Circle's End

by Lisanne Norman

  “What did you tell him?” asked Khassis.

  “I told him it was a ritual thing we leave at that time, annual pilgrimage. He demanded we give him knowledge of instant travel. I said we could not as only over short distances and for people of our size. We had a ship waiting, I said. He pushed, and for then it was best I said we think about adapting it for his size.”

  “This was what we feared,” said Khassis grimly. “They almost bring about exactly what we all know must be avoided—advanced tech in the hands of species too young to understand it.”

  “More. He demands we devise a weapon for sand-dweller capital world. One to not kill the people like on J’kirtikk does. He wants to enjoy victory! I say transformer old, very old, broken, we have no other, and he laid violent hands on me, shook me! Demanded I fix it! About to hit me when I translocated here. The terror of it,” he moaned. “I was so close to killing him for the indignity and pain he was heaping on me!”

  “You did well to restrain yourself, Azwokkus. Not many would have had your forbearance,” said Shvosi, leaning forward to pat the other on the uninjured hand.

  “He now knows we can translocate. Little good it will do him, we are not going back! One of us should never have been there to start with. Have you recorded your memory of this for Unity, Azwokkus? We will need it some day.”

  “Not yet. I had only just finished with the physician when you arrived. I will do it when you leave.”

  “Well, one way or another, we get the matter transformer back shortly. Till then, they cannot use it,” said Shvosi.

  “Opened my eyes to what is happening within Camarilla you have,” said Khassis. “I will talk with others in the Moderates Party of a like mind regarding some of this. Shvosi, you should speak to Kuvaa. Security for Unity she has undertaken, so perhaps between them they can find other instances where Isolationists have broken the rules like this. Time we really began building our case against them before we all suffer for their selfishness and manipulations.”

  Mountain region, Nayash estate, Zhal-Zhalwae 19th (May)

  Rhassa stopped at the gate into the pen for the woolly herd beasts. “Shazzuk, there is an aircar coming with someone from the Lord’s estate.”

  “How far out? Does the radio say?”

  “I don’t rely on the radio!” she snapped. “He’s on his way to us. You’ll need to see him.”

  “Then I’ll see him when I am ready,” he said. “I have these beasts to tend to right now. They’ll be birthing in a couple of months, and I need to check they’re all healthy or there’ll be no young ones come the autumn, and that means no . . .”

  “. . . wool come the early summer,” Rhassa finished. “I know the pattern of the seasons out here, Shazzuk, I’m older than you!”

  “But not always wiser,” said his wife as she came up to the gate with her basket of food for her husband.

  “I said he’d come here,” said Rhassa, “and you said no, yet here he is.” She pointed upward as they heard the droning of an approaching aircar. “He’ll want our aid.”

  Larashi pushed past the older woman and opened the gate, going up to her husband. “You need to eat. You were up with the sun this morning, unlike our young Lord. Eat this,” she said, reaching into the basket for a fat pastry and handing it to him. “Let the village guards come for you. It’s no insult to keep working.” She pulled out a metal container and unscrewed the lid. “Hot maush,” she said, handing it to him. “Go home, Rhassa. You’ve given us the news, you can tell everyone you knew first.”

  “He’ll want to see the chapel, he will.”

  “Hopefully he won’t ask to go there this time. The sword still looks a bit new,” said Shazzuk round a mouthful of meat pastry.

  “He won’t know. He hasn’t been here before. I heard that he’s a waster, always out partying, never helping his Da with the estate,” said Larashi quietly. “Not like a decent son would.” She pulled out another pastry for her son who had just finished counting the beasts.

  “Thanks, Mam,” he said, taking a hearty bite. “There’s forty of them, Da, and all look to be pregnant. We should have a good-sized herd come autumn.”

  “Yes, I think getting them was a sound move. We can make our own cloth now, and yarn for knitted goods. Give us something more to barter down in the valley markets.”

  “And meat for the table for us and his Lordship,” said his son.

  “You’re a good lad, Chygul,” His father stroked the back of his son’s head as he finished up his pastry. “Here, you can finish my maush for me.” He handed him the metal flask. “Looks like that aircar has landed and the Lord is in the village. I see Maalash running toward us. Make sure the beasts get that special feed before you let them loose again.”

  Shazzuk began wiping his hands on his trouser legs until an outraged cry from his wife stopped him.

  “Here! Use this cloth,” she said, passing him the cheesecloth that the pastries had been wrapped in.

  Hurriedly, he wiped his hands, heading back to the gate where Rhassa still stood.

  “I’m right and you know it,” she said as he left the corral and walked toward the village guard.

  As Maalash opened his mouth to pass on his message, Shazzuk said, “I know. Lord Nayash is here wanting to see me. Where did you leave him?”

  “Oh, you know. Well, he’s in the square, beside his aircar, with his guard.”

  “You left him out in the sun?”

  “He’s all right. He has those colored glasses and the aircar to lean against. I said I wouldn’t be long, and he seemed happy enough to wait.”

  “Did no one have the wit to let him into my office?” demanded Shazzuk, breaking into a run along the path down to the village. “Sheer manners should have made someone do that! You show visiting village herdsmen and planters in fast enough when I’m busy!”

  “Aye, but you’re in there then, too,” said Maalash, puffing to keep up with him.

  The lane between the houses was in sight now, and through them was the town square where all the important gatherings were held.

  As Shazzuk emerged into the square, sunlight glinted off the gold aircar and dazzled his eyes. It took him a moment before he was able to focus on the green-uniformed officer walking over to him.

  “Nayash village?” he asked. “I haven’t been here before. You must be the village leader. Your name is Shazzuk. Have I got it right?”

  “Yes, your Lordship,” said Shazzuk, dipping his head in a bow. “Welcome to our village. Please follow me into my office—they should have shown you in, not left you out in the sun. I apologize for them, my Lord.”

  “It’s all right. Cheelar, stay in the square with the vehicle, but you can sit in the shade. I know you’re all busy because today is a working day,” Rezac said, following him into the cool interior of the house. “I also forgot to call in advance to give you any warning. And I’m not Lord Nayash, I’m his aide, Lieutenant Rezzik.”

  “In here, Lieutenant,” he said, indicating a door to the right of the main family room. “Meggu, leave the little ones for now and get us a jug of cold maush and two bowls, please,”

  “Yes, Da,” said the young girl, getting up and heading off into the kitchen.

  On a rug in the center of the room crawled two young children.

  “Four youngsters?” asked Rezac, stopping to take a look at them before entering the office. “They must be a handful.”

  “We have Meggu to help her mam, and I have my other son to help me with the herd beasts and the fields. We have good people here, your Lordship. We always have our produce ready for the estate on time, not like some estate farms. Always have extra, too.” He indicated the seat behind the carved desk. “Please sit there, your . . . er Lieutenant Rezzik. I’ll fetch the books for you.”

  “Thank you,” said Rezac, sitting down and crossing one elegantly booted l
eg over the other as he waited.

  “Is there any special reason for the visit, Lieutenant Rezzik?” Shazzuk opened the doors of a cabinet facing the desk and drew out several large ledgers.

  “Nothing specific, just visiting all Lord Nayash’s holdings since he is new to the title.”

  “Here you are. You’ll see I keep them up to date. Everything you need to know is in them,” he said, putting the books down in front of Rezac.

  “I poured it for him, Da,” Meggu said, walking into the room slowly, carrying a glass bowl of maush.

  “Meggu, you should have just brought us the jug.”

  “It was too heavy, Da,” she said as Rezac leaped to his feet and caught the bowl just as she stumbled.

  “It’s all right, I have it. Even this is heavy for you,” he said kindly, putting the bowl on the desk. “I’ll enjoy it all the more knowing you poured it for me.”

  Hot color flushed the youngster’s face and she took refuge behind her father, peeping out from behind his leg.

  “Your Lordship, I am so sorry!”

  “Enough said, Shazzuk,” said Rezac firmly. “We were all young once. No harm done at all. Now pull up a chair and explain these ledgers to me.”

  * * *

  It was about two hours later, as he was leaving, that Rhassa came up to him on his way to the aircar.

  “You aren’t him. Who are you?” she demanded.

  “Excuse me?” he asked, taken aback.

  “You aren’t the Lord Nayash. Who are you?”

  “I never said I was,” said Rezac. “I’m Lord Nayash’s representative. He sent me to check on his holding here and report back to him. Today he had to go round the munitions factories.”

  “Tell him he has to come himself next time. We want to see him.”

  “Hush, Rhassa, that’s enough. Lord Nayash is busy. He can send who he wants to us,” said Shazzuk, signaling for Maalash to remove Rhassa from the town square.

  “Next time a visit is necessary, he will come personally. Of that, I can assure you.”

  “He wants our help then he will have to come himself!” said Rhassa as she was bundled away by Maalash and Roymar.

  Rezac put a confused look on his face and turned again to Shazzuk. “Who is that?”

  “Rhassa, the village priestess,” said Shazzuk. “Did you find all in order, my Lor . . . er, sir?”

  “Yes, you’re managing the estate lands here as well as anyone could, as far as I can see. It will be up to his Lordship to make that determination, but I will so advise him after what you’ve shown me today.”

  Rezac made good his escape and as soon as they were in the air, he spoke to Cheelar. “Telepathic female, do you think? She knew I was coming, and she knew I wasn’t Nayash. I hope we can get Kusac past her!”

  “To all intents and purposes, Kusac is as much Nayash as anyone is likely to get,” said Cheelar, “That will definitely be at the forefront of his mind when they meet, so it’s possible she will accept him for what he now is. Is the village being well managed?”

  “Very. I doubt anyone else could have done so well. I have a feeling that there is a tie to this land for Shazzuk’s family. As I understand it, when M’zull fell back about fifteen hundred years ago, there was civil war on each of the four main planets. The winners parceled out the land to themselves and old claims were often lost. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that Shazzuk’s family once owned this land and has never forgotten it. Look into it if you can. There must be a history of the families somewhere.”

  “I’ll get onto it,” said Cheelar.

  Mountain Base camp, later that day

  Kaid! Hologram incoming from Annuur, Carrie sent to him. Kaid left his post at the mouth of the cave, and joined her by the small watch fire they kept in the first of the caverns.

  “What is it this time?” growled Kaid as he squatted down in front of the hologram.

  “We had message. Azwokkus no longer on M’zull. K’hedduk attacked him, nearly killed him. Lucky he translocate to safety but no more TeLaxaudin spy on M’zull. Barbaric nature of those sand-dwellers exposed.”

  “We did warn you,” said Kaid.

  “I be knowing this, but others needed proof. Now have it. All who know are for moving TeLaxaudin out of K’oish’ik Palace to Sholan campsite and helping you, not sand-dwellers anywhere.”

  “No, that would be very wrong,” said Carrie. “Zsurtul is entirely different from K’hedduk. They are barely the same species any longer. You have to stay at the Palace, they do need your help.”

  “I agree,” said Kaid.

  “Whatever. Now we can offer you direct help—offer Kusac direct help.”

  “That you will have to talk to Kusac about personally,” said Kaid. “He’s based at the estate right now, going round the munitions factories. K’hedduk wants to increase production.”

  “I talk to him later about this, bring here. Things you all must hear I previously told not to tell you.”

  “How much direct help are we talking about?” asked Carrie.

  Annuur looked to one side and they heard a muttered conversation going on just out of range of their hearing. “Working on device we are to transform your Valtegan females into appearance of males. Difficult as only our people here and some U’Churians to test it, no sand-dwellers or Hunters—you say Valtegans or Sholans. May take some little time before we know if works.”

  Kaid sat up straighter. “What? That would be terrific! We need more people for our raids, and I brought our females because they are warriors, too! But we just cannot use females because of it being a male-only culture. If the M’zulians even get the scent of one of our women, she wouldn’t survive their attack.”

  “We see, no promises yet. I return later, talk more.” With that, he was gone.

  “Did I hear him right? Is he bringing Kusac here later tonight?”

  “That’s what he said,” said Kaid, reaching out to wrap an arm round her shoulders. “Be good to see him again, won’t it?”

  “Oh, yes,” she whispered. “I worry so much for him. It’s difficult making sure I keep myself walled off from him during the days so he can play his part without worrying about me.”

  “I know. You’re doing very well. It won’t be too much longer now, only a few more weeks. And you’ll see him tonight. I just gave him a brief heads up about Annuur. He says likely he’ll stay the night.”

  “Every day is too long,” she said, getting up. “I would love him to stay overnight. Well, I’m off duty for now. I’m going to get into the warmth with the others. It’s my turn to help cook dinner. It’ll be bland dried meat stew again, I bet.”

  “At least we have meats!”

  “With you Sholans here, we have to have meat,” she laughed.

  Rezac, back before Kusac, decided he and Cheelar were taking some rec time in the pool. They were still there when Kusac arrived back with Laazif.

  “It’s all right for some,” he said, strolling out onto the sun deck. “How did the visit go?”

  “Very well. How is it that every place we go has their own version of Noni?” Rezac asked. “Theirs knew I wasn’t you. Not that I pretended to be.”

  Kusac sat down on one of the loungers. “And what did you find out?”

  “The Leader is a family man, two older children, a boy and girl, and two younger crawling ones. The girl helps the mother by babysitting the babies. The son helps farm with the father. They just invested in a herd of woolly beasts for meat and their cut fur to make cloth and yarn. The cloth won’t be high quality, but it will make money selling at the markets for the other farmers. Plus there’s meat from them, of course.”

  “That must be the first furred animals I’ve heard of. Normally, they just run to reptiles.”

  “Yeah, I was surprised, too. The rest is grain for the estate and to feed to a
ll our people on it, and fresh vegetables and such for our house and themselves. The estate imports the rest of what it needs in foodstuffs and trades out mainly the munitions.”

  “Right then, I’m getting upstairs for a shower,” he said, getting up. “I stink after walking round three of those damned factories! Dinner isn’t far away, and I will be occupied this evening after it. I’ll tell you upstairs.”

  “Oh, I forgot. I promised them you would visit in person next time. The priestess also knew you were going to ask for help,” Rezac said quietly. “She said come in person or you won’t get it.”

  “And how much weight does she carry in this tribe?” asked Kusac, equally quietly.

  “Perhaps not too much,” admitted the other with a grin. “They carted her off for being disruptive. They were more afraid of her angering you, not me.”

  “Well, at least we know that they may be of use to us now. Thank you for going for me, Rezac.”

  Prime world, after dinner, same day

  Dinner was over, and it was the couple of hours when the cubs could choose what to do. Tonight, once again, Shaidan headed for the library. Straight for his secret door he went, then hesitated, his hand poised over the catch. He sensed something, something almost alive, that should not be there. Cautiously, he let his hand rest on the wall, using all his senses to probe deeper, learn more about this object.

  He quickly realized it wasn’t an object as such, more like a small net of impulses, a web, that was it, a small web. Something like this had been in the pool area several weeks ago, before his parents had left on their mission. He remembered feeling it just as it began to disappear into nothing. Would that happen now?

  Shh, came the thought. Don’t tell anyone. Let this be just between us.

  He examined his reaction, finding he wasn’t afraid—perhaps he should be, a part of him thought—he was just very curious. What are you?