“I just had a bad thought.” Kel sat down on a bench along the wall, looking around the room as he talked. “That auto-cab was too easy to find. Usually, I have to wait fifteen minutes before a free one shows up. What if it was sent to wait for us, after my flit was bombed?"
“Then they'd know where we went. Nothing I did to the memory would help us. How could I be so stupid?"
“Kendle, do you want to tell me what's going on? What is this place?” He gestured up to the carved rock ceiling, the walls with the cleverly disguised panels that hid food, water, medical supplies, anything anyone under siege would want or need, for a long time.
There were fifty other rooms just like it, plus the long passageways between rooms, the ladders carved into rock leading up to the watchtowers and guard holes in the mountainside. There was something about Kel's face and voice when he asked, like he suspected something, but didn't dare hope it was real.
“You've read the writers manual for the series, right? I know we haven't had any reason to use it yet, but—"
“The shelter cave?” His eyes widened in surprise. Was that joy I saw? “It's all real?"
Yes, I definitely saw joy, which didn't make any more sense than the guilt I thought I saw earlier. Maybe the weirdness was enough to unhinge me, because I started to babble. And I do not babble.
“We call in the Warren. There are others just like it on each continent. Set up for thousands to hide, if the Set'ri ever came after us again. And I led them right to it!” I wanted to curl up and cry but Uncle had trained me too well for emergencies like this for me to give up.
I searched the wall until I found the panel that hid the communications pack. The sooner Uncle was warned, the better. Besides, if the Set'ri had followed us, who knew how much time we would have to get up to the central command room, much less give Kel a guided tour of the Warren?
He helped me get the pack out. I was almost angry with him when I saw the worry had left his face, to be replaced by an almost pleased expression. Just as we settled the pack on a bench, he straightened up and listened, frowning after a moment. I listened too, and heard a low rumble. Just before the sound became audible for ordinary Humans, the rock around us began to vibrate. That was a bad feeling.
“They've found us!"
The vibrations went from irritating to audible and that was a bad sign. It meant our enemies had some pretty powerful equipment with them. Which meant they were prepared when they started chasing us. Kel hissed through his teeth.
“Further in,” I said. No time to use the communications pack? Rather, no time not to use it. I gestured at the still-open archway leading further back into the mountain.
“They've got sonics,” Kel said, helping me with the comm pack.
“They're too prepared.” I fumbled with the switches on the pack, wishing the silly thing would warm up faster. Who designed the protocols to ensure it wasn't activated by accident? What genius forgot that we might just need the pack for an emergency? I was so determined not to panic, it didn't occur to me to wonder how Kel heard everything before a Human should have been able to hear.
A thin trickle of dust fell into the collar of my shirt, and as I looked up, the dust became fine chips of rock. The rumbling grew louder. The pack was ready and I made the connections. The link at the other end clicked open, indicating someone was ready to hear, and I shouted before anyone could speak.
“Uncle, Set'ri on our tails. We're at the Warrens. They have sonics. We—"
The roof fell in before I could be sure he had heard me. I felt Kel's arm around my waist, yanking me off my feet. Then something smacked into the side of my head. It didn't tickle. I blacked out.
* * *
Chapter Eight
When I came to, sand filled my mouth and I lay on my back on the floor. A wet cloth touched my head, and it felt good, until a little extra pressure made the touch feel like fire. I hissed at the pain, and the pressure went away. I opened my eyes, but saw only dark. Kel must have carried me far down the winding tunnels from the cave-in.
“Kendle?” Kel's voice never sounded so concerned and protective before, and I had written a lot of scenes where he had to be strong and courageous. “Can you sit up?"
I mumbled something and he took it as a yes. That was when I realized little chunks of rock dug into my back and legs. Kel put his hands under my shoulders and helped me sit up and lean against the wall. The room seemed to spin dizzily under me, and I wished one of us had taken a light tab before the cave-in. I wished I could see and figure out where we were. Escape would be that much easier.
“How are you feeling?"
“Like an idiot,” I grumbled.
“We're still alive. If we're lucky, the way is blocked, so they can't find us.” He paused, and I could hear him swallow, his throat probably as dry as mine. “According to the script, there are other ways out of here."
“Let me get my breath back, and I can lead us out, feeling the guides in the wall. How far did you carry me? If I can figure out where we are, I can find some lights.” I thought longingly of the bottles of water and fruit juices stored in one of the wall panels. If the room wasn't too badly damaged, maybe we could go back and get some food to take with us. It was a long walk to the nearest exit. Then I realized Kel hadn't answered. “I said—"
“Kendle, I didn't take you anywhere. And the lights are still on."
“My eyes are open,” I whispered. Funny, I'd always thought that going blind would be a traumatic experience. It meant nothing right then, other than a headache that grew stronger and sharper with each thump of my heart. “Is the comm pack all right?"
“I haven't even thought of it.” Kel's voice held wry amusement. At who? “You were out long enough for me to find food and the medical supplies. I'll check it now."
As he moved away to check on it, I ran my fingers over my head, trying to assess the damage. It had to be pretty bad, to make me blind. Kel had washed the blood away and put a cloth pad over the area that hurt like my bones had been pounded to mush. The adhesive on the pad didn't stick too well, with my hair in the way. I eased the sticky edges up and pushed my hair aside, taking the moment to feel the wound on the side of my had. The skin was torn and felt ragged, and stickiness oozed from the indentation that had to be a gash. Light as I tried to make my touch, stronger lances of pain went through my head. I cut off the examination and smoothed the bandage back in place.
Using disciplines Uncle had taught me, I concentrated on my heartbeats and breathing, using the two rhythms to block out the pain. It really was a simple technique. The only trouble was, no one could guarantee that it would work indefinitely. We had to get out of there and to safety before the pain became too great for me. We were already handicapped by my blindness.
“Smashed,” Kel said, coming back. “Feeling any better?"
“A little. But I've been thinking, if they have sonics, they'll have sensors and can come up another tunnel to find us. The doors I closed won't hold them for long."
I hated what I had to say next. All my ancestors abhorred violence of any kind. There were few weapons in the Warren, mostly defensive things like force fields at the doorways. The few guns we had were hidden in the guardhouses, under thumbprint lock. Luckily, I was one of the few registered in the computer with the authority and the prints on file.
“They can't be allowed to leave this place, even if it means killing. You have to help me find our weapons. No one must know about the Warren."
“Why not?"
“Because all my stories are real! This shelter is set up for Hoveni to hide from the Set'ri. Real Hoveni and real Set'ri! Hoveni are real, living today, scattered all over the planet, in hiding. We use the show to try to contact the lost ones. Everything has to be kept secret because the Set'ri still exist too, after all this time. We can't let them find us."
“Us?” There was a curious note to his voice. Not disbelief, but something I couldn't identify through the throbbing in my head.
; “Us. I'm a Hoven, so is Uncle. So are about two-thirds of the staff and crew and anyone involved in the series, in one capacity or another."
“What about the animals Meruk changes into?"
Why in the world was he asking questions like that?
“The crew takes turns.” I answered without really thinking, concentrating on trying to bring up a mental map of the inside of the mountain, and figure out a way to describe it to Kel so he could help me navigate.
“I guess that cuts costs.” Kel laughed.
“It's not funny! Because of us, you're in danger."
“And I thought it was my fault,” he said, a few sputters of laughter between his words. “We're all a bunch of idiots. Working for the same thing and not knowing it.” Kel slid down to sit next to me against the wall. “Searching, thinking I was so sensitive—and I couldn't even tell when I was working with a whole crew of Hoveni!"
“No,” I whispered. My head throbbed even harder now.
I didn't want to believe Kel's words. I didn't dare believe him. We both sat there, listening to our breathing in the ringing silence of the empty caves and tunnels beyond the room. I knew Kel waited for some kind of question, any reaction beyond my one word. If this had been a script, I probably would have had something profound and philosophical for one of us to say. Instead, a basic need came to me.
“Could you find me something to drink? I feel like I've swallowed a few kilos of dust."
“Me, too.” Kel's voice held relief and he got up again.
I felt a moment of panic when I lost contact with him and he got up and walked away, and chided myself for starting to fear the dark at my elderly age. In a moment, he was back with a warm bag of juice for each of us. Ambrosia! We sipped for a few minutes in silence.
“How's your head?"
“Throbs. There's a sleep chamber in the next tunnel over, but I don't know if I dare lay down. It might be a concussion. A pillow might be nice, instead of this rock wall."
“When you think you can walk, tell me, and we'll get you over there."
And then Kel Brent put his arm around my shoulder and leaned my head on his shoulder, the uninjured side against him. The softness under my head was all I cared about then. But deep down inside, I was quietly aware that we were making quite a memory, something to hold to myself and giggle over in unbelieving ecstasy after Kel had gone back to work and I was on the road, researching the show again.
“It's getting hot in here,” I remarked absently.
“I hoped I was imagining it. I think they're thermo-blasting the wall.” Kel pulled me to my feet.
The echoes changed as he led me out of the room and down a tunnel. Too soon, we stopped, and he settled me on a boulder.
“Ever seen a live vestrig?” he asked as he stepped away. I had to fight a moment of panic as he vanished from all but one of my senses. I decided I definitely didn't like being alone.
“Just pictures."
“Too bad. They're fascinating."
The air tingled. I reached for Kel and felt a wash of energy that numbed my hand. And then I believed. I knew what he was doing, and could see in my imagination the changes in his body as his form melted and absorbed his clothing, reshaped, gathered new mass from the energy around us, and shifted color.
Kel was Hoven. Like me.
A harsh muzzle nudged my hands and I felt the short, sharp tusks and three horns protruding from his forehead. A vestrig was three meters in length at full growth, almost two meters tall, with six sets of legs, metal-sharp claws and teeth, and a hide impervious to all but the strongest doses of energy. Right at that moment, I touched one without any harm.
An explosion reached us from the room we had abandoned. The harsh, deafening roar of rock being torn asunder and huge chunks falling to the ground preceded a wave of dust gushing down the tunnel toward us. The enemy had broken through. Soon, they would easily find us.
Kel-vestrig dashed away to meet them, his claws scrabbling with shrill screams against the rock floor.
I couldn't let him go alone.
It wasn't good for me to transform with an injury, but I had to help. My eyes would be useless, no matter what form I took, so I became a skelt, a reptilian bird that lived in caves and hunted by radar. It also had quick-acting poison in its talons. In a moment, I flew down the tunnel to join the fight.
Our two attackers had brought reinforcements, making eight Set'ri altogether. In such close quarters, with a risk of ricochet, they didn't dare use their guns on full charge. What shots did hit Kel didn't hurt him at all. One man was dead and a second almost there when I entered the party. I satisfied myself with digging my talons into a back, injecting poison, and then darting through the air to another target. I headed for my fourth man when a flailing arm sent me crashing into the wall.
The blow made my injury worse. Shifting shape hadn't helped the healing process and the new pain broke down the mental wall I had created. The pain tore away what little control I had managed to hold over the skelt form. My failing radar showed a man advancing on me, gun raised. I couldn't stop the process as I began to transform back to my natural, Human form.
A hot flash of energy stopped him dead.
I could sense Uncle's presence anywhere. The distinctive scent of the spicy aftershave I bought him for his birthday was a little too strong to my hypersensitive, still partially skelt senses. I gave in and let the transformation continue. Then as my radar died, I heard a roar.
Kel was in trouble from our own rescue party.
“Kel's a Hoven too!” I shrieked, stumbling toward where Uncle should have been.
Somebody hit me, out of pure reflex, and I went down.
* * * *
When I woke up the next day, I was in my own room. A medic had been in the rescue party and had tended my injury, removing the pressure on the optic nerve that caused the temporary blindness. I could see again when I opened my eyes, and when the blurring left, I was immediately embarrassed. Uncle sat on the edge of my bed, holding my hand. That didn't bother me at all.
But Kel stood in the doorway. My room was a mess, my travel bags still lying on the floor, half-unpacked, dirty clothes all in a pile in the middle of the room, books and notes and souvenirs scattered on the desk and my bookshelves, the closet door hung open and articles of clean clothing lay on the floor of the closet instead of hung up. And around my mirror were taped ten different pictures of Kel, just like in any other drooling fan's room. Then I noticed his eyes were completely on me and he hadn't even seen my room.
“Some trick, huh?” I whispered.
Uncle's worry changed to sternness. “Young lady, I don't ever want you pulling such a stunt again."
“I didn't think they would follow us! Ask Kel what I did. It was all according to procedure,” I protested, sitting up.
“We did talk.” Uncle pushed me back down on the pillow. “I'm proud of how you handled the situation, up until you transformed. How many times do I have to tell you not to change when you're injured or upset? That's what killed your mother."
“Yes, sir.” I couldn't fight the memory that rose before my mind's eye, of the twisted, bleeding form, half-animal, half-human. She had been trying to save my father, who was already dead in the wreckage of his laboratory. “I promise. Never again."
“And I'll keep you to it,” Kel put in vehemently. He shrugged, looking a little embarrassed when both of us turned to look at him. “Don't want to lose my favorite writer, after all. Especially now that...” He actually blushed! “You've had other Hoveni around all your life. You don't know how lonely it is, thinking you're the only one in town, afraid to say anything, wondering if your family really did die in an accident, or if they were murdered by the Set'ri. I've had no one to teach me what I need to know about being Hoven. Everything's been trial and error, even the little things you probably take for granted."
“One good thing has come from your little adventure,” Uncle said, breaking the silence filled with sorrow for Kel, be
cause we had heard too many stories that were just like his. “We don't have to keep so many secrets now.” He shook his head, bemused by the irony of it all. “While you've been getting your beauty sleep, we've done a lot of talking. Kel has some good, strong contacts with other Hoveni across the planet, and they have contacts beyond that, all very thinly spread. Combined with our network, we suddenly have quite a sizable workforce."
“And the more we have, the more contacts can be made,” I recited, echoing the conclusion to several hundred strategy discussions we had had while I was growing up. Then I had an idea, and I laughed, though it made my head ache. “There are a few we can release from the production crew, to add to the workforce."
“How so?” Uncle was lost.
“Kel doesn't need the special effects crew anymore. He can do it all himself."
“Kendle, you definitely need more rest,” Uncle said with a guffaw. “Go back to sleep. Kel and I have plans to make."
“Plan how to kill the rumors that we're getting married,” I shot back as they both headed for the door. I couldn't help giggling at the confusion on Uncle's face, and the sheepish look Kel wore.
Hoven Quest Page 14