by Jaleta Clegg
The Sessimoniss froze in shocked silence. I glared at the leader, letting him read the determination in my face.
*You wouldn’t, really, would you?* The voice still held a trace of amusement, but I also detected an undercurrent of fear and uncertainty.
“Don’t push me, or I will,” I said, my voice low.
The leader blinked, a sideways flickering of lids. His crest slowly lowered. “They are your problem. Keep them where they belong or they will die.”
I nodded once, sharply.
The leader motioned and the Sessimoniss began to move again. I curled my fists around the Eggstone, following because I had no choice. The Sessimoniss would kill us all if I didn’t.
“Halt!” an Enforcer called, desperately.
The Sessimoniss kept moving, back out through the shattered windows.
“Stand down, Harris,” Tayvis called.
“Don’t shoot,” the man said as we stepped into Den’s garden. He sounded miserable, defeated.
“Who in blazes is going to pay for all this?” Den’s voice carried on the night breeze as the Sessimoniss marched us away.
Their ship was parked in the middle of Den’s flowers. They marched us up the gangplank, down a hall, and into a featureless room. The door slid shut behind Jerimon, almost catching his foot. I heard a lock click.
I slid down the wall, sitting on the floor to the right of the door. The others moved into the room. Tayvis examined the walls. Jasyn sat across from me. Jerimon put his hands on his hips.
“Now what?”
“You shut up and do exactly what I say.” I rolled the Eggstone in my hand. “Otherwise, you are going to die. And there won’t be a thing anyone can do about it.”
“You’re serious,” he said flatly.
“Completely. You wanted to come, you volunteered. It’s fitting for you. You’re the one that stole it in the first place.”
“You didn’t have to pick the rock up and pretend to be their priestess.”
“Where did you learn to speak their language?” Tayvis asked, sounding deliberately casual, which meant he suspected me of some kind of trickery. The ship’s engines rumbled to life, the floor vibrated.
“Where are we going?” Jasyn asked quietly.
“Probably their home world,” I said. “Where else would they take their new high priestess?”
With those words, the floodgates of information opened again. The Eggstone released everything into my mind. I drowned in thoughts not my own, visions of places I’d never been. Scenes of places I never wished to see. It was as if a thousand voices murmured in my mind at once, a thousand alien emotions ached through me. I collapsed to the floor, dimly aware of its smooth metallic coolness under my cheek.
“Dace.”
Voices whispered on desert winds. Someone whimpered, a sound of pain and exhaustion. Hands patted my face, small grains of sand scouring my scales.
“The council will not permit your actions.”
“Maybe if you took the stone away.”
“The sacrifice of blood will wash the stones clean.”
“Priestess. Holder of light.” Hands tugged at the Eggstone. I clutched it tightly, voices whispering of sacrifice when it was gone. I felt the knives of Sekkitass at my throat. The whimpering continued. I wished it would stop.
“She won’t let go of it.” I knew that voice. I struggled to put a name to it.
“Then pull harder.”
I knew that voice, too. I was angry with that voice for some reason I couldn’t remember.
My head felt swollen, huge with centuries of memories.
“Dace.” Patient, calling. My name. I wanted to hear it again. I stilled the voices whispering in harsh alien words.
The whimpering faded. Hands, warm gentle hands, pulled at the Eggstone. I curled around the stone, clutching it to me. The Eggstone was my only way to freedom, my only hope of escape, my only source of power. Dimly, I realized it was also the source of the memories, the voices in my head. I pushed and the memories reluctantly slid back into the stone.
The Eggstone rummaged through my own memories, sifting through them, pausing occasionally. I deliberately shoved my own past back into hiding.
*Such pain,* the voice said, almost sympathetically. *Are all humans such as you? Do they put their young in hatcheries to grow?*
“No,” I whispered. I didn’t want to think of my past. I wanted to forget the years of loneliness and abuse in the orphanage. I never wanted to see Tivor again. There was nothing to tie me to it, except those painful memories.
“Dace?” Questioning now.
I opened my eyes, wanting to see the face I knew would match that voice. “Tayvis,” I whispered.
He sat by my head, patting my cheek gently.
I closed my eyes. They felt scoured as if I’d just spent weeks in the blowing deserts of Serrimonia. The voices whispered through my mind. I knew exactly how hot the sun burned, how abrasively the sand blew on corrosive winds.
“Dace, don’t go away again.” Tayvis cradled my cheek.
“Is there anything to drink?” I licked dry lips, banishing the voices.
He shook his head. “I found a couple of doors in the wall, but I can’t see any way to get them open.”
“We’re in a room with nothing.” Jasyn knelt next to me, her hands the ones I’d felt tugging at the Eggstone. They were folded in her lap now. She still wore the short party dress that left her long legs mostly bare.
Jealousy flared in me, a burning green rage. A nonexistent crest rose on my head. I wanted to strike out at Jasyn, smash her perfect face. My hands tightened on the Eggstone until I felt either my bones would crack or the stone would shatter. The emotion wasn’t mine. It came from some long-buried memory of a former priestess, something the Sessimoniss had in common with humans. I closed my eyes, curling around the stone, aching and bruised and angry at once.
Tayvis brushed my short hair from my face.
I concentrated on his touch, using it to pull me away from the raging turmoil of borrowed emotions. The Eggstone watched me struggle, a detached presence hovering in my head. After an eternity, it shut off the flow of feelings with a mental shrug.
*You are strong,* Dry amusement had changed to grudging admiration. *You are very different from the Sessimoniss. I wish to learn more of your human ways.*
The Eggstone reached for my memories, all the knowledge in my mind. I pushed it away, shoving as hard as I could. It was weird, fighting with my mind. I wondered if this was telepathy, and if it was, how I could possibly be experiencing it. I had no psychic abilities, not on any test ever devised.
*By humans,* the Eggstone said, reading my mind. *Sessimoniss think with a different wave pattern. I am surprised our minds mesh so well. I cannot reach any of your human companions.* Its curiosity was stronger. *Let me have your memories.*
“No,” I muttered.
The fingers prying at my mind became more insistent. I clamped my mind shut more firmly. The fingers dug in, pushing, fighting to open my past. I pushed back with everything I had. The voice retreated, silent.
I wearily opened my eyes again. Tayvis stroked my face, repeating my name. He saw my eyes open and paused, hand raised over my cheek.
I loosened my grip on the Eggstone. It rolled across the floor with an odd chiming sound, almost like distant bells. Jerimon scooped it up.
I sat, pushing Tayvis’s hand away. “Give it back, now.”
“It’s caused too much trouble.” Jerimon cupped it in one hand.
“Give it back,” I insisted, wishing I hadn’t let go. I had to have it back, I craved the feel of it. I went cold wondering if it had somehow drugged me. It didn’t matter. I had to have it. I reached past Tayvis. “Give it back. Now.”
Jerimon thrust the Eggstone at me, dropping it as if it burned.
I snatched it from the floor. Waves of relief passed through me as I stroked its glossy surface. I huddled against the wall, cradling it in both hands.
&n
bsp; “Dace, maybe he’s right,” Tayvis said. He reached for the Eggstone.
“Don’t touch it,” I said.
He deliberately stroked one finger across it. “It’s just a stone, Dace.”
“No, it’s not. It’s sentient,” I said wearily. I felt wrung out, squeezed dry by the flood of strange emotions.
Tayvis raised one eyebrow.
“I hate to interrupt,” Jasyn said, sounding anything but sorry, “but we have to figure out if there’s water or facilities or something on this ship. Otherwise, we’re going to have to start using a corner.” She pulled my arm, drawing my attention. “You’ve become an instant expert on the Sessimoniss. Tell me where the bathrooms are.”
“I don’t have a clue how the Sessimoniss ship works.” My hands fondled the Eggstone.
“We looked, we tried everything, Dace. We can’t open any of the doors.” Jasyn tugged my arm.
“How long have we been on the ship?” I asked, delaying the moment I knew I’d have to talk to the Eggstone.
“Seven hours, eighteen minutes, and about twenty seconds,” Jerimon said. He shoved his hands into his pockets, his face set in a scowl.
Maybe I shouldn’t have ordered him to give the stone back. I looked between him and Tayvis. Maybe it wasn’t that at all.
“Well?” I said to the Eggstone. “How do we open the doors?”
I felt it actively ignoring me.
“She’s talking to a rock,” Jerimon said.
“You followed me into this, Jerimon.” I was still mad at him, for kissing me, for making me want him to kiss me again. Having Tayvis in the same room really confused me. I wanted them with me. I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want any of them to get hurt. I wanted to go home. I didn’t have a home.
The Eggstone listened to my inner pity with increasing interest.
“If we stayed behind, the Patrol would have arrested us.”
“I couldn’t let you go alone, Dace.” Jasyn glared at her brother. “Even if Jerimon came just to save his own skin, I came to try to help.”
“And why did you come?” Jerimon demanded of Tayvis.
Tayvis had his back to us, running his hands along the far wall. I couldn’t help but notice how well his black uniform fit. I’d never seen him in it before. He looked good, very good. He glanced at Jerimon then deliberately ignored him. Jerimon bristled. I almost laughed. Jerimon was jealous of the competition.
The laugh died before it was born. Competition? What in the world was I thinking? How could Tayvis even look twice at me when Jasyn was there? She was absolutely stunning in her short dress. Even short on sleep, sitting on a floor, with her hair coming out of its pins, she was gorgeous. How in blazes could Jerimon think that Tayvis would want me over her?
*Mating rituals?* the Eggstone asked, curiosity peaked.
“Absolutely not,” I muttered, my ears burning.
The Eggstone radiated amusement.
“How do you open the doors on this ship?” I shook the Eggstone.
Jerimon tapped his foot. “Does it talk back or have you finally gone over the edge?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
*Most interesting,* the Eggstone said. *How do you choose males to mate with? Or is it the males who do the choosing? Your memories are incomplete.*
“Tell me how to open the doors and I’ll tell you,” I said while glaring at Jerimon.
*I do not know if I have the memories. Priestesses do not travel.* The Eggstone went still. I waited. *Perhaps this would help.*
The full specs for the ship poured into my head.
I passed out again.
* * *
“Dace.” It was Jerimon this time. He shook my shoulder. My head banged into the wall.
“Ow.” I rubbed my head with one hand. The Eggstone was clutched tight in the other.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” He leaned very close, blue eyes brimming with sincere concern. I wondered if he was trying to prove something to Tayvis. The Eggstone radiated interest and amusement.
“Cut it out, or I’ll put you somewhere,” I threatened it. Jerimon backed off. Interesting, I thought, then realized I was starting to imitate the Eggstone. I pushed myself off the floor. Jerimon tried to help. I shoved him away. I didn’t want his help. I made it to my feet, leaning on the wall. My head felt as if someone had flossed through my ears. Tayvis leaned against the wall, watching me and Jerimon with an inscrutable mask on his face.
I stumbled to the far end of the room. I could have pointed out the position of every single rivet, screw, fastener, pipe, and wire in that ship. I touched three spots on the wall in quick succession. The back panel slid to one side. “The bathroom,” I said, turning. I caught sight of Tayvis’ collar. A sector commander’s clusters gleamed at his throat. I squeaked in surprise and tumbled backwards through the open door.
Tayvis bent over me. “Are you all right?”
“Tell me you borrowed the uniform. You aren’t really a sector commander, are you?”
“Does it make any difference?” He pulled me to my feet without showing any effort.
“They said a sector commander was after me. That was you?”
His face twitched, betraying anger. “I’ve followed your trail of destruction across two sectors. And I still end up locked in a room. At least you’re better dressed this time.”
“How well do you two know each other?” Jerimon pushed his way between us. Tayvis planted his hand flat on Jerimon’s chest and moved him back a foot. It was almost funny, watching them act like a couple of preening birds getting ready to fight.
*Showing off for the female?*
“Shut up,” I said, suddenly not amused.
“If you aren’t going to use the facilities, get out of my way.” Jasyn slid between her brother and Tayvis. “How do you work the door?” I showed her the three spots to touch. She opened and shut the door a couple of times. It shut and stayed shut. A few moments later, Jasyn came back out, looking much more cheerful. I stepped inside, cutting in front of Jerimon.
“Ladies first,” Tayvis said. Jerimon turned on him, fists clenched. I didn’t want to watch. I was tired of their posturing. I shut the door and took my time.
“Dace,” Jerimon knocked on the door. “I think you’d better get out here. Now!”
I slid the door open.
Jasyn was backed up against Tayvis as far away from the main door as she could get. He had his hand on her shoulder. I smothered a twinge of jealousy. Jerimon stood next to them, in front of the bathroom door. Beyond him, in the doorway, stood three Sessimoniss.
I pushed my way in front of my friends.
“Heshk Bashnessit,” one of the Sessimoniss spat. It carried a tray that might hold food.
The Eggstone supplied memories of Sessimoniss food. I swallowed bile as I wondered exactly what we were being offered.
The Sessimoniss set the tray on the floor then walked out without a backwards glance.
I looked down at the tray and its small serving.
“This is not sufficient,” I said, trying to sound haughty, powerful. The Sessimoniss language was harsh in my throat, guttural and hissing at the same time.
*Very good,* the Eggstone applauded me mentally. *Test how far you can push them. Show them your power.* I couldn’t tell if it was being sarcastic or not.
“I require more,” I said.
The Sessimoniss looked down at the food, then back at me. He blinked, his lids flashing sideways over his yellow eyes. He deliberately ignored the others in the room. “You require much food for one of your size.”
“I do not explain myself to you. I am not your teshkirrit.” The word meant something between slave, lower caste female, and immature clan member.
The Sessimoniss blinked again. He bowed, then stepped out. The door slid closed.
Jerimon let out his breath.
“What is it?” Jasyn asked.
“Food.” My borrowed memories identified the dishe
s. “Dried rodent,” I pointed at a pile of brown leathery things. “Boiled grains with kizzt. The eyes are the best part.” They were about the only part on a kizzt.
“Where did you manage to learn all this?” Tayvis asked. “No one knows much about the Sessimoniss.”
“The Eggstone.” I cradled it in one hand. “It holds the memories of all the priestesses there have ever been.” I was struck by a sudden thought. “Just how long have you been around?” I asked the Eggstone.
*I’ll answer if you’ll let me into your memories.*
Jerimon rolled his eyes, “it’s a rock. It can’t talk to you. Are you sure you didn’t hurt your head back on the Swan? You were acting strange the last few days.”
“Shut up and eat some eyes, Jerimon.” I wanted to smack him. I didn’t want to remember him kissing me, not with Tayvis watching.
He was a sector commander, higher rank than anyone I had ever met, including the full admirals who questioned me about Dadilan. My knees went weak. I sat down before I fell down. The food didn’t look any more appetizing up close. Almost human eyes watched from atop a pile of pasty, gray grain. Little insect legs stuck out, like black twigs. The dried rodents still had hair.
“Are you sure it’s edible?” Jasyn asked as she sat next to me, tucking her skirt around her thighs.
The door opened. Without a word, a Sessimoniss placed another tray of grain in front of me. His tunic was deep maroon with purple and green slashes in a diagonal pattern. I knew his clan and his rank and breeding status. It was all coded in his tunic. If I thought about it, I could place every single Sessimoniss we’d encountered. The door slid shut behind him, the lock clicking.
“Well?” Tayvis asked, sitting on my other side.
Jerimon stood behind us. I could almost feel the jealousy he radiated.
I popped an eyeball into my mouth, biting down. It was cool, crunchy, salty and wet all at once. I swallowed, then picked up another.
“I think I’ll stick to the gray stuff.” Jasyn reached for the plain grain.
“They aren’t as bad as they look.” I plucked another eyeball from the tray.
“That really doesn’t say much.” Tayvis picked legs out of the grain, dropping them back on the tray. He tasted a fingerful. “Bland, but edible. Who’s going to try the rat?”
