by Shannah Jay
'I shan't tell her quite yet. She's not ready.'
'And if she guesses?'
'That's a risk we must take.'
Jonner's eyes flickered from one to the other. 'Tell who what?'
'None of your business!' snapped Cheral. 'And isn't it about time you started to exercise your body? You're becoming positively flabby.' She poked him in the midriff. 'Look at that! Disgraceful! Now, where did you put the flatcakes and dried fruit? Such a scramble to leave. Why we couldn't eat first, I don't understand. Whatever's got into those creatures lately?'
The deleff continued to pull the wagons at their top speed, even though the ground was beginning to slope upwards.
'I think our friends are eager to be home,' said Herra softly to Cheral. 'Surely we can put up with a little inconvenience for their sake. We do owe them our lives, after all.'
'Well, I suppose it won't hurt us to break our fast with flatcakes for once. After all, they're there for emergencies,'
Cheral admitted. 'Jonner, that's not enough exercise!'
'But I'm hungry.'
'You'll get nothing until you've finished all the exercises!'
Jonner scowled and Herra hastily intervened. 'You'll need to get fit once we start trading, Jonner. We'll all be relying on you then.'
He saw the determination on her face and sighed. 'Oh, very well.'
The sun rose higher in the sky, but the deleff showed no signs of stopping to rest. By now everyone was riding in the wagons in the shade of the awnings. Heat lay like a prickly blanket around them and again, it was Jonner and Benjan who suffered most. Carryn wasn’t in a much better state, and wilted visibly as the sun rose in the sky.
They were climbing quite steeply now, heading towards a blunt-edged crag that dominated the foothills. The heat made the air waver around them, distorting the rocks and lending the arid landscape a false sense of life and movement.
Large birds wheeled above them on the currents of rising air. The few flying insects to brave the heat darted from shadow to shadow.
QUEST Shannah Jay 190
About an hour past noon, a whine in the air marked the passage of another transcap. Davred frowned. 'Soo said nothing about sending a second shipment.'
'Perhaps she's found some more tracers,' said Katia, fanning his face gently.
They reached the transcap only ten minutes later. It was very much larger than the first one, nearly as big as the wagons. It began to split open of its own accord as they approached it and a black cylinder rolled out onto the sand.
As Benjan moved towards it, Davred yelled, 'Get back! Back! It's dangerous.'
Benjan jumped away. The wagons came to a sudden halt and the deleff started pawing the ground uncertainly.
Davred rushed around to their heads in a futile attempt to pull them in the other direction. They resisted his attempts and continued to stare at the black cylinder.
Without warning there was a blinding flash of light and they all found themselves caught by some invisible force that made movement almost impossible. Benjan began to struggle and Jonner to mouth slow curses.
Robler's voice came from the cylinder. 'A convenient stopping place, Davred Hollunby. You've had your wish and visited your precious planet. Now it's time to come back and do your duty by the Confederation, to whom you are contracted for another three years.'
'No!' Davred's forehead was covered in beads of sweat as he struggled against the netwaves. His words came slowly, distorted by the force that held his body. 'Robler - it's here that I can - help the Confederation. You've got to - believe me! The Catharsis has already started here.'
'Come back and persuade us of that, then.'
'There isn't time! Herra has - only a few years to live. I need - to spend them with her - to learn the Disciplines from her. There isn't time, I tell you!'
Herra, too, was struggling against the invisible bonds, and did not at first know how to work against the strange force that was holding them all captive. 'Davred, how do we - get to him?' she asked, forcing the words out of her half-paralysed lips. 'How do we - make that man - stop this?'
'He's too - far away,' gasped Davred. 'We need to destroy that cylinder. Katia, join with me. Perhaps together, we can . . . '
'I had intended to give you time to say farewel ,' Robler's voice cut in sharply, 'but if you're going to waste my time resisting, maybe it'l be better to make this break swiftly.'
Davred's body stirred and began to slide slowly across the ground towards the transcap. 'No! Robler, no! Brother, look down upon me!'
Suddenly the deleffal and his team-mate began to move, stepping away from their harness, but slowly, as if they were still partly held by the hidden bonds. With ponderous steps Sh'ellen led the way towards the cylinder. Davred's body also continued to slide towards it. After a while it became obvious that Sh'ellen could go no faster and Davred would reach the cylinder first.
'Katia!' he cried out instinctively.
She was too helpless even to raise her hand towards him, and could only whisper, 'Davred.'
'Everyone concentrate on pushing Sh'ellen!' said Herra urgently. 'Now! All together! As if - we were - enmeshed.'
As one they began to do as she asked. Beads of sweat stood out on Benjan's brow, and even Carryn made an effort to add her limited strength to theirs.
The deleff began to move at a slightly faster pace. An exclamation of annoyance came from Robler, but there was nothing he could do to move Davred more quickly than science told him was possible. Even controlling one object in a netwave field was a difficult task. Gradually Sh'ellen began to gain on Davred. He moved closer and closer to the black cylinder.
With Davred a bare two paces behind him, Sh’ellen reached it first. He raised one great foot and smashed it down QUEST Shannah Jay 191
on the shining black ceramoplast, bugling at the top of his voice. An explosion of light blinded them all, and the two deleff staggered backwards.
When everyone's eyes had cleared, they found Sh'ellen shaking, like one drunk or il , and Davred lying stunned on the ground.
'Brother, aid us in our hour of need!' gasped Cheral, rushing towards them. 'What happened?'
'Sh'ellen destroyed that thing. Once again, we owe him our lives.' Herra bent over Davred, who had begun to stir.
'Take things gently, my friend. Are you hurt?' She felt his forehead.
He took a long, quivering breath. 'No. Just shaken by the explosion. It seems to affect one's balance.'
Reassured, she turned to Sh'ellen and bowed. 'Thank you, deleffal. Without you, Davred would be lost to us.'
Sh'ellen tossed his head and whined through his nostrils. He too seemed to be shaken, and his mate kept rubbing her head against his.
Davred struggled to his feet with Katia's help. 'I thank you, deleffal,' he said formally, bowing to the two great creatures.
'So,' said Herra. 'Can Robler try this again?'
'Yes. As soon as he can get another transcap down. And I don't see how we can stop him. Netwaves are very hard to deal with. I've never heard of anyone resisting them at all before.'
'Isn’t there anything we can do to prevent this from happening again?' Fiana asked, looking nervously at the sky and fingering her useless sword.
Davred shook his head. 'Not that I know of. It's illegal to use a netwave trap on intelligent life without the permission of Central. I doubt if Robler's had time to get that, but he's taking the risk of a reprimand for the sake of recapturing me. He must have run mad!'
'In that case,' said Herra, 'if you're sure there's nothing we can do, we might as well continue our journey. The deleff seem impatient to move off.'
Sh'el en seemed to have recovered fully. He’d started stamping his feet while they spoke. Now he bugled loudly and moved into harness, pulling the wagon along before they had even got in again, showing more impatience than ever before.
'He saved us once. We must trust him again,' Herra decided. 'Come on, everyone.'
'Davred, my Davred, th
ere must be some way we can stop him.' Katia had not let go of her husband's hand since the cylinder had released him.
'I know of nothing else that we can do,' said Davred, clasping her to him. The thought of being separated from Katia filled him with horror. 'My world has things called rules of science. I think I'm more bound by them than you because I was taught to believe them. Herra's right. So-called civilisation affects one's capacity to do things. We build our own limitations and rules into our children.' He’d never realised this before.
The deleff moved at their top speed. About an hour later they turned a corner between some high rocks and came to a halt next to another of the small pools that punctuated the track. Thirstily the great creatures slurped up mouthfuls of the water and the humans followed their example. It was icy cold, a delicious shock to a parched mouth, though how a shallow pool could remain so cold in all the heat was a mystery.
A whining noise in the sky marked the approach of another transcap. Sh'ellen bugled loudly and the other deleff joined in. They got back into harness and began to pull the wagons into the water.
'Get on board!' yelled Davred. 'This could be another portal. It's our only chance of escaping the netwaves. Hurry!'
There was a scramble to obey him and he found Carryn tossed up beside him by Benjan, while Katia jumped into the other wagon, sending an agonised glance in his direction.
Benjan jumped in and flung himself across Davred's body as the transcap burst open and the netwaves clamped QUEST Shannah Jay 192
down on them again. 'Might help,' he grunted.
Davred could feel the netwaves focusing on his body, tugging at it. He could feel, too, Benjan's great muscles straining to hold him on the wagon.
Carryn began to whimper.
The deleff were pulling the wagons forward more slowly now, as they too fought against the invisible netwaves. The water grew deeper, rising up the wheels, covering the axles, but this pool didn’t bubble up around them like the one in the wildwoods. Rather, they moved into deeper water, shaded by the opaque black shadow cast by the rocky outcrop.
In spite of Benjan's efforts, Davred could feel his body jerking little by little towards the rear of the wagon.
'Damn you, Robler!' he shouted.
There was a chuckle. 'Your primitive friends can do little against sophisticated technology, properly applied.' The voice seemed to come from the air above them. 'And this time I have another transcap hovering nearby, in case your pet destroys this one.'
'I won't co-operate with you,' Davred yelled. 'Not ever!'
'Oh, but you will - given the right drugs.'
'Concentrate - everyone!' commanded Herra. 'Try to keep - Davred's body - on the wagon.'
The tugging movement slowed down, but was stil marked enough to terrify Davred. He felt one of his feet slip over the tail of the wagon and the leg start to follow.
The deleff were moving with agonising slowness across the pool towards the rocky cliff wall. Davred's right foot touched the water, then the left one. As water lapped up his legs, the deleff started to bugle, a pulsating cacophony of sound that hurt the heads of the people in the wagons.
'What are those stupid animals of yours doing? They're pulling the wagons towards a wall of solid rock! Have they run mad?' shouted Robler, hands hovering over the controls. As soon as Davred was free of the wagon, and that big lout's body, he would whisk him over to the transcap and lock him under stasis. But he could do nothing until Davred's body was clear of the others, or they too might be caught up in the focused netwave. He wanted no complications, no charges of abducting protected indigenes from their own world.
The noise from Robler's transmitter became even shriller, a maddening whine at a painfully high frequency whose harmonics hurt the ears. Davred felt his body jerk and twist to free itself from Benjan's legs. His trunk was now beginning to slide over the edge. He caught at the side of the wagon, but his fingers scrabbled helplessly against the wood, unable to grasp anything tightly, so weakened were they by the netwaves.
Ahead of them, the rock started to shimmer. Davred's body was slipping off the rear edge of the wagon into the water as the deleff strode towards the flickering light. 'Katia!' he called desperately. 'Katia, I love you!'
Robler's laughter was loud enough to punctuate the deleff's intermittent bugling. 'Love a primitive! You're a fool, Davred Hollunby.'
The deleff's eagerness was clear to see. They began to toss their heads and pick up speed. At the very last moment, just when it seemed as if they were going to collide with it, the wall vanished, and the dark mouth of a tunnel gaped in the sunlight. So dark was it that nothing could be seen of the inside.
With half his body hanging over the tail of the wagon, Davred felt the netwaves abruptly slacken their hold on him.
With more speed than grace, he scrabbled towards the front of the wagon, where Benjan again threw his own body across him.
'Davred!' Katia called sharply from the darkness ahead. 'Are you all right?'
'Yes. The netwaves seem very faint inside here.'
'Brother be thanked!' murmured Herra.
'Where are we going now, do you think?' Carryn asked.
QUEST Shannah Jay 193
It was Herra who answered. 'The Lands of Nowhere, I should think.'
'May the God look down upon us!' muttered Jonner. 'What in the name of all the Manifestations is going to happen to us next?'
Steadily, with no slackening of pace, the deleff moved on into the utter darkness of the tunnel. As it closed in around them, the rocky wall behind them shimmered into existence again and the faint lingering trace of the netwaves vanished completely.
'I don't think I like this tunnel very much.' Jonner's voice echoed in the darkness. 'I feel - dizzy.' Herra felt him slide sideways and when she touched him, she found he was unconscious.
'Jonner's fainted,' she called sharply. 'Is everyone else all right?'
'No!' came Fiana's voice. 'Carryn's also fainted. And I - I feel . . . ' Her voice tailed away.
One by one the people in the wagons lost consciousness, till only Herra was left awake. She struggled against the drowsiness that threatened to overwhelm her. 'Deleff! What are you doing? Sh'ellen, we trusted you!' she shouted.
A strange voice replied in the darkness. 'Sssafe, Elder Sssisster. Sssafe now.'
'Who are you?'
'Friend.'
'I won't let you . . . ' she began.
'Musst! Musst ssleep! Cannot pass through portal awake. Pleasse, Elder Ssisster! Pleasse let body ssleep! Will be ssafe in land of deleff. Pleasse!'
Herra fought against it stubbornly, but eventually she too slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was the sibilant voice calling, 'Ssafe now. Ssafe, Elder Ssisster.' It was a strangely comforting sound.
The two wagons rolled forward. The heads of the deleff were high, their eyes eager, their ruffs unfurled.
Even after the rocky wall had reformed behind them, their eyes gleamed in the darkness like living jewels. Soon, a faint light showed ahead of them, but none of the passengers in the wagons was awake to see it.
* * *
In the exec cabin Robler sat like one stunned. 'How did they do it?' he whispered. 'And - what did they do?'
Soo, monitoring what was happening in the com-room from her quarters, but helpless to intervene, was just as bewildered. She stared at Mak. 'I don't understand. They've just - vanished. And their tracers are only transmitting very faintly. Mak, what could have happened? Where are they?'
'Safe, I hope. Safe from Robler, anyway.'
'Davred's still alive. The signal's very weak, though. It's as if he's a long way away.'
'Look at it, though! Did you ever see such a low reading?'
'All his body processes have slowed right down.'
Mak put his arm round her. 'Put this latest incident on file with the rest of the evidence. I think from now on I'm going to watch Robler even more closely. It's illegal to use netwaves without permission. I
believe - I really believe - that it's time to risk sending an emergency transmission to Sector HQ. We can't let this go on.'
######
About the Author:
Shannah Jay, who also writes as Anna Jacobs was born in Lancashire and now lives in Australia and Wiltshire.
QUEST Shannah Jay 194
Discover other titles by Shannah Jay at Smashwords.com:
The Chronicles of Tenebrak
Book 2. Lands of Nowhere http://www.annajacobs.com/book.asp?pageID=19
Book 3. Shadow of the Serpent http://www.annajacobs.com/book.asp?pageID=19
Book 4. The Price of Wisdom http://www.annajacobs.com/book.asp?pageID=21
Also
Envoy http://www.annajacobs.com/book.asp?pageID=22
About the Author:
Shannah Jay, who also writes as Anna Jacobs was born in Lancashire and now lives in Australia and Wiltshire.
Connect with me online at
http://www.annajacobs.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: KATIA-FIRST CHOOSING
Chapter 2: HERRA - THE PROPHECY
Chapter 4: THOSE OF THE SERPENT
Chapter 5: KATIA - SISTER-ELECT
Chapter 6: HERRA'S GIFTS
Chapter 7: THE WILDWOODS
Chapter 9: FIANA'S ORDEAL
Chapter 10: THE GREAT GATHERING
Chapter 12: THE BONDING
Chapter 13: THE CAVE
Chapter 14: KATIA AND DAVRED
Chapter 15: HERRA RENEWED
Chapter 16: TENEBRAK - THE ARCHIVES
Chapter 17: TENEBRAK - DISCORD RAMPANT
Chapter 18: THE TRAP
Chapter 19: ESCAPE FROM TEMPLE TENEBRAK
Chapter 20: THE AFTERMATH
Chapter 21: TENEBRAK-CARRYN
Chapter 22: JONNER
Chapter 23: AHARRI BEL-ASHKARON
Chapter 24: INSIDE THE SHRINE
Chapter 25: BENJAN
Chapter 26: KINDRED OF THE GOD
Chapter 27: THE BATTLE
Chapter 28: DEEP IN THE WILDWOODS
Chapter 29: DESERT TREK
Chapter 30: ROBLER'S TRANSCAP