by Carol Buhler
My repose was interrupted minutes later as two young reeth, each with a rider, flew over the ridge from the south. Sissith with Saradon led the other, a reddish brown with few white markings. I studied the stranger. The mare had one white sock and was slightly larger than Sissith. As the flyers got closer, I saw that her mane and tail were almost straw colored and her face was slightly dished with a narrow blaze. Probably part of the Zipp family.
The pair landed just outside the grove, their riders slipped easily to the ground and the foursome walked quickly toward me. Sissith ducked her head in greeting, then pointed her ears at the larger mare accompanying her. "Lillith, this is Zippith, with her mind-mate, Benetadon." The blaze faced mare nodded.
"Welcome, mare and fem. I’m pleased to meet you." I extended a wing. "Zippith, you have very much the appearance of your sire."
She returned a mental smile. "Everyone tells me that. I hope I’m more feminine, at least." She tilted her head and pointed her ears in interest. "Do you know him well?"
"Lillyon and I have known him for years. My husband and he were colts together and I believe they attended the same defense training." Turning to Sissith, I asked, directing my voice to both femm and mar, "What is this about? What can I help you with?"
Sara stepped forward to touch me lightly on the neck and I sensed her distress. "We appreciate your time." She paused as if struggling for a place to start. "You know Raedon and I announced our engagement last month. I’ve been bombarded by disturbing tales ever since." Her agitation increased, she wrung her hands together, and didn’t quite meet my eye. "Most involve Joedon’s declaration of abdicating to my child. We didn’t take him seriously. It never occurred to either of us that he might not be teasing. And now, everyone’s upset."
She pulled the other fem forward as if asking for her input. I studied the typically tall, slim blonde. Bold blue eyes met mine with confidence. She was older than Sara by maybe twenty or thirty years.
"Sara didn’t realize how few births have occurred among don in the last hundred years," she started bluntly. "The topic comes up at council meetings and all gatherings, really." Her voice was low and pleasant, but firm to match her physical appearance. "Her parents, being reclusive, have kept her out of society parties and Raedon never attends council meeting, so he didn’t know either."
Sara broke in with a rush. "Everyone started talking about what a disaster it would be if I didn’t have a child, as I probably wouldn’t. We didn’t know what to think!" She grasped the blonde’s hand. "My mother suggested I talk to one of the physicians and I met Beneta. She explained."
"Then maybe she can explain to me," I said, cocking my left hip, prepared to listen intently.
"My hom is one of the only two don physicians," the fem said. "They, and their fathers before them, have studied for years, trying to figure out what's wrong." Beneta shot an unhappy glance at Sara. "I've been unable to conceive and it’s not been for lack of trying. Neither has the other doctor's wife, nor a large number of our age-mates. And, I've been married more than twenty years!"
Behind her stern façade, I felt the anguish this fem was suffering. Then, Sara distracted me, radiating her own unhappiness. "I learned that two of my best friends, sisters-in-law, had become estranged because of it. I knew they weren't speaking, but neither ever told me why. I might never have known if the rumor hadn't spread about Joedon's plan to abdicate." She sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to slow down. "One had a son four years ago and the other hasn’t spoken to her since, she's so desperate for a child."
"She's not the only one," Beneta said softly.
More bad news. "I understand your feelings," I said, projecting sympathy for their distress. "But, I don’t know what I can possibly do to help."
Beneta’s mind-mate answered. "We’ve come up with a possible solution, but the Speaker’s Council would stop us." At my astonished glance, Zippith continued, "We reeth have been included in all the investigations the doctors have tried." I saw Sara's brows drop as the mare talked; she couldn't hear but didn't interrupt. She already knows their solution and that's really why she's so upset.
The mare was still speaking. "They've taken blood and urine samples from everyone at Center. They interviewed couples with and without children."
Beneta took up the explanation. "Personally, Eledon and I tried eating and not eating certain foods, different drinks, different positions, techniques, times of the day, times of the week, different seasons." Sara blushed at the fem's bluntness. "Nothing made a difference."
As if she couldn't stand still and sufficiently convey her despair, the blonde started to stride around the small clearing, arms waving and tresses bouncing. Intense frustration boiled from both her and her mind-mate, echoed by Sara and Sissith. I had to close my mind to the mental onslaught in order to focus on her words.
"Then, Eledon..." She stopped and fought for more control. Glancing at me, she clarified in a calmer tone. "My hom thought to check the Wee family. You know they’re the only ones who don’t live in the mountains, don’t you?"
"Yes," I said thoughtfully. "They elected to stay in Delt when everyone else drew back from the human invasion."
With Sara's passionate gaze following her, Beneta went back to pacing and her voice grew shrill. "The Wee families have six youngsters under age twenty-five; all the rest of don families put together only have eight." She stopped again and thrust her head forward, glaring at me. "Six of only fourteen born in the last twenty-five years are Wee! Every couple in the Wee family has children!" she shouted.
Struggling to regain a semblance of composure, Beneta walked over to her mind-mate, placed her hand on the reeth’s withers, and looked at me. I bolstered her efforts with a small mental soothing. Still, her hand clenched and opened, her face worked as if she wanted to say something radical. Finally, she shrugged, relaxed the hand, and spoke. "We’ve talked it over. Endlessly. Both physicians, both fymm, and all four reeth-mates." She sucked in a breath, then blurted, "We think we need the help of the humans to find our solution."
Controlling my physical reaction, I screamed internally. Outrageous! We've hidden from humans for four hundred years! After a moment, I said, "You are right. The Speaker’s Council would never approve."
I wished for the previous quietness of the aspen grove as Beneta and Sara, and both their mind-mates, glared at me. Tamping down my own alarm, I kept my voice level and asked. "Why have you decided this?"
Beneta pulled her shoulders back and deliberately wiped away her scowl. "Humans get sick, they have diseases. We don’t. Our homm hear about heart disease, diabetes, cancer because they listen to those types of human news programs. Humans are always researching their ailments, and finding cures."
When I didn’t respond, the fem's shoulders dropped. She turned and started to pace again. Her voice fell into a merely loud conversational tone, without the belligerence she'd shown earlier. "Something the humans called a flu epidemic swept through their cities about eight years ago. Eledon and Nandon..." She looked up. "...the two don doctors, traveled through the cities..." She shot me a confrontational glower as if I would object. "... to see if they could understand the flu better, and to see if they might catch it. The news made it sound like everyone was susceptible." She shook her head. "They didn’t get sick. Eventually, the human news reported their doctors had found a treatment." Stopping to take a breath, she murmured, "Maybe, just maybe, they could help us find a solution."
Beneta took Sara’s left hand and they stood solidly before me, their mates ranged in support just behind. "We believe humans have the expertise to help our doctors find a cure for our lack of pregnancies, if the council would only let us contact them for help. I've watched my hom struggle with this problem for years. We’ve anguished, along with many others, over our lack of children. Whatever else the Council worries about, we don’t care. We want to have babies."
I sighed, then drew in the coolness of the breeze. Concentrating a moment on the gurgling st
ream, I struggled with my own fearful reaction. Finally, I said. "What do you think I can do?"
Sara surged forward, radiating hope. "Get Joedon to take his place at the head of the Council. Get the Council to see reason about the humans." She stood in front of me with her hands clasped, her face shining with conviction. "Help us save the don."
"I’ll think about it." Turning, I spoke to the brown mare. "Zippith, I will come to Center on Fesday, around three. Have your yon and their homm ready to discuss this option. I want to review their investigations and their results. I’ll have Lillyon with me—not Joedon at this time." I nodded at Sara and Sissith. "You two, Memm, and Raedon should be there. Then, we’ll see."
With a sharp nod, I walked to the edge of the grove and took flight for home, much weighing on my mind.
Chapter 13
~Lillith
Tallyon and Taldon caught us before we reached Center on Fesday. Indicating that we should follow them to the park before meeting with the doctors, we landed together. "You're behind the times, Lillith," Taldon said with a grin. "The doctors' mind-mates came to Tallyon weeks ago with their notion of asking humans for help. Fortunately, he came to me with it and I told them that in no way were they to present their idea to the Council or to talk about it to anyone but me."
"So what are your thoughts, in general?" I asked.
"I'm all for it."
"Really? Why?"
"You'll see when you meet with Eledon and Nandon. In the meantime, let me tell you more about council doings since we talked last. Some of the regulars want things to stay the same. Others want Joedon forced to take up his position, although no one has suggestions on how to accomplish such a thing. Pildon and his followers, of course, rant that Raedon is totally unfit to raise a royal child and Saradon, although the only Royal Fem we have, is too young to know her own mind! As usual, he speaks against Raedon while not offering any viable solution. And, of course, he's made Raedon furious."
Taldon chuckled. "I don't know who Pildon hates more: Joedon for being born royal, or Raedon for marrying royal." He shifted toward me and his face lost its humor. "Right now, Pildon's bent on causing problems. Raedon's here ... available ... vulnerable. He hasn't attended a council meeting for years and rumors fly about his wild exploits. His stability is suspect to those Speakers who fancy themselves in charge. And unfortunately, they're the only ones who do come to the meetings and vote."
I sighed. "And into this turmoil, the doctors want to introduce the idea of reconnecting with humans?"
"Exactly."
**
We gathered in the den of the Joe Palace where Beneta introduced Lillyon and I to her hom, the other doctor and his fym, and the three reeth-mates I hadn't already met. The black-haired don named Nandon seemed to have been appointed their spokesperson. He reiterated the information Beneta had shared and reminded me that most medicinal practices they used had been handed down from generation to generation from when the humans had first landed on our planet four hundred years ago.
"Human medicine has greatly advanced since those days," he said earnestly. "Beneta spoke to you of the flu. And other diseases they research and treat. We've never needed research skills and now, we find ourselves incapable of treating our greatest challenge."
"You're sure humans could help?" I wanted assurances.
"No, we aren't." Nandon bent his head; his feet must be less threatening than I am. "But, we're desperate."
That's apparent. Still I hesitated, worried about the overall affect on don and reeth culture if the humans reacted the same way they had before. Something tickled at my thoughts, made me uneasy. A picture bloomed in my mind: bright white room with figures dressed in white, gloves on hands, masks over mouths, hair covered. They surrounded a table supporting a body. Two of the figures hovered over the body, strange instruments in their hands. The picture was so clear, I could focus on the body—not dead but breathing slowly although something clear and solid covered nose and mouth. What is this?
I glanced at the black reeth who'd stood so quietly in the background as if to avoid attention. He met my eyes without flinching, his own swirling a mixture of calm green and blue. The picture faded as I recognized his pride in his mind-mate. Eledon jumped out of his seat and spun on his mate. "What have you done?"
"It was necessary. She needed to know." The black reeth's voice was deep and confident.
"We agreed not to speak of this with ..." Eledon cut off his words but I caught the thought that made all clear. They were afraid to admit what they'd done to Taldon. The black reeth had held himself severely blocked throughout our previous conversation; I should have noticed him sooner.
Then, the significance of Eledon's hairstyle hit me: very long and tied in back ... like a human's. "Eledon," I said quietly, "I think the question more appropriately applies to you, and maybe Nandon." He swung to face me, body rigid, face wreathed with indecision. "What have you done?" I asked.
He looked frantically at his cohorts, then settled when Tallyon spoke gently. "It's okay. Taldon and I already know of your adventures. We still support you."
I shot thanks to Tallyon along with an instant query of why he'd hidden their actions from me. Tallyon's laconic reply, "They needed to admit directly to you," made me stifle a chuckle.
Before me, the rebellious don had slumped in his chair, his head bowed. The rest of them crowded close as the other doctor explained. "We've gone among the human doctors, several times, to study their methods. What Fennyon showed you was an operation they performed on a man with what they called a tumor the size of a pomme fruit in his abdomen. It was slowly killing him. We presented ourselves as students from the University." He squeezed his friend's shoulder and Eledon's face came up with more defiance.
Nandon quickly continued. "Neither of us can project illusions so we have to dress and act the part." He picked up the long hair hanging down Eledon's back and then dropped it. "I had time to get mine cut since our last visit." His tone changed as if he couldn't repress the excitement of what they'd seen. "The precision with which the doctors work is fascinating. That man you saw lived and to this day is healthy as can be. We've kept watch over him for a year now."
"But we can't learn what we need the way we've done it." Eledon bounced back from his momentary unease. "We can't worm our way into the research facilities. Their security is too good." They moved to face me as one. Three homm, three femm, and six reeth-mates hurled their plea with their minds and in Eledon's voice. "We need your help."
The heart-wrenching appeal was hard to resist. I wavered, started to answer when I heard a frantic pounding on the front door. Everyone shifted. Lillyon trotted toward the door, pressing the opening with his nose. Backing swiftly, he was instantly surrounded by a flood of angry don with faces flushed and fists clenched. The group surged into the parlor, stopping just past the broad double doorway.
"What's going on here!" the leader shouted. Dressed in a formal town suit of deep blue, he presented a formidable picture with his neat black hair and brows pulled down in a sneer. Pildon, I thought. Full of antagonism, as usual. "We've heard rumors of treason!" He advanced into the room with his head pushed forward over aggressive shoulders. He stopped, surprised, when he noticed Taldon. "You're here! You aren't part of this sedition, surely?"
Taldon rose and strode toward the angry don. The other nine who'd stormed in behind Pildon backed off and lost their hostility as the Chairman advanced.
"What are you yammering about now, Pildon?" Taldon's words dripped with frustration. "What treason are you spouting?"
The exquisitely dressed don did not back down nor lose his aggression. "Contact with humans." The words seemed to put flame back into his followers. They growled.
"Don't be more of a fool than you have to be." Taldon indicated the ones in the parlor. "These are our doctors. You think they're considering treason? Do they look subversive?"
Since I could see the doctors and their fymm gaping with astonishment, I had to que
ll my own laughter at Taldon's audacity, especially when I caught the muffled snort from Tallyon.
Taldon indicated them with a nod. "We're trying to determine a new path of research to help them solve our birth-rate problem." Clever. True, if not complete. I shifted to hide my pleasure from Pildon, who was staring daggers at me.
Taldon grasped his arm and pulled him around face to face. "We would have invited you to join us if we'd known you were so interested."
Pildon shook off Taldon's grip and backed a stride. "Don't overwhelm me with your graciousness," he snarled, shaking a finger in the older don's face. Glaring past Taldon's shoulder he shouted at those in the parlor. "You're up to something and I won't have it." When no one responded, he turned on his heel and stormed out the door. His supporters followed, a rag-tag vengeful crowd caught with nothing to attack.
I caught a whiff of Pildon's dissatisfaction; he senses something happening that he wouldn't like, but he can't catch anyone at anything he can seriously use. He's going to cause a lot of trouble some day.
Shaking as though doing so would dispel the lingering sense of antagonism Pildon left behind, I then gathered the others' attention. "Whatever we do must be well-planned and executed in secrecy. I'll get back to you."
Chapter 14
~Joedon
"What is the matter with you anymore?" Raedon's petulant voice came at me from a chair in the corner of the lab where he lounged with one long leg draped over the arm. "You're so grumpy these days!"
Adjusting the amplification knob for the eighth time, I didn't look up. "I'm not grumpy. I'm busy."
"With what, for Hayds' sake? All you do is peer into machines from what I can tell." He pushed himself up and stalked over to glare at my equipment.
"You don't have to sit here and watch," I answered harshly, fed up with his muttering. "Go find something worthwhile to do!"