Survivor (7 page)

"They're quartered with ours in one of the storehouses for the time being. Although… Natahk acted as though they might be here for quite a while."

"So the Garkohn and I agree on something," said Alanna. Then she realized that she had spoken in Tehkohn, her first such lapse since arriving home. Neither Jules nor Neila looked anything more than curious, so she explained in English. "I think Natahk is worried about your welfare. Whatever he plans to do with you, you won't be of any use to him dead. By now, Tehkohn who are not captives know that important members of their tribe are held here. They won't attack for fear of causing those members to be killed."

"You think they know already?"

"Jules, we didn't come down from those mountains alone."

Jules looked surprised and his surprise startled Alanna. Even if he had not seen the raiding party's Tehkohn shadows, it would seem reasonable for him to suspect that they were there. But then, he did not know the true value of the prisoners Natahk had left with him.

"You think the Tehkohn might have attacked us if Natahk hadn't left his prisoners here?" he asked.

"They would have. At night, probably, not like before. This time, I don't think there would have been enough of us left to make a colony."

"In spite of our wall, our guns, you think they could have…"

"I know they could have. Natahk knew it too. We're naked here, Jules. The Tehkohn know about our guns now. Most people wouldn't get a chance to fire a shot."

"You're forgetting that we know quite a bit about the Tehkohn now too. We just helped win a substantial victory over them."

Alanna lowered her head for a moment, carefully not thinking about that victory. "Did you ever think there might be a way for us to use the Tehkohn? A way that didn't involve fighting them."

Jules frowned. "What way?"

"They could help you against Natahk."

Jules sat up straight. "And do you think I'd want their help? Do you think I'd trust them? My God, as bad as the Garkohn are, at least they've never murdered any of my people."

Alanna spoke softly. "I'm not sure the Tehkohn would have killed any of us either if Natahk's hunters hadn't been using our settlement as a base for their raids on the Tehkohn."

"And on the other hand, the settlement might have been totally destroyed if the Garkohn hadn't been here during that first raid." Jules's voice was bitter. That first raid had taught him just how easily naked unarmed natives slaughtered armed Missionaries.

"But… whatever might have happened, you're even with the Tehkohn now. They've beaten you. You've beaten them. Now you can use them. Let them keep the Garkohn busy and away from you. They've been fighting Garkohn for generations anyway. Now you have a chance to urge them back to it. Then you'll have the freedom to run or join in or do whatever you think is best."

"Manipulate them, you mean? Trick them into ignoring us while they fight each other?"

"Not quite. But the effect would be the same."

"What do you mean, 'not quite'?"

"Working alone, I don't think we can trick the Tehkohn or the Garkohn. We're at war with the Tehkohn and that means most of the prisoners we hold won't believe anything we say. There's no lie we could tell them, no trick we could use that wouldn't be either ignored or even used against us. We're enemies and they would rather kill themselves than co-operate with us in any useful way. And as for the Garkohn, we dare not try to manipulate them into more hostility. They'd drag us in with them."

"They'd do that regardless."

"No. Not if we let the Tehkohn think we're on their side. They can help us stay out of it—or out of most of it. After all, it will be better for them if we stay out."

"From what you've said so far, I don't see how we can make the Tehkohn think anything at all."

"We can change their thinking toward us. Because we can do the one thing Natahk can't do. We can make peace with them. Even now, we can make peace."

"With people who won't believe a word we say. With people we certainly don't have any reason to trust. With kidnapers and murderers…"

"But…"

"No, let me finish. What do you think would happen if we did make overtures to the Tehkohn, successful or not, and the Garkohn found out. They would, you know, the way they spy on us. And what do you think they would do then? Surely slavery would be too gentle."

"Will you hear me, Jules?"

"I'd rather listen to you in the morning when you've… when we've both had food and sleep and time to think."

"No, now, please. Because now you have a prisoner you can work through—one of the ones Natahk left. He's a leader of the Tehkohn and I think he'd listen to you if you approached him. He's freer to decide who to trust than the others are, and if he gives you his promise, you can trust him."

"An honorable butcher."

"A fighter, yes. All the ones with authority are fighters. But he could help you against Natahk."

"I don't want his…"

"And he's not going to be here long."

"What?"

"He's the blue one, Jules, the big one. And what he would face at the Garkohn dwelling is a lot worse than just meklah addiction. I don't think he'll wait for it. He'll either escape soon or get killed trying." She took a deep breath. This talk was forcing her to put into words things she had not even wanted to think about. But she went on. "If you talk to him and he's killed, you lose nothing. But if he escapes, he can go back to his people as your emissary. He can not only stop their vengeance, but make them our allies. If you'll just talk to him."

"Alanna, do you know how many of our people have been kidnapped by the Tehkohn since you were taken? Kidnapped and apparently murdered."

Alanna opened her mouth to answer, then realized fully what he had said. "Since I was taken?"

"In the two years since you were…"

"Wait a moment." She frowned. "There haven't been any Tehkohn raids on the Mission colony since I was taken."

Jules stared at her. "Listen, girl, the Tehkohn may have kept what they were doing from you, but…"

"They couldn't keep it from me! Jules, I wasn't locked up somewhere for two years. I was working out among the people. I spoke their language, and I couldn't help knowing what was going on. There were two raids on the Garkohn. I saw the raiders leave, and I saw them come back with Garkohn prisoners—only Garkohn. No Missionaries."

"I saw them take three people," said Neila. "They almost took me too."

"Not the Tehkohn."

"Lanna, you're wrong! I saw…"

"You saw natives abducting people. Who told you they were Tehkohn?"

Neila stared at her, speechless.

"I don't know what's happened here," Alanna continued. "But whatever it was, the Tehkohn weren't part of it. What they did do to us was bad enough, but if we don't put that behind us, and join with them, we're finished. Only they can help us to stop our more treacherous enemies—our Clayark friends."

Jules looked at her silently for a long time—too long. He looked at her until she knew he was wondering about her own loyalty. She met his gaze and hid her sudden fear.

"You saved me once," she said softly. "You didn't have to. People said, 'She's an animal. She'd be better dead.' But you saved me. Let me save you."

"I don't believe what you're saying, Lanna—that our people are being abducted by the Garkohn."

"You will."

"But why would they bother? They already have us trapped here in a meklah cage."

"Maybe to make more trouble between you and the Tehkohn. Maybe to make the stolen people work as slaves—I don't know." And then she did know. The idea came to her so suddenly that she almost spoke it aloud. But she caught herselE in time. This was not a thing for her to say to her foster father. He had already looked at her with suspicion. Let her husband tell him—if she could ever bring the two together, if the Garkohn had not destroyed all hope of an alliance.

They were not taking slaves, the Garkohn, although Jules would see it that way. He had said himself what they were doing, although he did not know it. He had complained that Natahk treated the Missionaries as though they were just another branch of the Garkohn. Well, by now, according to Kohn custom, the Missionaries were exactly that. The abducted Missionaries were in the southern part of the valley at the Garkohn farming town. And like Alanna, they had found out for themselves how human the Kohn people were. She spoke to Jules.

"For the sake of the people we have left here, Jules, talk to the Tehkohn Hao."

"Form an alliance with him?"

"Yes, if he'll co-operate." He would try. Surely he would try.

"And if he won't?"

"Then we have no chance. You know it. We can't fight either tribe alone. We can't even run with both tribes considering us fair game. Not that we'd know where to run anyway—to avoid running into people worse than the Tehkohn or the Garkohn."

Jules sat staring downward at his clenched hands, and Alanna imagined what he must be feeling. The Missionaries looked to him for leadership. They had ever since he had brought them together as a colony. He had always been much aware of his responsibility to them. Now the best he could do for them was choose which of the many dangers he would expose them to. And he had to choose quickly. His prime prisoner might escape even that night.

"Jules, I'm pushing, I know. I have to push. Will you see the Tehkohn Hao?"

He sighed. "Tell me about him, Lanna. Make me understand why you trust him so much."

If only she could, she thought wearily. But no, the half truths had to go on. "I trust his ability to handle his people," she said. "If he decides we're worth helping, we'll get help."

"One Tehkohn," said Jules. "What would it take to make some other Tehkohn challenge him and get rid of him?"

"The same thing it would take to make you overrule the Bible words of Jesus Christ."

"Alanna!" said Neila, shocked.

"The Hao are not overruled except by other Hao. And the only other Tehkohn Hao is old and not active in governing the people any longer. Diut's word will stand."

"His kind are considered gods?"

"No. The Kohn don't pray to him. They don't expect him to perform miracles—exactly. But they obey him as though they thought he was a god. Even the Garkohn are glad to obey him when they can. It's more… more comfortable than disobeying. He's like a symbol that God or fate or something is on your side if you have him."

"A walking good luck charm."

"Maybe. Whatever he is, his power is in the natural reaction of the Kohn people to blue—to that special kind of blue. No Kohn other than the Hao can attain it and all Kohn seem to be in awe of it."

"But if the Garkohn are in awe of him…"

"But he's not their Hao. In things that don't matter much, they'll obey him, honoring his blue. Remember when they were knocking some of their prisoners around just after the raid? He told them to stop and they stopped."

"I saw that. I wondered about it. And they wouldn't let my men paint him."

"It would be sacrilege to mar the blue."

Jules looked at her strangely. "Yes, that's what they said."

"They mean to have that blue for themselves. They intend to keep him—damage his legs so that he can't escape. They might not force the meklah on him, but they would call him Garkohn Hao. A captive Hao doesn't lead unless he renounces his former people and shows that he has joined his captors. But whether that happens or not, his presence gives his captors unity and strength that they'll turn and use—in this case, against the Tehkohn. Diut won't let that happen. And he's a man in need of allies now, Jules. Even if he breaks free, you can be of use to him, and him to you."

Jules was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, "I'll talk to him, girl. I won't promise anything or bow down to his blue, but I'll talk to him."

"Nobody bows. They call him Tehkohn Hao instead of his name and they look at him. No more formality than that."

"What do you mean, they look at him? What's special about that?"

"It's insulting to look away from him when he's talking. What he's saying with his coloring can be as important as what he's saying with his mouth. Even if you don't understand, it's best to look at him." This was a small thing. Diut did not demand it of his close friends or his family. He would not have demanded it of Jules. But he would notice if Jules seemed to be refusing to look at all—as Jules surely would without this warning. The Hao appearance took some getting used to, especially at close quarters, and for the sake of the colony, Jules had to get used to it quickly. If he did not, Diut would sit and talk to him and listen and learn whatever he could about the Missionaries. He would behave with respect as Kohn custom demanded that he behave toward the father of his wife, but he would promise Jules nothing. Eventually, he would make his escape and abandon the Missionaries to their fate.

Alanna

My first memories as I came out of withdrawal were of pain, cold, hunger, and thirst. Someone gave me water—not enough. Someone lifted me and carried me to a place that was warm.

Someone tore my filthy ragged clothing from my body and washed me. I felt as though I was again under the care of the Verricks and the Mission doctor—as though I was reliving my first hours with the Missionaries. I kept listening for Jules's voice or the voice of Dr. Bartholomew. But the voices I heard were strange to me. They spoke in a language I could not quite understand. Then I remembered that I had been captured, that the speakers must be Tehkohn. I couldn't see. My eyes were swollen shut. I was able to take a little more water though, and something that must have been a kind of soup. Finally, I fell asleep under the care of my captors.

When I had slept for a time—I had no idea how long—I was awakened by people talking near me. I tried to open my eyes, found that I could, a little. The swelling was going down. Through the blurred screen of my own eyelashes, I could see two Tehkohn. Cold dim light came from patches of luminescence scattered on the wall behind them and the Tehkohn themselves radiated some light—glowed softly. One was blue-green and about my size, and the other was blue. Deep blue all over and huge—larger than any native I had ever seen, and perhaps larger than any of the Missionaries. He had the powerful stocky build of a hunter, but no hunter could have been as tall. And there was something different about the way the native looked. I couldn't see him clearly enough to know just what, but something besides his size was bothering me, frightening me. I moved a little, trying to see him better. My movement attracted his attention and he came over to me.