Stolen - Nhys Glover Page 0,67

the scenery because he grumbled at me. “Yes, beautiful. But the creatures that live here are not so beautiful and definitely not benign.”

He’d spoken aloud, I guess for his brothers’ benefit. Or maybe he thought I’d block him, the way I’d been doing for the last day.

Once I’d learned how to shield myself it was like a drug. I had to practice and learn how to manipulate the heavenly ability that promised sanity. My anger at my pod had evaporated not long after I left them, but the need to preserve my personal space for as long as possible, as I learned to control my new ability, had me distancing myself from them.

Meida had come up beside Rian and, with a quick nod of acknowledgement, thrown him over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. With heavy bags on their backs, as well as carrying the two of us, the Danans took off away from the crash-site. When I looked behind, I saw Nial following as he concealed our trail.

Was it necessary? Any intelligent creature would have to know we’d be heading north for Danan territory, wouldn’t they?

‘They won’t know we’re Danans. There is nothing onboard that will give us away. So there is no reason for them to think we’d be heading north,’ Rian told me, seemingly unfazed by being bumped along on his brother’s broad shoulder.

‘How intelligent are they, these Vargeez? Can they access the computer system on the ship?’

‘No. They’re about as intelligent as your Gaian primates. And territory is everything to them. They have all this bounty,’ I felt him indicate the rich foliage around us, ‘and over the years our people helped them improve their lush home. But all that did was allow them to overpopulate and try to move into the land we had made lush with our own hard work. They know only the urge to invade and breed. They have no moral compass.’

I mused on these words. Again, I may have heard them before. I had listened to the women chatting often enough. But until now I hadn’t needed to know about the inhabitants of the southern continent.

‘But this was their planet, wasn’t it?’ I asked, not sure where I was going with this line of inquiry.

‘It was; two millennia ago. But even then the Vargeez only inhabited the southern continent because it was lush and provided for their needs easily. The north was wilder, with an intemperate climate that could swing from hot to cold depending on the season. And the rogue storms, of course. For a species that simply lived off the land like locusts, the north provided poor, dangerous pickings. Until we made it into more. Then they wanted it.’

‘If you all just left, what would happen?’

‘They’d pour in, devouring everything in sight until there was nothing left. They’d then die off or move back to the southern continent, leaving our land a desolate wasteland once more.’ Rian sounded sad.

‘What about culling them? Maybe putting something in the plants they eat that would make them infertile. If their population is kept low there would be no need for the constant battles.’

Rian laughed aloud. ‘Spoken like a true farm girl.’

I huffed. ‘What? It’s what we do at home when pests get out of hand.’

He chuckled again. ‘The Confederacy isn’t quite so blasé about indigenous species being culled. We were given the north with the stipulation that we were not to engage the Vargeez unless they attacked us. So we hold the line, knowing that, as their numbers build, a major attack can come at any time.’

‘Like now, while everyone is dealing with this rogue storm and its aftermath?’

‘Exactly. That was what I was doing before I… died. Tracking the Vargeez as they increased their numbers along the border.’

‘And we have to get through them to get home?’

I felt Rian’s satisfaction at my use of the word ‘home’. I could have corrected myself, but it would have been a lie. Rian could read my deepest thoughts and feelings now. He had to know I’d reluctantly but fully accepted my place within my pod. Home was now wherever they were.

‘Not necessarily. Nial will have sent out an emergency message as we were coming down. And we have a beacon in our packs that will lead them to us. All we have to do is stay alive long enough for a rescue team to get to us from the air.’

That sounded easier said than done.

‘Can the Vargeez pick up the beacon?’

‘No. We use a