“I’m trying to decide if this thing expected us to be here, or if it just got lucky. I’m also wondering if one of us should shift and patrol the skies, or if that would draw attention.”
“The hybrid do be surprised to see us same as we do be seeing it,” Jinjie said.
“Thanks, Jinjie, that helps,” Talus said, not questioning the Jotunn’s somewhat confusing, but understandable, statement. “What about us patrolling the sky?”
“That do be not good. If there do be one, there do be more.”
“I agree with Jinjie,” Tonka said. “There are no indigenous people left on this world. The Doftles killed them all centuries ago. There’s far too much ground for one hybrid to search so there is certain to be not just another one, but in all likelihood, several more.”
“Tonka, is there a reason that thing seemed to be going…,” she paused, suddenly realizing what she had been about to say. “I mean um, do you think it was aiming for anything in particular?”
“I think it was after me.”
“You?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
“Why?”
“I know far too much about the silos,” he said. “During the raid yesterday one of the Nomen agreed not to kill Oberto if I let him break my legs. He did not keep his word, of course, but he did decide to leave me alive to suffer. One of the Nomen wanted me dead, and was certain it would go badly for them if they left me alive. His rank was lower than the others, so he was ignored.”
“You think they went back to the settlement to kill you.”
“Yes,” Tonka said. “If they did, I suspect we left enough of a trail behind us for them to follow, even with the heavy snow fall. It’s easy enough to find out. We’re going down the mountain anyway.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Salene said after a moment. “If they did go back to the settlement, it’ll be watched now for certain. It’s too big of a risk.”
“I agree,” Talus said. “I say we assume it was after Tonka, keep a close watch, and make sure the children are protected at all times. Going to the settlement won’t provide us with enough information to make it worth the risk.”
“If the cloud cover wasn’t so heavy we could turn on the camo units in Mali and Tab’s suits,” Salene said. “As it is, we need to conserve the batteries until we really need them.”
“Did you show Mali and Tab how to turn on the camo units?” Kar asked.
“Yes, I did,” Salene replied, then looked down at Mali who still stood close beside her. “You remember that, right honey?”
“Yes, I remember,” Mali said, one hand going to the pocket on the front of her suit.
“If I tell you to hide, you turn yours on and make sure Tab’s is on, too, all right?”
“All right, Mom,” Mali said, blushing again, though her eyes sparkled. “I won’t forget, I promise.”
Salene blinked back tears. “That’s my girl.”
“Who do be in rear?” Jinjie asked.
“I’ll take that position,” Kar replied.
“If do be not mind, Jinjie do be ride shoulder to hide tracks.”
“I don’t mind at all,” Kar said. “That should help a great deal.”
Salene took Mali’s hand and walked her over to Tonka, then lifted her up onto his back. When she was settled, Salene patted Tonka on the side of his neck. “If you need a break just let us know. We can take turns carrying the children.”
“I thank you, Salene, but the children’s weight is not enough to hinder me. My only request is that someone take them off of my back if we’re attacked again, which Talus has already agreed to. I cannot have them come to harm again because of me.”
“It wasn’t because of you, Tonka,” Salene said. “But don’t worry. We’ll all be more careful to watch the sky from now on.”
Talus took Tab over to where Tonka stood and set him on the Brun’s back in front of Mali. Tab looked up at Talus, then over to Jon and Kar, smiling at each of them and sealing himself into their hearts forever. Mali didn’t quite smile at the men, but the wariness in her eyes had changed to curiosity, which Salene thought was a big step in the right direction. Talus remained beside Tonka, Jon walked in front to break the trail, and Kar took up the rear with Jinjie on his shoulder.
The snow was several feet deep between the stretch of boulders and the tree line, and it took a lot of effort on Jinjie’s part to hide the mess they’d made and make the snow look pristine again. The deeper into the forest they went, the less snow they had to deal with, often just over a foot or so, but even a foot of snow is exhausting to walk through. After the first mile, Kar moved up in front of Tonka and took a turn at breaking the trail. Talus took up the rear, and Jon moved back to walk beside Tonka and the children. Another mile along and Jon took Talus’s place, and a mile after that they rotated again. They continued in that way for a couple of hours until Salene suggested it was time to take a break.
They took a few minutes to rest, drink some water, and eat the nutrient bars that she handed out. Mali and Tab just ate them without any argument or comment. Food wasn’t something there’d been an abundance of for them, so whenever they were given something to eat, they didn’t even consider whether or not they liked it, or even if they were hungry or not. It was food, so they ate it. Tonka, on the other hand, wasn’t much interested in the strange little bars, but ate one anyway at Salene’s insistence. Later, he admitted that it helped him to regain his energy after the long morning of slogging through the snow. If he’d been on his own he’d have bounded through it at a much faster pace, using the webbing between his toes and his enormous strength and speed to keep him from sinking too deeply, but he couldn’t do that with the children on his back.
When they resumed their trek, Jinjie leapt onto Salene’s shoulder and after a few minutes, she dropped back a bit from Tonka to be sure they could talk without being overheard. “You didn’t feel it, did you?” she asked in a low voice.
“No, do be not knowing why, too,” Jinjie said.
“It was different from the ones we saw yesterday morning,” Salene said. “It had a humanoid head.” Jinjie thought about that for a few moments.
“Do be wonder if do be having Controller.”
“If it was being controlled, then it wouldn’t be acting on its own will. Would that make it not evil?”
“Do be thinking yes,” Jinjie said. “Still evil, but not its own evil.”
“Too bad we didn’t think of this sooner so we could have checked it, but it still helps to understand. We have to be more vigilant, that’s for sure.”
“Me do be agreeing,” Jinjie said. “Jinjie do be sorry, Princess Salene. Me do be failing you and children.”
“No, Jinjie, you didn’t fail,” Salene assured him. “We just learned something new is all.”
“You do be heart soft,” he said with a smile. “You do be good mother for Mali and Tab. They do be need you. Nobody do be love and protect better for them than you.”
“Thank you, Jinjie,” she said softly, touched by his words. They walked quietly for a while before Salene remembered something. “Jinjie, I’d like to ask you a question, but please know that I won’t be offended if you choose not to answer.”
“Do be wanting to know of tiklee cub?” Jinjie guessed.
“Yes, but not if you’re uncomfortable telling me.”
“Me do be trust you, Salene,” Jinjie said. “There do be no reason for secret now since Jotunn do be dead many centuries. But me do be want Doftles to not know truth.”
“Don’t worry, whatever you tell me stays with me. If anyone wants to know anything about you, they’ll have to ask you.”
“Me do be thanking you,” Jinjie said. “You do be seeing tiklee this morning.”
“That’s what your alter form is called? Tiklee?”
“Tiklee yes, alter form, no,” Jinjie said. “Jotunn do be world of…what do be word? Difference?” He shook his head. “Close but not.” Salene didn’t know what
he meant so she remained silent, not wanting to confuse him with random guesses. After a moment he said, “Big to small, dark to light?”
“Oh, opposites, is that what you mean?”
“Yes, do be thanking,” he said. “Jotunn do be having opposites from Clan Jasani.”
Salene ran that through her mind for a moment but came up empty. “I think I need more information.”
“This Jinjie,” he said, placing one finger on his chest and tapping, “do be alter form.”
Salene’s eyes widened. “Opposites indeed,” she said. Jinjie waited while she thought about that for a few moments. “So, Clan Jasani are humanoid, but shift into much larger animal forms. Jotunn are animal in form, but shift into much smaller humanoids. Is that right.”
“Jinjie do be think Princess Salene be too smart. Lucky Doftles do be not so easy to change believing.”
Once again Salene’s eyes widened. “I see,” she said softly. “They thought there were some animals, and some humanoids, but never knew they were one and the same. You were captured in your tiklee form when you were young, still a cub, but they didn’t know you had an alter form.” Salene paused, thinking for a moment before she smiled. “When you escaped from your cell on the space station, it never occurred to them to look for a humanoid instead of the tiklee. Is that close?”
“Do be not close, do be right,” Jinjie said ruefully.
“They must have known the humanoids had magic, otherwise the Xanti wouldn’t have been interested in Jotunn in the first place. But why did they want the tiklee?”
“Doftles do be thinking tiklee dumb animals what they do be training for guard, like they do be with Brun. Do be want cubs to grow.”
“Why would they want to do that?” Salene asked. “I certainly wouldn’t want to tangle with your tiklee form, but it isn’t really all that big, even now.”
“Tiklee do be poison, Highness,” Jinjie said seriously. “If Jinjie do be shift to tiklee, do be not touching, do be not let children touching. Even do be cure found, it do be not help. Poison do be kill in three or four seconds. Even Doftle. That do be how me escaping.”
“I won’t forget, Jinjie, and I swear I’ll never tell anyone your business,” Salene said solemnly. “That’s a choice for you to make.”
“Jinjie do be not worried on that.”
“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“Not do be mind at all.”
“It’s important for Clan Jasani to shift, preferably once a day, though they can go weeks if necessary. But when they do shift into their alter forms, they can’t remain in them for too long. If they try, the shift will eventually take place automatically.”
“Jinjie do be wondering on that,” he said. “Again Jotunn do be opposites. When not on Jotunn, tiklee is hard to stay in long. Too long, must change or die.”
“How long is too long?”
“Do be matter which world,” Jinjie replied. “This world, short time. Hour, maybe two. Jasan do be better. Two days, maybe three. Me do be thinking if do be on Jasan long time, and magic do be get strong, could be longer.”
“Does it bother you that you can’t stay in your tiklee form?”
“No,” Jinjie replied with a smile. “Me do be only twenty of your years when Doftles do be taking from den. Do be not knowing other way.”
“Twenty? That’s nearly my age. Does the word cub have a different meaning for you?”
“No, Jotunn do be growing slow. Still do be young child cub when do be took away. Like Mali.”
“I’m sorry you were taken from your family so young, Jinjie,” Salene said. “Do you have any way of knowing where other Jotunns might be?”
“No,” Jinjie said, shaking his head. “High Prince Garen do be telling of one Jotunn centuries past, but he do be not knowing where now. Clan Council do be searching.” He looked at Salene, his round eyes serious. “Clan Jasani do be best people Jinjie do be know. Me do be liking Jasan.”
“I’m really happy about that, Jinjie,” Salene said. “Maybe one day a world will be found that is enough like Jotunn for you to be in your natural form as long as you want.”
“Maybe,” Jinjie said, though he didn’t seem in the least bit worried about it.
“Would it be too selfish of me to say that I hope that time is in the distant future?”
“Yes, do be very selfish,” Jinjie said with mock seriousness. “Jinjie do being selfish, too.”
***
By noon everyone was exhausted from the effort of walking in deep snow, and more than ready for a break and some food. Salene was surprised to find that the Gryphons had fresh sandwiches for everyone, and a large raw steak for Tonka. Salene smiled to see Tonka’s surprised pleasure, which paled compared to the children’s reactions. They’d never had a sandwich before, or cheese, or ham, and they enjoyed them a great deal. Salene shared hers with Jinjie and kept her eyes on the sky just as Talus, Jon, Kar, Tonka, and Jinjie were doing.
After lunch Talus took up the rear position, so Salene dropped back to walk beside him. “What’s troubling you, Zerura?” he asked after a few minutes.
“What makes you think anything is troubling me?”
“That little line between your eyebrows,” he said, reaching over to touch the spot lightly with one fingertip. His eyes went to the red stone on her forehead, which reminded him that he wanted to ask her about it, but now wasn’t the time for that.
“I’m not a healer, Talus, you know that.”
“Yes, I know,” he agreed. “What you did wasn’t healing.”
“You said I shared my life force, but I’ve never heard of such a thing before.”
“I assume you and your sisters studied the history of the Klanaren while growing up.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Did you ever hear the legend of a woman called Elka?”
Salene thought a moment, then shook her head. “It isn’t familiar, but I’m bad with remembering things like names and dates.”
“It’s a fairly obscure story that took place long before the Dark Time,” Talus said. “I’m not surprised you’ve never heard it, just thought I’d ask.”
“Who was she?”
“Elka was a woman born to Clan Dracon who remained unmated throughout her life when those meant to be her Rami perished at a young age. One day, when she and her sisters were about sixteen, they went into the woods near their home for a picnic. There was an accident and one of her sisters was seriously injured, but help was too far away to reach them in time to save her, and they all knew it. In a desperate attempt to save her sister’s life, Elka somehow managed to share her life force with her. The sister was completely healed of her injuries, and went on to live a long and happy life with her Rami.”
“How did sharing her life force heal her sister?”
“Good question,” Talus said. “Unfortunately, no one knows the answer. By all accounts Elka was no different from any other Clan Jasani female. She could not wield magic, nor did she have a psychic ability, something which was extremely rare in that time as you probably know.” Salene nodded. “The Clan Council examined Elka and her sister very carefully, as did the most talented Healers of the time. They weren’t surprised to find that neither girl had a talent for healing, though they tested each of them extensively for it. They were stunned, however, to discover that Elka’s life force, and that of her sister, were identical. It wasn’t a result of their being sisters, either, as the third sister’s life force was distinctly different.”
“And such a thing had never occurred before?” Salene asked, frowning.
“Not that anyone was aware of, though of course it’s possible that it was done and no one knew of it.”
“Was it just a fluke?”
“Fluke?” Talus asked.
“A freak accident brought on by unknown reasons.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Talus replied. “Elka saved the lives of about fifty other people before her untimely death when she was in her mid-thirt
ies. She never could explain what she did, or how she did it. She said only that she placed her hands on a person and focused her energies on them, and it happened.”
“That’s what I did,” Salene said, nodding. “Something inside of me just knew that I could help and what I needed to do. But women do not wield magic, and my psychic ability is for sensing the location of people I care about which I don’t even have now with the power bond.”
“No?” Talus asked in surprise.
“No,” Salene replied. “It’ll return when the power bond is broken, but it’s never been a very strong talent. I don’t understand how it’s even possible to share one’s life force with another.”
“And yet you saved Mali and Tab.”
“Maybe I used Wolef’s magic through the power bond without realizing it,” she suggested. “You were watching, right?”
“Yes, we all watched.”
“Did you notice anything different about me while I was doing it?”
“Such as?”
“Just anything,” Salene said, dropping her eyes. She knew she had to tell them about the stone, and soon, but she wanted to do it when they were all together.
“No,” Talus replied. “You were very intent, and very focused, but that’s all.”
Salene nodded. She didn’t know why, but she was relieved that she hadn’t used Wolef’s power to save the children. “What was it that made you think I’d shared my life force with the children the way Elka did?”
“Even though we’re not yet linked, we feel you, Salene. Your life force, your energy, whatever it is that makes you distinctly you, we feel it as clearly as I see you right now. The day the Controllers told you that we didn’t want to link with you and you severed our bond, we felt that. We felt the severing, Salene. It was painful in a way that cannot be described.” Talus paused for a moment, his composure slipping at the memory. After a moment he continued.
“This morning when the four of us touched each other again and our bond reformed it was,” Talus paused, searching for a way to explain. “Imagine you’re swimming underwater, and you’re holding your breath but you know you can’t hold it much longer, so you start swimming frantically for the surface. That moment when you break the surface and open your mouth to suck in air, that sense of profound relief you get as your lungs fill, that’s how we felt this morning when our bond reformed.”
Salene's Secrets Page 29
