Page 67 of Clan and Crave

“Flist.” It was one of the boys who regularlyvisited the ranch for riding lessons, the child who’d recently losthis Nobek father. He lived miles away. His expression was adisturbing mix of agony and desperation. Conyod approached him.“What are you doing here so far from home?”

“Are you searching for the crashed shuttle? Iknow where it is.”

“What? Where?”

Flist pointed vaguely. “I’d better takeyou…it’s hard to reach, I think. I saw it in the distance, but Icouldn’t find a path to them. I tried. I tried.” His lower liptrembled, and tears filled his eyes. “Why can’t I ever help?They’ll die too because I can’t do anything.”

Conyod went to him and knelt. He held theboy’s trembling shoulders. “You are helping, Flist. You found them,you found me, and we’re going to help those people now.”

He spoke into his com. “Hey, it’s Conyod. Ihave Flist here by the Pinnacle, and he said he saw the crash site.As soon as I have a specific heading, I’ll relay it to you.Standby.”

Conyod picked up the child, noting how smalland light he was. “Dresk, let’s track!” he called, and the kestarshtrotted to him. Conyod swung up onto his back, setting Flist infront of him.

“Okay, my young friend. Show me where theyare.”

They rode perhaps fifteen minutes over someof the most treacherous terrain Conyod had dared. Flist suddenlypointed to a ridge, beyond which Conyod knew to be a deep crevasse.“They’re down there, in the crack behind the high part. All I couldsee was the tail of the shuttle.”

Conyod whistled. It was a bad spot to havelanded, hard for even the worthiest kestarsh to get to. No wonderFlist hadn’t been able to venture closer to the site. “If theysurvived, they’ll have you to thank for it. It might have been daysbefore rescuers would have gotten to that area.” He quickly relayedthe information to the search parties, which he’d been keepingapprised of his progress so they could arrive sooner.

“We’re on our way.” Sletran’s voice waswelcome, as was Tuher’s confirmation his fathers were also hurryingto the crash.

“Good job, Conyod.” Vel also joined in, pridein his tone.

“All the credit goes to our young friend,Dramok Flist.” Conyod stopped transmitting and told the child,“Though I can’t say I approve of your wandering such a dangerousplace. You could have been injured.”

“I wanted to do something when I heard ashuttle crashed. I felt I had to.”

“Because of your father?”

The boy began to softly cry. Conyod huggedhim and let him have his grief. He wondered if Flist’s broken heartwould find peace if they managed to find anyone alive in thecrash.

* * * *

There were screams of joy and sobs of relieftwo hours later as the rescue parties returned with four of thefive survivors of the accident. The fifth had been bundled in anemergency vehicle for transport to the local hospital due to theseriousness of his injuries…but the initial examination left medicscertain he’d recover. The other victims had been treated forsuperficial wounds and released at the hastily erected medical campat the foot of Mount Evar.

Flist’s parents were at the ranch, waitingalongside the families of the shuttle occupants. They rushedforward as Conyod eased their son to the ground. “He’s fine. He’s ahero,” the Imdiko grinned to the exclaiming trio, who hugged theirson while simultaneously admonishing and praising him for findingthe survivors and alerting the rescuers.

There was an impromptu celebration, asbefitted the happy outcome of what could have easily been ahorrific tragedy. The downed shuttle, which had lost power due towhat appeared to be a faulty engine coupling, had been invisiblefrom search vessels in the air. Flist sighting the tail section hadindeed been fortuitous; he’d been in just the right place to spotit. Sheer chance of a grieving child’s wandering route had savedlives.

Sletran ignored the Nobek code ofimperviousness to sweep Conyod in a hug after he dismounted Dresk.“You did it. You were brave and went up Mount Evar to thePinnacle.”

“Took me forever, didn’t it?” The Imdikosnorted at the idea he’d acted courageously.

“What’s important is you did do it. Becauseyou were there for that boy to find, those people will live.”Erybet added his hug and a kiss before beaming proudly at Conyod.“Don’t you dare downplay your role in this.”

“You faced Evar and you beat it.” Sletranbeamed at him.

Conyod glanced at the brooding peak andconsidered it for several seconds. “I still hate it,” he decided.“I hope there’s no reason for me to ever go back there…but I haveno fear of it. That counts for something, I suppose.”

“Losing your fear of where Hoslek died worksfor me,” Sletran said. “It’s haunted you long enough, and I’m gladif you can let it go.”

“I hope Flist will let his pain go too,” adeep voice mused behind them.

Conyod turned to discover Vel had come close.The small group regarded Flist and his parents. The child wasactually smiling. It wasn’t a big smile, but more than Conyod hadwitnessed him manage on the few occasions he’d seen him.

“I worried how he’d react if the shuttle’soccupants were found dead. He carries unnecessary guilt for theloss of his Nobek father, so I kept him away while the rest of youwent down the ravine.” Conyod had struggled with allowing the boyto go as close as they had, but Flist would have heard the news,good or bad, later anyway. Who would have been better than apsychologist to take care of him if another shock had beendealt?

“They made it alive, so perhaps our ghost boywill stop wandering to the ranch and on the mountain. Maybe he’llfinally put his guilt over his father’s death to rest,” Velsighed.

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