Beast Master's Quest

by Andre Norton

  She could not make a sound—but in her mind she screamed, a long horror-filled scream of impending loss. That shriek was echoed much less silently by the man who held her, as teeth met in his shoulder from behind while wickedly sharp claws reached to strip the uniform in shreds from his back. He half-released her as his hand swung down to grab for his stunner. Maddened by the fear of losing her friend, tasting too, Prauo’s own blood-lust as it flared from mind to mind—Laris seized the hand that kept her silent and bit down with all her strength.

  The man’s other hand came around in a savage blow that sent her spinning. In a sudden loss of temper at the bite, and forgetting Prauo, he made to kick her. That was fatal. Prauo struck again, crazed with Laris’s pain and her fear of separation, and his prey went down under the avalanche of black and gold fur.

  Of the two who had fallen it was the big feline alone who rose. Laris reeled to her feet to stand looking down at a man who would never rise again. She could only rejoice that on the world of Jestin sudden screams in the night tended not to be investigated by less than an entire squad of peacekeepers, and clearly none were within earshot this night. She shivered as she spoke to Prauo.

  *One look at the wounds will tell them to look for something with teeth and claws like yours and a saliva sample will confirm it. If they find you killed someone they’ll kill you.*

  He’d been too young then to communicate fully in words, but he’d understood. Into her mind came a picture of the fast-flowing river nearby. Together—Laris pausing twice to vomit by a corner of a nearby building—they managed to load the body into a cargo pallet, push it down to the water’s edge, and tip it in. With luck the current would take its burden down to the sea where it would find eager feasters. It must have done so because, so far as she knew, there’d never been any hue and cry.

  Watching the natives from under lowered brows, she moved crabwise to face partly away from them. Let them move to meet her now, and Storm would have a clear shot if necessary, as Prauo suggested. She waited, seeing them move forward within the tree fringe then pause to talk. She could feel the hum of their conversation without being party to the words. However, it brought action, as one duo continued out into the dying light to stand before Laris and Prauo.

  *E’l’ith, I, female of my people. Saaraoo is this one, male of his kind.* This might have been the sense of the communication which came to them.

  Laris nodded. *Laris, female, I. Prauo, male, this one.*

  She sensed surprised interest before the native sent again.

  A question. *You (both) will talk with us in peace?*

  Laris sent agreement, to receive in turn a sense of approval and pleasure from both before her. She remembered what Storm had said and asked, *You hunted us?*

  Pictures came, of older aikiza cubs who chased a butterfly, leaping and bounding, to miss deliberately with clumsy paws that nevertheless gave sufficient margin that a lovely thing would not be harmed. Laris laughed at the picture. The cubs were so cute, so earnest in their pursuit, and so like Prauo at that age.

  She tasted the amusement of the two before her as well. The aikiza paced very slowly forward to touch noses with Prauo.

  *Saaraoo, I. No harm.*

  Prauo accepted the touch and the reassurance. Laris reached out a diffident hand to stroke the aikiza’s fur. Saaraoo clearly enjoyed that, and her fingers dug deeper, scratching in the way Prauo had always loved. It seemed that was true of other aikizai as well. Saaraoo was squirming in delight, shifting so her clawing fingertips could rub away the itch from farther up his shoulders. Laris chuckled involuntarily, sending amused liking that was picked up by all three of those close to her.

  *Aikizai are pleasant to be near,* was the sense of E’l’ith’s sending then.

  *Yes,* Laris returned absently, as she scratched. *Prauo loves this.* Then she looked up into chatoyant eyes of gold and green which accepted her amazement.

  *So, you have met those who cannot speak directly to you. The outcasts of us. The ones who own and do not accept aikizai as equals. This must be spoken of, but not tonight. Return when the light of day comes again and we will be waiting.*

  E’l’ith and Saaraoo left, but Laris still stood, looking after them. Those comments had confirmed the sense of wrongness she’d felt when she’d been with T’s’ai and his aikiza. The feeling that the liomsa commanded his aikiza as if it were less, not as equals together. Before she had been unable to isolate that feeling, which was almost a taste in her mind when she communicated with them. But now she was sure. E’l’ith had clarified her feelings about T’s’ai.

  Prauo agreed. *Even so, furless-sister. He ordered; he did not discuss and agree. He commanded his aikiza to silence when he would have warned Logan of the sea-beast. And his command was as one who owns, not as one who will listen to dissent. Now I taste that again in my mind, I am sure of it, nor do I find pleasant such ideas as come in the wake of that thought.*

  They were now walking back to the ship as Laris answered him: *Nor do I. It looks as if they may have two factions on your world. One accepts your kind as equals, and—*

  *—The other does not. I know which of the two I would prefer.*

  *So do I. But we’ll have to discuss it with our friends and maybe the Patrol, too. This isn’t a Terran world; we can’t simply burst in and demand they change customs we don’t like.*

  *It may not be their world, sister,* Prauo sent then, *but let you and the Patrol remember it is mine, and through me, it is yours. We have a right to be heard; on the ship, with the Patrol, or here amongst my kin and their liomsa. That too is, I suspect, Patrol law.*

  Laris nodded as she climbed the steps. It probably was, and E’l’ith and her aikiza had appeared genuinely friendly. That bothered her. If they were friendly, would Prauo want to go with them? She had been happier with the hostility of the previous pairs they’d met.

  Logan met them at the top of the steps and whisked Laris inside hastily, hugging her against him as he asked. “You’re all right? They didn’t touch you?”

  Storm intervened. “You saw them the whole time. No one harmed either of them. Laris?”

  “We’re fine. That was E’l’ith; she’s a liomsa female, and her aikiza is Saaraoo, who is male. They want us to meet them again in the morning. I think they’re prepared to be friendly, or at least neutral.” She reached for a seat and sank wearily into it. “I’m sorry we rushed out there, but I learned something.”

  Storm nodded. “Yes, you learned that they don’t kill casually.” His tone was disapproving. “What would you have done if they’d started shooting at you?”

  Prauo’s sending was general and pictorial—and immediate. It showed two small figures, recognizable as Laris and Prauo, running madly for the ship. Behind them the liomsa and the aikizai stood watching, huge exaggerated mouths hanging open in amazement at their targets’ speed.

  From behind Storm, Captain D’Argeis suddenly emitted a loud bellow of amusement. Tani giggled as Logan laughed, too, and even Storm smiled. “All right, but there are times you can’t dodge a bullet. Don’t take silly risks again. How do I explain to Brad that I stood there and let you get killed?”

  “I’m sorry. Honestly. I saw Prauo going to meet them and I couldn’t let him go alone.”

  *And I,* Prauo sent calmly, *knew they had no harm in mind for us—as you yourself believed. They are my kin. I do not believe they would hurt me unless I transgressed greatly. T’s’ai’s aikiza warned us and gave us the name of one here to whom we should speak.*

  “Perhaps your kin wouldn’t harm you,” Storm’s reply was firm “but you can’t be sure what they’d regard as a really serious transgression. You were born here, Prauo, but you haven’t lived here. You don’t know the laws and customs of your people yet. Laris isn’t of this world at all, and T’s’ai would have let Logan die. How do you know he wouldn’t have done exactly the same to Laris if she’d gone walking down that beach?”

  Prauo looked thoughtful and said nothing
more just then.

  Storm turned to the girl. “Come to the mess and we’ll eat. Then you can tell us everything E’l’ith and Saaraoo said.”

  They all ate well, and when they were done Laris leaned back in her chair and began. “The main thing was her comment about T’s’ai when I said I’d met him and his aikiza.”

  Storm sat up slightly, attention now focused sharply. “Tell us.” They all listened intently until Storm spoke again. “The exact words; try to remember the exact words she used.”

  “It isn’t words so much, it’s the whole gestalt, the emotion behind the words, the taste/touch that comes with them,” Laris protested.

  “Try to give it all then, everything, as much as you can.”

  “Okay. In words it would have been. *So, you have met those who cannot speak directly to you. The outcasts of us. The ones who own and do not accept aikizai as equals.* But under the first sentence there was a mix of regret, sorrow, a kind of loss. When she said ‘outcasts’ there was a sick taste, and on the last sentence there was disgust. A kind of feeling of argument. As if that was something that had been hashed out over and over and she was tired of it, as well as tired of feeling that the ones she was talking about were so wrong they were mentally twisted.” Laris stopped speaking and waited for their reaction.

  Storm and the captain looked at each other. It was Captain D’Argeis who spoke first. “I don’t like the sound of that. It appears as if there aren’t just two factions in a minor disagreement; that’s a fundamental difference. The sort of thing that starts wars. E’l’ith thinks that T’s’ai is so wrong he’s mind-sick, and if that’s so, then that’s an attitude which is likely to be reciprocated, I’d say.”

  “So would I. Laris, what else did E’l’ith say?”

  “She and Saaraoo will meet us out there again in the morning.”

  “We’ll talk about that if and when they turn up. But at least they’re willing to talk and you and Prauo weren’t hurt.”

  Tani nodded. “I’m just glad T’s’ai and his bunch are a long way away. After all, it was T’s’ai’s aikiza who suggested we speak to her if we landed in this area. Maybe T’s’ai and his lot treat aikizai as if they’re property, but it shows even his side’s aikizai can sometimes think for themselves.”

  Storm’s look at her was affectionate before it turned grave. “It shows more than that. But never mind that now. Let’s wait until morning and see what E’l’ith has to say.”

  He gave them a good example by sweeping Tani off to their cabin where, while she fell asleep quickly, he lay awake awhile longer, considering the various possibilities on Prauo’s world. T’s’ai’s side thought aikizai weren’t equals. They didn’t discuss; they ordered. E’l’ith’s side considered aikizai full equals, so much so that they regarded T’s’ai’s side as mind-sick for disagreeing.

  He wondered how long that division had existed. They must learn more of the social structure of the two groups here. From the murals in the ruins they’d found, Storm could perhaps deduce a little of the world’s history. They should talk about that too very soon. He had the feeling that some of the murals gave clues not only to the world’s history, but also to the more modern way of life here. And what that was they needed to know before they blundered into some attitude or belief of which their ignorance could be dangerous.

  The next morning he was awake early and transmitting a complete account of the previous day—along with a back-up duplicate of the records of the murals and their surroundings—to the Patrol cruiser. When there was only an automatic acknowledgment to that, Storm looked at the captain.

  “What time would it be where they are?”

  “The early hours, maybe two-hour, or three. You didn’t send it with an alarm. They’ll get back to us, probably just after midday here.”

  “I suppose so.” Here turned to the question of allowing Laris and Prauo to meet the natives again. “What do you think about that?”

  “I’d say you could tell the child to stay closer to the ship. Surely if this E’l’ith wants to talk, they won’t mind neutral ground, say halfway between the forest and the ship?”

  “I’m considering going with her. What do you think?”

  “Makes sense to me. Unless you’d rather let Tani go while you keep watch. You’d get some idea of how this lot feel about beast masters, unless you’d rather go out and take the meerkats?”

  Storm shook his head. “I won’t risk them. They aren’t fighters, and if Ho or Hing got hurt I’d never forgive myself.”

  Captain D’Argeis grinned. “Never mind that. The girls would never forgive you. So stay here, let Tani go. She has a head on her shoulders, that girl. She won’t take chances. But having her out there with Laris and with the paraowl and coyotes to help distract anyone, it’d be safer if things do blow up nasty.”

  Storm considered that. He hated risking his wife, but if he said anything like that to Tani, she’d have been furious. In the war, too, there had been female beast masters. They had risked as much as the males—and just as many had died in combat. In Survey before the Xiks began the war, women and their teams had made up just over one-third of the first-in survey teams for primitive worlds. They’d been effective too. He made up his mind and went to tell Tani that she and her team would be siding Laris and Prauo.

  Tani was delighted. “I’ll fly Mandy out the moment she finishes breakfast. Before we go outside, she can wait in one of the trees and keep a lookout while I watch through her.

  “Good. Will you send the coyotes out at the same time and have them split up, one to either side in cover. They’re to distract anyone with a weapon and who looks likely to use it.” He stood. “I’ll let you go and feed them now. I want to check a few things.” He circled her with an arm, hugged her hard against him, and kissed her firmly. “Take care.”

  Tani looked after him as he left their cabin. She knew it hadn’t been easy for him to send her into possible danger while he stood back. She appreciated that he’d made himself accept her as an equal. They’d fought back-to-back before and he knew she could fight. But that had been for the survival of his world and way of life. It was good to know he could allow her to stand alone at other times as well. Right now, though, she thought, she’d better feed her team, as he said.

  In the mess Laris and Prauo were feeding themselves, while Logan kept wary eyes on the bridge viewscreens. E’l’ith had indicated only that she’d return in the morning. With daylight at seven-hour at these latitudes, and a twenty-six-hour day, that meant someone had better watch for the native’s arrival. Logan had been elected to do so while the others ate.

  By midmorning Mandy was well fed on allaar and comfortable. She sat quietly in a tree a good thirty feet up, directly over what looked to be a major trail from the direction of the ruins. The coyotes were in cover to the north and south, securely tucked into patches of undergrowth just within the forest fringe, where the thinner areas of forest allowed sunlight to encourage such growth. There was still no sign of visitors.

  It was late morning, and everyone was heartily bored with waiting, when the two figures appeared at the forest fringe. Tani was on watch and called everyone over the intercom at once.

  “She’s here. I can see E’l’ith and Saaraoo.”

  Prauo came trotting with Laris at his heels. They studied the viewscreens, communicating silently, before looking at Tani.

  *Ask Mandy if there are others with E’l’ith and her aikiza?* Prauo mind-sent. Tani’s face blanked briefly as she listened to the paraowl’s observations.

  “There are two other pairs moving in, spaced out like Minou and Ferrare. No visible weapons, and the coyotes say there is no hunting smell. I’d say they are there for backup and observation.”

  Storm made up his mind. “Then Laris, you, Tani, and Prauo can go out. Be careful; don’t go further toward them than halfway between the ship and that forest. Try to find out about T’s’ai first, make a point of explaining how he endangered Logan’s life and sile
nced his aikiza to do it. After that see if you can find out how they feel about beast masters. Do they find it wrong that some people can communicate with animals; do they find that improper?”

  “Should we address the question of how we got Prauo?”

  “Leave it until another time, unless they bring up the subject themselves.” As they talked he was leading the way down to the smaller crew door to one side of the main ramp. The airlock around that was standing open as it had since they arrived. It could be shut very quickly in any emergency; it required only the press of a button, either the one beside the door itself or one of a set on the bridge.

  Storm glanced at the air-lock button as they halted by the crew door. So far, and by his orders, there was always one person on the ship. If there was only one person staying aboard, that person stood watch on the bridge, where the watcher had access to all the emergency systems. If more than one remained aboard, then one manned the bridge, while the others watched from the air-lock, pulse-rifle in hand.

  Today the captain would be in his usual place on the bridge, watching the main viewscreens, while Storm and Logan stood watch by the small air-lock door. Storm still wasn’t happy about risking Tani and Laris, but he accepted that to demand—or to do—otherwise would be to create real trouble with his family and friends.

  Laris stepped out across the short, bristly grass, Prauo at her side. Tani, pacing along behind them, was in silent communication with Mandy and the coyotes. If anyone out there tried an ambush, she’d be ready. She hid a small, dangerous smile. She might not be bearing weapons openly—but she wasn’t unarmed. Within her pocket, her fingers touched a small Y-shaped item and a pocketful of missiles.