?I couldn?t do it,? Anne said. ?I couldn?t use a knife on anyone.?
?I could,? Gil said. ?But
if only they weren?t such little girls.?
?Is there any liquor here?? Neci asked. ?Even that foul cassava stuff the wanderers drink would do.?
?We make the corn whiskey here, too,? Gil said. ?There?s always plenty. Too much.?
?So we give it to the girls and then do it.?
?I don?t know,? Sabina said. ?They?re so young. And if they get sick
?
?Yori will care for them if they get sick. She?ll care for them, even if she doesn?t like what we?ve done. And it will be done, as it should be.?
?But??
?It must be done! We must raise Human children, not aliens who don?t even understand how we see things.?
Silence.
?Tomorrow, Gil? Can it be done tomorrow??
?I
don?t know
.?
?We can collect the kids when they?re out eating plants. No one will notice for a while that they?re gone. Sabina, you?ll get the liquor, won?t you??
?I??
?Are there very sharp knives here? It should be done quickly and cleanly. And we?ll need clean cloths for bandages, gloves for all of us, just in case, and that antiseptic Yori has. I?ll get that. There probably won?t be any infection, but we won?t take chances.? She stopped abruptly, then spoke one word harshly.
?Tomorrow!?
Silence.
Akin got up, managed to struggle out of the hammock. Abira awoke, but only mumbled something and went back to sleep. Akin headed toward the next room where Amma and Shkaht shared a hammock. They met him coming out. All three linked instantly and spoke without sound.
?We have to go,? Shkaht said sadly.
?You don?t,? Akin argued. ?They?re only a few, and not that strong. We have Tate and Gabe, Yori, Abira, Macy and Kolina. They would help us!?
?They would help us tomorrow. Neci would wait and recruit and try again later.?
?Tate could talk to the salvagers the way she talked to the camp on the way up here. People believe her when she talks.?
?Neci didn?t.?
?Yes she did. She just wants to have everything her way?even if her way is wrong. And she?s not very smart. She?s seen me taste metal and flesh and wood, but she thinks gloves will protect her hands from being tasted or stung when she cuts you.?
?Plastic gloves??
Surprised, Akin thought for a moment. ?They might have gloves made of some kind of plastic. I haven?t seen plastic that soft, but it could exist. But once you understand the plastic it can?t hurt you.?
?Neci probably doesn?t realize that. You said she wasn?t smart. That makes her more dangerous. Maybe if other people stop her from cutting us tomorrow, she?ll get angrier. She?ll want to hurt us just to prove she can.?
After a time, Akin agreed. ?She would.?
?We have to go.?
?I want to go with you!?
Silence.
Frightened, Akin linked more deeply with them. ?Don?t leave me here alone!?
More silence. Very gently, they held him between them and put him to sleep. He understood what they were doing and resisted them angrily at first, but they were right. They had a chance without him. They were stronger, larger, and could travel faster and farther without rest. Communication between them was quicker and more precise. They could act almost as though they shared a single nervous system. Only paired siblings and adult mates came to know each other that well. Akin would hamper them, probably get them recaptured. He knew this, and they could feel his contradictory feelings. They knew he knew. Thus, there was no need to argue. He must simply accept the reality.
He accepted it finally and allowed them to send him into a deep sleep.
18
He slept naked on the floor until Tate found him the next morning. She awoke him by lifting him and was startled when he grabbed her around the neck and would not let go. He did not cry or speak. He tasted her but did not study her. Later he realized he had actually tried to become her, to join with her as he might with his closest
