thefiremargins

by Lisanne Norman

  Kusac picked up the crystal. "What is it?"

  "You wanted all the records from each guild, didn't you? Well, we know a damned sight more about what happened in our past than either Stronghold or that Esken fellow down at Valsgarth. In there are all the replays that have been experienced by us nonguild folk over the last fifty-some years, as well as mention of those from further back. There's one or two in there you'll not get from anywhere else."

  "Thank you, Noni," he said. "How did you get hold of them? What replays have you got that we haven't?"

  "Ah, well, you'll just have to read them for yourself, won't you?" she grinned, sitting back in her chair. "As to how I got them, I experienced more than a few myself. Then, some of the young ones in the village are sensitive enough to pick up the odd replay if they're in the right place at the right time." She paused, looking at him with amusement still in her eyes. "There's all the Brothers who visit me. They'll tell me what they keep hidden from Lijou up in that bird's nest called Stronghold. I'm not breaking confidences, now, you'll find no names attached to the files."

  Kusac put the cube in his jacket pocket. "Thank you again, Noni. That's a gift we didn't expect. You know Kaid's been seen in the desert?"

  She nodded. "Damn fool boy! Told him not to go there! He's put your Triad at risk. Still, he always did have a strange sense of honor. He had to do what he saw as right."

  "Is there any way we can help him? Even get a message to him?"

  Noni began to cackle quietly, eyes crinkling with humor. "You're asking me, a guildless, humble village healer? You, with your Guild-learned skills, know the answer to that one better than I do! You can do nothing but wait— and pray. It's Ghezu who wants him, not Fyak. He's just using Kaid's skills for now. When he's done with him, he'll hand him over to Ghezu, you'll see."

  "There must be something we can do!"

  "Told you. Pray to Vartra. He's the only one as can help you now. With your mental powers, you and that mate of yours can send your prayers to Vartra!"

  Kusac decided to let the matter drop. Noni obviously hadn't any suggestions either. "Why did you ask to see me? You could have given the cube to Carrie, you didn't need me."

  "I wanted to meet her mate. Needed to know if you could handle it."

  Kusac frowned. "Handle what?"

  "There you go again! The Triad, naturally!" She took a sip from her mug. "Can you remember you're Sholan and deal with it properly? Have you left adolescence behind?"

  The look he gave her was cool in the extreme. "I'll handle it because it's Kaid."

  Noni relaxed, resting her elbows on the table as she sipped her drink. "You're a strange one, right enough. Usually you males don't have the strengths we females are born with. But you, and Kaid... You're easy to understand, you get those strengths from her through your Link. They may be Human female, but they're close enough to us to make no real difference. Kaid baffles me. Always has, right from the time he was found at the Retreat. I don't know where he gets his strengths from. His mind's always so closed, even when I get him to open it up a tiny crack for me."

  "You're as curious as Carrie," he said. "I don't need to analyze Kaid, he just is. I trust him, and that's it."

  She nodded. "And you don't know why. Right?"

  Kusac was getting exasperated, then he remembered the conversations about Noni he'd heard in the staff lounge when they'd all lived in the main house. It was his turn to grin. "You're good, too, Noni," he said softly. "Very good. Carrie trusted him first, and I trust her judgement."

  "So?"

  He shrugged, ears dipping in acknowledgment of a point scored. "So I trust you. Tell me about the replays you've had, Noni," he said, changing the topic. "I'll read the files, but while I'm here, you might as well tell me."

  Noni snorted in disgust. "Lazy is what you are!"

  "No, I will read the files, but you can save me a lot of time by telling me the points you consider important."

  "Haven't you had the replays then?"

  He shook his head. "Carrie has them, not me, though afterward I do experience them from her perspective."

  Noni raised an eye ridge. "Now that does surprise me," she said. "I was sure you'd have them as well."

  "I did once, but they've stopped over the last couple of months."

  "So, she's more tuned in to them than you. Why should that be, I wonder?"

  "Tell me about the replays, Noni," he said.

  * * *

  Lijou and Yaszho were busy when Ghezu strolled into his office. He stopped in front of the desk, looking down at what the two males were working on.

  "You really do intend to calmly hand over your Priesthood's files to Chuz's committee, don't you? I trust none of them pertain to me or my warriors."

  There was an edge to his voice that Lijou didn't like. He looked up at him. "What can we do for you, Ghezu?"

  "I said, are you really going to hand over your files?"

  "I'd rather hand over what I've collated and edited, than suffer the indignity of having the actual files collected by the Forces."

  Ghezu smiled gently. "You know, you're actually cleverer than I thought. I have to admit that it didn't occur to me to give them what I wanted them to have. Quite subtle, Lijou. Worthy of a Brother."

  "A compliment indeed," said Lijou, aware that Ghezu was trying to use his talent to charm him— and failing. His judgement, and his talent, was slipping badly. "Now, how can I help you?"

  "The female, Khemu, is dead," said Ghezu, ambling over to the window. "Nice view you've got. Better than mine, I think."

  Lijou put down his stylus and, clasping one hand over the other, sat back to watch Ghezu. "Oh? How did she die?"

  "Her own hand. Poison, the medic said. Actually one of our drugs." He turned round. "Kaid gave it to her."

  Lijou raised an eye ridge questioningly. "So Kaid went to her?"

  "Yes. Fyak's people took him."

  "Fyak's people? What would they want with him?" Lijou was puzzled as to why Ghezu was offering this information.

  "Seems Kaid's got a new master, Lijou. He dropped us for the Aldatan cub. Now he's taken up with this desert prophet. Not only that, but I've had to put a contract out on his son now."

  "Dzaka? What's he done?"

  "He's broken his oath, Lijou." Ghezu returned to stand at Lijou's desk, towering over them. "He sent word he'd left the Brotherhood. He's hiding out on the Aldatan estate, but I'll get him, you needn't worry about that. Now I have all three of them. Khemu dead, Kaid a prisoner, albeit with Fyak, and Dzaka a walking corpse." He snarled the last comment, his eyes taking on a tinge of fanaticism that was quickly masked.

  Lijou felt Ghezu's glamour slip, then as it returned, he sensed the subtle difference in it. The darkness he'd felt creeping across Ghezu's soul was echoed now in his gift. Lijou could feel himself being drawn toward the other's world of hate and paranoia.

  "You were wrong, weren't you?" As Ghezu rested his hands on the desk and leaned forward, Lijou saw the glint of a silver bracelet on his right wrist.

  "You thought you knew Kaid, that you could handle him. How does it feel to be so wrong, Lijou?" His tone now held a hint of gloating in it.

  Lijou felt Yaszho stir beside him, reacting to Ghezu's dark glamour. He let his tail tip briefly touch the other male's leg and felt him start in surprise. He shrugged. "So I was wrong, Ghezu. What does it matter to us now? We have what we wanted, our Guild status."

  Ghezu began to laugh as he walked toward the door. "You wouldn't make a politician, Lijou," he chuckled. "You miss the obvious. Without Kaid, the Aldatan cub has no chance of going to the Fire Margins! He's their third. Without him, they're ours! Members of the Brotherhood. I have my fighting telepaths, Lijou." Still chuckling, he opened the door and left.

  A cold shiver ran down his spine. "I fear our esteemed Guild Master of the Warriors has finally crossed over that thin edge between madness and sanity," said Lijou. "We must get this news of Kaid and Dzaka out to Kusac immediately."
/>   "It was so ... seductive!" exclaimed Yaszho, flicking his ears in nervous reaction. "No wonder his bodyguards behave the way they do! I begin to wonder if remaining here at Stronghold is wise, Master Lijou. If you're right about Master Ghezu, and after this experience I'm sure you are, he could actually incarcerate you without anyone being the wiser— especially now he's had the whole complex fitted with psychic dampers."

  "If I go, then all the Brothers in our Order are at Ghezu's mercy," said Lijou gently. "I appreciate your concern, but I cannot leave them at this time."

  "You can't help them if you're dead."

  "Nor can I help them if I'm not where they need me. You've done as you ought, Yaszho, warned me of the potential danger."

  "There is an alternative," Yaszho ventured. "The tide of feeling against Ghezu and his guards is becoming stronger every day, among both the lay-Brothers and the Warriors. It would take very little encouragement for them to turn against Ghezu."

  "Absolutely not, Yaszho!" Lijou was shocked at the suggestion. "Doing that will only cause Brother to fight Brother, and I will not be responsible for that! Now, how do we get the information out to Kusac?" he asked, trying to regain his composure. "In your opinion, is the comm link secure?"

  "No, Master Lijou, I don't think it is. If your call was intercepted, Ghezu could claim you were acting against the Brotherhood interests by giving confidential information to non-Guild members."

  "He could," agreed Lijou. "But we have to send the information nonetheless."

  "We could encode it and send it direct to the temple at Valsgarth so they can see it's delivered to the estate. Or you can send it telepathically."

  "Long range communication isn't easy, Yaszho. Apart from having the necessary degree of talent, it requires meditation and concentration. A little difficult when one's ears are freezing off on the battlements of Stronghold," he said, mouth opening in a gentle grin. He sighed. "It does seem the safest way, though."

  "I see Master Ghezu has taken to wearing a bonding bracelet," said Yaszho, tapping his stylus thoughtfully on the desktop. "Hazarding a guess, do you think it could belong to the dead female, Khemu?"

  "I think it very likely. And if Ghezu has it, then he must have been to Fyak's lair since she died."

  "That was my thought. Likely he's also seen Kaid."

  The two exchanged a glance. It was Lijou who voiced their common thought. "Kaid may no longer be with Fyak."

  * * *

  The infocube from the mountain clans living in the shadow of Stronghold was a bonus none of them had anticipated. That evening, Kusac copied the data, passing the original on to his father, and taking the other to Ghyan at the Shrine the next day.

  Carrie was already there, poring over ancient books and more modern comm generated sheets while Ghyan worked at the other side of his desk on his personal comm unit.

  The room was typical of Ghyan, Kusac thought as he stepped carefully round the piles of books that perched precariously on the floor. Books lined every available piece of wall space, saving only the niche where his friend kept a small statue of the God, the votive candle burning with a cold flame through the walls of its blue glass container.

  The pale sunlight of early winter flooded the room, brightening the dark wooden shelves and their treasury of books, making them glow with a warmth that prevented the office from becoming dark and gloomy.

  "Hi there," Carrie said. "We've been waiting for you."

  Ghyan looked up from his work. "At last! What took you so long?" He stretched across the desk, holding out his hand.

  "That's a fine greeting," said Kusac, handing over the cube.

  "First things first," said Ghyan, fitting it into its slot in the comm. He waved his left hand in the direction of the hot plate. "Fresh c'shar, and coffee, over there. Help yourself."

  "I will, don't worry," said Kusac, picking up Ghyan's and Carrie's empty mugs on his way.

  The mugs filled, he placed Ghyan's on his desk, getting only a grunt in the way of thanks. Giving Carrie hers, he pulled up another chair and sat beside her. "How's it going?" he asked in a low voice.

  "Fine. I'm actually working on historical records from Ghyan's books and files. I decided to work backwards from the present as it gives me a benchmark on their accuracy." She put down her stylus and sat back in her chair, stretching her arms. "Now you've arrived, I'll leave this and start working with Ghyan on Noni's data." She gestured at the second comm unit beside her. "That's linked in to Ghyan's so we can access the same data sources."

  Ghyan continued to study his comm in silence for several minutes more before he looked across at them.

  "I expect you realize the significance of what we have here," he said. "No one ever suspected that these stories and visions existed! If the data's accurate, and I've no reason to doubt it, at one stroke she's given us more information about the Catacylysm than is probably known by all the Guilds combined! You've obviously had the time to look at this last night. What did you make of it?"

  "The replays," said Carrie. "Those at Stronghold differ from those here. I'd say they're location specific. The one I had at Noni's was obviously set in Stronghold itself as people record having seen it there for nearly a thousand years virtually unchanged, and it isn't one of those experienced at Valsgarth or Esken's Guildhouse."

  "I agree," said Kusac. "There are common dreams of Vartra as a God from both locations, but the replays are different from the dreams. The ones that seem most significant are those concerned with Vartra being seen in the lower corridors of Stronghold. Noni says that in those days, and for many years after, Stronghold was mainly a subterranean base for telepaths and the warriors who protected them. A safe haven from a society that held them to blame for causing the Cataclysm."

  "Did she know why they blamed the telepaths?"

  Kusac shook his head. "No. I think there are clues in the stories, but that'll take longer to unravel."

  "A thought, Kusac," said Carrie. "What about contacting Kaerdhu, the storyteller, and asking him to interpret them for us? It's his calling, after all, and we've all got more than enough work to deal with."

  "Good suggestion. It would present him with a challenge he wouldn't want to refuse. He'd have to approach Noni herself to ask permission if he wanted to incorporate them in his repertoire, though."

  "Can you approach him regarding that?"

  Kusac nodded. "If I can't, Mother can."

  "Anything else catch your notice?" asked Ghyan.

  "There are several scenes where Vartra is visiting telepaths suffering from a fever that appears to change them significantly."

  "Excuse me?" said Ghyan, visibly taken aback. "Do you realize what you've just said?"

  "Oh, yes," said Kusac quietly. "Vartra also visited telepaths with deformed or brain-damaged newborn cubs. This seems to happen before he and his people relocate themselves at Stronghold."

  "So they did live at Valsgarth first. But the cubs? How did they come to be born deformed?"

  "I assume the virus mutated them. What type of mutation isn't mentioned in the replays or the folk tales."

  "There's definitely a sense of responsibility in Vartra's questions to our new Leskas," said Ghyan thoughtfully. "Mention of lives lost, sacrifices ..." He stopped. "Why am I telling you? You know because you've experienced them. Could Vartra somehow have been responsible for this happening? If so, how?"

  "Genetic manipulation," said Kusac quietly, "could cause that."

  "The replay I had at Noni's is one regularly repeated by the highlanders and the Brothers," said Carrie. "While visiting Stronghold, Vartra told the folk there he wasn't looking for a solution, and one of the Strongholders answered that no good comes of playing God, we were stronger before. Before what isn't mentioned."

  "A virus that swept through the telepathic community, rendering them weaker and unable to fight. A virus that contributed to genetic changes and damaged their cubs," said Kusac.

  "And now, in our time, you meet Carrie, a telepath
from another species, and when you return here, a naturally occurring Sholan virus caught by both of you mutates. It becomes an epidemic that leaves all telepaths, and those with any degree of talent, wild or otherwise, with enhanced abilities," said Ghyan slowly. "Could it be the same virus, lying dormant till it met new conditions that favored its growth? Those new conditions being our meeting the Humans. The thought is terrifying."

  "If it is, it's already happened. Now we wait and see how it affects our cubs," said Kusac.

  "But why Humans? Have we been acquainted with each other's species before?"