The appearance of the sun swept away the hope that had spread among the group. The Aduns would have solved every problem, but they turned out to be unable to withstand the intense light radiated by that flaming star.
Khan didn't know how to react to that scene. He tried to call Snow through the mental connection, but his words couldn't reach the other side. A barrier had appeared between his Aduns and him, and no amount of mental shouting could get past it.
Khan instinctively looked at the Niqols, but they appeared as surprised as him. They didn't expect the sun to hinder the mental connections with the Aduns. They didn't even predict that the creatures would have been unable to withstand that radiance.
"What is happening?" Felicia asked while moving her gaze among the group, but she found no one with answers.
Felicia, the other squad leaders, and those who managed to study the situation without letting panic take over their minds could understand what was happening. That conclusion wasn't even too hard to reach. It simply was too stunning and depressing.
The Aduns were an essential part of the Niqols' lives and society. The humans on Nitis had also learnt to appreciate how valuable those creatures were after the aliens had allowed them to go through the taming test.
Those eagles were one of the few stable assets during the crisis, but the arrival of the sun had changed that fact. Khan and his group found themselves on foot now. Their path to salvation had vanished in a matter of seconds.
Khan quickly touched his cube. The map appeared in his mind, and he tried to calculate how long it would take to reach the safe area on foot. He struggled to come up with an accurate estimate, but he could guess that the travel would take entire days, if not a couple of weeks.
The monsters on the path were another issue that Khan couldn't ignore. The past weeks spent hunting had taught him how messy Nitis had become. The group was bound to find multiple packs during the travel, and eventual alternate paths would only stretch their stay in the wild.
Still, Khan didn't see other options. The Aduns were unavailable, and the Lysixi had clearly turned against the Niqols. The aliens probably had other methods to cross long distances, but he believed that everything had become unrealizable after the arrival of the sun.
"[Liiza]," Khan whispered in the hope that his girlfriend could tell him something that he didn't know.
Liiza had studied the scene after hearing the painful cries of the Aduns. The situation was tragic, and she was as lost as everyone else in the group. Yet, she knew who could help.
Liiza took her cube and started a mental conversation. Other Niqols did the same to contact some members of their tribes, and Khan inspected their faces to see if he could hope again. He mostly saw dark expressions, but he turned to look at Liiza when he sensed her eyes on him.
"[Zaza can't help right away, but she will try to meet us]," Liiza announced while placing the cube on the snow.
The device spread its light on the dark-grey surface and recreated the map. The humans could finally study how distant the safe area was, and desperation inevitably appeared on their faces at the sole thought that they had to cross so much on foot.
Liiza stepped on the map and used her feet to point at each checkpoint stated by Zalpa during their mental conversation. "[We have to cross the mountain chain, the lakes, and the marsh to meet Zaza. Getting to the safe area should be easy once joining her]."
The path marked by Liiza went a bit off track. It didn't go directly toward the safe area, but Khan didn't dare to underestimate the help that Zalpa could offer. She probably was as strong as Yeza, and her knowledge of the crisis was far deeper than the rest of the Niqols.
"[Zaza]?" Iris asked.
"She is an ally," Khan shortly explained without moving his eyes from the map. "I suggest you call her Zalpa. She doesn't like humans too much."
"Why should we trust her then?" Paul asked while stepping on the map to mark the quickest path to the safe location on the snow. "We would lose many days of travel if we decide to follow this new path."
"She knew that the sunlight would have caused a mess even before humans," Liiza coldly explained. "She probably is the best expert when it comes to this situation."
"Why wasn't she with Ambassador Yeza then?" Felicia continued.
"Her position toward humans doesn't suit the new ways adopted by the Niqols," Khan gave another short explanation.
"Why would she even help us then?" Paul wondered. "I won't put what remains of our forces here in the hands of a xenophobic alien."
"How come you even know about all of this?" Kelly joined the conversation. "Why didn't you tell us about such an important figure?"
Khan wore an aloof expression while moving his eyes among the squad leaders and the envoys. Even Veronica was wearing a confused expression. It was clear that Khan didn't only keep his relationship with Liiza a secret. That realization even made sense when considering all the nights that he had spent outside the academy.
"She was my nanny," Liiza intervened. "I wanted her to know Khan, but I made him promise not to say anything since her situation is unique."
Liiza wasn't as good as Khan when it came to lies, but her cold expression and the authority coming from Yeza prevented eventual questions. The squad leaders accepted that the matter involved the couple. Also, Liiza had vaguely hinted at how close she was with Zalpa with her announcement. That explained why the humans could trust that unknown ally.
Paul and the other squad leaders fell silent as they inspected the map. The path marked by Liiza would make them lose a few days of travel, but they would end up gaining from that detour if they added an actual expert to their group.Â
"Do any of you know what these areas have in store for us?" Iris asked while looking at Liiza.
"We usually fly over these empty regions," Liiza shook her head.
"Walking blindly isn't ideal," Ryan commented.
"We would walk blindly anyway," Felicia stated.
"We can still wait here," Paul suggested while looking at the sun high in the sky as a hand partially covered his eyes. "The Aduns might come back, and the same goes for our superiors."
"My mother wouldn't lose the chance to show off," Liiza explained. "The monster must be powerful for her to send us in the wild on our own."
"She probably didn't expect the Aduns to fly away," Paul continued, but Liiza shook her head.
"We must walk," Liiza exclaimed before storing her cube and glancing at Khan.
"You heard her," Khan said as he reached Liiza to take her back into his arms.
"Khan," Paul called to discuss the matter a bit more.
"That thing can hide in the snow," Khan promptly replied. "We are walking on snow."
The squad leaders and the envoys glanced at the snow under them while Khan resumed walking back to the rest of the group. The ground couldn't be too deep there, but the monster had shown the ability to cause avalanches. Hiding under that dark-grey layer didn't sound too impossible, so they hurried after Khan.
Khan took care of explaining the situation in both languages. The group didn't accept that decision too easily, especially after learning how long they would have to travel through the wild. Still, it was clear that they didn't have other options, so everyone eventually started moving.
The mountains remained barren even after a few hours passed. The group didn't have problems adjusting their direction with the map in their cubes, but other problems became evident as that march continued.
The snow could appease the group's thirst, but the lack of food was an issue they couldn't ignore. Khan and the squad leaders could endure their hunger better than others due to their status as first-level warriors, but they would also starve if they remained in that condition.
The issue was that the mountain chain stretched for a long time. The group would take a few days to cross it, and the absence of food would become hard to bear for some of the recruits. The Niqols would be a bit better off, but the starvation would slow down their advance anyway.
Khan, Ilman, Doku, and the squad leaders ended up in charge of the group. The Niqols and the recruits didn't complain that they made every decision, but they didn't have much to discuss to begin with. Groans and curses resounded when they understood that they wouldn't have the chance to sleep that day, but the situation didn't give them different options.
The group spent an entire day walking among the snowy and uneven environment of the mountain chain. They had to climb and descend hills multiple times to stick to their path, and the effort only made them tired faster.
The second day of continuous travel brought most recruits to their limit. The lack of sleep, the uneven terrain, and the lack of food managed to defeat even those with a high attunement level. They could still move forward, but their leaders opted to make them rest for a few hours. They simply didn't want their underlings to be completely useless in case a battle fell on them.
"Just like Istrone," George laughed after those resilient enough to skip another night of sleep set the guard duty.
Khan smiled, and warmth appeared on his face when he saw Liiza walking toward an isolated spot near a steep rocky wall that marked the base of a mountain. She even cleared the snow on the ground before turning toward her boyfriend.
Everyone noticed that scene, and the squad leaders had to divert their gazes to avoid voicing reprimands. The spot chosen by Liiza would keep her hidden from the rest of the group and grant her some privacy. Her choice was perfect for her and Khan, but it wasn't ideal in that serious situation.
Khan ignored the squad leaders and the curious glances that the recruits shot toward him when he crossed the rocky corner and reached Liiza. The humans noticed how many Niqols did something similar, even if many had to remain visible since the area didn't offer too many hidden spots.
Liiza sat on the dark-green grass that had come out in the open after she removed the snow from the ground. She laid her back on the rocky wall as her intense eyes remained fixed on Khan. He almost lost himself in that glowing gaze, but a series of foreign presences suddenly entered the range of his senses and forced him to divert his attention.
Cawing noises filled the area and alerted everyone about the arrival of unwanted guests. Khan raised his eyes and saw a flock of big dark-red birds descending toward the group. He couldn't study them clearly since they were still far away, but his knife ended up in his hand right away.
****
Author's notes: I bet some of you thought I had fallen asleep. Four more.. Anyway, I hope you like the new cover.
