Free Escape From Zulaire by Veronica Scott

bar with that?”
    Surprised, she nodded. Reaching into the bag he brought out one of the bars, unwrapped it for her and handed it over with a flourish. She laughed and took a big bite, chewing ostentatiously and swallowing hard. “I can see why Abukawal preferred to go hunt his own dinner. Now I need that water, okay?” Grinning, the sergeant walked away as Andi opened the canteen. The cold water was wonderful going down her parched, raw throat.
    All too soon, the column was moving again. Rogers, now carrying Lysanda, didn’t offer to make conversation, so Andi put one foot in front of the other as required and allowed herself not to think.
    ***
    Deverane called for two more breaks during the night, each longer than the previous one. Andi was walking slower and slower, her companions adjusting their pace to hers. By the second halt, Lysanda was coming out of her tranquilized state.  
    “No, ma’am, I ain’t giving her anything else right now. Best we let her wake up and walk a bit,” was Wilson’s reply when Andi asked.
    “Do we dare let the drugs wear off? What if she gets hysterical on us?”   Andi lost her grip on Sadu’s hand. Running to his big sister, the toddler begged to be picked up. Lysanda greeted the baby with a cry of delight.
    “She’s still in shock to a large extent, ma’am.” Wilson and Andi watched the Obati girl tickling her younger brother and playing peek-a-boo as the baby shrieked with laughter. “It’s a mercy.”
    “How long will she be in shock, do you think?” Andi looked away from the huge bruises on Lysanda’s face and arms, revealed by the morning light.  
    Wilson rolled his shoulders. “There’s no tellin’. I’m sorry. I’d say let’s hope she stays this way until we can get her back to her father in the capital. And proper doctors. I’ve had the sergeant’s course on field medicine, nothing advanced.   This ain’t my specialty.”
    “As far as I’m concerned, you’re doing a terrific job.” She gazed around the small clearing, counting heads. “Where’s Rogers?”
    “Captain sent him and Latvik ahead to scout the village. We’re nearly there. Didn’t you know?”  
    Andi shook her head. “I’m so tired, you could make me walk all the way to the capital, and I’d never realize it until I ran nose-first into the gates.”
    Moving quietly through the dense jungle, the two soldiers returned in a few minutes. Both men were keyed up, holding their weapons at the ready. Lords, now what? Andi’s muscles started tensing for fight or flight in anticipation of the next problem.
    “It’s real ugly, sir,” Rogers reported to Deverane. “I think the entire village has been massacred.”
    Andi’s knees buckled, and she staggered a step. More carnage? This can’t be happening, not on Zulaire.
    “You’re sure? Any hostiles still around?” Eyebrows drawn together, the captain was intent on the men and their assessment.  
    “We’re sure, sir.” Rogers bobbed his head. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple prominent. Glancing quickly at Latvik, he added, “There’s quite a few bodies in the village square. Nothing moving, though, other than some big carrion birds.”
    “Whoever did this hit and ran maybe two days ago, is my guess, sir,” Latvik chimed in. “Judging by the condition of the bodies in the square. We didn’t go all the way through the town.”
    Wilson and Deverane exchanged a look. The sergeant shrugged. “We do need supplies.”
    “Milk or juice for Sadu, if at all possible,” Andi said. Can’t let him get dehydrated.
    “Someone set fire to the big shrine and some of the houses, but pretty much everything else is intact,” Rogers added to his previous, terse report.
    “Oh?” Deverane tilted his head, raised his eyebrows slightly. “Any vehicles?”  
    “No, sir. Couple of beat-up tractors that had been set on fire.   Pretty poor farming village by the look of things.”
    “And you say the shrine was burned?” The soldier