fortuneswheel (31 page)

* * *

She knew that she'd lost Sevrin almost as soon as she'd gotten out of the elevator, but she kept running until she couldn't go any farther. She stopped at last, chest heaving in an effort to catch her breath as she leaned against the corridor wall. The looks of naked curiosity from the passersby burned her with their intensity. Frantically she looked around for a familiar referent, but nothing was recognizable, not even the Sholans in their strange drab-brown uniforms. Pushing herself away from the wall, she walked on, forcing herself not to run, trying to look purposeful despite her mounting fear.
At the next intersection, cursive symbols were written on the walls but though she knew how to read, she couldn't make sense of them. The words in front of her remained alien. Everything down here smelled and sounded different; strange odors combined with the half-familiar scents of oil and grease. Suddenly the corridor was full of people, all chattering at once and jostling shoulders with each other as they pushed past her. Those few who noticed her stopped to stare in open surprise.
Trapped against the wall by this living tide of beings, real panic began to take hold of her. The audible noise they were making was as nothing compared to what their minds were generating inside her head. She had to get away! They were so large they wouldn't see her, she'd be crushed alive! Then someone bumped into her and as he turned round to apologize, what was left of her self-control snapped.
Terror took hold of her as, bodily pushing people aside, she began to run again, desperate to see an open space among this crowd, desperate for some silence inside her head. Their verbal and mental outrage at being treated so thoughtlessly followed her as she fled round the corner— only to crash straight into a tall male.
"Hey!" he said, making a grab for her as she stumbled against him. "What are you doing down here? Are you lost or something?"
She pulled free, turning frightened eyes up at him as she backed away.
"You're the Terran telepath," he said, understanding dawning on his face as he touched the Leska symbol on her purple tunic.
Carrie turned and fled. All around her Sholans were changing shifts and this corridor was as crowded as the other had been.
"Get out of my way!" she screamed, using her fists to pummel her way through them while ignoring their enraged exclamations.
An arm reached out and tried to bar her way. Trying to dodge past, she lost her footing and as she fell, strong hands grasped her and pulled her up. She began to scream, struggling to escape. The arms pulled her closer, wrapping around her threshing limbs in an effort to contain her and hold her still.
She continued to scream and struggle, turning her head in an attempt to bite at the restraining arms. He smelled of stale air, and sweat. Around them the other Sholans moved aside, giving them plenty of space. They didn't want to get involved.
As her teeth caught his forearm and sank into his flesh, he cursed. This was getting him nowhere. She was beyond reason, utterly hysterical. He had to get her out of the corridor before someone else decided to intervene. Thank the Gods there was somebody he knew on this level. It wasn't the ideal place, but it was better than trying to make it up to his room.
He grunted in pain as he tried to shake his arm free. No good; he needed to get her mouth open first. Lifting his feral bundle, he took advantage of the clear space around them to head for corridor nine.

* * *

Rhuso sat in front of his comm, waiting for the Mentor to answer his call.
"Rhuso," she said as her image came on screen. "I've been expecting you. Have you spoken to him?"
"Yes, Mentor, I've spoken to him."
"And what is your conclusion?"
Rhuso sighed. "It's as you said. He conceals all his thoughts behind a shield. It could be penetrated, but not without alerting him."
"And his attitude to our worries?"
"Your worries, Mentor, not mine," said Rhuso. "I still believe he can control her."
"What was his attitude?" insisted Mnya.
"Angry, as I said he would be. What did you expect, Mentor? Absolute compliance from him? He'd hardly be a fit heir to the Clans if he didn't question us and make up his own mind."
"Did he accept our authority over him and his Leska?"
"Eventually, Mentor. I must remind you that since he came here to escape from his future as heir, he has nothing to lose. Force will get us nowhere with him. You worry about her strength of will, yet you forget his."
"I forget nothing, Rhuso," said the Mentor coldly. "While he will still obey the Guild, I have to bind him to us as best I can. He knows the truth of what we're telling him. She needs to be taught. If she isn't, apart from the dangers she presents to others, he'll become tired of her lack of knowledge. They need to be equals, not teacher and pupil. By insisting that we train her, we're relieving him of the responsibility. I don't think he's likely to miss that point."
"I hope you're right, Mentor," said Rhuso.

* * *

She felt the pressure on the seat beside her and looked up from her comp notepad.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked, putting his mug down on the table.
Somewhat taken aback, Mito didn't have a ready reply.
"Thought you wouldn't mind," he said confidently. "I feel as if I know you already, I've heard so much about you from your friends."
Mito sat back and gave him a long look. He was one of the ground troops from the color of his jacket. They didn't usually come into this mess, and he looked like he'd recently been in a fight.
"You've got the wrong person," she said abruptly, returning to her notepad.
"I don't think so," he said. "My name's Rrael, and you're Mito, right?"
"Your company's unwelcome," she said, not lifting her head up from what she was reading. "Go and sit elsewhere."
"That's not very nice," he said, putting his hand over her pad. "Maikoe said you were a lot friendlier than that. So did Chyad."
Instinctively her ears gave a flick to the side in sudden fear, and she looked up at him again.
He nodded. "That's right. I knew you were Mito. It's good to mourn the passing of friends, but if you can do something to make sure they haven't been forgotten, that's even better, isn't it, Mito? And I know you won't want to forget them."
She heard the implicit threat in his voice as his fingers moved over her pad keyboard.
"I'll see you in here tomorrow at the same time," he said, moving his hand away. "Don't forget. I'd hate to have to go all the way up to your room on the twenty-seventh floor to find you." He slid out from behind the table. "See you tomorrow."
Mito sat unmoving till he left the mess. She looked down at her pad. On it his words glowed. "Message from
Rhyaki
due in your bridge shift twenty-fifth hour tonight."

* * *

In their suite, Kusac's eyes flew open as Carrie's terror flared through her barrier to reach him. Then there was silence again. He sat up, ignoring the pain as he tried to reach her. Nothing. Where was she? What had happened to her? Crawling out of bed, he made his way to the comm in the lounge.

* * *

Meral and Sevrin left at a run, heading for the elevator down to the fourteenth floor. Once in it, Meral thumbed his communicator.
"Have you alerted Security?"
"Not yet," said Sevrin. "I wanted to tell our Liegen first."
"You've a lot to learn," growled Meral, activating his unit. "Unit one to security. We have a code amber. I repeat, a code amber."
"Repeat that message, unit one," said the voice at the other end of his device.
"Code amber, security."
"Draz here. What's your location?"
"Elevator from the Ambassadorial level to deck fourteen."
"We'll meet you there. Draz out."
The doors finally parted. Draz was waiting with a team of ten males. "Which way did she go?" he asked.
"Down there," said Sevrin, pointing off to the right. "I followed her as far as the first junction then lost her."
"You two take corridors three through nine," said Draz, pointing to his people. "You, corridors two through thirty, ten through sixteen, seventeen through twenty-three. You two," he said to the last pair, "cover the other two elevators. Get to it."
They left at a run.
Draz turned to them. "I take it the Liegen doesn't know where she is."
"No," said Sevrin, looking briefly at Meral. "They had a row, and she left. He's lying down with a headache."
Draz looked quizzically at Meral.
"He'd been to see his Guild Tutor," said Meral. "I'm sure it was something to do with that."
"If he doesn't know where she is, then the chances are none of the other telepaths will be able to locate her either."
"I don't think the Liegen would thank us if we involved their guild," said Meral.
"There doesn't seem to be any point at the moment," said Draz. "Right, let's go back to where you lost her."

* * *

She was unable to shriek with her mouth full of his arm. That, at least, was a blessing! Her cry was piercing to say the least. The door was open as always, and for a wonder, the temple seemed empty. The lighting was still down low and the incense lay heavy in the air, resisting the attempts of the purifiers to disperse it. A service must just have finished. He tried to enter but somehow she managed to get an arm free and grab hold of the doorjamb. She hung on grimly while her teeth tightened on his arm.
He growled in annoyance, risking letting go of her with one arm so he could prise at her fingers.
Her teeth bit deeper, and his growl turned to a yelp as he jerked her hand free and stumbled into the room.
"Dzaka, where the hell are you?" he called. "Shut the damned door and get these bloody lights raised! I need your help!"
Startled, Dzaka appeared silhouetted against the light from his inner room. Sizing up the situation, he keyed the outer door shut from the control panel beside him, then raised the light level.
"The Terran?"
"Later. Give me a hand, for the God's sake!" he said as his feral bundle began to kick and struggle again.
The meditation mats were still out and Dzaka headed over to them, piling a couple of them together. "Put her down here," he said brusquely.
Still attached to her, he knelt down and dumped her on the makeshift bed. "Let go, you stupid female," he growled, trying to force her mouth apart with his other hand. He yelped again as she bit down on his fingers. Her eyes were wild and staring, she was beyond sense.
A band suddenly seemed to form around his throat and start to tighten; he began to choke and gasp for air. No time to mess about. Making a fist of his free hand, he drew it back and took careful aim.

* * *

Their search was hampered by the movements of personnel from work stations to leisure activities. Of those asked, no one had seen anything.
"Where would she have gone, Sevrin?" demanded Draz. "Who does she know? Who'd she go and visit if she was upset?"
"Vanna's the only one she knows," said Sevrin.
Draz pressed his communicator. "Unit three, go to level twenty-seven. Secure the exterior of the medical section. No one to enter or leave till I get there."
"Unit three complying."
"Would she go to the Terrans?" asked Draz as they loped round to the nearest elevator.
"She doesn't know where they are," replied Meral. "The Liegen wants them kept away from her because of their attitude to their Link."
Draz growled softly as they got in. "Why these Terrans think they have a right to interfere in other people's lives is beyond me. This should be a matter for them and no one else."
Meral glanced at Sevrin and grinned briefly.

* * *

They skidded to a halt outside the medical unit.
"No one's been in or out, sir," said one of the males on guard.
Draz nodded. "Keep a watch for her. Permit entry and exit again."
They headed into the reception area.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Sub-Lieutenant Draz?" demanded the senior nurse on duty. "What's the meaning of this intrusion?"
"Is Physician Vanna Kyjishi on duty?" demanded Draz.
"I've no idea," he snapped. "Physician Kyjishi was removed from the duty roster several days ago. She has her own lab with its own entrance."
"Is she in the medical facility?"
"You'll have to go and look."
"You're not exactly being helpful," growled Draz. "Where's her lab?"
"Down the corridor, second right, along to the end and on the left."
Meral and Sevrin hurried after him, following him into the lab. A nurse sat on duty at the station. He looked up as they entered.
"Vanna here?" demanded Draz.
"No, sir. Only myself and the patient in the next room."
When Draz opened the door, Kaid was already sitting on the side of his bed. "What's up?" he demanded.
"The human female's missing," said Draz. "They had a row and she ran off. Any idea where she might have gone?"
"Who's with Kusac?"
"No one," said Meral. "He ordered us both out to find her. He's flat on his back with a headache. I think she's blocked him out again."
"Dammit! Do I have to see to everything myself?" Kaid demanded as he pushed himself to his feet. "One of you get back up there with him. I don't want him left alone for a minute. I thought I made that clear from the outset."
"If you'll pardon the observation, I think you'd be better going up to Kusac," said Meral, noticing how Kaid was already favoring his injured leg.
Kaid gave him a measured look. "Right. I'll see to Kusac. You check Vanna's room, see if she's there. I take it Carrie went missing on this level?"
"No, on the fourteenth," said Draz.
"Get back down there and check the mess on that level, then check the concourse and the Terran quarters. Contact the Mentor and alert her as to what's happened. Even if the other telepaths can't pick her up, they can report in to her if Carrie is in sight. As a last resort, check her father's suite and the Clan Leader's."
"Can you make it up to the Ambassadorial level?" asked Draz, looking at the way Kaid limped round to the other side of the bed to retrieve his clothes.
"I'll manage. You get going," he said grimly, putting one arm then the other through the sleeves of his robe. Leaving it hanging open in front, he limped through the door after them.