The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (32 page)

“Let’s talk about that later, imp,” Honey said with a laugh.  “Right now I want to
take a shower and have breakfast.  Then I’m going to see some patients at the clinic. 
But later on, you and I are going to meet with the Vulpirans and another man who’s
going to design a house for us.”

“What’s that mean?” Nica asked as she climbed off of Honey’s bed.

“Well, a family named Dracon owns this ranch, and they’re going to build a house here
just for us, and we get to decide what we want it to look like,” Honey explained as
she got up and made her bed. 

“Really?” Nica asked in surprise.  “Can we have a garden like the Bears have?”

“Yes, we can,” Honey said as she went to help Nica make her bed.  “And you can decide
what color you want your bedroom to be and how many windows you want and what kind
of floor you want.  You should think about that this morning while I’m working so
you know what you want when we see him.”

“All right,
Mana
,” Nica agreed.  “That will be fun to do.”

“Yes, Sweetie, it certainly will be.”

***

“Greetings, Arima Hope,” Olaf Gryphon said with a bow when the Bearens were shown
into his office in the Hidden City. 

“Hello, Olaf,” Hope said.  “It’s good to see you again.  Did you have a nice journey?”

“Yes, we did,” Olaf replied.  “It was somewhat longer than we originally expected,
of course, but
we enjoyed our time together.  Aisling
has asked that I apologize for her.  She is working closely with Elder Vulpiran today
on a matter of some importance.  Rand and Rudy are with her.  I’m afraid you’re stuck
with just me today.”

“That’s all right,” Hope said.  “We aren’t staying very long anyway.  I look forward
to visiting with Aisling during the meeting in a couple of weeks.”

“Are you planning to stay in the Hidden City over night?”

“No, I’m afraid not, Olaf,” Jackson said.  “We’ve got the boys to get home to, and
we don’t want Hope to get over tired.  Our plan is to be here for a couple of hours. 
If Hope is unable to finish her task today, we’ll ask to impose on you again another
day.”

“It’s no imposition, I assure you,” Olaf said.  “The artifacts of our previous world
have been stored away for over three thousand years.  They have become no more than
curiosities that are rarely seen, and mostly forgotten.  If some use can be made of
them, that can be nothing but good.”

“I can’t make any promises,” Hope said.  “But I’ll see what happens.”

“Will you want to take objects with you, if you find any?” Olaf asked.

Hope shook her head emphatically.  “It isn’t necessary,” Jackson said.  “If Hope finds
objects that she senses need to go to someone in particular, we’ll put them aside
in one place until such time as they’re needed.  In all likelihood she won’t know
who they go to until she meets the person.”

“Good,” Olaf replied.  “If and when an object is needed you can either speed travel
over for it, or ask us to bring it to you.  In either case, just let us know what
item is being taken so that we can log it out.  Now, if you’ll follow me.”

Olaf led the way to a door in the back of the office, down a set of stairs to a vault
door.  He opened it and stepped back.  “I’m going back to work so vox me if you need
anything.”

“Thank you, Olaf,” Jackson said.  He waited for Olaf to leave before stepping into
the vault first.  He flipped on the lights and looked around to be certain there was
no one else in the room before gesturing for Hope to enter, Clark and Rob right behind
her. 

“Wow,” Hope said softly as she looked around.  The room was much larger than she’d
expected it to be, though when she thought about it, she wasn’t sure why she’d had
any expectations at all.  There were floor to ceiling shelves on three walls, with
several rows of shelves filling two thirds of the floor space.  The last third held
items that were too large to fit on shelves.  Some rested on the floor, some on a
long, narrow table.  The fourth wall was covered with wall hangings.  Tapestries,
paintings, drawings and carvings. 

As Hope began to look closer she saw that there were notations painted on the edges
of the shelves, as well as what appeared to be a log or register at the end.  She
assumed the items were arranged in some sort of order, but the characters meant nothing
to her.  Not that it mattered.  She was not looking for a particular item so the system
used to order them was of no use to her.

“Where to start,” she murmured softly to herself as she wandered around the narrow
table.  Without her permission her hand reached out toward a tall purple goblet. 
She stopped herself from touching it, but she could not prevent the strange tingling
sensation she got when she looked at it.

It appeared to be carved from a single stone, amethyst she thought.  It was quite
large, about eighteen inches tall and maybe ten inches wide with a narrow stem and
flared base, polished to a dull gleam.  A tree with wide, leaf covered branches was
carved into the bowl with amazing detail, the trunk extending down the stem, the roots
spreading out across the base.

“This one,” she said, pointing to it without letting her hand get too close.

“The
Bizitzaren Kopa
,” Clark said.  “The Cup of Life.”

“So called because of the Tree of Life carved into it,” Hope said.

“Yes,” Clark said, smiling as he carefully picked the cup up and carried it to an
empty space on a nearby shelf.

Hope continued walking along the table but sensed nothing else among the beautiful
and strange objects.  She turned around and spent a few moments looking at the items
on the wall.  After a moment, she pointed to a mosaic hung at eye level to her.  She
stepped closer to it, smiling when she realized that the mosaic was made up of gemstones. 

“There must have been a lot of gem mines on your old world,” she said, tilting her
head slightly as she studied the mosaic.  There were tall, jungle plants in the foreground
with a high waterfall in the back ground, all of it rendered in precisely cut gemstones. 
The plants weren’t green, though.  They were orange, red, and yellow.  Aside from
the colors, it could have been a depiction of an ancient jungle on Earth.  But there
was something about it that puzzled her.  She stepped sideways, tilted her head again,
then took another step before smiling widely.

“Amazing,” she said softly.  “What is this called?”

“It’s just a landscape depiction rendered in gemstones,” Clark replied.  “Some of
the stones were found only on Ugaztun, but other than that, it has no significant
importance.”

“Really?” Hope asked, not really surprised.  “Come here, please.”

Clark walked toward her and she stepped aside.  “Bend you knees a bit so you’re about
my height, then tilt your head, just so.”  She placed her hands gently on Clark’s
head and tilted it until she thought it was right.  “Now, tell me, what do you see?”

Clark stared at the mosaic for a moment, then started to shrug his shoulders when
suddenly he saw it.  “
Poutanas yie!”
he exclaimed.  Hope laughed as she always did when her guys used her favorite Greek
swear words. 

“Jackson, get over here,” Clark said.  “You’ve got to see this.”

First Jackson, then Rob, looked at the mosaic in turn, both of them swearing when
their eyes finally decoded what they were seeing; an image of a large black and orange
striped feline creature with horns behind it’s round ears and pale blue eyes. 

“It’s a Tigren,” Jackson said in awe.  “How is it that no one ever saw that before?”

“Perhaps someone did, but thought it only a curiosity,” Hope said.  “As I understand
it no one even knew that there were Lost Clans until The Nine revealed it.”

“That’s true,” Clark said.  “Even so, you’d think some note of it would have been
made.”

“Maybe there has been,” Jackson said.  “I will ask Olaf Gryphon about it.”

“Either way, it’s an object meant for someone,” Hope said.  “I don’t know who yet.”

Rob reached up and, touching only the edges, removed the mosaic from the wall and
placed it next to the goblet on the shelf.  Hope continued her search, pointing out
objects as she walked along the rows of floor to ceiling shelves.  By the end of two
hours she was exhausted, yet hadn’t covered half the room yet. 

She walked over to the shelf where her men had placed the things she’d marked.  In
addition to the goblet and the mosaic, there was a red metal pendant into which strange
symbols were carved, a fan made of a fabric like silk with geometric shapes painted
all over it that made no sense, a walking stick topped with a round crystal, and half
a dozen other objects.  She was surprised at how many items in the room called out
to her.  

“Do you need to take any of these now?” Jackson asked her.

Hope shook her head.  “No, I don’t,” she said.  “I’ll tell you guys something though.”

“What’s that?” Jackson asked, unable to decipher the expression on Hope’s face. 

“There is something in this room meant for Nica,” Hope said.  “I haven’t found it
yet, and I don’t know what it is.  I just know there’s something here for her.”

“Then she is
berezi
,” Clark said. 

“Yes,” Hope said.  “But I think that, for now, we should keep that to ourselves. 
It’s not ours to share.”

“Agreed,” Jackson said. 

“Jackson, why are all of these beautiful things hidden away like this?” she asked.

“To keep them safe, I suppose,” Jackson replied.  “They are all that we have from
Ugaztun.”

“Wouldn’t they be just as safe in the Hidden City?” she asked.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Jackson replied.  “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking it’s a shame that all of this is hidden away.  These items represent
the history of your people before they came to Jasan.  Wouldn’t it be better to put
them out, in a museum perhaps, so everyone can see them?”

“They have always been here,” Jackson said.  “But I think you are right,
niha
.  They should be displayed for all to see.  I think we will suggest that at the next
Enclave.”

“I think that’s a very good idea,” Hope said with a smile.  “Can we go home now?”. 

“Of course,” Jackson replied.  “Clark, why don’t you and Rob make a list for Olaf. 
I’ll take Hope home now.”

“Certainly,” Clark replied.  He kissed Hope, then stepped aside so that Rob could
do the same.  “Get some rest.  We’ll be home soon.”

Jackson wrapped his arms around their Arima, turned slightly and disappeared.

Day Fourteen

Michael leaned back in his chair and grinned tiredly at the vid screen.  It had taken
three days of almost round the clock work, taking breaks only when his body, or the
Vulpirans, insisted.  Even then, he’d never stopped thinking about the spectrum puzzle. 
He’d been in constant contact with Elder Vulpiran in Berria as they, too, worked to
solve the puzzle using the other bio-suit, but until now, they hadn’t cracked it. 

Just that morning, as Michael had stood staring in frustration at the interior of
the bio-suit, wondering what it was he was missing, the answer had finally clicked. 
It had taken several hours of trial and error, but he had done it.

He reached up to tap the vox in his ear that the Vulpirans had insisted he wear at
all times while working in the vault.

“Yes?” Lance said into his ear.

“Lance, I got it,” Michael said.

“We’ll be right there,” Lance replied.  There was a soft click and the connection
closed.  Michael stood up and stretched, then ran his hands over his face, grimacing
at the feel of beard stubble.  He’d been so focused on this project that he’d barely
bothered to shower, and had skipped shaving for the more important activity of sleep. 
He shrugged.  It didn’t matter what the hell he looked like.  It wasn’t like anyone
cared. 

He went to the small chiller that had been installed for him and got a bottle of juice. 
By the time he finished his drink, the Vulpirans arrived.

“You got it Michael?” Vikter asked with barely restrained excitement.

“Yes, Vikter, I got it,” Michael replied, grinning again.  “It was so damn obvious
you’re not going to believe it.”

“Try us,” Vikter said.

“White,” Michael said simply.  Vikter, Lance and Hunt all frowned at him.

“The color white,” Michael said.  “That’s the key.  The background inside that damn
bio-suit is white.”

“But white is not on the color spectrum,” Vikter said, knowing that Michael was fully
aware of that, but unable to grasp his meaning.

“No, it’s not,” Michael agreed.  “It’s a Summation.”

“You treat the white as a Sigma and attribute numerical values to the other colors...the
mathematics of that must have been a pretty thing to solve,” Lance said after a moment. 
“You must have used some sort of quantum progression.”