“Idid choose. I chose Wanderer.”
It had long been clear to me that the mild spat I’d overheard the first day I woke in the Healing facility
was the Seeker’s fault. The Seeker was the most confrontational soul I’d come across in nine lives. My
first Healer, Fords Deep Waters, had been calm, kind, and wise, even for a soul. Yet he had not been
able to help reacting to her. That made me feel better about my own response.
I turned around to face her. She was on my small couch, nestled in comfortably as if for a long visit. Her
expression was self-satisfied, the bulging eyes amused. I controlled the desire to scowl.
“Why are you here?” I asked again. My voice was a monotone. Restrained. I would not lose control
again in front of this woman.
“It’s been a while since I heard anything from you, so I thought I would check in personally. We’ve still
made no headway in your case.”
My hands clamped down on the edge of the counter behind me, but I kept the wild relief from my voice.
“That seems… overzealous. Besides, I sent you a message last night.”
Her eyebrows came together in that way she had, a way that made her look angry and annoyed at the
same time, as if you, not she, were responsible for her anger. She pulled out her palm computer and
touched the screen a few times.
“Oh,” she said stiffly. “I haven’t checked my mail today.”
She was quiet as she scanned through what I had written.
“I sent it very early in the morning,” I said. “I was half asleep at the time. I’m not sure how much of what
I wrote was memory or dream, or sleep-typing, maybe.”
I went along with the words—Melanie’s words—as they flowed easily from my mouth; I even added
my own lighthearted laugh at the end. It was dishonest of me. Shameful behavior. But I would not let the
Seeker know that I was weaker than my host.
For once, Melanie was not smug at having bested me. She was too relieved, too grateful that I had not,
for my own petty reasons, given her away.
I bit my lip hard. Melanie wanted so badly to make another denial, to claim the boy was just part of a
dream.Don’t be stupid, I told her.That would be so obvious. It said much for the repellent nature of the
Seeker that she could put Melanie and me on the same side of an argument.
I hate her.Melanie’s whisper was sharp, painful like a cut.
I know, I know.I wished I could deny that I felt… similarly. Hate was an unforgivable emotion. But the
Seeker was… very difficult to like. Impossible.
The Seeker interrupted my internal conversation. “So, other than the new location to review, you have
no more help for me on the road maps?”
I felt my body react to her critical tone. “I never said they were lines on a road map. That’s your
assumption. And no, I have nothing else.”
She clicked her tongue quickly three times. “But you said they were directions.”
“That’s what I think they are. I’m not getting anything more.”
“Why not? Haven’t you subdued the human yet?” She laughed loudly. Laughing at me.
I turned my back to her and concentrated on calming myself. I tried to pretend that she wasn’t there.
That I was all alone in my austere kitchen, staring out the window into the little patch of night sky, at the
three bright stars I could see through it.
Well, as alone as I ever was.
While I stared at the tiny points of light in the blackness, the lines that I’d seen over and over again—in
my dreams and in my broken memories, cropping up at strange, unrelated moments—flashed through my
head.
The first: a slow, rough curve, then a sharp turn north, another sharp turn back the other way, twisting
back to the north for a longer stretch, and then the abrupt southern decline that flattened out into another
shallow curve.
The second: a ragged zigzag, four tight switchbacks, the fifth point strangely blunt, like it was broken…
The third: a smooth wave, interrupted by a sudden spur that swung a thin, long finger out to the north
and back.
Incomprehensible, seemingly meaningless. But I knew this was important to Melanie. From the very
beginning I’d known that. She protected this secret more fiercely than any other, next to the boy, her
brother. I’d had no idea of his existence before the dream last night. I wondered what it was that had
broken her. Maybe as she grew louder in my head, she would lose more of her secrets to me.
Maybe she would slip up, and I would see what these strange lines meant. I knew they meant something.
That they led somewhere.
They led back to Jared, of course. Back to both of them, Jared and Jamie. Where else? What other
location could possibly hold any meaning for her? Only now I saw that it was notback, because none of
them had ever followed these lines before. Lines that had been as much of a mystery to her as they were
to me, until…
The wall was slow to block me. She was distracted, paying more attention to the Seeker than I was.
She fluttered in my head at a sound behind me, and that was the first I was aware of the Seeker’s
approach.
The Seeker sighed. “I expected more of you. Your track record seemed so promising.”
“It’s a pity you weren’t free for the assignment yourself. I’m sure if you’d had to deal with a resistant
host, it would have been child’s play.” I didn’t turn to look at her. My voice stayed level.
She sniffed. “The early waves were challenging enough even without a resistant host.”
“Yes. I’ve experienced a few settlings myself.”
The Seeker snorted. “Were the See Weeds very difficult to tame? Did they flee?”
I kept my voice calm. “We had no trouble in the South Pole. Of course, the North was another matter.
It was badly mishandled. We lost the entire forest.” The sadness of that time echoed behind my words. A
thousand sentient beings, closing their eyes forever rather than accept us. They’d curled their leaves from
the suns and starved.
Good for them,Melanie whispered. There was no venom attached to the thought, only approval as she
saluted the tragedy in my memory.
It was such a waste.I let the agony of the knowledge, the feel of the dying thoughts that had racked us
with our sister forest’s pain, wash through my head.
It was death either way.
The Seeker spoke, and I tried to concentrate on just one conversation.
“Yes.” Her voice was uncomfortable. “That was poorly executed.”
“You can never be too careful when it comes to doling out power. Some aren’t as careful as they should
be.”
She didn’t answer, and I heard her move a few steps back. Everyone knew that the misstep behind the
mass suicide belonged to the Seekers, who, because the See Weeds couldn’tflee, had underestimated
their ability toescape. They’d proceeded recklessly, beginning the first settlement before we had
adequate numbers in place for a full-scale assimilation. By the time they realized what the See Weeds
were capable of, were willing to do, it was too late. The next shipment of hibernating souls was too far
away, and before they’d arrived, the northern forest was lost.
“I’m sorry I can’t help you further.” I said the words firmly, trying to make the dismissal clear. I was
ready to have my house to myself again.To ourselves, Melanie inserted spitefully. I sighed. She was so
full of herself now. “You really shouldn’t have troubled yourself to come so far.”
“It’s the job,” the Seeker said, shrugging. “You’re my only assignment. Until I find the rest of them, I
may as well stick close to you and hope I get lucky.”
CHAPTER 7
Confronted
Yes, Faces Sunward?” I asked, grateful to the raised hand for interrupting my lecture. I did not feel as
comfortable behind the lectern as I usually did. My biggest strength, my only real credential—for my host
body had had little in the way of a formal education, on the run since her early adolescence—was the
personal experience I usually taught from. This was the first world’s history I’d presented this semester
for which I had no memories to draw upon. I was sure my students were suffering the difference.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but…” The white-haired man paused, struggling to word his question. “I’m not
sure I understand. The Fire-Tasters actually…ingest the smoke from burning the Walking Flowers? Like
food?” He tried to suppress the horror in his tone. It was not a soul’s place to judge another soul. But I
was not surprised, given his background on the Planet of the Flowers, at his strong reaction to the fate of
a similar life-form on another world.
It was always amazing to me how some souls buried themselves in the affairs of whichever world they
inhabited and ignored the rest of the universe. But, to be fair, perhaps Faces Sunward had been in
hibernation when Fire World became notorious.
“Yes, they receive essential nutrients from this smoke. And therein lies the fundamental dilemma and the
controversy of Fire World—and the reason the planet has not been closed, though there has certainly
been adequate time to populate it fully. There is also a high relocation percentage.
“When Fire World was discovered, it was at first thought that the dominant species, the Fire-Tasters,
were the only intelligent life-forms present. The Fire-Tasters did not consider the Walking Flowers to be
their equals—a cultural prejudice—so it was a while, even after the first wave of settling, before the souls
realized they were murdering intelligent creatures. Since then, Fire World scientists have focused their
efforts on finding a replacement for the dietary needs of the Fire-Tasters. Spiders are being transported
there to help, but the planets are hundreds of light-years apart. When this obstacle is overcome, as it will
be soon, I’m sure, there is hope that the Walking Flowers might also be assimilated. In the meantime,
much of the brutality has been removed from the equation. The, ah, burning-alive portion, of course, and
other aspects as well.”
“How can they…” Faces Sunward trailed off, unable to finish.
Another voice completed Faces Sunward’s thought. “It seems like a very cruel ecosystem. Why was the
planet not abandoned?”
“That has been debated, naturally, Robert. But we do not abandon planets lightly. There are many souls
for whom Fire World is home. They will not be uprooted against their will.” I looked away, back at my
“But it’s barbaric!”
Robert was physically younger than most of the other students—closer to my age, in fact, than any
other. And truly a child in a more important way. Earth was his first world—the Mother in this case had
actually been an Earth-dweller, too, before she’d given herself—and he didn’t seem to have as much
perspective as older, better-traveled souls. I wondered what it would be like to be born into the
overwhelming sensation and emotion of these hosts with no prior experience for balance. It would be
difficult to find objectivity. I tried to remember that and be especially patient as I answered him.
“Every world is a unique experience. Unless one has lived on that world, it’s impossible to truly
understand the —”
“But you never lived on Fire World,” he interrupted me. “You must have felt the same way.… Unless
you had some other reason for skipping that planet? You’ve been almost everywhere else.”
“Choosing a planet is a very personal and private decision, Robert, as you may someday experience.”
My tone closed the subject absolutely.
Why not tell them? Youdothink it’s barbaric—and cruel and wrong. Which is pretty ironic if you
ask me—not that you ever do. What’s the problem? Are you ashamed that you agree with Robert?
Because he’s more human than the others?
Melanie, having found her voice, was becoming downright unbearable. How was I supposed to
concentrate on my work with her opinions sounding off in my head all the time?
In the seat behind Robert, a dark shadow moved.
The Seeker, clad in her usual black, leaned forward, intent for the first time on the subject of discussion.
I resisted the urge to scowl at her. I didn’t want Robert, already looking embarrassed, to mistake the
expression as meant for him. Melanie grumbled.She wished I wouldn’t resist. Having the Seeker stalk
our every footstep had been educational for Melanie; she used to think she couldn’t hate anything or
anyone more than she hated me.
“Our time is almost up,” I announced with relief. “I’m pleased to inform you that we will have a guest
speaker next Tuesday who will be able to make up for my ignorance on this topic. Flame Tender, a
recent addition to our planet, will be here to give us a more personal account of the settling of Fire
World. I know that you will give him all the courtesy you accord me, and be respectful of the very young
age of his host. Thank you for your time.”
The class filed out slowly, many of the students taking a minute to chat with one another as they gathered
their things. What Kathy had said about friendships ran through my head, but I felt no desire to join any
of them. They were strangers.
Was that the way I felt? Or the way Melanie felt? It was hard to tell. Maybe I was naturally antisocial.
My personal history supported that theory, I supposed. I’d never formed an attachment strong enough to
keep me on any planet for more than one life.
I noticed Robert and Faces Sunward lingering at the classroom door, locked in a discussion that seemed
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.
“Fire World stories ruffle feathers.”
I started slightly.
The Seeker was standing at my elbow. The woman usually announced her approach with the quick tap
of her hard shoes. I looked down now to see that she was wearing sneakers for once—black, of course.
She was even tinier without the extra inches.
“It’s not my favorite subject,” I said in a bland voice. “I prefer to have firsthand experience to share.”
“Strong reactions from the class.”
“Yes.”
She looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for more. I gathered my notes and turned to put them in my
bag.
“You seemed to react as well.”
I placed my papers in the bag carefully, not turning.
“I wondered why you didn’t answer the question.”
There was a pause while she waited for me to respond. I didn’t.
“So… why didn’t you answer the question?”
I turned around, not concealing the impatience on my face. “Because it wasn’t pertinent to the lesson,
