The shielded room they were to occupy on their overnight stops belonged to the guild's resident telepath. He'd agreed to stay at the guild in Valsgarth for that one night a week. There was a bed, harder than they
were used to, and the ba-sic storage facilities for their clothes.
Once their small amount of luggage had been left in their rooms, Meral departed for the delights of thecity and they joined their first teacher in the staff lounge.
"My name's Varos," said a large Sholan in a dull sand-colored uniform jacket getting up from his chair and coming toward them. "I'll be showing you how to use energy weap-ons." He towered over both of them before sweeping past them into the corridor. "Well, come on!" he said. "We need to go down to the range to use the guns. Can't have you tak-ing pot shots at the students, can I?" A rumbling purr fol-lowed his last remark.
As they turned to follow him, Carrie grasped Kusac's arm. I've never seen such a large Sholan before !she sent. He's huge! Look at the size of his legs, they're as thick as two of yours .
And it's all muscle, from the look of him, agreed Kusac with a grin.
"So you're one of the Terrans, are you?" Varos said, turn-ing round to look at her from piercing green eyes. "You look better in life than you did on the newscast last week. Too bad about Sevrin," he said regretfully.
The range was indoors in the basement of the building. They entered the rest area first, waiting while
Varos fetched some pistols and battery packs.
"I'll probably have a few practice shots myself, if you don't mind, Liegen," said Kaid, looking thoughtfully
at the range.
"Whatever you want," said Kusac, "only so long as you stop using my title! They know you here in the
guild, there's no need for it."
"The same goes for me," said Carrie, going to examine the drinks dispenser. "They haven't got coffee in
them yet," she said regretfully.
"Hardly. Remember its effect on us on Keiss?" said Kusac, joining Kaid at the transparent window
overlooking the range.
Varos returned. "Here," he said, throwing Kusac a battery pack, then another. "Stick them in yourjacket. I'm glad to see you all had the sense to come in uniform." He walked over to Carrie, holding outhands as large as plates. "Let me see your hands," he said.
Carrie hesitated, looking up at the intimidatingly tall, tan-colored male standing before her.
"Come on," he said. "I won't eat you. I need to see if your hands can use our weapons properly."
Reluctantly, she held them out. The skin on his hands felt rough as they manipulated her fingers andexamined her grip. He let her go and frowned.
"Hm. You're on the small side. I think we'll need to have a gun specially crafted for your own use. Learning to use ours will at least enable you to pick any gun up and use it properly." He took one from his belt and handed it to her, butt first. "We don't load until we're on the range, and we don't ever point it at anyone we don't intend to shoot, got that?" he said.
"I learned some basics from Captain Garras on Keiss," she said dryly. "I also used projectile rifles at
home."
Varos grunted as he gave her two battery packs. "I don't assume anything, and I make no apology for it,"he said. "That way, no one gets hurt by accident. I'll be showing you how to keep your guns in goodrepair, all the maintenance tricks the Forces don't teach their people. That's the differ-ence betweenwarriors and fighters. We train you to look af-ter yourselves rather than rely on support personnelexpressly trained for the purpose," he said, leading them through to the range.
"We'll start on static targets and then move on to the mobile range. It's set up like a street full of houses popu-lated by warriors, attackers and civilians that spring out at you without warning. The idea is to go in and clear out the stackers without taking out your own people or the civil-ians. That kind of practical skill is going to be of more use to you. An attacker doesn't usually stand still so you can aim up on him or
her."
If they thought the morning was unremitting hard work, the afternoon was no better. This time it was theturn of Shaku, and her specialty was bladed weapons. Using heavy wooden clubs instead of swords—"Idon't believe in wast-ing good steel on beginners."—they were drilled again and again through the basicattack and defense positions until their bodies were one homogeneous ache.
"This will help you to build up those wrist and arm mus-cles. When I do allow you to use the real
weapons, they'll be far lighter by comparison," she said cheerfully.
By mutual consent, as soon as they were through for the day, they headed toward the bath house. Kaidhad arranged for them to be given sole use of one of the smaller rooms and gratefully they stripped,lowering themselves into the steaming herb-scented water.
Kusac hooked his neck over the padded edge of the large communal tub, letting his body drift full lengthjust under the surface. He relaxed, letting the heat wash over him, unknotting muscles used far beyondtheir normal endurance. He could sense Carrie doing the same, feel her pleasure min-gling with his ownuntil it was a balm in itself to their tired minds.
/ didn't think cats liked water so much , came her drowsy thought.
One of life's luxuries , replied Kusac lazily. Have you ever tried licking fur? It gets stuck all overyour tongue if you don't do it properly. Baths or showers are much more pleas-ant.
You still have rough tongues.
Kusac opened one eye. So we have, he agreed placidly. / haven't heard you complain.
Carrie kicked a feeble shower of water at him with one foot. If I wasn't so tired, she threatened.
He laughed and reaching out, caught her by the ankle and towed her toward him, wincing as a pulledmuscle in his chest hurt.
"Kusac!" she spluttered, righting herself when her head appeared above the surface again.
He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her as she lay just above him in the water.
/ don't know how we're going to get through tomorrow. Today was bad enough and we didn't
ache like this .
Ah, sent Carrie. / discovered a little trick that might help even things out.
What's that?
With both our teachers I found that once the lesson had progressed to a certain level, they werementally accessing their own skills and I could tap into that knowledge, learn-ing it from them. Itchanges the emphasis from learning a to-tally new skill, to remembering how to utilize a known
one.
I thought you were doing suspiciously well, sent Kusac, letting her go and causing the water to surgeas he sat up. "I don't suppose you thought to share the knowledge with me."
Carrie let herself drift as she caught hold of the bath rim. "I wasn't sure until this afternoon, and we weretoo busy for me to transfer the knowledge then. I'm telling you now, aren't I?" she said, sending him theinformation she had gleaned from their tutors.
Kusac sorted through it, nodding his head at last. "Yes, I see where I've been going wrong now. You'reright, this will make it a lot easier, but I think what you did was somewhat unethical," he added, frowningat her.
"I didn't have to probe for it, and anyway, it makes their job easier as well as ours. Besides, you know I
don't share all your ethics," she said primly.
"You've got a convenient conscience, cub. You're in-fecting me with it, and your enjoyment of the skill
involved in fighting."
"I thought you were beginning to enjoy yourself," she said.
"It's a nonreal situation. Skill for skill, as you said. Whether or not I could use it in a real situation is
another matter."
"We'll see," she said, reaching for the bottle of soap. "Come here and let me wash you. When I touched
you to-day, I noticed you were shedding."
Kusac grunted, ears flicking as he moved over to sit with his back to her. "Probably the remains of mywinter coat, courtesy of Keiss," he grumbled, moving the muscles
of his back under the rough massage ofher fingers. A deep-throated purr escaped him.
"I like hearing you purr," she said, her hands going up to his head as she began to rub the soap through
his hair.
"Don't stop rubbing my back," he said, squirming under her lather-covered fingers. "You've got just the
spot where I've had an itch for hours!"
Matters settled down at last into a routine of training shared between the two Guild Houses. Theinterminable tests were over, and it was now a question of Carrie learning to develop her talents andthem pushing their combined abil-ities in the directions highlighted by the tests. She'd been awarded alevel of First Grade like Kusac and at long last, the "L" insignia brooches had caught up with them,identi-fying them as a Leska pair.
As she pinned hers on, Carrie remembered Rhian from the Khalossa and how she'd tried to help hercome to terms with her new status as a Leska. Now she took it for granted, part of her life, just as thestudents and teachers at the guild took her presence among them as unremarkable. The only thing no onesuggested they test was the gestalt Link.
Vanna's tests were also less frequent now. They'd seen lit-tle of her recently as she'd been working in thelabs corre-lating her results and writing up the information for both the Telepath Guild, and the Guild of Medics. The last time they'd seen her, however, she'd been concerned that she'd heard nothing from
Garras.
"I called him on the Khalossa, but all they'd say was that he'd been posted. They wouldn't say when or
where," she said worriedly.
"I'll see if I can find out anything,'' said Kusac. "I'll ask Kaid. If anyone can find out, he can."
"Thanks," she said, getting up to go. "Can you drop into the lab later today? It's about time for your tests
again."
Carrie sighed. "When will you be done with testing us?"
Vanna grinned, reaching down to touch her hair. "Soon, cub, soon. I just want to establish baselines thatwe can all rely on. See you later."
* * *
One day a couple of months later, Kusac looked up from the comm where he was working. "Father'sback," he said.
Carrie put aside the book she'd been reading. It was Taizia's, one of the rare real ones, not on a compnotebook. "How do you know?"
"I can sense him now. He's not in a good mood either.
It's the Council meeting today and he's having to go straight there."
"What council meeting?"
"The Council of the Sixteen Telepath Clans. It's one of their regular policy meetings."
His comm buzzed and he cycled it to accept the call. It was his mother.
"Your father's back from Chagda Station," she said, "and he's not happy. The Governor wants to keep
the Terrans on-station for the next three days till they're sure decontam has worked."
"This is a joke, isn't it?"
"No, they're absolutely serious."
"Surely they realize any infections would have shown up during the three-week flight!"
"Of course they do. Someone on the Council of Sixteen is making life difficult for your father. There's
something else," she said, watching him carefully.
"What?"
"A motion has been tabled demanding that you be dropped as a candidate for Lordship of the Clans."
Kusac shrugged. "I expected no less," he said. "How has Father taken it?"
"Badly. He's told me to invite you and Carrie over for a few days. He wants to meet her. Tread warily
round for now, Kusac. Stay downwind. Don't issue ultimatums, play for time for the moment."
/ can't leave it much longer, Mother.
"He wants you here for third meal tomorrow."
Kusac sighed. "We'll be there," he said.
Don't wear your tores, Kusac, she warned.
Out of the question!
Then conceal them.
No. It will make no difference. I have a feeling he already knows about them.
As you wish. Perhaps it's for the best. "I'll see you both tomorrow."
* * *
The permanent replacement warrior for Sevrin arrived the following day. Kaid had taken some time tochoose, finally deciding on a female from Stronghold. Her name was T'Chebbi. She'd been accepted intotheir sub-guild the hard way—from the back streets of one of the highland towns. Rough and ready shemight be, but she was good.
She was smaller than the average height, only a few inches taller than Carrie, but she made up for it inmuscle and energy. Icy gray eyes looked coldly out on the world from tabby colored fur of a slightlylonger length than usual. Her dark hair had been grown long, confined at the back in a single plait with thehair at the sides of the neck braided into smaller ones. She wore the ceremonial Warriors' uni-form,including the two crossed swords at her back, and a compact multifire energy pistol at her belt.
As they boarded the aircar to leave for the estate, Kusac watched Meral eye her warily. T'Chebbi gaveno feeling of needing to make a place for herself on this small team, she knew her own worth; she'd beenchosen.
Before the hatch was closed, Taizia came bounding up. "You'll need me," she said cryptically, giving
Kusac a long, hard look.
Carrie had continued her friendship with his sister, finding that with Vanna busy in the medical area, shewas bereft of female company. They'd gone to the town a couple of times on their own and with otherfriends of Taizia's. She enjoyed their sense of adventure: life was becoming a little too quiet for her at theguild. She also enjoyed working with them on their report on the comparative differences between Keissian and Terran social customs. It gave her something to do that she felt was worthwhile when Kusac was busy.
Taizia settled herself beside Meral and began chatting an-imatedly with him.
From the air, Carrie's first view of the Clan estate was breathtaking. The forested land thinned outgradually until the fields and clusters of houses took over. They flew over the estate gardens, both naturaland formal, bisected by tiny crisscrossing paths. Set like a blazing jewel in the midst of this was Kusac'shome.
Walls of white reflected the sunlight back at them, almost dazzling their eyes. Terra-cotta pillaredbalconies fronted the two sides of the building facing them. As they came closer, she could see it wasroughly square in shape, enclosing an internal open courtyard set with an ornamental pool and trees. Asthey came down to land in the outer courtyard, Carrie saw the family's double sunburst emblem setabove the massive terra-cotta pillars at the entrance. The panic she'd felt, which had receded when shecaught sight of the house, now returned in full as she looked out at the imposing facade in front of her.
"Don't be put off by its appearance," said Kusac, unfas-tening his safety belt. "What you're seeing is the cumulative effect of generations. Our Clan is one of the oldest on this continent, going back at least to the days of the Cataclysm. The house is several hundred years old and each successive generation has added to it. My father had a solar built two years ago."
Your tores, Kusac, sent Taizia from behind, using a private link. Is it wise to let him see them rightnow?
Not wise, but honest, Kusac replied, turning his attention back to Carrie.
It was well into summer now, and she was dressed in a lightweight purple tunic. Her legs and feet werebare save for the slip-on sandals she'd brought with her from Keiss. The bronze tore glinted at her throatand he'd brushed her hair that morning until it gleamed like spun gold. She looked exotic, and very alien.
As he got to his feet, his hand went unconsciously to his own tore for reassurance.
Carrie rose and followed him out, unable to take her eyes off the building. The entrance was open to thesunlight, giv-ing it a light, airy look. Now she could see just how massive the pillars were. Topping onlysome twelve feet, they were broad, tapering from wide at the top to narrow at the base. On the steps upto the main entrance, two single pillars were set one behind the other to support the balcony on the floorabove.
&nb
sp; Movement from the interior of the house caught her eye. A male in long robes was coming towardthem—Kusac's fa-ther! Once again, the panic returned.
Kusac tried mentally to reassure her despite the appre-hension he felt himself. They made their way upthe stairs followed by Taizia, Meral, Kaid, and T'Chebbi.
Carrie's fear began to swamp him, but it wasn't until Taizia touched his arm warningly that he realized shewas broadcasting.
Shield up, he sent, nerves already beginning to fray.
The tension eased as his father stepped forward, palm held out to Carrie.
There was a strong family resemblance in the line of the jaw and set of the ears, but here and thereseveral white hairs were scattered over his face and hair. As she returned the greeting, she felt the gentleassessing touch she had come to associate with meeting fellow telepaths.
"Greetings, Carrie," he said, his voice low and melodious. "It's a pleasure to welcome you to our estate
and to meet you at last in person."
"I'm honored, Clan Lord Aldatan," she murmured.
"Taizia, I didn't expect to see you," her father said, catch-ing sight of his daughter.
"I thought it was time I showed my nose again," she re-plied.
"Kusac," he said, turning to his son. "I can see for myself that you look well. You've filled out over the
last year. Your current lifestyle must suit you."
"It's the exercise," Kusac said.
"Ah, yes. And how is the training going?" Konis asked, gesturing for them to precede him into the house.
"As a discipline, it goes well. Whether or not I can use it if the need arises has yet to be seen. Carrie will
have no problem. Apparently she has a Warrior's soul!"
"I wonder if that's a gift to be wished for in a telepath," said his father, leading them through the hall into the colon-naded courtyard. He stopped for a moment, waiting while Carrie looked at the frescoes on the walls.
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