First Channel

"Rimon—do you really understand what happened to us?"

"You weren't afraid—that's all. You wanted to give me your selyn. Those two facts I'm dead sure of, because I felt them. Beyond that—the physical aspects—I don't really remember exactly what happened. Here, let me see…"

He took her in killmode position, although for the first time he had no reason to seek her touch except curiosity. As his laterals touched her skin, he felt her respond with pleasure that swept through him with a relaxing warmth. Concentrating, he pressed his lips to hers. The tiniest trickle of fresh selyn passed between them, awakening in Kadi a pale echo of the wild joy that had consumed her before. Experimenting, he found that with the slightest effort, he could stop that flow, control it.

But then he became peculiarly aware of Kadi's physical closeness, the clean smell of her wet hair, the coolness of her skin beneath his hands and tentacles. For the first time, he noticed his bare thigh pressed against hers… and how exciting that suddenly became as his lips softened upon hers.

His hands loosened of their own accord, slipping up to caress her shoulders, her back, his tentacles exploring her skin. "Ohhhh—you feel so good. Why haven't I ever noticed how good you feel?" His lips buried in her hair, he whispered fiercely, "Kadi? Kadi, what's happening to me? I've never felt like this before. It's like… like hunger, but—"

"I know," she whispered back. "Me, too—"

They knew what they wanted, but only vaguely how to go about it. Then they found each other, and Rimon was lost in feelings. Kadi met his rhythm as if their hearts beat together, surging in a wave of snared pleasure to a euphoric peak… to fall into sweet contentment in one another's arms.

For a long time they lay still, but the sun was setting, and the air began to cool. Kadi shivered. "Come on," said Rimon, "let's go back to the fire."

They left the soft bed of grass beside the pool, picked up their clothes, and returned to their campsite to curl up together under a blanket, as they had done so many times before. But it was not like any time before. Rimon's arms were locked about Kadi, and he knew that all his strength existed only to protect her.

He was too happy to fall asleep yet, and so was she.

After a time, he said, "You are so beautiful, Kadi. I can't understand it. You seem to have that same glow a Sime has after a kill!"

She pulled herself up on one elbow to look at him. "You mean you can zlin again?"

He paused, searching. "Yes! Yes, I can, but—it's like normal now. I can, but I just don't want to. I only want to look at you like a child—there's a purity in that, you know."

She regarded him critically. "You know, I think you have that same post-kill glow, too. I can't recall ever seeing you look like that before."

He nodded. "I feel… right, for the first time I can remember. Kadi, you've given me what I'd been looking for all my life! Only I didn't know what it was until today. But—it won't be just us. You weren't afraid—and you didn't die! Simes don't have to kill! Gens don't have to die! I didn't kill, and I feel better than I've ever felt in my life. It's a whole new way of life, Kadi!"

She laughed. "Rimon, it's our old way of life—our old plan. We're as good as married, just as we always wanted to be, in spite of my turning out all wrong." Then she sobered. "But what are we going to do now? Where can we go?"

Rimon sighed. "Well, home, I guess, where else? Dad's always been pretty reasonable about my aberrations. If we can make him understand…" He hugged her close. "Oh, we will, Kadi! It's so obvious we've found the way things should be. You are my wife, now. Our children will grow up unafraid—think of it! No more killing. Once we teach everyone what we know, no one else will have to go through what you've been through, baby."

"Rimon?"

"Yes?"

"Don't call me 'baby.' I'm not a child anymore. I'm a woman now."

He was delighted. "You certainly are, Kadi. We're neither of us children anymore. Because of you, Kadi, my love… my wife… at last, I'm a man. We are complete."

He hugged her to him, knowing that with Kadi by his side he could make the dream of a new way of life come true. Through the night, two lovers on a mountaintop lay in one another's arms, sharing their love and pla

Chapter Five

HOMECOMING

It took five days to get home on horseback from the point on the border that Rimon and Kadi had sought after leaving Reloc. They met few people on the road, but those they did meet stared at them in disapproval or swung widely out of their way.

There was nothing unusual about a Sime traveling with a Gen tagged in his name—but there was no chain attached to Kadi's collar, no fear or resentment emanating from her, and nothing at all normal about the way Rimon and Kadi spoke to one another. Those who zli

Soon, however, he had perceived her field was rising slowly, apparently in perfect unison with his own rate of depletion. When he was in need again, Kadi would be high-field once more.

The only problem Rimon foresaw was figuring out exactly what they had done.

They had to stretch the small supply of food Rimon had brought. He had not expected to have Kadi's company on the way home. She didn't complain at having nothing but a handful of berries for breakfast the fourth morning, but by afternoon Rimon was berating himself for eating any of their supplies.

There were small communities along the way where they could have purchased food if they had had any money. "I'm sorry you had to spend all you had for me," said Kadi. "The dealer asked a terrible price. It was lucky you had enough to cover it."

"I didn't." He laughed, remembering with pleasure how he had fooled that obsequious dealer. "There was just about half what he asked in that purse."

But Kadi's alarm pierced him even when he was nowhere near need. "Then you didn't legally buy me! It's not valid! They'll come and claim me!"

"Hey—calm down, Kadi! The papers are all legal. I made sure of that, and I stamped your tags myself. If the dealer was too stupid to count his money before signing the papers, that's his problem, not mine. Besides, he got more than a fair price."

Kadi was still upset. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I'll pay him when Del pays me what he owes me. But in the meantime, we've got to get some food for you. Maybe we can stop somewhere that I can do some chores for a meal."

"That would look peculiar," Kadi said.

"We are peculiar!" he replied. "We're going to have to get used to that."

When Rimon and Kadi rode up to the big house on the Farris Genfarm, Wolf set up a loud barking to herald their arrival. Rimon found himself expecting Marna Morcot to come out onto the porch, to see what the fuss was and scold Wolf… but of course Marna was not there, nor Ran, nor Serri. We'll find them and bring them home, he thought.

They dismounted and entered the house. In the kitchen they found Su Thorbee, wife of one of the overseers, directing several children in preparing a meal. The results did not seem very successful.

Su stared at them, zli

Rimon said, "It's all right, Raf. We'll find my father ourselves. Is he out at the Pens?"

"No," said Su, "he's checking that broken irrigation line —but he should be back soon."