Beast Master's Circus

by Andre Norton

  "The coyotes are angry but healthy. The meercats are all well and prepared to be friendly. The cat is still asleep. The injuries heal. Better she sleeps now, she will heal faster," Laris reported quietly.

  Dedran permitted the corners of his mouth to curl upward. "That's good. You think the cat will eventually recover?"

  "I think she may, if she is left to herself and not distressed." That might give Surra a chance to survive if Dedran heeded. He was nodding.

  "Tell Cregar to leave her be," he ordered. "Care for her yourself." He switched to a glare. "Make no attempt to bind her to you. If I find you have, you'll regret it and she'll be samples and ash. Now get out." She bowed acknowledgment of the orders, then departed quickly and quietly rejoicing. Surra had a chance. She'd keep the cat alive in hopes that somehow Surra could return to Storm.

  Behind her eyes Prauo was there. *It is well, furless-sister. When the cat-one chooses to wake I shall aid you to speak to her.* He gave the chiming sound in her mind that was his mental chuckle. *Cat shall speak to cat. I think all shall understand each other.*

  Laris found she too was smiling as she went about readying the tigerbats. The performance over, she changed to her oldest threadbare clothing and went to look in on Surra. There was no change and Laris sighed. Her hand went up to trace the tiny cat head on her ring. Somehow she felt that it would bring them all luck. In the camps she'd learned that luck often ruled lives.

  *But more often it is determination that calls the luck, furless-sister. Be strong. I sense a change approaching.*

  *What?*

  *I know not, but I feel movement in the ways that govern lives.* He could explain no more than that. Laris wasn't sure what it meant but if Prauo was sure good might be coming, she'd hope along with him. She slept that night more peacefully than in several nights. She was up early to check the beasts. First those in open cages, then those in the hidden ones. Hing and the babies greeted her happily. The babies climbed about her person, exploring pockets in search of tidbits, while Hing sat in Laris's lap, churring a meercat's sound of pleasure as the girl scratched behind her ears.

  From the doorway Cregar grinned as he entered. That widened to an honest smile as the babies deserted Laris to rummage through his pockets and stand on his shoulders chewing mouthfuls of his hair. He stroked and scratched them as they churred approvingly.

  "Cute little lot." He sat, his face blanking as he reached out mentally. The ability had been mostly lost but he could still feel something occasionally. It was what gave him hope his gifts were not gone forever. "Too young yet to bond, but they will. A few months and they'll be ready." He eyed her. "Stay away from them. No, I don't mean physically," as she would have protested. "Feed and water them but don't try to build any bond. I know Dedran will have warned you."

  "He did."

  "Remember it." Cregar's voice was quiet and very sober. "He's got high stakes riding on this game. If you're the one to spoil it he'll see you pay, until death would be a blessing, for you and your cat both." She nodded. "Smart kid. Dedran needs you right now. If this works out he may be moved on. Then your bond runs out and if you vanish possibly no one will come looking. Dedran would never admit you'd know enough to be a danger. Until then keep your head down."

  Laris nodded again in silence as Cregar gently detached the babies and left. It bothered her how much the man saw. Had he guessed that she hoped to help Surra, or her other plan to escape?

  *It's good advice for you. I think he has come to it independently. He has grown to like you; he does not like Dedran. It would amuse him to see that one fail in some way, just so long as neither Dedran's wrath nor that of his superiors falls on Cregar.* Quite a speech for Prauo, and Laris took heed of it.

  The coyotes were still angered: by abduction, confinement, and the loss of their own human. She cared for them but made no further attempt to touch or communicate with them apart from a few soothing murmurs. They sat in a corner of the cage, eyes fixed on her, but made no overtures. She could feel their anger and understood it. She did her best to show in her movements that she meant no harm and wished only to do her work. They accepted that, moving to the cleaned part of the cage once she'd done the first half. When she left they were lying together, eyes staring at the walls.

  Surra was still motionless in her hidden cage when Laris entered. *She lies,* Prauo sent mentally. *She is awake and watching when you do not see. She remembers your scent. She is clever this one. She has made her kills and plans to live to make others. She is weak. She must mend. Until then she will lie.*

  Laris smiled at the pun. *Would she understand me?*

  *If I aid.*

  She moved up and dropped into a sitting position beside the still form. Then she opened her mind and reached out. At first she could feel nothing, only a wall between herself and the animal. Then Prauo slipped into link. Laris reached again. Now she could feel the glow of anger, the pain of wounds, the sullen determination not to yield that burned in the big cat. Prauo approved. In the back of the girl's mind he anchored her thoughts, strengthening the thread she spun out to touch. Cat eyes opened to study her. A thought formed without words, an emotion then pictures. A query.

  *Why?* Laris could see behind it the events. Logan falling, the stench of blood. Surra's fury and her charge, and then red agony, blackness. There was also a sense of disgust with herself. She was battle-wise, yet she had forgotten this. Too long from the war-trail she had reacted in rage when the human-friend had fallen. Storm would have reprimanded her for her recklessness.

  Laris understood both feelings and question. Patiently she strove to explain. She was as much captive as Surra. She would help if she could. For now the path the big cat had chosen was wise. Let old skills be recalled. Let her lie, as a predator waits at the den-mouth for prey. In time the prey will come out, the kill will be made, if only one is patient long enough. Surra did not understand time as humans did but still she asked a query which could have been translated that way.

  Laris did not know. If they waited it might be that another would find them. Free them both and the team-friends with them. They must be patient. Over and over she repeated that together with the picture of a cat which waited. The prey came when the prey came. Who could set a limit on that time?

  *Storm?* That picture was powerful. A compound of scent, sight, touch, and emotion. It could be expanded to mean: This one who is loved, trusted, who leads. Who is also equal. Laris clutched the ring in one hand. Then she gathered her will.

  *Storm searches for you.* Agreement flowed between them. Surra knew. Storm would find the path, follow it to trail's end, and none would turn him from that. Surra would wait until she was strong again. All this time she had lain limp, eyes shut. Now she opened them to stare up at the human girl. Golden eyes, fierce and determined. Eyes without the knowledge of surrender.

  And in that moment Laris knew what she had done. Perhaps it had not been by her hand. But she had stood by. If she continued to stand aside she would be responsible for events she could not accept. There was no way she could get word to Storm of where his and Laris's stolen beasts were held. But when the time came-and she was sure it would-she would be prepared. She felt her decision weigh her down. She could die if she challenged Dedran. Prauo could die.

  *I prefer to live, furless-sister.* Prauo mind-sent in response to that thought. *Let us continue to work to that end. Let the sick one sleep again. And you also, you are tired.*

  That was the truth. Laris stumbled to her bed and fell on it wearily. Yet somehow she felt good. She had made a crucial decision herself, had not had one forced on her by others. She belonged to herself still. It was a warm feeling. She reveled in it as she fell into the dark.

  Chapter Twelve

  On Arzor Logan healed slowly. The injuries had been severe and Arzor, like many of the more rural settled worlds, had little of the faster-healing technology. Storm fretted at the lack of news. Tani rode Destiny, retreating more often to the healing calm of the desert frin
ge. She was welcome in the camps of the Norbies. They knew her to be clan-friend to the Djimbut Nitra. What was good enough for the wild ones of the clans was better still for the civilized clans.

  That she wore some of the jewelry of a Thunder-talker was impressive. The items meant that while she had not received the training, she had the potential. Because of it she was welcomed also in the tents of the clan's shamen. It did not hurt that none but she or Storm could ride Destiny. The filly was three-quarters duocorn. She bonded to her rider, accepting Storm as an extension of her human friend. She had not yet accepted a stallion. It was hoped that when she did she would produce colt foals.

  This day Tani had ridden over to the Larkin ranch. Put Larkin had a small place on the edge of the basin where he sent mares due to foal. They had warmer weather and better feed than in the High Peaks, and cooler temperatures and fewer predators than on the edge of the Big Blue, as the main desert was known. Tani leaned on a fence with the middle-aged man, Destiny standing hipshot behind her, and admired the first of the still wobbly new foals.

  "From Fate?" Once she'd taken Destiny and named her, Put had been amused enough to call the filly's half-brother by a matching name.

  Put shook his head. "Nope, I don't reckon he should be used until next season when he's rising three. I used a crossbred colt I already had for the main herd. It makes them half-bloods with him and the mares both being half-duocorn. Enough to add that duocorn toughness. Not so much they bond to one person only." He grinned at her. "Not saying many riders wouldn't appreciate that. But it makes it hard for some."

  Tani knew. Not everyone wanted to teach her own mount. And what about those ranches which needed their horses to be available to any who might need a mount?

  "What about Fate and Destiny's dams?"

  "Risked him there. Just two mares wouldn't spoil him. They'll foal later. Should be interesting to see what we get. But maybe I'll have to sell them to riders as can do their own training. They'll be five-eighths duocorn. They'll likely bond. Dumaroy's already interested." He laughed softly. "That won't go down well with any Nitra horse thieves. Mounts they can't ride and which could be too dangerous to even try stealing."

  The girl agreed with that. Her filly, Destiny, had killed two men thus far. One, a Nitra who'd tried to ride her against her wishes. The other was one of the clan camp raiders who'd run into Destiny in the dark and struck out angrily to drive what he believed to be a loose horse from his path. He hadn't lived long enough to scream.

  Tani lingered, talking casually. It felt good to be here in the sunshine. She could feel her shoulders relaxing from the tense hunch they'd been in. The heat soaked through her. The foals' play made her smile. Later, the feel of Destiny's powerful body under her made her sing as they cantered for home. She missed Minou and Ferarre painfully but she'd learned to live with the loss-for the moment. She returned to an atmosphere which was tense but, as she realized in the first minutes, with information, not danger. She looked at Logan.

  "What is it?"

  "You know the raider ID came from Trastor? And there was a suggestion from Mandy's imitation of them that the raiders could be Baris and Ideena. Brightland thought they might also be on their way to Trastor." He spun it out and Tani squealed in mock rage.

  "Tell me!"

  "It seems that whatever else may or may not be right, that last bit was. They've been seen and positively ID'd there."

  She sucked in her breath. "That's wonderful. It is-isn't it?"

  "Not quite," Brad said heavily. "Trastor says that the pair have done nothing against its laws. It won't pick them up, won't hold them, won't do anything but question them politely if we insist on it." He looked at her.

  "Now Terra's gone, most planets won't let another world tell them what to do. If they believe we're trying to give them orders they'll dig their toes in and we'll learn nothing. What's more, it would put that pair on their guard and almost everyone in authority against us."

  Tani froze, her mind racing. People might well feel that way and she could accept it. But this world owed a debt. Trastor, where her father Bright Sky had died helping the people escape the invading Xik. Where he was buried with a memorial calling the whole planet to acknowledge the debt. She straightened, her face shifting into almost feral lines. The raiders had stolen Minou and Ferarre. They had tried to kill her kin, abducted Storm's team.

  "The patrol officer, Versha? She said you could go with her to Trastor. I shall go with you. I'll talk to the government. I'll tell them what they owe my blood. If they forget I'll remind them. Make a fuss, Asizi. Just in the upper levels. Give them no time to spread the news. We're to be told when we're a couple of hours out from port." Her voice was crisp and Brad blinked.

  He hadn't known his stepson's wife except as a nice young girl with beast master potential who loved Storm. He'd known her courage but forgotten that with her aunt and uncle she'd landed on many worlds. Often it had been Tani's job to order and check supplies for her kin's huge ship. To make plain to the suppliers that she would not be cheated or ignored because of her youth. He was hearing the voice she saved for such times and it startled him.

  Storm gave his stepfather one of his rare smiles. "As Tani says. Tell the government we'd like cooperation." His smile turned into an intent expression signaling danger to any who saw it. "If they can't see their way to that, I may find and speak to this Baris myself."

  Brad winced. Baris wasn't likely to survive that experience intact and the Trastor peacekeepers wouldn't approve. He said so, to receive in turn a flat blank look. Right now Storm didn't give a damn. Nor did Tani, or Logan-who was demanding to be permitted passage as well. Brad turned to deal with that.

  "You still need to rest."

  Logan eyed him. "I can. It's two weeks to Trastor even on a patrol courier ship. I'll spend the weeks taking it easy. By the time I arrive I'll be fit to get about." He caught Tani's attention and looked imploringly at her; he had no wish to remain behind but his father might object. Tani understood his plea, responding by nudging Storm, who nodded.

  "Let him come, Asizi. He saw the raiders face-to-face. He can verify that under probe if need be. If he identifies this Baris and Ideena we can put in an arrest warrant with proof to hold them. Versha would back that with patrol status. Once the patrol has them they'll probe. We find what they did with Surra and the others. Logan files charges of theft, assault, breaking and entering, and anything else we can legitimately bring. We may find out then who took the beasts and why. I doubt it was this pair-they seemed more interested in loot. Maybe the third one who was with them was responsible. But these two were only guns for hire, if what their world says is correct."

  Brad threw up his hands. "Who runs two ranches while you three go galloping off halfway across the known worlds?"

  "You, the same as always," was his younger son's retort. Logan laughed. "I'm no use to you in bed anyhow. Besides which, I ride for the rangers most of the time. Kelson's the one complaining about my being useless right now. By the time I get back I'll have recovered enough to start riding again. As for Tani, did you ever seriously think Storm would go alone when part of her team is out there somewhere as well?"

  "Not really. All right. So I don't get any work out of the three of you for several months. You'd better come back in good health. I can't afford to hire new hands." Tani saw beneath the assumed gruffness and flew to him, hugging him hard.

  "Don't worry. We'll be fine. I'll look after these two. They'll look after me. Was there any more news or is that it?"

  "Not exactly news." He turned to glance at Logan. "This is about that nice child from the circus. I promised I'd see what I could find from the camps about her."

  Logan looked up sharply. "You found something?"

  "A few minor items. She came from the De Pyall camp on Kowar. She was able to tell me approximately the date she was transported there. I checked incoming traffic for that time frame. She got there on the old Sally Ann, and I managed to connect to the capta
in. Still the same man and he has records. Not great ones but enough to say that the load she came in with were from the main De Pyall camp on Meril as she'd thought." Brad snorted.

  "He copied me everything he had and you've never read such a mess. Barely half on computer, the rest on paper with portions crossed out, written over, then written over again. I've accessed those lists for Meril though. They have her on one. No real information. Still alone. No record of where she came from to Meril. I think she said her mother died at a camp farther back. But they do have the girl listed quite clearly on Meril. Somehow they lost most of the name in the next transit. She's only listed as 'Laris' on Kowar. But for Meril she's Shallaris Trehannan."

  "Sounds like an English name," Tani commented. "The Trehannan bit anyhow."

  "So I think. But Meril is quite sure that none of those refugees came from Terra. Which may mean either her family had lived elsewhere for a while, or that she'd been transferred in from yet another of the camps. Since she's sure she started out with her mother, there must have been at least one previous move. I think there may have been a number. They seem to have shuttled some of those poor damned refugees all over half the systems during the war." His face went bleak.