The Price of Wisdom

by Shannah Jay

  Sadness racked Davred's face. 'I serve our Brother and our quest first, as do you, Herra. Did you doubt that?'

  'No.'

  Her hand rested for a moment on his shoulder, and it was a comfort to him. He managed a half smile.

  'We'll wait until everyone else has gone through,' Herra stared at the portal through narrowed eyes,

  'then I'll try to influence the transition, as I learned to do in Dsheresh. We must go back to the hills near Setherak, I think, and try to find some clue as to where the boy is.'

  'I'm coming with you, too, Elder Sister,' said Ivo, who was waiting nearby.

  'And I,' said Soo.

  Purvlin came up just then. 'Elder Sister, where does it lead, this portal?'

  'To the High Alder, I hope. When you get through to the other side, tell whoever meets you that Davred and I can't come yet, that we still have our task to complete.'

  The lad's face grew stubborn. 'My place is with you now, Elder Sister.'

  She was about to tell him no, but she felt that little touch inside her head that signalled her Brother, whispering in her ear. 'Yes,' she said, frowning, 'all three of you young ones are needed.' She sighed. 'But I can't see how, for your Gifts aren’t yet developed.'

  Purvlin beamed at her, then turned to Daranna and Jiran. 'We're to go last, with the Elder Sister.'

  His voice was jubilant, his eyes alight with excitement. 'We're not going to the same place as the others.'

  'I knew that already,' said Jiran.

  'How did you know?' Herra asked.

  He shrugged. 'I - I just knew it. I know things sometimes. Before they happen.' He shivered. 'It frightens me.'

  A hard Gift to live with, thought Herra. His face was so young and vulnerable a shiver ran down her spine, but she couldn’t think why.

  When the moment of unease had passed, she smiled at her companions. 'The others have finished going through. Shall we try the portal now?'

  ***

  Above them in the com-room of the satellite, Robler came to check what was happening, tensed and let out a string of curses. 'That's Davred Hollunby! Where in the name of all supernovas did he spring from this time? Get a fix on him, quickly!' But before Met could do anything, Davred and Herra had stepped into the portal and disappeared again.

  'What were you doing to miss that signal!' Robler roared. 'Why didn't you let me know as soon as you saw him?'

  Meera glared at him. 'I was running the satellite and doing the usual research - as my contract says I must.'

  Robler leaned his face very close to hers and said with savage calm, 'In a State of Emergency, you do as I say first, then, and only then, if there's time and if I give permission, do you do your research.

  When you're on watch, your task is to keep your eyes on the monitor panels and nothing else. And if you see a sign, even the tiniest sign, of that traitor, you call me at once. Is - that - clear?'

  Her face was totally expressionless. 'Yes, Exec. Very clear.' But when he’d left the com-room, a smile curved her lips for a moment. She’d noticed the light signalling Davred's re-appearance immediately. Of course she had. But she didn’t intend to be the one who helped Robler trap him. If she could, she’d actively help Davred and his companions. She and Kerem had already discussed that.

  Robler had run mad. It was quite plain. They dared not disobey him openly, for most of the others still supported him, but they’d do what they could to hinder his mad plans.

  Robler was in a furious mood for hours afterwards. He was in a furious mood the next day, too, until suddenly there was a loud yell from the com-room and Met's voice sounded all over the satellite on the com-system.

  'They're coming! They're coming to rescue us!'

  Robler thumbed his personal control panel 'Who are coming? And what do you mean by yelling out information like that, without authorisation?'

  Met's happy voice answered him, and he didn't sound in the least upset by the reprimand. 'It was Confex.'

  'What do you mean, "It was Confex"?' Robler roared.

  'Confex just got through to us.'

  'Why didn't you patch them through to me, then, let me speak to them?'

  'There wasn't time. They only got through to us briefly and it was a poor transmission. They'll be a while getting here, years even, because there are other observation teams to pick up as well as us, some in immediate danger. Some of the nexus points are unoperational, so they can't always make good jumps. And even when they do, the equipment isn't reliable. They keep finding themselves shunted to another region entirely and then it takes time to get back on track. But they're on their way. Confex haven't forgotten us. They've sent out a rescue vessel and we’ll be saved eventually. We really will be able to return to the Confederation.' His voice broke for a moment and he had to paused to gain

  JAY The Price of Wisdom37

  control of himself.

  Robler made no comment. A shocking thought had just occurred to him which made him sit rigid in his seat.

  Met's happy voice took up again. 'They say we can either go into emergency stasis or just continue our observations and wait for them.'

  A voice said, 'I'll vote for stasis, then,' but it wasn’t clear to whom the voice belonged. Met had thrown the com-system fully open.

  From all over the satellite came the sound of cheering voices, and that night there was an impromptu party in the rec-room.

  Robler joined in the celebration, but his heart wasn’t in it. He sat at the side, with a stim-drink in his hand, but sipped it only sparingly and it seemed to have little effect upon his mood. He was still coming to terms with the approaching changes. Somehow, he hadn’t expected to be rescued. He had been sure they’d have to stay here or down on Sunrise for the rest of their lives. More than that, he’d been looking forward to setting up a colony down on the planet, controlling the primitives so that they did the dirty physical work, and enjoying a life of luxury - with Soo - with any woman he chose to take.

  The next day he called a meeting and vetoed absolutely the possibility of the whole crew going under stasis till help arrived. 'We have a job to do here. OK, it's going to take longer than we expected, but we're still going to do it.' He didn't ask the rest of the crew whether that was their choice; he just told them, and when mouths opened to protest, he added, 'And as far as I'm concerned, we're still in a State of Emergency.' That shut them up.

  All except Kerem. 'Not quite,' he said in his deep voice. 'I think we should take a vote on whether we take refuge under stasis. It's our right to do that.'

  ' Not during a State of Emergency with three members of the crew down there on the planet. We can't go into stasis and leave them without help.'

  'It's their own choice to live down there. No one forced them. There is no emergency here on the satellite, and never will be if Confex are on their way to rescue us.'

  'It's my duty to decide that. No, keep quiet. There's nothing more to discuss.' As Kerem opened his mouth, Robler roared loudly, 'And if you don't keep quiet, I'll be happy to accede to your request and put you under stasis restraint, pending trial for insubordination.'

  Kerem breathed deeply and closed his mouth.

  'Dismissed. Get back on watch.' Robler let them file out. More problems to juggle. He'd have to keep an eye on Kerem now. What was there about this planet that made people disobedient and neglectful of their duty, and gave them ridiculous ideas about that planet? Whatever it was, he hated it, and if Confex did come and rescue them, he’d recommend they set up a cultural development unit here and bring the inhabitants of Sunrise out of their primitive and superstitious state as soon as possible.

  He couldn’t help hoping they’d never actually be rescued. Never! His breath hissed in as he acknowledged that, for he’d never admitted it, even to himself, before. His teeth bared in a grimace, then relaxed into a half-smile. Well, why should he want to go back? All he could expect from the Confex was the retirement that had been postponed when he was needed to come here and supervise t
he development of a Potential Cathartic Agent. And Davred Hollunby had turned out to be an ungrateful and traitorous fool, not worth Robler's time and efforts.

  Retirement! What would he do with himself on a retirement planet? He hated the places. Full of old people trying to stay young. Full of medi-centres, too. And activity centres. Meaningless activities for a man who’d spent his life at the leading edge of Confex exploration.

  You got no gratitude from Confex for a life spent serving the Confederation. The stiff-necked bureaucrats at Confex Central hadn't even considered him for a mentoring post, though he'd applied several times. They'd said he was temperamentally unsuited to it. Stupid fools! What did they know about anything, sitting in their luxurious office suites? He’d have taught the trainees about the practicalities of life in the exploration branch, not the airy-fairy rubbish that had been Davred Hollunby's downfall.

  The universe was full of ungrateful people. Even when given the chance, Davred had refused to be guided by an older and wiser head, and look what had happened. The fellow had utterly betrayed his potential when he fled down to join those stupid hags in the Sisterhood. And that’d reflect badly upon Robler when he got back to Central - if he ever went back.

  After the party, Robler felt randy, but none of the women would spend the night with him. None had accepted an offer to share sex for a while now. He considered ordering one of them to come to his quarters, but one glance at Berin and Kerem, standing near the group of women - why did the team members always hang around in groups lately? - made him change his mind. He had already put a first reprimand on both men's records, but they remained surly and unco-operative. Best to tread warily for the moment. With them and the women.

  He didn’t feel like using a substitute for sex, so lay awake for several hours after the party had ended. One decision was easy to make. If it was inevitable that Robler go back to Confex Central, he at least intended to go with his reputation unblemished. He still hadn’t brought Davred back to the satellite. Or Soo. But he would. Whatever it cost him. And before the Confex rescue team arrived.

  He didn't care if Mak was never found again. Robler would certainly make no attempt to find the fellow. Soo might have loved Mak enough to marry him, but Robler had always thought him a stiff arrogant sort of fellow. He wouldn’t be missed.

  He smiled. There would be plenty of time to plan what to do. A few years, the contact officer had said. Things must be really bad out there still, but Confex always tried to rescue its people, at whatever cost, however long it took. That policy might help to buy loyalty, but it was a stupid waste of resources.

  If Robler were in charge, they wouldn’t waste time or effort on such unimportant things as rescuing one small exploration team.

  CHAPTER 5 A NEW TURN IN THE PATH

  Katia was walking on her own in the woods when she suddenly paused and looked in the direction of the portal, that blurred patch of air in the centre of the pool that never quite came into proper focus.

  She always felt a frisson run down her spine when someone was about to come through it and she felt that eerie tingling now.

  She looked back at the settlement, wondering whether to go and call the others, in case whoever it

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  was needed help, then decided there wouldn't be time and raced off towards the portal. She was just in time to see the mists of spraying water rise up and cover the pool. A wagon rolled out of them and a group of drenched shivering people came stumbling through behind it. It was all they could do to stagger to the edge of the pool, so disoriented were they.

  She splashed into the water, calling, 'Move slowly. Come this way.'

  They followed her instructions and soon the pool was rimmed with their exhausted bodies. Those in the wagon didn't even bother to get out, but stayed where they were.

  Katia knew how they felt. The first time you came through a portal, you were so disoriented, it took you a while to adjust.

  One woman sat up before the others and looked around her, a scraggy older woman with a steady, determined look on her face.

  'Welcome to Northwoods!' Katia knelt beside her and grasped her hand. She could sense how tired the newcomer was and used her Healer's powers to speed up the recovery. 'I'm Katia.'

  'Ah. Herra told me about you. She hoped you'd be here to greet us. My name is Lerna.' She struggled to her feet. 'What's the matter with everyone?'

  Katia laid a hand on her shoulder. 'It's the effects of passing through one of the deleff's portals. It'll soon wear off.'

  As if to bear her out, the wagon's canvas canopy was pushed aside and people peered out. Some were very young, some much older, but all looked ill and exhausted. Some of them bore whip marks, even on their faces, and all of them were dressed in ragged clothes. Several of them clearly needed healing.

  A voice behind Katia said, 'I'll show them the way into town. Trample my guts, but I'd like to capture a few of the scum who do this sort of thing to people!' Quinna, the swordswoman from the Sandrims, stood there, massive, muscular even in her pregnancy, and glowing with health and energy.

  There could have been no greater contrast to the poor weary people stumbling out of the portal.

  Beside Quinna, Nim whined in her throat and two small children who’d clambered down from the wagon flinched away from her.

  'She's very tame,' Quinna boomed at them. 'She'll let you ride on her back, if you like.'

  The children hesitated.

  'Come on. I'll hold you on.' Quinna gave Nim a thump that counted as a gesture of endearment and held out her hands to them.

  They both crept forward, clutching one another.

  'What is it?' whispered the little girl, staring up at the huge furry creature towering above her.

  'A cliff cat.'

  'Where does it come from?'

  'From far beyond the Twelve Claims.'

  'Oh, from one of the new settlements,' said a man who’d come up behind the children. He, too, seemed amazed at the sight of Nim.

  Like Quinna, the great tawny cliff cat came from the Sandrims. She’d attached herself to the Kindred of the God when Katia healed her as a kit. Nowadays she spent most of her time with Quinna and had grown so much she was nearly as tall as a deleff and her head was on a level with Quinna's.

  But she was always very gentle with children and seemed to know instinctively that they didn’t mean to harm her with their sometimes clumsy play.

  Quinna set the two scrawny children on Nim's back, making them giggle with pride, then beckoned to the group of people standing shivering in the chill morning air. 'We've got some good fires going and plenty of food. Soon get you dried and warmed up. Just follow me.'

  As the people began to straggle into the new town that was growing up near the portal through which the deleff regularly brought refugees, the woman who’d spoken to Katia, took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and said briskly. 'It'll be better if I stay with you to greet them, my dear.

  They've been through a lot and they can get very suspicious of strangers.'

  Even as she spoke another wagon appeared in the mist.

  Katia looked at her. 'You're very tired yourself. Shouldn't you go and get some good hot food?'

  Lerna shrugged. 'I've been tired for a long time. And hungry. So I can wait a few more minutes for the food. But at least I'm free now, free.'

  When what Lerna said was the last group of mining folk had come through behind a third wagon, Katia watched anxiously for a few moments, but no more people came. She felt a hand pat her arm.

  'You're Davred's wife, aren't you?'

  'Yes.' Katia couldn't help asking, 'Didn't he - wasn't he going to come through the portal with you?'

  'He was with us before, but he and Herra have gone to rescue someone else before they try to get here. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but I heard them saying something about a boy. Not nice to be separated, is it?' Lerna sympathised. 'But at least your husband is still alive. My man got himself killed,
trying to help our daughter.' She blinked away a tear. 'She was killed, too.'

  'Oh.' Katia swallowed hard. The tales the refugees told always upset her, but at the same time they reaffirmed the need to continue to struggle against Those of the Serpent. 'I do miss Davred, I will admit. I was hoping . . . but if Herra still has need of him . . . Come on, then, Lerna, let's get you back to the village. You need some good food and a long rest.' She laid one hand on Lerna's arm and frowned, as she added, 'And that lump on your breast needs healing. How long have you had that?'

  The tears Lerna had been holding back for years overflowed. 'Now I know I'm safe,' she said huskily. 'I've not had a Sister Healer touch me for five years or more, and I've had the lump for two years, growing slowly bigger. I can feel it all the time now.' She brushed the tears away angrily. 'And why I should start crying, when I'm safe, and I haven't wept for years, is more than I can understand.'

  Katia just put an arm around her and hugged her. They’d only gone a few steps, when there was a splashing sound behind them and an exclamation of shock. Both women turned round to see a small dark-haired woman standing on the edge of the mist at the centre of the pool, looking absolutely bewildered.

  'It's Soo,' Lerna whispered. 'She was with Herra and Davred.'

  'Soo!' Katia gaped. This couldn't be Mak's wife, surely? How had she got here? She was tiny, with sallow skin and beautiful dark eyes which slanted slightly, giving her a piquant look.

  The woman turned at the sound of her own name, her body tense with fear, swaying as if she were dizzy.

  JAY The Price of Wisdom41

  Katia hurried forward, splashing into the water to put an arm around Soo's shoulders and guide her to dry ground. 'Welcome to Northwoods.'

  When Mak's wife had recovered a little, Katia asked, 'Are you really Soo from the satellite?'

  The newcomer nodded slowly, frowning. 'How do you know my name?'

  'I'm Katia. Davred's wife.'

  'Oh!' Soo gave a sob of relief and splashed forward to dry land. 'Oh, I'm so glad to see you! I thought Davred and Herra would be coming through the portal with me. Herra said we were all going to look for a boy.' She looked round again. 'Where am I? And where are the rest of them? We didn't intend to follow the miners.'