The returning circulation sent pins and needles coursing through his limbs and his hand shook as he took several small sips from the mug before putting it down.
"Nice try, Ghezu," he said. "You almost had me there, till I worked out how the drug operates."
Ghezu shrugged and turned to leave. "No matter," he said. "That was only a foretaste, a gentle introduction if you like. This dose is stronger. Did I tell you its effect is cumulative? It stays in your system for several days, causing sudden and unpredictable periods of hallucinations. With what you've got in your system now, it should last well over a week. Pleasant dreams, Kaid, pleasant dreams."
The door closed behind them, leaving him alone again. Fear rushed through him. Was Ghezu lying? He'd only just managed to beat the drug, he didn't know if he could do it again it so soon.
Instinctively his hand went to the crystal. He could feel its gentle warmth even through the soft leather. The fear began to recede and as it did, he found he was able to think clearly again.
What did Ghezu hope to achieve by saying the drug's effect was cumulative? Make him afraid to sleep lest it started working while he was dreaming? Who knew what nightmares could come alive for him. He'd also be just as afraid to stay awake. Once again, Ghezu was using his own fear as a weapon. Even if it was a lie, sleep deprivation coupled with constant fear was enough to weaken him considerably, given his already vulnerable state of health. At least this time, he wasn't tied up.
He felt the drug beginning to course through his system again. Lying down, he pulled his blanket round himself, then curled up on his side, tail tucked close. A thought occurred to him, and reaching up, he tugged his fur over the crystal and its thong, hiding it from sight. Then, using the sensations of relaxation the drug was giving him, within moments he was asleep.
* * *
He dreamed strange dreams, drifting in and out of sleep and wakefulness as the drug controlled his every thought. The world beyond his mind seemed distant, removed from reality. Events that happened there seemed to take forever to reach him, his awareness of them arriving long after the incident had passed. Food and water he remembered, only because they made him eat. You gave him too much! Gradually the words penetrated and began to make sense, but it was of no importance, now.
Before him, scenes unfolded like the petals of a flower opening gradually. A sun-baked desert, the sky holding circling carrion birds that drifted lazily in the updrafts. A figure, his clothes mere rags, stumbling along the rocky outcrop toward the shade of an opening in the foothills. Staggering, his hands already blistered by the heat of the rocks, the gaunt male pulled himself into the opening to collapse in the shade.
The smell of water aroused him, and on all fours, he crept deeper into the welcoming coolness until he found the well. Choked by debris, the water now flowed sluggishly over the rim to the cavern floor. Scrabbling frantically, the gaunt one scraped a hole large enough to collect water to drink.
He drank deep, spitting out grains of earth. Thirst finally quenched, he collapsed once more, drifting into sleep.
Kaid watched as the shadows outside lengthened. The male within awoke. Refreshed by the water, hunger now dominated him. Rising to his feet, he surveyed the cavern, sniffing the air in the hope of something edible. Where there was water, there was life. His gaze fell on a clump of darkness at the far side. He staggered over to it, feeling the dampness of the ground under his feet.
He felt the gaunt one's surge of joy as he began ripping the broad, leathery leaves off the strange plant and cramming them into his mouth. Be careful! he wanted to call. Don't eat it! but it was already too late. His initial hunger satisfied, the male leaned back against the rock wall and began to examine the plant. A gleam from the earth caught his eye and scraping one-handedly at the roots, he pulled out a stone. Green it was, and though smooth, irregular in shape. Absently he licked the other hand where the juice from the plant had run down to his wrist— juice as green as the stone. As his hand closed on the colored pebble, he looked out to where the moon sent a shaft of white light into the cavern. As he did, Kaid recognized the gaunt face, and the eyes with the beginnings of madness in them. Fyak.
The shock of recognition sent adrenalin through his system, flinging him into a swirling maelstrom of sights and sounds that had him retching till his stomach and throat hurt.
There were vague memories of being taken down a passage to a room where he was held in a relentless stream of hot water. He struggled weakly against those who held him, gasping for breath, but they batted his hands away as if he were no more than a cub.
Someone rubbed him down, and pain flared through him as the towel tore at the scabs on his back and wrists. Flung back on his bed again, the smell of his room and the clean bedding on which he lay brought a sense of familiarity and he began to sink once more into the drug-induced stupor.
He should be over this by now! The voice was loud, enraged.
You gave him too much! I advised against using this drug— we don't know enough about it yet, no matter what that damned mad prophet of yours says!
Watch what you say, Medic, lest you join him! I want him conscious, and coherent! Now!
I can't work miracles! He's not excreting it, the toxins are remaining in his system!
Then do what you can, dammit! He's no use to me like this!
I can do nothing. You'll have to wait till he rids himself of the poisons.
Then came silence, and with it, a sense of urgency and self-preservation. He reached under his pillow, gradually pulling the sheet back till he could feel the mattress. Feeling over its coarse surface, his fingers searched for places where he could conceal his crystal. He found one, where a stud in the mattress had come free, leaving a small hole behind.
Reaching for the thong round his neck, he pulled it loose. Carefully he enlarged the hole with a claw tip, finally pushing his crystal, bag and all, under the top layer of material. Teasing the cloth over it again, he pushed the sheet back, finally pulling his hand free.
Willpower alone had kept the drug's effects at bay, now it coursed through him once more.
He dreamed of Fyak's lair. Khezy'ipik, the desert cavern carved from sandstone. A golden glow from torches held in sconces bathed the lower walls, glinting off the larger particles of quartz embedded in its surface. On either side of him as he walked down the passage, giant bas-relief carvings of people or gods lined the walls. The figures were seated, their limbs arranged in tidy formality. He stopped to look at their faces. Fear gripped the pit of his stomach then rushed upward making him lightheaded as he stared up at the shadowy reptilian faces of Valtegans.
Dragging his eyes away from them, he continued on down the corridor, alert now for the slightest noise. Rounding a corner, he saw a doorway ahead of him. On either side of it, carved pillars of flame reached to the ceiling some six meters above.
Cautiously, keeping to the shadows, he ventured forward till he was within a few meters of the doors. He stretched out his hand. No sooner had he touched one than it swung slowly open.
From within, white light flooded out, blinding him with its intensity. Automatically his arms went up to cover his face. He peered through the narrow gap between them, seeing opposite him a tall statue of a seated God. Round his feet, discarded weapons lay and in his hands he held a brazier of glowing coals. The face of the statue was Sholan. With a sigh, he released his breath. Then he frowned. Something wasn't quite right.
A figure stepped between him and the God, cutting out the worst of the intense light.
"Who are you to disturb the peace of Kezule?" a voice demanded in Sholan. "You have no right to be here. Leave, lest the wrath of Kezule strikes you down where you stand!"
He hesitated. The voice and the form were familiar.
The figure stepped forward, crimson robes rustling as he moved.
Kaid retreated as the priest continued to advance. Turning, he ran back the way he'd come, emerging at full tilt into another cavern— a cavern housing
Valtegans the like of which he'd never seen before. He came to an abrupt stop, hardly able to believe what he saw. Short and squat, they were a parody of the soldiers. One lifted its head, looking toward him, the gold collar at its throat glinting. The face bore a look of such mindless hunger that when it began to raise itself to an upright position, terror freed him and he began to back out. Guards yelled and rushed toward him. Shock sent adrenaline rushing through his system. The world spun crazily, then suddenly stopped, leaving him reeling with nausea and the memory of groups of what could only have been large eggs lying on the heated floor of the small cavern.
* * *
Opening his eyes, he found he was lying on the prayer mat in his room at the new Shrine of the Valsgarth estate. He sat up, blinking and rubbing his eyes groggily. He couldn't be here, could he? Reaching out he touched the low table in front of him where the triple-wicked lamp still burned. It felt solid enough, but then, so had the cavern. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, looking round the room. Everything was where he remembered it. Had it all been a dream, then? Holding his hands up, he examined his wrists. The half-healed weals were still there. He flexed his shoulders. Pain shot through his back, making him gasp. Not a dream, then. Had Ghezu returned him to the estate, and if so, why?
Getting carefully to his feet he made for the door, opening it and stepping out into the corridor.
The cold made him shiver and he realized as he looked down at himself that he was still unclothed, as he'd been the last time he'd visited the Shrine room in the middle of the night.
The building was silent as he padded his way along the corridor to the entrance. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside. A figure wrapped in a cloak sat huddled on the steps of the dais at the foot of the statue of Vartra.
His hypersensitized sense of smell identified her at once. As he started down the hall toward her, she turned round. Her face was concealed by the folds of her cloak, but he knew it was her.
"We thought we'd lost you," she said, raising her hands to pull back her hood.
The flames from the braziers cast flickering light and shadow across her alien features. He stopped a few feet from her.
"How long have I been gone?" he asked.
"Just over six weeks now. We had news from Fyak's lair that you were there."
He shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. "When did I return from Stronghold? How was I brought here?"
She frowned, reaching out to touch his face, her fingers cupping his cheek. "You're really here this time, aren't you? Then you returned now, Kaid."
Hope began to rise in him as he covered her hand with his— it was warm flesh and blood. He stepped closer, putting his other hand against her throat, feeling her pulse beating under his fingertips.
Pulling her close, he buried his face against her neck. Breathing deeply of her scent, he tried to reassure himself with as many of his senses as possible that he was home.
"You're real," Kaid whispered, running his fingers through her hair as he began to nuzzle her neck. "I'm really here, with you." His tongue flicked across her cheek. As his mouth touched hers, his teeth gently caught hold of her, tasting the sweetness of her lips for the first time. Then he realized what he was doing and released her.
"I'm sorry. It was just that ... I didn't mean to ..." he said, backing away from her.
"Kaid!" she cried, reaching out for him as he saw her begin to fade.
* * *
Carrie left the Shrine and headed for the room Kaid had used when he'd stayed here before. It was still as Dzaka had left it, the lamp burning in the hope that Vartra would guide Kaid home. She closed the door behind her, leaning against it as she sniffed the air. She could smell his scent! It couldn't have been her imagination, could it? She reached out with her mind, searching for the pattern that was Kaid, but once more, she sensed nothing.
Turning, she left the room and headed for home. As she walked along the main street in the gathering dusk, ahead she saw and heard the bustle of people outside the Brotherhood dwelling. With a shock, she recognized the mental patterns of Humans. It was the group of archaeologists, a full day earlier than expected. No wonder there was a commotion outside the houses!
One of the Sholan guards standing helplessly watching the confused Humans saw her and came hurrying over.
"Liegena," she said. "They weren't expected today! We can't locate anyone who can key the door for them! Everyone's at the dig trying to get as much done as possible before the Terrans take over. You can fix the door, can't you?"
"Me? I don't involve myself with Terrans," she said, taking a step back as she sent to Kusac, letting him know he was needed at the village.
I'm on my way. Security informed me when they arrived. You shouldn't have been out on your own! he sent. Leave them till we get back. It'll only be another ten minutes. Keep that guard with you until I return!
"The Liege will be here shortly," she told the Warrior. "He'll deal with them then. You're to remain with me."
Shayola looked at the group of Humans, then back to Carrie. "We can't leave them there, Liegena. It's not an auspicious welcome for them."
Before she could answer her, one of the Humans who'd seen them in conversation started walking over to them.
"Look," the woman said, stopping in front of them. "We've just come from the Kysubi plains. We're tired and hungry, and we don't need this kind of foul-up! We've been subjected to the most ridiculous level of security checks to get onto this damned estate in the first place, and now we've been left high and dry out here in the street, in the cold, surrounded by a group of armed guards! We've been treated like intruders! I want to see someone in authority, and I want to see them now!"
Dammit, Carrie! Get back home away from them! Tell that Warrior to do her job and guard you!
She's one of Ni'Zulhu's people, not a personal guard.
Still dazed after her experience in the Shrine, she was torn two ways. Basic hospitality told her the Humans weren't asking much, instinct and Kusac were telling her to run back home, away from them, before they realized who she was.
"Please, Liegena! You can key the door lock and let them in. The house is ready apart from perishable food," Shayola was saying.
"All right, but you must stay with me as a bodyguard until I'm back at the villa," she said before looking at the Human.
"I'll let you in," she said. "Someone will be along shortly to show you round the house and tell you where everything is. I'm afraid we weren't prepared for your arrival today, we were expecting you tomorrow."
Carrie stepped past the woman and began walking toward the house.
I'm letting them in, Kusac, then I'll go home. We really can't leave them standing outside.
"Hey! You can't just walk off like that!" exclaimed the woman, turning round to trail after them. "I want to speak to someone in authority! I intend to lodge a formal complaint about the way we've been treated!"
"Go ahead of me and clear them away from the doorway, please, Shayola," Carrie said to the Sholan female. "I don't want to have to push through them."
"Yes, Liegena." She hurried off and began shouting orders to the other guards.
A hand grasped her by the arm, stopping her in her tracks. "I said don't walk away from me! I'm not done with you yet! I'm a professional archaeologist, here with my team at the personal invitation of the owner of this estate. I don't expect to be given the runaround by people like you! Now, I want to know your name, and I want to know it now! I intend to report you to your superiors!"
Carrie was peripherally aware of the shocked reactions of the woman's colleagues, and the estate guards with them, as the woman's frustration and anger flowed through her.
"Leave her alone, Pam," called out one of the men. "She's going to open the door for us. Let's just get in and relax till someone comes to sort this all out."
Carrie took the opportunity to move to one side, but Pam was having none of it and made another grab for her, catching her by the arm a
gain.
"Oh, no you don't," she said, holding onto her.
Anger flared through Carrie, hers as well as Kusac's. As Shayola stepped forward to intervene, Carrie reached up with her free hand and pulled her hood back. Staring Pam straight in the face, she answered her.
"I am someone in authority. I'm Liegena Aldatan, and my bond-mate owns the estate. Now, I suggest that you release me at once." There was ice in her voice.
The light from the open doorway was behind Pam, ensuring that she caught the full effect of Carrie's feline eyes as they glowed in a way that was impossible for Humans'.
Shocked, Pam let go of her and began to back away. A dark shape came to an abrupt stop on the edge of the group, making them scatter in fright. Rearing up to his full height, Kusac stepped out of the bushes to Carrie's side.
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