by Shannah Jay
'Must know truth of answers. Must be sure.'
'I see.' Herra looked at the Elder SS'Habi. 'And what now? I will not become a tame animal in that village.
My friends and I have a great task to undertake. If the deleff prevent us from pursuing the Quest, Those of the Serpent will rule the world and one day many evil people will find their way here.'
The grasp of the furry limbs tightened and the sense of communication was heightened. Herra opened her mind willingly to the SS'Habi and concentrated on showing the evil of Those of the Serpent. After a while the tentacles relaxed their grip and the Elder SS'Habi let out a long hiss. (Was it Herra's imagination, or did she sense relief in the sound?) 'This one feels truth of Elder Ssisster's words. Must show this to High Council.'
'I cannot easily show things to the High Deleffal. I cannot make myself understood well enough.'
'Can do it, but slowly. Must try again. Musst. This one help. Thiss one now regrets trouble in Dsheresh Kashal. Not proper place for Elder Ssisster. Stay here now. Wait for this one to return. Later, Elder Ssisster speak again to Giver of Words.'
The furry limbs slid slowly away from Herra's arms and forehead, and she felt a sense of regret as the contact broke. She also felt deep apprehension at the prospect of another debilitating session with the High Council. When the SS'Habi had left, she closed her eyes for a few minutes.
'Are you all right, Herra?' A touch on her arm.
'What? Oh, Narla! I'm sorry, child. I didn't see that you’d regained consciousness.'
'Herra, where are we? And what do the SS'Habi want?'
'We're in Dsheresh Vale. Have you never been here before?'
Narla nodded, terror on her face. 'I went to meet the High Deleffal when I was sixteen. But we went straight there,' she gestured to the valley floor, 'and we didn't stay for long. I was too afraid to notice much about this place. It's a fearful ordeal for us, meeting the High Deleffal. Some people don't come back afterwards, you know.'
'There's no danger here now, child. Not to you, at any rate.'
'Sarm says . . . '
'That man! Don't believe anything he says. I must speak to the High Council of the deleff again, but you needn’t be involved in that.' Herra shivered. 'It isn't an experience I enjoy, either, but it must be done.'
'That's not fair! You've only just recovered from the last time. Are we - do we have to stay here?' Narla shivered as she looked around. 'It'll be dusk soon and we'll get wet when the rain falls.'
'We must look for shelter. How convenient to know always when to expect the rain. The deleff have made this a real haven, in many ways.' Herra tried to speak lightly, for the girl's sake.
Two young Habi, mainly grey in colour, crept forward and hesitated in front of the two women. One of them began to call, 'Come with me! Come with me!' and Herra laughed as Narla clutched her arm in panic.
'Don't be afraid. These are young ones. They're called Habi until they can speak properly. They'll go on repeating the same words until we do as they ask. They don't learn to talk properly until they're older; some don't learn to talk at all. You can tell which ones talk by the yellowness of the fur.'
As the monotonous chant continued, Narla relaxed and began to smile. 'I see what you mean about it repeating the command. Can't we make it be quiet?'
'Only by doing as it asks.'
'Let's do it, then! Oh, be quiet, you silly creature!' But not until they began to move did the thin voice stop shrilling its message.
They were led to a grove of trees with broad, stiff leaves and very evenly spaced branches. Food was laid out for them, and when it was time for the evening shower, the leaves in the trees above Herra and Narla adjusted themselves to funnel the moisture away, thus sheltering the two women from the heavy raindrops.
The grove's floor was covered by thick springy grass, and Herra sank down on it with a sigh of relief.
'Sometimes, Narla, I feel my age.'
'Are you really two hundred years old?'
'Two hundred and forty-three, to be precise, but tonight I feel a thousand years old.' She smiled. 'But at least now I don't need to pretend to be older than I am.' She smiled at her companion. 'I need to sit quietly for a while, child.'
Narla nodded and leaned back against the tree trunk. 'I'm tired myself.'
The quietness which wove itself around them seemed like a friend. As the brief darkness lightened with the rising of the first moon, another group of Habi appeared at the grove. One of them had a faint tinge of yellow in its fur.
'Ssleep now,' it enunciated very carefully. Its companions were carrying a bundle wrapped in soft white material, which they laid at Herra's feet. 'Covers,' explained the young Habi. 'Food iss insside.'
The group of Habi then left them to the peace of the grove. Would you call that one a SS'Habi-Elect, pondered Herra, as she watched them go, just as you called a novice who had just been chosen a second time a Sister-Elect. Did these creatures have a ceremony which made them fully SS'Habi, instead of Habi, just as a girl became a full Sister when she Met the God in the temple's innermost chamber? Or did the changes happen slowly, the fur turning imperceptibly more yellow until one day they were fully SS'Habi? How little the two species knew of each other! No wonder it was so hard to communicate.
'Is it safe to sleep here?' whispered Narla when the Habi had gone.
'Who knows? But I'm very tired. I'll set watch and ward around us, if you like, so that no one can disturb us.'
Wide-eyed, Narla saw Herra create a flickering screen around them. 'It still seems like magic to me,' she confessed.
'It's just one of my Gifts, dear child. Magic, indeed! The years I spent learning it! The number of times I did it wrongly and then got into trouble for not concentrating!' She smiled at Narla's disbelieving expression.
'It's true. Mind you, I think one day Katia will do this better than I have. She's learning some of the Disciplines much more quickly than I ever did.'
Then Herra had to explain about Katia and Davred and the events which had led the small group of Sisters to accept men in their ranks and become the Kindred of the God, instead of a Sisterhood. By the time she’d finished the story of their journey to Dsheresh Vale, she could see that Narla was more relaxed and she watched with a smile as the younger woman drifted into sleep.
Herra herself lay awake for a long time, worrying about her Kindred. Were they all right? How would their bodies react to such a long hibernation? She watched for a while as two of the three moons tracked slowly across the sky and the double shadows crept across the clearing, then she also fell asleep.
* * *
In the morning the Elder SS'Habi appeared in the grove at first light and hissed angrily as she found she couldn’t move through the flickering screen around the two humans. Herra released the wards and started to explain, but was cut off in mid-sentence. 'Iss no time. Must wash. Very clean. Come quickly. Giver of Words iss waiting. Iss in brief alignment.'
Herra stood up, sighing, and walked out of the grove. 'Brother, guide me!'
When Narla tried to follow her, two other SS'Habi barred the younger woman's path.
'Herra!' she called in panic.
'May my friend not come down and wait for me by the lake?' asked Herra, pausing.
'No. Musst stay here.'
'Will she be safe? She's very young and she's afraid of you.'
'Very safe. Two guards keep safe, bring food, take to wash. Safe here, but must not go near lake. Iss too ignorant. Iss too frightened. High Council not comfortable to feel this fear nearby.'
'You'll have to stay here, then, Narla dear. Try to be brave. It's your fear that upsets them so. Yes, I'm coming!'
As Herra followed the Elder SS'Habi and the slender limbs that had been tugging at her gown, Narla sank to her knees and tried not to whimper aloud. She had chosen to come with Herra and she mustn’t disgrace the Elder Sister by panicking, but she’d never felt so abandoned since the day her mother died. In Dsheresh Kashal, there was litt
le opportunity to be alone like this. It was terrifying to know that no one was near, no one at all - except for the SS'Habi.
A soft touch on her arm made her cry out in fear, but the young SS'Habi seemed as nervous as she was and leaped backwards at her cry.
'I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean to startle you,' Narla managed, trying desperately to conquer her fear so that Herra wouldn’t be ashamed of her. This SS'Habi was smaller than the ones which had taken Herra away and was only lightly tinged with yellow.
'Ssafe here,' hissed the creature. 'Not worry. Iss ssafe here. Others iss come ssoon.'
'Others? What others?'
But the creature would not or could not tell her more, so she could only wait and hope that it would be Herra's friends who came, not Sarm and his Council Corps.
CHAPTER 5 REUNION
Davred opened his eyes. Where was he? He tried to sit up, but his muscles refused to obey him. The only thing he could manage was to move his head slightly, which, to his great relief, brought his wife Katia into sight, lying by his side. Beyond her were the others, all except Herra.
For one terrifying moment, Davred thought that his companions weren’t breathing, and terror lent him the strength to slide one hand over towards his wife. The warmth of her flesh reassured him, and he let out a gusty sigh of relief, but as he continued to study her, the slowness of her breathing worried him. It seemed impossible that so few breaths could sustain life.
With an effort he managed to raise his head a little. This movement was followed instantly by a high-pitched chittering sound. It took another huge effort to roll his head the other way, so that he could look towards the sound. His body felt as if it were made of limp rags. What he saw made him grunt in surprise. A gigantic spider was poised half way up a ramp, waving its legs and hissing loudly.
No, not a spider. Surely this creature had too many legs? Was it another species entirely, then, like the deleff? If so, why had no one on the satellite ever recorded its presence on the planet? How could their instruments possibly have missed creatures this size? They were set to focus on all life forms.
He sighed and let his aching head drop, then raised it hastily as he heard a new sound. Two more of the spider-creatures entered the cave and began chittering to the first one. Then the two of them moved down a ramp and started to cross the cave floor towards him. He could only lie there helplessly, watching them.
When they stopped, one of them opened its mouth. 'No danger! No danger! No danger!'
Davred relaxed a little. Although the creature was speaking as if it had no understanding of what it was saying, the message made sense. Someone was trying to reassure him. He tried to speak, but his throat muscles could barely swallow, let alone form intelligible words.
The creature continued to repeat the same words over and over, until the sound began to irritate Davred.
He tried again to speak, and this time a croak came out. He swallowed and at last managed to form some words. 'No - danger.'
The chant immediately stopped. Within seconds another of the spiders began to call, 'Must rest! Must rest!'
and that message also continued until Davred repeated the words in a husky voice.
A fourth spider came into the cave. How many of them were there? This one was holding what looked like bowls in two of its legs - or did you call them tentacles? Davred wondered dreamily, aware that his mind, like his body, was not yet functioning properly.
As the creature came down the ramp towards the recumbent figures, the 'No danger' call was repeated several times by the spider next to Davred. The one carrying the bowls approached him very hesitantly and when he moved an arm, it flinched visibly and stopped dead.
He realised then that it was just as frightened as he was and closed his eyes for a moment in relief. 'No danger,' he said quietly, and this time his speech was almost normal, though slow. 'I won't hurt you, my friend.
No danger.'
As if reassured, the spider-creature came towards him again and laid the gourd down beside his hand.
'Good drink,' it hissed. 'Good drink. Help much. Good drink.' Then it moved quickly out of reach and made no attempt to help him drink. It laid the second gourd at Katia's side and recited its instructions again, until Davred repeated them, then all three pattered away to join their companion on the ramp. They settled down in neat coils of legs, staring unblinkingly at Davred out of huge eyes that gleamed in the light of the flickering torches.
'So,' said Davred aloud, 'there is no danger. This is a good drink, and it will help much.'
A chorus of thin high voices immediately echoed his words.
'There's only one problem, my friends,' he said, when they fell silent again. 'I cannot yet lift the drink to my mouth.'
'Dav-red.' It was the merest thread of sound.
He turned to Katia. 'I'm here, my love. Don't try to move. You won't be able to. I'm beginning to get some feeling back in my body, but it's not enough yet, so I can't help you. We must have been lying here for a long time.'
'Others?'
'Nearby. Except for Herra.'
'Where is she?'
'I don't know.'
'Didn't I - hear someone - speaking to you?' Katia seemed to have better control over her voice than Davred had had at first.
'Yes. There are some creatures watching us. They're like giant spiders. They've brought us some drinks, but they seem frightened to come near us. I haven't the strength to sit up or hold a bowl yet.'
'Exercises, then.' Her voice was faint, but it sounded more like his Katia. 'Work on muscle tone.'
'Yes, of course.' He let his head drop back and concentrated on his body, speeding up the blood circulation and exercising his muscles one by one, as he had learned to do in Temple Tenebrak.
Fifteen minutes later he managed to sit up and, when the cave had stopped spinning around him, he picked up the gourd. 'Our attendants said it's a good drink and will help much,' he told Katia, which immediately set off a chorus of voices repeating the words. She laughed weakly. When the sounds had died down, he raised the bowl to his lips.
'Only a little,' warned Katia. 'We don't know what it is.'
The liquid was sweet and thick, with a spicy tang to it. Davred waited for a few minutes to see if it had any adverse effect on his body.
By the time he had decided to risk another mouthful, Katia had struggled up on one elbow. 'Wait!' she cautioned. 'Let me see if I can identify it.' She sniffed the contents of her bowl, dipped a fingertip into the liquid and examined the sticky substance. Then she smiled and tasted it. 'Yes. I thought so. It's beringa sap.
It's used in the High Alder for invalids. My grandfather used to collect it to sell to the people in town. Very nutritious.'
'You don't think they've - er - put anything in it?'
'Drugged it, you mean? I don't think so. How do you feel?'
'Weak. But that's not because of the drink.'
'Good drink!' called the patient voice. 'Good drink. Help much.'
Smiling, the two humans raised the bowls to their lips and drank. Whether it was the beringa sap or their exercises, it was impossible to tell, but very shortly afterwards they both began to move more easily and managed to stand up. One of the spiders immediately disappeared up the ramp. The other three stayed on guard, following Davred and Katia's least movement with their huge unblinking eyes.
'Where are we, do you think, my Davred?'
'I don't know. Herra's missing, but the rest of the group is here, and they seem to be all right.'
'I hope Herra's safe.'
'She's more capable of looking after herself than anyone I know.'
Katia's brow creased. 'We've never encountered this sort of thing before, though. I've never even heard of creatures like these.'
'Nor have we spotted them from the satellite. And what's even stranger, this part of the planet registers as uninhabited and rather barren on our instruments.'
'Everything to do with the deleff is strange.'
The sp
ider reappeared with two more bowls and laid them next to Fiana and Benjan. Another trip brought drinks for Jonner and Cheral, and a final trip delivered a bowl for Carryn.
Within two hours, everyone had regained consciousness and had begun to move more freely. Benjan, thanks to his training in the Hashite Guild, was the quickest to regain full control over his body. Jonner, with no training and a weak, undersized body, was the slowest. As usual, Carryn attached herself to Benjan, who had been her main link with sanity and safety since her public rape at the hands of Those of the Serpent. Even now, she was prone to panic if he was out of her sight.
Fiana, quietly self-contained, found her weapons to be missing and began to search the cave for them.
Every time she went near the ramp, the spiders stood up, as if poised for flight.
'Well, at least they seem more frightened of us than we are of them,' she observed after this had happened three times.
Cheral scowled across at the creatures, as irritable as ever when things were not to her liking. 'Where are we now?' she grumbled, brushing down her blue Sister's robe. ‘Look how crumpled my clothing is! And what are those creatures? The last thing I remember is that wicked man from the satellite trying to drag you away from us, Davred, and the deleff pulling us into the tunnel.'
Jonner, who had been going frantically through his pockets and boots, let out a wail of dismay. 'They've got 'em all! Every last one!'
'All what?' Katia asked.
'All my knives. How can I look after myself without weapons? I mean - '
Benjan cut him short. 'Shut up! We have more important things to talk about than your skewers. We have to find Herra.'
'Skewers! Skewers I'll have you know those knives are the best Kelandra steel! Forged by a master smith.'
Benjan shrugged. 'Well, if they're gone, it doesn't matter if they were painted wooden toys, does it? So shut up!'
Jonner subsided into an aggrieved huddle on the floor. 'Every single one,' he muttered, then shut up as he caught Benjan's eye.