Stonechild Read online

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  "Grandfather?"

  "Granddaughter?"

  Honoree watched the old man sit up in the doorway and turn to face her. He was still putting on his paternal face when he saw the terex standing by her side. He blinked uncomprehendingly, then raised his eyes to stare at Sevien behind her. The old man’s already pale face went white. "Kind master," he cried imploringly, "whatever the child has done, I have nothing to do with it. I don’t even know the girl!"

  "Grandfather --" she started again.

  "Hush!" the man hissed at her. He then raised his voice again. "Good sir, this girl is a brat, a pest. She means nothing to me. She’s lying if she says anything different. I have nothing to do..."

  "Grandfather! They’re not interested in you. It’s me they want."

  "...With her. It’s not my fault if...What did you say?" The old man was shaking now. Amusing as it was, Honoree felt guilty for frightening him.

  She gave a heavy sigh. "They’re only interested in me, Grandfather. They are taking me with them to their island fortress. This man’s friend is fetching some horses even as we speak. I just came back here to say good-bye."

  The old man closed his eyes and took a deep breath of relief. When he opened them again, he looked surprised that she was still there. "If they’re only interested in you, then why did you lead them to me?"

  "I told you, I wanted to say good-bye and to give you this."

  The old man’s eyes lit up with interest as she unwrapped the crisp, white paper from her package. The bread and cheese she had patiently salvaged that morning had been lost when her home collapsed on her. Still, it hadn’t taken long for her to purchase fresh replacements with the small amount of money Sevien had loaned her. These she offered to the old man, who sprang forward to grab them. He then sat down on the doorstep and greedily began devouring the food. Honoree watched him eat for a moment before speaking again.

  "I guess I’d better go with the cavalier now," she said.

  "Uh-hump," the old man mumbled through a full mouth.

  "They’re gonna take me to their fortress. I may never see you again."

  "Fine. Fine." The wedge of cheese was already gone. The man now put his full attention to what remained of the bread.

  "They’re going to rape my body, drink my blood, burn my hair and turn me into a mindless puppet-slave. I’ll spend forever in horrible agony, forced to do their evil bidding."

  The man shoved the last bite of bread into his mouth and started checking the ground in front of himself in case he had dropped any crumbs. "Now be a good girl," he said absently without looking up. "Get along quietly."

  Honoree paused, taking a last look at the man who had once meant so much to her, then turned away. Across the street, she could see Jean-Michel holding the reins of two horses. A gray and red terex, as bald as Sevien's, perched on the pommel of one of the horses’ saddles. It appeared to be sleeping. Sevien was already pulling himself into the saddle of the other horse, his terex bondmate still sitting on his shoulder. She wondered briefly if KKasu ever traveled under her own power. KKairee flapped to his other shoulder.

  Honoree joined the cavaliers.

  "I’m sorry that didn’t go better," Sevien said as he pulled her up to sit behind him on the saddle. "I’m sure you expected a fonder good-bye."

  "No, I pretty much got what I expected." Honoree paused, trying to put her feelings into words before she continued. "I sorta had an obligation to.... No, that’s not quite right." She paused again before continuing. "I guess I needed to finish walking this path before I started traveling a new one."

  Finis

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  Addendum

  When we first created Deau and Children of the Vortex back in 1998, my husband, Stewart, wrote a version of this story to introduce Honoree to the world. Now that we are reviving the world and stories, I wanted to share his creation as well. Changes in the world necessitated changes in the story, but we love Honoree and she will continue to appear in stories of the Florant Cadre. I hope that I have revised Stewart's story in a way that would please him.

  --June

  In loving Memory of Stewart G. Robertson

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  If you enjoyed Honoree's story, please consider our Children of the Vortex Anthologies. The first, Flamechild, is available Summer 2013, with more volumes to follow.

  Find more information about Honoree, Sevien, and a host of other characters at https:// www.foobatbooks.com