Shadow Over Avalon

by C. N Lesley

  Handholds on the grid helped as the flow went left to what could only be a Harvester domain from Ector’s suggestions, where lights shone as intense as any in Avalon, an incredible find if she lived through the experience. The barrier was a net designed to catch and drown any hapless Terran. Not perfect, as eons of water pounding against rock had worn away an undercut. Shadow squeezed through, retaining her grip on the grid to reach the cave walls once more. Latching struts gave her handholds against the raging torrent, enough to grasp for a glimpse into the unknown.

  A vast, domed chamber opened up, lit from above by an array of circular devices. A slick metal sky ship rested in the center like an upended plate. Shadow recognized it from data downloaded from the Archive. A drove of Terrans with vacant expressions shambled to the craft, all of them bearing canisters; male and female, all naked, all mindless, and all directed by a Nestine.

  Her stomach knotted at the sight of her enemy. She studied and noted the humanoid shape covered with a thick pelt of fur everywhere except the head and hands. It was naked, although she could not see evidence of sexual organs. The face resembled that other remembered image in its ugliness. It seemed unfinished without a nose, while feral because of the jutting jaws with four pointed tusks. The eyes could have looked at home on the face of a saurian, along with a floppy crest of pink skin on top of its head. Disgusted, she glanced again at the Terrans, noticing that they were dirty, unkempt and uncaring. One by one, they disappeared into the interior of that ship with their burdens. Shadow counted forty Terran slaves before she tore her eyes away.

  The Archive needed data. Shadow clung to her handhold while she viewed every aspect of this place. It did not matter that the structures she registered were incomprehensible. The Archive could sort this information. She scanned every detail before she let go. Once again, the rushing torrent claimed her.

  A lifetime later she crawled up a deep-cut riverbank into starlight, bruised and hurting, tired beyond aching. She rolled up her right sleeve and bit plas-skin for access to stim-tabs. A flow of pure energy coursed through every cell while she closed up the jagged edges.

  Rivers flowed to the southern sea on this side of the ridge of hills. This river would carry her to Ector. During part of the morning Shadow walked through shallows, but the river gained depth and width as afternoon deepened. She came to the estuary by early evening of the third day, wading out onto a sandy beach trembling with exhaustion.

  Ector would be out there, waiting under the waves. Shadow took off her earring to send the full force of her mind into the deeps. Contact. The effort felled her to her knees. Soon, very soon, he was coming.

  A splashing sound roused Shadow. Ector waded to shore.

  “Stop or she dies!” a voice shouted from behind – Copper!

  “Shadow?” Ector lowered his head in a questing mode.

  “Brethren. They have a—”

  “Silence!” Copper roared. An arrow thudded into wet sand between Shadow and Ector. “Keep quite still. There are ten more shafts trained on target.”

  Ector’s expression was her only warning. The air behind Shadow stirred, a hand yanked her hair and a knife touched her throat as she was forced back to sit on her heels.

  “No mind tricks. Tell your fish-friend in words,” Copper said.

  Careful with her movements, Shadow reattached her earring one-handed. “He can feel a mind probe,” she said. “I don’t know if—” The knife bit against her throat in warning. “How did you know I’d survive? How did you track me here?”

  “Nice try, Shadow.” He relaxed his grip on her hair to haul her to her feet by the collar of her tunic. “How is unimportant. Why is all that matters. You are just a little too lethal, and that’s an edge you didn’t learn from us, which leaves one other band of warriors. We’ve watched them, and doubtless they’ve spied on us. We don’t mess with groups any more, since they infect us with a serious dose of dead. This fish-man looks like he is alone, which raises some interesting possibilities I’ve wanted to pursue for the longest time.”

  She kicked back at his shin, hoping to get him off balance enough to fall. The man gasped once, and then forced her into a straddle position with his feet braced on the inside of hers and his hand back in her hair. His knife bit against her neck in warning. She read defeat in Ector’s eyes, and defiance. They had one last move to be played out in this game.

  “Farewell, Shadow. It was fun, though, wasn’t it?” Ector said, smiling.

  “What does he mean? You’re my prisoners.”

  Shadow knew. “Enjoy an empty victory, my King.”

  She started shutting down life functions, one by one, sagging in Copper’s arms. Ector fell to his knees in the waves, still smiling, with one hand stretched to her.

  “Copper, they’re dying!” The dark man’s rich voice came from somewhere behind. “I told you the Silver Shades can’t be taken.”

  “No! I want a trade! Bargain, damn you!” Copper yelled.

  “Not with . . . Harvesters’ creatures,” Ector said. He sagged back on his heels, the water swirling round his hips.

  “Never. Trade with me. I’ll barter the reason they can’t control us.”

  Ector straightened to take a deep breath.

  She followed his lead. Whatever happened, this odd offer needed assessment. Had they picked up an advantage?

  “What in exchange?” Ector said.

  “The girl as go-between. She stays with me.” Copper said.

  “She’s needed. I can’t give away my operative.”

  “I’ve got an army who can function far better than this one spy. We have a common enemy. We need an alliance.”

  “Let the girl choose. It’s her life at stake.” Ector’s tone stayed neutral.

  Shadow knew he could not order her to stay. Each operative had absolute rights to decline any surface mission.

  “Well, Shadow?” Copper asked.

  “I’ll stay if you’ll accept dual allegiance.” Going to Haven meant losing her chance to hurt Harvesters. That was not acceptable. Maybe Copper might rethink if she appeared reasonable. She had to share the record of the Nestine hive under High Fort with Ector.

  “Hey, Fingers, send him our good intent,” Copper called. “Harvesters can’t control us when we’re wearing special earrings.”

  There was a twang, hiss and thud. An arrow landed a foot from Ector with an earring attached. He gave the trinket a careful look before pocketing it.

  “Copper, we’ll have company soon,” a voice in the darkness warned. “Three circles of light approaching from south and west.”

  “Fish-man, can Harvesters track you?” the Outcast leader asked, worry toning his voice into harsh accents.

  “Not me, my transport. I left it running.” Ector started wading deeper, backing away.

  “This one poked a wasp’s nest when she left High Fort,” Copper said. “They swarmed all last night, too. Meet here next summer solstice.”

  “Agreed.” Ector raised one hand to Shadow and then dived beneath the surface.

  The knife eased away from her throat, and Copper’s fingers released her hair. Shadow reached inward for transmission. Her world exploded into pain and blackness.

  Chapter 16

  Earth Date 3892

  Arthur shuffled, uncomfortable at the fierce squabble in the office of his new commander. Sanctuary Superintendent Evegena screeched her demands at Ambrose for Arthur’s return with her hands on bony hips, head thrust forward with the effort, as if sheer volume proved ownership. Ambrose adopted a cool approach of letting the Seer Matriarch shout herself hoarse.

  “What Arthur was, or could have been, is irrelevant.” Ambrose’s tone remained quiet and gentle, and he leaned back in his seat, unbalancing the Seer even more. “He is now of age. You have no claim to him.”

  “I demand to know which lies you told him. Look at him! He is pure Submariner. Don’t imagine he’s the one you lost, or that he can help you find the half-breed,” Evegena said, less loud
. She had declined a seat, but the apparent advantage of height diminished due to the way Ambrose played with his chair, rocking it and swinging from side to side on the swivel.

  Ambrose arranged some documents on his plasglass desk into a pile. “I wouldn’t lower myself to such petty levels. He’s here by conscious choice—live with it.”

  Evegena played her last card: “He didn’t log out of Sanctuary. We refuse his release.”

  Arthur stepped forward. “Commander, my resignation is registered with the Archive.”

  “The point I was just about to make. I think that covers every loophole you’ve tried to yank my operative through. Have the decency to shut the door on your way out, Evegena.” Ambrose smiled in a coolly unpleasant way. He leaned back in his chair, yawning, until she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

  “Consider yourself confined to barracks, Arthur. I talked with Ector earlier today about your problems. Evegena will have you watched, you realize.”

  Arthur released the back of the chair, aware it looked as if he was using it as a shield. “I’m dreaming of places I’ve never seen on the surface. Does Ector think I’m mad?”

  “No more than I do,” Ambrose said, not unkindly. “Field duties are not an option until we’re sure you won’t be a liability. I’ve detailed you for physical training. Access the Archive as free time permits. Questions?”

  “What if I get worse?”

  “What if you’re breaking through a new psi boundary? We’ll judge when the thing has run its course.”

  “Is Shadow due back?” Arthur shuffled on the fiber matting covering the office floor that represented wealth and yet held no beauty. He wanted to meet the Outcast, but didn’t like to ask.

  “Sorry, off limits. She’ll have your ears if she learns the area of your research. Get some rest in your unit. Report for duty in the gym at wake call tomorrow.”

  Arthur wandered off in a tired daze. His bed had become an object of terror. He needed a relief from reality, and he missed Circe. She knew how to talk him through nightmares. Almost as if it knew, the Archive tugged at his mind, drawing him to a console.

  *

  Earth Date 3874

  Shadow came awake to a blinding head pain, the memory of a blow and a dim recollection of the sensation of lovemaking. The man’s face eluded her, so she guessed it might have been Boy’s father. Sun beat down on her face as she made tiny, internal adjustments to cure the problem with data stolen from Seers. Sand grated on her bare back while the roughness of a coarse wool blanket irritated her chest. Copper sat cross-legged, five paces away, oiling her tunic. Boots stood by a neat stack of her remaining clothing. Tethered to a rock were two horses, one her own, and many footprints around, yet no sounds of men or beasts other than those she could see.

  “Want a wet cloth on your head?” Copper asked, still intent on his task.

  “Why did you hit me? I’d agreed to stay.” Shadow touched her temple, which hurt.

  “I want the fish-man back. Think I didn’t guess you were just about to give him reason not to come. I bought myself some time; the only question is, how much.”

  “Till summer solstice.”

  Copper held out the tunic, inspecting it. He laid it atop the other garments and brought them across.

  “Leather should be oiled frequently if you’re facing the elements. These clothes haven’t been touched in months, which means you haven’t worn them. Don’t neglect the little details again, or you’ll not blend in. We Brethren always care for gear because it has to last. Get dressed while I fetch what remains of breakfast.”

  Shadow pulled on her boots as he returned. He handed her a couple of pink, leaf-shaped creatures with the back shell flipped off. She looked at the contents, wary of the strange looking flesh.

  “It’s good. Better than we’ll get traveling, if you’re coming with me,” he said, squatting down by her. “I don’t think I could stop you leaving, could I?”

  Ector had gone. The waves offered no escape. “Irrelevant. I’m under your orders now.”

  Copper smiled. “So very stiff I wonder you didn’t shatter when I hit you. Haven is where we relax. Try to develop a sense of humor before we get there, you’ll need it.”

  The soft interiors of the leaf-shaped creatures tasted fishy, not too unpleasant, and satisfied hunger. She reached over for a flask of fresh water to wash it down.

  “We took your horse and tack when we left High Fort. No point in wasting resources, and I had an idea where we would catch you, given the course of that river. Besides, you headed straight to one of the Shade’s bolt-holes after your sentence back in spring. All we found was a riderless horse, unusual footprints and no body. They don’t leave witnesses around to blab their presence, and they don’t take captives, except for you. I’ve watched for your return—all of us have. We felt you moving in the world again for days.” He wrapped both arms around his knees, waiting for her response, his expression becoming sterner with each moment of silence.

  “It gives you satisfaction to be right? Where do I fit into your plans? You wanted me at Haven before you knew for certain. Why, if you want a trade with the Submariners?”

  “Hostage. Reckoned they wouldn’t waste time taming one of ours unless they had good reasons. Thought they might listen if I had a barter they wanted back bad enough. I didn’t intend for you to get so close. We were going to find a small group of them for our trade offer. Shame about the unwanted company last night, since that fish-man of yours seemed reasonable. Will he come back?”

  “At the time you gave.” Shadow did not doubt Ector, nor did she think he would come alone. There would be plans within plans before Summer solstice.

  Copper shifted his gaze to the restless waves as if he guessed her thoughts. Shadow decided that there sat another deep one hatching his own schemes.

  Brushing sand from his clothing, he got to his feet. “I have a quantity of goods to transport so I thought we’d load one horse down and ride double. I had a good look at that broken beast of yours—a walking hazard.”

  “I can control him.”

  “No dispute. The problem is traveling alone in hostile territory. Sometimes a sacrifice is necessary. Your horse is a good stud beast that I’d like to bring home, but if we’re attacked, I’d rather keep a riding animal.” He looked toward the waves again. “If you want to go, do so now. I only ask someone honors our agreement. There will be no traps, on my word of honor. I want that alliance.”

  “No choice exists. Ector has gone. I can’t find their base without him. This alliance has benefits plain to the Submariners. A few spies you promised . . . what do you hope to gain in exchange, Copper?” Shadow stretched as she watched him for clues. He’d made a generous offer. Where was the catch?

  “A life,” he said. “We have followed the war between Harvesters and Shades with interest. Without Harvesters, we have a chance at a normal existence. It’s obvious Shades need information for a planned attack they can’t get from watching at a distance, or why bother with you? So . . . what if they gain access to a thousand spies?”

  “You’re talking army.”

  “I have an army. Why else do you suppose all my other brothers have left? Humans see us in twos or threes. They must never suspect we are a force. Think about it.”

  Shadow went down to the ocean to wash her hands, all the while mulling over Copper’s disclosure. A hidden army was an incredible advantage for Submariners. Elite numbered two hundred – a paltry force. What if they aligned against Harvesters? Shadow could see the advantages to both. The situation presented attractive options.

  Copper had already loaded her mount with various packages when she returned. He boosted her to the front of his horse, vaulting up behind her.

  “There is still time to change your mind,” he offered. “I head inland.”

  “Why the doubts?”

  “Because I don’t want to wake up one morning finding you gone. Brethren are individuals. I’d not take that away from yo
u, even if I could.”

  “What happened to the term ‘hostage’?” Shadow turned in his arms to catch a slow, predatory smile. She’d forgotten how dangerous this man was. He’d bear watching.

  “All Outcasts are my subjects. You’ll wear a black band till your dying day, whether you like it or not. You will also obey my commands on the rare occasion that I give any. Here’s the first: be silent while we travel. I need to search ahead for danger.”

  He headed north, choosing a route skirting the crests of rolling chalk hills, but he avoided the trail. Bored, Shadow started to scan for predators. Copper reined in. “Don’t do that again. You’re creating a nexus.”

  “A what?”

  “A time vortex I can’t see through. Behave and I’ll take off my earring for you in Haven . . . or any article of clothing you like,” he said, his breath coming hot by her ear.

  “Is that a royal command, my King?” Shadow challenged, puzzled by his unusual suggestion.

  “A polite request with an offer tacked on the end. I would like an uneventful journey.”

  Shadow kept her mind in place after that. She didn’t understand what he was doing or how he was doing it. It was enough that he could search ahead.

  Copper made camp in a circle of standing stones. He picketed their mounts by a shallow stream with sweet grass while Shadow rooted through the baggage looking for her bedding and weapons. She was just about to strap on her belt when Copper stopped her.

  “No need. We’ll not be disturbed. If you need a nature call, there’s a thicket over there.” He pointed behind her.

  Shadow stumped off in the general direction he’d indicated, weaponless. If he said it was safe, she trusted his word on it; they hadn’t run into any danger so far.

  Copper had settled with his back to a rock, chewing on dry bread and a strip of smoked meat by the time she returned. He had laid her rations out on a cloth. Shadow forced them down for energy, shivering when a cool wind bit at her. Copper finished eating and then adjusted his position to sit cross-legged. He appeared in a near catatonic state for many heartbeats, exhaling just as Shadow started to worry. He stretched, stood up, and spread out his quilted bedding roll.