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  “She’s been in a great deal of pain for most of the night,” he said. “I’m afraid the medication you left hasn’t given her any relief.” He looked over to the desk where Lijou and Ghezu were still standing. “I’m sure you understand that my mate’s needs must come first.”

  “But of course, Liegen,” said Lijou with a courteous bow. “We won’t delay you any longer. I hope the Liegena will recover quickly.”

  “Before you go, Liegen, I need to have a few words with you,” said Ghezu sharply as Kusac turned to leave.

  “A moment only, Leader Ghezu,” said Kusac. “Don’t forget I feel the full measure of the pain that Carrie’s suffering, and I won’t let it continue any longer than is absolutely necessary.”

  “We’ve heard you’re dissatisfied with the Telepath Guild because of their treatment of Vanna and her Leska, as well as yourselves.”

  “You’ve heard right.”

  “We’ll offer you sanctuary, here at Stronghold, Liegen Aldatan.”

  Kusac looked in astonishment at Ghezu. “As far as I’m aware, we don’t need sanctuary, thank you, Leader Ghezu.”

  “Let me explain,” said Lijou, stepping forward. “What my colleague means is that we are offering you membership in the Brotherhood.”

  “Ah, yes. Kaid mentioned something of the sort to me on the way here, didn’t you, Kaid?”

  “Yes, my Liege,” said Kaid, hand resting lightly on the stock of the pulse rifle he wore slung over his shoulder.

  Lijou frowned. “It’s a pity you haven’t more time, Liegen. No offense to your … adjutant, but he doesn’t have all the facts at his disposal.”

  “On the contrary, he pleaded your cause most eloquently.”

  Lijou’s eye ridges almost disappeared in his surprise. “Really? Then perhaps you’d be willing to discuss the matter in detail?”

  “Oh, I don’t think I need to delay my decision, Father Lijou,” said Kusac, his tail tip beginning to sway lazily. “As I said, my time is short. All I need to know is why you want our membership. Kaid obviously could not tell me that.”

  Kusac, despite his tiredness and the continuing pain in his shoulder, was enjoying this little interchange with Lijou. He had him at a distinct disadvantage, and Lijou knew it.

  He watched the Head Priest of Vartra’s eyes narrow as he folded his hands in the pouch at the front of his black robe. He was playing for enough time to think of a suitable reply.

  “If Kaid hasn’t told you about Esken’s dealings on the Council then he’s not the person I remember from ten years ago,” Ghezu said abruptly.

  Lijou brought a hand out of his pouch and waved him to silence. “Leave this to me, Ghezu. Liegen, we need to challenge Esken on the Council. We need to show the Council members he’s terrified into compliance that we can stand between them and Esken. To do this, we need seats on the Council, and to get those, we need to be a guild. If you join the Brotherhood, then they can’t deny us guild status. In return, you’ll be Brothers, with all the protection that entails. We have the facilities here to train mixed Leska pairs like you, not only in telepathy, but also in combat. And should we need any extra teachers, I’m sure we’d have no lack of volunteers from the other guilds. Will you accept our offer?”

  “Your proposition is certainly attractive, but we’ll need to talk further on this,” said Kusac. “Not now, in a few days’ time.”

  Lijou nodded. “As you say, Liegen. The Liegena’s health must come first. When will you let us know your decision?”

  “When I’m convinced that changing guilds is the right thing for us to do,” said Kusac, turning away again.

  “Will you also reconsider our offer, Physician?” Lijou asked Vanna.

  “If Kusac and Carrie are joining, then I will,” said Vanna, casting a quick look in Kusac’s direction.

  As they began to file out, Ghezu called to Dzaka. “Dzaka, I want you to remain for the time being,” he said. “I’m sure Liegen Aldatan has enough people that he can spare you.”

  In the hallway, Kusac stopped and looked at Kaid. He’d been standing beside them during their confrontation. Dzaka’s answer was easily heard.

  “I’m sorry, Leader Ghezu, but I’m oath-bound to protect the Liegena, and she hasn’t released me from my oath. I have to return with them.”

  “Let him go, Ghezu,” said Lijou, his voice sounding tired.

  Stop playing your games with him and Kaid, Kusac heard him sending.

  “Go,” said Ghezu, suppressed fury in his voice.

  Dzaka joined them in the hallway, shutting the door behind them. Kusac saw his eyes go to Kaid’s back as the other started walking. Whatever it was that was wrong between them, it went deep.

  *

  No one spoke until they were in the aircar, then Vanna turned on Kusac.

  “Just what the hell are you doing here?” she demanded. “Have you looked at yourself recently? And what are you doing leaving Carrie if her condition’s worsened?”

  “Vanna,” he said tiredly, “Carrie’s fine. She’s still asleep. We had to get you out of there and that was the best we could come up with.”

  She made a noncommittal grunt as she reached out and began to unbuckle Kusac’s belt. “Pass me the medikit please, Garras,” she said. “Your shoulder’s begun to bleed again, Kusac.”

  He put a hand over hers, stopping her. “Leave it till we get back.”

  “No way, Kusac,” she said, ears flicking in anger as she pushed his hand aside and pulled his belt free.

  “Physician, Liege, I can’t leave till you’re seated,” said Kaid, turning round to look at them.

  Garras placed the kit on the seat beside her, then returned to his own seat beside Kaid.

  “I said it can wait, Vanna,” said Kusac, irritated by her insistence, trying to push her hands away as she reached for the seal on the front of his jacket.

  “You’re the one delaying us, Kusac,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “Once your jacket’s off, we can sit down. You can’t afford the blood loss, you know that. What weakens you, weakens Carrie.”

  With a muttered oath he undid his jacket, trying to ease himself out of it.

  “You’re an ungrateful, bullying jegget, Vanna,” he said, submitting ungraciously to her help. “We’ve come all the way out here to rescue you, and what do you do? Start ordering us around! I wonder how you put up with her, Garras!” He sat down on the seat, sliding over to leave room for her.

  Garras glanced over his shoulder at him but diplomatically said nothing.

  As she laid his jacket on one of the vacant seats, Vanna looked toward where Kaid and Garras sat. “I am grateful, Kaid,” she said quietly before picking up her kit and rejoining Kusac. “What happened to make your shoulder start bleeding again?” she asked as she cut the soiled dressing free.

  “My fault, Physician,” said Kaid as the craft rose above the tops of Stronghold’s towers. “When I tried to stop him accompanying us, I grabbed him by his injured arm.” He banked away from the early morning sun, heading back to Valsgarth.

  “Well, you didn’t succeed, did you?” she grumbled, deftly wiping the blood from Kusac’s shoulder wound with a sterile pad before spraying on a coagulant. Taking out a fresh dressing, she bound it up again.

  Kusac leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes. His shoulder ached and Vanna’s attentions made it worse.

  He’d hoped that once Carrie’s Challenge was over they’d be left alone to have some peace, instead of which, they were now at the heart of political maneuvering between their guild and the Brotherhood. Something unresolved was niggling at him, then he remembered what it was.

  “Why did they want you at Stronghold, Vanna?” he asked as he felt the slight sting of the hypo gun against his arm.

  “Physician,” said Dzaka from behind them. “I think it would be wiser to say as little as possible for the present.”

  “Don’t start trying to order me around, Dzaka,” said Vanna coldly as she finished packing up the
small medikit. “I haven’t forgiven you for what you did. Had you told me why Lijou and Ghezu needed to speak to me, I’d have agreed to go. Your methods were totally unprincipled and unnecessary.”

  “I’ve a bone to pick with you, too,” growled Rulla, reaching out to pull Dzaka back from Vanna.

  “What did they want?” asked Garras, turning round to look at her over the top of his seat.

  “They’ve found a complete Valtegan skeleton in one of the ancient cities,” she said.

  “What?” Kusac sat up again, his tiredness pushed aside by the enormity of what she’d said.

  Stunned, the others looked at each other.

  “How the hell did it get there?” asked Garras. “You knew about this, Dzaka, and didn’t tell us? The Valtegans killed your mate and cub down on Szurtha and you said nothing of this? Just what’s going on in that head of yours?”

  “Dzaka knew nothing about the remains until we got there,” said Vanna. “That much was obvious when Lijou uncovered them to show me. They’ve found bones before but this was the first time they’d been able to remove a whole skeleton before Esken’s Guild priests destroyed the site,” she said.

  Kusac was stunned. He didn’t know which news rocked him more—that Master Esken had been destroying alien remains in the ruined cities, or that centuries ago there had been Valtegans on Shola.

  “The bones aren’t modern,” she continued. “Lijou has had them dated tentatively back to the days of the Cataclysm.”

  “Did you know about this, Kaid?” asked Kusac. “Is this part of the reason why they sent you out to the Khalossa?”

  “This is news to me, Liege,” said Kaid. “I’ve never picked up so much as a whisper concerning this.”

  “Did any of you know about it?” demanded Garras, looking at Rulla and T’Chebbi who sat in the back on either side of Dzaka. They shook their heads. “Dzaka? What did you know about this?”

  “Nothing. I didn’t even know the Brotherhood had been visiting ruins,” he said.

  “What did they tell you?” Kusac asked Vanna.

  “They wanted me to identify the bones. All they knew was they were alien, not Sholan. They had no idea they were Valtegan.”

  “I know the miners recover the refined metals from the ruins,” said Kusac. “I also know that our Guild sends a priest to bless the sites and protect the miners from danger, but I had no idea they were finding remains there. I thought it was only rubble and metal. I think the Telepath Guild’s activities at ruins need to be investigated thoroughly to see what else is being destroyed.”

  “Liege, there are several important matters for us to discuss,” said Kaid, turning his head toward them so his voice carried. “We’re all tired. May I suggest that we get some sleep when we get back to Valsgarth and hold a full debriefing later in the day?”

  Kusac nodded. “We’ll meet in the second-floor lounge at twelfth hour.”

  *

  Kaid reached out and held Dzaka back as the others left the aircar. “You and I have some talking to do,” he said grimly.

  Dzaka nodded and waited for him to complete the vehicle’s power-down, then preceded him out into the garage area.

  Kaid pointed to the exit for the garden. “That way.”

  Silently they walked across the greensward until they were out of sight of the house, then Kaid rounded on the younger male, grasping him by the throat and pinning him to the nearest tree.

  “You took one of the people I’m sworn to protect into the gravest danger. You put my Liege’s life and that of his Leska at risk when he insisted on accompanying us.” Kaid’s voice was low with anger, his ears as stiff and vertical as the fur surrounding his neck and head. “You owe me an explanation.”

  Half choking though he was, Dzaka didn’t dare move. He could tell by the coldness in Kaid’s eyes that if he made one false move, it would be his last.

  Kaid could feel the hunter-sight beginning to set in as his vision narrowed till all he could see clearly was Dzaka.

  “Can I help?” he heard Garras ask quietly.

  Kaid ignored him. “I’m waiting,” he said, tightening his grip till his claws just pierced Dzaka’s flesh.

  “Why should I justify my actions when you aren’t prepared to trust me?” wheezed Dzaka.

  “Because if you don’t, you won’t live to regret it,” said Kaid softly.

  “Answer him!” said Garras, coming forward to stand beside his friend.

  Kaid watched Dzaka’s eyes flick to Garras then back to him. For the first time he saw stirrings of fear in them. Good. It was time Dzaka realized he couldn’t presume upon their past relationship—his actions had taken him beyond that. He tightened his grip fractionally.

  Dzaka’s hands made an involuntary movement as if to reach up to pull Kaid’s hand away, then he froze.

  Kaid could feel the younger male’s blood pounding under his hand, and the sharp smell of his fear.

  “I …” Dzaka began to cough.

  Kaid relaxed his grip slightly, letting him catch his breath.

  “… was ordered to get Carrie or Vanna, preferably Vanna, to Stronghold,” Dzaka said. “Knew she’d be safe.” He broke off, unable to prevent himself from coughing again.

  Kaid felt Garras’ hand touch the middle of his back in warning. It took all his self-control not to turn around and lash out at him, so close was he to the edge of the hunter/kill state.

  “They only wanted to talk, persuade her to join the Brotherhood. Knew they couldn’t afford to kill her. Wouldn’t have taken her otherwise.”

  “He’s telling the truth,” said Garras.

  “Keep out of this,” snapped Kaid. “It’s my business.”

  “Mine, too. He took my mate, Kaid,” said Garras, his voice equally angry.

  Kaid watched Dzaka’s eyes begin to glaze as he passed beyond fear into sheer terror.

  “First time you’ve been on the receiving end, isn’t it, Dzaka?” Kaid said, his voice as quiet and cold as the earth in deep winter. “How d’you like it? You really think you can second-guess me? Play me at my own game? Ghezu wants you to think that. Oh, you’re good, no two ways about it, but not that good.”

  Kaid’s mouth opened in a grin that never touched his eyes. “Ghezu forgot to tell you one thing, Dzaka. He and I have played this game before and each time it’s cost him dear in lost Brothers. You want to be another statistic in his feud with me? Because if you step on my tail again, I will kill you!”

  Dzaka’s eyes rolled back till only the whites showed. “Ask Vanna! I meant her no harm! Told her she’d be safe, that I wasn’t kidnapping her!”

  Kaid took a deep breath, forcing back the darkness at the edges of his vision, forcing his fur to lie flat. As he released Dzaka, his free hand came up in a powerful open-handed blow to the other’s head, sending him spinning across the grass to land in an ignominious heap at the foot of a nearby tree.

  He began to walk over to where Dzaka lay but Garras was there first, pulling the younger male to his feet and delivering an equal blow to the other side of his head.

  “You go near Vanna again, Dzaka, and you’d better hope Kaid gets to you before I do,” snarled Garras, hauling him upright by the scruff of his neck before letting him go. “You understand me?”

  Staggering, Dzaka held onto the tree trunk, nodding as he wiped the blood off his face onto his shirtsleeve. As Kaid came over, he looked up at him, fear written in every line of his body.

  “You wanted to choose, Dzaka,” Kaid growled, coming to a stop. “So choose now. If you’re with us, it’s all the way, no turning back. If you aren’t, then get the hell out of my sight and off the estate.”

  Dzaka wiped his face again, trying to stop shaking as he did so. “You’d trust me to stay?” he asked.

  “You’re alive, aren’t you? If you stay, then you earn my trust from here on in,” said Kaid. “You could have come to me, told me what you planned to do, but you didn’t. I told you, trust works both ways.”

  Dz
aka forced his ears upright and took a shuddering breath. “I’ll stay,” he said, looking Kaid straight in the eyes with an effort.

  Kaid nodded. “We’ll see you at eleventh hour. You’ll be given your assignment then.” He turned abruptly away from him and began walking back to the house.

  Garras caught up with him. “Can we trust him?”

  “He’ll be watched. One more slip and he’s dead, and now he knows it.”

  “I thought you were going to kill him back there, that’s why I followed you,” said Garras, matching his pace to Kaid’s.

  “I came close. I needed his explanation first. Vanna wasn’t harmed and she wasn’t out after his blood for taking her to Stronghold. Had it been different …”

  “Damn Ghezu!” swore Garras. “If it weren’t for him, Dzaka wouldn’t be involved with us! Why the hell has he got to keep playing his mind games with the two of you? What’s he still got against you?”

  “Don’t worry, Ghezu’s tally is adding up. There’ll be a reckoning between us before this is over,” said Kaid as they reentered the garage on their way to the house.

  Kaid knew what Dzaka faced. He’d had over thirty years of training and indoctrination from the Brotherhood. Talk was easy, it cost nothing. But if Dzaka really wanted to leave and join them, he’d break free of that conditioning. He’d been trained to question, to rely on his own judgment—especially because he was a special operative like himself and Garras. They’d done it: Dzaka could. And if Dzaka succeeded, then he’d never need to doubt him again.

  *

  A chill wind swept across the spaceport, bringing with it the aroma of cooking from the stalls in the spacers’ shantytown. Jeran stirred, lifting his head clear of the straw till he could see. Around their pen, the night was coming alive. Lights and flickering torches illuminated the darkness, lighting up the traders’ row so that visiting spacers could see the goods offered for sale.

  Nearby, the door to a local tavern was flung open, sending a gust of ale-scented warm air straight into his face. A burst of sound, the raucous voices calling out in languages he couldn’t understand, then it was cut off as the door swung closed again. Nearby he could hear the sound of a ship taking off from the spaceport, going home with its cargo, while they were left marooned on an alien world. With a low moan of distress, he lay his head back down on the foul straw.