The Illegitimate Claim (28 page)

“Do you think that is where your heart wants you to go?” Tara asked.

“What did she say?” Ana looked from one to the other.

“She needs to go to Andru,” Tara offered.

“It’s a place to start.” Meah still focused on Tara. “If we could find Paleah, and have

her stay with the children, then I wouldn’t have to worry about time. But I’ll start at the

temple in Taratown.”

When Beel showed up with Paleah, he confirmed seeing Gilroy standing outside

the Crator temple in Taratown with several of his men.

“If Crator is sending you, I’m sure everything will be all right,” Ana murmured as

she walked Meah to her glider.

Beel tossed Tory up into the air, and Tia anxiously waited for her turn. Paleah stood

with a look of adoration on her face as she smiled brightly at Beel. Meah’s children

didn’t seem too upset that she was leaving them there.

“Do you sense trouble?” Meah asked after she climbed onto her glider.

“Yes, I’m afraid there will be some. Gilroy was grossly preoccupied all last night

and this morning. He’s wound tight as a cat. I’m not sure why. I haven’t seen Andru.

Just be careful.” Ana squeezed Meah’s arm and smiled.

“If those two are my only enemies, I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

“Not if they think you’ve turned against them.” Ana’s smile faded.

The tone in Ana’s voice was a vise grip on Meah’s inner muscles. She looked

seriously into her friend’s eyes, and smiled reassuringly. “Well, we both know I haven’t

done that.”

* * * * *

Meah knew she couldn’t be detected with her altered comm, but seeing Gilroy on

the front walk of the Crator temple reminded her of what Ana said. He wasn’t sure if

she was a threat or not, and until she had his trust, he was a very big man that she

might do best to avoid. She flew around toward the back of the temple.

Meah hid her glider at the top of the wooded hill where she’d first been captured,

and decided to walk down toward the temple. It didn’t take long before she realized

she wasn’t alone in the woods. Definitely not alone.

There was barely enough time to dodge behind bushes when several Neurians

walked out from behind large boulders protruding from the ground. They were more

then half a dozen yards away, and she could tell they were talking to each other but

couldn’t hear what they said. She crouched lower into the brush and scanned the woods

carefully in all directions. Sure enough, a handful of Neurians appeared from the other

direction. They walked down the hill until they came upon some large rocks, and then

knelt behind them as if waiting instructions.

The Neurians were preparing for an ambush.

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And she was right in the middle of it.

Meah’s mind raced. Duties. Responsibilities. She was on Gothman land, in one of

their cities. There was only one person she could call.

“Gilroy. This is Meah.” Silence. She knew he was listening, she could hear him

breathing. She whispered, knowing her comm wasn’t detectable. Since she initiated the

transmission the Neurians couldn’t tap in, but she didn’t want to be overheard in the

woods. “Please, listen to me. I’m on the hill behind the temple, and you’re about to be

ambushed. There are Neurians running thick up here.”

“Why are you telling me this?” The sound of his voice in her ear just about made

her jump.

“To save your ass,” she hissed. “Put your feelings about me out of your head, and

pay attention. You’re first commander, and this is Gothman land. I just wanted to sneak

down undetected, so I could go inside and see Andru.”

“I don’t detect anyone.”

“That’s because their comms are scrambled. So is mine, and if we can get to each

other, I’ll scramble yours too. I’ll call in an army but be prepared.”

Meah shut off the transmission and then contacted Tara. Fortunately, the leader of

the Runners was a little more receptive to the news. She instantly released Runner

troops to fly down and assist. Now all Meah had to do was make her way down the hill

undetected.

The first thing she did was take out the Neurians hiding behind the rocks a short

way down the hill from her. She then moved to their location, removed their comms

and looked for her next point of attack. Rustling in nearby bushes, two more Neurians

sat on their knees awaiting further instructions. They would never receive their next

message.

Meah sprinted halfway down the hill. The temple was in view when Neurians

suddenly came at her from all sides. At the same time she heard gliders zoom by

overhead and suddenly the air was full of laser fire. “You’ll learn not to take Neurians

so lightly,” a very tall black woman with her hair braided in a circle around her head

screeched at Meah.

She jammed a knife at Meah’s Runner clothing and instinctively, Meah jerked her

body from the point of impact.

“I’ve never taken Neurians lightly,” she responded, and spun around, jumping in

the air and then kicking the knife, sending it flying off into the trees.

The startled Neurian only had time to turn and stare at her before Meah blasted her

with laser fire, slicing the woman in half at such close impact. A shrill scream escaped

from the woman’s lips as part of her body flew one way while the other half flew the

other way.

Someone jumped her from behind as more laser fire blasted from above the trees.

Screams were mixed with large branches flying, but they didn’t distract Meah from the

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large body that slammed into her backside. She dropped to the ground in a roll, and the

person on her back flew over her. The wind had been knocked out of her, and so she

fired at the Neurian before trying to stand.

Her headscarf was twisted around on her face, and she realized she’d ripped it in

her struggles. The thing was, after all, over five winters old. She pulled it from her head,

and tied it quickly around her wrist to slow the bleeding on a wound across the back of

her hand. She winced as she wiped her own dark, sticky blood on her pants. There was

yelling, and at the base of the hill, through the trees, she could see several Gothman.

“Gilroy!” she yelled, and the large black-haired man turned quickly in her

direction. She had time to see him gesture with his arm for men to head up the hill,

when a hard blow came to the back of her head.

“Argh!” She slammed to the ground, and then could barely roll to her back when

someone was standing over her head with a large stick. They pulled the stick over their

head and for a moment she froze as she prepared for the impact on her body.

There was barely time to register that Gilroy had reached her, when he literally

lifted her would-be attacker off the ground, and threw them over ten feet across the

wooded side of the hill. Two more Neurians ran up behind him and Meah’s angle was

perfect to shoot both of them before they could reach him. She then scurried to her feet

and was barely at Gilroy’s side when laser fire attacked them from the sky. He literally

dove behind a nearby rock pulling Meah with him. Her body was crushed into the side

of the rock and she howled loudly.

“I find it interesting, my lady, that you knew about this little ambush before I did.”

Icy cobalt eyes shot daggers at her, but then he pushed her body down so that his own

body protected her, as several Neurians ran past them back up the side of the hill.

“Give it up, Gilroy. I saved your ass, and you know it,” she snapped back, and

pushed away from his protective, overpowering body.

Gilroy reached for his comm, but Meah moved faster. He glared harshly at her

when her tiny hand grabbed his thick wrist. “Use my comm. They can tap in on yours.”

He slapped her hand from his, and pulled his comm out of his pocket.

“Please, Gilroy. I’ve altered my comm so the Neurians can’t tell I’m here. It’s the

same technology they use,” Meah desperately tried to reason with the thick-headed

Gothman.

“Why should I believe you? You may have told me about this ambush, but the

Neurians still showed they could enter our land without anyone knowing it. You may

have been part of the plan to establish your credibility. I daresay it would be a mighty

clever plan on your part. Prove your loyalty to me, Meah.”

“I don’t know what to do to prove to you I’m on your side. Gilroy, you’re my half-

brother. Surely you know that you wouldn’t turn on your people no matter how long

you left your country.”

“I would never leave my people as you did,” Gilroy snapped, as he searched the

trees around them.

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Meah sighed and relaxed her body. She held her hand out palm up with her laser

resting on it, and looked up into those sky-blue eyes. “Take it, Gilroy. We’re not

enemies. I don’t need this against you.”

He kept his eyes on hers for a moment, and then looked down at the laser before

reaching for it. She moved quickly and grabbed his comm from his other hand. She

knew escape was impossible. The man was almost twice her size. She jumped away

from him, but he was on her instantly. The oversized Gothman grabbed her long braid,

and literally pulled her up off the ground backwards toward him. She managed to

mangle the comm with her hands before she slammed up against his chest.

“What the hell are you trying to do?” He spat into her ear.

“I won’t have you contacting Andru on your comm, and allowing Rog to know

where you and he are.” She grimaced and wrapped her fingers around the tight grip he

had on her hair at the nape of her neck. “Use my comm. Contact Andru. Ask him to

contact Tara. She was there when the dog-woman told me to find Andru.”

“Where is your comm?”

Her heart pounded when she realized where it was. Meah let go of his hand to

reach for her shirt pocket. He moved quicker than she thought him capable. In an

instant, he wrapped one of his thick arms through her elbows and pulled her arms

behind her. She looked up at him quickly as he looked down at her.

“Don’t you dare,” she hissed at him.

That was a mistake. He reached into her shirt pocket, which was stretched directly