Ammonite Stars (Omnibus): Ammonite Galaxy #4-5 (5 page)

One of the guards looked down at the valuable jewels in his beefy hand. “We know how to keep a secret, ma’am. And we liked your husband.”

“How kind you have been to me.” Amanita wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “I knew I could depend on you!”

It wasn’t until she was safely in the lift, back to her own skyrise, that she permitted herself a smile. This turned into a laugh of elation. She didn’t know when, or who, but she did know how. She would wait, she was in no hurry. One day her opportunity would come. But she would have to be careful. It wouldn’t do to be too obvious. Amanita didn’t mind waiting, and gave a happy sigh at the prospect. She felt she would sleep better that night. It had been a good day.

ARCAN DROPPED THE Independence into orbit around Pictoria, and Ledin was the first to move to the rexelene visors to look down at the planet. Then he turned to the others, an expression of amazement on his face.

Diva laughed. “Yes, you really are on the other side of the galaxy,” she told him.

“Unbelievable. I feel so privileged.”

Six gave a grunt. “You won’t for very long. Once these two females start spouting on about first contact and naming things you will just wish you were back on Kwaide.”

Ledin grinned. “Never! I can hardly believe that someone as ordinary as me has been allowed to form part of this.” He peered down at the planet below. “What are all those stripes, and the brownish clumps? They almost look like giant temaris trees painted flat onto the surface of the planet.”

“The brown bits are the areas around the buttes, where the surface crust is pitted with potholes, and the stripes are the parallel ridges that run from North to South.”

“And are there any intelligent lifeforms?”

“Just the avifauna, and the amorphs, as far as we know.” Six described the ortholiquid lake, and the avifauna. “Of course, Diva wanted to adopt one.”

“I thought it would make a more intelligent companion than you! —OUCH!” Diva moved her foot to safety and glowered at Six.

“Tell you one thing, mate,” said Six feelingly. “You don’t want to get too cosy with those avifauna. I was practically smothered by one. Nearly had to cut my way out.”

“Perhaps it recognized a family resemblance?” suggested Diva.

“They are dumb prehistoric animals with big mouths and wings!”

“You said it!” Diva examined her fingernails. “—Although you don’t have wings.”

Six narrowed his eyes. “Strange,” he said, “that it obeyed
you
instinctively.” He pondered for a few seconds, and then his frown cleared. “I expect it recognized a fellow bird-brain.”

It was Diva’s turn to glare. They stared at each other for quite five seconds, and then they both grinned.

Six turned back to Ledin. “You might like to carry a knife,” he told him, “—just in case. There are some very aggressive bats down there too.”

“It is getting more attractive by the minute.”

“Of course, if the visitor turns up here on the ship, there will be no need to go down to the surface of the planet.”

Both girls looked up at that.

“We have to go down!”

“Now that we have come this far!”

Six exchanged another look with Ledin, and then shrugged. “See what I have to put up with all the time?” He blew out air. “No peace for the wicked, I suppose. We had better prepare the shuttle. We are going to need a lot of ropes, and enough food and water for a few days, in case we get stuck down there because of the winds.”

THE NEXT MORNING they landed safely between two of the high ridges and Six led the way down onto the planet’s surface. Ledin whistled as he gazed around at the wind-sculpted ridges, cut into alternate steps and risers. He stared off into the distance, the skin around his eyes crinkling against the sun.

“So where are we headed?”

Diva pointed to the nearest butte, “There. Are we going up or down, Six? What do you think?”

Grace hid a smile. Diva hadn’t been prone before to asking anybody’s opinion. She caught Six’s eye, and he gave a small grin.

“We’ll go down, I think. That may be our best chance if we expect to find the visitor.”

Grace looked down at her hands, and then back up quickly. Not quickly enough, though – Six had noticed her hesitation.

“—Not you and Ledin, Grace,” he said. “I thought you might take him up to the top of the butte, just in case the visitor is up there. Will you be able to manage that?”

Grace nodded. “Of course. I would go down into the cavern with you too. It is just that climbing …”

Diva walked over to give her a hug. “Of course you can’t climb. Are you sure you will be able to make it up the butte?”

Ledin stepped forward. “She will have me to help her,” he said simply.

Grace nodded. “The worst part is the beginning crawl through the rock tunnel,” she said. “And I won’t really need fingers for that. I can use the palms of my hands.”

“Then we separate?” Six looked around for a consensus, and when they all nodded, took most of the ropes, giving Ledin only two for emergencies. “Try to get back to the shuttle before the wind comes up at sunset, will you? If not you’ll need to find some good shelter.”

They made their way over the ridges to the butte, which was almost like a truncated cone in shape. There, they separated, and each couple took a different track.

SIX AND DIVA reached the entrance to the underground cavern first, and began to set up the ropes.

Diva touched her dagger momentarily. She hadn’t forgotten the bats which attacked them last time they were here, and she wasn’t particularly looking forward to a repeat of that experience. Six had interposed his own body that time, and she hated to be beholden to anybody – even Six. She pulled the scabbard around to the front, where it would be more accessible on the descent. Six caught the movement and studied her. She was the bravest girl he had ever met, he thought. She never allowed herself weakness, never showed tiredness, never gave one inch. But the very best things about her could be the very worst, too. He shook his head, and gave a small smile.

“What are you smiling about, nomus? Are you laughing at me?” Her ferocious frown snapped into place.

He shook his head, and raised his hands, still smiling. “I wouldn’t dare…!”

She gave a small sniff. “Just so long as you weren’t.”

Six wondered idly whether all his children would prove to be just as full of bravado as she was. The thought was disconcerting; if they were he would have his hands full. The idea of keeping tabs on fifty miniature Divas was daunting.

“Are we going to be hands-on parents?” he asked.

She swiveled around. “For our two weeks every year? Definitely!”

“Then I shall go into training.”

She stared at him.

“What?” he said. “I have the distinct feeling I shall need it.”

“We’ll stay with them all at the Emerald Lake. It’s idyllic. What can go wrong?”

“Even I know better than to make statements like that!” He shook his head. “And you wonder why I have to watch your back!”

“As if I need anyone to watch my back!” She put her chin up, checked to see that the rope was correctly fastened, and then precipitated herself over the edge of the pothole defiantly.

Six looked up to the sky, and shook his head. Even one Diva was sometimes too much for him, he felt. He hurried to fasten his own rope, and then followed her.

LEDIN AND GRACE came to the claustrophobic entrance to the butte and Grace prepared herself to lead the way.

“What do you think you are doing?” demanded Ledin.

“I know the way. I should go first.”

“
I
will go first.”

Grace put her hands on her hips. “Does that mean that you think I am incapacitated?”

“Yes!” He caught her expression, and did a hasty mental backstep. “I mean no – of course I don’t!”

“You think I can’t do anything, because of my hands?”

“NO! Grace, of course I don’t think that. I was just trying … that is … I thought—” he broke off and considered, “—all right, I suppose your hands
are
a factor.”

She stood back, and signed for him to take the lead. Ledin blinked.

“You don’t mind my going first?” he asked.

“I just want you to realize that it is a physical disability; it doesn’t make me mentally any weaker.”

“I never thought it did!”

“Good. Because I don’t want to be pitied. Ever. I don’t want to have people stifling me with their concern. I don’t want to talk about it or think about it anymore than I have to. I want to move on.”

“It is a part of you.”

“Yes. Just one part, though. Not the defining part. My name is not ‘Girl who lost her fingers’. That name has no part in my future.”

Ledin looked at her and pressed his lips together. Then he gave a couple of slow nods, conceding her point.

“Let’s start again,” he said. He paused and took a deep breath, before going on, “Would you like to go first, or shall I?”

Grace pretended to think about it. “You can,” she said, “but be careful, because about half-way along the ceiling dips and you can get snagged.”

“I shall take care,” promised Ledin. “See you on the other side. Don’t dawdle.”

He leapt agilely up to the tunnel entrance, and disappeared. Soon Grace was left alone in the sun. She felt suddenly chilly. Words were all very well, she thought to herself crossly, but feelings sometimes didn’t heed them. She felt anything but independent just now. For a moment she didn’t know what she thought was worse – staying in the sunshine on her own, or following Ledin through the narrow passageway of stone. She gave a sigh and propelled herself into the tight tunnel, which seemed to press down on body and mind, once again threatening to leave her trapped there forever.

IT TOOK LEDIN and Grace a couple of hours to make their way up the steep internal paths to the top of the butte. Grace had plenty of time to regret having been so prickly about receiving help. Ledin was scrupulously ignoring all her slips and falls, clearly determined not to offer any assistance. Fool, Grace thought to herself. Why did you have to be so definite about it? Now that she had got what she wanted she felt perversely contrary about the whole thing. Why wasn’t he helping her?

Ledin was struggling to keep his hands from going to help Grace. She was right; it would be a terrible thing to treat her as if she were an invalid. Whatever happened, he mustn’t do that. But his nerves were suffering; every time she slipped and fell, his heart gave a lurch. He clenched his teeth. He would rather take on ten sycophants than have to do nothing like this. He was having to remind himself every few minutes how very important it was that he didn’t hurt her pride. He was beginning to realize that his education as a no-name on Kwaide had omitted to teach him very much about how to treat a girl. A burning desire to protect her clearly wasn’t enough. He listened again, as Grace slipped and knocked her head against the stone, wincing in sympathy at her gasp of pain.

“L-Ledin?” she said.

He stopped. “What?”

“I think it would be all right if sometimes you gave me a hand. Only like you would any other girl, of course. Just sometimes.”

He smiled into the darkness. “I think,” he said carefully, “that I would try to help any girl along here in this dark, and with this uneven floor. Even Diva!”

“Then I suppose I could accept a helping hand from time to time.” Her voice sounded subdued, echoing hollowly against the stone walls.

“I would even give First Six an arm over the bad bits.”

“In that case—”

He took her firmly by the elbow, feeling much happier. This whole thing about girlfriends, he was beginning to realize, was fraught with difficulties. They struggled on upwards, this time both feeling much more satisfied with each other.

SIX AND DIVA slid down the final rope into the underground cavern, and breathed a sigh of relief. The bloodthirsty bats appeared to be sleeping, and had left them alone. In fact the whole descent had been completely uneventful, if you discounted Six’s having come face to face with a scorpion. It had not had a happy outcome for the scorpion, which had made an error of judgement and curled its tail prior to a preemptive strike against his head.