Diadem from the Stars (41 page)

Authors: Jo; Clayton

BOOK: Diadem from the Stars

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Stavver handed him the waterskin and helped him drink. The boy took a mouthful of water then pushed the skin away. His face drawn in lines of fatigue and suffering, he held the cool liquid in his mouth, working it around and around. Then he spat it out and took another drink, a small one. He swallowed. Fascinated, Aleytys watched his throat working, appreciating the stern discipline that controlled his desperate need for water. He drank twice again, then pushed the waterskin away though his eyes followed it greedily.

“I thank you, si'a gikena.”

“Will you tell me your name?” Once again Aleytys smiled at him, warming inside as the wary suspicion left his eyes.

“Loahn, si'a gikena.”

“You will serve me as required?”

He startled her by bowing swiftly until his head touched the earth in front of him. As quickly he sat up, dark eyes bright with renewed hope. “I serve as long as you wantâtill the end of my life, si'a gikena.”

She laughed and stood up, reaching out for his hand. It felt warm and dry and curiously strong. “It won't be that long, Loahn. Not nearly.” She mounted the steps at back of the caravan. “Come in, but be quiet. My son is asleep.”

The interior of the caravan was hot and close. Loahn looked curiously around. The inside was neatly made, the wide, flat bunks doubling as seating in the day, the mattresses covered with coarse ticking. Below these a series of deep drawers marched in neat rows. One was pulled out and turned into a nest for the placidly sleeping baby. Aleytys stopped to touch him, feeling as always the warm outpouring of love he evoked in her. When she looked up she found the boy looking hungrily at her. He blushed and turned away.

“You lost your mother?”

His thin body stiffened, then he nodded. “When I was a child.”

“Well, sit down. You'd better ride in here. We'll be going on till light fails. Rest and think what to tell me when we camp for the night.” A smile twitched the corners of her mouth upward. “I need to know just what to do about you.”

“Yes, si'a gikena,” he said with careful politeness, the wary look back on his face.

“Olelo, come here.” She smiled at the boy, amused by his skepticism. “I need you to speak for me again, little one.”

The speaker swung through the front curtains. Loahn's eyes widened then he relaxed, his suddenly shaky knees dumping him onto the bunk.

Aleytys chuckled. “So you're convinced at last.”

“Pardon, si'a gikena,” he stammered.

“Nonsense. A little skepticism's a healthy thing. I'd think you foolish if you believed everything anyone told you.”

His mouth curved into a tired smile, his eyes dropping heavily as fatigue flooded over him.

“Unroll the quilt and go to sleep. If you need water, the man and I will be outside. Call. You understand?”

He nodded sleepily.

“When you ride with us, you'll see thingsâthings that may seem strange. If you find yourself puzzled, come to me. Don't talk to outsiders about what troubles you. Understand?”

He settled himself on the mattress, wadding the quilt into a pillow for his head. “No,” he said quietly. “How can I?” He stretched out, laced his fingers together behind his head. “Only that I come to you and accept what you tell me.”

She eyed him coolly, then burst out laughing. “No fool, indeed. You'll accept what I tell you even if you suspect it's not quite the truth?”

He grinned sleepily at her. “When I got my life back, when I saw your beautiful and wonderful and kind face, I gave my soul into your keeping as long as you want it.” He yawned, then waved a hand. “You needn't bother asking, gikena. Just tell me and I'll do it.”

Aleytys crawled through the curtains and joined Stavver on the seat. “That's a sharp one in there.”

“Dangerous?”

“I don't think so. I could always put the curse back.” She glanced at the sky. The streaks of color were beginning to thicken, leaving patches of clear blue sky. “Let's get started,” she said crisply.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jo Clayton (1939â1998) was the author of thirty-five published novels and numerous short stories in the fantasy and science fiction genres. She was best known for the Diadem Saga, in which an alien artifact becomes part of a person's mind. She also wrote the Skeen Trilogy, the Duel of Sorcery series, and many more. Jo Clayton's writing is marked by complex, beautifully realized societies set in exotic worlds and stories inhabited by compelling heroines. Her illness and death from multiple myeloma galvanized her local Oregon fan community and science fiction writers and readers nationwide to found the Clayton Memorial Medical Fund.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Andy Ross

ISBN: 978-1-5040-3839-3

This edition published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

180 Maiden Lane

New York, NY 10038

www.openroadmedia.com