Authors: Lisanne Norman
* * *
"We've left the city limits now, General," said Keeza. "There's very little traffic here at this time. We'll stick out like a sore tail."
Kezule considered the options. Stay in the air and draw attention to themselves, or land and be vulnerable to search parties because they weren't far enough away from the city. On balance, he'd rather take his chances on land. "Find somewhere to set us down. Somewhere we can conceal the craft."
"There's what looks like a clearing up ahead."
"Take it."
* * *
Josh, placated now, was sitting on the bed trying to persuade Mara to stop pacing. "You'll only wear yourself out, make him tired, too," he said.
She stopped. "He was due home later tonight. Our Link day is due," she whispered.
Thank Vartra!
Vanna sent to Ghyan.
Our first piece of hope!
The priest turned to her in surprise.
Don't you see? It could make strengthening her Link with Josh easier!
* * *
Keeza taxied the craft under the overhanging branches of the nearest trees, bringing it slowly to a stop. She turned to look at Kezule, face creasing in concern when she saw the state of him. His skin had paled to the point where it seemed blanched of color. It accentuated his thinness. Like the last time he'd woken, he'd burned off a lot of his body fat.
"Gods, you're freezing as well as starving!" she said. "I forgot you need clothing for warmth!" Reaching for the console, she switched on the heating unit. "You, come here," she ordered, reaching back for Zhyaf. "I want your clothing!"
"There are clothes on board," he said quietly. "I was due to return home tonight."
"Huh! Your unlucky night, wasn't it? Where are they?"
"In the locker beside me," he said, nodding to the storage unit that took up the space next to him.
Reaching over her seat, she pressed the release for the locker. The door swung open to reveal a carry bag. Grasping hold of it, she pulled it forward onto her lap and began going through the contents. Her rummaging revealed a pale gray tunic and a woolen robe of purple edged with black. Keeping them, she flung the bag behind her.
"This first, General, then the robe," she said, passing them to Kezule.
Forcing his frozen limbs to move, Kezule took the clothes from her and began to put them on. Already the cabin was warmer and he was beginning to thaw out. He began to see the advantages of a fur pelt.
* * *
Accompanied by L'Seuli, Rhyaz strode into the military building where Kezule had been housed. "Where's Nayla Kiolma?" he demanded of the guards on duty.
"In the medical bay, sir, along with the injured guards," said the senior trooper. He turned to one of his men. "Take the Guild Master to the..."
Rhyaz was already on his way. "Damned incompetent..."
"Us or them, sir?" murmured L'Seuli, trying to keep pace with him.
Rhyaz glanced at him as they reached the open doors of the control room and, next to it, Kezule's cell. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"That it was our team who broke security regulations."
He stepped into the cell. Blood had sprayed everywhere, decorating the walls and ceiling with arcs of crimson that had run in myriad tiny rivulets toward the floor. The metallic scent of it filled the air.
Like a slaughterhouse,
thought Rhyaz.
Kezule would have been right at home here.
On his right he saw the body of a guard, his face convulsed in agony.
"That would be the one Keeza killed with the stunner. The other," L'Seuli nodded to the left. "She broke his neck with a kick to the head."
"Feisty," Rhyaz murmured, looking. "I can see how she survived the packs."
Beyond the second guard, lying in a pool of blood, was the medic from the control room.
"Dzyash Liosoe," supplied L'Seuli as he followed Rhyaz across the room to look down at the body. Seeing something glittering under the table, he went to retrieve it. "Hypoderm, loaded with a Valtegan stimulant," he said, examining it. "They must have reacted to a medical emergency."
"This was not our team, L'Seuli," said Rhyaz, bending down to look at the corpse. He gently moved the head to one side to get a closer look at the wounds. "We had no medic because of the danger of this happening. Recording should have taken precedence, not medical intervention." Five puncture wounds, one through the carotid. He'd seen enough. Turning, he left the room, heading for the medical bay next door.
Nayla lay on an examination bed with the physician tending her. On nearby chairs sat the two surviving guards, one covered in blood that was obviously not his own. They were being questioned by the senior officer on duty. Seeing Rhyaz enter, he snapped to attention, arms crossed over his chest, head bowing briefly in salute. "Guild Master Rhyaz, I am just debriefing these..."
"L'Seuli, see to it," Rhyaz said, going over the injured female. "You, Lieutenant, get the security vid set up for me. I want to see for myself what happened."
"Yes, sir!"
The physician turned round and dipped his head in lieu of a salute. "Slight concussion and bruising to the head, nothing more, Master Rhyaz," he said. "She's been severely traumatized, though, and I suggest that questioning her..."
"I need the information now," said Rhyaz, cutting him short. "Kezule is at large with an En'Shalla Leska telepath as hostage. That takes precedence, I'm afraid."
"The guards can tell you as much..." He ground to a halt and stepped back as Rhyaz continued to look at him.
She was already beginning to sit up as he stepped closer to the bed. "Nayla, why did you go into Kezule's cell?"
"He died, Guild Master," she said, running a trembling hand across her ears. "The alarm went off as he flatlined. Dzyash said we had to save him because of Keeza. I swear by Vartra, Master Rhyaz, he
was
dead!"
"Where were the guards on duty outside the cell?"
"There were none," she said.
"Carry on."
"Dzyash was about to give him the stimulant when suddenly he... he... just sprang at him!" She was shaking, eyes wide with fear, obviously reliving the moment.
"Continue your report, Sub-Lieutenant Kiolma!" he ordered sharply.
She drew a shaking breath and her trembling began to lessen. "Kezule caught Dzyash by the throat and leaped up from the bed, then he threw him at the guards and grabbed hold of me."
"Did you see what Keeza was doing?"
"Some. When Kezule grabbed Dzyash, she went for Zhyaf, then attacked the guards, kicking one and shooting the other. Then they dragged us out into the corridor. The exit was blocked by troopers, so he wanted to leave by a window. They forced me to tell them where the nearest room with one was." She looked up at him, her eyes and her voice asking for compassion.
He nodded. From the amount of dried blood on her clothing, she could only have been a few feet away from Kezule when he'd killed Dzyash. "You did the right thing, Lieutenant. Continue, if you please."
"I... I took them there— it was the small mess room on this floor, the one looking out on the eastern quadrangle. There was an aircar. They used that to escape. I thought he was going to kill me at the end," she said, rubbing at her eyes as they began to overflow with tears. "When he raised his arm... Then I woke up in here."
"At any point did they discuss where they intended to go, what they intended to do?"
"No, sir. They had no time. I'm sure this wasn't a planned escape. Kezule— he moved so
fast,
sir!"
Rhyaz patted her briefly on the shoulder. "Your actions, from the time you were taken hostage, were acceptable, Sub-Lieutenant Kiolma. You did nothing to put either yourself or Zhyaf at risk. I'll leave you with the physician for now. In the morning, see that your report reaches me by fifth hour. If you aren't fit to do it yourself, ask for a Recorder to transcribe it. Put down every detail you remember, no matter how trivial it seems."
He rejoined L'Seuli, drawing him away from the guards. "Well?"
"The guards on duty outside the cell had left their post. They decided to stroll down to those guarding the corridor leading to the elevator," said L'Seuli, his tone one of anger and disgust. "We have one of each pair here."
Rhyaz nodded, catching sight of the Lieutenant standing in the doorway. "The vid's ready. This I want to see," he said, his tone grim. "Any news from the Aldatan Estate? Or if they've got a fix on Kezule using the bio-monitor?"
L'Seuli flicked his ears in denial, adjusting the earpiece through which he was being constantly updated. "The bio-monitor went dead a few minutes ago. He must have found it, though how, I've no idea. As for Mara, she's still only getting information through their passive link— wait!" He stopped dead, putting his hand up to his ear and listening intently. "Zhyaf's sent to Mara. Kezule's been questioning him about the Aldatans— where they live, how far it is, has the female had her cub. Zhyaf's asking what to tell him."
* * *
"He's lying," said Keeza, frowning as she looked at the map over his shoulder. "They don't live in the mountains, or even on that side of the continent." She pushed her hand past Zhyaf and ran a finger across the map, waiting for his reaction. The flash of fear was as strong as she'd hoped. "Here."
"I can smell him," grunted Kezule. "You're right."
She looked at the name of the nearest town. "Valsgarth!" she said, grasping Zhyaf by the shoulder and turning him round to face her. "The telepath town! I remember you now!" She frowned, trying to concentrate. The memory was there if only she could find it, but everything about the past was so hazy, and thinking about it made her head hurt.
"He's a mind reader?" hissed Kezule. "They talk to each other, steal thoughts!"
Keeza's claws tightened on Zhyaf's shoulder, digging through to his flesh, making him mewl with pain. The pain in her head grew worse, a pounding throbbing that wouldn't stop. She shook her head. "Off-world? They're gone, not here?"
"Who?" Kezule demanded, reaching out for her. "Who's gone off-world?"
"Them. The ones you want, the Aldatans." She was beginning to sway as the pain threatened to engulf her. Her grasp on Zhyaf loosened, and she slumped back in her seat. "You did things to my mind," she moaned, putting her hands up to massage her aching temples. Then Kezule's clawed hand gripped her shoulder and she was pulled toward him and shaken violently.
"They are the Aldatans? All three of them?"
Her concentration broken, she found the mist of pain before her eyes begin to lift. "Yes. He lied," she said, glaring at Zhyaf. "They live at Valsgarth, on the estate where all the mixed Leskas live, him, too. He has a Human partner like her— like Carrie."
Kezule released her, turning to Zhyaf. "A telepath like them. Is that true?"
Zhyaf said nothing, just shrank back in his seat.
Anger raged through him. "They talk to each other without words," he said. "They can tell where we are!"
"No! I haven't told them!"
Kezule lunged forward, and Keeza heard a sickening crack. More slowly, the Valtegan sat back in his seat and looked at Keeza.
She knew that cold, unblinking stare. "No. Not me, my General," she whimpered, setting her ears flat against her head and trying to make herself as small as possible. "He used my mind! I'm not a telepath!" Her words ended on a wail of fear as she cringed away from him, crossing her forearms in front of her face. But nothing happened.
After a moment or two, she risked looking between her raised arms. He was still staring at her.
"You, I need," he said. "Gather food and drink. We leave now."
Slowly she lowered her arms. "The aircar?"
"We leave it here. As you said, there's not enough traffic. Easier to kill us in the air, not so easy on the ground where we can hide." He picked up the map and began to fold it. "Hurry!"
Chapter 14
"Keeza's asking him where Carrie and Kusac live. He's told them in the mountains, by Ranz, but she's sensed he's lying." Hands clasped in front of herself, Mara kept walking back and forth over the same piece of carpet.
"She's dragging her finger across the map, making him look." The tremor in her voice was increasing and she was rubbing her thumbs across each other in a small, repetitive gesture. "He's afraid she'll sense his fear and know which town... She's picked him up! She knows— knows it's Valsgarth and he's a telepath— and she remembers him!" Mara stopped dead, her face draining of all color, and began to whimper in fear. "Keeza's telling Kezule what Zhyaf is and that he did things to her mind. Oh, God! He's so
afraid
! Kezule's coming for him!" Her voice rose in pitch as her fear increased.
Vanna moved toward her. "Mara," she began, but the girl crouched down in an unconscious imitation of her Leska's position, trying to back away. Suddenly her hands flew protectively to her neck, and with a shriek of pure terror, she collapsed.
"Ghyan, do it!" ordered Vanna, leaping across the room to the girl's side. "Stop her from dying!" The hypoderm was against Mara's neck and the stimulant administered before she'd finished speaking.
For some time, the priest had been gently touching the edges of Mara's mind without her being aware of his passive presence. Now, at the moment of Zhyaf's death, Ghyan flinched. Too much was at stake, though, and he pushed himself to overcome not only his own fears but hers. As she collapsed, screaming her disbelief, he reached out mentally and grasped hold of her consciousness.
"Josh, get over here," snapped Vanna, sitting back and handing the hypo to Jack to reload. "Get her up on the bed, and hold onto her. Let her know you're there. Reach out with your mind and touch hers! Ghyan will be there to help you."
Mara wanted to live, but the Link still bound her to Zhyaf. Inexorably she was being drawn down with him. Then she felt Ghyan's presence trapping her, preventing her from following.
She fought against it, her fists batting weakly at the arms that held her. Why was he trying to stop her? He must know she had to follow her Leska. Another mind flared beside hers. She looked eagerly. Zhyaf! It had to be, couldn't be anyone else! Then she realized the touch was Josh's.
"No," she mumbled. "Lemme go." Talking hurt. Her throat, it ached so! She felt the sting of the hypo against her neck again, the rush as the stimulant surged through her body. Gasping for breath, she sensed the room growing darker and colder around her.
Stay with us, Mara,
she heard Ghyan saying.
You don't need to leave. Stay with us.
But the thoughts and voices around her were fading as she was pulled farther and farther from them.
She'd thought herself beyond additional terror, but suddenly, with a stark clarity, she realized what was happening to her: She was dying. She tried to scream but was unable to make her bruised and crushed throat work.
No
! she shrieked silently. I
wasn't killed
! The darkness and the coldness were closing round her inexorably, like the waters of Risho Bay.
As she silently shrieked her denial again, a power she'd only felt once before exploded within her. Grasping it, she held on. The other presence in her mind— Josh— was suddenly catapulted into its heart and she could sense him floundering, trying desperately to understand the nature of the gestalt.
Mara, help me.
She could sense his confusion, the beginnings of fear; he was totally out of his depth. Nothing he'd learned from Ghyan had prepared him for this— nothing could.
Mara!
His voice was growing fainter as she was swept toward what remained of Zhyaf. Josh's presence was disrupting the forces and already the gestalt was beginning to falter and weaken.
I don't know how to control it! It only happened once before!
she heard herself whimpering.