Promised Land Read online

  "I don't remember," Delanna said, bracing the goose for the dye. "I was only five when I left."

  "Beautiful birds," he said. "All the colors of the rainbow. Hardly any left now, and most of those aren't breeding pairs. There were thousands of them when I first came to Keramos."

  Delanna was still holding the wing out, but the vet had apparently forgotten all about spraying it in his enthusiasm over the Royal Mandarins.

  "The dye," Delanna said.

  “Sorry," he said, coming to himself. He sprayed the wing, took the goose from her, and shoved it in the cage. "It's my job to protect the animals on Keramos, and I guess I get a little carried away when it's a beautiful specimen like the Royal Mandarin. That's what all these vaccinations are for, to keep imported animals from bringing any infections onto Keramos.”

  "When do you think Mr. Tanner might get here?" Delanna asked, hoping it would be soon. The geese smelled terrible. Her mother's birds and the ones in her husbandry class had smelled bad, but "loose as a goose" took on a whole new meaning when geese had been cooped up on a ship for two months.

  "I expected Sonny before this," Doc Lyle said. "Hand me that one over there."

  She obediently grabbed up the next goose and they went through the routine again, the vet talking the whole time about the Royal Mandarins, the dangers of off-planet infections, Milleflores. "It's a beautiful lanzye. All those flowers."

  Good, Delanna thought, then I'll get a good price for it. "Pretty run-down, though, of course."

  Of course.

  "I do believe your mother was the first one to hatch goose eggs on Keramos," he said, vaccinating the last goose. "Toulouse geese, gray like these Junos."

  "I don't know if they were first or not, but I remember them being huge. I had to feed them every day," Delanna said. "I hated them."

  He fumbled the feathers apart. "The hatred doesn't seem to have lasted."

  She wrinkled her nose. "As badly as these geese smell, it could return very quickly," she said, but she held the goose snugly while the vet sprayed its wing

  When all thirteen geese had green swatches on their left wings and were safely stored in clean cages, Delanna followed the vet out of the pen. He picked up the sheaf of papers and started working on it, initialing each sheet.

  Delanna went to the door of the warehouse and looked outside. There was no sign of anyone coming, or of Jay Madog and the pilot either. She went back inside, pulled out a sack of feed from the overhead on the goose crate, and took it over to give it to the caged birds. The food dispelled all pretense of shyness on their part. They clustered and honked and snatched the grains as they came out of the bag. Crouching, Delanna spread the feed as she remembered doing so many years ago, making a long trail of it along the edge of the cages so that all the geese could eat, not just the bigger ones.

  "Good. You're still here," Jay Madog said. "And that friend of yours isn't, which means I can give you a ride into town and" –he leaned over her— "then out to that lake I told you about."

  Doc Lyle looked up from his initialing. "I think you ought to know that that friend she's waiting for is Sonny Tanner," he said.

  "Really?" Jay strode over to the bench, reached under it, and got Delanna's carryit. "You know Sonny Tanner? He's a good man."

  "I think you ought to also know that this is Delanna Milleflores," Doc Lyle added.

  "Delanna-" Jay said, clearly taken aback. "You're Serena Milleflores' daughter?" He looked surprised and something else Delanna couldn't make out.

  "Just thought you should know," Doc Lyle said, sounding amused. "Before you took her off on that moonlight swim. Not that that'll stop you."

  Delanna looked bewilderedly at them, wondering what this was all about.

  "I thought you said you were only staying till tomorrow," Jay said, holding the carryit out to her

  "I am," she said, but before she could take the carryit from him, it let out a loud roar.

  Jay almost dropped it. "What the devil do you have in there?" he said.

  Delanna grabbed the carryit and hastily set it down to open it. It roared again.

  "Yes, just what is in there?" Doc Lyle asked, stepping out from behind the crate.

  "It's okay," Delanna assured them. "It's just Cleopatra, my scarab. She's getting hungry."

  Delanna pulled the scarab out and cuddled her close, the soft underside molding itself to her chest while the fuzzy muzzle rubbed against her chin. Cleopatra immediately started purring when she realized she was safe in Delanna's arms.

  "What is that?" Jay asked, standing well back. "Some kind of big bug?"

  "It's a scarab," Doc Lyle said, putting the sheaf of papers on a corner of the crate and holding his hands out to Delanna. "I've never seen one up close before. It is a scarab, isn't it?"

  Delanna nodded and put her cheek against Cleopatra's shoulder plate to pin her; Cleopatra had seen the veterinarian's outstretched hands and didn't want to go. "He won't hurt you," she whispered, and to Doc Lyle she said, "She'll probably roar again."

  He took the scarab from her anyhow, his grip firm but gentle. Cleo ducked into her plates, but she didn't roar. “You must spend a lot of time polishing these plates," Doc Lyle said admiringly. "She looks like a basket of jewelry."

  "I didn't have much else to do on the trip. Besides, Cleo's plates have beautiful markings, don't they?"

  He nodded and stepped over to show the scarab to Jay Madog, who stood stiffly. "It's not an insect at all," Doc Lyle said, carefully turning Cleo over to expose her belly. "It's a member of the genus Scaraeoptera. From Rebe Quarto. There aren't any Scaraeoptera on Keramos." Toe-nails of all six feet stood out like needles and Cleopatra snarled to discourage the examination. But the veterinarian was unconcerned. He pulled at one of her feet, and being much stronger than the scarab, was able to extend it to the knee. "It should extend more," Doc Lyle said, looking over at Delanna. Jay Madog stepped away, suddenly interested in the papers on the crate. "But it hinges, doesn't it? I don't want to hurt her."

  Delanna reached over to unhinge Cleopatra's knee, and extended the fuzzy leg fully. "She's waist-high when she stands up all the way, but Cleo's lazy, and she's never had anything higher than a curb to look over. She rarely extends. Skittering low to the ground is her normal gait."

  Cleo tucked the leg back in as soon as Delanna let go, but she poked her nose out. The compound eyes above the nostrils glittered like jewels, and upon recognizing Delanna, the nictitating membranes on the fore-eyes also opened.

  "Interesting specimen," Doc Lyle said, looking at Delanna. "I'm afraid I'll have to impound her."

  "Impound her!"

  "No animals are allowed on Keramos except those certified as hatchlings, or birthed en route in sealed environments. We haven't got the resources to do any other kind of disease control, and even less for pests that might ride in on a mature animal.”"

  "She doesn't have pests," Delanna protested, starting to fumble through her travel wallet. "I have her health certificate. She's had all her vaccinations."

  Doc Lyle shook his head. "She's a mature animal. I can't allow her on Keramos.”

  "But—can I send her back up on the shuttle, then?"

  "It's already left," Jay said.

  The vet looked at her. "Imported animals are a threat to the animals of Keramos.”

  "Couldn't I just keep her in the carryit?" Delanna asked, holding out her hands. Cleo extended her forelegs and roared softly. "It has a lock, and I promise I won't let her out. She'll sleep the whole time anyway. And I'll keep her away from other animals."

  "Sorry. Rules are rules." Lyle turned away, carrying the scarab.

  "What are you going to do with her?" Delanna said, following him. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to bring her down with me. Nobody on the ship said anything about it being against Keramos' s laws, and it never occurred to me . . . "

  There was a row of cages alongside the wall. The vet opened one and set Cleo inside. The scarab tightened up until she looked l
ike a jeweled ball in the middle of the cage. The vet snapped the lock in place, slipped the key in his pocket, and started toward a large metal box with a control panel on the front.

  "It isn't as if I'm trying to import her," Delanna argued. "I'm only going to be here one day."

  Doc Lyle looked thoughtful. "You're going back up on the shuttle tomorrow?"

  "I thought you said this was Delanna Milleflores," Jay put in.

  "I am," Delanna said. "But I'm just here to sign some papers. I won't even be here a whole day. And Cleo doesn't have any diseases or mites or anything. She's been sterilized and everything. See, here's her health certificate." She thrust it at the vet.

  He didn't take it. He reached above the metal box to a cabinet, and pulled down a thick notebook. He began looking through it, turning pages intently.

  "You said you didn't have any Scaraeoptera on Keramos," Delanna went on urgently. "I learned in school that diseases aren't cross-genus, so she can't infect any of the animals."

  "I'd leave it be," Jay said softly, taking her arm. "Arguments don't count with Doc Lyle, only rules."

  I hope he finds a rule that lets Cleo stay then, Delanna thought.

  Apparently he did. After a few minutes, he put his finger on a passage and said, "The animal isn't considered to be officially imported until it's been processed and left the shuttleport. Processing of the animal must be completed in twenty-four hours. Until then, the animal hasn't been imported or denied import status." He looked up. "You sure these papers you have to sign won't take more than twenty-four hours?"

  "I'm sure," Delanna told him.

  "Then so long as the animal stays here and isn't processed, there's nothing in the rules that says you can't take it back up with you to the Scoville." He took the key out of his pocket and unlocked Cleo's cage.

  "Oh, good," Delanna said.

  "I'm going to put her in an isolette, just in case," Lyle explained, opening the cage. Cleo stayed in a tight little ball. "That way there won't be any chance of her exposing anything else." He carried her over to a clear-sided cage with a number of dials on the front and put her in.

  "All right," Delanna said, watching Cleo. She hated leaving her, but she didn't want to press her luck, and with luck, she could meet with the lawyer first thing in the morning and be back before midday. She went over to the cage and put her hand up to the clear side to comfort the scarab. Cleo stuck one paw out of her carapace, then another, and eventually poked her head out, too. She reached for Delanna's hand, felt the barrier, and ducked back in. Delanna sighed.

  "Don't worry," Jay said, coming up behind her. She felt his hands on her shoulders. "It'll be fine. Doc Lyle'll take good care of it."

  But Delanna shook her head. "She'll stay rolled up until I come back, poor thing. She's frightened." Sighing again, Delanna stood there a moment, hating to leave the scarab. "It's just until tomorrow," she said, giving the side of the cage a final pat. She started to turn around, but Jay's hands were still on her shoulders.

  "You ready for that ride into town now?" he said, giving her shoulders a final squeeze before letting go. When she turned, she found him standing with her carryit in his hands. She nodded and reached for it, but he held on to the bag.

  "I'll carry . . . "

  "Yeoh!" came a shout from outside.

  They all turned to see a man silhouetted in the doorway. "Those my geese?" he said, sounding happy. He stepped into the warehouse lights, a tall, thin figure in baggy pants rolled up at the cuffs and an orange flowered shirt. He carried a suit jacket over his shoulder and wore a red cap on his head. "Did all twelve come through?" he asked, handing a sheaf of papers to the vet and hurrying to the pen, for he couldn't help but know exactly where the geese were with all their honking. "Look at that," he said after just a moment. "The bonus egg hatched, too! Thanks, Doc, for recommending Juno geese to me. Never would have believed all thirteen would make it."

  "That's why it didn't tally," Jay said, shaking his head. "You only reserved room for six of them on the Mad Dog."

  "That's all right," the man said. "I can take all thirteen. I bought a new wagon, and I brought my solaris over from the lanzye. It's over at Grayson's having a motor fixed. I'll carry the other seven in the wagon and we'll put the rest of my freight in your rig."

  "You're going to need seven more permits," Doc Lyle said. "I can't release these geese without importation permits, and you've only got six."

  And rules are rules, Delanna thought, even when it was just eggs.

  ''I'll get them from Maggie when I go into town," the man said, looking up. He saw Delanna, and his jaw dropped.

  "Is this Mr. Tanner?" Delanna asked doubtfully. She hoped he wasn't. He didn't look anything like the fair-haired boy she remembered, and he was so grubby and brainless-looking. He was still gaping at her.

  "It is, Delanna. Don't you recognize your own—" Doc Lyle began.

  The man cut him off. "You can't be Delanna," he said stupidly. "You're over at the terminal."

  "Guess again," Jay said. "She's right here."

  "How do you do?" Delanna said in her best school manner. ''I'm Delanna Milleflores. You must be Tarleton Tanner."

  "Tarleton?" Jay echoed, grinning.

  "Everyone calls me Sonny," he said, flushing slightly as he wiped his hand on his baggy pants and stuck it out. When Delanna hesitated, he wiped it on his pants again. "I haven't touched the geese," he said, apparently trying to understand why she wouldn't shake his hand.

  "I have," Delanna said, grasping his hand firmly. Sonny smiled shyly as he squeezed her hand—too hard!

  "Sorry!" he said quickly when he saw Delanna wince, and snatched his hand back like he'd been shocked. He shook his hand and flexed the fingers. "I didn't mean . . . Whew! You were in with the geese, weren't you?"

  "I had a lot of time to kill," she said coolly, "so I helped the vet."

  "Yeah," Doc Lyle said, bringing over a sheaf of papers for Sonny to sign. "Good thing you showed up when you did. Jay Madog was about to make off with your—"

  "I was just offering Delanna here a ride into town," Jay cut in. "Where have you been?"

  "I had to pick up the wagon before the dealer closed. I was going to go to the terminal to get Delanna just as soon as I was finished checking the geese, so we'll save some time now because I won't have to go to the terminal."

  "Right," Delanna said, "because I'm right here, right?”

  “Right!" he said, almost beaming.

  Behind him, Jay was shaking with laughter.

  Doc Lyle didn't smile. "You ought to take Delanna into town now, Sonny," he said, looking at the signed paperwork. "She's had a long day and is probably tired. You can bring me the permits after you've got her settled at the hotel."

  "The hotel," Sonny said, first nodding, then shaking his head. "Your letter said you wanted to see the lawyer first thing." He looked confused.

  "I assumed we'd see the lawyer first thing in the morning."

  "This evening," Sonny said.

  It took a moment for Delanna to realize he meant barrister access was available around the clock, just as it was on Rebe Prime. She had assumed all public vega terminal centers in Grassedge would shut down at sunset, like everything else did. Except the bars, she reminded herself, and the dance hall. But if the lawyer could see them tonight, so much the better. She could get back to the warehouse, and Cleo, sooner.

  Finally Sonny spied the carryit in Jay's hand. "This yours?" he said to Delanna, reaching for the bag. "I could still take you over to the hotel," Jay offered, resisting Sonny's attempt to take the bag from his hand.

  Delanna almost agreed, but then shook her head. "My business is with . . . Sonny," she said, certain now after meeting him that she'd need every available minute to make sure this yokel understood that he needed to be at the lawyer's, too.

  Jay released the carryit. "Well then, until we meet again," he said, clearly disappointed.

  "That's not likely to happen," she said pleasantly.
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  "I'll be in mourning for thirty days," Jay said, his eyes sparkling.

  "Thirty minutes, I'd wager," she responded, with a laugh. Jay shrugged.

  "Let's go," Sonny said, turning abruptly. He walked out of the building with short, quick steps, carrying her bag and pushing one of the goose cages out through the shadows into the sunlight. Delanna glanced longingly toward Cleo, who was still curled up in a tight little ball.

  "Thanks for your help, young woman," Doc Lyle said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't worry about your scarab. I'll take good care of her."

  "You're sure you won't change your mind about staying?" Jay asked, catching her hand in his. "We need more beautiful redheads around here." She felt something pass from his palm to hers.

  "I'm sure," she told him. "Goodbye," she said to both of them, and turned to follow Sonny, who was already out of sight.

  She paused in the middle of the doorway to see what Jay had pressed into her hand. It was a business card, made of real paper, like the bills of lading.

  JAY MADOG

  CAPTAIN OF THE MAD DOG PRAIRIE CARAVAN

  CALL 5373 DAY OR NIGHT IN GRASSEDGE

  IF NO ANSWER, TRY FREQUENCY 139 ON THE HAM.

  She hurried out the door.

  Chapter 2

  Sonny was waiting for her outside the warehouse, still holding on to her carryit. Delanna looked at the card again, memorizing the number, and stuck it in her pocket.

  "I wouldn't get mixed up with Jay Madog if I were you," Sonny said.

  Just let me get through the next half hour, Delanna thought. Let me get the money in my hands, and I'll kill him.

  "I want to see the lawyer as soon as possible," she said aloud. "Have you made an appointment?"

  "Appointment?" he repeated, as if he had no idea what the word even meant, and then stood there looking stupid.

  "Yes. An appointed time when she'll see us."

  Instead of answering, he disappeared suddenly around the comer of the building and came back pulling a large wagon. The cage with the geese in it was propped at an angle in the wagon, and Delanna's carryit was crammed in on one side on top of Sonny's jacket. The geese were honking wildly.