by Mari Collier
“Stand back out of the light.” He searched at the trail's edges and found a broken twig and the footprints of someone going upward in a slow methodical manner, almost shuffling at times.
“See, here, he's dragging his feet. Here he turned around, took a couple of steps back towards town, turned, and then started up again.” He stood. “He can't make up his mind if he is running away or not, and there is no sign of Daniel.”
“Something tis wrong, and there tis nay way of kenning what.” Llewellyn was perplexed.
“He went up the path. I'll walk the right side to see if he left it. Y'all can take the left side.”
In silence the three started upward, passing under trees that had been left untouched for over a century. Some had crashed from age, others had lost limbs in a storm, and others towered over them cutting the visibility to zero.
It took nearly an hour to reach where the trail wound around a point and they could look up at the flattened top. A lone figure with arms wrapped around his middle stood on the edge of the cliff staring out towards the waters.
“Dear, Gar, he tis getting ready to jump.” Kit whispered in horror. “Stop him.”
Llewellyn started forward and Lorenz's grabbed his bicep. “Papa, y'all will shake the ground and make all sorts of noise while running.” His voice was low. “Move slow or let me go. I'm lighter than y'all and move quieter when running.”
Llewellyn nodded his head, and Lorenz disappeared around the point. No sound came as he ran upward. For once he was thankful he had worn the Thalian half-boot. They were supple, light-weight shoes that fit the foot like a moccasin, and he ran like Uncle Herman had taught him to do on the trail.
As he neared the top, he slowed to a walk, carefully lifting each foot and setting it down. He was almost in reach of Kahli when Kahli heaved a sigh and turned.
Kahli's eyes opened wide in fear and then anguish washed over his face.
“My Laird, I sorrow, but I could do nay different.” His voice was a deep wail, and he turned back towards the embankment.
Lorenz took five quick steps and put his arms around Kahli and pulled him away from the edge. “Crazy kid, why didn't y'all come to me? Where's Daniel?”
Kahli kept his face hidden and his body rigid. “I canna say. I promised.”
“Promised? Promised who? Daniel?”
“Nay, Laird, I swore the Warrior's oath.”
Lorenz felt the anger rising, and he placed both hands on Kahli's shoulders and shook. Not hard, not yet, for something was wrong.
“Kahli, y'all are not a Warrior. Y'all are snot-nosed kid.” His voice rose.
Llewellyn appeared behind him. “Let me, Lorenz. I am Maca.” He stepped alongside of the two and swept Kahli into his arms.
“Shh, shh, laddie.”
A long wail erupted from Kahli's throat and his body shook.
Llewellyn hugged him tighter. Dear Gar, why now? Had he nay raised one skinny-bodied laddie? But there was nay mistaking the unspoken message between two Thalians. This was his laddie.
“Shh, laddie, tis all right. Your fither tis here.”
“I am nay worthy.”
“Is Daniel alive? Is he hurt?” The hard voice of the Laird hammered at Kahli.
“He tis alive. I would nay ere let him be hurt.” Kahli muffled voice emerged from Llewellyn's chest.
“Then where tis he?” asked Llewellyn.
“I promised.” Kahli looked up at Llewellyn. “I swore the oath by Gar. I canna say.”
“Kahli, did ye swear the oath to anyone in authority?”
“Well, aye, nay has authority like…” Kahli's mouth hung open on the last word.
“Do ye mean Martin?”
“Nay.” Kahli hung his head and his shoulders slumped.
“Did Daniel go willingly?” Lorenz interrupted. He ignored Kit standing slightly behind him.
“Aye, else I would nay have promised.”
“Damn, the Kenning Woman came back. He wouldn't leave me except to go with her.”
All eyes turned on Lorenz, and Kit took a cautious step backward.
“What?” Llewellyn turned towards his Earth son.
“Bi brought in a wooden toy that projected an image of a woman that I figured was either acting or the Kenning Woman. I'm saying it was her. Kahli knows it. Look at him. And, Kit, y'all know it too or y'all wouldn't be backing away. Now the question is: Why did she return?”
“Abs dinna have that technology.” Llewellyn was puzzled.
“Uh huh, and yet Kit knows how to run the lander and any mechanical tool we have. There's a whole technology and economy out there that the Houses have ignored.”
Llewellyn placed Kahli on the ground. “Has he spoken true? Does the Kenning Woman live?”
Kahli swallowed. “I promised,” he whispered.
“Oh, for Pete's sake!” Lorenz turned to Kit. “Kit, was Bi in town this afternoon?”
“Aye, Laird, I saw his ship.” She had stopped backing away and stood shifting from foot to foot.
“Kahli, did y'all promise Bi anything?”
“Nay, Laird, nay to him. I dinna like him.”
“Were y'all on his boat when y'all made that promise?”
Kahli hung his head and nodded.
“I've noticed sea laws are pretty much the same here as on Earth. The captain rules, yet Kahli made a promise to someone with more authority than the captain. Still want to tell me it wasn't the Kenning Woman, Papa?”
“Who could have deceived the Sisters like that?”
“I'm not sure of the details, Papa, but Kit and Kahli's mother died the same day as the Kenning Woman. I'm guessing their mother was burned at the Burning House and Kit went with her 'mother' to where the Land Abs live for a burial that never happened. She left Kahli with the Handmaiden because she was too busy caring for the Kenning Woman.” He gave one of his slashing smiles to Kit.
“That pretty well covers why y'all left your little brither in the tender care of Martin, doesn't it?”
Kit gave an abrupt nod of her head. “I would nay have left him else.”
“So where is Bi taking Daniel and his mother?”
“To his village, Laird.”
“And where would that be?”
Kit shrugged. “I dinna. It tis about two days sail down the south coast of Don when the wind tis high, more if nay. His town tis after the Skye Maist Mountains and twixt two smaller towns.”
“Let me speculate. Bi runs the big village and probably controls the smaller ones. Is that correct?”
Kit nodded. “Aye, Laird, that tis right.”
“Papa, do y'all intend to take him home, uh to House?”
“Aye, but nay this eve. I will, however, take the lassie and him back to the Laird's Station. I assume ye are following Bi. Ere ye go, ye still have the kine deliveries. Right now Don needs the meat distribution. Ye canna stop him on the seas. Tis too much danger of swamping the boat and ye are nay a sailor.”
Lorenz grinned at his father. “I'll leave by tomorrow night or the next morning. Laten can run the ranch without me.” He started to turn.
“Laird,” Kit's voice was low, “will ye change our agreement?”
“Hell no, y'all are one of the best farmers I've seen. Your hay field and garden are superior to the other ones. Why would I change it?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Others would send me to Ayran for helping the Kenning Woman.”
“We are nay others.” Llewellyn still had his arm around Kahli. “I intend to claim this laddie if ye dinna object. Ye will need to have a certain level of prosperity.”
“Papa, I'd like to bring Daniel's mother back with him.”
“Aye, if she will allow it. In the meantime, this information goes nay further.”
They turned and started downward. Kahli and Kit were exhausted by the time they reached the bottom; Kahli from an afternoon of worrying, steady walking, and missing the evening meal. Kit had spent her time drinking and her head was throbbing
. Lorenz saw them to the Maca's fliv and left for the Laird's Home.
It took less then five minutes to arrive at Kit's home, but Kahli was asleep. “I will carry him in.”
Kit was fighting to keep her eyelids from covering her eyes and nodded. She stumbled to the door, pressed the panel, and stepped aside for the Maca to carry Kahli inside.
“Which room tis his?”
“The one to the right.” She sank against the doorframe waiting to bid the Maca goodeve and thank him. She wasn't sure if this was reality or a dream. Nay House, nay Maca, would ever look at an Ab or offer assistance. When Llewellyn did not return right away she started towards the hallway. Dear Gar, tis he bedding him? She looked with wide eyes at the Maca returning with Kahli's clothes.
“I removed these. He will sleep better, but I dinna what ye do with them.” He smiled and placed them on the chair. “Ye have nay sworn allegiance to your Maca.”
Kit looked and saw the hard, brown eyes measuring her and swallowed. At least this Maca preferred lassies and she went willing up into his arms, laying her head on his shoulders.
He slid his hands down her back and lowered her to a standing position, but kept her hard against him.
“Nicely done, lassie, now will ye permit me to claim your brither as my own or do ye object?”
She laid her head on his chest, heard the two hearts, and felt his hardness swelling against her. “I will nay object, Maca. Kahli has always wished to be a Warrior. Our Mither could nay have provided so well.” She felt her thighs trembling and she desperately wanted to put her arms around him. A small groan came from her throat and she heard his deep chuckle.
He stepped away and put his hands on her shoulders. “Ye are a bonnie lassie, but if I claim your brither, our bedding may upset him. I have another chore for ye. My laddie, Lorenz, tis a very lonely man. Has he tried to bed ye?”
Surprised, she shook her head no. She couldn't repeat any of the gossip about the Laird.
“I thought nay. He tis a very proper nineteenth century man.” His words meant nay to her. As if reading her thoughts, Llewellyn continued. “In his beliefs, bedding someone outside of marriage tis a sin. Many do it, but hide the act. Lorenz tis far too honorable, but he tis a man. He walks at night by the river that flows by his home. Did ye ken that?”
A speechless Kit shook her head no. The Maca's eyes softened and he smiled at her. “I wish for ye to walk there some evening and go for a swim. Whilst ye are there find an excuse to entice him with your Thalian charms.”
His hand gripped her lower jaw and she felt his thumb run over her lips and she started to sway towards him. Once again the deep chuckle rose up from his throat.
“Oh, ye are the right lassie. The musk rises off ye and makes a man's head spin. Take away that lonely look in my laddie's eyes and ye will want for nay.”
He released her and walked for the door, the wide shoulders moving back and forth and he was gone.
Kit leaned against the chair, her breath coming in and out in small sobs. Dear Gar, she wanted a bedding. She straightened and walked toward her room with the bed and built-in clothes cabinet. Why, why had the Kenning Woman chosen this day to return?
Chapter 37: The Ab Land
Lorenz woke while the moons were hanging low in the sky. It had taken two days to accomplish the distribution of meat. His impatience mounted as he scanned the maps of Don and sent a com wake-up message to Laten and Dolo to have four zarks waiting, one loaded with camping gear for three people and a supply of emergency food. Another message went to Lesta and Stann informing them of his absence and instructing Stann to continue Kahli's lessons by com if the Maca did not bring Kahli here. Lorenz had smiled at the thought of that statement perplexing two members of House.
He rummaged in the well-stocked kitchen and hastily threw dried meat, bags of pina tea, protein bars, and four brools into his sack. Within minutes after leaving the Laird's home he was at the Station talking with Laten.
“I want y'all to let me off near Bi's sea village, but far enough away they won't think anyone is coming their way. Can y'all or Dolo locate it?”
“Aye, Laird, but why?”
“Bi's abducted Daniel, and I'm going to bring him back.”
“By yourself? Dolo and I should attend ye.”
“Thanks, Laten, but I'll take my com. We'll use the carrier and y'all can mark where any kine are feeding. I'll call if I need help or when transport is needed.”
“Ye will run into trouble if ye try to bring Bi back.”
Lorenz's lop-sided smile appeared. “Now there's a thought. Let's load these zarks.”
As they skimmed over the Skye Maist Mountains, Lorenz saw in the distance a field of corn and a fort like the history pictures showed of eighteenth century America. “Who built that fort surrounding the buildings and planted crops and pastures around it, Laten?”
“Tis said that they are Tris who fled ere the Justines installed the Kreppies, Laird.”
“Log their coordinates. We'll be trading directly with them instead of Bi.”
They landed several miles north of the coastal village in an area hidden by a series of low hills and trees growing along the East Fork of the Valiant River. Both forks flowed south, one to the mouth of the bay where Bi's village was located.
The two men quickly saddled the three zarks and loaded the pack animal.
“Laird, I dinna think ye should be out here alone. There are other land Abs that ken the ways of the wild. They will take ye captive or steal your zarks.”
Again that wild light was in Lorenz's eyes. “We are going to have some serious jawing about my past when I get back, Laten. This isn't my first trip away from town.” He swung up and left a very puzzled Laten staring after him.
Lorenz topped the crest of the hills and looked across the virgin-like prairie of Don. For the first time in almost forty-five years he felt content. He'd been aimless since Antoinette's death. All his boyhood dreams were fulfilled. He'd married the woman he loved. They had raised their family and together built one of the finest ranches in Texas. After her death, his life continued, but inside he was dead. Cattle were no longer king. That crown went to oil. Nothing would replace his dreams of an open land filled with cattle instead of the barbwire, oil derricks, and huge cities intruding everywhere. The smell of prairie grass was almost overpowering and he breathed deeply. The emptiness fell away as he pushed his zarks southward. He was free, free to ride the open range. The air, sweet and slightly humid, filled his lungs and his being.
Several hours later, he was near the village. He'd gone over different scenarios for rescuing Daniel and the Kenning Woman. He finally settled on hiding his horses in the prairie grass, and crawling up to the village for a closer look. If Bi's ship wasn't there, he would cold camp this evening. Either way, he would need to decide whether to ride in or to use subterfuge to lure Daniel away from the town area.
Bi's village was unlike the one they had flown over. That one had fields and pastures. Here they'd seen some small garden plots and a few cattle and sheep scattered about. Laten was probably correct about the land Abs going on raids. The Tris built their houses within the fort area. That meant the inhabitants were worried about an attack. They'd flown high enough to avoid detection, but the fort remained a warning. According to Laten, land Abs and the dispersed Tris possessed zarks and cattle. The fortified village was powerful enough to fight off raids, but open villages like Bi's were vulnerable. So far, Bi's trading had protected his village. And this time, Lorenz knew, there were few trade goods. Bi had been too eager to set sail with his prize.
He fell easily into the pattern of switching between the prairie, the rocks, and the river. At times the grass was over his head and the zarks found it hard, slow going. He paused, switched back to the river to let them drink, and he bent low to sample the water. It was sweet and clear, although warm in the midmorning sun. When he stood, he sensed something in the air and stood listening, but no sound came but the zarks drinking, th
e rustling of the grasses, and the occasional bird. And yet, his senses were tingling. It was as though he was young again and something was wrong somewhere.
He went forward one slow step at a time. The village couldn't be more than a mile or two and he could smell the wood smoke. He began to look for a place to hide the zarks and to camp when he noticed the brush ahead had a freshly broken limb.
Lorenz led his zarks back behind the low growing willows and shrubbery. He had been careless. The heady smells of the open prairie and free flowing river, the sounds of unknown birds, and the unfenced land diverted him from observing everything. He knew the zarks had their own sense of smell and they snorted and stamped, yet he had to risk whoever broke that limb was paying less attention than he had been. He hobbled the zarks and edged forward by skirting along the willows and away from the bank towards the broken limb. When he was within several rods, he dropped down and crept forward. Every nerve in his body seemed to tingle and he kept listening to the birds and insects, to the wind, and smelling the scents in the air, but this was a different land. It was difficult to tell if there was more than the sense of danger. He crept closer and heard a boy's voice.
“Look, Mither, the fish are very close. Mayhap I can catch them with my hands.” And his laugh rolled out.
A slow smile tugged at the corners of Lorenz's mouth and he stood to walk the rest of the distance.
Chapter 38: Lies Reputed
Di sat up and watched a sleeping Wee Da. She smiled and then the worry began. They landed late last night, and she wished she had left him with the blind-eyed Laird and nay listened to Bi's lies.
Bi had returned with a wild tale of a dissipated Laird. Her vision had been wrong. The Laird was blind-eyed, but that was a natural eye color of his world. He was a man who bedded laddies: Wee Da and his friends. When she tried to comfort her laddie for endangering him, Wee Da had protested.
“Mither, that tis a lie. My fither did nay bed me, nay anyone else. Sometimes he acts like a Martin from his world.”
Di closed her eyes. The Laird had accepted Da. He had taken him to House and renamed him. Her vision had been true, but what of the latest vision where she saw Wee Da in terrible danger? Had that been wrong? She tried to see again that brief, blurry moment of Da surrounded by armed men.
