Lands of Nowhere

by Shannah Jay

  'Hey, how'll you get past the perimeter guards, though?' asked Quinna. 'That'll be the hard part. They pick the best people for the perimeter, you know. It's an honour to keep watch there, and folk don't want to lose it.

  Besides, the lives of the community depend upon them. I wouldn't like to leave them vulnerable, and I couldn't kill one of my friends.'

  'There will be no need for killing.'

  Quinna scowled at Herra, chewing her lips. 'We'll have to think of some way of tricking them, then, and it'd better be good. Our lives will depend on it. Quedras doesn't play games when he's angry, y'know.'

  Herra chuckled. 'There's no problem in leaving the camp, Quinna. We'll get past the perimeter guards by using my "magic", of course! Now, go and get your things, my friend. We'll meet you back here in half an hour.'

  And in even less than an hour, they were on their way. Herra made the babies drowsy for this crucial part of the trip. The Kindred had so few possessions now that it was quite simple to give the word and go. Too simple, thought Herra. Quequere warned us that there'd be some check.

  But the sense of danger was not immediate, so she set aside her worries for the time being. Feeling full of vigour and happiness at the thought of resuming their Quest, she led the way up towards the Quoin, her feet more nimble on the rocks than anyone else's, even when she took her turn at carrying one of the babies. Was there ever such a ridiculous Quest? she thought, staring down at the sleeping infant's face in the carrying sling.

  Nine people and three babies, out to save the world! Brother, walk beside us!

  Two hours later, they approached the Quoin. With a casual flick of her hand, Herra stilled the guards who were always on duty up there.

  Cheral, watching the ease with which the Elder Sister accomplished a task beyond most Sisters' capability, thought that Herra seemed to have sprung into vibrant life again. Herra's Enhancement has increased during this resting period, she thought to herself. I must study its progress most carefully. I'm probably the only person with the appropriate skills ever to observe the full course of an Enhancement.

  This thought inevitably led her to picture the temple she loved. One day, she vowed, brushing a stray lock of soft dark hair out of the sleeping Lerina's eyes, one day, my little shooga-bird, I'll go back to Temple Tenebrak and write down the story of our Quest for the Archives. Her eyes grew moist at the thought of the cool cellars below the temple, full of the recorded knowledge acquired by the Sisterhood during more than twenty thousand years of striving to follow the Path of Wisdom. The God her Brother had called her to this Quest and she would strive to her utmost to accomplish his desires, but one day, surely, he would allow her to return home to Tenebrak. She ached just to think of it.

  One day, you shall go home, a voice seemed to echo in her head. But it will be a long time hence, little Sister.

  Cheral swallowed hard. She was unworthy, but her Brother had just spoken to her directly. So much joy filled her that she had to take several deep breaths of the cool night air to calm herself. She vowed fiercely, as she followed Herra into the caverns of the Quoin, that she wouldn’t let her Brother or her Kindred down.

  Inside the Quoin everything was pitch black. Cheral passed Lerina to Carryn and moved forward slowly, fumbling for one of the lamps that usually hung ready near the entrance. They all stopped dead in their tracks when the cave around them began to grow lighter, a faint sourceless illumination that was nevertheless enough to allow them to find their way.

  'Quequere?' called Herra quietly, stepping forward. 'Is that you?'

  The light flickered twice and continued to increase until they could see their way plainly.

  'Show them where the packs are, Cheral,' said Herra. She went over to stand by the staircase wall, laying her hands on the rock as if to facilitate communion with the strange being who inhabited the Quoin. A low rumble shook the cave, making the others work feverishly, but Herra remained motionless, her hands still pressed against the rock, trying to reciprocate Quequere's farewell, hoping her love had got through to Fiana.

  Outside the caverns, they re-apportioned the packs and infants, then looked at Herra for guidance. She looked in her turn to Quinna. 'Do you know your way right across these mountains, my friend?'

  'No! No one does. But I can take you along to the north of our patch, to Drymouth Ridge. That's as far as any of us have ever gone. Beyond it, there's supposed to be a pass through the mountains, but who knows if that's so? The ones who went further and came back didn't remember a thing about it. It's hard country up there, and there's no water that we know of. That's how it got its name. I warn you now, it'll be hard going, with the babies and all.' She looked pointedly at Jonner, for whom she had little time or respect.

  He scowled back at her. 'I'll keep up!'

  'See that you do, little man!'

  'We know the dangers, Quinna, but our Brother will guide our steps,' intervened Herra with unabated cheerfulness. 'And we shall need Jonner's trading expertise when we get to the Twelve Claims, so don't underestimate his value. Right then, lead the way, my friend.'

  Cheral, who had somehow expected there to be a map, shook her head. This setting off into the unknown was alien to her nature. Brother, lend me a little of Herra's certainty! she prayed, looking at her companions and unconsciously echoing Herra's thoughts about the Kindred - was ever a group so ill suited to a quest?

  By morning they’d travelled several kloms, even over the hard rocky terrain. Quinna led them, but Katia was by her side and could often point out an easier way of getting to the next landmark.

  Katia seemed to have an instinctive understanding of how the land would unfold, Davred thought, watching her gestures. Sometimes she would turn and smile at him and his heart would leap up inside him.

  One of the things he loved most about his wife was her wide warm smile. In a camp of warriors and hunters she had been quiet and withdrawn, misliking their casual approach to life and death, and hating the controlled violence that was a central part of them.

  Here in the open countryside, however, he could see Katia beginning to relax again. His dearest wish was to see her in her native forests, which they'd talked about so often. Perhaps, now that Herra had revealed the High Alder to be their destination, that might be possible. It sounded like a beautiful place and might still be peaceful. War, he thought, sighing, who am I to fight a war?

  He stumbled and jerked little Alaran, so that the babe stirred and grizzled sleepily. Of all the people here, Davred thought ruefully, looking down at his son, I am the least suited to a journey through the claims. My studies in the Confederation were poor preparation for this Quest. My body is better trained and controlled since I've joined the Kindred, but I'm very ignorant of what life is really like outside the temples. Observing the claims from the satellite is one thing; living in them without being detected by Those of the Serpent is quite another! Well, I'll just have to do my best to learn.

  And you must learn to lead your Kindred.

  Was that a voice or a figment of his imagination?

  No figment, Davred. Call me Brother.

  'Our Brother is with us tonight,' came Herra's voice from behind him. 'Rejoice, my Kindred, for we do not travel alone.'

  Davred turned and saw Herra's luminous smile a few paces behind him.

  'Our Brother just spoke to me,' he said, still awe-struck.

  'And so he will, increasingly. You'll learn to recognise his voice whispering in your ear.'

  Davred would have liked to walk beside her and discuss this phenomenon, but the rocky surface was growing steeper and they had to go in single file. Besides, he needed all his concentration to tread carefully, so as not to stumble and jerk his son awake.

  Like her husband, Katia too was worrying about how their group would manage to travel over such rough terrain. She walked more sure-footedly than Davred, for she had grown up among mountains, so she was able to study her companions as they made their way upwards. Quinna ploughed ahead, whatever
happened, and was at home in the rocky foothills; Benjan was so strong physically that he could cope with almost anything; but Jonner was a town-dweller at heart and tripped over the most obvious things. That always set him off cursing and muttering to himself. There was no travelling quietly with him in their group!

  Katia sighed. She’d missed Fiana's quiet strength over the past few weeks, but at least Herra had promised them they would see their Sister again.

  Beside her, a figure toiled silently up the slope, carrying little Lerina. Cheral was as much a town-dweller at heart as Jonner, but she had a Sister's ability to control her body, and she had grown much tougher during the months of living with Those of Quequere, losing some of her plumpness. She needed no help to keep up with them, but even so she was not, and never would be, at home in the countryside.

  Katia smiled to herself. In your hands, Brother! Then she raised her head to sniff the breeze. None of the others seemed to have very finely tuned senses, not even Quinna, who had grown up in this region. A faint odour of something strange made Katia stop so abruptly that Davred bumped into her.

  'Quinna!' she whispered. 'Quinna, can you smell something?'

  Quinna stopped and sniffed the air. 'No.'

  'Well, I can.'

  Quinna stiffened. 'What's it like?'

  'Sharp. And sort of musky.'

  'Oh, damn! I can't smell it yet, but it sounds like a cliff cat's lair.'

  'Like those pelts you use?'

  'Yeah. Big sort of cat. Even larger than a fighting nerid. You can smell their lairs from a distance. They usually live in caves among the rocks.' She loosened her sword in its sheath. 'Benjan, honey, better get ready for a fight. There are cliff cats ahead and they'll be hungry after the winter.'

  Herra joined them. 'I can still them, surely?'

  Quinna shrugged. 'You might be able to still one, or even two, but I wouldn't count on that solving the problem, because they usually live in groups. They feed on snakes and rock-rats, or anything else that comes along. In bad winters they even come down and snatch the mountain nerids from the lower slopes. There'll probably be a couple of males and three or four females. If any of them have littered recently, they'll fight like berserkers to defend the kits. And they don't give up easily, either, once they've scented food, so we daren't take the risk of them stalking us afterwards. We'll have to kill them all, every last one, to be sure.'

  'Couldn't we go round?' asked Carryn, taking her sleeping daughter back from Cheral with a smile of thanks.

  'There is no way around, at least, none that I know of. The only route is over the top of Drymouth Ridge and then along the heights into Three Shadows Pass - and we can't be sure where that will lead us on the other side.' She pursed her lips in thought for a moment, then added brightly, 'In fact, we may all be dead by this time tomorrow.' She was smiling slightly, clearly taking pleasure in the thought of a real fight. Things had been a bit peaceful lately on the Rims.

  Benjan grinned. 'You speak for yourself, Quin!'

  'No!' Herra shook her head firmly. 'I've no idea what will happen to us on the other side of the ridge, but I know that we'll survive this journey, that our Quest will go on. So we'll take the risk that I can still enough of them, Quinna, to allow you to defeat the rest of them by force. We are not, under any circumstance, going back.'

  They climbed slowly on up the rocky hillside, letting Herra lead them. The lack of sleep was beginning to tell on some of the group and it was a visible effort for them to keep going. Debris slid beneath their feet and clattered down the mountainside behind them. Quinna grumbled aloud that even a blind worm could follow their trail by the noise they were making but, catching Herra's eyes on her, she shrugged and grinned at the Elder Sister. There was nothing they could do about the noise with such a group, so why worry?

  As the sun rose in the sky, they could see their way more clearly, but there seemed to be no warmth in the air around them. Suddenly, Herra stopped and held up one hand. They all stopped climbing.

  'One of those shadows moved,' she said quietly. 'Over to the right. Can you see anything, Quinna?'

  'No. But we should get our weapons out now. They're quick, those cliff cats.'

  Katia took a step forward, face pale and unhappy. 'Let me help you, Herra. I don't like to think of animals being killed just because we're afraid of them. Perhaps I can communicate with them.' She handed Erlic to her husband and moved to Herra's side.

  'You won't get the time to tell them to stop,' Quinna insisted, 'and you haven't got a weapon. You'll be a liability if you stand at the front, Katia.'

  'I haven't got a weapon that kills,' said Katia quietly, 'but I can partly still things so that they're slowed down, and I can cast illusions.'

  She spoke so firmly that Herra glanced at her. Katia is still maturing, she thought in surprise. Like Davred's, her powers are increasing all the time. Why did I not notice the changes before? I'll have to ask Cheral's advice about the best way to help both Katia and Davred prepare for leadership. Then the shadows moved again and she abandoned her speculations to concentrate on the here and now.

  But it was either a false alarm or the cliff cats had decided not to attack. After a while, as there was no more movement, they resumed their laborious ascent of Drymouth Ridge.

  As the sun began to gild the sky and make their path easier, even Jonner's muttered curses and complaints ceased. Katia was beginning to hope that the cliff cats would leave them alone and that they'd get over the ridge without any trouble, when there came a soft call from Benjan at the rear.

  'Look below. I think it's Quedras.'

  Quinna skidded down to his side and squinted at the tiny figures below them. 'How did those rrascals catch up with us so quickly?' She squeezed Benjan's shoulder briefly. 'Better get ready for a hard fight, Ben boy. We'll never outpace Quedras.'

  Ahead of the party two of the shadows moved at the same time and Herra called out a warning. 'I saw the animals themselves that time. They do look like giant cats, Quinna.'

  Quinna swore fluently, cast a longing look at their pursuers and scrabbled back up to join Herra. 'Yeah, that's cliff cats all right,' she agreed after a moment's study of the ridge. 'Planning to ambush us. They're cunning devils! We'll have to find somewhere to protect the babies, a group of rocks, or best of all, a cave.'

  Narla, who was carrying Alaran, gasped and hugged the dark little head closer. She had already been designated as the one who would mind the babies if there were trouble, for she’d not shown an aptitude for fighting.

  Herra turned to Katia. 'Can you sense any gaps in the cliffs around us, little Sister?'

  Katia stood still and concentrated. 'Over there, I think.'

  Quinna grinned at her. 'I like this magic,' she said. 'You couldn't make those cats vanish while you're at it, could you, Katia, girl?'

  'I only wish I could.'

  They followed Katia up a fissure in the steep outthrust of a rock face. Although the going was rough, after a while they found that the rock had formed a kind of ramp, wider than it appeared from below. Beneath their feet, debris shifted and stones tumbled, but Katia assured them that the fissure and the ramp would be passable right to the top.

  'Well, she'd better be right,' muttered Jonner to Narla. 'I'm not good at heights.' He shivered and hugged the cliff face so tightly that it slowed his progress down considerably.

  'Are you all right?' asked Narla, for she could see that his face was greasy with sweat and fear.

  'I'll manage.'

  'Cats won't like this sort of footing!' said Quinna with satisfaction, as her feet slithered on the loose dirt.

  'I don't, either,' grumbled Cheral, who was now carrying Erlic.

  At the top of the fissure, they found a near-flat area and at one side of it, a V-shaped hollow in the rocky wall, too small to call a cave, but large enough to shelter Narla and the babies. The group ranged itself around the apron of rock in front of the hollow.

  Suddenly a series of high-pitched yowls
tore at their eardrums and a dusty yellowy-beige animal flashed up the cleft towards them. Herra pointed one finger and stilled the cat, but it was always more difficult to still non-humans and before she dared take her attention away from it, another cat had hurled itself at Quinna. She yelled and swung her sword quickly, but only managed to wound it. She cursed and sidestepped its swiping claws, but it grazed her arm deeply enough to make blood drip steadily down her hand.

  Benjan stepped forward to finish the cat off, but it whirled and flung itself out of his way, retreating behind a rock below them.

  'You all right?' he snapped, eyes still on the cat.

  'Yeah. It's only a shallow graze.'

  'Good fighters, aren't they?'

  'Too damned good!'

  Another cat, which had been creeping up behind the rocks, reared up to attack Katia, but she threw an illusion of a sharp-clawed bird of prey at it, so realistic that it screeched and tried to dodge. By that time, Herra was ready to still this one as well and it fell in slow motion down the slope as its limbs lost the power of movement.

  A shout from below made Quinna curse again. 'We can't deal with two enemies at once! I told you Quedras wouldn't let you lot go so easily! The greedy devil wants too much. He'd like to own everyone and everything in the Rims.'

  'And those cats are creeping up to attack us again,' said Jonner, who had contributed a few well-placed stones with his sling, helping slow the cats down. He joined in now, as Quinna and Benjan threw rocks at the cats and drove them down the slope again.

  'They'll be back,' said Quinna gloomily. 'You wait.'

  Katia stepped forward to examine the rocky fissure they had just climbed. 'I have an idea. I think I can stop them all at once, Quedras and the cats.'

  ' You can!' exclaimed Quinna, patently disbelieving. 'Hey, look, Katia, I don't think - '

  Benjan nudged her. 'Let our Kinswoman speak, at least, Quin.'