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Jazz put her sandals on They’d been a little loose, tending to cause burns and blisters Now they were tighter, stopping the feet fro about too ht about what she’d just told him, decided to let her tell it all in her own tiood,’ she said Thanks’ She stood up, helped hiain
’Listen,’ he said, when they were underway ’Why don’t I just listen and let you tellthat’s happened to you while you’ve been here? All you’ve seen, learned, everything you know So far as I can tell we’ve got plenty of tiood, and we don’t seeer The sun’s up ahead, and we have soht’
’Have we?’ Zek answered Jazz craned his neck, looked at the moon It had crossed the pass and already its rim touched the eastern peaks A few one The planetary rotation period is incredibly slow,’ she began to explain ’But on the other hand the moon’s orbit is closer and much faster A "day" here is about a week on Earth Oh, and incidentally, this place is "Earth" That’s what they call it It isn’t our Earth, of course not, but it’s theirs I thought it was strange at first, but then I thought: what else would they call it?
’Anyway, this planet rotates ard very slowly, and its poles are not quite lined up on the sun So it’s like the planet has a wobble The sun is seen to revolve west to east - anti-clockwise, if you like - in a slow, small circle Now, I’m not an astronomer or a space scientist of any sort so don’t ask me the whys and wherefores, but hoorks out is like this:
’On Sunside we get a "" of about twenty-five hours’ duration, a "day" of " of twenty-five hours and a "night" of about forty Midday or thereabouts is sunup, and all of the night is sundown’
Jazz looked up again, saw the moon halved now by the sharp rilow lessened as it prepared to slip froht ’I’m no astronomer either,’ he said, ’but still it’s very plain we have soht,’ she answered ’It has a rapid spin, too, and unlike the old moon shows both its face and its backside’
Jazz nodded ’Not shy, eh?’
She snorted ’In solishman I once knew,’ she said ’He see but naive!’
’Oh?’ Jazz looked at her ’Who was this lucky man?’
’He wasn’t that lucky,’ she said, tilting her head a little
Jazz looked at her in profile in the last rays of ht, decided he liked her A lot
’So as he?’ he asked again
’He was a member - maybe even the head - of your British E-Branch,’ she answered ’His nah And he had a special talent I have a talent, too, but his was different I don’t even know if you could call it ESP That’s how different it was’
Jazz remembered what Khuv had told him about her That sort of stuff was so much baloney as far as he was concerned, but best not to let her see his scepticisht,’ he said ’You’re a h’s talent, eh?’
’He was a Necroscope,’ she said, her voice suddenly cold
’A what?’
’He could talk to the dead!’ she said; and cory halt, she drew apart from Jazz
He looked at her stubborn, bad-te between the yellow-eyed fro?’
’You thought soht, "what a load of-"’
’Christ!’ said Jazz Because that was exactly what he’d thought
’Listen,’ she said ’Do you knothe truth ofelse they had but not wanting to work for the to work for them, because I knew if I did then sooner or later I’d coain? I’ve suffered for my telepathy, Jazz, and yet now - here where it doesn’t matter much any more - the moment I admit the truth of it’
’Showher off ’OK, I can see hoon’t get anywhere if we’ve no faith in each other
But on’t get far by lying oreach other either If you say you can do it I have to accept it, right -certainly I know there are those who do believe you have this talent But isn’t there any way you can show me? You have to aduess at what I was thinking Not only about your telepathy but also about this Keogh bloke - about what you say he can do! Don’t tell ift most people would consider supernatural!’
’You’re teodlike, this talent of yours, is it?’ Jazz couldn’t quite conceal his sneer ’Well, if you’re that good, how co up the pass? if telepathy and ESP in general are real, why didn’t Khuv know I’d hidden away a et the chance to drag that goon Vyotsky in here with ave a lohine and his ears went flat
’You’re annoying himacho man! I say: "I’, you’re asking me to prove I’m a woman!’
Jazz nodded, pulled a sour face ’You rate yourself pretty dah, don’t you? God knohat sort of ht!’ she snapped ’Watch’
She looked at Wolf, the lance, then turned and tossed her head, walked on toward the sun She went maybe a hundred yards, and Jazz and the wolf stood still watching her Then she stopped and looked back ’Now I’,’ she called out ’So see what you think of what happens next’
Jazz frowned, thought: What the - ? But in the next e creature loped closer, took the sleeve of Jazz’s one-piece in his great jaws - but gently - began to tug Jazz in Zek’s direction Jazz stumbled to keep up, and the faster he went the faster Wolf ran, until both of theirl where she waited Only then did the wolf let go, when both of them drew level with her
’Well?’ she said, as Jazz ca halt
He sucked the hole in his jahere two teeth had once been, put up a hand and scratched his nose ’Well,’ he started, ’I -’
’You’re thinking I’m an animal trainer,’ she cut in ’But if you say it out loud, that’s it We go our separate ways I’ve survived so far without you and I can keep right on doing it’ Wolf went and stood beside her
’Two to one,’ Jazz grinned, however ruefully ’And since I’ve always believed in the democratic process OK, there’s no option but to believe you You’re a telepath’ They carried on walking, but slightly more apart now ’So why didn’t you knoas ed me as Vyotsky?’
’You saw the castle back there, the keep?’
’Yes’
’That’s why’
Jazz glanced back The cliff-hugging castle must be miles back by now ’But it was empty, deserted’
’Maybe, and maybe not The Wa but They know I cauessed that sooner or later I’d try to get out again that way At least, I credit theence It would have been easy for the any one of many sundowns - to put a creature in there There’ll be plenty of rooms and corners in there that the sun never touches’
Jazz shook his head, held up a restraining hand ’Even if I understood all you just said, which I don’t, still I wouldn’t knohat it has to do with me,’ he said
’In this world,’ she answered, ’you’re careful how you use ESP The Wamphyri have it - in ree do most of the animals Only the true men are without it’
’Youin that castle back there - a creature? - it would have heard your thoughts?’ Again Jazz was close to incredulous
’It hts, yes,’ she nodded
’But that’s -’ he stilled his tongue before it could offend her
’Wolf can hear theave a snort ’Does that , because I can’t hear them?’
’No,’ she shook her head ’Not an idiot, just a true man You’re not an esper Listen, when I cae and a little confused But I didn’t dare concentrate on you and check out your identity in case that allowed so else to pick out and identify ht of the sun, the pressure’s off; but the closer I got to Starside the more careful I had to be And because I couldn’t be sure you weren’t Vyotsky, so I challenged you You said he’d probably have killed me Maybe he would and maybe not But then he’d have had to kill Wolf, too, which wouldn’t be so easy And if he had killed me, then he really would be on his own It was a chance I had to take’
This time Jazz accepted all she told hio ’Listen,’ he said ’Even though I like to think I’m fairly quick on the uptake, still there’s a lot you’ll need to explain about what you’ve already toldI’d better know right now: do I need to guard ht? No On Starside, yes - all the tiain’
’OK,’ Jazz nodded ’Now let’s get to s Where’s this cave you told me about? I really think we should rest-up And at the same time I can do a better job on your feet Also, you look like you could use a more substantial meal’
She smiled at him, the first tiood old down-to-earth daylight ’I’ll tell you soo learned not to listen in on people’s thoughts - they can be nice, I’ll grant you, but when they’re not nice they can be very unpleasant indeed We sos we could never express in words Me, too Aeneral rule that we observe each other’s privacy But I’ve been lonely a long time - for a mind I could relate to, Iyou talking, well, I’ve been hearing other things, too When I’ve grown used to you, then I’lleven now, butI can’t help scanning you’
Jazz frowned ’So as I thinking?’ he said ’I mean, I only said we should rest-up’
’But you meant I should rest-up Me, Zek Foener That’s nice of you, and if I really needed it I’d accept But you’ve co way yourself And anyway, I’d prefer to keep ht out of the pass Another four miles or so and we’re out of it But as you can see, the sun is just about to touch the eastern wall
It’s a slow process, but in so less than an hour and a half the pass will be in darkness again On Sunside it’s still sunup for, oh, twenty-five hours yet, and the evening is just as long After that then we’ll be holed up so about ESP, but he did read people very well ’You’re a hell of a brave wo coood at and didn’t usually do But he knew he’d ree with him
’No, I’m not,’ she said seriously ’I think I maybe used to be, but now I’h’
’Before then,’ Jazz said, ’you’d better fillthey are i about the Sunsiders - Travellers? - being after you? And soet hold of you? Nohat’s all that about?’
’Sunsiders’’ she gasped, but not in answer She stiffened to a halt, glanced wildly all about, especially in the shadows cast by the eastern cliffs Her hand went to her brow, stroked it with treers Wolf’s hackles rose; he laid back his ears and offered a low, throaty growl
Jazz took his SMG off safe It was already cocked He checked that the’Zek?’ he husked
’Arlek’ she whispered And: ’That’s what co back on my telepathy, for your sake! Jazz, I -’
But she had no ti else, for by then they were in the thick of it!