darknadir (56 page)

* * *

Konis sat down abruptly as Lijou stuck the gun in his pocket and rushed over to Brynne. Pulling the Human's robe open, he looked up at the Clan Lord.
"Konis, give me the cloth on that table," he said. "I need to staunch this wound."
The Clan Lord stood as if carved in stone.
"Konis!"
As if in a dream, Konis reached for the small decorative cloth on the table in front of him and picked it up.
"Throw it to me!" ordered Lijou. "Dammit, Konis, pull yourself together! He's bleeding heavily!"
The Clan Lord shot out of his seat to the priest's side, handing him the cloth. "Is it clean enough?" he asked.
Lijou glanced at him as he folded the cloth into a pad. "Go sit down, Konis, I can manage," he said quietly as he pressed the pad over the wound in Brynne's side.
"I'm staying," Konis said. "What can I do?"
Lijou nodded to Keeza. "Check her. The shot could have hit her, too."
Konis moved round to check on Keeza. "I can't see any blood," he said after a moment. "I think she just hit her head when she fell."
"Thank the Gods! Now move her off him, please."
Konis eased Keeza's limp body off Brynne's lap onto the floor, getting up to fetch a couple of cushions. He put one under her head and handed the other to Lijou for Brynne. "He's right," he said abruptly. "We are responsible for her. Obviously what she's been through has broken our programming. We have to do something about her, Lijou."
"We will, my friend," said Lijou. "She was promised a new life. It looks like it's found her. She's En'Shalla now, my province. Raiban and her minions can yowl at the moons for all they'll get anywhere with me! But first, we have to see to Kezule."
Jurrel came running in. "How's Keeza?" he asked, handing the priest a couple of towels before opening his medikit.
"Only unconscious, we think," said Lijou, using one of them to replace the blood-soaked wad. "See to her first. I don't want her coming round and attacking us again. This looks like it's just a flesh wound."
Jurrel quickly checked Keeza, loading the hypo. "I'm putting her out for a couple of hours, Master Lijou," he said.
"I didn't know you had medic skills, Lijou," said Konis, making his way shakily back to his seat.
Lijou looked up at him, mouth opening in a smile. "You don't think I'm co-ruler of the Brotherhood without having been trained by them, do you, Konis? It was the first thing they did when I was elected to the post."
Jurrel took over from him. "Father Lijou, there's nezzu in the cabinet over there. I think the Clan Lord could tolerate a stiff drink." He lifted the makeshift pad to see the wound for himself.
"Good idea, Jurrel. Thank you," said Lijou, getting to his feet and wiping the blood from his hands on the other towel.
"You were right, thank Vartra," sighed Jurrel, getting out a pressure dressing. "Only a flesh wound. Deep enough, though. Can you contact Physician Kyjishi for me? He needs to get this properly treated."
"I don't think we'll need to," said Lijou, pouring out two drinks. "I sense Vanna on her way here now, in a full-scale panic."
Five minutes later, Vanna knocked on the den door, entering with a nurse towing a floater. She glanced over to the couch where Keeza lay, covered now by a blanket.
"I didn't even know he was mated!" she said as M'Zio and Jurrel lifted her Leska onto the floater. "What in the name of all the Gods was he thinking of, mating with a killer, putting all our lives at risk! I really thought he'd straightened himself out at last."
Jurrel looked up from packing his medikit. "You do both of them an injustice, Physician," he said. "You don't know what either of them suffered these past weeks when they shared memories and nightmares. Your mind would be as disturbed as hers if you'd been locked in with a Valtegan for two and a half months! You'd want answers from the two people who'd put you in with him, wouldn't you?"
Vanna looked from Jurrel over to Konis and Lijou, a stunned look on her face as ears dipped backward in shock.
"She was working undercover for us, Vanna," said Lijou. "She agreed to do it, but we had to wipe the memory of that from her mind before she went in with him. We never anticipated him escaping and taking her with him."
"Was going to tell you," Brynne mumbled as he came round. "Is she all right?" he asked Jurrel. "Was my fault. I pulled the gun the wrong way."
"She's fine," reassured Jurrel, taking his hand. "I gave her a sedative. She'll be out for a couple of hours."
Brynne clasped Jurrel's hand tighter. "Stay with her. Don't let them take her away," he said, trying to look up at him.
"I won't."
Lijou came over to stand beside him. "Thank you for what you did, Brynne." He put his hand on the young man's shoulder, gripping it firmly. "You have my word Keeza will remain here. She's En'Shalla, one of us. Take Jurrel with you. I'll explain everything later, but for now, be assured that Keeza did agree to go in with Kezule. When she made that decision, she knew what it entailed, I promise you. Rest easy, now."
Vanna stirred. "Once I've treated Brynne, I expect an explanation of this, Master Lijou," she said. "How you two could stoop to such depths— I can believe the Brotherhood would do it, but that you two would be a party to it..."
Lijou took her by the elbow, gently steering her toward the door. "You shall have it, my dear," he said. "Meanwhile, would you send another floater for Keeza? I'd like her kept under lock and key at the medical center for now, until Master Konis and I can talk to her and undo the conditioning we put there for her mission. She knows Kezule's here, I don't want her trying to run away from us. It's essential she remembers the whole truth, not just what we left her with."
Vanna allowed herself to be gently seen out. "Good job we didn't resort to firearms every time we had a row," she grumbled at Brynne as she and Jurrel followed the floater out.
"Don't scold me, Vanna," they heard Brynne say as the door shut. "She didn't mean to shoot me."
Lijou sighed with relief as the door closed behind them and went over to sit beside Keeza. Relaxing himself with an effort, he put his hand gently on her brow and began to match his mind to hers. After a couple of minutes, he sat back and looked over to Konis.
"The conditioning has broken down badly," he said. "She remembers most of what happened with Kezule, and some of her previous life. Nothing of her time at the Consortias, though she remembers being approached by L'Seuli, but not why, or more importantly, agreeing to spy on Kezule. We could restore the missing memories and erase those of her time with Kezule now, but we do owe her an explanation. And there's Brynne, of course. He'd still have them."
"We wait till she's conscious," said Konis, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair. "I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help to you right now, Lijou. With Kusac and Carrie missing, and now their daughter taken by Kezule..." He stopped in mid-sentence, resting his head tiredly on his hand. "Will Rhyaz cause a problem over Keeza?"
"No," said Lijou firmly. "As I told you, she's my concern as Head Priest, not his. Nothing connects Keeza to the murders of the two guards because legally she doesn't exist. The herb Kezule made her ingest, and the effects of his bite, affected the balance of her mind at the time of the incident. She wasn't capable of being responsible for her actions. As for this little episode ..."
"Understandable," interrupted Konis. "The only person she injured was Brynne, and I don't think he'll want to press charges. I must admit to being surprised at his actions," he continued as Lijou left Keeza to rejoin him. "I hadn't realized he had it in him. He's always seemed more of a pacifist."
"It's the Sholan in him," said Lijou. "He's finally allowed himself to accept the two sides of his nature. Vanna was wrong, Konis, Brynne has changed. We alter the Humans almost as much as they alter us."

* * *

Kitra was already at the villa, packing Kashini's things, when her mother and Mnesu arrived. Within an hour, they were back at the site. Ni'Zulhu tried to take the bags from them, but Rhyasha came out of the semi-trance she'd been in since talking to Dzaka and resisted him fiercely, trying to push past him into the tunnel.
It was Rulla who came to her rescue, "Let her through, Sub-Lieutenant," he said to the security chief. "It gives her something to do, and she needs that right now," he added quietly.
"I don't like involving civilians," muttered Ni'Zulhu.
"Civilians are involved," said Kitra sharply. "My niece is one!"
He let them through, scowling at Rulla as the Brother escorted them in.
Upstairs, Garras had gotten an old jegget trap turned into a cage for eight terrified chiddoes. It sat on a wheeled pallet in the middle of the upper cavern. Beside it was an old metal collar and a bracelet, and two bright green la'quo resin stones. There were also several fuel packs for the heater and the lighting generator.
As Kitra and her mother began unpacking the bags of clothing, toys, and foodstuffs, she looked pointedly at the collar and bracelet.
"Kezule asked for them," said Garras. "They were found in the lab in one of the cabinets. The ancient Valtegans used them to collar telepaths. Kezule needs the stones to make them work, he says."
She shuddered visibly. "Why give them to him?" she asked.
"Because he's got Dzaka bound otherwise. This is more civilized," he growled. "I don't like it, but Kezule got Dzaka to ask for them and he managed to let me know it was what he preferred."
"How barbaric is Kezule?" she asked quietly so her mother couldn't hear.
Garras looked at her curiously. "In a way, he's not. I got hold of the Brotherhood files on him. He's got his own code of honor, strange as it may seem to us. So far, he's killed only when he needed to. The medic because he was about to give him a drug that would likely have killed him, and Zhyaf, because as a telepath, he was a threat to him. He spared the female hostages at Shanagi. I don't think he intends to harm Dzaka or Kashini, unless we make him."
"I'll push the pallet in," she said as she finished putting out clothing for Dzaka.
"No, absolutely not," he said firmly. "It's far too dangerous. I'm doing it. Now take your mother back to Rulla at the tunnel mouth."
Kitra stood back, watching while Garras spoke to Kezule. Minutes later, the steel door began to open just enough for the pallet to enter. Garras threw the coiled rope into the opening. It went taut and slowly, the pallet began to roll forward on its wheels.
She waited until it was almost inside then began to run for the gap, yelling loudly, "Don't shoot!
Please
don't shoot!"
Her mother screamed, and she was aware of angry shouts as she flung herself at the trolley, landing on top of it. Her sudden added weight made it shoot through the gap like an exploding bottle.
She and it hit a wooden workbench, sending her and the contents toppling to the floor. The chiddoes shrieked, the door shut with a reverberating clang, and clawed hands grasped her by the scruff, hauling her up in the air till her face was level with his.
She'd seen pictures of Valtegans, but it hadn't prepared her for actually meeting one. Yellow, slitted eyes glared angrily at her. The mouth was open, showing dozens of small, needle-sharp pointed teeth, and a forked tongue was flicking out at her face. Her vision faded as she passed out.

* * *

"Kitra!" said Dzaka hoarsely. "Don't hurt her! She's my Companion!"
Kezule hissed angrily at the limp form in his hand and turned to look at Dzaka. "Your female?" he asked, lowering her to the ground. "Why did she risk her life running in like that?" he demanded, stooping to retrieve the cage of squealing chiddoes and set them on the work surface. "Is she brain-damaged?" His wrist comm was buzzing but he ignored it.
"Must be," Dzaka muttered, relieved beyond measure that the Valtegan had apparently lost interest in her. "We looked after the cub together," he added on impulse. "She came because of her."
Kezule looked at him again, frowning. "We shall see." He returned to the unconscious young female, picking her up like she was a sack of grain, and carried her over to the camp bed on which Kashini was tethered.
The cub had been crying off and on since they'd arrived in the lab, but on seeing Kitra laid beside her, she stopped and began to purr a little, reaching out to pat her face. Dzaka breathed a sigh of relief as he tried to ease his aching shoulders and wrists.
"Pleasure noises," said Kezule, watching her for a moment before turning back to the overturned pallet.
The wrist comm continued to emit a low-key buzzing which he continued ignoring as he began to sort through the items. Dzaka saw him stop when he found the collar and bracelet. Picking them up, Kezule put the bracelet on the counter by the cage and began examining the collar.
Dzaka was still fastened by both wrists to the solid base of the microscope, but the bindings had been loosened a little once Kezule realized how tight they'd become. Going over to him, the Valtegan placed the collar round his neck, snapping it shut. It was cold, and when Kezule released it, heavy against his collarbone. A chill ran through him. This was the control collar used on the telepaths of Kezule's time.
Cold steel touched his wrists and his heart almost stopped until he felt the knife begin to cut through the towel bindings. Suddenly freed, his arms fell to his sides, sending shooting pains through his shoulder joints. Groaning, he slowly pulled them around in front of him and began to massage his wrists and rotate his shoulders, trying to return the circulation to them as they throbbed and prickled.
Kezule placed the tip of the knife under his chin, forcing it up. "Remember, I have your oath not to try and escape."
"You have," said Dzaka, aware he now had two people depending on him.
"I'm going to eat. You can see to your female, then sort through that mess," Kezule said, putting the knife away and pointing at the pile of assorted clothes and packs of food.
Dzaka pulled himself upright and staggered across to Kashini and Kitra. As he eased himself down onto the bed, the cub mewled uncertainly, leaving the unconscious Kitra to throw herself into his arms.
"Hey, it's all right, Kashini," he said, holding her with one arm as she wound both hers around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Hush now, I'm here. Everything's going to be fine." With his other hand, he checked Kitra, pressing his hand to her neck for her pulse.
The chiddoes screeched their terror as Kezule opened the cage to take one out. Dzaka clearly heard the snap of its neck breaking. The wrist comm had finally stopped buzzing he realized in the silence that followed as Kezule went to one of the trestle tables to eat.
"She's the Clan Leader's daughter," he said carefully, aware how easily the Valtegan could be angered. "It would do no harm to tell her Kitra and Kashini are safe."
Kezule looked up from his meal. "When I wish your opinion, I will ask for it," he said mildly. "You will not venture it again. You will do only what you're told to do, nothing else. Your main task is to see to the child. I will not tell you this again."
Dzaka looked away, concentrating on the cub. The tone might have been mild, but Kezule's face wasn't. He'd been told to go through the goods sent in by Rhyasha. Kashini needed to be cleaned and clothed. Doing that would give her some feeling of security at least, and keep him busy.
Untying the tether round her waist, he took the cub with him, limping slowly down the aisle between the workbench and the steel shelving units that held the remains of the ancients' data processing equipment. He noticed irrelevancies, like the fact that one of the old monitors was still there. The other was in bits somewhere in the lab. Behind where Kezule sat were old store cupboards, their contents emptied for examination months ago. They would make an ideal place to keep the food and spare clothing.
He could feel the Valtegan watching him.
"You're a telepath," said Kezule. "Yet a soldier, too. How is this possible? I thought your kind couldn't stand the pain of others."
"I'm not a telepath," said Dzaka. "I'm an empath. I only feel other's emotions, not what they're thinking."
"Ah. And your female?"
He hesitated, and decided honesty would serve them better. "Yes, she's a telepath. So's the cub, but she's too young to be of any danger to you. She can't even talk yet."
"The device round her wrist, what is it?" Kezule asked as, keeping to the other side of the workbench, he approached Dzaka to pick up the bracelet.
"It's called a damper. It prevents others picking her thoughts up. All children with a Talent wear it to protect the adults from their random thoughts. Kitra wears one, but hers is adjustable and can be taken off. The children's can't."
"Then we are private."
Dzaka nodded. "Yes." Suddenly he found himself being held by the throat.
Kezule slowly tightened the pressure, letting his claws prick into the back of Dzaka's neck for emphasis. "Don't ever lie to me," hissed Kezule. "If I discover you have lied, it will not be you I beat, it will be your female. Are we private in here?"
"Yes!" Dzaka could hardly speak. Then, just as suddenly, he was released. Massaging his throat, he began to back away from the Valtegan. How the hell had he moved so fast?
"You have nothing to fear if you are honest with me," said Kezule, going back up the lab to where a toolbox lay open. He sat down on the stool there and began to examine the collar's control bracelet more closely. "Bring me the female's damper now while she still sleeps," he ordered. "I will disable it, then she will not be tempted to turn it off. Once I have done that, I will tell this Clan leader she is safe."