Free Return to Eddarta by Randall Garrett Page B

sobbing that was heartbreaking to hear. She smiled as she handed me the travel bags she had packed, and sobbed when she hugged me. Tarani hugged her, and they both broke down. Thanasset and I were quieter, but no less emotional than the women. He pounded my back and held me fiercely when I hugged him good-bye. The straight, firm line of his mouth softened and trembled when he bent to caress the cubs one more time.
    Thanasset, Keeshah, and I waited beside the double gate for the women to finish their farewells.
    “Your garden is ruined,” I said, waving toward the small hill that had been green and flowery only a few days ago, but was trampled and scarred now.
    “In the best possible cause,” he said. “I shall take great pleasure in rebuilding it with a large, a very large, open space around the sha’um house.”
    I laughed and slapped his back.
    “You’re sure you have enough coin?” he asked.
    “Plenty,” I assured him.
    For some time, I had been wearing a belt with commemorative gold coins sewn inside it. I had changed two of the coins for smaller denominations which were easier to spend, and had traded the rest for less distinctive gold coins of the same value—which were now resewn inside the same belt.
    Tarani broke away from Milda, who knelt to embrace the cubs as they ran up to her. Tarani and Yayshah joined us beside the gate. The girl extended her hand toward Thanasset. “You and Milda have been most gracious,” she said.
    As he had done when he greeted her, Thanasset took her hand, lifted it, and kissed the palm. “You are a part of us now, Tarani,” he said. “You leave behind an emptiness that we will mourn until you return.”
    “I—” she began, but words failed her. The brief awkwardness ended when he opened his arms and she flew into them to hug him.
    There seemed to be no more reason to delay. Keeshah’s mind was pushing at me to get going. Yayshah was nudging Tarani from behind, betraying her eagerness to get out of the city. The cubs were alert and curious, not really comprehending what was happening, but ready for the adventure it promised.
    Beyond the gate, we could hear people moving about and talking quietly. “Word has spread of your leaving,” Thanasset said. “The people do not know of your mission, but your very presence here has offered them a target for their restless interest, a distraction from the danger. Many will be waiting to watch you leave. Do you see? It is an
event
for them.”
    “Yes, I see,” I said, then turned to Tarani. “Ask Yayshah if you may ride.”
    “She is willing, I know,” the girl answered. “But did you not tell me that tradition demands walking within the city?” She paused, looking from me to Thanasset, then she smiled her understanding. “I see too,” she said. “The distraction of the ‘event’ outweighs tradition in this case.”
    *
Keeshah, I will ride
* I told the big cat.
    He registered surprise, but crouched down to let me straddle his back. For now, I left the travel packs slung by their joining rope over my shoulder, and sat up straight. As Keeshah stood up, I could see over the fence. A crowd had indeed gathered, and a murmur traveled quickly down the street as the nearest people saw my head and shoulders appear above the fence.
    Yayshah crouched and Tarani mounted much more easily than had been possible when Yayshah had been hugely pregnant. Tarani adjusted her travel bag rope on her shoulder as Yayshah surged to her feet; she nodded. Thanasset opened the gate, and waved at me as Keeshah led the procession into and down the street, through a city packed with cheering people.
    The cubs walked between their parents, their energy and curiosity making them zigzag back and forth in the clear lane between lines of people. When the kittens got near the edge of the crowd, a curious twitch occurred in the sea of heads, as some people lunged forward to touch the kittens and an equal number flinched back in fear of the