Chapter 2

The male hid in an old cave. The images battering his mind were full of bloodshed and pain. He could no longer fight against the projection but he was still in control of his own mind waves. All round him he felt the terror of his people. The young were long gone. They had been easy prey, unable to shield their minds against receiving the fearful pictures they had been even less capable of stopping their terror signalling to the other-worlders.

Hidden the male had witnessed killings and been through the horror of watching his people be used as nourishment. His younger siblings were dead, the mate of his birth-mate and their young brutally slain. He had slipped away, unable to stand the destruction of his village. But here, a village he had never been near before, the outworlders had already been busy.

The male had stopped grooming himself. His tunic was in tatters and as he was no longer able to move so lithely he had suffered many more cuts and bruises. He was hungry, exhausted and in a constant state of terror. He was unable to listen for movement, and when a harmless creature of the forest startled him, he attacked as mercilessly as the outworlders. The ground-dweller was ripped to shreds within a few blinks and once the male had tasted blood a long-forgotten bloodlust woke in him.

Now he hunted the hunters. They were not expecting retaliation and the first ones were easy to kill. He shredded their skins with his claws and sucked the blood off his hands. He ate virtually nothing and avoided the watersprings where the enemy lay in waiting for him to show himself. He moved through the trees, several lengths above the ground. The killers were unable to climb up to him, nor could they sense his presence.

-/\-

Tiss had chosen his mate as soon as they had landed and once Tamuss had spoken the formula, he took her to a hidden area and commenced the mating cycles without any regard for her. He felt the urge so much stronger than on the previous world and the female was half-dead at the completion. For days he sat and contemplated her, feeling a strange satisfaction at the state she was in.

Once she was healed, he ignored her completely and when she finally gave birth to the young, he watched in greedy fascination as they killed and ate her. Then he lost much interest in the young and put his efforts into tracking down the source of great fear which had guided him here. He was sure that the creature from whom it originated was still alive.

Tiss spent hours projecting even more gruesome images of death and destruction. He savored each one as he constructed the pattern and sent it on its way. There was feed-back but not the pattern he was waiting for. He had patience.

The Peace-Lovers became more adept at hiding. They survived longer than any other world had. They fought back, and the Mind-Devourers lost many of their own. The first mutterings of discontent were heard and Tamuss tried to pursuade the Searcher that they should move on to a new world, before too many of them died. Tiss laughed at him and struck the fledgling Searcher down in front of the High-Priest. Tamuss knew fear.

-/\-

The male would no longer communicate with his own kind in any fashion. He became a figure to be feared. More often than not, the fear-crazed male would attack one of his own kind. The elders were long dead and nobody left knew which healing medicine would give him much needed peace.

He woke from a fitful doze. The cry which had come to him was one of great anguish. He knew the pattern. His mother was in great pain. He dropped his shields to reach her, and although they made contact it meant her death. The severing of the bond was nearly the death of him. He could no longer put his shields up and no longer cared to. He moved relentlessly over his world, drawing the off-worlders to him, away from his people, had he but known it.

-/\-

Kuss approached the High-Priest, bobbing his head up and down in agitation. What he had to say was not going to be received favourably. He hoped that the Searcher would not be present. All knew of his obsession with one particular being and what the Protector had to say would cause great anger. Tiss was feared for his anger. Three who had crossed him had killed with as little care as scratching an itch.

„Speak!" Tamuss took on a listening stance.

„A ship approaches this system."

„Then we must leave."

„Will the Searcher be persuaded?"

The two males stared at each other, and in the end Kuss offered to tell Tiss of this new development. „Death will be swift." To his surprise, the Searcher agreed to a new start.

Tiss had felt the approaching other-worlders and projected his images to them, discovering that he didn't need the High-Priest to initiate a Search. These new beings did not fear him, although he sensed unease and anger. These beings would be too strong. Tiss could always return his people here once the other beings moved on.

Tamuss didn't hesitate. He called the people together and once the Searcher deigned to take his place he started the ritual. Standing close to Tiss he caught the lack of respect radiating from the one they all depended on and felt a renewed cold tentacle of fear wrap itself round him and squeeze. If he upset the Searcher he could be his next victim. Tamuss shuddered. Tiss made a sound of contentment. He had the High-Priest at his whim now.

He nodded at the High-Priest. Tamuss raised the staff - and hoped nobody saw it shake. He closed his eyes and began the high-pitched shriek that would sent the mind-waves off on their Search. Could he trust the Searcher? Tiss followed the ritual without any sign of wanting to make a change. Tamuss breathed a sigh of relief and settled down to wait for the signal to board their ship. He hoped Tiss would be successful quickly. He had no wish to meet these other-worlders.

The Searcher was projecting two images - one to his nemesis on this world - images of beings who came from the sky to wreak destruction and death on this world - and the other to a far off place where there would be life for his people. He was aware that his obsession with this one creature had greatly endangered his species. It was a sobering awareness, but not strong enough to cause him to let go of the creature.