Fire Margins

by Lisanne Norman

  “Can you see them about it today?” asked Carrie. “I’d like the work started as soon as possible.”

  “Why the rush?” asked Kusac. “I’m as intrigued as you as to what’s actually there, but why do you feel such a need for urgency? Remember, Jack did warn us that this isn’t an accurate view of what’s inside the hill.”

  Carrie sat back in her seat, gathering her thoughts for a moment. “I’m convinced that this complex under the monastery is connected to Vartra. I know I’ve seen it in several of the replays, and I’m sure that Kaid’s seen it too. If we’re traveling back to those days, we need to know as much about them as we can find out. I think that a lot of the answers Raiban wants will be found inside this hill, including what the Valtegans were doing here.”

  “I’ll be with you, Carrie,” said Kitra, who during their conversation had worked her way round to her bond-sister’s side. “I can make sure she doesn’t do anything to lose the cub, Kusac. I’ll help her.”

  Carrie couldn’t help but grin as she put her hand up to stroke the youngling’s head affectionately. “There you are, Kusac. With your sister to keep an eye on me, how could I possibly come to harm?”

  “We’ll see. I don’t know which of you will be looking after the other! Well, Garras,” said Kusac, looking over at him. “We’re getting nearer to finding out one way or the other whether Vartra was a male like us, or a God.”

  “Hmm. I’ll stick to my opinion a while yet,” said Garras.

  There was a knock on the door and Dzaka looked in. “Second meal’s ready now, Liege,” he said.

  “We’re on our way,” Kusac said. “Can we keep these plans for the moment, Jack? I’d like to look them over in more detail later.”

  “Certainly. We’ve got them on my comm at the medical center. We can run off copies as we need them.”

  Kusac shifted the books off the ends of the document and began to roll it up. “I’ll have a word with the builders later today and see if their machines can do what we want. We might even be able to make a start tomorrow.” He opened the drawer in front of him, placing the plans in there.

  As they went down, Carrie kept an eye on Kitra as she walked alongside Dzaka, deep in conversation with him.

  “I didn’t know you’d assigned him to the house,” said Garras.

  Carrie glanced up at him. “Still cautious, eh? You know he’s been sworn to our Clan and Kusac, just like all the rest of you, Garras. He’ll not betray us, believe me. There’s too much of his father in him. We were monitoring him all the while Kusac was questioning him, and at the temple during his release from the Brotherhood Oath and taking the Oath of Allegiance to us. He still has problems to resolve, but none of them will affect his loyalty.”

  “You have to understand the nature of the relationship Kaid and I had up until I left Stronghold, Carrie,” Garras said carefully. “Warriors, especially the Brothers, often work in pairs, close pairs. Your people have nothing comparable as far as I can tell, so it’s difficult to explain. It was a relationship that was closer than brothers, sometimes closer than you’d be with a lover because our lives depended not only on the trust between us, but on knowing each other’s mind. Given our Talents, Kaid and I, we fitted together like that—still do in fact.”

  He stopped talking for a minute or two, then looked at her again. “It hurt to discover he hadn’t trusted me enough to tell me Dzaka was his son, just as it hurt when I thought I’d lose him the night Dzaka attacked him. I have to find my own way through this, Carrie, and I can’t till I’ve spoken to him again—and that might never happen because he remained behind to ensure Dzaka escaped.”

  Carrie reached out and took his hand. “I understand,” she said softly, feeling the hurt he was trying to control. “You’re someone special, Garras, always will be to me. When we needed help back on Keiss and the Khalossa, you were there for us. You didn’t need to be, but you were, even to asking your friend to guard us from harm. I’m honored to count you my friend.” She gave his hand a gentle, comforting squeeze. “If I can help, even if it’s only to listen to your troubles, please come to me. You and Vanna mean a lot to both of us.”

  Garras returned the gesture before gently freeing his hand. “I know, and thank you. If I seem wary of Dzaka, now you know why.”

  *

  Later that day, Kusac headed over to see his father, leaving Carrie organizing their new home with the dubious help of Kitra and Dzaka. On the way, he stopped to talk to the building foreman. Arrangements were quickly made to start excavating the tunnel the following day. Secrecy was assured by the foreman suggesting he only take clansfolk with him as they were surveying the site for the small outer estate settlement, weren’t they?

  Kusac was still grinning when he parked the hopper round the rear of the house. His mother was in her study upstairs. Of his father there was no sign.

  “He’s over at the Guild,” Rhyasha said, hand hovering over the internal comm button. “Do you want c’shar or coffee?”

  “Coffee, please,” he said, making himself comfortable in the seat beside her. “What’s he doing there?” he asked after she’d spoken to Choa.

  “Another twenty telepaths have arrived, mostly Terran women this time, and two new Leska pairs. He’s gone out to meet the newcomers, and bring the new Leskas here.”

  “Anyone we know, or are they fresh from Earth?”

  “He didn’t say. Now your news. I hear Dzaka’s back. Did he bring news of Kaid?”

  *

  “She’s pregnant again, you say?”

  “Yes,” said Raiban, helping herself to another mug of c’shar. “We’ll have to postpone any thought of a rescue mission to Jalna until after the cub’s born, I’m afraid.”

  “Do we have to send them? Wouldn’t some other operatives serve just as well?” asked Chuz.

  Raiban gave a snort of disgust. “You’re the one who keeps complaining about the cost of maintaining a high level of security at the combined Aldatan and Valsgarth estates, and the one who wants to see some return for that outlay!”

  “Of course I do! I’ve got the Alliance Treasury breathing down my neck; I’ve got to justify the outlay to them, Raiban.”

  “We both knew this would be a long-term project. It’ll be several years before we know what the cubs of these Leskas will be capable of. At least we now have the proof that the Sholan partner is capable of fighting without losing any of his or her Talent’s sensitivity. And that, Chuz, is why we need to send them to Jalna. We need a telepath on that planet and this mission. I don’t want to trust to the Terrans alone.”

  “Have you any new information regarding the group on Jalna?”

  “Not since I sent you the latest report. We’re getting a great deal of information on the planet’s social structure and its winter ecology which is being passed over to the appropriate department, but with the spring thaw delayed, their progress across the plains to the mountains is slow. Now they’ve left the caravan and struck out on their own, they’ve not only the weather to contend with but also local bandits and wild carnivores.”

  “So we’re looking at how long a delay until Kusac and Carrie are ready to leave?”

  “I wouldn’t have put a second team on Jalna yet anyway, but at a reasonable guess I’d say, including training time for the mission, somewhere in the region of nine months to a year.”

  “A year! You’ll have to rethink those figures, Raiban. A delay of that long just isn’t acceptable! Those four Sholans are enslaved on that world! We can’t abandon them for that long!”

  “Commander,” said Raiban, taking another drink and replacing her mug carefully on the table that separated them. “I want our people back as quickly as possible, but we cannot send in anyone but this pair. Their telepathic skills will enable them to locate the four and rescue them. We can’t send down normal Sholan telepaths! Apart from the fact that we haven’t yet got a reliable way of making even one Sholan look like a U’Churian, they’d be so affected by any pain around t
hem, and so vulnerable to capture, that they’d quite frankly be a damned liability! Only these mixed pairs combine the necessary telepathic abilities with the fighting skills. Like Carrie Aldatan, Vanna Kyjishi is pregnant, and although she’ll be ready to return to duty before the Aldatans, she’s a medic—completely untrained in combat—that rules her out, and as for Zhyaf—” She shook her head, sighing.

  “All right, all right,” said Chuz testily. “Don’t go on about it! But nine months to a year, Raiban!”

  “Kusac can begin training now, but his Leska can’t,” said Raiban. “She’s some seven weeks into her pregnancy, so it will be another seventeen before her cub is born, and …”

  “How do you know the pregnancy will be as long as a Sholan one?” interrupted Chuz.

  “Information from the Valsgarth Telepath Guild medical center,” said Raiban.

  “If you can get information out of Esken’s lot, why haven’t you put someone in at the Aldatan estate?”

  Raiban looked pityingly at him. “Do I have to tell you why, Commander? We may pay the bills, but every person on that estate has been handpicked by Kaid Tallinu and has sworn loyalty not only to the Aldatan Clan, but to Kusac personally! They wouldn’t tell us what time Kusac got up in the morning, even if their lives depended on it! I wish I could achieve security of that standard, I’ll tell you. We may not be able to get any information from them, but we know no one else can either and that in itself is worthwhile. Now, may I continue?”

  Chuz merely flicked an ear this time.

  “She has another seventeen weeks to go before the cub is born, that means another six weeks till she’s fit enough to start training, then approximately twelve weeks training. That’s where your time has gone, providing we can persuade her to waive her mandatory maternity leave of six months.”

  “Has it occurred to you that she might fall pregnant again during this training, or even during this mission?”

  “That has been a concern,” Raiban admitted. “But it looks like the Terran scientists working with our people have come up with a contraceptive that will work on our Mixed Leskas. It’s not been given a proper trial yet, but we’ve still got the best part of a year ahead of us. Tests will start shortly as supplies of the drug arrived today with the latest group of Terran Telepaths. They’re mainly female and they’re willing to take the drug if they should form a Leska Link with one of our people.”

  “Naika’s still paranoid about this new species, Raiban. I must admit to having worries myself.”

  “What do you suggest, Commander? That we kill all mixed Leska pairs? That we sterilize them so there can be no cubs? We don’t know what effect that would have on them since the Leska Link seems to be a biological imperative. All we can do is what we are doing, wait and watch. Their skills are useful to us in a way our normal telepaths aren’t, namely the undercover work and the ability to fight. Anyway, they’ve already been useful: that ni’uzu epidemic they started only enhanced our existing telepaths’ abilities, it didn’t alter them genetically. The bulk of them are still pure Sholan, and the percentage of these anomalous links is small. I don’t feel we need to worry.”

  “What do we do if Naika is proved right?”

  “If the worst comes to the worst, a possible colony world has already been located where we can send them. Without space-going capabilities, they wouldn’t present a threat to us for many generations.” She took her mug up again. “I’m usually the one accused of being paranoid, but I honestly believe we have nothing to fear from them. If we treat them with suspicion, we’re more likely to foster a them and us attitude that would lead to trouble.”

  Chuz grunted. “Well, time will tell, as you say. Even if we have to wait for the female to have her cub, we can at least start Kusac’s training. Maybe with their Link she won’t need to train for as long,” he said hopefully.

  “Commander, I have no intentions of putting inadequately trained operatives into the field, especially when it’s these two! I don’t like losing any of my people. She will be as well trained in her own right as her Leska.”

  *

  Vanna returned home to the Valsgarth estate later that afternoon accompanied by Brynne. She’d sent ahead to Kusac, getting permission for her Leska to stay with Jack. After dropping him off at the medical center, she returned to her own home to tell Garras.

  Konis arrived toward evening, as it was getting dark. With him were the two new Leska pairs. Kusac had Dzaka escort them over to Ghyan at the Shrine. They’d stay there until Ghyan had integrated them into the small community, then they’d move into homes of their own.

  “We’ve got enough couples here to warrant getting our own teachers now,” said Kusac, fetching his father a mug of c’shar.

  “Thank you,” said Konis, gratefully taking the mug from him. “I’ll attend to that through AlRel. Just let me know if you’ve anyone in mind. It’s getting cold now. Do you realize that the winter festival’s not that far off?”

  Kusac did a quick mental calculation as he sat down with his own drink. “You’re right,” he said. “Carrie’ll enjoy that.”

  “Where is she, by the way? Resting?”

  “No, she’s in the kitchen with Kitra. They’ve been baking pastries. Mother gave her her own recipes.” He gave a small laugh. “I hope they’re edible! The first lot she made weren’t.”

  “Of course they’re edible,” said Carrie, coming into the den bearing a plate of the newly cooked pastries. She held them out to Konis. “Try one.”

  Casting a pained look at his son, he took one from her and cautiously nibbled the edge of it. He looked over at Kusac, shaking his head with a grin. “That was unfair, Kusac! They’re fine, Carrie.”

  “Told you so,” she said, joining Kusac on the settee and holding the plate out to him. “Your turn.”

  “Is Kitra still in the kitchen?” asked Konis.

  “Kitra? No, she went with Dzaka to the Shrine. He said he’d take her back home afterward.”

  “Was that wise?” asked Konis, looking over at Kusac. “Are you sure of him?”

  “I trust him with Carrie,” said Kusac. “He’ll see Kitra home safely.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” said Konis.

  “She’s safe with him, Konis,” interrupted Carrie. “I wouldn’t have let her go otherwise. Stopping her would only have made him more interesting. Better to allow her to be in his company, then you know where she is.”

  “Am I missing something here?” asked Kusac, looking from one to the other of them. “What’s all this sudden concern over Kitra?”

  “I told you earlier, Kusac,” said Carrie. “You didn’t want to believe me, though. She’s growing up. Look at her tomorrow, you’ll see her markings are toning down to their adult coloring.”

  Konis nodded. “She’s right. We’re trying to keep a careful watch on her now to see which males she favors. We want her first lover to be someone who’ll ensure it’s a pleasant experience for her.”

  “When? I mean …”

  “Your mother says within the next couple of weeks. I’m beginning to feel old, Kusac,” sighed his father. “There’s both you and Taizia soon to be parents, and now Kitra’s leaving her childhood behind. It seems like yesterday you were all cubs. At least you and your sister are both happily settled.” He drank down his c’shar and got to his feet.

  “I’d better get home. It’s been a long day. I dislike my meetings with Esken. I swear all we need for snow is him standing out in the rain!”

  After Kusac had seen his father off, Carrie turned to him.

  “What will you do if Kitra chooses Dzaka?”

  “She won’t!” Then a moment later, “Why do you ask?”

  “Because she’s been following him about all day. That’s why I took them with me to the kitchen. He’s desperately trying to avoid being alone with her, and she’s just as anxious to be with him. I don’t think she’s fully realized what the attraction is yet. Your females certainly mature quite a bit younger th
an we do.”

  “Ah, well, I wouldn’t know about that,” he said. “Kitra with Dzaka? Gods! I don’t know what I’d do, Carrie. What should I do?” he asked, running a hand across his head in bewilderment.

  “Nothing, except accept it as graciously as you can, that’s why I’m mentioning it to you now. Your reaction will be everyone else’s benchmark for how they treat Dzaka. If you trust him with your young sister …”

  “I don’t know if I do!”

  “He was bonded before. His mate and son were on Szurtha.”

  Kusac shook his head, reaching out for her. “Thank the Gods we have to stay together,” he said, holding her close. “I don’t know how he coped. Even if we hadn’t been Leskas and you’d died on one of those two worlds, I couldn’t have lived without you.”

  “Nor I you,” she said, sharing his distress at the thought. She let the matter of Kitra and Dzaka drop there. It was enough that she’d mentioned it to him.

  Chapter 13

  Locked in sleep, Carrie’s mind was held captive by the past till the scene before her had finished unfolding.

  Half-formed images haunted Rezac, making it difficult to know what was real and what was not. Voices faded one minute and were amplified the next as he moved restlessly in his bed. The sheets were pulling at his fur, pushing it against the lie, making each follicle burn with discomfort. Every movement hurt his joints yet he had to try and move away from the pressure of the sheet.

  He dreamed he was made of fire, a fire that burned from deep within him. He opened his eyes only to see beams of flame streaming from them. Devastation followed his gaze, burning and searing everything around. Fear touched him then, his own fear, and instinctively he fought against it, lashing out at it with taloned hands until he was held forcibly down.

  “Get that wound dressed immediately,” Dr. Nyaam ordered as the nurse staggered back holding his slashed and bleeding forearm. Nyaam continued to fasten Rezac’s limbs to the bed frame as Goran grabbed for the arm that he’d managed to pull free. Maro held on grimly to the other limb until Nyaam had finished, then began picking up the scattered ice packs and replacing them around Rezac’s body.