thefiremargins (71 page)

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Unusually, it was Kusac who dreamed that night. At first he was only aware of the darkness around him. Gradually the faint noise grew, rising till it surrounded him, sounding like the quiet breathing of some huge sleeping beast. Growing louder, a new tone began to emerge— a gentle whistling that gained strength until it reached the point of a full-blown howling.
His hair, caught by the force of the blast, was whipped over his face, into his eyes, making him blink. He turned his face into the wind, letting it tug the wayward strands back. Cold was penetrating through his borrowed coat, touching him with its icy fingers as the wind gusted round him, making him sway with its rhythm.
The darkness was suddenly lightened as the twin moons swam out from behind the clouds. By their reflected light, he could see his surroundings.
"What are you thinking of?" a quiet voice asked him from behind.
"Them," he said. "My people. Those out there, beyond the moons. They're fighting our battle, one they must win, yet when they do, it'll condemn them to death or permanent exile. They'll never return home."
"They knew that before they left, Vartra," said Zylisha, joining him. "My sister and her Leska went willingly, as did all the telepaths."
"I should be out there with them on the plains, not kept here out of harm's way!" There was anger in his voice.
"To what purpose? So you can be killed? No, we need you alive, Vartra. The people look to you, you have to live if we're going to succeed!"
"I've got no choice, have I?" He turned and pointed out three dark shapes. "They guard me like a prisoner!"
He lapsed into silence again, staring out across the forest to the plains beyond. In the distance, they could see sporadic flares of light and hear the sounds of explosions coming from the city of Khalma.
"Even I felt it begin," he said. "The signal came like a wave, gathering strength as it rushed toward us from space."
"I know," she said, holding onto his arm and pressing herself close to his side for comfort. "We all felt it." A small silence. "I thought I felt my sister's presence, and Rezac."
"I wouldn't know," he said morosely. "I'm not a telepath, only a sensitive at best." Then he thought of her. "Likely you did, Zylisha," he said, freeing his arm to put it round her shoulders. "Likely you did. They were the ones who had to give the signal to attack, after all."
From their left, the comparative silence was shattered by a deafening explosion. They swung round to look.
"The battle's been joined at Nazule," she said.
All around them now, the night was filled with the sound of dulled explosions and flares.
"Leave the fighting to those who know how," said Zylisha. "Finding people willing to fight and die for freedom from the Valtegans was easy. Finding a leader capable of taking us from the ruins and rebuilding us into a free nation once more, isn't."
"How many of us will survive?" he demanded. "I can do nothing if all the telepaths die! We need their talents to convince the survivors not to degenerate into looters and bandits! I'm only a figurehead, Zylisha, I can't do anything by myself— except send people out to die!"
She tugged gently on his arm. "We must go in. I can sense reports of Valtegans taking to the air. We're sitting targets out here."
He let her pull him round toward the monastery, then stopped dead. "Look!" he said, pointing upward. "What's happening? Isn't that the Valtegan warship?"
In the night sky, a point of silver light shot toward the smaller moon, disappearing behind it. Moments later, a faint glow began to build until its light paled that cast by either moon.
"Tiernay sends that it was the Valtegan warship. The Leska telepaths on board couldn't take control and it crashed. All on board died."
"Dr. Vartra," a male voice said from behind them. "We need you below now. We've been warned to expect aerial attacks."
"I'm coming, Goran," he said, turning again and walking toward the monastery entrance.
They climbed the steps into the building, passing through the heavy wooden doors, then through the crimson curtain into the shrine itself. Ahead of them, the draft their entrance caused gusted smoke from the braziers to either side of the God's statue. The bowl of Living Fire in His hands flared, making shadows dance on the walls.
"Varza'll drink deep of those damned lizards' blood tonight," said Goran with satisfaction as he slung his rifle over his shoulder.
His vision seemed to blur, and feeling momentarily dizzy, he stopped, swaying on his feet. "He'll drink deep of Sholan blood, too!" he said as around him the shrine, the God— all seemed to fade.
Kusac was chilled to the bone and the blanket that was laid around his shoulders was welcome. Above in the clear winter sky, the two moons shone down on the balcony where he stood. He frowned, studying the smaller one. Something was different about it.
"Kusac, come in," said Carrie, touching his arm. "It's bitterly cold and you're frozen."
He hardly heard her, so intense was his concentration on the moon. Further along the balcony, another door slid open. Kaid stood there looking down toward them. Then he, too, looked up.
"The shape has changed," Kusac said. "The warship hit the moon and damaged it. The explosion would have blown chunks of rock and dirt into space."
"The Cataclysm," said Kaid, coming toward them. He stopped several feet away.
Kusac frowned, turning his head to look at him. "What?"
"A chunk of debris from the explosion must have hit Shola."
"The Cataclysm," said Carrie. "A time of fire and flood when the sky itself was on fire. It fits."
"It's what Fyak preaches," said Kaid.
"We both sensed your dream," said Carrie. "Now we know what happened."
"We know more," said Kusac. "We know exactly where we're going, and when."
"When?" she asked.
"We must arrive on the night of my dream, before the rocks hit Shola," said Kaid. "Once they do, all hell's going to break out. The debris thrown up could cause a cloud of dust to encircle the planet for months, if not longer. If it hits the sea, which sounds likely given the quotes about flooding, you'll have massive tidal waves, and earthquakes. The world they knew will cease to exist. They'll have to rebuild almost from scratch, probably without any advanced technology."
Kusak began to shiver. "Will you ask Dzaka in the morning to find out what he can about such a disaster? None of us should be out here any longer."
"I'll ask him," said Kaid, turning to walk back to his room. "Good night."
"Good night," said Carrie.

CHAPTER 19

Vanna was in the lab with Jack when Garras arrived back. "Hello there," she said, as he came over to her. "Did everything go well? How are your family?"
"Fine, to all your questions," he said. "I see we've got two sects of Touibans with us."
"You met them?"
"It wasn't me they were interested in. It was the Terrans!" His mouth opened in a slight grin. "They didn't know what to make of them. Why are they here?"
"We got the steel door in the upper cavern open," she said. "They were brought in to try and get the information off some ancient computer data recording disks we found. And, more important, Kaid's back on the estate."
"I know. Ni'Zulhu told me when I flew in. How are the Terrans getting on?" he asked in an effort to change the topic. Looking around, he grabbed the nearest stool to sit on.
"Fine. Garras, don't you want to know how Kaid is?"
He sighed inwardly. She wasn't going to let it go. Now he knew that Kaid was safe, the hurt over his lack of trust throughout all the long years of their friendship had returned. "How is he?"
"Oh, he's fine now," interrupted Jack. "He's recuperating over at the house with Carrie and Kusac. It's just a matter of time. I believe Dzaka's there, too."
"They resolved their differences then?"
"I believe so, Garras."
"Jack!" said Vanna.
"Not now, lass," he said. "Maybe you'd look at this, Garras," he said, holding out the collar with its broken piece of green stone still set into it. "Kaid found this collar in the lock-releasing panel for that steel door in the upper chamber," he said, putting the collar down on the bench. "This stone has some remarkable properties. It's resinous and formed from the sap of a plant— possibly an off-world plant. The stone and the drug both have psychotropic properties. When an electrical current is passed across the stone, or it's broken, it releases as a vapor the chemical trapped within it. That acts as a pacifier to any Sholan wearing the collar. Makes them lethargic, that kind of thing. As for the sap, its narcotic properties seem to allow the user to either teleport or bi-locate."
"Excuse me?"
"This stone," Jack said, picking up a small, sealed culture dish, "we grew from a sample of the drug Ghezu administered to Kaid." He placed the dish in front of Garras. "And that's the drug," he said, tapping the rack in which the almost empty phial of emerald green liquid sat. "We think it might be responsible for him being able to physically visit Carrie at the Shrine while he was actually in Stronghold."
Garras reached for the rack, lifting it up to examine the phial closely. "Is this the original phial?" he asked.
"Yes. Why?" asked Vanna.
"I've seen one like this before," he said. "I can't remember where. Give me a minute," he said, putting it down. "I'm sure it'll come back to me. That red banding round the top is quite distinctive."
"The stone doesn't affect us," said Jack. "I'm running comp simulation tests on the drug now to find out if we're also immune to it."
"Makes sense," he said. "Vanna, can you find out if we get any drugs from off-system companies? Not necessarily Sholan drugs."
"That's not a problem. I'll call the medical center at the guild. They'll have the details there."
Garras got up from his stool. "I'm heading home," he said to Vanna, reaching out to touch her cheek. "I want some breakfast. I didn't eat before I left."
"Aren't you going to call on Kaid?" she asked.
"Later," he said, turning to leave. He stopped by Marak's carrier to check on him on his way out. "He looks peaceful enough," he said.
"Little jegget should be!" said Vanna, watching him. "He kept me up most of last night!"
"See if Rrai's mother will watch him tonight," he said before leaving.
He'd just gotten outside when he stopped dead as he felt the familiar touch of Kaid's mind, a touch far stronger than any he'd felt before.
I owe you an explanation, Garras. Will you come and listen to it?
The shock he felt rendered him incapable of replying, and as if in a daze, he turned and headed for the villa.
Dzaka met him at the door. "It's the Liege and Liegena's Link day," he said. "My father's upstairs. He's in the suite opposite the staircase. I left the door open, you can't miss it," he said.
"Father now, is it?" Garras asked.
Dzaka's ears flicked selfconsciously a couple of times but his eyes were steady as they regarded him.
"Yes, it's Father when we're not on duty. Because we both want it that way."
Garras nodded, then turned away and headed for the stairs.
Kaid was still in bed with his arm in a sling, he noticed as he stood at the bedroom doorway. An easy chair had been placed close to the bed for him to use.
"Thank you for coming," said Kaid, opening his eyes and pushing himself up against the pillows.
"Since when did you become a telepath?" Garras asked as he came over.
"I found out for sure two days ago. Carrie told me."
"Carrie did?" He raised an eye ridge, curious despite himself.
Kaid touched the remote unit set into the arm rest at the side of the bed. The outer and inner doors closed.
"We go back a long way, Garras. Let me tell it my way."
"Go on," he said. He sat down and listened while Kaid told him.

* * *

"If I'd told you at the time who Dzaka was, I could have placed your life in danger too," Kaid finished. "After you left, there was no point in telling you."
"And your refusal to be the third member of the Triad was due to that forced rapport with Khemu?"
"Yes. It ... she ... Carrie had become too ... important to me to risk that happening with her," Kaid replied, unable to meet Garras' eyes.
"Had become?"
"The Triad's complete now, and before you ask, yes, it did happen with her."
"What did she do?"
"Showed me how to prevent it happening again." He looked up. "Do you remember when we told Kusac and Vanna why I was on the
Khalossa?
How Vanna reacted to your profession? Imagine that all you are and have been, everything you've ever done, was suddenly forced into Vanna's mind by yours, and you couldn't stop it happening. That's what I did to her, and to Khemu."
Garras couldn't prevent a shudder running through him at the thought. "Vartra's bones, Kaid, no wonder you were afraid of it happening again! So how does that leave you with Carrie? I'm not blind: I know you too well. I can see what she means to you."
"The one thing I'd forgotten was what made all the difference. She's not a Sholan Telepath who feels too much pain if she's near violence. It should have been obvious to me."
"With how you were feeling about her?" snorted Garras. "I've never seen you like that over a female. Wanting her so much and terrified to go near her at the same time!"
"It must have been quite amusing," he said dryly.
Garras leaned forward to put his hand on Kaid's. "No. Far from it. I wish I could have helped. Don't get me wrong, that wasn't a complaint. I would have done the same as you in the circumstances. And I understand your fears for Dzaka. You did what you thought right, I can't fault you for that."
Kaid turned his hand to clasp Garras'. "It was never lack of trust in you," he began, but Garras cut him short.
"Enough. It's in the past, leave it there." He gripped Kaid's hand again before withdrawing it from his clasp. "So what's the state of things between you and Carrie now?"
"Whatever we want to make of it," he said. "She's got what it takes to be one of the Brotherhood, I'll say that for her— so's Kusac."
"We knew that already."
"It only needed us to be together once, Garras. Now our minds have been joined, I can reach her easily."
"How does she feel about you?"
"I didn't ask."
Garras felt his confusion. "I expect you told Kusac that."
"Well, yes," he began.
Garras sat back in his seat with a noise of disgust. "Was that it? Just one pairing? Was that
all
you wanted?"
"Of course not!" he snapped. "What do you take me for?"
"A fool. If you won't ask her for yourself, I damned well will!"
"You damned well won't!" said Kaid, taking hold of the covers to throw them aside.
"Stay put," said Garras, reaching forward to prevent him getting up. "You need to rest. All I'm trying to say is this isn't only your decision. You haven't the right to make it alone. You have to ask her what she wants. You're always saying how Sholan she is, so why deny her the Sholan right to choose for herself? Unless, of course, she behaved in such a way as to show you she didn't want to be with you again."
"You're too damned clever at times for your own good, Garras," Kaid grumbled, relaxing back against his pil-lows. "You always were. No, she didn't. She behaved as if she were taking me as her lover, but she isn't Sholan! I can't assume she knew what signals she was giving me."
Garras gave him a long look before he spoke. "How long has she been with Kusac? Do you really think she's that naive? Stop kidding yourself. Ask her."
"All right, I will!"
"Good. Now do you mind telling me how you've managed to be a Telepath and fight? And how did you manage to survive what Fyak and Ghezu did to you? Any normal telepath would have been long since dead!"
"I've no idea, Garras. Right from the start I always had to fight for everything. I suppose I just got used to it. After the Brotherhood took me in, my training would have reinforced those childhood lessons."
"Sounds plausible, I suppose. Now, how about bringing me up to date on what happened yesterday? Vanna mentioned that you got the door open, and Jack showed me that collar, and the drug Ghezu gave you."
"They've got some of the drug? How much is left?"
"Virtually none. Why?"
"Damn! I need more of it. I've got some tests of my own I want to run on it."
"Vanna's checking at the guild medical center for suppliers of off-world drugs, Sholan or others. I recognized the band round the phial, but I couldn't remember where from."
"What was it like?"
"Red, with gold wavy lines on it."
"Chemerian," he said. "Definitely. Their authorities are trying to trace a black market trade in certain drugs, so they're labeling their legal ones very distinctively. I suspect they come from their undisclosed new trade area where the Valtegans sold four Sholan captives several months ago."
"This is news to me. Where the hell did you get that information from?"
Kaid grinned. "One of my sources. There's more. The world's called Jalna, and the Chemerians trade there with several species for items they describe as "species-specific." There's a recon unit on the planet now. Three Terrans. Jo and Davies from Keiss, and a Terran telepath."
"They've sent Terrans? Why?"
"The Jalnians look like them. They've gone down to investigate a Valtegan craft which apparently dropped something on the surface before it crashed while attempting to take off."
"So where do the four Sholans come in?"
"They don't, this time around. They were sold as slaves in the spaceport. The next expedition will be going down to get them out. They're planning to send Kusac and Carrie, but they haven't told them that yet!"
"Nice of them," growled Garras. "I take it that Carrie's pregnancy put their plans out a little."
"It did. That's why Kusac's on semi-active duty now. He's being trained up for the mission."
"Don't you think you should tell them?"
"No. The Fire Margins and their cub are enough for them to be concerned with for now."
Garras nodded. "You're right," he said.
"Going back to the drug, what Ghezu used on me isn't the same as what Fyak uses for his trances when he communicates with this Kezule. Apparently Ghezu got it when he was obtaining supplies for Fyak. I think it was responsible for me going to the Shrine, and back to the time of the Cataclysm."
"You're getting ahead of yourself, Kaid. All of what you're talking about is news to me."
"Wait. There's a Chemerian merchant trading in Valsgarth. Can you go to him— take the phial with you— and see if he recognizes it? And try to ... encourage him to obtain at least another two doses."
"I can do that. Now, for the God's sake, tell me the news!"