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Promises (first book section)

PROMISES

.1.

Kay'li yelped and ducked, pivoting left. Sam lost his grip on her long mahogany braid. She caught his ribs with her elbow. The taller, heavier boy went down with a gasp, his mouth open like a fish three meters from the river. Kay'li leaped over him. Two steps took her to the gold ball that started the argument. Before Sam could move, she snatched up the toy and fled the forest clearing.

Sam's bullying was just another difference between him and his older brother, Lucas. The brothers had square cheeks and chins, broad shoulders and long-fingered hands from their father, Seth Aidan. Lucas had their mother Jenni's dark eyes and hair. Sam was white blond and gray-eyed, like their father. Sam picked on her every chance he could because he was older than her, but she was smarter, and Lucas always defended her.

"Find it?" Lucas called when she reached the field beyond the outpost cemetery. He grinned when she held up the ball. "You were gone so long, I thought something nasty got you."

"Just Sam."

"I'm gonna pound him," he said with a groan.

"Already did." Kay'li giggled.

"Serves him right." Lucas held out his hands. She cocked her arm and flung the ball. It hit his hands with a loud smack. He grinned and pretended pain. "We'll bomb him this winter. He won't know what hit him."

"Snowman Sam." She caught the return throw. A cold breeze snapped down out of the treetops, yanking on her hair.

"Winter's almost here." He caught her throw. "Let's head back." He led the way down the packed dirt trail.

Untamed forest lay beyond the eastern edge of Emers Outpost. Kay'li trailed her fingers along the slatted fence that kept hoppers, slithers and other creatures out of the cemetery. The children walked in silence down the fifty meters of trail to the outpost proper. Five long gravel streets of houses ran parallel to the trail. The two streets with administration buildings, warehouses, dining hall and boarding houses lay perpendicular to the residential section. Beyond that, the landing field for shuttles. Beyond that, more forest, pierced by a wide dirt trail for wheeled land vehicles.

Kay'li's house sat on the northeast corner, closest to the forest. She liked it that way. Her father Ian, a Scout on unlimited leave from the Corps, regularly took her into the forest to explore. Since he included others in the excursions, it made him popular with the few children at Emers.

"They're back!" Lucas said, as the children came around the side of the house.

A two-man, open flyer sat in front of the house, with half-unpacked camping gear spread around it. The house door hung open, despite the cold wind.

"Race!" he yelled, and leaped forward.

Kay'li darted around the flyer and leaped over the backpacks. Lucas reached with both hands and vaulted over the middle of the vehicle. He stumbled as he landed, giving her a half second lead. She jumped the steps two at a time. A tall, tanned, white-haired man stepped into the doorway, making her shriek in surprise. He caught her and lifted her high.

"There's my girl!" He laughed.

"Uncle Nobi!" Kay'li flung her arms tight around him.

Nobi Cole put her down and winked at Lucas, who managed to stop before he ran into the man. "Racing?"

Lucas grinned. "What are you doing back so soon, Major?"

"These old bones don't like the cold weather much." He set Kay'li down and swatted her behind as she flew through the door.

Ian and Miranda were in the front room. Kay'li had left her mother sleeping when she went outside to play with Lucas. Jenni Aidan was gone, but her sewing lay on the hearth. Kay'li heard running water in the kitchen and knew the woman was making another herbal infusion for her mother's headaches.

"Da?" Kay'li paused in the doorway. The weary droop of her father's head, the pallor of her mother's face frightened her.

Ian sat on the edge of the long couch, holding her mother's hands. His old, dark green Scout uniform looked cleaner than usual when he came back from moon-long exploring trips. No mud on his boots, no tears, no bulges in his pockets from unusual stones or plants he brought back for his wife and daughter to study. His hazel eyes had dark smears under them and his mouth was pressed flat instead of his usual smile. Kay'li wondered what was wrong.

Miranda Riallon-Fieran looked like a grand lady to her daughter, even wearing a faded robe of green pod fiber. Her hair gleamed red-gold like a crown in the afternoon sun spilling through the window, and hung almost to her waist.

"There you are." Miranda sounded stronger than she had at lunchtime, when she sent the children home from school. She smiled and held out a hand to her daughter. "Did you have fun?"

Kay'li nodded and hurried into the room. Her father scooped her up and deposited her on his knee. "Missed you lots, Da." She squealed when he kissed her and his beard scratched her cheek. She felt better when her mother laughed.

"I missed you, too," Ian murmured. "Have you been taking care of your mother like I told you?"

"She should study medicine with Jenni." Miranda took Kay'li's hand and squeezed. "Whenever I'd like some tea or a nap, she's ahead of me, heating the water or fluffing my pillows or getting my blanket. She has all the right instincts."

"Mama would feel lots better if you didn't go hunting without us." Kay'li knew immediately she'd said something wrong when Ian went still. "Mama?"

"It's all right." Miranda smiled and settled back against her pillows. "Your father won't take any more trips until spring. By then, I'll be strong enough for camping again."

"Can we?" Kay'li turned to her father.

"I don't see why not." Ian set her down. "Why don't you see if Mistress Aidan has any hot spyce ready?"

Kay'li nodded and hurried out of the room. At the door, she turned back with a question. She saw Ian lift Miranda from the couch and cradle her on his lap; saw the hurting, downward curve of her mother's mouth. Something was wrong and her parents didn't want her to know.

She found Lucas and Nobi in the kitchen with Jenni. Nobi sprawled on the long bench along the wall, untangling ropes. Lucas knelt on the floor in front of him, watching his fingers fly through a series of knots. Jenni poured boiling water into the spyce pot. Kay'li smelled fresh bread, sweet dibbleroot cake and hopper stew. Everything felt right, in sharp contrast to the sense of something very wrong in the front room.

"Is Mama going to die?" she blurted.

"Kay'li!" Jenni nearly dropped the pot of hot water.

Lucas sat back on his heels and ducked his head the way he did when something hurt him. Nobi stood, letting the ropes fall from his hands.

"Where'd you get a silly idea like that?" Jenni forced a smile on her face.

Kay'li had her answer. If the answer was good, adults said so immediately. If it was bad, they asked her another question instead of answering.

.2.

Ian stood by the window with the curtains pulled back so the light of the three moons spilled onto the bed. Moonlight somehow eased the pain. He watched Miranda sleep and cursed himself again for going away.

It wasn't just the change of season that exasperated her cough and weariness. Cooler weather didn't revive her, as it had last fall.

His trip had been a waste. The Wildling outposts had completely vanished into the forest, as if they had never been there. Daral had warned Ian in the spring they were ready to move far out of satellite range. The Azuli had been giving them signs for moons that danger approached. Ian tried to find a message, a clue. But nothing. It was as if the Wildlings had never been there, hunting for children who had broken free during the pain and confusion of Phase.

Now who would help bring the children home without fear and trauma and pain?

The suddenness worried Ian. Either he had grown lax, or the inner rot of Chorillan's government had returned. His first suspect in the new rising prejudice against Wildlings was Kallin, Miranda's brother. Or his mother-in-law. Kalinda Riallon had welcomed Ian's marriage to her daughter, until Ian and Miranda didn't leave Chorillan. Why would the woman be so venomous, unless she feared a Scout on her doorstep would find things she tried to hide?

Unfortunately, this Scout couldn't seem to find his own shoes under his own bed without a light.

How could he concentrate on anything, with Miranda so sick? Her condition was just like the illness that killed her father, Daran. Ian had sent blood and tissue samples to friends at the Commonwealth Upper University, but a cure could take years.

If he didn't think the trip would kill her, he would take Miranda and Kay'li and leave Chorillan. Even with the problems that still plagued Wildlings ten Standard years after his team had routed the Gen'gineer base.

An entry in his ancestor, Lin Fieran's journals came to his mind, as he stared out at the moonlit forest and tied his insides into knots with frustration and helplessness.

'Sometimes we can't do anything to change the universe. We can't make a speck of difference if we sacrifice our lives and use up all the power in our ships. But maybe we can change one life in a small way, and that life will change the universe.'

Ian had lost faith that he could make a difference in even one life. When had he lost it? He couldn't remember.

"You're all scowly." Miranda rolled onto her back, smiled and held out her hand to him.

In the moonlight, she looked magical and alive, untouched by pain. Ian crawled back into bed with her. Miranda's hands and feet were cold when he wrapped himself around her again.

"You're thinking about Mother, aren't you?" She sighed, weak laughter. "Don't think I haven't considered her conniving."

"Manda, she's the least of our worries." Ian kissed her and repressed a shudder at the thoughts her words triggered.

Kalinda Riallon--Kay'li had been named for her - was ruthless when it came to what she wanted. Even blood ties meant little to her, when someone stood in her way. When Daran Riallon had died, Ian had harbored suspicions that his illness had been contrived. Why else had she had the body cremated, except to make sure it couldn't be studied?

"I won't see spring."

"Manda--"

"Don't argue with me, Ian Fieran." She tightened her arms around him. To Ian, it felt like thin threads encircling his chest. With a little pressure, they would snap.

Ian had never lacked strength of will or body until now. The thought of losing his wife, his love, frightened him more than the thought of his own death.

"I know this is killing me. I'm not afraid anymore. Too tired." She tried to laugh, but only wheezed. "What frightens me is Mother getting custody of Kay'li. She has the power to class you an unfit parent, and exile you before you can turn around."

Ian wanted to protest, but he knew she was right. Kalinda couldn't force him to do anything, couldn't accuse him of crimes, but she could use the legal system to destroy his life. If he lost Miranda, Kay'li would be all he had left, and Kalinda Riallon would take the girl and warp her life.

"I can always call in favors with the Corps," Ian said when the silence grew heavy with ugly possibilities.

"Don't be silly." She pressed a kiss against the corner of his jaw. "You're too honorable. You'd be playing by her rules if you used Commonwealth authority for personal reasons. Kay'li will only be safe off-planet."

"We should have left as soon as we got married."

"Doesn't matter--" Miranda tilted her head back. A surprised look caught her. She shuddered.

"Manda?" Ian smoothed the hair back from her face. Cold sweat seeped through her skin.

"It hurts," she whispered. A single tear escaped when she squeezed her eyes closed. Ian held her while the growing chill in her body sucked warmth from him. He wished he could fight the pain by giving up his own health and strength.

Ian didn't relax, though tension cracked his muscles, until he felt warmth return to Miranda's body, felt the rigidity leave her flesh. When she sighed and tucked her head under his chin, he knew the crisis had passed again.

"Go to sleep," he whispered.

"Not until you promise me."

"Manda, there are alternatives. I could take Kay'li so far into uncharted territory, even if your mother sent Peacers after us, she'd be an adult before they found us."

"What about Phase? Daral is a Wildling. Kay'li could become one. You can hide her from my mother, but not from Phase. Take her away before she's old enough. Promise me?" Fear burned in her eyes with more strength than Miranda had shown in moons.

Ian cursed himself for forgetting that danger to their daughter. The causes of Phase were still unknown. The only certainty was that any child of parents born on Chorillan could go through physical torment. Even with all the changes and safeguards Ian had convinced the Health Authority to use, Phase was still something to fear. Even for his daughter.

Miranda was right. Ian kissed her, making his kiss a sacred vow. Miranda melted against him, relaxing with relief. Tears flavored the sweetness.

.3.

"Quick math." Miranda's gaze roved the young faces before her. "Change your age from Chorillan years to Standard years."

Kay'li blanked her lap screen immediately. Quick math meant they had to do it in their heads.

There were only five students at Emers Outpost. Kay'li, the Aidan brothers, Pol Embory and Tanya Pelham. Tanya tried to boss everyone, except Lucas, and either ignored Kay'li or tried to make her look stupid. Kay'li was sure it was because she was a level ahead of Tanya in lessons, and Tanya was three Standards older than her. No one learned faster than her, except Lucas.

"Tanya?" Miranda said. She smiled at the older girl, who sat on the long couch in the front room of the Fieran house.

Pol sat next to Tanya, with Sam on her other side. Kay'li and Lucas sat together on a cushion on the hearth, with Miranda in a chair between the two rows of her students.

"I'm nine Chorillan," the girl said, nodding. "Uh..."

"No using your fingers," Miranda gently reminded her.

"Sorry." She blushed, making her silver-blond eyebrows suddenly stand out from her face in contrast.

"Sam?" their teacher said, when the boy snickered. Sam gulped. He slouched when Pol and Tanya laughed at him. "Think about time equivalents," she said, her voice softer. "Lucas?"

"I'm almost eight Chorillan, and that equals almost twelve years, Standard," Lucas answered promptly.

"That's not fair," Pol mumbled, revealing his mouth was full of slickersap gum. Strictly against the rules.

"Why isn't it fair?" Miranda asked. She coughed, making Kay'li flinch. "And spit out that gum after you answer."

"Even numbers are easy." Pol got up to go to the kitchen. His tall, awkward frame seemed to take forever to unfold.

"Why are even numbers easy?" Miranda said to the others.

"They split in half without pieces left over," Kay'li said. She blushed and raised her hand after the words left her mouth.

"That's right." Her mother nodded and smiled. Her lips trembled a little. "Who else has an even number age?"

"You didn't make her stand!" Sam blurted. "When you talk without raising your hand, you have to stand."

"Thank you for reminding me, Samuel. And you can stand, too." Miranda gestured for the boy to move.

Kay'li didn't mind standing. She knew her answer and from the way the other two fidgeted and scowled, they didn't. No one had answered her mother's question yet, so she raised her hand.

"Sam is six, so that makes him nine years Standard," Kay'li said, when her mother nodded to her. "I'm more than five, so I'm closer to eight than seven-and-a-half."

They spent the rest of the lesson going through the formula for converting Chorillan time to Standard. Miranda explained that counting Chorillan years as one-and-a-half Standard was only an approximation.

When Miranda finished her little lecture, she closed her eyes for a few seconds. Lucas watched her and frowned. Lucas believed Kay'li when she said her mother was getting worse. She wondered what his mother said about it. Jenni Aidan was the only trained medic at the outpost.

"Jenni?" Miranda called. Her voice wavered. "Herbal lessons. Let's take advantage of the nice weather while we still have it." She summoned a smile when Mistress Aidan appeared at the door of the room. "Could you take the children now?"

"It's about time you let them loose," the woman said with a teasing grumble. "All right you mob, on with your coats."

The other four children jumped to obey. Kay'li paused at her mother's chair. Miranda slumped a little, eyes closed. She jerked upright when Kay'li touched her hand.

"Mama?"

"I'm just tired." She brushed a kiss across her daughter's forehead. "Hurry, or you'll be left behind." Miranda gave a smile to Lucas, who had come back with Kay'li's coat.

"Can't I stay with you? I know herbals perfect." She wished she was still small enough to crawl onto her mother's lap.

"You have to help the others, then," Mistress Aidan said and held out her hand, beckoning for the girl to follow.

Kay'li knew when to give up. She took her coat and followed. When she glanced back one last time, she saw her mother totter from her chair to the couch.

Outside, the sun beat down with enough warmth to make their fall coats uncomfortable. Kay'li watched the others shrug out of their coats, but she kept hers on. This late in the fall, warm days could turn black and bitter in minutes. The only season worse than fall on Chorillan was winter. When the big storms hit, nothing moved for weeks at a time. People traveled little, and always carried spare clothes and food even when visiting a hunting settlement or farm half an hour away.

After Jenni told the children what plants to hunt, Kay'li headed for the furthest edge of the landing field. The important medicinal plants like lotusite and kessel could still be found at the fringes of the outpost.

She found lotusite by the aroma like summertime and the citrus perfume Nobi had brought her mother when he came to stay with them two years before. She knew she was lucky to catch the aroma at all. Lotusite bloomed three times in a year; early spring, solstice and late fall.

"Find anything?" Lucas called from across the clearing, at the tree line. He held up a handful of roots he had dug.

"Lotusite."

Lucas came running, nearly dropping his handful. He slowed a few meters from her and made a show of sniffing, trying to catch the scent. Kay'li laughed and pointed straight ahead, where the glistening white flowers barely showed through the grayish splotches of moss and razor grass and lava fungus.

"We don't have any gloves."

"I know." Kay'li dug in her coat pocket for a handkerchief.

"That won't work." Lucas snatched the handkerchief from her hand. "You get any juice on your skin, you could die. Go get my mother. She always has gloves and a sealed bag."

"But I found it!"

"Okay, promise me you--" Lucas turned on his heel, head jerking up to scan the sky. "Shuttle!"

Kay'li forgot the lotusite and followed him along the edge of the field to the outpost office. No one ever crossed the landing field when shuttles were landing or lifting. She tried to watch for the shuttle as she ran. Kay'li wished her ears were as sharp as Lucas'. Not until they reached the office and jumped up on the porch could she see the shuttle.

It was an enclosed, ten-man vehicle, made for long stays in the untamed, unexplored areas of Chorillan. Men gathered, attracted by the sound. Ian and Nobi came out of the office, followed by Clay Emers, the magistrate.

A cloud of dust rose around the shuttle when it thumped to a landing. The lift jets shrieked and died. The men watching from the porch ran out to meet it.The hatch at the front popped out and slid aside, accompanied by a shriek that sounded like a wounded wild animal.

"There's a new Wildling in there," Clay Emers said. He chuckled when both children jumped at the sound of his voice. With a broken leg, he preferred staying in one place.

"Why are they hurting him?" Kay'li asked. When he settled down on the bench, she climbed up next to him and he put an arm around her shoulders.

"They aren't," Lucas said. "He's just so scared he has to scream like that." He shivered and hunched his shoulders.

The men at the shuttle yelled and scattered. A boy hurtled from the open door, hit the ground and rolled. He had long, dirty red hair and dark-tanned skin barely covered by rags. He turned to face the men, who regrouped to surround him. The shrieking stopped.

"Leave him alone!" Lucas leaped off the porch and ran to the shuttle.

Kay'li saw a man emerge from the shuttle with a rifle. A soft pop filled the silence. The Wildling let out a yelp and fell. Lucas reached him two seconds later.

"Get that kid out of there!" The man with the gun ran, beating all the other adults to where Lucas knelt, cradling the Wildling. "Stupid kid--you could get infected!"

"You didn't have to shoot him!" Lucas screamed back. He yanked the dart from the boy's arm and threw it at the man.

"Infected?" Kay'li turned to Emers. The big, red-faced man shook his head. "Master Emers, is Lucas going to get sick?"

"Only idiots think Phase is a virus," the man grumbled. "Lucas'll be fine. Don't you worry your little head about him."

.4.

"Nobody really knows, sweetheart," Ian said, when Kay'li repeated her question at dinner that night.

"But if those men brought the Wildling back--" She shook her head and stared down at her orangeberry tart. "Won't they get sick first?"

"Only children are susceptible to whatever causes Phase," Miranda said. She met her husband's gaze and nodded slightly. Kay'li hated when her parents exchanged looks like that; it meant they kept something secret from her.

"But Master Emers said Phase isn't a virus." Kay'li pushed against the table, making her chair creak. "I don't understand." She felt more confused when Ian chuckled.

"You're not alone. Chorillan has been settled three generations now. All we really know about Phase is the age range, warning signs and what makes a child a possible Wildling. We don't know if it's a disease, a parasite, a mutation--"

"No," Miranda broke in. Patches of color touched her cheeks. "It's not a mutation. It can't be."

"Until an official study is done, everything is just rumor," Ian said, his voice soothing.

"Rumors can kill."

"How?" Kay'li leaned forward, eager to learn.

"Remember Uncle Nobi and me talking about the Kleintran Wars?" Ian waited until Kay'li nodded. "It started from nasty rumors. People chose to believe rumors instead of facts. It turned into a race war, trying to wipe out mutations. Whole families were destroyed on the slim chance a mutated gene might show up in their descendants."

"But--" She sighed, frustrated that she couldn't find the words to express her question. "Mutants aren't--you said they didn't do anything. To make people kill them."

"That's why rumors can kill," Miranda said. "Someone decided mutants didn't qualify as Humans and would grow dangerous, and the only way to protect both sides was to sterilize all mutants as they appeared. Someone's stupid prejudice turned into genocide."

"Da helped stop it," Kay'li said, smiling proudly.

"Yes, I helped." Ian reached across the table and caught at Miranda's hand. "It won't happen here. I promise."

.5.

Kay'li wished for snow. She was tired of rain, and weeks of gray. Her father got up before dawn and sometimes didn't come home until after dinner. He helped settlers get their homes ready for the winter snows. That was important work, but Kay'li didn't like seeing him come home wet and muddy and walking like his joints had turned to ice. She wanted more than a good-night kiss and a few minutes to tell him about her day while he tucked her into bed. She wanted him to be home when her mother had her bad days, so he could hold her and kiss her better.

She felt more than a little surprised when she came down for breakfast one morning and found her father still at the table. Kay'li would have worried, sure that her mother felt even worse today, but Miranda smiled at her.

"Do you feel like helping me clean the house, so we can have the Aidans over for dinner tonight?" her mother asked.

Both her parents laughed when Kay'li could only stare. They hadn't had guests over for moons now.

"Can I make a cake?" Kay'li finally asked.

"All by yourself?"

"Well...I might need a little help," she said, feeling like she could jump high enough to touch the ceiling. If her mother felt strong enough to have guests, then she was getting better!

That exuberant feeling didn't last long. That evening, Kay'li sighed and wiped at a creamy brown puddle of spyce on the counter. Just when everything was clean, something spilled or it was time to make another meal. She had helped her father finish the cleaning while Miranda napped. The bedrooms and front room were easy, compared to the kitchen. Kay'li had never known so much dirt existed, or there were so many places it could hide.

Now, with the counters gleaming and smelling fresh, she didn't want the kitchen to ever get dirty again. Sam had spilled the spyce when he refilled cups for their parents. Kay'li wished she had made dibbleroot cake instead of using the imported chocolate powder. Chocolate was her mother's favorite off-world flavor, a treat her father insisted on despite the expense. Sam was allergic to dibbleroot.

"It looks perfect," Jenni Aidan said, as Kay'li brought the plate of cake squares into the front room, where the long table had been set up for company. "You just made that today?"

"Among other things," Ian said. He winked at Kay'li and lifted his cup in salute. "She started the laundry by herself and remade the beds and mopped the floors. I don't know where she got the energy."

"She certainly didn't save it up at school," Miranda said, laughing. "She works so hard, sometimes she frightens me." She wrapped an arm around Kay'li and brushed a kiss on her cheek.

"Lucas is the best," Sam said through a mouthful of cake. He had crumbs smeared around his mouth.

"I'm the oldest," Lucas mumbled. "I started earlier." He looked down at his half-eaten portion, picking at it with his fork. Kay'li wanted to ask him what was wrong, but not where Sam could listen. Sam teased Tanya about chasing Lucas, and Kay'li didn't want him to start in on her, next.

"Kay'li just works harder," Mistress Aidan said, smiling. "Lucas, you'd better work harder, or she'll pass you."

"I don't mind." He managed a smile.

"My cousin in Port sent an interesting letter," Seth Aidan said. He had been silent during most of the dinner.

Kay'li supposed she liked Master Aidan. He was a quiet man, hardly ever in the house when she played with Lucas, always busy somewhere with soil and seeds and visiting other farmers. He coordinated the experimental agriculture stations, testing imported, gene-altered seeds to see how they grew in Chorillan soil. Kay'li had decided Master Aidan had to be nice if Mistress Aidan had married him. Lucas told her about camping trips with his father and models they built together.

"News?" Ian said.

"A bit." Seth raised his cup and sipped, then glanced around the table with a smile. His pale gaze rested on Lucas longest. "Marcus says they've found something to prevent Phase."

"First they have to find out what causes it."

"Overload of the nervous system. That's what it's been all along, but they've let superstition and rumors get in the way." Seth gestured with his cup at Lucas. "I'm taking the boys for the treatment tomorrow. Lucas is at the susceptible age, but we might as well get Sam protected, too."

"How long did they test it before they decided to offer it to the public?"

"My cousin didn't say."

"Don't you think you should find out?"

"It's offered through the Health Authority."

Ian pushed back from the table a little, as if he would get up and pace. Kay'li hoped he wouldn't, because he had been doing too much of that lately. "I'm not trusting anything that hasn't been tested with better diagnostics than we have here. They need researchers from the Commonwealth Upper University."

"You have time. Kay'li won't be susceptible for three more years." Seth pounded his fist on the table, making cups rattle. "Lucas could hit Phase this spring. I won't take the risk."

"Risk him with Phase or risk an untried treatment? I always prefer the devil I know to the one I don't, thanks."

"You're a fool," the other man growled.

Kay'li watched Lucas pick crumbs off the cake, moving slowly, all his concentration on his food. She felt a queasy twisting inside. What if the treatment hurt instead of helped?

The Aidans went home soon after that. Mistress Aidan still smiled, but Kay'li saw the sadness in her eyes. Sam took the chance to pull her hair one last time as he went out the door. Kay'li refused to yelp, because that made him happy. She stuck her foot out to trip him. Dodging her, Sam lost his balance and slid down two steps. A snort of laughter escaped Lucas, standing behind her, still putting his coat on.

"Do you have to go tomorrow?" Kay'li whispered, while the adults clustered around Sam, brushing him off.

"Pa says." The laughter fled his eyes.

"Is it going to hurt?"

"Some." Lucas finished fastening his coat. "They take blood for testing and then they stick you with needles and put all sorts of medicine in you."

"I hate needles. Da says Chorillan is so far behind, he's surprised the Peacers don't use bows and arrows."

To her relief, Lucas laughed. She didn't like it when he was so somber, trying not to be afraid.

School the next day was too quiet. Kay'li missed Sam as much as she missed Lucas. Tanya admitted she would take the preventive treatment once her father saw how Lucas and Sam reacted to it. Kay'li kept her mouth shut. Ian had explained that he wouldn't risk her life on an unproven treatment. Kay'li refused to admit that her father feared the treatment.

She listened for the flyer all evening, praying the Aidan boys would come back before she had to go to bed. When she heard the growl of the flyer's engine, she bolted, barely remembering to grab her coat before hitting the door outside. The rain fell harder, but the wind had died.

She met the Aidans entering the residential section. Lucas trudged ahead of his father, head bowed. Master Aidan carried Sam. Kay'li slowed her steps, feeling something tighten around her throat. Lucas didn't notice her until she caught hold of his hand. He jerked, stared for a few seconds as if he didn't know her. Then he gave her a crooked smile.

"Did it hurt bad?" she whispered.

"Needles aren't so bad if you don't look."

"Sam looked?" she guessed.

"What time is it?"

"Don't know. Late."

"They didn't let us eat all day. Said it would make the medicine work faster." Lucas shrugged. "I'm starving."

"Did a lot of people come?"

"Hardly anyone. The doctor was mad." He paused at the corner where his street met the main trail. "It's not as bad as Phase, he said."

"It still hurts." She squeezed his hand, wishing she knew how to help. "There's still chocolate cake, if you want."

"Kay'li?" Ian called, coming out of the darkness. He rocked back on his heels as he reached them. "How are they?" he said to Seth. Kay'li was glad to hear only concern in his voice, not the anger that tried to creep in last night.

"Tired, sore, hungry." Master Aidan smiled. He looked as tired as his sons. "Your girl's got sharp ears."

"She ran so fast she left the door open." He bent down and scooped up Kay'li. "Time for bed, flitterbug."

"Da, can Lucas have some chocolate cake? He's starving," Kay'li hurried to add.

"That's real nice," Seth said. "The boys have a strict diet until the medicine works through their systems. Thanks anyway. Lucas?" He nudged his son's shoulder. "You're not falling asleep, are you?"

"Let's let them get home." Ian stepped out of their path. He and Kay'li watched until the three reached their front door.

.6.

The next morning was a bad day for Miranda, so class was at the Aidans'. Kay'li arrived first. Mistress Aidan gave her pages to read until the others showed up. Kay'li turned on her lap screen and tried to study, but her attention kept wandering.

Tanya and Pol showed up together, scuffling on the doorstep. Kay'li didn't hear Mistress Aidan come to answer the door. She waited a moment, then answered it herself.

Sam stumbled in before the other two could finish removing their coats. He looked more rumpled than usual, with dark smears under his eyes. When Pol bumped into him, Sam yelped.

"Watch out!" He stepped back, rubbing his arms.

"Needles hurt, don't they?" Kay'li said. She bent her head over her screen, pretending she didn't see Tanya scowl.

"Hurt Lucas worse. Gave him more shots than me," Sam announced as he took his seat.

"Why?" Pol asked.

"He's older."

"That doesn't make any sense," Tanya said. "Medicine is all the same no matter how old we are."

"That's not true." Mistress Aidan came in leading Lucas.

He hunched over like he had the night before. His hair was wet, combed flat to his head. Kay'li suspected he only got out of the shower a few minutes ago. Lucas barely looked at her as he sat and turned on his screen. The dark smears under his eyes made Sam's look like nothing. His cheeks looked sunken, his skin pale. She was afraid to touch him, afraid she would hurt him.

"Age does have something to do with the size of dosage," Mistress Aidan continued as she took her seat. "A man twice your size would need twice the dose if mass affects the way the medicine works. Understand?"

"Like you need a whole bucket of lotusite paste for sunburn, but only a little if you cut your hand?" Pol said.

"Something like that." Her gaze moved to Lucas and her smile faded. "Did you all read your pages last night?"

Kay'li kept as silent as Lucas during lessons. Her thoughts kept jumping between worry for Lucas, anger that Sam was almost normal, and a fear she couldn't describe.

She couldn't understand how anyone could fear Wildlings. They were just children. They ran away when Phase hurt too much, and hid in the forests until they felt better. Then adults found them and brought them home and everything was fine again.

Watching Lucas struggle to keep his eyes open and operate his screen, Kay'li decided there had to be more danger if Lucas' father would hurt him just to make sure he didn't become a Wildling. She wanted to ask her father, but she suspected he would tell her to wait until she was older.

"Lucas is sick bad," Kay'li announced at dinner that night, and kept her gaze on her plate. She sensed her parents and Nobi grow too still. Nobi had come for dinner to discuss plans for trips in the spring, to look for new Wildlings.

"How sick?" Nobi asked after a moment of deep quiet.

"He's not puking or anything." She shrugged and speared a slice of pale green bitterroot with her fork. "He's tired and cold and his hands shake and he hardly talks. And Mistress Aidan watched him all day. If she's worried, he's bad, right?"

"Too right." Ian nodded. "When'd you learn to be so observant?" he asked with a weak chuckle.

"Don't know." She shrugged and picked up her knife. Dried hopper meat was fine in stew, but made a stringy steak, even if it soaked all day in broth before her father broiled it.

The talk turned to news from Scout Corps friends. When Ian took temporary leave, their team had split, either taking consulting or teaching assignments, or working as free-rangers. Kay'li liked the letters from people she had never met and hearing about new worlds and adventures.

"If there were other kids in your team, would you get put on a station?" she asked, when Nobi paused to dig through his pocket for a letter tape.

"A Leaper ship," her father said. He smiled. "Someday, I want you to meet your cousin, Alexa. You two are almost the same age."

"You have Leaper blood." Miranda spoke softly, her eyes bright. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could be a Leap captain, just like your great-great-grandmother?"

"I have to be a Scout, like Da," Kay'li said with a decisive nod.

"When did you decide this?" Ian laughed.

"I'll be lots safer from Grandmother, if I'm a Scout. Right?" She knew immediately she had said the wrong thing. Smiles faded from the three adult faces and they glanced at each other with questioning, worried looks.

"You little minx!" Nobi shook his head and tried to grin. "You ought to send her straight to the Academy, Ian."

"She might be a match for Cousin Bain, at that." Ian nodded. "Don't worry, sweetheart. If your grandmother makes trouble, it'll only be for me. If she tries to take you away...we'll run to the Scouts, I promise." He met Miranda's gaze as he spoke, as if Kay'li and Nobi weren't there at all.

.7.

Lucas didn't come downstairs for class the next day. Throughout the day, Mistress Aidan gave the other students work, then went upstairs to check on Lucas, then came back down to test them on their lessons. Kay'li thought the morning had never lasted so long. She almost wished for some interruption, a fight between Pol and Sam, but the others were quiet and worried too.

They read their screens and answered questions and stayed in their seats. Kay'li strained her ears for any sounds coming from upstairs, but the house was too quiet. She didn't dare ask about Lucas. She was afraid of bad news.

Lucas didn't come to lessons for the next two days. All classes were held at the Aidan house now, to let Miranda rest. The fourth day after the boys had the treatment, Master Aidan came to the Fieran home early in the morning to say there wouldn't be any classes. His wife needed to spend more time looking after Lucas.

"What's wrong with him?" Ian asked. He stood at the counter, taking the spyce pot off the heat coil. Master Aidan had come in, after some urging, to have a hot drink.

Kay'li listened unnoticed in the doorway of the kitchen. She stood on one foot, tucking her bare foot up under her nightgown, trying not to shiver.

"Can't figure it out. He's feverish, rash all over and can't keep anything in his stomach but water." Seth rubbed at his eyes. "That boy's fighting the best he can. Just--" His voice broke. "Breaks my heart, seeing how brave he's been."

"Think the treatment brought it on?" Ian asked, his voice so quiet, Kay'li almost couldn't catch the words.

"Has to be. Did I call and report it?" Master Aidan's voice tightened. "Yes, I did, the first morning Lucas couldn't get out of bed. They say nobody else reacted. Medicine came on the next supply run. Didn't help. Jenni wants to try herbals, but the H.A. people say it's their way or he could die." He caught his breath. "Think they know something they're not telling us?"

"I think they don't know what they're doing, but they're too stubborn to admit it." Ian filled both their cups. "What does Jenni want to do?"

"A thousand things, all prohibited by the H.A. Get rid of that rash, bring down his fever. Half the problem is how uncomfortable he is. Can't sleep. You should hear him complain about how the medicine and food stink." He surprised Kay'li by chuckling. "He's a fighter. Never been more proud of him."

Kay'li went back upstairs, careful to miss the creaky steps. She took her time washing and dressing for the day, listening for their voices to stop and the door to open and slam closed. She put on her coat and carried her scarf, hat and gloves. She felt like she stood in a cage. When she came downstairs, she found her father sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands.

"Da?" She leaned up against him and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Are you scared for Lucas too?"

"I wish I could help." He lifted his head and opened his eyes. A crooked smile curved his lips. "You look ready for a day outside, not class."

"I heard Master Aidan." She took a deep breath. "Da, is Lucas going to die?"

"Not if we can help it." Ian leaned back in his chair and scrubbed at his unshaven face. He looked tired. Kay'li wondered if he had slept the night before, worrying about her mother. "I hate feeling so helpless."

"Could you call the Scouts to come help?"

"What makes you think that'd do any good?" he asked with that dry chuckle that meant he covered some hurt.

"Mama says, between the Scouts and Fi'in, there's no problem too big to handle."

"Your mama is the wisest lady who ever lived. Have you been saying your prayers for Lucas?" Ian tapped her nose with his thumb, making her giggle despite the serious conversation. She nodded. "That's good. Praying does more good than people credit. As for the Scouts..."

"Won't they help?" Kay'li crawled up onto his lap. She needed to be held.

"I'd have to use the high-power transceiver in Port to contact a Leaper, and they'd have to Leap to Drasti and Cousin Bain, and then bring back a special medical team. That's a lot of trouble for one boy, even if he is your best friend. It all takes time. By the time they get a team put together, Lucas could be recovering. Or, he could be dead," Ian admitted after a long pause. He hugged her. "I can't misuse my authority like that. If there were more ill children, that'd be another story. Health Authority says Lucas is the only one."

Kay'li nodded as if she understood. Her heart didn't want to understand. Lucas was her best friend. Breakfast waited on the table; nutmeal muffins, orangeberry jam and slices of dried goldapple. She didn't want any, if Lucas couldn't eat.

"Da, can't Lucas eat anything?" She slid off his lap.

"The H.A. sent some vitamin protein compounds supposedly anyone can eat. He couldn't keep it down. He isn't allowed anything else until the drugs have worked through his system."

"That's stupid. When I throw up, Mama gives me what I want. She says it's important to have things that taste extra good, and my body knows what I need."

"I know, sweetheart. If Lucas doesn't get better soon, his mother's going to break orders." Ian stood. "Since you don't have class this morning, want to come walking with me?"

"Could I go visit Lucas, first?" She stared at the basket of muffins, an idea forming in her mind.

"Sure." Ian stepped out of the kitchen.

Kay'li heard him go up the stairs, taking breakfast to her mother. She waited until the third step creaked, then she snatched up two muffins and a handful of goldapple, wrapped them in a napkin and jammed them into her coat's largest pocket. Lucas loved nutmeal muffins. If his mother would break some rules soon, maybe he would be allowed to eat the muffins.

She took a third muffin, split it and smeared it with orangeberry jam. Kay'li gulped it in large bites, then drank a cup of spyce so fast some went up her nose.

"Going out, Da!" she called and dashed for the door. She heard Ian's voice as the door slammed, but not the words. Kay'li flew down the street and between two houses to get to the Aidans' house.

"Can I see Lucas? Please?" Kay'li blurted when Mistress Aidan answered the door. Her voice trembled.

"He's not really up to visitors." She touched Kay'li's face and her hand came away wet. "There's no reason to cry."

"Please? Isn't he bored? I could watch him while you're doing things," she offered with a flash of inspiration.

"That's sweet of you." Mistress Aidan's eyes unfocussed for a moment, making her look tired. Then she nodded. "I think a visitor would help. If you could just watch him while I clean?" She opened the door wide and beckoned for Kay'li to come in.

Kay'li kept her coat when the woman offered to hang it up for her. They climbed the steps. Mistress Aidan led her to the door at the far end of the hall.

"Ma?" Lucas spoke in a soft moan as the door opened. Sheets whispered in the darkened room.

"You have a visitor. Would you like to talk to Kay'li for a while?" Mistress Aidan's voice sounded a few steps too high.

"Kay'li?" The bedsprings creaked. "Where?"

"Right here." Kay'li felt her face get hot when her voice cracked.

Lucas let out a moan when his mother turned on a light over the desk on the other side of the room. He lay back against a pile of pillows, sheets pulled up to his neck, shivering. He didn't wear a shirt. What Kay'li could see of his skin was covered with reddish blotches.

"I'm going to catch up with you in school," Kay'li said, blurting the first thing that came to her mind. She smiled when Lucas started to laugh. The laughter turned to a cough that shook the bed, and she wanted to run from the room. She took the chair Mistress Aidan pulled out from the desk and clutched the seat until her fingers turned white.

Mistress Aidan fussed over Lucas for a few seconds, getting him some water, which stopped the coughing. She straightened his sheets and fluffed his pillows and wiped his face with a wet cloth. When she turned around, she looked more tired, and Kay'li began to think her whole plan was bad. Then Mistress Aidan smiled at her.

"You two settle in and have a good talk. When Sam's finished, how about I send him in and you three can play some games?" She stepped to the door.

"Sounds good." Lucas waited until his mother left, then rolled over onto his side, disturbing all the sheets she had just straightened. "How long have I been sick?"

"Three--four days now. Why?"

"Seems like moons."

Kay'li decided Mistress Aidan had been gone long enough. She dug into her pockets. "My Da says you have to eat some glop from the Health Authority."

"Tastes like melted plastic and fertilizer," he grumbled, making a disgusted face.

"Da thinks they're stupid, and so do I." She unwrapped the napkin. "Hungry?" She displayed the slightly squashed food with a grin of triumph.

Lucas stared at the muffins and fruit chips, his eyes wide. "That smells good," he whispered.

Kay'li broke one muffin into three parts and gave one to him. "Better eat slow." She tried to remember everything her mother did for her, when she had been too sick to eat. She poured a cup of water for him and turned back to see Lucas nibbling at the muffin.

"This tastes better than anything." Lucas paused to grin. He took the cup from her and sipped at the cool water. "It feels weird in my stomach."

"You're not going to throw up again, are you?" Kay'li scooted back on her knees, positive he would do it all over her.

"No. I'm hungry, that's all. Feels good to be hungry."

They talked about their plans for winter, building snow forts and teaming up against Sam and Pol because Tanya refused to play rough games. Lucas nibbled on the food, making it go down slowly and in small bits. They didn't hear Mistress Aidan come back upstairs. She pushed the door open and caught Lucas putting the last bite of muffin into his mouth.

Kay'li had never seen anyone turn so white. She knew she was never going to be allowed to see Lucas again.

"Ma, I'm still hungry," he said, grinning, and stuffed the last of the muffin into his mouth.

"Fi'in, help me," Mistress Aidan whispered. She settled down on the edge of Lucas' bed and pressed her hands against the sides of his face.

"I just wanted to help," Kay'li whispered. "He hasn't got sick at all."

"No, and that's the wonder of it." The woman turned to her. "How much has he eaten? When did you give him the food?"

"Right after you left." Kay'li shrugged. "I didn't bring my chrono."

"I've been gone almost an hour. Lucas, you don't feel queasy? No headaches?"

"Just hungry!" Lucas pushed himself up higher against the pillows, grinning.

"Your fever's not so bad. I don't believe--" Mistress Aidan made a sound somewhere between a sigh and laughter. "Yes, I do believe. Those bureaucrats don't know how to do anything right. Now, I want you both to tell me exactly what happened. This is very important."

Mistress Aidan asked the oddest questions; how big the muffins were, how they were made, how fresh the ingredients were, how many goldapple chips Lucas ate, how big they were, how they were dried. Kay'li didn't understand what that had to do with Lucas being able to eat and not throw up. When she went home, Lucas got broth and bread to eat. He demanded that she promise to come back in the afternoon.

"Don't push your recovery, young man." Mistress Aidan leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Kay'li almost laughed aloud when he blushed. Why was he embarrassed?

When she got home and told her father, Kay'li got a different reaction. Ian finished putting another log on the fire, dusted his hands off, then crossed the room to the couch. He sat down, nodding, lips pursed slightly in his thinking look.

"Lucas is better already, Da."

"You're lucky, Kay'li. Your decision was the right one. I'm proud of you for acting on what you thought was right." Ian sighed. "But what if that was the wrong thing to do? What if that food made Lucas worse?"

"It didn't!" She dropped her coat on the floor by the door. Kay'li knew her father was worried when he didn't tell her to hang it up. She climbed onto the couch next to him. "Master Aidan said the medicine wasn't helping."

"That's right. But did you really think it through, get all the facts? Acting on instinct is something Scouts have to learn. I probably would have done the same thing you did, but after a lot of thinking and checking the data. Scouts live by instincts, but trained instincts." He rubbed at his eyes and let out a groan. "I'm doing this all wrong. I'm proud of you. Don't ever forget that. I just want you to be careful in the future. Out there with the Corps, the smallest mistake can get people hurt. Or killed. You won't be an acting Scout, but you'll be a part of the team just the same. You have to be careful all the time."

"The team? You're going back?" If they were going to join the Scouts, then her mother was definitely getting better.

"I sent a message to Cousin Bain. What's the use of having the Commander General for a cousin if you don't ask favors once in a while? Nothing is official yet, so don't mention it, all right?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and shook her a little. "Which brings us back to what I was saying. Until you've had training, come to me with your brilliant ideas, all right?"

"All right, Da." Kay'li giggled, relieved and delighted with the news. The sound ended on a sigh, as she realized she would have to leave Chorillan, and Lucas, to join the Scouts.

.8.

Rain hit the window with tiny cores of ice, sounding like fingernails tapping, trying to wear away the plastic. Ian straightened in the stiff chair beside the bed and stared out into the darkness. He wished for a little lightning, some thunder, anything to break the hypnotizing monotony of the rain. He didn't want to fall asleep. He couldn't waste time sleeping.

Miranda lay too still in the double bed, lost among the blankets and pillows. The air tasted of medicines, bitter herbs in the humidifier, rubbed into Miranda's skin, sitting in bottles and bowls to swallow or swab away her fever sweat. Ian tasted the medicines when he ate. Jenni Aidan exhausted her training and herself, trying to save Miranda.

"I can't let you go," Ian whispered, soft enough he couldn't hear himself through the hissing hum of the rain.

Miranda's eyelids twitched. He wanted to hold her, but her skin bruised at the lightest touch. Powdered lotusite didn't help; fresh lotusite paste couldn't ease her suffering.

Ian's lips twitched, the closest he had come to a smile in nearly a week. Kay'li had been so proud that Jenni Aidan used the lotusite she had found, to treat her mother.

"Da?" Kay'li whispered.

Ian thought he dreamed her voice, until she touched his hand. She leaned against his chair, all her attention on her mother. Ian didn't want to speak, didn't want to hear the hoarse strain in his voice. He wrapped his arms around Kay'li and lifted her up to his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder, turned so she could watch Miranda sleep. He kept his arms around her, with half a thought of getting a blanket for her. Kay'li hated wearing robe and slippers, no matter how cold the air and floor. Her nightshirt was too short--when had she grown?

They sat in silent vigil. The rain pounded harder. If only Miranda's fever would peak and let the crisis come. He had seen the truth in Jenni's eyes; if the fever didn't break soon, Miranda would never wake.

Kay'li fell asleep. Ian wavered between relief and feeling abandoned when she began to slide like a rag doll in his grasp.

Miranda whimpered. He stiffened, ready to leap up and run down the hall to get Jenni.

"Ian?" Miranda's eyes flickered open.

He slid from the chair, still holding Kay'li, and knelt next to the bed. Miranda's hand brushed his cheek, scorching his skin with its heat.

"I'm here," he whispered.

"You called me." She smiled, bright and sweet as the day of their first kiss.

"Manda, I love you." His voice caught and cracked.

"Love you," she echoed, and closed her eyes.

Ian caught at her hand. He held it lightly, enduring the fever burning her up from the inside, until his knees ached and went numb. Her fingers twitched once, then went limp in his hand. He held her hand until the fever finally cooled.

.9.

Ian let Nobi help him dig the grave. He would have done it by himself, but with more hands the job would be done sooner. Jenni Aidan and her boys were at the house, but he didn't want to leave Kay'li for too long.

He worried about Kay'li. She didn't throw tantrums or fight when told to wash or dress or eat. She obeyed, silently, slowly. Tears sometimes filled her eyes but she didn't sob or let loose the pressure. Ian knew she would get sick if something didn't happen. He didn't want her to be alone when the break came.

"It'll be a nice day tomorrow." Nobi jammed his shovel into the heavy mud to the right of the gaping hole. "Ian, take a breather."

"We're almost done."

"You won't do Kay'li any good if you knock yourself out." Nobi waited; Ian kept digging, putting all his concentration on making the corners sharp, the sides straight. "Ian."

"I know." Ian slammed the shovel down, feeling the jarring all the way up his arm as the shovel hit a stone.

"What are your plans?"

"Survive."

"She wouldn't want you to be miserable," Nobi said. "She'd tell you to find someone to love and be happy. Give Kay'li some brothers and sisters."

"She wanted lots of children," he whispered. Ian felt the hot pressure at the back of his eyes. He stood still, waiting for the break. When the pressure eased, he sighed and raked muddy, bruised hands through his wet hair.

"When are we leaving?"

"I reserved a cabin on a cruiser next spring. We'll take the last ship out just before the first snow."

"Trick that harridan mother of Miranda's into thinking she has time?" Nobi nodded, his mouth a wry grimace. "Smart."

"Manda made me promise to keep Kay'li safe from Kalinda." Ian reached for the shovel. "Let's get this finished."

He made mental notes as he finished digging, all the flowering bushes to transplant to cover the grave. He needed to leave something to show Miranda wasn't forgotten, because he and Kay'li would not be back to Chorillan for years. Not until Kay'li was an adult, safe from her grandmother's ploys.

.10.

Ian went on guard from the moment Kalinda Riallon stepped off the Council shuttle. Kallin hadn't come to his sister's funeral. Ian knew better than to be grateful. While Kalinda displayed her grief, Kallin could attack from the rear and snatch Kay'li from her father's arms.

Mistress Riallon wore black, even wrapping her golden hair in a turban of glossy black material. Ian wondered if she used makeup to accent the dark circles under her eyes. She wouldn't permit herself to look haggard, he knew, but she could still let people know she had suffered.

"Kalinda, my dear." The woman gave Ian one cold stare of acknowledgment when he and Kay'li met her at the landing field. "We must comfort each other in our loss. Come, will you give your grandmother a kiss?" She smiled, a thin, cool expression.

"No," Kay'li whispered. She had held her father's hand from the moment they left the house. She hid her face in the folds of his long coat. Ian felt her shivering.

"Kay'li." He knelt and tipped her chin up with his free hand, so she had to look at him. Terror blazed in her eyes and she edged around, putting him between her and Mistress Riallon. "Run ahead and tell Mistress Aidan your grandmother is here."

Ian held his breath, praying the breaking point hadn't come now, of all times. Then Kay'li nodded. Slowly, she released his hand. She darted away the moment she let go. In moments she was a blur of dark brown coat, blue leggings and bobbing braids, disappearing down the trail.

"As I expected," Kalinda said, voice brittle. "Miranda's death has traumatized the child."

"That may be too harsh a word," Ian said, keeping his voice light. "But I agree." He gestured down the trail. "We're ready to begin. If you'd like to stop at the house first?"

"No. The sooner this tragedy is finished, the better." She gathered her flowing cloak around herself and stalked away.

The day grew grayer with every step Ian took down the trail toward the chapel and cemetery. He saw mist moving across the moss and razor grass, felt the clouds filling the air, ready to drop a storm on them. He prayed the rain would wait until after he had covered Miranda's grave. He watched her mother, two steps ahead of him, and speculated on her reaction to a storm today. She would likely take it as a personal insult.

At the gate in the fence, Ian caught up with Mistress Riallon and reached to open the gate ahead of her. She paused and favored him with an uplifted eyebrow. Had she forgotten he was there? Surprised he had the manners to open the gate? Then she swept through.

The chapel was full. Two places remained open on the front bench, facing the closed casket. Nobi sat on the end, then the two open spots, then Kay'li, and the Aidan family beyond her. Lucas had his arm tight around Kay'li. She hid her face in his shoulder when her grandmother settled down next to her. The glower the boy gave Mistress Riallon forced Ian to cough to cover his sudden urge to laugh.

Ian made a mental tally of who had come. As far as he could tell, everyone belonging to the outpost had come. Even the two Wildling settler couples had come. Everyone had known Miranda, and loved her.

.11.

"Nothing like a little bit of danger to show you who your friends are," Nobi muttered, coming up behind Ian.

"Hmm?" Ian shook off his reverie and turned to him.

The funeral party had taken over the dining hall. Ian found it hard to think in the enclosed place, with voices all around him. He had taken a place by the door where he could watch Kay'li and not smother.

Nobi pointed at Kay'li, huddled in a corner with the other children. She had her back in the corner, with Lucas and Sam on either side of her. Tanya and Pol sat with their backs to the room, effectively blocking anyone from getting to her. It looked like a last stage defensive move. Ian imagined his daughter's playmates with swords and shields, vowing to defend her against all comers. It was amusing, until he saw Mistress Riallon bearing down on the children. From the scowl darkening her face, she had reached the end of her boasted but minimal patience.

Ian hesitated half a second. His presence could make the coming confrontation worse for Kay'li, or he could deflect the old woman's anger onto himself. He knew what he preferred.

The children played a game of snatch-stones. Ian smiled to see Kay'li doing something, instead of just sitting. Her hands didn't move as quickly as usual, but Lucas had made her his partner and they had a decent little pile of colored stones between them. Ian didn't look forward to depriving her of Lucas when they left the planet in a few days. She only seemed able to live while holding onto someone, either him or Lucas or Jenni.

"Kalinda."

The children ignored her and kept playing. Tanya flinched when the woman's long cloak brushed her back.

"Kalinda," she said, a little louder. "Dear, we need to talk. Put on your coat and come with Grandmother."

Kay'li never lifted her head. Her hands moved faster, but with uncharacteristic jerks and snatches.

Mistress Riallon stepped closer. Ian expected her to push aside Tanya and Pol. "You are extremely rude. I should have expected such uncivilized behavior, with the father you have."

"Her name is Kay'li," Lucas growled, raising his head to pin the woman with a glare. "You leave her alone. She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Little boy, you should learn some manners," she snapped back. She bent over and held out her hand practically in Kay'li's face. "Kalinda, you will come with me now."

"No." Kay'li lifted her head. Two spots of color burned in her pale cheeks. Her eyes snapped fire.

"You're to blame for this." She whirled to face Ian.

The talk in the dining hall died out in ripples. Ian thought he felt the support and sympathy of everyone in the room. Kay'li stared at Ian, her eyes pleading.

"Mistress Riallon, now isn't a good time--"

"I'll stand for no more of your lies. I don't care if you claim to be a Scout, with all their high morals and standards. My granddaughter is turning into a savage. You ruined my daughter's life, but I won't let you ruin her daughter's life."

"My Da didn't do anything!" Kay'li struggled to her feet.

"He brought your mother out here to die."

"Mama wanted to be here. She didn't want to be with you!" She stalked past the protection of her playmates, jammed her fists into her hips and glared up at her grandmother.

"Kalinda, you are making a scene. If you had done as you were told and put your coat on when I first spoke, you would not be embarrassing yourself now."

"Leave her alone!" Lucas blurted. "She doesn't like you. She told us you were mean."

"You, little boy, need to have some manners whipped into you." She gestured at the coat rack. "Kalinda, get your coat. You are coming with me."

"No!" Kay'li flung herself at Ian. He picked her up, startled to feel how she trembled.

"Captain Fieran, you will tell your child--"

"With all due respect, Mistress Riallon." Ian fought a nasty smile that clearly said she deserved no respect at all. "Kay'li doesn't want to be with you."

"If you care for that child at all, you will tell her to do what's good for her."

"You killed my mama," Kay'li said, her words muffled against Ian's shoulder. She clung to her father, fingers digging into his coat.

"Is this another of your lies?" She gasped. "You invaded our lives, you've stolen my daughter's love--"

"Mama was sick. Da wanted her to go to Port, to the doctors. She wouldn't go. She said you would keep her in Port." Kay'li turned around, her face gleaming with tears.

"I would have protected your mother from her own foolishness!"

"Go away!" Kay'li kicked and writhed, her face turning scarlet as she fought for breath.

"Captain, if you know what's--"

"What's best," Ian interrupted, and fought not to snarl, "is for you to leave before Kay'li has a seizure. Don't you know hysterics when you see them?" He stomped out of the dining hall. Behind him, all was silence.

Kay'li fell silent, but her body still shuddered in his tight grasp. Her tears soaked through his coat and shirt. She clutched at him as if her fingers would tear through cloth into flesh. Ian walked, paying no attention to his surroundings.

"Scouts don't get lost," he whispered to his daughter, when the only sounds around them were the whispering of the breeze through the tree branches and the choking wheeze of Kay'li fighting to catch her breath.

He walked until the sullen gray afternoon darkened to evening and the fog thickened. Ian felt the coming of winter and imagined Miranda's grave covered with snow.

Kay'li's tight grip relaxed. Ian turned around to go home, sure she had cried herself to sleep. He filled his mind with plans for passing the next few days, until their ship left. Mistress Riallon and her son would leave him and Kay'li alone all winter, letting them relax and think they were safe--and then attack in the spring. They loved playing mind games, but they had never played against a Scout before, and they were about to lose. For Miranda's sake.

"Da?" Kay'li's voice startled him. His arms closed around her, tight enough to make her gasp.

"Sorry, sweetheart. You scared me. I thought you were asleep." Ian shifted her around so she straddled his hip and he could lean her back so they saw each other's face.

"Where are we going?" Kay'li rubbed at her face, still damp with tears, her eyes swollen, cheeks red. Her voice sounded raw.

"Home." Ian prayed someone had thought ahead and turned on some lights. He hated the idea of going into that dark house.

"We're not leaving?"

"For where?" His voice cracked even as he forced a smile onto his lips.

"Mama said, when she died, we had to leave Chorillan."

"Yes, she did," Ian whispered. He had thought broaching the subject with Kay'li would take more preparation, and he would have to coax her to accept the idea. "Did Mama say why?"

"Because Grandmother hates you, and she'll hurt you and I'll never see you again. When are we leaving, Da?"

"Soon. Sound good to you?"

Kay'li nodded and snuggled against him again. This time her grip didn't threaten to tear him apart. Ian rubbed her back and his paced picked up as they came out of the forest.

"We'll be fine. I promise," Ian whispered. He thought about the talk Miranda must have had with Kay'li, explaining how to take care of him. He had always seen himself as the shield and foundation for their family, protecting them, enjoying the responsibility. Even now, he still had much to learn about Miranda's strength, how she had protected him.

.12.

Ian watched the sleet that filled the air, cold and gray like the guilt eating him up inside. In just two days, he and Kay'li and Nobi would leave for Port. There was no sign that Mistress Riallon suspected a thing. He should be relieved.

He worried. The mishandled preventive treatment for Phase and Lucas' illness continued to nibble at Ian's thoughts. He pitied Wildlings, even as he envied their extra-sharp senses. What wonderful Scouts they would make, if they could ever leave the planet. Yet he feared Kay'li facing Phase and becoming a Wildling. He was relieved to leave before she reached the susceptible age, and guilty that he didn't have the answers he and Miranda had joined forces to find years ago.

The mindset on Chorillan frightened him. People used to fear their children becoming Wildlings, but now they feared Wildlings more. Rumors had come of newly recovered Wildlings sedated to the point they died of overdose. Of children whose parents didn't want to take them home after rehabilitation.

What would it be like in the spring, when Phase hit? The preventive treatment that had made Lucas so ill had yet to be proven. If no treated child went into Phase this coming spring, then the treatment would be a success, worth the discomfort and worry. But he and Nobi wouldn't be here to rejoice with their friends. Should he be glad, or worried?

"Da?"

"Hmm?" Ian turned from the window. Kay'li leaned against the doorframe, watching him. He sat down on the couch.

"When can I tell the other kids we're leaving?"

"Do you want to tell them?"

"They'll be mad if I just leave."

"You mean, Lucas will be angry at you." Ian watched Kay'li cross the room to sit next to him.

"I have to tell him how he can write to us. If he wants to write," she said, her voice softer with every word.

"You've thought of everything, haven't you?" He wrapped his arm around her and wondered when she had started growing up. "I hate to tell you, but boys Lucas' age aren't good at writing letters to people on the same planet, let alone across the galaxy. I think if you say good-bye the right way, he'll stay your friend until you come home again, without a single word between you all that time."

"Promise?" Kay'li sniffed.

"If you want, I'll tell Lucas why we're leaving. Maybe he'll be mad at me instead of you."

"He'd never get mad at you. Lucas thinks you're the best."

"Uh huh. And what does my only daughter think about me?"

"I know you're the best, Da."

.13.

"Do you remember Kay'li's grandmother?" Ian asked Lucas as they walked down the trail from the cemetery. It was a bright day, glistening with a hint of frost.

The boy had met up with him on his way back from planting spyce bushes around Miranda's grave. Ian knew the perfect chance had come to have that little talk he had promised Kay'li.

"Space hag," the boy muttered. "She scares Kay'li."

"I know." He debated admitting that Mistress Riallon frightened him, too. Ian hesitated to erode his heroic image in the boy's eyes. "She has a lot of power in the government."

"So she can be a bully?" Lucas gave him one incredulous look, then shook his head.

"I doubt she sees herself as a bully." He fought the urge to laugh at the boy's assessment. "But she does want to take Kay'li away from me. We have to leave, until Kay'li's grown up. When she's an adult, her grandmother can't do anything to her."

"Leave?" Lucas stopped short and stared up at Ian. "Where are you going?"

"Back to the Scouts."

"I wish I could be a Scout." He kicked at a stone in the path and hit a dip filled with ice-crusted mud. His foot sent a brown and crystalline spray across the trail. "Kay'li gets everything good."

"Kay'li doesn't have a mother." He winced when his voice grew sharper than he intended. "We want to stay on Chorillan, but we can't. And she isn't going to be a Scout."

"I would," he grumbled.

"Lucas." Ian waited until the boy met his eyes again. "Kay'li is afraid you won't like her anymore, because she has to leave. She'd give anything to have you come with us," he added on a flash of inspiration. Some of the frown creases around the boy's mouth smoothed. "But she has to go and you have to stay."

"It's not fair."

"Learning life isn't fair is a big step in growing up." He gestured down the trail and started walking again. "Do me a favor?" He waited until the boy nodded. "Act like Kay'li is still your friend, even if you don't mean it, all right?"

"I still mean it! She's my best friend. Even better than Sam." Dismay made Lucas' voice break.

Dismay, or something else. Ian knew this departure spared both children the hurting time when boys and girls couldn't be friends without enduring teasing and torment for it. When that painful time ended, they could be friends again, but in a totally different light. Ian didn't want to see that particular change for a long time to come.

.14.

Kay'li sat in her bedroom on the bare mattress, angled so she could see the forest through her window. She hugged herself tight, fighting the tears that burned her eyes. This was the wrong time to start crying. Kay'li wanted to travel and see new worlds and meet Leapers and Scouts. She wanted to leave before her grandmother tried to take her from her father.

She just wished she could do it without leaving home.

A supply shuttle unloaded right that moment. When it returned to Port, she and her father would be on it. Their bags waited at Emers' office. Mistress Aidan would close up the house for them, cover the furniture and store all the possessions they couldn't take to space with them.

"Thirteen years," Kay'li muttered. She forced herself to think in Standard time now, not Chorillan. A little more than eight years on Chorillan would go by, before she could come home. Thirteen was easier to handle; more pieces, but smaller pieces to use and put behind her.

"Hi," Lucas said from the doorway.

"Hi." Kay'li scrubbed at her face, praying no tears showed. She turned to him and swung her legs off the bed.

"Supply run is here." He pulled his hand from the pocket of his short coat. "Brought you something." The loop of braided slither skin on his palm had purple and green diamonds, glowing dully in the afternoon light.

"Is that the one we killed?" Kay'li reached for the loop.

"Yeah. Sam was mad last night when he saw me making this." Lucas grinned. "He's still scared of it, and it's almost a year dead." He shrugged. "I thought you'd remember better if you had something."

"You think I'd forget?" She tried to put scorn into her voice, but her throat hurt too much. Kay'li slipped the loop over her hand onto her wrist. The supple skin stretched enough to pass, then shrank back to fit snugly.

"You'll be gone a long time. Pa says you might not want to come home."

"We're best friends. I already promised I'd come back. I don't break promises."

"I know." He shrugged and looked at the band instead of her face. "Sam was being dumb. Says you're my girlfriend."

"That's silly. Da says we're too young for mushy stuff." She stroked the band, unable to look at Lucas. "Sam is stupid."

"Pol is his best friend, and Pol isn't leaving," Lucas said, his voice softer.

"Pol is stupid, too." She felt the tears trying to return, and that made her angry. "If you don't want to believe me, maybe you don't want to be friends."

"I think you're glad to leave."

"You don't know anything." Kay'li rubbed at her eyes. "Mama made me promise, to make my Da leave so he'd be safe from my Grandmother. And Da's scared I'll become a Wildling. He doesn't want me to get sick like you were."

"I don't want you to get sick, either."

"Maybe you won't want to be friends when I come back."

"Always friends. Swear on blood and everything." Lucas pulled a folding knife from his pocket and opened the first blade. "Want to?"

Kay'li wiped her eyes once more and held out the hand, still shiny with damp. She watched Lucas make a cut in the tip of her thumb, then his. She let him press the bloody cuts together. For a few seconds they stood there, solemn. Kay'li knew how Lucas would look when he was grown; long lines to his face, his mouth a tight, flat line, with serious, dark eyes.

"We'll always be friends," she whispered, as she drew her hand away.

"Kay'li!" her father called from the bottom of the stairs. "Time to go!"

"Da and Uncle Nobi are going to be explorers when we come back," Kay'li said, as she snatched up her coat from the end of the bed. She caught her cut thumb on a cuff.

"I could work for them." Lucas stepped back to let her lead the way down the hall to the stairs.

"Me, too. I'll learn everything I can from the Scouts."

"Teach me, when you come back?"

"Promise." She grinned and held up her thumb, with a tiny drop of blood oozing from the tip.

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