The Tigrens' Glory (17 page)

Glory’s head went up, her bronze eyes glittering at Cade.  “I don’t wear steel as a fashion accessory.”

Cade’s eyes danced with amusement, but his expression was solemn as he bowed from the waist.  “Forgive me, Kelta Druidess, I meant no insult.”

Glory nodded, thought to ask what
Kelta
meant, then sighed.  She was stalling and they all knew it.  “The Dracons have a few different theories on what might have happened to you.  Before I can answer your question, I need to know what your last memories are.  Did you live on Ugaztun?”

“Yes, we lived on Ugaztun,” Kyerion replied.  “There were nine clans, not seven, all named as you’ve said.  The Xanti had just begun sowing dissension among the clans, and they were succeeding, with two exceptions.  Clan Tigren and Clan Owlfen were able to see the Xanti for what they really
were.  Disgusting creatures hiding in false skins, parading as Narrasti and Ugaztun both.  The ranking members of both clans met in secret to discuss the best method of informing our brother clans that their new friends were false.  The meeting erupted into violence that quickly spread to engulf all members of both clans.  No one knew why.  Lifelong friends and brothers attacked one another and fought to the
death, killing men, women, and most horrifying of all, children.  It was a nightmare of blood and fury with no sense or reason.  We three were able, barely, to fight the compulsion, and turned our efforts toward discovering what was happening, and how to stop it.  That’s our last memory.”

“How is it that the Tigren and the Owlfen weren’t fooled by the Xanti?” Glory asked.

“We were, in many ways, different,” Kyerion said.  “In the other seven clans, each male-set may be strongest in any of the four powers, Air, Earth, Fire, or Water.  It’s varied and, for the most part, random.  It wasn’t the same for the Tigren and Owlfen.  A Tigrens’ greatest strength is always in Water, with Earth second.  All Owlfen are strong in Air, with Earth second.  Never in the history of the Klanaren were either Tigren or Owlfen gifted in Fire.

“Further, the Druids of our people, the healers of both mind and body, were always of Clan Tigren.  The Sentinels, those who watched over Ugaztun and Klanaren as a whole, were always of Clan Owlfen.  This does not apply to females, who do not wield magic.  A Druidess may be of any clan.  It requires only that she have a special talent.  Your ability to Dream Walk would make you a Druidess, for example, were you Klanaren.

“And, finally, only Druids and Sentinels, working together as one, could draw on the power of Spirit, the greatest of all magics.  Not even the Xanti can hide from Spirit.”

“You suspect that the Xanti did something to cause Clan Tigren and Clan Owlfen to destroy each other because you could see them for what they were,” Glory said.

“During this time waiting for your return we have come to this conclusion, yes,” Kyerion replied.  “We were the first to suspect there was something wrong with the Xanti.  It was on our recommendation that the Tigren and Owlfen use Spirit to examine the Xanti more closely.”

“So they had reason to want the three of you over all others,” Glory said.

“Yes,” Kyerion replied.  “Will you please now tell us how long we’ve been…unaware?”

Glory swallowed hard, sick with the knowledge of what she had to tell them.  The Dracons had given her a few different theoretical time lines, and this was the worst of them.  “No one knows exactly,” she said.  “Shortly after landing on Jasan, a pod filled with artifacts from Ugaztun was recovered.  Among the artifacts was the mosaic I mentioned the other day.  It’s made of gemstones and depicts four tigrenca in a jungle setting.  I’m positive that you are the three male tigrenca in the mosaic.”

“I remember that now,” Kirk said softly.  “Our mother created that mosaic when we were fairly young, though I don’t remember seeing the finished piece.  She was an artist of great skill and renown.  But you said there were four tigrenca.  I have no memory of that.”

“Yes,” Glory said.  “The fourth is a female with orange and black stripes and blue eyes.”  She studied each of their faces carefully, but there was still no sign of recognition.  Instead, they looked confused.  “Do you remember what your mother looked like?”

“Of course,” Kyerion said.  “She had golden hair and green eyes.  She was very beautiful, remarkably intelligent, and extraordinarily talented.”

“Did you have sisters?” she asked.

“No, we didn’t,” Kyerion said.  “Mother wanted daughters very much, but it was not to be.”

Glory averted her eyes from the sadness on the Tigrens’ faces, taking advantage of the moment to compose herself.  She’d allowed herself one tiny moment of hope that the female tigrenca in the mosaic was a relative.  The loss of that hope was a lot more painful than she’d expected, and she’d have to deal with that.  Later.  When she was alone.

“The mosaic was given to me to use as a focus to help me connect with the three of you,” she said, pleased at how calm she sounded.  “It seems to help a great deal.”

“Take great care with it, Glory,” Kyerion warned.  “Mother’s creations always reflected her belief that there could be no true beauty without substance.  I’ve no doubt that the mosaic is very powerful in some way.”

“I’ll be careful, Kyerion,” Glory said, deliberately turning her mind toward answering the question that just a few moments earlier she’d been avoiding.  “There is a test that reveals the age of objects.  After the Dracons told me the history of their people, your people, I asked that the test be performed on the mosaic.  It was found to be approximately seven thousand years old.”

Glory’s eyes flew open as she fell back on her bed, gasping.  The Tigrens’ shock had hit her like a blow, shoving her out of her dream valley, out of her meditative state, even knocking the wind out of her.  Once she’d caught her breath she rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom to wash her face.  She glanced at the clock, surprised to find that half the night was gone.  She felt as though no more than an hour had passed.  She was relieved to find she was just a little more tired now than she’d been when she’d begun her Dream Walk.

She was really hungry, though.  Just as Dr. Honey had warned, Dream Walking took a physical toll on her.  At least she hadn’t drained herself this time.  That was progress.  She threw on some clothes, tucking a couple of throwing knives into her waistband, but leaving her sword behind.

As she made her way through the quiet ship she thought about all that the Tigren had told her, in particular what Kyerion had said about the Druid Tigren and Owlfen Sentinels.  The more she thought about it, the more certain she became that she needed to share the information with the Dracons.  Since Tigren had been absent for so long, she suspected that she was the only one who knew about the Druids.  If something happened to her, and the Tigren were never rescued, it would be lost again, perhaps forever. 

She carried her breakfast back to her room and sat down with it at the vid-terminal.  She ate quickly while she considered what she should say, then pulled up the message recording system.  She spoke into the camera on the vid-screen, her voice clear and precise as she related all that the Tigren had told her, including their last memories of Ugaztun.  When she was finished she sent the message to the Dracons.  She considered sending it to the other consuls, the Katres and Lobos in particular, but decided that decision belonged in the hands of the Princes.  Feeling as though a small weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she kicked off her shoes, slid out of her clothes, took a quick shower, and climbed back into bed for a few hours of dreamless sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

Xi-Kung opened one eye at the distinctive tone that announced an incoming message from Xaqana-Ti and considered ignoring it for all of two or three seconds.  Since he preferred to remain among the living, he opened his other eye before scrambling down from his favorite corner and climbing into his
makina
.  It was much easier to work with technology from within the bio-suit than while in his natural form.  He locked the hatch behind him and settled in while he powered the
makina
up, then walked over to the vid-terminal and sat down. 

He read the message, frustration starting to rise within him before it fizzled out.  He’d become too inured to Xaqana-Ti’s unexplained manipulations to be bothered by them much these days.  He didn’t know why he was being sent to Marrazo, nor was he curious.  The fact that it was at the ass end of the Thousand Worlds bothered him far less than the fact that it was a water planet.  As much as all Xanti hated water, even that failed to raise much more than a small shudder from him.  Maybe after he’d had a few more hours of sleep and a meal he’d care.  For now, he simply pressed the appropriate keys to send a high speed acknowledgment of his new orders, and sent the new destination coordinates to his captain.  Then he powered down his
makina
, climbed out, and went back up into his corner.  He’d just folded his legs beneath him when he was jolted so hard he nearly fell to the floor.

For a long moment he simply sat there, stunned, as a variety of possible causes for the rude jostling raced through his mind.  Before he was able to settle on any one of them, he was jolted yet again.  At the same moment a brief tone sounded from the comm speaker near the door, followed by a string of frantic chittering.  They were being attacked!  But, by whom?

Xi-Kung raced to the floor and leapt into the
makina,
hitting the comm link before he’d even closed the hatch.  “Captain, did you say we’re being attacked?” he demanded, spinning the
makina
toward the door as quickly as he could without toppling it over.

“Yes, Commander,” the captain replied.  In the background someone shouted
Incoming
! just before the ship shuddered again, slamming Xi-Kung’s
makina
into a wall. 

“Captain, are the shields up?” Xi-Kung demanded as he regained control of his
makina
and headed toward the control room as fast as he could without running.

“Yes, Commander, they’re up and at full power,” the Captain said. 

Xi-Kung frowned.  Only Xanti ships had enough power to penetrate Xanti shields.  “Who’s firing on us, Captain?”

“Two Xanti ships,” the captain said.  “They refuse to identify themselves.”

“Xanti?” Xi-Kung demanded in disbelief as he entered the control room.  “You’ve made an error, Captain.”

“Respectfully, Commander, this is no mistake,” the Captain said, gesturing toward the view port.  “You can see for yourself.”

Xi-Kung did see for himself, and for several seconds he struggled to make sense of the situation.  “Someone must have pirated those ships, Captain,” he said finally.  “Xanti do not attack in such a manner.”

“That was my first thought as well, Commander,” the Captain said.  “A bio scan of both ships indicates only Xanti life signs aboard.  We tried asking them why they’re attacking, but they aren’t responding.”  The ship shuddered under another hit.  “Your orders, Commander?”

Xi-Kung didn’t even have to think about his response to that question.  Two Xanti ships against one Xanti ship equals run like hell, or prepare to end up as a field of unidentifiable debris floating through space.  “Get us out of here, Captain.”

“Aye, Commander,” the Captain said in relief.  “Which direction?”

 “Get to the nearest Door you can find and go through it, I don’t care where it takes us,” Xi-Kung replied. 

“We just came through a Door not half an hour ago,” the Captain replied.  “We can go right back through and disable it behind us.”

“Do it,” Xi Kung ordered just before the ship was rocked with another explosion.

Xi-Kung watched while the Captain spoke rapidly to the navigator, relieved when the ship rotated and shot back the way they’d come.  “As soon as we’re through, I want a full recording of the attack ready to be transmitted to Xaqana-Ti,” Xi-Kung ordered. 

“Our communications grid is down,” the Captain reported after a brief exchange with the Communications officer. 

“Can it be fixed?” Xi-Kung asked.

“No, Commander,” the Captain replied.  “Ordinary interstellar communications are unaffected, but the high power transceiver coil we use for intergalactic transmissions is damaged irreparably. We will need to return to our home galaxy in order to send a message to Xantara.”

Xi-Kung thought for a few moments before coming to the only possible decision.  “Make way for Xantara at all speed,” he told the Captain.  “And review every bit of data from that encounter—every sensor, every data channel.  I want to know who those ships belonged to.”

Chapter Fifteen

The Dracons, Katres, Lobos, Falcorans and Gryphons all sat around the big table in the Dracons’ private dining room aboard the
Ugaztun
, watching the message Glory had recorded in the wee hours of the morning.  Garen had immediately understood Glory’s reason for making the recording, and he’d thank her for it the next time he saw her.  This was information that could not be lost again.  Even if they were unable to rescue the Tigren, and never found others, this was part of their history, and therefore important to them.

Upon viewing it that morning he’d immediately sent copies to the council on Jasan, as well as to the Bearens, the Vulpirans, and the Dracon-Bats, just in case.  Then he’d sent messages to the other consuls asking them all to speed-travel to the
Ugaztun
to view the recording over breakfast.  When the recording ended, the room remained silent for several moments as everyone considered what they’d just learned. 

“I didn’t know it was even possible to wield Spirit,” Faron said, breaking the silence.  “Our people lost much more than two clans in those dark days.  We certainly cannot wield Spirit now.”

“What I find fascinating is that they called themselves
Druids
,” Lariah said.  “The mystery of the Druids on Earth is ancient.  As far as I’m aware, almost no solid information has ever been discovered about them.  Do you know anything about them, Summer?”