When Hedric frowned, she did her best to explain. <Think eighteen inches tall with rudimentary intelligence and flying abilities. It might have been the ideal pairing, but the D’tril will only travel a handful of miles from their birthplace. Again we were stuck in a dead end. Three hundred years later humans, your people, arrived from a world closer than ours, but still very distant. There were five sleek ships, each carrying five thousand pioneers. That you are here on Pangea from a distant land says that another ship survived. Tell me this…> Her thought was intent. <Did many K’Dreex survive?>
Hedric looked out over the water and felt the wash of cool humid air on his cheek. <The story is that there was only one human/K’Dreex pair. The Goddess Selene stepped in and saved them both. One was my father. Now there are many pairings.>
<Ah. I see.> Dawn murmured. <Maybe hundreds by now, but what’s this? I see in your memories that your Uncle Padraig is originally from another, even more distant land. He arrived by airship. And he also has a K’Dreex advisor. That means more survivors.> He could feel her probe his memories. <Oh no! According to your memories, the K’Dreex/Zzzkntti pairing never worked and almost resulted in the extermination of both species.>
Hedric interrupted. <I was supposed to get my own advisor when I grew up enough. I guess you had other plans.>
<It seems as though K’Dreex and humans are inextricably entwined on this planet, no matter what we do. So this group of humans, from a region on your homeworld called North America, arrived with the others. There was a gigantic storm raging, and we assumed that their instruments were knocked out. There is a great mountain to the east of us. Locals call it the Finger of God. Humans, with some justification, call it the Middle Finger of God, and it stands thousands of feet tall. Their ship, the Valley Forge, struck the Finger a glancing blow and then crashed several hundred leagues away, in a small fertile valley. Whether it was the impact with the mountain, or the crash in the valley, the power-plant on the great ship ruptured, spewing radioactive death throughout the valley. Alerted, the humans fled the valley, taking only what they could carry. In the memories of the cats there stands one figure in particular. Jessie Lynn Stuart, a biologist with an affection for cats. After the crash she woke all the cats from cold sleep and set them free. Other biologists woke other species. The Valley Forge, you see, carried examples of ALL Terran feline species. One pair called lions perished. The rest survived. Jessie Lynn Stuart died of radiation poisoning, slowly and alone. My species discovered that we had a new host available to us. The cats. Cats became a useful commodity on ships, and traveled wherever humans went. Now you arrive, to create waves in our nice placid pond.>
<I’m sorry.> Hedric apologized. <I really didn’t mean to…>
Dawn’s laugh cut him off. <Your presence saved my life, young human, if you remember.>
<And your host saved mine twice.> Hedric reminded her softly.
<Are we counting?>
<I suppose not.> Hedric chuckled. <I couldn’t count that high, but answer me this? Why can cats talk? When did THAT happen?>
Dawn was silent for some time. <I’m unsure whether it was effects of the radiation, or K’Dreex meddling at the genetic level. My species does that sometimes.> There was embarrassment in her thought.
<Please, don’t do that to me without asking.>
There was a dry chuckle from Dawn. <Deal.>
From the dockside tavern a chorus of voices rose in friendly laughter. Hedric listened for a moment and sighed. <I really mucked things up with my uncle, didn’t I?> He didn’t give Dawn a chance to answer as he let out a bitter laugh. <I blame it all on my father. He had no right to die on me. I needed his attention. Of course I also blame my Uncle Padraig. It’s obvious he didn’t want the job of raising me, and I blame my mother. What right had she to devote so much of her time to something as mundane as running the country?> He stopped for a moment to rub his eyes. <I was so spoiled and angry I thought the world revolved around me. I thought because I was a prince I was better than everyone else. Now I can’t even say I’m sorry.>
Dawn was silent for several long moments. <There is still time, and you are young.>
<But I wrecked the airship, and killed the crew, along with my uncle!>
<Did you see the bodies?> Dawn asked with a knife-edged insight.
<Uh, I assumed…>
<Assumption is the road to disaster.> Dawn interrupted. <Act on what you know. You damaged the airship. That you know. For all you don’t know, they may be sitting over the next hill having breakfast before they continue to make repairs. Don’t borrow trouble.> She finished firmly. <Now, you should go to bed.>
Hedric didn’t even bother to suppress his smile. <Yes, Dawn.>
The next day the Captain came to the engine room just after breakfast. Hedric was surprised to see dark rings under her eyes. “I may need to borrow Doander from you, Hedric.”
“Of course, Captain.”
She smiled lightly. “We left so quickly from Greenville, that we are missing two of the sailors I count on to man the cannons. I’ll have to use Doander on one cannon and Lexi on the other. You will have to do extra duty here, as will John Tilbet, the other navigator. You’ve met him, haven’t you? Big strapping lad, a few years older than you. Blond hair?”
“I’ve met him.” Hedric replied flatly. The son of the cargomaster was tall, good looking and a bully. He never failed to remind Hedric he was the runt of the litter.
“Good.” Captain Isenhart was glancing around the engine room, her mind obviously elsewhere. “Ah, I don’t suppose that you’re proficient with a weapon?”
The comment frightened him. “My uncles both taught me the staff. I’m not as good as they were, but…” He let the comment trail off.
“Talk to the purser. I think that he has an old one he can let you have.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She nodded once, turned, and was gone. He stared at the closed door for a long time after she departed.
The next day was dark and overcast, a thin fog hanging over the water like a shroud. It smelled like a crypt. Creeping along at quarter or half speed, the Golden Fleece would occasionally glide to a stop as something unidentifiable loomed out of the curtain of mist. The weather, once warm had turned chill, and Hedric found the heat of the boilers a comfort rather than a curse. The telegraph chimed. ALL STOP. Hedric disengaged the drive gear, and he could feel the boat slow. There was shouting on deck, and he glanced out of the porthole. He wished he hadn’t. No more than fifty feet away was what was left of the sleek Albatross, beached on a sandbar. Rent and torn by cannon fire, she had great gaps showing right into her hull. Bodies littered the deck and various pieces of human anatomy floated in the murky brackish water.
“Ahoy, the trader.” A wavering voice called across the water. Hedric saw a figure move on the shattered deck, and then another. A third was crawling. “Save us! For the love of god. Don’t leave!”
There was a clatter over his head and a longboat momentarily blocked his vision. It was no more than a handful of minutes before they had recovered the seamen from the Albatross and were under way again. It felt like hours.
He didn’t sleep much that night, and the next day began much the same, with cold wet weather, butterflies in his stomach and a feeling of dread in the air. Around mid-day the Captain came by, escorting a thin seaman with a bandage around his head.
“Engineer Swimming, I’d like you to meet Edward Simms. He was an engineer on the Albatross. He can assist you.” She gave him a flat look. “I have to borrow Doander for a while. Do you understand?”
Hedric felt his breath catch in his throat. “Yes, Captain. I understand.” He touched Doander’s arm as he left in the Captain’s wake. He turned to Edward Simms. “You’re new to this engine, so I’ll make things easy. Tie down or lock up everything. EVERYTHING!”
The older man frowned. “Aye, I got ye. Yer mighty young fer they job, ain’t che?”
“I know engines.” Hedric shrugged. “Will there be a problem?�
��
The sailor’s grin revealed several missing teeth. “Not from me. I appy I be alive, ye know whats I mean?” He began picking up random tools with no further comment.
The telegraph rang for FULL AHEAD, and Hedric had no sooner engaged the gears, than a great crash of a cannon sounded over his head. The boat shook, and Simms sat in a corner hiding his head in his hands. “We’re dead, all dead,” he moaned.
Hedric gave the man a swift kick in the leg. “Get up! I need your help NOW! Bitch and moan later. Make sure that the boiler has plenty of wood for…” The crash felt like it was coming from the engine room itself, and Hedric was thrown to the floor, his head banging sharply against an engine support. For a second he saw stars. The chiming telegraph brought him to his senses, and he lowered the speed to half. He wiped a warm trickle on his face, and saw his hand come away bloody.
Simms was getting unsteadily to his feet. “Ye all right, lad?”
“Yeah, I…”
The door flung open and a wild eyed Doander staggered in, dark gunpowder smudges on his face, and his hands were black. “Tad. You gotta come…” He took a deep breath. “Doctor says for you te come.” The cannon crashed again, and he grabbed Hedric’s arm in a crushing grip. “She’s hurt bad, Tad. Doctor can’t fix er. Said te get you.” Simms was staring.
“I can’t go. I’m the only one who…”
“I’ll stay. You go. Go NOW!” Doander shouted.
Hedric left at a run. There was another crash of cannon fire, and he bounced off of a wall. Chaos on deck. Great sections of the railing were torn and splintered, and one cannon upended. Pools of blood marked where sailors had fallen. The Captain looked up from coaching another gun crew, caught his eye and glanced quickly astern. He turned, and behind him the big gun barked again. A glance showed him the pirate vessel, two hundred yards away and trying to escape. The last shot from the Fleece landed home, and the pirate’s funnel slowly collapsed. Flames licked up from the smashed cabin as the attacker lost way. The fight was all but over now.
A cluster of people squatted next to the stern gun, all looking grim. Doctor Welter looked up, his dark skin smeared with the blood of others. “Tad.” He reached out to touch the boy. “I know what you did for Doander.” Hedric looked down and gasped. Lexi lay at his feet, a foot long sliver of wood had passed just beneath her right breast and bright blood flecked her lips. She was crying. “You’re the only one who has even the smallest chance of saving her. What should we do?”
<Why are they asking me? I’m just an inexperienced…>
“Take her to sick bay?”
“Full.” Doctor Welter replied sadly.
“Take her to my cabin then. I need to be alone with her for a few minutes.” The doctor nodded and hands lifted the stricken girl.
For some reason, that he couldn’t fathom, the cats were there too, almost hidden in the shadows of a corner. Lexi lay twitching on his bunk, dying.
The door shut and Hedric turned to see the doctor. “I think I’ll stay.”
Hedric sighed, and put his hand on Lexi’s bare neck. He could feel the ragged thread of her pulse. <Dawn, can you fix her? Like you did for Doander?>
<No, young one. There is only one possibility. I can twin myself, give Lexi her own K’Dreex. Her K’Dreex may be able to fix her, if we lend it the strength.>
Hedric looked down at the girl’s face, starting to turn gray. <Do it.>
There was a light laugh. <I already did, as we spoke.> He began to draw his hand away, and Dawn stopped him. <No, her K’Dreex will need our strength, and then she will need our stability as she adjusts to having an additional tenant in her body.>
So he stood there, hand on her neck as Dawn fed his strength into Lexi. He felt the heartbeat steady, saw the color returned to her face. The room went in and out of focus, the floor seeming to become unsteady and Hedric dropped to his knees, but never losing his touch with the girl. Her eyes fluttered about the same time the splinter of wood fell to the floor.
<What?> Lexi’s voice echoed inside his head. <What’s happening?>
<Shhhh.> Hedric tried desperately to calm her. <It’s all right. You were hurt but you’re getting better now.>
She glanced down at her bloodstained shirt. <I remember the splinter. How?> He could feel her panic rising. <You’re in my head. What’s going on, Tad? Wait a minute. I see your memories. You’re not Tad Swimming at all. Your name is Hedric Schwendau and…> Her eyes opened and swung to face him. <You really are a prince.>
<I’m just an engineer on the tramp trader Golden Fleece.> He chuckled.
<No! I see it all. There are more here than just you. I’m going mad!>
<Dawn.> He thought desperately, as he struggled to hold down the thrashing girl. <Talk to her K’Dreex. Have him calm her down. I can’t talk to her like this.>
<I’ll try. His name is Moran, by the way.>
<Hello, Moran.> Hedric felt very strange having multiple conversations in Lexi’s head. He knew exactly how she felt. <Can you help Lexi?>
<I believe so.> Moran replied quietly. Hedric could feel the girl’s panic drain away.
<If you’re all through discussing me, could someone PLEASE tell me what the hell is going on?> There was still more than a hint of terror in the girl’s thoughts.
<I would be happy to.> Hedric commented smoothly. <I’ve had a K’Dreex advisor inside of me for some time now. Her name is Dawn. She saved my life when I was dying in the jungle. Dawn healed me and sometimes she can heal others too if their wounds or conditions aren’t too serious. Yours were beyond her skill. The only way to save your life was to ask Dawn to twin and give you your own K’Dreex. Your K’Dreex repaired the damage from the splinter and saved your life. Since your advisor is non-corporeal, it interacts with you, in your mind, as someone of the opposite sex. Your advisor is Moran. You will have a very long association with him so you might as well get to know each other.>
<Very good.> Dawn commented dryly.
<Who was that?>
<So. All those lies you told me the other night, were all the truth?>
<I’m afraid so.>
<And how am I supposed to treat a prince?>
Hedric thought about it for a second. <How about as a friend?>
<I’ve never had a real friend before. I think I’d like that. Friends.>
<Very good, Hedric.>
<Oh shut up, Dawn.> Lexi giggled somewhere in the background.
Doctor Isaiah Welter watched stunned, as the girl who was certain to die healed herself before his very eyes. Or, was healed. He looked at the young boy, kneeling at her side. He didn’t look like much, but…Alexandra Smith suddenly broke out into a huge toothy grin and sat up, stretching her arms wide. She flushed brightly as her shredded shirt flopped loosely, and turned shyly to the boy.
“Ah, would you happen to have a spare shirt, Hed…Tad,” she corrected quickly.
He gave her a wink. “I think that I have something right…” He pulled a new shirt out of a drawer, and handed it to her, then turned his back so that she could change. The doctor noted that the reflection in the porthole gave the boy an almost perfect view of the girl.
Lexi gasped, clutching the tattered shirt closely, and turned to face the boy. “You…you were looking at me in the…” She stopped, mouth hanging open. “How did I do that?”
The boy was looking back, with the same stunned expression. “I don’t… it shouldn’t…”
“I don’t care.” The girl laughed suddenly. “Look all YOU want.” The doctor caught the subtle emphasis on the word “you.” With that, she casually took off her old bloody shirt and dropped it on the floor. Doctor Welter noted professionally that all signs of the fatal wound were completely gone, and that Alexandra Smith was an attractive young girl on the cusp of womanhood. She buttoned up the new shirt slowly, and the boy was blushing
to the roots of his hair, but he didn’t look away. Finishing the last of the buttons, she faced him, hands on her narrow hips. “Well?”
He studied her for a long moment, his faint smile appreciative. “It looks better on you, than it does on me.”
She reached him in two swift steps, took his face in her hands and kissed him soundly. “That is for saving my life, for my not believing you, and for everything else.” Hedric sat down heavily on the floor, eyes slightly glazed. “What’s the matter with you?” Lexi asked. “Never been kissed by a girl before?”
“No.” The boy replied breathlessly.
“Well now.” She gave him a speculative look, and a slightly wicked smile. “Well now indeed.” She looked up and blinked, as if seeing the doctor for the first time. “Doctor.” She said, nodding briefly as she left the room, that same little wicked smile on her face.
“A formidable young woman indeed.” Doctor Welter muttered to himself. If young Tad Swimming started running right now, he might be able to escape her—but maybe not. He looked at the slowly fading glaze in the boy’s eyes. She had already sunk her claws in too deeply.
Chapter 4
Thirty-three days later, on a mild sunny day, the Golden Fleece steamed into the deserted harbor of Treebeard. A few gulls circled, morosely searching for a fisherman, but the streets and the city were empty. Dust blew aimlessly down the dirty street, and not a face showed in a window, nor a bird on a branch. The mild day took on a sudden chill, as Hedric arrived on deck. Seamen bustled to tie the boat off at the empty pier, casting worried glances over their shoulder at a nameless dread hovering over the town.
“Mister Gralt will be leading a search party into town. Any volunteers?” Hedric caught the Captain’s eye and nodded briefly. A flicker of a grin crossed the woman’s face. “In lieu of volunteers, you, you and you will go.” She pointed to three seamen, seemingly at random, until Hedric noted that all besides him were tall and heavily muscled. “See the purser for weapons, but remember, don’t take chances. I want live seamen, not dead heroes.” Her eyes rested on Hedric for only a heartbeat.