thefiremargins (2 page)

CHAPTER 1

As Kusac opened the door to the staff lounge, he caught the tail end of their conversation.
"You gave him the right to decide, Kaid," Rulla was saying. "No one made him choose Stronghold." Hearing the door open, he looked up.
Kaid sat at the table reassembling his rifle.
"What's going on?" Kusac asked, watching Rulla's eyes flick from him back to Kaid.
"Everything's under control, Liegen," Kaid replied blandly, snapping the power pack into place. "There's nothing for you to be concerned about."
Kusac could feel the tension in the room. Something wasn't right. He shut the door behind him, mentally scanning Rulla's surface thoughts. "Where's Vanna?" he demanded. "I know this concerns her. Where is she?"
"She's paying a brief visit to Stronghold," replied Kaid, getting up and turning to face him. "I'm on my way to collect her now."
"Stronghold? What in the name of all the Gods is she doing visiting there at this time of night?"
"That's what I intend to find out," said Kaid, his voice grim as he picked up his rifle. "I'm afraid one of my people took her there." He walked toward Kusac, stopping in front of him, obviously waiting for him to step aside.
"I'm going with you," said Rulla, getting up and moving over to join him.
"No, you're not," said Kaid, throwing a glance at him over his shoulder. "You could be concussed after that blow on the head. You'll remain here. I'm going alone." He looked back at Kusac. "Excuse me, Liegen."
Kusac shook his head. "I want to know what's going on. Who hit Rulla? Vanna's been kidnapped, hasn't she?"
"You can't go alone," insisted Rulla. "It could be a ruse on Ghezu's part to get
you
to Stronghold."
Kaid snorted in disgust.
Kusac could feel himself getting angry. "No one's leaving here till I know exactly what's going on!"
"Liegen, I haven't got time for this now," said Kaid, his ears giving the faintest flick of annoyance. "It's already over an hour since Vanna was taken."
Kusac leaned back against the door. "Then you'd better tell me now why Stronghold's suddenly so interested in Vanna— and us." He watched Kaid's eyes narrow as the other male sized him up. "Remember your oath," he said quietly.
"I don't need you to remind me, my Liege." Kaid's voice was emotionless now. "You have your Leska to look after. She's still very weak."
"Dammit, Kaid!" Now he was really angry. "You two woke me with all the mental noise you were making, and that despite the psychic damper in our room! Luckily Carrie's still sedated. Vanna's one of my people— as are you. I want to know what's happened, and I want to know now!"
"I haven't the time, Liege. T'Chebbi's waiting outside in the aircar." Kaid's tone was equally implacable.
Abruptly Kusac reached behind him and pulled the door open. "Then tell me on the way." He turned and headed down the corridor toward the side exit that led to his family's private vehicle park.
He'd barely taken half a dozen steps when he heard the sound of feet behind him and his left arm was grasped firmly.
Trying to bite back the yelp of pain that rose to his lips, he turned round, his good arm unconsciously going up to cradle the wounded one.
"Liege, you can't go," said Kaid. "You're injured. I did no more than touch you and you're gray with pain. You'd be a liability to me."
"Liege is it now, Kaid?" Kusac kept his tone light as he attempted to move away from his bodyguard. "Then release me, and stop wasting more time."
"Yes, it's Liege now, since you chose to remind me of my oath." His eyes flicked across Kusac's face. "What the hell's got into you?" he demanded. "This isn't like you at all."
"Maybe not," replied Kusac, breathing more rapidly to try and ease the pain from his shoulder. "You told us it was over, that the last assassin was dead, and now we find that we still have enemies. It's time we started not only looking after ourselves, but also our friends. Carrie and I've faced death too often recently, Kaid. It doesn't hold any fears for either of us anymore. We won't hide behind you or anyone else again."
"It's not that simple, Liege." Kaid let go of his arm. "This may be why Dzaka took Vanna to Stronghold— to flush you out and bring you there after her. Particularly as he knew you'd spent the night together."
"Then we'd best not keep them waiting." Kusac turned again toward the exit.
"Liege! I can't protect you
and
fetch Vanna back!" His tone was exasperated.
"Rulla," Kusac said over his shoulder, "How's your head?"
"I'll survive, Liegen," said Rulla.
"Good. You'll accompany us."
"Yes, Liegen," came the satisfied reply.
Kaid let out a low rumble of anger as he stepped yet again in front of Kusac. "You still don't understand. If I arrive at Stronghold accompanied by you, Rulla, and T'Chebbi, it'll mean a showdown that we can't afford at this time."
Kusac stopped again, staring Kaid straight in the eyes. "A showdown, Kaid?" He cocked one ear forward. "Why should there be a showdown because I arrive with an escort to collect my friend Vanna?"
"Vanna didn't go voluntarily."
"I gathered that when you mentioned Rulla had been hit on the head," said Kusac dryly. "When I left her a couple of hours ago, Vanna had no intention of going anywhere but the Guild. I can also tell you that she's probably unconscious, in a shielded area, or they've given her a psychic suppressant. What else should I know, Kaid? How about telling me why Stronghold's so interested in us."
Kaid's eyes narrowed again. "Very well, Liege," he said abruptly, moving aside and drawing Kusac forward by his good arm. "The Brotherhood wants to get full guild status. To do this, they need to recruit you and any other mixed Leska pairs. They have the facilities and staff to train you there."
"Why would the Brotherhood have facilities for telepaths?" Then realization dawned. "The missing talents!" Kusac stopped in his tracks and looked at Kaid with the beginnings of understanding.
Kaid nodded.
"You're the people the Telepath Guild has missed— the ones with the minor Talents!"
"Some of us have more than a minor Talent, Liegen," said Rulla mildly. "We just aren't telepaths."
"All along, the Brotherhood's been gathering in those people. Why, Kaid?"
"That's what we are," said Kaid. "Every one of us."
"Every one of you? Then telepaths who can fight aren't new."
"Yes,
you
are," said Kaid. "That's why Stronghold wants you. They have no telepaths among their active members."
"They want to recruit us?"
"You and Carrie— perhaps. Vanna and Brynne, definitely. They think they can control them more easily than you."
Kusac gave a short, derisory laugh. "They don't know Vanna!"
"No, they don't," said Kaid, his mouth opening in the ghost of a smile.
"Dzaka is the one who took Vanna to Stronghold," said Rulla.
"He'll regret it," said Kaid, his voice barely audible.
Kusac gave himself a small shake, trying to dispel the chill Kaid's comment had caused. He started walking again.
"Stronghold wants full guild status so they can challenge the Telepath Guild's power in the World Council," said Kaid. "They can't achieve guild status unless they can prove they have a skill that is unique to them."
"Us."
Kaid grunted in reply as they emerged into the cold predawn air of the park. An aircar, its engine gently humming, was waiting for them. He passed his rifle to Rulla, clambering into the pilot's seat that T'Chebbi had just vacated.
Kusac joined him in the front, leaving Rulla to accompany T'Chebbi in the rear passenger area.
"I won't be used by the Brotherhood any more than by the Telepath Guild," said Kusac in a low voice as Kaid took off, heading northwest for the Dzahai Mountains.
"I know, but the Brotherhood mustn't realize that yet," said Kaid, equally quietly.
Kusac looked thoughtfully at him. He touched the edges of Kaid's mind with the usual result: a quiet stillness. Carrie was the only one who really sensed Kaid, and then only on their Link days when their abilities were enhanced. Now, thank Vartra, she was asleep, but her help would have been useful.
"You can't break formally with the Telepath Guild unless you have the protection of Stronghold," said Kaid. "Esken won't tolerate it; he can't afford to. If you still intend to follow the path of En'Shalla, you need to buy time, to wait until Carrie's recovered. It's dangerous enough when you're healthy."
"I know," said Kusac, his tone short. Putting their lives in the hands of Gods he barely believed in and certainly didn't trust would not be an easy step for him to take.
"If you turn down Stronghold's offer, you'll be placing my people in a dangerous position."
"Explain."
"If you refuse Ghezu and Lijou, they'll recall all the Brotherhood members I've got guarding you," said Kaid, banking to the right to compensate for the gusting wind.
"The threat to our lives is over now though, isn't it, Kaid? Surely we don't need so many people."
"I think we do. Let's just say I prefer being overcautious. Also several of them wish to break from the Brotherhood and join you and your people. If they're recalled, they'll have to disobey Stronghold and we aren't ready for that yet."
"The showdown you were discussing. I don't understand why they'd want to join us in the first place."
"Because of Kaid," said Rulla, leaning forward. "You only know one side of him. Before he was 'retired' from the Brotherhood, he had quite a following, especially when it came time to elect the new Leader."
"Enough, Rulla," said Kaid sharply, banking the vehicle against the wind and causing them all to clutch their seats.
Kusac turned to look not only at Kaid but at Rulla as the other male picked himself up from the floor. "You were a contender for Leadership of the Brotherhood?" Already he was reassessing his opinion of Kaid. A lot of things were beginning to fall into place.
"I was chosen," Kaid admitted reluctantly. "It's part of my life that belongs in the past. Rulla and others won't let me forget it. I think they're fools to risk their lives with us, but they're entitled to make their own choices. That's why it's wiser to agree to the Brotherhood's offer for the time being, until you're ready to step outside the guild system. That way you can break publicly from the Telepath Guild with the protection of the Brotherhood, who can then claim what they want— full guild status."
"They give us their protection in return for our support in breaking Esken's hold on the World Council," said Kusac.
"As you say. He's using fear of himself and his Telepath Guild to coerce the weaker Council members to vote his way. They're too afraid to speak up against him, and those who do have an idea of what's happening can't prove it."
"What about my father? He can't know anything about this. I know fear wouldn't stop him speaking out against Esken."
Kaid looked at him briefly. "I assume he knows nothing. The Council members Esken controls presume all the senior telepaths are involved. They aren't going to risk their lives by asking one to find out."
"By all the Gods, Kaid, if this is true it mustn't be allowed to continue! How could Esken claim he was afraid of us abusing our Talents when he behaves like this? What of Governor Nesul? Where does he fit into this?"
Kaid flicked his ears in a shrug. "Like the others, he can do nothing. Who'd believe him? Telepaths are vital to every level of life. No one could afford the chaos that would result if this came to light. No, Ghezu and Lijou's solution is the best. They have enough on Esken to play him at his own game. Remember, the majority of telepaths, even those in senior positions, are ignorant of what's happening. Most of Esken's manipulation is at the Council level."
"How did you find all this out?"
"I keep my ears open, and I have my contacts," he said.
"You must have," said Rulla. "Even I didn't know this."
"I've always hated politics," muttered Kusac, sitting back in his seat.
"You are the politics," said Kaid. "You and your Leska, along with Vanna and Brynne and the others like you, are the heart of this matter. With you as Telepath Guild members, Esken has what he's never had before. A private army, guild-bound to him, and the rest of the Council will know it. He'll be able to play his power games on a scale he never dreamed of before. The military? 'Sorry, my Telepath pairs aren't ready to be freed from their Guild commitments yet, however ...' Use them, Kusac, instead of letting them use you."
"I get your point," sighed Kusac.

* * *

Meral stood safely out of reach at the foot of Garras' bed before pulling back the covers. Cautiously, he reached out to draw a claw tip along the pads on the sole of the sleeper's foot. The resultant kick just missed him as Garras landed in a crouch nearby.
"It's me, Meral," he said.
Garras straightened up. "What is it?" he asked, keeping his voice low as he cycled his side arm back to standby.
"I woke early so I went for a walk. There's a scouter in the main yard, one from the estate. The scents were fresh, and I'm pretty sure one of them was Vanna's."
"Vanna's? What the hell's she doing here?" Perplexed, Garras wrinkled his nose.
"I don't know. I didn't try to find her, I came straight back to tell you. I don't think anyone saw me."
"You did well," said Garras, turning to grab his jacket and belt from the chair. "Let's check it out. Remember the mental exercises I taught you. Keep your mind as still as possible. There're several people here capable of picking us up, and if it is Vanna, then Lijou will be awake."
They padded silently down the corridor, keeping in the shadows until they reached the main staircase. Garras held Meral back. "Remember, if we meet anyone, I'm taking you on an early morning training session."
Meral nodded and, trying not to clench his feet against the sudden cold of the stone stairs, followed Garras as silently as he could.

* * *

Dzaka's head came up suddenly and he looked toward the large curtain-covered window. "We're being watched, Father Lijou," he said.
Lijou looked over in his direction, raising an eye ridge.
"Two males," Dzaka said, shaking his head. "Their minds are too still to pick up any emotions."
"Kaid." Ghezu said the word like it was an oath.
"Not Kaid," said Lijou. "There hasn't been time, and Dzaka would know him." He turned to Vanna, feeling a flare from her mind. "Garras?" He turned back to Dzaka. "Is Garras here?"
Dzaka flicked his ears in assent. "He brought a male called Meral to enroll him in the Brotherhood."
"So, I have ex-Brothers sponsoring new members, have I?" Ghezu noticed Vanna's slight movement from the corner of his eye. "I think not, Physician," he said, turning to her. "You'll remain here for the moment. Dzaka, bring Garras and Meral here, if you please," he said.
"Immediately, Leader Ghezu," he said, bowing his head toward him before going to the door.
"Physician Kyjishi," said Lijou, returning to his chair beside Ghezu's desk. "Let's go over what you told us about these Valtegans."
Vanna leaned forward across the desk. "I want to know when you're going to let me return to the Aldatan estate," she said angrily. "I've told you what I know. When Kusac and his parents realize I'm missing, they'll be far from pleased!"
"But that's what I'm waiting for, Vanna," said Ghezu. "I want Kusac here. Since you refuse to join us without discussing the matter with him," he said, spreading his hands expressively, "we must wait for him to come to you."
"That's why you had me brought here!" she said. "You aren't interested in me, it was Kusac you wanted all along!"
"Could Kusac have identified the bones?" asked Lijou. "I doubt it. We needed you to do that. The fact that we only have to sit and wait for Kusac to arrive as well is a bonus."
"And if he doesn't come?"
"Oh, he will, my dear," purred Ghezu. "He will."