fortuneswheel (43 page)

* * *

The next morning brought Konis Aldatan two puzzling messages— messages that he accepted on his wife's behalf as surrogate Clan Leader. The first was from Master Esken stating that he was informing him out of courtesy that he'd lodged a formal complaint against Rala Vailkoi with her Clan Leader about her behavior the previous night. The second was an apology from Clan Leader Vailkoi concerning his daughter's behavior at the Telepath Guild on the same night, and assuring him that it would not be repeated as he had set two more Warriors to guard her.
Perplexed, he decided to call Esken for a more detailed explanation of the events.
"Esken, what happened at the guild last night?" he asked as soon as the Guild Master's face came on the screen.
"I thought I made it clear in my communication, Konis," said Esken. "Rala Vailkoi visited your son last night."
"Alone, at night, without an appointment? What is Vailkoi up to allowing her that kind of freedom when he's pushing for an early marriage between them?"
"You need have no fear, Konis," said Esken dryly. "Rala is no reluctant bride turning to a lover to make her pregnant so the marriage can be delayed. Quite the opposite in fact. Vailkoi had no need to keep her closely guarded— till now."
Konis sat back in surprise. "I'm not sure I follow you," he said.
"She arrived toward the end of Kusac's Link day with the intention of seeing him while he was still vulnerable." Esken's brows met in a frown. "I have my doubts as to the wisdom of your choice of a bride for your son, Konis. The Vailkoi female is unprincipled and manipulative. Hardly a suitable wife for one of the Contenders as heir to your title and position. You'll have trouble making Kusac keep this contract. He is already dissatisfied with her, and with good reason. Her disgraceful behavior last night may well have brought the matter to a head."
"He has a Leska now," said Konis. "He doesn't need love in his marriage. The combination of his and Rala's genes will make it more likely that all their children will be highly Talented, even if she has no usable Talent herself. That is more important to the Clan than whether or not he likes his wife."
"You take too practical a view of life, Konis," said Master Esken sadly. "You are too harsh with his feelings. He isn't like you."
"I brought him up to have a sense of responsibility to the Clan," said Konis. "He knows what he has to do. I have to be hard, Esken, else how could I arrange the marriages within the Clans? Few of them will ever be love matches. At least Kusac will have a wife slightly younger than himself. What of Soola Kayan? She has a husband a good thirty years her senior."
"We'll see," said Esken. "Just remember that when the God takes a hand in our lives, events don't always work out as we planned them."
"Now you're being superstitious," said Konis uncomfortably. "I have to go, Esken. I can't sit here discussing theology with you, I've work to do."
"Before you go, I have some advice for you. Don't push Kusac into marriage yet. Leave it for now until he has forgotten this incident with Rala. Perhaps then you'll find him more amenable."
"Your advice is noted, Master Esken, but I will choose my own time to speak to Kusac about his marriage. Good day to you."
Konis had reason to remember Master Esken's advice later in the day when Kusac also lodged an official complaint about Rala's behavior. It gave him pause to consider that perhaps he didn't know his son as well as he had thought and that the advice was not so misplaced after all.

* * *

Carrie sat at the comm unit reading through her brother's message.
"Kusac, Richard's sent me a copy of the encyclopedia that we had on board the
Eureka!
His message says to check the section on psychics because it mentions all of the gifts that people on Earth were thought to have, and the tests they used to check if the gifts were genuine."
"Let me see," he said, joining her at the desk. "Put the section he mentions onto the screen."
"Hold on. I haven't quite got the hang of this computer yet."
"It's a lot more than a computer," Kusac murmured as he watched her struggling to remember which keys to press. At least physically it was easier for her now that her fingernails had regrown.
She grunted in reply as she tried several key combinations, managing to connect into the library system, then the public news network, neither of which she wanted.
Kusac leaned forward. "Try this," he said, pressing a couple of keys to take them back to the basic function choice and then to the textual message display. "Put your brother's complete message into a memory crystal, then you can access it properly." He reached into the desk drawer and drew out a spare crystal, slotting it into a square aperture at the side of the keyboard.
"I wondered what that was for," said Carrie as the cube was briefly illuminated from underneath.
"Now you can see the contents and choose the section we want," he said, moving back so she could finish.
"I don't remember it being arranged like this," said Carrie as she scanned through the contents.
"It was probably done when your brother had the encyclopedia put into a format we could read. There, that's what we want," he said, pointing.
Carrie turned round to look up at him. "How come you can read my language so easily when I can't read yours?"
Kusac grinned, his lips curving slightly. "I've had more practice with languages," he said.
With another grunt, she turned back to her encyclopedia and selected the section on psychical research. She found it cross-referenced with extra-sensory perception, psychokinesis, psychometry, object reading, dowsing...
"This list is huge! I haven't heard of half the things they're talking about," she said. "Where do we begin?"
"Try looking up the first item."
They skimmed through the document, finding it a history of the study of what was termed ESP. It was divided into two distinct skills, PK or psychokinesis, which was the ability to move objects with the power of the mind, and ESP, which included telepathy and the ability to have foreknowledge of events.
"I don't think we should read any further," said Kusac, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We might prejudice the tests."
"How could we do that?"
"By assuming in advance whether or not we can do what they ask us." Reaching into the drawer, he took out another cube and began copying the data from one to the other. "How are we for time?"
"We should leave now," she said, finishing her coffee hurriedly. "They're expecting me for the aura scan in ten minutes."
"I'm finished," said Kusac, switching off the comm and getting up. He reached for his uniform jacket, shrugging it on over the tunic he wore.
Carrie looked up at him. "You'll need to change your jacket, that one's got mud on it," she said.
Kusac rubbed ineffectually at the mark on his left side. "You're right," he said, taking it off and flinging it back over the chair. "I won't be a minute."
Carrie was waiting by the door for him when he returned, her unasked question loud in his mind despite her efforts to the contrary.
"I couldn't sleep last night, so I went to visit a friend," he said, opening the door for them. "Kaid watched you while I was gone. I went across country and the ground was damp."
"I was only curious. No Kaid?" she asked as they passed his door.
"We decided there wasn't any need for someone to accompany us around the Guild House," said Kusac.
As they headed along the corridor and down the stairs, Carrie looked around her for referents, trying to make sure she could recognize the route back to their rooms. Reaching the ground floor, they made their way past the main hall toward the office, then along the corridor to the new wing.
Ahead of them was a transparent door bearing a sign in the cursive Sholan script.
"It says 'Medical Center,'" Kusac said quietly, pressing the panel set into the wall beside it.
The door slid back, admitting them to a small foyer. Ahead of them was a curved counter behind which two Sholan females dressed in medic blue were working. To their left was an external entrance for nonguild patients.
Old fears returned and Carrie began to walk more slowly, wishing she were anywhere else but here. Hospitals were hospitals to her no matter which world she was on, and she hated them.
An involuntary shiver ran through her. The hospitals on Earth had treated her like a mentally deranged child until they had tested the truth of what her parents had told them about her and Elise.
Kusac's hand touched hers, his fingers curling round her palm as he mentally reassured her. It wasn't enough. The cold feeling continued.
They were directed to the seats nearby and asked to wait until someone came for them. As they sat there, Carrie began to shiver again. Kusac's arm went round her shoulders, drawing her up against his side. She leaned against him gratefully, feeling the warmth of his body through the thin tunic he wore. It helped counteract the chill.
It's all right, Carrie. You're an accepted telepath here.
You've nothing to prove to them. Just relax, it'll be fine,
he sent.
Vanna's coming,
she replied just as the door to the right of the counter slid open.
"Hello again," said Vanna, coming forward to greet them. "I had a feeling you'd arrived." She briefly touched Kusac's outstretched hand as he stood up, but turned to Carrie and embraced her.
"When did you arrive?" Carrie returned the hug.
"Yesterday, but you were busy, so I left it till today. Come with me, they're ready for you now," she said, turning toward the doorway.
They followed her through into the main part of the medical center, turning left down a short corridor to the aura reading room.
"The whole hospital is heavily shielded," she said, "otherwise the telepath medics would find it almost unbearable to work here."
"Is this the main hospital for Valsgarth?" asked Carrie, aware that Vanna was trying to put her at her ease. She moved her fingers slightly in Kusac's grasp, holding his hand more firmly.
"The main hospital is in Nazule," said Kusac. "This facility is here mainly for the guild members, but is also available for ordinary patients who have need of the treatment that they can only get here, like the aura readings for diagnosis of certain conditions."
Vanna stopped outside the last door, opening it for them.
The small room was brightly lit, that was the first thing she noticed; the second was an examination couch. Carrie felt a surge of panic. Here she was, alone among a room full of Sholans with only Kusac and Vanna between her and them. They could do anything they wanted to her.
It's only an aura reading, cub,
Kusac reassured her.
Shall
I let them take one of me first?
No. I'm fine, honestly.
"What do you want me to do, Vanna?" she asked, determined not to let anyone else know how nervous she was.
"I'm not conducting the test, Carrie. I'm merely here to see how it's done and how they interpret the data. Khafsa is the physician," she said, indicating the medic talking to two technicians by the control desk to their left.
Khafsa came forward, hand outstretched to touch theirs in greeting. Carrie noticed he wore the telepath and medic colors on his long sleeved jacket.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, mouth falling open in the Sholan grin. "We've heard a lot about you," he said to Carrie. "It's wonderful to have found another telepathic species. Makes us feel a little less alone!"
Carrie grinned back, feeling instantly more at ease.
"It's a completely painless experience," he said, taking her by the forearm and drawing her toward the couch. "Just sit up here while I explain it," he said, helping her up.
As she sat down, she realized that Kusac had remained with Vanna. Firmly she suppressed the instant surge of panic at being left alone with this strange male and made an effort instead to concentrate on what he was saying.
"The couch is formfitting, as you'll realize when you lie down," he said, carefully swinging her legs up. "Just lie back and relax. You should find it reasonably comfortable, we're using one of the small couches for you."
Carrie felt the surface of the couch yield slightly under her, adjusting to the contours of her body.
"If you turn your head to the side, you'll see the lid. It's made of two layers of crystal with a special clear fluid between them which enables me to see your aura more clearly. When I close the lid over you, my technicians will put out the lights. In the darkness I'll be able to see the colors that surround you. The next bit's the really clever stuff," he said with a wide Sholan grin. "I use my particular Talent to reproduce those colors around you, so they can be photographed to study later in more detail. There's nothing to it," he reassured her. "It takes about fifteen minutes, so just lie still and relax."
"I'm not afraid," she muttered, turning her head again to look at Kusac who was sending encouraging thoughts to her.
Khafsa lifted the lid over her, closing it carefully. As he did, a gentle flow of cool air began to move round her. Beneath her she could feel the couch beginning to warm gently. As the lights went out, she shut her eyes, gradually relaxing as the chill started to leave her body.

* * *

"Wake up, sleepy one," said Vanna, giving her a little shake. "Before you get down, I want to take my samples."
Carrie opened bleary eyes. Her limbs felt as dull and heavy as her head. Slowly she lifted her arm up for Vanna.
"Your temperature's a bit high," Vanna said, checking the panel at the side of her sampling unit. "How do you feel?"
"Like I want to go back to bed," she said, sitting up carefully when Vanna had finished. "I think I'm coming down with something nasty, like flu."
Kusac was instantly at her side, helping her down. "I'm taking her upstairs now, Vanna," he said, concern in his voice. "I didn't realize till now, but she's right, she isn't well."
"I'll come up when I've finished analyzing these samples. By then I should have some idea of what's wrong with her. Thank the Gods I've been taking baseline tests for so long. It should help me isolate any infection."
Khafsa touched Kusac briefly on the shoulder to attract his attention. "When your Leska is settled, I'd like you back down here to run a scan on you," he said. "I want a current reading to compare with your last one."
Kusac nodded. "I'll come down when Vanna's with her," he said, swinging Carrie up into his arms.
"I can walk," she objected halfheartedly, glad not to have to use her aching limbs.
"I'm carrying you," he said firmly, heading for the door. "We'll be back at our rooms sooner than if you walk."