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

Chapter 13.2

The Trees burned, visible for miles, possibly even from orbit, she thought. Homes, livelihoods, precious childhood memories all lost, along with those who had been caught by surprise. Patrols were still finding survivors who had escaped the conflagration and then collapsed from fear or exhaustion—or possibly from a lack of will to go on living once their instinctive terror had faded. She did not know how she would face them. Had they not depended on her to save them, and had she not failed?

You kept it from becoming worse, her husband thought. You cannot be everywhere at once. They will understand this.

How many more battles will we lose? How many more lives will be destroyed? she thought in despair. I cannot bear to watch more of this.

Sleep, he advised. We have new battles to fight in the morning. When you are rested, you will regain your determination.

How can I sleep? Even you cannot follow your own advice, she pointed out. Where are you?

Reviewing the latest data we have on their positions, he replied. There is not much leisure for sleeping when you are commanding an army. Do as I am doing, if you will not sleep, and think about tomorrow. Do not stand there staring at our failure. It achieves nothing.

She sighed and turned away from the window. Very well.

He must have sensed the emptiness she felt, because he added, I will be with you in a few moments, when we are done here.

You will find that something else needs your attention, as you always do, she replied, without rancor but with the certainty of long experience.

No. I am coming to you when I am finished with this. I promise, Miah.

She sighed, but she did not argue. He kept his promises, she knew. Those it was possible to keep, anyway.

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Ford blinked, coming back to his senses, and turned away from the window, aware that Stecklan and Lyrabeth were watching him watch the flames engulfing the other side of campus. He thought it was mostly trees and plants burning; the buildings were made of fireproof material. He hoped everyone had gotten safely inside when the Reissians started the fires. And he wondered whether he had caught part of Sabrina's dream or the vision had been sent to him for some reason.

"Back to work," he said, smiling briefly at the others and resisting the urge to ask if there was news. He would have heard anyone come in.

Lyrabeth said, "Is there something I could do to help? I can hold things or run errands or watch something. I can't stand having nothing to do."

"Here," Stecklan said, handing her his weapon. "I'll get some sleep. You take over the watch. Will that keep you occupied?"

"Yes, sir," she responded. "Thank you."

Ford glanced over to where Fanar and Lallar were working and turned back to the small screen where his modeling program was running. It had not finished its latest task, so he pondered the vision, frowning. As much as Sabrina feared being compared to Miah, he hated any comparison of himself with Corweign. Although the man had been a hero in many respects, it seemed to Ford that he had not been a good husband. Perhaps it was the age difference, which had been significant, or the fact that Miah had been Corweign's student on Homeworld before they fled, but their relationship was not one he wanted to emulate. The visions he'd seen so far lacked the sense of equal partnership that was one of the things he valued most about his own marriage. But perhaps in time Miah and Corweign had grown into that, he reflected. He wondered about his parents' marriage, begun so similarly, although he did not think his mother had ever shown the meek obedience he saw in Miah.