The Alton Gift (16 page)

He blames himself
, Marguerida thought, her heart aching for him, for
not having insisted she return after that first season. Oh, Mik! We had no way of knowing what would happen, and Alanna was so set against it. Who knows what she might have done if we had not relented
—
run away, set the castle stables on fire as she threatened to do, caused even more mischief
?

"A person with Alanna's powerful
laran
and volatile temperament would definitely fare better in the disciplined environment of a Tower," Istvana said with a sigh. "Not Arilinn again, but perhaps with Laurina MacBard at Dalereuth. The decision, however, must be hers, and she would have to submit to the training willingly and wholeheartedly. Her consent cannot be forced. Given her previous resistance, coercing her would do more damage than good. She should be safe enough, for the time being, if she is not subjected to another destabilizing incident."

Domenic's expression of concern intensified. It was sweet of him, Marguerida thought distractedly, to be so concerned about his childhood friend.

At least, I will not have to send her away, back to the mother who cannot love her. That would ruin her for certain
. Perhaps with this incident, whatever trouble Alanna might have caused had been averted. Alanna appeared biddable enough for the moment.

"What should we do, then?" Mikhail asked. "How do we avoid triggering another incident?"

"Alanna's
laran
is unusually complex," Istvana said. "You know that the same energon channels carry
laran
and sexual energy."

Mikhail nodded. "That is why threshold sickness often arises in puberty, when both become active."

Domenic blushed and looked away. Istvana politely ignored him.

"At one time," Istvana explained for Marguerida's benefit, "it was thought that no one working in a matrix circle could be sexually active. Either there would be no energy left for sex—the man would become

impotent and the woman, unresponsive—or else, the channels would overload with potentially fatal results."

"What superstitious nonsense!" Marguerida exclaimed. "Using our
laran
never prevented Mik and I from—er…" She broke off as Domenic's face reddened even further. Poor boy, he wasn't used to his parents discussing such intimate matters.

Istvana nodded. "Of course, we know that now But for centuries, Keepers were required to remain virgins, and nowhere as stringently as at Arilinn. You see, Keepers carry far higher energon levels than do other Tower workers, and for their own sake, as well as the safety of everyone in their circles, their lower channels must remain clear."

Domenic shifted uneasily in his chair. "Surely, that does not apply to Alanna."

Istvana looked sharply at him. "In Alanna's case, her earliest-manifesting talents and her sexuality arose at about the same time. I suspect, from what I found in her mind, that Loren used the old techniques to shut down
both
?

"Oh!" Marguerida exclaimed, lifting one hand to her mouth. "How terrible! And yet… that does make sense. When she came back from Arilinn, she struck me as childlike and curiously free from the usual teenage hormones. I was actually grateful we didn't have that to deal with, as well as her temper."

Marguerida bit back her next words. Loren might have acted in what she thought was Alanna's best interests, but that could not justify what amounted to psychic neutering. Before she could put her thoughts into words, Mikhail spoke again.

"These safeguards are temporary, aren't they? Alanna will be able to live as a normal woman, to… ah, to marry and have a family?"

Shaking her head, Istvana gave her empty plate a little shove. "It would be better to delay, until we can sort things out properly. Eventually, it might be possible to remove the safeguards. Once she has matured in her self-control, that is. Or the sexual inhibition itself might be released, perhaps through the careful administration of
kireseth
. The Forbidden Tower circle rediscovered some of the old Years-End rituals."

Istvana paused, her eyes thoughtful. "You say that Arilinn will be sending a representative to the Council season. I hope it is Loren, so

that we can discuss what she did. For the time being, let us leave well enough alone. Unless .. the girl is not betrothed, is she?"

"No, thank all the gods!" Marguerida breathed in relief.

"If you say that Alanna is in no danger," Mikhail said, "I do not see what else we can do."

"Where is
Dom
Lewis?" Istvana, having satisfied herself, changed the subject. "I hoped to see him this morning."

"As I do," Mikhail said, in between sips of unsweetened jaco. "I want to ask his advice about how to handle those men from last night."

"You mean, how to get you out of the pickle you made for yourself," Marguerida said, gently teasing him. "I believe Father took breakfast in his own room. Isn't that so, Darna?" She glanced over her shoulder at one of the serving maids.

"Yes,
vai domna
. Cecilia took a tray to him a little while ago." The girl began clearing away the breakfast dishes. Istvana excused herself to check on Alanna again and to attend to her own duties.

"I suppose last night was exhausting for an old man," Mikhail said when he, Domenic, and Marguerida were alone again.

"He's not that old—" Marguerida stopped herself. Lew was not yet seventy, barely out of middle age by Terran standards. The years had worn hard on her father; one look at his poor scarred face, or the way he rubbed the stump of his arm when he thought no one was watching, reminded her of how much he still suffered.

What will I do when he's gone?

Why am I indulging in such morbid thoughts? Father will be with us for a long time jet.

"I would not disturb Lew's rest," Mikhail said, "but I must prepare to receive those men in Council the day after tomorrow. I would prefer not to go into such a meeting without knowing as much as I can about their situation. I'm going to have enough difficulty convincing the Council to accept such a breach of protocol as it is. I'd rather not make a fool of myself by my own ignorance."

"You could ask Danilo Syrtis," Domenic said. All three heads turned toward him.

"That's an interesting suggestion," Mikhail said. "Danilo was once part of the inner workings of the Council, through his association with Regis, his Wardenship of Ardais, and later, his service to us. He has

withdrawn so much these last few years and then was so ill last winter, I was surprised to see him at the opening session."

Hesitantly, as if revealing a confidence, Domenic said that Danilo had arranged a number of meetings for him in Thendara with various sorts of people. "Traders, craftsmen, a few minor lords. I've learned far more about the city and the surrounding lands than I could behind these walls.
Dom
Danilo spends a great deal of time outside the Castle, I believe. He may have heard of these men."

So that must be the secret Domenic was hiding. Marguerida didn't know whether to be proud of her son or furious at him for taking unnecessary risks. Thendara, like any big city, included districts where a young man was not safe wandering alone. Possessions that Domenic took for granted, such as a finely woven cloak or a belt with a metal buckle, might well tempt a thief. Even a man trained in self-defense could be overcome by sufficient numbers or caught by surprise.

She tried to remember what it was like to be twenty and how she would have felt if her parents had forbidden her to stray beyond an armed fortress or worse yet, had someone trailing her everywhere, reporting back to them. She would have been so angry, she would have gone out and done the most outrageous thing she could think of.

I
was a University student, nobody of importance. Nico is the heir to the Regency and most powerful Domain of Darkover. He has no right to risk himself
.

"I agree it is unwise to take foolish chances," Mikhail went on. "But, if Domenic is to rule in his own time, he must know the city and its people. He must learn to gauge those risks for himself, to rely on his own judgment, nor out protection, no matter how loving or well meant. I do not think he could have a better guide than Danilo Syrtis."

Who
, Marguerida reminded herself,
kept Regis safe for many years, against World Wreckers, assassins, and many other dangers
.

She sighed inwardly. When Domenic was born, she had wanted him to be self-sufficient, confident in his abilities, and capable of making his own decisions. Now, she reflected ruefully, it was too late to change her mind.

Domenic spent the next day and a half in frustration. Alanna slept most of the time. He knew this was a good sign, that her body and mind needed rest, but the thought did not make waiting any easier. When, finally, she woke, she refused to discuss the events leading up to the riot. Clearly happy to see him, she chatted excitedly about their secret engagement. What Istvana had said was indeed true, he decided. Alanna had returned emotionally to the condition the Arilinn workers had created in her, spirited and capricious, but sexually oblivious. She might have been made
emmasca
, she was so unresponsive. The passion they had shared had disappeared as if it never existed. When he kissed her, she turned her head, so that his lips pressed against her cheek.

The Castle bustled with more than the usual Council season activity, and Domenic's family seemed to be in the center of it all. Marguerida, with Yllana's help, managed the added housekeeping until all the unexpected guests could return safely to their own homes, as well as all the usual arrangements necessary for Council season. Danilo met several times with Mikhail, coming and going with his usual quiet discretion. Domenic did not have a chance to speak more than a few words with him, for his father had delegated a surprising amount of boring but es-

sential Council work to him. Nor did Domenic see much of his grandfather. Lew appeared for one or two family meals, saying little and eating less. Only a stern look from Mikhail restrained Marguerida from fussing over him.

The riot at the Castle gates granted Domenic an unexpected reprieve. Francisco Ridenow did not send his daughter home, but he seemed to have given up the idea of a marriage alliance, at least for the time being.

Yllana mentioned in passing that she had seen the Ridenow girl playing at hoops and streamers with Katherine Aldaran's daughter, Terese, who was the same age. Yllana spoke of their game so wistfully that Marguerida suggested she take a break from her household duties to join them. Yllana happily went off to do so, looking more like a carefree
damisela
than a young woman struggling with new responsibilities. Domenic hoped the friendship would be good for all of them. At least, he doubted even Francisco could exploit it for a political betrothal. In addition, Terese had spent the first decade of her life on Terra, among diplomats, and was unusually sophisticated for her age.

As for the Council meetings, once the initial furor had subsided into attempts to place blame for the incident, business resumed as usual. Discussions degenerated into each side jockeying for advantage, regardless of the merits of the case. Domenic found himself looking forward to the audience with the Kadarin Forst men. At least, something real might happen then.

The mob at the Castle gates might have been drunk, egged on by a few vocal malcontents, but they had legitimate grievances.

Danilo sat in the Crystal Chamber and listened to the men of Kazarin Forst tell their tale. As he had reported to Mikhail, they had been in the city since the passes opened up in the spring. What they said was also true, that they had tried for a Cortes hearing and were turned away. The information was not difficult to gather. The men had told their story throughout the poorer areas of the city, generating sympathy and outrage. Unfortunately, theirs was not an isolated case.

On the day of their hearing, the two brothers stood together,

dressed in their mountain garb. Their fur shirts looked even shabbier in the opulent glitter of the Chamber. They were proud folk, and nothing less than the gravest extremity would have driven them here to beg for help.

They told a story as old as Darkover itself—forest fires, followed inevitably by mud slides and erosion, then drought. The natural cycle of fire and flood was an essential part of Darkover's ecology. In settled areas, everyone from Comyn to the poorest farmers banded together to control the worst blazes, for the forests provided food for man and beast as well as fuel and shelter for wildlife and, hence, furs and meat. Even in modern times the importance of fighting fires was so great that the penalty for breaking fire-truce was exile or death.

In Danilo's memory, another scene played out with other men. It was early in the World Wreckers time, before anyone knew that the destruction of forest and soil and the assassinations aimed at decimating the Comyn were part of a deliberate and far-reaching plot to reduce Darkover to such desperate straits that they would accept rescue from the Federation at any cost.

Regis had sat under the blue and silver fir tree banner of the Hasturs, listening to a grizzled old man with a profile like a sharp-toothed crag.

"I swore thirty years ago that I'd starve before I crawled down to the Lowlands to ask the Comyn for anything," the old man had said.

In the end, Darkover had had no choice but to negotiate with the Terran Federation. Regis had been adamant about not placing themselves in debt to the
Terranan
, He insisted on full restitution from the World Wreckers and poured out his personal fortune to import food and also medicines, for people weakened by toil and hunger were especially vulnerable to disease.

Even the most heavily damaged areas recovered as the World Wreckers brought in special equipment to speed the restoration of soil and forest. Yet the natural cycle of fire and flood continued, and therein lay the current problem. Even though Darkover remained independent, able to purchase what it needed, it never acquired advanced technology. The planet was too poor in minerals to support industrialization. The population was too thinly distributed, and it was not suited by either temperament or training to factory regimentation. There

would always be things too expensive or difficult for Darkover to make for itself and other things Darkover could offer in exchange.

Now the Federation was gone, having withdrawn to fight its interstellar civil war. Where could people like these Kazarin Forst men turn except to the Comyn who had always guided them?

Danilo blinked, and it was no longer Regis who sat across the room, but Mikhail. Mikhail had made good use of the foreknowledge of the complaints and he had an answer ready for them. His plan was innovative but sound. The strange illnesses besetting beasts and crops might indeed represent some new threat or might be only a recurrence of older ailments. A trained matrix technician and one of the Renunciate healers who had been working alongside the Terrans as part of the Bridge Society exchange would accompany them to determine what kind of assistance would be most efficacious.

Humbled but clearly moved by Mikhail's thoughtful response, the Kazarin Forst brothers withdrew. The Council concluded the rest of its business for the day and adjourned.

As the Council members rose to leave, some lingered briefly to discuss the session. Mikhail's brothers, Rafael and Gabriel, gathered with Marguerida and Gisela Aldaran, Rafael's wife.

Since they were a small group, the most convenient place to meet was the antechamber between the main Hastur enclosure and the private entrance. Members of the Domain once used the place to speak undisturbed before making a formal appearance in Council. The antechamber had not been used much since the time of Danvan Hastur; the wood paneling was dark with age but richly grained, carved in designs of interlocking fir branches and leaping stags. The benches that lined the walls had been newly refurbished, however, and covered with long flat cushions. The air smelled of wood polish and herbs.

As Danilo joined them, Marguerida was saying to her husband, "That was well done, love."

"Aye, but a hundred more such men stood outside our gates the other night." Gabriel had not yet taken his seat. He shifted from one foot to the other, slapping his fist against his open palm for emphasis. "For each one who dares to come forward, there are as many others, fomenting discontent and rebellion." He scowled at Marguerida, who

had opened her mouth to reply. "Don't look at me that way, sister-in-law. I speak only what we all know."

"I saw them in the streets as I rode out this morning," Rafael commented.

"Gabriel, please sit down," Marguerida said, holding out her hand. "There's room here on the bench, and you'll make us all nervous, pacing about like that." With a grunt of resignation, Gabriel complied.

"Danilo," Mikhail said, smoothly changing the subject, "you have my deepest thanks. I doubt the hearing would have gone as smoothly without your information."

From his own place in the corner, Danilo inclined his head and said he was happy to be of service, but the credit was due entirely to Mikhail's skillful handling of the situation.

"Modestly spoken," Mikhail replied graciously. "I nonetheless value your wise counsel."

"You shall always have it."

"Mikhail, you cannot seriously propose to give an audience to every malcontent in Thendara," Gabriel said, returning to the previous topic. He had always been the most tradition-minded and conservative of the three brothers. "You know as well as I do that the Council barely tolerated today's hearing. If you press them or abuse their patience, you will lose their support on issues of real importance."

"And
this
isn't important?" Marguerida put in.

"What else are we to do?" Domenic asked. "We cannot turn these people away. As Comyn, we have a responsibility to them."

"There speaks the idealism of youth," Rafael said, but not at all maliciously.

"Rest assured," Mikhail said, "I will not underestimate the seriousness of the problem. That's why I want to know how you see it and what suggestions you have for how to proceed."

Marguerida ran her fingers over the embroidered cushion cover and looked thoughtful. "As Gabriel says, the men at our gates are just the tip of the iceberg. The old ways are breaking down. We need to put something new in their place or run the risk of going the way of the dinosaurs."

"The
what
?' Gabriel said. "What are dinosaurs?"

"I forgot there were none on Darkover. Just think of them as slow-

witted, wingless dragons, lumbering blithely on their way to extinction, like some Council members," Marguerida said with a chuckle, then sobered. "What we need right now is a better way to use our existing resources."

"You clearly have something in mind," Mikhail said, grinning at his wife, "some scheme that will no doubt send the traditionalists on the Council into apoplexy."

"Don't tease me, Mik. I don't
mean
to upset them. I just don't cope well with people who think nothing should be ever done for the first time."

Mikhail laughed outright, but Gabriel looked unhappy. Gisela, who had been sitting beside her husband, listening, said gently, "You must admit that Marguerida's ideas—like setting up a publishing company with Thendara House—have been of great benefit."

"
I'm
not the one she must convince," Gabriel muttered. He leaned back against the paneled wall, then scowled at the sharper edges of the carvings.

"Like illiteracy, this problem won't go away on its own," Marguerida said. "If these people don't get help locally, they will come here and expect
us
to do something."

"My point exactly," Gabriel said. "If we attempt to hear every case brought before us, the Council will be swamped with every trivial dispute in the Seven Domains. It would be better to handle these things as we have always done, each Comyn governing his own lands."

"If that were possible, if there were enough of us, would those men on the street be here?" Domenic asked. "Isn't this proof that the old ways are no longer enough?"

"I say we should send those people back where they belong, using the force of the City Guards if necessary," Gabriel said. "Times of unrest have come and gone before. If we are steadfast in our determination, matters will resolve themselves."

"That may have been true once." Domenic refused to back down. "But we've never faced a situation like this, not since the
Terranan
first landed on Darkover. I believe we have not yet seen the fullest impact of their departure."

"Or replaced the benefits they brought," Rafael added.

"Domenic's right," Marguerida said. "When the Federation left

Darkover, they created a vacuum—of power, of resources, of people. In time, we will adjust. A new balance will emerge. The question is, how do we make that transition as smooth as possible?"

Danilo seized the opening. "I believe there are far more people with
laran
than are presently represented in the Comyn. Some of them may be
nedestro
offspring, like that Traveler girl, Illona Rider. Others may be from collateral families or possess only minor talent, not enough for Tower training, but—"

"I don't understand your point," Gabriel interrupted. "Are you proposing throwing open Council membership to every by-blow or commoner with a touch of
laran
The result would be chaos!"

Danilo paused. He had not been thinking of the Council itself but of the other ways Comyn served Darkover with the talents of their minds. At the same time,
Why not
? The Federation Senate included representatives from every level of society.

"In the meanwhile," Mikhail said in a quiet voice that drew everyone's attention, "we must do what we can to minimize the suffering of the people in our care."