The Tattooed Tribes (22 page)

He felt her
stiffen and was rather proud of himself; unfortunately he had no
idea what to do next, and looked hopefully to Vlic, who shrugged
helplessly.

“
Who are you?” Lucien demanded after a
flash of inspiration. “And what are you doing here?”

She put up her
hands to wipe the mud from her face.

“
Can I have a drink, please?”

The two boys
exchanged looks, it did not seem an unreasonable request, so Lucien
handed her his canteen and she almost snatched it from him, using a
little to wash her mouth, spitting and then taking a long
drink.

“
I ran out of steriliser a while ago,” she
said. “I’ve been boiling the stuff ever since.”

A vague memory
stirred in Lucien’s mind, even covered in mud there was something
familiar about her. Whatever it was, one thing was certain, she was
from The Settlement and no tribal girl.

Vlic was
watching her in awed fascination, he had never seen a woman from
below The First Cataract before and he was amazed by her brown eyes
and her height. Even sitting it was easy to see she stood head and
shoulders above the girls he knew, The People were not a tall race
and their women were diminutive compared to colonial ones.

She drank
again and then asked, “Where’s Harabin?”

Vlic shot a
questioning look at Lucien, who was equally surprised. He decided
to play it clever.

“
Who’s Harabin?” he asked.

She threw him
a look of total contempt.

“
Don’t give me that bollocks,” she snapped.
“Where’s Jon Harabin? Do you know? Or did he see through you and
send you packing.”

He gazed at
her in astonishment and finally light dawned. “You’re the girl who
wanted to take my place!”

“
The girl whose place you stole,” Stacey
Wainwright snapped back. “I know why you wanted it; I’m just
surprised The Guild fell for it. How long did it take for Harabin
to see sense and kick you out? I bet it wasn’t long before you
scuttled here to your father and his friends.”

He understood
the words she was saying, but their meaning made no sense to
him.

She sneered
again. “Oh, don’t worry. I know mine is there as well, up to his
pathetic neck in the whole bloody business and wetting himself in
case he’s found out. But he’s just a weak little man who loves a
bit of power, not like yours.”

“
Mine?” Lucien said, still staring at her
without comprehension.

“
Come on!” she jeered. “Daddy Marcus must
have been over the moon when he managed to get you that
apprenticeship. Someone on the inside to feed him information about
The Guild and especially about Harabin, who’s been a thorn in his
side for years.”

“
Jon only met my father once,” Lucien
protested.

“
He may have done, but Devlin knows him.
Knows all about his efforts to stop trouble amongst The Tribes and
keep a lid on any aggression between them and the settlers. He’s
wanted a way to neutralise him for years.”

The utter
contempt of her tone and the disdain on her face rocked Lucien to
the core. He heard what she was saying, but not one word of it made
sense to him.

“
Why?” Lucien asked. “Why would
he?”

“
Because he’s been trying to make this
planet go up like a firework for years and years!” she snapped
back. “With a little help from a whole load of others who want to
get their hands on it and my bloody father who wants to be seen as
a great provider of largesse and power.”

There was only
one way to handle these accusations and Lucien took it.

“
I don’t believe you,” he
stated.

“
I don’t give a fuck whether you believe me
or not. Your father is a ruthless bastard and you’re here to help
him do the filthy things he has been planning for months and
months, probably years.”

He wanted very
much to hit her and make her take back every word, he even raised
his hand, but Vlic stopped him.

“
You mustn’t strike a woman.”

“
But you heard what she said!” Lucien
snarled.

“
I did,” Vlic agreed. “Is it
true?”

“
No!”

“
How do I know?”

“
You must know,” Lucien
protested.

“
No, I don’t,” Vlic replied with dangerous
calm. “You defy Harabin
dheillwer
and
you don’t
obey his orders. You wouldn’t leave the cat, even when I told you
it was a totem animal. You wouldn’t return when you knew it was
time. Why?”

Lucien stared
at him in horror, words failing him.

Stacey smirked
in delight.

“
Kill him, warrior,” she said. “Before he
can betray both of us to his father and his gang.”

Vlic glanced
down at her, his lips twitching slightly.

“
Are all colonial women as bloodthirsty?”
he asked Lucien. “I do not kill without cause. You’re but a
gwerl,
with not a marriage to your
wrist. Such decisions are not to be made by maidens of no
worth.”

A smile of
total triumph crossed her face and she stripped the glove from her
left hand and held it out to him. On the underside of her wrist was
tattooed half a dozen of the S shaped swirls marking a woman’s
marriages.

“
I am a maiden of the Lynx,” she said. “And
I
order
you to
kill him.”

Vlic’s face
went completely blank and Lucien suddenly became very scared and
took a tighter grip on his club. Jon had warned him there were
tribal laws and customs he did not yet understand. Vlic was his
friend, but he knew women held the reins of power amongst The
People and in these seconds he wondered just how great the power
was.

“
I don’t know what passes for law and
custom amongst the Lynx,” Vlic said, breaking the tension. “But
amongst my people maidens do not give such orders, especially
maidens with no more than six marriages when they are as
old
as you!”

Had he been in less of a state, Lucien
would have enjoyed the expression on Stacey’s face at the
‘
old
’ very much
indeed, but he was far too occupied by a combination of relief and
gnawing anxiety about all she had said.

Vlic looked
from one to the other.

“
There is much here I do not understand and
much that needs to be discussed,” he said. “And it’s getting late.
Let’s find a camp site and then we can talk.”

“
We should be getting back,” Lucien
protested, but not with real conviction.

“
No,” Vlic said. “It‘s more important I
find the truth of all this.”

As Lucien was
as anxious as Vlic to probe Stacey’s story and hopefully force it
back down her throat, he put up no resistance.

They retrieved
Stacey’s pack, bow and quiver from higher up the slope and went
along the ridge until they found a place where a tree had been
blown over in some storm a few years before. The resulting hollow
made by the lifted root ball provided a sheltered place where they
could rest and build a fire safe from casual eyes.

Stacey had
cleaned herself up to the best of her ability and Lucien was
surprised to see she was logically and sensibly equipped for life
on the trail.

“
How did you get here?” he asked, animosity
forgotten for a moment.

“
How do you think,” she replied. “I
walked.”

“
From The Settlement?”

She nodded.
“Most of the way. I got a lift to The First Cataract; then I
contacted my people and they sent a canoe for me. I explained the
situation to my Elders and they gave me permission to seek my
father.”

There may have been the slightest
suggestion of a blush at this and had Lucien been paying more
attention, he might have remembered the tribal shibboleth on
telling the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth. However, he
was preoccupied by the knowledge she had come alone. He disliked
her, but felt a reluctant admiration for her field craft and
stamina. It crossed his mind she was probably a much better
woodsman than he was and Jon
should
have taken her and not him.

He silenced
this thought by going on the offensive.

“
What’s all this crap about you being a
member of the Lynx tribe?”

“
It’s not crap! I was married into them
when I was twelve.”

“
I don’t believe you!” Lucien
scoffed.

“
The People do not lie,” she replied in a
way to make him long to slap her.

“
They
might not,” he returned, “but you’re …”

“
Enough!” Vlic said. “Bickering will get us
nowhere.”

This sudden
rush of maturity would have surprised those who had heard his final
battle with his soon to be ex-wife.

“
We will use the stick as custom demands,”
he told them, handing Stacey a straight, smooth piece of firewood.
“Begin.”

She took the
stick and sat considering what to say, until finally she said,
“I’ve been coming here for years and years, ever since my father
was appointed to The Tribal First Nation and the Colonial Resources
Department.”

Her rather
hard eyes softened and she ran her hand over the stick.

“
I loved this place from the very first and
when I was twelve, I nagged and nagged and nagged until Pa agreed I
could spend the summer with the missionaries who are allowed above
The First Cataract.”

“
Wow,” Lucien sneered under his breath. “A
whole summer full of hymns and praying.”

She glared at
him and held up the stick, so he reluctantly clamped his mouth
shut.

“
I got to know a couple of hunters who came
in to trade and they agreed to let me go back with them to visit
their Elders.”

Despite
himself Lucien was impressed, he could only speculate at what
powers of persuasion she had used and he was deeply jealous,
because he had not thought of the idea.

“
I learnt a lot that first time,” she
continued. “And I learnt to love this land and its people even
more. When I got home and told Pa I thought he would go crazy, but
he didn’t. If anything he seemed pleased. So pleased he let me go
back the next summer and every holiday since.”

“
Without telling The Guild,” Lucien
guessed.

“
He said it wasn’t necessary for them to
know and …” She paused. “And at the time I thought it was nothing
more than not wanting to end my pleasure. He even agreed to my
marrying into the tribe once I’d explained exactly what it
involved.” A small cynical smile twisted her lips. “He wouldn’t let
me have my pearls tattooed onto my hands, but he was okay with my
wrist because that could be hidden.”

She paused and
gazed into the fire. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

“
I should’ve guessed,” she said, half to
herself. “If I’d given it enough thought I would’ve realised
why.”

She sighed and
brushed away the wetness on her face.

“
It wasn’t until a couple of years ago he
told me why he’d been so keen on my becoming a part of The People.
The stupid arrogant old fool assumed I’d use my knowledge to aid
him in his political wheeling and dealing.”

Memories of
what must have been an epic discussion chased across her face, but
she controlled herself and her expression hardened.

“
That was when I first found out about your
bloody father,” she snapped at Lucien. “And all his little
schemes.”

“
What the hell has my father got to do with
any of this?” Lucien demanded, still in the dark, but with a
feeling he knew where the light was hiding and not wanting to go
there.

“
Like I have to explain it to you,” she
sneered. “Marcus Devlin’s brat! Do me a favour, you little
bastard.”

Whatever
Lucien was going to say next, and he was going to say a great deal,
was stopped by Vlic.

“
Tell me what you know of Lucien’s
father,
gwerl
.”

She smirked at
Lucien.

“
Where do I begin? Marcus Devlin would have
you believe he’s an honest business man, trading legitimately. He’s
suave and sophisticated and he has a beautiful wife and a beautiful
home and all the local social climbing matrons adore
him.”

As Lucien
recognised this word picture of his father, he said nothing.

“
What they don’t know is he’s also a crook
to his backbone, ambitious, ruthless and without scruples. He left
the world he knew and felt most comfortable in, not to find a new
home for his wife and child, but because the authorities were
getting a little too close for comfort.”

She smiled
sweetly at Lucien.

“
It was all that surplus war stock,” she
said. “I agree it was a pity to waste it, but he should have been
just a tiny bit pickier about who he was selling it to.”

Lucien said
nothing; a few overheard snippets of information had suddenly taken
on a whole new meaning.

“
So he came here to front an organisation
with plans to exploit this planet for the benefit of a select few,
including of course, himself. On paper he is a licensed trader in
tribal artefacts, luxury goods for the luxury market. In reality he
was a conjugate for every illegal operation on the
planet.”