So breeding us, sent Shaidan, what he did to my father and mother, was all to use us cubs as weapons against everyone else! He wanted his own telepaths to use them to destroy people.
You were to be his spearhead, to go one each in his starships and to strike mentally at any and all opposition to his plans. You were just the beginning, he planned to have hundreds more of you.
Shaidan shivered in fear. We were lucky that Kezule found us, and that my clan and my father came for us, he sent quietly.
K’hedduk underestimated the love for you that your parents had, sent Unity, its mental tone kindly. There are factions within the Camarilla, Isolationists that want nothing to do with any other species. There are the Reformists who want to reform the Camarilla and stop it making many of the bad decisions it has made recently, and the Moderates who are between the two. Kuvaa is a Reformist, and she is now aware of you. Your biggest danger comes from the Isolationists who, despite their name, are getting very involved in the lives of those on M’zull. They want an outcome that will destroy many of the other species so that they cannot, in some distant future, threaten them.
They want to see the M’zullians get back the old Empire?
I believe they do. The Moderates and the Reformists want to prevent this war of conquest, but by humane means. This is what your parents are fighting for on M’zull now.
Why are you telling me all this, Unity? This is grownup stuff, isn’t it?
Normally I would say yes, but the Isolationists are watching you, Shaidan, and I feel they could still try to use you to let the M’zullians dominate.
What can I do? I’m only a cub!
You know the truth now, so they cannot persuade you to do their will. They might be able to force you, but now you can armor yourself against that. Vartra was taken to stop him influencing your father, so they could control him. Then he began appearing and talking to you, so they abducted him to stop that. You and your father are both nexuses, people around whom the future gathers and swirls. Your actions could save or destroy millions of people and worlds.
Huh, no pressure, then, said Shaidan, tears springing to his eyes. This is so not right! I’m not old enough to make such decisions!
You may not have to, little one, but I wanted to warn you what is at stake in case. You can ask me any questions you want, and I will help you.
Is this Kuvaa watching me now?
Yes, but she is not a danger to you at this time. She cannot know what we are talking about as I have invoked Privacy for us.
Shaidan got to his feet, still shivering, and not because he was cold. I need time to think about this, Unity. You were right, I need to know how to defend myself.
I have something for you. Take this device, wear it where as a piece of jewelry it won’t be out of place, and you can contact me from anywhere.
There was a quiet ting as a small metal object hit one of the rocks behind him. He turned round to see a small sliver of silver-colored metal with a loop at the top sitting on a stone by the back wall. He reached out and picked it up. Immediately, it became warm in his hand.
Wear it in with your hair ornaments. You need never take it off, and no one will guess what it is, sent Unity.
I’ll think about it, sent Shaidan firmly. You’ve told me a lot. I need to understand it and decide what I am going to do about it. The Isolationists watching me, they can only see me where you have nodes, right? That’s in the nursery, here, and the library?
Yes.
What if I remove the nodes?
They will place new ones, and we may not be able to find them. Better we know where they can track you than it remains secret. That way, you can make sure your behavior at the nodes doesn’t let them know you know about them.
Good night, Unity, he sent, then switched off his connection to it. This was too much to take in all at once. Without anyone to talk to about it, how was he to decide what the right thing to do was? That was his father and mother’s job, not his.
Clutching the sliver tightly in his hand, he swam back to the shore on the other side of the pool to get showered. He’d need to ask Shishu to braid it into his hair before bedtime. With it there, he had the option of whether or not to contact Unity.
The sound of cheering and music outside drew the cubs to the two windows that overlooked the grand courtyard. There they could see that a crowd had gathered and were obviously waiting for someone to arrive.
“King Zsurtul’s back,” cried out Gaylla, jumping up and down. “He won’t go through the courtyard, though.”
“No, they’ll make an appearance on the balcony,” said Shishu, lifting Gaylla up so she could see the courtyard better. “We won’t be able to see him from here, of course, but he will be coming upstairs to his rooms. He’ll be tired after his long journey and so will Queen Zhalmo, so we shouldn’t bother them tonight.”
“The music’s changed,” said Shaidan. “That’s their anthem. The King must be on the balcony now.”
“Probably,” agreed Shishu. “He won’t say anything tonight. All he’ll do is wave for a few minutes, then go inside to come up here. So off to bed, all of you!” She carried Gaylla over to her bed and, pulling back the covers, popped her into it. “Good night, Gaylla,” she said, covering her up and giving her a hug.
“Night, Shishu.”
* * *
Zsurtul drew Zhalmo back from the balcony into the chapel again and signaled for one of the guards to close the windows. “We’ve done our duty for tonight,” he said. “Time to go upstairs and get some real food and a long hot bath!”
“I’m so tired, but I seem to have done nothing but rest,” said Zhalmo as she accompanied him out through the Throne Room and into the corridor that led to the elevator.
“Welcome back, King Zsurtul,” said the Palace AI. “Is there anything I can do for you? I did pass on your message to the kitchens, and as soon as you are ready to eat, a meal will be served for you.”
“Thank you, ZSADHI. I think we need time to catch our breath first. Let’s head to the lounge as I’m sure everyone is going to gather there. We should see your father as soon as possible, Zhalmo, let him see you really are home and safe,” he said.
“Home,” she said, looking at him. “Seems almost unreal to think of here as home now. It always seemed to be just a posting before I was kidnapped.”
“Well, it’s your home now,” said Zsurtul as they made their way into the elevator.
Guards snapped smartly to attention as they exited the elevator. Zsurtul nodded at them and led Zhalmo down the corridor to the lounge where the General was indeed waiting for them, along with his wife Doctor Zayshul, and Kitra, Dzaka, Conner, and an elderly Sholan female he’d not met before.
“Welcome back, your Majesties,” said Kezule, obviously torn between being formal and wanting to ask his daughter how she was. He needn’t have worried because she immediately ran over and hugged him.
“I’m so relieved and happy to be home,” she said. “You’re not angry with me for marrying Zsurtul, are you?” She moved back a step to search his face for his reaction.
“Not if that is what you both wanted,” he said gently, stroking her cheek. “We’re all pleased to see you both back safe and sound. You remember everyone, don’t you?”
She nodded, then stopped, catching sight of Noni at the back of the room. “Not everyone,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve met the other Sholan female.”
Noni came forward, holding out her hand in Human fashion. “I’m Noni,” she said. “I’m here to help Conner with the temple, and the growing and planting.”
“Pleased to meet you, Noni,” said Zhalmo, briefly touching fingertips.
“Welcome to K’oish’ik, Noni,” said Zsurtul. “I hope you’ll enjoy your stay with us, however long it is.”
“I’m sure I shall,” she smiled. “I already feel like I’m at
home.”
“Noni is being modest,” said Conner. “She’s also like a den mother to the Brotherhood back on Shola. She sees to all the cuts and sprains the Brothers get training, plus, I’m told, has a great hangover cure!”
“She’ll not need to come to me for that, I’ll be bound,” said Noni. “But if you should need me, I’m in the temple with Conner. King Zsurtul, I’d take your lady for her dinner now, she’s gone a bit pale suddenly. Food will make her feel better.”
Anxiously, Zsurtul put an arm round his wife and exchanged a few quiet words with her. “If you don’t mind, we’ll just go and grab something to eat, then head for bed. We’re both pretty exhausted,” he said, excusing himself.
* * *
Noni watched the young couple leave. I need to work on her tonight, she sent to Conner. The barriers Kusac placed are beginning to break down. She has lost the memories of her captivity, but her imagination is noticing the hole and rushing to populate it with what she imagined happened. I need to give her new memories to replace the missing ones.
How can you do that tonight?
I need her drugged. Once she’s asleep, I can work with her. “Doctor Zayshul, can you somehow get her to take a sleeping draft? I need to work on those missing memories tonight, and I need her asleep to do it.”
“I can slip something in a drink for her,” she said. “But how will you get into their room after they go to bed?”
“By asking King Zsurtul to let me in, of course! Can you write a note and pass it to him for me? I can’t read or write Valtegan.”
“I’ll talk to King Zsurtul. You go and see to putting something in her maush, Zayshul,” said Kezule.
“Hopefully, they’ll not be quite ready as I’ll have to go fetch something from the hospital. I don’t just happen to carry sleeping pills around with me!” she said dryly as she left the room.
“What is it you want me to tell him, Noni?” asked the General.
“It’s just as I said. The reason she’s so tired and almost fainting is because her mind has realized she has holes in her memory. I need to fill those with new memories now. It will take me a few sessions, but tonight’s is crucial. So you tell him we’re drugging her. Then, when she’s asleep, he has to let me into their room to heal her mind.”
“I’ll go and talk to him now,” said Kezule.
“I’m so glad it’s going to be you doing this, Noni,” said Kitra, “I don’t believe I could have done it.”
“You’d have done a good job until I arrived, child, never doubt yourself,” said Noni kindly, patting her arm. “You have plenty of talent for this kind of work, just not much experience yet. I’ll teach you. We can always do with more of the natural kind of healers like you. Now you say your brother left a message in the mind of the Prime medic on the Couana? Then we’d best have her over here so that I can get it from her.”
* * *
Zsurtul came to fetch Noni when Zhalmo was asleep.
“Are you sure you can fix this, Noni?” he asked. “She’s been well until the last couple of days, then she would suddenly stop talking and stare off into space as if she was looking for something. And the tiredness hit her then, too.”
“She’s looking for the missing memories, but she doesn’t realize that’s what she’s doing. It’s on an instinctive level, not a rational one. We need to build new memories for her, but that will take a few sessions. Tonight we lay the groundwork. I need you to encourage her to come to me to help me with the seeds and plants. Let her think it’s her idea. When she’s with me, I can work on her without her knowing it.”
Noni followed the young King through the lounge into the bedroom where Zhalmo lay fast asleep in the large bed.
“A chair would be helpful,” said Noni as she moved to the side of the bed where Zhalmo lay.
Zsurtul rushed off and brought a dining chair over for her.
Nodding her thanks, Noni sat down in it and reached out to feel Zhalmo’s forehead, then her pulse. “She’s well under now. I can begin.”
Reaching into her sleeping mind, Noni immediately found the area from which Kusac had ripped the memories. It was like a gaping mental wound, all raw and roiling with dark impulses and thoughts. She needed to calm that area down, then reduce the irritation so that it ceased generating the disturbing feelings for which Zhalmo had no rational explanation.
Slowly, Noni began to smooth out the area, filling the gap with pleasant thoughts of nothing in particular. Here a memory of a pleasant day, sunshine and warmth; there one of watching a river chuckling over stones as it made its way to the inland sea many miles away. Another of the swimming hole and the cool water there. The memories wouldn’t necessarily remain for long, but long enough for them to attract new ones that Zhalmo would make herself with Noni. Memories of arranging flowers in the temple, for instance.
It took some time, but at last the groundwork was done and none of the angry emptiness remained. Noni withdrew and, taking a deep breath, opened her eyes.
“She’ll do for now. You should find she rests well tonight and feels a lot better in the morning. Now remember, it’s vital you bring her to help me in the temple tomorrow. I need to work alongside her, help her make the new memories to replace the temporary ones I’ve placed there. If you don’t, then within a few days, she’ll be worse than she was this evening. Just so you know, Kusac did a first-rate job on her considering how little time he had. This is not because of what he did or didn’t do. He could only take away the bad and had no time to replace the memories; that, he left to me. So don’t go thinking he did less than his best for her.”
“I wouldn’t think that, Noni. Thank you for what you’re doing for her. I can only imagine what she went through . . .”
“Then don’t, or I’ll end up having to take those memories from you so she doesn’t feel you looking at her and wondering about what might have happened! Imagination can be a powerful bad thing as well as a boon. Don’t you go letting it rule your life with her.”
“I won’t, Noni.”
Noni got to her feet. “Right. Time for me to head downstairs with Conner. You have a good night, King Zsurtul. Just relax and sleep. She will be better tomorrow.”
Palace of Light barracks courtyard, Zhal-Ghyakulla 7th, (June)
M’Nar had dragged Jerenn cursing and complaining from his bed at almost the crack of dawn.
“Dammit, M’Nar, this could wait until after first meal, surely?” he grumbled as his sword-brother bundled him into the elevator and down to the first floor.
“No,” said M’Nar succinctly, grasping his arm again and hauling him across the deserted grand courtyard toward the entry to the barracks parade ground. “This is our berran coming home after a major mission, Jerenn! I want to know how she performed, and in what state Jurrel brought her back while he’s still there for you to tear a strip off his hide if she’s in less than perfect condition!”
“Me? Why am I the one to do the hide tearing?” muttered Jerenn. “You’re just as capable as me of doing that. All I want to tear into is my first meal.”
M’Nar stopped abruptly. “There! Can you hear her?”
The sweet purring of the MUTAC’s motors formed a counterpoint to the sound of the giant feet hitting the concrete. It filled the quadrangle, bringing all the troops rushing out from their barracks to see what it was.
M’Nar and Jerenn had rounded the corner in time to see the MUTAC leave the main gates and stride purposefully across the parade ground. She paused briefly, then turned toward them and continued more slowly before coming to a complete halt some ten feet in front of them. The rising sun glinted off the windshield, and they could just see Jurrel behind it.
“You got her dirty!” said M’Nar, a note of outrage in his voice. “Her feet and lower legs are caked in . . . something awful,” he finished, staring at the damp legs of the MUTAC. “How could you do that
to our berran?”
Almost daintily the MUTAC lifted a back leg and shook it, sending some of the accumulated grungy mess flying off it to land with a splat several feet away.
“Sorry, M’Nar,” Jurrel’s voice came booming out of the speaker. “I’m afraid there was very little room in the corridors of the M’zullian Palace, so I stepped on more than a few M’zullians. I didn’t have a chance to clean her in transit, but I did stop to wade through the river a little before bringing her back to you.”
Now fully awake, Jerenn stared at the MUTAC. “You used our MUTAC’s feet to kill M’zullians?” he asked disbelievingly.
“Yup, and they made a satisfying squishing noise,” said Jurrel happily.
“How did that affect her balance?” demanded M’Nar.
“Not at all, so long as I kept two feet on firm ground. She handles like a dream; you did an amazing job with her.”
“And the guns and missiles?”
“Perfect for shooting down the close quarters of the Palace tunnels. Worked just as well in the landing bay area, too. What we need now is a craft the size of the Couana but designed to carry the MUTAC to combat zones.”
“That we are already planning, M’Nar and Jerenn,” said the unmistakable voice of Toueesut from behind them. “Your input we would be liking as well, friend Jurrel.”
M’Nar turned round, blinking rapidly for a few moments until Toueesut and his swarm stood still so the two Sholans could get their visual bearings.
“Greetings, friends M’Nar and Jerenn,” said Toueesut, bowing and gesturing expansively. “Glad we are to be home and to be bringing back to you your MUTAC undamaged if a little dirty after its adventures on the M’zull world. It killed many of the enemy I am told, and helped the escapes of our people with the new Queen Zhalmo. So liking this design are we that we are wanting to be making more of them for our own use. Of course, we will be seeing that you two and the young human Kai are receiving your due remunerations.”
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