Nightpeople (32 page)

Slander stopped, paralysed, blinded and gasping at the sudden force of Saria's mind jamming itself through his own. She was dimly aware of him trying to fight it, trying to start his own futile struggle against her, but his mind was weak, not even aware of his own connections to the Earthmother, let alone able to control them.

Control.

The thought rocked through her, causing her to shudder in Slander's arms.

She had control. She could stop.

If she wanted to.

But now, it was there, the flickering, burning spark, right at the centre of Slander's being. It glimmered, tantalisingly close, vulnerable. And the walls of earthwarmth in her own mind pressed towards it, hungrily, ready to swamp and devour this untrained, arrogant flame.

But Saria had control. She had to.

Slander had fallen to his knees, but his arms stayed locked around Saria's skinny body, a deathly embrace. His mind, focused entirely on trying to drive out Saria's probing consciousness, wasn't sending signals to muscles or nerves and so he slumped on the sand still clinging to the very force that was killing him.

Seconds grew to minutes; each seemed eternal.

The spark that was Slander's mind flickered once, twice, growing weaker, and in her mind Saria saw Dreamer Baanti standing over them, smiling his cold, pale smile.

With a scream, Saria drew back, pushing the earthwarmth down and down, sliding out through the layers of Slander's mind, opening her eyes.

Above her, the dayvault was pale, a distant blue. Spots and sparks danced across her vision as, freed, Slander's arms went loose and she slipped to the ground, lying prone and gasping, while he fell away, his body twisting into a foetal curl against the hot sand.

Saria lay staring into the immensity of the dayvault, calming the surging, unsated hunger that had almost taken her. She pushed it back until eventually all she was aware of once again was the call. The distant, reassuring pulse of it was sliding through the earth to her from somewhere nightwards.

Dariand loomed over her, blocking the light.

‘You burn him out?'

He crouched and she felt a water-skin pressed to her lips. She sucked greedily before answering, savouring the coolness snaking across her tongue and down her throat.

‘No. Came close, though.'

‘You should have. Nobody would have cared.'

‘I don't kill people.'

Beside them, Slander moaned, a long, thin sound.

‘Is he gonna be alright?'

‘Don't know.'

Dariand's fingers fumbled at her ankles and the hobbles fell away.

Slander uncurled slightly and tried to lift himself off the ground, but Dariand struck with snake-like speed and shoved him back down roughly.

‘Slander, if you know what's good for you, you won't move a muscle, right?'

His question drew no response from the prone figure, and Dariand returned his attention to Saria, cutting loose the rest of the bindings and offering her a hand. ‘Here.'

‘Thanks.'

He pulled her to her feet, then knelt and dusted the sand and dirt off her. His hands were gentle and he worked with careful thoroughness.

‘Hold still. There, that's better. You up to walking?'

‘I think so. What about him?' Saria nodded at Slander, still lying motionless.

‘We'll deal with him.'

Now it was Slander's turn to be hobbled. Dariand fastened the bindings around his wrists and legs in just a couple of minutes. Next he tore a long strip of dirty fabric from the hem of Slander's robe and used it to gag the man, tying it so that Slander could manage little more than a faint grunt. Finally, he slung the man over his shoulder and set off towards the encampment.

‘Are we taking him back?'

‘Yeah.'

‘Why? He'll just keep chasing us.'

Dariand stopped and faced her

‘We can't take him with us.'

‘We could just leave him.'

‘Saria.' Dariand's gaze was unblinking. ‘I don't kill people, either.'

They continued into the encampment, where Dariand dropped Slander unceremoniously right in the middle of the sleeping group. Nobody stirred as Dariand knelt and whispered in Slander's ear.

‘You make a sound and you'll regret it, okay?'

Slander nodded, and Dariand set about arranging the man's sand shelter so Slander was lying in shade. Then he checked the bindings once more, until, satisfied, he whispered again into the bound man's ear.

‘I reckon it's time you gave up this chase, eh? If I see you lot behind us again, believe me, I won't be so nice.'

‘Dariand' One of the sleepers sat upright, pushing his sun-shelter aside. ‘That you, mate?'

Dariand and Saria whirled at the sound, and Slander twisted onto his side. Dreamer Gaardi was sitting perfectly still, not looking at them but with his head tilted as though listening intently.

‘Dreamer Gaardi? What's …' Dariand began, but at the sound of his whisper the old man turned to face them, and Saria gasped in shock.

Dreamer Gaardi's face was gaunt. For a brief moment it reminded Saria of Dreamer Baanti – the almost skeletal effect of skin stretched tight across the ridges of his skull. Worse, it was stained with crusted streaks of dried blood, running down his cheeks from empty eye-sockets.

‘Dreamer Gaardi!' Dariand was beside the other man in an instant. Saria just stared.

‘Dariand.' The Dreamer's voice was incredibly calm. ‘You found her, then?'

‘Yeah.' Dariand knelt beside the blind man and brushed a fingertip lightly across the bloodied cheeks. ‘What happened?'

‘Slander. When he finally spotted that I'd been leadin' him all wrong.'

‘He did this?'

‘Him and a couple of his mates here. They jumped me in the middle of the night.'

‘He took your eyes?' Dariand was struggling to keep the disbelief out of his voice. ‘What about Gan?'

‘Ent she here?'

The men were speaking in whispers. Saria took a couple of steps towards them, and Dreamer Gaardi turned his sightless eyes to face her.

‘Come ‘ere an' let me take a closer look at you, girl.' He offered a grim smile.

Slowly, Saria walked over and knelt before him. He stretched his hand towards her, and when his fingertips made contact with her neck, a shiver of earthwarmth connected them immediately and she felt the gentle press of his mind into her own.

‘You're reaching again, girl. That's good.' Even though he was obviously in pain, there was still approval in Dreamer Gaardi's voice.

‘How can you tell?'

‘I can feel it. I can feel the Earthmother through you …' He hesitated. ‘And something else there now, too. There's something … nightwards. That'll be this call you've been talkin' about, eh?'

She didn't reply, and as he pulled his mind back, she stared again at the old man's ruined face. His wounds were horrible. Where his eyes had been were only bloodied' empty hollows.

‘How could he do this?'

‘He reckoned I don't need them to do reaching and tracking, and thought it might keep me a little more under control. Gotta admit, he was right ‘bout that.'

‘Bastard.' Dariand drew Saria aside, whispering quickly. ‘This changes things. Find out which one of this mob is Gan, wake her up quietly, then both of you get to the camels and meet us there, okay?'

Saria nodded.

The first of the sleepers was a man, heavily asleep and snoring gently. Saria crept around him as quickly as she could and across to the next shelter, where she was relieved to find Gan, eyes intact.

‘Gan …'

The old woman woke immediately, her bony hand seizing Saria's wrist in a tight grip.

‘Night spirits, girl! What're you doin, here?'

‘Shh.' Saria nodded in the direction of the camels. ‘Dariand's got Dreamer Gaardi. We've got to go.'

Gan slid from under her awning, folded it, and they started up the dune. Halfway up, the old woman stopped.

‘We leavin', then?'

‘I think so. Dariand didn't say.'

‘What about Slander?'

‘He's tied up and gagged.'

‘Good then. Hang on here …'

The old woman retraced their steps back to the campsite, where she crept from sleeper to sleeper, taking all but two of their waterskins. They sloshed quietly as she hurried back to Saria.

‘Take a couple of these.'

Saria obligingly slung two of the bulging skins across her back.

‘Won't they die without water?'

‘Not if they're careful. I left ‘em a bit, but they'll have to head to Woormra now. Won't find any more out here.'

Dariand carried the blinded Dreamer out to the camels and sat him on the sand while he untethered the creatures. As Saria and Gan approached, Dariand stopped what he was doing. If he and Gan were glad to see one another, neither gave any indication.

‘We takin' all the animals?' Gan asked.

‘We should, but this mob'll be properly stuffed if we do that, and there's no sense in killin' them. I reckon we take five, leave three.'

‘Three camels for four people.'

‘We'll be taking Slander with us.' Dariand's eyes were hard.

‘Right, then.' Gan didn't question further, but simply gestured at the water-skins dangling around her neck. ‘I left ‘em two skins.'

‘You're more generous than I would've been.'

Dariand and Gan exchanged a grim smile, then Dariand turned back towards the encampment.

‘You do the hobbles, eh? I'll be back soon.'

Gan turned to her camels, while Dariand trotted back over the sand ridge.

‘We should get there by morning.'

Dariand slowed his camel until it fell into step alongside Saria's, the beast grumbling against the harness.

‘Then what?'

‘Then you'll see what a waste of time this is.'

Above them, the nightvault was as alive as Saria had ever seen it. All night, while the five made their way across the empty landscape, hundreds of tiny vaultlights had been rushing across the sky, showers of them, each leaving a bright trail. Three of them had watched, entranced. Dreamer Gaardi could only listen as Gan and Saria described the sight, and Slander was slung face down across the back of the fifth camel, still bound and gagged. All he could see was the monotony of passing sand.

There had been no pursuit. Since leaving the encampment they had made their way steadily nightwards into the empty expanse, a vacant horizon in all directions. Dariand led, followed by Saria, then Slander's beast, tethered to Dreamer Gaardi's, and finally Gan. They travelled in silence, speaking only when necessary.

And now they were almost there.

Up high on the camel, without the constant contact between her feet and the ground, the call had faded. But every time they stopped and climbed down to rest the animals it was there, stronger each time, always nightwards.

‘When will we see it?'

‘Around sunrise.'

‘What does it look like?'

‘You'll see.'

‘And it's really impossible to cross.'

‘If it wasn't, do you think we'd all still be here?'

His question hung between them for a long time.

‘Why are we still here?' Saria finally asked him.

‘We're here because you think you need to follow this call all the way to the Darkedge.'

‘That's not what I mean. I mean all of us. The Darklanders. Why do you think the Nightpeople have let us go on this long?'

‘Not because they wanted to, that's for sure. Why'd they take all our women and good children except to kill us off?'

‘But they're powerful. I saw their hummer, and listened to them. They can fly and make skyfire. If they wanted to kill us, they could do it easily, any time they wanted to. They haven't, though. Why not?'

Dariand looked at her for a long time.

‘I can't answer that, Saria. Nobody can. Not even Dreamer Wanji could've explained that. No one knows what the Nightpeople want, or why they do the things they do. Hell, after your experience in the Shifting House, you probably know more about them than anyone else in the history of the Darklands.'

Saria thought about this. ‘You know what I think?'

‘What?'

‘I think they're scared of us. I think they need something from us, and they're scared we won't give it to them.'

‘Need something from us?' Dariand laughed. ‘What? Sand? Coldbloods? We've got nothing they want, Saria.'

‘They want me.'

‘They want you because that'll mean the end of all of us.'

‘How do we know that?'

‘Dreamer Wanji told you, you're the last child. And the last Dreamer. It's about taking away our hope.'

‘But how do we
know?
How did Dreamer Wanji know? It doesn't add up. That afternoon in the Shifting House, one of those Nightpeople was scared, and not just a little bit. It was really terrified about something.'

‘So?'

‘So why would they be out here if it wasn't for something important? One of them was convinced that it was risking its life for nothing, but the other one – the leader – wasn't. Why would they risk their lives trying to catch me when they could easily kill us all off, if that's what they really wanted.'

Dariand was about to reply, but a low whistle floated through the air, and both twisted to watch Gan urging her own animal towards theirs.

‘What?'

‘Look.' She pointed behind, daywards, where their tracks extended through the sand leaving a trail as clear and straight as one of the ancient Skypeople's roads.

‘Ah, bugger!'

The horizon behind them was lit from one end to the other by a wall of crisscrossing nightsuns. From this distance the tiny beams looked small, but they were coming closer.

‘That's not a patrol,' Dariand muttered.

‘You reckon they're after us?'

‘I'd say.'

They watched the approaching wall of light.

‘Any ideas?' Gan looked at Dariand.

‘Dunno.' He scratched his chin as he turned, scanning the surrounding landscape. ‘No shelter out here, that's for sure.'

‘Too right.'

‘What's happenin'?' Dreamer Gaardi and Slander had caught up to them, and Gan reached across, halting the two animals.

‘Nightpeople.'

‘Patrol?'

‘Nah. Hundreds of them.'

‘They'll be followin' the tracks, I reckon.' Gan looked thoughtful.

‘Yeah.'

‘Only one thing for it, then.'

‘What's that?'

‘We'll split up. Me and Dreamer Gaardi will take Slander and head that way.' Gan pointed at right angles to their course. ‘And you two go the other way. With a bit of luck they'll keep after us and not you.'

Dariand thought for a moment or two. The desert seemed to be holding its breath.

‘Time to go different ways, eh?' Dreamer Gaardi spoke into the silence.

A distant, low hum echoed through the night. The sound helped Dariand make up his mind.

‘Alright. We'll meet at the valley.'

He clicked his tongue and his camel dropped to the ground, and Saria did the same. Then he tethered the two animals together and handed the lead to Gan.

‘What'll we do with him?' She nodded back at Slander.

‘Dunno. I was gonna take him back to Woormra and use him to sort out the problems there, but it's a bit late for that, I reckon.'

‘Why don't we just leave him here?'

‘No. Don't take him to the valley, either. Just dump him somewhere on the way. Somewhere with a bit of water and food, but not too much. Make him work to stay alive.'

Slander, who'd been listening closely, began making frantic groaning noises through his gag, and after a moment's thought Dariand stepped across and untied it.

‘Don't be bastards.' Slander choked out the words. ‘You can't just dump me.'

‘You killed Dreamer Wanji, and you blinded Dreamer Gaardi.' Dariand's voice was level. ‘You don't deserve anything from us, Slander. You're lucky we've kept you this long.'

‘You're a fool, Dariand. You know that?'

‘Am I?'

‘A bloody idiot. You think you can escape? Don't be stupid. Why don't you just hand her over to them right now and be done with it.' He spat into the sand.

‘Give ‘em what they want? That's your advice is it, Slander?'

‘You might as well. They know about her anyway, and they'll never stop looking. They want her just as much as you do. Even more.'

A look passed between Dariand and Gan.

‘And how do you know that, eh?'

Even slung across the back of the camel, Slander managed to look defiant.

‘So I had dealings with them. I had to keep my town going. It's fine for you lot with your clean water and decent Dreamer. I did what I had to.'

‘Rubbish, Slander. All you want is power. That's all it's ever been with you. You thought the Nightpeople'd give it to you, so you were prepared to sell her off. You couldn't give a damn about the future of the Darklands.'

‘The Darklands has no future, you idiot,' Slander hissed. ‘The only ones stupid enough to believe that it has are you and a handful of old men like him.' He gestured at Dreamer Gaardi. ‘The only future this forsaken land has is what the Nightpeople will let us have, and if that young girl's the cost of it, then fair enough, I say.'

‘That's all this is about to you, isn't it. Power. You think they'll give you more power than you can get in your own right. So you're prepared to sell out to the Nightpeople. At any cost.'

‘Either way, it doesn't matter.' Slander nodded daywards at the approaching hummers. ‘You're all stuffed now. The best you can hope is that they take her and leave the rest of you enough water to get back to Woormra.'

A long pause followed his words. Then Dariand caught Gan's eye again.

‘What do you reckon, Gan? Is he right?'

The old woman shrugged. ‘Could be.'

‘We should give ‘em what they want, then.'

‘Seems a waste of a good camel, though.'

‘Don't worry about that. I'll find him again later.'

‘Right, then.'

Saria watched, puzzled, as Dariand untethered Slander's animal from Dreamer Gaardi's and turned it back to face the approaching hummers.

‘What are you doing?' Slander demanded.

‘Sending a message to the Nightpeople. You. Tell them Saria's gone.'

‘You can't do this. Don't be a bastard.'

‘You're the one that's had dealings with them, Slander. Now you can be the one to tell them the deal is off. You said it yourself; if we want a future, we have to buy it from them, whatever the price. And right now, that price is you. With any luck, catching you will distract them long enough for the rest of us to get away.'

‘They'll find you. They know about the girl, and they know she's clean. They want her more than anything else. They won't give a damn about me.'

‘You'd better hope you're wrong about that, Slander.' Dariand took a handful of the man's hair and glared into his face. ‘Because if they don't deal with you, then later on I will. You've got my word on that.'

Without giving Slander an opportunity to reply, Dariand delivered the camel a slap on its rump with the palm of his hand and immediately it started trotting straight towards the Nightpeople. Against the approaching glare, it stayed silhouetted for a long time before vanishing over a rise.

‘We have to move. Now,' Dariand said.

Gan agreed. ‘Grabbing him might slow them down a little bit, but they'll still be coming. And he'll tell ‘em we're splitting up. They'll just come straight after you.'

‘No, they won't.' Dariand untethered his and Saria's camels, then slapped their rumps and shouted, spooking them until they were also galloping away, parallel to the nightwards horizon, leaving a clear trail in the direction Dariand and Saria were to have taken.

‘We'll continue nightwards by foot. They'll chase our camels first, and when they find them abandoned they'll most likely come after you two. Don't go back to the valley, either.'

‘Where' then?'

Dariand thought for a moment.

‘Head for the soak. We can camp there as long as we need to. Now go.'

‘Dariand?' Dreamer Gaardi reached one hand down towards Dariand's voice.

‘Yeah?'

‘You take care.'

‘You too.'

‘And Saria?' The old man turned his empty eye-sockets to stare unnervingly at her.

‘Yes, Dreamer.'

‘You chase that call' eh? As far as you have to. And you dream good dreams when you get there' for all of us.'

‘I will.'

Gan's voice was soft. ‘Come here, girl.'

Saria stepped over to stand beside Gan's animal. The old woman stared at her.

‘Good luck, eh?'

‘Thanks.'

Then she and Dreamer Gaardi urged their camels into a long gallop' leaving Dariand and Saria alone in the desert.

‘Come on!' Dariand took her hand and pulled it. ‘We'll still be lucky if we get away.'

They plunged nightwards, almost at a run. The noise of the hummers was a constant drone which shivered through the night.

‘Walk softly' keep your feet light,' Dariand whispered.

SARIA!

Below her feet the call was stronger than ever, earthwarmth flowing into her from the ground, and back from her to the Earthmother. Saria sneaked a quick glance behind to where the sky was alive with dancing light. The harsh, focused beams lanced though the desert sky, drowning the sparse glow of the vaultlights in a frenzy of bright movement. The hummers were close enough now for Saria to make out the occasional flash reflecting off iridescent blackness as one swung through another's beams.

‘We need to hide.'

‘Where?' Dariand didn't break stride. ‘There's nowhere. Just keep running!'

‘They're going to catch us.'

The humming rose to a scream and a nightsun beam flashed across the sand a little ahead, leaving a glowing red blur across Saria's vision.

Then she felt something shift in the Earthmother. Some tiny change in the flow of warmth through the earth.

‘What is it! Come on!' Dariand tugged at her arm, but Saria was frozen to the spot.

She could see everything. It was reaching like she'd never done before. The earthwarmth was calming and powerful, and when she closed her eyes the whole landscape was there before her, falling away, outwards, beyond anything she'd imagined possible.