The Broken Kingdom (52 page)

Vann didn’t necessarily believe Ellis’s
apology. But he wasn’t going to let dislike interfere with a
possible friendship for Riley. So he kept quiet, and merely
watched. He didn’t know whether Ellis was trying to take over, or
whether he had some sort of interest in Riley, but he would deal
with it. Without involving her. He could get Karesh’s help if he
needed it.

Vann arrived at the collection of human
tents. He saw a few of the Mixed children already there, playing
with the human children and smiled. Meguk and his two older sisters
were teaching the children R-Ball. He smiled seeing them. Riley had
told him many of the children had lost one, or both parents in the
collapse of the mountain. It was good to see them laughing and
playing outside. It was also a relief for him that they’d started
using proper names, instead of Firstboy, or Bulag’s son.
Remembering names was easier for him than remembering everyone’s
parents and birth order!

He looked away from the children to the
sour-faced adults watching. The adults were more of a challenge,
but he was working on it. They were slowly starting to feel safe
here, but it would take more than a couple of weeks to erase what
must have been a lifetime of misery.

His smile faded when he spotted Catariah.
She had picked up Astarian extremely quickly, but she spent a lot
of time pretending she didn’t speak it. Especially when Riley was
around.

‘Hello.’ he greeted her. He had to put his
hands out to forestall a hug that would never end. ‘Cata, you have
to stop doing that.’

‘What?’ she demanded.

‘You’re an adult. You can’t hold on to me
like that.’

‘Why not?’

He frowned, tried to say something. Did
adults in her society really do that to each other? ‘Because… it’s
not what’s done here, not among friends.’

‘It’s her, isn’t it.’ she stated darkly.

‘Riley? She’s my lover, so yes, she’s part
of it.’ He smiled as he spoke. It still sent a tingle through him
to say those words.

‘She’s a monster.’

‘Hold on, Riley is not a monster. Why would
you say that?’ he demanded angrily.

‘She’s one of them, one of those non humans.
Like those creatures that attack us from the ocean.’

‘She’s not human, Cata, but that doesn’t
make her a monster. She’s never done you any harm.’

Cata gazed at him darkly, but she didn’t say
anything to that.

‘Do the rest of your people think that?’

‘Not all… they’ve been taken in by the
richness here.’

Vann felt a moment of relief. ‘I think you
need to spend more time around her, and the other Mixed. You’ll see
they aren’t monsters.’

Cata made a noise of derision and crossed
her arms.

Vann walked past her then, to speak to the
other humans. Clearly, allowing them to stay apart from the rest of
the tribe had been a bad idea. Was it going to be this bad with the
Astarians? He’d never been to Astar. But, he supposed, if things
went as planned, their objections would mean nothing.

Cata came up to him and tugged on his shirt.
He turned, ‘what is it?’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Alright-’

‘It must be so hard for you.’

His original words trailed off, ‘what do you
mean?’ he asked.

‘You have to pretend, keep her happy so she
doesn’t hurt you. We should escape, Vann. We can run away, let her
have that other man.’

‘Cata, I’m not pretending anything. I’m with
her because I love her and I believe in what she’s trying to do.
I’m not leaving her, Cata, though you are free to go where you
want.’ he paused. ‘And what other man?’

‘The other non-human, the golden one who is
always around her. Her other lover.’

‘Yes, I’ve heard that too.’ Karesh finally
said after Vann stopped his whispered shouting. They were by
Karesh’s tent. The campsite was crowded, and other gemengs went
about their business within ear-shot of the tent.

‘Not quite like that though, I’ve heard some
say they think he’d be a better mate, but not that he is yet.’

‘That ass started this, Karesh, you know he
did.’

Karesh hesitated and then slowly nodded.
‘Maybe. I haven’t done anything because it seems so…’ he hesitated.
‘Silly.’

‘Silly.’ Vann stated.

Karesh nodded. ‘You have only to look at her
to know she is devoted to you. And besides, you are a better mate.
You show the Mixed how they can be honourable and powerful without
physical strength, and without violence. You are integral to the
Master’s plan. Ellis is,’ Karesh shrugged, ‘he is nothing. He
couldn’t fulfil your role even if he could understand it.’

Mollified Vann replied, ‘well, thank you.’
he fell silent. ‘I think I made a mistake suggesting she trust him.
He’s going to betray her again, Karesh, in some way.’

Karesh hesitated. ‘Maybe. I doubt his
intentions, but he hasn’t done anything yet. I don’t know if he
started the rumour or someone else did. I can’t trace it back to
the source.’ he waited. ‘What do you want to do?’

‘If I tell Riley this rumour she’ll-’

‘Be very scary.’ Karesh finished.

‘Yeah.’ Vann ran his fingers through his
hair. ‘I don’t want to hurt her. I need to think about this.’

Karesh nodded. ‘The human girl too.’

‘What?’

‘I haven’t heard anyone say it quite like
that yet..’

Vann nodded slowly. ‘The humans think
Riley’s a monster. Not all of them, but at least some. Karesh, I
may be a good example of a human, but you’re an even better example
of a Mixed. I think you and I together need to spend time with
them. And some of the better Mixed too, some of the adults. I’ve
mostly kept Galis away so far, but she’s turned out to be good with
the children, even the weaker ones.’

‘Like the Master said.’ Karesh agreed. ‘I’ll
think of some others.’ He said, his mind immediately going to
Shiressa or Kalgen, when they were around, or Muress or Lakenda,
who had proven themselves while teaching the other gemengs Astarian
reading and writing. He hesitated, then he said, ‘if Ellis is
deceiving the Master, we can keep it from her. We can send him away
without telling her, the Master doesn’t have to be hurt.’

‘I’ll think about it. I’d like to know
exactly what he’s planning. Besides, he’s her friend now. She’s
going to wonder if he just disappears.’

‘And you have to win the game.’

‘What game?’

‘The next V-Ball match, Ellis will be on the
opposing team. You can’t lose, Vann.’

‘I-wait,
V-Ball?
’

Karesh nodded. ‘The Master decided V-Ball
was a better name. She was… quite clear, in fact, that it was not
to be called R-Ball.
Quite
clear.’

Vann wasn’t sure what to make of this.

‘Anyway, you have to win the next match.
Ellis is on the opposing team and it would not look good to the
rest of the tribe if you lose to him.’

Vann didn’t win every game, and he always
played with different Mixed. But he won most of them. And he was
just as good a loser as he was a winner. They saw that he lost a
game, and he wasn’t immediately discarded by Riley, his position
didn’t change. And then he’d win again. And so the uncertainty and
fear they had, the need to always be the best to protect themselves
from others, slowly it was being eroded away.

A determination Karesh had never seen before
settled onto Vann. It was a look never seen in the context of a
mere game.

‘Don’t worry, Karesh, I won’t lose to
him.’

Chapter 64

R
iley made her way to the
front of the crowd with ease. Her eyes went straight to Vann. The
two teams had only just begun playing. Vann may have lacked the
physical strength of the Mixed, but he was an excellent leader. He
could motivate his team, get them to work together in a coordinated
fashion far better than any of the other Mixed.

She smiled as she watched him, ignoring the
rest of the world. The game was played within the shield. The tents
had been moved back to the edge of the shield, leaving an open
space around the Suntree. Two goals had been marked at either edge
of the field, and the spectators made sure not to stand behind them
lest they get hit. The rules of the game had been fixed some time
ago by Adlak, when he set up his championships in the caves, though
the game played now was a little different. The Suntree had become
the centre of the field, and players had to circle it to cross to
the other half of the field. If the ball hit the Suntree it was an
automatic penalty.

As there were no stands, it took some
organizing to get the spectators settled. Shorter people stood in
front, and the bigger Mixed went to the back. It was all
accomplished in a far less orderly fashion than at the Children’s
Theatre of Astar.

The game started just before midday and
stretched throughout the hottest part of the day. At least, under
the forest canopy it was not too warm, though it was quite humid.
The teams took a break after five points were scored by one team,
and the game continued until a team scored eleven points. Some
games were concluded within half an hour, while others could go on
for hours. If night fell before a team scored eleven points the
game would continue under the lights of torches and the Suntree. In
the caves, the setting sun had not been an issue.

It took Riley a while to realize Ellis was
on the other team. She had never seen him play before. He wasn’t
much of a team player. V-Ball wasn’t a game that rewarded lone
stars.

Her eyes returned to Vann. Her smile faded.
She caught sight of Karesh and made her way over to him.

‘Hello, Master.’ he greeted her. ‘Do you
know the score?’

‘Six-Seven, Vann’s team.’ She replied
absently. She noted and remembered these things, but wasn’t
particularly interested in the game itself. She’d had few
opportunities to play it, due to her position in the tribe, and
found sitting still and watching
other
people play painfully
boring. At least when Vann played, she could focus on him.

‘Karesh, do you know why Vann’s so…
determined?’

‘He wants to win?’

Vann’s steely gaze would have been better on
a leaking submarine trapped far beneath the surface of the ocean.
‘I think that’s an understatement.’ she replied.

‘I don’t know, Master.’

Riley, troubled, spent the rest of the game
as she spent most games, with her eyes on Vann.

The game ended suddenly, and the crowd
erupted in cheers. The players headed to the centre of the field to
shake hands. Vann’s demeanour had suddenly changed; he was laughing
and smiling easily.

Riley’s eyes flicked to Ellis. He looked
almost sulky. When Vann shook his hand they talked for a bit before
moving on.

The game over, Riley waited for Vann to make
his way to her through the Mixed congratulating him.

‘Did you have fun?’ he asked, putting an arm
around her.

‘Yes.’

‘What was the score?’

‘It was eleven-eight.’ she replied
haughtily.

Vann laughed, well aware of her opinion on
being a
spectator.

‘Why was this game so important?’

‘They’re all important.’

‘Vann.’

‘I wanted to win, that’s all. And when did
you have time to change the name, hmm?’

‘What, you don’t like it?’ Riley teased,
deciding not to press the issue. She knew him well enough to know
there had to be reason behind it. She’d ask again later. But if it
was something he wanted to keep to himself, she could live with
it.

‘No more than you liked R-Ball.’

‘Well… I suppose we could call it A-Ball,
after Adlak.’ She said, a note of sadness in her voice.

‘That sounds like a nice idea.’ Vann
replied, softly.

‘What did Ellis want?’ she asked briskly,
turning her mind from those now long-dead.

‘He thinks I should go hunting with the
warriors.’