CHAPTER 10
How he made it to the bay at the rear of the estate, Kaid never knew. The boat was still tethered at the side of the wooden jetty. A week or two later and it would have been stored for the winter. Untying the painter, he pulled the cover back enough to crawl under, and let the boat drift. The tide was going out and he knew it would carry him toward the fishing town of Raul, out of the range of Ni'Zulhu's scanners.
It took an hour or two, but he wasn't in a rush and the pain level in his arm was just enough to ensure he couldn't drop off to sleep. By the time he reached the middle of Nazule Bay, he was able to push the cover back completely and turn the power on.
Within fifteen minutes he was docking at Raul.
He disconnected the infusion unit but left the canula in place. He could reconnect it later when he'd found somewhere to stop. Pulling a long coat from his backpack, he eased himself painfully into it before leaving the boat and entering the small town. Stopping at a public comm, he called one of Nazule's hire companies, asking them to bring out one of their two-person sports aircars.
The local tavern was warm and as he waited, he nursed a bowl of fish stew. He knew he needed to eat to build up his fast diminishing reserves of energy, but though he managed to force down about half of it, the rest was beyond him.
Finally the door opened and he saw the hire company agent. Standing, he beckoned him over.
"Vehicle for Rhyjidi?" the agent asked.
Kaid nodded and followed him out.
"You've hired from us before, haven't you?" the agent said. Without waiting for a reply, he handed Kaid a rigid card. "Here's the authorization card. Same as usual. Put your credit card in the slot, then that one, and you're away." He flicked an ear briefly at him, then sprinted over to the other aircar where his colleague waited.
Kaid settled himself in the vehicle, stowing his backpack on the seat beside him before taking off. The pain and the side effects of the Fastheal had reached a point where he knew he'd have to find a secure place to stop for a couple of days. His best bet was to head for the Taykui forest, some half an hour's flight from Raul.
As he came down in the small clearing, he realized his judgment was virtually shot to hell. The vertical landing was fine, but the craft bumped and jolted over the uneven ground before he brought it to a stop scarcely a meter from a patch of thorn bushes. He released the canopy and hauling himself one-handedly to his feet, looked around. At least he was under cover from any vehicles flying overhead. The area seemed quiet and he couldn't sense any Sholan presences. Trusting his instincts, he sat down and sealed the craft again, activating the opaque privacy shield.
Pushing the seat back on its tracks, he swiveled it round to face the rear. The model he'd requested was usually used by hunters and contained a living area large enough to sleep its two occupants, a basic toilet facility, and a food and drink dispenser. Nothing fancy, but adequate for his needs.
When he stood up in the living area, his head almost touched the roof, but there was enough room for him to shuck off his coat and toss it in a corner out of the way. Sitting down again, he pulled his case forward, setting it on his lap. From it he took out the hypoderm and the pack of assorted ampules he'd acquired from Vanna's pharmacy.
His hands shook as he tried to load one of the analgesics. He was burning up and he knew it. Fastheal always had that effect on him but with the febrifuge action of the analgesics, he could weather out the fever. Placing the hypoderm just above the bandage on his left arm, he pressed the trigger. The relief was almost instantaneous and he sank back in the seat, exhausted.
Pain gets you that way, he thought. You never know just how bad it has been till it's gone.
He put the empty ampule in his pack and took out a second one, this time an antibiotic. The last thing he needed was an infected wound. He rearranged the ampules in the order he wished to take them for the next two days, then laid the kit near at hand.
Leaning forward, he studied the dispenser. He didn't want anything, but he needed to keep replenishing his energy levels for the Fastheal to work without killing him. It was a dangerous drug, used only sparingly in emergencies, and he was using it at the maximum dose. He needed to be fit again as soon as possible. He had to reach Khemu before she died.
"Vartra be praised!" he muttered to himself. It had a protein drink on the menu.
While that was being dispensed, he staggered to his feet and pulled the rear locker door open. A couple of sleeping bags and pillows fell out. Taking one set, he pushed the other back in and returned to his chair, spreading the opened bag over it.
Retrieving the mug, he put it on the floor and took the infusion unit out. He removed the piece of bandage he'd wrapped over the canula and reattached himself to it. Replacing the unit in his pocket, he sealed the bag, then picked up the mug.
The warm drink along with the drugs began to make him feel drowsy. Finishing it, he set the mug down and fully reclined the seat, passing his hand over the light sensor switch on his chair arm.
At daybreak, his wrist comm roused him. He downed another protein drink, then took another dose of analgesics and the Fastheal.
He hovered in the fever dreams, surfacing only long enough to take the protein drinks and further doses of his drugs, at the regular and insistent urging of his wrist comm before he lapsed into semiconsciousness again.
The fever images that chased around inside his mind were of fire and flood, people fleeing in terror; of Rezac and his new Leska; of a fiery path leading to a gateway through pillars of flame; and finally of Khemu and of Carrie.
* * *
Morning came very early that day as Vanna alerted the household to Kaid's disappearance during the night. A call to the gatehouse revealed nothing. No sign of anyone leaving the estate had been noticed after Dzaka's exit.
The parcel Kaid had left for Carrie was delivered and turned out to be an account of the various dreams and visions he had experienced over the last few months.
Later that morning the missing items from the medical unit's dispensary were reported to Vanna and Jack.
"He's gone after Dzaka," said Vanna when they met in the main lounge before second meal.
"No," said Garras. "He's not gone after Dzaka. I've a feeling he knows where he is, but that's not what he's concerned about."
"Then what?" asked Carrie. "What could have been so important as to make him leave here in the state he was in?"
"It's my bet they've both gone to the same place," said Kusac thoughtfully. "Dzaka believes Kaid was lying so he doesn't trust him, but Kaid may just have shaken his belief in what Ghezu told him enough to not entirely trust him either. Who's left that would know what really happened between Kaid and his mother?"
"Noni?" said Garras.
"No," said Carrie, sitting up as she followed Kusac's line of thought. "His mother. They've both gone to find her!"
"Possible," said Garras with a nod.
"He'll be lucky if he doesn't kill himself!" said Vanna. "The drugs he took from the pharmacy are very powerful. If he's keeping himself going on a cocktail of stimulants, Fastheal and analgesics, he's likely to burn himself out in hours not days!"
"He's paramedic-trained, Vanna. He knows his own metabolism, he won't overdo the drugs. It's not as if he didn't know what he was doing," said Garras calmly.
"Considering he's your friend, you seem very unconcerned," said Vanna. "The wound he got from Dzaka last night was serious. Not only did he lose a lot of blood, but Jack had to call me in to use a plasmagraft. There's still the chance of infection."
"He did take the infusion unit with him," said Garras.
Vanna merely grunted in reply.
"Where does this Khemu live?" asked Konis.
"According to her Clan, she died thirty years ago," said Garras. "She was the oldest daughter of the Arrazo Telepath Clan. I doubt they'd be willing to help us prove she's alive and that they lied about her death all those years ago. They're a proud lot, the Arrazos."
&
nbsp; "Khemu Arrazo, you say?" said Konis, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "That was before I took over as Clan Lord. Still, she should be in our records somewhere. Technically dead, is she? Hmm. I'll check it out. What do you plan to do now? Just how dangerous is Dzaka?"
"That depends," said Garras. "I suggest we call off the search for him. I'm pretty sure he's headed for Stronghold or Dzahai village to check out what Kaid said. We need to contact Noni ourselves. Ghezu or Dzaka might have told her where Khemu's supposedly living now, so at least we'll know where they're headed."
"If we assume she is alive and Ghezu's told Dzaka where she is, what are the chances of him telling us?" asked Kusac.
"Absolutely none," said Garras. "He's been setting Dzaka against Kaid since he landed on Shola a couple of months ago, and before that on the Khalossa."
"How, and why?" exclaimed Carrie.
"By getting him to watch Kaid and report his movements back to Stronghold. As to why, well, Kaid and Ghezu fell out for a couple of months after Khemu disappeared. Then it seemed to blow over until the time came to choose a new Warrior Leader. From what I was told, what had seemed to be friendly rivalry got out of hand. I'd had to leave by then as my older brother had died and the Clan needed me. Personally I believe that Ghezu had set Kaid up by using Dzaka. It's quite possible that Khemu isn't where he's told them."
"Then is Lijou likely to know where she is? Would Ghezu have told him? Or failing that, would he be willing to find out for us?" asked Kusac.
"I've no idea," said Garras. "Kaid kept a lot to himself, so I don't know much about the state of affairs between Lijou and Ghezu, and I haven't had any dealings with them myself."
"I can help there," said Konis. "Lijou and I spoke about Ghezu. He's not happy about his state of mind at all. He feels he's walking a thin line between sanity and madness and, most of the time, madness wins. I need to go to Stronghold to see him about coordinating the final stages of the evacuation of the Laasoi Guildhouse. I'll call on him today and see what I can find out."
"Thank you, Father," said Kusac. "That would be an enormous help." He turned back to look at Garras. "So what do we do about Dzaka?"
"We can have someone near Stronghold, and Noni's keeping an eye out for him. If he turns up, they would follow him when he leaves, hopefully leading us to Khemu and Kaid."
"Shouldn't we be watching for Kaid, too?" asked Carrie.
"No point. He'll probably have traveled as far as he could last night and will be holed up somewhere till he's fit to go on. Then when he gets near where she lives, he'll hide out and watch her till he knows her movements and can approach her safely. That also allows him the time and rest he needs to finish healing," said Garras.
"Why does he want to see her again after all these years?" asked Vanna. "He's never struck me as being interested in any females, let alone carrying an undying love for one from his past. It isn't even as if she wants to see him or she'd have been in touch herself long before now."
Garras shrugged. "That's his business, Vanna, not ours. He's never spoken to me about Khemu."
"What was Khemu like?" asked Carrie.
Garras turned to look at her, an amused smile on his face. "Gods, it was years ago, Carrie! She wasn't my type so I didn't really mix with her and the others. From what I remember, she was intelligent, proud as only one of her kind could be ..."
"Her kind?" Carrie interrupted.
"Mountain Telepaths. Up in the mountains, few of the Arrazo telepaths stayed on at the estate. Most of them preferred to live in the towns at one of the guildhouses. Those that did stay at home were very much in demand. They could pick and choose what they wanted to do. Anyway, Khemu used to tease all the males that formed her little crowd. She was a beauty," he admitted, with a sidelong glance at Vanna. "She had bright blue eyes and silver gray hair with a pelt to match. She was small, though, not much bigger than you, Carrie. I told Kaid he was a fool, but he insisted there was more to her than she let the world see. Maybe he was right. Who knows?"
"For someone who wasn't your type, you've a pretty detailed memory of her," said Vanna.
"I didn't say I didn't notice her, I said she wasn't my type," he replied. "She strung them all along, teased them too much. If she ever took anyone other than Kaid as a lover or companion, none of us knew of it."
"Well," said Carrie, getting up, "I'd like to know how Dzaka got left outside Stronghold. How could any mother just abandon her cub?" She put her hand protectively over her belly.
"Who knows?" said Garras. "Maybe she took him when she left, or maybe her family abandoned him after she died. We certainly won't find out from the Arrazos."
"We'll see about that," said Konis, his voice grim as he got to his feet. "Once I've checked out the records, I may well be starting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Khemu Arrazo's disappearance."
"Mother sends that the meal's ready," said Kusac as he joined Carrie and his father at the door through to the din-ing room.
* * *
Second meal over, Konis had headed out to Stronghold with Garras.
"Dammit! I warned him, Konis!" said Lijou, pushing himself up from his chair and pacing over to the large window overlooking the Kysubi plains. "I did what I could, believe me!" He turned back to look at Konis. "Ghezu's invented this ..." he waved his arms expressively, "tale of who Dzaka's parents were, and told him to guard the female, Khemu, as Kaid is likely to kill her!"
"Trouble is, Lijou, it isn't a tale," said Konis. "Though he doesn't know it, Ghezu told him part of the truth."
Lijou's ears flicked backward then righted themselves. "What?"
"Kaid and Khemu are his parents," repeated Konis. "We don't know for sure she's still alive."
"Oh, Blessed Vartra," whispered Lijou, his ears staying back this time as he returned to his chair. "He's set him to kill his father or be killed by him! We have to stop this from happening, Konis," he said, leaning forward.
"That's why I'm here. Have you any idea where this Khemu Arrazo lives now?"
"Yes, yes I do. According to what Ghezu told me, she is alive, though I didn't tell Kaid where she is because I didn't want him to go after her. He has to go with your son and his Leska to the Fire Margins! If he's killed ..." He couldn't finish, so awful to him was the specter of them not going. "He's their best chance for survival!"
"Where, Lijou? Tell me where she is," said Konis quietly.
"She's at Rhijudu, almost at the heart of this Fyak's territory," he said. "They couldn't be going into a more dangerous area."
Konis glanced over at Garras. "What's the latest news from there?" he asked.
"Bad," said Lijou, running a hand through his hair in desperation. "The Sonashi Tribe have been virtually wiped out according to the few survivors that made it to the Laasoi Guildhouse. Fyak sent his warriors in to cleanse the village of those not willing to follow him. They say that Rhijudu has been taken by Fyak. It's policed by his warriors and the families split up into pairs who look to one of Fyak's Faithful to guide them materially and spiritually. The younglings and cubs live in single sex houses until Fyak chooses a life-mate for them, then they move into one of the vacant houses. He's breaking down all the ties of the tribes and building his own army of fanatics who worship this god of his, Kezule."
"Have you a map of the area?" asked Garras.
"No, but I can get one," said Lijou.
"Can you get it without alerting Ghezu?" asked Konis.
"Yes. He's been away from Stronghold for the last two days. I don't know where he's gone. I've just sent to Brother Nyash to bring us a map of the region," said Lijou.
"While we're waiting, I think you should tell us everything you know about Ghezu that might help us," said Konis, signing to Garras to bring some c'shar over for the Brotherhood's co-Guild Master.
"He's become obsessed with revenge against Kaid for all manner of imagined wrongs," said Lijou, his voice noticeably shaken. "His mind's become polluted by it. All he thinks of is Kaid's death, a
nd he wants Dzaka to do it because, he says, he's the only one of the Brotherhood who could best him."
"He probably could," said Garras, "but only if Kaid holds back because Dzaka's his son. What reason did he give for this hatred of Kaid?"
Lijou looked briefly up at him before continuing. "He said at first it was because of Khemu, but it wasn't just that, it involved the Leadership contest. My predecessor told me he forced Kaid to withdraw from the final test because of something he did to Dzaka. Ghezu's conscience has troubled him since then, which is why when Kaid kept disobeying him and going his own way, he reached a compromise with him."
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