Ra’ira and wielded by a much younger and less subtle Ferrathyn. There was no real reason to suspect he could resist Ferrathyn completely now.
I believed Ligor was coming with me out of a sense of responsibility to Raithskar for having “run out” when things became uncomfortable for him. There was no doubt he was angry on a personal basis, too, after learning that the mind puzzle that had tormented him had been set deliberately by Ferrathyn. I wanted him to come for a very different, very selfish reason. I trusted him, and he was on our side. I had a strong feeling that we would need every ally we could get before this was over.
“You got to remember, son,” Ligor said, holding aside the tangled branches of a bush so that I could pass through, “Krasa ain’t on the main road to anywhere. Caravans come here, they’re generally
just
coming here, from Grevor or Dyskornis, and they ain’t too frequent. We got one strange old maufel who sometimes takes it in his head not to talk to nobody, and he’s in one of them spells right now. He gets and gives messages when he’s asked—and paid—but he don’t inquire about the contents and he
don’t
share news.
“As Peace and Security in Krasa,” Ligor added, “I expect I’d have made him keep shut about the vineh, anyway. These folks don’t know about the way Raithskar used vineh. They’d have taken the news of a vineh sickness to mean that the ones near here, which are none too easy to get along with, might catch it and make even more trouble. I wouldn’t have wanted that kind of panic.”
We had struggled through a snarl of underbrush and come out onto a large, flat area of nearly smooth stone. We paused to catch our breath, and I called to Keeshah.
*Here we are, Keeshah. Ready to go?*
I had already talked to Keeshah about accepting Ligor as a second rider, and he had agreed. I knew he was nearby, but even I was surprised when he came up out of the brush nearly at Ligor’s right elbow. He was yawning, and the impressive tusks—along with the other less spectacular but equally threatening teeth—were in full view.
“Yi-i-!” Ligor yelped, and jumped aside.
I heard Keeshah’s mind chuckle, and I fought to hide my own smile.
The big cat took his time coming into the clearing, stretching out each foreleg and clenching the stone with his long claws, then drawing his body forward until his back legs were fully stretched, his tail extended and fluffed. Then he stepped over the bordering brush with his hind legs and was fully present in the rock-floored clearing.
He filled it up.
“I’d forgotten how big he is,” Ligor said, looking slightly embarrassed.
*Keeshah, quit trying to scare him, and make friends,*
I
said.
*Already friends
,* Keeshah said.
He moved as far away from us as he could and still remain in the clearing. Then he lay down, rolled over, and came to rest belly-up with his side leaning against Ligor’s legs.
Ligor staggered against the impact, but kept his balance. He laughed uproariously.
“Hey, there, you haven’t forgotten me, eh?” He glanced at me and chuckled at the look on my face. “You say you have Markasset’s memories?” he asked.
“I have them,” I answered shortly, “and he doesn’t remember
ever
seeing Keeshah do that with you.”
“That’s because he never saw it happen,” Ligor said, and leaned over to stroke the fur on Keeshah’s chest and belly. A very special feeling of contentment came from Keeshah’s mind, and something of a cherished memory. “He still had school a couple of years after he brought Keeshah out of the Valley, and I—um—I dropped by his house now and again during the day. Keeshah was big enough to scare the fleas off me, even then, but there was something
young
about him, and I played with him some.”
That seemed to be an understatement. Keeshah’s attitude toward Ligor gave me the impression that he was a longstanding, trusted, and much-missed friend. Before I could ask
I believed Ligor was coming with me out of a sense of responsibility to Raithskar for having “run out” when things became uncomfortable for him. There was no doubt he was angry on a personal basis, too, after learning that the mind puzzle that had tormented him had been set deliberately by Ferrathyn. I wanted him to come for a very different, very selfish reason. I trusted him, and he was on our side. I had a strong feeling that we would need every ally we could get before this was over.
“You got to remember, son,” Ligor said, holding aside the tangled branches of a bush so that I could pass through, “Krasa ain’t on the main road to anywhere. Caravans come here, they’re generally
just
coming here, from Grevor or Dyskornis, and they ain’t too frequent. We got one strange old maufel who sometimes takes it in his head not to talk to nobody, and he’s in one of them spells right now. He gets and gives messages when he’s asked—and paid—but he don’t inquire about the contents and he
don’t
share news.
“As Peace and Security in Krasa,” Ligor added, “I expect I’d have made him keep shut about the vineh, anyway. These folks don’t know about the way Raithskar used vineh. They’d have taken the news of a vineh sickness to mean that the ones near here, which are none too easy to get along with, might catch it and make even more trouble. I wouldn’t have wanted that kind of panic.”
We had struggled through a snarl of underbrush and come out onto a large, flat area of nearly smooth stone. We paused to catch our breath, and I called to Keeshah.
*Here we are, Keeshah. Ready to go?*
I had already talked to Keeshah about accepting Ligor as a second rider, and he had agreed. I knew he was nearby, but even I was surprised when he came up out of the brush nearly at Ligor’s right elbow. He was yawning, and the impressive tusks—along with the other less spectacular but equally threatening teeth—were in full view.
“Yi-i-!” Ligor yelped, and jumped aside.
I heard Keeshah’s mind chuckle, and I fought to hide my own smile.
The big cat took his time coming into the clearing, stretching out each foreleg and clenching the stone with his long claws, then drawing his body forward until his back legs were fully stretched, his tail extended and fluffed. Then he stepped over the bordering brush with his hind legs and was fully present in the rock-floored clearing.
He filled it up.
“I’d forgotten how big he is,” Ligor said, looking slightly embarrassed.
*Keeshah, quit trying to scare him, and make friends,*
I
said.
*Already friends
,* Keeshah said.
He moved as far away from us as he could and still remain in the clearing. Then he lay down, rolled over, and came to rest belly-up with his side leaning against Ligor’s legs.
Ligor staggered against the impact, but kept his balance. He laughed uproariously.
“Hey, there, you haven’t forgotten me, eh?” He glanced at me and chuckled at the look on my face. “You say you have Markasset’s memories?” he asked.
“I have them,” I answered shortly, “and he doesn’t remember
ever
seeing Keeshah do that with you.”
“That’s because he never saw it happen,” Ligor said, and leaned over to stroke the fur on Keeshah’s chest and belly. A very special feeling of contentment came from Keeshah’s mind, and something of a cherished memory. “He still had school a couple of years after he brought Keeshah out of the Valley, and I—um—I dropped by his house now and again during the day. Keeshah was big enough to scare the fleas off me, even then, but there was something
young
about him, and I played with him some.”
That seemed to be an understatement. Keeshah’s attitude toward Ligor gave me the impression that he was a longstanding, trusted, and much-missed friend. Before I could ask
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