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get it down. She struggled to reach out, to project the mind fingers to catch
hold of the weapon. Again her mind creaked with disuse. She reached for the
gun. Ah, she gasped, come on& come on
Her legs began to tremble and she slid down, still holding onto the bamboo
until she was kneeling on the grass. Come on to me, she whispered.
The minutes dragged past. Sweat streamed over the contours of her face,
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soaked her hair wet again under the towel. She opened her eyes and slumped
heavily.
Kunniakas? Aleytys felt small hands touch her. The hiiri s whisper was
anxious, uncertain.
I m trying too hard. Aleytys slid her hand up and down the smooth bamboo
cylinder. It isn t working.
Kunniakas, I don t know what you re talking about, but& . Aamunkoitta
hesitated, her hands warm on Aleytys arm. The henkiolento-maan. Let them
help you.
Aleytys frowned at her.
Or your spirits. Call on them.
You said that before. Spirits? I don t know what you re talking about.
Down there. Aamunkoitta nodded at the mahazh. I heard you. Heski, you
said, or something like that. You said that and Heski or whatever it was swept
us out safe.
Heski? Aleytys rubbed her hands over her aching eyes. I don t remember
anything like that. Heski? She tried to remember because it sounded
important, but there was nothing in her head like that, nothing at all.
Shaking her tired head she raised up a little on her knees, then shifted her
legs around until she was sitting, the earth cold even through the leather.
Then through the cold, without displacing it, a warmth leaped through her,
flowing up from the earth, up from the world itself, a welcoming soothing
strengthening warmth even while she was beginning to tremble from the cold
that struck clear to her bones. She spread her hands out fiat on the ground on
either side of her legs. Henkiolento-maan, Aamunkoitta breathed. Aleytys
paid little attention to her. A new calm, a new assurance was warm inside her.
She reached out to the weapon and lifted it smoothly. Smoothly, surely she
brought it down the cliff, swung it out over the treetops and brought it
gently to rest in her lap. Reluctantly she lifted her hands from the earth,
breaking the contact so that the warmth flowed away and she was shivering
continuously. She got to her feet. I ve gotten out of the habit of enduring
cold.
Aamunkoitta jumped up. Eyes sparking, she touched the weapon, shivering a
little in her awe. An energy gun.
Aleytys nodded. I ve a delivery to make. There s a& it s probably
dangerous.
The hiiri shrugged. What isn t? But I think we should leave this place now.
Aleytys shook her head. No. But you can go if you want. I ve got something
to show the kipu.
Ahgh. The sound was a low shapeless growl deep in the hiiri s throat
Come if you want. Aleytys stepped across the stream again and stalked into
the mahazh. She stopped by the bed.
Aamunkoitta frowned in puzzlement until Aleytys stripped the sheet from the
bed and gathered it into a bundle with the stinking already decomposing
embryo. Aleytys laughed angrily and bitterly. A good present, don t you
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think, Kitten?
Good. The hiiri opened her mouth in a fierce grin and a silent feral
pleasure shone in her eyes. Trade. A life for a life.
The triumph spilled briefly out of Aleytys. That s no balance, she
muttered. She crossed the room to the lift, clutching the improvised sack in
one hand, the weapon in the other. Tucking the gun under her arm she pressed
her hand over the panel. No. To pay for that life& ! She leaned her forehead
against the bluish stone. Nothing s enough.
The lift door slid open, releasing a flood of yellow light. Aleytys set the
bag on the floor. Wait, she said sharply. I need something to buy passage.
She stepped past the hiiri. Wait for me in there, will you?
Without bothering about an answer she ran back into the bedroom. When she
returned she had a large wooden box slung by soft ropes over her shoulder.
The queen s jewels, she said briefly.
Aamunkoitta nodded approvingly. Then she glanced at the bag on the floor of
the lift. What now?
The kipu s nest.
Chapter XXVII
Aleytys handed the sheet to Aamunkoitta. You know what to do? she
whispered.
Sure. The hiiri s breathed answer was vibrant with excitement.
Flattening her hands against the warded metal Aleytys probed the lock. After
a brief struggle she sucked in a deep breath, filling her lungs then letting
the air trickle out again, her body relaxing, for the lock was unlocked, the
wards neutralized. For a moment longer she rested, leaning on the hands
pressed against the metal.
Then she jerked the door open and slid inside, energy gun leveled, the sensor
under a quivering finger poised ready to fire. The kipu lay in a narrow bed in
the narrow austere room, still sunk deep in sleep, her slow steady
respirations the only sound. And it was no pretense. Aleytys felt the lowered
life-beat, the placid steady throb of the sleep state. She slid her hand over
the switch plate, filling the room with a sudden glare of light.
The kipu woke, jerked upright, stared open-mouthed at Aleytys standing beside
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