HAGAR'S LITTLE HELPER - PART 7

“Your Majesty.” The soldier salutes me, jogs to the top of the throne platform, salutes again. “We have all exits from the dungeon level secured. Commander Cossack is leading a full squadron on a hunt to locate the rebels.”

“I see. No idea as to whether he’s found my sister or not?”

“No, Your Majesty. The last word I received was that Captain Talik was taking the Commader down for a search on the foundation level.”

“All right. Keep me posted, as usual.”

The soldier salutes a third time and heads back down the steps. I was hoping for some good news, but it looks like this scenario has to play out for awhile before I get the results that I want. I wave my goblet to get a fresh pouring of wine.

Damned little wench. Why can’t you just die now and make me happy?

“Okay, okay - she’s coming around, she’s breathing…there you go…”

“Reid, go and get some water. Do it quickly.”

I try to reply that I don’t want water, I’d had more than enough for right now, but the dry, sticky lump caught in my throat refuses to dislodge, despite the efforts of my clenching stomach to heave it loose. The only noise that escapes my lips is a wet, retching sound, followed by wheezing and a bout of coughing.

I feel hands on my shoulders, rolling me from my side to flat on my back. The dark blue of a Drule soldier’s uniform hovers in front of my face. I reach out to grab it and pull it close. Garn, help me, take me away from here…

The voice I hear above my head doesn’t belong to Garn. It’s Zelaniel, trying to assure me that everything will be all right. He pulls me into a sitting position and I feel a hand caress my back.

“I can’t believe Dana tried to drown her,” Aria says with anger in her voice.

“I did no such thing,” Dana protests from a point across the room. “I thought I saw something in the water, she came to have a look, and she slipped.”

“Yeah, right,” Reid retorts. “A person who’s as scared of water as she is got close enough to a broken section of railing to risk falling into it. I agree with Aria. I think you pushed her in.”

“Quiet, all of you!” Zelaniel snaps. “Once she recovers, we’ll get the full story.”

The lump in my throat finally loosens and my breathing begins to slow to a normal rate. Zelaniel hugs me a little closer. I lean into him and find myself wishing for Garn once more. It’s too bad that I can’t work such magic with my focus charm; I’d transport myself into his arms in an instant. I can just imagine the look he’d have on his face…

“Tira…are you all right?” Zelaniel rubs at my back again. I look up at him to see deep concern in his green eyes. Aria is sitting on her knees on the other side of me. Tallam and Reid are standing close by, and Dana is sitting on one of the benches against the wall. She doesn’t have her rifle anymore. Tallam is carrying it.

“Can you talk?” Zelaniel says. “Tell us what happened.”

Aria offers me an opened bottle of water. Despite the anxiety still pooling at the base of my stomach, my throat feels raw and paper dry. I do need a drink.

I take the bottle from her and the first gulp of water I swallow sends me into a coughing fit again. Zelaniel pats my back. Aria looks miserable.

“Kay…s’okay,” I manage to get out. She smiles a little. All eyes are on me as they wait for my next words.

“Not her fault,” I gasp with a clumsy wave in Dana’s direction. “I did…slip.”

Aria’s mouth falls open. The men all throw looks of disbelief in Dana’s direction. She looks just as surprised as they are. Zelaniel turns back to me with disbelief in his eyes. “Tira, are you sure…?”

I nod firmly. “Yes, saw light, thought it might be another Guardian…just like she did. Got too close, trying to look for the magic.”

Tallam and Reid exchange looks. Reid shakes his head and frowns. Tallam makes a face. I take a small sip of water and a few more calming breaths before I continue.

“I think you should give her the rifle back,” I say to Tallam . “We’ll need every weapon on hand if any soldiers come our way. And that reminds me. There are two very specific soldiers that I do not want you to shoot at should they come along. I will intervene if I see them to prevent them from firing at you, and I want you to promise that you will do likewise.”

I describe Garn and Kyle to them as carefully as I can, and they listen intently. Tallam walks over to Dana and hands her the rifle back. She’s still staring at me. I ignore her and look past Zelaniel’s shoulder to the pack stuffed with goods.

“Did you happen to put any other clothing in there? I’m freezing.”

Reid nods and goes to the pack full of supplies. He retrieves a long black cloak - another one of mine - made of heavy wool. He hands it over to Zelaniel and Zelaniel drapes it around me.

“We need to get moving as soon as we can,” Tallam says. “We shouldn’t stay in an open place like this for very long.”

“We’ll go as soon as Tira is able,” Zelaniel replies.

“Then let’s go, because I think I can walk now.” I move away from him and prepare to stand. He catches me by the arms to help me up. He seems disappointed that I chose not to rest in his arms for awhile. But I’d rather not, for a number of reasons.

The group presses onward until Aria begins to stumble from exhaustion. By that time we’ve reached another broken up area, but there’s wood from busted furniture all around. Tallam and Reid immediately begin to collect some of it to start a fire. Zelaniel helps me to sit and goes off searching in another direction. Aria sits down in the nearest open spot, leans against an overturned table, blinks twice and she’s asleep. Dana walks over to where I sit and stares down at me.

“Why didn’t you tell them the truth?” She demands.

“I thought I’d leave you with the decision to make that confession or not.”

“How generous of you,” she snaps.

“I already have someone that I’ve set my sights on,” I tell her. “And it isn’t him. Rest assured of that.”

She scowls and says nothing in reply. Tallam arrives with an armload of wood and drops it to the ground with a loud clatter. Aria sits bolt upright with a tiny cry of alarm. Tallam mutters a hasty apology and starts collecting stones to make a ring around the wood. Aria begins to doze off again. Reid arrives with more wood, which he also drops with a spectacular noise. Aria jumps again. Reid looks guilty as he helps Tallam to arrange the wood for a nice, big fire. Dana is still glaring at me.

“Is there a problem?” I ask her.

“I don’t know,” she replies. “Is there?”

“You know, I think part of your attitude stems from the fact that you haven’t gotten enough sleep recently and you’re cranky.” I grasp my charm and smile up at her. “Good night, Dana.”

“What?” She blinks at me, then her eyes roll back in her head and she crumples. Tallam rushes to catch her. Reid watches with a smile. Zelaniel arrives with some seat cushions in his arms. He looks at the dozing girl in Tallam’s arms, then at me.

“Did you just do that?” he asks.

“Yes. I felt she needed the rest.”

“How long will she stay like that?”

“It varies depending on circumstances. I’d say about two or three hours in her case. Maybe she’ll be in a better mood when she wakes up.”

“For that to happen she’d have to be out for a week,” Reid quips. Zelaniel makes a face at him, and he grins. The two of them clear a space for Dana to lie down on. Zelaniel puts a salvaged seat cushion under her head for a makeshift pillow and does likewise for his sister.

“Someone should find out if Lotor is going to give us the ship,” Tallam says. “I imagine that there are patrols all over the place by now. I’ll go see if I can find someone and get an update while the rest of you get some sleep.” He leans his rifle against the wall and squares his shoulders. He must be thinking that the absence of a weapon will prevent the soldiers from shooting him on sight. I hope his theory is right, for his sake.

“Be careful,” Zelaniel says.

“I will. And you and Tira get yourselves by the fire once Reid starts it up. You’re both soaked.”

Zelaniel nods. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

My gaze falls on the soggy uniform Zelaniel is wearing and it dawns on me then how I was rescued from a watery death. I stare at him as he hands me a cushion and he simply smiles in return.

“I’ll be back,” Tallam says. He gives us all a wave and starts back the way we came. I frown after him as he goes.

What if Lotor doesn’t honor their request? He’s already tried to kill me once. I wouldn’t be surprised if he deliberately held out on purpose, hoping these people would do as they promised and kill their hostage. The more I think about, the more I believe he might just do it. I’d better prepare myself for the worst.

The very idea of it makes me sigh heavily as I take a seat by the woodpile. Reid is huffing and blowing madly at a smoking bit of tinder he holds in his hands. I shake my head and laugh. “Put the tinder under the wood, will you please?”

“Why? It’s not really burning yet.”

“Just do it. By the time you finish playing around with that, we’ll have air-dried on our own.”

Reid frowns at me and stuffs the bit of shavings under the woodpile. Then he folds his arms across his chest and frowns at me. “Fine, go ahead and do your magical mumbledygook for all I care.”

I smirk at him and wave a hand at the woodpile. A gout of flame erupts into life and begins to burn brightly. Reid rolls his eyes and excuses himself to gather more wood. Zelaniel chuckles to himself, then he gives me a sideways look.

“I never did thank you properly for saving my life back at the treasure room.”

“You pulled me out of the water. We’re even.”

He is silent for a long moment before he speaks again. “Dana pushed you, didn’t she?”

“What do you think?”

“Why did you lie for her, then?”

“It’s not as noble a gesture as you think. I wanted her to suffer through the ordeal of having to confess her crime to the man she loves.”

Zelaniel makes a face. “Dana doesn’t love me. I doubt that she loves much of anything these days.”

“Oh, come on. Do you really think that I was tossed in because of her fear of my magical powers? Her answer to that is simply to shoot me.”

“Why did you put her to sleep, then? She’ll probably use that as an excuse to try it.”

“Let her. The gloves are off from this point on. Just make sure that you stay clear of the crossfire.”

“Tira, I don’t want this to become a war between the two of you.”

“She won’t last that long. Trust me.”

“Seriously, now -”

“I am serious. I’m sick and tired of all the little abuses that she inflicts on me behind your back. From now on, no more games.”

“Can we find a more peaceful resolution for this?”

“Fine with me, if you feel like playing the diplomat.”

“I do if it will mean peace.” He looks around at me and is surprised to find me giggling at him. “What?”

“Do you have any idea of how funny it is to see you sitting there in a Drule soldier’s uniform, talking about peace?”

“Hey, I kind of like this uniform. You’ve been awful clingy ever since I started wearing it.”

“Only because I’m thinking of someone else when I do.”

He smiles slightly. “Does that mean you’d call me by his name too if we made love?”

“Probably.”

He gets a thoughtful look. “I dunno. It might actually be worth it.”

“Don’t go there. You won’t like it when you arrive.”

“How do you know?”

We stare at each other for a long time with neither one speaking. Then Reid arrives with his armload of wood and it breaks the tension between us. I turn my attention to the fire and scoot a little closer to gain some heat. The gaze fixed on me as I study the flames is every bit as warm.

I wonder what Garn did to get into trouble with Hagar. It must have something to do with the big secret he wouldn’t tell me about, the old skankwart. I sure hope he had fun, whatever it was.

Five of the guys on my left are throwing dice to pass the time. I’d join in, but my luck wouldn’t hold. I’m trying to mentally aim all my good fortune in Garn’s direction so he’ll return from his meeting with the old witch unscathed. There’s nothing else I can do to help him.

The gamblers begin to speculate on what may have happened to my friend. My ears perk up at the mention of Garn’s name and I begin to watch them form the corner of my eye. One of them was on the roof with us when Hagar made her declaration about the fate of anyone fool enough to approach Tira without invitation. He lowers his voice and mutters something hastily as he makes a quick swipe across his neck with a finger. The others nod solemnly and look in my direction. When they realize I’m watching them they immediately take interest in their game again. I frown at the rifle resting in my lap.

“Atten-tion!” Bellows a voice from behind me. I leap to my feet and spin in that direction, resting the rifle on my shoulder and snapping to. The others fall in to make a row with me winding up on the very end of it. Someone remembers the dice lying on the floor and brushes them behind the soldier beside him with a quick sweep of his foot. We all turn our heads toward the sound of the voice and wait.

Captain Talik is coming up the hall with Commander Cossack himself right behind him. The Commander has obviously been in the hagdral a bit; he stumbles to a halt in front of the first soldier and clumsily snatches the rifle out of his hands to inspect it. He almost drops it as he shoves it back in the soldier’s face.

“Looks good enough,” he mutters. The Captain stands back and waits patiently as Cossack goes from one soldier to the next to inspect our weapons. He fumbles with adjustments and ruins precision settings with clumsy flicks of his fingers. Each man struggles to get his weapon back into working shape once Cossack goes on to the next. I cringe as he gets closer. Toad Boy is going to grope my baby...

“Whoa, sorry ‘bout that.” He hands the next rifle back to its owner in two pieces after he accidentally unhooks the quick release mechanism. The solder fumes inwardly but holds his tongue and snaps it back together in instant once Cossack’s back is turned. The weapon mangler finally comes to a stop in front of me. “Lemme see yer rifle, boy.”

“Yessir.” I hold it out to him slowly, reluctant to let this imbecile handle my precious firearm. Captain Talik has sympathy in his eyes as he watches me hand it over. Cossack lets out a low whistle of admiration as he turns it over in his hands.

“Zarkon’s balls! This is a damn good-looking weapon you got here, boy. Nice and clean, all right.” He looks down the sights, runs a fingertip along the barrel and hands it back in one piece. I breathe an inward sigh of relief.

“Ya know how to shoot it?” He asks.

“Yessir.”

He rubs his chin. “Ya know how to shoot it well?”

“Yessir.”

“How well?”

“Lieutenant Idharim is an expert marksman, Commander,” Talik replies. “He has won more trophies for his skill than most can count.”

“Issat so,” Cossack replies. He pauses in thought, then he points a finger at me. “I got a real tricky thing for you to do, then. I gotta kill somebody, see, an’ I need a sharpshooter.”

“Who would be my target, Sir?”

Cossack takes a quick look around the area, then he crooks a finger at me and Captain Talik and walks away from the rest of the group. I shoulder my rifle and follow after. He stops when he feels he’s well out of earshot of the group and turns to address me.

“Yer target is the princess. I got orders to make her dead.” He takes note of my reaction. “I know, I know, killin’ a helpless girl is a coward’s thing to do, but it’s th’ king’s orders. She’s got it coming, trust me. You got the stomach for it?”

It takes a moment for the words to sink in. Murder the princess, at Lotor’s orders? What in the world is going on here? Cossack simply stands there, fixing me with his wavering gaze, waiting for my reply.

“Answer the Commander, Lieutenant!” Captain Talik comes up even with Cossack and glares at me. “We haven’t got all day!”

I purse my lips and try to think of an answer that’s as neutral as possible. It’s then that fortune smiles upon me.

“Commander!” One soldier yells before I can reply. We turn to see him pointing further on down the hall. An old human male is approaching the group. He has no weapons with him except for a hunting knife hanging from his belt, and he has his hands raised, palms out, as he approaches. Cossack’s expression sours immediately upon seeing him; he rests a hand on the whip hanging from his belt and scowls.

“Stand aside, boy,” he says to me. “I’ll get yer answer in a minute.” He stumbles off to confront the human. Captain Talik makes a circling gesture with his hand, and the others fall into place behind Cossack in a line, blocking the hallway. The human stops at a respectful distance and slowly lowers his hands.

“Commander Cossack,” he says. “I have a message for you from the leader of my group.”

“Oh yeah?” Cossack growls. “What’s he got to say?”

“He wants King Lotor to know that he expects a response to his demand for an escape vessel.”

Cossack smiles, lowers his hand from his whip and the human relaxes slightly as he waits for a response. I have a very bad feeling about what’s going to happen next.

“He wants a response, huh?” Cossack replies. “Well, guess what - I got an answer for him right now.” He looks over his shoulder at the firing line and nods toward the old man. “Shoot that bottom-dwelling scum-feeder.”

A look of stunned surprise crosses the human’s face as the weapons are raised. He takes a dozen bolts in the chest and torso before he can even think to react. The beams tear straight through his body and singe the wall behind him. His face is still frozen in a slack-jawed gape of dismay as he lands face down on the floor. Cossack walks over to the smoking body and turns him over with his foot.

“That’s one laser-riddled corpse for the king,” he mutters. “Four more to go.”

“What about the demand, Sir?” Captain Talik asks.

“Forget th’ damn demand. You know what my orders are.” He points in the direction the human came from. “What’s down that way?”

“That passage leads to the older parts of the castle, Sir.”

“Think they could hole up back there?”

Captain Talik nods. “I’m sure of it. There are plenty of places they could choose to hide in, but I know the area pretty well. We’ll be able to find them easily.”

“Okay, then let’s get the men moving and flush ‘em outta hiding.” He prods the dead human with the toe of his boot.

“Scavenger’s rights apply,” he says aloud. “Whatever he’s got in his pockets. Then two of you take the body back to the King. Tell him it’s first spoils of th’ hunt. Talik, c’mere for a minute. We gotta figure out a search and destroy plan.” He gives the body a final kick and leaves. Talik is right behind him. They both seem to have forgotten that they wanted an answer from me about killing the princess. I let them pass me by without saying a word to either of them.

The other soldiers promptly set to searching the body once Cossack and the Captain step off to one side to have their private discussion. I walk away from the group to stand just beyond the turn in the hall. Great, just great. Cossack wants to kill the princess and Garn is nowhere around, so I can’t tell him about what’s going on. What do I do now?

A flicker of movement in the shadows ahead catches my eye and I level my rifle at it. Garn steps into the light and approaches me with a grin on his face and Hagar’s cat dozing in the crook of his arm.

“Aren’t we jumpy all of a sudden.”

“Garn! Thank Ainjal you’re all right! What...” I glance at the cat, then look at him. “...happened?”

“I’m on a special mission for Hagar. I’ve been asked to rescue the princess before Cossack does. Hagar thinks he’ll get her killed.”

“I have news for you, my friend. That’s exactly what he’s planning to do, and on purpose. He was just about to volunteer me to pull the trigger.”

“What? Kill the princess? Why would he want to -”

I hold up a palm to quiet him. “We can’t talk here.” I peek back around the corner. One of the soldiers is examining the human’s hunting knife while another passes cigarettes around. “Let’s find a different spot.”

“Tell me as we go, then. I want you to come with me anyway. I have special permission to recruit help.” He nods at the sleeping cat.

“Right.” I clap a hand on his shoulder and we slip off into a darkened corridor.

To Hagar's Little Helper: Part 6

To Hagar's Little Helper: Part 8