In The Beginning, Gail Daley [red white royal blue .TXT] 📗

pretty sure of it. And I can feel someone watching, l just can't locate them. I always was better at Push than Pull," she added wryly.

"Wonderful. Well at least planning how to set up triage out here will take my mind off missing Reid. I must make sure the medical supplies are in the front of the supply wagon and carry my portable bag on me."

Just then, Juliette opened the tent flap, looking for Katherine. She came over to the fire.

"Mother, I think Rupert's starting a nightmare," she said.

"Duty calls," Katherine said to Cora as she rose to follow her daughter back.

"Good night, little mother," Cora replied.

Rupert was starting the muttering, tossing and turning that foreshadowed one of his nightmares. Katherine knelt by his bedroll and gathered him to her.

"Sssh," she said, pushing comfort and security at him. As she did so, she cast a worried look at Violet. In the past, the two of them had seemed to transfer their nightmares to each other, but tonight Violet slept peacefully. Jelli raised her head and regarded Katherine and Rupert almost thoughtfully. No one knew just exactly how intelligent Sand Dragons really were; they were empathic and sometimes formed bonds with humans, but their intelligence was of a different order and the two didn't always seem to have the same goals. It occurred to Katherine that Violet hadn't had a nightmare since Jelli had come to live with her. Perhaps the Dragon’s empathy was helping Violet feel more secure. It was just as possible Jelli was strengthening Violets EMPH shield. Being a strong empath had its liabilities; unless they were taught to shield themselves, too much sensitivity to emotions that others broadcast could cause a child to retreat into catatonia. Well, she couldn’t arrange for another Dragon calf to appear, but perhaps one of Sooka’s pups might prove an adequate substitute for Rupert. She would ask Leona to include Rupert in Violet’s shielding classes. He hadn’t rated out as high on the EMPH scale as Violet, but his abilities seemed to be increasing.

Rupert finally settled back into normal sleep. Katherine pushed more comfort and security at him before she crawled back into her bedroll. Once there, she dropped immediately into sleep.

Although she and the children continued to try each morning to locate the source of her unease, she could not locate the watchers.

Battle of Blue Canyon

THE NIGHT before they reached Blue Talon Canyon, Zack and his crew filtered silently back into the camp. Katherine was engaged in applying salve and bandaging gouges from bird talons on Jelli’s nose and face when she looked up and suddenly he was there. He looked tired, and he smelled; it was apparent he hadn’t had a bath since they left. She set down the jar and flung her arms around his neck anyway, enjoying the solid feel of him against her. "Where have you been?" she exclaimed. "I’ve been worried about you—"

"Sssh!" he said. "We don’t want anyone watching the camp to know we’re here." He kissed her soundly anyway. "Miss me?"

"Yes."

He touched the circles under her eyes. "I don’t think I like these."

She made a face. "Well, I haven’t been sleeping well, and I’m not the only one. All the new wives have been having trouble. I wonder why that is."

Zack laughed, dropping his hand and squeezing her buttocks playfully and pulling her firmly against his body. He was hard and ready. "Good. I missed you too. If I’m losing sleep, so should you."

"Did you find anyone? I’ve still got an itch on the back of my neck," she said, recovering.

"Yes, they’re out there all right but they’re scattered. As near as I can tell, there are between fifteen and twenty of them. We need them to bunch together so we can catch them. I’ll take a crew up and around to the canyon so we can catch them between us. Leave late tomorrow morning and keep everyone in close. I want everything to look normal, so pass the word along quietly. Make sure everyone has a full load of ammunition."

Katherine nodded. "Are you staying the night?"

"No, I can't. There's too much chance we might be spotted leaving in the morning so we’ll be heading back out late tonight. We came in to get more food and weapons and to let you know what is planned for tomorrow."

"Can I tell the others you’re here?" asked Violet, who had been helping to tend Jelli.

"If you do it quietly, Hon," he said. "What happened to Jelli?"

"Ostamus and Sand Dragons are mortal enemies. Our dominant hen Ostamu tried to bully Jelli out of her way, and they had an altercation," Katherine said dryly. "Jelli lost," she added, "or at least she’s the most marked up—the lead hen knew just what to aim for," she said, applying more ointment to Jelli’s nose and ears. "Though I did think we might end up having roast Ostamu for dinner before we broke it up. Jelli can be formidable despite her age."

The rest of the children came up quietly. Zack gave each a quick hug and slipped away into the night after he refilled his ration pack.

From the air Blue Talon Canyon looked like the print of a giant bird’s claw sunk deep into blue rock. Steep, almost straight walls of azure crystal glared brightly in the sun at the top and faded into deep shadows at the base. Katherine's party had almost reached the opening of the canyon mouth when she ordered a break, ostensibly to discuss what order they would use when sending the individual herds and flocks into the canyon. The stop enabled the group to move the wagons to the outside of the herds and put most of the herding crew inside with them where they could easily take cover from attack.

Katherine was making a final swing around their defenses when word came back that riders were approaching. She kicked her horse into a lope and came to the front of the caravan.

The