Read Online Storms of Destiny by A. C. Crispin - Free Book Online Page B

Ancients. What vile spells may it have learned from them?”
    Third Elder made a quick gesture of assent and respect, then stood to leave the chamber.
    “Go with the Peacekeepers, Drahnik, Vleth.” Nkotha motioned to two of the youngest Elders. “See that no one is harmed. The Trackers can be dangerous when loosed.”
    The Elders rose and the three of them left the Council Chamber.
    Khith made an effort to withdraw its mind from the creature that was hosting it, but the spell still held it in thrall.
    First Elder glanced around the chamber, then lowered her voice. “The first thing we must do when Khith is back among us is to force the Change upon it. Once safely wedded, it will no longer have these yearnings after dangerous knowledge.”
    Second Elder Sthaal blinked in surprise and distress.
    “Force the Change, First One? That is forbidden!”
    “We are the Elders,” Nkotha said. “Who is to judge what we do? But we shall be discreet.”
    Sthaal still seemed taken aback. “You know how it can be done, Eldest?”
    Nkotha leaned back in her tall chair. “There are ways, Sthaal … a tea brewed from uinto berries should accomplish what we want.”
    Sthaal sat straight up. “But that can be dangerous. Uinto berries can be poisonous if consumed in quantity!”
    “Certainly they can. But we have shahmans who know the proportions. Khith will not be harmed, only Changed.”
    “And who will volunteer to become Khith’s mate, First One?”
    Nkotha examined her long, double-digited fingers as though she had never seen them before. “That hardly matters, Second One. I am sure one of the unwed laborers can be persuaded. After all, young Khith inherited wealth, did it not?”
    “Indeed,” the Second said. “Most wise of you, First Elder.”
    “But first we must capture our young scholar. And that may prove no easy task. We must—”
    With a massive effort born of encroaching panic, Khith managed to separate its mind from that of the host-insect. The farseeing spell was still in force, though. Khith discovered that it could, with little effort, “see” the band assembling on one of the massive limbs, ready to step into the powered lift-basket.
    The Tracker-handlers stood by, a safe distance away, bracing themselves against the lunges of the snarling jagowas. There were four, three with mottled russet and cream coats, their spotted hides bright against the green backdrop of leaves, and one black one that seemed no more than a sinuous shadow.
    Khith struggled against the drug’s effect. Must … think …
    Khith’s former village was at least a half-hour journey away. Time enough to escape, to hide any betraying sign, if it did not dawdle.
    Khith swung around on its high stool, then slid down. The room tilted and rocked like a boat in a storm, and it had to catch the edge of the table to steady itself. The Hthras shook its head, fighting to throw off the effect of the potion. Staggering, Khith headed toward its living quarters. Must pack … must escape.
    Swaying, weaving, Khith made an unsteady way through the underground warren. It seemed as though hours had passed when it reached its own rooms, but the Hthras knew that blurred time-sense was typical of the hallucinogenic potions.
    The scholar grabbed a pack and began stuffing things into it, trying desperately to concentrate. Scrolls, herbals, the herbs themselves, the Ancient redes I copied, gold to pay my way …
    Hthras usually went naked in their own forests, but that would not do for the outside world. Khith grabbed a hooded robe from a shelf. Soft blue-gray, with red borders: the traditional garb of a physician. Stuffing the robe into the pack, the Hthras spared a moment to “see” its pursuers, calling them up with an ancient Hthras farseeing chant.
    “Find the center of the self
Hear the heartbeat, feel the breathing
Feed the air and blood to mind
Feel the thought-flow sparking, seething.
    Sense the Forest ’round us all
Sense its slow and frantic