Free Starkissed by Lanette Curington Page B

piece. His body mass was bigger, and he was injured.
    It seemed only fair. They washed it down with their cups of water.
    As Leith chewed the tasteless foodstuff, she thought of bacon and eggs and pancakes dripping with butter and syrup and hot aromatic coffee. To take her mind off real food, Leith spread her jacket and investigated its secret pockets.
    “A mini omnilyzer! I had no idea it was here.” The wafer thin, rectangular computer was about as big as her hand. Most analyzers were specialized, but the omnilyzer could do a little bit of everything, such as analyze the chemical content of potential food, chart their course, diagnose simple ailments and injuries, and suggest treatment. It didn’t go into depth on any one thing, but was a survival tool like the rest of the gear in her jacket.
    She glanced at her cup then the Commander. “Should I? We’ve already drunk the water.
    Do we want to know what’s in there? Of course, it might be nice to know that we’re going to die, writhing in agony, as the bacteria turn our intestines to pulp.”
    He stared at her, unblinking.
    She clicked it on and aimed the laser eye at the residue in the bottom of her cup, reading the results. “It’s water, H-2-O. According to this, nothing toxic to humans. It doesn’t analyze for xeno-physiology.”
    He nodded.
    “How is your knee?”
    www.samhainpublishing.com
    50
    Lanette
    Curington
    “There isss ssstill sssome pain and ssstiffnesss, but the bandage and ssstaff have helped.”
    “Good.”
    She found a few more items in the jacket including a compass, which she tucked into her trouser pocket, and a knife. The Commander took the knife from her and pulled it from its sheath. Its keen edge gleamed in the shadowed sunlight. “I will keep thisss,” he said and clipped it to his belt.
    She put everything else into the flightpack as the Commander, using his crutch, thoroughly scattered the remains of the fire. Leith sat back on her heels and watched him.
    “I suppose we do have to leave.” She glanced around the perfect campsite and sighed regretfully.
    “We mussst find water.”
    “I know, but this place is safe and familiar.” She nodded in a general direction. “We don’t know what’s out there.”
    “We will find out.”
    Leith stood and tied her jacket around her hips. She converted the flightpack to a backpack and pulled it over her shoulders. She retrieved the compass and rested it in the flattened palm of her hand. The needle spun jerkily, one way then the other. The Commander limped closer and peered at it.
    “Thisss planet doesss not have a magnetic pole.”
    “Or there is a strong magnetic field in this area.”
    “Or large deposssitsss of iron.”
    “Whatever the cause, it’s useless.” She put it back in her pocket and looked at him.
    “We should head for the equator, but—”
    “But I am unable to travel fassst enough,” he finished quickly, as if admitting his own weakness somehow minimized its impact on the situation.
    “No. I was going to say that we don’t know which way to go. We don’t know which hemisphere we’re in or the rotational direction of this planet. On Earth, the sun rises in the east so we would know in which direction to move toward the equator, but Paradise’s sun could very well rise in the west.”
    She thought his face darkened a shade, but he turned away before she could be certain.
    “Besides,” she added, “if you were at your peak physical capacity, I would be the one slowing us down. With your injury, I would say we’re about even. So, which way do we go?”
    www.samhainpublishing.com
    Starkissed
    51
    Leith spoke the truth, but she also hoped her words soothed his wounded pride.
    Human or Zi, a male was a male.
    “The mountainsss.”
    “Any particular reason?”
    “We ssshould have a better chance of finding water—a ssstream or ssspring.” He looked up at the trees. “Have you noticed how many of the leavesss are dying?”
    Her eyes followed his. She