Revenge of the Catspaw Page 2

  “Coryn Leigh is one of the best, in my opinion, in spite of his youth,” said Marlyss. “And he surrounds himself with good people, I have noticed. Good, talented people.”

  “Which means, I suspect, that he will be targeted by our opponents, and taken out of action, if that's possible,” said the Guru. “I have done some surreptitious study of the Terran methods of battling one another. The Neotsarian Terrans are very keen to take advantage of the looser rules which prevail among the people of the Confederation, even while they decry such laxity. There are also those people among the Confederation residents who are sympathetic to The Organization ways of doing things, deeming them more efficient than the laissez-faire of their own groups.”

  “So I have been advised. I'm afraid that we who are in charge of running this world, for a long time took very little notice of the Terrans, other than to allow them to have their Space Port in Trahea. We thought them quite uncivilized; child-like, much like our own head-blind people. I realize now that we Witches underestimated many of them, and at the same time were too condescending to our own people.”

  Marlyss sighed.

  “I have had to change many of my attitudes since my first encounter with Coryn, and with Sarah and her amazing talent. Indeed, she has me very curious about the results of mixing Terran and Kordean DNA, especially where amarto-sensitivity is concerned.”

  The Guru smiled at her.

  “Which is why you have sanctioned Witch Dian's liaison with the brilliant Jaime Morrow,” he said. “Pity that you and I are too old to have children. It would be interesting to know what the results of that might be.”

  Marlyss grinned.

  “Perhaps some younger people will perform that experiment, at a later date,” she said. “It is, indeed a pleasure to enjoy a sexual relationship with a man with whom I can have mental rapport. Among Kordeans, that is not possible, of course, since with us the amarto-sensitivity, and the accompanying ESP is strictly a female phenomenon.”

  “Thinking of such connections, you are aware that I encouraged Coryn and Sarah to marry, soon,” the Guru then said.

  “Yes. I have wanted to ask about that. Your reasons are...?”

  “The bit of probing I have been able to do into the Neotsarian minds—it was done on Altec III, of course—suggests that some of them not only covet Sarah as an amarto-powering engine for their machines, but they have a strong hatred of Coryn for ruining their plans. They know that he is the organizing mind behind the efforts. How it is possible for head-blind people to know that for a certainty, I'm not sure, but they are sure about it.”

  “Hm. Coryn and Jillian Ashton, his Second-in-Command, both have mentioned that spying is going on, on both sides. If I remember correctly, Jillian said that the Confederation spies are more effective, since there is more discontent to tap within the Neotsarian social system, but that does not mean that The Organization is not capable of making use of the discontented, and the fools, within the Confederation.”

  “Well, then, possibly the Neotsarians have a well-placed mole or a few within the Agency itself,” the Guru mused. “Someone who is feeding them good information.”

  “Coryn would say to that: 'But, of course. We expect them to be trying to dig information out of the Agency.' That's why he tries to be very careful as to who he trusts. He has mentioned that he's not totally comfortable even with the present Head of the Agency, even though the man was the one who gave him the responsibility for what they call 'the amarto-angle'.”

  “Well, it occurred to me that perhaps Coryn and Sarah could create between them a bond similar to those that my people form when they commit to exclusive physical relationships,” said the Guru. “That way they could have at least some awareness of one another at all times, and perhaps help each other, and pass the word on, if one of them does get into trouble. I don't expect that the bond would be quite as definite as the ones that my people can create, but with Sarah's strong amarto-sensitivity, and Coryn's empathic abilities, I think that they would, quite naturally, forge a useful link.”

  “Their feelings about one another are very strong,” Marlyss agreed. “Which is rather unusual in a twosome still so young. Strong pair-bonding most often requires time to really take root.”

  “I suppose that neither you Kordeans, nor the Terrans have rituals that operate to entrench the power of marriage bonds,” said the Guru. “I know that there are marriage rites, and such are useful in themselves, but it seems to me that the Terran ones are more concerned with proclaiming the bond to the society at large, than with creating a psychic union. Is that true of the Kordean wedding customs, too?”

  “Mainly,” Marlyss agreed. “But....”

  She stopped to think.

  “I'm not sure that this would apply in this case—but, you tell me. There's an old marriage custom, rarely used nowadays; it fell out of favour because it was used by the landed rich to cement their property holdings, often to the detriment of the members of the young couple whose lives were inextricably tied together whether they wanted that or not.”

  She leaned back on her pillow and winced.

  “It requires the active consent of the Eldest of the Twelve, and as I recall from my lessons of youth, the candidates for the position are told to think long and hard before giving that consent. It is referred to as The Marriage Blessing by the Eldest of the Twelve, and what it amounts to is that the Eldest of the Twelve performs the ceremony in person—it is perfectly legal, every one of the Circle Eldests have the authority to perform marriages, only the Eldest of the Twelve almost never does so, any more. The reason for that is that the Blessing of the Eldest of the Twelve is said to create an unbreakable marriage bond, and there is a Curse which accompanies the Blessing, although it is rarely spoken of these days.”

  “A Curse?” the Guru sounded bemused.

  “A Curse.” Marlyss nodded her head vigorously. “Not on the couple, of course. On anyone who tries to tear their union apart. Any person who does so is destined to find himself or herself retaliated upon by being torn apart physically by wild animals. In other words, such a person will draw onto himself, or herself, a death sentence.”

  The Guru Johannes stared at her.

  “Does the Curse work?” he then asked.

  “I have been told that it does,” Marlyss said in a quiet voice. “I have not tested it personally. I have never performed a marriage ceremony—I have been asked to, a few times, but I always have refused, sending the couple to Clarisse, the Eldest of the Six, who is just as capable of performing the rite as I am, and is not burdened by old curses.”

  “But in this case,” muttered the Guru, “the Curse may be just the thing we want.

  “But before we make any decisions, let's go and finish that bottle of wine. We might even broach the subject with the Greencat. She can be a very astute adviser on tricky topics.”

  **

  The Greencat must have agreed with the Guru about the usefulness of the Curse, because, some days later, a group of people gathered in the tower room of the Ferhil Stones Stronghold. That group, this Lina-lit night, was mostly made up of green-robed Circle Witches. The members of the Circle of the Twelve were all there, in what was ordinarily their work space. Besides the twelve greenhoods, three men were present, and the Greencat, plus one not-quite-fully-trained Witch, dressed in a cream-coloured robe; she was the three-quarters Terran, very talented Stone-sensitive, Sarah Mackenzie. She was a small, pale-faced, dark-haired, young woman. One of the men, a fair-haired, good-looking specimen, had draped an arm around her shoulders.

  “So, we're all present and accounted for?”

  Marlyss, the Eldest of the Twelve was a tall, regal-looking woman in the green gown of a Circle Witch. who spoke as she stood in front of the others, flanked by the black-skinned, white-haired Guru Johannes, and the beautiful, green-furred, large cat-animal. The three faced the rest of those present.

  “The Circle members are all here to act as witnesses, should a number of witne
sses, be required,” said a young, attractive Witch, glancing about her. “Jaime and I will be the official witnesses, the two whose names will go into the Terran Records.”

  She smiled at the tall, thin, intellectual-looking man who stood beside her; he returned the smile, and reached over to give her hand a pat.

  “I'll take care of making the Terran Record,” he said, displaying the small electronic instrument he was carrying. “Video and sound will be entered into the Terran Public Records. It should satisfy anyone who insists on proof of the legality of the ceremony, but I expect that it'll attract no attention from the idly curious, considering how much information gets uploaded into that system, everyday.”

  “All right, then. We will get on with it,” Marlyss said. “Sarah, Coryn, come and stand before me. You have memorized your vows?”

  “Yes, Eldest Marlyss,” Sarah said in a steady, if quiet, voice.

  Coryn's answer was louder. He loosened his hold on Sarah's shoulders as he spoke, instead contenting himself with grasping her hand.

  The Eldest of the Kordean Witch Circle of the Twelve, the largest of the Seven Sacred Circles, drew a small, ancient-looking book from one of the pockets of her green robe, and opened it to a previously marked spot. There was a slip of paper between the pages, and she consulted it, as well as the book as she spoke.

  “We have gathered here, at Ferhil Stones, the Stronghold of the Twelve, to witness the marriage of these two people, Sarah Mackenzie, born and brought up on the planet Earth, and Coryn Leigh, born and brought up on the Terran Space Station MES, according to the wedding rites of Kordea. I, Witch Marlyss, the Eldest of the Circle of the Twelve am officiating at this ceremony. It is being witnessed by the other women of my Circle, the visiting Guru Johannes, his sentient friend, The Greencat, and the Terran consort to Circle Witch Dian, Jaime Morrow, who is also the Scientist in charge of the Institute of Kordean Studies.”

  She continued by reading from her book the words of the Kordean marriage rite which exhorted the two in front of her to love and respect one another, to share between them all worldly possessions, to open to one another their thoughts and feelings, and to tend to each other all the rest of their lives. Those words spoken, and she spoke them emphatically, she gestured for the two to face one another, offering to her their hands. When they did so, she placed each of Sarah's into those of Coryn, and intoned the wedding blessing which, Dian had told Jaime, was so old that no person could think of a historical time when it had not been in use. Then she asked Sarah to speak her vows of true love to Coryn, and after she had done so, softly, she asked Coryn to speak his vows to Sarah, which he did, in tones much stronger than Sarah's had been.

  “I now pronounce you married, according to the customs of this world, Kordea,” Marlyss finished. “Let no man or woman dare to try to tear your union apart. It has my blessing, the Blessing of the Eldest of the Circle of the Twelve. There is no stronger predictor of a lasting marriage on Kordea than the Blessing of The Eldest of the Twelve, and, I suspect, neither is there anything like it elsewhere in the known Galaxy.”

  The green-clad women burst into a minor orgy of hand-clapping and laughter, as Marlyss indicated to Coryn that he could now gather his brand new wife into his arms, and he did so, hugging her tightly to himself.

  He noted that she had a slightly uneasy expression on her face as she turned to bury it against his chest.

  “Cold feet, love?” he murmured for her ears, alone.

  “No,” she said, in just as low a tone. “It's just...it really is a strong tie that this ceremony forges. I can sense its psychic power, even though my Stone is barely in contact with my flesh. The fact that the Guru Johannes advised us to create a tie this strong between us, scares me a little—what, or who, is going to try to break us apart?”

  “You are my true love, Sarah; to me it makes no difference what sort of a ceremony unites us, or if any does. I intend to be faithful to you to the end, and I fervently hope that we'll get to share a long life together.”

  “I believe that there has been arranged a celebration for the newlyweds, in the common dining room,” Marlyss announced. “We get to celebrate marriages so rarely here at Ferhil Stones that I'm afraid that everyone available got into the act of planning the feast. The idea is to keep this marriage quiet for now, yes, but it's hard to deny the inhabitants of this Stronghold the opportunity to party, when there is a beautiful reason to do so. Everyone involved is sworn to secrecy, and I'm guaranteeing that the oaths are kept—as most of you are aware, I'm quite capable of doing so.

  “So, let us move downstairs.”

  “I'll detour by the Communications Console to upload the Record I made,” Jaime said. “Will you Dian, and you, Eldest Marlyss, come with me to put your DNA stamps on the Record? It should not take more than a moment, but, like I explained earlier, the Terran bureaucracy wants the identity of the Officiator at the Ceremony, and the two designated witnesses to be beyond doubt, in case any question of legality comes up.”

  “Of course, Jaime,” agreed Marlyss. “The whole point of this exercise is to make this marriage not only unbreakable, but also verifiable, should the circumstances warrant that.”

  She ran her hand over Sarah's shoulder, and along Coryn's arm as she swept by the couple to accompany Jaime and Dian down the stairs. The newly-married pair followed more slowly, accompanied by the Guru, the Greencat, and ten more green-clad Witches.

  **

  “All right, Guru Johannes, we have done as you advised us to do,” Sarah said, somewhat testily, once she and Coryn had seated themselves at the dining table reserved for the two of them, and those others who were deemed VIPs.

  The Guru was one of them, as was the Greencat which settled on the floor, next to the white-haired man. The Circle Eldest, Marlyss, and Dian and Jaime, as the two main witnesses, also had seats at the table. Those three had not yet arrived, although all the other Circle Witches, the Apprentices, and the various Teachers, Healers, and lesser Stone-workers resident at Ferhil Stones had gathered at the other tables, and were being served wine by the servants, who, always, seemed to be a part of the background, at the Stronghold.

  “I think Sarah is looking for an explanation of some kind for why you put pressure on us to take this step now, here, and according to Kordean customs,” Coryn added.

  One of his roles in life, he had come to realize, was to facilitate human interactions by softening the abrasive edges of the comments people casually tossed at one another. He had a gift for it, he knew, honed during the years that he had spent doubling as a spy for the Confederation operation known as The Agency, and as an alyen, a paid pleasure-giver to moneyed women, on the inner galactic Space Station RES. Falling in love with Sarah had ended his career as an alyen; afterwards, he had discovered that the ability to soothe troubled waters was a useful skill in a lot of situations, perhaps more valuable in his case precisely because he was male. Such arts were more often a feminine trait; he had learned a lot about them from a platonic female friend—although not from Sarah who tended to jump into things impulsively.

  “Also, you want the marriage to remain a secret, known only to every inhabitant of Ferhil Stones,” Sarah added, looking around her, her nose wrinkled. “I guess, had I known that a crowd was permitted, I would have liked to have had my parents, grandparents, Coryn's parents, and our various siblings here for the ceremony.”

  She sighed, and Coryn grasped her hand, again.

  “You can always have another ceremony, witnessed by whoever you want, later on—should your lives turn out to be simple, after all,” the Guru said, smiling placidly.

  “But we shouldn't count on that?” asked Coryn, raising his eyebrows.

  The Guru Johannes merely broadened his smile, declining to answer.

  “That's just it,” Sarah said. “A couple of days ago I did a bit of rooting around in the little library that's tucked into a stony corner of this building. I went looking for information because I remembered that Dian had o
nce mentioned that The Eldest of the Twelve almost never officiates at marriage ceremonies, and when she does, it's always for compelling reasons. And here, Witch Marlyss was almost demanding that she get to marry Coryn and me, and she repeated the exact words that you, Guru Johannes, used when you nattered at us, on Altec III to legitimize our union. Let's get it done soon, preferably right away, was the essence of what she was saying.”

  “While you and the Greencat were still visiting,” Coryn added. “Obviously the three of you are communicating amongst yourselves. I suspect that you link mentally much more effectively than Sarah and I do, in spite of the dribs and drabs of esoteric knowledge which I seem to pick up, now and then, from her.”

  “I'm glad that it's happening,” the Guru said. “You picking up on some of Sarah's knowledge, that is.”

  “But, Sarah, my apologies for interrupting,” Coryn continued. “You were going to tell us what you found out from the musty old books?”

  Just then Marlyss, Dian and Jaime arrived, talking animatedly among themselves. They settled into the seats left empty at the table for six: Jaime and Dian across from Sarah and Coryn, and Marlyss at the table's end, facing the Guru Johannes and the Greencat. The conversation was redirected to the issues involved in uploading the proof of a marriage to the Terran Public Record database.

  After that, toasts to the new couple were proposed, and the meal prepared in the Ferhil Stones kitchens was brought out. While the dinner was in progress, women kept coming up to the VIP table to wish Sarah and Coryn future happiness, stretching that part of the festivity to a considerable length. Some of the older Witches and Healers made a point of hugging each of the two tightly after speaking their congratulations, making Coryn wonder if, perhaps, they were familiar with whatever it was that had disturbed Sarah in the Stronghold Library.