The Namura Stone (The Ammonite Galaxy, book 6)

Chapter 5

Tallen looked horrified. "I ... I am not very good at classes."

Mandalon grinned. "Well, you have days to get through here while that leg of yours is recovering its functions, so that will give you time to get better at it."

"I ... I think I ought to go back to Xiantha." Tallen felt a sudden rise of resentment against Valhai Diva, who had conveniently disappeared, leaving all this arranged! "They might need me there."

"They don't. They think you will heal better and more quickly here, with me and with the rehabilitation the medical skyrise can offer. We have the best installations in the binary system."

Tallen grunted. He wasn't so sure.

"Never mind. We will have combat practice every afternoon after your physical therapy, and I have six combat masters to teach me. Even a Namuri will have plenty to learn from them. Don't worry; your time here will be well spent."

"Why are you doing this for me?"

Mandalon stared. "You know the answer to that."

Tallen gave a nod. "You think you owe me something."

Now it was the Sellite's turn to glare. "I owe you nothing. Nor do I owe your sister anything. I was her emptor, and she died fulfilling a binding promise to protect me. I am doing this for you to honour her memory. I am doing it because she deserves it. I thought you – of all people – would have understood that."

Tallen looked down at the floor. "I have never been a good student. You can ask Maestra Cimma."

"I want to learn things from you too. You can teach me a different way of thinking, a different way of life. That is priceless to somebody who has hardly traveled off his own planet and who is surrounded by people who all think alike. You are not the only one who needs to heal. We can help each other."

The Namuri nodded slowly. Perhaps they could.

AS SOON AS he returned from his next periodical visit to Enara, a few weeks later, the visitor sought out Arcan.

"I'm afraid that things are not looking too good," he told him. "I think the Enaran animas are about to sign a treaty with the Dessites. They were openly discussing an alliance."

A shadow ran through the orthogel entity; the whole lake seemed to shiver. "Then I shall have to go over. It should not be put off any longer."

The visitor stared at Arcan. "You can't mean it!"

Arcan darkened. "I don't usually say things I don't mean."

"Well, no, but it is dangerous to go over to Enara. You know it is! What if the Ammonites have already signed an agreement with the Dessites? What if they manage to harm you?"

"How could they harm me? I am immune to them. And the Dessites cannot be physically there on Enara yet. It must be nearly 90,000 light years away. We know that there is only one traveler up in orbit – and they were lucky with that one. There can't be many more near the Feather Constellation. Most of the Dessite travelers are in this quintile of the galaxy." Arcan clouded over. "I am the orthogel entity; the Enarans can do nothing to me. I cannot feel that they will persist in this madness. There are not so many quantum entities in the whole galaxy that we can afford to put them at risk. We should all be working together, not causing ruptures. I have to go and try to make them see sense. Their position may not be set in stone. They have had time to get acclimatized to Enara now, have had time to think about everything. Surely they must realize that things have changed during the time they were stopped light, that the universe has moved on?"