She drifted around to the rear of the cage, pressed two places on a panel, and leaned hard. A door-sized piece of the back slid aside. Laris entered, stooping through the entrance, light already in her hand. She turned slowly. It wasn't dirty; she could sweep it though. There was a little dust. There were built-in containers for food and water. She would bring bedding.
*If there is anything left alive to sleep there,* came to her. She had to agree. Cregar and his abductions certainly hadn't been so successful in the past.
*I'll clean it and put down bedding anyway.*
She found she was thinking of Storm as she worked. He was so calm, so self-contained. How would he react to the disappearance of some of his team? She wished she didn't have to know about that. Or to be involved. It was betraying the people who'd been kind to her. Then camp life came back to her. None of them were her kin. They had no claim on her.
*I too am not kin to you, sister-without-fur. Yet our hearts are bound together. What of Logan?*
Within the hidden cage Laris paused in her sweeping. The name conjured up the touch of his hand on her face, his lips warm and gentle on hers. Sorrow swept over her.
*Logan will never forgive me if he finds out. And if I ever see him again I think he'd know just by looking at me. Our only hope is to get away before they take Storm's beasts.* There was a long silence while she finished her work. She peered through the tiny viewer in the cage panel, then the viewer which looked out through the tigerbat portion in the front. No one was about. She slid aside the panel, stepped out, snapped it shut swiftly, then emerged from behind the cage.
Dedran caught up with her a short time later. "Is the cage ready?"
"It's clean. I've put in fresh bedding. The food and water containers have been scrubbed. I can fill them when the wolf arrives. Everything works well. The viewer lenses are clean. The panel moves easily and without making noise."
"Very well. Cregar has messaged. He's coming here. He'll land before we leave. The wolf will be transhipped to the circus and you'll get the animal under cover in the cage the minute Cregar is up the ramp. Understand?"
She nodded. Why the change of plan? What had happened on Lereyne that Dedran would turn everything on its head and leave earlier than planned? Had Cregar started some kind of trouble and had to run? She asked no questions on that score. By the look on Dedran's face it would be unhealthy. She could ask one question safely.
"What about food for the animal? I could give it some of the carcass the tigerbats have."
Dedran's reply was a snarl. "Give it whatever is suitable. Damn thing may not be eating anyway. Just be ready to help once Cregar arrives. We could have to delay liftoff." He departed, walking in a way which showed he would like to stamp but didn't want to draw attention. It looked as if things really had gone wrong somewhere, Laris thought. Cregar coming here. Liftoff first advanced then delayed. She wondered if those at the ranch knew about the abduction of a beast master's wolf.
Chapter Six
On Quade land, Storm entered the ranch house to find his father coming to look for him. His face was hard with anger.
"Asizi?" Storm used the Navaho word in reaction to that anger. "What is it?"
"Kady Carraldo has just spoken to the ranger station at port. They linked corns so she could speak directly to us. There's been a beast master murdered on Lereyne. An old employee of hers talked to her from there."
"A beast master," Storm muttered, shocked. "Murdered how, why?"
"Apparently to take the remaining member of his team. Kady says the man was supposed to be in the city all day. His wolf was left at home. Those who took it probably knew all that. The trouble was that the man came home early. They think he tried to prevent his animal being taken and someone hit him too hard in a panic." Storm considered that.
"It sounds likely." But his father's anger was too great to explain it as just the death of a man none of them knew. "What else?"
Brad Quade stared at the silent com. "Kady says she has been told by authorities there that it fits other abductions of animals from teams and the murders of their beast masters. She has no idea why it's happening but she can now list seven separate occasions beside this one. There could be more which haven't been passed on as yet."
"But ... but. That must be almost every beast master left alive after the war."
His father shook his head. "No. Most of the dead were trainees. They had teams but they had never been in the fighting. Maybe that's why they're being targeted. They're easier to take than you veterans."
Storm's mind was clicking over. "Get me a list of names and where they were when they died. How long they'd been there and any other details you can find."
"No need. Kady downloaded all that over the link. Here."
He handed over a sheaf of paper. Storm reached without looking for the nearest chair, dragged it to him, and sat, already reading. At last he looked up.
"What do you think, Asizi?"
"You first."
"It seems clear to me. The first killing was a man I served with. He was no pushover and his team was trained. I'd say the animals fought, he picked up on that, and came running. He killed a couple of the kidnappers, the animals got a third and the leader of the kidnappers made a clean sweep to avoid witnesses. He couldn't get the bodies away so he picked them clean of ID and left them. The authorities say the dead men were port scum, they'd do anything if they were paid."
Brad sat back. "Uh-huh. Go on."
"After that whoever was running this operation decided that us veterans were too tough. He started trying for trainees. It looks as if he got away with a few animals but it wouldn't do him any good."
"Why not?"
Storm's mouth twisted as if the words tasted sour. "Because with the trainees High Command was trying something different and more advanced. They were mind-bonding the trainees' teams to them. Not just a mental link of the kind I have, more of a complete bonding. The communication between leader and team was clearer and could reach farther when they were apart. High Command believed it would work better out in the field. They found instead that it didn't work as well so they stopped it after that initial group had been bonded. If the war hadn't ended they'd have gone back to the way they used with me."
He paused and accepted the drink Brad offered. "Thanks. Sure the bonding made for a closer team. A good team could be used almost like your own extensions. But it was more trouble than it was of use. If a beast master was injured, his team went berserk. If he was killed, his team would die. They found that out after there were a couple of training accidents. If some fool tried to kidnap a trainee team they'd fight like the possessed. If their leader was badly injured they'd go crazy. If he was killed they'd die within a few days too."
He sat thinking. "What do we know? That someone somewhere is trying to steal beast master animals. If the beast master tries to prevent that he's killed. It's possibly one man doing it under orders and using local criminals as gun fodder. But why? It doesn't make sense."
"Would animals like that breed true? Maybe they're setting up teams of their own."
Storm eyed him grimly. "They'd breed true if they could keep them alive. Setting up teams would be harder. But who and for what purpose?"
Brad stood. "I'll talk to Kelson. He's head of the ranger divisions here, and he can reach security on other planets and be listened to. So can Kady. We'll alert everyone we can. High Command should have a list of surviving beast masters and where they went. Brion can talk to them as well." He turned to reach for the com then grinned wryly at Storm. "At least it isn't Xiks this time."