“Perhaps slavery,” agreed Alanna. “But I don’t understand why the Garkohn would want or need slaves. They have no history of slavery.”
“They do,” said Neila. “The nonfighters.”
Alanna glanced at her. “No. Some fighters see nonfighters as lesser people—a little like the way Bea Stamp sees me. But they don’t make slaves of them.” She changed the subject suddenly. “Jules, did Natahk leave?”
“Yes. He and most of his raiders. I thought they would stay the night.”
“His raiders only? What about his prisoners?”
“They’re quartered with ours in one of the storehouses for the time being. Although… Natahk acted as though they might be here for quite a while.”
“So the Garkohn and I agree on something,” said Alanna. Then she realized that she had spoken in Tehkohn, her first such lapse since arriving home. Neither Jules nor Neila looked anything more than curious, so she explained in English. “I think Natahk is worried about your welfare. Whatever he plans to do with you, you won’t be of any use to him dead. By now, Tehkohn who are not captives know that important members of their tribe are held here. They won’t attack for fear of causing those members to be killed.”
“You think they know already?”
“Jules, we didn’t come down from those mountains alone.”
Jules looked surprised and his surprise startled Alanna. Even if he had not seen the raiding party’s Tehkohn shadows, it would seem reasonable for him to suspect that they were there. But then, he did not know the true value of the prisoners Natahk had left with him.
“You think the Tehkohn might have attacked us if Natahk hadn’t left his prisoners here?” he asked.
“They would have. At night, probably, not like before. This time, I don’t think there would have been enough of us left to make a colony.”
“In spite of our wall, our guns, you think they could have…”
“I know they could have. Natahk knew it too. We’re naked here, Jules. The Tehkohn know about our guns now. Most people wouldn’t get a chance to fire a shot.”
“You’re forgetting that we know quite a bit about the Tehkohn now too. We just helped win a substantial victory over them.”
Alanna lowered her head for a moment, carefully not thinking about that victory. “Did you ever think there might be a way for us to use the Tehkohn? A way that didn’t involve fighting them.”
Jules frowned. “What way?”
“They could help you against Natahk.”
Jules sat up straight. “And do you think I’d want their help? Do you think I’d trust them? My God, as bad as the Garkohn are, at least they’ve never murdered any of my people.”
Alanna spoke softly. “I’m not sure the Tehkohn would have killed any of us either if Natahk’s hunters hadn’t been using our settlement as a base for their raids on the Tehkohn.”
“And on the other hand, the settlement might have been totally destroyed if the Garkohn hadn’t been here during that first raid.” Jules’s voice was bitter. That first raid had taught him just how easily naked unarmed natives slaughtered armed Missionaries.
“But… whatever might have happened, you’re even with the Tehkohn now. They’ve beaten you. You’ve beaten them. Now you can use them. Let them keep the Garkohn busy and away from you. They’ve been fighting Garkohn for generations anyway. Now you have a chance to urge them back to it. Then you’ll have the freedom to run or join in or do whatever you think is best.”
“Manipulate them, you mean? Trick them into ignoring us while they fight each other?”
“Not quite. But the effect would be the same.”
“What do you mean, ‘not quite’?”
“Working alone, I don’t think we can trick the Tehkohn or the Garkohn. We’re at war with the Tehkohn and that means most of the prisoners we hold won’t believe anything we say. There’s no lie we could tell them, no trick we could use that wouldn’t be either ignored or even used against us. We’re enemies and they would rather kill themselves than co-operate with us in any useful way. And as for the Garkohn, we dare not try to manipulate them into more hostility. They’d drag us in with them.”
“They’d do that regardless.”
“No. Not if we let the Tehkohn think we’re on their side. They can help us stay out of it—or out of most of it. After all, it will be better for them if we stay out.”
“From what you’ve said so far, I don’t see how we can make the Tehkohn think anything at all.”
“We can change their thinking toward us. Because we can do the one thing Natahk can’t do. We can make peace with them. Even now, we can make peace.”
“With people who won’t believe a word we say. With people we certainly don’t have any reason to trust. With kidnapers and murderers…”
“But…”
“No, let me finish. What do you think would happen if we did make overtures to the Tehkohn, successful or not, and the Garkohn found out. They would, you know, the way they spy on us. And what do you think they would do then? Surely slavery would be too gentle.”
“Will you hear me, Jules?”
“I’d rather listen to you in the morning when you’ve… when we’ve both had food and sleep and time to think.”
“No, now, please. Because now you have a prisoner you can work through—one of the ones Natahk left. He’s a leader of the Tehkohn and I think he’d listen to you if you approached him. He’s freer to decide who to trust than the others are, and if he gives you his promise, you can trust him.”
“An honorable butcher.”
“A fighter, yes. All the ones with authority are fighters. But he could help you against Natahk.”
“I don’t want his…”
“And he’s not going to be here long.”
“What?”
“He’s the blue one, Jules, the big one. And what he would face at the Garkohn dwelling is a lot worse than just meklah addiction. I don’t think he’ll wait for it. He’ll either escape soon or get killed trying.” She took a deep breath. This talk was forcing her to put into words things she had not even wanted to think about. But she went on. “If you talk to him and he’s killed, you lose nothing. But if he escapes, he can go back to his people as your emissary. He can not only stop their vengeance, but make them our allies. If you’ll just talk to him.”
“Alanna, do you know how many of our people have been kidnapped by the Tehkohn since you were taken? Kidnapped and apparently murdered.”
Alanna opened her mouth to answer, then realized fully what he had said. “Since I was taken?”
“In the two years since you were…”
“Wait a moment.” She frowned. “There haven’t been any Tehkohn raids on the Mission colony since I was taken.”
Jules stared at her. “Listen, girl, the Tehkohn may have kept what they were doing from you, but…”
“They couldn’t keep it from me! Jules, I wasn’t locked up somewhere for two years. I was working out among the people. I spoke their language, and I couldn’t help knowing what was going on. There were two raids on the Garkohn. I saw the raiders leave, and I saw them come back with Garkohn prisoners—only Garkohn. No Missionaries.”
“I saw them take three people,” said Neila. “They almost took me too.”
“Not the Tehkohn.”
“Lanna, you’re wrong! I saw…”
“You saw natives abducting people. Who told you they were Tehkohn?”
Neila stared at her, speechless.
“I don’t know what’s happened here,” Alanna continued. “But whatever it was, the Tehkohn weren’t part of it. What they did do to us was bad enough, but if we don’t put that behind us, and join with them, we’re finished. Only they can help us to stop our more treacherous enemies—our Clayark friends.”
Jules looked at her silently for a long time—too long. He looked at her until she knew he was wondering about her own loyalty. She met his gaze and hid her sudden fear.
“You saved me once,” she said softly. “You didn’t have to. People said, ‘She’s an animal. She’d be better dead.’ But you saved me. Let me save you.”