"Dammit, Rhuna! What more can I say?" he demanded angrily, stopping in front of her.
"Whose cub was it, Tallinu?" she asked, head cocked to one side. "Who was the father? Was it you?"
He went rigid with shock, mouth gaping, ears tilting backward.
Not his, then, she thought with satisfaction. Not his. But I touched a nerve there! The growl came from low in his throat as his ears involuntarily flattened sideways. His pupils dilated and his lips pulled back in a snarl of pure rage. Then he was gone.
* * *
Rhuna sat there, waiting, watching, as the sun slowly began to sink lower behind her tree, casting dappled patterns of shade across the green robe she wore. The insects chirred louder as the day grew cooler. An attendant came to ask if she required anything, but she waved him away, telling him to go home for the night. Tallinu will be back, it's just a matter of time, she thought as she nodded off.
She sensed him return but continued to feign sleep till he spoke.
"I'll ask, Noni." His voice was barely audible.
"She needs to come here, Tallinu. I won't go to her," she said, opening her eyes to look at him. He was sitting on his haunches in front of her again. "Bring her here alone. Just the two of you."
He looked away, unwilling to meet her gaze.
Rhuna gave a rumbling laugh. "What's wrong, boy? Looked into one too many of the dark corners of your soul? About time some sunlight got in there! You can't face the truth? Have you begun to realize some of what's happening to you?"
"The God knows I didn't choose it, Noni! What do you think I am? A fool? I'm not the same person who came to see you about a female all those years ago." He turned his head back round to face her. "Yes, I was young, and fool enough then to think I could have something in my life that was normal. How was I to know?"
His eyes closed in anguish at the memory. She could feel it, the waves of shock and regret— and a deep fear of it ever happening again— whatever it had been!
"How was I to know?" he whispered. "No, I daren't touch her, Noni, nor would I if I could. She's my Liege's bonded life-mate. The child was his, not mine. How could you think otherwise?"
"I had to know," she said simply. "There is a bond between you, I can feel it. I need to know its nature."
"It's not just me," he said, taking a deep breath. "It's Garras, too, though it was slightly different for him. It was his female who found a Human Leska. What's happening, Noni? What are these Humans doing to us?"
She didn't need eyes to know the confusion he felt and the plea for help that was written on his face.
"Is Vartra just playing with us? Are we no more than His toys, an experiment He'll toss aside?" he asked, and she knew he voiced one of his deepest fears.
"Bring her to me," she said, pronouncing each word slowly. "Life goes in threes, Tallinu. It's no mistake you're all linked. I was told by my grandmother, and she by hers before, that long ago— after the Cataclysm, after the time of fire— things were thus. There was always someone to guard them, to be with them— as one of them." The images she'd been shown as a girl began to come to her mind, replaying themselves, putting a faint overlay of shapes between her and Kaid.
"Most often it was two males and one female," she said. "A Triad for mutual protection. The Telepaths and the Warrior— linked."
The shapes wavered then were gone as the memories of the images given to her all those years ago also faded. She blinked, refocusing on the here and now again.
"Go and fetch her," she said, pushing herself up stiffly from her chair. "There isn't much time left. I'll be ready when you return."
"What if Kusac wants to come?" he asked, on his feet almost instantly to help her.
He was pushed firmly away. "Leave me alone, Tallinu, I can manage! I'm not in my dotage yet," she snapped as she turned toward the house. "You'll have to convince him to stay, won't you?" She laughed, a low rumble of malicious glee. "Call it the ultimate test of his trust in you. Why not? You're doing the same to Dzaka! Now go! I need time to prepare for her."
* * *
"Vanna says moving her won't do any harm," Kaid said, distinctly uncomfortable as he watched Kusac pace round the ornamental garden.
"She's not going without me," Kusac said.
"Then Noni won't see her. I have to take her alone."
"Noni? Is she your grandmother?" demanded Kusac. "Why can't I go with her? Why does she need to see her alone?"
"She's not my grandmother, that's just what we call her," said Kaid, trying not to let his exasperation show. "Liege, you trust me to guard her, surely you can trust me to take her to the Healer."
Kusac frowned. "Of course I trust you. It isn't a matter of trust!"
"Then what is it, Liege? Tell me, because we're wasting time!"
"I want to be there!" said Kusac, stopping in front of him. "If anything goes wrong, I have to be with her. If she dies, so do I. I need to be there— to die with her if that's what has to happen! Can you guarantee that she won't die there, alone, without me? Can you guarantee that won't happen?"
"You know I can't, but it won't and we both know that," he said quietly. "What's more important, Liege? Carrie, or your need to be with her?"
Kusac's internal struggle was visible on his face, and took no talent at all to read. He was torn between what was best for Carrie and his natural desire to be with her.
"Take her then," he said finally, ears flicking with distress at being placed in such a situation. "Remember, you'll have both our lives in your hands."
Kaid crossed his forearms over his chest and bowed, hiding his relief. "Thank you, Liege. I know the level of trust you're placing in me. I'll contact you as soon as I have news."
"I know you will," Kusac sighed. "I'll take T'Chebbi with me when I go to meet Lijou at the temple," he said, changing the subject.
They walked back through the garden to the lounge. Kaid watched as Kusac went over to the daybed to pick Carrie up. Vividly, the memory of the last time he'd seen her lying limply in someone's arms came to him. He'd been in the corridor on the Khalossa, watching as Askad, Rhian, and Vanna rushed her to Kusac's room, trying to save both their lives. Now here they were again.
"Have you got an aircar ready?" Kusac asked, then answered himself. "Of course you have. You don't leave anything to chance if you can avoid it, do you?"
"I try not to, Liege," he replied, following them out into the hallway.
Kusac stopped, turning round to look at him. "Kaid, please stop insisting on calling me Liege. In Vartra's name, don't be so formal! I need to know that you'll act for me as a friend, not an employee. I'd feel better if you'd call me Kusac like everyone else does."
Kaid nodded slowly. "Very well, Kusac, but not in public. Then you must be my Liege."
Kusac started walking again. "Public doesn't include my family and our friends, Kaid."
"If that's what you wish," he agreed, following Kusac into the gathering darkness.
In the aircar, he waited while Kusac placed Carrie on the stretcher bed, then stepped forward to fasten the safety straps, double-checking that none of them rubbed against her.
She hadn't stirred, remaining deeply asleep. Kusac bent to caress her cheek, laying his face alongside hers, then straightened up to look at Kaid.
"Take care of her," he said.
* * *
"This is the Human female?" said Rhuna, looking down at the bed where Kaid had laid her. "This tiny being?" She snorted as she moved her chair beside the bed. "You might at least have chosen a full grown one!"
"She's full grown enough to have lost a cub," Kaid growled. "And I didn't choose her. There's nothing between us."
She glanced up at him as she sat down. "You'll have to face your fears soon, Tallinu. If you don't, they'll continue to control you. Now go and light that incense and the candles so I can begin. We've lost enough time already." She turned away from him and took an egg-shaped crystal from her pocket.
While Kaid busied himself doing her bid
ding, Rhuna took hold of Carrie's hand. Instantly she was aware of the Link to Kusac and with a tart thought in his direction, she cut him out, isolating the three of them from him. She smiled slightly to herself. For all his mental strength and ability, he wouldn't be able to break her shielding because it didn't respond to brute force. The more he tried, the more insubstantial it would seem to him.
She relaxed, letting her mind roam alongside the Human female's, finding it surprisingly close in feel to her own people's. Gradually she felt herself matching the girl's rhythms, minds and hearts beating together as one.
Tallinu had been almost right; she was asleep, but it was deeper than was normal— more a retreat from the world. Rhuna could feel the hurt and guilt caused by her cub's death, but there was more. She frowned, releasing Carrie's hand to touch her face instead. Vague images were there, drifting like smoke on the wind.
Rhuna tried to grasp one, but it eluded her, dissipating as if it had never been. With a mental shrug, she returned to where the sleeping Carrie was hiding from the world and began to gently insinuate herself into the Human girl's thoughts.
Carefully and slowly she worked, healing first the mental pain caused by Carrie's fear of her half-Sholan, half-Human child. That done, she began on Carrie's self-imposed guilt, rebuilding her shattered confidence, assuring her that neither she nor Kusac had been responsible for their cub's death.
It seemed to take an age, and Rhuna had to wryly admit to herself that she wasn't as young as she used to be, but finally it was over and Carrie lay sleeping normally.
She sat back in her chair, eyes closed, her hands holding the warm crystal in her lap. "I should have used the damned dampers," she muttered to herself.
"Noni, your drink," said Kaid quietly, holding out a glass of water for her.
Her eyes flicked open and as she took the glass from him, she tossed the crystal at him. Automatically, his Warrior's reactions made him reach up and catch it. She watched in satisfaction as he yelped, almost dropping it.
"Hot, isn't it, Tallinu?" She gave a short hiss of laughter before taking a long drink. "Get a damp cloth and wipe her face and hands. It was tiring for her, too, poor little thing. It's been a long time since I needed to work as hard as that."
"Your crystal," he said, holding the now cool gemstone out to her.
"Keep it," she said abruptly. "Since you can't have her yet, have it."
Kaid frowned. "I don't need ..."
"Go and get the cloth!" Rhuna snapped, taking another drink.
Pocketing the crystal, Kaid went to the bathing room and came back with a damp towel. He bent over Carrie, gently wiping the sweat from her face before lifting her hands one at a time. Finished, he looked up at Rhuna.
"Did you succeed?"
"What d'you think I am, Tallinu? An amateur?" she frowned at him. "Of course I succeeded! Her wounds I didn't do too much for because it was more important to heal her mind, but they should heal faster now."
"Thank you, Noni," he said. "I'd better contact Kusac. He's been trying to reach me for the past two hours."
"That long, huh? Ah, well. She's the first alien I've worked on. Go and tell him she's sleeping and you'll return her in the morning. When you come back, put the damper on. I'm keeping her mind shielded from him tonight."
"He won't like that."
"Doubtless," she said dryly, "but it isn't up to him, is it? When you've finished, we'll eat."
While he was outside at the aircar making his call, she got to her feet, moving stiffly across to the light sensor. She was blowing out the candles when he returned.
"There's stew on the stove and bread in the pantry," she said, sitting down at the table. "Once you've brought it over you can either eat first or wake the girl. She's slept enough, she needs to eat now."
"I'll wake her first," he said, tail flicking as he headed for the pantry.
* * *
Gradually the sounds resolved themselves into voices and she realized she was awake. Automatically, she reached for Kusac and found nothing. Her eyes flew open and she pushed herself up on her good arm, looking around in fear. Then she saw Kaid standing at the foot of the bed.
"Where am I? What's happened to Kusac?" she demanded, a distant part of her mind noticing how weak her voice sounded.
"Everything's fine," Kaid said. "You were ill so I brought you to a Healer. Kusac knows all about it. He's back at the estate waiting for you. Noni wants to keep you here overnight. I'll take you back in the morning."
"Noni?" she asked as Kaid came round and helped her sit up.
"That's me, young Human," said a voice from the other side of the room.
Kaid stood aside so Carrie could see her.
Sitting at the table had to be the oldest Sholan Carrie had ever seen. The iron-gray pelt was still flecked with its original brown, but the hair, worn in a single thick plait, was snow-white in color.
"Hmpf! I'm not that old, child," Rhuna growled.
"I beg your pardon," Carrie stammered, schooling her thoughts and her expression as she realized she'd been broadcasting. "Where am I?"
"In my home," said Rhuna, turning back to the stew pot to ladle out three bowlfuls. "You may call me Noni. Tallinu, give her her stew. It's time she ate. No male likes a female who resembles a skeleton, child." She held one of the bowls out to him.
Carrie watched Kaid go over to the table to collect her meal. The rich aroma of the cooked meat drifted up to her as he returned with it and held it out to her.
"Eat," said Noni, waving her spoon in Carrie's direction. "I've done all I can for you, it's up to you now."
Her stomach growled with hunger as Kaid sat on the bed beside her.
He handed her the spoon. "I'll hold the bowl," he said.
She nodded her thanks, dipping the spoon into the thick meaty gravy, then putting it in her mouth. "Where's here?" she asked around her mouthful.
"A village near Stronghold, in the Dzahai Mountains," he said. "How do you feel?"
"Hungry," she said, shoveling in another spoonful. "In what way was I ill?"
"We couldn't get you to wake or eat," said Kaid.
"You started to sleep yourself away, child," interrupted Rhuna. "You'll have more cubs, never fear. That one was never meant to be. Ask Tallinu. He knows."
Carrie looked at Kaid, a wary expression on her face. "You told me before you knew I'd lose the baby."
His ears flicked in irritation. "I hoped you wouldn't lose her," he said.
"But you thought I would. You said you'd had a vision."
Rhuna gave a low laugh. "Go on, Tallinu. Tell her. I want to hear it, too!"
He shrugged. "I had a God-Vision," he said. "It was enigmatic, as they all are. It's only when I see events happening that I know they're part of the vision."
"You could have warned me!"
"What could I have said? I only knew it was likely your cub wouldn't survive, not how she would die."
Unusually, she could feel something of his distress at being put on the spot like this.
"Don't blame him, child," said Rhuna suddenly. "Visions can confuse more than inform you. Eat your stew, then sleep. Tomorrow Tallinu will take you home."
Carrie looked from one to the other. Kaid's mind was once again as still as usual, and Noni met hers with an amused tone to it.
Eat, the old female sent to her.
* * *
Noni had turned in as soon as they'd finished eating. She was sleeping in the guest room, leaving Carrie her bed in the living room. Kaid had made her comfortable, then wrapped himself in a couple of blankets and lay down on the settee. The light had been left at a dim glow for her.
Carrie's sleep was restless and troubled. Gradually the gray mists that seemed to dominate her dreams these days parted and dissolved to reveal a stone hallway.
The faint noise she could hear resolved itself into a knocking at the door. As she watched, someone rushed forward to open it a crack, letting in the three figures that waited outside.
Her attention was drawn to the second figure— a tall, dark male who seemed somehow familiar. The light guttered as the wind from outside blew the candle flames.
"Shut the door! We don't want to advertise ourselves," said the younger male who brought up the rear.
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