Way of No Return (Champions of the Crystal Book 8)

Chapter 12.2

The sun had set and a beautiful purplish twilight had settled over the city by the time they came to what looked like a makeshift checkpoint, far from the fighting. As the transport rumbled to a stop, Stecklan murmured, "Let me do all the talking. Wilan?"

"Good luck," Wilan said, opening the transport's front door.

Stecklan jumped down and approached the armed pair of civilians standing in the middle of the road. Wilan left the door open, and Ford listened intently, keeping his head down.

"Where you folks coming from?" one of the guards asked.

"The foothills, mostly. A few from farther up," Stecklan replied. "We're looking to join up with the militia. I assume you already have?"

"Yessir," the man replied. "Five years now. They don't want new recruits on the checkpoints, for obvious reasons. You look military."

"Yes," Stecklan said. "I've been up recruiting. What's the process here?"

"We won't ask for identification," the other guard said. "But we have to make sure everybody gets a scan from the cats."

"Not a problem. We're a pretty big group; how many do you have?" Stecklan asked.

"Four, but we don't want to risk them all at once. Whose turn is it, Beron?"

The second guard glanced back at the small tent. "Uh, Lizzila and Lorem. I'll get them."

It took much longer than Ford anticipated for the two cats to be passed among all the passengers. He held Lizzila just long enough for her to decide he was acceptable and rub her face along his jawline, but some of his fellow passengers had never seen a cat and had to be instructed in the proper way to hold them. Ford wondered what had become of Bennie and Trixie, a question he knew worried Sabrina, and resolved to find out as quickly as possible.

A sudden hiss made his hair stand on end, and he half-rose from his seat, trying to see what was happening. Reya pushed him back down as the guards moved toward the back row.

"Everyone sit still," Wilan instructed as the passengers began to stir. "Let them do their jobs."

Stecklan casually moved so he was blocking Ford from view. "Do we have a problem, or is one of them trying to cut short her shift?"

"Problem," Beron said. "All you who haven't been cleared, off the transport, now. The rest of you stay in your seats."

The six rows of passengers who hadn't seen the cats yet were herded off the transport and told to form a line. The two guards held the cats and moved slowly along it, allowing cleared passengers to climb back aboard. When they were finished, a young man from a village in the foothills was left, looking bewildered at the hostility he engendered in the cats.

"Animals just don't like me," he said. "I'm not infected. I swear. I wouldn't be talking if I was, would I?"

Ford glanced at Reya. "What do you think?" he murmured.

"We have seen different types of parasites with different purposes," Reya murmured back. "If there is one primarily meant for espionage, it would likely have to leave its host unaware of its existence. We have not yet seen one that could counterfeit its host's personality or speech."

Ford eyed the way the guards were glancing at each other and fingering their weapons. "Stecklan, go make sure this doesn't end badly."

"Yes, sir," Stecklan said quietly, stepping out the door. "Beron, Gidar, what do we have here?"

"The cats haven't ever been wrong," Gidar said. "But I've never seen an infected person talk right before, either."

"What are your orders if you find an infected person?" Stecklan asked.

"We don't have facilities for prisoners," Beron said.

Stecklan frowned. "You surely haven't been ordered to kill your fellow citizens."

"The infected ones endanger us all," Beron said.

"I'm no threat to anybody!" the frightened passenger said.

"What's your name?" Stecklan asked him.

"Urer Abons, sir. From Lower Ahreig. I'm not infected! Please, you have to believe me!"

Stecklan weighed his options. While his instinct was to conceal his ties to the royal couple, he knew Ford would not countenance a roadside execution, and he had no doubt what Sabrina would want him to do. "I'll take responsibility for him. I know some scientists who might be able to figure this out. And if there's a new parasite, we need to know."

"That's not in our orders. We don't even know who you are," Gidar said.

It occurred to Stecklan that if he made his presence as the princess' emissary known, the Kyan might redirect their efforts and try to capture him. Drawing them back to the city and out of the mountains would make it less likely they might stumble across the Inheritor. He reached into his inner pocket and withdrew the signet, careful to shield it from view of the transport passengers. "You recognize this?"

"Yes, sir!" Gidar said, snapping to attention.

"You're the one? The one the princess sent?" Beron exclaimed.

"Lower your voice," Stecklan instructed. "I am. And I am taking custody of this man in her name. Do either of you wish to dispute my authority to do so?"

"No, sir," Beron said.

Stecklan was pleased to see that both men looked relieved as they realized the decision had been taken out of their hands. "Have you found any infected people along this road?"

"No, sir, but rumor says there are some up in the hills. We're supposed to keep them out of the city," Gidar said.

"Not by summary execution," Stecklan said. "I'm issuing this order in the princess' name: you are not to kill your fellow citizens except in self-defense. Tell your commander to devise some way of delivering the infected to the Academy for study. We may be able to discover a way to use the parasites against the enemy, or at least restore their hosts."

"Yes, sir," they chorused, stepping back.

"Come along," Stecklan said to Abons. "I'm not going to restrain you, but you'll be watched."

"I don't want to cause trouble, sir," Abons said. "I want to help. That's why I'm here. And I won't ask you questions about the princess either, just in case."

"Good, because I won't be answering any questions about the princess," Stecklan replied. He gestured for Abons to precede him onto the transport. "Sit in the front row."

Abons obeyed, and Stecklan leaned close to Reya. "He's all yours. Watch him. When we get to a lab, can you run a scan and say for sure if he's infected?"

"Yes," Reya said, "if we can get to my laboratory, I will be able to confirm any parasitical presence. I will watch him." She took the seat beside him as Stecklan went forward to whisper a report to Ford.

"Good work," Ford murmured. "And when we have time, I'd like to speak to the commander who gave that order. It's criminal at best."

"Agreed," Stecklan said. "Given that we have a prisoner now, sir, I'd like to alter our plans and get him and Reya to a lab before we approach the Military Academy."

"Her lab and mine are in the same building. It's got state-of-the-art security so I'm sure the Reissians don't have it yet," Ford said. "We can start there."

"Good." Stecklan brought out his pad and called up a map of the Academy grounds. "Which building?"

Ford pointed to a complex in the opposite corner from the Military Academy. "There's open ground around it, unfortunately. On the other hand, there's no reason the Reissians should be interested in that building."

Stecklan said, "We could ask some of our volunteers to stage a diversion."

Ford glanced over his shoulder briefly. "If they can do it without running unnecessary risks. Give them a plan, Stecklan. I don't want any foolhardy heroics."

"Yes, sir," Stecklan said.