by Shannah Jay
Another spider came into the cave. Even in the dimness they could see that its fur was more yellow and that it was much larger than the others. It stood near the entrance studying the group of humans, then walked down the ramp. Like the others, it kept its distance. Unlike them, its mouth was bright yellow and its eyes had an amber surround.
'Please come,' it said. 'Iss food and clothes. Can wash. Friend iss waiting. Please come.'
Katia, who was the best communicator, stepped forward automatically and Cheral made no move to stop her. The Sisterhood trained people to take the lead as a situation needed, not out of a desire for power.
'Where are we? Where is our friend?' Katia asked.
'Friend iss waiting. Iss food and clothes. Can wash. Please come outside. No danger.' Its vocabulary was wider than the others', but its sentences were still short and repetitious.
'Where are we?' Katia asked again.
It looked at her for a moment, then its mouth writhed, as if it had difficulty with the words. 'This place iss Dsheresh Vale. Outside iss no danger. Please come outside. Iss food and clothes. Can wash. Friend iss waiting. Please come.'
'Well I, for one, would welcome a chance to wash,' said Cheral. 'And I don't think we're going to get much more out of that creature. I suggest we follow it and find one of them who can speak our language properly.'
Katia looked round and received a nod or a shrug from everyone. 'Very well. We'll come.'
'I'll go first,' said Benjan. 'Keep a little way behind me, everyone. Carryn, you stay next to Fiana.'
Carryn's eyes filled with tears. In times of stress, she clung to Benjan. As Fiana put an arm round her, she gulped the tears away.
'Right, then,' Benjan said to the creature. 'Show us the way.'
They followed their guide up the ramp, with the other spiders trailing behind.
'Look at all them holes in the walls,' said Jonner. 'How many are there? All full of spiders, I suppose. I don't like the way they're staring out at us. For all we know, we could be their next dinner! I wish I had my knives. Just the little one from my boot would make me feel better.'
'Don't be silly!' Katia stared around. 'They're terrified of us, and they've made no attempt to harm us. Don't you dare do anything to provoke them, Jonner!'
'Me? When have I ever - '
'Shut up!' said Benjan, turning briefly.
In the next cave, water was running down the channels in the floor, clearing away debris and dung.
Cheral nodded approvingly. 'Well, at least they have cleanly habits!'
Katia was frowning at the animals in the stalls. 'What in the Twelve Claims are those things?'
'They're like nothing in the Twelve Claims,' said Jonner. 'I've traded in every claim and I've never seen the like.' He shuddered dramatically, opened his mouth, caught Benjan's eye and bit back another complaint.
Like Herra before them, they all paused at the entrance to look down at the valley and exclaim at its beauty.
'I doubt that shape happened naturally,' said Cheral. 'Look at its regularity and size. Someone must have made it like that.'
'Well, I hope that the someone is friendly, then,' muttered Jonner, staring at the vast rocky bowl below them.
Benjan half-closed his eyes, as if he were listening to some distant sound. 'I think they're friendly enough,'
he said thoughtfully. 'There's no sign of an ambush, or of any tricks being tried. I get a feeling when there's danger, a shiver in my guts. I don't get that feeling here.'
Their guide had been fidgeting about ever since they stopped. Now it came a little closer. 'No danger,' it began.
'Yes. No danger,' said Katia. 'We understand that, my friend.'
The eyes swivelled towards her. 'Must wash. Please come. Make clean. Must wash.'
'Just lead the way!' said Cheral, eyes brightening.
When the former Novice Mistress found that she was expected to remove her clothes in front of everyone, her enthusiasm waned.
Before there could be an impasse, Katia laughed. 'Well, I don't care who sees my body,' she said. 'I feel dirty and that water looks delightful.' She began to remove her robe.
Davred followed her example, taking off tunic and trousers eagerly and wading into the pool ahead of his wife. 'It's not cold!' he exclaimed. 'Lovely!' He began to splash around, grinning at Katia. 'I learned to swim when I was a child, before I went to University Planet, but I'm a bit out of practice.'
Within seconds everyone was in the water, and though they kept a wary eye on the spiders, nothing happened to spoil their bathing.
After a while, their guide came to the edge of the water. 'Please come out now. Iss food. Friend iss waiting.
No danger.'
'There! We forgot about Herra!' exclaimed Cheral. She splashed out of the water and moved towards her clothes, looking at them distastefully. 'I hate to put these on again.'
'Iss more clothes,' said the spider. 'Clean clothes. Iss come soon. Bodies dry soon.'
'There's nothing to dry ourselves on!' said Cheral indignantly.
'Bodies dry soon. Clean clothes iss come soon.' The spider rocked about on its forest of furry legs as if struggling to express itself. 'Iss dry soon,' it offered again.
Katia burst out laughing. 'You'll have to wait, Cheral. They obviously don't believe in towels. The sun's quite warm, so we'll soon dry off. I wonder what they'll give us to wear.' She looked ruefully at her belly, which was just beginning to show her pregnancy. 'I hope it'll be something loose fitting.'
Davred smiled at her, a smile that cut out the others and made them seem alone. 'You look wonderful, my Katia.'
Her smile was an answering caress.
Benjan watched them unblinkingly, then his eyes slid towards Carryn, who was standing next to him.
She smiled at him and whispered, 'Isn't it beautiful the way Katia and Davred love one another?' Then her face puckered up, as her own memories came back to wound her. She was only just beginning to come to terms with the murder of her parents and her public ravishment on the black altar of the biggest Shrine of the Serpent in Tenebrak.
Cheral, who had the Gift of Nurture - though she often cloaked her concern for people in sharp words -
watched the girl carefully. After Herra and Benjan had rescued her, they had feared for Carryn's sanity. The poor child was much better now, but she still clung to Benjan, seeming to draw more comfort from his massive strength and his calmness than from anything or anyone else. The child was only aware of his special tenderness towards her on an instinctive level. Any idea that a man loved her would frighten her just now.
What would Carryn do when she discovered that the ravishment had left her pregnant? Cheral was still worrying about how to tell the poor child, as they soon must if she were to look after her body properly. And then there was the baby. What if Carryn should reject it?
Well, they must follow that path when they turned on to it. There were others who could look after a child, if necessary. Cheral gave a wry smile. She herself would be delighted to have a child to fuss over again.
A group of spiders appeared, carrying piles of clothing. 'Two clothes,' said their guide. 'Friend iss wear two clothes.' It pulled out some garments that were obviously meant to be underwear but which caused some hilarity when it was found that the men had also been provided with chemises to cover their non-existent breasts. To the women the spider gave robes of a creamy-white colour, but made in the Sisterhood's traditional style with full skirts and tight bodices. To the men it gave tunics and clinging hose, of the same creamy shade.
'Iss not blue,' it said apologetically. 'Iss no blue clothes possible.'
'These are excellent,' said Cheral, frowning at Jonner who was still joking with Fiana about his chemise.
When they were all dressed, the spider waved a tentacle towards a path. 'Friend waits. Iss fearful. Please come.'
' Herra fearful!' Cheral rushed off after Benjan, quite forgetting her dignity. She had worked with Herra for the past hundred
years, and knew that her friend and leader didn’t fear many things in this world.
* * *
Up above them on the satellite, Soo was in her workshop when her door signal went. She flicked a switch and saw from a small com-screen that Robler was waiting outside. That made her frown. She disliked having him in her quarters. He seemed to leave a trace of unpleasantness behind him that lingered for hours.
She flicked another switch. 'I'll be out in a few minutes.'
'Let me in. I wish to speak to you now.'
'I'm making something. I don't want anyone around. You might touch something you shouldn't.'
'That's a specious argument! As Exec of this satellite - '
'We've been through all this before, Robler. I'm doing nothing wrong, and my contract specifically guarantees me absolute privacy, not only in my quarters, but in my workshop.'
'Then hurry up and come out. I wish to speak to you.'
She watched him walk away along the corridor, then touched another com-panel. 'Mak, Robler just came to speak to me. I - I refused to let him in.'
'Why?'
'I don't know. I just - I couldn't bear him to come in here. He taints everything. Oh, you can smile, but he does spoil it for me.'
'Well, they're your quarters. You have a right to privacy.'
'Yes, but Mak - will you come with me to see him? I don't like being alone with Robler any more.'
'Of course.'
Robler was waiting for them in the com-room. 'Don't you two ever get tired of each other's company?'
Mak smiled and gave Soo a hug. 'Not in the slightest. What can we do for you?'
' We can't do anything; it's Soo I want. So you might just as well get back to whatever you were doing.'
'Oh, it's nothing that can't wait.' Mak leaned against the wall near the door and folded his arms.
'What do you want, Robler?' asked Soo sharply. 'I was in the middle of something important.'
'It's the com-band from the regional base. It seems to have stopped broadcasting. I wanted you to have a look at the equipment. Something must have broken down.'
'You could have spoken to me over the com-system to ask that.'
'I wanted to check that you were all right. You two are developing anti-social tendencies that worry me. It's my duty as Exec to keep an eye on such things.'
Mak laughed. 'Anti-social? We had a game of spin-ball in the gym with Berin and Caz only last night. Soo and Meera have an ongoing series of triple-chess games. What's anti-social about that? No, you've no reason to worry about us, Robler. Now, if that's all, we have things to do.'
'Such as?'
'Making love. You might try it sometime - if you can find anyone who'll have you, that is!'
Robler's face showed his anger, but he did not allow himself to be goaded into a response. 'In the meantime I need Soo to check that com-equipment. I don't understand why we can't get through to the regional base. The computer system reports no faults.'
'I'll work on it immediately.' Soo frowned at Mak, shaking her head at him. 'Is that all?'
'Isn't it enough? Let me know as soon as you find out what's wrong. Make it your top priority and never mind your personal research.'
Robler's face remained expressionless until they’d left the com-room, then his eyes narrowed into vicious slits. I will try making love sometime soon, don't worry, Mak, he thought, and with Soo, whether she wants it or not. There's something to be said for Those of the Serpent. At least they stand no nonsense from their women.
Back in her quarters, Soo flung herself into Mak's arms. 'Hold me, Mak. Just hold me for a moment.
Robler makes me feel unclean, the way he looks at me.' She lifted her lips for a kiss. 'And promise me you won't provoke him like that again, love. He can be vicious at times, truly vicious. How he ever passed the emotional stability tests, I don't know!'
'I'll not stand by while he speaks to you like that. Who does he think he is? If he tries to hurt you in any way, if he even lays one fingertip on you . . . ' He took her in his arms again, but though she nestled against him, her forehead was still creased and she wasn’t at peace.
Finally she broke away. 'I must check what's wrong. I'll be some time, Mak, so you might as well get on with something else.' She hated to be the cause of discord between the two men.
Discord! Was it spreading to the satellite now? Had Robler become infected with the viciousness and violence that was wreaking such havoc down on Sunrise? She knew that most of her colleagues on the satellite would laugh at her for accepting Sisterhood concepts, but the idea of "Discord" fitted the undertones she could sense on the satellite - and fitted most of all the personality changes in Robler. He had become - she shivered at the thought - evil, tainted.
Could they report him to Confex? No. They’d no proof. But they needed to be on their guard.
CHAPTER 6 TRIPLE GATHERING
'Friend iss here.' The spider indicated a grove of strange trees with broad stiff leaves of a blue-green colour.
Katia hurried forward, but stopped dead at the sight of a stranger.
'Oh! I thought you were . . . '
'Herra?'
'You've seen her? Is she all right?'
'She was when I last saw her, but she'll be ill when she returns. They shouldn't have done it! It's just not fair! She’s been gone two days now and I’m so worried about her.'
'What do you mean, ill?' asked Cheral sharply.
'The SS'Habi took her to - '
'Who are the SS'Habi?' interrupted Benjan.
Narla pointed to their escorts. 'They are.'
'Please go on,' Katia urged gently.
'They took Herra to speak to the High Council of the deleff again. It makes you ill to speak to them. I've seen people take weeks to recover from it. Herra recovered quite quickly the first time, but to do it again so soon . . . ' Narla burst into sobs, overwhelmed by worry and loneliness, and the nameless terrors that had kept her company for the past two days.
Cheral put a firm arm round her. 'What you need, my dear, is to sit down and tell us everything that's been happening - quietly and in your own way.' She glanced around the grove. 'Is this where you've been staying?'
'They won't let me leave it - except to bathe - and the SS'Habi expect you to bathe three times a day. Three times!' She glanced back at the spiders, then looked at the newcomers' wet hair. 'I can see they've been making you bathe, too.'
'It seemed a reasonable request,' said Cheral. 'We were dirty.'
'It doesn't seem reasonable to me to bathe three times a day. Herra says we have no need to be afraid of the SS'Habi, but where I come from people don't like them.' She shivered. 'They can make you unconscious whenever they want.'
'Yes, we've noticed.'
'They made me unconscious when they brought me here. I was in Dsheresh Kashal one minute and when I recovered, I was here. It's horrible to feel so helpless. And the very next day, they took Herra away and left me here.' She started sobbing again. 'Can't you help her? Can't you stop them?'
Benjan stepped forward, impatient with her rambling speech. 'Where did they take Herra?'
Narla sniffed away her tears. 'See that clump of trees down there, at the other side of the lake? The ones next to the misty patch? I watched where they took her and they went in there - and they never came out.'
With difficulty, Benjan was persuaded not to set off immediately to look for Herra, then Cheral and Katia coaxed a more coherent detailed account of events out of Narla. Benjan stood where he could observe the lake and the mistiness that should not have been there on such a clear sunny day, but at the same time he listened carefully to what Narla was saying.
'I'm only waiting an hour,' he warned Davred. 'Herra's my responsibility. I gave her my promise. If she's in trouble, I have to try to help her. Rules of the Hashite Guild. Once you've made your promise as a bodyguard, you give your life if you have to, to protect your employer. That's the way we run things. Else who would trust a guild of poorfolk?'
/> 'Just wait a little while longer, Benjan. Let's see if we can obtain more information first.'
'A little while, then. But not too long.'
Davred went to the edge of the grove and two spiders materialised from behind some bushes.
'Not leave,' said one.
'Must stay,' said the other.
'Why? Where is our other friend? Where is the Elder Sister?'
The huge eyes flickered to and fro, as if the creatures were at a loss for words, then another high-pitched voice joined in from behind them, and a much yellower spider appeared.
'Elder Ssister speaks to Giver of Words,' it declared.
'I want to see her.'
'Cannot. Must stay here. Must not disturb Giver of Words.'
Benjan stepped forward. 'How will you make us stay here?' he asked. 'I'm bigger than you are.'
The spider jumped backwards and Davred prevented Benjan from following. 'Wait, Benjan! Please! I'm sure it's what Herra would want.'
The larger spider waved some of its legs at a group of smaller spiders who were milling around outside the grove. It sounded agitated as it hissed commands at them. Almost immediately one of them set off at a run along their level of the valley, scuttling at a greater speed than Davred would have believed possible for ten legs.
'I'll keep an eye on where he goes; you watch old Yellow-Body here!' ordered Benjan.
When the hissing and chittering ended, the spider turned back to them. 'Please. Please wait. Pleasse, no violence. Giver of Words not have violence here in Dsheresh Vale. Must not. Elder SS'Habi come soon.
Explain everything. Wait for Elder SS'Habi. Talk your words much. Can explain. Please. Elder SS'Habi come soon.'
'I'm not waiting long,' said Benjan. 'I want to know where Herra is. And I like to have something to guarantee good faith.' He jumped forward and caught hold of two of the spider's legs. It began to hiss at him, making a sound like water thrown on to a hot griddle. 'No danger,' he told it grimly. 'No danger at all. And no violence at all. As long as you don't try to get away. But if I don't get to see our Elder Sister, and see her very soon indeed . . . ' He kept hold of the creature's limbs and ignored the mewling sounds which were now coming from its puckered yellow mouth.