Homage and Honour by Candy Rae Read Free Book Online Page A

head
thing.”
    “Speak aloud
for a while then,” Kolyei offered, “it does take effort, even when
we are next to each other. I will, however, still know what you are
thinking. Does that bother you?”
    “You mean
nothing is secret between us now?”
    “That is
correct, but you will learn how to shield your most private
thoughts if that is your wish. Some vadeln do, others feel that
there is no need, but that is for the future when you are
older.”
    Hannah looked
relieved and Kolyei nodded with understanding, it is different for
us Lind. What you humans call telepathy is built into us. Not so
most humans.”
    “It is you that
makes us able to, isn’t it?”
    “Yes, we Lind
can sense thoughts of some humans. Not many.”
    Hannah sat up.
She heard people talking outside the barn.
    “What is
that?”
    “Your family
are waiting to say goodbye to you. They have ‘things’ gathered for
you to take with you.”
    The way Kolyei
spoke the word ‘things’ told Hannah that Kolyei found the human
necessity to carry along possessions just a little strange. The
Lind had different needs and that didn’t include clothes and
keepsakes.
    The great
Kolyei of legend had owned some possessions. He had left quite a
library of books behind, owned jointly by him and his partner Tara.
This was not however a usual thing, on the whole the Lind thought
of personal possessions as being superfluous to the enjoyment of
life. They had a vigorous and ancient tradition of oral history and
literature instead, shared now with the humans with whom they
lived.
    The goodbyes
were subdued. Laughing through her tears, Hannah hugged her
parents, then her brother and his wife.
    “Remember to
write,” ordered her mother. “Use the Express, it doesn’t cost
much.”
    “I promise.
Lucy?”
    “She’ll come
round in time, don’t fret. By the time you return for your first
leave period she’ll be glad to see you I’m sure.”
    “I hope so.
Tell her that I love her will you? I’m positive she’ll find her
Lind some day soon.”
    Hannah did not
see the look that passed between Kolyei and her father. Gunter’s
glance asked the question he could not utter and Kolyei answered
the same way. Kolyei doubted very much that anylind would find Lucy
suitable. All the Lind could sense something from most humans, even
a little. With Lucy he had sensed exactly nothing, her emotive
broadcasting a blank.
    Gunter did not
relish the next few tendays with the distraught Lucy.
    “Good luck,” he
said as Hannah scrambled on to her Kolyei’s back.
    Then they were
off, Robain and Balindifya running by their side.

     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Lokrhed (Third Month of Summer) –
AL156
     
    Convergence
(4)
     
    It was the
start of the Vada training year.
    Jessica
Crawford approached the Vada Stronghold that evening with
trepidation mixed with excitement. This excitement communicated
itself to Mlei whose tail bounced high, swishing right and left
with every step he took. His paws impacted with the dusty roadway
and little puffs of dust marked their passage.
    Her Great-uncle
James and his Lind Siya would be waiting for her.
    It was not,
Jessica was thinking, as if her and Mlei’s vadeln-pairing was an
unexpected one. Like others of her family, Jessica had known she
was destined for the Vada from a young age.
    In the
mountains lived the wral and the gtran who preyed on the farmers
and townsfolk who inhabited the highlands. They were becoming more
troublesome of late, the recent winters had been colder than usual
and these beasts had been forced down in search of food. Kura,
zarova, jezdic or human, it did not matter to them. Her uncle had
told her many an exciting tale about his encounters with them when
he and his Lind Siya had been younger and members of one of the
active Ryzcks.
    These beasts
were not the only threat. In the Great Eastern Sea prowled the real
scourge of recent years. The pirate galleys ranged throughout the
islands and were not averse to attacking the