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“It’s definitely a volcano,” Ginger chimed in, gathering Geo’s hands and spinning them in a sort of dance. “And so much more. Spiky blue cucumbers to eat, flowers to drink from and vines and mushrooms grow as far as your eye can see—well, my eyes, anyway. The ground’s like a trampoline, and the air’s like a tropical summer day.” The whimsy in her voice drew everyone closer.
Makir’s long blue tail wrapped around Ginger’s waist as if he wanted some part of him to touch her. I could relate.
“Of course,” Geo said, his voice filled with revelation. “The geothermal energy must have a source. The Starry Moun—Volcano makes perfect sense.”
I placed my hand on the lump in my bag and subtly kneaded. Bossman tended to go on and on about geothermal power, and judging by how he rubbed his beard, this time would prove no different. Hopefully the dorat had buried herself deep in my clothes. I didn’t want the chill to harm her.
As if just remembering my presence, Geo walked over and gripped my elbow. “Whatever you need, JayJay…no matter the hour of the day, I’m here for you.”
A trickle of warmth slipped past the numbness that had replaced the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
“I mean it. Anything. You name it.” Geo looked bigger than when he’d rushed off to Lorne, Makir’s home planet, to deal with a family emergency, and his confident bearing made him seem like a different male.
Sisip’s voice rose above those gathered. “We aren’t out of hot water yet. D’irk has drawn the hellsna away but it is still very much alive. Let’s reconvene at Makir’s where I expect a full report on the volcano. And, JayJay”—she shook her finger at me—“I hear you’ve withheld information from me. I fear this won’t be the last encounter with a hellsna, and I’ve been told you’re an expert. Your council is required.”
“Sisip is right, JayJay,” Geo added before he turned to face Sisip. “If his schedule needs to be altered, consider it done. Protecting Tern from these veiny bastards takes priority. House building can wait.”
Beside me, Ginger’s teeth chattered. I ignored what seemed like my conscription to the enforcers and grasped her wrist loosely. “We’re leaving.”
“All right, all right. I’m coming already.” She smiled at Geo as he nuzzled into the back of Makir’s neck, where they doubled on his hoverbike, then trudged toward my hovee. “I’m fine.” Her moment of reasonableness seemed to have passed.
Relief loosened my shoulders. She’d returned to her regular hostile self. When she’d danced around like a youngling, it had baffled me. Nestled between my legs and arms on the padded seat, her presence eased a hollow in my chest. Her white hair whipped against my chin in the icy wind as we coasted over the frozen ground. It warmed the skin on my exposed head.
Do I want to hunt hellsna again? Or will Sisip ask me to train soldiers as I once did for the elite guard? Blue humps of snow-covered debris passed below us as we exited the wastelands. Do I want my old life back?
If not for the chattering of Ginger’s teeth and her poor health, I could’ve driven us around the outskirts of Yurstille all rotation and not arrived at a conclusion. A part of me ached for a different life altogether. One I’d never experienced before. But all too soon, Makir’s front door loomed. Geo’s dogs burst through the open doorway and spread their love and exuberance with sloppy tongues and tail whips to anyone who paid them attention.
What will the dorat think of them whenever she decides to make herself known?
Ginger barely had time to get her boots off before I said, loud enough for Geo and Makir to hear, “After you’ve taken your medicine, showered and put on warm clothes, youwilldiscuss your health with Geo.”
As expected, she scowled, and the cute wrinkles on her nose appeared again. Clearly about to let me have it, Ginger snapped her mouth shut when Geo and Makir hurried toward her with a flurry of questions, preventing what would undoubtedly be a scathing reply.
“Medicine? Are you hurt? You look exhausted.” Geo assaulted her with his concern.
When Ginger said nothing, Geo spun toward me, looking for answers, tugging the ends of his beard with too much force.
“I’ve said enough. The rest is Ginger’s story.” I’d learned from my experience leading a team that sometimes you needed to be shoved into difficult situations. I escaped to the central bathroom and splashed some water on my face. I’d let just enough slip that Geo and Makir wouldn’t relent until she disclosed the dismal state of her health.
From the kitchen, Makir called back over one shoulder, “I’ll prepare soup, tea and Earth coffee. And oh…maybe some of those graneth cinnamon…”
“I need a shower before I tackle this conversation,” Ginger announced as she stormed down the hall and slammed the bathroom door closed.
I opened the courtyard doors to Makir’s pool area and placed my gear bag against the pink earthen wall. Behind me, Geo and Makir remained in the kitchen, ready to pounce on Ginger as soon as she appeared.
Lush plants lined the pool’s edge and filled every space, creating an oasis amid Tern’s cold winter. I sighed as the wonderful humidity generated by the geothermal power met the dry, cracked skin on my head. I missed the volcano already. I unzipped the bag. The dorat could hide among the greenery.
From the lounge chair I sat on, the wispy tips of Sisip’s ears appeared over the gate to the courtyard, and D’Rasma and D’Argon’s arguing over who had lured the hellsna away drifted through the warm air. I groaned, muscles protesting as I rose from the low chair to let them in. They followed me to the poolside seating.
Makir rushed out with a tray of hot drinks and a welcoming smile, but returned just as quickly to Geo’s side. Sisip passed me a steaming container.
“So, what haven’t you told me?” Sisip’s intuition surprised me.
Best to get to the point. “There are at least three more hellsna, maybe four. We found a hibernaculum.”
Sisip nodded and exchanged worried glances with D’Rasma and D’Argon.
The bitter Earth coffee tasted like dirt on my tongue. “It’s accessible through a long canyon within the volcano. If you follow the river of magma that flows along the west side, thereare two points of entry from the canyon. The magma river, which isn’t an option for obvious reasons, and a small hole located fifty meters up the vertical face of a volcanic rock wall. They’ll also have multiple unknown egress points outside the volcano.”
