razorsedge (22 page)

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"Good morning," said Vanna, putting her head around the kitchen door. "Can I come in? Today is Nylam's Day, the day of the Hunt, and of giving gifts. I've brought an early one for you."
"Please join us," said Kusac. "We've nearly finished, I'm afraid, but if you're hungry..."
"I've eaten, thanks," she said, putting her medikit on the table and slipping onto the seat near the door.
"Coffee or c'shar?" asked Carrie as Zhala hovered.
"Coffee, please."
"So what's this gift?" asked Carrie curiously.
"The trials are finished, and our contraceptive's ready to use. We can administer it in half-yearly or yearly doses, but I recommend that with the Jalna mission ahead of you, you ought to take the yearly one. I shouldn't think you'd want to bear another cub out in the field!"
Carrie grinned wryly with a sidelong glance at her mate. "I'll pass on that, thank you. Not that Kusac and Kaid weren't very good birthers, you understand."
"Of course," agreed Vanna, opening her kit and taking out the hypoderm.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't, too," said Kusac. "I was really very worried that something would go wrong."
"It all came right in the end, though," said Carrie, rolling up her sleeve ready for Vanna.
"I suggest you also offer this to the Sisters on the estate," said Kusac, "Just as a precaution. We need more cubs for our new clan, but they must be conceived voluntarily and not because of Leska links."
"I had just such a request from T'Chebbi last night." She glanced up at him. "I can't think why. I don't remember ever seeing her with any of the males around here."
Kusac exchanged a glance with Carrie. "She's gone to Stronghold for the next couple of days."
"Probably got a lover up there, then," said Vanna, packing her equipment away.
You don't think it's Kaid, do you?
sent Carrie on their private link.
Pretty sure of it, cub. I remember how she reacted when we brought him back from Stronghold, and how she looked out for Dzaka.
They do go back a long way. Did I ever tell you that Kaid chose her as my guard not only because she's female, but because she's about my size? He wanted someone I could be comfortable with.
That was thoughtful of him. But I wonder...
Don't go matchmaking for him,
she teased.
She's as much of a loner as he is.
You merely prove my point,
he replied placidly.
"Mara seems to be settling in well at Ruth's," said Vanna as Zhala arrived with her drink. "She was an excellent choice, Carrie, and a brilliant idea. Already a couple of the Human females from the dig have gone over to see her, and they were chatting happily to Mara as well."
"Thank you. I'm just glad there was someone like her to find. Zhyaf's been less morose, too, since we sent his sister back home and he was recruited for the Shanagi Project. Living at the center has opened his world out; he's having to become more involved in a real life now. He's even finding the work challenging."
"He'll be back sometime today," said Vanna. "It's their Link day tomorrow. And he's bringing Myak with him."
"Myak? Not Myak from the
Khalossa?
" asked Kusac, sitting up in surprise.
"The same. It turns out he's with AlRel."
"That crafty old bastard Raguul," muttered Kusac. "All along he's had a telepath acting undercover as his adjutant. No wonder he knew everything that was going on. That's tracking downwind of Guild regulations."
"It's a legitimate appointment, Garras says. Raguul requested him years ago because he's so involved with diplomacy missions. Your father obviously thought it an excellent idea."
"But what's Myak doing coming here?" asked Carrie. "I'd have thought he'd want to go home like everyone else on leave. And if he's here, where's Commander Raguul?"
"Gone home, like you said. Why Myak's coming here, I've no idea, but we think it's connected with the Shanagi Project because you'll never guess who else is there. Mito and Anders!"
"What? They're still together?" Carrie could hardly believe it.
"Mm. Surprising, isn't it? She must have changed a lot. Rumor has it they've taken out a five-year bonding contract."
"Really? But why? I can't believe she'd be interested in having cubs, even if they could."
"I told you, with medical help, that's not such a remote possibility now," said Vanna. "The leaps forward we've made in understanding the genetics of both the Humans and ourselves are incredible. The samples from the latest ni'uzu epidemic alone have made all the difference. I'm still convinced it's something Kaid picked up in the Margins. Its ability to spread despite our quarantine restrictions convinced me. At least it was only in the form of a heavy cold."
"Who knows?" said Kusac. "Since we've all been exposed to it, we're stable now. That's what matters. The new Leska pair that arrived yesterday from the Guild proved that. I think it far more likely that Mito and Anders have bonded because of Human conventions. If they've been living together on Keiss, it's what the Humans around her would be doing, what Anders would want, and perhaps even herself. She was always insecure about herself as a female, though never as an officer."
"I've another piece of gossip," grinned Vanna.
"You're full of it today," said Carrie, sipping her drink. "With Kaid gone, we don't hear so much."
Vanna flicked an ear apologetically. "It comes to Garras now he's acting as your second."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense. Who does it involve this time?" chided Kusac.
"Rulla. Looks like he's lost his heart," she said with a chuckle. "I suggest you appoint another minder for Mara and Zhyaf, Rulla's too preoccupied right now. Although I don't think he was ever really right for the job."
"You're telling me," said Kusac ruefully. "We've already considered this and are looking for a replacement."
"Who is it?" demanded Carrie. "Who's he after?"
"Ruth! He's besotted with her!" Vanna laughed. "He fusses round her, gets underfoot by trying to help her all the time, and generally makes a nuisance of himself!"
"That could be a problem. I wanted Mara free of male influences for a while, and Rulla, being their main guardian, carries associations of the life I want her to forget."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about Mara on that score," said Vanna. "She and Ruth's daughter, Mandy, are having a great time laughing at his antics! Nothing like seeing someone who was in charge of you brought down to the level of a youngling by love! Does wonders for the ego. Believe me, she'll not be harmed by having him around."
"What about Ruth? How does she feel about all this attention?" asked Kusac.
"Amused, but we'll see. It shouldn't be long before Rulla makes his invitation."
"What I want to know is why there's no gossip about Mara's Human lover— the one who fathered her child," said Carrie. "She refused to talk about it the night she spent with us."
"Have you checked with all the Human male Leskas?" asked Kusac.
Vanna nodded. "I have, and if it's one of them, they aren't admitting to it. Personally, I don't think it is. I'm sure she's just confused and it's Zhyaf's."
"No. She was so genuinely terrified at the thought of having a Sholan cub that I believe she really did make sure she didn't get pregnant by Zhyaf and did search out a Human partner," said Carrie, absently nibbling on a piece of rich fruit cake that Zhala had surreptitiously placed beside her.
"I thought there was no way for females in our Links to avoid becoming pregnant," said Kusac. "I thought that was the whole point of Vanna's search for a contraceptive."
"Oh, there are ways Human females can avoid pregnancy," said Carrie with a grin, "but the most common method wouldn't be practical for you Sholan males."
"It's not much use for Human males with Sholan female partners either," said Vanna. "At least, not according to Jack and Jiszoe."
"Oh," said Kusac, finally getting the drift of what they meant. "Then this unknown Human must be a potential Triad member."
"Until you formed a Triad, there were none," said Vanna.
"That we know of," corrected Carrie. "You still don't like to admit you're part of a Triad yourself, even though Garras does."
Vanna sighed. "I'm not going through all that again with you, Carrie. For the sake of peace, I've let Garras persuade me to register us as a Triad with Ghyan at the temple. Let's leave it there."
"Not all Leska pairs attract a third," said Kusac. "I've been looking into details of the partners of the Sholan Leska pairs and only a small percentage of Leska-linked individuals seem to have a regular lover. Nowadays a Triad isn't so socially visible. There hasn't been the need to actively form them."
"And from which guilds do these partners come?" asked Vanna.
Kusac grinned. "You don't want to know, Vanna. It'll only confirm what Carrie said."
"Damn you both," she growled in mock anger.
"I've got a theory for you," said Kusac. "What if potential mixed Leskas are now being changed
before
they form a Link? I know," he said, forestalling Vanna. "It needs the gestalt, but maybe the gestalt isn't the only mechanism that triggers the change. What if there's another?"
Vanna groaned. "Don't do this to me, Kusac! We just got it all worked out! We don't need a loose gun out there changing all the rules."
"Why shouldn't it change again? It's an unstable gene. And since some of the Brothers and Sisters have been made genetically compatible with us by that new virus, why shouldn't it affect Humans the same way?" he argued. "Maybe that's a way to identify potential Leskas. We could bring them here and prepare them in advance for their Link. There'd be less shock to them both and it might even give them a choice of partners, avoiding mismatches like Zhyaf and Mara."
"You're dreaming, Kusac," said Vanna, finishing her drink and getting up. "I've got to go. Garras wants to join the hunt today. It's years since he's been on one."
A small mewl from the crib in the corner of the room drew Vanna's attention. "Kashini's downstairs
and
awake," she said, her voice becoming instantly softer. "I haven't seen her for a week or two. Her eyes'll be open now."
"They are," said Carrie as Kusac got up and went over to the crib to pick up their cub. "She's a lively little thing, and she's grown."
She watched as her mate carefully lifted the child, cradling her back against his upper arm so she could see properly. What filled both of Carrie's arms, nestled happily in the crook of one of his.
I like your smallness,
sent Kusac as he came back to them.
It's one of the things that makes you so very different from our females.
"Flatterer," she smiled, admiring the picture they presented: their daughter with her blonde pelt so light against her dark-furred father.
Vanna reached out to touch the little one. "She's got your eyes, Kusac," she said as Kashini gazed up at her, both hands reaching out toward her. "And a look of you in her face, Carrie," she said with surprise. "I can't see Brynne at all in Marak."
Little squeaks of delight ensued as Vanna tickled her behind her ears. "Can I have a cuddle?"
"I don't know, Vanna," said Kusac with a straight face. "How do I know you won't drop her?"
"Oh, you...!" retorted Vanna, reaching out to take hold of her, but Kashini would have none of it and began to pull back and let out sounds of distress, ears now plastered flat to her skull.
"Don't tease her, Kusac," said Carrie, getting up and joining them. "He forgets she's too immature to understand a joke. She takes things literally."
Vanna looked on in a disbelief Carrie could feel as she took her daughter from Kusac. Holding her close against her chest, she began to make soothing noises, gently patting and stroking the cub until her distress faded.
"Sorry," said Kusac, ears flicking back and remaining there in apology. "She's a fully active telepath," he explained to Vanna. "She picked up the idea of you dropping her from me. I keep forgetting she can do that."
"I should have guessed," said Vanna wryly. "How could a child of yours be normal, even for a hybrid?"
"We're pretty sure it was the power of the Margin gateways that wakened her Talent so early," said Carrie, passing the now quiet cub to her friend.
"She's so tiny, and so sweet," purred Vanna as she gathered the cub into her arms. Kashini trilled with pleasure, and grabbing Vanna's finger, pulled it toward her mouth, proceeding to chew on it.
"Ouch! You have sharp teeth, kit!" she said, removing her finger from danger and playing pat with her instead. "How do you manage to feed her, Carrie?"
"I don't any more. Her nurse does for the moment, but not for much longer. We've had to give her solid food as well because she's so hungry."
"She's lovely, cub, and doing so well!" she sighed. "I really have to go now." She handed her back to Kusac. "We'll see you later tonight when we'll have your real presents."
"See you then, Vanna," said Kusac, tucking Kashini over his shoulder as she left.
Carrie moved to his side, lifting his free arm so she could wrap it around her shoulders. As she rested her head against his chest, she felt the almost inaudible purr that vibrated through him.
All I ever wanted, I now hold in my arms,
he sent.
So do I, Kusac.
She reached up to touch Kashini's foot where it protruded from the bottom of the blanket. Cupping her hand around it, she gently rubbed her fingers along the webbing between her cub's toes, feeling them open wider as Kashini began to purr with pleasure.
A discreet knock at the door and Yashui, the nurse, entered. "Time for her to go upstairs, Liegena," she said quietly.
Carrie sighed and let Kashini's foot go. "See you later, little one," she said, moving aside so Kusac could hand her over.
As she sat back down at the table, she watched her life-mate lay his cheek alongside their daughter's, his tongue flicking out to lick her gently behind the ear before he handed her over to Yashui. The sight brought tears to her eyes. She rubbed them away hurriedly, ashamed at being still so emotional.
"Could Brynne have fathered Mara's child?" she asked when they were alone.
"It's not him," said Kusac positively. "Vanna told me he's been too busy with that Derwent person. Despite some of his strange ideas, Brynne's been settling down, too. No other females at all, and he's devoted to his son. He wouldn't risk all that to be with Mara, knowing the trouble she caused for Dzaka and Kitra."
"Just a thought."
"I'm sure it isn't one of the Leska males."
"Well, with Jissoh and Nyash watching her, we should know soon."
"I've got to go and get ready for the hunt. Will you be coming up to Mother's with me now?"