Star Bridge (Chaterre Trilogy Book 1)

by Jeanne Foguth

  Nimri leaned close to Bryta’s ear. “She was dead. Larwin returned her to us.” But for how long? The head injury looked bad.

  Bryta stiffened and gaped at Larwin.

  A murmur of sound swelled to a riotous din of conversation.

  Bryta turned to Nimri and spoke directly into her ear. “But no healer is strong enough to—”

  “Yet, he did,” Nimri said. She turned to Larwin. “Thank you. Bless the Ancients who sent you.”

  How inadequate her words sounded.

  Nimri leaned across Tansy and gave Larwin a clumsy, one-armed hug. To her surprise and delight, he kissed her forehead.

  “She needs bed,” Larwin said.

  Nimri sat back on her heels and wondered what exactly he had in mind.

  Larwin scooped Tansy into his arms and stood up. He gave Nimri an expectant look.

  “Come.” Nimri scrambled to her feet. “I will show you where she lives.”

  She led him off the dock. The crowd parted to let them pass. Quark Dagger watched Larwin as if he worshiped the ground he walked on. Flame's expression held awe and admiration. Other eyes held terror, as they looked at Larwin. Several dropped to their knees and touched their foreheads to the ground in reverence

  Nimri glanced back and saw Bryta walking close enough to touch Larwin. She had a mixture of love and anxiety in her expression, but all her attention was on Tansy.

  If nothing else, the incident had changed Bryta’s outlook toward their guests. Perhaps she wouldn’t hear any more complaints about Larwin and Anthropoid.

  Though Lily and Sandor’s home was at the upper reaches of the village, Larwin didn’t get winded carrying Tansy there.

  Without pausing to knock, Nimri opened the door then stepped aside to let Larwin and Bryta pass.

  Bryta hastily arranged some yellow cushions on the tile. Larwin gently laid Tansy on them.

  Nimri stopped the crowd, which had followed them and ordered them to stay outside. They peered into Lily’s main room from the doorway and every convenient window.

  “Tansy, what is all the commotion ab—” Lily appeared in the doorway to the solarium, stopped and stared at the unexpected sight of the entire tribe looking intently into her house.

  “A filthy Lost tried to kidnap Tansy,” Bryta told her daughter. “He killed her in the attempt.”

  “No,” Tansy murmured. Lily’s eyes widened. She looked past her mother to her daughter’s unfocused hazel eyes. “That’s not –“Tansy winced as she groped for words.

  Lily gasped at the ugly, dark welt on Tansy’s forehead and rushed to kneel next to her. “That happened? Did the vile creatures beat you?”

  “I’m fine,” Tansy said in a faltering tone. “My head…hurts.”

  Nimri shook herself and looked at the crowd. “Would one of you please go get my medicine basket? I left it at Flame’s.” Breeze turned and hurried away, but two long-legged youths quickly passed her as they raced each other for the honor of helping the healer.

  Nimri got down on her knees between Lily and Bryta and took their hands. “Tansy was dead.” Nimri glanced at Larwin and wet her lips. “I don’t know how, but Larwin’s breath brought her back to us.”

  Lily scrambled around her mother, bowed low to Larwin and kissed his foot. Larwin’s eyes widened, he grabbed Nimri’s arm and silently asked her to explain Lily’s action. Nimri smiled and gave his hand a comforting pat. Larwin relaxed his grip.

  “Oh, so he breathed his own myst into her, instead of steal hers,” someone said.

  “Of course he did,” a woman said. “You’re a fool if you believe Nimri would do anything to anyone or harm our tribe.”

  Movement caught Nimri’s attention. Reed held her medicine basket in front of his chest, like a prize as he sprinted toward the house. Nimri was glad she’d packed the medicine with care. He stopped at the door, then thrust the basket forward with a flourish. Nimri thanked the boy, as she grasped the handle. Reed had the audacity to wink before he melted back into the crowd.

  Nimri chose a silvery mullein leaf and laid it over Tansy’s right temple. Gently, she placed her palm over the leaf and focused on drawing out the pain, as she willed the damaged flesh to heal. Tansy closed her eyes and sighed with relief.

  Lily knelt next to the cushions and held Tansy’s hand.

  Bryta stood back, hand to her mouth. Her tears ran in rivers down her plump ashen cheeks.

  Nimri continued to draw out the pain until she sensed that Tansy had gone to sleep.

  Nimri removed the leaf. The swelling had subsided and the cut had closed. Relief poured through her.

  Larwin’s spine straightened and his odd box appeared in his hand. When she got an empty crock and mixed preparations of chamomile, ginseng and Echinacea, he leaned forward and moved the strange thing above the reduced bump, then he tickled the mullein leaf with it. After Nimri adjusted the mixture to her great aunt Violet’s specifications, she handed the small tan urn to Lily. “Two drops in a mug of water when she wakes, then more as the sun wakes and again as it sleeps. It will dull Tansy’s headache and ward off lung congestion.” She hoped. “Tansy should be fine after seven sun risings, but I’ll come to make sure next Market Day.” Nimri handed her several more mullein leaves. “Keep these over the lump for two more risings. Three if her eyes still don’t focus.”

  Lily quickly kissed Nimri’s cheek, then cradled the medicine to her chest and gave her a silent look of thanks.

  Nimri nodded to Lily and turned her attention to Bryta. “Bryta, will you be staying here or coming with me?”

  Bryta gave her a look that made her wonder if she’d been insane to ask.

  Not knowing what else to do, Nimri touched Larwin’s arm and nodded toward the open doorway that framed the silent crowd. For the first time, Larwin seemed to realize they had an audience.

  Lily accompanied them to the door. As Larwin went out, the crowd parted to allow Larwin passage. When Nimri moved to follow, Lily pulled her aside, leaned close and whispered, “The last time Mama looked this upset, she cleaned my house from top to bottom and I couldn’t find anything for a moon cycle.” Lily gave Nimri a pleading look. “If you could, would you please find need of her, soon?”

  Nimri smiled and nodded. She and Lily hugged then she hurried after Larwin. Several people were touching the hem of his tunic with reverence. He glared at them with thinly veiled hostility.

  Nimri frowned in confusion over the guardian’s apparent aversion to the attention.

  Chapter Nine

  That night Nimri lay on her back, quilt tucked under her chin and stared out her bedroom window at the indigo sky. Was Tansy the reason Larwin had come? Was there something particular about Tansy or was the fact that he’d been there to save her life simply a coincidence? Until he’d saved Bryta’s granddaughter, she’d assumed he’d come to instruct her. But that morning, he’d spoken for the first time, then before midday, he’d saved Tansy in his first display of power over death.

  And on the walk home, Larwin hadn’t said a word.

  If he’d come to save Tansy, did the girl have some special purpose? Was there any significance to the fact that he’d fought the Lost and breathed life into the Chosen? Nimri’s thoughts and confusion whirled faster than the bats circling the garden for moths. Was the morning’s display about Tansy or was she simply chosen because she was Chosen?

  Nimri closed her eyes and acknowledged that there were no answers for some questions.

  Had he saved Tansy because she was barely past being a child? Because she was turning into a beautiful woman?

  Nimri rolled to her left and kicked at the clinging linens. A moment later, she turned to her right, closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but all she saw was the image of Larwin’s mouth touching Tansy’s cold wet lips. Lest she lose control and let out the threatening sob, Nimri fisted her hands in her colorful patchwork quilt and brought it to her own mouth.

  Again, she rotated to her other side. Moonlight highlighted a ruby square of
the quilt. “This piece is from the tail of your father’s betrothal shirt,” Great Aunt Violet had told her as she sewed the square into the memory blanket. “He was a good man. Don’t let anyone say otherwise.”

  She sat up and looked at the squares. When the shaft of moonlight moved across the bed, she touched the soft blue piece from her mother’s tunic, then the dark green from her own favorite nightshirt, finally, the light came to rest on the dark square from the pants she’d worn the day she met Flame.

  Thank goodness for Flame, who stood by her, no matter if it meant listening to her lament her inability to learn Rolf’s lessons, holding her hand at the pyre or collecting the barter and distributing the medicine, which Nimri had not had time to do because Larwin was in such a hurry to leave the village.

  Nimri decided she’d think of a way to show Flame how much her support meant.

  The bedroom door opened and Kazza padded in. Nimri thought she saw his whiskers twirling, but decided it was a trick of the light. When he got closer, he moved through a shaft of moonlight. He really did look pleased. Nimri wondered if he’d found a forgotten loaf of bread somewhere.

  Nimri moved to the left side of her bed as Kazza claimed the right. He settled in, stretched and purred. Nimri hugged her quilt, soaked up the heat of her life-long friend and felt secure. The last thought she had before she went to sleep was that it would soon snow.

  “Nimri, wake.” The tender baritone voice seemed to sing instead of speak.

  “What? Where?” Nimri sat up in a moonlit forest glade.

  “We don’t have time for foolish questions,” the unseen man said.

  “Who are you?”

  In silent response to her question, an area under the boughs of a blue pine shimmered with clear white light. The image gained clarity around the gentle eyes, but the rest remained indistinct.

  “Is this better?” he asked.

  “Where am I? Did I die?”

  “No.” He chuckled. “Your body lies sleeping in your bed. We have little time, and you have much to learn. Events have rushed the point of confrontation forward.”

  “What are you talking about?” A cold sweat bathed her back.

  “Larwin has come. Trouble will follow.”

  Nimri tried to understand the logic. “Because he thrashed the Lost and saved Tansy?”

  He growled a curse. “Lost are only an irritating illusion to give the appearance of an enemy.” The glow suffused with red, then cleared. “There is a real threat. You must harness your power and take up the Staff of Protection.”

  “I can’t,” Nimri said. “I have no power other than a minor skill at healing. I thought that’s why the Ancients sent Larwin and Anthropoid to me.”

  “Carved stone did not send him.” The tone sounded mocking, the light turned orange. “He sent himself, but he cannot save you. He is strong in body but too weak in power to do more than aid you.” The glow changed to pastel colors reminiscent of a rainbow. “Does he please you?”

  Nimri frowned at the odd question. “Yes, but he belongs to Anthropoid.”

  “That is not so. The one you call Anthropoid and he calls GEA-4 is not mortal, only made to look so—think of her as a doll that walks and talks. She does belong to him, but not him to her.” The glow turned yellow. “You are attracted to him.” The tone warmed with amusement. “And he to you. He fears this.”

  Nimri didn’t know what to think. Without a doubt, this was the oddest dream she’d ever had. Still, she had to ask, “Is he mortal or only made to look so?”

  “His ancestors were from Solterre. They escaped to another world.” The light pulsated in a multi-colored pattern. “Larwin’s destiny is to be your cherished partner—assuming you both survive.” The light dimmed. “If you keep shirking from your destiny, everything on Chatterre will die in the confrontation.”

  “Confrontation?” Nimri echoed. “You mean the Lost will attack?”

  “No!” The word vibrated like thunder. Then, in a tone of restrained frustration, he added, “Their threat is no more than that of an annoying insect.”

  The glow pulsed like a heartbeat. Its center altered and Nimri saw a distant, panoramic view of her valley. It reminded her of the view from Sacred Mountain, but in this image, the valley was burning. Worse, a huge metallic gold object in the sky, which, periodically emitted bursts of blue lightening. Nimri felt an inexplicable terror when she looked at the twisted thing.

  “This is what Chatterre will become if you don’t learn to harness your abilities,” the baritone said. “You, Kazza and Larwin will die.” He paused. “Everyone, Chosen, Lost and all the other lost tribes will die. Plants will wither. The earth and air will be poisoned. The river will cease to flow. And then, Chatterre will become like Solterre.”

  The image crumbled into a black cinder, then disappeared.

  Nimri gasped. “I want to help, but I can’t.”

  “By believing it is hopeless, you make it so.”

  “Tell me how—what to do.”

  “Believe in your power and abilities. Act with confidence. Look within for the answers,” he said. “This will remind you.” The glimmer compressed into a tiny bright light, and floated toward her. It settled on her palm. When the luminescence faded, a tiny, radiant pinecone bud lay in her hand. The light of the bud diminished until the only light came from the moonlight through the boughs of the pine.

  Slowly, everything turned black.

  “Come back!”

  From a great distance the man said, “Follow your destiny. If you do so, the Chosen and the Lost will be joined to live in harmony. This is the future you can give or withhold.”

  “I can’t do this alone.”

  “Then all will die,” the man said. “When the cone is mature, your power will be too and you will know how best to use it.”

  Nimri awoke with a gasp. She sat bolt upright and threw her quilt aside with such force that she knocked both it and Kazza off the bed. He hit the floor with a soft thud. Mustering his dignity, Kazza got to his feet, gave Nimri an indignant look, then he stalked to the door and disappeared down the hallway.

  Heart thudding, as it had after the path fell away beneath her, Nimri gasped for breath, while hot tears seared trails down her cheeks. She bent over and put her hands to her face.

  Tears on her left cheek sizzled, her palm felt blistered and she smelled flesh burning. Nimri jumped out of bed and wildly looked around. Tangled linens grabbed at her ankles. The fitful moon filled the room with moving shadows, adding to the nightmare feeling.

  Nimri thrust her left hand into a feeble beam of light. The bud of a cone lay on her blistered palm. She shivered as she stared at it, wondering if this was still part of the dream. While she watched, her flesh healed. Panting for breath, she clutched the cone to her heart. She stood there, heart racing for a long time. Eventually, her sweat-soaked nightgown chilled and she began to shiver. One handed, she removed her amulet bag and put the small cone inside. As she closed the pouch, it gave off a feeble glow. Nimri blinked. Then looked harder, but this time her amulet appeared as it always had.

  She crawled back in bed, more than half convinced that she was still dreaming. Nimri put the cord around her neck, tucked the pouch under her nightgown and held it next to her heart.

  ~0~

  When Larwin awoke, a heavy weight on his chest made breathing difficult. He saw red through his closed eyelids and heard a jumble of riotous sound in his mind.

  Mind-meld.

  Larwin tried to clear his mind of thought and open himself to GEA-4’s subliminal language lesson. When the data transfer ended, GEA-4 took her hands away from his temples, but Larwin realized he still felt weight on his chest and in addition, he heard a heavy motor running.

  He opened his eyes and looked straight into the cat’s enormous amber eyes. The animal’s ears perked forward. Worse, the weight on his lungs was the huge paw, which spanned half his chest.

  “Kind daybreak, Larwin,” GEA-4 said. “I completed the analysis
of this language. During your sleep, I taught you, but the books were old, patterns and words may have changed.” She laid a hand on the beast’s head and drew it along the cat’s back, as Larwin had seen Nimri do. “The kazza seems fascinated with the subliminal technique.”

  The purring intensified until the entire bed vibrated. Larwin was certain that Kazza winked at him and smiled. Without the lethal claws in sight, he relaxed and looked at the animal. For the first time, he studied the cat without thinking of it as a predator. Larwin wet his lips and addressed the animal in the soft tone Nimri used when she spoke to it. “You are fascinated with the teaching technique, are you?” The cat yawned and stretched. “At least you didn’t gut me with your claws.”

  GEA-4 moved to the window and gazed into the first rays of sunlight.

  Larwin addressed her back. “He’s a cat. Cats are nocturnal. I think he’s here because you are awake and he likes your company. Don’t ask me why.” Kazza leaned forward, his whiskers grazed Larwin’s ear. He felt the urge to laugh. Instead, he gave the cat a playful shove and continued addressing GEA-4. “Cats are pets. My people keep pets for status; aliens have them for a variety of reasons, protection, food or the acquisition of it and companionship being primary. Despite the fact that this animal meets both qualifications, he is worthless because he’s too large and he consumes too many provisions.”

  Kazza's ears flattened, then he leaped off the bed, leaving an aftershock like an earthquake.

  Larwin was surprised the bed frame didn’t disintegrate or that the floor withstood the cat's landing. Kazza’s tail twitched as he swished out the door. Larwin blinked and wondered what had possessed him to remember so much information about cats, much less articulate it. He rubbed his temple and decided it must have been a side effect of GEA-4’s mind-meld.

  By the time he got up, dressed and descended the stairs, his headache had dissipated.

  Nothing simmered near the fire. Larwin’s stomach clenched with disappointment. He glanced out the amber window; GEA-4 stood in a pool of sunlight near the center of the garden. He wished he wasn’t so dependent on food or the people of this world to show him what was edible. But he couldn’t exist on solar radiation and he wasn’t certain what was toxic in the garden.