Patternmaster: The Patternist Series by Octavia E. Butler

Author:Octavia E. Butler
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Alternative History, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, General
ISBN: 9781453263655
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2012-07-24T04:00:00+00:00

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They traveled southwest toward the coast and toward the nearest borders of the sector. Teray had decided to take the coast trail south, if he could. The inland route was easier, less likely to be washed out or blocked, but it was also the most-often-traveled route. It was where Patternist caravans passed and where Clayarks lay in wait for them. The inland route was a little shorter, too, because it did not follow the eccentricities of the coast. But it did go straight through the middle of twenty-one Patternist sec-tors. The little-traveled coast route went through three.

There were some Clayarks along the coast route. But then there were Clayarks everywhere, breeding like rab-bits, warring among themselves, and attacking Patternists. Teray hoped to find them only in small family groups along the coast.

Michael, he recalled, had traveled part of his way north along the coast route. Teray had asked a pair of his out-siders about their trip, prying as casually as he could. With his large party, Michael had had little trouble, but he had sensed at least one large tribe. He had gone into a Pat-ternist sector to escape it. And that was something Teray could not do. He had a better chance against the Clayarks than he would have against a group of his own people who decided to earn Coransee's gratitude by capturing him. Until he reached Rayal's House, the only Patternist he could trust was Amber.

She rode along beside him, strangely accepting of his surly mood. But then, she knew the reason for it. He wished she didn't. She said quietly, "I think we should link, Teray."

"What?"

"I know it will make us closer than it would make most people, and maybe you don't want me that close to you right now. But we'd be safer linked. If I sense Clayarks, I want you to know immediately—even if you're sound asleep at the time. If we don't work together, we don't have a chance."

"Oh hell," he muttered.

She said nothing else.

They rode for several minutes in silence.

Finally, with-out speaking, he opened, reached out to her. Linking was like clasping hands—and did not require even that much effort. Now her alarm, her fear, almost any strong emotion of hers, would alert him. And his emotions would alert her. But beyond that, as he had feared, he was too much aware of the link—aware of a strong, ongoing sense of oneness with her.

Normally, a link, once established, be-came part of the mental background, not to be noticed again until one of the linked people did whatever the link was sensitized to respond to.

But any kind of contact with Amber had to be different, had to be too close. There was nothing for him to do but accept it—and surprisingly, it was not that hard to accept. He felt himself relaxing almost against his will. Felt the anger and the hurt that Iray had caused him ebbing, not vanishing completely but retreating, shrinking so that it no longer occupied his whole mind. And Amber was not doing it, was not reaching him through the link to offer unasked-for healing.

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