Kei's Gift

by Ann Somerville

  The cheers of the crowds were quite deafening and the progress of the carriages irritatingly slow, although they had left plenty of time for this reason. Arman held Kei’s hand as they travelled along, and Reji had a hand on Kei’s arm too, but it was obvious Kei was still suffering from the massed emotions he sensed. “Not much longer,” Arman soothed, now wishing he’d sent his lover and Reji down to the ship earlier in the day. He wondered if it brought back unpleasant memories of the day the hostages had arrived in Utuk, but decided it was better not to ask.

  In fact, despite the press of the crowd, they were at the docks in half an hour. Two of the three ships were already loaded and sitting at anchor out in the harbour. It only remained for the vessel carrying the two Rulers and Arman to take her passengers on board. Lord Peika had suggested a speech could be made, but Lord Meki had vetoed that idea, not wanting the delay or to raise expectations higher than they were.

  “Better to return victorious and make our damn speeches then, than to make promises we can’t keep,” he’d muttered to Arman when this idea had been raised earlier in the day. So all that happened in the end was that Lords Meki and Peika and the other passengers went on board without ceremony, while the other Rulers spoke only briefly to the crowd, making thanks to those going on the mission on behalf of the populace.

  Gangplanks were withdrawn, then Reis and Jera, the other mind-mover, shifted the boat away from the docks, out into the harbour. Reji excused himself as soon as they were moored to go see his hairy charges below deck.

  “Let’s find our berth,” Arman said to Kei. They would be waiting a couple of hours—they could have used the Gifted to get moving, but there was no real need with the weather being as fair as it was, and it had to be said the sailors were happier with the idea of trusting tide and wind to move their vessels than a mysterious force they had no experience of.

  They had been given one of the officers’ cabins—still very small for two men, but more spacious than the last one they’d shared on a boat. Their packs had already been stowed, so all Kei had to do was pull out his medical notes and set them on the desk.

  “Well, this is familiar,” Arman said dryly. Kei nodded and came into his arms. Arman kissed him in a perfectly chaste fashion, sensing Kei wasn’t in the mood for play and only wanting to give him a little comfort. “Come and sit? We can go up on deck when we get moving, catch the breeze while we eat.”

  It had been a stressful day, so many last minute preparations to attend to. He’d only caught up with Kei in the last half hour before they’d left the Rulers’ House, which might have contributed to Kei’s bad temper, although that was probably more to do with healers making rotten patients, as he’d been repeatedly told. It was good to have Kei in his arms now. They would have a little more time to themselves over the coming days, although Arman had promised to teach the two Rulers some rudimentary Prijian, and once contact with the mind-speakers in south Darshian had been established, there would be an intense period of intelligence gathering through Neka’s Gift. That wouldn’t be for at least four, possibly more days—they also hoped to confirm through Jena that the hostages were alive. If they couldn’t contact her, the worst would have to be assumed.

  “You’re going to have to be damn careful walking about on deck,” Kei said as he joined Arman on the narrow bunk—they were really going to have to sleep very close together at night. “Any rough weather and as medical officer, I’m ordering you confined to your room. You’d only have to fall awkwardly and hit those ribs or your leg and you’d have to start from scratch with the healing.”

  “Yes, Kei,” Arman said patiently. It was only the fifth or sixth time in the last three days he’d said this. “I don’t want to break my leg again either, you know. It damn well hurt doing it the first time.”

  “Hmmm.”

  Kei settled against him, and once again his extraordinary braid was coiled in his lap. Arman picked up the tail. “So now I know what really passes for foreplay among the Darshianese,” he teased, flicking Kei’s chin with it, making his lover chuckle a little. “Were you flirting with me that night?”

  “No...it wasn’t sexual at all...I didn’t feel desire for you that way until after we left Ai-Albon, and then only dimly...but you made me feel so safe and warm, I could forget for a little while I was a prisoner, and the war....” Kei twisted to look at him. “But it wasn’t fair of me because I knew you wanted me, so I was always trying to pull away. I’m so glad we stopped doing that,” he said with a wry smile.

  “And I,” Arman agreed with feeling. “When this is over, I know I said I would go back with you....”

  Kei stiffened. “Yes?” he said warily. “You’ve changed your mind. I thought you might.”

  “No, I haven’t changed my mind,” Arman said, hearing the disappointment in Kei’s voice. “But I’ve a previous obligation to Ai-Darbin.”

  “Oh. I’d forgotten about that.... Six months,” he said slowly.

  “I don’t have to do it now, and I dare say they don’t expect me to do it at all, but....” He brushed his hand down Kei’s braid. “I want to start my new life right. Follow your customs, your laws. Make amends for my past—and Seya was right, that judgement was meant to heal. How will it look if I say I wish to be part of your village life, but I ignore a judgement so fairly and wisely arrived at?”

  “Not good, I know.” Kei shifted so he could look at Arman. “You want me to live in Ai-Darbin for six months?” he asked quietly.

  “Could you bear it? Not now, of course, but later? Perhaps you and their healer could exchange places—I believe such things happen.” He didn’t want to push Kei over this—it had to be his choice entirely. “Or if we wait until you’ve recovered, I could go on my own—it’s not like the two villages are so very far apart.”

  “No,” Kei said, sounding thoughtful. “If it’s important to you, of course I’ll do it, if I can arrange things. Just give me some time to...adjust.”

  Arman kissed him. “All the time you need. I thought I’d mention it so you did have a chance to think about it. But there’s a long way to go before that happens.”

  “Yes. Arman?”

  “Yes?”

  “You did make sure Tiko was on another boat, didn’t you?”

  Arman laughed. “Yes, I did. It was worth more than my life to inflict him on you—or me. Reji’s a lot more civilised in his protectiveness.”

  Kei smiled and leaned against him again. “Reji’s been such a good friend,” he said contentedly. “Thank you for letting him stay.”

  “He’s your past and your future, Kei—he’s going to be part of my future too. I know he and I won’t be friends, but he’s an important figure in the village. I want to get along with him.”

  “You might be wrong about the friend thing, Arman. Give it time—and of course, continue to treat me nicely,” he added with a cheeky grin. “He’s very impressed when you do that.”

  “Now that could be a hardship,” Arman said placidly. “But I suppose nothing’s too great a sacrifice to make if I want to befriend one of your clan. I feel badly that you’re merely being used as a device, but I suppose needs must.”

  “I’ll force myself to endure it,” Kei said, leaning back so he could nibble on Arman’s ear gently. “They have to be alive. After all this time, it would be too cruel of fate if they weren’t.”

  Arman could have reminded him they knew from personal experience how cruel fate could be. But he didn’t. Kei was grasping for comfort. So close, still too far away from winning the prize. “Luck has guided us so far. All we can do, is do our best. If fate can bring me to you out of the worst circumstances, then truly anything is possible.”

  Kei nodded and held him close. For now, that was all they could do for each other.

  Chapter : Darshek 7

  Even though Arman was forced to spend most of each day locked away with the Rulers, Kei found his days were surprisingly full. He took to spending an hour or so each morning with Reji, help
ing him muck out—there were soldiers on hand to do the task, but Kei had always enjoyed working with Reji and the beasts, and the soldiers were only too glad to pass the job to someone else. There was no doubt Reji appreciated it, especially when the weather grew rough as it did a day out of Darshek, and both beasts and passengers began to suffer badly from seasickness. Ironically, it was the two mind-movers who could possibly have helped with the motion of the ships, who were laid as low as could be, and Kei had to spend a good deal of time at their side, although there was little that could be done.

  There were only two treatments for seasickness, neither very appealing—one was to dose the victims with pijn so they slept away their misery—the other was to give them ipo tea made half with fresh water and half salt, and honey added to it. It tasted pretty foul, and the only virtue was it did stop the victims being sick so thoroughly and left them far less weak when the weather improved. Getting his patients to drink it was a considerable battle though, and after two days of this, Kei decided he would have to do something about the taste if he were to continue to prescribe it to them.

  Since the urs beasts could also be drenched with the stuff, after breakfast, Kei used that as his excuse to rope Reji into coming up to the galley to help him with his experiments. He wanted to try different ingredients to see what would make the ipo tea more palatable, manfully ignoring Reji’s suggestion that alcohol would be the obvious addition. “Yes, and then I’ll have to deal with them puking because of the hangover,” he said, giving his friend a severe look. “Not to mention what a drunk urs beast would be like to manage.”

  “But they wouldn’t be suffering,” Reji said with a grin.

  “Not at that point, no. Be sensible, Reji. Fruit juice?” Reji shuddered. “We should try it at least.”

  After an hour, they were floating in tea and both feeling faintly sick from all the variations they’d tried. The best they could come up with was to make the tea stronger, add more honey and a few aromatic suik seeds. It still wasn’t delicious, but it wasn’t actively nauseating. “With our luck, it will be fair until Darshek,” Reji said, grimacing as he pushed the latest batch away, “and this will have been a waste of time.”

  “It’s never a waste of time to find drugs that work,” Kei said. “Let me take this to Reis and Jera. They should be desperate enough to try anything.”

  “I think I’ll keep the beasts on what we’re using, but add some more honey—they’re not so fussy. The main thing is to keep them drinking,” Reji said. “I’ll find you for lunch—is Arman going to join you?”

  “He’s not allowed on deck in this weather,” Kei said firmly. “I’ll nail his feet to the floor if he tries to climb those wet stairs.”

  Reji flicked his braid as he passed him. “You might have the hair for it, but he’s the one on the leash, I see.”

  “As it should be,” Kei said with a grin. “Come find me later.”

  Reji waved and left. Kei set the pot to boiling again, and made up a batch of the new formula for the tea.

  “Oh, hello, Kei.”

  He looked up and smiled at Neka. “Good morning—how are the patients?”

  “Awful,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Poor Reis. Neris and Meda don’t know what to do with him.”

  “There’s not a lot they can do, but I believe the weather is going to improve, the captain said. You can take this to Jera, if you like. I hope this won’t make him as sick as the last batch.”

  She took the teapot and sniffed at it suspiciously. “Doesn’t smell too bad. Is it nasty?”

  “Not as much. He needs to drink it even if it is—he’ll feel better later. If he’s hungry and wants to eat, Cook is going to make up some meat broth. He can have that.” He collected his own pot and a mug. “Come on.”

  The motion of the ship made it hard to keep their feet, and he had to grip Neka’s arm to keep her from falling. Finally they got to the deck where the Gifted had their berths. “I’ll call in and see Jera in a few minutes. Try to get him to sip this—anything he gets down will help.”

  Meda opened the door at his knock. “Oh, gods, Kei, I was just coming to find you—I think he’s dying!”

  “I think that’s unlikely,” Kei said calmly. The cabin smelled pretty ripe—it wouldn’t be helping Reis even if he weren’t seasick. He set the pot and mug down and came over to where Neris was wiping Reis’s face, looking as worried as his other lover was about their companion. “Didn’t get much sleep?”

  Reis looked up at him with miserable eyes. “I want to die.”

  “That’s a little different from actually being close to death, so I’ll take that as a good sign.” Reis really looked very poor though. “The weather’s improving, and I’ve adjusted the taste of the tea. Want to try it?”

  Reis looked nauseated at the very thought, but Neris propped him up and Meda brought a cup over for him. Kei helped him sip it. “Well?”

  “Yuck. But not so much,” he said with a wan look, leaning back against Neris again.

  “Good. Drink that. You know, this room stinks. Meda, please open the porthole—fresh air is more important than a little rain.” While Reis drank the tea with much pulling of faces, Kei took his pulse and assessed his condition—his pulse was fast and his skin was too cool. “I think we need to try the pijn again, Reis. You need to get some sleep.”

  Kei had already had this argument, so the response was expected, even tired as Reis clearly was. “It’s nasty and I don’t like being drugged.”

  “No, but your body doesn’t like you being exhausted—and look at Meda and Neris. They need a rest too.”

  Reis gripped his wrist. “Maybe if you stay with me, Kei. I think I can sleep if you stay.”

  Over his head, Neris raised an eyebrow at Kei. “I’ve no objection, if you don’t mind.”

  “All right. Let me go and see if Jera is all right. I’ll make no promise until I see him, and you need to drink another mug of tea while I’m gone,” he said sternly. Reis nodded, the relief he was feeling at the prospect of Kei’s return unmistakeable.

  Kei had considerable doubts he would make a difference, but if his patient wanted something so simple, he wouldn’t deny it. Jera was sleeping, having had an entire mug of tea, Neka proudly reported. He could safely be left in her hands.

  The only thing he had to do was find Arman and let him know where to find him. He made his way to the other end of the ship where the Rulers’ cabin was, and knocked on the door. Lord Meki answered. “Good morning, Kei. Is there a problem?”

  “No, my lord. I just need a brief word with Arman.”

  Arman was already on his feet and limping over. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Kei said, nearly sighing at his lover’s protectiveness. “Reis has asked me to stay with him this morning to help him get some rest, that’s all. I wanted you to know where I was.”

  Arman frowned and ushered him back into the corridor, shutting the cabin door behind him. “Is that necessary, Kei? I don’t want them imposing on you. Why can’t Meda or Neris stay with him?”

  “Because they’re as exhausted as he is and the minute I get back I’m going to chase them away to find some sleep. Reis is very ill. He needs the rest.”

  “Then give him some pijn.”

  Kei folded his arms. “Are you presuming to tell me how to treat my patients, general? Shall I plan your next battle for you?”

  Arman held up a hand in apology. “I’m sorry, you’re quite right. Just remember your limits—I know what you’re like when you think you’re needed. Other people need you too, don’t forget.”

  “I know. How goes it?”

  He pulled a face. “I never realised how clever you were that you picked up our tongue so easily.”

  “I had two months living with soldiers and my survival depended on it. If my incentive had only been flattering that poisonous snake you call sovereign, and I only had a week to do it, I don’t think I’d have been so good at it.”

  “Perhaps not.
Perhaps it’s your youth too. Never mind,” he said wearily. “I’d love some fresh air,” he added, giving Kei his most pathetic look.

  “Too bad,” Kei said heartlessly. “If it stops raining and the ship stops rolling, you can come up later and not before.”

  “You’re getting your own back for Utuk, aren’t you?”

  Kei leaned over and kissed him. “Not at all. I hold no grudge against you for that.” He let himself enjoy holding Arman for a moment or two, then set him free. “I’ll find you later. Below deck, general, or I’ll want an explanation.”

  “You’re a hard man. Some might accuse you of inflexibility.”

  “So long as the same thing can’t be said of your leg, then yes, I am.”

  Arman shook his head at the poor joke and then laid his hand on Kei’s arm. “Just don’t overdo it,” he said and then went back into the cabin.

  Kei sighed and went back to Reis’s cabin. “All right, Meda, Neris, go find an empty room and get some sleep. I’m ordering you away until Reis wakes up.”

  Although they each kissed Reis affectionately before they left and assured them they wouldn’t be far away, Kei sensed their relief—Meda was as pale as Reis, and Neris was frowning from an obvious headache. At least the air was fresher, and Reis, although he looked perfectly wretched, wasn’t actually vomiting. Kei was going to sit in a chair by the bunk, but Reis waved weakly at him, indicating Kei should sit on the bed itself so Reis could put his head on his lap. Rather glad Arman wasn’t here to lecture him about it, Kei readily obeyed.

  Reis, he’d discovered, was a very tactile person, and took full advantage of having two lovers to satisfy his need to be touched. It didn’t surprise Kei at all Reis wanted to be in contact with him, and provided the mind-mover wasn’t being too depressed or angry, and Kei had a little time to prepare, he could easily bear it. Reis, only just a couple of months younger than Kei, had a rather simple, openhearted personality, rather child-like in his curious and affectionate, occasionally mischievous nature. Of course, that made him feel emotional blows more deeply, but it meant when he loved or formed a friendship, it was equally strongly felt. Kei had grown very fond of him, and all the Gifted. There was so little malice in them. It restored his faith in people.