01 Taxilas Children

TAXILA'S CHILDREN
"It is not the time of nuptials, it will be empty."
It was an unlikely place for a honeymoon and to crown the incongruity, he had to take the
Bole along. It was like taking a mechanical mother-in-law as a chaperone. He had nothing
else to carry, except the Pentacle which hung around his neck. He kept the borrowed tunic as
well, if Jabez wanted it back, he could ask for it.
Hara collected a few pitiful belongings from her lodgings. The House of Virgins might
have possessed a fancy title but the establishment didn't live up to it. It was no more than a
glorified dormitory and a common room. There was no privacy.
The day was nearly gone as they slipped into the woods. She led the way and they met no
one on their journey. The woods were cool and dark after the heat. They moved quickly along
paths that twisted and seemed to double back at times. He heard water, the sound of a small
stream and soon they were standing on its bank. It was a tiny rill but deep enough for bathing.
Steve looked around for the House of Nuptials and identified it as a bower of branches and
leaves seem dimly in the diminishing light. Hara would have entered immediately, he held
her back.
"Anything might be in there, we'll camp outside for the night."
She sat down without comment and opened her pack. He was glad that one of them had
had the sense to think of supper. It wasn't much but it satisfied their immediate hunger,
breakfast would be another problem - if they lived that long. They sat in the gathering
darkness and watched the silhouette of the bower merge into the blackness. High above, the
stars made their patterns. He tried to make sense of them but they were unlike anything he
had ever seen. He thought he saw Sirius but Sirius could be a very dim star from this planet.
He gave up stargazing when Hara pressed her body close to his. Her hand moved on his bare
thigh as he threw off his tunic. There was no disturbance during the night. In the early light,
they lay awake and he questioned her about the Gift.
"Is it possible for Jabez to know where we are? Can he read our thoughts from a distance?"
"I don't think so my Lord."
"Steve - no more of this Lord business. You remind me of Jabez and he's not built like you!
Are you sure he isn't able to read our thoughts and follow us?"
"The Gift does not work in that way - at least, not with us - Steve."
She hesitated over his name, it sounded foreign and sweet in her mouth.
"Jabez is able to hear what you want to say with his mind and can put what he wants to say
into yours, but he hasn't the Gift for a great distance. Only the Lords are able to do that, that
is why they must be obeyed."
"Yes, well, we'll skip that. As far as I am concerned, they are as good as us and no better."
The light was getting stronger and he could see the body of the girl for the first time.
Always, previously they had loved in darkness, touching and exploring but never seeing. She
was more beautifully formed than he could ever have imagined. She explored him with her
eyes and flushed crimson when he laughed at her. He reached out and took her again.
Later, they bathed in the rill and afterwards, looked around for something to eat. She
recognised something edible. The House of Nuptials proved to be untenanted. Steve was
relieved, an irate bridegroom was more than he could have coped with in the circumstances.
Hara started to worry about the children and her duties. He shook his head, he would never
understand the female mind. On the previous day, the parents of the same children were
calling for her death. Today, all was forgiven and she was fretting that they would be
unattended.
They made the bower habitable and they could only guess how long they would need to
stay there. There seemed no point in being uncomfortable for the sake of it. It was like most
of the other structures, a central room with a rough table and stools and a large bed, which
groaned as Steve tried it. Hara giggled.
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