Chapter 5 ‘deadly illusions’ Sakura knelt by the river and splashed her face with cold water. "We’re going to have to climb it," she announced. "Climb what?" "That." She indicated the cliff behind them and tried to pat her face dry with her shirt, missing the sudden blanch that crossed Li’s face. "What? Why?" "Because, we’re never going to make it back to the Honeycomb tonight. You know that as well as I do. And to sleep by the river bank is unthinkable. We’d never make it through the night." "We’ve done it before. I’ll keep watch again." "That was different. It was a much sparser area, and we had a little shelter. Not to mention you were rested. You’ll never be able to stay up through the night in the condition you’re in, and besides, just look around. There’s too much food." She indicated the relatively lush bank they stood on, complete with not only grass but the moisture-rich prickle plants. "Terrain like this attracts animals, and that attracts the animals that eat animals. You said I know the area best, Li. We’ll be safer if we’re sleeping up top." Li scowled as he filled his canteen. She was right, of course. He expected her to defer to his training techniques, he could do no less than acknowledge her familiarity with the habitat. She had grown up in these godsforsaken lands, after all. He looped the canteen strap over one shoulder and took a deep breath. He just wished he didn’t have to climb it, that was all. Heights didn’t bother him so much when he was zipping through the air on a glider, or atop the cliffs training. He liked to have something under his feet. But free-climbing up a purely vertical wall… Sakura had already scrambled up the length of her own body. "Come on. If we hurry, we can catch the sunset." Hesitantly he placed his hand on an outcrop of rock and pulled himself upward. His palms had begun to sweat already in anticipation, and he almost lost his grip. Gasping, he clung to the wall. Damn it. After all the fighting, after all the battling face-to-face with the enemy, something like this can defeat me. Look at her. She’s already a quarter of the way up and she’s not even bothering to look down. Scuffing slightly, he found a toehold and pushed himself up. The conversation they’d just had by the river was the most they’d spoken all day, and it released a little of the tension that had grown between them. She was confused, he knew, and she deserved to know the truth. She didn’t even understand what was going on in her own body. But every time he thought about telling her, he couldn’t find the words. It was just too strange, too inexplicable. People simply didn’t start growing magic overnight, particularly not magic as powerful as hers. He had the feeling that she could have wiped out that entire village if she’d really been trying. Li was the most trained, powerful sorcerer in the rebel’s camp, and he doubted he could do half as much. Sakura stopped to take a breath, grateful for the evening breeze that lifted her hair off her neck. It had been a long, hard day, and this last effort was pushing her over the edge. She’d be ready for sleep when they got to the top. Her stomach fluttered slightly at the thought of sleeping, alone, with only Li, but there was nothing to be done about it. They were stranded, and still a day’s hike from the Honeycomb at least. If only things weren’t so strained. He’s hiding something from me, I’m sure of it, he keeps staring at me and saying all those odd things. What could it be? I should press him, but I’m scared. Every time I try, he just fires back with a question about that night I was with Tory. How can I tell him the truth? He would never understand what happened, how Tory made me feel when he held me in his arms. It would only give him another reason to scold me. I won’t give him the satisfaction. She paused again to assess her progress. She was very nearly there, and the sky around had begun to turn a vivid rose. She pushed a little faster, hoping to see the sunset. Behind her, though neither she nor Li could see it, a pale and ghostly moon had begun to rise. ***** Tory finished patting himself dry and donned another uniform, a clean one. His vague nightmare that afternoon had left him feeling wrenched, and completely without appetite. He avoided the rations tent and instead wandered to the river bank, watching the moon rise. It was a flimsy, insubstantial image with the sun still above the horizon, but pretty all the same. ***** "And now," Neitzsche purred in delight. "I shall find you, little girl. I will send you a message, and you will answer it. You will tell me where you are." He walked in a slow and steady circle around his crystals. He was out in the open now, on the roof of a small castle tower. Both the sun and the waxing moon were in view, it was the perfect time. She would never be able to resist. Continuing to step in a circle, he began a low-pitched chant. The magic in his precious crystals stirred and began to wake, summoned by his insistent voice. Gradually a sparkling swathe of white emerged, hovering over the old mage like a tiny cloud. His chant grew louder, and without breaking the rhythm, he raised his arm and pointed. Obediently the magical mist shot through the air, rapidly disappearing in the dusk. It was headed for the badlands. ***** Tory was just beginning to feel himself again when he stiffened. Something was not right. Something was right behind him, something unpleasant and unwanted. Swallowing, he turned slowly. The thin mist was beautiful in the dying rays of the sun. Like a white veil, it floated in the breeze, scintillating. It was beautiful, but unwelcome. Tory did not like the feel of it. "Who are you?" he whispered. "What do you want?" The image did not answer, but drifted closer. He darted a sideways look at the encampment; none of the soldiers packing up looked disturbed. This was another of those things that only he could see. And if anything, it seemed confused. The sparkling mist drew closer, almost touching his nose, before making up its mind and pushing away. Tory let out a sigh of relief, but it did not disappear. Instead it floated upwards, swirling in midair. Then abruptly, it flew off in the direction of the sunset. There was a purposeful movement about it that aroused his curiosity. What the – Without stopping to think, the young captain tore after it, stopping only to grab a pair of macrobinoculars from the crate of equipment being readied for transport. He had to hurry, he couldn’t lose it now. Leaping atop his glider, he soared upwards until he’d found the sparkling mist again. It was flying very fast, straight over several ridged mesas and hilly mounds, across the river and well towards the west. It was unthinkable to follow so far, and he alighted on the nearest high surface that he could find before training the macros on his quarry. Where was it going? ***** Almost there, thought Sakura exultantly, and pulled herself over the edge. She was just in time to see the sun begin its slide below the horizon, and she dusted herself off with a satisfied air. Li was still a good twenty clicks away from the edge, and she smirked at the thought that she could do something better than he could. It was a nice feeling. Maybe now he wouldn’t be so overbearingly arrogant. Li was swearing in every language he knew as he stared fixedly at the stone wall in front of his nose. He hated heights, he hated cliffs, he hated climbing them, and he hated everything in the world that had led up to this moment. He’d been crawling slowly up the rocky face, testing every hand and toehold that he found twice before putting any weight on it. It was slow going, but steady. But now darkness was coming on fast, and he would have to hurry. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself up once more. "Come on, Li," Sakura sang from up above. "You’re missing a gorgeous sunset up here! Don’t you want to watch?" "I’ll be there," he assured her, and forced himself to go a little faster. "Don’t think there’s anything you can do that I can’t." "So competitive, as always." "Look who’s talking." He rather expected a reply to that, but there was only silence, and he risked a glance upward. He couldn’t see anything of course, the edge still seemed as far away as the last time he’d looked. "Sakura?" ***** "Sakura," Tory whispered. He could hardly believe it, but there she was. He adjusted the knob on the top of the macros slightly and she came into focus. She was standing on top of a small mesa, at least a league away, and brushing her hair back from her face. After what seemed like forever, he was finally able to see her again. His delighted smile disappeared when he realized that the mist had now settled itself before her. He could see it, though barely. The air around her seemed to sparkle, and she cocked her head, confused. She can see it too. Or feel it, at least. Oh gods, Sakura, please be careful. It’s dangerous. Sakura frowned, forgetting about Li for the moment. Was it her imagination, or had she just heard a voice? "Come to me." She took a step forward uncertainly. A high, thin voice that seemed to be more the wind than anything else was calling. "Come to me, touch me." "Hello?" she ventured, and stepped forward again. "Is someone there?" Li heard her and tensed, almost forgetting his fear of heights. "Sakura? Are you talking to someone?" No reply. "Sakura, can you hear me? Is someone up there with you?" Still no answer, and a shiver went down Li’s back. Suddenly he wanted to be up top very much, and he began to climb faster. "Wow…" breathed Sakura. She didn’t know where they had come from, but they were exceptionally beautiful. Two perfect balls of light danced before her, spinning and flying through the air. One was shining gold, the other a pure silver. The light of the sunset bathed them in a celestial glow, and she ached to touch them. She reached out, then paused indecisively. Which one? They were both so beautiful, she couldn’t choose. "Choose me," they both sang. "I am the one you long for. Come to me…be with me…" She stepped forward again, but they always seemed just out of her reach, just beyond her grasp. Every time she paused to decide, they scooted backwards. "Wait," she begged. "Let me decide. I can’t pick between you." "Sakura, who are you talking to? Do you see anything?" Li let out a yelp as he tried to scramble up too fast and lost his footing. Only by grabbing a bump of rock did he save himself from plummeting downward. "Sakura, listen to me! Don’t touch anything! Do you hear me, damn it? Don’t touch anything!" Frustrated, he kicked his legs in midair, trying to find a foothold. "Sakura, what are you doing?" Tory fidgeted anxiously. "Don’t follow it, Sakura, get away from that thing. Get away!" His inner conflict was raging. Instinctively he wanted to drop the macros and hop aboard his glider, go save her. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scene before him, he couldn’t bear to look away for even a click. And he knew he’d never get there in time. Quivering with frustration, he focused all his thoughts on the girl with green eyes, as if he could think loud enough for her to hear his warning. "Choose me," they both sang. The silver was so pure and calm. The serenity called to her. But the golden orb flashed with a hypnotic shine, filling her with excitement and joy. They were such opposites, how could anyone choose? Her long hesitation caused them to float away even more. "Wait, don’t go. I’m coming too. Let me come too." As if in a dream, she walked forward. She’d completely forgotten about Li, forgotten all about her elevated surroundings. All that mattered were the lights. "Sakura, gods, please listen to me! Don’t touch anything! Answer me, please!" At long last Li grabbed the top edge of the cliff. He was almost there. "Sakura, stop it, you’re scaring me." Tory was starting to sweat again, his heart was thumping in fear. She’d followed the insubstantial sparkle to the edge of the cliff, it looked as though she was in some kind of trance. She had almost reached the edge, but she wasn’t even looking at her feet. She kept holding out her hand and reaching to touch. "Please…" he begged no one in particular. "Please don’t take her away from me, gods, somebody save her!" Panting, Li pulled himself over the edge. "Sakura? Sakura!" To his horror, she’d almost reached the other side of the mesa and seemed completely oblivious to her danger. "Sakura, WAKE UP!!" "Hmm?" Sakura stopped again. There was a faint and distant voice calling to her. It seemed so far away, yet she was sure she had heard her name. "Choose me," the two lights chanted, and she refocused her attention on them. Just a little further… Abruptly the solid rock under her feet disappeared, and she let out a shriek as she fell. "No!" screamed Tory. Somehow, Li managed to grab her wrist in time, lying out flat across the rocky surface and hanging on for dear life. Tory sagged with relief as he saw the stranger grab hold. Sakura screamed, a rush of pure fear shooting through her as she dangled over empty space. The visions were gone, there was nothing but her and the ground far below. And Li, hanging onto her wrist and breathing hard. "Sakura! Sakura, it’s okay, I’ve got you." She was panicking, starting to hyperventilate, which was counterproductive. He couldn’t hold on with her wriggling and screaming like a child. "Sakura, calm down! Stop screaming and listen to me." She stopped to take a sobbing breath and looked up at him. There was earnest, sincere look in his brown eyes. "Listen to me. I am not going to let you fall. Do you understand?" Gulping, she nodded. "Good. Now take a deep breath and stay calm. I’m going to pull you up. You can help by bracing your feet against the rocks. I know you can do it, you climbed all the way up here on your own." That seemed a lifetime ago for the stricken girl, but she nodded again and braced her boots against the rocky wall. Gradually, in a steady and smooth motion, Li pulled her over the edge. "Thank you," whispered Tory, relieved. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." His joy was tempered by the way that she collapsed in the male’s lap and he wrapped his arms around her, giving her comfort. Li propped her up against his knee and held her tightly, trying to still her shivering. Her skin was absolutely white and she was damp with the sweat of irrational fear. Her green eyes were dilated with shock as she tried to focus on Li. "Deep breath," he murmured, and took one of her hands in his, gripping it. He was trying to return her to reality. He’d never seen anyone look so scared in his life, she looked as though she might succumb to a complete paralysis. "It’s okay, Sakura, you’re all right. I’ve got you, and you’ll be fine." "I – I was in…another place…" "Shh. I know. Don’t worry, it’s gone now. You’re safe." "Okay," Tory growled. "You’ve saved her. You can let her go now. You don’t have to keep holding her like that." Li swallowed as she covered his hand with her other one, clutching at him as if he were the only true thing left in her world. It had been a long time since he’d been this close to a woman, and all kinds of unpleasant memories were asserting themselves. But she looked so fragile and helpless. He thought she was like a beautiful bird that didn’t understand its capability for flight, and was genuinely frightened until the mother bird demonstrated. Only, there is no one to teach her. She’s all alone in the world, and she doesn’t know anything about herself. Li couldn’t help himself, something in him softened at the sight of Sakura’s quiet tears, and he leaned over and kissed her lightly on the top of her head. Tory stiffened. Her shivering lessened, slightly, at the feel of his kiss, though she did not speak. Li didn’t understand where this was coming from, but he was suddenly overcome with a rush of desire. He was responding to her fear, her need for him stimulated his excitement. Again he kissed her, this time on the tip of her petite nose. She sucked in her breath a little, and stirred in his arms as she turned up her face to meet him. And then his lips were on hers, pressing firmly but not too hard, getting the taste of her. Sakura pushed herself up and opened her lips, allowing him in, and this taste was even more exquisite. Gratefully he explored with his tongue, prolonging the kiss as long as he could before pulling away and resting his forehead against hers. Tory gave a choking gasp. He’d seen enough, and lowered the macros. It couldn’t be. That stranger was holding his Sakura, kissing his precious Sakura. His heart twisted and he gripped the instrument in his hand with a vicious strength. The rest of the camp didn’t matter anymore. He was going to leap on his glider and fly right over there and kill that man for daring to touch Sakura like he was. He was going to – He turned and froze. Blade was right there, had been right behind him, and was flicking out his tongue curiously. How long had he been there? "Sssee anything interesssting, boy?" "Aah, no," Tory stammered, trying to relax his muscles as he dropped his arms to his side. He bowed his head respectfully, but Blade traced his claws along Tory’s jawline and lifted up his chin until he was staring straight into those yellow eyes. "The men sssaid you fled up here sssome while ago." "I, uh, had a strange feeling," Tory prevaricated. "I had a fear that the rebels knew where we were and were closing in for a surprise attack. I just felt like I needed to – to scout a little." He could feel his pulse going fast and hard and was sure he was doing a terrible job of lying. How could Blade not be suspicious? "Ssscouting for a while, you were." "My master trained me to be thorough." "Indeed," the Reptil snarled. "Sssomething sscertainly held your attention long enough." Horrified, Tory suddenly realized that he was going to reach for the macros, that he would hold them up and see Sakura, helpless and completely vulnerable to attack. He had not forgotten his master’s plans for her. As if by accident, the binoculars slipped from his hand and fell with a sharp crack on the rocky surface. "Stupid me." Tory quickly knelt and tried to gather the pieces of the broken lens. "Terribly clumsy, master, I beg your forgiveness, I - " "Enough," Blade snapped, and gave a sharp blow to Tory’s head. "You have wasssted enough time asss it isss. We go now to meet the rebelsss, where I am sssure they are waiting. Come." The scaly creature turned and stalked away, trusting Tory to follow. The dark-haired young man hesitated a moment, glancing back to the western sky, ruddy with orange now that the sun was gone. He could no longer see them, but he knew they were there. She was there. So close…but he could do nothing about it. For the moment, he was trapped. At least he knew she wasn’t likely to be with the rebels fighting that night. "Another time, Sakura," he whispered softly. "I’ll find you another time. I will see you again." ***** Nietzsche howled his frustration to the now-brighter moon, gnashing his yellow teeth in a fury. So close…he had been so close. She had responded to his invitation and was following, but she had not touched. She had refused to make a selection, and then something had dashed his spell to pieces. Someone else, a power he didn’t recognize, had made sure the magic was splintered and discarded. She had friends, then, someone watching out for her. No matter. Even if Nietzsche had not been able to ascertain a precise location, he was sure of the area. She was hiding with the main group of rebels, out there in the badlands, and just waiting for him. She was waiting for her destiny, though the little girl could hardly be aware of it. The sense of her was fading, her conscious was growing quiet. "Sleep, little one," he murmured. "Sleep while you can. Your days do not number long, now. No matter how they try to shield you, my Lord Lothar will have you. And with the rising of the sun and the moon, you shall grant him more power than you ever dreamed could exist in this world – though you won’t live to see it. So enjoy your sleep while you can. I will find you again." ***** A few tears leaked out and traced two lines down her cheeks. Li brushed them away. "What is it?" "I don’t know," she said drowsily. She had been half-asleep in Li’s arms when a new sense of dread asserted itself, an uneasy feeling of being targeted and hunted. The feeling faded as quickly as it had come, and she shrugged it off, drifting into an exhausted slumber. The sensation of Li’s muscular arms around her felt more wonderful than anything she’d ever felt before, and it wasn’t long before her breathing grew regular and even. Li did not drop off quite so quickly, though he was just as tired. He’d never intended to kiss her, he didn’t know why he had done such a thing. But he just couldn’t help himself, and already he was aching to continue. She was so scared, and she needed someone to hold her close. No one else knew what she was going through, not even herself. He was the only one that could help her, and he would protect her no matter what. "Poor, sweet Sakura," he whispered in her ear. "If only you knew what you were. If only I knew. I wonder, will we ever?" ***** Benedin put his hand to the earth. A slight vibration could be felt, the tremor that repulsorlifts sent rippling through the ground. "You were right, Julian, as always. They’re definitely coming." His commander shrugged diffidently. "It was a logical guess. Any idea how many?" "Hang on." Rush lifted his macros to his eyes, twisting the knob to adjust to night vision. I count two transports. Hmm…odd. I don’t see a cannon. I wonder if they had technical problems with their gunner transport." "Either that or they met up with Li after all," Julian joked. "Right." Benedin shot him a mirthless grin and cocked his blaster, holding it at the ready. "But we’re still outnumbered two to one. This won’t be easy. How’re you feeling?" Julian checked the sighting on his blaster. "I’m hungry." ***** Tory motioned the second transport to go around, then eyed his master. Frankly, he felt it was a miracle that they had not been ambushed on the way here, as slow as they’d been traveling, and now the rebels were bound to have holed up in the choicest spots of the settlement. Blade did not like to hurry, he felt it unseemly that the soldiers of Lothar’s army must scramble for the best battleground. The slow and steady march created the effect of power and complete lack of fear. But ultimately, Tory knew, it meant more of his men would die. He scowled as he cocked his blaster and held it up. Tonight it didn’t matter. He was furious that he had been torn away from Sakura after finally finding her, and ready to cause some damage. He’d kill as many rebels as he could, and then perhaps tomorrow morning he would be able to slip out quietly. Blade always liked to relax the morning after a successful battle and drink the blood of some of his victims. He’d never notice Tory’s departure. And maybe, just maybe, Tory would be able to find Sakura again before she even woke up. There was a flash of laser fire and he reacted instantly, rolling out of the transport and hitting the ground along with the rest of his men to fan out and pepper the area with blaster fire. Tonight, he would let nothing get in his way. ***** Julian and Benedin both peeked over their cover and responded to the blaster fire for a few clicks before pulling back again. "They’re trying to locate where their enemies are," Julian panted. "It’s recon. You stay here and pin them down, while I slip around and surprise them from the side." "Too risky!" "Nonsense. You know we’ll never defeat them in a straight shoot-out, they have the numbers on their side. Strategy is our only bet." Julian gave his friend no time to argue, but rolled away across the pebbled surface. Rush gritted his teeth in annoyance before sending out another round of blaster fire. The young rebel commander scrambled across the ground, keeping low, then vaulted over a makeshift fortress. They had done their best to evacuate the entire settlement, though a few men had actually stayed to join the fight. It was an empty structure that Julian entered, and he pointed his blaster out the window to take all five soldiers out before they even knew what was happening. Someone further away shouted, and he knew that he’d been spotted. "Son of a bitch," Tory muttered, aiming his blaster right for the dark window. He couldn’t see anything, but he knew that that was where the shots had come from, his men were slumped on the ground nearby. Then he remembered the detonator hanging from his belt and unclipped it before hitting the toggle switch. The window wasn’t a very large target, considering how far he was from it, but he tossed it anyway. The detonator flew through the window, and the entire building promptly exploded. "Julian!" Benedin peered over his cover and screamed out for his friend. There was no reply. Julian had left the building the moment he knew he’d been spotted, but it almost hadn’t been soon enough. Quickly he beat out the flames on his shirt and scrambled to another cover, shaken. Tory cocked his head thoughtfully. Julian? That name sounded familiar. Let’s see…Julian, Julian… Casually he shot a rebel that was fleeing from one cover to another, then stopped to reload his blaster. Intelligence was notoriously unreliable when it came to the rebels’ identities, but he’d memorized every scrap of information he could, determined to be as good a captain as anyone. Facts were sparse, especially concerning those higher up. Almost nothing was known about the new leader, even, except they called him Commander Star. First name was thought to be – Julian? Tory raised his eyebrows. That Julian, right over there, was the leader? Gripping his blaster, he began to make his way across the dangerous battleground. After taking a moment to get his breath back, Julian leaned around the side of his cover and continued to snipe away. He never really remembered learning to shoot, it just seemed he’d always been good at it. He hardly ever missed. He became so involved in his task that he forgot to check his power level, and was brought out of his battle reverie by the empty click from his trigger. Oh damn. Distractedly he fumbled through his pockets for the spare power pak, anxious to reload. The moment they figured out he was out of ammunition, he was in trouble. How many, he wondered, were left? The battle had been raging for half a parsec, at least. At last he found it, and clicked the tiny switch that released the empty pak, letting it fall to the ground. A slight scuffling sound made him look up, and he froze, his hand with the fresh pak only halfway to the blaster. They might as well have been a league apart, for all the good it would do him. An officer of the army had come all the way around the battle, and was pointing his blaster right at him. Tory smiled grimly in victory as he put the rebel in his sights. It was hard to believe this man was the leader, he didn’t look any older than he was. But there was a quality about him, an air of sureness, that left no doubt in Tory’s mind. He was the alpha, all right, and all he had to do was squeeze the trigger and the entire resistance would be crippled. It would be easy to find Sakura. His enemy was half-kneeling, staring at him, not moving a muscle. It was obvious that he was helpless, he’d been in the middle of reloading when Tory finally managed to circle around and catch him by surprise. The captain lifted his blaster slightly and hesitated. Go on, pull the trigger. Do it! But for the second time in his career, Tory wavered as he pointed his weapon at a rebel. He didn’t know this man, had never seen him before in his life. But still he could not shoot. There was a pale mist clinging to the rebel’s head, like an insubstantial halo. It sparkled like the magic that had visited him and then Sakura, but this time Tory sensed no malice in it. There was something special about this one. Tory could not kill him. Julian waited, not daring to breathe, as the officer continued to point the blaster at him. What was taking so long? Surely the man was going to kill him. This time he could see no escape. The hand holding the blaster trembled slightly, and much to Julian’s shock, lowered. What’s he doing? What kind of game is this? Julian was fairly sure he could pop in the power pak and fire before the officer would have a chance to raise his weapon, but he didn’t move, afraid to break the spell. All around them, there were explosions and shouts and screams of agony, but it was as if the battle had ceased to exist. For a long moment, the two of them stared at each other, and then the captain turned on his heels and disappeared into the darkness. Instantly Julian reloaded his weapon and raised it, but the man did not return or even cover himself with fire as he retreated. He was gone, swallowed up, as if he’d never been there at all. Julian collapsed onto his knees and let out a shaky breath. That had been really close, that time. Who was that man? And why did he let me go? ***** Tory spent the rest of the battle kicking himself, wondering what in the name of the sun and moon had gotten into him lately. First, his obsession with a rebel that he thought might be connected to his past, then this unsettling ability to see things others couldn’t. He’d tried to brush it off at first, sure that it was his imagination, but if that were true, then he had just allowed his imagination to prevent him from executing the leader of the Resistance. He didn’t like to think of what Blade would do to him if he knew. I’m going mad, he thought numbly. I don’t know anything anymore, and it’s all because of her. Somehow, he managed to hold together long enough to supervise the remainder of the fighting. As always, the rebels simply melted away at a predetermined time, probably in connection with their ammunition supply. Soldiers had made the mistake before of trying to follow, and almost never survived. The scrappy fighters had a nasty habit of splitting up and ambushing anyone that followed. Tonight, in any case, that would be logistically impossible. Their fighting force had been reduced by at least half, possibly more, in a one-sided firefight that left far more of Tory’s men dead than rebels. He put the squad healer to work and wearily leaned back against the transport. What now? Should he try to slip away in the darkness? Risky. It was better to wait until later on in the night. And speaking of risk, where was Blade? It was highly unlikely that anything had happened to him during the battle, but Tory felt a guilty flicker of hope as he looked around at his wounded troops. The Reptil was nowhere to be seen, and he began to wander through the smoking settlement. Tory could never bring himself to kill his master, he who had given him a home and a place to belong. But he did hate him, and lived every day with a prayer that some rebel might be able to put a blaster shot through that scaly green hide. No such luck, of course. He was rounding the corner of a building when he came face to face with him, and took an involuntary step backward. "M-master, there you are. I was worried." "Really?" Those yellow eyes glowed in the dark, and Tory watched them contract into slits. "You needn’t wassste worry on me, boy, I had other busssinesss to attend to." Other business? During a battle? What did he mean by that? "Um, shall I order the men to make camp?" "Don’t bother," the commander hissed. "We have another plassce to be. We move ssshortly." He stalked away without waiting for a reply, leaving Tory thoroughly confused. It was the middle of the night and they had just scraped through a particularly bloody battle. Where could they be going? ***** Tory could see his men were trying valiantly not to be sick, and he himself was grateful he hadn’t eaten anything for most of the day. The sight of the sand rats feeding enthusiastically on the mangled bodies was enough to make anyone sick. He looked around again at the empty village, bathed in the glow of the transport lights. Anything electronic had exploded into tiny fragments, taking his men along too. It was a horrible scene. "Scanner, sir?" "It isss not necssesssary." He watched Blade’s forked tongue quiver in midair before retracting. "It wasss her. I can sssmell her." Tory closed his eyes briefly. Out of all the rebels, why did it have to be her? "Surely not, sir. One girl could not have done all this." He swept his arms out to indicate the destroyed cannon and transport. "Do not contradict me, captain. It wasss her. And ssshe is ssstranded." Tory glanced down at the twisted metal of a glider not made by the army techs. Whatever it was that had blown everything, it had taken the rebels’ gliders as well. At least now he knew why she and that other man had climbed to the top of that mesa. "Ssshe cannot be far," Blade continued. "We begin the sssearch at dawn." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The dream of Tory holding her was so real that when she opened her eyes, she thought it was Li that was the illusion. But he was real, and so were the events of the night before. Li felt her body tense slightly in his arms and pulled away to get a better view of her face. The sun was beginning its morning climb into the sky, and in the pale light he saw uncertainty and fear flicker through her eyes. He reached forward for a light kiss, but she pulled away and sat up to face away from him. Her rigid posture said it all. She regrets it. Of course, she only wants Julian. Everybody knows how she feels about him. He felt his face burn with humiliation as he sat up. Sakura wasn’t thinking about Julian just then, however. When she closed her eyes, she could still see Tory, still feel his arms around her. But he was the enemy, and Li was not. But Li hated her, everyone knew that, and she was sure Tory didn’t. That powerful sensation that Tory had made her feel – that was true passion, wasn’t it? Li had probably never really meant to kiss her at all. A long moment went by without any sound, and Li realized that she wasn’t going to say anything. Obviously she was confused. Maybe it would be better if both just pretended that it never happened. Feeling rejected, he leaned forward to brush his lips over her hair and then stand. "Come on," he said shortly. "Daylight is coming, and we’re too exposed up here. We have to get going." The thought of climbing down the vertical cliff was unappealing, but staying up here with her was even more so. He should have remembered the danger before he kissed her. He should have remembered how it felt to open up and be hurt. Sakura caught his expression of misery and frustration before he disappeared over the edge of the cliff, and hugged her knees to her chest even tighter. Somehow, she’d managed to mess things up, and she wasn’t even sure how. Things used to be so simple. Not anymore. ***** "Julian?" He glanced up to see Tomoyo hovering at the entrance to his cave. "Yes?" he replied with a smile, trying to swallow a yawn. It had been a long night of slipping back under cover to the base, and he was ready to crash along with everyone else. "Li and Sakura didn’t come back with you, did they?" There was something in her expression that made him lose his smile. "No. They weren’t supposed to meet us at the fork. They were just going to come right back here. Didn’t they?" She shook her head slowly. "Hmm…well, they’ve been gone until dawn before. If they had to duck and cover because they were followed, that might make them late. Li’s perfectly capable of handling himself in the field, I’m sure they’ll be all right." He gave her a reassuring smile, projecting confidence that he did not altogether feel. If anything happened to Sakura… "I need to sleep. Let me know as soon as they get back, all right?" "All right…" "Oh, and Tomoyo?" She’d turned to go, but turned back again. "Do we keep visual records on officers of the army? Pictures?" "Um, maybe. I’m not sure how accurate or complete they’ll be, but I’ll check with the tech guys." "Thanks. I’d like to look through them later today." ***** Li was still only halfway down the cliff by the time she reached the bottom, so Sakura stripped down for a quick bath in the river. Living in the dusty and rocky badlands, she’d grown accustomed a certain amount of grime when traveling. But with everything that had happened in the past day, she had an urge to feel clean. Li heard her splashing in the water below him and scowled at the rocky wall. This was a dangerous place to start getting distracted. Why are you even thinking about her? Stop it! It’s not as if you like her or anything, not really. You only kissed her because you felt pity for her. Hopeless and pathetic, remember? His boot slipped and he almost fell, but grabbed a narrow ledge just in time. Hopeless, pathetic, and powerful beyond her wildest dreams. And right now, the only person she’s got is me. She needs me. Li was a fighter, to the core of his being. Uncomfortable with emotions, he preferred the less complicated relationship of physical combat. He liked being able to protect something, made him feel better about his existence. Whether she knew it or not, Sakura had filled that role. By the time his boots hit solid earth again, Sakura was lacing her shirt closed. Unconsciously, his eyes followed her fingers as she tied the knot at the neckline, wondering what it would be like to pull that knot out, to slide his hands under her shirt and feel the soft skin beneath. She looked up, and he quickly turned his face to the side, sure that his cheeks were flaming again. Sakura had to swallow before speaking. "Shall we?" "Lead the way." ***** They hiked in total silence for a couple of parsecs at least, as the sun rose ever higher into the sky. The heat was unbearable for Li, and he wondered how they could have possibly come so far the day before. He’d taken the fantastic speed of gliders for granted his entire life, and was only just now realizing what a distance they’d covered. It wasn’t just the climate, of course. The tension between the two of them was palpable, and finally he decided he couldn’t take the silence anymore. "Julian doesn’t love you, you know." She stopped, one foot and one hand on the boulder she’d been about to clamber over. "I know." "It’s silly to wait for something that’s never going to happen." "I’m not." She pulled herself over, and a surprised Li scrambled up behind her. "Then what - " He broke off with a sudden flash of inspiration. "There’s someone else. Isn’t there?" She didn’t answer, but hugged her arms to her chest as she continued to walk. Quickly Li ran a mental check on all the men in the base. There was no one, no one at all that he could remember her ever paying special attention to, and he’d been watching very carefully these past few days. There had only been Julian. "Who is it?" "I can’t tell you." "Why not?" Because you wouldn’t understand! she shouted mentally. You wouldn’t understand the connection, the way it felt so right to be with him. How could you? Even I don’t understand. "Sakura." She halted her footsteps and turned to look over her shoulder. He had come to a stop and was giving her one of his most penetrating looks. "What happened the night you were captured?" She was shivering in the hot dry air, she realized. How close was he to guessing the truth? Should she just admit everything? "Duck!" she shrieked, before she even knew why, and dropped the ground. Li reacted and followed suit just a fraction of a heartbeat later, almost catching the rounds of blaster fire that had opened up from the skies above. Instinctively the two of them rolled across the ground and then jumped to their feet, sprinting across the canyon floor as laser fire sparkled at their heels. The nearest structure that even came close to cover was an outcropping of rock that created a perpendicular wall to the cliff. It was scant, but it would do. They huddled in the protective corner as the two soldiers blitzed past them on their gliders and began a slow U-turn. They were coming back around. By habit Sakura reached for her hip holster, which was no longer there. She’d lost her blaster during the fight the day before, along with Li. "They have the advantage of speed and height," she panted. "And we can’t even shoot back. It’s hopeless." Li snorted and reached under his shirt, pulling something off from around his neck. It was some kind of pendant, strung on red silk. Much to her amazement, the pendant glowed as he squeezed his fist tight, and a long sharp sword materialized. She’d known he had a magical sword, of course, but she’d never seen him activate it. The shining blade was reflected in his brown eyes. "Perfect." The soldiers were flying in again, raising their blasters and firing. Li’s sword moved almost of its own accord as its magic combined with his own led him to block every shot, deflecting it away from himself and Sakura. The attackers didn’t even have time to realize their shots weren’t getting through before they had flown right down into their midst. Li snarled and leapt into the air, executing a tight circle and slashing out with his sword. He caught one of them right across the back and he screamed in agony before crashing into the ground with a fiery explosion. Li was thrown back against the cliff wall, and he stumbled a little, feeling dazed. Looks like I’m on my own for the other one, Sakura thought, as she bolted across the ground and tried to take evasive maneuvers. Finally in desperation she sprung into a dive-roll and let the soldier fly right over her. Pushing off her hands, she felt her boots connect with the underside of the glider and shove it off course. The man yelped as his glider wobbled uncontrollably and he tumbled off onto the ground, shaken but unhurt. Sakura was running to leap onto his glider when something told her to stop, and she obeyed, caught up in the rush of battle adrenaline. Another blast destroyed the glider, just when she would have jumped on. The small transport hovering above her aimed its underside swivel gun for her, but did not fire again. The same could not be said for the soldier on the ground, as he pushed himself to a standing position and tried to pick her off with his blaster. He must have been considerably dazed by the fall, because Sakura dodged his shots adroitly as she darted forward, flipping hand over heel with ease until she was close enough to deliver a perfectly-aimed kick at his chin. A picture of red ochre rubbing off onto her heel came to her as his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed. All that practice really had been paying off. "You’re fassst," appraised a new voice. She had barely turned when something hard and scaly struck her across the face, sending her flying. She hit the ground hard and rolled once before coming a stop. "I’m fassster." Blade himself stood over her, flicking out his tongue and parting his sharp teeth into a mocking smile. At long last he had found her, and it was time to punish this rebel severely for the damage she’d inflicted on his troops. He’d almost shot her from the air after destroying her method of escape, but then remembered how much he wanted to make it personal. He wanted it to hurt. "And now you die," he informed her, drawing his sword from the scabbard across his back. Sakura was panting as she tried to scramble backwards, but he crossed the distance between them in one long stride and raised his sword to strike. Sakura cringed, but before the Reptil’s sword could bite into her flesh, it met Li’s sword with a sharp metallic clang. The yellow slits widened slightly in surprise as he took in Li, panting hard and sweating, but effectively blocking his way to Sakura. For one beat, they were both still. Then the two of them exploded into combat, striking and blocking and thrusting and stabbing. Breathing raggedly, Sakura pushed herself up to a sitting position and watched them battle savagely across the canyon floor. Although she’d watched Li practice his hand-to-hand combat techniques almost every day since he arrived, not once had she ever seen him drill with a sword. He was nothing less than amazing as he traded attacks with the larger and faster Reptil. Everyone knew how lethally quick the scaly creatures were, but Li was deflecting every strike that Blade threw. Sakura was just beginning to gain an understanding of how much of his life Li must have devoted to training. She had never seen a human move so fast. Over and over again the evenly matched warriors engaged and drew back. The fight dragged on for several clicks as the sun crept directly overhead, draining them both. Reptils did not do well to stay in direct sunlight for very long, and Blade was beginning to feel the onset of torpor. He snarled and attacked more aggressively, but the human angled his strike away from him and darted in with a sharp slice. Only the speed of adrenaline saved Blade from a fatal cut; as it was, he had suffered a wound from his chest to his shoulder. Uttering a sharp bark of pain, he took a few steps back, toward the ramp of his transport. This human had actually wounded him, had fought him to a standstill and wounded him - and with a sword, no less. It was unthinkable. Li retreated back as well, trying to keep his breathing light and not reveal how spent he was. He could sense Blade’s confusion and apprehension, and smiled grimly. I think I have his attention. "Do you know," Li asked stonily, "who I am?" Sakura caught her breath. Blade hissed thoughtfully and examined the male more carefully. There was something in the rebel’s tone that indicated that Blade should indeed know who he was. But it was a mystery. Li waited a moment and then, careful to keep his sword raised, moved his right hand to pull the left sleeve of his shirt up to the elbow. From her position, Sakura could just barely make out some kind of tattoo on the inner side of his forearm. Blade gave a malicious smile of understanding. "Ah. Of courssse. The Li clan. I did hear that the ssson might have essscaped. At lassst you have resssurfassced." The Li clan? Sakura looked from Blade to Li again. His expression was absolutely hard, his eyes like stone. "I have." Li took a couple of slow steps backward, closer to Sakura. Their only escape was Blade’s transport, but the Reptil was blocking the way and it would be more trouble than it was worth to try and fight past him. There was almost certainly a homing device built into it. Flicking a small slip of parchment out from under his sleeve, he muttered a quick chant and watched Blade’s transport shudder with a jolt of electricity. It should be enough to cripple him from following them, hopefully. Then he pointed his sword right at the enemy. "Go back. Go back and tell your master that I’m coming for him. And that he can expect more of the same." Blade didn’t answer, glowering silently at this upstart rebel that had managed to cut his flesh. He had forgotten all about Sakura in his rage for the boy. "Get up," Li said in a low voice. "Run. Don’t look back." Sakura stood but hesitated, and Li shot her an impatient look. "Go, I said! I’ll be right behind you. Turn, and run." At last Sakura obeyed, and scampered down the canyon run. Li followed at a slow pace, never turning his back on Blade or lowering his sword. Roiling with frustration, Blade slashed at his ship, but he could do nothing. A Reptil could not survive in this environment without shade nearby, and he was weakened severely by blood loss as it was. He had no transportation; he could not follow. All he could do was contact his troops and send for a healer and backup. He would lose face in front of his men, and it was all his fault. The Li boy. Blade’s pupils contracted until they were nothing but thin vertical slits as he watched the rebels disappear around a bend in the cliffs ahead. That boy will pay for this, he really will. After what he has done to me today, I will never allow him to survive. Him, or his female. Chapter6