Ammonite Stars (Omnibus): Ammonite Galaxy #4-5 (3 page)

They fell into a comfortable silence, and turned their attention back to the dying canth. Now they understood a little better, they knew that they were not seeing a death, as such, rather a metamorphosis into something else. It was impossible not to feel sorrow for the loss of such a beautiful creature, but at least it was now mitigated by the feeling that they would somehow see it again, and in the not-too-distant future.

They sat together beside the canth, stroking it as its breathing became more and more tortured, and sadly watched as the body shook and shuddered its last gasps into silence. At its final convulsion there was a sort of mental gasp from all the surrounding canths, and both Grace and Ledin felt a strong impulse to close their eyes. They felt the darkness closing in through their minds, and then they were transported to what they knew were the caverns of Pictoria, where they accompanied an element which plunged into the liquid unerringly to take its place inside the new trimorph which was being born. There was a bright shining light, and then a flash which dulled their mental senses. They felt the rock tremble; then the connection was broken and they were back sitting on the soft sandy ground of Xiantha, looking down at the inert body of the blue roan canth. It was done.

They got reluctantly to their feet, and Ledin dusted off Grace’s clothes for her. They stared down at the now inert body in front of them, feeling uncomfortable to simply leave it lying there, then they made their way back to where the man who spoke to canths was caring for the black canth. The palomino gold and the yellow dun walked slowly after them, demanding to be let out of the corral so that they could follow their joined partners.

They were too late. The black canth had expired just after the blue roan, and was now stiff and silent. The man who spoke to canths stood up sadly, and brushed his raiment down. He looked over at them. “I am not sure what I saw as he slipped away, but it was a planet I have never seen before. Perhaps I was imagining it.”

“No,” replied Grace slowly, rather ashamed not to be telling him more, and wishing she could, “I don’t think you were.”

The Xianthan inclined his body in a graceful bow. “In that case, I have been blessed by much colour to be privileged to see such things. The canths have been waiting a long time for this.”

“Err … We have a suggestion for you, Man who speaks to canths, but this isn’t really the right time …” Grace stroked her own canth’s neck and put her arms around it. Then she took one of the carrots the man who spoke to canths passed to her, and pulled its ears gently as it ate. “… I was hoping … that is, we were wondering …” She wasn’t quite sure how to go on.

“You would like to come here more often.”

“Yes! How did you know?”

“It is shining in both your faces. I had only to look.”

“Well. We were hoping that you could help us to find a house of some sort here on Xiantha. Somewhere near here, somewhere we could visit every year for holidays. You see – I live on Valhai, and Ledin lives on Kwaide. When we see each other it would always be one of us on the other’s territory. We wanted somewhere that was equal for both of us. We love the canths, so it seemed a great place to set up a small house for us.”

“It is a very excellent idea.” The Xianthan bowed.

“Is it possible?” Grace looked worried. “We don’t know if Xiantha law permits foreigners to rent property?”

“I shall take it up with the other panchromes. I don’t think there will be any difficulty.”

“Thank you. Err … the other thing we would like to do is set up an endowment for the canth farm. We would like to help keep it going. I am being paid quite a lot of money now – for running Arcan’s foundation. We would like to donate a part of that to the canths.” She mentioned a figure, and the Xianthan looked surprised.

“That would indeed be of great help,” he said. “How can we thank you?”

Grace stood on tiptoe to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “You, the canths, and the visitor saved my life,” she said. “How could I not want to help?”

The man who spoke to canths touched his face where she had planted a kiss, and watched as she and Ledin prepared their canths for a visit to the Emerald Lake.

THE TIME THAT she spent on Xiantha by the lake with Ledin and their two canths was magical, but it was over far too soon, because Grace had to go back to Valhai.

They docked in the orbital station above Valhai, and traveled down to the surface of the planet in the space elevator, before negotiating the orthotubes to the 256
^th
skyrise, and the 21
^st
floor, where they were to stay.

Grace grabbed Ledin’s hand. “Let’s go bare planet!” she pleaded.

Ledin rolled his eyes, and pretended to look terrified, but was really quite prepared to do whatever she wanted. He took enough decisions in his day-to-day position as head of the orbital station; he was happy enough to fall in with Grace’s wishes here on Valhai. Besides, it would give him the chance to see Arcan as he really was – and that was an opportunity which had never come his way.

They put their bodywraps and mask packs on in a companionable silence, and then made their way down the metallic stairs and onto the dark surface of the planet. As they turned to look around them, Ledin covered Grace’s hand in his. They looked upwards with a sense of wonder. Ledin was used to a starry sky – in his job he seldom saw anything else, but even he was stunned into silence by the view from Valhai.

Cian hung over them, permanently waxing gibbous in a mixture of blue and purple. Sacras was shining its brilliant white sheen over the slate-coloured rocks, although it was too far away for its light to block out any but the stars closest to it.

He took Grace’s hand more firmly, and gave her a hug. They couldn’t get too close, because of all the bodywraps and mask packs, but they touched visors, and Grace felt an overwhelming sense of peace. She closed her eyes briefly and felt a moment so emotive that she almost cried. She couldn’t help but remember how lonely she had been feeling before her first walk bare planet, five years earlier. She gave a contented sigh.

Ledin smiled, and then moved away. He let go of her hand, and indicated that she should lead the way. They set off for the orthogel lake. Ledin was humbled by the sense of immensity which overtook him as he felt the presence of the distant stars. He looked around until he found the Giant Crab constellation, 30,000 light years out into space. It was impossible to realize that Grace had actually visited Pictoria, all that distance away. He turned with pride to the girl walking beside him. He felt unworthy to be a part of her life, but very glad that he was.

ARCAN WAS EXPECTING them, and as soon as they slid down the loose particulate slope to the lake, treated them to a spectacular show of fountains, bathed in colour. They watched, entranced, until the lake finally subsided.

Grace approached the edge of the lake, and put her hands to the surface, part of a sort of ceremony which she had slowly developed over many visits. Of course, things were different now. It was no longer possible for her to contact Arcan using the sign language – she was missing too many fingers. Not that it mattered – he still seemed to appreciate the physical salutation.

Grace signed to Ledin, who came forward rather stiffly. This was the first time that he had seen Arcan in his natural habitat, and the lake was an awesome sight. If anything, it made him feel even smaller than before. He placed both hands on the surface of the lake, and signed a greeting, as he had been taught.

The lake gave a small swell around them to show his appreciation.

“How was Xiantha, Grace?” asked Arcan.

Grace told him about the new extended family which Diva and Six had been introduced to.

“Have you heard from Pictoria?” said Grace into the silence which had fallen as each of them contemplated the idea of Six and Diva as parents of fifty children.

A flash of black ran right through the lake. “No. I am worried about things there. Do you think we should go back to the planet?”

Grace nodded, and told him what they had witnessed at the canth farm on Xiantha.

A shimmer ran through the orthogel entity. “That would explain why we knew nothing about my amorphs,” he said, “and why I had the feeling that they still existed somewhere, but it doesn’t tell us why the visitor bimorph hasn’t managed to come here yet. I think we should definitely go to Pictoria, and find out exactly what has happened to the visitor?”

Grace nodded. “And your own trimorphs. The black canth died too, remember. Two of the Arcan amorphs must have been incorporated into trimorphs. What we couldn’t figure out was the time delay. Do you think there could have been some time dilation coming into play?”

Arcan darkened and hesitated as he considered. “No. Quantum decoherence and non-locality are not subject to time dilation. Once in orbit or on Pictoria, it is true that relativity dictates two time dilation effects, one due to the increased gravity suffered because Pictoria is so much nearer the central black hole in the Ammonite Galaxy, and one because the galactic orbital velocity in that part of the galaxy is rather different. Even so, those effects could at most amount to minutes per day – you would have to be there for years to come back to a six-month time difference.” The dark colour disappeared. “I do not think that dilation could be the answer. My initial rough calculations do not support such a possibility.”

“But the visitor’s ship was subject to time dilation, wasn’t it? I remember you telling me that although thousands of years would pass on Dessia the tank supporting the visitor needed only to be autonomous for twenty or thirty years?”

“That is completely different, Grace. The visitor’s ship reached a significant speed compared to the speed of light. Relativistic effects come into play then. Didn’t you ever listen to Atheron?” The lake scintillated. “They don’t apply to me, of course. I always know where I am all the time. That sort of relativistic correction is unnecessary for a quantum entity like myself.”

Ledin smiled. Arcan sounded so very pleased with himself.

Grace tried not to smile. “I’m glad. I’d hate to come back here and find out thousands of years had gone by and everyone I knew was dead.”

“So you think it is time we went to Pictoria to find out how the visitor is getting on, do you?”

“It seemed like a good idea, yes. What do you think, Arcan?”

“I think we should go straight away. I know you were going to do some more work on my foundation, but it has been up and running for a while now, Grace. Could you spare the time to come?”

Grace nodded slowly, thinking of Vion’s sister, who had agreed to help run the foundation. “Aracely can take care of everything for a while, certainly. She is getting more competent than I am. I don’t think that she needs me at all, although she is convinced that she does! It will be good for her to have to deal with everything on her own.”

“Six and Diva?”

“I don’t think they will want us to go alone, whatever other plans they may have.”

“And you, Ledin?” said Arcan.

Ledin stared at the lake. “M-me?”

“You are Grace’s life partner. Naturally you are to be included in any of the trips we make.”

Ledin flushed a deep red. “Thank you, Arcan. I … I am honoured that you should consider me worthy of such a privilege.”

“Grace is my friend. I hope you will be too.”

Ledin inclined his head respectfully. “I shall do my best.”

“And are you available now?”

“I still have a two-week leave of absence. It is a good time for a quick journey – though I had hardly expected to go as far as the Giant Crab constellation!”

“Yes. On your own you would have no chance, of course.”

“True.”

“Very well. Grace, I know you have to go to the meeting about the Second Valhai Votation this afternoon. Tell Six and Diva to be ready on the Orbital Station above Kwaide tomorrow morning. We will pick them up there. I think you are right. It is time to find out just how the visitor is.”

AS LEDIN AND Grace made their way back inside the 256
^th
skyrise, there was still one occupant there who was not happy with the way things had been going. Amanita was feeling, as she usually did these days, sick to her stomach. She had even been to Vion 48, hopeful of some sort of medication that would attenuate the pain, but it seemed that there was nothing for the sort of pain she was feeling.

She hadn’t told the doctor, but she knew what the pain was. It was hatred, raging with such intensity in her insides that it warped everything she did, coloured every move which she made. And she reveled in it. She was glad that the doctor had been unable to find anything physically wrong with her. She knew the disease she had could only be remedied by action. And action was what she had been planning for the last months.

She had heard that Grace was back in the skyrise – back in control of 48 floors of the huge building which should, by rights, belong to Amanita herself. And she was going to confront her. She was determined. Arcan may be monitoring her use of the ortholifts, but he couldn’t stop her from visiting the Valhai Voting Dome, and she knew that her
great
sister-in-law, so
close
now to the ruling Xenon 50, so
appreciated
by the head of Sell, would have been invited to be physically present at the meeting that afternoon. Amanita gave a pleased smile. She would be able to look her enemy directly in the eyes, and Grace would have absolutely no idea what she had planned for the future. Amanita smiled again to herself. For there was no doubt that what she was planning would be a fitting revenge for the death of a husband and the loss of a skyrise. It would be
appropriate
. It would be
commensurate
.

Amanita despised the now dead Atheron. He had been too slow, too hide-bound, she thought. He had not listened to her husband when Xenon 49 had tried to correct his overblown plans. She would not make the same mistake. She would limit herself to small victories – individual vengeances which would calm her spirit, quieten the voices inside.

The widow of Xenon 49 made her way to the Valhai Voting Dome for the meeting on the upcoming Second Valhai Votation. As a 50-level head of house – even though there was no longer any house for him to hold – her son was one of the speakers. Still only twelve, he was one of the new generation whose votes would decide the future of the planet. Her presence at the meeting would be unremarkable, and if she kept in the background that would be approved as meek and apt in a widow who was appropriately letting the heir to the house take his first steps on his own.

INSIDE THE VOTING dome the atmosphere was tense. There had been several hours of meetings, and Grace was glad that they were finally over. She was eager to get back to the 21
^st
floor of the 256
^th
skyrise, which Ledin had been left to explore, floor by floor.

As she made her way out of the chamber, she felt somebody close behind her, and stood to one side, thinking that it would be one of the mothers, in a hurry to get back to her children.

It was one of the mothers, but this particular one was not in any hurry to get anywhere. As Grace stepped aside, she nudged her sharply with one elbow, causing Grace to stumble into one of the small antechambers. In a flash, the woman was in the same chamber with her, and the door had been firmly closed.

Grace looked around, and immediately drew her catana, now having to use both hands to hold it in front of her.

Amanita laughed with scorn. “You will not need that! I have no wish to attack you – not here, and not now. I am not so stupid.”

Grace relaxed her hold on the catana slightly. “Then what
do
you want?” she demanded.

“I
want
,” whispered Amanita, in such a menacing tone that Grace shrank back before it, “to tell you that I am going to destroy everything you care for, just as you have destroyed everything that I had built up.”

Grace held up her hands, trying futilely to ward off the stream of venom coming from Amanita’s lips.

“It was
your
husband who tried to kill
me
,” she reminded the woman.

“And isn’t it a pity that he didn’t succeed?” hissed Amanita back.

Grace looked at her sister-in-law sadly. The woman’s shoulders were hunched, and she could see that Amanita was literally trembling with rage. Grace’s spirits froze, petrifying like objects hung in a Kwaidian waterfall. After all, it had been her fault that all this started.