Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice by Robynn Sheahan Page A

could
respond.

Chapter 6
     
     
    A THOROUGH SEARCH OF THE tunnels and
transport bay revealed nothing to indicate there had been another
attack. Erynn got the news while in the dining hall with Tam, Sean,
and of course Zach, as it came over the DVSLs lining the walls.
Faces turned in her direction, and whispering voices murmured
behind her back. She could imagine what was being said. Erynn
wanted to disappear. Her false alarm had panicked the entire
base.
    Erynn stood up to leave. “I have COM duty
today. I’ll see you later.”
    Zach followed. His long gray-brown hair
clasped at his neck hung straight down, past his waist.
    Tam twisted in her seat. “Erynn, wait. When
your shift is over, come with Sean and me. I’ll buy you a drink.
You can relax, have some fun.”
    Erynn frowned. “Your quarters?”
    Tam pointed to a door at the far side of the
dining hall and grinned. “No. There. Cale’s reopened the base
bar.”
    Sean pushed away from the table. “It helps
keep everyone together, improves morale. Gets people’s minds off
the attacks.”
    “Attack,” Erynn corrected. “There’s only been
one.”
    Sean turned to her. “I believe you saw
something, maybe a warning.” He glanced around the room. “Everyone
here believes in you.”
    Heat rose up her neck and into her face.
“Maybe I’ll come. I’ll let you know later.”
     
     
    The base’s equivalent of a bar was a darkened
room with a large U-shaped counter. Inside the U, the bartender
kept green, amber, and blue bottles of various shapes and sizes.
Small white lights were strung overhead, twinkling off the colorful
glass. Around the outside of the U, tables and chairs filled the
remaining area. More strings of lights edged the perimeter of the
bar. The space was dim, crowded, and noisy. There were no empty
tables, so Erynn, Tam, and Sean stood against the wall to the right
of the door.
    Roni walked in and surveyed the crowd. She
spotted Erynn and joined them.
    When Roni entered, Zach left.
    Changing of the guard .
    There was no use fighting this.
    “Did you and Aven find the alien soldiers?”
Sean handed Roni a beoir .
    Roni nodded. Her gaze surveyed the packed
room. “What was left of them. We found spent weapons and their
blood in the snow.”
    Erynn’s hand tightened around her beoir. She
felt responsible for their deaths.
    If I’d told someone, anyone, that those
two enemy soldiers were out there in the forest as soon as I knew,
they’d still be alive. Their deaths are on me .
    “It’s amazing they stayed alive as long as
they did. It was only a matter of time.” Roni glanced at Erynn.
“The scene was old. They were dead before you left that day,
Erynn.” She frowned. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say the whole
thing was staged, like a trap, with the enemy soldiers as
bait.”
    Laughter rolled over the boisterous
conversations. The hum of so many people talking at once buzzed in
Erynn’s ears like swarming centinents .
    “I’m leaving. See you tomorrow.” Erynn raised
her bottle and tipped the last of the cold, spicy liquid into her
mouth, draining the contents. The beoir warmed her inside, all the
way down. This Arranon drink was much stronger than what she was
used to on Korin.
    Before she could turn away, Sean pushed
another beoir into her hand and put his arm around her shoulders.
He stared into her eyes, his breath spicy. “They could have turned
themselves in at any time. It was their choice to stay where they
knew it was dangerous.” He squeezed, let go, and stepped back. “I
know what you’re thinking. It’s not your fault they’re dead.”
    Tiar made his way through the growing crowd.
He nodded toward Erynn, his brother Sean, and Tam but stood next to
Roni.
    Erynn saw the blue tendrils coil from Tiar
and slip around Roni, undulating and snapping through the air.
Erynn had recognized that there was something between them on the
trip here. Every time Tiar looked at Roni, his hard green eyes
softened, and she would