“A bomb?” Ikanom sounded startled. “Kephalos knows of no bomb within.”

  “So I assumed. So Aleytys assumed. There must be something there, something dangerous, or Aleytys wouldn’t be in such bad shape. Kephalos might police its innards, using the space where Aleytys was found as a starting point. Most of all kephalos should use all the tricks bequeathed by Hyaroll and Synkatta to guard against another penetration of its defenses. Kell would destroy us all to reach her. Are there questions?”

  Ikanom shifted its head slightly; the sculpted facets of its abstract face seemed to smile at her. “Kephalos will be watchful,” it said, “and kephalos will search within. This is a very disturbing thing. It must not happen again.”

  Amused, but careful to keep that from showing, taking pleasure in its grace, Shareem watched Ikanom walk out. I say it again, Synkatta must have been a fascinating man. Hyaroll could tell me about him; they were friends. She frowned. From what Aleytys had said after he left them, he wouldn’t be around much anymore. Aloof as he’d been the past several centuries, she’d still miss him if he went. It was vaguely comforting to know Hyaroll was there if she needed him. He wouldn’t like her bothering him, would most likely make her life a misery while she was with him, but he would take her in and protect her. At least, until now. She felt a touch of panic at the thought, then she shook off her malaise. His growls must be a temporary aberration; he had them now and then when he got fed up with people and shut himself in his dome refusing to talk to anyone for a decade or so. He got over those, he’d get over this. Aleytys mumbled something in her sleep. Shareem bent over her, then climbed onto the couch and sat holding her daughter’s head on her thigh while she wiped away the sweat beading the sleeping face, then passed her palm over the stubble of regrowing hair; drawing the back of her hand in a gentle caress down the side of her daughter’s face, she began a soft crooning lullaby.

  Through the long quiet days Aleytys regained the flesh she’d lost; her skin regained its dark cream color; her new hair was as silky and red as before, an inch long already, long enough to fall in loose curls after Shareem shampooed and dried it and ran a comb through it. She worried off and on about the length of the sleep, but the autodoc continued to tick contentedly along and tell her not to fuss when she expressed her misgivings, so she relaxed into the dreamy pleasures of tending her daughter.

  Kell called several times, but she refused to talk to him, instructed Ikanom to say nothing except that neither Aleytys nor Shareem wished to speak to him. There were other calls, but Shareem took none of them either—except the one from Loguisse. Even to Loguisse she said only that Aleytys was busy working with kephalos, getting her defenses in order. Loguisse nodded, then warned Shareem that they had better deal with Kell soon, since he was making considerable progress among the Stayers, turning them against Aleytys, and his converts were trying to pressure the Tetrad to revoke her acceptance. It was all extremely annoying.

  On the twelfth day of her sleep, about midmorning, Aleytys stirred, opened her eyes.

  Shareem felt a pang of loss, a rush of joy, sighed and patted her daughter’s hand. “Welcome back.”

  Aleytys sat up, put her hand to her head, felt the short feathery curls. “What …”

  “When Ikanom found you, you were a wraith, hair coming out, skin sloughing off. What happened?”

  Aleytys looked down at herself, frowned at her wrists when she saw how thin they were. “How long?”

  “Twelve days.”

  Aleytys swung her legs around, slid them off the autodoc’s couch.

  Hastily Shareem put her hand on her daughter’s arm. “Careful.”

  Aleytys looked startled, then smiled. “I hear. Twelve days. Huh. Missiles still coming?”

  “Stopped with the tenth. Kell’s been calling, some of the other Stayers. I haven’t talked to them. Except Loguisse. She says things are getting difficult out there, pressure on her and the others to revoke. So far the Tetrad seems to be holding. Harder Kell pushes, the stubborner they get.”

  “Good.” She jabbed a thumb into a thigh muscle. “Mush. Twelve days on my back. Time I was getting into shape. Give me a hand, will you?” She wriggled toward the edge of the couch.

  “You sure you should do this?” Shareem sighed as her daughter’s hand closed about hers. “Shouldn’t you rest some more?”

  “Rested a dozen days already.” Aleytys stood swaying. “Madar! I’m weaker than a just-born foal.”

  “Lee, you were almost dead.”

  Aleytys laughed, a grim sound with little humor in it. “With me, Reem, almost doesn’t count.” She closed her eyes and stood without moving for a moment, then seemed to shake herself as if she were shaking off the weakness that troubled Shareem; opening her eyes and letting go of Shareem’s hand, she started for the door. Over her shoulder she said, “Tell me everything that’s been happening while I slept. Loguisse is right—it’s time I thought up some way to hit back at him.”

  Shareem followed quietly, wanting to cry a little. Her time was up, and it would never come again. She moved more quickly to catch up with Aleytys, then walked beside her, telling her what had passed since Ikanom brought her up from the heartroom.

  The next day Kell called again.

  After Ikanom told her, Aleytys turned to Shareem. “How do I locate him?”

  “Set kephalos after him. And … um … unless he’s changed things more than I thought, if he’s in his dome, I should be able to tell from what’s around him. Won’t take much.”

  “Worth talking to him, I suppose.” She swung around to face Ikanom. “Try to find out where he is, but keep it from him if you can. Transfer the call here, but give us a few minutes first.” She settled in the chair, watched the android leave, then smiled at Shareem. “Maybe you’d better stand where he can’t see you—he might be a bit looser.”

  “He’ll know I’m here.”

  “Could be yes, could be no. Let’s give it a try.”

  Shareem nodded, stepped to one side where she could see the screen but be out of the pickup’s range.

  Kell’s face appeared on the screen, calm, smiling a little, the easy, confident, secretly assessing look of a. salesman about to go into his spiel. “A new way of doing your hair.”

  “It’s cool. What do you want?”

  “To congratulate you.”

  Aleytys chuckled. “And make sure I survived your little joke.”

  “I knew that when the last missile blew.”

  “You were too slow, cousin.”

  “Not cousin, Mud, I won’t have you call me cousin.” he lost a fraction of his calm, then forced the smile back to his face.

  Ignoring the interruption, she went on with what she was saying. “You were enjoying yourself too much, cousin, gloating over my end. You gave Reem time to remember how her mother died.” She shook her head. “But I won’t count on more stupid self-indulgence like that; I expect better of you, cousin. Or is that another mistake?”

  “You made the worst mistake of your life, Mud, when you came here.”

  “Oh no, cousin, my worst mistake was threatening you like a human being. I really should have killed you then like the viper you are.”

  “Get out of here. Leave Vrithian. There’s no place for you here, mongrel. You don’t belong here.”

  “You get more boring each time I see you. Are you finally finished?”

  The screen went abruptly dark, but not before both of them saw the fury in his face. Aleytys swung the chair around. “Well?”

  “He’s in his dome.”

  “For the moment, anyway.” Aleytys frowned. “Something’s bothering me. Why did he make that call?”

  “I don’t know. Not just to rant at you. To make sure you’re alive?”

  “Hmmm. The little I know of him, everything you’ve told me about him says he never aims where he’s going to strike. He’s so Aschla-cursed devious I don’t see why he doesn’t bite himself and die of the poison.” She tapped her fingers on the chair arm. “I wonder if this whole damn world isn’t riddled with traps he’s set for me. Hunh. You said he called up two days after the last missile?”

  “That’s what Ikanom said.”

  “And you warned kephalos before that to be very careful not to trust him?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Then it’s a trigger. Problem is, for what?” She got to her feet, began pacing restlessly about the room. “What? What? What?” She ran her hand through her short curls until they were standing in twisted spikes about her head. “I was being so damn sassy, Reem, crowing at him like a fool. It was a mistake to talk to him. I hope …” She stopped by the door. “I don’t feel comfortable in here, Reem. Come outside with me?”

  Aleytys walked restlessly through the gardens scowling at nothing, forgetting Shareem, who moved quietly beside her, saying nothing, content to wait until her daughter was ready to speak. Aleytys scowled at the meticulously tended shrubbery. Harskari, she subvocalized, *what in Aschla’s nine fancy hells is that man up to? Nothing Hyaroll could detect.*

  *May his teeth rot and his tongue swell and strangle him, I will not believe he’s got a whole string of bombs planted in here.*

  *No. Not an attack this time. Information. Something that will let him plan a confrontation on his own terms. Ah. A tap into kephalos.*

  *Latent, like the bomb. Triggered from outside. A configuration of forces that wouldn’t exist until it was triggered. Harskari, Hyaroll checked the place. He missed the bomb. Yes, but …*

  *He’s ossifying, Lee; I’m surprised he can still make coherent sentences. I don’t know ….*

  *You don’t want to. Listen to me, dau … Lee, it doesn’t have to be that way. For some reason—and don’t ask me what it is—Hyaroll’s running down; he wants to die and he’s going to do it, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Look at Loguisse—I don’t say you’ll be like that either, but at least she’s sharp and very much alive. Kept her contacts with the outside, has an interest that keeps her brain exercised and excited. You could do worse.*

  Aleytys said nothing for several steps, startled by the small break in that impassioned speech. Harskari was jealous of Shareem. That sudden realization was so painful she shied away from thinking about it. *How much does Kell hear? Maybe I’ve said too much already.*

  *Depends on how much of kephalos he’s gained access to. If you continue to make a fuss about your worries and make some really wild speculations, he’d probably discount your suspicions for a while. You told him it was Shareem who suspected the bomb and warned you about it. If I had to guess, I’d say you have a day or two to play the fool. And I wouldn’t count anywhere inside the dome safe from observation.*

  Stinking voyeur.

  Bothers you that much, look for the tap and pull it.

  I could do that. Aleytys scowled at a flowerbed, seeing nothing of it. *I’d rather set some kind of trap for him … ummm … or go after him. Look. If he didn’t know I’d left the dome … remember, you took me through the dome at the Mesochthon without having it opened for us.* She grinned, suddenly, fiercely. *As long as he doesn’t know I’m out and roving, and he doesn’t know we can pop right through his strongest defenses … ay-Madar, Harskari, do you know what he’s done with this tap? He’s located himself for us, tied himself to his dome. Not a chance he’s going to be far away from the other end of the tap. I said it, ay-yiii, I said it, silly viper’s gotten so devious he bit himself.* She laughed aloud, danced around in a circle clapping her hands, caught the startled look on her mother’s face and settled down to a more sedate walk. “I’ve had me an idea,” she said aloud. “Let me think about it for a bit, then I’ll tell you.” Harskari, she subvocalized, *we’ve got to do something with Shareem. I can’t leave her here, she’s too vulnerable. And I certainly can’t take her with us.*

  Loguisse. Would she help?

  *Splendid idea. Marvelous idea. Loguisse. of course. Even Hyaroll treats her with respect. Shareem will be safe with her. Got to have a good reason to send her, though. Mmm, if I could be sure Kell wasn’t listening, I’d tell her about the tap and ask her if Loguisse might know how to root it out. That’s a convincing reason for Shareem to go there, isn’t it?*

  Quite convincing. It could even be true. Does it matter if Kell knows you know?

  *Good question. As a matter of fact … um … might even be a good idea to let him know. Convince him I’m focusing still on defense rather than attack. We could sit by the silly fountain and talk in low voices. I’m sure he’s perfectly capable of filtering out that bit of interference, but it would look as if I’m trying to keep the plan a secret.*

  Sounds good to me. A brief silence. *lf you’re going to do it, do it now.* The amber eyes closed and the feel of the ancient sorceress vanished.

  It’s going to be lonely, Aleytys thought. When the last soul’s gone. When the diadem’s gone. Ah, now, what’s that going to mean to me, when the diadem’s gone? She realized suddenly that she could lose more than her last indweller when she shook the diadem off. Trap though it was, it was also an instrument of power, a focus for her own talents. Would they grow more diffuse, less accessible, when the focus was gone? How much of what she could do did she owe to the diadem, how much was her birthright? I’ll find out soon. I owe Harskari her body. She missed Swardheld and Shadith very much, but she didn’t grudge them their bodies, their separate lives. Harskari deserved as much or more from her. She thought of Shadith and smiled, but her smile faded as she remembered where Shadith was now and what she was trying to do. Suddenly irritated by all this devious convoluted maneuvering, she made a small angry hissing sound.

  “What is it, Lee?” Shareem’s hand on her arm drew her back to the unsatisfactory here and now.

  “Just throwing a small snit, Reem, because of all the foolishness Kell is putting us through.” She looked around. In her blind wanderings she’d brought them back to the smooth broad lawn spreading out in front of the house. She pointed at the fountain of absurdities. “Let’s sit down over there; I’ve got some things I want to tell you.”

  “Yes, the water makes a pleasant noise. What is it, Lee?”

  “I think I’ve figured out what that phone call meant. I think Kell’s tapping into my kephalos.”

  “He couldn’t, Lee. Hyaroll …”

  “Guaranteed the place clean. I know. But he missed a bomb bigger than he is, and I think he missed this because the way Kell set it up, it didn’t exist until he triggered it. A key word or maybe just completing the call.”

  “Sounds like something he’d do.”

  “I’ve had an idea. Does Kell know more about kephalos than Loguisse?”

  “No one does.” Shareem sighed. “Not me, that’s sure.”

  “I can’t leave here—he’d be on my back the minute I passed the dome. Comlink, well, he’ll be listening to every word, and I don’t think Loguisse would play, you heard what she told Hyaroll. You’ve got to go for me, Reem. It’s dangerous, but he’s not so obsessive about you. He’ll know you’re leaving, but not why, and I’ll have kephalos keep an eye on you as far as it can. Will you do it?”

  “You won’t do anything rash while I’m gone?”

  “How can I? I’ve got to keep close to kephalos and hope that snake doesn’t figure out a way to take control and lower the dome.”

  “He couldn’t … I don’t know … it doesn’t stop, damn him, why … all right, Lee, I’ll go talk to Loguisse. And right now, if you don’t mind.” She got to her feet with a quick nervous push, started away, came back, touched her daughter’s face. “Be careful, will you?” Without waiting for an answer, she swung around and ran for the flier.

  Aleytys watched the flier leave, cold with a loneliness that surprised her. The dome seemed empty with Shareem gone. She hadn’t expected it, but she’d found a friend. Not a mother. A friend. She’d expected to feel hate and rage when she saw her mother, but from the moment they met she simply liked Shareem. She enjoyed her mother’s company. Shareem brought out the frivolous side of her, helped her slough the gloom-and-doom feelings that only made bad times worse.

  She wandered restlessly through the gardens after kephalos reported that Shareem had reached the limit of its sensors unmolested. She was unable to settle to the planning she needed to do, even when prodded by a jealous Harskari. The old one didn’t like seeing herself replaced in Aleytys’s affections by her blood mother. That wasn’t exactly true, but Aleytys knew Harskari had some cause for her bitterness. She realized after a while that she’d stopped calling Harskari “Mother” while Shareem was about. Though she seldom called Shareem “Mother,” though Shareem couldn’t hear or be hurt by the conversations inside Aleytys’s head, though the old one had been her nurturer for longer and in ways Shareem would never be, in spite of all these things she could not call Harskari “Mother” any longer. And Harskari had noted the change; the old one noticed everything about her. She was hurt by the change and all that it meant. Aleytys was sorry for that; she owed Harskari too much, she was deeply fond of that stem old spirit and distressed now as she saw the growing disintegration of the strength that had sustained Harskari through the countless ages since her first so inconclusive death. Harskari needed a body, needed it soon.

  Aleytys cursed Kell for thwarting any attempt to take care of that need now that she was aware how imperative it was, cursed herself for her complacency and blindness. Energized by that flare of anger, she stopped her aimless wandering and moved swiftly around the house to the landing disk. “Kephalos, bring up Synkatta’s flier.”

  The disk sank into the ground. While she was waiting she tilted her head and frowned at the dome. *Harskari, when you’re working that stasis trick, I can keep moving though everything else slows down or stops. What about a flier? Will its propulsors work inside that field?”

  Slitted amber eyes, Harskari’s frowning face sketched around them. *We had better try it on the ground first; I have no experience with that.*