Crystal Enchantment Page 8

  Jalissa stared at him in shock, recalling what Panera had said about this man's having been sent out to "test the waters" for a return of the Coven.

  "Would they do this without telling you?" she asked. "Have you asked them?"

  Both of her adoptive parents looked at her as though she'd just said that the sky was falling. She'd forgotten just how Tevingians regarded the Coven. They'd never question anything.

  "We do know that in recent years, there have been more and more members of the Coven coming here and then entering the service of the Federationmostly into Trans/Med, but also into the military and other branches."

  "What?" Jalissa said, stopping in her tracks. "I thought I was the only one!"

  Neesa smiled gently. "No, dear. You weren't even the first. And we shouldn't be telling you this now, because we were told to keep it from you because of your position. But we're really very worriedfor the Coven and for Tevingi as well."

  "You're the only one who's ever become a Whisperer," Joeb confirmed. "But there are other Coven members in Trans/Med. And we're telling you now only because of a coded message we received from one of them.

  "It was very carefully worded, since we can't be totally certain that the Special Agency isn't capable of decoding. But the message was very clear. The Special Agency suspects you of being a Witch."

  Jalissa felt a sudden chill and wrapped her arms around herself. "But how? Why?"

  "I think it may be because you're so very good at your profession, Jalissa," Joeb said. "Too good. That might well have prompted them to check into your background. We took every precaution we could to make it appear that you were our daughter, but we can't be certain that they didn't uncover somethingor persuade someone to talk. Vantran gold can loosen tongueseven here."

  "This makes your mission even more dangerous," Neesa said. "Regardless of what it means for the safety of the young Warlockand even the Coven itselfyou must think of your own safety first, Jalissa, and do nothing to give yourself away."

  "Or to give all of you away," Jalissa added. If she were exposed, it would be disastrous for her adopted familyand for all Tevingiansbecause the Federation would then know that they'd been aiding the Coven.

  "Yes," Joeb said quietly. "There is that problem as well. We have been secretly arming ourselves as best we can."

  Jalissa was recalling Panera's suggestion of a conspiracy between Tevingi and the Outer Ring worlds. "Where have you been obtaining weapons?" she asked, knowing that the Federation had very strict controls about the production and transport of weaponsespecially on Tevingi.

  "From the Outer Ring worlds. Danto is having them brought back on his merchant ships."

  Danto was Joeb's brother. He controlled the Kendor family's vast inter-planetary shipping fleet. She'd heard that weapons were far more available on some of the Outer Ring worlds, where a clandestine market was supposedly op- erating along the very fringes of Federation power.

  "Panera told me that they suspect some sort of secret alliance between Tevingi and the Outer Ring. They believe you may be planning to lead Tevingi out of the Federation."

  "It may come to that if we must fight to protect the Coven," Joeb replied.

  "Why is the Coven doing this?" Jalissa cried angrily. "This is madness!"

  "They haven't told us their plans, Jalissa," Neesa said gently. "No doubt the gods have given them their instructions."

  "I don't care what the gods tell them," she stated angrily. "If the Coven tries to wage war against the Federation, they will be destroyed!" She gestured toward the distant base.

  "You've seen their power. You must know that Coven magiceven Coven magic combined with smuggled armscan't possibly defeat Vantran weaponry. My superior asked the Deputy Director of the Special Agency what they would do if they learned that the Coven still existed, and he refused to rule out the possibility of destroying them. She told me later that she thinks that's exactly what they will do."

  Then Jalissa paused, thinking about Malvina. It was probably she who had sent the message about the Special Agency's suspicions.

  "My superior is Malvina Sangtrythe woman who recruited me. Do you remember her?" They both nodded, and Neesa confirmed her sudden suspicion. "She is a Witch."

  Jalissa was stunned. Had she strayed so far from her origins that she couldn't immediately recognize another Coven member? She'd always felt a special fondness for Malvina, but never once had she suspected the truth.

  "How many worlds besides Tevingi and the Outer Ring would side with the Coven?" she asked Joeb, knowing that because of the family's business, he would be familiar with the private thoughts of those on many worlds.

  "Danto believes there could be as many as five, most of those who were touched by the Coven. On many worlds, the Coven is no longer worshipped openly in order to avoid offending the Vantrans, but the feelings are still there." He paused.

  "But by far the most important one is Ker."

  "Ker?" she gasped, her mind reeling. Ker was the one world in the galaxy where the precious crystals could be found. It had no native population. Instead, it was home to people from various worlds who possessed the skills required to cut the crystals.

  The crystals wouldn't be so important to the Vantrans if they were used only by Whisperers, but they had other uses too. They powered the Galactic Communications Network, and also powered the navigation and other systems aboard spacecraft. "According to Danto, most of the population on Ker now comes from the Outer Ring. Few others are willing to live on such a primitive, unpleasant world."

  "But the Federation military has a huge base there as well."

  "Yes, but among them are a substantial number of people from worlds sympathetic to the Coven. That is so because of the Federation's policy of trying to post people either on or close to their home worlds."

  A policy Jalissa knew the Vantrans had agreed to only after considerable pressure from the other members of the Federation. And now she understood why.

  Jalissa stood at the fence, watching the madri foals at play, a sight that would normally have claimed all her attention. But her brain was still whirling with the information she'd received and its terrible implications.

  She was still stunned at her failure to recognize that Malvina was a Witch. And how many others had she met as well, without realizing what they were?

  She had moved so far from that world of dark magic. In the long intervals between telepathic contact, she simply never gave any thought to her differentness. She was Jalissa Kendor, a respected Whisperer who used her skills to make peace out of chaos and hatreds. And somewhere along the way, she'd to all intents and purposes forgotten that she was also a Witch: a possessor of magic and a descendant of the old gods.

  But she could no longer afford to forget that. There was so very much danger: for her, for her adoptive family, for the Covenand even for the Federation.

  It surprised her to include the Federation on that list. It was so much a fact of life that she'd simply never questioned it. But as she did so now, she realized that she didn't want the Federation to be destroyed. It might not be perfect, but the alternative was total chaos and incessant wars.

  Her bleak thoughts were interrupted by a familiar whinny, and she turned to see Bellou, her madri mare, galloping toward her across the meadow.

  "Bel!" she cried as the sleek white animal slowed to a trot and then a walk and finally nuzzled into her shoulder, making the snorting, chuffing sound madris made to show their affection.

  "Oh Bel!" she cried, wrapping her arms around the mare's graceful neck. "Each time I see you, you grow more beautiful."

  She rubbed the knobby joints of Bel's folded wings, and the mare shivered with pleasure. Then she went into the stable to get a bridle. The galaxy's problems could wait for a while.

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  "How will I know if one of them will accept me?"

  Jalissa found herself barely able to restrain a smile. From the moment when he'd first see
n the madris, Miklos Panera had been wearing the expression of a delighted child. And now he sounded like a child who fears that the toy he wants won't be his.

  "Just approach whichever one you like. If it accepts you, it will let you know."

  "But what if I choose the wrong one?" he persisted, his gaze scanning the grazing herd.

  "It's not an individual thing," she explained. "They seem to be of one mind where humans are concerned. Either they all accept youor no one does. That's because they're herd animals by nature."

  He was now staring at the madri she'd known he would select: the magnificent black stallion, Wansa. Not only was he the largest madri in their herd, but he was also the most perfect example of the species she'd ever seen. And he was still youngonly eight. Madris lived longer than ordinary horses, many of them to or more years. Her Bel was nearing .

  Panera cast a quick glance at her, then began to thread his way through the herd to the stallion. She followed, but at a distance. Strangely, her feelings had undergone a reversal. Instead of hoping that the madris would reject this arrogant Vantran, she now found herself wanting him to be accepted.

  Miklos had surprised her by showing up without his impressive uniform. Instead, he wore form-fitting pants and a loose shirt the exact shade of his eyes. It was the first time she could recall seeing a member of the Federation military out of uniform on Tevingi.

  He'd shown up just as she was sitting down to a late breakfast with Nessa. Joeb had already left for the base hospital to check on his miners. Neesa had invited Miklos to join them, and Jalissa had watched bemusedly as he'd proceeded to charm her adopted mother, who certainly had no affection for Vantrans.

  Even more surprising was the fact that Jalissa had sensed his charm was real, and not the practiced diplomacy she'd seen before with Vantrans in their social contacts with off-worlders. Still, she didn't doubt for one minute that beneath the casual exterior remained the steely, determined Special Agent.

  Panera stopped before the stallion. It lifted its head and stared at him. He put out a hand slowly and touched the animal's sleek, curved neck. Most people unfamiliar with madris approached them more cautiously than they would ordinary horses. Partly, it was the wings, but it was also their size. Madris were nearly half again as big as other horses, and the stallion, Wansa, was probably twice as large. But they were also very gentle by nature, and once they'd decided to accept a rider, they never caused problems.

  After studying Panera for several moments, the stallion suddenly lowered its head and nudged against his shoulder, snorting softly. Jalissa expected the Vantran to turn to her questioningly, or even to be frightened by the stallion's behavior, but he seemed to understand immediately what it meant, and began to stroke the animal and talk to it.

  ''They like to have the joints of their wings rubbed," she told him as she now approached them.

  He did as instructed, then laughed as the animal shuddered with pleasure. Turning to her with a wide, boyish smile, he asked if they could ride now.

  She nodded, and slipped the bridle she'd brought along over the stallion's head. "His name is Wansa. He's the father of that palomino foal you were admiring. That's why he's here, instead of out in the high pastures."

  "Does that mean he won't want to leave?"

  "No. He won't mind leaving for a time."

  Panera stared at the great folded wings. "How do you get them to fly?"

  She laughed at his eagerness. "You don't. You can point them in the direction you want to go, but how they get there is up to them."

  "Then he might not fly at all?"

  "Oh, he will. They love to fly, though they can't fly great distances. They also need a rather long straight stretch to get up enough speed. The reason that this is such a perfect place for them is that there are long meadows, and then good thermals once they're airborne. We'll just ride out into the meadow, and they'll take off when they're ready. I hope you feel duly honored, by the way. It's really rare for them to accept off-worlders."

  He chuckled and rubbed the madri's wing joints again. "Thank you, Wansa, for being more tolerant than most Tevingians."

  She decided to let that barb pass, and handed him the reins. "Just remember what I told you, Miklos. When you climb on a madri, you give up all control. He'll bring you back here if you say docen, which is Tevingi for 'home,' but other than that, he's the one in command."

  Miklos nodded and turned to the stallion. "All right, Wansa. My life is in your handsor your hooves, as it were." Then he swung gracefully onto the madri's broad back.

  Jalissa laughed and turned to Bel, who obligingly knelt so that she could mount. Then she pointed the mare into the open field, and off they went, thundering through the meadow.

  She watched Panera for a time to be certain he was comfortable. He'd told her that he rode often at his family's country estate, and it quickly became apparent that he was a very accomplished rider for whom the lack of a saddle and stirrups posed no problem.

  Both animals began to increase their speed until they moved from a canter into a flat-out gallop. Wansa quickly drew ahead, and Panera turned briefly back to her. His handsome face was wreathed in a smile of eager anticipation. Jalissa knew that somehow this moment would be locked forever into her memory. The feeling was bittersweet, however, tainted by the knowledge that it was a moment and nothing more.

  Wansa's great wings began to unfold, followed a moment later by Bel's. She felt the mare's muscles begin to contractand then they were airborne and soaring into the heavens, where patches of bright blue could be seen amidst the fluffy white clouds.

  Because of the madris' -foot wingspan, they had to stay farther apart now, but she could still see her own joy mirrored on Panera's face. The wind created by the madris' wings and their movement through the skies lifted her hair and tore at her loose shirt. The sunlight glistened on Panera's tousled golden hair as he turned to her again, smiling broadly.

  Miklos could not recall any time in his life when he'd been happier in the moment than he was right now, soaring above the meadows to the dark mountains in the distance.

  He turned to stare at Jalissa Kendor. Her shin- ing black hair streamed out behind her as she lifted her face to the wind. The loose shirt she wore was pressed against her full breasts, and her slim, muscular legs curved around the madri's flanks. It was a sight that he drank in like fine wine, even though he felt a totally illogical fear as well. Despite her ease on the madri's back, she seemed so small and helpless.

  For one brief moment, his mind slipped back to that first time he'd seen herwhen she had been helpless. And when he'd been spellbound, caught in a moment he still didn't understand. Then he was back in the present and her mare had moved farther away, its wings flapping more slowly now as they found the thermals and began to ride the winds up over the mountains.

  Seeing her riding the near-mythical horse of the gods, Miklos felt a sense of awe. An inner voice whispered to him that this was no mere woman. But he quickly silenced the darker voice that tried to tell him just what she was.

  The madris circled the tall peaks several times, then descended slowly, amidst much fluttering of their great wings. Finally, they drifted down to a sloping meadow, where yellow and purple flowers bloomed amidst tall bluish grasses. Several other madris were already there, and they raised their heads briefly, whickering to the newcomers.

  Jalissa's mare knelt to let her dismount, and Panera slid down from his stallion. His burnished gold hair was tousled and his smile was still intact: the grin of a delighted boy.

  "If more off-worlders rode these animals, the pressure to export them would be enormous," he said.

  "Then I'm glad they don't," she replied. "Even though I often wish I could bring Bel back to Vantra with me."

  "If your mother ever decides to sell any off-world, I'd pay whatever she asks. And I think they'd like Tralisa, our country home. The land there looks much as it does here."

  "She'd never sell them, and neither would any other breeder
."

  "Because of their association with the Coven?"

  She nodded as she sank down onto the grass. "If the Coven hadn't given some to my ancestors, there wouldn't be any madris. They would have been destroyed along with the Coven itself."

  He was silent for a moment, then said quietly. "It must have seemed the only possible course of action at the time. If we hadn't destroyed them, the wars would have continued and many more lives would have been lost than the number that died when we blew up their world."

  "That's a self-serving statement if I've ever heard one, Miklos Panera! You could have stopped that war anytime you chose. The Coven weren't the aggressors!"

  "Spoken like a true Tevingian defender of the Coven," he said with a smile as he lowered himself down beside her. "So I assume that your family still worships them."

  "I wouldn't say that they exactly worship thembut they do revere them. All Tevingians do. The Coven was a part of our legends even before the first space traders found them. Some of our historians believe that the Coven was Tevingian, and that they used their magic a long time ago to take themselves off to another world in order to avoid our bloody conflicts here. Back then, the various clans were always at war.

  "They cite as evidence the fact that we appear to be of the same race and our languages are quite similar."

  "But if that's true, then surely some of the magical powers of the Coven would have appeared in your own people," he pointed out.

  "They havebut to a much lesser extent. There are many among my people who have a talent for precognition and clairvoyance, for example." She was sure he must already know that, even though Tevingians tended not to talk about it to off-worlders.

  "But what about the other powers they supposedly had: teleportation, the blue fire, casting spells?"

  "Some think they might have been learned skills, and with no one to teach them here, they were never developed."