Gryphons
Chapter Ten

Rating: R
Category: Original Fiction
Warnings: Violence, angst, some dark bits.
Summary: From bad to worse…
Notes:

It was early evening when Raski drove up to Draephus’ castle, Delaes in the seat beside him. He could hear the yapping and howling of Draephus’ two Faylans before he even opened the vehicle door.

“They must be frantic,” said Raski. “Draephus has never been away this long.”

“Certainly do make a noise what does he do with them when you’re on tour?”

Raski rolled his eyes. “Brings them.”

“Oh that must make getting a hotel reservation interesting.”

“Tell me about it.”

They left the con parked by the bridge, walking across the wooden planks over the moat to the great door. All around was encroaching darkness, lit only by small luminous insects, and the glowing eyes of the frogs at the edge of the pond. Soon the perfect night would have settled, and they would be locked away in another time; before electricity, before conveyances, and before wars. Raski paused on the bridge and looked around, wondering what it would be like when he too called the castle home. Finally he resumed walking to the door. As he reached for the handle, he heard a body hit the door with a resounding thud, then fall to the floor.

“You have to wait until I get it open, groutnoll!” said Raski.

Czanda made an unhappy noise. Raski unlocked the door, and was immediately pounced upon by two desperately worried and distressed Faylans. Bacca leapt into his arms and bit down on the collar of his shirt, chewing it; a sure sign the creature was very upset.

“Well I guess I’m sleeping here tonight,” said Raski. “Can’t leave them alone. C’mon, critters. Let’s get you fed then I’ll run a bath and let you two soak the castle down.”

“Sleep here you honestly can’t be serious I could never sleep here well yes I did once but that was different I certainly could not sleep here alone!”

“So stay with me.”

“As much as I would love to spend the night in a haunted house trying to keep you off of me I can’t I have to get back to Avalair and rescue Rysta his building collapsed and he’s been staying in a shelter.”

Raski gave Delaes a quizzical look as he walked through the door and up the steep flight of stairs that led to Draephus’ main sitting room.

“His building collapsed? I thought that housing complex was new.”

“It was but the underground fires found a vein of something combustible and just followed it all the way down munch-munch-munch until it hit foundation.”

“Is Rysta all right?”

“Oh he’s fine he’s just not looking forward to staying with me for a few days you know it’s funny he and I drive each other nuts but we’re always the first to stand up for each other.”

“Rysta’s a good guy,” said Raski. “He’s just a little… screwed in the head.”

“Well I daresay I would be as well if I went to bed one night having a wife and two daughters and woke up to three corpses to this day he won’t drink water no matter what’s been done to purify it.”

“Yeah, I know how he feels,” said Raski. “When I went to bed that night I had a mother, three aunts, and eight female cousins. We were all hiding down in a bunker. I… I really don’t want to discuss this.”

Raski walked into the kitchen, carrying Bacca over to the table and setting him on the polished wood, inlayed with mother-of-pearl to form patterns of flowers. He then walked over to the cold-box, opening it, and sighed.

“You have got to be joking, what is this clart?” Raski pulled out a package and read something in Draephus’ handwriting. “Bacca, Threeday evening snack.” He pulled out another. “Czanda, Twoday breakfast. What is this? The man is insane. We’re on limited rations, and they don’t give us celebrities any little extras. So what does he do? Blows his ration cards on the Faylans and starves.” Raski shook his head. “No wonder he’s nothing but bone and sinew. And why do you two arfers each get your own package, anyway?”

“Arf!”

“That’s not an excuse.”

“Arf arf arf! RARF!”

“Really. Well, I was just asked to feed you, not comprehend you. And it’s a damned good thing because I can’t.”

“Rar-arf!”

Raski smiled, and looked down at the packages he held. “Why do you two get different dinners?”

“They’re different varieties,” said Delaes.

“They’re what?”

“They are two entirely different types of Faylan surely you can tell that.”

Raski looked at Bacca, then Czanda. They sat on the table, blinking at him with luminous green eyes. Both were red, roughly the same height, with a lot of long silky hair.

“Sure,” he finally said.

Delaes rolled his eyes and took one of the packages, walking over to the wood stove to light a fire and heat it.

“Bacca is taller with longer bones and a deeper chest and a more flexible spine because he is an arboreal which means he lives in the tree-tops.”

“Uh-huh. And Czanda?”

“Better suited to life on the ground but he can and will head for the tree-tops if he feels threatened.”

Raski stared at the Faylans. The Faylans stared back.

“Well if you say so. All I know is if I could have chicken and fish three nights a week I’d sit up in a tree and bark too.”

“Arf!”

“Yeah rub it in, ya skinny red arfer.”

Raski glanced over at Delaes, eyes flicking up and down his body. He leaned back against the counter, watching Delaes light the woodstove. He drew a breath, and kept his voice casual.

“You know there’s a chance I don’t have C-3 and C-4.”

“Raski that’s wonderful of course it’s not if it turns out you have something worse but I hope you don’t.”

“Yeah me too. If I’m relatively clean, they’ll let me have kids.”

Raski thought he saw a nervous flinch, but couldn’t be sure.

“Well who would you have them with?” asked Delaes

“Draephus.”

Delaes screamed with hilarity, dropping down to the floor in convulsions of helpless laughter. Raski rolled his eyes.

“He’s my best friend, what’s wrong with getting him to father my children?”

“YOU HAVE TO ASK!?”

“He loves me. I love him.”

Delaes was still giggling. “I have no doubt you both love each other but honestly Raski do you have eyes the man is a shambling disaster I mean I love him too but do I want him putting a baby in me absolutely not!”

“So who did put a baby in you?”

That stopped the laughter cold, as if Raski had struck him across the face. Delaes stared at him, dark eyes full of fear as he slowly rose from the floor, unwittingly finding himself standing near the table on which the Faylans perched, side by side with Czanda. He reached out one hand to place on the creature’s shoulder.

Oh yeah. Definite family resemblance.

“Delaes, it’s okay. I’m your friend.”

Delaes shook his head. “It’s not okay it is absolutely not okay you have no idea how very UN-okay this entire situation is.”

Raski walked over to him, taking him by the shoulders. “Then explain to me,” he said quietly.

Delaes shook his head. “No.”

“Delaes…”

“Someone or something will hear it doesn’t matter where we have this conversation someone will find out I already told you more than I should I should never have come but Draephus was so sick I didn’t want him to die without saying goodbye…”

Raski gently drew his friend close, holding him, stroking his hand over the long hair. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone. Look, Delaes, no one has to know, okay? Here’s what we can do. We can take you down to the South Continent. You can have it there, and we can say you adopted the kid.”

Delaes was shaking. “And what if it has white hair and grey eyes?” he asked softly.

Raski felt his stomach drop. “Grey eyes? You mean the father is…”

“Kyphisian.”

Raski closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly several times. “Man, Delaes, when you screw up, you screw up allllll the way, don’t you? Where did you find a Grey Boy?”

“In my apartment he lives with me I’m in love with him we get along great I’m a freak and he’s a monster but I love him.”

“Look, not all Grey Boys are monsters, even I know that.”

“It doesn’t matter to most people does it?”

“I guess not.” Raski gently pulled Delaes closer, stroking his hair. “Do I know him?”

Delaes smiled. “J’Vanni Dei Syncopius.”

Raski grinned. “Oh so THAT’S why we never see him! The little shit hides in your apartment pretending to be a High Northerner with severe emotional disturbances!”

“Well the emotional disorders are for the most part quite real he’s been through some awful things I mean one day you are a private music teacher for children of wealthy parents and then they come drag you away and put a gun in your hand and tell you to kill these people who have never done anything to you…”

“A lot of us had that happen, Delaes. I mean I’m sorry for him, but…”

“You don’t understand you don’t understand the way they raised him you…”

Raski grabbed Delaes by the forearms, giving him a gentle shake to get his attention. “Delaes, breathe. Okay? Speak in sentences. I can’t help if I can’t understand you.” He reached up to stroke his face. “Calm down. Breathe. That’s a good boy. Now. What don’t I understand?”

Delaes breathed, trying to control his non-stop nervous babble. “There is a caste system in place on their home planet that is very strict.” He forced himself to breathe. “’Dei’ means ‘teacher’ you do not choose to be a teacher you are raised a teacher and because you are working with innocent children you are expected to be innocent yourself that’s…”

“Breathe, Delaes.”

Delaes did, fighting to speak in a concise manner, fighting to express himself. “They raised him to be a music teacher. They raised him in an isolated community. Away from war, away from rape, away from murder, crime, violence. They raised him in a little controlled paradise. Then, because they were running out of soldiers, they gave him a gun, and sent him to war. And until that moment he had no idea people killed each other.”

Raski tried to comprehend what that must have been like for J’Vanni, and couldn’t. He could not imagine being raised to have no knowledge of the violence people were capable of, only to be one day expected to kill like a trained soldier. There simply was not an emotion he could reach for he thought would even come close to the overwhelming horror and fear and revulsion this gentle man must have experienced.

“What did he do?”

“What do you think he did he went insane that’s what he did and when his unit pulled out they left him behind because he was useless and that was when Draephus found him.”

“Draephus…?”

“Found him took him in took care of him hid him and introduced us once he got a bit better and Draephus set him up in an underground communications center so he could help our side without having to kill.” Delaes stopped, suddenly looking thoughtful. “I guess we didn’t fight for our side we fought for your side because I don’t see anybody worrying about half-breed Faylans and emotionally destroyed music teachers other than Draephus and that weird kid who stole one.”

“Delaes, I…”

“I have to go I can’t stand here chatting I have to get Rysta and I have to get home and I have to plan out a way to save my own neck.”

Raski caught hold of him. “Delaes, nobody knows you’re pregnant other than you and me, and possibly the father. So calm down.”

“I really do have to get Rysta.”

“Okay, go pick up Rysta. But if you need help with anything, Delaes, you can come to me, okay? That includes finding you transportation to the South Continent.”

Delaes nodded, and smiled. “Thanks.”

Raski stroked his hair, then kissed him gently, watching him depart. He sighed, and looked at Bacca.

“Aren’t you glad you don’t have to worry about this crap?”

He shook his head, long red-gold hair flying. “Pfffffthrp.”

Raski smiled. “I’m starting to understand what Draephus sees in you guys.”

***---***

Dahli waited until darkness had settled in completely before she made her move. She crept slowly out of the cell, looking down the hall to where she knew the crazies to be. There was a vague illumination coming from one of the cells, but she heard nothing, saw no movement. Slowly she began making her way down the hall, away from the light, her bare feet made no sound on the cold concrete floor as she crept along, uncertain if she was going in the right direction.

The air around her was cool, and she could smell the aftermath of the fire. Her heart banged painfully in her chest, and there was a nervous tightness in her stomach. Every fear she had ever felt before had been rendered infantile at that moment, a baby's apprehension of shadows to be warded off by a warm hand. She knew at this moment she was experiencing actual terror. She was barricaded inside a portion of a youth detention centre with a group of dangerous people, anyone of whom could see her and either take her hostage or kill her.

She walked quietly, keeping to the middle of the hall, hoping this would give her small advantage. If she was seen, she wanted a chance to react, and fight. She wasn't going to be picked off like the head of a flower, stupidly awaiting disaster. She negotiated the hallways carefully; avoiding any debris that would make a noise should she step on it. She tried to calm herself, distracting herself with thoughts about the first thing she would do when she got out. She'd call Czamkiar, and have him go get Diza. They'd go down to the Contempo and have some real food, not the stuff they served here. They could stay for a poetry reading, or head down to the city park for one of the evening concerts. She would forget all this clart, and just go back to being herself. It would be absolutely glorious.

She tripped, suddenly and loudly, over a jumble of unidentifiable metal, landing on her face. Dahli was terrified; she did not even feel pain as she awaited the sound of running feet, telling her she had been heard. She wondered how she had missed the tangle right before her; perhaps thinking about being down at the Contempo instead of where her feet were going was not the best idea.

She slowly, quietly, began disentangling herself. Freed of the debris, Dahli continued down the hallway, feeling a little more confident that she was alone. If someone had been stalking her, then they would have had the perfect opportunity to attack when she had tripped.

She heard the sudden sound of a summer downpour, and she paused, startled by the sound. She wondered if she would hear thunder; this was the season for it, and the electrical storms. Time to be out by the beach with a fire going, watching the ghostly flashes of lightening flit about the sky. She wondered if the dead Faylan cared about what she had tried to do. No, probably not. By the time she had taken it, the thing was well on its way to the next plane of life, probably already up a tree, chasing birds and barking arf arf arf at all his dead buddies from the lab. Did they have thunder storms on Fayla? What a noise that must be, clouds booming and the whole pack howling and arfing.

Dahli turned a corner and stopped. Before her rose a grey wall of cinder block and mortar. There were no stairs. She had gone the wrong way, and now would have to go back and take her chances passing the cell. Well clart, why didn't she just stay back here until this mess was cleared up? Sure, how long could that be? She could go hungry for a while, and if she needed water, there where sinks in the cells. Or if worst came to worst, she could drink out of the toilet. And if that happened, then Dahli was determined not share that particular piece of information with anyone. No way was anyone in her class getting a chance to read about that in the papers.

Sighing heavily, she began searching for a secure place to sleep. Unable to find anything suitable, Dahli made a place out of things she had come across. Once finished, her hiding spot looked like a heap of trash thrown aside. Dahli hoped anyone who may happen across it would not question it. She slipped beneath the heap of matter and onto a pile of blanket remnants. She sat with her back to the wall and closed her eyes, trying to relax.

`Morning,' she thought. `By then everything will be fine. The guards will have moved in and taken command.'

The night passed slowly, Dahli dozing off and on. She was afraid to fall asleep, but too tired to stay awake. She would lurch out of sleep every now and then to listen to the silence, to determine if anyone was close at hand. Morning found her more tired than she had been the previous evening, and no indication that anything had changed. On top of everything else, she really had to go to the bathroom. She crawled out of her pile and crept down the hall to another cell. Glancing about, she went into the cell and, not giving herself a chance to think, she hauled down her pants and sat on the toilet.

`Great,' she thought, 'wonderful place to get caught. Hello, Donsa Maniac, can you let me wipe my backside before you kill me?'

Dahli managed to finish without seeing any maniacs coming towards her. She made her way back to her hiding spot, pausing to glance out a window. Nothing spectacular came to view, just the prison yard, and beyond that, the main highway that ran into Second City. She wished she was on the other side of the road and far away from all this lunacy. Come nightfall, she decided, she would creep back down the hall and see how things looked.

The day wore on. Fear had given away to boredom and hunger. Dahli lay inside her shelter, dozing for lack of anything better to do. She did not want to risk doing any spying during the day, and reading material was non-existent. Well, there was that piece of a letter she had found under the sink. Even this wasn't particularly fascinating. There was little to it other than idiotic ramblings about some party that the writer had attended. Dahli had attended enough parties to know she didn't like them. Discarding the letter in favour of a nap, she drowsed away the day, until once more night slipped into the building.

When she awoke again, she was surprised to find it was not only night, but quite late. When she left her jumbled bed to peer outside the barred window she could feel the silence of the sleeping city. It had to be somewhere in the dead zone between when the last clubs closed down, and the first of the early morning workers awakened. A perfect time for doing some investigating. Once more Dahli ventured into the hall. Silently she walked along, this time carefully avoiding the pile of trash she had previously tripped over.

Turning a corner, she was confronted with the cell she would have to pass. No sound came from it, which was hopeful. Perhaps they were all asleep. Dead would have been good, too. Much safer than asleep, but she would have to take what she could get. Slowly, carefully, Dahli moved forward, trying to be as silent as possible. Blood pounding in her ears, she stealthily came up to the cell door and listened very, very hard. No sound came to her. There were no stirrings to alert her, no words exchanged that she could hear. Then, with a burst of bravado, she thrust her head around the corner.

The cell was full of sleeping bodies, some on the bed, some on the floor. It was easy to tell who the prisoners were, all five of them. In one corner three boys were bound together in an uncomfortable heap, asleep despite the knots. Next to them was an older man with his back towards her, so she couldn't see his face. Beside him was one of the guards. He was awake, and as she looked at him, he stared straight back at her. His eyes were green, she noticed, quite nice. She glanced back at the four figures on the bed, the captors. They were all snoring peacefully, which was fine with her. She turned her attention back to the guard, and then, frightened half out of her mind, stepped silently over to him. He was close to the door, so she did not have to venture far into the cell to reach him. The ropes binding him were tight, and she had to force herself to be calm and not make matters worse by simply tugging wildly at them. Finally she managed to remove them, and, dropping the bonds aside, she motioned for the man to follow her.

He rose to his feet carefully. He steadied himself for a moment against the wall, waiting for the circulation to return to his feet, then walked out of the cell. She was relieved that he didn't seem to want to take on the four armed youths by himself.

"How did you get back here?" he asked her when they were a distance from the cell.

"I was already back here," said Dahli. "I got lost looking for an exit when it looked like the whole building was going to burn down. I was at the back of the section, hiding and hoping somebody would clear up this mess, and with a little luck, survive it."

He nodded. Dahli was glad of his presence, he at least knew his way out of D Section. Just getting away from this area was going to be like a day off school. Now that they were past the cell, she felt much more relaxed and confident. They would get out of this, she was sure now. In just a few minutes, they would have left this area and its madness behind.

They walked, her bare feet silent, his boots making quiet sounds. Dahli's main thoughts now were on her stomach, she was hungry. But bed would be nice too. Yeah, bed then breakfast. She'd just saved the guard, maybe they'd let her sleep in. They'd better, or she'd start a riot of her own. She thought about asking if she could go home now, but thought that would be pushing things. Oh well, a chance to sleep in once would be nice, she could ask for that.

"Are we almost out of here?" she asked softly.

"Just a short ways further," he said.

Suddenly, with the finality of a dropped brick, he fell. He simply landed flat on his face. Dahli stopped and stared at him in surprise. What did this clart think he was doing? It didn't occur to her that anything was wrong. He was a guard; he was one of the people in charge of this place. Nothing bad could happen to him. She was reluctant to touch him at first, but when he still did not move, she grasped his shoulder and turned him over.

The knife had gone into his heart. She had not seen or heard the silent object as it had flown through the dark to strike him down. Now, as he lay there with the blood running dark and thick across his shirt, she still couldn't quite believe it. However, when realization did take hold, she immediately turned to flee. She spun around and bolted straight into the chest of the boy standing right behind her.

"Boy he's deader than clart on the road. Too bad. I guess you have to come with me."

She ran, dodging the boy and heading back the way she had come, moving at a rate she didn't know she could. Why hadn't she thought that there would be people watching the hall? Why hadn't she just stayed down at her own end? Then she could have at least starved to death in peace.

Dahli didn't get far before she was tackled from behind and thrown to the floor, caught in a tight grasp.

"Come on, don't be like that," said her captor. "Just think, you'll be able to write all your friends and tell them you got to be a hostage. Fun, huh?"

`Scruffing lovely,' thought Dahli.

He led her back to the cell. She was pushed down into the guard's spot, and bound tightly, feeling frightened and angry and helpless. She glanced down at the older man who lay next to her, and realised it was Ris. Dahli stared in horror at his greasy face, his dandruff-covered shoulders. Then completely without thought, said; "Hey I don't want to sit next to him, he smells."

The youth stared back at her, an amused look on his face. Then he shrugged and kicked Ris in the backside. The man jolted awake with a cry.

"I'm sorry, Donsa Ris, but we'll have to put you in the hall," he said calmly, a little apologetically. "The other prisoners are starting to complain about the smell." He bent and grasped Ris' feet, dragging him out into the hall, leaving him there.

Those within the cell began to stir. One of the three boys tied up in the corner shifted and looked around to see what was happening. The four on the bed were tossing and complaining about the noise, but none of them bothered to take a look at what was occurring for a few minutes. Finally one of them did sit up. He blinked sleepily at Dahli's captor.

"Hey Tesh, what are you doing?"

Tesh stared back at the boy on the bed for a long moment, then slapped him across the top of the head.

"Well I could be setting all of our prisoners loose, but you wouldn't know, would you? While you were lying here dreaming about the sex life you don't have.” He pointed at Dahli. “She managed to set the guard loose and almost got away with him. And where were you? You were asleep. I could have sat on your head and you wouldn't have known it. Maybe you and her should trade places, at least she uses her head for something besides holding up the top of her head." Tesh shook his head, a sneer of disbelief on his face. "You're useless, Cui."

Cui stared back at Tesh. "Not," he mumbled petulantly. Tesh slapped him idly, then turned his attention to Dahli. "What's your name?"

"Dahli."

He nodded, then narrowed his eyes at her. "What's your last name?"

She sighed. She had a feeling she knew where this was going. "Sandiniti."

"Dahli Sandiniti? Hey I know you, you're the one they put away for stealing dead bodies. What were you doing with them? Hey we'd make a great team, I could kill them and you could take them and hide them. I like you. Just relax, nothing dead in here for you to take off with. We'll let you know if we need you."

Dahli watched him leave the cell, then closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the rough brick wall. As those around her settled once more, her mind turned to Draephus. Maybe she should have asked him to get her out of here, what would it have hurt? Never mind that she would be paying him back for the rest of her life for what she did to his conni. Most likely he would have told her to go take a course in reality, anyway. Why should he help her? She sighed heavily. He would be home in that ancient castle of his, sound asleep without a care in the world.

`Must be nice.' she thought as her backside began to hurt on the cold, hard, floor.

***---***

Delaes walked out of the lift and stepped into the large, softly-illuminated apartment. The warm room welcomed him, and he felt himself relax as he stepped across the deep carpet. He threw himself down into a leather covered chair and closed his eyes, feeling a dull throbbing in his head. He rubbed his eyes with his long fingers, then dropped his hand into his lap, sighing as he looked out over the crumbled remains of Avalair from the huge picture window.

"Gia?" he called. "Are you home?"

There was the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. A moment later a tall, elegant figure entered the room. He paused, gazing fondly at Delaes, his long white hair held back in a ponytail, his blue-tinted glasses shielding his tell-tale grey eyes.

"You look tired."

Delaes stared back at the Kyphisian. "I feel like I should be dead."

J'Vanni walked into the kitchen, returning a short time later with a delicate cup full of scented tea. He sat next to Delaes, surprisingly graceful for such a large man. He passed the cup to him, smiling affectionately. Delaes accepted the cup, then leaned his head against J'Vanni.

"I am so tired I could cry," he said as he felt the large hand gently rub the back of his neck.

"How is Draephus?"

“Good he’s recovering, slowly he’s quite ill but I think he will all right I’m more worried about you and I frankly.”

“Why worry about us? We’re fine.”

Somewhere in the back of the apartment, something with a horrid, almost demonic, shrieked “YUCK!” at the top of its lungs. J’Vanni sighed.

“Piska, come here.”

There was a rush of wings, and a huge golden bird flew towards him, landing on the floor before him. The creature stared up at him with golden eyes, the hooked beak and curved talons leaving little question this was a bird of prey.

“What’s yuck?” J’Vanni asked the bird.

The creature skipped off, returning shortly with a dead mouse.

“That’s not ‘yuck’, that’s dinner.”

The bird picked the mouse up and, with a deft movement of its head, threw it away.

“Piska…”

“YUCK!”

J’Vanni narrowed his eyes. “I had best not discover you have been after the chickens again.”

Piska hopped onto his ornate perch and began preening. J’Vanni sighed, then turned his gaze to Delaes once more, grey eyes soft and affectionate. Delaes gazed back at J'Vanni. Things weren't fine. They were far from it. Their whole carefully built little hidden world was about to be torn apart, and by him. Delaes felt sick. There was no way to say it gently. He felt his stomach clench, and he breathed a little harder.

"I'm pregnant."

J'Vanni blinked, then slid off the chair and onto the floor, almost as though he was pushed. Delaes sat forward, concerned for him.

“Gia?”

"Oh," J’Vanni said softly. He took off his glasses and ran his hand over his face. "Oh," he said again.

"That's your great comment on this?" said Delaes.

J'Vanni looked up at Delaes. He shook his head. "I don't know what else to say.”

Delaes stared down into his cup. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Whyever for? It’s not your fault. It’s not either of our faults, we took precautions, it’s not our fault they didn’t work. Frankly given the fact that you’re half Faylan and Sferkkaan and I’m Kyphisian I’m really rather astonished we can breed.”

“Well we can and we did and what are we going to do?”

The door opened, and in stepped Rysta, dragging his bags with him. Piska immediately flew over to him, landing on the arm of his leather jacket.

“Hey Picky-bird. You being a good boy? Give me a kiss.”

Piska gave him a gentle peck on the lips, ruffling his feathers and making soft sounds. Sensing he was invading a personal moment, Rysta walked towards the guest room he had used in the past, Piska balanced on his fist. Delaes and J’Vanni watched him go, then J'Vanni leaned forward, taking Delaes into his arms. He could feel a cold tingling all through himself, his arms could hardly do what he wanted. Delaes was shivering as well.

"We've got a lot to think about," said J'Vanni quietly.

Delaes was incapable of saying anything, he was crying quietly. J'Vanni held him tighter, trying to be supportive as his body tried to collapse. They were dead, it was that simple. They could hide for a while, but how long before someone began to question whatever story they came up with? And then there was the baby. Which one of its accursed parents would it resemble? How would they account for its appearance? J'Vanni spoke soft Kyphisian nonsense to Delaes, his own eyes becoming wet. He kissed his face, then set up a soft rumbling purr in an attempt to calm Delaes, but could only keep it up a short time. He was not in the mood for it.

Delaes Randerick was one of very few people on Sferkkaa who knew Kyphisians purred.

"I'm a disaster."

"No you're not." J'Vanni pulled back a little so he could look into Delaes' eyes. "You're the one who showed me how to have a good time, remember? You're the one who taught me not to take myself so seriously."

But Delaes had ceased to hear J'Vanni. "Gia what am I going to do? I know nothing about children, or childbearing. I don't even know anything about being pregnant, except how to get pregnant, and I've done that. Gia what am I going to do?"

J'Vanni gently kissed Delaes. "You're going to calm down. Just sit here, I'll get you a blanket, some more tea..."

"A bowl of kiska nuts?" Delaes asked hopefully.

J'Vanni rolled his eyes. "A bowl of kiska nuts, then we'll light the fire and relax. Nothing has to be decided this instant. We need to calm down and think.”

"Oh good, I love procrastination." said Delaes.

J'Vanni kissed him, then rose and left the room, walking down the long hallway to their bedroom to get Delaes a blanket. He stepped into the chamber and promptly collapsed, quivering uncontrollably. He honestly thought he was going to die, that the huge surge of emotions would kill him. He put his hands over his head and whimpered quietly, trying to get a hold on himself. He managed to finally get off of the floor, but the room looked surreal, strange. He was shaking hard. Despite all his efforts, his knees buckled once more as his vision suddenly blackened.

"Delaes!" he yelled in panic, and heard him come running down the hall. Delaes ran into the room and knelt down at his side.

"Gia?" he said nervously, and felt J’Vanni’s hand on his arm. They sat together in silence for a long time, the room slowly growing dark as J'Vanni wrestled with his fear.

"I'll be all right," J'Vanni whispered. He was still shaking hard, but seemed to be calmer. "Could you help me to the bed?"

Delaes helped J'Vanni up, carefully leading him over to the large bed. Together they climbed under the thick covers and held each other. Both were exhausted, and before long they fell asleep.

***---***

Delaes awoke sometime before daybreak, knowing J'Vanni was already awake. He rolled to his side and looked at his face, reaching out to touch him.

"What are you thinking?"

"Here's what we'll do," said J'Vanni. "We will go down to the South Continent, hang out, relax, enjoy the tropics. While we're down there we decide to adopt a war orphan. Draephus knows people who can forge the papers. No, that won't work. Too easy to figure out phoney papers. Too easy to trace. You and some woman have a baby. She didn't want it, the result of a one-night type thing, and we stay on until the baby is born. Conditions down there aren't good, she dies in childbirth. The way things are right now, no one will ever find out. We'll be safe; we can keep the baby, and our necks."

J'Vanni looked over at Delaes and grinned. Delaes smiled and drew close.

"That's why I married you, you're smart."

Delaes reached up to touch J'Vanni's face, parting his lips as he bent to kiss him. Then J'Vanni moved down Delaes' long body, resting his head on his lower stomach, listening.

"I can hear it," said J'Vanni softly.

"That's the kaisa I had for dinner last night."

"It is not," J'Vanni grinned, then said; "It's a heartbeat."

"Stop talking to the baby and get up here and talk to me."

J'Vanni did, his body covering Delaes' as they embraced, bodies merging as they settled together. Outside the window the sky began to slowly brighten, and the two figures on the bed were mercifully unaware of the electronic beam aimed through their closed window, listening now to their lovemaking just as it had been listening to everything for the past twenty-four hours.

***---***

Tesh was making Dahli nervous. No, he was scaring the clart out of her. He had worked himself into a frenzy during the night and attacked one of the hostages. It was during the attack that Dahli realized that the boy he was beating was Shae, the youth she sometimes spoke to in the yard. Tesh had beaten him senseless for no reason she could see, simply lashing out at him while Shae lay bound and helpless. He laid on the floor now, his handsome face bruised and swollen. He was unconscious, but still breathing. Dahli hoped Tesh would leave him alone before he killed him.

She had finally met the knife-thrower, the one who had killed the guard. It was the youth she had put the run to in the hallway, one of the pair who had tried to assault her. She recalled his pock-marked face, just as he remembered her. Even now she could feel his eyes upon her. So far Tesh had offered her protection, but she had seen how unpredictable he could be. Anything could set Tesh off; a sneeze, a yawn, and he would fly into a rage. Tesh seemed to have a special dislike for Shae, and he was not hesitant to express it. She felt a sympathy for him she dared not express openly.

Pock-Face tore a piece of bread apart and ate it, his eyes still on Dahli. She studied her feet and pretended not to notice him, acting distant, as though lost in her own thoughts. Most of the time she forced herself to think about the good things in her life. She recalled watching the Gryphons on the Visual with Diza, stuffing their faces and drinking in every tiny detail. She thought about the things she had done in school, and how far away all that was now. She had been stupid to steal the Faylan, she thought, unable to keep her mind from settling into darkness. Not wrong, but stupid. At the very least she should have kept the stunt to herself. Why had she not realized she would end up here? She had honestly thought she would solve everything, that all those people who dealt in the lives of Faylans would roll over and say; "You're right, this is cruel." Then everybody would go home and life would be fine.

Dahli stared at her cold feet, feeling Pock-Face stare at her. This wasn't the way it was supposed to turn out. She thought perhaps she was feeling sorry for herself, and that bothered her a little. She wondered if Draephus was here how he would handle the situation. Why was she thinking about him, of all people? Well, he did make two attempts to apologise, even after she hit him again, stole his conni, hid a body in it, and spit on him. Maybe he wasn't such a clart after all.

She mused on him for a while, then her mind wandered to school, to home, to places she would like to be. She cluttered her mind with nonsense so she wouldn't have to think about where she was. She recalled the tiny white birds Diza had given her for her birthday and tried to think of names for them. Spot and Spit. No, Trinity and Eek. Or how about Convalescence and Incontinence? Why not? She sighed quietly.

Thinking up silly names would have been more fun if she had someone to share them with.

Shae stirred beside her and whimpered. Something had broken inside of him, Dahli just knew it. She was waiting for him to die, wondering why Tesh wanted to hurt him so badly. Just then Tesh came into the cell. He was worked up about something. He walked past her and looked down at Shae. Dahli held her breath, but then Tesh turned and walked away, beginning to pace about the cell. Suddenly he snapped his attention to Pock-Face.

"Hey Pimple, you're going down to the barricade. We're going to make some demands." Tesh was shifting his weight from foot to foot, looking nervous and crazy. "Food and blankets. And a Visual. And it has to be a big one."

"They're not going to give it to us," said Cui.

"It's worth a try," said Tesh, ignoring Cui. "Tell them we want out. And Cui, if you get any stupider I will personally scruff you up the ass with the business end of Pimple's knife." He turned his eyes back to Pimple. "Now go."

"Aren't you coming?"

"No, cranium-clart, I'm not," Tesh stared at him crazily. "Go."

Pimple left, and Tesh sat down on the bed he had proclaimed as his own. Some of the wild look was gone from his eyes. He lit a cigarette, exhaling blue smoke. He looked at Dahli and held one out to her.

"Like a smoke?"

"Hands are tied," she said calmly.

"Oh," he said. "Yeah, I guess you can't smoke like that. So what are you in for, Dahli?"

He seemed to like saying her name, he said it a lot. He also liked to get her to repeat the Faylan story. Endlessly.

"I stole a dead body," she said.

"Yeah? Why did you do that... Dahli?"

She shrugged. "Just crazy, I guess."

"Just crazy. What did you dooo with it... Dahli?"

"Buried it. I wanted to bury it so it wouldn't get dissected by my science teacher."

He nodded thoughtfully, looking less crazy now. "Hey I wonder where Pimple is with the food, I'm hungry."

He rose to his feet and wandered into the hall again. He began to pace, making Dahli fearful once more for Shae's safety. Tesh however seemed to have forgotten about Shae for the time. He left him to lie in peace, or at least without further torment.

Tesh was beginning to show signs of violence by the time Pimple finally returned with the food and blankets. He explained to Tesh that the other demands would take a little longer, and this settled him somewhat. However he was still volatile, just looking for something to set him off. All around him were quiet, hoping he would find something else to occupy his mind. Finally Tesh lay himself down on his bed, curling himself into a knot and pulling a blanket around himself. Dahli relaxed as his breathing slowed and deepened. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back, exhausted from constant fear and tension, her body beginning to weaken from hunger.

Her head jerked as she almost fell asleep. She found sleeping difficult, unable to get comfortable in a seated position with her hands behind her back. She was so tired she could have cried, feeling strained, frustrated and miserable. She half-dreamed, half-fantasised that the guards would break through and rescue them from these mad people. Next to her, Shae slept on in his misery. Dahli wondered how badly off he was, and if he would die.

Tesh himself seemed deeply sleep, curled up comfortably and looking almost harmless. All around her were sleeping bodies, captors and captives alike. Except for Pimple, she noticed, he alone was awake and watching her. The look made her nervous, a prey animal noticing a predator on the prowl. Tesh continued to sleep like the dead. Dahli closed her eyes and pretended to drift off. She relaxed her breathing and tried hard to move into pleasant forgetfulness.

A type of sleep encased her, and she began to dream, seeing herself talking to her friends from school. The images that flashed in her mind were broken and disjointed, making no sense. They were simply pieces of what her past had been, something that seemed so far away. She couldn't believe she had hated school so much, she would give almost anything now to go back and to carry on the way she had before. It would even be good to see ol' Atania Nightwing, she of prissy manners and simpering ways. And those two beakers who used to always sit at the back of the room, what had their names been...?

Eventually Dahli fell asleep

Disclaimer:

All original fiction and the characters, places and situations with them are copyright Alyx Shaw, and may not be published, copied, distributed or archived without the author's prior written consent.

The characters, places and situations described in these stories are fictional unless otherwise stated in the story headings.

(C) 2008 Alyx Shaw