Kaid shook his head, mentally shying away from any thought of that. “I have a son to be proud of in Dzaka, I don’t need any more. Now the sooner you go, the sooner you can join Taizia!”
As he stood looking over the gardens, he felt Noni’s presence behind him.
“What is it now?” he sighed.
“There will be cubs, Tallinu, prepare yourself for that,” she said quietly, coming up to stand beside him. “Your cubs. I saw them before, and I’ve seen them since.”
“Leave me alone, Rhuna!” he said, fighting to keep his ears from flattening sideways in anger. “Will you never be done with your meddling? I don’t want cubs! You don’t know what you’re talking about anyway. We aren’t fully compatible.”
“I only tell you what I see, not how it’ll happen. In Vartra’s name, Tallinu, live the life you’ve been given! Don’t analyze or agonize over it. You’ve discovered your origins, you have the respect and love of those who matter to you, and your son is finally safe from Ghezuâ what more could you ask for?”
“Peace from your meddling!” he snarled, losing his battle for self-control and storming off into the grounds.
*
From upstairs, despite her tiredness, Carrie had sensed his increasing mental turmoil and had kept a discreet link to him. He’d become as distant as if he’d returned to the old relationship of bodyguard and Liegeman, abandoning the closeness they’d all three found through the Triad and the shared experience of their journey to the Fire Margins.
Getting up, she slipped on her loose outer robe and fished under the bed for her shoes. Somebody needed to be close enough to help him, and the only suitable person she could think of was T’Chebbi.
Chapter 2
As Kusac left their suite to go down for first meal, he saw that beyond the environmental shields, the first snow had begun to fall. The inner courtyard, open to the sky above, was already covered by a blanket of white. Winters could be bitter and this one, if the recent gales were anything to go by, looked set to be such a one. On Jalna, where Jo and her party were, it would be spring; by the time they got there, it would be summer. It was almost worth going for the change of climate alone, he thought irreverently as a small shiver ran through him.
He was hoping to catch Kaid in the kitchen rather than disturb him in his rooms. Kaid had been in a strange mood for the last couple of days. All Dzaka could tell them was what they already knew, that his father felt distant and withdrawnâ even from him. Kusac was hoping that what he planned to suggest they do today would help focus him on the present rather than worry about what was long past.
Pushing open their family kitchen door, he saw Kaid still sitting at the table, his meal just finished.
“Just the person I want to see,” he said, sitting down opposite him. “We’ve been considering this mission to Jalna that no one’s told us about yet, and we can’t see how it can be accomplished by just the two of us. Especially now that there are two more people to rescue.”
“Not two more, nine in all,” murmured Kaid.
“Nine!” Kusac was shocked. “How did nine people…” He broke off to start again. “I think it’s time you told us about Jalna, don’t you?”
Kaid regarded him from under lowered brows. “I only found out for sure days before I left for Rhijudu. I didn’t want to spoil your joy in Carrie’s pregnancy.”
Kusac made a gesture of denial. “That’s unimportant. Just tell me now.”
“It seems the Valtegan starship orbiting Keiss had four Sholan captives on board. Where they got them, we don’t know, but it’s likely they were picked up either at Khyaal or Szurtha. We do know that the Valtegans sold them on Jalna in exchange for supplies.”
“Jo and Davies were sent down to rescue them.”
“No,” said Kaid, reaching out to refill his mug as Zhala came in with a tray bearing Kusac’s meal and a jug of coffee. He waited till the cook had left before continuing.
“Jo Edwards, Gary Davies, and a Terran telepath called Kris Daniels were sent to find a Valtegan craft that crashed on the planet’s surface after takeoffâ crashed on interdicted ground. The High Command wanted anything they could find on the Valtegans, including any indication of what that craft was doing there. The four Sholans were to be left for you and Carrie to locate, and hopefully rescue.”
Kusac poured himself coffee and began to eat. “Go on,” he said. “Apart from the impossibility of the two of us locating and rescuing four people on our own, how did they plan to get round the fact that the Jalnians are humanoid and I’m obviously not.”
“Jalna is beyond Chemerian home space. I don’t need to remind you how paranoid they are about allowing the other Alliance races access to their sector. Apparently they’ve been trading at Jalna for the last fifty years. In keeping the existence of the world secret, they’ve also hidden the fact that it’s a trading point for several other previously unknown species. It wasn’t till the Valtegans called in there with the Sholan captives that they began to panic and confessed to the Alliance. Not that they’re concerned about the captive Sholans, of course: They’re demanding we go in and find out what those they call our enemies are up to.”
“Nice of them,” said Kusac wryly. “So once again I’m reduced to playing the role of a forest cat. Great.”
His words brought a grin from Kaid. “Hardly. One of the species that trades there is similar to usâ felinoid as you call itâ but all of them are black furred. Given that two of the missing Sholans are telepaths, with your abilities and appearance, you make the ideal team. And,” he let out his breath in a long sigh, “they want to field-test you as agents.”
Kusac nodded. “It had to come, didn’t it? That’s why we’ve gotten all the financing we’ve needed for security and setting up the specialized medical facilities here on my estate.”
“Got it in one,” said Kaid, looking down at his mug as he swirled the last of its contents around. “The Valtegan craft that crashed was illegally landing some object on the planet’s surface, presumably for collection later. Jo and her group were trying to find out what it was.”
“And did they?”
Kaid looked up. “You know they did. Rezac and Zashou.”
Kusac frowned. “The Valtegans sold four Sholans into slavery yet landed Rezac and Zashou, free, on the surface? That doesn’t make sense, Kaid.”
“Not them, as such,” Kaid amended. “They landed what could only be some kind of stasis cube. Inside it were Rezac and Zashou. Jo’s group must have been captured as they opened it and released them.”
“How d’you know all this?”
Kaid raised an eye ridge. “I have my sources,” he said. “News of the stasis cube was picked up by our telepath on the Chemerian ship that took them to Jalna. If they weren’t being held in some Lord’s castle, the Sumaan troops on that craft would have gotten them out by now, but a castle in the middle of a busy town is a little too public. We aren’t ready yet for an official First Contact with four new species.”
“It’s going to take a damned sight more than the two of us to get that many people out of captivity. Do we have any idea where the four Sholans are?”
Kaid’s ear flicked in a negative. “None.”
Kusac ate in silence for a few minutes. “Have some coffee. You’ve been nursing those dregs for long enough,” he said absently, pushing his empty plate aside. “Carrie promised Rezac we’d come for them, so we’re committed whether or not we want to be. The only questions now are how many will go, and who they’ll be. If we’re dong this, we’ll do it on our terms, not theirs. It’s our lives at stake, after all.” He looked sharply at Kaid as the other helped himself to the coffee. “You’re coming with us?”
Kaid hesitated, spooning sweetener and whitener into his drink, then stirring it.“Did Carrie tell you I’m planning to go to Stronghold?”
“Yes, but I got the impression it was for a short while.” Kusac tried not to let his surprise show. That Kaid might not wish to
be part of this mission hadn’t occurred to him. Perhaps it should have.
“I need some time to myself,” Kaid continued. “I want to learn how to use my Talent properly, and that I can do at Stronghold. I don’t intend to put myself in Esken’s hands.”
“Does that mean you’re considering remaining on Shola?”
There was a small silence before Kaid asked, “Why do you want me to come?”
Kusac couldn’t hide his surprise this time. “Because there’s no one apart from Carrie that I’d rather have at my side. Surely by now you know how much Iâ and sheâ trust you?”
“Trust. It comes down to that in the end, doesn’t it?” The question was rhetorical. “If I’m finished with Stronghold, yes, I’ll come,” he said.
Something was wrong, really wrong, Kusac realized suddenly. This was so unlike Kaid, even the Kaid from the days on the Khalossa. “You’ll help me plan for this mission, though?”
Kaid nodded. “I’ll help, yes, and suggest personnel for you. You’ll want several Sholans if you can disguise them as these aliens, but the bulk of people involved may have to be Humans, with at least two or three telepaths. I can find out who among the Terrans would be the best choices.”
At least he’d piqued his interest; that was a start. Perhaps he’d change his mind nearer the time. Kusac pushed his chair back. “Then let’s get started.”
Reluctantly Kaid nodded and got to his feet.
*
When they broke for second meal, Kusac remained in his office. Switching the room’s psychic dampers on, he keyed in Stronghold’s number on his comm. He felt guilty at going behind Kaid’s back like this, but he really was concerned for his friend’s health.
The speed with which he was routed through to the Head Priest’s private unit convinced him his call had come as no surprise, and that he’d made the right decision.
“I’ve been expecting you to contact me,” said Lijou. “It’s Kaid, isn’t it?”
“You’ve noticed, too. He’s cutting himself off from us, Lijou. Creating those mental barriers again.”
“What’s caused that?”
“I don’t know, that’s the problem. As to when, he started acting strangely a couple of days before the Validation. The day after the first storm, in fact.”
“Could the storm have triggered it?”
“No idea, but he woke Carrie because of some nightmare or something.”
“Nightmare? What about?”
“He didn’t sayâ blamed it on something he’d eaten, but he woke again later. Did you know he spent the night before the ceremony at the Shrine?”
“Ghyan mentioned it. He said he seemed restless and uneasy: His eyes were heavy from lack of sleep the next day. Kaid definitely felt strained during and after the ceremony yesterday. Are you sure the la’quo’s out of his system?”
“I checked with Vanna. She says he’s clear of the drug.”
“If not that, then what? A vision?”
“That wouldn’t make him behave like a stranger to us, Lijou.”
“He’s asked me if he can come here to study. I told him he’d have to come to terms with the world outside Stronghold first.”
“Let him come. Staying here won’t make the situation any better. Perhaps he’s right and he needs some time to himself. He’s been through too much in the last few weeks.”
“I’m not sure it’s wise for him to be allowed to turn his back on his problems,” began the Head Priest.
“I’m asking you as his Clan Leader, Lijou,” said Kusac. “He’s a priest of Vartra and a telepath, doubly your concern. It may be the only way to let him catch his breath again. Concentrating on studying his Talent may help him feel he’s achieving something worthwhile and is in control of his life again.”
Lijou chose his words carefully. “Do you think his mind has become unstable because of what Ghezu did to him?”
“I don’t think so. Carrie will say very little about it. She says, and she’s right, that he’s entitled to his privacy, but she did admit he had been close to the edge.”
Lijou sighed. “As you say, he’s my responsibility, and I have no option but to agree. The Brotherhood always looks after its own. However, if I contact him about this, he’ll become suspicious, which is the very thing we want to avoid. I’ll wait till he gets in touch with me again.”
Kusac nodded. “Thank you, Lijou. Do what you can to help him. He’s close family now.”
“Of course he is. He’s your third, after all.”
“Even without that. I’ve a feeling our Triad Link is involved somehow in what’s bothering him. He was talking about trust earlier. What could have happened to affect his trust of us?”
“I’ve no idea, Kusac, but you have my word that I’ll do what I can to help.”
“Thank you, Lijou.”
After the call, Kusac sat in silence for a few minutes. Had Kaid had a vision of the future, one he was so desperate to avoid that he was going to turn his back on them? What could be so awful as to make him do that? Sighing, he switched off the dampers and got to his feet. Time to join them downstairs for second meal.
*
Rhyaz of the Brotherhood was closeted with General Raiban.
“So you want us to handle the interrogation. What do you hope to find out from him?”
“The vital information we need is the location of his homeworld,” said Raiban, getting up and going over to her dispenser. “Second is finding out what they were doing here in the first place.” She selected two vassas, a strong Sholan distillation of wines and fruit, and returned to her desk, passing one to the newly inaugurated Brotherhood Guild Master. It had been a long day for her, if not for him.
“Lastly, I want to know what kind of people we’re dealing with, what motivates them, what hurts them, what their world’s like.”
“You want to understand them,” nodded Rhyaz, ignoring his drink for the moment. “The Keissians know more about this species than anyone. I’ll need some personnel from there transferred to any team we set up. Who have you got?”
“The main Keissian expert is on Jalna at the moment, more’s the pity,” said Raiban, sipping her drink.
“Jo Edwards.”
“You’re well informed.”
“Of course. We make it our business to be. Who else have you got?”
Raiban pulled a folder from her desk drawer and opened it, quickly scanning through the dozen or so pages within it. “We have Dr. Jack Reynolds, currently on the Valsgarth Estate. He was the main medic on Keiss during the Valtegan occupation. He works with Physician Vanna Kyjishi who’s also there. Between them they have the best working knowledge of Valtegan physiology. All the other experts are theorists as they’ve never seen a live Valtegan.”
“A start,” said Rhyaz, taking a small sip from his glass.
“Of course, Carrie and Kusac Aldatan are only available for a limited time due to their forthcoming mission to Jalna. Still, we can perhaps utilize their Talents while they are still here. Then there’s Consultant Chiort and Mentor Mnya from the Khalossa who were involved in interrogating most of the captured Valtegans.”
“All of whom died. I think not, General Raiban. We’ll leave them on the Khalossa.”
“All the modern day Valtegans on Keiss were terrified of us,” said Raiban. “Not Kezule. He’s a different class of Valtegan entirely. Chiort and Mnya could well be successful.”
“They dealt with corpses, not living beings,” said Rhyaz. “We need a permanent mixed Leska team. Who is available?”
Raiban’s ears tilted, and her tone was sardonic. “I have no one. The En’Shalla Telepaths all owe allegiance only to your temple. Kusac Aldatan will allow them to hire themselves out as contractees, however.”
Rhyaz lifted an eye ridge as he put his own glass down. Father Lijou was right: Kusac was no one’s fool. “I’ll have to deal directly with them, then. However, I’m sure your files include likely employees.” He gestured to Raiban’s folder.<
br />
“There’s Interpreter Zhyaf and his Leska Mara Ryan, if Kusac will release them from the estate.”
“Oh, I think he will,” smiled Rhyaz. “From all accounts it will keep Interpreter Zhyaf interested and give him a break from young Mara. Anyone else?”
Raiban shrugged. “There are others, but they’re still in a period of assessment, and we’ve been given no data on their Talents as yet.”
Again Rhyaz was impressed. “No information comes from the estate to you, Raiban? You surprise me.”
“That place has tighter security than a demon-fish’s ass,” she snapped, letting a brief flash of her frustration show through. “My people don’t last there. On one pretext or another, they’re recycled back here by Ni’Zulhu!”
“Very well. You make the initial approaches to Kusac regarding this pair, and I’ll take it from there. The Brotherhood will want full authority over how the questioning is conducted, naturally.”
Raiban growled. “And will therefore take full responsibility if anything happens to him!”
Rhyaz smiled and picked up his glass. “Of course. Standard procedure, General. Standard procedure.” If Raiban thought him an easy mark because he was newly appointed to his position of Guild Master, she could think again. He’d survived Ghezu’s rule unscathed, and managed to keep some degree of higher ethics going in the schoolrooms. He was well able to Challenge Raiban, and win.
*
For Kusac, the afternoon had been spent in the ruins working with the Touibans again. While he’d been there, he’d examined the lab, trying to see if he could identify any of the ancient equipment now that he’d actually seen some of it working while they were in the Margins.
His arrival had caused a stir, and he’d been treated with an unwonted degree of awe by several of the Sholans thereâ including a couple of the Brothers. He’d done his best to dispel it, not least because he didn’t feel any different for having been to the Marginsâ only damned grateful he lived now rather than in that troubled time.
Kaid had remained at the villa with Carrie. Vanna and her sister Sashti had arrived before Kusac left and swept his mate off to the main bathing room for a pampering session, including a massage. Kaid had been invited to join them but had hastily backed out on the grounds that someone was needed to keep watch over the cub in case of intruders.
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