The Game Begins

The biggest problem Tanya had in reading The Book of the Elder-Ones was in not laughing out loud at some of the unintentionally funny sections. However, the Sisters would not take it well. They might even stop her from reading the book altogether, and while it was not exactly enthralling, she had nothing else in the way of entertainment. Also, while she was reading, whatever Sister was on duty would make no other attempt to convert her to the true faith. The dogmatic sermons were far less amusing than the book.

Tanya was sitting cross-legged on her bed. Her room was on the southwest side of the temple. The strong afternoon light directly hitting white paper was too dazzling for reading at the table, although the breeze through the window was pleasant. It carried memories of hot summer days, roaming through the fields and forests around Westernfort, with nothing over her head but green leaves and blue sky.

Tanya kept the book open on her lap but let her eyes slip out of focus. Could she act out such a convincing conversion to the worship of Celaeno that the Sisters would let her go? She glanced toward the white-robed figure by the door. Alas, it did not appear very likely. For women who were so uncritical in accepting a manifestly fabricated work of fiction, the Sisters were surprisingly distrustful when it came to their fellow human beings.

The sound of voices in the corridor outside made Tanya flinch. Always, in the back of her mind, she was braced for Guards to burst in and drag her back to their dungeon. Letting her think she was safe in the temple could be a ploy, designed to break her spirit. The woman claiming to be her grandmother might be one of their agents and the scene with the Imprinter a trick. The Intelligence Corps interrogators had to know that pain alone could not guarantee she was telling the truth. They had to destroy her will to resist before they could place any trust in what information they wrung from her.

Tanya looked up just in time to see the door opening. Isabel Coppelli swept into the room, her arms outstretched in greeting. A second, shorter woman hung back behind her, partially shielded from view. Tanya barely had time to put her book aside before her grandmother was upon her, taking her hands, pulling her to her feet, kissing her cheek and steering her toward the table beneath the window.

With her arm around Tanya's shoulder, Isabel murmured quietly, "I've brought a friend to see you. Don't look at her now. Wait until you're sitting down and have time to compose your face. And don't show that you recognize her or are in any way surprised. You also shouldn't talk to her directly. She's pretending to be one of my employees."

Tanya was glad that she had her back to the Sister as she digested the instructions. Who did she know in Landfall at all, let alone call a friend? She slipped into a seat at the table and fixed her attention on her grandmother sitting opposite. The other woman took up position, slightly back and to one side. Out of the corner of her eye, all Tanya could see was the view to chest height. The woman was of small build and wearing a loose cream shirt and dark green trousers, suitable clothes for an upper-class employee. Nothing put Tanya in mind of anyone she knew.

Tanya took a deep breath, composed her lips in what she hoped was a firm but natural-looking line, concentrated on keeping her eyes, forehead, and cheeks steady, and let her gaze flick up to the unknown woman's face. The warning to prepare her features had been wise. Without it, Tanya would have been manifestly dumbstruck at the sight of Private Rikako Sadiq standing placidly at Isabel's shoulder like a servant. Tanya's eyes returned to her grandmother, who smiled.

"I take it that you recognize my companion."

"Uh...yes. I...er, do."

Tanya swallowed and took another deep breath, fighting the urge to glance at the Sister by the door to see if she had spotted anything unusual. It would do no good if the Sister had, and might only raise suspicions if she had not.

Her grandmother continued talking evenly. "I considered coming alone to tell you about Rikako, but it would only waste time, and timing is crucial today. I'd also hope that any granddaughter of mine would be capable of holding a straight face when necessary."

"I did my best, but I wasn't expecting her."

"We rather thought you might not."

Tanya took a few seconds to collect herself, amazed by her own reactions as much as anything else. Whoever would have thought that seeing Rikako Sadiq would give so much pleasure? Yet Tanya could have happily stared at her for hours. Riki was the first familiar face Tanya had seen for months. She was a comrade-in-arms and she was from home—which surely was where she still ought to be.

"Why is she here?"

"Specifically as to why in this room with me now? Rikako and I have been working on plans to get you out of here and back to Westernfort."

"You're serious?"

"Oh yes. As for why Rikako is in Landfall at all, that's something you could talk about later. You'll be seeing quite a bit of each other. As a start to our plans, I'll be distancing myself from you. I'll announce that I don't have the time or the desire to visit you often. Not when I have so many other virtuous granddaughters who are more deserving of my favor. Rikako will be the one who visits you every day and passes any information between us. I'm supposedly introducing you to each other at the moment. The Intelligence Corps will read into this the message that I have limited affection for my heretic granddaughter, but I'm still keeping a watchful eye on her, out of family pride."

Tanya made sure that she had her face and breathing under control before asking, "Do you really think you can help me escape from here?"

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

"Won't you get blamed? You wouldn't destroy the whole family for me."

"You're quite right. I wouldn't. But we have a scheme, and the first step is to drive a wedge between Chief Consultant Bakara and Colonel Zelenski of the Intelligence Corps."

"How?"

"I possess some information about Bakara that should do the trick if we use it properly."

"Information you can use against her?"

"I'd be careful with the word ‘against.' The Sisters are very dangerous to toy with. You can only push them so far. Remember, we could all be imprisoned and executed on the Chief Consultant's word, without trial or hope of appeal. If we threaten her, she'll crush us."

"You have some sort of hold on her."

"Not that secure."

"But I saw how you got her to overrule Colonel Zelenski."

"I have influence. Nothing more. And in order to have influence with the Sisters, you need to be useful. I've been useful to Bakara in the past. What influence I have is based on the hope that I might be useful again in the future." While she spoke, Isabel Coppelli's face was as placid as if she were discussing nothing more serious then the weather.

"Bakara was elected as Chief Consultant just three years ago, but she was somebody I'd been watching for some time. When the last Chief Consultant died, there were two main candidates in the election. Bakara was one and Joannou, who was the Consultant up at the Fairfield temple, was the other. Joannou found me less useful than Bakara did. Hence my choice was clear. I had an employee at the time, Jean Azid, who was an extremely resourceful woman. She manufactured some false evidence against Consultant Joannou and planted it in her room. When it was discovered, it rather spoiled Joannou's chances in the election."

"In her room? Azid broke into the temple?"

"As I said, she was extremely resourceful."

"Was?"

"Yes, alas. She was murdered just under a year ago, which is, I fear, a professional hazard for women in her line of work. A great shame. We could have done with her help now. However, I have records of her actions regarding Consultant Joannou."

"Did Bakara know what Jean Azid did?"

"Yes, and I even have proof that she knew."

"You're going to blackmail her?"

"Oh no. As I said before, that would be most unwise. Bakara would fight back and our long-term prospects wouldn't look good. We need to be altogether more creative in how we use what we have." Isabel Coppelli glanced at the sun's position and then turned to Riki. "And so. Shall we commence? It's about time for you to set things off." She raised her voice so the watching Sister could hear. "Leave us for a while. I wish to talk to my granddaughter in private."

"Yes, my lady." Riki give a small formal bow and left.

 

Riki closed the door of Tanya's room behind her and walked away, past the Guards on duty outside. The spiral stairway was close by. At the bottom, she turned onto a long corridor that ended in hanging drapes over the exit from the outer sanctum. Riki stepped through, into the main hall of the temple. Again there were Guards, standing crisply to attention on either side. Their eyes flicked in Riki's direction, but they made no move to stop her or call her to account for being there.

All temples were composed of various sections. At the center was the main hall, where the faithful could pray, invoking the aid of whichever Elder-Ones they felt most appropriate. Close by would be the Guards' garrison, where the devout warriors had their barracks. The sanctum was the area where the Sisters and Imprinters lived. No one other than the priestesses and vessels of the Goddess could set foot on the holy ground, except for a few select Guards, when circumstances made it necessary. Most temples therefore had a small sub-region, the outer sanctum, where the consultant could hold private meetings with the secular officials of the town or city.

Landfall was the executive hub of the Homelands and had greater and wider need of such space. Hence the outer sanctum in the temple at Landfall was more than just a couple of audience chambers. It contained offices, archives, private shrines, and accommodation, including the room where Tanya was being held. It was also somewhere that Isabel had a permanent warrant for, allowing her to enter whenever she wished. Nothing said more about just how useful Chief Consultant Bakara had found the elderly matriarch.

Riki strolled away from the outer sanctum, trying hard to appear like any other devout visitor. However, her thoughts were seething. She could not get over her shock at the state Tanya was in. Not merely the ragged, bloodstained uniform, but more the haunted reserve in her eyes. How long had Tanya spent in the hands of the Intelligence Corps?

The sums did not add up favorably. Riki's route to Landfall had been diverted via Westernfort. Tanya might have spent well over a month in the Corps dungeon. What had happened to her? Riki stopped before a small shrine to an Elder-One—she could not concentrate enough to tell who—and tried to compose herself.

Riki would happily lie, dupe, and steal, but she had never let anyone else take the blame for what she had done, or suffer in her stead. Breaking the rules was a game, and if she lost, then she lost. She never tried to duck out when payback time arrived. When she thought of Loke, contempt formed a hard lump in her throat. Loke had screwed up, and rather than face the consequences, she had thrown Tanya to the Guards to save her own skin.

Riki closed her eyes and concentrated on calming her expression. Soon, she had a role to act out and could not afford to let her emotions get out of hand. When she and Tanya returned to Westernfort, then would be the time to deal with the bitch. Riki would put her anger on hold until then. She turned away from the shrine and began to walk.

The huge dome of the main hall arched high above her, fading into the dimness. The air was heavy with candle smoke and incense. Riki passed a row of statues, supposedly images of the Elder-Ones. For the faithful, these were semi-divine spirits whom the Goddess Celaeno had sent to prepare the world for the arrival of her mortal daughters. The Elder-Ones had stayed to instruct and guide the children of Celaeno, but eventually, their work complete, they had ascended to be with the Goddess. Yet they still watched over their protégés and would intercede with the Goddess on behalf of the deserving, if suitable offerings were made.

Riki's lip curled in a cynical smile. It was amazing how those offerings needed to take the form of payment to the Sisterhood, and the greatest offering of all was the imprinting fees. Riki reached the entrance to the imprinting chapels. Anyone who wanted a child had to come here to the Sisterhood and pay them whatever was asked.

The healer sense was the ability to manipulate bodies, using only the power of the mind. Supposedly all women had it to some extent, but in Riki's case, it was so weak that she could make no use of it at all. She was not even sure if the occasional flashes of heightened awareness when touching someone were real or imagined.

At the age of twelve, all girls were tested for their ability, and any who had the potential to become Imprinters were taken from their families and kept in the temples, thus ensuring the Sisters' control of human reproduction. Only Lynn in Westernfort had escaped their grasp, and allowed the heretics to found their growing community.

Riki passed by the imprinting chapels and continued her circuit of the great hall. In the middle was Himoti's sacred flame, burning on the altar. She was supposedly the greatest of the Elder-Ones, the patron of Imprinters and Cloners, the one who had first created the healer sense in women, by the strength and sanctity of her prayers.

Riki stopped in front of the flame, staring into it. Somewhere in the temple was the library where Gina Renamed, the founder of the heretics, claimed to have found proof that the beliefs of the Sisterhood were no more than misremembered folk myths. According to her, the Elder-Ones were ordinary mortals, travelers from another planet, who had been stranded and had needed to make the best they could of the new world.

Riki chewed her lip. What did she believe? She had clung to belief in the Goddess to annoy her mother. Now she felt a need to deny it, as an act of contrition. Yet this was equally flawed reasoning. She turned from the flame and continued walking. At the base of a nearby column was a statue of an Elder-One with white skin and scarlet hair. Another stood facing her across the aisle. This figure had green skin, although only her hands were visible; her face was hidden beneath a coat of blue fur. The representation was taken from a quote in The Book of the Elder-Ones:

Their skins were diverse in tone, and their hair was yellow and red and black, and all the shades between. And some were tall, and hair grew on their faces.

Riki looked down at her own hands. Like all mortal women, her skin was soft brown, and her hair was a few shades lighter than black. The heretics claimed that the Elder-Ones were lost colonists, ordinary human beings, whose skin tones varied just a little more than usual— from light cream to dark brown. Riki looked back at the multicolored Elder-Ones, and realized that she did not believe a word of the Sisters' teaching.

So that's it. I really am a heretic, Riki said to herself. She raised her eyes to the domed roof above her head. What better place to come to the self-knowledge?

While walking the hall, Riki had not totally given her attention to the statues and architecture. Now her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a tall woman in Guards' uniform marching into the temple. The excessive amount of gold braid adorning her tunic indicated someone of high rank. This was what Riki had been waiting for. She set off on an intercept course, soon closing the gap between them until she was close enough to spot the four gold stars on the Guard's shoulder badge.

The colonel was heading in the direction of the outer sanctum but stopped on the way to pray at the military shrine. Riki casually wandered by and arrived at the hanging curtains shrouding the entrance. The sentries had let her out without question, but their instructions were clearly different for anyone entering. A Guard with a sergeant's badge stepped forward.

"May I see your warrant to enter?"

"I was in here earlier. I'd just popped out, but I'm due back now," Riki protested.

"I still need to see your warrant."

"But you must have seen me leave. I was in here with Madam Isabel Coppelli."

"I need to see your warrant." The Guard sergeant was getting surly.

"But—"

"Now."

Riki sighed and dug through her pockets. On her previous arrival, she had been let through on Isabel Coppelli's warrant. Now she would have to produce one of her own. She pulled out the document she had been given at the Coppelli mansion and handed it over.

The Guard sergeant gave her a final belligerent glare and unfolded the sheet of paper with the official red stamp on the outside. As she studied it, her expression changed slowly from irritation to confusion, and she moved closer to the row of candles, angling the paper to the light for a better view. She looked at Riki, back at the paper, and then at Riki again.

"Where did you get this?"

Riki licked her lips nervously. "Um...It was sent to the Coppelli residence for me to use."

"When?"

"I don't know."

At a nod from the sergeant, the other Guards moved to form a ring around Riki. The faces under the gold helmets were hostile and suspicious.

"What's going on here?" A new voice rang out. The colonel had finished her prayers and was ready to continue.

"Ma'am." The sergeant snapped to attention. "This person is seeking entry to the outer sanctum and has presented this warrant. But it's a forgery."

 

"I don't understand what your employee was doing with this forged warrant to start with." Colonel Zelenski returned to the point like a dog returning to a well-gnawed bone.

"It was a simple mistake."

"Simple?"

"An oversight on my part." Isabel Coppelli's tone was conciliatory. It had no effect on the Intelligence Corps colonel.

Riki kept back and said nothing. Initially, it had looked as if she would be dragged off to the Guards' compound, but it changed once Zelenski learned that Riki not only worked for the Coppellis but had initially gained access to the outer sanctum in the company of Isabel Coppelli herself, who was still in the temple. The colonel had decided to go straight to the top to sort out the matter. A degree of personal venom made it clear that she was nursing a grudge over the departure of Tanya from her dungeon.

"What could—"

Zelenski was interrupted by the door opening and the arrival of Chief Consultant Bakara.

"I understand there has been some problem."

"Yes, my lady." Zelenski pointed toward Riki. "This member of the Coppelli household was trying to gain entrance to the outer sanctum using a forged warrant."

Bakara methodically scanned everyone in the room, finishing with Isabel. "Madam Coppelli, do you have some explanation for this?"

"Thank you for coming. I'm sorry you've been bothered by all this nonsense." Isabel smiled at the Chief Consultant. "And yes, I do. I've decided that it's not fitting for me to be closely associating with a heretic. I've far too many demands on my time as it is. I'll therefore be curtailing my visits to my granddaughter. However, I wish for someone from my household to visit every day and ensure my granddaughter has all she needs in the way of clothes and other requirements. My employee here, Marlena, will be the one charged with this duty." Isabel paused briefly. "As you might remember, I requested a warrant on her behalf. I can only assume Marlena picked up the wrong document before we left."

The mask over the Chief Consultant's face made her expression hard to read, but the narrowing of her eyes indicated that this was the first she had heard of the request for a warrant. She looked at Isabel with something that might have been confusion, but said nothing.

Colonel Zelenski was not so inhibited. "That does not begin to explain what you were doing with a forged warrant to start with."

"I expect it was one of my great-granddaughters, playing games. You know what children can be like."

"This was not a—"

Isabel interrupted the Colonel, beckoning Riki forward to stand before Chief Consultant Bakara. "Please. Allow me to introduce my assistant. This is Marlena Azid. Maybe you remember her aunt, Jean Azid, who also used to work for me, before she had her unfortunate accident. Marlena will be taking on many of her aunt's roles for me."

The furrows on Bakara's forehead vanished. "Ah, yes. Of course."

"No child could—"

This time the Chief Consultant interrupted Zelenski. "It's all right, Colonel. I understand where the mix-up was. There's no problem."

Zelenski stepped back, clearly stunned into silence by the instant acceptance of Isabel's ludicrously weak explanation.

Bakara went on. "And before you leave today, Madam Coppelli, I'll give you a new warrant for Marlena. Just in case you...er...have difficulty finding the original warrant when you return home."

Isabel gave a gracious nod. "Thank you. That's most kind. I'm sorry about the mistake. I should have introduced Marlena to you earlier."

"It's no problem." Chief Consultant Bakara looked across the room at the furious Intelligence Corps colonel. "Thank you for bringing this to my notice, Colonel Zelenski. But everything is under control. If you could wait outside, we'll have our weekly briefing session, just as soon as I've sorted out the warrant for Marlena Azid."

Colonel Zelenski glared around in frustrated disbelief, then gave a sharp formal salute to Bakara, a scowl to Isabel Coppelli, and stomped out of the room.

 

From the window of her room, Landfall was at a safe enough distance for Tanya not to feel overwhelmed by it. She leaned against the wall and stared through the bars. The sheer scale of the city was astounding. That women's hands could build something so vast, brick upon brick, was incredible. That anybody would want to live in the result after it was finished was incomprehensible.

The sound of the door made Tanya look round. Riki sauntered past the Sister on duty. At the sight of her, Tanya felt her insides kick in a rush of contrasting emotions, too raw and overwhelming to separate and identify. The intensity of the response confused her. She had not realized quite how desperate she was to see Riki again, to reassure herself that she had not imagined their meeting the day before. But after her experience in the Corps dungeon, was it surprising if she was a little volatile emotionally?

Tanya pulled out a chair and dropped into it, trying to mask her eagerness, and waited until Riki was also seated before speaking.

"How did it go yesterday?" Tanya had heard nothing after her grandmother had been summoned away by a surly Guard.

"Completely to script. Your grandmother's amazing. She knew Zelenski's routine to the second, and she knew just how everyone was going to react. She was pulling all the strings without them knowing it."

"I shouldn't have doubted her. Mom always said she was the most manipulative bitch under the sun."

"Did she mean that as a compliment?"

"I shouldn't think so. They didn't have a good relationship. Grandma's been fine with me, though. Maybe she's mellowed with age."

"Or maybe you're not as sharp-tempered as your mother."

"I can lose my temper. I thought I'd proved that to you."

"I'm a special case. I can infuriate anyone." Riki gave an ironic laugh. "And I'm hard to get rid of. I bet you thought you were safe from me here."

"No, believe me, I'm very pleased to see you." Tanya looked down, feeling suddenly very awkward.

Tanya still had no idea why Riki was in Landfall, but she had to be genuine. There was no way she could be part of an Intelligence Corps trick. Riki proved that Isabel really was her grandmother and that the Chief Consultant really had ordered the Corps to hand her over. Riki's presence was what allowed Tanya to believe that she truly had escaped from the Corps torture room and would not be going back. And Riki alone gave her hope that maybe, just maybe, she would see Westernfort again.

Tanya wanted to reach out and touch her, to reassure herself that Riki was real. Yet, of all the women from Westernfort, surely Riki was the one least amenable to being grabbed by her. Asking for a hug was out of the question. Tanya clasped her hands together under the table to stop them from moving of their own accord.

They were not friends. Tanya had to remember that. She knew her reactions were purely a result of what she had been through. The woman sitting opposite had not experienced the same nightmare and would not be feeling anything close to the same emotions. Tanya had to keep a grip on herself. She had no idea why Riki was in Landfall working to free her, but she was absolutely certain that it owed nothing to any concern for her welfare.

She needed some answers. "What are you doing here?"

"I've brought you some clean clothes, but the Sisters are inspecting them before they let you have them. I'm not sure whether it's to look for files sewn in the hem or to check that nobody has embroidered slogans like Screw Celaeno on the collar."

The new clothes would be welcome. Tanya was still wearing the uniform she had been captured in. The humor was even more welcome. Already, Riki had got under her guard. Tanya leaned forward over the desk, stifling a laugh, even as she wondered if this was the first time they had shared a joke. "I meant, why aren't you back in Westernfort?"

"Your mother was going to kill me."

Tanya grinned, thinking that Riki was joking again. "What did you do to upset her?"

"I meant it literally. I was going to be hanged. She thought I was the one who handed you over to the Guards."

Tanya's smile faded. She looked at Riki in shock. "But it wasn't you. It was Loke Stevenson."

"Yeah, I've worked that one out. But I wasn't able to convince anyone else. Loke did a good job of framing me."

"You were sentenced to death? Did they hold a trial?"

"I escaped the night before. But there was no way I wasn't going to hang. Everyone was convinced I was guilty. Loke switched cloaks with me, so I was wearing the one that had been dragged through the bramble by where you were ambushed."

"Just that?"

"Pretty much."

"Mom wouldn't convict you on such weak evidence."

"She was leading the lynch mob."

"She wouldn't—"

"Oh, she would. We had a private talk before I escaped. She kicked the shit out of me. I'm being a bit less literal there, but not much. The bruises have only just gone, else I could show you." Riki tipped her head toward the watching Sister. "Although I'm not sure what our chaperone would make of it if I started stripping off my clothes."

Tanya slipped down in her chair, feeling appalled, and unsure what to say. "I...I'm sorry. I know Mom...but she shouldn't have. It—"

"It's okay. If I'd done what she thought I'd done, I'd have deserved it and more. In the circumstances, she was quite restrained. It's Loke I want to get even with, not you or your mother."

Tanya stared in surprise. She would have thought Riki was the sort of person to hold a grudge. "It's good of you to look at it that way. I don't know if I would, in your place."

"It's not completely forgive and forget on my part. I'm looking forward to hearing your mother say she's sorry when we get back. Maybe grovel a bit. But that's why I've got to have you with me, to tell everyone the truth about Loke."

Of course. Tanya had known Riki's motives would not spring from altruism. "You could stay here in Landfall. It would be easier than trying to free me."

If Riki detected the bitter edge to Tanya's voice, she showed no sign. Her eyes were locked on the table, as if she were trying to stare through it. "I must go back. There's something I have to do."

"What?"

Riki pouted and twitched her head in a sharp movement, indicating that she was not willing to answer.

"What's so important?" Tanya pressed.

"Nothing much."

Tanya raised her eyes to the ceiling. Nothing much, but it was worth Riki risking her life over. Tanya felt a surge of anger. If Riki was refusing to answer, then it was probably something illegal or immoral— maybe both. It was all part of some stupid game.

"I guess I'm just lucky, then."

At last the sarcastic tone got through. Riki looked up, frowning. "For what?"

"That you stand to benefit in some way from me going home. I'd wondered why you were risking your neck to get me out. It's not the sort of thing I'd expect from someone like you."

Riki's expression flitted through a series of reactions before settling on a taunting grin. "You didn't think I was doing it for your sake, did you?"

"No. I never thought that for a moment."

"Good. We understand each other." Riki stood up. "And I've stayed long enough. It's your tough luck that you'll have to see me again tomorrow."

Riki turned and marched out through the doorway. Tanya watched her go, fighting the impulse to call her back. Riki's presence was stirring up a whirlpool of emotions. The woman was a complete pain in the ass, but Tanya just wanted to cling on to her and not let go.