The Ravens of the Moon by Charles L. Grant

Author:Charles L. Grant [Grant, Charles L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sci-fi, political fiction
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2017-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

Five

The room was quiet, almost preternaturally so, when Ty opened his eyes and thought that he had been allowed to die. There was absolute darkness unrelieved by the sounds of movement, and he grasped quickly at the sides of the cot as the sensation of falling billowed strong and undeniable. And in his grasping, he felt the smooth course of Caro’s hair. Dead? He bit at his lips sharply and slowly, gently, moved his fingers until he was able to imagine her slumped on the floor, her head resting against his leg. He wanted to awaken her and comfort her, but he was afraid.

Afraid of the darkness less warming than smothering.

Afraid of the men who had drugged and abducted him.

Afraid of the man who claimed not to have killed Talle, and who refused to leave the side of the rat.

And more than all of this, fearing that the upheaval which had brought him unmistakably home would snatch it away again before he knew what it was like.

His fear made him angry, but he felt helpless to respond to it. He was old. Weak. What could he do that the man Raille could not, and better? It was a contribution, then, that he searched for, lying rigid and quiet while the others slept. A groan from somewhere beyond his feet. A nightmare, he thought, and knew what it was like.

Suddenly white replaced black and he was blinded by a small sharp glow that settled and became a wick in the lamp beyond the cot. The man called Raille was standing over it, staring at the single faint gold flame, rubbing at his jaw as if he had just received a blow he had not expected. Caro was as he had thought—awkwardly sleeping by his leg, and the rat was crouched asleep in the farthest corner of the room.

“Raille?”

The venner turned slowly, a smile at his lips waiting to be born, and was, as Yenkin rose on his elbows and carefully swung himself from the cot, lowering Caro until she was stretched face down on the floor, her arms twisted into a pillow for her head.

“What time is it?”

Raille shrugged. His hand hovered over the flame as though it needed warming. But the flame sputtered, and he pulled the hand away.

“What are we… what are you going to do now?”

Raille sniffed and sat on the floor in front of him, legs crossed, hands idle in his lap. “Escape,” he said simply. Then, as Ty felt his face contort into wide-eyed shock, the venner broke into a laugh with a palm over his mouth. “I’m sorry,” he said when control returned and he rocked on his buttocks, “but I couldn’t resist it. I’m supposed to be the revolutionary leader, you know, and I’ve been thinking about how insane this is that I’m captured by my own loyal troops. And would you believe they don’t even know who I am? Picked up by mistake I was. Damn!”

Ty felt his lips quivering into a smile, felt a large bubble in his chest expand until he could contain it no longer.

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