Free Chosen by Shay West Page B

to rest.”
    Ted Smith gave a grudging nod. There was no arguing with the man's logic. He and the Protectors had been fighting non-stop for the past four months. Usually, the Horde and Cowboys were quiet during winter. The harsh weather made for difficult traveling and fighting conditions. But this season, the skirmishes had been endless, with the Horde attacking from the west and the Cowboys attacking from the eastern plains.
    Only the superior skills of the Protectors, led by the General and his Lieutenants, kept the damage done to a minimum. Four Protectors had been killed in the fighting, as had several dozen townfolk. Among the dead were women and children. The enemy did not care who they killed. Some women, young girls, and children had been taken, never to return. A quick death was a mercy. Those taken back to the Horde or Cowboy encampments were raped and tortured for long periods. If a woman became pregnant, she was allowed to give birth, and then she was killed and her child raised to hate the Jhinn, never knowing its own mother was one of them.
    James Edwards excused himself and Ted found himself alone with No Name. He walked over to her and sighed in relief as he saw her sleeping peacefully, breathing deep and regular. He sat with his back against her now delightfully warm belly. He reached over and took his coat off her neck and used it to cover himself from waist to chin. He crossed his arms under the heavy coat and faced the fire.
    His thoughts turned to home. On Gentra, it was always warm, so near the vents on the ocean floor. Forka didn't think he would ever get used to the cold of the Earth winter. Some nights, even a warm fire was not enough to drive the cold from his bones. He went to bed cold, woke up cold, and stayed cold during the course of the day.
    I have failed in my duty.
    Ted Smith turned his face and buried it in No Name's side, trying to crush the vision of Sloan being thrown across the back of ahorse, blood dripping from a head wound. There had been a lot of blood. He absently told himself that head wounds always bled that much, that it didn't mean the man was dead or dying.
    He won't live long at the hands of the Horde.
    He swallowed hard against a lump in his throat. There had been two others taken along with Sloan and they had barely occupied a mere second of his thoughts. And yet he knew that Sloan's life was worth more, much more. If he were to die, it could mean the end of all life in the galaxy.
    Ted couldn't let that happen.
    Before exhaustion overcame him, he had already begun planning a daring rescue of his missing Chosen.

    * * *

    Ted awoke to the strangest sensation he had ever felt. It was warm, wet, and tickly. He opened one eye and laughed aloud as he saw No Name's nose just inches from his own. She opened her mouth and wiggled her lips as she touched his face with her soft, whiskered nose. He reached up to pat the sides of her nose. Her beautiful, liquid brown eyes closed as she enjoyed the scratch.
    “Are you going to just lie about all day?”
    She shook her head, whinnied, and rolled her eyes at him. To prove her point, she got to her feet, though a little unsteadily. She looked down at him and tossed her head as if to say, see, I told you I could do it!
    Ted yawned and rubbed his eyes. He would need to sleep more than a few hours to regain his full strength. He stood and gave No Name a thorough examination. She was unhurt, but still weak and shaky. She grazed for a few moments on the sparse brown grass in the clearing around the fire before laying back down to rest.
    “General.”
    He turned and greeted 2 nd Lieutenant Tess Golden. He wasn't surprised to see her. Of all his Chosen, Tess was usually the first to step up and offer aid, be it to carry messages, fill a gap in defenses, rebuilding after an attack. She put her heart and soul into her role as Protector.
    Those traits will serve her well in the future.
    “Lieutenant, how far to the encampment?”
    “Not far,