In the early morning light, Stefan Hayden watched on the monitor as the column of twenty-two Sansoussy and one citizen of Shangri-La moved along rapidly. The low-altitude airborne probes provided a much better view of what was going on than just the tops of people’s heads.
“They must have started moving damn early,” he said to Hiram.
The guard only grunted.
Stefan smiled to see his daughter sitting more naturally on the lamel. Francesca had learned all sorts of new skills on this adventure. Stefan adjusted the focus to enlarge the view of Francesca, with Ran-Del running beside her.
“They still haven’t got the cable off,” Hiram said.
“No, but they seem to be treating Francesca well enough.”
As they watched, the column halted, and Ran-Del lifted Francesca down from the lamel. In a few minutes, a gray-haired man approached with a water bottle. He offered Francesca a drink first, then Ran-Del. After both had sipped carefully, the older man took the bottle and drank himself.
Stefan adjusted the focus to capture a close image of the gray-haired man. Ran-Del seemed very respectful of him. He had bowed his head when the gray-haired man approached, and the way he stood suggested deference.
Stefan tapped some keys on the video console to record the image.
“What are you doing, Stefan?” Hiram asked.
Stefan manipulated the image he had captured. “I’m trying to get a close-up of that man’s caste bracelet. I want to see if he’s who I think he is.”
In seconds, the monitor showed a large picture of a man’s right wrist encircled by a beaded bracelet. Stefan leaned forward to study the beads. “A Falling Water clan marker, three blue beads for the Jahanpur, four glass beads for his psy talent—quite a talent, that—and yes, one black bead with a silver inlay for his father!”
“What does that mean?” Hiram said. “Who is he?”
Stefan felt a rush of jubilation mixed with caution. “He’s Ran-Del’s grandfather. There’s no one else he could be. His great-grandfather must have sent a rescue party right after we snatched Ran-Del. Damn! The old shaman must have psy talent to burn if he could find the kid this far from home. I wonder if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.”
Hiram snorted in disbelief and reached over to restore the image of the group. Francesca sank onto the ground like she was tired, and Ran-Del squatted next to her. “I don’t care how much the old geezer can see in his head,” Hiram said. “We’ve got a whole second flyter full of well-armed security staff. We can take those guys out and get Miss Francesca back with no trouble—the wild man, too, if you still want him.”
Curiosity warred with caution in Stefan’s mind. He didn't want to eliminate any chance of ever gaining a Sansoussy husband for Francesca, but he didn’t want to risk her safety, either. He glanced at the array of instruments. “Is there any way to hear what they're saying?”
Toth hesitated, then reached across the array. “Maybe, if I can get the probe close enough.” He fiddled with several controls. After a few minutes, Stefan heard a scratchy voice just as the old man approached Francesca.
“If you are rested enough, Francesca Hayden,” the voice said, “we should be moving now.”
“There!” Stefan burst out. “They're treating her as a guest, not a prisoner. She's safe enough for now. We can stay well out of visual, or even, hopefully, psy range and see what happens when they get back to the forest.”
Hiram’s jaw clenched so tightly, a muscle twitched.
“It’s all right, Hiram,” Stefan said. “She’ll be fine. We won’t let any harm come to her.”
“Yes, sir,” Hiram said woodenly.
“Call D’Persis again.” Stefan adjusted the monitor so it showed the entire column of rapidly moving Sansoussy. “Tell her we’ll be a little longer than expected, a few days at least.”
Hiram’s grim expression broke into a sour smile. “Great! I get to tell Alyssa that she has to hold down the fort for three days with half her staff tied up on one of your bat-brained schemes.”
Stefan grinned, glad of the distraction from the niggling in his brain that told him he was taking too great a risk. “Someone has to tell her. Might as well be you.”