Fire Margins

by Lisanne Norman

  Retrieving the mug, he put it on the floor and took the infusion unit out. He removed the piece of bandage he’d wrapped over the canula and reattached himself to it. Replacing the unit in his pocket, he sealed the bag, then picked up the mug.

  The warm drink along with the drugs began to make him feel drowsy. Finishing it, he set the mug down and fully reclined the seat, passing his hand over the light sensor switch on his chair arm.

  At daybreak, his wrist comm roused him. He downed another protein drink, then took another dose of analgesics and the Fastheal.

  He hovered in the fever dreams, surfacing only long enough to take the protein drinks and further doses of his drugs, at the regular and insistent urging of his wrist comm before he lapsed into semiconsciousness again.

  The fever images that chased around inside his mind were of fire and flood, people fleeing in terror; of Rezac and his new Leska; of a fiery path leading to a gateway through pillars of flame; and finally of Khemu and of Carrie.

  *

  Morning came very early that day as Vanna alerted the household to Kaid’s disappearance during the night. A call to the gatehouse revealed nothing. No sign of anyone leaving the estate had been noticed after Dzaka’s exit.

  The parcel Kaid had left for Carrie was delivered and turned out to be an account of the various dreams and visions he had experienced over the last few months.

  Later that morning the missing items from the medical unit’s dispensary were reported to Vanna and Jack.

  “He’s gone after Dzaka,” said Vanna when they met in the main lounge before second meal.

  “No,” said Garras. “He’s not gone after Dzaka. I’ve a feeling he knows where he is, but that’s not what he’s concerned about.”

  “Then what?” asked Carrie. “What could have been so important as to make him leave here in the state he was in?”

  “It’s my bet they’ve both gone to the same place,” said Kusac thoughtfully. “Dzaka believes Kaid was lying so he doesn’t trust him, but Kaid may just have shaken his belief in what Ghezu told him enough to not entirely trust him either. Who’s left that would know what really happened between Kaid and his mother?”

  “Noni?” said Garras.

  “No,” said Carrie, sitting up as she followed Kusac’s line of thought. “His mother. They’ve both gone to find her!”

  “Possible,” said Garras with a nod.

  “He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t kill himself!” said Vanna. “The drugs he took from the pharmacy are very powerful. If he’s keeping himself going on a cocktail of stimulants, Fastheal and analgesics, he’s likely to burn himself out in hours not days!”

  “He’s paramedic-trained, Vanna. He knows his own metabolism, he won’t overdo the drugs. It’s not as if he didn’t know what he was doing,” said Garras calmly.

  “Considering he’s your friend, you seem very unconcerned,” said Vanna. “The wound he got from Dzaka last night was serious. Not only did he lose a lot of blood, but Jack had to call me in to use a plasmagraft. There’s still the chance of infection.”

  “He did take the infusion unit with him,” said Garras.

  Vanna merely grunted in reply.

  “Where does this Khemu live?” asked Konis.

  “According to her Clan, she died thirty years ago,” said Garras. “She was the oldest daughter of the Arrazo Telepath Clan. I doubt they’d be willing to help us prove she’s alive and that they lied about her death all those years ago. They’re a proud lot, the Arrazos.”

  “Khemu Arrazo, you say?” said Konis, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “That was before I took over as Clan Lord. Still, she should be in our records somewhere. Technically dead, is she? Hmm. I’ll check it out. What do you plan to do now? Just how dangerous is Dzaka?”

  “That depends,” said Garras. “I suggest we call off the search for him. I’m pretty sure he’s headed for Stronghold or Dzahai village to check out what Kaid said. We need to contact Noni ourselves. Ghezu or Dzaka might have told her where Khemu’s supposedly living now, so at least we’ll know where they’re headed.”

  “If we assume she is alive and Ghezu’s told Dzaka where she is, what are the chances of him telling us?” asked Kusac.

  “Absolutely none,” said Garras. “He’s been setting Dzaka against Kaid since he landed on Shola a couple of months ago, and before that on the Khalossa.”

  “How, and why?” exclaimed Carrie.

  “By getting him to watch Kaid and report his movements back to Stronghold. As to why, well, Kaid and Ghezu fell out for a couple of months after Khemu disappeared. Then it seemed to blow over until the time came to choose a new Warrior Leader. From what I was told, what had seemed to be friendly rivalry got out of hand. I’d had to leave by then as my older brother had died and the Clan needed me. Personally I believe that Ghezu had set Kaid up by using Dzaka. It’s quite possible that Khemu isn’t where he’s told them.”

  “Then is Lijou likely to know where she is? Would Ghezu have told him? Or failing that, would he be willing to find out for us?” asked Kusac.

  “I’ve no idea,” said Garras. “Kaid kept a lot to himself, so I don’t know much about the state of affairs between Lijou and Ghezu, and I haven’t had any dealings with them myself.”

  “I can help there,” said Konis. “Lijou and I spoke about Ghezu. He’s not happy about his state of mind at all. He feels he’s walking a thin line between sanity and madness and, most of the time, madness wins. I need to go to Stronghold to see him about coordinating the final stages of the evacuation of the Laasoi Guildhouse. I’ll call on him today and see what I can find out.”

  “Thank you, Father,” said Kusac. “That would be an enormous help.” He turned back to look at Garras. “So what do we do about Dzaka?”

  “We can have someone near Stronghold, and Noni’s keeping an eye out for him. If he turns up, they would follow him when he leaves, hopefully leading us to Khemu and Kaid.”

  “Shouldn’t we be watching for Kaid, too?” asked Carrie.

  “No point. He’ll probably have traveled as far as he could last night and will be holed up somewhere till he’s fit to go on. Then when he gets near where she lives, he’ll hide out and watch her till he knows her movements and can approach her safely. That also allows him the time and rest he needs to finish healing,” said Garras.

  “Why does he want to see her again after all these years?” asked Vanna. “He’s never struck me as being interested in any females, let alone carrying an undying love for one from his past. It isn’t even as if she wants to see him or she’d have been in touch herself long before now.”

  Garras shrugged. “That’s his business, Vanna, not ours. He’s never spoken to me about Khemu.”

  “What was Khemu like?” asked Carrie.

  Garras turned to look at her, an amused smile on his face. “Gods, it was years ago, Carrie! She wasn’t my type so I didn’t really mix with her and the others. From what I remember, she was intelligent, proud as only one of her kind could be …”

  “Her kind?” Carrie interrupted.

  “Mountain Telepaths. Up in the mountains, few of the Arrazo telepaths stayed on at the estate. Most of them preferred to live in the towns at one of the guildhouses. Those that did stay at home were very much in demand. They could pick and choose what they wanted to do. Anyway, Khemu used to tease all the males that formed her little crowd. She was a beauty,” he admitted, with a sidelong glance at Vanna. “She had bright blue eyes and silver gray hair with a pelt to match. She was small, though, not much bigger than you, Carrie. I told Kaid he was a fool, but he insisted there was more to her than she let the world see. Maybe he was right. Who knows?”

  “For someone who wasn’t your type, you’ve a pretty detailed memory of her,” said Vanna.

  “I didn’t say I didn’t notice her, I said she wasn’t my type,” he replied. “She strung them all along, teased them too much. If she ever took anyone other than Kaid as a lover or companion, none of us knew of it.
”

  “Well,” said Carrie, getting up, “I’d like to know how Dzaka got left outside Stronghold. How could any mother just abandon her cub?” She put her hand protectively over her belly.

  “Who knows?” said Garras. “Maybe she took him when she left, or maybe her family abandoned him after she died. We certainly won’t find out from the Arrazos.”

  “We’ll see about that,” said Konis, his voice grim as he got to his feet. “Once I’ve checked out the records, I may well be starting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Khemu Arrazo’s disappearance.”

  “Mother sends that the meal’s ready,” said Kusac as he joined Carrie and his father at the door through to the dining room.

  *

  Second meal over, Konis had headed out to Stronghold with Garras.

  “Dammit! I warned him, Konis!” said Lijou, pushing himself up from his chair and pacing over to the large window overlooking the Kysubi plains. “I did what I could, believe me!” He turned back to look at Konis. “Ghezu’s invented this …” he waved his arms expressively, “tale of who Dzaka’s parents were, and told him to guard the female, Khemu, as Kaid is likely to kill her!”

  “Trouble is, Lijou, it isn’t a tale,” said Konis. “Though he doesn’t know it, Ghezu told him part of the truth.”

  Lijou’s ears flicked backward then righted themselves. “What?”

  “Kaid and Khemu are his parents,” repeated Konis. “We don’t know for sure she’s still alive.”

  “Oh, Blessed Vartra,” whispered Lijou, his ears staying back this time as he returned to his chair. “He’s set him to kill his father or be killed by him! We have to stop this from happening, Konis,” he said, leaning forward.

  “That’s why I’m here. Have you any idea where this Khemu Arrazo lives now?”

  “Yes, yes I do. According to what Ghezu told me, she is alive, though I didn’t tell Kaid where she is because I didn’t want him to go after her. He has to go with your son and his Leska to the Fire Margins! If he’s killed …” He couldn’t finish, so awful to him was the specter of them not going. “He’s their best chance for survival!”

  “Where, Lijou? Tell me where she is,” said Konis quietly.

  “She’s at Rhijudu, almost at the heart of this Fyak’s territory,” he said. “They couldn’t be going into a more dangerous area.”

  Konis glanced over at Garras. “What’s the latest news from there?” he asked.

  “Bad,” said Lijou, running a hand through his hair in desperation. “The Sonashi Tribe have been virtually wiped out according to the few survivors that made it to the Laasoi Guildhouse. Fyak sent his warriors in to cleanse the village of those not willing to follow him. They say that Rhijudu has been taken by Fyak. It’s policed by his warriors and the families split up into pairs who look to one of Fyak’s Faithful to guide them materially and spiritually. The younglings and cubs live in single sex houses until Fyak chooses a life-mate for them, then they move into one of the vacant houses. He’s breaking down all the ties of the tribes and building his own army of fanatics who worship this god of his, Kezule.”

  “Have you a map of the area?” asked Garras.

  “No, but I can get one,” said Lijou.

  “Can you get it without alerting Ghezu?” asked Konis.

  “Yes. He’s been away from Stronghold for the last two days. I don’t know where he’s gone. I’ve just sent to Brother Nyash to bring us a map of the region,” said Lijou.

  “While we’re waiting, I think you should tell us everything you know about Ghezu that might help us,” said Konis, signing to Garras to bring some c’shar over for the Brotherhood’s co-Guild Master.

  “He’s become obsessed with revenge against Kaid for all manner of imagined wrongs,” said Lijou, his voice noticeably shaken. “His mind’s become polluted by it. All he thinks of is Kaid’s death, and he wants Dzaka to do it because, he says, he’s the only one of the Brotherhood who could best him.”

  “He probably could,” said Garras, “but only if Kaid holds back because Dzaka’s his son. What reason did he give for this hatred of Kaid?”

  Lijou looked briefly up at him before continuing. “He said at first it was because of Khemu, but it wasn’t just that, it involved the Leadership contest. My predecessor told me he forced Kaid to withdraw from the final test because of something he did to Dzaka. Ghezu’s conscience has troubled him since then, which is why when Kaid kept disobeying him and going his own way, he reached a compromise with him.”

  Again Lijou looked up at Garras, then back to Konis. “I don’t know the details, but Kaid was dismissed from the Brotherhood—one of the few times that has ever happened—on the condition Dzaka remained. As you know, Kaid accepted and left. I don’t think he had any option. Then, when we heard about your son and his Link to the Human, Carrie, we needed someone on the Khalossa to assess them.”

  Lijou looked down at his hands as he stopped speaking.

  “Esken approached you and asked you to assess them, didn’t he?” said Garras, leaning toward the Head Priest.

  Lijou nodded slowly, unable to look at Konis. “He wanted them assessed, and if they were dangerous or could not be controlled by his Guild, we were to terminate them,” he said quietly.

  Konis’ ears flicked to the side and he began to growl softly. “Go on,” he said.

  “It’s been one of the traditional functions of the Brotherhood throughout known time, Konis,” said Lijou. “How do you think the rogue talents are contained? Those who can create fire at will and whose minds have become unstable at the magnitude of their ability? Who would protect the people of Shola from them if not us?” He looked Konis straight in the eye. “When we can, we rescue those we can train. Here, in Stronghold, are about ten telepaths whom Esken would have had killed, but because of our training methods, we’ve been able to teach them to control their Talents. That’s why we want people like your son and Carrie. We’ve always been the last refuge for those the Telepath Guild either can’t control or are afraid of.”

  “Clan Lord,” said Garras from the far side of the room. “Before Kaid got the message from Ghezu and Lijou, or from your wife to protect them and see them safe home, I had contacted Kaid and asked him to protect them for me. Yes, Kaid would have terminated them if they had been uncontrollable and bent on a course of conquest, but I knew them. I knew they were incapable of that, and I knew that they were good people. That’s why I took the risk of calling in an old debt that Kaid owed me, and asking him to protect their lives with his.”

  “All these years, under my very nose, this has been happening, and I knew nothing,” said Konis softly. “Nothing! No one Guild Leader should have the power of life or death over anyone, even if they are rogue telepaths with unstable Talents!”

  “It wasn’t Esken’s word alone, Clan Lord,” said Garras, returning with the c’shar. “Don’t forget the influence of the Brotherhood. They were the final arbiters. If they could save a telepath, they did. I agree with you, though. Esken and his predecessors have had far too much power and they’ve misused it. It’s time for drastic change, once the threat of Fyak is dealt with. However, this doesn’t explain Ghezu’s hatred of Kaid.”

  “It was I who insisted we use Kaid, because I had a feeling that one of the lesser operatives might terminate them out of hand,” said Lijou. “Ghezu was against it, but he knew as well as I that Kaid was still the best, even after ten years outside the Brotherhood. He didn’t trust Kaid, so he set Dzaka to watch him. At first it was nothing much, then when Kaid and your son had returned to Shola, he recalled Dzaka. Then he began to get more paranoid about Kaid, even though he was no longer working for the Brotherhood.”

  He stopped for a moment to accept the mug that Garras held out to him. “It came to a head when Kusac asked for the alliance with us and wanted the people he and Kaid chose released from their Brotherhood oaths. Ghezu saw this as the return of the days leading up to the Leadership contest when Kaid was the popular choice, not
him. He felt everywhere he turned Kaid was Challenging him, and on his territory. There was no reasoning with him, and from then on, he’s become more determined to have Kaid killed—by Dzaka, as an ultimate revenge.”

  “I wonder what Ghezu’s up to,” said Garras thoughtfully. “If I remember him of old, he won’t be relying only on Dzaka to kill Kaid, he’ll have an alternative plan.”

  A knock on the door interrupted them and Brother Nyash entered with the map. As soon as he’d left, Garras spread it out over the low table between them.

  “Rhijudu is on the western side of the desert, in the foothills, and the Sonashi tribal land is to the north, just the other side of the mountains from the Laasoi Guildhouse. What other villages has he taken?”

  Lijou leaned forward. “As far as I know, he’s taken the Songoh oasis which lies here, between Rhijudu and the Sonashi, and the Lhafsa oasis in the south. The Khoesh Tribe is still untouched, as is the Kubi’h Oasis. The Ghomig nomads settlement just west of the Rozoa Mountains is where it all started, and the Kidoah nomads have joined them.”

  Garras nodded. “That leaves only the Shyazi nomads, the Kubi’h oasis and the Khoesh Tribe free. Fyak is gradually moving east and north. The Laasoi Guildhouse is tantalizingly near, isn’t it?” he said, looking up at Konis. “Fyak may hate telepaths and be killing them, but if he had one or two terrified ones who would do anything he wished just to stay sane, what then?”

  “If they had a powerful enough telepath, or a Leska pair, they could listen in just about anywhere on this continent,” said Konis. “And if I were Fyak, that’s just what I’d do, then head over the Nyacko Pass to take the fertile plains of Nyacko, Lyarto, and finally Kysubi.”

  “And wouldn’t you manage it a lot more easily if you weren’t having to defend yourself from the Brotherhood up in the Dzahai Mountains which overlook the Kysubi plains?” said Garras softly.

  “Surely he wouldn’t be mad enough to …” began Lijou.