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Authors: Pamela Sargent
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and right. The short, tended grass of the plain was weedier near the base of the wall; a gnarled, thorny bush grew next to the gate.
She shivered. Beyond the wall was the Garden, with its tangled vines, unpruned plants, and towering trees. Unchanged people lived there, creatures without links who still endured aging and death and met their end long before their minds were completely clogged by memories. Calling this place the Garden had been a joke of some kind, a reference to a mythological garden where the first human beings had lived. The unchanged ones who lived here now were innocent of knowledge and untouched by sin.
All except one, Orielna reminded herself. The man she sought had come here to hide from the consequences of his deed.
A lens winked in the smooth metal surface near the gate. When Orielna had been scanned, the door slid open; she entered, already longing to retreat, and tried to ignore the whisper of the door as it closed behind her. The forest was green with light, and the air felt wet and heavy; she had not expected the Garden to be so shadowed.
“So she sent you,” a voice said. “She wouldn’t come herself.”
Orielna looked around, startled, then saw the woman standing under a nearby tree. The link embedded in her forehead could have alerted her to the woman’s presence, but Orielna was afraid to open its channels now. The woman’s long pale hair was an unruly mass, and her brown shirt was torn; her violet eyes darted restlessly. Orielna shuddered as she remembered the message this woman had sent, insisting that Orielna and Aniya link with her and experience Josef’s assault.
“Kitte,” Orielna said softly, “I didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Aniya should have come herself. She’s responsible for him—she’s his sharer.”
“So am I.”
Kitte’s mouth twisted. “You’re only Aniya’s eidolon. You and Josef are no more than reflections of her thoughts. She sent her shadow to find him.”
Orielna tried to pity Kitte, but could not. The woman might have chosen to forget Josef. He was no longer a threat to her; alone and lost in the Garden, he might already be suffering for his act. But Kitte wanted him punished and had the right to demand that. Aniya had imprinted Josef with her thoughts and was therefore responsible for his deeds; she had to see that they were not repeated.
“I’ll find him,” Orielna said, folding her arms to conceal her trembling hands. “Aniya’s my sharer, so it hardly matters which one of us conducts the search, since I know Josef’s thoughts as well as she does. You’ll have what you want when he’s found.”
“If you find him.”
“I’ll have help. A man here has offered to guide me.” She stepped forward; Kitte was still blocking the only path through the underbrush. “Please let me pass.”
“I know why Aniya didn’t come. He was trying to escape her when he came to me—she can’t bear the thought of facing him and seeing that trapped, frightened look in his eyes. She’s afraid he might do to her what he did to me.”
“He would have done nothing,” Orielna said, “if you’d let him go. You shouldn’t have tried to keep him.” Her emotions were racing; she knew that she should open her link and bring herself into balance.
Kitte said, “He killed me. You don’t know what it’s like, feeling your life rushing from you, then being alive and knowing you were dead, that the break in you will never heal.”
“But I do know,” Orielna said. “You insisted that we link with you, after all.” She did not want to remember how Kitte had flooded her mind with her memories during the link, how Josef’s hands had closed around the woman’s throat. He had been smiling; his large dark eyes had gleamed with joy. “But you didn’t leave him much of a choice. Instead of letting him go, you ordered your helpmind to keep him locked inside your dwelling—he couldn’t escape without breaking your will. He couldn’t have
She shivered. Beyond the wall was the Garden, with its tangled vines, unpruned plants, and towering trees. Unchanged people lived there, creatures without links who still endured aging and death and met their end long before their minds were completely clogged by memories. Calling this place the Garden had been a joke of some kind, a reference to a mythological garden where the first human beings had lived. The unchanged ones who lived here now were innocent of knowledge and untouched by sin.
All except one, Orielna reminded herself. The man she sought had come here to hide from the consequences of his deed.
A lens winked in the smooth metal surface near the gate. When Orielna had been scanned, the door slid open; she entered, already longing to retreat, and tried to ignore the whisper of the door as it closed behind her. The forest was green with light, and the air felt wet and heavy; she had not expected the Garden to be so shadowed.
“So she sent you,” a voice said. “She wouldn’t come herself.”
Orielna looked around, startled, then saw the woman standing under a nearby tree. The link embedded in her forehead could have alerted her to the woman’s presence, but Orielna was afraid to open its channels now. The woman’s long pale hair was an unruly mass, and her brown shirt was torn; her violet eyes darted restlessly. Orielna shuddered as she remembered the message this woman had sent, insisting that Orielna and Aniya link with her and experience Josef’s assault.
“Kitte,” Orielna said softly, “I didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Aniya should have come herself. She’s responsible for him—she’s his sharer.”
“So am I.”
Kitte’s mouth twisted. “You’re only Aniya’s eidolon. You and Josef are no more than reflections of her thoughts. She sent her shadow to find him.”
Orielna tried to pity Kitte, but could not. The woman might have chosen to forget Josef. He was no longer a threat to her; alone and lost in the Garden, he might already be suffering for his act. But Kitte wanted him punished and had the right to demand that. Aniya had imprinted Josef with her thoughts and was therefore responsible for his deeds; she had to see that they were not repeated.
“I’ll find him,” Orielna said, folding her arms to conceal her trembling hands. “Aniya’s my sharer, so it hardly matters which one of us conducts the search, since I know Josef’s thoughts as well as she does. You’ll have what you want when he’s found.”
“If you find him.”
“I’ll have help. A man here has offered to guide me.” She stepped forward; Kitte was still blocking the only path through the underbrush. “Please let me pass.”
“I know why Aniya didn’t come. He was trying to escape her when he came to me—she can’t bear the thought of facing him and seeing that trapped, frightened look in his eyes. She’s afraid he might do to her what he did to me.”
“He would have done nothing,” Orielna said, “if you’d let him go. You shouldn’t have tried to keep him.” Her emotions were racing; she knew that she should open her link and bring herself into balance.
Kitte said, “He killed me. You don’t know what it’s like, feeling your life rushing from you, then being alive and knowing you were dead, that the break in you will never heal.”
“But I do know,” Orielna said. “You insisted that we link with you, after all.” She did not want to remember how Kitte had flooded her mind with her memories during the link, how Josef’s hands had closed around the woman’s throat. He had been smiling; his large dark eyes had gleamed with joy. “But you didn’t leave him much of a choice. Instead of letting him go, you ordered your helpmind to keep him locked inside your dwelling—he couldn’t escape without breaking your will. He couldn’t have
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