Fire Margins

by Lisanne Norman

  She tried to laugh, to say yes, but with her throat pulled back, she couldn’t.

  Don’t speak. I can hear your answer in the way your body talks to me. His jaws closed on her throat and this time, she was aware of the full crushing power behind his bite, then it was gone and he was grinning at her.

  His finger flicked her nose lightly. “So Sholan,” he said. “So help me, if we were at home …” He left the rest unsaid as his hand closed on hers. “You’ve given me the strength I need for what I have to do,” he said more seriously.

  “You’re at peace with yourself,” she said, sounding surprised.

  He nodded. “I know now the goal I set myself wasn’t unrealistic, it was obtainable,” he said, twining his fingers round hers and lifting them to his mouth to nibble. “I have to get back to work,” he said. “Wait here and I’ll find Jaisa for you.” He let go her hand and got to his feet.

  Carrie nodded, then her face creased in pain and she clutched her belly.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned as he sensed some of her discomfort.

  “Nothing. I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said, the color returning to her face. “I’ll wait here for Jaisa, you go on.”

  *

  When Jaisa came, she took her immediately up to the infirmary to see Dr. Kimin.

  Carrie patiently submitted to a thorough examination, made easier by the fact that up there a damper had been installed.

  “As far as I can see, everything is fine,” Kimin said at last. “If it’s as you say, a Sholan gestation, you’ve only another eight weeks to go.”

  Carrie pushed herself up. “I’ve got ten weeks left,” she said.

  “Well, you know when you conceived, but to me it looks like you’re further on than you think. Of course, it could just be that you have a large cub.”

  “And the pains?”

  “Twinges, nothing more. The cub pressing against a nerve,” she said, turning to rummage in one of the boxes her nurses had been filling when Carrie and Jaisa had arrived.

  “I don’t have all the supplements you need,” she said, “but take these. It should keep you going while you’re here.”

  Carrie took the two boxes of pills Kimin handed to her. “Thanks.”

  “My advice is to stay well out of the way of the move,” she grinned. “Get Jaisa to organize you a place on the best transport out of here, then stay at Stronghold once you get there. Leave it to the males. You’re working hard enough growing that cub! You don’t need any extra duties.”

  Carrie laughed. “I’ll do what you say, don’t worry.”

  *

  The lab had been emptied. All that remained was to seal the door. Kaid, knowing he would be there again, waited outside with Goran, Carrie and Kusac. It was Jaisa who took the cub, Tallinu, to Vartra.

  “Show him how to use the lock,” she said, then drew from her pocket a damaged collar of the type the Valtegans used on telepaths. “This was for Zashou. Put it in the lock recess. He’s to find it one day,” she said.

  “Where did you get it from?” he asked.

  “One of our people was in the center that day. He got it from the holding cell when they took them away. It was sent to me as her friend.” She looked up at Vartra. “It’s hard knowing I’ll never see either of them again. We don’t even know where they were sent.”

  “Where they could do the most damage,” said Vartra, his hand cupping her cheek in comfort. “You can depend on that. If ever there was a team that could manipulate themselves to the very seat of the Valtegan Emperor himself, it was Rezac and Zashou.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  Holding Tallinu by the hand, Vartra went over to the lab entrance. Picking the cub up, he showed him where the collar went, then put him down so he could seal the doorway. The steel door slid slowly shut, sealing off the chamber that would lie undisturbed for over a thousand years. This one act, more than anything, brought to Vartra’s mind all the strange little happenings over the last few months. As much as the cub at his side, he could hear the inexorable step of destiny behind him.

  *

  Each of the three vehicles was taking a slightly different route. In their vehicle was Vartra, Zylisha, Jaisa, Goran, and two of his people, and the cub under heavy sedation. That way it was possible for Kaid to be nearby without too much discomfort.

  They were in one of the large delivery vans and with them was the bulk of Vartra’s research. They’d tried to duplicate his data on each vehicle, but that hadn’t always been possible. There was also a fair amount of medical supplies and equipment on board as well as food for the journey.

  They were using three shifts of drivers. Goran was taking the first leg, driving through the night as he was the most experienced.

  “What about the fighting?” asked Vartra as they set off.

  “Our people know we’re coming. There will be an escort wherever possible in the territories we control. Latest word is that the majority of the Valtegans have left, there’s only isolated pockets now. Worst part is at Chiyak, in the plains between the Ferraki hills and Dzahai Mountains.”

  “That’s where you said the main temple of Varza is.”

  “That’s so,” said Goran, steering the vehicle down the slope toward the forest below.

  “Strange to see my family’s land,” said Kusac. “I don’t think it’s changed that much.”

  Zylisha looked curiously at him. “Your family’s land?”

  “I’m not talking about now,” he said hastily.

  “What’s your family name?”

  “Aldatan.”

  “That explains, it,” she said. “We’re of the same family.”

  “I wondered why your mother resembled Zashou so much,” said Carrie. “Even down to liking the small braids.”

  “Your mother wears her hair like that?” Zylisha sounded pleased. “It’s good to know something of my sister will live on.”

  “Just make sure you keep that land in the family,” said Kaid. “Your future depends on it!”

  “It does rather, doesn’t it?” she said.

  “Goran, we need to stop at Chiyak,” said Kaid. “It’s the third gateway.”

  “No way. We go straight through to Dzahai.”

  “Then we have to go back before the floods start,” insisted Kaid.

  “You can do what you like once I’ve got my people safe to Stronghold,” said Goran. “You’re not my responsibility.”

  Kaid subsided into silence. He wasn’t coping well with the presence of himself as a cub. It was making him feel ill and irritable. Part of it, he had to admit, was probably because Carrie kept the cub close to her. He curled up inside the pile of blankets and tried to sleep.

  The space inside was limited, and Kusac was also lying on his side, curled round Carrie, trying to cushion her from the jolting of the truck. She rested against his chest, holding the sleeping cub in her lap.

  “For someone who didn’t want to even see Vanna’s cub, you’ve certainly taken to this one.”

  “No, it’s not because it’s Kaid,” she said, picking up his thought as she stroked the little one’s head. “At least, not directly. When he leaves his own time, Kusac, we know what kind of life he’ll face. Surely there should be a few gentle memories for any cub?”

  “There should,” he said, reaching for her ear with his tongue. “And no, I’m not jealous. I don’t think you’re going to have many problems with our cub. Will it matter that she doesn’t look like you?”

  “No, she’ll be ours, that’s all that matters,” she said, turning her head to smile up at him.

  Kusac looked down at the sleeping cub again. “You know, he is rather …”

  “Don’t you dare!” said Kaid, lifting his head up to look at them.

  “… cute,” said Carrie with a grin.

  Kaid growled deep in his throat and turned his back on them.

  *

  Sitting in the back during the journey, there was little to interest them. Goran w
as in radio contact with various resistance cells along the way, giving him updates on safe routes and fuel stops. The bulk of their journey was through forested land and the few towns they passed through hadn’t commanded much of a Valtegan presence.

  The road blocks which had restricted travel under their rule, were no longer in force; the barriers now broken and deserted. Stops were kept to a minimum for refueling, calls of nature and changing drivers. Then they hit the more populous Kysubi plains that led to the city of Chiyak.

  Carrie had spent much of the journey asleep. The cub was now been kept lightly sedated by Jaisa, who also saw to it that he was fed plenty of fluids and high protein liquid foods. Kusac also spent much of the time lulled by the motion of the vehicle but when he was awake, he listened lazily to the conversation around him, noticing that Jaisa was chatting to Kaid in an effort to make him forget his discomfort.

  Chakku was driving as the message came in. He had Goran roused to deal with it since it involved a route change.

  “We’re taking a detour,” Goran finally announced after some heated discussions on the radio. “Seems that they’re still fighting in Chiyak. There’s a unit of the Emperor’s Faithful taken the Temple of Varza. They’re using it as a base to try and take control of the city. We’re going to travel alongside the Ferraki hills till we’re level with Stronghold, then cut east across the plains. It’ll take a couple of hours more, but it’s safer.”

  There was a general moaning from everyone.

  “Hey. This is no holiday for us either,” said Goran, hanging over the back of his seat. “There’s looting and fighting going on as well. Best we steer clear of it.”

  “The leader of the Valtegans,” said Kaid, sitting up, “is he called Kezule?”

  “He is. How’d you know?”

  “He’s the one we have to find.”

  “You’re welcome to him! He’s one of the trickiest bastards around, so I’m told. His unit were originally posted to the desert, Varza knows why! They came into the city a couple of days ago according to my sources.”

  “Did you ever stop to wonder what they were guarding that needed the Emperor’s top unit?” asked Kaid.

  “No. Didn’t concern me. Not my territory,” said Goran.

  “You should have been concerned,” said Kaid. “He was guarding the hatchery.”

  The van swerved sharply and Goran turned to shout at Chakku. “Watch it!” He turned back to Kaid. “A hatchery? They had lizard eggs on Shola?”

  Kaid nodded.

  “Where the hell are they now?”

  “Maybe off-planet, maybe in the temple with Kezule. That’s why we’ve got to get there.” Crafty, Kaid. Very crafty, sent Kusac.

  I thought so.

  “I’ll see what I can find out,” said Goran, his tone grim as he turned back to the radio. “We might just be able to get you some help when you go there.”

  Won’t the flood destroy them and any eggs? asked Kusac.

  Maybe. Would you take the risk?

  *

  They continued on through the night, Carrie giving them all a fright when once again she was gripped by pains in her belly for which there seemed no cause.

  At last they stopped and the engine was turned off. The silence and the stillness was profound. Then the radio burst into life.

  “Skyhawk Two to Traveler. Come in Traveler.”

  Goran flicked on the radio. “Traveler here. What’s with the Skyhawk Two?”

  “Hold fire. I repeat, hold fire. The craft approaching you is ours. Do you understand, Traveler?”

  “We understand. What craft?” he asked as they all heard the high-pitched sound of an airborne vehicle approaching.

  “The one about to land beside you, Traveler. You folk want a lift up to Stronghold?”

  A ragged cheer went up as they heard the vehicle getting nearer.

  “Thank Varza for that,” said Jaisa with heartfelt relief. “I was dreading the journey up the mountains!”

  They began to stir, passing boxes behind them until they had cleared a path to the rear doors. Jumping down from the tailboard, one by one they staggered onto the roadway, looking upward to find the aircar.

  Last off, Kaid passed Carrie down to Kusac, then jumped down himself. The night air was cool, a contrast to the heat in the vehicle. Carrie shivered. The Sholan clothes she wore weren’t adequate for a furless person.

  “Where’s the cub?” she asked.

  “Zylisha has him,” said Kusac.

  The sound of the aircar grew louder as it hovered overhead, then gradually settled to the roadway a few meters ahead of them. A door slid back and a group of half a dozen armed Sholans jumped out and came over to them.

  “Dr. Vartra,” said their leader, “I’m glad you made it safely. It must have been a grueling journey for you. We were told you had guests.”

  Vartra indicated where Kusac stood, Carrie wrapped in a blanket beside him. On her other side, was Kaid.

  The male approached them. “I’m Khyim, head of our community at Stronghold. Your presence is well come.” He held out his palm for the greeting.

  Kusac introduced their little group in return, then Khyim turned to business.

  “I suggest all of you, save one or two, return with my pilot to Stronghold. Meanwhile we can be unloading your cargo, ready to take it with us on the second trip.”

  Goran barked out a few orders then turned to Khyim. “My guards will stay,” he said. “I’ll accompany you up to Stronghold.”

  *

  Carrie was beyond caring what happened now. She just wanted to sleep in a bed that didn’t move. She was stiff and cold, and her back ached abominably.

  Kusac swung her up into his arms. “We should have left this till after you’d had the cub,” he said. “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have come.”

  “We had to do this before she was born,” she said, putting her arms round his neck as he walked over to the aircar. “She couldn’t be completely En’Shalla if we hadn’t come now.”

  “I know, but just the same, I feel responsible for your discomfort.” He ducked as he stepped inside the aircar. “You feel heavier,” he remarked as he set her down beside the seats.

  “It’s the weight of the blanket,” she said.

  Chapter 21

  During the trip up to Stronghold, Vartra elaborated on the quick briefing he’d given Khyim the morning after the three travelers had arrived. When they landed in the courtyard, they were ushered through the wooden doors into the main building. Off to one side, Carrie glimpsed two metal braziers flanking double wooden doors.

  People were everywhere as old acquaintances were renewed and arrangements made for meals and sleeping. The first to be whisked off was the cub, Tallinu, which helped Kaid no end.

  In the hubbub, Carrie went over to the doors and gently leaned against one. It opened easily, allowing her to see into the temple beyond. At the far end, against His crimson curtain, stood the statue of Varza, holding in his hands the glowing brazier.

  “You can’t go in there!” a voice called out.

  Carrie turned round to find all eyes focused on her. “Why not?”

  “Only those who follow Varza may enter the temple,” said the brown-robed figure that stepped out of the crowd toward her.

  “I do,” said Carrie.

  “You can’t. You’re not Sholan.”

  Within moments, Kusac and Kaid were at her side.

  “She does,” said Kaid, preventing Kusac from stepping forward. “I’m a priest. I witnessed their life-bonding, performed because she’s carrying a Sholan cub. If the God blesses them, who are you to deny her entry to the temple? Do you put yourself above the Gods?”

  “Vangan, you’re being both foolish and discourteous to our guests,” said Khyim, joining the small group at the doors. “I will not have you haggling like a market seller over who has the right in your eyes to approach the God. You’re completely out of touch with the needs of my people!”

  He took Carrie by
the arm and led her into the temple. “All are welcome here, Carrie. You’re free to worship or meditate as you wish. If Vangan should try to stop you again, let me know,” he said.

  Carrie looked up, opening her mouth in a Sholan smile of thanks. “I meant no harm,” she said. “I just wanted to see what the temple at Stronghold was like.”

  “As you can see, it’s very plain in comparison to the one at Chiyak. There they’ve made use of the beautiful crystals mined from these mountains to decorate the entrance. When you see the pillars on either side of the God, it’s as if you see him between pillars of living flame!” He sighed. “It’s a pity that the Valtegans hold the temple.”

  We have to go there! sent Kaid. It’s got to be the main gateway!

  We will, came the answer from both Carrie and Kusac.

  “Thank you,” she said. “Perhaps I could return tomorrow? The journey really has exhausted me.”

  “Of course. We’ll see to getting a room and food for you and your mate immediately,” said Khyim, escorting her out into the entry hall again.

  *

  Their rooms were adjacent to each other—in corridors that all three of them recognized only too well.

  “Are you going to be all right, Kaid?” asked Carrie, concerned lest this return to Stronghold after what he’d been through with Ghezu, would prove unsettling for him.

  “I’m fine,” he said, standing at the door to his room. “The place isn’t quite the same as it is in our time. For one thing, there’s only one level above ground.”

  “We’ll see you in the morning,” said Kusac. “Good night.”

  He’d no sooner closed the door than there was a knock on it. Opening it, he was surprised to see Jaisa standing there with a large tray of food.

  “Hungry?” she asked. “I thought you might like the company. I couldn’t face a dining room full of people tonight either.”

  “I don’t know that I’m that hungry,” he said, standing back so she could enter.

  “Neither am I, if I’m being honest, but we can pick at it. Don’t shut the door,” she said, going over to the center of the room and placing the tray on the floor. “There’s a jug of c’shar out there!”