“Wanted to see the flowers.” It was spring and a few wild flowers struggled through the earth laid bare by dragon fire.
“You shouldn’t be out here, you know. Drags could get ya, then Padre Pedro would kick my ass. You want him kickin’ my ass?”
She giggled at that. “No. You’re nice.”
He grinned. “Let’s get back, okay?”
“’Kay.” She’d taken his hand and let him lead her back toward the compound.
They were halfway there when she heard a sound that froze her in her tracks. The warning rattle of a rattlesnake. Dragons were the big danger of her small world, but a rattlesnake would kill you just as dead.
Sutter’s voice was quiet. Calm. “You just be still now, princess. Don’t move a muscle.”
And she hadn’t. She’d stood there frozen while the snake rattled its tail and hissed its warning.
Sutter reached slowly, slowly to the small of his back and pulled out his blade. Then with one smooth flick of the wrist, his knife whirled through the air taking the snake’s head clean off.
That night they’d had snake for dinner. Padre Pedro claimed it tasted like chicken. Rain thought it tasted like snake.
And from then on Rain had been Sutter’s shadow. And he’d been her hero.
RAIN VALIANTLY RESISTED the urge to sneeze. Barely.
She lay belly down in the dust beneath a scrawny juniper tree right at the edge of a decline. The juniper would provide some cover, should any of the Marines be watching. Fortunately, they didn’t appear to be.
Below her, the Marine base sat smack-dab in the middle of a stretch of valley completely devoid of vegetation. Smart. Not only did that mean there was zero cover should anyone wish to sneak up on the base, it also meant the dragons couldn’t set the surrounding countryside on fire. Hard to burn dirt.
Unlike the compound that made up Sanctuary, there was no fence, just a single cinder block building with a wide bay door sitting in the middle of nowhere. There were no other buildings. It appeared the entire base was below ground.
She scanned the valley. No Humvees and nowhere for a Marine to hide. The surrounding hillsides, save the one she lay on, were too low and too far away from the base to do any good. Not even a sniper could pick someone off from that far. So, if there was one, he had to be somewhere on the hill with her.
Rain scooted out from under the tree, careful not to raise a dust cloud and give away her position. All she needed was some Marine breathing down her neck. She wanted to be the one breathing down his.
The surrounding countryside was pretty flat, hills notwithstanding, a few rocks and low shrubs. She scanned the entire area, but there wasn’t so much as a glint of anything to give away position. If there was a Marine out there, he was damn good.
She slid her knife from her boot. The steel blade had been carbonized. No glint from her, either. Keeping as low as possible, she slipped through the underbrush, circling the flat hilltop.
He was on the other side of the hill, directly opposite where she’d been hiding. The buzz cut and faded military fatigues gave him away, as did the bulging muscles. Definitely a Marine.
Rain hesitated. He’d most likely been forced into service, probably as a teenager. They’d no doubt brainwashed him, too. That’s what the Marines did.
The fact was that brainwashed or not, he’d shoot his own mother now if given the order. Rain couldn’t risk exposure. Still, he didn’t deserve to die. She slid the knife back in her boot, her hand searching for a new weapon. It closed around a good-sized rock.
She slipped up behind the Marine, feet silent against the rocky hillside. In one smooth movement she brought the rock down on his head. He crumpled to the ground.
She pressed her fingers to his throat as Padre Pedro had showed her. His pulse was steady. Hopefully, he’d be out long enough for her to get into the Marine base. Whether or not he’d raise the alarm once he woke was another matter. Unfortunately, she had no way to tie him up and she dared not waste any more time.
A quick scan of the rest of the hilltop revealed he’d been the only lookout. Whatever they were up to, they’d left the base practically unguarded. Stupid, but no doubt they thought themselves safe. Everyone was afraid of the Marines.
Rain removed the Marine’s camouflage jacket and slipped it over her own clothes before heading down the hill. No sense giving herself away if there were other eyes watching. Maybe the camo would fool them long enough.
She walked straight toward the single building, shoulders back, arms swinging, a slight swagger to her steps. When in doubt, Sutter used to say, pretend like you own the damn joint.
She swallowed hard. Sutter was dead. She was just bringing him home.
The bay door was shut tight. No way in she could see. No handle, nothing.
Rain stepped around the side of the small gray building. There she found a regular door. Looked like it had once been painted red, but dust storms had scoured it down so only a bit of reddish pink still clung to the steel.
The doorknob turned easily. Apparently, the Marines weren’t in the habit of locking doors. How on earth had they stayed in power so long?
Oh, yeah. Guns.
Inside the building was a typical garage bay. Except instead of having a flat cement floor ending at the back wall, the floor sloped down and disappeared underground like one of those old parking garages. So, that was how they kept the Humvees out of sight.
She headed down the ramp, her eyes scanning for cameras. She’d never seen them herself, but Padre Pedro
