Fortune's Wheel

by Lisanne Norman

  "My reasons are none of your business," she said, surging to her feet, tail lashing and ears set back in

  anger. "The Challenge stands!"

  "What if you do win? Would you like it known that the only way you could get him was by force?"

  "That matters little to me," she spat, but he could sense her uncertainty.

  Ghyan stood. "And what if I order you, as the Priest of Vartra in Valsgarth, to drop the Challengebecause it goes against our creed, what then?"

  "You think I care about your orders?" She flicked her hand at him, claws extending in a gesture of

  defiance as her resolve hardened once more. "I care that much for them!"

  "Then I hope the God can soften your heart, Liegena Vailkoi," said Ghyan, his tone as cold as ice. "Since you re-fuse to obey me, the Voice of Vartra, you will have to find Him yourself because you are no longer welcome within His temple. Now leave!"

  "With pleasure," she snarled, canines showing. "I'll be glad to shake the dust of this place from my feet!"

  She turned and stalked out of the office, her Warrior guard trail-ing apologetically behind her.

  Ghyan watched her leave, his tail twitching despite his self-control. He growled deep in his throat. Thatfemale could be the destruction of not only his friend Kusac and his Leska, but of the manifestation of the God's will—their cub. It was out of his hands; he'd done what he could. Only Vartra could intervenenow. This was truly an En'Shalla Challenge.

  * * *

  When Vanna arrived at the guild and checked in at the of-fice, she was told her belongings had beenmoved to her new quarters in the Leska wing. One of the older students was asked to show her the way.

  She could sense Brynne nearby, still in the medical sec-tion from the feel of his mental state. Kusac hadshown her how to shield her mind from the "noise" generated by the people around her, but it was takinga great deal of her con-centration. It would be quieter once she was in her new quarters.

  Her rooms were identical to Carrie's and Kusac's and only a few doors down the corridor from them. She'd no sooner finished prowling round checking her clothes and other per-sonal items when Garrascame to tell her Tutor Sorli was there and needed to speak to her.

  "I hope you've forgiven me for my part in last night's proceedings," Sorli said, eyeing Garras carefully. "I

  was concerned about what Khafsa would do if I wasn't there to oversee matters."

  Vanna sighed. "Kusac told me what you said, Tutor. I'll reserve my judgment until I know you better."

  Garras got to his feet and, tail swaying gently, walked round behind Vanna's chair and stood there, hishand on her shoulder. The gesture was not lost on Sorli.

  "I'll be here with Vanna, Sorli," said Garras, his voice low and resonating deep in his chest. "If ever the

  guild tries to repeat its actions of last night, they'll have me to deal with."

  Sorli's ears barely twitched. "And you are?" he asked.

  "Captain Garras, lately of the Khalossa, Vanna's mate. We're pledged to take out a bonding contract."

  He felt Vanna shift slightly in surprise and increased his grip on her shoulder reassuringly.

  Sorli nodded. "I see. You do realize that we don't allow weapons within the guild premises, don't you?"

  "I saw armed Warriors on our way in, and Kusac told me they now patrol the corridors at night. I'm here to protect her from now on. There's still one of the troopers that killed Sevrin out there. They were after Carrie and Kusac, but he may decide that Vanna or Brynne would make a good sub-stitute. Your Guild Master has been informed of the possible dangers."

  "Then doubtless Master Esken will confirm this. In the meantime," he said looking back to Vanna "he's

  asked that you visit him this afternoon at the ninth hour."

  "I'll be there," she said.

  "Your Leska, Brynne Stevens, has also been asked to at-tend," said Sorli. "You need to meet each other

  properly and come to an arrangement about your future."

  "I said I'll be there," snapped Vanna. "Now, is that all?"

  "Almost. I think it would be wiser if your mate didn't ac-company you," he said.

  "I'll wait outside," said Garras. "If she needs me, she can call."

  "As you wish," said Sorli.

  Vanna waited till he'd left before turning to Garras. "A contract? Are you sure about this, Garras?"

  "Positive," he said coming round in front of her again. "That's what a commitment means, isn't it?"

  "Yes, but…"

  "You want practical?" he interrupted, squatting in front of her and taking her hands in his. "As your mate, no one can gainsay my involvement in your life, and your Leska can't object to my presence apart from the days when you need to be with him. On the other hand," he said, pulling her toward him, "it's the only way I can ensure that you'll stay with me. You see, I care about you too much to lose you." His hands encircled her waist and the next moment she was lying on her back looking up at him. "Now, do you have a problem with that?" His voice was a low purr as he nuzzled her cheek.

  "I don't have a problem with that," she said with a chuckle, reaching up to pull at his ear. "But I do prefer

  the bed, you know."

  "Then it's time you were more adventurous," he said, one hand snaking round the back of her neck to grasp her by the scruff. He stopped dead. "If you and your Leska are con-stantly aware of each other," he said, "then that makes this somewhat voyeuristic."

  Vanna's ears flattened and she pushed him away, scram-bling to her feet, the mood broken. "I can't copewith this, Garras," she said. "It's all right for Carrie and Kusac, but I want a life of my own!" She flungherself down on the set-tee.

  Garras turned to face her but remained where he was. "We'll find a way," he said quietly. "Kusac and Carrie seem to be able to keep some part of their minds separate from each other. What about a fewdays ago, when Carrie stayed with your family? Kusac didn't know where she was then. Ask them howthey do it."

  "I don't want to talk about it," she said, her voice muffled by the cushion. "I'm sorry, but I need to be

  alone for a while."

  Garras got to his feet. "Kaid said I could use his room. It's three doors up from here. I'll be there if youneed me."

  "I'm sorry," she said.

  "Don't worry about it, Vanna. I knew it would be diffi-cult," he said, touching her gently on the head as

  he left.

  Later that afternoon, escorted by Garras, Vanna turned up at Master Esken's study. She knew Brynnewas already there. Throughout the morning and afternoon she'd been aware of his mind clearing as hegradually threw off the ef-fects of the drugs. He studiously ignored her as she was ush-ered in by the Guild Master and invited to sit with them at a low table. She took the remaining chair rather than sitbe-side the human.

  "It doesn't seem so very long ago that I welcomed another Leska pair like you to the guild," said Esken, handing Vanna a mug of c'shar. "And there's yet another couple on their way here. It seems that the Links between our people are go-ing to be stronger than we thought." Picking up his mug, he sat back in his chair, his gaze going from one to the other.

  "You must both find it terribly disorienting—not to men-tion frightening—to suddenly become not only full tele-paths, but ones with an intensely strong bond to each other. Then to add the final irony, it's with someone from another species. Believe me, I do have sympathy for what you're both going through."

  She could feel Brynne's anger mounting until it burned high in both their minds.

  "What you did was despicable," said Brynne coldly. "You had no right to kidnap me, drug me, and force

  me to have sex with this female."

  "You weren't kidnapped, Mr. Stevens," said Esken mildly. "You were found wandering in the guild grounds, loudly broadcasting your extreme mental confusion. You were quite rightly brought to the medical center."

  "I didn't want to go there!"

  "I dare say you didn't, but you were judged to be in no co
ndition to go anywhere else. I must apologize for what happened after that, though. Physician Khafsa had no right to administer the mind-altering drugs which rendered both you and your Leska susceptible to the mating compulsion of your Link. He has been severely reprimanded for his ac-tions."

  "I don't want a Leska. I refuse to be physically tied to one female, especially one not of my choosing."

  "Your Link with Vanna has been consummated, Mr. Stev-ens," said Esken, taking a sip from his mug.

  "You now have access to all her memories so you know that a Leska Link cannot be reversed."

  "Don't give me that line of rubbish! It's all a matter of willpower and self-control. I have my own ideas

  about what I want to do with my life, and it doesn't include being heav-ily involved with any female,

  Sholan or otherwise."

  "You think it a matter of self-control?" Esken asked, mouth opening in amusement as he replaced his mug on the table. "Then touch her. You'll soon find out differently. Go on," he said as Brynne looked taken aback. "Just touch her hand."

  Vanna moved slightly backward in her chair. "Master Esken," she began, then Brynne leaned forwardand touched her. She gasped as their bodies instantly responded to the pull of their Link and sheremembered in crystal clear detail the events of the night before. Worse, she felt his mind share that

  memory.

  He snatched his hand back, looking shaken.

  "You see?" said Master Esken. "That's at the end of your time together when the compulsion is passing.

  It isn't a question of self-control, is it? You are like one person with two bodies, each storing up your own experiences and con-stantly replaying them to the other. By the end of four days you've absorbed as much as your minds can hold and you need to come together to sort through those memories. Mat-ing is the vehicle which enables you to do this because then your minds are more in tune with each other than at any other time. But you know all this because Vanna does."

  "You're all mad," Brynne said, but his voice lacked con-viction. "There's no such thing as this Link you're

  talking about."

  "We lost Raill and Lynn because her mother refused to believe in the Link," said Vanna, addressing him

  for the first time.

  "I don't know that," he said, turning an angry face to her. "I'm sorry, but I have no intention of starting up a relation-ship of any kind with you. I'd like to think that you're as in-nocently involved as I am, but after last night, I can't afford to trust any of you."

  "I'm not exactly overjoyed about our Link either, but I'm adult enough to realize that we have to deal with

  it, not re-fuse to acknowledge that it exists. Are you?"

  He glowered at her, his eyebrows almost meeting. "What the hell do you mean by that?" he demanded.

  "She means that every five days you'll find you need to get together," Esken interrupted smoothly. "By that time, if you try to ignore the mental call of the Link, you'll find that the memories you've acquired from each other start to re-play themselves in your mind. If you keep ignoring it, you'll start to experience stomach cramps, nausea, and headaches as your mind begins to go into overload. If you continue to refuse the Link, you'll become weaker, then go into a coma and die. Vanna knows the pattern because it was only due to her intervention that Carrie and Kusac are still alive."

  Brynne looked from one to the other of them but said nothing.

  "Leskas needn't be more than working partners," said Esken. "There's no necessity for you to live with each other so long as you spend every fifth day together. Once you're both fully trained, then we can see what kind of work your Talents are suited to. I'd like you to report to Tutor Sorli ev-ery afternoon at the eighth hour for tuition. The rest of the time is yours. Vanna," he said, turning toward her, "You've been acquiring data from Dr. Reynolds on Keiss.

  She nodded.

  "Have you done any tests on Carrie yet?"

  "Not yet. Did you know they were life-bonded two nights ago?"

  Esken raised an eye ridge in surprise. "No. The Clan Lord didn't tell me that when we spoke last night. Isuppose it's only right when you consider their genetic compatibility with each other."

  "Wait a minute," said Brynne. "Are you telling me that this Link screws up our genes, too?"

  "That is what happened with Carrie and Kusac," agreed Esken. "We have no reason to believe it will

  happen to any of the other mixed Leska pairs though. Time will tell."

  "That's just great," said Brynne, turning angrily to Vanna. "Thanks a bunch, honey. You're the most

  expensive lay I'll ever have! You probably just cost me everything!"

  Vanna felt his anger like a physical blow. She shut her eyes, willing him to leave.

  "Don't worry, I'm going!" he said, getting to his feet and striding out, slamming the door behind him.

  "Being a telepath means that not only can you hear peo-ple's thoughts but other telepaths can hear

  yours," said Esken. "I fear you're going to have trouble with that young male."

  Vanna opened her eyes and got to her feet. "I'm sure I am, Master Esken. I'd be surprised if I didn't theway things are going at the moment. Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to see to some of that work youmentioned."

  * * *

  As he signed in at the Warriors' Accommodation Guild House in Valsgarth, Dzaka couldn't help the slightgrin of amusement at the reaction to his uniform. No longer a lay priest but back on active duty, he worethe gray of the Broth-erhood with its red and black flash over the shoulders. Their response wascompounded half of fear, half of awe.

  "You're on the second floor, corridor seven, room forty-nine," said the clerk on duty. "Do you need

  someone to show you the way?"

  "No, thank you. I know my way around." He picked up his kit bag and strolled off toward the stairs.

  He was far from pleased to be back on Shola, because Ghezu, once again, had him following Kaid's tail. He was beginning to wonder why. In two minds whether or not to contact Kaid, he'd decided to waitand see what Kaid did once he knew he was back.

  * * *

  "Dzaka's here," said Rulla.

  "I know. You and I need to talk. Meet me tomorrow at the Limping Jegget, ninth hour. Ask Garras to

  join us."

  Kaid broke the connection and sat back thoughtfully in his chair. His mind had cleared over the last fewdays. Vartra had been right. He had needed to look inside himself for the answers. The mixed Leska Links were here to stay. There would be more of them, and there would be children. Not all wouldsurvive, but enough would to ensure a future genera-tion of these new people.

  Absentmindedly, he took the well-chewed twig out of his pocket and began to nibble at it. If this newspecies was to be given a fair chance, it couldn't be at Stronghold. It had been bad enough trying to bringup Dzaka and he'd been around five years old when he'd been found.

  The cubs had to be free to grow and develop naturally, which meant the Telepath Guild was also out. They'd do nothing but run interminable tests on them and get their "ex-perts" to raise them instead of theirparents. That left only one feasible solution. They had to break away from the guild system and go italone. This was what he was going to pro-pose to Garras and Rulla. Once they'd talked it through, thenthey'd approach Carrie, Kusac, Vanna, and Brynne, and pray that they agreed.

  That left Dzaka. The chasm between them had to be healed—one way or another. He'd talk to him afterhe met with the others.

  * * *

  Carrie's training was scheduled for a couple of hours each morning and afternoon. Meral and T'Chebbiworked with her while Kaid supervised. Kusac watched anxiously, joining in when asked.

  Kaid had been carefully analyzing their techniques and by the end of the first hour had seen a basic flawin their meth-ods. He called a halt to the practice, taking Meral's weapons from him. Sword in one hand,he slipped his arm into the buckler straps.

  Dropping into a low crouch, he slowly began to circle her. He main
tained eye contact, the shield heldclose to his body, sword tip projecting just above it in direct line with her eyes.

  Her body tensed as she turned on the same spot, following his every move, waiting for his attack.

  With a sudden loud yowl, he leaped forward, sword com-ing down in a deadly arc toward her head.

  She blocked it—just—staggering back under the force of his attack. He followed up his advantage,raining down a fusillade of blows on her from every direction until he broke through her guard. Stoppingimmediately, he pulled back several meters and waited in the guard position, keeping both her and Kusacin sight.

  Kusac's low growl had built in volume until now it was clearly audible. Meral held him by the arm, and itwas clear he'd had to prevent him from intervening.

  Panting, Carrie looked at the thin line of blood beginning to well over the edges of the cut on her swordarm. "What the hell was that about?" she asked angrily, looking across at him. "Why come at me likethat?" Sweat was running into her eyes and making them sting. She wiped the back of her hand acrossher forehead, annoyed that Kaid wasn't even out of breath.

  "I wanted to see if you could fight for your life," he said, standing up and beckoning Meral over. He handed the weap-ons back to him. "My cut was in line with your heart: I could have killed you had I wished. These two have been training you to fight one Challenge to the first blood. Once you're out there in the circle, no one can help you. What happens if Rala decides not to fight by the rules? You need to be able to cope with the unexpected, to fight to stay alive if need be."

  He stepped back out of the sanded arena. "Teach her how to kill," he ordered Meral and T'Chebbi. "This isn't a match combat, it's for real. If only one of them walks out of the circle, I intend it to be you, Carrie."