Chapter 10
He swung around as a little girl burst through the bushes. When she saw him she screamed and ran away. The look of pure terror on her face shocked him.
“Arni? Arni, wait!”
He dived after her and tripped, falling over on top of the fleeing figure.
Zarine ran up behind them. “Did you have to be so rough?” She picked the child up and hugged her. “Are you all right, little one? Don't be afraid.”
“Arni, don't you remember me? I'm Jed. Look.” He pushed up his sleeves and showed her his armbands. “You thought they were pretty, remember? You saved me from the soldiers.”
“You pushed me over.” Her lips trembled. “You frightened me. I thought you were a soldier.”
“I fell,” Jed explained. “You're a very brave little girl not to cry.”
She swallowed. “D-did you bring your sister to visit like you promised?”
“No. This is Zarine, my friend. Where are your parents, Arni?”
Two big tears rolled slowly down Arni's cheeks.
“The soldiers killed them,” she whispered. “Then they burnt down our dome. I ran away and hid. They were angry when you escaped, Jed.”
Jed closed his eyes in horror. Arni’s parents had surely only betrayed him through fear. They had not deserved to die.
“What have you eaten since?” Zarine asked gently.
“Wildfruit and berries,” Arni replied. “I was just going to get some more. Will you come with me?”
“Yes,” said Zarine, without consulting Jed. “We’re hungry, too.”
Jed sighed. Of course they had to stop and eat, but it took up so much time.
“I just have to get my bag.” Arni rolled back a big stone nearby. “See my hiding place?”
From a hole under the stone she pulled a bag and proudly displayed her treasures; a rope and a knife with a charred handle.
“How clever you are, Arni,” Zarine told her, with a smile. “The knife will be handy for cutting down the wildfruit.”
“You must go and live with your relatives,” Jed added, as they walked uphill. “You can't wander around the mountains all alone.”
“I have no relatives.” Arni put her hand trustingly in his. “I’ll come with you. You’re my friend.”
Zarine and Jed exchanged concerned glances.
“You’ll have to let her come,” Zarine murmured, in a low voice. “Since you are partly responsible for her parents’ deaths.”
“How can you say that?” Jed exclaimed furiously. “Is Vexson’s coup my fault?”
“I didn't mean it like that,” Zarine said, sharply. “Now look what you've done!”
Obviously still fragile, Arni had pulled her hand away and was weeping bitterly between them. Zarine picked her up and held her close.
“Come little one, dry your tears and we'll play a game. You can be the leader and we will follow you and do everything you do. But the trail must end at the Secret Place of Wildfruit.”
“Really?” Arni hiccupped. “Will Jed play too?”
“Zarine, there's no time to play games!”
Zarine glared at him fiercely. “It won't take any longer than walking, Jed. Do you want soldiers to hear her crying?”
There was that. Jed sighed. “It must be a silent game, then.”
Arni dragged a sleeve across her eyes. “It will be fun to pretend we can't speak.”
She flapped her arms like a bird and hopped on one foot, watching to make sure the others did it too.
At last they came to the place where the wildfruit grew and the game was forgotten as they ate with relish.
“See?” said Zarine, her mouth full. “Wasn’t it worth it?”
Jed scowled at her and turned away. He felt guilty enough about Ranc and Herni’s death without Zarine's condemnation.
“Wait here and keep quiet, both of you,” he said sharply. “I’m going to climb a little further up. If I can see across the Plains of Zarr…”
He left the sentence unfinished. Why hadn’t they seen more soldiers? Not even sunflyers had bothered them much. Jed had expected to be hunted at every turn, but there had hardly been any sound of sunflyers. There had to be a reason for that. Had Vexson planned some devious way to catch him that he had not thought of yet?
Cautiously, he climbed to the top of an atoll and looked out over the plains. The Cliffs of Ebor were a black smudge on the horizon, tumbling down to form one side of the walled valley where the Voyager was hidden. Alone, he could have been there by nightfall. Zarine was slow enough, but how long would it take with little Arni in tow?
A glint of light on the plains caught his attention. He shaded his eyes and squinted into the distance. Were there soldiers strung out across the plains? He couldn’t quite tell. They would have to be very careful from now on.
Arni didn’t have the energy for any more games on the way down the mountain. When she was too tired to walk, Jed hoisted her onto his back, while Zarine carried her bag, heavy with wildfruit. It was late afternoon when they reached the plains. Jed slid Arni off his back and knelt beside her.
“I am going to take you to a safe place, Arni,” he said gravely. “But many soldiers are looking for us. We must be very quiet. Do you understand?”
Arni nodded solemnly. “I promise I won't scream, even if I am frightened. But if we meet some soldiers, you can shoot them, can't you, Jed? You have a weapon.”
“I - do have a weapon, Arni.” Would he be able to kill to save them? He did not know.
They walked on until Sirac was setting in the north. Soon it would be dark. They should rest for a while, then if the soldiers were out there – as they must surely be – the darkness would give them some cover. He whispered his plans to the girls and they sank down with sighs of re1ief.
Arni was asleep straight away, her head in Zarine’s lap. Jed squatted down next to her.
“You have some knowledge of the desert,” he said, in a low voice. “If anything happens to me, or if we become separated, you must go there. Keep your back to the moons to give you your direction - and watch out for the quicksand. I will find you - if I live.”
“And if you don’t?”
“Then you must hope your grandfather does.”
Zarine was silent, but Jed could see that her cheeks were wet.
“If I am captured, you’ll be freed,” he assured her. “Your grandfather made the bargain with Vexson.”
“I don't be1ieve you,” she protested. “ He wouldn’t buy my freedom at such high cost.”
“You mean a lot to him.” He sighed. “Can you recognise the quicksand, do you think?”
“I - think so.”
“It looks very comfortable when you are tired,” he said wryly. “Watch out for Arni. She knows nothing of the dangers there.”
“She could be with you.”
Jed shook his head. “You must carry her. If we meet soldiers, I’ll lead them away while you escape to the desert.”
“You’ll be killed!”
He tried to smile. “I’ve escaped from soldiers many times.”
“Why not go to the desert now? We can’t escape going this way. You’re leading us into a trap, Jed.”
“It's not a trap. I dare not tell you my plan, but if we can get to the base of the cliffs, we’ll be safe. Will you trust me?”
Zarine did not reply.
“Come,” he said abruptly. “It’s dark enough now.”
He shook Arni urgently.
Zarine pushed him away and hoisted the sleeping child onto her back
“Bring the fruit.” She stepped past him.
“You take it.” He took the pistol from his pocket. “You may need it.”
It went the way he had feared. They were almost halfway over the plains when a party of soldiers burst out from the cover in front of them.
Suddenly, the world was full of shouting. Nucleon rays fizzed about their heads. Faces loomed out of the darkness. Hands clutched at them. Jed pushed Zarine away and ran in the opposite direction, heading towards the moons.
Would Zarine remember to keep her back to the moons? Would she and Arni get safely into the desert?
He could easily have lost the soldiers in the gloom, so he fired the weapon just to draw them on, away from the others. It always amazed him how clumsy soldiers were in the dark. They yelled and stumbled about, giving away their positions easily, while he was as silent and stealthy as a feral. When he was Ruler, he would have to see that they were better trained!
He ran in a wide circle, gradually leaving the soldiers behind and making his way back to where he thought Zarine and Arni would have entered the desert.
He hoped they had not gone in too far. He stopped to listen, but could hear nothing. The silence made him shiver. What if they had run into quicksand and been sucked down? He had been a fool to send them in alone. They should have all stayed together. Yet together, they would have had no chance of escape.
Something squelched under his foot and he went back to see what it was. Groping hands found wildfruit spilled from the bag. He was on the right track, then. He risked running.
He almost fell over Arni, crouched on the ground with both hands pressed against her mouth to prevent her sobs being heard.
“Zarine?” he gasped.
She pointed to a shadow in the gloom ahead.
“I couldn't get out of the sand. Zarine pulled me out. Now she's stuck.”
Even as she whispered the words, he heard Zarine’s cry.
“Jed! Help me!”
Dread was a knot in his stomach. “Where’s the bag?”
Arni pushed it into his hands. He fumbled in it for the rope. Why was he so clumsy? Zarine was up to her waist in quicksand! If he didn’t hurry…
“Zarine, catch the rope!” He tossed one end to her. “Tie it around your waist. Don't struggle. Just let me pull. Ready?”
“Yes.”
Jed quickly took up the slack and pulled steadily, resisting the urge to waste his energy on desperate lunges. The rope tightened. Jed strained to take another step backwards, but it was impossible. He could hold her, but he could not get her out. He was not strong enough.