They returned the way they had come and Elvene wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed that they hadn’t seen anything dangerous. Her main concern was that Roger, Essayas and Lin may think the island safer than it really was. With this in mind, Elvene asked the Elders if they would take them to the pit where she had been attacked by the night render. They talked amongst themselves before agreeing, but it wasn’t really a detour as it was on the other side of their camp. On their way back down the slope, Elvene pointed out to her colleagues the cave openings where the Kiri spent their nights.
Elvene herself had not returned to the pit since the incident, and just walking through the same area again brought back memories of fear and anxiety; she wasn’t sure she could have done this had she not been in the company of Elders. As they got closer the memory became stronger, with the same sense of foreboding she’d felt at the time. She found herself half expecting the ground to give way beneath them, even though she had already forced Roger and his colleagues to walk single file behind the Kiri. There were in fact three Kiri leading and three walking behind. At least this time she had her rappelling gun on her back and its weight gave her some reassurance.
But when they finally arrived at the pit, she found herself strangely detached, as if the whole incident had happened to someone else. The Kiri had pushed the render back into its pit after her rescue and it must have lain there pretty well as it had when she’d killed it. She had never seen it from this perspective, with the shell of the animal still intact, bits of debris lying on top of it. She found it hard to imagine that she had once been under it and that it was only by a miracle that the Elders weren’t now pointing out to Roger where her corpse was.
So she did it for them. ‘That’s where I was,’ she said, pointing down into the corner of the pit where she could imagine her head would have been visible.
‘How did you get out?’ Roger asked.
‘The Kiri pulled me out using a canoe as a sled. I was unconscious at the time and I had a broken leg.’
‘And you killed it?’ Lin couldn’t hide her surprise.
‘With my stun guns, but only just.’
‘How did they find you?’ Roger asked.
Elvene gave a half smile. ‘Hah, that’s a story in itself. Myka managed to interrogate Alfa enough to work out where I was.’ She saw the stunned look on their faces but she refused to elaborate any further.
‘I spent a whole night in there, most of it unconscious. I don’t know why I wasn’t dead when they pulled me out.’ At that she turned away and they all followed in silence.
Elvene found, that on leaving the site, she no longer felt the apprehension she had experienced on the way in. She realised that revisiting the site of her encounter had been strangely therapeutic, and she hadn’t expected that. She didn’t even seem to realise that she was leading everyone out until one of the Elders strode in front of her. No one talked at all until they had returned to the Kiri village.
Elvene suggested to Roger that if he intended to fly over the island he might want to take one of the Elders with him. Roger nodded and said, ‘Do you want to organise that?’
Elvene agreed and spoke to the Elders explaining, that if they wanted, one of them could travel in Roger’s ship in the sky to overlook the island. This caused some bewilderment and animated discussion. They said they would need to discuss this at Council.
Elvene turned to Roger, who was still standing nearby with Essayas and Lin.
‘I think we need to give them a little time to consider this. The idea of flight is completely foreign to them. There is no need to rush this, don’t you agree?’
Roger gave it some thought. ‘You know these people better than I, Elvene; possibly they would be more comfortable flying with you than myself.’
‘I hadn’t thought of that. Anyway, they need to discuss it at Council, so we don’t have to do it today.’
Roger looked at his colleagues, who nodded agreement. ‘Yes, there’s no hurry; perhaps in the next couple of days.’
Elvene relayed this to the Elders and they nodded assent. On that note the party split up and Elvene returned to her ship with Roger, Essayas and Lin.
Elvene spent the rest of the day by herself, which she hadn’t done for some time. For the Kiri it was almost unnatural for humans to spend any time without company but for Elvene it was quite normal, although Alfa could be considered company, if not strictly human company. Even so, Elvene couldn’t help but think of Myka. Yet, she told herself, this enforced separation will be good for both of us. From her perspective, Myka had to mature and part of his maturity was dealing with separation whether self-enforced or not.
She went to bed without giving him much more thought and slipped into a dreamless sleep. So it was with some surprise, and just a little apprehension, that she was awoken by Alfa next morning, who told her that Myka wanted to see her. She rose to find him waiting in his canoe, and her apprehension was heightened when she saw that he appeared quite agitated. Instead of inviting him in, she went outside to meet him.
‘Hello,’ she said, her face and body language polite, but not exactly welcoming.
‘I need to talk to you,’ was all he said.
‘Okay, but not here. I’ll come in your canoe.’
She seated herself facing him and he paddled out into the lagoon, the waters and the air having a temporary calming effect on them both.
‘I had a dream last night.’ He paused to watch her reaction. ‘I dreamt that my people were attacked by ships like yours that came out of the sky.’
He had her attention immediately, and he saw her expression change, but at first she said nothing. When he didn’t elaborate she asked him, ‘Were there people aboard like myself?’
‘There were no people; it was like a swarm of vessels like yours, but not on the water, only in the air. Elvene, I was terrified; they came at night and they landed on our beach.’
‘Then what?’
‘They moved over the ground and came up to our caves. It was like I was the only one who could see them. I tried to warn everyone but I couldn’t wake them. Everyone slept, no one moved; it was like there was a spell on them.’
There was a tremor in his voice and a look of helplessness on his face. She found she had to look away momentarily. Elvene also remembered a sense of helplessness, her skin prickled, and she felt exactly as she had when the marauders attacked her in space; the event that had brought her here in the first place.
After a silence when she was able to hold his eyes again, she asked, ‘Have you told the Elders?’
‘Not yet. I felt I had to tell you first.’
‘Yes, you were right to come to me.’
‘Do you know what I am talking about?’
‘Yes, I do.’
His eyes revealed a temporary sense of shock even though it was the answer he had expected.
‘What you saw, Myka, was my enemy. We call them marauders.’
‘Your enemy?’
‘Yes, Myka, they are my enemy. I’m sorry.’
‘You never told me about this.’ It was almost accusatory, as if lovers should have no secrets.
‘There was no need to tell you. Until now.’
She looked around the lagoon, up at the morning sky and back towards the beach. Her eyes fell on the two ships lying near the mangroves and she felt an inescapable pang of guilt. She looked back at Myka, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
‘You must tell the Elders, and we must have a Council with them.’
‘You say we. You mean you and Roger.’
‘Yes, it must include Roger.’
Myka turned the canoe around and paddled back towards her ship. She didn’t know what else to tell him. ‘I don’t know what to say.’ She realised straightaway that only people with a burden of guilt say those words.
Myka remained silent. When they arrived at her ship she climbed back aboard and looked down at him.
‘Go and tell the Elders that I request a Counci
l with them. I will talk to you later.’
Myka just nodded his head and paddled off towards the beach. It was one of those beautiful mornings where the sunrise contradicted the mood of the day.
Elvene entered her ship and thought about the American Indians from Old Earth who had visions; in fact, they had a dream religion. Myka has a gift, she thought, that many people would consider a curse.
7. Council of Elders
ELVENE KNEW THAT THE FIRST THING SHE HAD TO DO WAS TELL ROGER. So she sent a message via Alfa that she needed to meet him along with Essayas and Lin as soon as they were available. As an afterthought she suggested that they join her for breakfast, if that was possible. Roger responded almost immediately and said that they would be there in about twenty minutes ship’s time. Elvene decided to go for a swim while she waited.
She was still in the water when they walked across onto Alfa’s deck. She pulled herself out to greet them and then went and got a towel before dressing herself in a simple robe. She had prepared a Kiri breakfast of fruit and milk made from a plant similar to a coconut only sweeter. Only when she had served them did she explain why she had called them. They all looked somewhat apprehensive even before she spoke.
‘My friend Myka came and visited me this morning even before the sun was up. He had some very disturbing news.’ She looked at their faces before proceeding. ‘He had a dream that his people were attacked by craft similar to ours. I can only conclude that he was referring to marauders.’
Roger was immediately incredulous and more than a little annoyed. ‘That’s a big assumption, Elvene. You would think of marauders, naturally, but why should he?’ Then as a corollary to his own train of logic, ‘Have you ever told him about marauders?’
‘No Roger. He knew nothing about marauders before today.’
‘And what does he know now?’
‘Only that they are my enemy.’
Essayas and Lin were attentive but remained silent. No one had eaten anything.
‘Please eat your breakfast,’ Elvene entreated them.
Everyone started eating except Roger.
‘Let’s look at this with the cold heart of logic.’ Roger leant forward a little. ‘You arrived here some months ago and Alfa is the only spaceship he’s ever seen.’
Elvene nodded agreement between swallows of milk.
‘Now we arrive in a similar vessel, and no doubt the Kiri are wondering if we are going to take over the place. Why wouldn’t the boy have nightmares?’ And then, to emphasise his point, ‘And these nightmares don’t have to have anything to do with marauders.’ He looked across to Essayas and Lin in silent appeal, as if his logic was incontrovertible, but they seemed to prefer to remain spectators.
‘What you say makes perfect sense, Roger, but there are precedents. Myka has had premonitory dreams before.’
Roger leant back in his seat and picked up a piece of fruit for the first time. ‘What do you call a premonitory dream?’
‘He had a dream of my spacecraft the night before it arrived.’
Roger was curious. ‘Did he describe this dream to you?’
‘Yes, he dreamt he discovered Alfa in the lagoon and he climbed aboard and Alfa sank beneath him.’
‘And…?’ Roger prompted.
‘That’s exactly what happened. The only difference was that he discovered Alfa in the presence of a friend, but his friend didn’t go out in a canoe to investigate.’
Roger looked at the table as if he was considering this. Finally Lin spoke.
‘You implied that this has happened more than once. You spoke in the plural.’
Elvene paused as if summoning her thoughts, but really she was summoning her will. ‘The other time was when I was trapped in the render’s pit. Myka dreamt he saw me there, and if he hadn’t, I would never have been found. At least I would never have been found alive.’
She had all their attention now, like she’d never had it before. Roger spoke first. ‘You never told us this before.’
‘It’s not something I wanted to talk about.’
Roger seemed to consider this. ‘Even so, Elvene, none of this suggests that the boy was dreaming about marauders. He said, if I heard you correctly, that they were craft like ours.’
‘Roger, any interspacial craft are going to be like ours to someone like the Kiri.’
‘But that’s precisely my point, they don’t have to be marauders just because they appeared in his dream. It could be a landing party from our own battleship.’
Elvene looked down at the table and put her hand to her head, then looked up before she spoke.
‘Let’s assume you’re right, Roger, but let’s also assume worst-case scenario. If Myka did dream of marauders invading, what does that mean for the Kiri?’
‘Well, if you hadn’t told him anything, it wouldn’t mean anything. It seems to me you’ve created a problem for the Kiri by putting your own interpretation on it.’
Roger realised he’d gone too far when he saw the look of righteous anger on her face.
‘You understand so little of the Kiri,’ Elvene said. ‘You think if you keep them in ignorance then everything is fine. When Myka came to me this morning he was clearly frightened by his dream and he will convey his fear to the Elders irrespective of what I tell him.’
She paused for breath. ‘You have no respect for these people, for their intelligence or their right to be informed. If the marauders do come here, Roger, it will be because of us. More specifically, because of me.’
Elvene glanced across to Essayas and Lin, as if she’d forgotten they were there, but she didn’t really care.
‘Okay Elvene, I understand you. Maybe we should continue this conversation when you’ve cooled down a bit.’
‘No.’ Elvene’s adamancy made his eyes go wide momentarily. ‘I have called a meeting with the Elders, and we, all of us in this room, need to agree on what we are going to tell them.’
‘Shit, Elvene. Why did you do that without conferring with us first?’
‘Because we need to take the initiative. Don’t you understand, Roger, that the Elders will call a Council anyway? We are all in this together while we are inhabitants on this island.’
‘I’m not sure I agree with you on that, but I take your point.’
‘Roger, if the marauders do come here, then we are responsible. We have to let them know.’
Essayas interjected for the first time. ‘Perhaps, Elvene, we should leave you on this for just a little while. Let us discuss this amongst ourselves and we’ll come back to you.’
Elvene looked at Essayas as if she’d just seen him for the first time. So you’re the boss. She nodded her head; only on the outside was she calm, inside she was seething.
She looked at the table: the breakfast, like the conversation, would remain unfinished. ‘Okay,’ she said in a much quieter voice, and the three of them rose and left her seated in her robe.
After leaving Elvene at her ship, Myka had returned to his people and gone straight to his father. Sefta saw the worried look on his son’s face even before he spoke.
‘Father, I had a dream last night. A terrible dream.’
Sefta took his son by the shoulder and led him away from the earshot of others, then they squatted together on the grass. ‘Okay, tell me about it.’
Myka recounted exactly what he had told Elvene.
‘You have already told the Ocean Woman?’
‘Yes.’
‘What did she say?’
‘She said they were her enemy; she called them morders or something.’
Sefta looked away into the distance momentarily as if he was trying to see the future. ‘This is very serious, son.’
‘Yes, I know. Elvene said we need to call a Council, and that she and her friends would attend.’
‘Yes, she is right. Leave it with me.’
When they stood, he patted his son on the shoulder, then he let his hand rest there. ‘We have made her part of our tribe; we believed it was her
destiny and also yours. But now her enemies are our enemies.’
Myka knew this was true, but he wondered what part he played in it. He had seen more of Elvene’s powers than anyone else. He knew that any enemy of hers would have abilities well beyond the capacity of his people, but he kept these thoughts to himself.
‘For the moment, don’t speak of this to anyone else, will you?’
‘No, Father, of course not.’
Sefta released his hand from Myka’s shoulder and walked back towards the village. Myka, on the other hand, retreated towards the beach; it was his only haven now that he didn’t have access to Elvene’s ship.
Elvene was possibly even more annoyed with herself than she was with Roger, and she was unsure how she could steer any future conversation in a positive direction. She was unwilling to leave her ship for fear of facing one of the Kiri Elders or even Myka. Even by saying nothing to them she felt that she would be compromising their trust in her. She had a lengthy shower in a vain effort to speed up time. Then she ate some more food and exercised to rid herself of nervous energy. When she was done, she needed another shower.
It was past midday before Roger returned. This time Essayas and Lin were not with him.
‘I believe we have a position,’ Roger said. ‘Do you think we can talk about this without getting emotional?’
‘We have to talk, Roger, whether we get emotional or not.’ She offered him a seat. ‘Do you want some food or drink.’
‘A cool drink would be nice.’
Elvene poured him an iced drink made from some local fruit. They were trying to be nice to each other.
‘What’s the position?’ she asked when she was seated opposite him.
‘We have to tell them about the marauders. We have no choice now.’ He watched to see her reaction but Elvene remained calm. He continued, ‘There is nothing they can do about the marauders; they have no defence. Do you agree?’
‘Yes,’ she said.
‘Okay. Up to now the marauders have never visited here. If we should leave, there is no reason to believe they will come here in the future.’
Elvene Page 10