Quest (18 page)

‘Ahead? At the crèche? Oh, no! Not like Setheron!’

‘I fear so. Why must they always deal in death and violence? Oh, my Sisters!’ For a moment Herra’s shoulders bowed and her eyes filled with tears, then she straightened her back. ‘Enough of that. We have no time to grieve.

Can you lead us to the crèche by a roundabout way? One that keeps us out of sight in the wildwoods? I would prefer not to meet Benner’s men, and there seem to be a lot of them ahead of us.’

‘Yes, of course.’ Katia stood still to get her bearings, then set off confidently over the rough ground, choosing always the easiest path for Herra among the bushes and lesser growth of the wildwoods. They spoke little and concentrated all their energy on walking as quickly as possible.

Once they were out of sight of the road, Katia stopped and taught Herra one or two ways of moving with less noise. She was not surprised when Herra instantly applied the lessons with a skill which would not have disgraced a verderer in the High Alder. Katia breathed deeply of the tangy air and blushed when she caught Herra’s amused gaze. What a time to gratify her senses, with the crèche in danger and their Brother waiting for them!

‘Don’t feel guilty, child. It isn’t wrong to enjoy our world - even in an Age of Discord.’

Two hours later they stood looking down on the smouldering remains of their crèche from the top of the small hill whose steep rocky side overlooked the site. From here it would once have been hard to see the crèche, for the buildings were of unpainted wood and nestled snugly under the trees. Now the buildings were clearly signposted by
QUEST Shannah Jay 65

columns of black smoke and the woods below Herra and Katia were being quartered by groups of Benner’s guards, easily visible as they crashed noisily through the undergrowth and beat at the bushes.

‘May the God look down on our Sisters!’ said Herra automatically, her expression old with the weight of her sadness. ‘To die before one has followed one’s true path or used one’s Gifts properly! And those poor children. The waste of it all!’

‘Did any escape, do you think?’

‘Probably. We always build escape routes when we build our crèches, even after so many years of peace - and we practise using them, too.’ She bent down and opened her bundle. ‘We must pause and use the device the God gave me. He calls it a tracer, but if I press the controls differently, it’s also a farspeaker. With it, I can talk to our Sisters at the temple and direct them to help the survivors. We mustn’t linger here, though. Two of us can do little to help them, and our path lies beyond the crèche.’ She pulled a small flat oblong from her pocket and pressed one corner. A faint hissing issued from it.

‘Is that you, Brother?’ Cheral’s voice was faint and thin.

‘No, Cheral. This is Herra. Benner’s men have attacked the crèche. Send a rescue party for the survivors. Path Three would be best, I think.’

There was a crackling in the undergrowth behind them. Katia had been so engrossed in what Herra was doing that she had not heard anyone approaching.

‘Look here! Two of those she-devils who got away from us!’ roared a voice suddenly.

Two men erupted from the undergrowth, brandishing swords. One ran at Herra and the other turned towards Katia. Herra
stilled
her opponent and Katia vaulted over a log to get out of reach of hers. She did not yet have the ability to
still
anyone fully.

Herra called, ‘This way, coward!’ and as the second man turned, he, too, froze in his tracks. As the two women ran from the clearing, she said, ‘We cannot get far, Katia. They’re all around us. We must make ourselves invisible.

Oh, to have to waste my energy on concealment! And there are so many of them to deceive!’

‘Why not hide in the cave?’

‘What cave?’ Herra’s voice was as sharp as a whip crack.

‘I can sense one over there, a sort of - emptiness in the ground. Can’t you feel it?’

‘No. Show me!’

They heard more people crashing up the hill and men’s voices shouting. Katia led the way rapidly to where the cave seemed to be, but they found themselves at the edge of the cliff where the rock fell in a nearly sheer drop for a hundred paces.

‘Oh, no! It’s down there, and it’s a hard climb! We shan’t be able to get down in time. Oh, Herra!’

‘Don’t panic.’ Herra spoke sharply. ‘Hold my shoulders and trust me. I can control our fall.’ Her wind blew from nowhere and she stepped confidently off the edge of the cliff, with Katia clutching her shoulders. In seconds the two women were falling slowly as feathers down the sheer rock face. Then, as Katia had said, they came to a narrow ledge with a cave at the back of it, a mere crack in the rock filled with the wind’s sweepings, but large enough to hide the two of them from anyone above. They had to bend double to crawl inside, but there was room to lie down quite comfortably within the crevice.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Katia. ‘You had to use your powers, after all.’

‘But it took far less energy than I would have had to use to keep us invisible from a hundred questing men. Shhh!’

Fragments of conversations drifted down from above.

‘Look what those whores have done to Farrol and Evin!’

‘When we find them, Lord Benner’ll see that they pay homage to the Serpent, Sisters or not. He’ll make ‘em
QUEST Shannah Jay 66

squirm all right!’

‘ . . . like they’re frozen. Will they die?’

‘No. Saw it happen to the captain of our troop a few years ago. Came out of it in . . . ‘

‘Any signs of . . . ‘

Herra put the fingertips of her left hand to her brow and gestured twice with her right hand. There was a shout of triumph from above.

‘Over here! There are some broken twigs. Sly devils! They got away down this side. Come on! They can’t have gone far!’

‘What about these two?’

‘Leave ’em. I want the reward Benner promised. They say Sen-Sether got hold of a Sister and forced her to pay public homage to the Serpent. Benner’s dying to do the same thing, but he daren’t take the whores prisoner in the city yet. Some stupid people take a lot of persuading about what’s good for them.’

‘Aye. Those women are a devil’s brood. The things they do in their temples! Unnatural perverts. But if we caught one, quietly-like, our Lord Benner would splay her out good and proper on the altar. Seen him make sacrifice with women a few times. Now that’s what I call doing a thorough job! The bitches begged for mercy before he was through. All honour to the Serpent! Wish I had his stamina. And blood - he likes ‘em whipped hard, he does. Blood everywhere when he’s in that sort of mood.’

‘Shut up, will you? How can we track those whores down with you two shouting your mouths off like that?’

The crackling of broken twigs faded slowly away.

Katia whispered to Herra. ‘They were talking about Fiana, weren’t they?’

‘Yes.’

‘Does everyone know?’

‘Sen-Sether has broadcast the news as widely as possible.’

‘I would die rather than do that. How could she bear it?’

‘It was the price she chose to pay to save many of her Sisters from death or a similar fate.’

‘I still couldn’t do it.’ Katia shuddered.

‘One does what one must when the occasion arises. One finds the strength if something is really necessary.’

‘Not for that! Death would be preferable!’

‘Sometimes death is the easy way out.’ Herra judged it time to change the subject. ‘Now, I think we’ll have to wait here until darkness. Let’s enter the Discipline of Minor Renewal and gather more strength to ourselves.’

‘But our Brother?’

‘We cannot reach him yet.’

There was silence for a few moments, then Katia asked softly, ‘Are you all right, Herra?’

‘Yes, child. Finding this cave has saved us a lot of trouble.’‘I’m glad of that, at least.’ But Katia could see that the Elder Sister was near exhaustion. Impulsively she laid her hand on Herra’s and squeezed it gently.

‘Don’t worry about me, child. I shall manage. Just husband your own strength. I’ll set watch and ward at the entrance.’ She gestured and there was a slight flickering over the opening. From outside the cave would appear empty, and people would be disinclined even to look at the entrance.

Soon the breathing of the two women slackened and their pulses slowed down. The wind ruffled their robes and blew tendrils of hair across their faces, but they didn’t stir again until dusk.

QUEST Shannah Jay 67

* * *

As the two women sighed into sleep, the observers on the satellite, who had been following them carefully, stared at each other in amazement.

‘Just look at that tracer reading!’ exclaimed Soo, who was on duty in the com-centre. ‘Are those two Sisters all right, do you think?’

‘They said something about a Discipline of Minor Renewal.’ Mak looked in awe at the life monitor’s reading. ‘I’m beginning to think Davred was right. They have skills I’ve only read about in ancient mythology or in fiction tales.

Did they really float down that cliff?’

‘We saw them do it. There’s no way they could have been tricking us.’

‘I still can’t believe it, for all that. We must study them more carefully.’

‘Don’t let Robler hear you saying that, Mak. He’s still furious with us. He seems to hate the Sisterhood and blame them for Davred’s defection. He only wants this com-watch kept so that he can prove they’re tricksters.’

‘His behaviour is unprofessional, to my mind. An Exec has no right to give way to his emotions.’ Hesitantly Mak laid his hand over hers, almost as if he were afraid to offend her. He cleared his throat, ‘I’m glad we saved Davred’s life, Soo.’

‘Yes. I hope he finds happiness down there. Do you think he was right about Catharsis for the Confederation taking place on Sunrise? He seemed so sure of what he had to do.’

‘He said he’d achieved his potential.’

‘Perhaps he has, but will it make him happy? He’s always been a strange person. A lonely one, too.’

‘You’re not too upset that he’s gone, are you, Soo?’

‘Upset? In what way?’

Mak looked at her earnestly. ‘Emotionally. You were fond of him.’

She turned her hand within his and pressed it slightly. ‘No, I’m not upset in the way you mean. Davred and I were never more than friends, Mak. He’s like a brother to me. I shall miss him, of course, but I’m not emotionally attached to him.’

Mak cleared his throat again. ‘I thought not, but I wanted to make sure. And Soo,’ his face flushed slightly, for he was not a man used to expressing his feelings, ‘I’m glad of it for personal reasons.’

Soo removed her hand from his, raised it for a moment to touch his cheek, then caught sight of Davred’s life monitor and became brisk again. ‘Davred’s pulse rate has slowed down, too. It’s not as slow as the Sisters’, but if a Confex medic saw readings like that, he’d have Davred in an analysis rig before he could blink. He must be badly injured. I wish there was something we could do, but those woods are full of people. Anyway, I’m not sure it’d be right to bring him back into Robler’s power again.’

It was neither the time nor the place for personal conversations or intimacies, so Mak didn’t return to the subject of his feelings for Soo. But he intended to as soon as the moment was opportune.

In the com-centre, Soo continued to watch and record what was happening down on Sunrise. Mak returned to the lab, but couldn’t settle to work. He kept remembering the warm feel of Soo’s hand on his cheek and the beauty of her hair. Never had a woman had this effect upon him. Indeed, he’d decided years ago that he was not the sort to form long-term relationships.

Everyone seemed to change when they came to observe Sunrise, even Robler.

* * *

As dusk crept up the hillside, the two Sisters increased their pulse and respiration rates, and began to exercise their muscles as best they could in the cramped space.

QUEST Shannah Jay 68

‘Can you find the way for us in the darkness, child?’

Katia smiled. ‘Oh, yes. I’ve always loved the woods at night. And it won’t be all that dark. Two of the moons are up and nearly full, even if they are low on the horizon. It’s you I’m worried about, Elder Sister.’

‘I shall do very well. I feel quite refreshed.’

She didn’t look refreshed. Even in the dimness of the moonlight she looked drawn and haggard. ‘Well then, you’re in charge of this part, Katia,’ she said cheerfully. ‘Just tell me what to do and I shall follow you as meekly as a nerid calf.’

They both smiled at the image. Baby nerids only let go of their mothers’ tails to suckle.

The two women made their way through the wildwoods, passing several encampments with very watchful sentries guarding them. Katia’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the men’s filthy habits and the way they had destroyed the plant life around them. Several times she found a sheltered hiding place and a green watercup or two among the low growth.

Herra obediently stopped and took a drink, resting for a few moments, well aware that her younger Sister was being particularly watchful of her safety. She was quite happy to let Katia pace them and didn’t even protest when Katia took her bundle from her and carried it with her own.

As the night passed, it grew chill and the two Sisters had to make adjustments to their body functions to compensate. All these were registered by the tracer and noted with intense interest by Soo, who had chosen to remain on duty above.

In the grey light just before dawn, Katia stopped and for the first time seemed hesitant. ‘We’re close now, I think, but I can’t tell precisely where our Brother’s Manifestation is. Can you feel his presence?’

Herra stood still and cast her senses ahead. ‘Yes. In that direction.’

A faint smell of burned undergrowth drifted towards them. He’s alive, at least, thought Herra. I can sense him quite clearly. Let him not be captured now by Those of Evil. It will take so long to get our people to this turn of the path again. The tip of the sun touched the horizon, the last of the dawn mist drifted away, and the light turned from grey to the soft pink of a blushbell bud. Ahead of them, they could clearly see a stretch of charred woodland and at the end of it . . .