The Namura Stone (37 page)

Diva looked impressed. “You would pretend to be captured, but really it would be a ruse to take the others over to Dessia? Arcan, that is good! I like it! And you are right: they will attack simultaneously – the Enarans against some of us and the Dessite mindwall against the rest. As soon as they attack, you can let me know. We can try to protect the others by stationing the trimorphs nearby Dessia, and by bringing the canths in, to see if they can run interference on any manipulations the Ammonites might try.”

Arcan scintillated. “Well, with your plan, it might just work. If you can break the astrand of the Enarans, then the Dessites can be made to doubt the usefulness of the Ammonite animas as allies. If I can show them a way out of this, they may take it.”

Diva flashed again. “It is all falling into place, can’t you see? I will go to Enara. They will have no idea I am even there, because they will all be in the astrand. That should give me plenty of time to find out how to break the bond that the Ammonites have. They are bound to have a weak spot. We all do. Look at you!”

“I have no weaknesses.”

“You used to, though. What about the carbon nanographite? And the orange compound Atheron made? And the—”

Arcan gave a dignified shimmer. “There is no need to go on. I think I get your meaning.”

“Nobody is perfect, Arcan … not even you.” Diva ignored the slight flicker of disagreement that seemed to come from the ortholake. “Then all we have to do is make sure Grace and the others have orthogel somewhere on them so that they can let us know if an attack starts. We wait.”

Arcan agreed. “We wait. They must make the first move. But we have to be ready. And the plan depends on your being able to dismantle the Ammonite astrand.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Diva spun so fast that vortices appeared in her morphic body. “I will hold up my part of the bargain.”

SIX WAS RIDING in from Eletheia. He had just given his first lecture on quantum interference, and was wondering how long it would be before he saw Diva again. She had promised to come over as soon as she had managed to dominate the types of travel she now had to use, but the weeks had been dragging past and he still hadn’t seen her. He would go to Pictoria himself, he determined, if she didn’t turn up soon. All this sitting about waiting was not the Kwaidian way.

He had taken the turning to the Restaurant at the Emerald Lake, so as to be able to let his canth free on the sands, and now he reined in for a moment and stared out across the water.

“Diva,” he muttered to himself, “you have no idea how difficult being alone is. And knowing you are there, somewhere else, in some ways only makes it harder.” He shook his head, trying to dispel the malaise that made the days run into each other, and turned his dapple grey canth towards home, letting the rein fall loose so that it could pick its own pace.

The canth pricked up its ears, recognizing that it was now close to the lush meadow which made the lake so attractive to the equines. It tossed its head, and then broke out into a fast canter along the sands, which soon became a full gallop. Six let the wind blow his mind clean, watching the waters of the lake gleam as he rode past. The sun was shining, and he was reminded of the time he and Diva had raced against each other, on the way to the bottomless pool. It seemed far too long ago now. It was in a different world, with different people.

When they at last reached the tall trees, the ones that held the tree houses, he pulled up his canth rather regretfully. He had been enjoying the full stride. There was a faint buzz in his left ear, and he realized that he was no longer alone.

“You look tired, no-name.” The small body of his wife was hovering just above the canth’s ears, at face height.

He smiled, but his face showed his weariness. “Hello, you!” He pulled up the canth and slid down from its back onto the sand.

A dark band crossed Diva’s shape. “What is the matter?” She settled herself above the beach beside him, and they both looked out at the brightly sunlit scene in front of them.

He stared at the fish jumping, far out on the silvery water. Then he gave a sigh. “It is hard to be without you,” he admitted, “but it is hard to be with you, too, because things are different, and I can’t help wanting everything to go back to the way it was. Don’t you?” Six traced out a round shape in the sand with a stick of driftwood.

The firemorph seemed to be examining the skyline too. “I suppose it is hard for both of us, in different ways. I miss you all the time too – even though some of the things I can do now would seem like a fairytale to anyone else.”

“You are the same, but you aren’t. I miss having the Diva I had got used to.” Six finished the circle and drew a line right through it. “I feel tired all the time.”

“Would you have preferred me to die properly?”

He looked around at her in horror. “NO! No, of course not.”

“Well, then.” She looked up at the blue sky. “Get used to it.”

“Thanks a lot! You might show some understanding.”

“Why? We are lucky. Why can’t you get that through your thick Kwaidian skull? Anybody else would be alone now. We aren’t.”

“I know. It’s just that …”

“I thought Kwaidian men were strong? True warriors?”

He glared. “We are. So?”

“So a true warrior adapts to the battle. You are still fighting against the tide of change.”

He fell silent. “I suppose I am, in a way. I hadn’t thought about it like that.”

“I am getting stronger and stronger. We can see each other more often, as I get used to this new body. We have every reason to be happy.”

“You are right. I will make more effort. I certainly don’t want Raven and the others to think of me as a grumpy old man.”

Diva burst out laughing. “I don’t think anyone could see you as that, Six. After all, you are still only 21! But if you mean you should have some fun; you are right. Of course you should.”

He grinned. “Perhaps I should visit the Widowmaker? Or I could invite Kaileen over from New Kwaide? I bet she would—” he rubbed his cheek, “—OUCH! That hurt, Diva!”

“Don’t try my patience too far, nomus.”

“I was only going to say, she would appreciate some quantum physics classes! She is studying for her degree, you know.”

“Oh …” she reddened slightly, “… I’m sorry.”

He was aware of a tiny thread of elation, which spread through him. He could feel her uncertainty as if it were a physical presence. He felt powerful, then mean. She was more vulnerable than usual. It must be strange, to live in an isolated black cave, knowing that they were still all here by the Emerald Lake, in a place full of greenery and sun.

He reached out to touch the small shape. “Are you getting used to the caverns of Pictoria?”

She nodded, although he could tell that she was making the best of it. “It was strange at first, but we morphics somehow seem to belong there, so it gets better. And I have already seen some incredible places out across the whole galaxy. I can’t wait to show them to you!”

“Just leave some for me to find!”

“Don’t worry. The galaxy is a big place, you know.” She darkened. “I came to tell you that Arcan and I have a plan.” She explained it in detail to Six.

He opened his mouth to say something about her being careful, and then closed it again with a snap. Diva stared at him fondly, aware of the effort it had cost him not to try to dissuade her.

“Do you think the attack will start soon?”

“Arcan says the visitor saw them finalizing their plans. He thinks it will be some time in the next few weeks. Arcan will be sending you all orthogel bracelets or necklaces in the next few hours. You have to make sure that you can call, even if your minds are being taken over.” Diva went on to tell him about Arcan’s part of the plan. She finished up: “—Of course, that depends on you and Ledin being left alone by the Enarans. If they take your minds over, too, then you might not be able to go.”

“Let them try!” Six straightened up. “They won’t find it so easy to get into our Kwaidian heads!”

Diva began to laugh. “That I can easily believe. I have always said you were thick-headed!”

Six glared. “Hang it all, Diva, you know that is not what I meant!”

She giggled again, before sobering up. “Well, I hope that is true. I don’t know if Arcan’s part of the plan will work, but he seems to want you two Kwaidians to go. We should tell Grace and Ledin about all this.”

Six scrambled up. “Let’s go now.” He turned to her, unable to hold his tongue any longer. “Are you sure you will be all right? —Be careful over on Enara, won’t you? I don’t want to have to go through this all over again.”

“I’ll be careful. But you should be too. Going back to Dessia is extremely risky, and Raven and the other children need you here for the next few years. Somebody has to be with them as they grow up.”

He gave a wan smile, his skin taut. “I know.” He picked up the reins of the canth. “I will be there in a moment. I just have to take my canth back to the others, and rub him down quickly.” He paused again. “For Sacras’ sake, don’t do anything rash when all this happens!”

The trimorph edged up to his hand and spun gently against it, giving him a sensation of warmth.

“That’s rich, nomus – you are hardly the one to talk!”

Then she flashed against the dark brown of the tree trunk and vanished.

Six steepled his hands over his mouth and nose. It was hard to know what he felt or thought these days. Everything was so confused, so disjointed. It was like living in the middle of a windstorm, with everything circling around and around him and then being carried further and further into the clouds, where he couldn’t follow.

LEDIN LISTENED TO the plan, and then looked very dubiously at Grace. They all knew that she was the first one who would be attacked by the Ammonite astrand. And she was due to have a baby in only a couple of months. The timing couldn’t have been worse. Ledin went over to her immediately and put an arm around her shoulders. He stared at Diva in disbelief.

“Have you thought of what will happen to the people who have been taken over by the astrand?” he demanded. “It is a crazy plan! I won’t allow it!”

Grace touched his arm gently. “Hush! It isn’t crazy at all. You are just worried something may happen to me.”

“Well, of course I am! Does that sound so wrong to you?”

“No, it doesn’t. But there is more at stake here than just our own skins, and you know it.”

Ledin had lost all of his usual good humour. “They will obviously come for you first, Grace. And Diva expects me to leave you and Temar alone, and go with Arcan to Dessia? Well, I won’t do it!”

Six made a motion, and Ledin looked over crossly. “What?”

“Bennel and Tallen will be here. They should stay with Grace and the children from now on. They will look after her. You know they will.”

Ledin shook his head. “No! I don’t care what any of you say. I shall stay with my wife, and that’s that. Let Arcan take Tallen.”

Grace turned to her husband, and shook him slightly, until he stopped talking and looked her in the eyes.

“I don’t know why Arcan wants you to go, but go you will. Do you understand? I will have both Tallen and Bennel to look after me. How can you doubt them? After all they have done and proved!”

Both the Coriolans, who had been listening impassively, straightened up.

Ledin looked long into his wife’s eyes. She held his gaze. “Arcan deserves our complete trust,” she told him. “And we have always known what might happen.”

“Yes … but, Grace!”

“You will go. I will be fine here. And you are not to worry about us … Diva will break the astrand almost as soon as it forms … you will see.”

Ledin pressed his lips together, but his wife shook her head. “No, Ledin. You know very well that although family comes first, some things are above family. Why, you were the one who told me that, on Pictoria! If Arcan says you are to go, you go.”

Ledin was still torn, but he couldn’t very well deny his own words. He glared at Bennel and Tallen. “You two had better take good care of my family!”

Tallen nodded. “I will lay my own life down before hers.”

Bennel bowed. “And I.”

Six looked from one to the other. “Let’s hope that it won’t be necessary. But this plan of Diva’s may be the only thing that can save the binary system from being taken over. We have to try it.” His eyes slid to the small morphic figure floating nearby. “It is going to be hard for all of us.”

Ledin caught his look and felt ashamed. He and Grace were not the only ones being called to make sacrifices. He should have realized. He looked down at the ground, and his voice grated when he next spoke. “We should get ready then. Whenever they act, we should be ready.”

Chapter 19

IT WAS TWO months later, and Grace was swimming in the Emerald Lake. Temar was splashing contentedly in the shallows, and she was enjoying the weightlessness of the buoyant water. She was due now in a few weeks, and the possible attack of the Enarans had faded away with the distance of time into a dim world of possibility and probability. It felt almost impossible in this warm and beautiful air. She felt the water caress her, and smiled up at the brilliant blue sky, giving a sigh of contentment. Her back had been aching these last weeks; letting the water take the weight gave her instant relief.

Ledin, close by, smiled, too. He had just come back from the Kwaide Orbital Space Station, after a week of tense diplomacy with the Elders. It was good to shake off the dryness of endless meetings, good to be close to his family.

Tallen and Bennel were sitting side by side, watching Temar and Bennel’s two children. Sanjai and Quenna, who had no classes that day, were making a fort out of sand for Temar, for when he got tired of paddling. Lannie had joined them all on the beach; she was smiling to see her children so contented, watching them from the shade of the tall trees. The only person not already on the beach was Six. They were waiting for him to come back from the university to put food out on the picnic blankets. Lannie had brought quite a feast to the beach, and was only waiting for his arrival to bring it out from the shade of the line of trees.

Six, at the far end of the beach, was just able to see them all as small dots. His canth had needed little urging to break into a gallop, and the windless air began to brush lightly over his skin. He put his face up to the sun, wondering where Diva was at that moment.