
Firehair
.”

“It didn’t hurt you?” Mali asked.

“No, it didn’t hurt me at all,” Salene said.  “I heard some popping and snapping sounds but I didn’t know where they were coming from.  I promise, I never felt a thing so there’s no need for you to worry.  How are you and Tab?”

“Tab’s fine, but I was….afraid,” Mali admitted, dropping her eyes.  Salene set her food on the log beside her, then reached out, took Mali’s hand, and tugged her gently.  Mali stepped closer, her eyes widening in surprise when Salene pulled her onto her lap.  Tab leaned against her legs, his gray eyes watching the people around them with curiosity.

“Why are you embarrassed by feeling fear?”

“Because I want to be like you, and you’re never afraid,” Mali whispered.

Salene smiled.  “Oh, honey, that’s just not true.  I get scared just as much as anyone.”

Mali looked up at her in surprise.  “But you weren’t scared today when you stopped those machines.”

“Yes, I was,” Salene said.  “But I was much more afraid of what could happen to you and Tab than I was for myself.  That’s the kind of fear that makes a person seem brave, because they face things that they wouldn’t dream of facing if they were only afraid for themselves.”  Mali shook her head, not understanding at all.  “Do you remember the day I came down into that pit below your grandfather’s hut?”

Mali nodded.  “You were scared, weren’t you?”  Mali nodded again.

“Even though you were scared you pushed the blanket back so you could see me, but you kept Tab hidden.  You set your fear aside and acted bravely because you wanted to keep Tab safe.”  Mali nodded thoughtfully as she began to understand what Salene was saying.  “Fear is not a bad thing, Mali.  Sometimes it’s only fear that stands between us and certain injury.  Do not disregard your fear.  But don’t let it control you, either.”

“Control me?” Mali asked, her forehead wrinkling as her brows drew together in confusion.  “I don’t understand that part.”

“Well, you were scared, but you didn’t let being scared stop you from protecting Tab.  You decided what you wanted to do, and you did it.”

“Oh, I see,” Mali said, nodding.  Then she smiled and hugged Salene.  “Thank you, Mom.”

“For what?” Salene asked, hugging her daughter back just as tightly.

“You always answer my questions and you always help me understand things.  Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome, honey,” she said, then released her and looked down into her eyes.  “I’ll always listen to anything you want to say, and I’ll always do my best to answer any question you have.  I want you to always remember that, Mali.  Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now, I think it’s time to get some food into the two of you.  Would you like some of this that I have?”

“Yes, please,” Mali said, relaxing for the first time in hours now that she knew Salene really was all right. 

“I’ll get it,” Jon said as he helped Mali off of Salene’s lap.  A few moments later Jon and Kar brought food for her and Tab.  They sat on a thermal sheet that Kar spread on the grass near Salene and ate, surprised to find that their food was hot even though there was no fire that they could see.

Salene smiled down at the children while she ate her own meal, noticing that Jinjie was sitting on Tonka’s back eating lunch while they both kept an eye on her, Mali, and Tab.  Between them and the Gryphons, one of whom stayed within arm’s length of her and the children at all times, she felt positively pampered. 

“Where are we going?” she asked Talus. 

“We’re not sure,” he replied.  “Our primary goal was to put as much distance between us and the silo as we could, as fast as possible.” 

“How much time do we have?”

Talus looked up at the sun.  “About an hour.  That battle with the Nomen ate up a good portion of the morning.  We didn’t count on that, I’m afraid.” 

“How far are we from the silo?”

“Far enough away to be safe.”  Salene frowned.  Talus knelt down beside her and lowered his voice so only she could hear him.  “We can’t move any faster than we have been, Salene.  There are several children too big to be carried, but too small to keep up at a faster pace.  Three are too young to walk at all, and on top of that everyone is loaded down with food, blankets and other supplies.”

“I understand, but are you sure we’re far enough away?”

“Yes,
Zerura
, we’re far enough.”  Salene looked into his eyes as he spoke, and knew that there was something he wasn’t saying.  She thought about it for a few moments, the pain in her head slowing her down a bit, but she got it. 

“This planet represents a significant investment in time and effort for the Doftles,” she said softly, mindful of Mali’s presence.  “They won’t destroy all of this unless they have no other choice.”

“Yes, that was our thinking as well, but it helps to hear you agree.”

Salene smiled, pleased that he valued her opinion so much.  Her smile faded quickly though.  “I’m concerned about that storm heading our way,” she said, glancing at the sky.  It was clear and pale blue overhead but there was a thick line of dark gray clouds all along the horizon.  After three days she knew that meant a storm by late afternoon or early evening.  “These people aren’t used to being out in the weather, Talus.  I don’t think they’d fare very well if they got wet and cold, the children especially.”

Talus looked at the people sitting in the small grove, talking quietly as they ate and rested, then he glanced up at the sky and sighed heavily.  “We should have thought of that, Salene, and I’m sorry we didn’t.  We were focused on getting everyone a safe distance from the silo and didn’t stop to think about the damn weather.”

“Understandably so,” Salene soothed.  She thought for a moment.  “Can the
Aegl
still transport supplies down to us?”

“So far as I’m aware, yes,” Talus said, gesturing for Jon and Kar to join them.

Salene waited for them to come close enough to hear before continuing.  “How many of those nine man shelters are in the
Aegl’s
hold?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll soon find out,” Talus said, frowning thoughtfully.  “A lot of the people are carrying one or more of those rough gray blankets.  We can supplement those with thermal sheets to help keep everyone warm inside the shelters.”

“We’ll also need as many thermal tents as they can send us, too,” Salene said. 

“Why?” Jon asked.  “One of our nine man shelters will probably hold a dozen of these people.  More if they’re children.”

“If we can get back to where we stayed last night, we can set the shelters up in the grove.  Those trees are really tall, and have heavy foliage up high, but bare trunks below about seven or eight feet, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Jon agreed, nodding.

“We can set the shelters up in a circle, then spread the tents out flat and tie them to the trees above the shelters, overlapping the edges.”  They looked at her blankly.  “The thermal material will act like a ceiling over the shelters.  A ceiling that’ll block heat signatures.  Just in case someone decides to use that satellite on us.”

“That’s brilliant, Salene,” Talus said, his eyes shining with pride.  “If we do a good enough job with the ceiling it’ll keep the rain out, too.  Then they can have a nice fire in the center of the circle that’ll stay lit and provide some warmth.”

“That would be great since they’ll need to be able to cook, too,” Salene said.  “If we can set it up the way I hope, we should be safe enough to stay there until our ships arrive as long as everyone stays under cover.”

“Unfortunately, that material is difficult to work with,” Kar said.  “It’s a great idea, but it might be more difficult to implement than it sounds.”