Snow crunched behind her.
A pair of privates approached, and she braced herself for insults or crude comments. Acne scarred one’s face, and neither appeared older than twenty, though like most of the men here they were taller than she and no doubt dangerous.
“ Ma’am, we’re, ah…” The speaker glanced at his comrade, who gave an encouraging nod. “We’re having rations.”
Er, what did that have to do with her? “Yes?”
Behind them, marines sat in groups of four or five and shared lunch while the officers conferred in a cluster. More than one man snoozed against his rucksack, oblivious to the frosty environs.
“ You could join our mess if you wanted.” The speaker nodded to a knot of young men busy chatting, laughing, and stuffing crackers into their mouths. One waved. “We’ve got extra tooth dullers and-”
“ Tooth, what?” Tikaya asked.
“ Tooth dullers. You know, hardtack. It’s right awful stuff, but Private Ankars has some taffy his mum gave him-his mum always posts him the best sweets-and anyway if you wanted you could come share with us.”
“ Oh, I…” After so much hostility from the marines, this kindness stunned her. The privates must know some of what had happened with the device, that she and Rias had been the ones to render it innocuous. “Thank you. It’s considerate of you to invite me.”
Rias strode their direction, brow wrinkled. The privates blanched when they spotted him.
“ You’re welcome any time, ma’am.” The speaker waved to Tikaya, and he and his comrade scurried away.
“ They bothering you?” Rias asked.
“ No. They invited me to lunch.”
“ Ah?” His brow smoothed and a smile plucked at his lips. “That’s an improvement.”
“ Yes.” She nodded toward the pockets of men. “It’s amazing they can sleep and laugh in the face of death and inexplicable alien horrors.” As soon as she said it, she blushed. What about her? Fantasizing about Rias on a beach a few minutes earlier?
“ That’s a trait shared by soldiers everywhere. The officers handle the worrying.” The grimness returned to his expression, and he held out his hand. A glass cube identical to the first rested on the palm. “I’ve found several now. The radial pattern and the distance from Fort Deadend implies…” He sighed. “I better see what’s inside before jumping to conclusions.”
“ Are we going in?”
“ Yes, good news there. The scouts are alive. The lookout has a spyglass and spotted them moving around inside.”
Tikaya exhaled with relief. “Good.”
Rias nodded. “Though you might want to wait until later for lunch.”
“ Why? Are there better rations inside?” Even as she finished the question, the meaning of his comment washed over her. They anticipated more dead bodies, right. She waved a glove to let him know she understood.
“ Fort Deadend isn’t known for its cuisine, no, but if I can escape Bocrest’s guards, maybe we can share a meal?” He arched his eyebrows.
And another, less abbreviated, kiss? She smiled at the thought but couldn’t resist the urge to tease him. “I don’t know… Those privates over there have taffy. Can you top that?”
“ Ah, perhaps not.” His expression grew wistful. “I fear I am a man with few resources these days.”
She patted his arm. “You’ll have to regale me with stories then. Such as why this place is called Fort Deadend. Are there more reasons than the obvious?”
“ Not really. You’ve generally pissed in some general’s tea cup if you get stationed out here. There’s a pass through the mountains south of here, and the theoretical purpose of the installation is to guard against invasion from the north. But the route is as hospitable as an avalanche, so the likelihood of someone marching an army through it is close to nil. There’s a lot of gold in the hills, though, and foreigners trespass to set up mining operations. Patrols watch for that, and I imagine the fort commander has orders to keep an eye on the canyon where the tunnels were discovered as well.”
Tikaya thought of the invisible Nurian assassins. She was beginning to think they had transported back to their own ship the night of the attack, but that did not mean others with their skills were not out here. “Practitioners wouldn’t have much trouble sneaking by this fort to get inside.”
“ They would have had to know about the place first, though I suppose after twenty years secrets are bound to get out. The Nurians obviously know.”
Voices sounded ahead-the scouting group returning. Agarik came at the end, head bowed, shoulders drooped, though he kept his rifle crooked in his arms, ready to use. The leader headed straight for Bocrest and his officers, but she caught Agarik’s eye and he tramped up the hill toward her and Rias.
A livid red gash dotted with black stitches ran from the side of his cheek to his nose, and the stiffness of his movement hinted at injuries beneath his clothing.
Tears pricked her eyes. She never should have sent him off alone.
Before he could speak, she stepped forward and hugged him. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault you were hurt.”
He seemed startled by the embrace, but rearranged his rifle to return it. “No, don’t think that. I’m the idiot who let himself get ambushed.”
His words did nothing to assuage her guilt. When she stepped back, she could not look away from that cut. It would be a permanent scar.
“ Is there anything I can do?” Tikaya asked.
“ Hugs are good.” Agarik gave Rias a hesitant smile. “From anyone who wants to share them.”
Tikaya glanced at Rias in time to spot a neutral expression shift to bewilderment.
“ What?”
The word sounded harsh, and, though Tikaya suspected the tone more a result of surprise than anything else, Agarik’s smile fell.
“ Sorry, sir,” he said. “I didn’t mean, uhm.”
“ What’d you find at the fort, corporal?” Rias asked.
Agarik straightened, face composed. “Everyone’s dead, sir. Ugly dead. Their skin and muscles were melted off like wax on a candle. You couldn’t even tell who was who if they weren’t wearing uniforms with name patches.”
Tikaya shared that’s-what-we-were-afraid-of glances with Rias.
“ And there’s something you’ll want to see,” Agarik said. “Both of you.”
Before she could ask for details, an officer yelled, “Corporal Agarik, get over here!”
He saluted Rias before hustling off.
“ You should hug him next time,” Tikaya said.
That bewilderment returned. “Marines don’t hug.”
“ Have you talked to him at all?”
“ Not as much as you, apparently.” He tilted his head and arched an eyebrow.
It took her a moment to match his concerned expression to the hug she had given Agarik. She almost laughed. As confident as Rias was about military and mathematical matters, she was surprised he did not share that confidence when it came to women. As if anyone here could offer notable competition.
“ Pack it up!” Bocrest’s voice floated across the hill. “We’re moving out!”
Tikaya laid her hand on Rias’s sleeve before he could turn away. “Agarik wants your attention, not mine.”
Rias stared at her. “Oh.”
“ You two prisoners want to join the group or you going to stay out here and work on your sun tans?” Bocrest shoved a rucksack into Rias’s arms as he stomped past.
“ I can’t imagine that man having a wife,” Tikaya muttered as she headed off to retrieve her own pack.
“ I’ve not met the woman,” Rias said, “but I’ve heard she’s as obnoxious as him and the undisputed master of the household.”
Tikaya would have been content to march at the end of the squad-the going was a lot easier when numerous snowshoes had tamped down a trail-but Rias strode through the drifts with his long legs and overtook the men. Determined to keep up, she forced her own strides to unnatural lengths. Sweat soon plastered her clothing to her body and soaked the fur lining of her gloves. She removed her wool cap and stuffed it in a pocket.