Part 16 (1/2)

'Do you! What happened to Terez, what happened to me, to my parents, to my sisters and brothers, it is beyond understanding, beyond h.e.l.l. I had to leave it all behind.'

'Yet you survived,' Ulaume said. 'In that, you are very similar to Pell.'

Mima grimaced. 'He chose that life. I hated him for it. I hated him for leaving us.'

'You shouldn't. The alternative might have been another Terez. At the very least, you would have lost him anyway, and probably to a barbaric tribe. You should know that he received the very best and most gentle inception. He was trained well, so well in fact, it appears he may have survived physical death. He still cares about you, when so many hara have cast off their human past completely. He has spoken to me of you.'

'Did he send you here?'

'No, it was coincidence, if such a thing exists. But perhaps not. Pellaz certainly inspired me to leave my tribe, and if I had not done so, Lileem might well be dead now.'

Mima's eyes were round. 'Tell me. Everything.'

'We have much to speak of,' Ulaume said. 'In essence, it is difficult to know where to start.'

'The beginning,' Mima said. 'The truth about Wraeththu, what you are. All I know is what travellers told us. I look at you, and at Lileem, and I can see you are different to those who murdered my people. It is of this I want to know.'

'Let's go inside,' Ulaume said. 'Lileem should be with us while we talk.'

Later, Ulaume reflected that Pellaz, had he been Mima, would very probably have reacted in the same way his sister did to the enormous and stultifying catalogue of revelations and unbelievable fact. After hours of discussion, she went quiet, then announced she needed time alone. Not once, during the proceedings, had she revealed anything about herself or her new condition. Ulaume realised she was not self-obsessed. In some ways, her body was incidental to her. She knew she had learned things that the majority of humanity never had nor ever would. She sensed the responsibility of this knowledge and also the fact that Fate had plucked her from madness and/or death. She was too bright and aware not to realise this was a second chance, for which, whatever the circ.u.mstances of it, she should be grateful. But unlike those hara who had initially resisted inception, only to wake from althaia and realise they would be stupid not to make the best of it, Mima did not have the support and guidance of others like herself. She was, to Ulaume's knowledge, unique. She had learned what Wraeththu was. She had yet to learn how she fitted into the picture, and for the answer, she would look within herself. As she left the house, Ulaume could only admire her courage.

Mima became part of their household, and a very useful part, as she had domestic and farming skills Ulaume did not, and was familiar with the terrain and its flora and fauna. Despite her earlier hostility, she was clearly grateful to have companions once more, and because they lived apart from the world, it did not matter what kind of creatures they were: how different or how similar. Ulaume learned they lived in the house Mima's people had called the Richards House, or simply the White House, and that it had once belonged to a hermitic landowner named Sefton Richards. The Cevarros had worked for him and the farming settlement they lived in was known either as just the Richards Place, or else as Casa Ricardo, in the native tongue. Mima explained to Ulaume that when the rogue Wraeththu had come to destroy the farm, she'd been lucky. She'd been away from home, buying tools from a neighbouring farm some miles away, and had seen the smoke from a distance when she'd returned. For some days, she'd haunted the shadows, seeking evidence of whether her family had survived or not. The Wraeththu had remained there until the althaias were over, because they'd incepted every suitable young male. Mima had found Terez before he'd regained consciousness. With the stealth of a mountain lioness, she'd crept into the house the Wraeththu had been using for their inceptees and had stolen him away from beneath the noses of his captors. But when he'd regained consciousness, he'd been wild and mindless. She'd had to tie him up and take him out into the desert to wait for the Wraeththu to move on. 'I had another brother, Dorado,' she said, 'but I couldn't find him. I was just relieved I was able to rescue Terez.'

Ulaume winced as he listened to this story, imagining Terez's terror, his instincts that would have craved to be with the ones who had made him like them. It must have felt as if his limbs were being torn off.

'Eventually, I untied him,' Mima said. 'He went for me like a wild animal and I had to run for my life. He didn't know me then, and he hasn't since. Well, you've seen what he is now.'

She had returned to Casa Ricardo and had buried the bodies she'd found there: these were the graves Ulaume had seen at the base of the hill.

'After that, which was the most terrible thing anyone should ever have to do, I lost my mind,' she said. 'It went all in one go, just like a light going out. I laid the earth over the final grave and I died too, and yet I didn't. All I can remember is running around screaming, and then everything gets muzzy. There was no day or night, no thought. Terez and I must have been occupying the same territory, but we never met up. We were both animals. He still is, of course. It began to change for me when I met the little girl Lileem. I felt like a big dog, wagging my tail for her. I just wanted to please her and be with her. The rest... you know what happened.'

'I found dead upon the road near here,' Ulaume said. 'More recent than what happened to your people. Did the rogue Wraeththu return?'

She shook her head. 'No. Most likely, Terez did that. He eats anything.'

Ulaume swallowed with difficulty.

'The bad Wraeththu must have attacked every farm around here,' she said. 'So there must have been some survivors seeking an escape.'

Pell's prophecy, or wish, had come true. Ulaume and Mima had found each other, and together they could keep Lileem, and each other, safe. Ulaume only hoped the outside world, and all that was evil in it, would pa.s.s them by.

Chapter Twelve.

Saltrock felt different now. Seel walked the familiar streets and it was as if revisiting a childhood haunt. He'd been away only a short time, although longer than he'd planned, but even in the few weeks of his absence, new buildings had sprung up. As he'd expected, the Gelaming had been determined to make their superior presence felt and had lost no time in ingratiating themselves with Stringer, who being an affable soul, had seen no sinister motive in their behaviour. For Stringer, it had no doubt been astounding to realise that he was effectively in charge of Saltrock. With Orien gone, and Seel away with Colt, the inhabitants had invested him with authority. They had gone to him with queries and to seek advice, because there'd been nohar else to turn to.

Seel had to admit that Stringer had done a good job. He'd even been round to tidy up Seel's office and Seel felt strongly that his plans for the town had been inspected thoroughly. Was it time to hand over the reins of Saltrock to Colt and Stringer, who were more than suitable for the role? Evidence seemed to point that way, but Seel felt uneasy, because this was what Thiede wanted, and therefore he had to suspect that Thiede had somehow engineered the situation.

Seel discussed it openly with Colt, who said, 'We don't want power, Stringer and I, but after what I've seen, I think maybe Immanion is the place for you, and we'd gladly care for Saltrock while you're away.'

It seemed so neat and easy, perhaps too much so, and for this reason Seel put off making a decision. Thiede didn't ha.s.sle him about it, which in itself was suspicious.

Some six months after his return to Saltrock, Seel received a visitor. Early one morning, there was a knock at the front door while he was eating breakfast, and when he went to answer it, he found Ashmael Aldebaran on the porch. Seel stared at him in stunned silence for some moments and Ashmael said, 'No, Thiede hasn't sent me, in case you were wondering.'

'Come in,' said Seel, aware at once that Fate was handing him an information update on a plate. He was also aware that his initial reaction on seeing Ashmael had been pleasure.

'It must be difficult to construct an idyll in a place like this,' Ashmael said as Seel led him to the kitchen, which was where he spent most of his time nowadays. 'You have to admit Thiede chose a better spot.'

Seel did not deign to comment on this, but made Ashmael some coffee and sat him at the table. Like Thiede, he seemed too big for Saltrock, an anachronism. His thick fair hair was cut fairly short by Wraeththu standards, but fell across his face seductively. He brushed it out of his eyes continuously, a boyish gesture that seemed at odds with his appearance and position. Perhaps he knew that and it was a conscious conceit.

'Your hara are intrigued by Gelaming,' Ashmael said, sipping the coffee. 'I attracted quite a crowd before I found your house. Luckily, everyhar wanted to show me the way. They are keen for you to take up Thiede's offer, aren't they?'

Seel realised he hadn't considered that. Nohar had said so, but perhaps it was the case. A close alliance with Immanion could only benefit the town and most hara there probably did harbour secret desires to be Gelaming. 'I haven't made up my mind,' he said. 'You know why. What is more pressing in my mind is the reason for your visit.'

'First, I'd like to say I think it would be a good idea for you to come to Immanion, but I'm not here to persuade you about that. It is the other matter.'

'Pellaz,' said Seel.

Ashmael nodded abruptly. 'Have you thought about what I said?'

Seel folded his arms on the table. 'Yes. I'm still not convinced it's possible for Thiede to bring somehar back from the dead.'

'I'm aware of that. However, the Hegemony has a proposal for you.'

'Which is?'

'How would you feel about asking Thiede to show Pellaz to you? We understand he is incarnate, at least in some form.'

'I would like evidence,' Seel said carefully. 'So your request is not unfeasible. I presume you want me to report on what I find. Why can't one of your hara do it?'

'Thiede won't let anyhar near Pellaz, but we are sure you would be an exception. He wants you in Immanion, Seel. You don't know how desperately. You gave him a condition once do it again.'

'He hasn't captured Cal though, has he?'

'Not that we know of, but this request would be easier to fulfil.'

Seel frowned. 'You clearly believe Thiede is capable of reincarnating a dead har, so I can't understand why you want my evidence. I didn't know Pell that well and I imagine that if what you say is true the har who lives now must be very different to the young boy who was incepted here. What's the point of this?'

'It's not just your evidence we want,' Ashmael said.

'What else?'

'We want you to kill him.'

Seel laughed at the absurdity of these words. 'Really! You think I'd do that?'

'Why not? In one sense, he is already dead and I know you are disgusted by the idea of what's been done to him as I am. The Hegemony does not want Pellaz brought to Immanion, Seel, but our hands are tied. Thiede has great power, not only in a personal sense, but also throughout Wraeththukind. We are aware our own limited powers could be taken from us very easily. We do not want some zombie puppet of Thiede's ruling in Immanion. The idea is unthinkable. Don't get me wrong. I admire Thiede and know that we need him in order to construct our society, but in this he is misguided. It's some bizarre personal dream he has, and more than a few of us think it has the mark of insanity upon it.'