Mindlink (29 page)

“Right,” Ramlah said. “The mine has been almost stripped of
useable material. All transportation on Alhedis, and back and forth to Earth, is
going to come to a halt unless an alternative is discovered. Or a solution to
the shortage. It so happens I know of one.”

“And you’re going to trade it to the king for your pardon,”
Ashley guessed.

Ramlah grunted. “The king is on his way out. He’s shortsighted.
Cares too much about honoring the Ancestors and figuring out how to assure his
place among them. No, I’m going to offer it to the High Priest in exchange for
my absolution. Then he can take his rightful place as ruler once he solves the
fuel crisis and exposes the king for the ineffective leader he’s always
been.”

A takeover. Ramlah’s plan or this High Priest’s?

Sam’s brow furrowed and he glanced at her out of the corner of
his eye but kept his attention on Ramlah. “What is this solution you speak
of?”

“More important, what do you need us for?” Ashley broke in.
“You’ve got the whole thing figured out already. Are the goons with machine guns
about to break in and kill us because we know your dastardly plans?”

Okay, she’d gotten a little carried away, but still.

“Well, as it turns out, both questions are related.” Ramlah
looked pleased, as if he’d been waiting for them to put it all together. “Let me
elaborate. The solution is an ancient relic, called the Tulun Nalamun, or the
God Stone, which has the ability to transform useless ore into fuel cells. A
form of alchemy. I need someone to retrieve the relic. Someone who has a vested
interest in giving it to
me
upon retrieval, as a
trade for my services. Everyone gets what they want. Agreed?”

Back in their room, Sam had guessed Ramlah would demand
reciprocation. But counter to Sam’s insistence, the price didn’t seem
unreasonable. Not yet anyway. Ashley pursed her lips. “Why isn’t everyone
looking for this relic? Seems like it would be a hot commodity if it’s truly a
‘God Stone.’ For that matter, why don’t you go get it yourself?”

“I have looked for it, many times. As for the others, people
fear interrogation or that the king would take the stone and recycle them
anyway. I don’t plan to give it to the king, so I’m already ahead of others.”
Ramlah narrowed his eyes. His gaze roamed over them both and she had the feeling
he was searching for something. “I’ve heard a dirty rumor the two of you link.
Deliberately.”

Were there any secrets in Kir Dashamun? Hollywood had nothing
on this place.

Warily, Sam glanced at her then back to the man across the
table. “What does that matter?”

“Hey.” Ramlah threw up a hand. “Your deviances are your own
business. Makes no difference to me. I’ll take that as a yes. See, the thing is,
I’m convinced the link is required to find the stone. Few people would volunteer
to link with another and I’ve got my limits. Forcing someone to, even to maybe
find this thing, is over the line.”

He considered the link evil, or at the least, a kinky
predilection. But it wasn’t like that. It was special. The link fit them
together like long-lost puzzle pieces, binding her irrevocably to Sam.

Yet allowing him to see her memories had given her the courage
to go home and face the mess she’d made.

“So?” Ramlah folded his hands.

Nonverbal communication flew between them. Ashley voiced the
one question they both had. “Why don’t you trade the location of Kir Dashamun
for your pardon? The High Priest would probably be pretty happy to get that
information.”

And of course, nothing said Ramlah wouldn’t give it away
regardless. His loyalties weren’t entirely clear either.

“Well.” The man looked uncomfortable and shrugged. “I’ve got
family here. Besides, the fuel crisis is a problem. I’d like it to be solved
when I get back to Kir Barsha and hey, I’m not above altruism.”

With that, they both agreed to the terms, Sam more reluctantly
than she’d like, though he was intrigued by the possibilities this God Stone
would create. Ramlah would have the leverage to receive his pardon and solve the
fuel crisis at the same time. She would get a first-class ticket home. Her heart
twisted painfully.

“What do we have to do?” Ashley asked.

“Now we’re talking.” Ramlah put both hands on the table and
bent forward. “You’ve heard of Kir Namur?”

Ashley shook her head.

“I have not,” Sam answered. “Namur. Nameless City? Why is the
city not named?”

“Hmm. You heard about Kir Dashamun, but not Kir Namur?” The
other man stroked his chin. “Kir Namur is called the Nameless City because it’s
what we call the people who lived there once upon a time. The Namur. The city is
in ruins now and the God Stone is buried somewhere in it.”

“People? You mean people from Kir Barsha? Sam’s people?” Ashley
was confused, especially since Sam’s images disputed her questions at the same
time.

“No, I mean the people who lived on this planet originally. The
ones the Telhada overthrew, long ago. Namur technology is in your head. And
yours,” he said to Sam. “The Telhada slaughtered the indigenous species here and
stole their technology. Then the Telhada set up their own system populated by
cloning subjects with experimental genetic modifications. Forgive me.” Ramlah
barked out a chuckle. “Not subjects. Citizens. Humans are the aliens on
Alhedis.”

The agonizing crush of Sam’s fury pushed her head back. More
lies. More secrets he’d spent his adult life protecting. Maintaining. But if the
Telhada already knew how to clone humans, why had they needed geneticists from
Earth?

The already frigid room grew colder and Ashley pulled an
ever-present shawl around her shoulders tighter. “If you guys are the aliens,
what were the other people? Were they human too?”

“Oh, no, not at all,” Ramlah said. “No one’s exactly sure what
they were since they’ve been extinct a long time. But definitely not human.”

“Then how did humans come to be here, on Alhedis? Where did we
come from orig—” Sam cut off the question when he registered the answer from
Ashley’s images.

She laughed hollowly. “These Namur kidnapped them, about four
thousand years ago. From Earth. Egypt to be exact.” Her stint in the Lara Croft
knockoff had value after all—the Egyptologist had constantly spouted a bunch of
dry facts she hadn’t realized she’d retained until now. “Geez, no wonder there’s
such rigid structure in Kir Barsha. You’ve had pharaohs running around off the
leash for centuries. Some people think aliens built the Pyramids at Giza.
Doesn’t it make the truth that much more bizarre?”

* * *

“Is this what you would call ironic?” Ashley asked Sam
as they trekked toward Kir Namur along the same dirt path they’d mistaken for
the way to Kir Dashamun.

“I hardly know what to call anything,” Sam said and took her
hand to help her over a fallen tree, then kept his fingers intertwined with
hers. He had precious little time with Ashley left. It wasn’t enough. He wished
for a lifetime.

She hefted a pack full of supplies Ramlah had secured. “Tell me
again how we’re going to find this ancient Namur relic? Because I’m pretty sure
the un-aliens didn’t leave it lying in the middle of their ruins.”

“We will assess when we have more information.”

She’d accepted the task from Ramlah as outlined—travel to the
ruins, find the God Stone and return it to him in Kir Dashamun. Wait for Ramlah
to make contact with the High Priest, retrieve his ship and take Ashley home.
Simple and fraught with potential danger, as well as the probability Ramlah
would not do as he promised. Yet she’d never hesitated to agree. Her strong
desire to leave overshadowed common sense and he’d opted to remain silent on the
subject. For now. Doubtlessly, his mistrust of Ramlah would prove correct. What
they’d do then, he had no clue.

Unlike the previous time they followed this path, the hoots of
the Khota Marong were silent, and the lack of it weighed ominously in the still
air. Rustles and snaps indicated the presence of hidden spectators and after
about an hour or so, the rain started. It fell in sheets, drenching them both
and washing long strands of hair into Ashley’s face. She never once complained,
just tightened her grasp on his hand to aid her balance and plowed ahead.

“You can stop admiring me now,” she said and the corners of her
mouth tipped slightly. “I’m doing what I have to in order to get home.”

“I am aware of your motivation, but despite that, I cannot stop
admiring you, nor do I wish to. You have adapted to Alhedis remarkably.”

A hundred images flashed through his mind of her life back on
Earth.

“Maybe to you.” She flipped wet hair behind her back
impatiently.

“Whom would you prefer to consult? Is my opinion not
worthy?”

Her eyes scrunched in frustration. “You’re entitled to your
opinion. But you’re only saying that so you can start in on me about staying.
Not because it’s true.”

“It is both true and an argument for you to stay,” he countered
and fell silent so she might have opportunity to consider it.

They arrived at the end of the trail without speaking.

The trail led out of the forest and into a sloped clearing.
They left the rain behind in the forest, gladly. Beyond the weed-choked field
lay Kir Namur.

Thin mist hung over the ruins, draping the listing stone walls
and rubble in a transparent shroud. The abandoned city had rebuffed the advances
of the forest, leaving a circle of growth around the perimeter which stopped in
a perfect line. Not one single weed grew in the crushed-stone streets. The city
had outlived its usefulness and remained as a testament to an extinct species
eradicated by the Telhada. How fitting to seek the relic which would ensure the
Telhada’s demise within the perimeter of Kir Namur.

“Creepy, isn’t it?” Ashley shivered and glanced at him. “I can
see why everyone’s afraid of it.”

“Everything in Kir Namur is dead. We have nothing to fear.”

She started down the hill, carefully placing her feet among the
weeds and loose earth, leaving him no reason to continue staring into the heart
of the city. A sense of foreboding settled into his stomach and refused to
shift. The forest declined to enter the city and perhaps they should heed the
warning. At the edge of the slope, he joined Ashley as she stared into a wide
crevice which extended deep into the earth. Sheer walls of rock lined each
side.

“You can’t see this from the top of the hill,” she said. “It’s
like a dry moat or something. Maybe it had water in it, way back when, but it’s
impossible to cross now. I bet it goes all the way around the city. There’s no
bridge or anything.” Her voice went flat with disappointment. “I should have
known it wouldn’t be as easy as our friend Ramlah made it sound.”

She sank to the ground and crossed her legs, still eyeing the
chasm as if a bridge might appear to solve the problem.

“Were you expecting this to be easy? The relic would have been
located a long time ago if so.”

“You don’t have to be so logical.” She made a face. “What
should we do now? Look for a tree to throw down across it? I don’t know how we’d
move something that long and heavy.”

The mist overhanging the city drifted across the crevice to
coat them both, obscuring his vision and increasing the crawl of trepidation
across the back of his neck. He drew Ashley to her feet without explanation and
led her back up the hill to a place inside the tree line where a measure of
protection existed.

“I am uneasy,” he said and chuckled when she smirked. “Not a
surprise to you? I would like to further evaluate before we act. This stone has
been hidden inside the city for a long time and will remain there for a while
yet. Sit with me.”

Sam dropped the pack from his shoulders, helped Ashley remove
hers, then followed the packs to the dirt. He sat against a tree trunk and
pulled Ashley into the circle of his arms so he could hold her and view the open
field simultaneously. A surprise might appear at any moment.

Once she settled between his legs, he pointed to the horizon
beyond the ruins. “On the map Ramlah gave us, the mine is on the other side of
that ridge. In the morning, the miners will arrive by barge and perhaps we may
borrow one.”

After a quick review of the map and his logic, she nodded at
the images of riding the barge across the chasm. “Morning? Not now?”

“It is too late in the day. The workers will have returned to
Kir Barsha for third-meal. We will create a camp for the night.” He rummaged
through his pack for food Ramlah had snuck from the city’s kitchen. They ate and
then Sam stretched a large waterproof tarp between two trees, attaching it at a
slant, which would keep them dry until morning.

When full darkness fell, Sam lit a flare torch and hung it from
a nearby branch, then removed his damp clothes and draped them over a bush
sheltered by the tarp to allow them to dry overnight. He crawled under the
makeshift tent to find a semicomfortable spot on the hard ground to spread
another waterproof tarp and then the blankets.

“I’m exhausted.” Ashley stripped off her travel clothes and
flung them in a heap. She did everything with abandon, even undressing, and he
freely enjoyed every moment of the short display. She crawled under the thermal
blanket and peered outside their tiny shelter. “Do you think it’s going to be
all right to go to sleep? I mean, we’re not hidden underground anymore. Aren’t
there people looking for us? We’re not exactly invisible with the torch.”

“No workers should be outside of the city after dark.” At
least, he assumed basic protocol remained in place for citizens.

“What about the Khota Marong? They aren’t hooting now but
they’re still out there.”

Sam eased an arm around her and settled her against his body,
his preferred sleeping position but also a pragmatic method to ward off the
chill. Her hair fell across his arm in one damp mass and he stroked it, hoping
to ease the consternation brewing in her mind. “I will stay awake and ensure
they do not attack once we are unlinked. You may sleep in peace.”