The Purlieu Experiment
Chapter 34
Copyright 2015 & 2021
When Donte returned from Palangana, he discovered that Akira had arrived from Nyumbani. He was anxious to hear about that project, but Quade immediately invited him to his office.
Rianne winked at him and smiled; a signal that it wasn't all that serious. He gave her an 'I’ll see you later' smile and followed Quade into his office.
Quade sat on the edge of his desk. "How were things in Palangana?"
Donte dropped into a chair and shrugged. "Well enough. Nothing much to talk about."
Quade shifted his weight on the desk and looked generally uncomfortable. He obviously didn't know how to approach a subject.
"I was surprised to see Akira here," Donte offered. "I thought she would go back with the others. Did she change her mind about that job you offered her?"
Quade grimaced. "She accepted it, but…I insulted her. She hasn't said anything to me since."
"Oh? How did you insult her?"
Quade squirmed on the desk, avoiding Donte’s eyes. "I asked her to spend the night with me." Finally, he looked up. "I thought…I kissed her and she…well, she acted interested." He shrugged. "She asked me if I was having trouble finding someone to exchange vows with me."
Donte fought a grin. Of all the subjects he might discuss with his father, this was probably the least likely. It pleased him that Akira responded the way she did, but to Quade, it would have been confusing. Donte wasn't going to divulge his near relationship with Akira, but he did want to help his father.
"Dad, what got into you?"
Quade's face turned red and his smile was chagrined. "I've been asking myself that all evening. There's just something about her.…"
"So, you think she was trying to push you into exchanging vows with her?"
Quade rubbed the back of his neck. "It crossed my mind."
"I seriously doubt that was what was on her mind. She has quite a complex about the reputation of Lochfowk women…being promiscuous. She probably thought you were taking advantage of that."
Quade turned a darker shade of red. "I didn’t think that…I never heard it before now."
Donte could contain the smile no longer. "Well, I trust you know what to do now."
Quade nodded. "Thank you for the information." He hesitated. "Having you kids around has reminded me of what I have been missing."
Donte stood. "Kids?"
Quade chuckled. "You are to me."
Someone knocked on the door.
"Come in." Quade called. He spoke to Donte as he started for the door. "I'll talk to you later."
A man in a light green uniform stepped into the room. He glanced at Quade and turned to Donte with a bow.
"Monomi, I have been asked to escort you to see Niall."
Donte looked askance at Quade, who lifted his eyebrows and shrugged. Donte couldn't imagine why anyone would bow to him, much less someone from Lochfowk. "I don't know who Niall is. Why would he want to talk to me?"
"It is about the destiny of the colonies, Monomi."
Quade looked at Donte. "Niall was the first commander of the Baigh. He's got to be nearly 400 years old. No one has seen him for at least thirty years." He nodded at the man. "That's the uniform of the Lochfowk infantry. Rianne could tell you that."
Donte looked at Quade. "Rianne?"
Quade smiled. "While you were in Nyumbani, Rianne served on the Baigh for three years. You two shouldn't keep secrets."
Donte shrugged. If they were going to the Baigh, it wouldn't take long. Apparently Niall was no longer missing. Still, he couldn't imagine why Niall would want to talk to him.
"Give me a few minutes to get ready." Donte said, and left the office.
He didn't find Rianne downstairs, so he climbed the stairs to their room. There he found Rianne lying on the bed.
"What’s wrong?" Donte asked.
She smiled as she sat up. "I was feeling a little light-headed, so I thought I would lie down for a little while."
"You’ve been working too hard." He said, sitting on the bed beside her. He explained the presence of the Lochfowk man. "I thought I would go with him and find out what this is all about. I should return this evening. Will you be alright?"
She nodded. "I'll be fine…We'll be fine."
He had started to rise when the inference of her words struck him. He sat back on the bed. "Rianne?"
She grinned. "Yes, I am."
"Maybe I shouldn't go."
"Nonsense. As I said; we’ll be fine. Quade is here if I need any help."
He put an arm around her shoulders and drew her close, kissing her forehead. "Are you sure?"
She tipped her head back and smiled up at him. "I'm sure. Do what you need to do."
He stood and went to the dresser, grabbing a change of clothes. "I think I'll drop by and see Papaw on my way back. I might stay the night there."
She followed him to the dresser "That would be a grand idea – maybe a few nights? You haven't talked to him since.…"
"I know. I've been meaning to go, but all this stuff with Nyumbani.… That’s pretty much settled now, so I should stop making excuses." He kissed her. "I’ll see you tomorrow."
"Or the next day." She amended.
Donte followed the man out of the house and mounted the equine he offered. They could have walked to the station, but if the man felt more comfortable riding, it didn't matter.
When the man continued to lead him past the station, Donte stopped him. "Are we going to ride instead of taking the tram?"
The man shook his head. "There is no tram where we are going."
"We’re not going to the Baigh?"
"No Monomi. We go to the mountains." He pointed toward the mountains of Libertad.
"How long will we be away?"
He shrugged. "Two…maybe three days."
"I need to tell my mate where we will be."
He shook his head. "No Monomi. We must hurry. Niall will die soon and he must speak to you before then."
He should tell Rianne and Quade where he was going, but a voice inside said he should go with the man now. Perhaps it was the voice of insanity. All the same, he followed his instincts. They would think he was in Bergen and not worry about him.
He followed the man.
They rode at a brisk pace most of the afternoon and stopped at a secluded cabin at the foot of the mountains to rest for the night. Early in the morning they took off again on fresh mounts. They crossed the border into Lochfowk in a mountainous area near the borders of Bergen and Vlaktes. They were on a steep trail on the side of a mountain when the man stopped. He turned and looked at Donte first and then at a large white accipitridae soaring across the valley below. Chill bumps came up on Donte’s arms. How did the man know? The accipitridae flew closer and lit on a tree near them. The guide kept watching him and the accipitridae, as if he expected the two to communicate.
Donte reached back and untied his clothes. Wrapping the spare trousers around his arm, he lifted it in invitation to the accipitridae. It watched him with one eye and then the other. He was getting ready to lower his arm when it flew from the tree toward him. He lifted his arm higher and it landed on his arm.
The guide watched them, clearly amazed, and yet he obviously expected some kind of interaction.
Donte spoke in the language of the Anialwch. "Celyn, why are you here?"
He didn't expect the accipitridae to speak, of course, but he hoped it would do something to give him a clue. She had always shown up when he was in danger. What danger was there now? When he spoke, the accipitridae leaped from his arm, flapping its huge wings as it flew into the air. It circled above them and screamed. The sound made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He hoped he lived long enough to talk this one over with Rianne.
The man looked at him in a strange way. Finally, he moved forward. "Follow me. It is not far."
They climbed higher into the mountains until they reached a pass; there they turned their equines down a trail along a narrow ledge. He didn't see the cave until they were at the entrance. An overhang made it blend into the rocky outcropping like a shadow. He followed the man into the cave and at the back they dismounted. After a whirring sound, suddenly the back of the cave opened. They stepped into what looked like a lift and the doors closed.
He had the sensation of weightlessness for a minute. Eventually the doors opened again to a long lighted corridor. He was taken to a door that led down another corridor. At the end were two men – guards of some kind in light green uniforms. They stood at attention while the door opened. He stepped into a large room with an elevated bed in it. An old man lay on the bed and he beckoned to Donte.
When Donte stood beside him, the man patted the bed. Sit where I can see you.
Donte did as he was told.
"You don’t know me, the man said, but I know you, Donte."
That wasn't too surprising. There were a lot of people he didn't know who knew him. They didn’t all live inside mountains, though.
"You must be Niall," Donte said.
The man closed his eyes for a moment. "I am Niall, the last of the original spaceship commanders."
Donte glanced around the room. "What is this? Why are you here?"
Niall coughed. "I am dying."
Donte's gaze came back to the man. "That’s what I have been told, but I don't know why you asked for me."
Niall looked him in the eye for a moment. "I think you know."
Donte had an awful feeling that they were going to do something he wouldn't like. He met Niall's steady gaze. "Suppose you tell me why I'm here."
Niall started with a laugh that ended in a fit of coughing. Finally, he looked at Donte. "I knew I would like you."
Donte waited for his explanation. He couldn't imagine what Niall found so amusing about his answer or why the man decided he liked him.
"You see the white aves." Niall finally said. "You know who they are."
Donte continued to wait. The guide could have told him that much.
"You have the blood of three colonies in you – the ave gene."
Actually, it was only the blood of two colonies. Bosvrouwen was still a part of Bergen, even though they had their own government. It was also information available to anyone. Except…. For the first time he made the connection between the white aves and his ave gene.
"What does it all mean?"
"You are not of one colony. You are concerned with all colonies. You have the knowledge of the tongues."
Donte waited through another coughing fit. At this rate the man would die and he would still have no idea why he was brought here. "All these things everyone knows."
Niall grinned. "Except for the white aves, yes? Not even Rianne knows about those…and the Anialwch connection."
Hearing Rianne's name on the lips of a dying man in the bowels of a mountain was disturbing. He frowned "Even I don't know about the Anialwch connection."
Niall laughed and coughed and coughed. Finally, he tried to sit up. "You are the Anialwch connection, Donte."
Donte gently pushed him back to the bed. "Take it easy, Monomi."
"Celyn." He finally said. "You and Celyn will lead the colonists when they return."
Donte didn't like the sound of it. "When the colonists return? From where?"
"When the Parliament returns." Niall coughed again. "But more importantly…The Fontalo."
"The Fontalo?" Donte echoed.
"You have been to the library on the Baigh?"
Donte shook his head. "No, the Moeder. I've never been on the Baigh."
"Search the records on the Baigh. Look for a file named The Purlieu Experiment. The password is skarrach."
He began to cough again. Finally, he squeezed Donte's hand. "You are the Anialwch Connection." He repeated.
His breathing became noisy and labored. "You did not ask for this, but it is yours." He patted Donte’s hand. "Tell no one of this place. They must not know where it is." He lifted his head. "You will know when it is time. Ask for Dalziel. He will know who you are."
His head fell back on the pillow and his eyes glazed over in death.
Donte stared at him. That was just great. When the time came, whenever that was, Dalziel would know who he was, whoever Dalziel was. In the meantime, it would be nice if he knew who he was. Oh yes, the Anialwch connection, whatever that was. He and Celyn would lead the colonists? Would that be in her aves form or human? What about Rianne?
When he left the room, the guards paid no attention. The messenger was waiting for him. "Who is Dalziel?" he asked the man.
The man bowed to him again. "He has passed, then. When it is time, you will come here and ask for Dalziel. Dalziel will be the master until you return. You will know when it is time, Monomi."
Donte was getting frustrated. Why did everyone talk in riddles? "Who will be the master after I return?"
The guide looked at him in surprise. "It will be you, Monomi. You will lead us to freedom."
Freedom from what? The Fontalo? Who or what was The Fontalo? What was the Anialwch Connection…oh yes, he was the Anialwch connection. What did it all mean? He had to get to the Baigh as soon as possible and read those files. That was when it hit him. Of course they knew about Rianne. She had served on the Baigh for three years. How much did she know about all this? Did she know he was the Anialwch connection? His stomach made a painful twist. Was she part of it? Was that why she had exchanged vows with him?
He pushed the thought from his mind. Rianne would never be a party to anything bad. But then, what was bad about leading all the colonies to freedom? The guide said he would be the master – of what? He wasn't to speak of the place. No, that wasn't what he said. He wasn't to reveal its location. Logic allowed that revealing its existence could lead to the discovery of it. He could trust Rianne. He was certain of it. He would need her to get to the files on the Baigh. The password was skarrach. Did the password give a clue? It meant a quick shower of rain or snow.
The guide started to lead him back to Libertad and he shook his head. "I will visit my grandfather in Bergen and take the tram back from there."
The guide looked at him. "You know the way, Monomi?"
Donte gave him a sour smile. How did they expect him to come back? "I know the way."
He left the guide and rode across the valley. He topped out on a ridge and looked back. Across the wide valley from which he had emerged, on the flat top of a butte stood a lone equine and rider. Between them a snow white accipitridae soared.
"Celyn," he said in a quiet voice. "I wish I could figure out how you fit into all this."
They would rule together…was that what Celyn had mistaken for vows – or maybe they would have to make vows before they could lead the colonists. But the bigger question was; where were they supposed to lead the colonists…to a network of corridors in the middle of a mountain? What kind of existence would that be?
He turned his equine and headed down the ridge, away from the guide and all the questions. He would be in the colony of Bergen in a few hours and home with Rianne by nightfall. He urged the equine faster.
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