He spat a brown stream into the snow by the body. “Looks like he was running from something.”
“ I called you up here for a more professional assessment than that, Sawbones.”
“ Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want me to inquire about his health and see what ails him? Perhaps if he’ll give me a list of his symptoms, hm.”
At that point, Tikaya realized ‘sawbones’ was slang for doctor. The connotations in that name disturbed her- she had never visited a healer who did not work as much with the power of his mind as with his hands-and she hoped she did not require this man’s services any time soon, especially if he kept serrated metal tools in his kit.
“ Bones,” the commander snapped. Strange that he used the term instead of his brother’s name. Maybe the staid Turgonians had regulations against familial familiarity.
“ What?” Bones asked. “He froze to death. What do you want me to do?”
“ Figure out what drove him to run out here naked and suicidal.”
Bones levered the barrel of his rifle under the corpse and leaned onto the stock. Ice snapped, and the rigid body rolled over. Tikaya jumped, surprised at the irreverent treatment of the dead. That did not keep her from staring. The front half was no more illuminating than the back, but the face, eternally contorted in terror, made her shiver. The man had died afraid, very afraid.
Bones shook his head at the commander. “Nope, no clues.”
Okars ground his jaw. “Curse the Headquarters desk-rider who thought it’d be amusing to put my little brother on the same ship as me.”
“ Exquisite torture, isn’t it?” Bones grinned.
Tikaya stared at the brothers. They were joking. A corpse lay before them, a corpse probably belonging to one of their own citizens, and they were joking. Uncharacteristically intense irritation stirred within her.
“ Animals,” she blurted before she could still her tongue. “Where’s your respect for the dead?”
The commander’s bushy brows lowered, and a cold, almost predatory expression darkened his face.
Bones placed a hand on Okars’s sleeve. “You’d best get back to your place, ma’am. Stay out of the way and let us do our jobs.”
She nodded and backed away.
“ Mouth shut, Tikaya,” she muttered. “Keep your mouth shut around these warmongering fools.”
Strange, she thought she had learned that lesson already.
CHAPTER 8
When Tikaya and the marines reached the shoreline, it differed little from the ice they had been marching across. The ground rose subtly, and she supposed a beach lay somewhere under all the snow. Two docks, embraced by ice, stretched away from a couple of wooden warehouses with drifts piled to the eaves along their northern walls. One of the dogs lifted a leg and yellowed a sign post promising the availability of alcohol at the Rat Wrangler.
The town itself, with a single snowy road running parallel to the waterfront, seemed more outpost than community. Unpainted wood dwellings hunkered against the elements. Three long rectangular buildings overlooked the town from the crown of a hill. No life stirred anywhere. A stiff northeasterly wind rattled shutters, and somewhere a door banged against a wall.
“ Welcome to Wolfhump, ma’am,” Agarik said, speaking for the first time since the discovery of the body.
“ That’s the name of the town?” Tikaya asked.
“ It’s a trade outpost for the miners working the mountains. I don’t think there’s a lot to do up here except drink and watch the wildlife, uhm, frolic.”
At the head of the formation, Commander Okars made a few hand gestures, dividing men into parties for scouting. Marines checked rifles and a couple strung bows. Tikaya wondered if she might talk the commander into letting her borrow one. She thought of letting an arrow fly into Sergeant Ottotark’s chest and his scream of pain as he pitched backward, sprawling on the ice. Tikaya jerked with surprise, startled her mind had conjured the grizzly image. Too much time spent with these Turgonians.
“ As far as you know Wolfhump should be occupied?” Tikaya asked.
“ Of course, it should be occupied,” Agarik snapped. He twitched, seemingly as surprised by his tone as her. “Sorry, ma’am.”
A growl rumbled up ahead. One dog dove at the other dog’s neck. Fangs sank into flesh and the victim squealed, a heart-wrenching cry that halted conversations.
Tikaya gawked at the brutal attack. Marines jumped into the fray, grabbing the dogs by the ruffs of their necks and trying to pull them apart, but the attacking canine had gone berserk. Muscles surged, fangs flashed, and soon blood spattered the white snow.
“ Get those dogs under control, private!”
“ Trying, sir!”
“ Idiots,” Agarik muttered and strode forward to help.
Tikaya stayed back. The exchange had a bizarreness to it that left her uneasy. She glanced toward the icy sea again, wishing Rias was there to consult. Her gut lurched. The ship was gone.
Nothing to worry about, she told herself. It had probably just retreated to open waters to keep from being ensconced when the ice reformed. But that meant the group had nowhere to retreat to if they ran into trouble they could not handle. She squinted, trying to spot the main party, but the sun shone brilliantly on the ice. Even through her goggles, she could not make them out yet.
“ Don’t touch-”
“ Get off me!”
She turned back in time to see two marines crash to the snow. They wrestled and thrashed, and men previously trying to keep the dogs apart now turned their attention to separating the human combatants.
“ Satters, Choyka, stand down!” Okars raced toward them, his voice strained and angry. Where was the calm confidence one expected from a senior officer?
Tikaya pulled her goggles up as if a clearer view might enlighten, but the scene only stunned. The smaller dog lay still, its neck torn open, blood drenching the snow beneath it. The other raced across the ice field, yowling like a wolf. Three marines grappled on the ground, clawing and punching at each other. The commander tried to drag one of them away and took a fist to the jaw. He slipped and went down.
The sawbones stood back, a bewildered expression on his face. At least he was not brawling with anyone.
Tikaya jogged over to his side. “What’s going on? Have you ever seen anything like this?”
He worked over the wad of tobacco in his mouth. “Nope.”
“ Could it be the Nurians again? Trying to keep us from resolving whatever is going on in those tunnels?”
He froze, mid-chew. “How do you know-how much do you know?”
“ I know they tried to kill me so I couldn’t help your people translate that unknown language.”
“ I suppose it’s possible the Nurians have done…something. I can’t think of anything natural that would explain this sudden aggressiveness.”
The scuffles were dying down. Men’s ragged breaths frosted the air. A couple marines still struggled against those restraining them, while others seemed embarrassed. Blood flowed from broken noses and split lips.
“ Bones, come patch people up.” Commander Okars did not appear wounded, but his eyes had a wild cast to them. “And tell me what’s going on.”
“ No idea.”
“ No idea? Grandmother Hakstor was a better sawbones than you. For spit’s sake, get your ass over here and figure this mess out.”
Amusement flickered in Bones’s dark eyes, and he gave Tikaya an irreverent salute, saying, “Nice talking with you, ma’am,” before he trundled off.
She was not sure what to make of the man’s odd humor or this situation. The fact that she was dependent
