The Dracons' Woman (43 page)

Maxim’s tail lock was black, Lonim, the middle brother, had a dark red tail lock, and the youngest brother, Ranim, had a white tail lock.

When Eldar Hamat reached them, Garen stepped forward and offered his hands in the traditional warrior greeting.  Eldar Hamat smiled at Garen, and accepted the honor done to him.

After the greetings were complete, Eldar Hamat looked at Faron.  “May we look at the human’s remains now?” he asked.  “I find I am both anxious to get this over with, and reluctant to begin.”

“Certainly,” Faron replied.  “It’s right this way,” he said, turning to lead the way toward the gardening shed set away from the house. 

“I’m afraid I have further news for you Eldar Hamat,” Faron said as they walked.  Eldar Hamat looked at him expectantly.  “A sugea has been sighted.”

Eldar Hamat halted at once, his face paling at the news.  “Tell me,” he said shortly as everyone stopped walking and turned to face him.  Faron repeated Pater’s story, leaving nothing out.  When he was finished he was surprised to see an expression of relief cross Eldar Hamat’s face.

“In ancient times the sugea were the highest ranking and most powerful of the Narrasti,” he said.  “However, even then, they were able to shift only between their humanoid form and their sugea.  Only the adinare, the shape changers, possessed the ability to shift as the creature you describe has done.

“On the other hand, I never heard of, or saw a shape changer shift into the form of a sugea.  That could be because they did not possess the ability to do so, but I think it more likely that they did not dare to do so.  The sugea were extremely arrogant.  I cannot imagine what they may have done to a lowly shape changer who dared to take their form.”

“Then you believe that we are dealing with a shape changer who was able to shift into sugea form, rather than a true sugea?” Garen asked.

“I do,” Eldar Hamat said.  “The question is, how much power does this adinare have?  More importantly, does he possess the power of a sugea while in the form of one?”

Several sets of eyes widened at the implications of that thought. 

“Perhaps the human’s remains will give us more clues as to the true power of the being we are dealing with,” Eldar Hamat said. 

Faron nodded and turned, resuming the walk to the gardening shed.  As they approached, Dav and Ban opened the doors and stood back, allowing the party to enter.  They took a few moments to quickly greet the Katres, then followed the others inside, pulling the door shut behind them.

Dav and Ban had cleared off a large work table and set it in the middle of the gardening shed, then moved Frith Yanger’s body onto it.  As a result, there was just room enough for all of them to stand around the table and watch as Faron opened the stasis bag, revealing the body with its strange markings.

Immediately the tension in the gardening shed rose sharply as all ten Jasani males struggled to control their alter forms  The sight and scent of the Narrasti, especially now that they knew it to be Narrasti that they were scenting, instantly triggered their combat reflexes.  It was long moments before the men began to relax, some of them panting shallowly from the adrenaline rush.

Garen considered suggesting that they all step outside for a few minutes to breath fresh air, but discarded the idea.  They would have the same reaction again when they reentered.  It was best to get through it and finish the unpleasant task now.

Eldar Hamat waited until his breathing returned to normal before stepping closer to the table.  He leaned down and inspected the body minutely with his eyes from end to end.  He was grateful that Faron had left the shirt open so that the markings were bare to their view as he had no desire whatsoever to touch it.  He lingered over the strange markings on the man’s torso for a long time, before stepping back.

“Does the scent of the markings match the scent you found in the stolen ground-car?” he asked Dav. 

“Yes Eldar, it is the same scent,” he said.  “It also matches the scent found in the kitchen of this man’s sister.”

“Jackson Bearen examined the body last night, and said that the scent also matches the one he came across on the skyport,” Faron added.

Eldar Hamat sighed.  “From all you have told me, we are dealing with one Narrasti, and I believe it to be an adinare who is able to take the shape of a sugea” he said.  “However, the only magic that the adinare possessed in ancient times was the ability to shape change.  Obviously this one has more powers than that, as he was able to get this human through security, and perform this spell.”

“That is what these markings are?” Trey asked. “A spell?”

“Yes,” Eldar Hamat replied.  “It is difficult for me to tell, but did this man lose a lot of weight quickly?” he asked.

“Very much,” Faron replied.  “He was quite fat a few weeks ago.”

“I have seen this before,” Eldar Hamat said.  “It is a spell of the Narrasti which makes the victim much like a puppet to the caster.  It does not always work as intended.”

Garen had stepped forward to examine the body himself when Eldar Katre was finished, and now stood back so that the others could look if they wished. 

“If this man was a puppet, why then did the Narrasti risk stepping foot on Jasan?” he asked.

“From his condition, it appears he was deteriorating quite fast,” Eldar Hamat replied.  “I would imagine that he was unable to be reliably focused for more than an hour or two at a time.  The Narrasti would have had to escort him as close as possible to his victim.  Otherwise the man would have just wandered off aimlessly until he eventually died.”  Eldar Hamat paused a moment, then looked at Garen.  “Did this man have a reason to dislike you or your Arima?” he asked.

Garen nodded and explained the incident of Lariah rescuing Tiny, and his banishment of the smelly human male.  He then added the information Faron had uncovered, that the man was a bully and a tyrant.

“That tells me much,” Eldar Hamat said.  “The shape changer has magic, but he does not have strong magic, or at least, he knows not how to use what he does have.  The markings on the body are not clear.  I believe it took weeks for him to manage what he did.  Even so, he needed someone who was willing to harm you or your Arima to begin with.  Otherwise, this never would have worked.”

Garen thought about that for a moment.  Then an idea occurred to him.  “If the shape changer had approached someone who was not willing to come back and accost Lariah again, that person would have been no use to him.  Is that right?”

Eldar Hamat nodded.  “I believe so, yes,” he replied.

“I think that explains what happened to our security guard,” Garen said.  Eldar Hamat looked at him blankly.  Garen quickly explained what had happened to Lariah when she landed on Jasan, and the disappearance of her abductor, Barc Landon.

“I think that the Narrasti got him out of the cell, and then found out that the man was not willing to come back here.  So he killed him,” Garen finished.

“It sounds logical to me,” Eldar Hamat said. 

“I wonder if you might be able to help us with another puzzle we have,” Garen said. 

“I will try,” Eldar Hamat replied.

“Lariah has had a couple of incidents in which she had a foretelling of danger to herself.  But in this instance, when this man attacked her, she had no warning at all.  We find that troublesome.”

“Yes, of course,” Eldar Hamat said.  “Even though this human wanted to harm your Arima, he was not acting on his own desires.  Rather, he was a weapon that the shape changer used to attack your Arima.  But, the shape changer could not physically gain access to the property.  Such psychic abilities focus on intent, and a weapon has no intent.  Her real attacker could not come close enough to her to set off her internal warning system.”

“Ah, I see,” Garen replied.  “That makes sense.  It is a relief to know there is a reason, and what it is.”

“I am glad to have been able to solve that puzzle for you,” Eldar Hamat said.  He looked at the body again and sighed.  “We searched for signs of our own people, and for Narrasti for centuries and never found either.  Now, out of nowhere, comes this.”  He shook his head.  “As much as I would prefer to burn this and scatter the ashes to the winds, it is best that I return it to the council scientists.  Perhaps they can learn something useful from it.”

Faron pulled the stasis bag back up, covering the body and sealing it within.  The men exited the gardening shed and breathed deeply of the fresh air, all of them relieved to be away from the remains of Frith Yanger.

“Though we searched for centuries, we must now begin searching again,” Garen said.  “We now have proof that the Narrasti still exist and we must find them.  The question is, where do we begin?”

Eldar Hamat frowned thoughtfully.  “Since we have always preferred to keep our history to ourselves, we cannot simply release the news that our ancient enemy has suddenly shown up,” he pointed out.  “However, we do have many ambassadors scattered throughout the Thousand Worlds, and we are a party to many treaties.  I don’t think it would be so difficult to begin making discreet inquiries about a little known race of reptilian humanoids.”

“That is a good place to start,” Garen agreed.  “Just recently we have had the opportunity to converse with one of the top security men on Earth.  I think Trey, Val and I should contact him directly and enlist his help with this matter.  He owes us a favor.”

“What about planet security?” Faron asked.  “That a Narrasti was able to land on Jasan at all makes my hackles rise.  We must find a way to prevent further incidents such as the one that occurred yesterday.”

“That’s easy,” Val said.  All eyes flew to him but he just shrugged.  “Pater gave us the answer to that,” he reminded them.

Garen grinned, followed quickly by Trey.  Faron and the rest simply stared at them.

“For some reason our barrier prevented the Narrasti from crossing,” Val explained.  “All we need do is set up a smaller version of our barrier tower at the entrance points on the skyport and spaceport.” 

Eldar Hamat smiled.  “Yes of course, I had all but forgotten.  Narrasti magic is the opposite of our own.  Our magics repel each other.”

“Excellent,” Trey said.  “We need to set up magic barriers at every entrance point to Jasan.”

“I think we should put one around the council headquarters and the Hidden City as well,” Maxim added.

“Good idea,” Garen agreed.  “Although, it should be remembered that such barriers do not necessarily safeguard those behind them.  Don’t forget what happened to Lariah.”

All of the men nodded solemnly at the reminder.

“How is your Arima?” Eldar Hamat asked.  “I received word that she was injured quite severely, though I assume since you are all three standing here calmly that she is out of danger.”

Garen smiled.  Not even the Narrasti could dampen his happiness for long this day.

“She is quite well, Eldar Hamat” he said.  “Would you like to meet her?”

“I would indeed,” Eldar Hamat replied.  His gaze sharpened as he glimpsed something unusual peeking from the edge of Garen’s collar.  His eyes widened suddenly.  “You are soul-linked?” he asked, his voice suddenly hoarse with excitement.

Maxim, Ranim and Lonim gasped in surprise at the question, all eyes pinned on Garen as they waited anxiously for the answer.

Garen bowed, as did Trey and Val.  “We have been so honored, yes,” he replied with a grin. 

Eldar Hamat’s eyes closed and his body trembled, such was the depth of his emotion.  “At last,” he whispered.  “At long last, our people have hope.”  His eyes opened and he swallowed hard.  “Yes, I must meet your Arima, please,” he asked.

“We ask that we be allowed to meet your Arima as well,” Maxim asked formally, his voice rough with his own strong feelings. 

“It is our honor,” Trey replied formally, granting both Eldar Hamat’s and Maxim’s request.  Lariah was important to all of their people, and many would wish to meet her.  It was best that she become used to the attention gradually, with small parties like this.

Garen led the party toward the house where Jackson Bearen and his brothers were on guard duty.  Garen didn’t think they would be able to leave Lariah out of their sight without a guard for a long time to come.

As they drew nearer to the house they heard the sound of Lariah’s soft, husky laughter coming from the back garden.  Garen switched directions and entered through the back gate, noting the expression of awe on the faces of the Katres, and the knowing smiles on the faces of the Lobos. 

Garen grinned as he stepped aside so that the others could pass through the gate, turning to watch as Lariah threw a large stick across the garden for Tiny to retrieve.  The gigantic dog lumbered good naturedly across the garden, picked up the stick in his mouth, and returned it to Lariah.  In his mouth the stick looked little, though when Lariah took it from him, it looked large.  She was a stunning sight, her red-gold hair glinting as though it were throwing off sparks, her smile so bright it dimmed the sun.

She turned to them after she removed the stick from Tiny’s mouth, grimacing as she shook the slobber off of it before laughing again.  Tiny turned to watch the visitors, placing his body directly in front of Lariah, though he did not growl or bare his fangs.  Garen glanced questioningly at Faron and received a tiny nod.  Garen knew that Faron had been working with Tiny, using his own ability with animals to enforce the dog’s protective instincts as well as gaining the animal’s trust.  Faron had just confirmed that he had warned Tiny that they were coming, and that there was no need to threaten the visitors.