The Namura Stone (The Ammonite Galaxy, book 6)

Chapter 19

IT WAS TWO months later, and Grace was swimming in the Emerald Lake. Temar was splashing contentedly in the shallows, and she was enjoying the weightlessness of the buoyant water. She was due now in a few weeks, and the possible attack of the Enarans had faded away with the distance of time into a dim world of possibility and probability. It felt almost impossible in this warm and beautiful air. She felt the water caress her, and smiled up at the brilliant blue sky, giving a sigh of contentment. Her back had been aching these last weeks; letting the water take the weight gave her instant relief.

Ledin, close by, smiled, too. He had just come back from the Kwaide Orbital Space Station, after a week of tense diplomacy with the Elders. It was good to shake off the dryness of endless meetings, good to be close to his family.

Tallen and Bennel were sitting side by side, watching Temar and Bennel's two children. Sanjai and Quenna, who had no classes that day, were making a fort out of sand for Temar, for when he got tired of paddling. Lannie had joined them all on the beach; she was smiling to see her children so contented, watching them from the shade of the tall trees. The only person not already on the beach was Six. They were waiting for him to come back from the university to put food out on the picnic blankets. Lannie had brought quite a feast to the beach, and was only waiting for his arrival to bring it out from the shade of the line of trees.

Six, at the far end of the beach, was just able to see them all as small dots. His canth had needed little urging to break into a gallop, and the windless air began to brush lightly over his skin. He put his face up to the sun, wondering where Diva was at that moment.

The others had heard the thudding of his canth's hooves. They waved, though he was still so far away that he could only see tiny stick people and stick arms. He put his own hand up above his head to reply.

The scene in front of him was full of colour, full of sunlight. He concentrated on it, trying to figure out how he had come to live here, in what must be the most beautiful place in all the binary system.

Then, in one grim instant, everything changed.

On Enara, the Ammonite animas formed their astrand.

On Dessia, the Dessites formed the mindwall.

Each began to trace the weak mental pathways which would lead them to Arcan and his close collaborators, the virtual links that would enable them to reach across to the binary system.

The mindwall reached out to the orthogel entity, preparing to draw him over towards their waiting traps.

The astrand stretched across space to take over what minds it could find, then to reach further and further past those minds, until the canths and the lost animas of Xiantha were at its mercy.

Grace gave a cry and turned over in the water, so that she was now on her front with her face submerged under the liquid. She lay in a completely inert way; if she breathed now, she would inhale water. Her stillness was eerie – it was as if she were already dead.

Ledin leapt for his wife, shouting at Tallen and Bennel.

Tallen pushed the ortholiquid bracelet around his wrist, warning Arcan on Valhai that the attack had begun.

Ledin wrested Grace's head out of the water and forced her mouth open.

Six, still galloping towards the scene, saw only rapid movements of the tiny figures – movements which made him frown, but which were too far away to be distinguishable – before he was pulled off his canth and transported away from the scene by Arcan. As he disappeared, he only had time to register that his canth was still galloping along the sands, apparently unaware that he was no longer astride it.