The Farris Channel (39 page)

Bruce said, “I’m sure Clire dictated it.”

Bruce broke away from Solamar’s field management and took the note from Rinda. He nodded, his nager drawn to a tight solidity nobody but Lexy could zlin through.

“It’s his writing. Delri isn’t dead. Solamar, get Jhiti to outfit a horse for me. Lexy, I’ll bring him home.” He turned toward the door holding the note.

Alind leaped up onto his chair and shouted, “Stop him! The Council has voted! We will not allow this unconscionable risk to the Fort for nothing!”

Several men captured Bruce in a box, the renSimes wary of his nageric strength, and the Gens wary of what Bruce could do to the Simes. Bruce subsided but looked wildly back at Lexy and Solamar.

Alind sat down again, gestured the other Councilors to sit, shouted for silence and flicked his nager repeatedly until he had everyone’s attention.

Solamar and Lexy led the other channels in calming the ambient.

Alind said, “We can’t risk one of our best Companions. We’d just be turning over a prime Kill to the Raiders!”

Another Councilor said, “If Rimon’s still alive, which none of this proves, he’s junct like her by now and she wants him to Kill his own Companion. Her revenge on us.”

There was a buzz of agreement. Solamar zlinned distrust aimed at the Council and disillusionment coming from Shaddyr Esren holding onto her daughter Bekka’s shoulders, Jor Esren beside them.

“Nothing has changed,” insisted Alind. “Rimon died in that fall. Clire could be capable of Killing Bruce, probably dreams of it by now. She worked with Rimon long enough to learn to forge his writing and long enough to become jealous of his Companion.”

Kahleen bristled at that but most of the renSimes thought it made sense.

“This is a trick,” Alind insisted, “just to get herself a Choice Kill. Or Rimon wants a Kill that could satisfy him.”

Chillingly logical,
thought Solamar. He was gratified that so much of the audience didn’t believe it.

Yet most of the Council did believe it. Alind called another vote, and the Council voted, not unanimously but solidly, to lock Bruce up so he couldn’t ride out on his own.

Amazingly, the renSimes on the Council somehow missed the sea change in opinion among their supporters. It didn’t escape Lexy’s notice. She worked her way back to Bruce and managed to mutter something to him before his guards took him away.

The hall began to empty, and Solamar caught up to Lexy just as Sian moved up to her from the other side.

“We’ve won!” said Sian. The noise was still so loud that Solamar had to repeat what he’d said for Kahleen and Garen standing behind him.

“It seems so,” said Lexy, “but maybe too late to get Bruce to my father.”

“We’re ready. We can do it tomorrow and....”

“Do what tomorrow?” asked Solamar.

Kahleen and Garen chorused, “Hold the new election.”

Sian continued, “...then we’ll take Bruce there and get Delri back. The note in Delri’s own writing will change Jhiti’s mind about what could be gained by taking the risk.”

“Yes, though I could wish we could do it tonight,” said Lexy. She turned to Solamar, “Locking Bruce up seems to have done the trick, wouldn’t you say?”

Sian said, “This Council’ll never know what hit them.”

Lexy added to Solamar, “I didn’t get a chance to tell you that Sian’s going to head the new Council. He’s got people lined up to sit on it, and if this changes only a few minds, they’ll all win. Did you zlin Jor and Shaddyr Esren when the Council voted to lock Bruce up? That’s the whole Church of the Unity vote.”

Through the ambient chaos, Solamar had read them as disillusioned. He wondered if Lexy’s sensitivity had spiked up because of the pregnancy. That could become a worry. “Is there anything I should be doing?”

“No,” said Sian. “The channeling staff can’t be involved in this election. Go back to your regular schedule and whatever you do, don’t let Bruce go before we get this settled. It’s too slippery to ride hard out there now. A broken-necked Gen won’t help our cause. For this election, he has to appear to be the level headed, methodical Companion we’ve always thought him to be.”

Kahleen and Garen chuckled, and Kahleen said, “Nothing will stop Bruce, trust me. The only reason I didn’t go with Clire is that she had Killed. I’d have let her try to Kill me any time, but she wouldn’t have wanted me because it wouldn’t work.”

That silenced everyone for a moment. Lexy nodded, and ran her tentacles over the note Bruce had given her. “Clire hates my father, too. This isn’t her hatred driving her. This is love for my half-sibling. This will probably be my father’s last child. My father will Need Bruce to get that baby born alive. Tomorrow or the next day it’ll be possible to ride in this muck, and if my father is still alive now, he’ll still be alive when we get to him with all Jhiti’s Guard.”

Solamar said, “Let’s go talk to Jhiti then.” He plucked the note from her tentacles. It had been handled by so many now that any residue of Rimon’s presence had been obliterated. Still, he had to believe that without the belt, Rimon would surely be out of his body tonight.

When Solamar handed Jhiti the note, the renSime stared at it. “Then he’s alive?” He dropped to his knees before Lexy, imploring her, “Forgive me! I should have gone after him that very day! If he dies, it’s my fault.”

“It’s what you honestly believed,” said Lexy.

Jhiti buried his face in his hands struggling against sobs. “No! I began to believe the lies that Council kept spreading. Delri never lied to us. When he made a mistake, he just did it over again until he got it right.”

“Jhiti, you’re still Post. Take a deep breath. Zlin me,” said Lexy, and gave him nageric support as she put out a hand and levered the man to his feet. “Get ready to have your men moving the moment Sian gives you the word.”

“I’ll send out scouts tonight. I know a few who’ll volunteer. Oberin will be very happy.”

Lexy took the note back. “I have more people to show this to.” They parted company then, Lexy to go check on Tuzhel and talk to the staff and Solamar to talk to Bruce who was being kept under guard in Rimon’s room.

There were two of Jhiti’s guards, a renSime and a Gen, on the door and another pair beneath the window. The Council had sent one of their own to watch each set of guards from a distance.

When Solamar arrived, the two guards on the door were the Fort Hope scout, Kimra who had been badly gored by a bobcat while trying to find Fort Rimon, and Eirelle, a young Gen woman from Fort Tanhara who had been a farmer but became a hardened fighter on the trail.

Bruce’s wife Dayyel and his daughter Iriela holding her infant son were arguing with Kimra about a food basket Dayyel held. The family of course wanted to take it in themselves, right now. The guards had orders that the door opened only at shift-change when there were four guards. Bruce was not to have visitors.

Eirelle stepped forward when Solamar appeared at the end of the hall, but darted a glance at the Council’s monitor. “Solamar, what should we do?”

Solamar said, loudly enough for the Council’s monitor to hear, “Dayyel, I’ll take the basket in to Bruce. I’m sure the Council didn’t mean he’s to be kept in isolation, but only that people he could overpower are kept away.”

With that, he opened the door and went right on in carrying the basket, adjusting his showfield so that his advanced state of Need wasn’t so obvious.

Bruce looked around from where he’d been staring out the window, saw his wife and daughter outside and threw his hands in the air. “Go on home! They aren’t going to hurt me. They’re just trying to protect me.”

“Don’t do anything we’ll regret,” called Dayyel as the guards moved her away from the door.

Solamar closed the door, saying to Bruce’s family, “They aren’t going to starve him either, but I’m sure he’ll be happy to have a good meal now.”

Farther down the hall, the Council representative looked wary but resigned. Solamar’s unauthorized visit would surely be reported.
Why do these things always happen when you’re in Need?
he asked the universe.

The insulated door made from two layers of hardwood laminated around a layer of selyn refractive sand closed off the protests as effectively as it masked the nageric static. Solamar put the basket on the table. The Gen stared at it without appetite. “When do I get out of here?”

“Earliest would be tomorrow afternoon.” He lowered his voice. “Sian and Lexy are planning to oust that Council tomorrow morning.”

Bruce’s attention finally came to focus on Solamar. “Shen!” he swore. “You’re in Need.”

“And happily fixed on Kahleen.”
So much for showfield work around Bruce.
It confirmed his new opinion that Farrises were different from other channels, so Farrises required very different Companions, or created that difference in their Companions. “Don’t worry about me. There are more urgent issues.”

Bruce nodded and turned back to the window, focusing the shaft of attention outward. Unconsciously, his hand rested on the Starred Cross buckle of Rimon’s belt that now circled his waist. The belt was let out fully and still bit into the Gen’s flesh. “I should be on my way now.”

“Bruce, if you just break out of here and run, you’ll be hurling yourself into Clire’s power.”

“Clire can’t Kill me. Delri has taken her measure. We discussed it when he discovered she was pregnant.”

“Lexy doubts Clire plans to Kill you. Clire wants you to serve Rimon so he can deliver her baby in about three months. After that, she’ll see you two murdered or worse.”

“I wish I could say Delri and I can take care of ourselves, but it’s not true anymore. We’re too old. If he weren’t badly hurt, he’d be here by now, Raiders or no Raiders. I should just go and let Jhiti rescue us later.”

Solamar sat on the bed he’d so often occupied when Rimon was on duty. “You should just wait.”

Bruce whirled from the window and paced hands on the belt buckle. “He’s lost the belt, Solamar. He goes crazy without it! Clire doesn’t know that. She didn’t take it to destroy his sanity, but it will. I have to be there! I should have ridden out through the flood!”

“Jhiti worked all winter thinking up strategies to oust the Raiders from Shifron. He’s ready to move. Tomorrow.”

“How can you be sure Rimon’ll be all right that long? Did you see him out of his body or something?”

“No. I haven’t seen him...yet. It might happen tonight, or maybe he’s learned how to control his wandering for himself. Bruce, he’s alive now, and Clire wants his Companion there. She’ll keep him alive until you get there because she wants her baby to live.”

“I can’t wait!”

He changed the subject. “Garen has his hands full with Lexy too.”

That stopped Bruce in his tracks. “How is she?”

“None of this is good for a pregnant woman, nevermind a pregnant Farris woman.”

“She has to have Delri to deliver her child too. If Delri told Clire that Lexy’s pregnant...Clire was good friends with Lexy....”

“You can’t count Clire as sane at this point.”

Bruce sat down on the bed next to Solamar and his fields softened. “Solamar, what would it take to get you to help me go now?”

Bribery!?

Stunned, Solamar shook his head. “A complete change in the situation.”

Bruce scrubbed his face. “I thought you liked Delri!”

“I do. And I think he’s our main hope for rescuing the non-junct way of life from extinction. If this Fort is destroyed, well...I doubt if any of the others survived. We can’t afford to make any mistakes. That’s why we have to wait. It isn’t enough to rescue Rimon. We have to unify these people behind him and they have to rescue him.”

That’s what I came here for,
thought Solamar bleakly,
and maybe tomorrow it will start to happen.

One of their plans did work. The election went overwhelmingly for Sian’s new Council, people accepting the argument that Alind’s Council had not been properly elected by Fort Rimon’s customs. That made this the first election after all but three of the previous Council had died. Sian ordered Jhiti to move, but cautiously.

Sian’s slate of Councilors included Rinda from Fort Hope plus leaders of all the other Forts, even a few who distrusted Rimon’s style. Benart put up as the opposition both Alind’s elected Council and all those who had run in that election and lost. There were plenty of choices.

Xanon told Lexy publicly that he had been wrong about Rimon’s motives and was voting for Sian’s Council. With that and the Church of Unity voting block on their side, they won by a huge majority, all clamoring to rescue Rimon and Clire too if they could manage it.

Tuzhel, heartened immensely by Sian’s win, especially with the Esrens turning against Alind’s Council, breezed through his disjunction crisis, easily choosing Lexy over the Gen Lexy offered him for a Kill, Bekka.

The post election furor died instantly when Jhiti’s first scouts returned from Shifron and the Gen border at an insane gallop and reported, “The Gens are coming through the pass in force!” and “The juncts’ Border Patrol is heading for Shifron to retake it. I’ve never seen so many Patrol all at once! Their scouts have spotted the Gens.”