Their solitude heightened her awareness of Di’nay. Elana turned her blue gaze onto the bent figure that prowled through the packs. “What are you searching for?” Elana called softly, the gentle sound of her native tongue offering a peace that the harsh Common words could not have carried.
A sigh, a pause, and a reluctant lift of her head preceded the tired admission, “I’ve forgotten.”
Elana laughed sympathetically and kneeled beside her lover. “It will come back to you in a little while.”
Diana sighed and nodded. “I suppose so.”
With a gentle hand Elana brushed the hair from Di’nay’s face. She looks very tired, Elana thought. She looks almost as fatigued as she did that day in the garden. Did all Terrans make Amazons feel as battle-worn as Paul made Di’nay feel? The weariness in her lover worried her. “You are upset by more than his poor boating?”
“Ah yes.” Diana drew a long breath. She certainly had been, hadn’t she? “Part of it was my fault. I shouldn’t have assumed so much. I should have asked him for more details that other night when we were planning.”
“He said he could handle a canoe. What more should you have asked?”
“How well — how — ?” Diana grinned at herself, somewhat derisively. She had fallen for the old Terran line that it was her own fault when Garrison had been the one to err — to egotistically misrepresent himself with that small exaggeration.
Elana smiled too. “And I thought all Amazons were raised to be suspicious of men. At least enough not to feel responsible for their egos.”
“Well, sometimes… when we’ve been off-world, we do tend to forget.”
Still, Elana guessed — watching Di’nay, trying to unravel the knotted amarin — the man’s carelessness had not been the sole worry. “Something changed between you two the other morning — after we attacked the two soldiers. Do you remember what it was?”
“No, before then.” Diana shook her head, remembering only too well. “It was the evening after our scuffle.”
Elana thought about that a moment. “He brought you some tea.”
“Tea!” Diana dove into her pack. Triumphantly she pulled out a new parcel. “For us. I picked it up at the trading post — a change of taste for a night or two.”
“You’re not going to tell me what went on between you two, are you?”
Diana shook her head slowly, “No. It’s just a feeling. Nothing happened. Nothing was said.” Her gaze drifted out to the tumbling river waters. “It’s mostly my own suspicions, that’s all.”
“You’re instincts about situations — about men — are often valid.” Elana’s eyes bent to the small package in her hand. “Why do you doubt them now?”
Diana asked abruptly, “Are you comfortable with Paul?”
“Comfortable? I don’t think I understand what you mean.”
“Are you uncomfortable around him? Does he make you feel odd — ill at ease?”
“I…,” she shrugged, “no more than any other off-worlder would, I suppose.”
Diana’s dark eyes turned to her sharply. “How do you mean?”
“In truth, I have rather low expectations for him. Every time he’s polite enough to smile and say thank you, I am immensely impressed. A rather insulting way to credit him, I’m afraid.”
They laughed together at that, and the smile that curved Di’nay’s lips reminded Elana of how beautiful the woman could be when she was truly happy. A warmth spread through Elana that she still had the key to unlock that small corner of peace in her lover. “So tell me what has this to do with your ill feelings for the man?”
“Nothing and everything,” Diana grinned. And she thought that actually there was nothing to be jealous about. “It is merely proof that I worry over much.”
“A thing I have often accused you of!” Elana retorted sassily. And she smiled as she got to her feet as the forest noises announced the Terran’s imminent return.
† † †
“I haven’t thanked you for such a wonderful dinner.” Paul wrapped the extra blanket around his shoulders.
“Your fish,” Elana reminded him, sparing him a smile. In the past two days, he’d been trying very hard not to irritate Di’nay.
Still it seemed to Elana that he was always either complimenting her or cross-examining Di’nay’s decision, even though he was quick to apologize and withdraw at Di’nay’s slightest annoyance. Too quick. Elana remembered her first impression of him, that he was shallow and self-centered. He was certainly charming, but charm only went so far.
She finished stirring the embers into the mud and set the heating unit on high, directing it toward Paul’s huddled figure. The rain had grown a little steadier, and the friendly, crisp nip in the air had vanished shortly after they passed Rotava. It was a wet, frosty winter that was settling in, and Elana found only a small measure of comfort in the fact that the farmers would have plenty of water for their next growing season — provided the winter held to this pattern.
Beyond the sheltering tarp which they had brought from the trader, Di’nay’s still figure sat on watch, huddled in the shadows of the silverpines. The Amazon’s sword and bow were invisible in the lines of darkness. Her body was a black contour, blending with the shapes of the river and the night. Beyond her, the twin moons barely peeked through the overcast, graying the hushed waters of the Suiri. The river was a dull, uneven surface pocketed with little raindrops as the drizzle continued. Few hunters were abroad tonight, Elana guessed, and she only hoped that the human kind were not prowling either.
Paul broke into her thoughts. “Is there more tea?”
Elana waved at the single pot set to the side of the heater. “You’re welcomed to the rest.” Picking up her full cup, she quietly got to her feet to walk toward Diana.
“Where are you…?”
“Visiting.
“Di’nay?”
Diana was startled, then chagrined as she recognized the gentle voice as Elana’s. “What brings you out in the rain?”
Elana smiled, moving forward again. “I have a cup of tea to share. Would you like some company?”
“If you don’t mind the damp,” Diana warned, pleased as she made room on the makeshift seat of her thermal blanket.
“I don’t mind,” Elana said, handing Di’nay the cup, then nestling close beneath her arm, and Di’nay’s cloak wrapped about them both.
With a contented sigh, Diana swallowed a sip of the tea. She didn’t care how cold it was or how many hours of watch she had left — Elana was near and the tea was warm. In that instant, she wanted nothing else.
“Are you ever going to tell me of your growing suspicions? They fairly shout from you. Garrison is pleasing you less and less, it would seem.” Elana slipped a hand between the laces of Di’nay’s jerkin. The softness of the breast and the warmth of the fieldsuit through the tunic made a welcoming nest for cold fingers.
Diana chuckled, “If you really want to know.”
“I want to know.”
With an awkward shrug, Diana admitted, “It is simple jealousy.”
Elana answered with a scoffing laugh.
“An absurd idea, isn’t it?”
“That I could be interested in a Terran male? It certainly is.”
Diana shook her head quickly. “Not you. My impressions are of Paul. He seems attracted to you. He runs around like a poorly trained pup after a child.”
“I have not done anything to encourage him,” Elana assured her firmly. “He is building it all in his own little mind.”
That had not been a denial. More seriously, Diana asked, “I’m not mistaken then? He is attracted to you?”
Elana snuggled against her lover’s chest. “He is flattering his ego.”
“In what way?”
“He is very intimidated by you, my dearest. And in his shallow soul he finds consolation only in my occasional smile.”
Diana grinned, remembering several incidents. “When you thank him for gathering wood or warn him not to eat the spice
leaf in the stew.”
“And Mother forbid I should notice his exhaustion and ask for a respite!”
“You are more acutely aware of his frailties than I am,” Diana murmured. After all, it was not her desire to drive him until he collapsed.
“I have the advantage of deciphering his amarin,” Elana reminded her softly. “His fatigue is only too apparent. If he was less stubborn, he could call the halt himself.”
“But then he would not be who he is.”
Elana sighed. “Off-worlders do not seem so different from the people of Aggar. Foolishness is always foolish. The only difference is that technology allows even the frail and feeble-minded power enough to declare wars and murder people.”
“Perhaps you are right.” Diana’s thoughts drifted back to Paul and her own misgivings and she hugged Elana quickly. “Are you comfortable with his attraction?”
“It does not disturb me. He is very polite… not at all intimidating.”
“If he makes you uneasy in any way…?”
A teasing chuckle answered her as Elana kissed the place above Di’nay’s heart. “I do not doubt your readiness, my fearless Amazon, and I do not think he will do anything I cannot handle. But thank you.”
Her grasp tightened. Diana believed that too.
† † †
They pressed on through their last night on the trail, pausing at the shore only long enough to eat. Time was short, perhaps too short. Diana only hoped Cleis would be in Gronday. Still wary of decisions to come, Diana sent them back to the river with regret. The hours left to Elana and herself were growing fewer.
The gloomy fog and drizzle of the wintry morning clung tenaciously to the river shores, and Diana welcomed its added cloaking. The current was a lazy flow here on the Suiri, and their boat slipped upstream with a quiet, quick speed. The added luxury of the gentle current had been the reason that Paul had been able to paddle too, and they had switched off positions every three or four hours so that each of them could have the chance to sleep.
Diana counted them fortunate so far. She planned to stay overnight at Mattee’s since they would reach port around mid-afternoon. But she was still leery of this calm; she suspected they needed to be preparing for anything.
The rain thickened as the fog lifted, and Elana, wrapped in a blanket amidst the gear, nodded at the dim outline ahead. “The old cavalry’s river fort.” She pointed ahead, outlining the dilapidated stone walls that crept down to the edge of the forested beach. “It’s been empty for about two hundred tenmoons — since the King moved them to Gronday.”
“It means we’re closer than we thought.” It was still early afternoon.
Garrison’s paddle paused as he demanded, “What’d she say?”
Elana wearily shifting back into Common. “Five leagues to the town.”
He bobbed his head as if there had been some decision of great importance.
Elana sighed. She was immensely glad Di’nay did not speak this Common as a native tongue, because it was not in the least pleasant to listen to. And then another thought brought a mischievous smile to her lips — she wouldn’t be surprised if Paul actually liked the sound of the language, poor man.
The mists closed in around them again, and Diana bent her concentration to her steady stroking. She was surprised at how anxious she had become and at how much she was hoping to find Cleis ahead.
Elana finished changing from her trousers into her skirt, when Diana suddenly noticed that the woman had turned in the process and was watching her mutely.
At her questioning amarin, Elana said, “Gronday is not the Council’s Keep.”
Astute observer, Diana admitted. “Part of me is beginning to equate Gronday with safety. But you’re right. There are still many leagues to cover. I was just realizing how much I’m relying on Cleis and the others to help us.”
“There is some benefit to a larger party at this point.”
“They know by now we are not coming through Black Falls. They’ve probably known for several days.”
Elana nodded. “If their captain is bright and ambitious, he will reason we’ve come upriver.”
Diana’s stomach tightened. “Let us hope he is tired and anticipating a pension.”
“Perhaps Gronday will be a safe enough haven. Your friend will be there, I know it.”
“Our friend perhaps?” Diana’s paddle dipped and sculled in the gray waters. “The thought of meeting Cleis once disquieted you. Is it still so?”
Elana shook her head, freeing her hair from its braid. “I was much less certain of you — of us then.”
Diana did not look at Elana. “What are you more certain of?”
The blue fire and scorching touch of those eyes reached her, holding Diana with a fierceness that stole the very breath from her throat. She gasped as the fleeting embrace receded, the power of Elana’s emotions lingering — tantalizing her body with memories of impassioned nights and softer words.
“You have an unfair advantage!” Diana chokes hoarsely.
Elana laughed, a sweet sound that drew Diana’s smile.
Garrison’s harsh Common interrupted them suddenly. “To the left!”
Elana spun forward in her seat as Diana looked to the port. The faint lapping of river on wood drifted through the haze, and a barge appeared out of the gloom. Dim figures moved along the flat deck, checking the ropes that secured the cargo crates.
Bound for Rotava and further west, Diana thought. Neither boat acknowledged the other, and the mists soon veiled them all again. But Diana knew the crew had not been long out of harbor because they were still walking the ties, looking for slackened lines. She turned her eyes ahead, peering for signs of Gronday.
The noises of the city heralded their arrival before the docks became visible. The low din of open carts and warehouse clatter grew slowly, although the individual cries and gruff curses were barely distinguishable. Today the air muffled the animals sounds from the wharfside liveries, and the fog parted just enough to let them glimpse the sprawling buildings. Mammoth by Aggar’s standard and impressive after endless days spent in the forests, Gronday dominated the river shore with an endless line of wooden walls.
A large city, Gronday was known for the crystal glass it produced and the crafted furniture it created. It was home of the best mead in the Ramains since silverpine bees were native, though grains were imported, since the soil eroded too easily when the woodlands were cut back.
It was a place of pride for the Traders’ Guild whose largest tannery was housed in the southern quadrant, because those silverpines also sheltered creatures with some of the finest pelts on the northern continent. It was a city built on news and commerce and merchants’ dreams. It was a testimony to the great strides the people of this planet had made — just as Elana’s independence heralded a new step for the Blue Sight.
She was brought back to the present, guiding their small craft around the cargo flats. Fishing boats were safely moored upstream at the eastern end of the harbor.
Diana turned their canoe towards shore. Everything was shrouded and quiet in this eastern sector. “I do believe they’ve built another dock.”
“No, they haven’t.” Elana pointed to the L-shaped pier where a young boy sat hunched over his fishing pole. “There — where Madt’dan is. They’ve only added another few sections paralleling the shore.”
Diana followed the line of her finger. “I see it now.” She slid them round the end of the pier, bringing them between the shore and that sheltering arm.
The young boy’s head snapped up. He pulled in his line as he recognized Di’nay. Mattee’s boy of six snatched up his bait jar and scampered down the steps of the inner pier. He grinned and waved as the canoe cleared the corner. He’d grown a good hand’s breadth in the scant monarcs she’d been gone.
The drag of Garrison’s trailing paddle drew her attention. “He’s a friend,” Diana called softly in Common, and Paul nodded, lifting his paddle. They bumped the lower dock gently. T
here was not a single soul about save for young Madt’dan. With a somber expression the boy hurried to secure the lines, intent as any newly trained apprentice in making his knots.
Diana nodded at his proud work as she climbed out, and extended a single palm in greeting. “Well done, Tad Madt’dan. Well done.”
Her clasp was strongly met for a twelve-year-old, but she could not play this formality to the end, and laughing, she hugged him.
The boy grinned, bursting with pride, although he was at an age where such displays usually caused him embarrassment. But Tad Di’nay was different, this was his Southern friend. “Father sent me to meet you,” Madt’dan explained, only half-curiously eyeing Di’nay’s two companions. “He has sent me each day to fish an’ look for you.”
“Is Tad Leist here then?”
He nodded officiously. “Aye, with your other southways folks. Father has them in your quarters an’ those next to yours.”
“Good.” Diana drew a short breath, feeling better. But her sixth sense would not be quieted. Cautiously she scanned the pier above them. She drew him to where Paul bent, taking the gear as Elana passed things up from the boat. “This is Paul.”
Still kneeling, Paul paused and looked at the two of them. Diana laid a hand on his shoulder and said, “Paul — he is working for me now. He does not speak your language. Can you help him with the supplies and bring these things up to the inn?”
The boy nodded solemnly. He’d not often been given charge of a servant; he was still too young for that. But Mattee had told him that Di’nay’s mission this trip was very important and that they needed to be ready to help with anything.
“You must bring him by the back way,” Diana explained quietly, glancing overhead again at the pier. “The packs come to the room but the other goes to the stables. And Tad’l, the fewer people you see, the better.”
He nodded again, his thick hair falling into his eyes.
“Can I trust you with the bow and crossbow there?” Diana did not want to bring the weapons into the commons room. It might give too many people ideas on where the Southern Trader had been. She wanted to leave neither Paul nor weapons with the lad, but Mattee knew the ways of his city well, and it would have appeared odd if she had come in fully equipped and yet not been met — or if she had not left the unloading to Paul and the boy.
Shadows of Aggar (Amazons of Aggar) Page 47
