Fear and courage, p.5
Fear and Courage, page 5
Khanna turned the wagon down a dirt road leading at right angles to the road. Nathan sat up as the quality of the road changed, and looked around. He couldn’t see much in the dimness, but there seemed to be a cluster of lanterns up ahead. Khanna drove around a hill, then pointed ahead to a small collection of buildings clustered around a more solid, larger one.
“Is that where we’re going?” Nathan asked.
“Yes. That’s Zyax, such as it is. We’ve only got thirty or so families, and we’re not wealthy, but we make up for it in independence.”
“Independence?”
“The Tecton has a Sime Centre in town, but we’re pretty much left to ourselves out here.”
Nathan was glad to hear that there was no Devil Centre here.
“We’ve only existed for thirty years,” she added. “We were founded by refugees from the Lost Houses that were wiped out by raiders from Norwest Territory.”
“Ah.”
“When they got here, there was nothing. The land had been picked clean, and there wasn’t a living adult for a hundred miles.”
Nathan was relieved to learn that there were no demons at all here. God was surely favouring him on this mission.
“The town was later settled by former soldiers,” she continued. “When the railroad came through, things got easier.”
A wave of sympathy, carried on Nathan’s powerful nager, washed over her. “It must be a hard life,” he said.
“All frontier lives are hard,” she said. “But there are opportunities as well as hardships.”
Nathan nodded, then realized that she couldn’t see him in the dark. “True.”
Khanna had no trouble zlinning the nod, of course. “Anyway, I hope you will accept our hospitality for the night. There’s plenty of time to get to work tomorrow.”
“Gladly. I’m quite tired,” he said. “Thank you.”
Khanna smiled fondly at such a Genlike admission.
Nathan sat up a little straighter as the wagon rolled to a halt near the big central building. The building was blocky and ugly, but at least it looked solid, made of sturdy stone. He saw a man approaching through the flickering torchlight. He nodded politely and waited for Khanna to introduce him.
Brenson smiled to zlin the First Order Donor’s nager shining through the night like hundreds of torches together.
Khanna spoke. “Sectuib, this is Sosu Nathan, who came in on tonight’s train instead of the centrifuge. I’ll take the substitution, at least for now. Nathan, this is my father, and Zyax’s Sectuib, Brenson.”
Brenson was startled to hear English, but after all, he knew it perfectly well. “Howdy there, Sosu. We didn’t expect you so soon!” He guffawed at his own pun. He took the horse’s reins, just in case it decided to do something erratic.
“I’m very pleased to meet you, sir.” Nathan smiled. Perhaps he’d be able to rescue the whole family?
Brenson saw how very young Nathan really was. “None of your sirs now. Call me Brenson.” He extended his hand as a surreptitious way to do a little nageric leeching.
Khanna hopped off the wagon. “Don’t mind Father,” she said, giving him a hug. “He’s never resigned himself to the dignity of his office.”
Brenson gave as good as he got, and figured he’d get to shake the young Donor’s hand another time.
Nathan stared at the man’s exposed forearms as he seized the girl, and recoiled in horror. “God save me! I’ve fallen into a nest of demons!”
* * * *
Brenson grabbed control of the fields, though of course he couldn’t do much for his daughter. “Now Sosu, that’s not funny. Of course my daughter and I can handle it, but you don’t know who else might be around. You’re radiating real — Hey, what’s going on here?” He turned to his daughter. “Khanna, I don’t think this Gen is who you think he is. Not at all.”
Khanna was a little slower on the uptake than her father, but her training finally kicked in and she took control with her own First Order nager. Brenson smoothly relinquished to her, a move they’d practiced quite a bit.
* * * *
Nathan realized, through his panic, that he couldn’t hope to free the reins from the Sime’s grip. He leapt from the wagon and started to run. Forget about rescuing the girl, he just wanted to get away.
“What the shen?” gasped Khanna
“Oh dear, he’s panicked,” said Brenson. “He’s straight from Genland, kiddo, a natural Donor. Not Tecton at all.”
“I’d better get him before he trips and hurts himself.”
Khanna augmented after Nathan through the dark. She hunted the Gen down, grabbing him in her arms and tentacles from behind in order to restrain him without hurting him. “Hey, calm down!” she said. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”
Nathan struggled briefly, then tried to calm himself. He’d never escape this way. He tried to remember what he’d learned in the week’s training camp the church had sent him to. If he could just reach from this angle, he knew there was a pressure point near a Sime’s shoulder that would render them immobile. He also reminded himself that he came here ready to battle Simes if necessary. God would not desert him in his faith.
Nathan slowly forced himself to calm. “God of my fathers, protect and strengthen me. Let not the Evil Ones defeat me. My faith is strong; be Thou my refuge.”
Khanna spoke softly, slowly, as if to calm. “Nathan, what is the matter with you? There’s no danger here.”
Nathan spoke bitterly. “You wouldn’t think so. Your own father is a demon.” To himself he muttered, “I should have known it wouldn’t be this easy.”
Brenson had, by this time, passed the reins to someone else, and walked up to his daughter and the Wild Gen.
“My father’s a channel,” Khanna was saying. “So am I. And what isn’t easy?” Her manner radiated hurt and confusion; she’d started to really like Nathan on their drive to Zyax.
Brenson said, “He zlins to me like someone trying to accomplish something. Besides getting away from being held by a Sime, of course.” He might not have his daughter’s field strength, but he’d had a lot more practice at reading people’s intentions, Gen or Sime.
Nathan bowed his head, defeated. Not only was her father a demon; the very girl he’d thought he was here to rescue was one as well. He had clearly misunderstood God’s guidance. “I thought I was here to save you from the demons. But you’re one of them.” Nathan still felt the pull to her, but now he understood that it was the work of the demon herself, and not any message from God. Had his error doomed him? “Lord God,” he prayed, “forgive me. I have tried to serve you the best I knew how; please don’t desert me now.”
“Nathan, I don’t understand your religion, but it’s quite possible you can fill a purpose here.” Khanna had developed a bad case of the drools over this particular Gen, and wished that he really was the Companion she desperately Needed.
Brenson boggled at what he zlinned. “Not a chance, girl. He is totally untrained. He could Kill you.”
“Ignorance can be cured,” she pointed out. “Lack of talent can’t.”
Brenson turned to Nathan. “Now, young fella. Are you going to run away if my daughter lets you go? Remember that Simes can tell if you are lying, so don’t.”
Nathan looked up, filled with fresh purpose. Yes, maybe that was why God pulled him to her. He was destined to kill her. For that, he had to stay. “I won’t run.”
Brenson zlinned truth. “Okay, let him go. He’s exhausted anyway, and there’s nowhere to run to around here. Let’s start over.”
“Good,” said Khanna. To Nathan she added, “Because if you’d gotten beyond the potato field, you’d have been in the rocks.” She released him. “Now, you’re tired, we’ve both missed dinner, and the mosquitoes are out in force,” said Khanna. “Why don’t we go inside and discuss this like civilized people?”
Nathan stood, staring down the two channels, then nodded. Since they didn’t seem inclined to Kill him immediately, he might as well let them feed and strengthen him.
Brenson said, “Just a minute, girl.”
Khanna slapped a mosquito.
“Nathan,” said Brenson formally, “I welcome you to Householding Zyax, and extend you the hospitality of the Householding. That means food, water, a place to sleep, provisions for your journey, defense against your enemies, and several other things you don’t stand in need of just at present.” After a pause he added, “Shake?” He offered the hand he’d tried to offer before.
Khanna let her father zlin her happiness at the offer of hospitality.
Nathan took a half step backwards, then reconsidered. If he was to fulfill his mission, or even survive, he’d have to roll with events for the moment. Reluctantly he shook the proffered hand. It didn’t mean he’d given his parole, just that he would let them feed and shelter him for now.
“Okay then,” said Brenson, “Let’s eat. Should be easy enough with him around, eh, Khanna?”
“The mosquitoes seem to think so.” Khanna reached out with her hand and squashed one on Nathan’s shoulder.
Nathan stepped back, startled. The demon moved so fast.
“There. It was biting you,” Khanna said.
“Losing a few drops of blood isn’t hurting him. No reason to be so overprotective, even if he is your only match for hundreds of miles in any direction.” Brenson laughed again.
Nathan shrugged. Mosquitoes weren’t the danger here. The demons were.
“Oh, come on, Father. Do you want to feel him itching as well as you?” Khanna led the way. “Besides, I’m dying for some tea. It was thirsty work, waiting for the train. Which didn’t bring the centrifuge, by the way.” She sighed. “So I’ve got to go chase after it again tomorrow.”
Nathan listened to this exchange. They were speaking in English, not the demon tongue, perhaps to reassure him. But he wasn’t reassured. And he had no idea what a ‘centrifuge’ was anyway.
Khanna opened the door to the main building, and held it for her father and their ‘guest.’ “Welcome to our home, Nathan.”
Brenson smiled at Nathan. “Not much, but it’s ours.”
Nathan hesitated in the doorway. By the thickness and solidity of the walls, this place felt more like a fortress, or a prison, than a home.
Brenson clarified, “That’s a joke, son. Simes feel better when they can live behind stone walls.”
“It cuts down on the random noise of other people’s feelings,” added Khanna.
Nathan remembered, belatedly, that everything he thought and felt could be read by the demons. He tried to swallow down his fear of this place and stepped inside.
“Attaboy,” said Brenson. “Courage. Later, you’ll need fearlessness, but courage will do for now.”
Nathan looked around. Inside, there were a few homelike touches: cheery curtains, braided rugs, a jar of cut flowers on a small table. It looked almost like a residence for real people, lit by the bright candlelight.
“I’ve been in much grander places,” said Khanna, “but none of them are home.” She paused. “The evening meal is over, but I’m sure there is something I can scrounge for you.”
“Sure there is,” Brenson supplied. “No meat here, though, kiddo. But you’ll get along. Our Gens do fine.”
Nathan’s stomach growled loudly at the thought of food, with or without meat.
Khanna smiled and slipped off to fetch dinner for them both.
“The dining room’s that way, but I think we’ll just sit over here.” Brenson pointed toward a room with comfortable chairs and little tables. “All right with you?”
Nathan nodded.
Brenson led the way, and politely pulled back a chair for the guest, even though he was more than twice Nathan’s age.
Nathan shrugged off his backpack and set it down beside his chair, then sat. “Your daughter said you came here as refugees, after the war.” He figured he might as well learn everything he could about this place and its demons.
“Yeah. Y’know, the Unity Wars started when there got to be more Simes than Gens up in Norwest Territory. You know Simes used to Kill one Gen every month. What do you think happened then?”
“The de—, er, Simes starved?”
“No. They Killed all the Gens, and then set out to raid their neighbors. That would be us.” Brenson waved his arm about. “Imagine a mob the size of a whole Territory. That’s what came down on the towns and Householdings near the border. They were wiped out, all but a few survivors. When the Householdings further from the border took control of Nivet Territory, they gave us this land, what we could use of it. We formed new Householdings thirty years ago, and here we are. Our motto is ‘Forgive, but never forget.’”
Nathan nodded and gestured for Brenson to continue.
“Eventually I suppose Simes and Gens will immigrate here, and we’ll have neighbors again. For now, it’s just the sixty-seven of us. Sixty-eight, if you decide to join us.”
“Why would I wish to join you?”
“I know you’ve felt the call to serve my daughter.” Brenson spoke firmly, but not intimidatingly.
Nathan squared his shoulders indignantly. “I serve none but God!”
“Of course. But there are ways and ways of serving him.”
“I came here to rescue humans, not to consort with their oppressors.”
Brenson chuckled. “Rescue us from what?”
“Not you. You are beyond God’s salvation. The Gens, the humans.”
Brenson sighed and looked at Nathan as if he were just being a young idiot. “Okay, rescue our Gens from what? Their parents, children, brothers and sisters, best friends?”
“Those who use them, who drink of their souls and enslave their bodies. You, and all others with tentacles.”
“Nobody’s body is enslaved here,” argued Brenson patiently. “Everyone does exactly as they please, except on the rare occasions on which I find it necessary to give an order, in which case it gets obeyed. You, for example, are staying here of your own free will.”
“Only because it became clear I could not escape,” replied Nathan.
“That’s true enough. But you got on that train freely, and followed my daughter here freely. Granted, you weren’t well-informed at the time. But as she said, ignorance can be corrected.”
Khanna returned with a bowl of soup for her, a larger bowl with a hearty stew and bread for Nathan, and tea all around.
“But now I know what I have fallen among,” said Nathan bitterly.
“Yes. The bringers of soup, stew, bread, and tea,” quipped Brenson.
“And Quarta’s cooking,” added Khanna, “which I assure you is well worth the trip.”
Nathan reached hungrily for his tray. “Lord, I thank you for this food; given by Your grace for the nourishment of my body. Amen.” He took two eager bites. Then he remembered his teachers’ lesson: that food given by demons would likely be filled with the drugs that numb the will and dull the mind. He pushed the bowl away, and thrust the spoon down his throat, hoping to induce vomiting.
Nathan spewed stew all over the table.
“What the…?” Khanna stared at her father in distress. “An allergic reaction?”
“Nope, he’s afraid of the food.” Brenson clamped down on his own throat as the First Order nausea washed right past his showfield like it wasn’t there.
* * * *
Khanna looked at her father in astonishment, then blocked Nathan’s projection. “What’s wrong with the food?” She was far too young to have ever seen a Pen Gen.
“Nothing, I’m sure,” said Brenson. “I think he must think we’re going to poison him, though whatever for, I can’t imagine.”
* * * *
“Drugs,” muttered Nathan. “Demon drugs, from the Pens.”
Khanna said, “This hasn’t been a Pen for thirty years, Nathan.”
Nathan flinched. “This? This building?” Nathan understood now why the building was so sturdy, the walls so thick. In a blind panic he rose to flee.
“Sure. Stone insulation, remember?” said Brenson. “And it’s defensible, in case there are ever any more raids. We’ve learned our lesson there.”
“Hey!” shouted Khanna.
Brenson winced. “Oh, not again. Grab him.”
Khanna jumped to her feet and sprinted to circle Nathan, placing herself between him and the door. “Stop that. You’re going to hurt someone if you continue bolting like that, and it might not be you.”
Nathan wanted to hurt someone. He wanted to hurt every damned demon in this place. “Stand aside,” he warned, “or pay the price!”
“The people here are my family and friends, Nathan,” said Khanna. “They haven’t done anything to deserve being attacked by you. Not all of them are Simes, either.”
“Well done, Khanna,” Brenson said. “Zlins like he thinks he can hurt you, though I don’t see how or why. Anyway, as long as you hold the fields steady…”
Nathan remembered his lessons, the pressure point near the shoulders. He knew how to disable a Sime. He felt the fear and righteous anger drain out of him. The new calm left him clear-headed to act. “I have no quarrel with the humans. But you demons must die!” Nathan braced himself. The worst part was that to reach the shoulders, he must step within arms’ reach of the demon. He lunged forward, ready to do God’s will or die trying.
“In due course we shall,” said Brenson calmly. “But not today.” With lightning demon speed, he grabbed Nathan and pulled him back.
Khanna took a step back, keeping her vulnerable shoulders out of reach. Nathan’s hands closed over thin air.
“Oh, stop it with the “demon” thing,” she huffed. “I’m no more a demon than you are. And if you bothered to ask them, you’d find that our Gen members would consider your desire to murder us as having a very large quarrel with them.”
