Aeifa murmured to Taman. “We’re seven years old, too, and we’re fully mature.”
“You’re Angondran children,” Aimee told them. “Angondran children develop faster than human children. It would be pretty unusual for one twin to develop at an Angondran rate and the other twin to develop at a human rate, but I suppose anything is possible when you start mixing alien species. Sarai is the size of a typical human seven-year-old.” She laughed at the memory of him. “I can take you to him and show you if you don’t believe me.”
“What about Lilith?” Tara asked. “She was telling the truth about being your daughter, and she seems to be in some distress about staying with the Outliers after they killed Ledo. We should go get her out and bring her back.”
Aimee put her head on one side. “From what she told you, it sounds like she doesn’t want that. Getting you kids to safety is more important right now. If you’re right about the peace negotiators disappearing, we have to find them right away. Your plan to use your tracking devices to find them seems to me the best one. Follow me and I’ll take you to Harbeiz.”
End of Book 3
Book 4: Leroni
Chapter 1
The midday sun baked the earthen walls of the Felsite city of Melnili. It parched the grass in the field in front of the city, and the land seethed in rippling heat. Among the trees along the river at the bottom of the field, Leroni hefted a bundle of cut branches onto her back and took a deep breath. Then she turned back toward the city. She met her young friend Rilla where the path crossed the river.
“When did it ever get so hot?” Leroni panted.
Rilla settled her own bundle on her shoulder. “It’s like this every summer. You must be getting old.”
Leroni sighed. “I must be, because I can’t stand this hard work the way I used to. I need to sit down.”
“Don’t you dare,” Rilla shot back. “You can sit down when we get back to the city, not before. We haven’t been out here that long, and it isn’t really that hot. Now quit complaining and come on.”
Rilla turned away, but Leroni spun around so fast she dropped her bundle. “Did you hear that?”
Rilla smacked her lips. “Don’t think you can get out of work with those childish tricks. Pick up your bundle and let’s get moving. I’m hungry.”
Leroni didn’t turn around. “I swear I heard something back there.”
“What could you hear?” Rilla snapped. “There’s no one out here but us. Now quit stalling and....”
“There!” Leroni didn’t wait for Rilla to reply. She set off back through the trees toward the river. Rilla hurried to catch up with her. “Did you hear it that time?”
“I didn’t hear anything but you making excuses to get out of work.” Rilla had to trot to keep up with her. “What did you hear?”
“I swear I heard something out there,” Leroni muttered.
“Maybe it was the falkswell,” Rilla suggested.
Leroni shook her head. “I think I’d recognize that after twenty-eight years in this city. No, I never heard this sound before. It sounded like someone crying.”
She stopped on the riverbank and listened. Rilla held her breath and listened, too, and a faint peep touched her ear. Her eyes popped open. “I hear it now, too.”
Leroni turned her head one way and then another. Then she turned left. “It’s this way.”
She struck off through the undergrowth along the river. She stopped every so often to listen, and the noise grew louder the farther they went. At last Leroni stopped, and both women heard the noise plainly. “It’s coming from the old sump grove.”
Rilla held back, but curiosity drove Leroni on with emboldened tread. She crossed the river on the stepping stones and waited for Rilla to catch up. Then they faced the great grove trees together. They heard the whimpering and whining louder than ever, but they still couldn’t identify it. Leroni took a deep breath and strode into the trees.
The moment she got around the first tree, she froze. She couldn’t deny anymore the noise came from a huddled shape on the banks of the river. Black slime obscured all of it except two glowing green eyes staring out at them. It trembled all over, and as they watched, the slime parted to let an agonizing howl out of a mouth full of jagged teeth.
Rilla jumped back with a scream, but Leroni only stared at the thing in shock. The mouth closed, and the thing went back to shaking and moaning. The eyes darted left and right, but showed no signs of recognizing the women’s presence.
Rilla grabbed Leroni’s arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
Leroni didn’t move. “We can’t leave it here.”
Rilla clawed at Leroni’s sleeve. “You can’t go near it. It might be dangerous.”
In spite of her desperate clinging, Leroni took a step forward. “What is it?”
The thing didn’t notice her, so she took another step. Its mouth opened again, and the same heart-rending howl echoed through the grove. Rilla shrieked and pulled Leroni back. Leroni jumped out of her skin, but she managed to stand firm until the howl ended. Then she dared another step.
She put out her hand to touch the thing, but Rilla tugged her hand. “Don’t!”
“There’s no danger,” Leroni murmured. “He can’t even see us, even though he’s looking right at us.”
“What do you mean ‘he’?” Rilla whispered. “It must be some kind of animal.”
Leroni muttered to herself under her breath. “What’s this black stuff?” She put her hand out the rest of the way and touched the black mass.
The instant her hand made contact with the slimy surface, the black film fell away and dissolved into the ground as though it was never there, leaving a young man crouched on the riverbank. He lifted his head to the sky and howled louder than ever. His voice sent a chill up Leroni’s spine, and she yanked her hand back with a shiver.
He stopped howling and went back to trembling and whimpering. His eyes searched the grove in restless desperation, but his mind registered nothing. Leroni took a closer look at him. “What did I tell you? Look, he’s just a boy.”
“He’s hardly a boy,” Rilla replied. “He’s fully mature.”
“He’s young, though.” Leroni let her breath out. “Come on. We’ll go find Leflin.”
“What for?” Rilla asked.
“To bring him into the city, of course,” Leroni replied. “We can’t leave him here.”
“Why not?” Rilla asked. “You can’t seriously expect Leflin to take him in.”
Leroni pursed her lips. “Look at this young man. Look at the fur on his neck and head. Look at his ears. They’re pointed. And did you see his teeth when he opened his mouth? His eye teeth are pointed, too.”
“What about it?” Rilla asked. “That doesn’t mean we should take him into the city. We should get as far away from him as we can. Who knows how he wound up here.”
Leroni faced her friend. “Darling, he’s Lycaon. Can’t you see that?”
Rilla blinked. She looked at the young man again. “What’s wrong with him, then?
“The real question,” Leroni replied, “is how he got here. There’s no way he could have crossed our territory without our knowing.”
Rilla let go of her hand and spun away. “I don’t care who he is or how he got here. This is creepy, and I’m getting out of here.”
Without waiting to hear Leroni’s reply, she flew out of the grove. Leroni listened to her footsteps fading into the distance, but she kept her eyes on the young man. She waited until she was certain Rilla was gone before she relaxed.
She squatted down in front of the young man and peered into his bright eyes. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”
His eyes darted past her face. He didn’t hear her. His breath grated in and out through his teeth, and with every breath he moaned and groaned in agony. His voice stabbed Leroni’s heart. She put out her hand to touch him again, but she hesitated and let her hand fall. Water dripped fr
om his skin, and goosebumps rose from his arms and his bare chest. He hugged his shoulders and shivered, and his teeth chattered in his head. A shade of blue tinged his lips, even though the sun blazed and the humidity stifled the life out of every living thing.
She moved to place her head right in front of his face. Then she braced herself and took hold of both his shoulders so he couldn’t turn away. She raised her voice. “Can you hear me? Who are you? How did you get here? Can you understand me?”
He didn’t answer, but his eyes tarried on her face for half a second before they resumed their restless wandering from one direction to the other.
Leroni studied him up close. She’d seen only two Lycaon in her life, but no one could mistake his features. His pointed ears stuck up through his rough fur, and two sharp points of teeth protruded out of his mouth. His fur wasn’t that long, though. He couldn’t be more than seven years old. “What’s your name?”
He shuddered. “Sooss....Sooss....”
Leroni started back. “Sooss. Your name is Sooss?”
“Sooss...” he panted. “Sooss...”
She smacked her lips. “Okay, Sooss. Can you tell me what you’re doing in Felsite territory and how you got here?”
He didn’t hear. He went back to searching all around him without seeing anything. Leroni tried again. “If you come with me, I’ll take you back to the city. We’ll get you dried off and warmed up, and maybe find you something to eat. Would you like that, Sooss?”
No response. Leroni stared at him for a moment. Then she stood up. The last thing in the world she needed was another helpless creature to take care of, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk away from him. “I’m going back to the city now. Come on.” She held out her hand to him.
He didn’t even look at it or her. He shivered and shuddered. He was freezing cold in this blistering heat. She couldn’t leave him out here alone. She turned on her heel and walked away with renewed determination, but at the edge of the grove, she stopped again and looked back. He remained huddled there with his blue lips and his hair dripping down his back. He must have been in the river, but that river didn’t connect with Lycaon territory. It tumbled over mountain ridges all the way to the sea. No one could travel up or down it and survive.
An unconscious shudder ran through her body. As helpless as he was, that young man represented some kind of danger. Leroni hadn’t lived so long not to recognize when her own instincts warned her to take care. He might be helpless now, but he wouldn’t stay that way. Maybe Rilla was right. Maybe they should leave him here to fend for himself. However he got here, he must be able to survive on his own.
But she couldn’t leave him here. Even if she didn’t take him into the city to look after him, she had a duty to her faction not to turn her back on him. She strode out of the grove, back to the path where she dropped her bundle. She hoisted it onto her back, and she didn’t even notice the heat now. She braced her back under the weight and marched across the field to Melnili.
Chapter 2
Leroni set down her bundle in the front room of her apartment, right next to the main sleeping platform. Four Felsite children tussled and growled together on the platform. A rim of bright auburn fur sprouted around one boy’s head. The two girls had their mother’s short tawny-gold tuft of hair. Leroni barely glanced at them. “Where’s your father?”
The older girl, the eldest of the four, extricated herself from the pack and jumped off the platform. “I’m hungry, Mother. When can we eat?”
“As soon as you get to work on these branches,” Leroni replied. “I have to go find your father.”
“He’s on the main observation deck,” the girl replied. “He’s meeting that Ursidrean you told us about.”
“That,” Leroni told her, “is not an Ursidrean. I explained this to you, Mala. That person is human, just like Carmen. You’re old enough to know the difference.”
“You said she was an ambassador from the Ursidreans,” Mala countered. “So she must be Ursidrean, too.”
Leroni sighed. “You’ve seen enough Ursidreans, and you’ve seen Carmen. You know the difference. That woman joined the Ursidreans when she mated with one of them. She’s bringing some new maps the Ursidreans made of our border with them. I explained this to you.”
“You explained it,” Mala replied, “but I still don’t understand it.”
“The good thing is your father understands it,” Leroni told her, “and he’s the one who’s meeting her. Now please start on these branches, because I’m hungry, too, and when I get back, we’ll eat.”
She hurried out of the apartment and up the steep steps to the city ramparts to a room bigger than her own apartment. In fact, it was bigger than four or five Felsite apartments put together, and one enormous window ran the length of one wall. The length of the river lay out before it, with the field and the sump grove in the distance. Leroni shuddered at the sight. That young man was out there, beyond those trees.
A big Felsite male, with a golden mane surrounding his head, stood at the far end of the room. He towered over a human female standing in front of him, and the two conversed in low tones. The woman handed him a bundle of papers as Leroni entered the room.
The big male faced her with a frown. “This is a private meeting.”
The female smiled at Leroni. “It’s all right. It’s not that private. It’s good to see you again, Leroni.”
Leroni pressed the woman’s hand. “How are you, Anna? You look wonderful.”
Anna laughed, and Leroni turned to the big male. “I wouldn’t have interrupted you, Leflin, if it wasn’t important.”
“What could be more important than this meeting?” Leflin asked.
Anna waved her hand. “Never mind. We’re finished here. I’m going down to my apartment now, so you two can talk. I hope I see you later, Leroni.”
“I hope so, too.” Leroni returned Anna’s kiss on the cheek, and the Ursidrean ambassador disappeared down the stairs.
Leflin rounded on Leroni. “Now what is so important that it couldn’t wait five minutes for me to come back to the apartment.”
Leroni smacked her lips. “You’re taking this position as Alpha Lieutenant too seriously if you can’t say a civil word to your own mate. I’ve never interrupted any official meeting of yours before. You might give me a moment’s consideration.”
Leflin passed his hand across his eyes and let out a shaky breath. “You’re right. I’m putting too much time into this, but I’m the only one to cover all Renier’s responsibilities, and all my own, until he gets back.”
“When is he coming back?” Leroni asked. “He’s been gone too long already.”
“I hope he gets back soon.” Leflin sighed. “I don’t like being Alpha.”
She smiled and touched his arm. “Come down to the apartment. Mala is preparing the meal for us. You’ll feel better after you’ve had something to eat.”
He waved his hand. “I have to take these maps to Renier’s apartment, but tell me first what made you come up here looking for me.”
Leroni glanced over her shoulder at the sump grove outside the window. “There’s something down along the river I think you ought to take a look at. I’m not sure, but I think it’s very important.”
“What is it?” he asked.
Leroni shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, the truth is it’s a young man.”
Leflin’s eyes snapped open. “A young man?”
Leroni nodded. “I’m pretty sure he’s Lycaon.”
Leflin’s head shot up. “Lycaon? How did a Lycaon get here?”
“There’s something wrong with him, though,” Leroni went on. “He’s incoherent. If I knew more about the Lycaon, I would say he’s insane.”
“What do you mean?” Leflin asked.
“He won’t answer questions,” Leroni explained. “I mean, he doesn’t talk. He wouldn’t tell me where he came from or how he got there. I asked his name, and he s
aid Sooss. He kept saying it over and over, but he wouldn’t say anything else. He would barely look at me.”
Leflin squared his shoulders. “What kind of name is Sooss?”
“And I think he’s freezing,” Leroni told him.
“Freezing!” Leflin snorted. “How could he be, in this heat?”
“That’s what doesn’t make sense,” Leroni told him. “He’s shaking all over, and he’s got goosebumps. He keeps rubbing his arms with his hands, and his teeth are chattering, and his lips are turning blue. I don’t think he’ll survive out there much longer.”
Leflin set the roll of papers on the windowsill. “Take me to him.”
Leroni set off down the stairs with Leflin behind her. Her concern evaporated now that she had Leflin with her. He would deal with the strange creature in the grove. She smiled at him when they got to the bottom of the stairs and started across the field.
Leflin slowed when they entered the trees along the river, and he followed Leroni in silence to the sump grove. He hesitated to turn into the trees. Leroni beckoned him forward. Leflin came to her side and they entered the grove together. The young Lycaon hadn’t moved, and his eyes traced the perimeter of the grove with the same unseeing intensity.
Leroni squatted down in front of him and called into his face. “Sooss, can you hear me?”
He didn’t respond except to continue his endless moaning. Not even Leroni calling his name snapped him out of his stupor.
“Sooss,” she called again, “I’ve brought someone to help you. We’re going to take you back to the city.”
“Don’t tell him that,” Leflin hissed.
“We can’t leave him here,” Leroni returned. “He’ll die.”
“He got here somehow,” Leflin pointed out. “He’s not helpless.”
Leroni set her jaw in determination. “Look at him. He’s young. He must be six or seven at the oldest.”
Leflin frowned down at the young man. “You’re right. He is Lycaon.”
The New Angondra Complete Series Page 12
