Crystal Healer (11 page)

"I have tried to convince him to revoke our bond," Hawk said, his unhappiness plain. "It would placate the council and the Adan, and we can still be together, if we are discreet."

Qonja kissed the back of Hawk's hand. "I will never hide my honor for you,
evlanar
." With his free hand he made a careless gesture. "It matters not. Even now, word of our bond is spreading throughout the HouseClans. The customs and laws regulating Choice has been questioned for some time by younger Jorenians. Despite the beliefs of my people, it would seem that not everyone who Chooses wishes to procreate."

"Such changes often take a very long time to happen, especially among sexually repressed species," Reever said. "What do the Kalea say about this?"

"Like me, they are crossbreeds," Hawk said, "and the ClanLeaders, Jakol and Sajora Kalea, have openly accepted our bond. They even accompanied us before the council to show their support for our petition. But if the council decides to take further action against us, such support could also result in serious repercussions for the Kalea. Some of the more conservative Adan have spoken of having HouseClan Kalea declared lawless and officially disbanded for offering us shelter."

"Which we cannot allow to happen to our friends, not after all they have done for us," Qonja added. "Until the law changes, Hawk and I feel we should make our home away from Joren."

"Terra will not grant you asylum or residential status," Reever said. "Where will you go?"

"We would prefer to find an open and tolerant multispecies colony, like the one established on Kevarzangia Two," Qonja said. "But I think it would be best if we left Joren as soon as possible. Xonal Torin mentioned to us that you are heading an expedition into the Saraced system. Would you consider allowing Hawk and I to serve as members of the crew?"

"Of course," I said at once. "We would be glad to have you with us." I thought for a moment. "How would you wish to serve on the crew?"

"My people on Terra lived under primitive tribal conditions," Hawk put in. "I may be able to help you interpret some of the customs and practices of the oKiaf. I also have first-aid training, so I can assist you in the medical bay when necessary."

"I can serve as the expedition's psychologist," Qonja said. "Or your personal bodyguard, as before."

The door panel chimed, preventing my answer, and I went to answer it. One glance at the external display made me frown.

"Xonea." I opened the panel.

"I would speak to you and your bondmate." The captain of the
Sunlace
walked in past me and stopped as he saw our guests. "Forgive me, I do not mean to interrupt."

"Then you should have waited rather than come here at this hour," Reever replied.

I saw that my husband was still spoiling for a fight with my ClanBrother. "Whatever the hour or circumstance, we are all still friends. Come and join us, Captain."

Xonea greeted Qonja and Hawk in a polite but reserved fashion, refused my offer of tea, and remained on his feet. "My ClanFather has spoken to me of this expedition you intend to take to Saraced. Given the current political situation there, I advise against it."

"He must have also told you that oKia is one of three worlds on the Aksellan map that was not marked as harboring the black crystal," I said. "It is important that we discover if that is still the case, and if so, why."

"You acquired this mining map from the Trellusans," Xonea said. "What if it is not authentic? What if they counterfeited it in order to lure you and Duncan to this world?"

"Why resort to such an elaborate ruse?" I spread out my hands. "They had the means to keep us imprisoned on Trellus. If they wished to collect a bounty for us, why would they give us a map and let us go? How could they know we would choose to sojourn to oKia, for that matter?"

His mouth tightened. "I do not like this. We can protect you better on Joren than in open space."

"That is why I asked Xonal to have you transport the expedition on the
Sunlace
," I pointed out. "There is no one we trust more to keep us safe."

My ClanBrother turned his head and eyed Reever, who nodded his agreement. "Very well. If you are to go, it will be on my ship." He then regarded Qonja and Hawk. "I suppose you two intend to accompany us."

"Jarn has consented to our joining the crew, but it is your ship," Qonja said, his tone cool. "If our presence is as unwelcome there as it has been almost everywhere else, we should be told now."

Xonea had been the one to expose Qonja and Hawk's relationship to the Adan, I recalled.

"There has been much debate among the Houses over your bond," Xonea said. "I am like most of our people in that I value our traditions and wish to see them preserved. I also believe the primary responsibility of those who Choose is to have children. Still, even one such as I can see the bond that exists between you and Hawk. It appears as real and enduring as"--he glanced at me--"any other I have witnessed."

Qonja put his hand on Hawk's shoulder. "It is."

"Then this time, I will save you some trouble and assign you both to the same quarters on the
Sunlace
." Xonea turned to Reever. "The ship has been undergoing some refitting at the Zamlon docks. I am traveling there tomorrow to inspect the work. If you and Jarn wish to accompany me, I will call for you in the morning."

Like Xonea's, my husband's expression gave away none of his feelings. "We would, thank you."

"Be ready to leave by midrise." With a nod to the rest of us, my ClanBrother left.

"Am I hallucinating?" Hawk asked softly, "Or did I just hear Captain Xonea Torin acknowledge our bond?"

Qonja grinned. "If you did not, it was a shared hallucination."

I heard a low, distressed sound, and looked past Qonja to see our daughter standing on the other side of the room with Fasala just inside the entrance to the courtyard.

"Your pardon, Healer Jarn." Fasala looked miserable. "I did not wish to interrupt your visit, so I brought Marel back through the courtyard."

"It's all right, Fasala." The stricken look on Marel's small face told me how much of our discussion she had overheard. "I am sorry we did not have the chance to talk to you about the sojourn first."

"You told ClanUncle and Hawk and even Fasala." Marel knuckled away the tears in her eyes and gave me a defiant look. "You told everyone about it. Everyone but me. Now what will my friends say?" She ran off to her room, and Reever followed her.

"I think we should go," Hawk said, and gave me a brief farewell embrace. Against my ear, he murmured, "The young are very forgiving."

After I saw out Qonja and Hawk, I returned to hear the sounds of my daughter sobbing and Reever speaking in a low, soothing voice.

"Since your return from Trellus, Marel has been telling our friends that you would be staying and making your home here with us," Fasala explained. "She even spoke to our ClanLeader about planting a garden of Terran vegetables, to see if they would grow here. I think this is the cause of her distress."

"I knew she was becoming attached to this world, but . . ." I stopped and rubbed my eyes with my fingers. "We cannot take her with us on this expedition; it is too dangerous. Perhaps she will feel better when she knows that."

"I think not, Healer," Fasala said. "Each time you leave her, Marel fears you will not return. Her true happiness is walking within beauty with you and Linguist Reever." With a sympathetic gesture, the Jorenian girl also departed.

When Marel was upset, Reever always managed her better than I could, so I busied myself with tidying up. An hour passed before he emerged and joined me in the food prep area.

"She is sleeping now." He put his arm around my waist. "Don't blame yourself, beloved. We knew this news would be difficult for her to accept."

I knew, and still it did not make a difference. "I know it must be this way, and still I cannot bear to hear her weeping like that." I took a deep breath and faced him. "Fasala mentioned something. It seems our daughter has been telling the other children that we were to make a home here. A permanent home."

Reever frowned. "I have not said any such thing to her. Have you?"

I shook my head. "Who would make her believe something like that?"

"Perhaps something was said by someone who wishes us to remain on Joren." His gaze shifted to the drone concealed in a nearby wall.

Xonea, of course. Another of his controlling tactics, and this time he used it on my daughter.

This time, he had made my daughter cry.

I couldn't bear another moment of this farce, so I reached into the storage container and removed the largest, sharpest blade from it. "Look over there, Husband." I made my voice as loud as I could without disturbing the child. "I think someone has planted a spying device in our quarters."

"Jarn." Duncan shook his head.

He was right; what I meant to do was a foolish thing. And I didn't care. I went over to the wall and drove the knife into the embedded drone. The plasteel shattered the monitoring device, causing a short spray of sparks to shoot out of the wall.

"I wonder if there are others. Let me look." I went to the next. "Oh, dear, here is another one." I used the blade to pry this one out of the wall panel, and peered into its tiny lens. "Are you getting
this
picture, spy?" I dropped the drone to the floor and stomped on it until it lay in small pieces.

Reever did not stop me as I went from drone to drone and systematically destroyed all but one of them. With the last, I carefully removed it from its hiding place and brought it over to the disposal unit.

"Hello," I said to the drone. "Please be advised of the following: If I find another monitoring device within a hundred meters of me, Reever, or Marel, I will have the person responsible explain why to the Ruling Council." I paused. "After I beat him senseless for intruding on our privacy and deceiving our child."

I crushed the drone in my hand before I dropped the remains into the disposal.

Reever came to stand next to me. "Regarding the beating, you will have to wait your turn."

"Good." I turned and went to the room terminal, and prepared a formal text signal before I asked my husband to translate it into Jorenian for me. As he read the message, I said, "I will send it now, unless you have any objections."

He gave me one of his rare half smiles. "None at all."

Marel woke up early, but said little to us as she had her morning meal and prepared for her day at school.

I did not like this silence, not when I had grown accustomed to the child's bright, endless chatter. But Reever had suggested I let her have some time to adjust to the news of the expedition before I discussed it with her. Saying nothing made me feel as unhappy as the child, but I knew he was right.

We did not talk at all during the brief walk from our quarters to the school, but just before she entered her class Marel looked up at me.

The storm-dark color of her eyes told me she had not yet forgiven us for disappointing her. "Will I stay again with ClanUncle Salo and ClanAunt Darea while you are gone, Mama?"

"That is our wish." I knelt down in front of her. "Marel, we love you, and we are very sorry that we hurt you. We should have told you first about the expedition. You are the most important person in our lives."

"I want to be like the other kids here," she told me. "They never have to be away from their families. Everyone stays together. That's what kin does. If you and Daddy can't be on Joren with me, then you should take me with you on the expedition."

"We could," I agreed. "But we will have much work to do, and this time there will be no other children on board the ship. I fear it would be very boring for you."

"Then don't go, Mama." Tears sparkled in her eyes. "Stay here with me."

I took her hands in mine. "An Iisleg woman cannot break a promise she makes, you know that." When she nodded, I said, "When we return from this sojourn, I vow that Daddy and I will take you on a special trip. We won't work or have meetings or be away from you. We will go only where you want to go, and only be where you want us to be."

"I miss my friends at HouseClan Kalea. ClanLeader Jory said the next time I visited that she would teach me how to ride a t'lerue." Clearly tempted, Marel bit her lower lip. "You promise, Mama?"

I pressed her hand to my heart. "I swear it."

Marel flung her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. I held her until her teacher came to the entrance, and only then did I release her to join the class.

Reever stood waiting for me outside the pavilion. "Xonea signaled while you were out. He has gone ahead to check some of the engine work."

"Perhaps he can have the Zamlon fix his monitoring drones, as well." I went with Reever to the glidecar waiting at the end of the walking path. "I promised Marel that we would spend some time with her after the expedition. It is not enough, though. Soon we must decide how and where we are to live as a family."

"We can discuss it during the sojourn." Reever opened the passenger side of the vehicle for me. "For now, stop it."

I glanced at him. "Stop what?"

"Worrying about our daughter, the expedition, the new bounty being offered, Xonea, and everything else in your head." He buckled me into my harness. "We are together. Marel is safe. That is enough for now."

I envied Reever that unwavering assurance, especially when I saw the glint from a tiny lens wink at me from a corner of the interior floor covering. As my husband went around to the other side of the vehicle, I bent down and swiftly yanked the monitoring drone out of the textured material.

"This should not take too long," Reever said as he climbed in behind the control console. "Xonea has much to do to prepare for the sojourn."

"Good." I pocketed the drone. "So do I."

On the trip to the Zamlon dock yards, Reever kept me distracted from my thoughts by reviewing the crew manifest for the expedition. Many of the most experienced flight officers among the Torin had been slated to accompany us, along with a full complement of skilled nurses to serve in medical, and combat-trained militia for security. I was a little surprised to discover my husband, not Xonea, had consulted with Xonal to handpick the crew.