A Year and a Day

by Gail Daley

  Two days later They reached the second Station on the route, Angel Hair Falls Station. The couple who ran it, Jordan and Mia, already had their wagon packed, and had made a gather of the long-haired sheep and goats being watched and kept bunched up by the herding dogs. Angel Hair Falls also had a large flock of the huge multi-colored flightless birds, which still needed to be gathered for the trip. The birds could be found making a colorful display in the trees above the camp. Ostamus were highly prized for their colorful feathers used for hats and clothing and their spicy meat. Their DNA had been adapted from several large breeds of birds from Old Earth and the first colonists had nicknamed them Otsamus. The birds were mean-tempered, territorial and notoriously hard to drive, thanks to the long razor edged talons on their feet, which they weren’t shy about using when they were displeased. Most bird wranglers used the stunning end of the Force Wand as an incentive to make the birds move in the direction wanted. It helped to have feeders filled with birdseed attached to the back of a cart. The cart traveled slowly enough for the birds to snatch a few bites as it moved. At night, a portable stinger fence would be erected around them to keep them from wandering away.

  The herds of goats and sheep from both Stations were mostly handled by Mia the head wrangler with the aid of herding dogs. The flocks were accustomed to being moved from pasture to pasture.

  As the day wore on, Katherine was bothered for some time with the feeling they were being watched. In the hustle and bustle of the day, it was hard to locate the source of her ill feeling. It was enough, however, to keep her moving around and check constantly on her kids.

  That evening, Katherine set up an informal training session on how to load, aim and fire the Pulse rifles using the skill of one of Zack’s unit he had left with them.

  This wasn’t enough to dispel her unease and the next morning just at the edge of dawn, she rose early and walked out above the camp to find a quiet spot where she could be undisturbed. Sitting down, she centered herself and opened her third eye, seeking for hostile watcher along their route. The ability to feel emotions at a distance was not a skill often needed, but Katherine had been trained in the technique at the Dragon Talker Center. At first, she only sensed the normal dawn emanations of wild hunters and their prey, but faintly, along the edge of her perception, she located Zack and his fighters. The feeling of being watched was stronger to the Northeast, but it was too faint for her to identify the source. However, since they would be moving South and West away from it as they traveled she wasn’t particularly worried about it.

  "What are you doing?”

  She opened her eyes to find Juliette, Rupert and Lucinda watching her. "I'm using my third eye to check for a hostile presence,” she answered calmly.

  "What’s a third eye?” asked Lucinda.

  "A third eye is what sensitives use when we reach out with our psychic senses.”

  "Can anyone use it?” Lucinda asked.

  "Unless they’ve deadened it by refusing to believe in it, they can. Most humans have it to some extent, some more developed than others. It takes a little concentration and training to learn to use it. However, children can usually tap into it easier than adults.”

  She patted the ground beside her. "Come, sit here and I’ll give you a quick lesson before we leave,” she said. Obediently, the three down sat facing her.

  "I need you to relax and breathe as I tell you,” she instructed. "Close your eyes and try to concentrate on hearing and smelling everything around you.”

  "Don’t open your eyes and tell me what you hear.”

  "The camp,” said Lucinda.

  "The horses, birds, the wind and—rustling in the rocks above us,” Juliette answered.

  "There’s something—" Rupert began, "I don’t really hear it, it’s more I feel it over there,” she gestured off to the North.

  Juliette concentrated, "Yes! I can feel it too. It’s not angry, just—watchful.”

  "I can feel it now too,” cried Lucinda.

  "Fantastic, children! For a first time, that is excellent,” Katherine exclaimed. "We'll practice some more every morning. For now, though, let’s get mounted and head back down to camp.”

  That night, Katherine lay in the darkness waiting for sleep to come, listening to the night and to the sounds of her children as they drifted off to sleep. Her children. So much had happened to her in the last few months. She had a new husband; she was now the mother of five half-grown children. most wonderful of all she had tumbled into love with Zack. While he gave every evidence of returning her love, he had yet to say so. She hadn’t either told him either, she reminded herself. Maybe he was as unsure of her feelings as she was of his?

  The night wasn't freezing and the heating crystals kept the tent warm, but she missed Zack's solid warmth beside her in the sleeping bag. Zack was passionate in bed. The memory brought an uncomfortable ache in her groin causing her to move restlessly. Outside the dome, she could hear the soft voices of the night guards as they exchanged greetings on their patrols. Over by door, Jelli whuffled in her sleep. Jelli probably would have grown so much by next year’s Roundup, she and Violet would need a separate porta-dome, Katherine reflected.

  She turned over, exasperated. She was still wide-awake, and it didn't look as if sleep was coming anytime soon. Quietly, so she wouldn't wake the sleeping children, she rose and dressed. Stepping over the snoring Jelli, she slipped out of the dome, securing the door flap behind her. Somehow, she was unsurprised to find the new wives of the fighters who had gone with Zack sitting around the dying fire.

  Katherine poured a cup of the Cafka kept hot for the night guards and joined them. Her childhood friend Cora, who now managed the medical needs of the Lodge, looked at her and laughed ruefully. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

  Katherine laughed, "You caught me," she admitted.

  One of the other women snorted. "What's wrong with us? I only met that man six weeks ago. I can't be in love this soon but I sure miss him in my bed."

  The women exchanged half-rueful half-guilty looks before they all started giggling.

  "Why not?" Another asked. "Didn't you think the matchmaker program worked?"

  "Well, it's pretty obvious it did, or we wouldn't all be out here losing sleep," Cora replied.

  "I'm so glad it worked," Katherine said. "The math said it should, but I worried I had made an error somewhere, you know?"

  "I think you can relax about that.” Marta, a brunette who had moved to the Lodge with her new husband, remarked as she swallowed the last of her Cafka. "I guess I'd better try to get some sleep,".

  "Me too," Joan another of the new wives replied, rising with her, and prompting a general exodus.

  Left alone with Katherine, Cora gave her childhood friend a straight look. "Are we going to be attacked?" She asked.

  Katherine nodded soberly. "Zack was pretty sure of it. And I can feel someone watching, l just can't locate them. I always was better at Push than Pull," she added wryly.

  "Wonderful. Well at least planning how to set up triage out here will take my mind of missing Reid must make sure the medical supplies are in the front of the supply cat and carry my portable bag on me."

  Just then, Juliette opened the tent flap, looking for Katherine. She came over to the fire.

  "Mother, I think Rupert's starting a nightmare," she said.

  "Duty calls," Katherine said to Cora as she rose to follow her daughter back.

  "Good night, little mother," Cora replied.

  Rupert was starting the muttering, tossing and turning that foreshadowed one of his nightmares. Katherine knelt by his bedroll and gathered him to her.

  "Sssh," she said, pushing comfort and security at him. As she did so, she cast a worried look at Violet. In the past, the two of them had seemed to transfer their nightmares to each other, but tonight Violet slept peacefully. Jelli raised her head and regarded Katherine and Rupert almost thoughtfully. No one knew just exactly how intelligent Sand Dragons really were; they were empathi
c and sometimes formed bonds with humans but their intelligence was of a different order and the two didn't always seem to have the same goals. It occurred to Katherine that Violet hadn't had a nightmare since Jelli had come to live with her. Perhaps the Dragon’s empathy was helping Violet feel more secure. It was just as possible Jelli was strengthening Violets EMPH shield. Being a strong empath had its liabilities; sensitivity to emotions that others broadcast could cause a child to retreat into catatonia unless they were taught to shield themselves. Well, she couldn’t arrange for another Dragon calf to appear, but perhaps one of Sooka’s pups might prove an adequate substitute for Rupert. She would ask Leona to include Rupert in Violet’s shielding classes. He hadn’t rated out as high on the EMPH scale as Violet, but his abilities seemed to be increasing.

  Rupert finally settled back into normal sleep. Katherine pushed more comfort and security at him before she crawled back into her bedroll. Once there, she dropped immediately into sleep.

  Although she and the children continued to try each morning to locate the source of her unease, she could not locate the watchers.

  Battle Of Blue Canyon

  THE NIGHT before they reached Blue Talon Canyon, Zack and his crew filtered silently back into the camp. Katherine was engaged in applying salve and bandaging gouges from bird talons on Jelli’s nose and face when she looked up and suddenly he was there. He looked tired, and he smelled; it was apparent he hadn’t had a bath since they left. She set down the jar and flung her arms around his neck anyway, enjoying the solid feel of him against her. "Where have you been?" she exclaimed. "I’ve been worried about you—"

  "Sssh!" he said. "We don’t want anyone watching the camp to know we’re here." He kissed her soundly anyway. "Miss me?"

  "Yes."

  He touched the circles under her eyes. "I don’t think I like these."

  She made a face. "Well, I haven’t been sleeping well, and I’m not the only one. All the new wives have been having trouble. I wonder why that is."

  Zack laughed, dropping his hand and squeezing her buttocks playfully and pulling her firmly against his body. He was hard and ready. "Good. I missed you too. If I’m losing sleep, so should you."

  "Did you find anyone? I’ve still got an itch on the back of my neck," she said, recovering.

  "Yes, they’re out there all right but they’re scattered. As near as I can tell, there are between fifteen and twenty of them. We need them to bunch together so we can catch them. I’ll take a crew up and around to the canyon so we can catch them between us. Leave late tomorrow morning and keep everyone in close. I want everything to look normal, so pass the word along quietly. Make sure everyone has a full load of ammunition."

  Katherine nodded. "Are you staying the night?"

  "No, I can't. There's too much chance we might be spotted leaving in the morning so we’ll be heading back out late tonight. We came in to get more food and weapons and to let you know what is planned for tomorrow."

  "Can I tell the others you’re here?" asked Violet, who had been helping to tend Jelli.

  "If you do it quietly, Hon," he said. "What happened to Jelli?"

  "Ostamus and Sand Dragons are mortal enemies. Our dominant hen Ostamu tried to bully Jelli out of her way, and they had an altercation," Katherine said drily. "Jelli lost," she added, "or at least she’s the most marked up—the lead hen knew just what to aim for," she said, applying more ointment to Jelli’s nose and ears. "Though I did think we might end up having roast Ostamu for dinner before we broke it up. Jelli can be formidable despite her age."

  The rest of the children came up quietly. Zack gave each a quick hug and slipped away into the night after he refilled his ration pack.

  Blue Talon Canyon from the air looked like the print of a giant bird’s claw sunk deep into blue rock. Steep, almost straight walls of azure crystal glared brightly in the sun at the top and faded into deep shadows at the base. Katherine's party had almost reached the opening of the canyon mouth when she ordered a break, ostensibly to discuss what order they would use when sending the individual herds and flocks into the canyon. The stop enabled the group to move the wagons to the outside of the herds and put most of the herding crew inside with them where they could easily take cover from attack.

  Katherine was making a final swing around their defenses when word came back that riders were approaching. She kicked her horse into a lope and came to the front of the caravan.

  The three men and two women approaching looked in bad shape. One woman was holding a man up in the saddle and another had a bloody bandage wrapped around his head. The lead rider trotted forward. "Can you help us? Please?" she asked.

  Katherine made a sharp gesture, stopping the two healing women who had started forward.

  "What happened to you?" she asked.

  "We were attacked by a large group of Wilders. My husband has been wounded."

  "I am Katherine O’Teague. These are my lands and I don’t know you. What is your Clan name and how do you come to be here?" Katherine asked.

  "We were sailing along the coast and our boat started leaking. We barely made it to shore before in went down. We started inland to get help. We are DeMedici. By clan treaty you must give aid to shipwrecks."

  "You are at least twenty miles inland from the shore and mounted. Where did you get the horses?"

  "There was a deserted farm. The horses were running loose. Our need gave us the right to borrow them."

  Katherine regarded them dispassionately, remembering Zack's warning. The story might be true. It also might be the opening gun in the ambush he had expected.

  "You said you were attacked by Wilders, when did this happen?"

  As she spoke with the leader, Katherine was also sending out her third eye, seeking for hostile emanations from those who might creep up on them while the leader held her attention. She couldn’t pinpoint any one area where danger would come from. Whoever was out there was excellent at shielding their intent. Unfortunately, if they really were shipwrecked, she was duty bound to offer aid.

  "Very well," she said. "Dismount and disarm yourselves. We will tend your wounded."

  "Disarm?" the leader appeared insulted. "I was not aware a state of war existed between our clans."

  "It doesn’t," she retorted coolly. "However, we are expecting an assault from those same Wilders you say you encountered. I have no way of knowing you are who you say you are. If you want our help, you will do as I tell you."

  With some muttering and grumbling, the five dismounted, leaving their weapons by the horses. Two women from the Clan went forward and helped with the wounded man. Katherine did not dismount. She signaled her fighters to keep watching outside the wagons for the ambush as the supposed DeMedicis limped into the circle.

  Unfortunately, Jelli took that moment to cause a ruckus with the same bird she had fought with the night before. The pair carried their dispute into the forefront of Katherine’s retainers, and Violet came running up to intercede, passing close to the interlopers who had remained in a tight group.

  "Jelli, stop that!" Violet shouted at her pet, intent on reaching her before the much larger bird could cause more damage.

  Suddenly, the wounded man sitting on the ground sprang up and grabbed Violet, pulling a hidden knife and holding it against her neck. He acted too fast for anyone to have stopped him.

  "Well, now, here’s the little Dragon Talker," the leader purred. "I think it is you who will now put down your weapons, Lady. I would hate for so valuable a commodity to be damaged."

  "Beware, woman. If you are DeMedici, La Dona won’t appreciate you starting a clan feud by harming my child," Katherine’s voice was cold. While she was speaking, she pushed against Jelli’s emotions, sparking fear for Violet and anger at the man holding her.

  Jelli let out a low feral growl, forgetting her dispute with the squawking bird, began stalking toward Violet and her captor with her ears laid back. The Sand Dragon was still small, but she had sharp teeth and talons and with her har
dened skin plates covering most of her body she was practically invulnerable.

  Her captor shook Violet, turning to face the dragon. "Stop her! Stop her or I’ll kill her!"

  With everyone watching the drama, no one saw Katherine draw her pistol. Violet’s captor had turned his back on Katherine to watch Jelli. Katherine fired without hesitation, taking off the top of his head. He slumped to the ground, taking Violet with him.

  The camp exploded into a free-for-all of yelling, fighting men and women, excited birds slashing at anything that came too close to them, barking dogs, frightened goats and sheep jumping everywhere to escape, and the final insult, the horses and cattle stampeding through the fighters toward the canyon mouth, knocking aside friend and foe alike.

  The rest of the Wilders waiting outside the circle took advantage of the melee to fire into the convoy’s protective ring. Seeing the stampede careening toward Violet’s prone body, Katherine pushed at the oncoming animals, creating a wedge to detour the stampede around Violet and Jelli. She kicked her horse forward, leaping off as the mare was still moving when she reached Violet. The well-trained horse stood like a rock as the frightened animals raced around her. Shoving the body of the dead Wilder off Violet, Katherine turned her over, checking for wounds. Jelli snuffled in their faces.

  "Ugh!" Violet pushed her pet’s wet nose aside. "I’m all right, Jelli." She smiled when she looked up into her mother’s face. "Wasn’t Jelli great? I thought she was going to eat that guy."

  "He thought so too," Katherine said grimly. "Come on; let’s get you two under a wagon so we can take care of the rest of them."

  Katherine hastily shoved Violet and Jelli under the closest wagon and turned back to the fight with her gun drawn and her back to it, but the precaution proved unnecessary.

  Although the Wilders were hampered by fire from Zacks fighters, many of them got inside the circle of wagons. However, the panicking animals impeded their attack as much as it did the defense. The fight was already winding down. Thanks to Zacks skill at strategy and superior fighting experience, the Clan soon got the upper hand over the Wilders. The surviving Wilders were shackled and herded into the only secure dome inside the canyon to await Katherine’s judgement