Flashes
Could she discover the
truth within herself before the Yannoneth Hunter found her? Tanya
Was she a new enemy, or a long awaited ally? Or something else entirely? A Bottle of Wine - He lovingly held the bottle as the tears
started. He longed to walk the Highlands again. the Bombardment began. Father and Son -
What will a father do to protect his son from madness?
In spite of the warm sunshine filtering
through the leaves on the tree outside the window, I felt a sudden chill.
Tanya was Yannoneth. She had to be. There was no other explanation for
Misqmal's absence.
I tried not to let my body tense up. Even more, I used all of the
techniques that I had learned over the last few months to keep my
heightened mental state from betraying me. No extension of my senses to
see what was happening in the kitchen. No increase in my personal shield
even with the itch that had started between my shoulder blades. In fact,
no draw on the g'ru'tnok in any way. If I was lucky, she might not have
realized that I was on to her.
I felt around cautiously in the usual places in my head where Misqmal
liked to putter when nothing interesting was happening. "Sprucing up the
place" he called it. Nothing.
I could feel Sarsoneth, but it was as if he was a long way off, a tiny
figure in the distance. A hard feat to accomplish in the cramped quarters
of my noggin. I didn't try to bring him closer. I doubted that I could do
that without making obvious use of g'ru'tnok and alerting Tanya. Besides,
I didn't know why he seemed so far away in the first place.
How had I let myself be trapped so easily? Sure, Tanya was attractive,
but I wasn't exactly the kind to be so smitten by appearances that I threw
caution to the winds. There hadn't been a single sign from her. No aura,
no smallest eddy in the g'ru'tnok. And neither Misqmal nor Sarsoneth had
expressed any concern. What had I missed?
"Hey there, sleepyhead. I thought you had more stamina than that. I
don't know whether to be flattered or insulted." As she giggled and sat
down on the side of the bed I rolled over, in what I hoped was a
well-satisfied-lover kind of way, and smiled at her.
"Definitely flattered," I said sleepily. Still from that far distance I
could sense Sarsoneth taking the opportunity to examine our unexpected
adversary through my eyes. No hint of a suggestion as to what to do
though. So I decided to play along.
I accepted one of the coffee mugs that she had brought in with her,
tasted it. A touch of thick cream, no sugar. Just the way I liked it. I
looked the question at her. She didn't bite. "I hope its okay. I just had
a feeling you might like it that way. I can get you another if you
prefer."
"No, it's perfect." Which was the truth. But why was it perfect? Was
she taunting me? Daring me to call her out? If she was that confident, I
was in trouble. I might be able to draw on the energy of an entire planet,
but the important part was knowing what to do with it once you had it. I
was still working on that part. If she had been doing this for as long as
I suspected she had, and with my two mentors out of action, I was sunk.
She balanced her mug on one knee with one hand and reached out to touch
my face tenderly with the other. An affectionate gesture? Or a sign of
pity for a condemned man? I sat up beside her and took another sip of
coffee.
"You know," she said, "I had the strangest feeling last night. It felt
like someone was watching us. Isn't that strange? Did you feel it?"
Feel it? Honey, I live it. Or at least I did. Out loud I just said,
"No, to be honest my mind was totally occupied elsewhere. The entire St.
Ignatius choir could have been in the room and I don't think I'd have
noticed." Which was true. Whatever else she might be, Tanya was a great
lover. But then, if I was right, she'd had plenty of time to practice.
She laughed out loud. "Why thank you Rick. That's sweet." Then she
became very pensive and her voice went low. "Okay, I'm sure it was my
imagination. Happens sometimes. Anyway, it went away when I told it to. It
always does."
Whoa! Always does? I could feel Sarsoneth trying to get my attention.
Like a kid tugging at your pants leg. But he was still far away, and I
wasn't particularly listening at the moment. "I'm not sure I follow,
Tanya. Do you get the feeling you're being watched a lot?"
She was looking sheepish and not entirely comfortable with the
conversation. "Not a lot. Sometimes. Let's just drop it okay? You're going
to think I'm crazy. I made French toast. My own recipe. Come on. If you
thought that coffee was good, wait until you taste this." And with that,
she grabbed my hand, dragged me off of the bed, and headed for the
kitchen.
I did let it drop; but all during breakfast, which was, as advertised,
absolutely amazing, I was reevaluating my earlier hypothesis. She could
still be Yannoneth, and just playing me like an angler plays a doomed
trout. Or, Sarsoneth's distance and Misqmal's absence might have nothing
at all to do with Tanya. Or ...
It was that third "or" that had my undivided attention.
While we cleared away dishes, I decided to take a chance. "Tanya, mind
if I ask you something?"
"Depends."
There it was again. A response totally at odds with what I had come to
expect from a Yannoneth. They were never hesitant, no matter whether it
was an Ethical or a Disaffected. Tanya was tentative, almost defensive. I
could tell she knew what I wanted to ask her about. Far from preparing to
spring some trap, she acted as if she was the one with her foot in a
snare.
"You asked me if I felt like we were being watched last night. I did."
I watched something come into her eyes. Hope? If so, it was masked with
wariness.
"Yeah. It was more than a feeling. I know it for a fact. But I don't
have that feeling now. Do you know why?"
She was definitely defensive, trying to deflect the question. "It was
just a feeling Rick. A silly feeling. I think you're just trying to humor
me. Can we change the subject?"
Change the subject? Hell no. I decided to plunge in. "I know we were
being watched Tanya. I know because the watcher was in my head. His name
is Misqmal. He's a sort of mentor, or companion. When he's not being a
Peeping Tom that is. But he doesn't seem to be in my head this morning
Tanya. And you know why, don't you?"
She acted as if I'd struck her. "I don't believe you!" She shouted it.
And then, when she could see that I was serious, "I didn't do it! I
didn't! He was just bothering me, distracting me. I didn't want anyone
watching. Nobody should have been watching! So I told him to go away. And
he did. I didn't do anything wrong!" This last was almost a plea. She sank
to the floor in front of the sink sobbing.
I sat down beside her. "We have to bring him back."
.