Rainscape

by Jaye Roycraft

  He turned to her. “Dina, now it’s your turn to listen to me. You’ve forgotten what I am. I am exactly the creature you hated when you first landed here. My powers are considerable, and are not, and never have been, diminished by the fact that I left life on B’harata long ago to pursue other roads. I possess every one of the traits you abhor—plus a few others. T’halamar will not destroy me.”

  “But he will! Rayn, he was able to compel me in spite of the commands you planted in my mind to resist him. That proves he’s stronger than you are, doesn’t it?”

  “All it proves is that I underestimated him the first time around. It won’t happen again.”

  “Rayn, I felt his power. It was strong.”

  Rayn shook his head. “You felt what he wanted you to feel. I have much he doesn’t have, Dina, and never will. Believe in me.” In one fluid motion he was back at her side and gathered her to him.

  “Then there’s nothing I can say or do to change your mind.”

  “No.”

  After a time, he released her and held her chin so that she was forced to look at his eyes. “Listen, and mind this above all. Once I leave to confront T’halamar, don’t try to call to me or reach out to me. If you do, you’ll not only distract me, you’ll hurt yourself. More precisely, you’ll cause me to injure you, perhaps even kill you. My mind will be untouchable to someone at your novice level. You’ll burn in an instant. Dina, do you understand? If you try to touch my mind, the burn will probably kill you.”

  Dina’s eyes were wide. “But how will I know if you’re all right? The not-knowing will be impossible.”

  “No, it won’t. I’ll contact you as soon as I can. In the meantime you must wait.”

  She couldn’t answer.

  He shook her. Dina. You must heed me in this. You must.

  In that instant, her mind cleared, and she felt her strength return. She looked deep into his eyes and swore she saw her reflection there, caught and held for eternity. Hate? Abhor? She couldn’t hate this man no matter what he said or did.

  Rayn, I’ll do as you say, but I must know the outcome as soon as possible.

  Oh, you’ll know soon enough. When I can, I’ll have my men send word. But don’t come to me in person until Gaard contacts you. He’ll have this with him.

  Rayn put his left hand over her right, which was still behind his neck, buried deep in his hair. He moved it to his chest and closed her fingers over the pendant that always resided there. The stone felt smooth and warm from the constant contact with his skin. Dina closed her eyes and shuddered. It felt almost alive. His life, his warmth, she thought.

  It’s made of mother of pearl and star bharonite, from my planet. My name, my true name, is engraved on the back.

  Dina looked down and examined the gleaming gems, then turned the pendant over, but she couldn’t decipher the strange symbols engraved there. She searched his eyes again. They were only slightly deeper in color than the bharonite. The golden stone. Is this where the name DeStar came from? The star stone?

  In part.

  And your real name? Do you trust me enough to tell me?

  When this is over. If anyone comes to you other than Gaard, or if Gaard comes to you without the pendant, don’t trust what is said to you. If it should go badly, any one of my people, no matter how loyal, could be compelled to deceive you. Do you understand?

  Dina could only nod. She had to know the answer to one more question before he left. How long? How long after it’s over before I can be with you?

  A couple days, maybe a little longer. “I have to go.”

  Dina understood that in speaking to her, he was already pulling away from her, preparing to leave. She knew she had to let him go. She mustered her dignity and prayed her throat wouldn’t be so tight she couldn’t talk. “Just make sure you come back.” It was barely more than a whisper, but at least she got the words out.

  “You have my word.”

  “Your word. Giving your word doesn’t sound like something a B’haratan would do,” she said with a small smile.

  Rayn smiled in return. “It isn’t. Someday you’ll know that I mean what I tell you without my having to give you such meaningless reassurances.”

  Her smile grew.

  “You need to go back and get some sleep before your meeting.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t care about the meeting any more. And I don’t need sleep half as much as you do. Promise me you’ll sleep before you meet T’halamar. Rayn, promise, please.”

  “I promise, little girl. I’ll contact you before I go after T’halamar. You know what you have to do.”

  She nodded.

  “Come here.”

  She obeyed, willingly, and when she did, he kissed her again, softly and slowly.

  “This is not the way to persuade me to leave.”

  “Shall I insult your partner? That seemed to do the trick last time.”

  “Krek. All right, I’m going.” Dina looked at him one last time, then slipped out the door quietly.

  Rayn, I do believe in you.

  She wondered why she hadn’t been able to say it to his face.

  NINE HOURS LATER Dina sat with Jon, Chandhel, and Katzfiel in the same room they’d had their initial meeting in. That first meeting seemed so distant now. Had it been only twelve days ago? Dina had felt so eager and excited then, with all the confidence in the world in Jon and herself. Chandhel had seemed so pleased that they had arrived. Now Jon looked tired and defeated, and Chandhel looked like he was ready to hang them in place of the killer. His lined face looked pinched and drawn, but the blue-green eyes blazed. Only Katzfiel looked the same as before.

  Chandhel rose and wasted no time on preambles. “Agent Rzije, Agent Marlijn, the situation on Exodus has become critical. You have been here twelve days. Twelve whole days. We expected to have some results in that length of time. Not only does it appear that we do not, but people are still dying!”

  Chandhel’s voice rose with his last sentence, and he paused to regain his composure.

  “Frankly speaking, when I was told that only two IIB agents would be sent here, and that one was, for all intents, a ‘rookie,’ I was quite disturbed. But I was assured that the agents would be two of the best. Thus far, my fears have been confirmed in the manner in which this investigation has been run.”

  Chandhel paused to wipe his face with a finely woven white cloth. “I’m told that just yesterday, only hours from the time Karsa Hrothi was being murdered, the two of you were wasting Commander Katzfiel’s time asking about someone who was deported even before the killings started—someone who couldn’t possibly have anything to do with all this. My associates are displeased as well, and let me just say that Mother Lode and Synergy officials are just a little more than displeased!”

  A vein at Chandhel’s temple popped out, and a purplish color was evident even on his tanned skin. Again he paused, this time taking a sip of cold water as he did so. “Mother Lode’s planetary CEO, Jai Hwa-lik, met with me last night. He’s been in contact with all local Mother Lode officials as well as the home office on Glacia. They’ll be filing their suit immediately. Commander, please continue.” Chandhel dropped heavily to his seat.

  Katzfiel pushed his chair away from the table, but didn’t rise. He turned his pale eyes to Jon. “Agent Rzije. You will tell me now what suspect information you have developed. With our help, you are instructed to apprehend this person or persons before merkwia tomorrow. This is a directive from the highest echelon, and it allows for no discretion or alternative action. Do you understand?”

  Jon glanced down at the recorder in front of Dina but didn’t look at her. He drew a deep breath and addressed Katzfiel. “Sir, please know that we understand fully the gravity of the situation. This has been a very complex case, and we’ve been following a number of le
ads. We have discovered two dens living in the desert, and we believe that one, if not both of them, are involved in the murders.”

  Dina looked at Jon, incredulous. She wanted to ask him what he was doing, but knew better than to contradict him in front of Chandhel and Katzfiel. Jon continued speaking, without so much as a sideways glance at Dina.

  “One calls himself Rayn DeStar. He purports to be the Uz-Dailjan and lives in the Chayne Gwer. Both my partner and I have spoken to this man. The other is Gyn T’halamar, who lives alone in the Pur-Pelag. Agent Marlijn has met this man so can vouch for his existence.”

  “And what evidence do you have against these men?”

  Jon didn’t blink. “Each has implicated the other, Commander. Both have means, motive, and opportunity.”

  “Good. We’ll meet and formulate a plan to bring these two men in for questioning before tomorrow night. Minister?”

  “When your plan is set, you will advise me of such. This meeting is closed.” Chandhel rose and left the room.

  “Agent Rzije. Meet me in my office in one hour. You will bring ideas on how best to take these two men safely into custody,” Katzfiel said, still looking at Jon.

  Jon and Dina left the conference room, passing Maris and Corporal Khilioi in the anteroom. Dina met the woman’s gaze, but Maris wasn’t smiling. Her expression was cold, but more than that, there was an open haughtiness that had been absent before. Unlike Maris, Khilioi was smiling, but to Dina his crooked smirk was as far from friendly as the woman’s contempt. The bandwagon was certainly getting emptier by the minute.

  The Commander, as usual, had ignored her, but she had bigger problems to worry about than Katzfiel. To Maris and Khilioi she gave not a single further thought. As soon as she was alone with Jon in his room, she directed her ire at him.

  “Jon, how could you? We don’t have any evidence DeStar is involved.”

  Jon took off his shirt and threw it at the bed. “Take the blinders off, Dina. We have plenty against him. What did you expect me to say in there? I had to give them something. Did you expect me to say ‘oh, Minister, we believe that there is a conspiracy within Mother Lode Mining to discredit the Synergy so they can win a big lawsuit, but we don’t know exactly who’s involved, and we don’t have any evidence.’ Come on.” He hobbled to the sink.

  Upset as she was, alienating Jon would not further her cause. She stepped to his side to apologize. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m just tired. What do we do next?”

  “Well, you understand the dens better than anyone. You’re going to have to help me come up with this plan. We’re going to have to find a way to bring them in without allowing them the opportunity to turn their mental powers on us.”

  Dina thought fast. “All right. Just give me a moment in my room to freshen up.” She wanted to be alone to call Rayn. The telepathic communication was so intimate that Dina felt uncomfortable doing it in the presence of others.

  “One minute. Chandhel didn’t give us much time. Let’s not waste it.”

  Dina nodded, and was grateful to slip inside her room at last. She closed her eyes and tried to compose her roiling feelings. Rayn.

  It didn’t go well, did it?

  No. Worse even than I imagined. Chandhel gave us an ultimatum. Jon gave up both you and T’halamar to the AEA. We have until merkwia tomorrow to apprehend you.

  Dina could hear Rayn’s laughter in her mind.

  Rayn, this isn’t a joke. The AEA has life sensors and motion detectors that’ll make it easy to find anyone in the desert. And once located, they have an arsenal of weapons that will render anyone, even a dens, incapacitated. And don’t think you can hide, because even if you can, what about your people? Katzfiel won’t hesitate to use them against you.

  I wasn’t laughing because I’m amused, believe me. You’re right, little girl, I won’t risk the lives of my friends, but things are happening fast. You have to buy me time, today at least.

  “Dina, get in here!” came Jon’s voice from the other side of the door.

  I don’t have any clout with these people. They don’t even give me credence as an investigator.

  Then use your influence with Rzije to convince the angwhi to go after T’halamar first.

  Rayn . . .

  “Dina!”

  “Coming, Jon.” Damn! She took a deep breath and opened the door to Jon’s room.

  He frowned at her from the computer. “What’s the matter?”

  She tried to compose herself. “Nothing. I just don’t like ultimatums, that’s all.”

  “Neither do I, but we don’t have many choices right now. We have less than an hour to decide what to do. Any ideas?”

  “I think we should convince the Commander to go after T’halamar first.”

  “And why is that?” Jon asked.

  She sat on the bed and leaned forward. “Because I really believe that he’s the killer, not DeStar.”

  “Dina, you don’t know that.”

  “Yes, I do. The Dailjan are good people. I’ve probed most of them. A killer wouldn’t choose to live among people like that.”

  Jon shoved at a pile of printed reports, not seeming to care that some of them slid to the floor. “Come on, Dina. It’s a well-known fact that murderers throughout the ages have been able to live in society without their friends and neighbors aware of what they are.”

  She stood up. “Jon, please, trust me on this. If you’re not going to trust my abilities, why did you choose me for this assignment?”

  Jon sighed. “Okay, you win. But we’re going to have to come up with a different reason to convince Katzfiel.”

  She shrugged and stepped over to pick up the papers from the floor. “It’ll be easier to locate T’halamar. He’s all alone in the Pur-Pelag. Once the sensors pick up a lone life form, chances are very good it’ll be him. If we try to scan for DeStar in the Chayne, we’ll pick up numerous scattered life forms. We won’t have any way of knowing which one is him.”

  “All right. That makes sense.”

  The meeting with Katzfiel, while not the most pleasant Dina had ever attended, at least achieved what Dina wanted. A dawn raid was planned for the following day, and it was agreed by all to try to apprehend T’halamar first. Jon spent the rest of the day in planning the details for the raid, and for preparing the equipment needed.

  Dina had her own plans.

  Seventeen

  The Pur-Pelag

  WITH THE HELP of a life sensor, it didn’t take Rayn long to locate T’halamar’s camp in the Pur-Pelag. It was in a small valley surrounded by orange and burgundy sandstone rocks, carved into twisting, huddled forms by wind and water over millions of years. The place had a mysterious beauty to it, but Rayn saw none of it.

  He cut the power on his skimmer thirty bars from the shadowed opening in the rock, swiveled off the leather seat and, in slow, measured paces, walked toward the cavern, no weapon in hand. The only concession he made to the weather was a narrow sunshield covering his eyes.

  Rayn stopped twenty bars from the entrance and waited.

  A moment later, Gyn stepped from the shade of the cavern into the sunlight. His hair was pulled back and tied behind his head, and he was naked from the waist up. As he sauntered toward Rayn, sunlight flashed off the sweat on Gyn’s bronzed torso.

  T’halamar covered half the distance between the cavern and Rayn and halted. “Well, well. If it isn’t the little spithra.”

  “I received your message. You really didn’t expect me to turn down such a charming invitation, did you?” Rayn asked mildly.

  “Did you get all of my message? No? Allow me to tell you the parts that the delectable Miss Marlijn no doubt left out. The part about her opening herself so willingly to me? And did she neglect to tell you how her body responded to mine? Truly, it has been a long time sin
ce I’ve seen a woman become so aroused so quickly. She seemed starved for attention, as if she hadn’t been satisfied for a long, long time. What’s the matter, spithra? Unable to get the job done? Or does she simply show no interest in a weakling like you?”

  A dark red current of heat flowed from Gyn, and Rayn saw the sunlight brighten the energy like candlelight through a glass of dark wine, rich, strong, and heady. Rayn felt the heat of Gyn’s power, but deflected it easily away.

  “You can cut the theatrics, T’halamar. Your bad-boy display doesn’t impress me.” Rayn removed his sunshield and casually tossed it to the ground, refusing to let T’halamar’s taunts distract him. “I hope you enjoyed yourself with the lady. She does have a beautiful body, does she not? Fortunately for her, she’ll survive your crude groping. Unfortunately for you, she has depths of beauty you’d never be able to reach had you a hundred years to try. But, alas, you won’t even get the chance.”

  T’halamar’s dark eyes narrowed and burned like black coals. “Try? Oh, I’ll do more than try. I’ll have her, every part of her, body and soul. And while I’m inside her, possessing her utterly, I’ll tell her how on this day I destroyed you, bit by bit. Do you suppose that’ll increase her pleasure? I can’t wait to find out.”

  “It’s quite apparent you’ve fantasized about her a great deal. Of course, that’s about all you can do, isn’t it? Fantasize?”

  “You’re about to learn differently. After today you’ll wish fantasizing was all I could do. At least, that’s what you’d wish if you had a mind left to wish with.”