by Jean Lorrah
The scene in her store, Alis’s death, replayed before her eyes. No! I must control myself!
She would not be an animal, brawling over a Kill! The long days of practice at controlling her selyn fields suddenly paid off—she flipped over into channel’s mode.
Her Need was distanced—but Darley’s was an aching cry for life. Risa’s sympathy surged. He was further into Need than any Sime normally allowed himself to get. A trip back to town in that condition would be agony—yet she could not allow him to kill the Gen girl!
I cannot fail again!
Practice had become instinct. Risa projected a Gen field and grabbed the hands reaching for her throat. They came willingly now, grasping her arms urgently. Darley did not know how to entwine tentacles, but she did—the grip was secured, their laterals met, and Risa balanced on her toes to touch her lips to Darley’s.
He drew with junct demand. Risa gave him all he Needed—so little selyn! He sought something she could not give, but finally accepted a flare of pleasure and allowed termination.
Darley retracted his tentacles as if to let a dead Gen body fall. Risa, though, retracted only her laterals, leaning against him. The world spun giddily. Then Sergi was behind her, his hands on her shoulders, and she leaned gratefully back against him. Her vertigo subsided, but not her glee.
Susi was staring, eyes huge and round. Other people had arrived—one of the channels, Rikki, suddenly spun the frozen Gen girl away from the scene. “Run!” he said. “Get inside the gates, girl—then he can’t claim you!” The girl came out of her startled trance and hobbled toward the lane. She had to get to the gates on her own—if someone from Keon supported her, he would be stealing Darley’s Gen. Keon personnel, Sime and Gen, formed a line to block Darley’s path.
The banker, though, had lost interest in the Gen. He was staring at Risa, astonishment turning to rage. Then his daughter moved, running to him, crying to Risa, “What did you do to my Daddy?”
The child’s concern interrupted her father’s anger as he reassured her, “I’m all right. She didn’t hurt me. She—” His hand went to his mouth. “You’re one of them! You lied to me! Pervert!”
Risa was able to remain calm with Sergi’s support. “Even your own daughter could see that it was you who attacked me.”
“You stole my Gen!”
“No—your Gen escaped, and now is salvage. I don’t think Householding Keon will have much trouble keeping her.”
“Thieves! I’ll have your filthy householding torn down stone by stone—”
Susi cried, “Daddy, I let Triffin go! Please, Daddy—!” Huge tears rolled down the child’s face. “She told me stories and played with me. I didn’t want her to be dead, like Mama!”
Darley stared down at the child. “Susi, it wasn’t like your Mama. It was a Gen—”
“I don’t care!” She sobbed harder. “I’m not sorry—I’m not! I couldn’t let Triffin be dead!”
With a soft moan, Darley hugged the child tightly. “Who told you such things?” Then suddenly he looked over Susi’s head to Risa, angry again. “You! How could you use a child’s grief over her dead mother—!”
“Mr. Darley,” said Risa, “I have met your daughter only once before, the day you introduced us. No one from Keon has talked with her. Ask her.”
“Triffin told me,” Susi said. “She said you’d kill her—make her dead, like Mama. But if you were just gonna do like you did with Miz Tigue—why did you lock Triffin in? Why did you chain her up, Daddy?”
“I...will explain it all to you when we get home, Susi,” Darley said, climbing to his feet, lifting the child. “I was going to tell you soon. You’re old enough—”
How had he protected the child? Risa remained silent, seeing that Darley’s basic honesty and his love for his daughter were mitigating his anger. Then Rikki spoke. “Mr. Darley, may we offer you a place to rest, some trin tea?”
“I’m not taking Susi in there!” Darley replied quickly. He mounted his horse, set his daughter before him and, leading her tired pony, rode back toward Laveen.
Rikki said, “Please move aside, Sergi, and let me zlin Risa.” She steeled herself as the young channel examined her. Then he said, “No harm done—except that we’ll have to schedule your transfer a little earlier. Sergi, have Nedd examine Risa, just in case.”
“I’m all right,” she protested.
“I want to talk to Nedd about what happened,” Sergi insisted. “I wish he’d been here!”
Rikki hurried back to his work. As Risa and Sergi walked up the lane, the Gen asked, “What made you think Darley could kill me? Surely you know I can handle a renSime.”
“I was afraid you’d kill him. He’s not some nameless looter, Sergi.”
Sensitive as she was at that moment, Risa was overwhelmed with his guilt. Then his field went flat as he said, “That looter should not have died. I should have known he could not stand being shenned with my strength. A Companion should have better judgment. He was trying to murder you...but I shall regret my hasty action for the rest of my life.” He shuddered. “Today it put your life in danger.”
“Nonsense!” she said. “I could handle Darley.”
“I don’t mean the transfer. If it hadn’t been for his daughter, he probably would have strangled you afterward.”
Risa and Sergi found Triffin in Nedd’s office. The Sectuib was healing her ankle with Gevron’s help. “Just a sprain,” he said. “She’ll be fine in a day or two.”
The girl looked up at Risa. “I knew you wanted me. You tried so hard to buy me, twice—and they kept refusing—”
“Twice?” asked Sergi.
“I offered to buy her from Darley last month,” Risa explained. “I tried to think of a way—”
“She had to do it herself,” Nedd said softly. “She must choose her place of her own free will.” Then he turned to Risa. “Let me zlin you.”
“Rikki already—”
“Sit!”
More obedient than Sergi’s dogs, Risa endured another examination. “Much better than I would have expected,” said the Sectuib. “How did you manage not to turn to Sergi for immediate transfer? If Triffin understood correctly—”
“All I did was give transfer,” Risa said. “You’ve certainly put me through enough drills—”
“But you are junct and in Need, Risa,” he said, shaking his head. “How you kept from attacking this girl—”
“Sergi was there. Forgive me, Triffin, but your field is nothing to his.”
“It may be, eventually,” Nedd suggested. “After everything she’s been through, zlin her.”
The girl’s field was steady now, relaxed, pleasant. It was increasing quietly, pulse by pulse, like a Companion’s. She asked, “What do I have to do to stay here?”
“You’ve already done it,” Nedd told her. “When you have rested and had a good meal, we will talk. You must decide whether you want to stay at Keon—”
“What choice do I have?” she asked.
“Keon, Carre, or Gen Territory,” he replied.
“You said you were going to Carre when we first met,” Sergi remembered.
“Yeah—but only because it was closest and I’d been there before. Don’t you live the same way here?”
“Essentially,” Nedd replied. “But why were you at Carre before? As a child?”
“Yeah. I came from a Genfarm. They sold some of us preGens to fruit pickers a few years ago. I been all over the Territory, pickin’ citrus, peaches, nuts. When we worked at Carre, the people were nice to us kids. They told me about the householdings and the starred-cross.” She put her hand to the symbol she still wore. “I found this in a shrine. The next day I was caught, but I knew if I had faith—”
Nedd peered at the starred-cross. “Sergi, that looks like your work.”
“It is,” said Risa.
“See?” said Triffin. “I knew I belonged with you! You’re not gonna make me leave, are you?”
“No, child, of course not
,” Nedd reassured her, but it was Risa the pale blue eyes were fixed on.
The eyes in her dream—come to life, as if she had made up for killing her dream father by saving the girl’s life. But it was not merely one Gen life; she had stood between the Sime and the Kill, expiation for her kills before she met Sergi. She knew her nightmare would not return.
“Risa,” Nedd asked, “are you up to a little more practice at channel’s functions?”
“I thought you didn’t want me channeling while I’m in Need.”
“Zlin Triffin’s state of health, then let me show you how to heal. Being in Need is an advantage when healing Gens.”
Risa found the girl unexpectedly healthy. The effects of the beating she had received at the auction were gone. She was somewhat undernourished, nothing serious. Her left arm had been broken at some time in the past, but had healed cleanly. Otherwise she was in good condition except for her ankle. Risa zlinned in amazement the way selyn production, and hence cell replacement, increased when she extended her laterals over the injury and allowed herself to feel Need.
Nedd smiled sadly at her delight. “Winter is coming. You’ll soon get plenty of practice at healing.”
Gevron brought a tray heaped with food. The three Gens ate voraciously, Nedd managed some fruit, and Risa sipped tea while Triffin told of her escape from Tannen Darley’s house. “Once I got Susi to open that door, the rest was easy. Till today. She’d come in and let me tell her stories—but she was really scared about stealing her father’s keys to loosen the chain. The only way I could get her to do it was to tell her he was going to kill me. She didn’t even know what it meant! But she knew what dead meant, because of her mother—”
Tears rolled down Triffin’s face. “I didn’t want to hurt that little girl! But what could I do?”
Sergi said gently, “She had to learn the truth—and her father loves her. Don’t worry, Triffin—he won’t punish her.”
It was Risa that Tannen Darley punished, letting the whole town know that she was a channel of Keon. The day after a less than ecstatic transfer with Sergi, she was treated with hostility. The storekeeper accepted the teaglass holders, but there was no more conversation. People shied away from her in the street. Only in the saloons was she welcome—but not as a friend. Whispers and nudges followed her, and she was zlinned openly as she passed. She might as well be wearing one of Keon’s bright red capes—or be accompanied by a Companion.
Defiantly, she pulled Sergi’s starred-cross from under her shirt, to lie sparkling against the plain fabric. It gave her courage, just as the symbol had done for Triffin.
Finally she braved the bank, for she had money to deposit into Keon’s account. Her own money was still lying fallow—would she ever find an investment now?
Tannen Darley would not see her. The bank clerk was rude and abrupt. Messages told her that land she had considered buying was no longer for sale. Even Skif, at the stable, was short with her.
She was walking back toward where she had left her horse when she met Verla, dressed now in a plain wool shirt and trousers, with a cape against the drizzling rain.
“Risa—I’m going out to Keon to visit my kids. I’ll ride with you. You look cold—come up to my room for tea first.”
“Are you sure they won’t run you out of Laveen if you’re seen with me?” Risa asked.
“Nah—I don’t matter. Risa—you do know I wasn’t the one told people about you?”
“It was Tannen Darley,” Risa replied. “Does everybody know what happened?”
“His daughter turned his Gen loose, and the Gen tried to run to Keon. Tan chased them down—his little girl has been kept in the house ever since, or maybe she doesn’t want to come out. I guess that’s the first time she ever saw a Kill—hard on the poor kid since she’d made friends with the Gen.”
By this time they were in Verla’s hotel room. Risa said, “Susi didn’t seea Kill. She saw a transfer. I couldn’t let Darley kill the Gen girl.”
“Bloody shen!” Verla said in an awed whisper. Then, “I won’t tell—don’t you worry. But...it sure does make me respect Tan even more, that he didn’t tell what you did. You’d’ve had your throat slit by now if the locals knew.”
“I wonder why he didn’t tell?”
“Surely you knew he was sweet on you? I guess he still likes you, ’cause you’re all he talked about to me.”
“Darley talked to you?”
Verla nodded. “He spent the last two nights here. He’s a nice man—I wish all my customers were like him. He kept saying you lied to him—and I told him I didn’t think you lied, just didn’t tell him everything. I think if you explained that when you first came to town you didn’t know if you could stay at Keon—he’d understand.”
Risa shook her head. “I can’t do that.”
“Well, you’re just lucky he didn’t organize a raid, that’s all. But then, you’re always lucky, aren’t you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You found Keon while you were still young enough to disjunct. Now Darley’s not telling what you did to him. I call that luck—so how about rubbing a little off on me?”
“Hmmm?”
“Look.” Verla took a small box from a dresser drawer, and pressed her handling tentacles in a precise pattern onto the design on top. It popped open, and Verla took out a gold coin, a heavy copper ring, and a brand-new bankbook. There was a single entry, for a hefty sum, bearing the date of the day before.
“Tan was gambling two nights ago,” she said. “He was post and still mad as shen. He can afford to lose money, but he was just throwing it away, betting bad odds—
“Well, I tried to get him away from the table, thinking maybe he could throw some money my way, and suddenly he said, ‘Here—you play for me!’ and stuffed his money into my hands. Risa, I’d never touched so much money all at once in my life!”
“And you talked him out of gambling it?”
“No—I had to do what he asked. But I bet good odds, and I started winning. Now I know how gamblers get addicted—it’s like a good Kill to win so much!” She blushed. “Sorry. Anyway, I cleaned out everyone at the table. They were betting lucky pieces and jewelry by the time it was over. Tan insisted on splitting the winnings with me, even though I started with his money. He still got more than he came with—and look! Risa—I’m on my way to my shiltpron parlor!”
“Not if you try to raise more by gambling,” said Risa.
“No—oh, no, never. But look—there’s enough here to make a down payment on Laster’s saloon.”
“Laster’s?” It was the smallest saloon in town, and the least attractive, but it still pulled plenty of customers.
“Laster’s tired of staying in one place,” Verla explained. “It’ll take a lot of fixing up, but there’re some men in town who’ll pay me with carpentry instead of money—and Dinny and I can do the painting. I’ll send for my friend Ambru, the shiltpron player—and if you’ll give us some backing, we can be open in two or three months.”
“Give you backing?”
“Risa—you’re looking for an investment. Now there’s nobody who’ll go into business with you...but I will. Unless—does your money belong to Keon now?”
“No, it’s still mine,” she replied, her head spinning. A shiltpron parlor? What would her father say? Supply and demand. Her money was sitting in the bank, doing nothing. But to risk it on Verla—?
“I will have to be a silent partner,” she said before she even realized she had made the decision. “We’ll split expenses and profits—”
“Half of mine belongs to Keon,” Verla said firmly. “I won’t tell them till it’s successful—but then half my share every month goes to the householding, for my kids.”
“You do what you please with your half, Verla—and I’ll take care of mine. I’m going to look at Laster’s. Don’t you come—if he knew we were partners, the price would double.”
In half an hour Risa was back, having carefully inspected
Laster’s. The building was sound, its shabbiness superficial. It was a good investment for what Laster was asking.
She went back to the hotel, twined handling tentacles with Verla, and they toasted their agreement with trin tea.
* * * * * * *
WHILE RISA WAS IN TOWN, SERGI MET WITH NEDD to discuss her progress. “I really thought that incident with Darley would precipitate her crisis,” he told the Sectuib.
“No—it’s too soon. Only four months since her last Kill. But if the crisis doesn’t come next month, she will be technically out of First Year, although in actual time—”
“Which is it?” Sergi asked. “Twelve months, or twelve Need cycles?”
“That’s usually the same length of time,” Nedd replied. “But it’s the time—I once heard about a Freeband Raider disjuncting who’d probably had a dozen kills in his first three or four months as a Sime.”
“Nedd, that’s part of the oral tradition of the founding of Zeor. Are you sure it’s true? Zeor’s always making exaggerated claims—”
“And living up to them,” replied the channel. “Still, you’re right—that is where I heard the story. And channels never follow the rules anyway. Stick close to Risa—she’ll resent you more and more, but don’t you let her out of your sight. No more trips into town, unless you go with her.”
“It’s Risa who has to make that promise.”
“The promise of a junct Sime in Need? You care too much for that young woman—and not just as her Companion. Don’t trust her! If she fails disjunction...you have to let her go forever. Sergi, you must be the ultimate Companion. Only then will she have the slightest chance of disjuncting.”
But Sergi’s determination melted when Risa returned from Laveen. She was wearing his starred-cross openly! He wanted to hug her, but resisted the impulse, telling Verla, who had ridden out from town with Risa, where to find her children.
The cold drizzling rain had the children inside during their afternoon activities. While the youngest children played, the older children, Dinny and Kreg among them, were bagging cornmeal for winter storage.
Risa’s brother was the tallest child there, and Sergi noticed that his face was maturing. The huge gray eyes with their fringe of dark lashes were as startling as ever, but the boyish softness of his face was giving way to the firmness of expression he would have as a man. One way or the other, Sergi thought, you’ll grow up soon now, Kreg.