Free her instruments 02 - rose point by m c a hogarth Page A

of saying so out loud where she could hear him. He’d been half-dead at the time, disoriented by the attacks of slavers, pirates and the slaughter of several hundred unexpectedly sentient crystals, but he’d terrified her. Worse, he’d humiliated her. That all the pain in her life could be so obvious... it made her feel small.
    She had had a hard time forgiving him for it, and had treated him very badly as a result. Her crew had intervened, and she’d done her best to hold her distance from him while she struggled with her ambivalence.
    And he’d stayed, and granted her that distance instead of trying to fix it.
    It had all come down to the question: did she trust him with the knowledge he’d taken from her? Did she trust him not to hurt and disappoint her, the way so many people had before?
    She didn’t know the answer yet. But that he hadn’t tried to force the issue had won points with her, and had given her time to calm down about it. And these people had interrupted the process and taken him away from her and her crew, and that made her very, very angry. It was that anger that was putting one foot in front of the other, and her stubbornness propelled her on until she crested a ridge and saw a valley falling away below her, one filled with tents and people and horses. She was still staring when Ra’aila grabbed the back of her vest and jerked her down.
    “Are you crazy?” the Aera hissed. “They’ll see you.”
    “Right.” Reese scooted away from the edge. “So... now what?”
    Ra’aila frowned. “Good question. I am suspecting the answer is ‘go for back-up.’”
    “Did we bring enough back-up to take on all that?” Reese asked.
    “No,” the Aera said wryly.
    “Well, then, we should... have another plan. Maybe wait until dark and sneak in? The sun’s already setting.”
    Ra’aila started laughing. “What, are you a Fleet ranger now?”
    “No...” Reese trailed off and grimaced. “I guess that was a dumb idea. We don’t even know what tent they’re keeping him in.”
    “Oh, it’s that purple one over on the edge.”
    “What?” Reese rolled onto her stomach and inched up to the edge, peering over it. “How do you know?”
    “It’s too large to belong to anyone but the Rekesh and it’s next to the largest tent in the camp. Plus there are guards in front of it. Or were, anyway.” Ra’aila squinted. “I can’t see them now, but it’s the tent design that has a place for them to stand in shade.”
    “Did they... you don’t think he’s...” Reese swallowed. No, she would know if he was dead. Wouldn’t she?
    “That’s strange.” Ra’aila inched forward, her shoulders tense. “There are bodies near the tent. Just lying there.”
    “I wonder if he escaped?” Reese asked.
    “Maybe,” Ra’aila said, but she sounded doubtful. “There are a lot of horses missing, so maybe they’ve ridden out after him? No, wait. Someone’s going in the tent. Looks like a—”
    “Woman?” Reese scowled. “She’d better not have any ideas.”
    “This is all very strange,” Ra’aila said, frowning. Her long ears were slicked back so far their tips touched her shoulders. “What could be going on down there? Where are the guards? If he’s escaped, why is she going in the tent?”
    “I don’t know,” Reese said, “but I want to. You go for back-up, have them come as fast as they can.” She drew in a deep breath and threw herself over the ledge. Ra’aila squeaked but she ignored the Aera and headed down, trying to keep behind cover. She didn’t know what had happened to Hirianthial and going to look herself was a stupid idea... but she couldn’t just sit and wait. The sense of urgency had only been mounting in her head, and it was almost unbearable now. If he was alive, he needed her.
    Reese scrabbled down off the hill and crouched behind a bush, waiting to see if she’d been seen. When no one cried an alarm, she chanced a look past the shrub. Ra’aila was right: there were