by Caro Soles
“Holy shit!” he breathed, wiping the sweat out of his eyes. Something had to be done but he was far from sure that he would be able to do it. The very idea of going any nearer to the snake made him feel faint.
Eulio stirred. The snake drew back, hissing. Triani watched, his breath harsh and painful in his chest. He was paralyzed with fear. Eulio moaned and moved his arm. The snake hissed louder. Triani screamed. The noise seemed to push him into action. Grabbing a rock, he sprang down the hill. The snake slithered quickly away. Triani swore and threw the rock after it. He crouched, shaking, beside Eulio’s still figure, waiting as gradually his heart slowed to normal and he could think again. He leaned over Eulio’s unconscious body anxiously and felt his legs and arms and back with his long, sensitive hands, checking for broken bones. Carefully he turned him over and pillowed the blond head on his rolled up tunic. He ripped a sleeve out of his own top and went, crab style on the steep hill, over to the rushing waterfall. Gently he sponged the dirt and blood from Eulio’s cuts and gashes and laid a cool cloth on his forehead. “Come on, you shitty Merculian aristocrat! Wake up!” he muttered between clenched teeth. His own shoulder was throbbing painfully. He wondered what he would do if the snake decided to come back.
Finally, Eulio stirred. His eyelids fluttered, opened. “Well, it’s about time,” said Triani, leaning over to shield him from the bright sun.
Eulio raised a hand in a vague gesture, his eyes confused, searching. He touched Triani’s head and his expression changed from confusion to fear. “Triani? Is that you?” His small hand moved hesitantly over Triani’s face. His lips trembled. “I can’t see! Oh, gods! I can’t see!” His arms went around Triani’s neck. “Don’t leave me! Please don’t leave me alone in the dark!”
“I’m not going anywhere, baby.” Triani stroked Eulio’s back. “Can’t you see anything at all?”
Eulio shook his head. He was trembling uncontrollably. “What happened? Where are we?”
“I was knocked off the shitty animal and you were thrown down this hill. I fell down after you and here we are.” There was no point in mentioning the snake. “Our guides will come for us soon, and then—”
Without warning, Eulio threw back his head and screamed, striking out with his fists at Triani. “Oh god! What will I do? I can’t dance like this? I’ll never dance again! I’ll never see Orosin’s face! Or my family! Oh, help me! Somebody! Please!”
“What the hell do you think I’m trying to do!” cried Triani, attempting to catch his wrists. “Stop hitting me!” He shook Eulio hard. “Ah, shit!” he muttered as his partner burst into tears, staring sightlessly at the sky, his hands clenched tightly against his chest. When Triani tried to comfort him, Eulio shoved him away.
“Why? Why did this have to happen?” he sobbed. He pushed his knuckles into his mouth and hunched his shoulders as he bent over on his knees, rocking back and forth, back and forth.
“Come on, baby. Stop that. There’s no use asking that question about anything.” Triani gently took his hands away from his face and wiped away the tears. This time Eulio didn’t push him away. “Besides, who says this is forever? Merculian medicine is wonderful, you know that.”
But Eulio didn’t seem to hear him. “I won’t even be able to get dressed by myself…or see the colors…or go to the theater. Oh Triani, I’ll never dance again!” He was beginning to shake. Triani winced. Never dance again…. If he couldn’t dance, he would die, simply cease to exist. Dancing was everything to him. He felt a sudden hot surge of dark emotion and moved instantly to shield Eulio from any telepathic contact. He needed all his strength to handle his own emotions.
Triani turned Eulio’s tear-stained face towards him. “Listen to me, Eulio. Listen!” He gentled his hands, his voice. “You will dance again. You will. You might not be able to do solos, that’s all. But who wants solos when you can dance with me?” Triani was rubbing Eulio’s back soothingly, rocking him gently in his arms. “It’ll be all right. It will! You and I touch-dance like a dream. We know lots of numbers for the two of us already and you’re good at choreography. Very good. And Nevon likes your work. You could use Orosin’s music, too. Oh, baby, solos aren’t everything. You’ll still be able to dance and that’s what counts. That’s the important thing.”
Triani could sense Eulio beginning to calm in his arms, starting to really listen as his panic subsided a little. As Triani glanced around to make sure the snake was nowhere in sight, he went on automatically patting Eulio’s back, making soothing noises. Sometimes it helps to be a parent, he thought wryly. He wished the two Abulonians would hurry up.
Eulio’s arm went around his neck. “Oh Triani, this is awful!” he whispered.
“It’s a new role, sweetie, but you’ll learn it. You’ve got to dance with me again. I came back to this company because of you.”
“A new role! This is my life you’re talking about. My whole life! Don’t you understand?”
Triani didn’t answer. What did he know about Eulio’s life outside the theater? His own world was very narrow. Even the time spent with his little lover was centered around dancing.
Eulio was wiping his eyes on Triani’s tunic. “My whole life,” he murmured. Sharp images flashed through his mind; he and Orosin making love in the pool in their bedroom, the floating gardens outside their Merculian home, playing in concert with his parents and siblings and their friends during the long, pale twilight of a summer evening, the glittering terror of opening nights at the theater. Perhaps Triani was right. He should concentrate on the dance, the hard core, the center of it all.
“Look, sweetie, I hate to bring this up but if we don’t get out of sight, neither one of us might have a life to worry about. There’s a stream to the right. It looks deep enough to get cooled off in, at least. And there’s a little cover among the rocks.” He stood up. Eulio looked so lost, crouched on the ground alone. He couldn’t see the hand Triani thoughtlessly held out to him. “Shit,” muttered Triani under his breath. He slipped an arm around Eulio’s waist. “Come on, sweetie. You have to sort of bend over. It’s very steep.”
They stumbled and half crawled to the water, sinking down thankfully beside the rushing stream.
“Oh God! Everything hurts,” gasped Eulio. He undid the pouch at his waist and held it out to Triani. It was filled with an amazing assortment of unmarked cylinders of different colors. “The painkillers are the little round white ones in the yellow container.”
Triani opened it, gave him one and took one himself. “Lucky thing you always travel with your own dispensary,” he remarked as he closed the cylinder and replaced it carefully with the others.
In a few minutes, the pill seemed to take effect. The water was very cold and tasted marvelous. Eulio splashed some on his face and shoulders and chest. “I suppose I look just awful,” he said, smoothing his hair with his hands. “I don’t look much like a diplomat. What’s that?”
“Nothing. I just slipped on a rock. What the hell is taking those guys so long?”
“Maybe we should try it; the touch-dancing, I mean,” Eulio said thoughtfully. “Do you think Nevon would allow it?”
“For you, anything,” said Triani, soothingly.
“Oh, no. With him, it’s for you, anything, Triani, and you know it.”
“Then how come you always get top billing?”
In spite of everything, Eulio had to smile. “Are we back to that again?” This had always been a bone of contention between them ever since Triani joined the company as a leading soloist.
“As soon as our guides find us, they can tell Orosin so he can get you some help—”
“No! Don’t let them send for Orosin! Please!” Eulio’s body tensed and his shoulders hunched as if he were cold. “You expect me to give in at once, don’t you? You think I’m miscast in this role?” he said, trying to keep his voice level. “You think I’m spoiled and temperamental and weak.”
“Shit, baby! Who gives a sweet damn what I think? You’re an Adelantis
and you’re loaded with class.”
“I can still talk. I can listen. I can do it, but you have to help me.”
“You got it. I know I haven’t been any help at all, so far. I’ve been a regular bitch.”
“So have I.” Eulio squeezed his hand. “And it won’t look good if we keep bickering all the time, will it? And please try not to antagonize Marselind.”
“He hates my guts. I think he resents the fact that I slept with his precious Luan before he did. But what do I know? Maybe he’d hate me anyway,” Triani finished philosophically.
“Well, try not to make things any worse.”
“I might get an ulcer from all this sweetness and light.”
“I’m so scared!” Eulio’s small fingers dug into Triani’s shoulder.
“Look, the company doctor will know just what to do. He always does, sweetie. You’ll get better. You have to. Shit! I’m not going through the rest of the season with the Mincing Bastard for a partner!”
“Ah, Triani, Alesio’s damn good and you know it.”
“I want the best, baby, and that’s you. Don’t argue. Listen, I think maybe we’d better get out of the water. There’s a sheltered rock just behind you. If we climb up there, I can keep an eye peeled.” He helped Eulio up and lay down beside him, close enough to touch. He was worried about the patrols Luan had mentioned. If they were picked up by the Chief’s men, what would happen to Cham? He shivered and rubbed his arms.
“I can do it,” Eulio said with sudden determination, almost as if he had read his mind. “I’ll get Chamion back. I don’t need eyes for that.”
Triani grunted noncommittally. It seemed to him that Eulio had no idea of the precariousness of their situation. Perhaps it was better that way. “Are you still working on that dance you mentioned last week?” he asked. “The Magic Garden thing?”
“It’s all in my head,” said Eulio. “It’s Orosin’s music. The Garden Suite, remember?”
“Tell me about it.” Triani knew the best way to keep Eulio’s mind occupied.
“I was just thinking… If I simplified it a bit, you could do it with Chamion.”
“Nevon would never allow it.”
“You could do it at my father’s private theater for an invited audience.”
“You don’t have to bribe me,” said Triani quietly. “I won’t leave you.”
“I know. I didn’t mean it like that. All right, here it is.”
As Eulio launched into a technical description of the dance, Triani scanned the steep cliffs that surrounded them on three sides. He wondered if there was any point in trying to climb back up the way they had fallen. He dismissed the idea. One level of his mind listened to Eulio’s summary of the steps, the costumes, the lighting. Now and then Triani would interrupt with some comment, just to let Eulio know he was paying attention. He was glad that he had thought to ask about the dance. There was no point in both of them being nervous wrecks. For all Triani’s vigilance, it was Eulio who heard the falling stones first. “What’s that?” He tilted his head alertly and reached for Triani.
It was Marselind. “I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you. The animal was bitten by a hyla insect, which is very painful, and it ran a long way. Are you all right?” He was looking at Eulio who sat very still, staring straight ahead.
Eulio swallowed. “I can’t see. I don’t know what happened.”
“Other than that, everything’s just peachy, darling,” said Triani brightly.
Eulio pinched him, hard.
Marselind passed his open hand in front of Eulio’s face. “Holy stars! But surely your healers will be able to help. Are you able to continue?”
Eulio swallowed. “I am.”
“This unfortunate accident with the animals is going to delay us a while. In order to avoid the patrols, we’ll have to camp overnight below the falls. There’s just enough time to get there.”
Triani groaned. “I hope there’s something edible in those saddle bags,” he muttered.
“At least we can get some sleep,” said Eulio sensibly.
“Luan is waiting at the foot of the hill across the stream. If you don’t mind, it would be a lot easier if I carried you on my back.” Marselind sat down on the rock, his back to Eulio, and Triani guided his partner’s arms around the man’s neck. Eulio looked very small and very scared.
Triani patted his arm. “Break a leg, sweetie. It can’t be any worse than opening night.”
“It is,” whispered Eulio through clenched teeth. “It’s so…undignified!” He closed his eyes and tried very hard not to cry.
EIGHTEEN
Triani looked around at the sheer cliffs towering above them. Even in the brightness of the early morning sunshine there was a desolation about the place that made him shiver. The great woolly animals lay in a sunny corner of the nearly enclosed canyon, their bulging eyes half closed.
Triani glanced at Marselind. He looked the picture of assurance, but Triani knew he was troubled by something. All morning, as they followed the deep gorge into this narrow valley, Triani had felt the man’s growing apprehension and concern, a wariness that was not openly expressed. Triani had thought it better not to mention what he was picking up, suspecting the man would not want it known. He worried in silence.
“We walk from here,” Marselind said, leading them to the base of the cliff.
“I know we’re athletic, sweetie, but even Merculians can’t climb up sheer rock.”
Marselind didn’t bother to answer. He pushed aside a scraggly bush and pressed his hand to the center of a boulder. It rolled aside with a dull growl, revealing a hole in the ground.
“Holy shit,” muttered Triani, staring at the darkness yawning at their feet.
Eulio tugged at his hand, fearfully. “What is it?”
“We have to climb through a sort of passageway,” he said. The frightening fact of the darkness wouldn’t matter to Eulio. “I will carry you, if you wish,” Marselind said to Eulio. “The going is very rough.”
Triani helped Eulio put his arms around Marselind’s neck. Then he climbed down into the dark hole. His heart was in his mouth. “Luan?” he whispered, feeling in front of him. His hand made contact with solid flesh and closed around the boy’s arm.
Luan took his hand. “It’s not far,” he whispered back. “Come on.” It seemed very far indeed to Triani, stumbling along beside Luan in the semi-darkness. Although they had camped for most of the night, his sleep had been fitful, his dreams troubled and he did not feel rested or refreshed on being awakened. Finally they came out into the light. They followed a narrow ledge, always mounting steadily upwards towards the rocky battlements of the natural fortification where Yonan’s hidden camp lay sprawled behind its barricades. There were no watchmen that they could see but they felt eyes following their every move.
At last they came up into a large courtyard. Marselind exchanged a few words with one of the heavily armed guards and a massive door was opened in front of them.
Eulio slid to the ground and reached out for Triani’s hand. He was terrified. He clamped his jaw shut in an effort to stop his teeth from chattering. Yonan was just a man, after all. But how many people had this man killed? How many desperate schemes had he planned and executed? It was painfully clear to Eulio, all of a sudden, that he had no official standing whatsoever. He was not even protected by I.P.A. law, since Abulon was not a member of the Alliance. He had walked right into a dangerous situation without giving it much thought. And he was totally blind.
Triani felt the anxiety and patted his partner’s hand reassuringly. “Hey, baby, you’ve met the ruling heads of five planets. Why are you so nervous of this nonentity?”
“That was different. I met them as a dancer, not a diplomat. Besides, I could see them.”
“Stop worrying. All we have to do is pretend it’s Silver Dawn, Act III, scene 2.”
“Without your flying exit through the window, I trust,” said Eulio dryly. “How do I look?”
“Gorgeous—all things considered.” Triani took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. He held Eulio’s hand high and to the side as if making a curtain call. “Ready?” Eulio nodded. “One, two, three….”
They moved forward in unison, Eulio concentrating on sensing the large room in front of them and picking up the messages from Triani which guided his movements. He felt surprisingly calm. His earlier choking sense of panic was gone. He was always fine once the curtain went up.
Triani took in the scene at a glance and bent his head towards Eulio. “A lot of them look like the androids in the city only they have long, wavy brown hair and they’re very animated. They’re quite attractive, even sexy.” He paused. “I don’t see anyone who looks like the man in the hologram. Someone is coming towards us making gestures of welcome. Handsome devil. I wouldn’t mind sleeping with this one.” They stopped together, waiting for the man to reach them. Eulio’s left hand felt cold and clammy.
The man walked with the purposeful stride of a soldier. He wore a long, sheathed knife at his belt but no other weapon. His rough, stained leather shirt was open at the neck. He nodded gravely at Marselind who had stepped forward to meet him. They talked together for a moment; Luan was introduced. Then they stepped back and the man came on alone to meet the Merculians. Triani stepped forward, still holding Eulio’s hand. He bowed with a flourish. “It is my privilege to introduce the Conte Eulio Chazin Adelantis, member of the First Order of Merculian.”
The man hesitated, then bowed briefly in return. “It is an honor. I am Norh, first officer of Yonan. He wanted to be here himself to welcome you but due to the unfortunate accident that delayed your arrival, this was not possible. At the moment, he is on patrol. Welcome, in his name.”
Eulio moistened his lips. “Thank you, Chai Norh. I bring greetings from the Ambassador of the Inter-Planetary Alliance, the Conte Orosin At’hali Benvolini of Merculian.”
