Kati turned on the bedside light and began to collect her clothes. She was grateful that the Capital City had electricity; in some of the small places that they had stopped, lights had been oil lamps, and had it not been for the portable lights of the cart, trips to the bathroom, and dressing before sunrise would have been onerous. But in the Capital City where there were so many Exalted, and they roamed a lot, electric lights were everywhere. She was able to quickly get into her street clothes, without waking up the sleeper in the next bed.
She made certain to have her keys with her, and ensured that the door lock clicked shut behind her. To her surprise, a shadow detached itself from the opposite wall in the dimly-lit hallway as soon as she had shut the door, and suddenly Lank was standing beside her, also dressed as if ready for an outing.
“Hey, what’s this?” Kati asked him in a low voice. “Any reason why you’re up and about?”
“Couldn’t get back to sleep after awakening a short while ago,” Lank replied. “I had the feeling that I should go outside, and something told me that I’d very likely find you on your way out. I’m not sure what to make of it—maybe I’ve caught some of Zass’s Klenser sensitivity to the ambience of this planet.”
Kati stared at him for a moment.
“That could be,” she said then. “The Granda tells me that The Forest Spirit wants a word with me. Maybe it’s reaching out to anyone and everyone that it can. Apparently something is puzzling it. I thought that I’d try to find a green space big enough to allow it to manifest and communicate with me.”
“I’ll come with you,” Lank offered. “There’s a park about four blocks from here; it’s full of full-grown trees. It should serve, and I know my way to it; the dark should not be a problem.”
“Good.” Kati accepted his help gratefully. “I had hoped to not have to walk all the way to the runnerbeast track, although I figured that if I had to, I would.”
“No, I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Kati. This little park with its big trees should be fine. I’ll show you.”
They let themselves out of the Inn through a side door, so as to attract the least attention possible. The street they stepped out into was dark and quiet; the last of the night’s stragglers had gone home, and the morning activities were yet to begin. Kati was glad that Lank had intercepted her and offered to come with her—the night-time city would have made her uneasy had she been alone.
Not that she had anything to fear. She was well-protected, what with the Granda’s talents at hand, as well as her own ESP abilities to sniff out danger, and always the possibility of calling for help from the Forest Spirit. Although the last time she had communed with that amorphous entity, getting its aid in healing Berd Warrion, it had explained to her that the City created its own difficulties to the link that she had forged with it. The paved streets, the brick and concrete buildings, as well as the narcissistic cast of the Exalted minds, formed a repulsive force which worked against the power of the natural Spirit, and made it hard for it to coalesce its energies. She had been fortunate that the Red-Light District was made up of old mansions with their spacious, treed grounds; had the incident taken place at Nelli’s Inn, the Forest Spirit might have had trouble bringing enough energy to Kati to help her with the healing. That was why this latest call was so weak that without The Monk’s help she likely would have missed it. The surprising thing was that Lank had picked up on it; Kati figured that the youth had talents of which he was quite unaware.
“Music, space-ship engineering, and now ESP,” she mused to The Monk. “What other surprises does this skinny boy have in store for us?”
“I suppose we’ll find out, sooner or later,” The Monk responded. “He’s a useful chap to have around.”
Kati agreed with that as she followed Lank towards the park. The walk was a short one, even as he had promised. Within minutes they were next to the shadow of what looked in the dim light of the stars and the few streetlights, like a stand of giant trees. Kati stopped to stare at its looming, living bulk, somewhat hesitant to breach its boundaries.
“There’s a fountain and some benches in the middle,” Lank said. “I realize that it looks a little formidable right now, in the dark, especially since this is the first time you have seen it, but it’s actually a very pleasant place, and the walkways that lead into the centre are lighted, if not brightly. I noticed a few lamp-posts the last time I was here.”
He was right. Kati node-enhanced her vision, and could make out the nearest entrance into the park, a gravelled walk which led among the trees, and had a light beside it on a decorative post, but equipped with only a dim bulb. She probed the passage with her ESP sense but came across nothing threatening, only the feel of the Forest Spirit calling her to come deeper inside, where communication would be easier.
“I guess we better go on then,” she said.
Once they were surrounded by the trees, the Forest Spirit surrounded Kati, pressing in on her from all sides. There was anxiety and puzzlement in its demeanour, and Kati felt its discomfort.
“Lank, can you lead me to a seat?” she requested. “Something seems to be up with our formless friend. I’m going to have to concentrate.”
“We’ll be at the benches right away,” Lank assured her.
Sure enough, they reached the first one. Kati sat down gratefully. She leaned against the back of the bench, and relaxed to pay attention to the aura surrounding her, letting the physical world go.
“What seems to be the matter?” she subvocalized. “Is something wrong?”
“Someone—some creature—is asking for you,” came the answer. “Not of this world, not in a body, and not human. She, it—whatever—wants to communicate with you, is asking for you by name, calling you Kati, which I know to be your name. Seems to know a lot about you.”
“Well, since I’m not of this world, also, it is possible that I know this—whoever—whatever. Can you put me in touch?”
“All right.”
The Forest Spirit seemed to open a corridor inside itself, allowing Kati’s mind to travel an indefinite distance to touch another mind. It was a mind as alien to her as The Farseer on The Drowned Planet had been, and almost as impressive as the seer had been when her psyche had been augmented by her people’s minds. Kati was glad to have The Monk to mentally lean upon, rascal though he was, and the comforting presence of the Forest Spirit around her, for the new mind was full of probing curiosity about her own self. It was disconcerting.
“What can I do for you?” she ventured to ask, determined to be civil no matter how odd the circumstances.
“Ah, you are Kati then, truly,” came the answer which was not an answer to her question. “I have been eager to meet you ever since Mikal showed me the nodal record of your experiences on Makros III.”
Here Kati had just been comparing this mind to that of The Farseer on Makros III. Was that a coincidence or was this creature—and no, she did not feel human—reading her shielded thoughts somehow? No, Kati was certain that the Forest Spirit would not allow her privacy to be breached; it understood her desire to keep some things to herself, and had honoured that in the past. The creature had mentioned Mikal; that was an important connection.
“You know Mikal, then?” she asked.
“Oh yes. We were travelling together but got separated. He suggested that I try to get in mental touch with you, once the ship I’m on landed on Vultaire. You see, I’m stuck out of my body which is being kept comatose by the ones who kidnapped me from the Star Federation Space Station. It seems that that is how the drug they like to use affects us Xeonsaurs, whereas it puts humans into a true coma.”
“Ah, yes.” If this Xeonsaur had studied the nodal record Kati had made, she would know what Kati knew about that. “So Mikal did contact your people, and did get some co-operation?”
“Indeed. The Xeonsaur on that slave ship is my Life-Mate. Considering the deep bond that I can tell exists between you and Mikal, I’m sure that you understand how badly I wan
t him back. Which is a major reason why I came along with Mikal, to help him with the situation that you and he face.”
“Maybe you better tell me about the people who kidnapped you. They have brought you to Vultaire?”
“Yes. The ship carrying my body and that of the young woman who tried to help me, has arrived at the Vultairian Space Port. The Exalted fools who kidnapped us could pilot the ship only by using a prepared navigational disc, so they were quite limited in their options, even though the ship itself is a beauty. Right now they’re waiting to hear from the Port Authority about taking on a real pilot, who could fly the ship to search for their business associate, Captain Gorsh, who they expect would pay handsomely for my person. If a pilot is not available, I have gathered from their conversation that they intend to stash my body, and that of Canna, the girl who tried to help me, somewhere on planet for now. The name I’ve got for the stashing location is the Margolis Estate—do you know of it?”
“Not the Estate,” Kati replied, “but I can ask around in the morning. My Team and I are in the Capital City right now, and all the Four Hundred Families keep representatives there. It ought to be easy to find out where the Exalted Family Margolis is based, that is, where their Estate is located.”
“Mikal, Master Healer Vorlund, Canna’s friend Malin, and a Federation operative and space ship pilot named Josh, are following us in a Cruiser. They should be arriving on Vultaire very shortly, which means that the Exalted on this ship have a lot less time to locate a pilot than they think. So, very likely, Canna and I will end up on the Margolis Estate.”
Kati felt a rush of elation at the thought of Mikal being so close! And Master Healer Vorlund! Though no fighter, he was a worthwhile ally! The other two names meant nothing to her, but they would be two more persons to add to the roster.
“What about the Official Investigation?” she asked.
“Vorlund tells me that this kidnapping has clinched it—Maryse r’ma Darien will get her Investigation, one with some teeth and claws, no less. Aris Margolis and his boys made a mistake in kidnapping me. They succeeded in turning a lot of the Senators against the Vultairians. I was supposed to address a large gathering of the Senators, their families, and friends, talk to them about the need for the Investigation, and then to greet and meet the audience. Now all these people have been deprived of an opportunity to mingle with an Xeonsaur from Xeon, and they are not happy!”
“Hm,” Kati mused. “I wonder who Maryse will get to lead it, with Mikal on the chase for you.
“But that’s neither here nor there at the moment,” she added, sensibly. “I will try to find out as early as possible where this Margolis Estate is. I’ll have my Forest Spirit friend keep tabs on you, so you can let me know what is happening. I’ll also ask it to look for Master Healer Vorlund’s arrival.”
“This amorphous, planetary friend you have should be able to communicate with Vorlund, even as it did with me, since Vorlund and I have been able to keep in touch. We will have our own private communications network.” The thought seemed to delight the Xeonsaur.
“One that the Vultairian Oligarchs know nothing about.” Kati grinned. “The Klensers are aware of it, but they’ll never rat on us, I can guarantee that. But they may be able to help us—at least some of them may be able and willing to do that—should we need to call on reserves. But the Forest Spirit itself can be of great help, and it wants the balance of this world restored. The Oligarchs are the ones who have twisted things out of shape, so in the Spirit’s reckoning we’re the good guys, even though it acknowledges the Exalted as its own creatures.”
“We’ll all do what we can to help re-balance this world. But I must return to keep a non-physical eye on things, Canna’s and my bodies included.”
“We’ll be in touch.”
The silver-bell-like aura of Xoraya Hsiss was abruptly gone. Xoraya Hsiss; now how did Kati know that it was the Xeonsaur woman’s name? She was certain that the woman had not introduced herself by it; with mental communication, names were not necessary. It was easy enough to differentiate people according to their various psychic auras since everyone had a unique one. She knew that she had not pried; on Gorsh’s space ship, Murra had taught her the need to respect a person’s privacy during mental touch. She had been a good student, at least in that.
“The Forest Spirit is less careful,” The Monk muttered. “It’s feeding you the information it thinks that you might need.”
*****
Kati opened her eyes to look at the dim park around her. She was sitting on a wooden bench—Vultairian-sized, so her legs were dangling—with Lank beside her, watching her face intently.
“Something important?” he asked her.
“I think so.”
Kati wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Lank waited.
“Mikal brought back an Xeonsaur woman with him from his trip to the Xeon Space Station. She was on the Star Federation Space Station with him, and had agreed to speak to a gathering of Senators, in favour of an Official Investigation of Vultaire. A group of Vultairian Exalted kidnapped her before she could attend the function, and spirited her off-Station in a fast Space Cruiser. They brought her here, to Vultaire, with some kind of a crazy plan that they’d sell her to Gorsh so that he could use her as a navigator, the way he did with the other Xeonsaur, who, by the way, is this one’s husband—Life-Mate, is the term she used.”
Kati stopped and shook her head. Spoken out loud like this, the scheme of the Vultairian Exalted sounded even nuttier than it had when Xoraya had mentally explained it.
“Sounds like at least some of the Oligarchs have just lost it,” Lank muttered, echoing Kati’s thought. “They kidnapped a legend who was scheduled to speak to Members of the Federation Government, before the speech took place? Surely it must have occurred to them that someone would notice, and set bloodhounds to the scent!”
“Interesting choice of a metaphor,” The Monk mused. “I guess Tarangay is about as civilized as your home world!”
Kati ignored the jibe; although she did wonder what was eating the Granda, this time. She had no time for his snits; there was a lot to think about and to discuss with her Team-mates.
“Yeah, they kidnapped a legend, and shot her full of the mind-tangler—where did they get that?” She stared at the trees about her, trying to set her thoughts in an order that would make some sense. “They apparently didn’t know what Gorsh does, that while under the mind-tangler, an Xeonsaur’s psyche roams freely; that’s not true of humans. Which is why this woman could ask for the Forest Spirit’s help to contact me, as soon as she arrived on Vultaire.”
“But someone’s following them, surely?” Lank was keen to know.
“Definitely. Mikal’s coming. With Master Healer Vorlund. And two others whose names I’m not familiar with. In a Cruiser, a ship as fast as the one the kidnappers have been using. So they’ll be here on Vultaire before the kidnappers can get themselves a proper pilot to take them off the planet, and that means that the next act in this absurd drama is going to be taking place on planet. Have you heard of the Margolis Estate?”
“I’ve heard the name Margolis,” Lank replied slowly, apparently consulting his node. “It’s one of the Four Hundred Families, but I don’t know where they’re based.”
“Remember that couple I happened to meet at the City Cash Market?” Kati asked. “Their name was Margolis. They were hanging around with Gorsh’s wife. But I don’t know where their Estate is. We’ll have to ask Jock. If he doesn’t know, I‘m sure that Uncle Kelt does, since he’s a planetary Senator.”
“Jock will know.” Lank nodded. “He’s made it his business to know a lot about the Four Hundred.”
*****
“The Margolis Family Estate?” Jock asked when Kati brought the topic up at breakfast. “It’s an island off the southern coast of this continent. Once upon a time it was a prosperous paradise, the story goes, full of vineyards, fruit plantations and such—not to mention the fishing ground
s and the beaches. Lots of rock in the middle, though. Now, however, it’s pretty much just rock all over. The Family sucked it dry; demanded more and more of the profits that selling the produce, and the wine, brought in. They didn’t leave enough for the land to be tended properly, so much of the soil eroded into the sea. These days the people left there, the few who didn’t move away into the cities to look for employment, are lucky to have small, family gardens. Most of them live off fishing; seems that the Margolises haven’t succeeded in destroying the fishing grounds, yet.”
“How would it be for hiding something or somebody?” Kati asked.
“Excellent,” Jock replied without hesitation. “The original inhabitants built their homes into the rock once upon a time, so there are a handful of what you’d likely call keeps, on the island, one of them inhabited by the Margolis Family itself. A couple of them are in the remote interior, accessible only by air—which means that the Ordinary Citizens can’t get to them.
“What are the Margolis clan members hiding, Kati?”
Kati and Lank shared a look over the breakfast sandwiches and juice that the Team had bought at the Food Market, and brought to a picnic table in an otherwise empty eating area. Even so, Kati had had the Granda sweep the area for bugs before she had broached the topic.
“I’m not sure that they’ve made the stash, yet,” Kati said. “But it sure sounds like that island’s the place for it.”
“Are you going to keep us guessing?” Joaley inquired, irritated.
Kati nodded to Lank, who lay down his sandwich to speak:
“A real, live Xeonsaur woman, drugged,” he said.
“What?” Joaley almost choked on her juice.
Even Rakil, usually hard to ruffle, stared at Kati and Lank, open-mouthed, his sandwich forgotten. Jock looked puzzled, his eyes turning inward for a moment while he apparently consulted his node.
“’Xeonsaur,’” he said, quoting, “‘an inhabitant of the planet Xeon, an intelligent lizard form of life. Very long-lived, but with little interest in humanity, outside of some minor trading relationships.’ That seems to be all I have, but then, I’m at a disadvantage, being an ignorant Vultairian.”
On Assignment to the Planet of the Exalted Page 59