Louise Cooper - Indigo 06 - Avatar (4 page)

Grimya instantly sprang to her feet, goaded by two separate but violent instincts that slammed simultaneously into her mind. These were strangers, an unknown quantity, and therefore potential enemies. And at the same moment, her acute psychic senses had registered an emphatic sense of power.

The group’s leader saw Grimya and held up a hand, halting the small procession. She was a woman of middle years, mahogany-skinned, black-haired and squat, with rolls of spare flesh on her bare arms and scantily clothed torso. A leather bag was slung from one shoulder, and in her right hand she held a heavy stave. She stood with her legs braced like small tree trunks, and the intricate bone carvings that hung over her face from a narrow hide band around her head clinked together as she glared at Grimya. Her three companions were younger but no less daunting. Taller and slimmer than their leader, they wore their hair in a complicated system of braids; two of them had painted sigils on their cheeks and chins, and all three carried machetes casually slung in their belts.

Grimya’s hackles rose; she bared her teeth, not wanting to show overt aggression but nonetheless indicating that she wasn’t to be trifled with. Then the young woman of the
kemb
appeared, easing her way past the group with placatory and apologetic gestures. She spoke respectfully to the fat woman, bowing her head and clasping her hands together, then hastened to Grimya and soothed her, demonstrating that the newcomers were not a threat. Grimya subsided, though the aura of power still made her uneasy, and the group walked on, ignoring her, to Indigo’s curtained room. Immediately the wolf tried to follow but in great agitation, the young woman pulled her back, emphatically repeating the word that Grimya believed meant
help
.

The four strangers disappeared, and from behind the curtain came rapid, low-pitched muttering. Grimya heard the bed frame creak; then, moments later, the curtain was pushed back and the fat woman emerged. She looked at them, her stare sharp and intense, then spoke three emphatic words before turning and striding back into the room. Grimya’s embryonic understanding of these people’s speech wasn’t enough for her to be sure of what was said, but a telepathic inkling of the meaning, and the
kemb
woman’s gasp, which seemed to mingle astonishment and awe, were enough to confirm her suspicion that the fat woman’s words translated roughly as:
she is the one
.

Grimya didn’t know where the four strange women had come from or who or what they were, but it was clear from the outset that the
kemb
family held them in awe. More important, it seemed that they believed the newcomers might help Indigo where their own efforts had failed. No one was allowed to witness what took place in the curtained room, and whether the skills the women used were medical or magical, Grimya would never know, but after an hour or so, their leader returned to the storeroom with a look of stern satisfaction on her face.

By the time she made her appearance, the
kemb
had been transformed. The family, caught unawares by their visitors’ unexpected arrival, had made frantic efforts to prepare every possible honor and facility for their guests. The children had been set to sweeping and tidying under the shrill command of one of the young women, and the grand-dame and the dumpy wife were busy at the stove, while the men had hung a strange but obviously precious assortment of decorations and fetishes at the storeroom’s windows and door. Bundles of leaves and fleshy, alien-looking flowers had been hastily brought from the, surrounding forest to be woven in among the decorations and strewn on the floor, and one rattan chair had been adorned like a makeshift throne.

The fat woman stopped on the inner threshold and looked about critically. The entire
kemb
family had gathered deferentially at one side of the room, and for perhaps half a minute no one spoke. Then the fat woman nodded curtly, uttered a grunt that seemed to imply
very well
, walked to the bedecked chair and sat down.

The atmosphere palpably eased. Muting a sigh of relief, the eldest of the men snapped his fingers at the younger women, and they hastened to the stove and began to fill wooden bowls from the three pots simmering there. Another man brought out cups and poured some strong-smelling brew from a stone jar. He handed the first cup to the grand-dame, who in turn offered it to the fat woman, and her acceptance was the sign for other cups to be filled. The grand-dame was then permitted to sit; the others, though, remained standing as the mute, wide-eyed women set bowls of food on the floor at their guest’s feet. The fat woman selected a morsel from each bowl, chewed, nodded approval and then turned to address the granddame, who, it seemed, was the only one present who warranted being treated as something akin to an equal.

Grimya, who had found herself a place as close as possible to the newcomer without being conspicuous, listened carefully to the speech she made and to the old woman’s responses. Each time the guest paused, the grand-dame would nod complaisantly and repeat the same two words, “
Ain, Shalune.” Ain
, Grimy knew, meant
yes
, and she quickly realized that Shalune must be the fat woman’s name or title. She was, it seemed, either issuing instructions or stating a series of facts, and as she continued to speak, the grand-dame’s expression and those of her kin changed. They were excited by something Shalune was telling them; at one point the
kemb
owner’s dumpy wife gave a little exclamation of delight. When finally Shalune was done, everyone in the room bowed forward, their palms flat together in gestures of reverential gratitude.

Grimya, though, felt only alarm. Unlike the
kemb
family Shalune’s mind was psychically active and therefore, at least on the shallowest level, open to a little telepathic probing, and the wolf had gleaned something of her thoughts as she spoke. It seemed that she and her cohorts considered Indigo important in some way. Grimya didn’t know how or why, but Shalune’s meaning was unmistakable—as was her intention. She meant to take Indigo away from the
kemb
, to somewhere—Grimya couldn’t understand it clearly—that was especially significant, while the family was to be rewarded or granted some particular privilege for diligence in caring for her before Shalune’s arrival. As Shalune’s hosts repeated their thanks over and over again, Grimya felt her stomach contract queasily. Where was this place of Shalune’s? And why was she planning to take Indigo there? What did the women want with her? If they meant to harm her in any way ... but no, Grimya reasoned, she’d sensed no harmful intent in Shalune’s thoughts; rather, the opposite. Indigo was important to these strangers. But
why
? It made no sense.

Surreptitiously she looked toward the inner door, wondering if she might slip away to see Indigo without being noticed, but then she remembered that Shalune’s three companions were still in the curtained room. She must be patient, bide her time, cope with her fears and wait for an opportunity to visit her friend when—if—she was untended for a few minutes. It wouldn’t be easy, but, for now at least, it was all she could do. Disconsolately, she settled down to wait.

Grimya’s opportunity came later that afternoon. After her meal, Shalune had rejoined her companions in Indigo’s room, and it was some time before she returned. When she did, however, Grimya’s heart quickened eagerly, for this time all four women entered the storeroom together, leaving Indigo alone.

By now, word of the group’s presence had spread. The grand-dame, presumably with Shalune’s permission, had dispatched the youngest boys to put the word about to their neighbors, and a small crowd had gathered in respectful silence outside the
kemb
. Most had brought some gift for the women, and after quenching her thirst with another cup of the household’s brew, Shalune condescended to step out onto the veranda to look the offerings over. The gifts were apparently the price expected for some small service such as a medical prescription, a piece of advice, an adjudication in a dispute.

It was clear now that Shalune and her ilk were the guardians and the instruments of religion or law or both, and their preoccupation with the incomers gave Grimya the opportunity she had awaited. Taking care that the young
kemb
woman wasn’t watching her, she eased her way around the edge of the room, then slipped through the door and ran along the passage to Indigo’s room. She pushed at the curtain with her muzzle, wriggled through—and stopped.

Indigo was sitting up in the low-slung bed. Her back had been carefully bolstered and her skin looked like thin, damp paper, but she was conscious, and Grimya knew as their eyes met that the fever was all but gone.

Indigo
! The wolf remembered just in time not to shout her friend’s name aloud! She rushed to the bed and leaped up, her whole body quivering with excitement as she licked Indigo’s face.

“Oh, Grimya!” Indigo hugged her with all the little strength she had. “Grimya, Grimya!”

Hush
! Grimya warned.
I’m not supposed to be here. They would drive me out if they knew. Indigo, are you all right? I’ve been so worried
!

Indigo subsided and her arms fell to her sides. The effort of embracing the she-wolf had exhausted her, though she tried not to let Grimya see how weak she was.
I’m mending fast, my dear
, she communicated silently.
I don’t know what that woman gave me, but it drove the fever out more quickly than any nostrum I’ve ever known
. She paused.
How long was I delirious
?

Some days
, Grimya told her,
if you count the time in the forest before we found this place. Do you remember the storm
?

Indigo shook her head.
I don’t remember anything from the morning when I woke up and felt the fever coming on
.

That was five days ago. You were so ill, I didn ‘t know what to do. At last I asked the Earth Mother for help, and I believe She answered me and brought us here.

Indigo looked around at the room.
What is this place, Grimya ? I tried to ask the women, but we don’t understand each other’s tongue.

As best she could, Grimya told her about the
kemb
and its inhabitants and described the circumstances that had led her to seek help here.
But
, she said when the explanation was done,
there’s something else you must know, something that worries me greatly. I don’t understand the women’s speech either, but I’ve been able to read some of the thoughts of the fat one—Shalune, I think she is called. Indigo, they mean to take you away
!

Take me away
? Indigo frowned.
Where
?

I don’t know. To some very special place, I think, but I don’t know where it is or why they mean to go there. I believe
... Grimya hesitated, wondering if her suspicion would sound foolish, then decided that it must be said.
I believe that you are important to them in some way
.

Indigo was both astonished and baffled.
But I’m a complete stranger, an outsider—

I know. I don’t understand it either. But I think there is something religious in this. The one called Shalune, she seems to be some kind of
... The wolf groped for the right word, and Indigo ventured:
Priestess
?

Yes
! Grimya’s tongue lolled eagerly.

A priestess. Indigo considered the thought uneasily. She couldn’t think clearly; the fever hadn’t completely abated and in addition to her physical weakness, she still felt that she might all too easily slip back into delirium. She needed time to recover her strength and her full wits, time to assimilate what Grimya was telling her, and above all, time to consider what she should do. If, that was, the priestesses were willing to give her any say in her own future.

Suddenly there were sounds of feet in the corridor and the low murmur of voices. Grimya turned around with a guilty start, and the curtain swung back to admit Shalune and her three cohorts.

Shalune saw Grimya and her brows knitted quickly. Uttering an angry expletive, she strode forward, clapping her hands imperiously to drive the she-wolf off the bed and out of the room.

“No!” Indigo protested. “Let her stay... I want her to stay.”

Shalune paused. Grimya had hunched down nervously, and Indigo slipped an arm around her, holding her protectively. She looked the fat woman directly in the eye and repeated, slowly and clearly, “I want her to
stay
.”

Indigo was prepared for a confrontation, but it didn’t come. Instead, Shalune’s expression became chagrined. She made uncertain signs, as though trying to confirm Indigo’s meaning, and Indigo nodded vigorously, first pointing to Grimya and then patting the bed’s surface with emphasis. Shalune understood. She put the palms of her hands together in an acquiescent gesture and bowed her head submissively, stepping back a pace.

Then, to Indigo’s and Grimya’s utter astonishment, as though their leader’s action had been a prearranged signal, the other three women dropped to one knee in a formal and unambiguously reverent salute.

Five more days passed before Shalune judged Indigo fit to travel. It was a peculiar and uncomfortable hiatus, for the presence in the
kemb
of the four priestesses had an inhibiting effect on everyone. The trader family’s lives were greatly disrupted; they spared no pains to serve their guests in every way possible, and it was clear that they considered themselves greatly honored by the visit, but with their best sleeping accommodations given over to the strangers, and a good deal of business lost in the hours they spent ministering to their needs, the strain began to tell.

As far as she was able, Grimya kept out of the priestesses’ way. She was very wary of Shalune and her companions. The feeling didn’t quite extend to dislike or mistrust; it was just an instinct that she couldn’t rationally explain. She said nothing to Indigo in their few private moments, not wanting to worry her, but instead took the simple expedient of avoiding the four women’s company whenever possible.