Staying Power (Darshian Tales #3)

by Ann Somerville

  ~~~~~~~~

  Romi blinked. Blessed gods, he hadn’t expected that—and, clearly, neither had Soza. With twin expressions of astonishment, they watched Karik stalk off back to where the tent was being raised. Soza wasn’t quelled for long, of course, but before he could open his mouth to complain, Romi turned to him. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. Now, since the tent is nearly up, I’d like you to chop up some firewood. You’ll also be taking the final watch with Kizinke—it’s the easiest shift since you’ll get a full night’s sleep before. I’ve made allowances for your lack of experience,” he added as neutrally as he could.

  “Now, wait a damn minute! You never said anything about a watch! And why aren’t I sharing it with Karik?”

  Romi glanced over to the tent and tried not to laugh at the sight of Netu and Taz patting Karik on the shoulder in obvious congratulation. “One, because Karik is doing the midnight watch with Jou, and two, because he doesn’t seem too happy with you right now. Kizinke’s the only person I think won’t kill you if forced to spend an hour alone with you.”

  “You insuff—”

  “It’s either Kizinke or me, Soza. Now shift your arse and go and cut up the firewood. If you don’t know how to use an axe, I’m sure Sibu will be glad to show you. After all, if a woman can do it, surely you can.”

  Soza drew a deep breath, ready to spew out more bile, but Romi fixed him with what he thought of as his “Don’t piss me off, soldier” look—or what Jou called his “Gods, keep clear of Romi” expression—and said, “This is not a debate, Soza. You have just received a direct order. Now, you have two choices—do it, or as Karik said, get on your beast and get out of this camp now. I’m perfectly prepared to assist you to leave.”

  Soza stiffened. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Try me. Please try me. I’d enjoy doing that, I really would.”

  Gods, the man was the slowest study Romi had ever encountered but finally the reality of the situation penetrated even his solid iron skull, and he turned on his heel and walked over to where Sibu and Taz were building a fire. Romi felt bad about inflicting Soza on them, but not about finally getting the pompous arse to accept his authority, however bad-temperedly.

  “You needn’t look quite so pleased with yourself, my friend.”

  Romi turned and grinned at Wepizi. “Oh, and you’re heart-broken, I’m sure.”

  “It depends. Why have you split Soza up from Karik on the watch?”

  “Because Jou asked to share shift with Karik, Karik agreed, and Soza makes Karik look like a frightened hisk.”

  Wepizi frowned. “Walk with me, please.”

  There was no arguing with Wepizi’s quiet authority, and Romi obeyed, walking back a little along the trail to where there was a long low boulder which made a convenient seat out of earshot of the others. “What are you doing, Romi?”

  “Doing? My job, Wepizi. I need to bring that bastard into line or he’s going to get us killed.”

  “As far as that goes, I wholeheartedly agree with you. But you seem a little too interested in separating Soza from our beautiful man, and I want to know why.”

  Romi blew out his cheeks in exasperation. “I told you what happened at the academy the other day. If you think I set Karik up to tick Soza off, you’re wrong. I was as surprised as he was.”

  Wepizi was still frowning at him. “I’m not talking about that, my friend. You seem to relish the discord between them, and that is not virtuous. It is not honest or kind to drive a wedge between lovers, and offends Sephiz most profoundly.”

  “You were the one who said they weren’t in love!”

  “So I did. But it’s not for me to determine whether their relationship should succeed or fail, and nor is it yours. So I repeat my question—what are you doing? And I add another—why are you doing it? You suspected me of allowing my heart to become involved—have you fallen into that trap yourself?”

  “Oh, you’re joking. You have to be. Which one of those prickly bastards am I supposed to be in love with?”

  Wepizi looked down his long nose. “The prickly bastard you seem to watch all the time, whose company you frequently seek, and whose lover you constantly deride and belittle.”

  “Karik? Gods, Wepizi, the man hates me. He only speaks to me on sufferance, and makes no effort to hide the fact either.”

  “Yes, maybe so. But still you persist.”

  “You’re being a pain in the arse, you know that? Karik was hurt, it was my fault. It’s my job to make sure he recovers, and can do his job. That’s all.”

  “Hmmm. Then if you say so, I will believe you, my friend, because you are a trustworthy man. But I tell you this—a house built on rotting stumps will fall, and so will a relationship built on deceit. Behave with honour in this manner and I will have no complaints. But if I see you meddling for less than honourable reasons, I will complain. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, I understand,” Romi said impatiently, “but you’re misreading this situation entirely.”

  “So I would hope.” Wepizi looked at him sternly for a little longer, then nodded, as if satisfied. “Do you think Soza will subside now?”

  “Who knows? I’ve primed my people not to put up with any shit, but not to poke him either, and since Karik supported my decision, provided I’m fair in my requests, Soza will look like a fool if he keeps complaining. I suspect Karik’s opinion will be the thing that sways it. He won’t want to offend Karik’s uncles, after all, even if he doesn’t give a damn about Karik—the more I see, the more I think that’s the case.”

  “Romi—”

  “Well, it’s true, damn it!”

  “Then it’s a matter between them, my friend.” Wepizi clapped his hand on Romi’s shoulder. “You dislike unfairness and injustice, I know that. But relationships are very often not subject to logic.”

  “Sometimes they are,” he answered bitterly, thinking of the way Daiso had set him aside purely so he could take up with a fertile woman. “All right. I’ll ignore all that unless he stops Karik doing his job, or abuses him in front of me. I won’t stand for that, not for any of my team.”

  “And that is only just,” Wepizi said, sliding off the boulder and standing up. “Come then, and let’s put good intentions into action.”

  Staying Power: 23

  Several times during the days and weeks that followed that odd little conversation, Romi could have cheerfully wrung Wepizi’s neck for disturbing his peace of mind. Before, he hadn’t given the slightest damn what Karik thought about him, and so had just conversed with him naturally, ignoring the rudeness and occasional insult because Karik was in fact good at what he did and was otherwise the model team member. Now, Romi was self-conscious, wondering if he did seem to be showing a less than professional interest in Karik’s welfare. Where once he would casually ask how Karik was doing if he passed him at breakfast, or happened to find himself sitting next to the man at supper, now he was almost tongue-tied, and quickly found an excuse to be somewhere else. Romi had to wonder if Wepizi had set the entire thing up as a joke—he certainly saw his friend giving him some odd grins from time to time. Yes, strangling was too good for the bastard.

  Karik himself seemed not to mind. He and Soza had apparently patched things up, though Romi couldn’t fail to notice Karik wasn’t exactly eager to seek Soza out. Whatever Wepizi thought on the subject, their romantic involvement seemed to be fast disintegrating, while Soza himself had become fast friends with Kizinke. Kizinke’s father was a tribal elder of a large settlement far to the north, and his brother was an official in the Visiqe court, his sister being married to a member of the council. It was unlikely these facts had no bearing on Soza’s enthusiasm for Kizinke’s company. The cynic in Romi couldn’t help but wonder if Soza planned to replace Karik, now that Karik had made his disapproval of his actions so clear.

  He really didn’t care. After that single confrontation, Soza had undergone a remarkable change in his attitude, and while he was hardly the most
hard-working member of the team, he now followed directions—grudgingly, it was true, but there was usually no need to repeat the request. Of course Soza made it perfectly clear that he considered such menial tasks beneath him, but with Karik and Kizinke both pitching in, he’d obviously worked out that holding forth on the subject wasn’t likely to impress the people he wanted to impress.

  Romi didn’t care what the thought processes were behind his obedience—the fact of the obedience was enough. The rumblings of discontent among the rest of the team dropped away, and after Jou and Sibu had both made it clear they would not tolerate any more of Soza’s misogyny, he had stopped making cutting comments about them in their hearing. This too, led to a more pleasant atmosphere. It had been a good decision, Romi felt, and only cursed himself that he hadn’t pressed the issue on the first leg of the journey.

  Now things were running more smoothly, he could start to enjoy the expedition’s main purpose, which was not, strangely, to see who would win the battle of egos between himself and Soza. During the day, Wepizi usually went with either Soza or Karik’s group, while Romi went with the geologists since he had a little more experience in that line than the rest of the team. As they worked together, Pali explained the forces that had produced the rocks they were examining, or pointed out the remains of lava flows and eruptions, glaciers and seismic upheaval. Darshian was an old, stable land compared with this, where every feature of the landscape could disappear in minutes if there was an earthquake or volcanic eruption. Pali didn’t seem too worried about the prospect. They’d all got used to the tremors every few days—alarming at first, and then something to be ignored—but Pali said there hadn’t been a catastrophic eruption in more than a century, and when there had been, there had been plenty of warning. Earthquakes were less predictable, but unlikely in the areas they were travelling in just now. Romi had to take the scientist’s word for it, and try not to lose too much sleep over the prospect of being swallowed up by the earth.

  They’d had a good day, he and the rock hounds. Not only had they found some very interesting and potentially valuable samples, there had been time to enjoy the natural spectacles—magnificent raptors fighting high in the air, using their huge talons and seven foot wing spans to try to drag their opponent to their death, while the more earth-bound hiqwiqs tussled for supremacy on apparently sheer rock faces. A lone, well-muscled male hiqwiq had fallen to his arrow, and Romi looked forward to the several tasty meals the meat would make.

  Arriving back at camp, he handed over the hiqwiq carcass to Kepi and Reisa to butcher, and then wandered over to see what the rest of his team were doing. Everyone was back from their day’s work, and as usual, the naturalists were working hard to catalogue what had been brought in. Jou was sitting at Karik’s feet, watching him sketch, listening to him describe the specimen as he worked.

  It was something Romi never got tired of observing, the way Karik could elegantly yet simply explain the parts of a plant and the uses for its seeds or sap or leaves, his slender fingers holding the specimen delicately in one hand as he swiftly sketched in the other. Normally Romi watched from a distance, knowing he wasn’t as welcome as other members of his team, but this evening a flash of surprising shade of blue in Karik’s hand caught his attention. He walked over without thinking and knelt down. “My mother had a pendant with this flower on it.” He was vaguely aware that Jou got up to make room, but he only had eyes for the beautiful colour.

  Karik was obviously startled at his sudden appearance, but recovered quickly. “Are you sure, Romi? This flower is only found in north Andon.”

  “I couldn’t swear it was identical, but this blue—I’ve never seen its like, though she said it was painted from real life by her uncle.” He took the little flower from Karik’s hand. Yes, it was this very colour, and this shape. It reminded him sharply of the last time he’d seen the pendant—and her—over a year before.

  Karik reached out and gently extracted the flower from Romi’s fingers. “I think then it must have been the klave pea. Near Ai-Vinri, I recall you said your family live? The klave pea isn’t common near the villages but I have seen it in that area, especially when it rains after a dry spell. It’s a vigorous, short-lived plant, unrelated to this, which is a tuberous perennial. They are slightly similar, I grant you, but not really alike.”

  “But the colour...it’s so beautiful....” He touched the petals wistfully. Strange how he could recall every detail so clearly, yet he never consciously thought of the ornament.

  Someone cleared their throat, and he turned to see Wepizi giving him an odd look. Then he realised he was sitting rather close to Karik, kneeling in front of him like some lovesick swain, and Jou was watching him with an amused expression. He pulled his hand away hastily and got to his feet. “I beg your pardon,” he said stiffly, and walked away. When he risked a quick glance back, Karik was staring after him with a scowl. Wonderful—he’d just caused more offence than if he’d stayed where he’d been.

  Damn Wepizi anyway.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Damn that Romi! Karik felt his fingers clenching around the stem of the flower and made himself relax.

  “Are you all right, Karik?”

  He looked up at her. “I’m fine, Jou. Do you know where Soza is?”

  She gestured vaguely. “Over there, with Kizinke. Those two are thick as thieves as usual. Have you got lots to do tonight?”

  “Hmmm, yes. I want to finish these before the light goes, but I should help with supper.”

  “Don’t be silly,” she said firmly. “I’ll even bring your food over, if you like.”

  He smiled in gratitude. “Thanks. There’s just so much to do.”

  “Have you finished this yet?” She looked down at what he was drawing. “You’re so talented, I’m jealous.”

  “Oh, I’m just an amateur. My friend Meda in Darshek is the real master. She could make you think the flower was growing out of the paper,” he said, pointing to the picture. “Even with just a pencil.”

  “Meda? Is she your girlfriend?”

  Karik flushed. “No, she has a lover of her own, and besides, she’s Ma’s age. She’s one of the Gifted—a water-shaper. Her lover’s a mind-mover.”

  “You’re friends with the Gifted? You really are special, aren’t you?”

  “Not me. They are, for sure. I miss my friends.”

  She sighed heartily. “I miss Seiz. I told him I’d cut his balls off if he went off with another woman while I was gone, but you can’t really stop it happening. Ask Romi. He went off on a three-week field exercise, came back and found his lover was planning to marry someone else, the rotten bastard.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh huh. Got a girl pregnant and dumped Romi just like that to marry her,” she said in disgust, snapping her fingers. “Just like Kepi’s wife running around while he was in Kuprij and catching a baby from another man. You can’t trust anyone these days.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true. My parents have been faithful for over twenty years, so have my uncles. And I know more couples like that than the other kind. I just don’t understand why people look around if they’re really in love.”

  “Maybe that’s the answer,” she said gloomily. “Kepi and Romi both loved their partners, but they didn’t love them back—not enough anyway. Seiz says he loves me—I guess I’ll find out when I get home, won’t I?”

  He murmured something anodyne, not really sure what to say, while being rather fascinated to learn what was behind some of Romi’s bad temper. Being dumped for a fertile lover was bad enough—being abandoned for a pregnant one just rubbed salt into the wounds. His Pa had had that happen, so had Kei. So had his Ma, come to think of it. No wonder so many of the gifted were rather jaundiced about lifelong relationships, when the non-gifted could be so heartless. Karik almost felt a twinge of sympathy for Romi but stepped on it ruthlessly. He already spent too much time thinking about that damn man and his reactions. Plants were much less troublesome, and he had
work to do.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Romi made sure to keep away from Karik after that unfortunate incident, and though his standoffishness offended the other man, better that, he thought, than to be accused of abusing his pastoral role. Anyway, Karik was much improved, interacting normally with the team, and not noticeably nervous around anyone. He and Soza were now clearly no longer a couple, which didn’t exactly sadden Romi, but Karik didn’t seem cast down either. Whether Kizinke was Soza’s friend or something more, Romi didn’t know nor care, but since Soza was behaving himself, he wasn’t going to comment.

  It was hard to comprehend the scale of a country like Andon, until one realised they had travelled for five weeks without seeing even the hint of human habitation. There were certainly settlements to be found, and the plan was to contact as many as they could, especially after the fruitful interactions in the low country. But it wasn’t until the start of summer that they expected to finally encounter the mountain tribes, a very different and much fiercer group of people than their lowland counterparts.

  As in the low country, the tribal people detected them long before their team detected them, and as they prepared to break camp one morning, three hunters came upon them, silent and stern, large knives worn conspicuously at their belts. Wepizi rose to welcome them. “Greetings, my friends. We were hoping to meet with your clan.”

  One of them sniffed, and growled something, clearly directing it to Kizinke just behind Wepizi. Wepizi waved the guide forward, and there followed a rapid exchange of which Romi understood not a single word. Neither, from his expression, did Wepizi, though he’d said he had a slight acquaintance with the language. At last, Kizinke turned to Romi with an apologetic look. “They won’t have the soldiers, I am sorry.”

  “Just the Darshianese, or Wepizi, too?”