Slave Empire - Prophecy (11 page)

The next day
continued the trend, and Egan answered questions willingly, but
they had no way of knowing how truthfully. He brought them
holofilms and played the helpful host, but Rayne disliked his
condescending air and stilted speech. The food restored their
strength and the films were educational, but the rooms had no
windows and the door was locked. After several fruitless hours
trying to open it, they gave up.

The following
day, Rayne demanded to see Tallyn, and Egan balked. He claimed the
commander was busy, and would be for some time. Rawn gripped Egan's
his collar and almost lifted him off the floor, evincing a
reluctant promise to try to contact Tallyn. It took another day and
several more threats before Tallyn came, and when he did, Egan
looked unhappy. Then they learnt that the commander had come of his
own accord, to check on them.

When Rawn told
him about their request, Tallyn's brows knotted, and Egan was
subjected to the commander's icy glare. "Who ordered this
duplicity, Ensign?" he demanded.

"The council,
sir."

"Of course.
Who else? Inform them that I'm taking the humans to my dwelling,
where they can stay for the time being. They can't be kept in
this... prison."

"But sir, they
have to be monitored."

Tallyn's brows
rose. "They've been immunised, and they're fully recovered from the
ordeal, it seems. Why must they be monitored?"

"The council
ordered -"

"I'll deal
with the council, Ensign. Dismissed."

Egan, who had
a pale complexion with a silvery sheen, turned an interesting shade
of pink, then retreated.

Tallyn eyed
the humans. "It's a good thing I have some authority over the more
junior staff members."

Rawn said, "I
was getting sick of that pompous little fart."

Tallyn
appeared to riffle through a mental dictionary before understanding
dawned. "An apt description. The council, it seems, intended to
keep you in a comfortable, if sterile environment, but I think
you'd rather see more of your new home."

"Damned
right," Rawn muttered.

"Good."

The door
opened for Tallyn, and he led them down a corridor where several
white-suited men watched them pass, muttering and frowning. Rayne
stepped out into the open air and gazed around at Atlan's alien
beauty. The sun was a hot white spot beyond the glowing roof of
clouds, and verdant landscape stretched away in every direction.
Only an occasional tower broke the carpet of greenery, and the air
was sweet and rich.

After a few
minutes, Tallyn led them to a disk-shaped craft, and they sat in
the two seats behind his. They skimmed away over the trees at an
amazing speed, and Rayne studied the well-hidden buildings that
nestled in the pristine forest below.

Rawn asked,
"How can billions of people live in such a sparsely built up
world?"

Tallyn glanced
back at them as the craft swooped between two tall trees. "Billions
of people don't live here. They live on fifty-two planets all over
the galaxy. We're always colonising new planets, as long as they're
not already inhabited by intelligent life forms."

"What about
the animals?" Rayne asked, gulping as they skimmed past a tree
trunk with inches to spare.

"We don't
destroy the ecology; we live in harmony with it. The animals have
no fear of us because they have no reason to."

"But we've
been eating meat," Rawn said.

"That's grown
in bio tanks, not from raising and slaughtering animals." He
swooped and swung the hover car, oblivious to the growing
discomfort in the back.

"Where are
your factories, industries and so on?"

"Those are
mostly underground."

Rayne gripped
her seat. "How far is it to your house?"

Tallyn looked
back at her. "Not too far." He shot them a brief smile, turning
back in time to swerve around a tree.

Rayne released
her white-knuckled grip on the seat as they passed the tree. A few
minutes later, they landed in front of a rustic log cabin in a
glade, and quit the vehicle. The cabin's door slid open at Tallyn's
approach, and it appeared to be a lot larger inside than it had
looked from the outside.

They passed
through a long room that housed a heated swimming pool set amid
rocks, ferns and palms. A transparent roof allowed sunlight to
flood in, filling the house with cheerful warmth, and soft grey
moss served as carpeting. Atlanteans, Rayne reflected, certainly
seemed to like plants. They entered another spacious, sunlit room
decorated in pastels and filled with alien foliage.

Tallyn handed
out fruity drinks and flopped into a comfortable chair with his
own.

Rawn settled
on another chair. "How long were they going to keep us locked up in
that damned room, anyway?"

Tallyn
shrugged. "I don't think they had given it much thought. Once you
were safe and installed in what they thought was a suitable
environment, provided with food and entertainment, they thought
they had done enough."

"I'd have
thought they'd take better care of someone who might be their
precious Golden Child."

"Rayne is only
a candidate. One of four, I believe, that have been found on other
worlds. If she's the one, she'll be accorded the respect she
deserves, but until then she'll be treated just like anyone
else."

Rayne asked,
"What are the other girls like?"

"Mostly
children, except for one older girl, but I believe you are the
oldest."

"So there are
another three planets dying right now, just like Earth is?"

"No, we've
found five or six. One might be saved. Two girls were taken from
one of them, and none were found on the other three."

"What are they
like?"

Tallyn looked
thoughtful. "The two who were taken from Hendis seem to fit the
prophecy's description better. They're young, five and eight of
their years old, and they have golden skin, hair and eyes. There's
biological warfare on their planet, and the people are dying from a
disease they unleashed. But the planet itself is not dying, and the
prophecy definitely says 'the dying planet'.

"The other
girl, who's sixteen, comes from a race of white-haired,
brown-skinned people. She only has golden eyes. Her world is being
destroyed by radiation released through the foolish testing of
nuclear weapons, but again, the planet may recover, although
grossly changed, and inhabited by mutated animals, mostly insects."
He glanced at Rayne. "The council agrees that you're the most
likely candidate, although Rawn fits the description better."

Rayne glanced
at her brother, who met her gaze with raised brows and a teasing
smile. She wondered what lay in store for them on this alien world,
and how much they could trust their new benefactor. Although he
seemed genuinely concerned about their welfare, she clung to the
old habit of distrust that had served her so well in the past.

Chapter Seven

For the next
three weeks, they stayed at Tallyn's dwelling, enjoying luxuries
like baths and hot meals, along with such delights as sweets and
films, long strolls in the forest and swimming in the heated pool.
The council summoned Tallyn, who returned with the welcome news
that it had agreed to let them stay. He urged them to learn
Atlantean, and provided them with the necessary material.

Rayne found
that she could learn at a remarkable rate, and retained the
information with startling clarity. Rawn experienced the same
phenomenon, but Tallyn would not explain the anomaly. It worried
Rayne for a while, but then she accepted it and concentrated on her
studies. By the end of the week, they spoke and read Atlantean, and
practised on Tallyn. Some of their blunders amused him, but not
sufficiently to make him laugh, or even grin. Rayne wonder if he
did, in fact, have teeth.

Rayne studied
other interesting subjects, like space flight, the theories behind
the transfer Net and anti-gravity. Tallyn brought holofilms that
they watched together after supper. The trio grew comfortable
together, and Tallyn eventually laughed at one of Rawn's tasteless
jokes, revealing even white teeth and dashing Rayne's theory on his
reluctance to bare them to the light of day. Life settled into an
ordered rhythm, which seemed normal to Rayne. Tallyn was away most
days attending his duties, of which he rarely spoke.

After three
weeks, Tallyn said he wanted them to meet an alien, ignoring Rawn's
quip that there was one right in front of him. He took them to a
little house, saying they would discover their talents, which
intrigued them. Tallyn left them at the door with a parting
smile.

They entered a
room with a round black pool in the centre, bare but for a few
plants. Rawn became wary, his old raider instincts kicking in.
Rayne had grown to trust Tallyn a little more over the weeks, and
was less concerned.

"A good thing
too. He's earned it," a soft voice said.

Rayne gasped
and glanced around in alarm.

"What's
wrong?" Rawn demanded.

"I... There's
someone here."

The honey
sweet voice came again, and this time she realised that it was in
her head. "So, you can hear me, but your brother can't. It's
usually the females who have the power."

A strange
itching made Rayne want to scratch behind the bone of her temple,
and she rubbed her brow. Rawn looked puzzled. The sensation of a
voice speaking inside her head was unpleasant, as if vibrations
quivered her brain.

"Well, that's
not a bad description," the telepathic voice said. "Don't worry,
the itching goes away after a while."

"Where are
you?" Rayne asked, and Rawn frowned at her.

"Over
here."

She glanced
around. A creature sat beside the pool, and Rayne wondered why she
had not noticed it before.

"Because I did
not wish to be seen before, my dear."

This time it
spoke aloud, and Rawn spun around, his hand dropping to his belt,
where his gun had once resided. He scowled. "Who are you?"

"I'm your
teacher. My name is Callamindra-Falona, but you can call me Mindra
for short."

The alien
spoke clearly, even though it had the split lip and muzzle of a
cat, which had always been thought to prevent animals like cats
from being able to speak. It spoke Atlantean fluently, without any
trace of an accent. It rose and walked towards them, looking like
an overgrown cat with wide ears, sleek black fur and a bushy white
tail. Its slanted golden eyes were set in a grey-furred face that
was long and pointed, rather like a highly bred Siamese. A white
ruff encircled its throat like a fluffy collar.

Mindra purred,
"But you want to know what I am more than who I am, so sit down and
I'll tell you."

They sat by
the pool, a little stunned, and the cat-alien settled in front of
them, curling its tail around its paws.

"First of all,
I'm a she, not an it," she said. "I'm Shyanese. I come from the
star system of Tryan. Many years ago, the Atlanteans came to our
world looking for new planets to colonise. At first we stayed away,
thinking they would leave, but when they started building houses we
decided enough was enough, and made them leave. You see, we're the
most powerful espers in the known universe, and that's what I've
come to teach you. Tallyn asked me especially."

Rayne tilted
her head. "How did you make the Atlanteans leave?"

Mindra's eyes
twinkled. "We teleported them and all their equipment back aboard
their ships, then teleported the ships about twenty light years
away from our planet."

"But they came
back."

"Oh yes,
dearie, they did, but this time they came as friends, not
colonists. They didn't try to invade us again." She gazed at them
with wide, beguiling eyes.

Rawn leant
forward. "So you've come to teach us ESP?"

"I'm going to
teach you how to use more of your brains than you ever have
before." Her ears twitched. "It's a shame to waste potential. So,
let's not waste any time. I have a busy schedule. First, let's see
what you can do now." She looked at Rayne. "You're already a little
telepathic; an unformed talent. But you have more. Have you ever
sensed people's moods in the past, and perhaps when they're
lying?"

Rayne
nodded.

"You have a
slight empathic ability, most undesirable, although not too bad at
such low levels." Mindra turned to Rawn. "You can't even hear me,
which, considering how powerful I am, is amazing. I want you both
to try to speak telepathically."

Rawn looked
puzzled. "How?"

"Just think
the words, dearie."

Rayne recited
a poem to herself, and Mindra's luminous eyes rested upon her. "You
I can hear faintly, but Rawn I can't. Let's try teleportation."

A rock near
the pool floated over and landed in front of them. They gaped at
it, and Mindra looked a little smug. "Lift it."

Rayne
concentrated and Rawn scowled at it. Once more Mindra's eyes rested
on Rayne. "I can feel power from you, but weak. Again, Rawn, you
have nothing. Now I want you both to lie down and make your minds
blank. I'm going to unblock the channels in your brains. You must
relax and trust me. It may hurt a little, but don't try to resist,
or it'll hurt more."

Rayne met
Rawn's worried glance, sharing his obvious aversion to allowing an
alien to do weird things to their brains.

Mindra purred,
"I'm not going to hurt you, but it's your choice. If you choose not
to do this, I'll understand. The crude operation the Atlantean
doctors performed on you is also a harmless, perhaps even
beneficial to you."

"What
operation?" Rawn demanded.

"Ah." Mindra's
ears flicked back. "Ask Tallyn.

"That's about
as much good as asking a brick wall."