Chapter 17-1

Emmalee

Seven years ago the Larcore had taken so much from my family. If for some reason I was linked to the rumour, then bring it on. I’d gladly do anything to destroy the Larcore.

Anything at all.

SOME TIME LATER

As much as I didn’t want to think about the rumour and my father, it was all I could focus on.

Did he really lie to me? Was Barty’s-a shit right in suggesting that there was more to Jake’s death? I didn’t know what to believe.

I heard a sudden movement. The scrapping of a booted foot along the metal floor of the truck. A moment later I heard Char finally speak. “We’re changing direction. Any idea where we’re headed?”

Nobody answered Char. He was right though. The truck was banking to the left in a slow arc. The vehicle then sped up.

“Listen, things will go better if you all just cooperate.”

“Shut up!” Dirk’s voice boomed in the confined space. “You’re in no position to-”

Char’s derisive snort cut Dirk off. “You all are as blind as the girl. Kept in the dark. Lead by the nose.”

“Screw you,” Jam’s voice echoed rawly.

“A touch of knowledge goes a long way. May even keep you all from getting killed.”

Over the shouts of Jam and Dirk I noticed that there was something odd about Char Twiller’s voice. As if sand had polished a rocky surface smooth. I felt my breathing slow.

It was like the stranger was only talking to me and I wanted to hear more.

“Like what?” I whispered.

Barty’s-a-shit stiffened beside me. Jam and Dirk’s voices ebbed.

I felt Char’s attention turn to me. If I could see, I’m sure I would have seen him smiling. His voice now held a beckoning nature.

“You’re wise beyond your years. A trait you obviously got from your mother.”

“Leave my damned mother out of this!” Jam’s voice was filled with loathing. “And stop messing with my sister’s head. Just sit there and shut up.”

Jam gripped my hand. I felt a momentary sensation of suddenly being suspended in midair, and then the teether snapped. Jam pulled me slightly closer to him. I didn’t resist my brother’s protective gesture. Not after knowing that Char had attacked my sister.

Char Twiller was dangerous.

He was also pushing his luck for he continued to speak. “Removing the spark plugs from the vehicles won’t hold them back for long. The survivors of the Doorcou attack will come after you.”

My heart froze. The Doorcou? No one had mentioned that it was the Doorcou that had attacked the village. My head spun at the horrific devastation the villagers must have endured.

The Doorcou were massive beasts. Born shortly after the canisters fell. Their strength was immeasurable considering they were slow moving creatures. My father had told me many times that the Doorcou’s ability to draw their immediate surroundings into a swirling vortex of energy, and then hurl the debris upward of a half mile in a single pulse burst, was nothing short of deadly.

The female of the species were also capable of hurling pulse bursts of fire. While the young, their bursts held a corrosive enzyme that could peel the skin off a man or an animal in less that a few seconds.

For all the wounded that had been brought to our camp, there must have been thousands that didn’t make it that far.

“Why?”

The nervous edge to Calvin’s voice was obvious. So was Verena’s when she added. “We had nothing to do with the Doorcou attack.”

“So you say.”

Dirk took exception to Char’s comment toward his cousin, for his voice was harsh. “Don’t you start accusing us, any of us. The Doorcou have never hid the fact that they are lackeys of the Larcore. They want us all dead.”

“And now more than the Doorcou will be hunting you.”

My heart froze. Did the people we worked so hard to save really want to punish us for something that hadn’t been in our control?

“Why would they want vengeance on us?” I asked.

Char’s voice softened. I was sure it was for my benefit only. “Your people came asking questions. Questions that stirred the villagers.”

I sucked in a breath. So my father had known more than he’d told me. Was it time I believed what Barty’s-a-shit had said about Jake too?

“And by the way, where are they?” Char inquired. “Your group is missing two people.”

I felt my brother stiffen beside me. His grip on my hand tightened.

How did Char know that two, my father and Roarke hadn’t returned? Had he been spying on our salvage crew?

“My father and our other man Roarke haven’t returned,” Calvin readily furnished.

“That’s convenient,” Char retorted.

“Shut your damn mouth,” I heard Dirk growl.

Char snorted.

“Do you think they were captured?” Calvin asked.

“Probably dead.”

“No!” I cried. I tried to surge to my feet. Barty’s-a-shit’s hand gripped my arm. A jolt of energy surge down to my hand. I felt it pass to Jam. He dropped my hand as if I’d scald him. I quickly slapped Barty’s-a-shit’s hand away.

I heard Barty’s-a-shit sigh heavily and then he said. “Em’s right, we don’t know what’s happened. When was the last time you saw Em’s father and Roarke, Calvin?”

I heard Calvin clear his voice. “I don’t recall. Quite some time before the attack, I think. A shopkeeper who sold medicines was about to take me to a hidden storage unit. He was offering for purchase some of his…rarest finds when Mikkel told me he and Verena were going to follow a lead. I can’t tell you where Roarke went. ”

“I lost Mikkel in the crowd when the first pulse hit. We were on the outskirts of the market. I’m sorry, Jam, Em. I don’t know what happened to your father. There was so much chaos.”

I believed Verena. However, I now wondered exactly what my father had been up too. What lead had he been following? What questions had he been asking that had the villagers believing he could be responsible for the Doorcou attack?

“You came to the village for a reason,” Char’s voice now held a trace of menace. “What was that reason?”

“Beyond buying some supplies, I don’t know.”

Char’s voice hardened. He refuted Verena’s claim. “Lady, I’m not buying your shit. You were there for a specific purpose! What was it?”

Dirk quickly intervened. “Leave her alone. She can’t tell you anything.”

“You’re delusional if you think she’s an innocent. She’s more than she seems.”

“I don’t care what you say. Leave her alone.”

“Then you’re either an idiot or you’re in on the plot.”

“You bastard!”

I heard scuffling. Then the sound of a hard object connecting with soft tissue. The sound mounted as voices erupted around me.

Someone stepped on my foot. Pain ripped through my ankle. I pulled my legs up close to my chest and pushed myself backward with my palms. My shoulder hit the corner of a hard object. I felt whatever I’d hit shudder. I put my hands and arms over my head afraid that I’d just dislodged something and that it would soon come crashing down onto me.

Hands gripped me as energy from Barty’s-a-shit’s touch raced up my arm. I stiffened further. He jerked me sharply sideways. I didn’t resist, trusting him to pull me out of harm’s way.

The voices grew louder. Jam’s voice hollered for Donahue to stop Dirk. Calvin’s voice, highly distressed cried out. I heard a squeal. Whose voice it was I couldn’t tell.

Barty’s-a-shit shifted and dragged me backward. One of his hands gripped my elbow as the other gathered my legs and pressed them close to his.

I heard a sickening crunching noise. The smell of blood reached my nose. Barty’s-a-shit groaned in my ear.

Then Verena started screaming. “Stop Dirk! Stop! You’re killing him!”

The voices halted.

I heard the dead weight of who I assumed was Char hit the truck’s floor. It was a long time before Barty’s-a-shit’s tight grip lessened. I shrugged and Barty’s-a-shit released me. I reached out and felt what was around me. Then I scrambled away.

©Legend of the Sapphyre Wings by Janet Merritt