Seed to Harvest: Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay's Ark, and Patternmaster (Patternist) by Octavia E. Butler Page A

longing for home, for her people, which had threatened to possess her again receded—as though Doro, whatever he was, was enough.
    When Doro had sent Anyanwu to look after her grandson, he turned to find his own son watching her go—watching the sway of her hips. “I just told her how easy she was to read,” Doro said.
    The boy glanced downward, knowing what was coming.
    “You’re fairly easy to read yourself,” Doro continued.
    “I can’t help it,” Isaac muttered. “You ought to put more clothes on her.”
    “I will, eventually. For now, just restrain yourself. She’s one of the few people aboard who could probably kill you—just as you’re one of the few who could kill her. And I’d rather not lose either of you.”
    “I wouldn’t hurt her. I like her.”
    “Obviously.”
    “I mean …”
    “I know, I know. She seems to like you too.”
    The boy hesitated, stared out at the blue water for a moment, then faced Doro almost defiantly. “Do you mean to keep her for yourself?”
    Doro smiled inwardly. “For a while,” he said. This was a favorite son, a rare, rare young one whose talent and temperament had matured exactly as Doro had intended. Doro had controlled the breeding of Isaac’s ancestors for millennia, occasionally producing near successes that could be used in breeding, and dangerous, destructive failures that had to be destroyed. Then, finally, true success. Isaac. A healthy, sane son no more rebellious than was wise for a son of Doro, but powerful enough to propel a ship safely through a hurricane.
    Isaac stared off in the direction Anyanwu had gone. He shook his head slowly.
    “I can’t imagine how your ability and hers would combine,” Doro said, watching him.
    Isaac swung around in sudden hope.
    “It seems to me the small, complex things she does within her body would require some of the same ability you use to move large objects outside your body.”
    Isaac frowned. “How can she tell what she’s doing down inside herself?”
    “Apparently, she’s also a little like one of my Virginia families. They can tell what’s going on in closed places or in places miles from them. I’ve been planning to get you together with a couple of them.”
    “I can see why. I’d be better myself if I could see that way. Wouldn’t have run the Mary Magdalene onto those rocks last year.”
    “You did well enough—kept us afloat until we made port.”
    “If I got a child by Anyanwu, maybe he’d have that other kind of sight. I’d rather have her than your Virginians.”
    Doro laughed aloud. It pleased him to indulge Isaac, and Isaac knew it. Doro was surprised sometimes at how close he felt to the best of his children. And, damn his curiosity, he did want to know what sort of child Isaac and Anyanwu could produce. “You’ll have the Virginians,” he said. “You’ll have Anyanwu too. I’ll share her with you. Later.”
    “When?” Isaac did nothing to conceal his eagerness.
    “Later, I said. This is a dangerous time for her. She’s leaving behind everything she’s ever known, and she has no clear idea what she’s exchanging it for. If we force too much on her now, she could kill herself before she’s been of any use to us.”

Chapter Five
    O KOYE STAYED IN DORO’S cabin where Anyanwu could care for him until his sickness abated. Then Doro sent him below with the rest of the slaves. Once the ship was under way and beyond sight of the African coast, the slaves were permitted to roam where they pleased above or below deck. In fact, since they had little or no work to do, they had more freedom than the crew. Thus, there was no reason for Okoye to find the change restrictive. Doro watched him carefully at first to see that he was intelligent enough—or frightened enough—not to start trouble. But Anyanwu had introduced him to Udenkwo, and the young woman seemed to occupy much of his time from then on. Rebellion seemed not to occur to him at all.
    “They may not please each other as