Artemis Awakening

by Lindskold, Jane

  They were wending up a wide trail that led to a scenic overview of Spirit Bay. Tarnish knew the route perfectly, so Adara let the reins go slack and ticked points off on her fingers.

  “One, Julyan is an excellent hunter. Why then is he in Spirit Bay, which is not somewhere he could best profit from his talents? Two, we suspect the Old One is breeding for something specific—most likely adaptations. Although Julyan is not strongly adapted, still, the seeds are in him. I believe he would not be averse to participating in rites such as Winnie described.”

  “Adara…” Terrell looked uncomfortable but, taking a deep breath, he went on. “Both from what you’ve said and from the gossip in Shepherd’s Call, I gather that you were passionately in love with this Julyan. You aren’t…”

  “Speaking out of spite?” Adara shook her head so vigorously that Tarnish snorted protest. “No, Terrell, I am not. I spent a long night working my way along that trail. I honestly believe I am not. Julyan was always one to seek out the best advantage for himself. That’s why he came to Bruin, although Bruin had little new to teach him. I believe now that Julyan wanted to associate with those he saw as powers—or who could introduce him to those who were powers.”

  “Like the Old One,” Terrell said, nodding. “Yes. For all we see him as nearly a hermit, the Old One is a power in the land. You should hear how the loremasters speak of him.”

  “So, Julyan has chosen to work for a power,” Adara went on. “Work that will give Julyan connections for the future. Work that includes among the benefits ample opportunities to…”

  She paused because, from her peripheral vision, she could see that Terrell was looking very straight ahead. Although she remained unsure as to whether she wanted a romantic relationship with the factotum, she knew she liked him. Embarrassing him would be unkind.

  “Shall we say ‘provide his employer with added services’?”

  Terrell nodded. He spoke, his voice a little gruff. “And there are many men for whom that would be an incentive in and of itself. Do you plan to let Julyan know you saw him?”

  “I think not. If I do find I need to confront him, then I will need to come up with an excuse. We did not part precisely friends.”

  Terrell chuckled. “If you want to show off to him that you’ve found a handsome new boyfriend, I’d be more than pleased to play the role.”

  Adara rolled her eyes. “I doubt that would impress him—not that you aren’t a handsome man, Factotum, but I think Julyan would find my needing to show off my conquests proof that I still pined.”

  “A charmer,” Terrell said, “a definite charmer…”

  Adara shrugged. “Julyan can be. Even more, there is an appeal for a girl—and I see I was little more than a girl then—to being chosen by the man everyone else desires.”

  Terrell said softly, “There’s appeal in that for a man as well.”

  Adara heard his pain but, knowing she couldn’t give him the answer he wanted, she settled for a noncommittal nod that agreed only to the general sentiment. They awkwardly switched the subject to what courses of action they might take. In the end, they agreed that they would both do their best to learn about the islands.

  “One of these calm nights, I will take a canoe out,” Adara said. “The islands are not so far that I could not paddle, and a canoe is a quiet craft.”

  “Take care,” Terrell cautioned.

  Adara heard those words in another’s voice, in Julyan’s. He’d said that or some other warning whenever they’d gone hunting together. At the time, Adara had taken those words as a sign of affection, of protectiveness. Why hadn’t she heard them for what they were, as proof that Julyan thought of her as an inferior?

  “I know how to take care of myself,” she snapped. Hurt flashed across Terrell’s face, and Adara instantly regretted her words. “But I won’t let that make me forget that Julyan is no longer the man I knew. He has turned from hunter into something far uglier.”

  In memory, Adara heard a once loved voice, raised in song.

  “My love is like a panther swift.

  I caught her in my snare.

  And after I had captured her,

  I left her hanging there.”

  “Or maybe,” she said softly, “he was this way all along and love blinded me.”

  * * *

  Griffin found himself obsessed by his private conviction that the hidden door and whatever lay behind it held the solution to all his problems.

  Eating and sleeping became necessary interruptions. Daylight was for reading through lists of icons, seeking correlations with the material he had studied back on Sierra. He began to make lists of what he remembered, cursing the data storage and retrieval techniques that had been always been available to him. In contrast to the Old One and Terrell, who seemed to remember everything they had read or heard, Griffin felt as if his memory was made from soft cheese.

  When his eyes were tired and his neck stiff, Griffin would descend to the lower levels. Sometimes, as he walked along the corridors, he realized he was taking obscure comfort in the familiar sound of his footsteps as it bounced back from surfaces lined with acoustic tiles. Being homesick didn’t seem a weakness—denial that he was cut off from everyone and everything he knew would have been purest insanity.

  Nor were Griffin’s explorations completely useless. After he became familiar with the areas the Old One had opened up, Griffin realized something was missing: quarters for the staff. In a relatively short time, he located an entire subterranean complex the Old One had missed. In addition to living apartments, there were a small hospital, communal dining areas, and entertainment facilities.

  The staff quarters didn’t yield anything of immediate use, although a host of small gadgets—left as junk by the long-ago invaders—doubtless held in their ruined storage cells the answers to many of their questions.

  It wasn’t until Sand Shadow pounced on him that Griffin realized he hadn’t been outside the Sanctum for days. He had returned to the suite he shared with Adara and Terrell to retrieve some notes. Peripherally, he noticed that the door to Adara’s room was closed. If he’d thought about the puma at all, he’d assumed she was asleep too. He certainly didn’t expect the golden blur, the thump that knocked him flat on his ass, the enormous paw pressing against his chest.

  Whiskers tickled Griffin’s face. Before the chaos of his nervous system could decide whether or not to panic, he realized the great cat was purring. Holding Griffin down with one paw, Sand Shadow used the other to give a clumsy pat to the bag of marbles hanging around her neck.

  “You want me to play marbles with you?” Griffin said incredulously. “I’ve important…”

  His words trailed off when he noticed that the puma’s small, rounded ears were sliding back in what he now recognized as an expression of annoyance. Her purr shifted into what was definitely a growl.

  Boots against the hard flooring announced a new arrival. Terrell’s laughter was hardly more welcome than Sand Shadow’s growl.

  “I came to see what was keeping you. I hardly expected this!”

  “The idiot…” Pricking of claw tips, each the size of an ice pick, made Griffin amend his words, though truly he didn’t know if the words or the tone had given offense. “Sand Shadow wants me to play marbles with her!”

  Terrell strolled to where he could see Griffin’s face. “And maybe you should. It’s not as if the Old One is going to toss you out, not after you discovered the crew quarters for him. Who knows what you’ll come up with next? Anyhow, the Old One takes breaks. Why shouldn’t you? He’s not here now, so it’s not as if you’d be inconveniencing our host.”

  Why don’t I take a break? Because I need to get off-planet. Because I feel trapped. Because …

  Griffin struggled to put his sense of urgency into words. Once again, he realized how greatly his sense of time was out of sequence with that of the people of Artemis. They could move fast enough if there was need—he’d seen that—but the push, push, push he’d taken for g
ranted from his youngest years simply wasn’t part of their makeup.

  Sand Shadow had stopped growling now and was looking down at him. Did Griffin imagine a distinctively hopeful curl to her whiskers? Either way, he needed Adara’s good will as much as that of the Old One.

  And a break would be nice, he admitted silently.

  “All right,” Griffin said, punching the puma in one shoulder with a confidence he didn’t completely feel. “I’ll play, but just a couple of games and don’t think you can keep bullying me!”

  Sand Shadow gave way. Terrell swallowed a grin.

  “Hey, I’ll grab my bag and join you. The games work best with at least three players.”

  Outside, the day proved sunny and warm, spring slowly giving way to summer. The two men and the puma wandered down to the shore where the slightly clayey soil held the patterns of interlocking geometric shapes quite nicely. Apparently, Sand Shadow had been practicing. After the humans had been soundly defeated in the first round, they got down to business. Soon the usually quiet cove echoed with cheers and groans, attracting the attention of Jean and Joffrey, who stood on the rise above the beach, smiles warming their usually dour faces.

  When Terrell palmed one of Sand Shadow’s favorite marbles and the puma gave chase, Terrell dove into the bay. The puma did not have a house cat’s dislike of water and surged in after him. Within a few minutes, Terrell had surrendered the treasure. Being dunked by a puma was something to take seriously.

  Griffin stood on the shore, laughing heartily. “Cat and mouse, huh? Who would have known?”

  “Mouse?” Terrell burst from the water. Grabbing Griffin neatly about the waist, he tossed him—clothes and all—into the bay. “What does that make you? The cheese?”

  Griffin splashed a great swath of water at him. “This feels good. It’s not as cold as I thought it would be.”

  “Not here in the shallows,” Terrell agreed. “I’m betting the water’s colder out where it’s deeper.”

  Without any formal declaration, marbles were abandoned for swimming. Already soaked clothing was left on the shingle, discarded as too encumbering.

  “I think I need to get out more,” Griffin said when they’d retired to dry in the sun. “I can feel the cobwebs rinsed out of my brain.”

  “Work’s like that,” Terrell agreed. “Working harder isn’t always best. Seems contradictory, but it’s true.”

  A discreet cough from the vicinity of the path caught their attention. Joffrey stood there, holding a basket.

  “I took the liberty of bringing towels,” he said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take your wet clothing up and hang it to dry.”

  Griffin accepted the towel Joffrey proffered, hoping he and Terrell hadn’t violated any local nudity taboo. Certainly a factotum would know if such existed.

  Terrell also accepted a towel. “Want help with those clothes?”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Joffrey assured him. “We have lines strung near the kitchen for damp dishcloths and such. I’ll rinse out the salt and hang them there.”

  A few moments later, towel wrapped around his waist, Griffin reluctantly rose.

  “Well, that was fun, but I should get back to my work.” He glanced to where Sand Shadow was grooming her fur into order with leisurely strokes of a very large tongue. “And if you want to play marbles again, I’d like that. You’re getting too cocky.”

  Sand Shadow pricked her ears and curled her whiskers in what was definitely a pleased expression.

  And, Griffin scolded himself when one of his inner voices tried to make him feel guilty for not applying himself, don’t forget that even if I find a way off-planet and back to my ship I’m going to need friends here on Artemis. Besides, I shouldn’t let myself get fat and soft.

  So arguing with himself, Griffin headed for where he could get into dry clothing, realizing that he felt happier than he had since they had arrived in Spirit Bay.

  * * *

  The first night that Adara planned to take a canoe out and explore the islands, the air smelled of rain. Adara settled for scouting a boathouse some distance down the shore. All the vessels within had been used recently and were in good repair.

  Adara had chosen this particular property because she knew no one was there. She’d gone over with Jean to care for the residents’ chickens, goats, and cow while they were away attending the funeral of one of the family patriarchs. At this point, Adara didn’t want anyone to know she was taking an interest in anything to do with the water. It amazed her how many people thought a hunter’s interests ended on land.

  The canoe she chose was nowhere near as large as Foam Dancer, but could easily hold both her and Sand Shadow. That night, before the promised squall blew up, huntress and puma took the light craft out onto the bay to get a feel for how it handled.

  The next night was perfect. As had become her habit, Adara slept through much of the afternoon, so was bright-eyed and energetic when she slipped out under the stars. Sand Shadow was in a good mood. She’d spent a few hours over at the Trainers, where she was teaching young Edward and some of the other children how to play marbles. Adara was pleased by the puma’s initiative. Bruin always drummed into his students that too much practice with the same people or the same tools became useless because, eventually, you adapted your skills to their quirks.

  The pair set out for the islands. Adara had already noticed that few of the fishing boats went near the islands, which seemed odd. Even if the islands themselves were off-limits, shallows were usually good places to find both fish and crustaceans.

  The closest island was about two miles off shore, a picturesque patch of rolling green, sufficiently forested to indicate a fairly large piece of land. They were close enough to catch scents on the breeze that warned of land, when Adara became aware that the current had changed character.

  Her paddle had been gliding easily through the still waters. Suddenly she had to fight the impression that unseen fingers were trying to pluck it from her hands. Less imaginative, Sand Shadow reported a similar sensation and—as she had been taught—took her paddle from the water rather than risk losing it entirely.

  Adara struggled to turn the canoe. She succeeded only when she realized that this was no usual current, but rather something akin to a series of small whirlpools—whirlpools that sought to push her craft away from the island. When she inserted herself into the desired pattern, she was flung out.

  “Interesting,” she murmured. “That would certainly keep most small craft away. I wonder if there is something to ward off larger boats as well.”

  She had to wait to tell Terrell about her find when they went riding because, to her great surprise, Griffin came with them. After a while, he admitted he was out of training for a long ride.

  “You’ll come again?” Adara asked when Griffin turned Molly back toward the Trainers’ stable.

  “Absolutely,” Griffin assured her, white teeth flashing. “I’ve learned my lesson. I can’t let myself lose what little skill I’ve gained. What if Spirit Bay isn’t the end of our explorations? I don’t want to be the one to slow us down.”

  “Good!” Adara said. “Tomorrow, then.”

  But for all her pleasure, she was glad to see him leave. She’d rather talk to Terrell alone.

  “What have you learned about the islands?” she asked.

  Terrell was exercising Sam the Mule that day, riding with such grace that he turned the mule into quite an elegant mount. Keeping an eye on the mule’s ears—the first indicator that trouble was coming—he replied. “They’re thought to be haunted,” he said, “by the spirits of the seegnur who were slaughtered here. The lore says that places like this—where there were landing facilities or suchlike that catered specifically to the seegnurs’ needs—were where the seegnur were killed in the greatest numbers. Local tales tell how the seegnur tried to flee over the water—that some made it to the islands, but were killed nonetheless.”

  He gave a rueful smile. “To this day, at certai
n times, it’s said you can still hear the dying seegnur wailing as their spirits drift among the Haunted Islands.”

  “Where did you pick this up?” Adara asked.

  “I went out to a couple taverns on the other side of town,” Terrell said. “Changed my appearance enough that I wasn’t likely to be known. Posed as front man for a trader who’d be coming in later—checking out hostelries and the like. Mentioned that I’d like to take my girl out for a picnic on one of those islands.”

  Adara laughed. “I bet you couldn’t stop the ghost tales. What did the local fisher folk have to say?”

  “They agreed that the islands are off-limits—some say they have been since the time of the seegnur. Apparently, there are snags or shoals beneath the water that make it impossible to bring in larger vessels. Smaller vessels get whirled around by some very weird currents.”

  “I can testify to the currents,” Adara agreed.

  “It’s a good thing you and Sand Shadow are so skilled with a canoe,” Terrell said somberly. “Apparently, the lucky ones get spat out by the currents. The unlucky—or just plain persistent—often end up drowned. By now, anyone who knows Spirit Bay knows to stay away from the islands. Every couple of years, someone comes in who either doesn’t talk to the locals or thinks he’s too good to worry. Then, as the locals put it, the seegnur get a sacrifice.”

  Adara shuddered. “Even with the currents, I’m not ready to give up. A couple miles off shore provides a good barrier to snoopers—especially if the locals already stay clear. Since Sand Shadow and I haven’t found any traces of a new ‘stable,’ those islands tempt me.”

  Terrell grimaced. “Curiosity and the cat, Adara. It seems to me that there are a lot of old buildings here in the town that the Old One could use just as easily—more easily, even.”

  Adara shook her head. “The curiosity of cats is nothing to that of humans. Have you heard any rumors of a new business or new resident? Or even of an older residence that suddenly is a lot more active—ordering more groceries, perhaps?”