"You have to," Devaro said, his voice quiet but compelling. "You've met the people there—you're the only one who can pretend it's just a social visit.
Moreover, they gave you a calix, so it's reasonable you'd be back to buy more as gifts."
This was coming a little too fast. "Gifts?"
"Certainly." Devaro smiled slyly. "What better way to guarantee their cooperation than to tell them you want calices to give to prominent members of the Convocation?"
There was a tone at the door, and a rollcart came in with two covered dishes on it. "Ah—dinner has arrived," Devaro announced, standing up and pointing the rollcart toward one side of the room where a bench table was now unfolding itself from the wall. "Let's eat before it gets cold."
"Yes, sir," I said, sliding off the rolltable and heading over. The delectable aromas rising from the plates made my stomach hurt even more. "You said there were three things we were going to do."
"Yes, I did," he said, setting the plates onto opposite ends of the table.
"The third thing is for us to learn exactly what the calix's programming does.
Unfortunately, core samples and structural analyses can get us only so far.
Which leaves only one practical approach."
I nodded. I'd already guessed this one. "You want me to keep the calix," I said.
"And let it keep doing whatever it's doing to me."
"We'll start that phase as soon as you get back from Quibsh," Devaro said. "But don't worry, we'll be with you every step of the way. We'll take a complete brainscan once a week—more often if it seems justified—as well as monitoring your general health."
It made sense, I supposed. It was also about as unpleasant a prospect as I'd ever faced in my whole life. "What about my work?"
"This is your work from now on," Devaro said. "You're on my staff now—I made the arrangements with Sutherlan earlier today."
"I see," I said, walking over to the table. The aromas didn't smell quite so good anymore.
"You have to do this, Markand," Devaro said quietly. It was, as near as I could remember, the first time he'd ever called me by my name. "It's the only way we're going to get a handle on this Kailth plot. The only way to protect the UnEthHu."
I sighed. "Patriotism. You found my weak spot, all right."
"It's a weak spot many of us have," Devaro said. He gestured to the table.
"Come; let's eat. We still have a great many things to discuss." Four days later, I was back on Quibsh.
I'd spent the whole trip worrying about how I was going to hide from Tawni the sudden change in the way I now perceived her and her people. No longer as friends, but as enemies.
Fortunately, the issue never came up. I'd barely stepped out of the half-wing into the late afternoon sunlight when Tawni was there in front of me, all but knocking me over as she threw herself into an enthusiastic full-body hug, chattering away in my ear in an exuberant jumble of Anglish and her own language. When she finally broke free and took my hand a half dozen of her people had joined us, and amid a general flurry of greetings we all tromped together down to the village. By the time we got there, I found myself slipping back into the old friendly, easygoing mode.
But only on the surface. Beneath the smiles and pleasantries I was on nervous and cautious guard, seeing everything here with new eyes. Behind every verloren face I now searched for evidence of hidden cunning; beneath every word strained to hear a tell-tale echo of deceit.
And yet, even as I tried to keep Devaro's stern face in front of me as inspiration, I could feel doubts draining my resolve away. Either their deceit was so ingrained, so expertly hidden that I couldn't detect even a breath of it, or else Devaro's assessment about them was wrong. Perhaps they were indeed just as they appeared, open and honest and innocent. Perhaps they really didn't know what the calices did, or else the programming aspect was something the Kailth had covertly introduced into the original design.
Or perhaps it was that same programming that was the true source of my doubts.
The calix, whispering to its frog that the water wasn't warm at all.
It was an hour before the last of the greeters drifted away. I was feeling a little squeamish about being alone with Tawni, not at all sure I could fake the friendship and affection I'd once felt for her. Which I still wanted to feel for her. Fortunately, that moment was put off by her wish to show me the changes that had taken place in the fruit tree grove bordering the village while we still had the afternoon light.
"I am so pleased you came back to see us," she commented as she led me along a
twisting path between the trees. "You had said you might not be able to return for a long time."
"Things just happened to work out this way," I said, impressed in spite of my dour mood at what had happened to the grove. Once little more than branches and pale green leaves, the trees had exploded all over into brilliant, multicolored flowers.
"I'm glad they did," Tawni said, taking my arm. "I was sorry to see you go."
"I was sorry to leave," I said, covering her hand with my own and feeling what was left of my resolve weakening again. Tawni was only my age, eighteen years old—surely she wasn't this accomplished a liar already. Besides, she was only an apprentice calix artisan. It would make sense for her leaders to hide the deeper secrets of their agenda from her until they'd confirmed both her skill and her dedication.
A small part of my mind told me that was rationalization. But suddenly I didn't really care. Tawni was there beside me, warm and affectionate, and there was simply no way I could believe she was my enemy. Whatever the Kailth had programmed the calix to do to me, I knew she would stand beside me in fighting it.
And if I lost that fight, that same small part reminded me soberly, at least Convocant Devaro would have the final data he wanted.
Speaking of Devaro, it was time I got down to the task he'd sent me here to do.
"As a matter of fact," I said, "it was your parting gift that's responsible for me being back so soon."
"Then I am even more pleased I gave it to you," she said cheerfully. "How did this happen?"
"Well, of course I showed it to everyone in my office and around the Convocation," I said, a fresh twinge of guilt poking at me. I'd convinced myself that Tawni was on my side; and now here I was, lying to her. "They all thought it was beautiful, of course."
"I am honored."
"Anyway, some of them wanted to know how they could get one for themselves," pushed ahead. "One of them—Convocant Devaro—asked me to come back and see if they were for sale."
"I am certain that can be arranged," Tawni said, turning us onto another path that led deeper into the grove. "Come, we will ask permission."
"Permission?" I asked, frowning, as she led us around a particularly bushy tree.
"Who in here do we need to—?"
I broke off, my breath catching in my throat as we stepped into a small clearing. In the center was a small cookstove, with something flat and gray sizzling on the grill-work at its top. Arranged in a neat circle around it were a half dozen sleepbags, with antenna-like posts sticking out of the ground beside each one.
And standing in a line between the ring of sleepbags and the cookstove, facing our direction, were six Kailth warriors.
I froze. It was probably the worst, most guilty-looking thing I could have done, but I couldn't help it. I froze right there to the spot, Tawni's grip on my arm bringing her up short as well. She blinked at me, obviously bewildered by my reaction, and tried to pull me forward—
"You," one of the Kailth said. "Human male. Come."
I wanted to run. Desperately. To run back to the half-wing and get the hell out of there.
But they were all wearing those lumpy sidearms, the ones that could bring down a
two-story building with one shot. So instead I let Tawni pull me across the clearing to them.