One of the warriors moved. The robed shaaurin barked another order, and both ve’laik’i lunged toward Ronan with the butts of their weapons raised to strike.
* * *
Chapter 22
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No!
Had there been other telepaths aboard, every one of them would have heard Ronan’s warning. The ve’laik’i saw it clearly enough; instinct stopped them in their attack, and Ronan seized on that hesitation.
“No,” he repeated firmly, staring past the warriors into the arvi’va’s eyes. “You will not take her, Tala Aarys. This female carries intelligence vital to shaauri security, and it is information only I can access. She is my hostage, and I will deliver her to my Line, alive and well.”
The Aarys ship’s Third was so stunned by his assumption of equality that she halted her warriors and simply stared back. Had Cynara asked him what he did, he could not have explained; so much of shaauri nature was incomprehensible to humans, especially that behavior not defined by words.
At this moment he held the advantage, and he must continue to do so. Boldness was his only hope. Tala Aarys was young, clearly inexperienced and new-come to her rank; the ; First and Second of the Aarys striker watched from behind a rank of ve’laik’i, waiting to see what she would do. It was as much her test as his.
If the young shaaurin chose to continue with her attack, her superiors might or might not stop her. He had to make sure that they did.
“I have told you my name and purpose, Va Tala,” he said. “You are of Moikko. You know why I was sent into human space. If you take my hostage, you will challenge Line Kalevi, and I will fight. Is this wisdom, when all shaauri suffer by such conflict in time of war?”
Human,” Tala Aarys spat, anger in the set of her ears. “You are not shaaurin.”
“I am Ronan VelKalevi, sent forth by the War-Leader and the First of Ain’Kalevi.”
“And by Kinsmen.”
The hatred in her words was manifest. Before the Second War, Aarys had allied itself with Kinsmen rebelling against the Concordat. The human rebels had turned against their shaauri allies to save themselves. Now it was well known that Aarys, like Kalevi, hated all humans. That was another advantage Ronan must exploit.
“I am not Kinsman,” he said. “Because of my birth, I was deemed best suited by A’Aho-Kei’hon-vekki to seek word of new human technology that threatens shaauri-ja. Now I have returned, and I ask in the name of Kei Moikko that you deliver me to Ain’Kalevi.”
“Humans lie,” Tala Aarys said.
“But Ronan VelKalevi is no ordinary human.” The ship’s First stepped from behind her guardian ve’laik’i and flicked her ears to signal that Tala Aarys should retreat. The youngster did so with barely concealed resentment.
“I have heard of you,” the First addressed Ronan, neglecting even the most neutral honorific but considerably more courteous than her Third had been. “Aarys was asked to watch for your return, but we were also given word to transport you to the Kinsman holding on Luhta.” Her teeth flashed. “It is to Ain’Kalevi, and not to these Kinsmen, that you wish to be delivered?”
A trap lay within the simple question. Ronan did not mistake the First’s easy manner for friendliness. Whatever the orders she had received from the A’Aho-Kei’hon-vekki regarding Ronan’s disposition, his immediate fate rested with her alone.
“I am not Kinsman,” he repeated, meeting her gaze. “I was raised in Ain’Kalevi.”
“You have no Path except among other humans.”
“Better ne’lin than First of Kinsmen.”
She absorbed this in silence, the eloquent shaauri silence Ronan had missed among humans with their constant noise and chatter. Cynara released a long, slow breath. He knew her fear as his own, but he could not risk a moment’s inattention to address it. Every blink or shiver held significance to shaauri and could betray him.
“We have heard the words of A’Aho-Kei’hon-vekki,” the First said at last. “We have heard your words.” She glanced at each of her subordinates in turn. “It is my judgment that this human will be taken to Ain’Kalevi, who may collect this intelligence and deal with Ronan VelKalevi’s hostage—and Kinsmen—as they choose.”