Schism: Part One of Triad by Catherine Asaro Page A

children. “Have any of you seen him today?”
    “No.” Aniece poked at the bubbles on her plate. “Maybe he’s with Moonglaze.”
    Eldrinson spun around and strode out of the room. By the time he reached the courtyard outside, he was running. He would know if harm had come to Shannon, surely he would know, and he felt no problems, but that only made him more uneasy. He should have been more aware of Shannon in the house if the boy was upset But he felt nothing.
    Eldrinson banged open the door of the stable. “Shannon?” He entered the dim interior, his boots crunching the crushed reeds scattered across the ground.
    Lyrine stirred in their stalls, pushing their heads over the doors and whistling at him. A stable boy at the other end of the building was pouring water from a bucket into a trough. He looked up as the Bard entered.
    Eldrinson strode to Moonglaze’s stall. “Shani, are you here?”
    The stall was empty.
     
    “We have no idea where to look.” Roca stood by the counter in the breakfast room while Eldrinson paced back and forth. “How will you find him?”
    “I’ll find him.” Eldrinson couldn’t stay still. He had to repair this wound he had gouged in his family. He was aware of the other children, of Chaniece standing by the long table, resting one hand on its surface. Denric stood next to the her, tense and alert, and Aniece sat in her chair, her eyes large as she watched her father pace.
    “I’ll know where he is,” Eldrinson said. “I’ll feel it”
    “He’s gone north,” Denric said. ‘To search for the Archers.”
    “Yes.” Aniece spoke earnestly. “He’ll go to the Blue Dale Mountains, Hoshpa.”
     
    “We can take the port flyer up there,” Roca said. “Brad Tompkins is going to help. He’s in contact with the orbital defense system.”
    “Yes. Take the flyer.” Eldrinson stopped in front of her. “You search by air.
    I will search by ground.”
    “We should be able to pinpoint his location from the global positioning system in orbit.”
    “Will that really work?” Eldrinson found it hard to believe machines that floated above the sky could locate his son.
    “It should. We’ll let you know where to find him.” She tilted her head toward Denric and Chaniece. “Don’t go alone.”
    “Very well.” He resumed pacing, unable to contain his agitation. The world had gone wrong and he didn’t know how to make it right. Was he such a monster that he drove his children away? The thought made him wither inside.
    “Let me come, too,” Aniece said, her voice young and scared. “I can help.” Her curls framed her worried face. Dark curls. She had inherited the color from Roca’s mother. No one on Lyshriol had such hair except his two girls. Aniece.
    And Soz. Soz.
    He sat in the chair next to Aniece, his heart aching at her innocent face. “I thank you for your offer, Nieci. But we must ride hard and go fast. Your lyrine couldn’t keep up.”
    “You will find him, won’t you?” she asked.
     
    He took her small hand. “Yes. Certainly.” For all that he had never been comfortable with the technology of his wife’s people, right now he was immensely grateful for it. Without their help, he could spend years searching Dalvador, the Rillian Vales, Ryder’s Lost Memory, and the Blue Dale Mountains.
    A rustle came from the archway at the end of the long room. Turning, he saw his son Del striding toward them. Eldrinson rose to his feet.
    Del stopped in front of him. “Brad is on his way.”
    “Good.” Eldrinson had known Brad Tompkins for over three octets of years, from even before he had met Roca. Brad had taught him English. For years Eldrinson had thought “Brad” was a misspelling of the English word “Bard,” and mat the administrator represented a province called “Earth.” He eventually realized Brad was a citizen of the Allied Worlds of Earth and mat he had come here to administer the port back when Lyshriol didn’t matter to anyone. Earth had