FALL INTO THE NIGHT
…Pakal carried Selhdun into the master suite and laid him on the massive carved tanglewood and ivo...
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FALL INTO THE NIGHT
…Pakal carried Selhdun into the master suite and laid him on the massive carved tanglewood and ivory bed. He stripped, revealing his swollen cock to Selhdun’s eager touch, then pulled off Selhdun’s clothes. Kneeling between the man’s legs, Pakal took Selhdun in his mouth, bringing him to the brink only to back off at the last minute. He did this again and again until Selhdun was writhing on the bed and hoarsely begging him to finish. Instead he shoved apart Selhdun’s legs and reared up over his, his face a mask of desire as he rammed his cock into Selhdun’s ass. Selhdun howled and clutched at Pakal’s broad shoulders as they slammed together. Selhdun spewed hot ejaculate all over his stomach and Pakal’s, smearing them both when Pakal collapsed on him, rolling onto his side and taking Selhdun with him. Later, when they started to doze, Selhdun lifted his head off Pakal’s shoulder. Pakal barely opened one eye. “You know I have to marry her,” Selhdun said. “I thought you might.” Pakal sighed. “You believe your mother is right?” “She usually is when it comes to matters of family. She’s right about having a year to marry. Does it matter who?” “A son,” he said. Selhdun’s breath feathered the hairs on Pakal’s chest. Because, of course, it was preordained the first would be a son. An heir. “Let’s hope he has a better life than the one they gave you…”
ALSO BY P. A. BROWN The Bear Lynx Woods Memory Of Darkness
FALL INTO THE NIGHT BY P. A. BROWN
AMBER Q UILL PRESS, LLC http://www.AmberQuill.com
FALL INTO THE NIGHT AN AMBER QUILL PRESS BOOK This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. Amber Quill Press, LLC http://www.AmberQuill.com All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review. Copyright © 2010 by P. A. Brown ISBN 978-1-60272-713-7 Cover Art © 2010 Trace Edward Zaber
Layout and Formatting provided by: Elemental Alchemy
PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
To my father, Stanley James Brown, who shared his love of science fiction with me.
FALL INTO THE NIGHT
PART I THE DARK PRINCE
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CHAPTER 1 “So the old fool finally decided to die.” Terik u Selhdun tipped his wineglass back and let the cool liquid slip down his throat. He set the glass onto the table and studied the soft reflections of the other diners in the curved glasteel windows to his right. A pulse beat in his jaw. The scarred flesh on the side of his head tugged at the embedded metal alloy of his link. Ship lay on the other side of that link; his own power. A power that had nothing to do with his family or his name. “I’d say it was about time, but that’s a lie. He was sixty years too late.” “You intend to go through with this, then?” Pakal Tarskaya frowned, his ever-present accent thickened as it always did when he was upset. Narrowed lids half concealed the unusual silver-gray of his eyes. The low light emitted by the walls of their booth 2
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gleamed off his mahogany-brown, hairless skull. “Even knowing how dangerous it is to be in power right now?” “Tiamat’s mine by birthright.” Selhdun glanced out the enormous window, toward the lights of the planet Nexus thirty-six thousand kilometers below them. It was night on this side, and the lights of the endless city filled nearly every visible hectare of both continents. Even the seas overflowed with lights. “I swear that nest of lights grows denser each time we return. Except there…” He stared down at the dark blemish the size of his manicured thumbnail that was the Suzerain’s royal estate on the shores of the Khabarovsk Sea. “How is it, you think, that my chercousin, the Suzerain, manages to reside amid so much light and yet cannot see? He plies his rule upon these hapless souls and thinks they love him because they haven’t figured out how to rid themselves of him once and for all. They haven’t a clue what to replace him with.” Pakal glanced around quickly. The restaurant hummed with quiet activity. “You should take care, Terik. Such words, in the wrong ears could be trouble even for you.” “Even the Suzerain has to pretend my ascendancy to Ogema means something. He will observe the legal niceties of his own laws,” Selhdun said. “Why do you think I plan to take what is mine? Once I’m Ogema, even the Suzerain won’t dare touch us.” “He has other ways to rid himself of troublemakers.” Selhdun looked away from the planet, beyond the delicate lacework of metal. If he squinted, he could just make out the distant outline of his ship, the Necromancer, at dock on the outer fringes of the Spindle. Ninety-eight hours earlier, he had brought the Necromancer out of Jump into Nexian space. There a message waited for him from 3
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his estranged family. His father was dead. He looked back to find Pakal watching him. He raised his wineglass. “The Ogema is dead. Long live the Ogema.” From the nearest tables, the voices of other diners were muffled whispers. Selhdun saw several sneak covert looks his way. “Do you think they’ve heard?” He watched Pakal’s eyebrow go up and answered his own question. “Of course, they have. Probably before I did. Hell, probably before my father did.” “Many of them support the Suzerain. You would do well to watch yourself while you are here, Terik,” Pakal said. He toyed with the heavy base of his lead crystal glass, then met Selhdun’s eyes again. “Or do you expect me to call you my Lord now?” “Would you?” Pakal snorted, rousing a smile from Selhdun. “You must know what will happen if you walk back into that viper’s nest. Your family…” Pakal shook his head. “How can you want to return, after all this time?” “If I don’t, who benefits? Will my mother be inconsolable if I allow Kerstrik to usurp me? She would like nothing better.” Selhdun’s mouth twisted in a feral smile. “Do I let her win—after all this time?” “Win? Who wins? Not us. Not you. If you go through with this farce who will protect you once you are back there?” “Are you saying you’re no match for Kerstrik’s scheming? Or my mother’s?” A servant offered them a tray of sweets; after looking it over Selhdun flicked his hand in dismissal. “Buy more guards, if it makes you happy.” Pakal put one hand atop Selhdun’s, stilling his restless movements on the soft table cover. “You are not fit—” Pakal frowned as though aware he had to be careful with his words. 4
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“How long has it been since you were dirtside? Months? The polomatch the Suzerain insisted everyone attend? You hated it. Remember the trouble you had just walking? Do you really want to go through that again? Are your muscles capable of such strain?” “Just because I refuse to join you in the gym at some ungodly hour for those ridiculous calisthenics of yours, you think me weak.” Selhdun pulled his hand away. “Tomorrow you will begin preparations to leave. Call Kaari and tell her to start prepping the Necromancer. The Cyxers are going to meet us on Tiamat anyway. We’ll just arrive early.” He caught the look Pakal gave him. “I am going back, Pakal.” Pakal sighed and looked out beyond the window separating the diners from the hard vacuum beyond. “I am glad now I hired the new apprentice when I did. Kaari has been showing him the ropes; we can consider ourselves fully staffed again.” Selhdun raised one eyebrow. “The boy from Xua? You’re really going to offer him the contract? I thought you just brought him along to amuse yourself while I was in court.” “Nikoli is hardly a boy. An eighteen-year-old Xuan has already lived a dozen lifetimes beyond what this pampered crowd knows.” He glanced around the elegant room. “He holds all the required Hegemon certificates. Now at least our crew compliment is back where it should be.” “I hope he’s worth the bounty they made you put up.” “How did you know about that?” Pakal’s narrow face went dangerously still. Selhdun shrugged. “You forget there are those who enjoy keeping me informed of your behavior. Surely you know they envy you.” “I try to forget.” 5
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“So, is he worth it?” Selhdun grinned at the look of quiet exasperation Pakal gave him. “You forget I’ve seen him. You’re lucky I’m not the jealous type.” Outside a trio of plate-sized Stationtechs moved across a nearby strut. The crab-like ’Techs were busy at some task, tending to station repairs as their continually remodified programming dictated. He caught a glimpse of his image in the glasteel window. The soft lights reflected off a skull, hairless like Pakal’s, except for the braided queue of black hair hanging down the small of his back. The network of biosteel above his left ear glittered in the light like a fine strand of jewels. “It’s agreed then; we return,” Selhdun said. He raised his wineglass. “To Tiamat, and profit where we find it.”
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CHAPTER 2 Lyssra Ravenwood did not pause when her sister slipped into the courtroom. Ilesha flipped her long plait of flame-red hair over her shoulder and squirmed into a seat in the last row of scarred acrylic benches, offering a terse smile to the woman she displaced. Lyssra took the holocrystal from the court clerk. Her fingers grasped the cool ’crystal, fumbled it into a reader, and holographic text of the jury’s verdict appeared above the device. Trials such as this were rare on Cyx. There were no legal officers to handle them. As station administrator the onerous task fell to her. She had reviewed the case with a council, but in the end the decision rested entirely on her shoulders. “The trial of Obatalo Dawn in this, the nine-hundred and sixtyseventh colonial year since the Exodus, the year of our Suzerain 7
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Lord three hundred and ninety-eight, will continue with new evidence directly linking Obatalo to the death of the unborn child of Marolen Highwater.” “Marolen Highwater lost her baby after complications following exposure to the biological agent released in the accident Obatalo Dawn stands accused of causing.” Darnel, acting as the accusator, though in actual fact he was a botanist, leaned toward the jury. “After removing the stolen agent from the biological containment lab he caused its release in a public area. Marolen Highwater should never have come into contact with something so virulent; she had a right to expect her position in the record’s department to keep her from such contact.” In the defendant’s box, Obatalo appeared lost and pale. He still didn’t seem to realize how much trouble he had gotten himself into when he became involved with Ilesha Ravenwood. Lyssra spared her sister a brief glance. Ilesha was studying Obatalo like he was one of her lab specimens. Maybe he had been. Had she wanted to see how far she could push the hot-tempered Obatalo before he would do something stupid? Or was there something more sinister at play here? Lyssra had studied the results of the autopsy, but even reading the words of the report had been nearly impossible. It came too close to her own bitter experience fifteen years ago. Her single, brief pregnancy at the time had ended a week shy of her seventeenth birthday and taken with it all chance of her ever having children. It pained her to have to watch someone else go through the same thing. The audience moved restlessly in their seats as Darnel drilled in how hopelessly incompetent Obatalo had been. If the chemical had been any less unstable or the spill any more public, there was no 8
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telling how disastrous it might have been. All of them might have been endangered by Obatalo’s foolishness. Obatalo didn’t stand a chance. Marolen’s miscarriage had been gruesome; the thing that came out had barely looked human. But Lyssra thought it was the implied threat to the rest of the colony that decided the jury’s mind. Everyone knew they were all becoming more sensitive to exposure to planetary pathogens. It was one more reason why Lyssra had been willing to listen to Benin and his crazy ideas. Obatalo stumbled to his feet. “I never meant to hurt anyone,” he said. “It was an accident. You have to believe that.” The problem was, Lyssra did believe him. But Obatalo’s inept defense had been unable to conceal his relationship with Ilesha, or how it had ended so badly for him. It was blatantly obvious his bungling of the theft in the lab had been an act of vengeance against the woman who had so publicly humiliated him. Who could accept it had been a coincidence that CoDyre, the Autarch’s most powerful pharmaceutical company, had owned two of the Hegemon ships docked in the station merchant slip when Obatalo made his move? Marolen had just had the bad luck to be close enough to the spill to be affected. In the end, no one had been able to prove anyone but Obatalo had been involved in the containment breach that had exposed and killed Marolen’s baby. Ilesha had been furious. In the uproar the CoDyre owned ships had vanished. The only one left to carry the blame had been poor, hapless Obatalo. Somebody had to pay. Stupidity held a steep penalty on Cyx. Getting involved with Ilesha in the first place probably qualified him as beyond stupid. 9
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Lyssra couldn’t put it off any longer. She glanced at the verdict already entered on her handcomp and spoke the words she had not wanted to say. “You have been found guilty of unlawful breaking and entering, theft of state property and conduct that endangers others. This behavior cannot be tolerated, Obatalo. You will be taken forthwith to the nearest exterior hatch, where you will be put out onto the planet’s surface. Obatalo, you go out with nothing but the clothes on your back and whatever equipment the exobiologists assign you. Take him down to the lab and prepare him.” *
*
*
Benin Waterson always made Lyssra feel awkward. She never quite knew how to act when the station paleobiologist insisted on meeting with her, as he did so frequently lately. His nervous energy was contagious. So, it seemed, was his awkwardness. He cracked his bony knees against her ancient steel desk when he sat. Several hardcopy reports skidded off the desk top onto the floor. Lyssra stooped to pick them up, and they banged heads. Hastily, she scooped the loose pages off the floor and stuffed them into a drawer. She straightened and faced a flushed Benin. “Did you get in touch with the people I told you about?” he asked. His orange, spiky hair seemed to bristle under her office lights. His eyes held a fanatic sparkle. “They’ve been contacted,” she said. His ambition surprised her. “I’ve been told to make arrangements to meet this Captain Selhdun on Tiamat.” “Good,” Benin said. “That’s great, in fact. Better than I thought. If anyone can get us through with those coordinates, he 10
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can.” He briefly looked troubled. “Or so I’ve been told.” “That data’s been buried in the station log files for, what, nine centuries? Are you sure anyone’s going to be able to use it? How good can it be?” Benin wouldn’t meet her eyes. His gaze skittered around her small, dirtside office and finally settled on her scarred ’comp, the one thing he hadn’t managed to dislodge from her desk. “Not good,” he said so quietly she had to strain over the hum of the overworked air filters to hear him. “I won’t know more until I can load it into their system for analysis.” He shrugged and rubbed at a stain on his pant leg. “If we had better computers of our own…” “What’s this Selhdun going to say when you show him flawed coordinates?” “I thought we agreed not to show him—” The comm snapped on. “Lyssra, we have Obatalo at the west gate.” “I’m on my way,” she said. Lyssra flipped the comm off. She looked up to find an unhappy Benin watching her. She grimaced. “We’ll take this up later. Keep working on those coordinates. I’d like to have some idea of what to expect when we get through Jump, if indeed we can get through. There’s been no word out of Terranic space since the Exodus.” Benin bristled again. “If there had been there’d be little need for this expedition. All indications are that the fighting intensified following the launch of the first sleeper ship. Once a few had fled it only got worse.” “Could they have destroyed themselves that thoroughly? Do we really want to walk back into a mess like that?” “After nine hundred years? What war could last that long? Even among Terrans.” 11
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“Just keep looking into it, will you?” As if Benin did anything else. Lyssra sometimes wondered if the man had a life beyond his work. Like she could say anything. “Talk to Wayan, she’s our Terran historian. The two of you should go over what you know, since she’s going, too. We’ll speak again later, I promise, Ben.” “And while you’re at it, send a security detail down to Ilesha’s and bring her along. If she complains, tell her it’s not open to discussion. She shows up or I’ll put her in lockup for the night.” *
*
*
The medics had been brutally efficient in their treatment of Obatalo. He remained groggy from the drug that made him easier to handle, for which Lyssra was grateful. She wished she could have sedated Ilesha. She could hear the woman swearing as soon as her escort left the lab sector. Ilesha stumbled into silence the minute she saw Lyssra. A tick started up under her right eye when she came face to face with Obatalo. He blinked at Ilesha groggily, and she backed away from him when he held out his hands to her. “Lisha, why’d you do it? Why did you stay away?” Without answering, Ilesha swept by him and stood behind Lyssra. “I’m here,” she said to Lyssra. She rubbed her arms and kept her gaze fixed on her sister. Her eyes were slits. “Like I had much choice.” “Now you’re beginning to understand,” Lyssra said. She signaled the security team to get on with it. The inner hatch stood open. The lights inside shimmered coldly off the sterile walls, dulled to a dirty white by decades of superheated chemicals. 12
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Lyssra didn’t bother looking out the observation window. She knew only too well what lay beyond those two meters of pitted, metal alloy and glasteel. She saw the forest in her dreams sometimes, deceptively beautiful and all too deadly. Once the inner airlock cycled shut behind the drugged man, Lyssra shoved Ilesha forward. “You’ll watch him go out,” Lyssra said coldly. “You’ll watch, and the next time you think to fuck with someone’s head, you’ll remember.” For once Ilesha didn’t protest. She turned to stare out the observation window that offered them a view of the West Gate. Beyond a small barrier of cleared ground they maintained around the facility, lay the poisoned planet they struggled daily to tame. Lyssra hugged herself as beams of raw sunlight flooded the airlock’s interior. Motes of dust danced in the light and she shivered at the thought of what that dust might contain. Molds that rotted a body’s internal organs until they wept with putrescence. Parasitic spores that, even while they couldn’t live in alien flesh, filled the lungs with a toxic stew when they died. Dozens of organisms were now known to trigger violent autoimmune disorders that turned a person’s body against itself. When the hot, sterilizing spray came on they saw Obatalo jump at the burning liquid on his skin. It forced him out of the airlock, onto the planet’s surface. The outer door shut behind him. Behind her she heard the techs talking in low voices. “We’ve got him on monitor,” one of them said. “Everything’s looking satisfactory.” Oh good. Lyssra scowled at the technicians. Give them some toys to play with, and did they think about what was going on at the other end of their equipment? Their only concern was that it 13
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worked well, not that it recorded the death of a man they had all known. She swung away from them. “Let me know when there are any changes,” she said. “Ilesha will be staying on to help you log your report.” “I will?” “You’re also coming with us to Tiamat.” “What? You can’t do that—” “You’re getting off lightly,” Lyssra snapped. “Count your blessings.” When she turned to leave, Ilesha’s hand came out to stop her. “Don’t.” Lyssra shook the hand off. “Just…don’t.” Lyssra met her gaze for the time it took them both to breathe once, then she turned and walked away. This time Ilesha had the good sense not to follow.
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CHAPTER 3 A hard, driving snow scudded out of a sky as bleak and depressing as the fallow fields around them. Selhdun didn’t need to consult Ship to know the weather was going to turn even nastier and soon. He had too many memories of such storms closing in on them. “Get us inside,” he said to the driver when their vehicle paused at the first Enclave gate for HouseComp to verify his identity. Selhdun knew at that moment a battery of unseen lasguns was trained on them. He barely felt the actual scan, which read the schematics of his embedded ID and verified his identity against HC’s database. The lights of a distant village shone through the mounting storm. He tried to think of the village name; had he ever been 15
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there? He seemed to remember a harvest festival. The fireworks to honor the Ogema and his children had impressed a seven-year-old Selhdun for years afterward. Kanahchi-Wahnung, that was it. A tiny village full of brightly painted houses like so many other villages that made up the local farming co-ops. A gust of wind rocked the groundcar. The icy-fingered wind whined as it sought to reach the warm bodies inside. Selhdun huddled within the folds of his coat and waited. “Trust him to save his dying until the end of the season,” Selhdun said to Pakal. “I could do without weather. I think I deliberately forgot how miserable climate is. Don’t tell me—on Xua this would be a balmy spring day.” “On Xua the elements are legendary.” Pakal made a pretense of peering out into the growing blizzard. A spray of ice crystals rattled against the car windows. “We rarely had such pleasant weather, in spring or any other season.” Selhdun shivered and not just from the cold. His muscles already shook from over-exertion. He regretted the impetuousness that had brought him here. Pakal was right. Selhdun should have turned up the gravity or spent time in the gym. If he had, his heart wouldn’t seem like it was trying to climb out of his chest. Even sitting, it felt like hot spikes were being driven into his calves. The groundcar crossed the open inner courtyard. The main house loomed out of the gathering gloom, all rough-cut stone and windows shuttered like closed eyes, hiding secrets. His ancestral home looked no different than it had the night he had fled fiftynine years earlier. He realized now the place never changed, only the people inside came and went. It had been built three-and-a-half centuries ago by the then current Ogema who reputedly had 16
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wanted a place away from the government seat in Outuais for his wives and sons. Outside the open front doors a waiting throng gathered. Composed of at least a half a dozen castes, cloned and programmed to fill specific functions, Selhdun couldn’t remember what half of them did. Not that it mattered. They were there to serve him in any way he wanted. “My mother wastes no opportunity to play the grand dame,” Selhdun said. “Already I feel her knives at our back.” Pakal turned to stare out at the crowd. “I do not like the look of this.” “Even my mother wouldn’t dare anything too obvious.” Selhdun glimpsed glittering spy-eyes within the craggy stone walls and the barest glint of a lasgun mounted under a window arch and wished they made him feel safer. The blue-flame funeral torches on the stone walls cast shadows on the few tendrils of snow that lay in every corner. It lent exposed human skin a ghoulish cast. “Stupid ritual.” Selhdun glared at the funeral torches that were only lit when a male member of the ruling Ogema died. The last time he had seen them he had been four. His grandfather had died, making his father Ogema. He had thought them pretty then. Now he knew better. How many people here wished the flames burned for him? “Barbaric and pointless.” Pakal shrugged. “They but seek to find comfort in custom. Hardly pointless.” “Don’t fool yourself. No one here regrets his passing.” The snow thickened, and the wind died in the walled-in courtyard. Fat snowflakes descended leisurely, and Selhdun watched them settle everywhere. Unbidden, an image came. The image of another time and another world. Another companion. 17
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Another love. He shivered and tried to shake off the memories, but they persisted. God, he hadn’t thought of Rauli in years. His eyes closed against remembered pain. Beside him Pakal moved, and the cushioned seat crackled under him. “What is it, Terik?” “Nothing,” he lied hoarsely. “Ghosts. That’s all.” *
*
*
Rauli was a big man. Women flocked to him; men simply liked him. Terik’s own father said Rauli was a man to be admired, and young Terik did just that. He adored his older cousin from the first time they met when Terik was barely eleven. Rauli was seventeen and a half but seemed immeasurably sophisticated to a young, impressionable boy. He returned Terik’s affection in a gruff, friendly way. When Terik was fifteen, Rauli taught him to hunt and though Terik originally hated the dirt and the blood and the sheer messiness of hunting, he never missed a chance to join Rauli when he went to search for the nimble ghost deer or the dangerous weavercats. The Ogema owned lodges all over the planet, and Rauli and he frequently spent days at one or another, going out daily to hunt or fish or engage in the water sports Rauli loved. Rauli taught him to ski and took him parasailing once. Terik’s mother put a stop to that, saying it was too dangerous for the future Ogema. But he was allowed to hunt in the company of servants, and hunt he did. With Rauli. Their favorite place was the massive Anishinabe lodge, on the slopes of Mount Tsikonsaseh, within hiking distance of a small co18
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op village, but otherwise isolated, nestled in a mountain valley and surrounded on three sides by dark, impenetrable forest. It had been snowing for four days. Terik thought he might cancel the rest of the appointments he had with various protocol masters that had been boring him sick with their endless lessons, and get in some skiing before night fell. He tried to concentrate on what his tutor was saying; he would be tested later, and his father would know if he did badly, but the man’s words barely registered. Outside, the snowfall thickened. He glanced up when the door opened and felt like he’d been gut punched when Rauli strode in, his greatcoat swirling around booted feet. One look at his face, with that familiar infectious grin and all the feelings that had been tormenting him lately came flooding back—Terik’s yearning, the longings he didn’t even understand that plagued his mind and body until he thought he’d climb out of his skin. A need he couldn’t even put a name to. Terik knew he couldn’t keep on like this. He would betray himself sooner or later. Then what would Rauli think? The only solution was to tell Rauli not to visit anymore. But how could he do that? How could he send Rauli away? He stared out at the frozen landscape beyond the study window, trying to cool his heated thoughts. But anytime he tried to tell Rauli he couldn’t come back, something stilled his tongue and the words remained unspoken. “You’re back early.” He hastily dismissed the tutor, who bowed and left them alone. “We weren’t expecting you until next week.” “Finished the job early,” Rauli said. He slid off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair. “Good news for your father. He’ll profit well from this deal. Where is he, anyway? I should pay 19
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my respects and give him my report.” “He’s gone into Outuais for some minister’s meeting. He’ll be back by dinner.” “We should celebrate.” Rauli perched on the edge of Terik’s desk. Terik stared down at his hands. “The ghost deer are in season, you know.” “You still after that legendary double-horned buck?” “Yeah, well, from what I’ve heard I don’t stand a chance against you. Kerstrik swears you’re wearing out your father’s rifles on the shooting range. You trying to prove something?” Terik felt himself flush. “Kerstrik is an idiot.” “No comment.” Rauli laughed. “Whether he is or not, he notices things. That can be good or bad, depending on what he notices.” Puzzled, Terik opened his mouth to ask what his cousin meant when Rauli put a hand on his shoulder and stilled the words. “Hell, I remember what seventeen is like.” “Eighteen soon.” “Really,” Rauli said softly, and this time he smiled down at his younger cousin. “You want to go to Anishinabe? The snow’s down thick, and those bucks are waiting.” *
*
*
Selhdun shivered and huddled deeper into the car seat. This time when Pakal turned to him he took Pakal’s hand and squeezed it. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” Selhdun said. “You know that, don’t you?” He knew Pakal looked at him, puzzled, but he didn’t explain. 20
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Ice continued to burrow into his gut. He had never told Pakal about Rauli. He had never spoken that name again, any more than he had ever told anyone of his father’s promise. Behind them, the final set of solid berelwood gates swung shut against the storm and the night. Before them lay the shallow steps of the Selhdun Estate. Selhdun winced when a muscle in his thigh knotted. Pakal leaned toward him. “How bad is it?” “Bad.” Selhdun massaged his leg with gloved hands. “I think you were right; we should have stayed where we belong.” Pakal grunted. “Can you walk?” “I’m not letting one of them carry me.” Selhdun leaned back in the seat. The driver didn’t speak as the car rolled to a stop at the bottom of the steps. Servants quickly gathered around the car. Selhdun knew they waited for him. “You’re enjoying this altogether too much, Pakal. Gloating does not become you.” The servants fell in around them after Selhdun struggled out of the vehicle. They took up positions Selhdun knew were meaningful in some way. The carefully programmed clones never did anything without a reason. It usually involved security. He was beginning to remember just how tight security was when it involved the Ogema of Tiamat. “Have I told you lately how much I hate planets?” Selhdun muttered. Pakal shook his head and followed him into the house.
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CHAPTER 4 “So, you came back.” Selhdun’s mother, Dame Neibuhr Elah Selhdun stood in the marble-floored anteroom, looking down at him. Her voluminous gown clothed her rigid form in cold blue silk. “Did you really think I wouldn’t, Mother?” Selhdun already hated the advantage his weakness gave others. He wished he could risk standing, but he would only make a fool of himself if he tried and failed. “Were you hoping I would let your disgust keep me from claiming what is mine?” Selhdun asked. “You know better. You always told me how important family honor was. Well, I’ve come to honor my role in this farce you insist on calling a family.” She glared down at him. “You know nothing of honor. I have seen this for myself.” 22
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Selhdun noticed she refused to even look at Pakal. If she acknowledged him, she might be obliged to consider the role he played in her son’s life. Behind the mask of her courtly face, she fretted, no doubt. She knew they had been lovers for years. Her spies would have made sure she heard that ancient piece of gossip. But to acknowledge it would give it unacceptable legitimacy. “I don’t share you definition of shame, Mother. That’s one lesson I wouldn’t let you teach me, no matter how much any of you tried to beat it into me.” “So we’ve heard,” she said. “My reputation precedes me?” Selhdun grinned. “What do the court gossips say now?” Her already dark brown skin darkened further. His poor, prudish mother. She could not abide what went on beyond her cloistered walls. But she continued to insist on knowing all the sordid details and employed a legion of spies to provide them to her. He often wondered what she did with that knowledge, other than lose sleep over his peccadilloes. “Show me my apartments,” Selhdun said, tired of playing games. “Dinner is at the usual time.” She signaled a pair of servants. “Take your master to his quarters.” Selhdun rose, steadying himself on the nearest servant, a slender, muscular clone who had little trouble supporting him. Selhdun felt his own weight settle inexorably on the other man’s shoulders. He spared a glance upward at the curved beams of dark berelwood, casting deep shadows on the distant ceiling that seemed to press down on him. “Why do you bait her like that?” Pakal asked when the four of them passed from the anteroom into the carpeted hall, moving out 23
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of earshot. “I used to find it amusing,” Selhdun said as they made their way through the endless halls toward the lift that would take them to his private apartments. He found if he moved slowly and didn’t try to turn too sharply, his legs carried him with only minimal protest. “You could find yourself a diversion or two here, if you were so inclined,” he said. “I assure you the place is full of possibilities.” “No, thank you,” Pakal said. “Your clones are programmed to protect you as the Ogema—even from your own family. I have no such immunity. As pretty as they are, I would not look forward to a knife in my back when I seek out another tool for my pleasure.” Selhdun laughed. “Ah, Pakal. You’re not enjoying this, are you?” “I exist to serve you, Captain.” “You’ve made your point,” Selhdun said. “Fine, we won’t stay long. The Suzerain’s agents arrive early next week. I expect Lyssra-what’s-her-name from Cyx soon after. Once we’ve met with them, we’ll have a clearer idea what the job is, and we can make plans to leave.” Pakal made a warding sign, and Selhdun frowned. “Isn’t that a little extreme, Pakal? They’re only Cyxers after all. If they really had the kind of power those old barroom tales claimed, would they be so miserably poor?” “Witches,” Pakal said, and his accent thickened. “Bad enough you return here, against all better judgment, now you wish to put us in the midst of witches and court intrigue; it would be better to do without either.” “It’s business. Nothing more.” He grimaced. “Do you think anything else would bring me back here?” 24
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“Dirty business,” Pakal said. “What does the Suzerain want with Cyxers?” “Profit, what else?” Pakal shook his hairless head and sighed. “As you wish. I will be glad to be quit of this place and these people.” “Well, until that happens, do me a favor and keep an eye on things.” Selhdun allowed the servants to guide him into the lift. “Can you manage HouseComp?” “Please, Terik, do not insult me.” Selhdun grinned. He knew Pakal would do more than manage the Estate computer system. There were few systems he couldn’t manipulate, usually better than its developer. In his private quarters, skylights let in the slanting winter sun; golden light danced off dark berelwood and burgundy walls. Pools of light enveloped a sitting area that faced a fireplace. Two servants helped Selhdun remove his half cloak. A third servant tended the fire. “No, not there,” Selhdun said sharply when a servant led him toward the master chair facing the roaring fire. He gestured toward an alcove partially screened from the main room by a pair of small tanglewood trees in ornate stone pots. “That will do fine. I’ll sit there.” Pakal followed and waited for them to settle him into the deep cushioned chair. “I will take care of everything,” Pakal said. “What is the usual time for dinner?” “Nineteen hundred.” Selhdun closed his eyes while he did a quick link with Ship to verify the time. “That’s five hours.” “I know it is a waste of time to tell you to behave,” Pakal said. “At least, be careful. Not a person in this house is happy you are 25
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here. You may be safe with the clones, but a determined assassin can circumvent even them.” “Aren’t I always careful?” Selhdun stared out the window, half coated with thick snow. Whiteness covered everything in a screen of snow. He wished it could cover his thoughts, too. Memories crowded in, cold as death. “Maybe I’ll try to rest before dinner.” He signaled a servant to bring him a glass of wine. A few drinks might help him relax. Maybe then he would be able to sleep. He briefly considered asking Pakal to stay, but the big Xuan clearly had too many questions, and right now Selhdun didn’t feel like answering any. The servants led Pakal into the lift and the door closed, leaving Selhdun alone.
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CHAPTER 5 Rauli was far enough removed from the chain of inheritance not to be a threat to Terik, and wealthy and powerful enough in his own right not to want the Patriarchy. When he was fifteen and Rauli was twenty-one he became Terik’s tutor. He taught Terik all the skills he would need as Ogema, social skills that would come in to play when he had to deal with members of the triumvirate. He taught him how to dance, and how to ride his father’s prized Paso Fino horses. He taught him the art of debate, of critical thinking. But most important of all, he taught him how to hunt. With their retinue of bodyguards that accompanied them everywhere, Rauli took him to the high plains of Naughal-Arad for snow cats, elk and bighorn sheep on the slopes and slab mountains 27
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of Dyanby Mountains. Their favorite game was the curiously spike-headed ghost deer found in the dense forests that were only hunted in the winter. In the beginning Rauli only came to visit a few times a year, but as Terik grew older, he came more often, showing up in a flurry of servants and bodyguards. They never went anywhere without a dozen protectors and retainers; Terik had never spent a moment alone outside of his private quarters. On his twenty-first birthday Terik woke early. Rauli was coming today and they were going hunting. Ghost deer. In fact Rauli had told him he had set aside the whole month for his cousin. Terik was beyond rapture. To spend a month with his hero. A winter storm had rolled in the night before they were to depart. Terik was petrified the hunting trip would be called off. Rauli had to be in Outuais in exactly thirty days. Each day they failed to leave was one day less they could spend together. But in the morning a servant came around and told him his presence was requested in the study. There he found his parents and Rauli. Rauli was the only one of the three smiling. He clapped Terik on the back and said, “Are you ready, boy? It’s a cold one out there.” He squared his shoulders and glared in pretend outrage. “It’s not too cold for me.” “Glad to hear it.” Rauli was still grinning, his lean handsome face alight with mirth. “Long trip ahead of us. Once we’re on our way there’s no turning back.” “Then let’s go.” Now Terik smiled. “I’m eager to bag my first buck.” “A buck! You have a high opinion of yourself.” “You’ll see.” 28
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“Yes, I hazard I will,” Rauli said softly. They took an estate car north, across the frozen plains of Naughal-Arad, then east to the foothills of Pasha Pass where the Anishinabe lodge nestled amid groves of flame wood and flixx trees. Only once they had left the groundcar on the outer border of Anishinabe did Rauli break the final piece of news. They loaded their sleds and Terik eyed the supplies with confusion. “There’s not much here, is there? Where’s everything else? Will it be delivered later?” “This is it. We’re walking.” Rauli tightened the straps on the second sled. He tossed a pair of snowshoes toward Terik. “Strap up. I’d like to be there by nightfall.” “Task master.” “You don’t know the half of it.” “You going to tell me why we don’t have enough supplies to feed a mouse for a week, let alone us for a month?” “This is a hunting trip. We can’t hunt, we don’t eat.” “You’re joking, right?” That was when he realized Rauli was ready to head out and there was no sign of his servants or bodyguards. Something must have shown on his face because Rauli held his gloved hand up and took a hasty step back. “Steady, Terik. This trip is meant just for us. Your father agreed. You aren’t afraid are you?” “What? No! Of course not. I just…” He looked around the stark blue and white landscape, broken only by a few strapping bloodred flame trees. “I’ve never been alone before.” “You don’t need them,” Rauli said. “I’ll protect you.” Reassured, Terik relaxed. They started north on foot, across the snowfield, their snowshoes squeaking in the ultra cold. Their 29
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breath fogged the air and rimed their eyelashes and cheeks with ice crystals. The sun had been gone for nearly an hour when they finally arrived at the lodge. They quickly pulled the sleds up onto the broad porch and unloaded what they would need for the night. Stacked against the north wall they found enough firewood to last for the next few days, but Rauli warned him, “We’ll have to find the time to go out and gather more wood soon. The nights get cold here.” Terik puffed up. “I can chop wood. I know how.” “You might know how to chop, but your hands don’t. Come on,” Rauli said with a grin. “Let’s go find something to eat.” It was a cold supper. While they ate Rauli stacked logs in the massive stone fireplace and soon had a blaze going. Before long heat began to seep into chilled limbs. Soon afterward Terik was yawning and sinking deeper into the throw-covered sofa. He started when Rauli thumped to his feet. “Where are those sleeping bags?” “Why not use one of the bedrooms? There are several—” “Nothing will have warmed up yet. You can take one, but I’m parking my sleeping bag right here.” Rauli indicated the floor in front of the fireplace. “I like to be warm.” Terik grimaced at the hardwood floor. “Going to make for a stiff morning.” “Softie. We can lay some blankets down…” “Forget that.” Terik stood and marched into the master bedroom where his father slept the rare time he visited. His mother had never set foot in the place. Minutes later he came out dragging a down comforter and a large golden skin rug. He spread the rug out and put the comforter on top. “We can spread our bags out on this. It has to be more comfortable than hard wood.” 30
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They did just that and both soon climbed into their respective beds. Terik lay on his back staring up at the beamed ceiling and watched the dance of firelight on the dark wood. “My greatgrandfather built this place. Since then each Ogema has added to it. I guess I’ll be expected to do the same.” Rauli rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow. The fire turned his skin ruddy and glinted off his half-opened eyes. “And what would you change?” Terik pretended to look around the vast, high ceiling room. Then he swung around to stare at the large window overlooking the front expanse of yard. “I’d put in curtains.” Rauli stared at him for a heartbeat then burst out laughing. “Flowered ones?” “No. Lots of big leaves and butterflies. And maybe little puppies.” “Puppies—” He choked with laughter. “Oh God, I hope you’re joking.” Terik looked wounded. “You’ll just have to wait and see I guess.” “Oh, I will. Puppies.” Rauli rolled over and dragged the sleeping bag up over his shoulders. Soon his soft snores filled the room. Terik wasn’t far behind. The next morning after a breakfast of fresh fruit and dried jerky, they checked their rifles and gear, strapped on their snowshoes and strode out across the new snow that had come while they slept. This time they towed one sled, which they hoped would carry their dinner home with them. Luck favored a prepared mind, his favorite tutor always said. They were fully prepared when they crossed paths with the ghost 31
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deer. Terik took the shot and brought it down cleanly. It turned out to be a two-spiked male in full breeding coloration. Rauli looked down at the heap of flesh and bone. “Guess we ruined his day.” He reached down and tugged the animal toward the sled. “Come on, let’s field dress this thing, then we can go on.” By the end of the day they had bagged several braces of partridge to add to their larder. They were exhausted, but elated by the time they drew up in front of the lodge. While they were out of the house ’Techs had done their usual cleaning wonders and the place shone. The fire had been banked and was ready for a fresh supply of wood which Rauli quickly supplied. Once that was done they set about preparing their first real meal of their stay. Rauli spitted four of the partridges while Terik cut vegetables and sliced thin strips of venison off the ghost deer haunches which he wove onto skewers. Rauli disappeared into the cellar and came back with a bottle of Pellosion Estate Bordeaux. The evening passed in idle chatter about politics, hunting, women and the latest gossip from the Suzerain’s court. The bottle of wine finished, Terik crawled into his sleeping bag, muttered a good-night and drifted into a deep sleep that was quickly infused with confusing images and hot flesh that left him aroused, as had happened on so many other nights alone in his private apartments. But this time instead of awakening alone, he had come to with a start and found Rauli leaning over him, his face a mask of concern and something else. When Rauli touched his face with gentle fingers Terik flinched. “It’s okay, Terik,” he said softly. “I’m not going to hurt you.” A tremor passed through Terik’s body and sweat popped out on his face despite the coolness of the room. He was all too aware of his aroused state. Could Rauli see it, too? What must he think? 32
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“W-what?” Rauli put his finger on Terik’s lips. “Come here.” He helped Terik sit up, resting his hand on his bare shoulder. “This is good,” Rauli said. “Don’t be afraid.” And Terik wasn’t. The fear left him, to be replaced by a new heat, whose source he didn’t understand. “I’ve wanted to do this for years, but I made myself wait until you were ready.” “Ready for what?” But Terik knew and when Rauli pressed his mouth over Terik’s, he knew what he wanted. He opened his mouth and sighed when Rauli’s tongue invaded it. He had awoken aroused, but now his arousal soared to levels he had never felt before. When Rauli’s trembling hands pushed the sleeping bag off his hips, he groaned and thrust up, blindly seeking something that was beyond his understanding. But Rauli knew. He took Terik’s hand and wrapped his fingers around his throbbing erection and Terik held another man’s penis for the first time. He was surprised at how soft and yet hard it was, like silk covered steel. Tentatively he stroked it. Rauli groaned and pumped into Terik’s fist. Emboldened, Terik quickly adopted the rhythm. Rauli’s fingers enclosed his erection and took up the same cadence. Terik was soon beyond reason, beyond control. Before he could warn Rauli, he jerked, his hot ejaculate splashing over Rauli’s fist and his own stomach. He closed his eyes in shame. “I’m sorry,” he stammered. “No, don’t be. It was wonderful.” And before Terik could respond Rauli bent over and licked his penis, cleaning the thick semen from his shaft and stomach. Then he left a trail of heat up Terik’s chest, finally coming back to his mouth. 33
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Terik tasted himself on the other man’s lips. To his amazement he was growing hard again. “Touch me,” Rauli said hoarsely. Terik eagerly obeyed. Soon Rauli’s chest began hitching and Terik knew he was close to orgasm. He pumped harder, wanting to bring the same level of pleasure to Rauli as he had experienced. But once again Rauli pulled his hand away. Terik looked at him with dazed eyes. “Do you trust me, Terik?” “Y-yes.” Rauli nuzzled his throat. “I would never hurt you,” he whispered. “You know that, don’t you?” He leaned away, digging through his backpack on the floor beside them. His hand wandered down to Terik’s hip, then slipped between his legs, sliding behind his testicles, slipping inside. Terik jumped at the sensation of the finger inside him. Some kind of thick, warm gel coated the finger and felt slick and delicious. “What—” “Relax. This will make it easier.” Terik subsided back onto the floor, thought he had no idea what it was. He allowed Rauli to open his legs, his whole hand now cupping the sac of his testicles, probing the skin and the opening behind them. Sensation piled on sensation. His mouth opened yet he still had trouble drawing breath. When Rauli rose over him he instinctively wrapped his legs around Rauli’s hips, feeling a new sensation—Rauli’s penis against his hole. He threw his head back at the shock of pain as the bulbous head penetrated, sliding inside him, filling him with an alien presence. He opened his mouth to cry out in agony but Rauli swallowed his cries. Terik opened his eyes and met Rauli’s fevered gaze. His face was suffused with 34
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blood and slick sweat. He moaned, whispering Terik’s name and soft words of lust. The pain faded, replaced by need. Terik responded by humping his hips up, driving Rauli in deeper. He grabbed Rauli’s arms and felt another orgasm surge through him. Rauli pumped harder, his movements less coherent, more frantic. His back arched as he emptied himself into Terik with a shout. They collapsed together. The smell of their sex and sweat was sweet musk. Rauli nuzzled his throat and Terik could feel him smile against his flushed skin. “You wanted to do that for how long?” Terik asked shakily. Rauli rolled off him, throwing his arm over his eyes. He had a lazy, sated smile on his face. “Years. On your eighteenth birthday I almost lost my resolve.” “I wish you had.” Terik turned over to face him. He ached in places he had never felt before, but every muscle that didn’t ache was totally enervated. He never wanted to move again. “You needed time to mature.” “I was mature.” “You were still a child.” Rauli trailed a finger down Terik’s hairless chest, brushing the waist length hair that he unbound every night before bed off his face. “Not anymore.” Terik cupped Rauli’s face in his slender fingers. “I imagine the master suite is warm enough by now.” “Even if it’s not, I think we can find our own warmth.” Over the next three weeks Terik learned a level of passion he had never dreamed. He learned what it tasted like to swallow Rauli’s sperm, he learned what it felt like to bury his own penis inside Rauli and hear his moans of pleasure. He got the ’Techs to activate the massive hot tub and pool and they spent hours in one or the other until hunger drove them into the kitchen where Rauli 35
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taught him to cook spectacular three and four course meals. And every day they hunted, sometimes successfully sometimes not. It didn’t matter; they were together Terik developed cat-like muscles and he learned to whisper through the dense bush until he could almost touch the flanks of a ghost deer or catch the white ptarmigans in his hands before they could explode in a blur of protest. He learned to find the best spots for ice fishing that yielded the tasty blue toolies. He became attuned to the winter forest in ways he had never imagined. Mostly he learned to love this lean, hard hunter who was more manly than any male he had ever met, but was more satisfying sexually than any imagined female fantasy he had ever harbored. But he had no illusions it would go anywhere. Both of them would be disowned if their desires ever became known. Eventually Terik would need to seek out a suitable bride and produce heirs to the Selhdun estate. Rauli was already married and had two strapping sons who delighted him. He never spoke of his wife, but Terik didn’t expect him to. Autarch women were of no consequence in the lives of their men except to produce male children. In their final week together everything took on a fever pitch as they knew their time together was growing short. Rauli must return to his court duties in Outuais and Terik would be leaving for Nexus and the University where he would spend the next four years. He might return home for high holidays, though he doubted it. There was nothing he wanted in his ancestral home. By the time he finished his first phase of schooling, he would be expected to marry and begin his own dynasty. There would be little time to indulge in secret pleasures. They had to make the most of their remaining time. For their final day they planned one last hunt. This time they 36
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would head south into the open fields that flanked the Greater Spirit Lake where there were rumored to be golden ursines, like the ones Terik’s grandfather had taken the hide from that Rauli and Terik had made love on the first time. Terik wanted to add a second one to the lodge’s collection. “Beats curtains,” Rauli said. It would be an intense day of hunting. “We’ll leave at first light,” Rauli said. Terik nodded, relaxing beside him on the largest piece of handhewn furniture in the great room. Earlier Terik had prepared their final meal, broiling the last of the partridges in a wine reduction with green beans and potatoes from the hydroponic gardens. Leaving the ’Techs to clean up, he selected a bottle of vintage port from the cellar and led Rauli into the main room where he set up a fire, then curled up together, savoring each other’s company and snifter of exquisite liquor. Rauli called up some Bartolyi, the latest sensation from Kiiwaana. Afterward he called for some moody Rachmaninoff and they switched to cognac. “He was a Terran prince,” Rauli said. “In some vast frozen hell.” “Like this one?” Terik smiled. Outside a storm raged, wind and snow slammed into the impenetrable fortress-like walls and rattling the windows. If it didn’t let up they might not make their final hunt. For once Terik didn’t care. He would spend his final day locked in this magical place with this equally magical man. “Do you think he had anything like this?” He stroked Rauli’s bare arm, watching the play of firelight on the fine dark hairs of his forearm. They made it an early night. If the hunting trip did go off they would need their rest. Rauli made love to him with a rough frenzy 37
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that left them both fighting for breath. Eventually they drifted into a sated sleep, arms and legs entwined. Hands jerked him painfully out of bed onto his knees and he heard a distant agonized scream. God, they were being attacked. Terik’s worst nightmare. Assassins. Or kidnappers. They had made themselves vulnerable by coming out to this forsaken place without protection. He realized the bed was empty. What had they done with Rauli? He surged off the bed and fought the hands that grappled with him. He shouted and cursed, trying to kick at their heavily garbed legs to no avail. “Silence!” He froze. He knew that voice. Knew it all too well. His gut clenched. It was his father. Bahoumi u Selhdun, Ogema and master of Tiamat. Two muscular house servants held his arms, ignoring his orders to release him. His father stood before him and suddenly he realized how he must look, naked, still smelling of sex, the bed behind him bedraggled, sheets rumpled. Despite the heat in the room goose bumps crowded his skin. He dropped his gaze from the wrath on his father’s face. Then he straightened. Can’t show fear. His father thrived on fear. It empowered him. Then his heart slammed into his chest before it stopped beating altogether. His mother stepped into the room. Her glacial gaze was even more frigid than usual. She raked his naked form, then turned those cold eyes on his father. “Did I not tell you what that man was doing to your son? If you had listened to me earlier we would not be in this place.” “Shut up, woman. He is my son, and I will deal with him.” 38
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“You will deal with the other one! He is the degenerate. This boy,” her contemptuous gaze swept over Terik’s shrinking body, “is weak. He has always been weak.” She gathered up her voluminous gown and swept out of the room without a backward glance. Half the contingent of servants followed her. The room didn’t seem any less crowded. Terik stiffened and threw his head back and tried to look less afraid than he felt. His father ignored him. He stalked through the room, pausing to look at the obvious signs of their recent sexual activity. His thick queue of silver hair hung down his back and his booted feet were still dripping melting snow onto the hard wood floor. A new servant entered the room. He carried Terik’s hunting rifle, the one he had carefully tended and used for the last month. Terik tried to break free of the punishing grip on his arms. Their hold only grew more implacable. “Bring him.” Terik’s father took the gun, spun around and marched out of the room, surrounded by his retinue of servants. The two men who held him dragged him out after them. The front door was open. Ice laden wind whipped through it, scattering snow across the floor. His father was nowhere to be seen. The servants dragged him through the house out onto the porch. His bare feet shrank from the cold. Snow drifted around his feet. He tried to pull away again, but the effort was wasted. They might as well have been carved from laser-cut flame wood. His father stood at the bottom of the stone steps, the rifle cradled in his arms. Terik was pushed, dragged down the steps, stumbling to a stop when he saw what was dangling from the tanglewood tree he and Rauli had picnicked under just this past summer. Someone had hung Rauli by his heels from the thickest branch 39
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of the tree. Like Terik, he was naked. He had been castrated. Terik no longer felt the cold flowing around his bare skin. He stared at his lover’s gently swaying body, mesmerized by the dark blood that flowed down his stomach and chest, pooling in the trampled ground below his head. His eyes were half opened, his mouth was twisted in a silent scream. Only when he heard a soft moan did Terik realize Rauli was still alive. Then his inaction ended. He threw off one hand and surged forward. “Get him down from there. How dare you—” His father always carried a thin leather whip he used on his high-stepping Paso Fino horses. Now he handed the nearest servant the rifle and raised the whip in one callused hand, tapping it repeatedly against his thigh. When he finally looked at his son, his gaze was impassive. Rauli groaned and Terik struggled weakly to free himself. “Let him go. He never did anything—” His father laid the head of the crop alongside Terik’s cheek, pushing his head back. Terik fell silent when the cold leather touched him. He knew how it felt to be hit by that whip. His father’s dark eyes met his. A servant handed him a heavy, serrated knife. “Please,” Terik whispered and knew it was the wrong thing to say when his father’s eyes narrowed and the muscles of his face stiffened. Instead, the older man grabbed Terik’s hip-length hair and wrapped it around his fist. With savage fury, he sawed it off. The knife skinned Terik’s scalp in spots, and blood dripped down his damp cheek. Terik didn’t move. He barely breathed. His father threw the mass of black hair into Rauli’s blood. “Perhaps by the time it has grown back, you will have learned 40
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to be a Selhdun man instead of a whore to some godless sodomite.” “Rauli was never—” His father backhanded him, calm, emotionless. “That name will never be spoken in this family again.” His father snapped a command. At a word from his father, the head of his security team handed the rifle to Terik. Years later, Terik would wonder what would have happened if he had turned the weapon on his father. If he could have avenged Rauli and rid the world of the man who had just so dispassionately destroyed everything. The truth was, at the time it hadn’t even occurred to him. He lived in terror of his father, too awed by the man who held the life and death of an entire planet in his strong, callused hands to consider fighting back. He stepped back, dropping the rifle horror. “No.” This time his father struck him across the chest with his whip. Terik staggered back, putting his hands up to shield his face. Again and again the whip whistled down, striking his face, his chest, even his genitals with excruciating blows. He was driven to his knees screaming, blood flowing down his front. “Pick it up,” his father said. “Pick it up and be a man for once.” Terik backed up, still on his knees, but the blows never wavered. They fell with implacable repetitiveness. Bitter tears and blood cloaked him in shame. Terik knew his father meant to kill him after all. He fought the grayness that pulled him down, knowing even as he succumbed he wasn’t strong enough. He hadn’t been strong enough to protect Rauli, and he wasn’t strong enough to stop his father’s madness. The last thing he saw was his father stooping to pick up the 41
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rifle from where it had fallen. He still held the gutting knife in one gloved hand. Terik was beyond numb. But when his father threw the rifle at another servant he flinched. The older man took two strides to where Rauli hung bleeding, only semi-conscious. Terik told himself his lover never felt the blade enter his belly or slice him open, spilling his intestines onto the already bloody snow. Terik vomited all over his own bare legs even as his tears froze on his battered cheeks. Beside him, his father’s hand tightened on the whip. Around them the snowfall thickened, mercifully blurring the outline of the horror. He watched numbly as the two servants who had restrained him passed him carrying Rauli’s body toward the house. Minutes later he could see the flickering glow of flame inside the structure. The tanglewood tree was already aflame, its heat washing unfelt over his shivering flesh. “This will happen to any man you touch,” his father said. “And if you persist in this sickness, this will happen to you. Only, I will make sure you are alive and conscious when I hang you up and cut you open.” He signaled a servant forward. “See that he is returned to his quarters where he will be confined indefinitely.” The car door whispered shut and the vehicle vanished into the growing storm. Terik was alone with his servants.
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CHAPTER 6 The formal dining hall was huge. It would have held the Suzerain’s entire court and still have had room leftover for one of the revival polo matches being staged in the Capitol. Natural light flowed through the stained glass dome from the two moons, both full. The snow had stopped falling, at least temporarily. The massive dragonstone chandelier that hung from the center of the dome augmented the light with a rainbow kaleidoscope. It looked much like it had the last time he had dined here. He ignored the empty seats along either side. Dinners in the Selhdun House used to be fun. Now only ghosts crowded the red tanglewood table. Was it here that he had given away his feelings for Rauli? Who had seen it? His mother? Kerstrik? Selhdun barely glanced at Pakal when he took his place behind 43
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his seat at the head of the table. His attention was focused on the two people who had joined the rest of the table in rising when he entered the room and now took their seats on either side of him. Selhdun’s mother accepted a soft greeting from her milk-son, Kerstrik, on his left. The man with whom Selhdun had shared his childhood and his mother with took his seat without looking at his half brother. The tension lines around Kerstrik’s full mouth deepened when he glanced across the table at Selhdun’s mother. He, for one, had never expected to see his half brother again. Kerstrik’s mother had been the Ogema’s junior wife, sister to Selhdun’s mother. Selhdun’s mother had raised Kerstrik when his own mother, her younger sister, had died in childbirth. Cousin and half brother, at once, Selhdun couldn’t recall a time they hadn’t been bitter rivals. He still had not expected Kerstrik to betray him so completely. Selhdun’s only full brother, the much younger Jerisla, sat at the other end of the table with his even younger bride, carefully veiled against their prying male eyes. Assorted Selhdun cousins and distaff kin filled out the long table. They looked like they were enjoying themselves. They even ignored the nearby muttering of a dowager who kept a hovering servant refilling her wineglass every few minutes. Selhdun’s mother met his roaming gaze. Her eyes were still glacial and watched him in disdain. How did she feel, watching her dreams disintegrate to cold ash, the son she could never have controlled back and in charge? She had built her ambitions on her sister’s son, and he sat across from her, useless now, a failure. Servants brought dinner, slivers of wine-poached lapin on a bed of wild mushroom grass, glazed river eel, and icy gazpacho. Wine from the Selhdun estates on some island Selhdun couldn’t 44
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remember the name of flowed freely. He accepted more than one refill and ate very little. Rich food was not to his liking. An elaborate tureen of newborn lamb cooked in ewe’s milk was presented to him; he took a small portion and nibbled at it between sips of wine. “So, how is court these days, cousin?” Kerstrik asked. He patted his lips with a bejeweled hand before taking another drink of his own wine. “Full of insipid gossip and banal parasites who find even the Suzerain’s exquisitely bad taste exciting,” Selhdun said. “Didn’t I hear a rumor you were at court last month?” “I had business—” “So I heard. I understand she was still preening herself when the next would-be prince crawled between her legs.” “How dare—” “My Lord!” Dame Neibuhr shut Kerstrik up with a look before turning on Selhdun. “Is that sort of talk necessary?” “Frankly, I’m surprised you let him off his leash long enough to go to court,” Selhdun said. The tendons on his neck felt like rigid steel when he turned to look at Kerstrik while he continued to speak to his mother. “Or were you hoping he’d win a princess for himself? Is that the prize you sought, cousin?” Kerstrik’s face took on a purplish cast. “At least I go after the princesses.” Quickly, he glanced at their mother, then away. “Not some pale sodom—” “I see the gossips have been busy,” Selhdun said. “Isn’t that what you expect? I’d hate to be a disappointment to you. The prince was interesting.” Selhdun lied smoothly. There had been no prince. The last time they were in court Selhdun had been involved in a short but tempestuous affair with a woman. It was always like 45
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that when he got an itch for a female. The affairs burned feverishly hot, and they never lasted. His father would have been proud. Selhdun shrugged. “Excellent wine, Mother. Ours, I take it?” “Last year’s pressing, if I’m not mistaken.” “Good.” Selhdun signaled the wine steward. “Then I hope we pressed enough. Serve us.” “I remember my first trip to court,” the garrulous voice of the dowager drifted up to them. “Ohh, it was so grand and wonderful. Not like today.” She tsked and squinted down the table at the youngest of the Selhduns. “The young ones today are so wild. It makes one wonder what the worlds are coming to. Might I have some more wine?” “I see you never did regrow your hair, my Lord,” Dame Neibuhr said quietly. “But I did grow it, Mother, I grew it my way. Don’t you think it suits me?” Selhdun touched the thin braid then brushed cold fingers against the intricate scar and meshed lines of biosteel above his ear. “Besides, why should I cover up this? I paid so dearly for my implant. Or have you forgotten even that?” This time he did look directly at Kerstrik. “Surely you haven’t forgotten the last time we spoke?” Selhdun shrugged and sipped his wine. His lazy manner betrayed by white knuckles and the hoarseness of his next words. “I assure you I haven’t forgotten any of it.” *
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After Rauli’s body had been dragged back into the Anishinabe and the entire place set to burning, Terik had been taken home. Though he still bled from myriad cuts and abrasions, and could 46
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barely walk, his father had refused even his mother’s plea that he be put in the ’Doc to recover. Instead, he had been taken to an isolated wing of the Estate, and an old woman had been brought in to care for him. He had been forced to stand, while his father detailed his treatment to the woman. “He will receive no visitors but myself and the priest. You have a free hand in disciplining him, but hear this, old woman; I don’t need to tell you what will happen to you and your entire family if he should die in your care.” Terik wavered in and out of consciousness. The old woman sidled forward and eyed him with lingering malice. Her withering gaze moved down his naked, shivering body, then back to his face. Terik swayed on feet that were numb, but when he took a step back to keep his balance, his father swung his ever-present whip and lashed his hip. With a cry, Terik stumbled and caught himself. This time the whip caught him across the face. “Move again, and I’ll use it until you beg me to stop,” his father said. “Now be silent and listen.” “He won’t die,” the old woman said. “Though he may wish he had.” His father shrugged. After his father left, the old woman took his arm in a surprisingly strong grip. “You’ll follow me now, boy.” She had put him in a bath filled with salt and herbs that burned and felt like acid on his torn skin. The water turned pink, and she made him sit in it until it grew cool, and he was shivering again. “Your father’s charged me with making a man of you,” she told him. “I outlived three husbands. I think I can handle one sharptongued soddy.” He had stayed with the old woman for six weeks. He thought 47
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his father meant to leave him there until one of them died. Then Kerstrik came. He swaggered into Terik’s small bedroom full of selfimportance and bluster. Terik looked up in surprise. “What are you doing here?” “Your keeper’s gone to visit her daughter in the village, so I thought I’d see how you were doing.” Kerstrik lounged in the only chair in the room. He watched Terik with a half smile on his narrow face. “Boy, did you get yourself in a fucked up mess.” “You came to tell me that? Thanks for the news.” “Father’s not cooling down. I think even Mother is surprised. He’s petitioning the Suzerain to have you declared his ward past your twenty-fifth birthday, and he’s not going to let you go to University. Maybe ever.” “He can’t—” Only Terik knew he could. At least if the Suzerain granted the petition. Terik lost his attempt at indolence and sat up. “I’m not going to stay here that long.” “Yeah, and what are you going to do? Beat up the old lady and run away?” “You’re an asshole, you know that?” “Maybe I am.” Kerstrik grinned savagely. “But I’m not locked up for being someone else’s asshole.” “What would you know about it?” “Nothing.” Kerstrik leaned forward. “You could tell me though. So what was it like? How’d you do it, anyway? Does it hurt?” Suddenly he knelt on the bed. He leered, and his hand went to his crotch. “You could show me. I won’t tell.” Terik glared at him. “Come on, show me how you blow. You must have done that with Rauli. All the vstatzi do it I heard. Do you like the taste of 48
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it—” Terik came off the bed and drove his fist into Kerstrik’s leering face. With a yell Kerstrik fell back, and Terik grabbed him. He jerked him up until they were nose to nose. “Don’t you ever fucking say that word again.” “God, you’re touchy.” Sullenly Kerstrik touched his bleeding lip. “I really came to tell you how you can get out of here, if you’re interested.” “Why would you want to help me get out?” “Because even locked up in here, you’re all he can think about. Maybe if you’re really gone, he’ll think about me for a change. I’m his son, too, but you’d never know it. Besides, you hate it here. I don’t.” True enough. Kerstrik always had been closer to what his father wanted in a son. Odd that he had still worked so hard to make Terik over into his own image. Terik shrugged. “How?” “Father’s attending a big festival in Nausari tonight. The whole family’s going. I’ll leave a car in the compound—in all the excitement, no one’s going to notice another car. Take it. Go away. I met a Hegemon pilot who doesn’t mind sneaking you off the planet. Once this blows over, you can come back, if you want.” Terik mulled over his words. Getting off-planet had been a dream of his for years. He had made big plans about University, plans that had once included Rauli, but this, this sounded too good to be true. “How do I pay this pilot? He’s not going to do this because it’s a lark for him.” “I’ve got money.” Kerstrik shrugged. He wiped the last smear of blood off his lip. “You can pay me back later.” “And if I don’t come back?” 49
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“If you don’t come back, then it’s all mine. The title, the Estate. If you’re gone; it belongs to me by law.” Another truth. But, did he want it? Had he ever wanted it or had he just grown up knowing it was his to be had? Terik was no longer sure. “I’m not coming back,” he said suddenly, sure of that at least. “You can have the damned title and the shit that goes with it. Where’s the money?” Kerstrik pulled out a credit chit and passed it to Terik. “It’s good for twenty thousand. Line of credit—cash it out fast. Father will freeze it once he finds it gone.” “You stole it?” “Let’s say he doesn’t know it’s gone yet.” “Where do I find this pilot? Someone might recognize me if I spend too much time wandering around the Ladder. I assume that’s where he’ll be?” “Place called the Downwell bar. Name’s Battaan. He’s expecting you.” He had been, too. Terik entered the bar, half hidden in a back street near the Ladder. The crowded room was dark and stank of age and too many people. It smelled of something else, too. Years later Terik realized it was vice and corruption. At the time, he had thought it smelled like freedom. Heads swiveled when he entered and watched as he walked to the long bar that filled one entire wall. He had never been in a place like this. His father hadn’t allowed them to frequent Hegemon places. Like most royals, he had nothing but contempt for the shipping guild that held exclusive control of the entire spacing industry. “Parasites,” he called them. “Sinners and worse.” What the worse was he never said. 50
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A thin, hairless man followed him to the bar. “You Selhdun?” Terik nodded. The other man looked him up and down, then nodded. “Battaan. Your brother said you’d be coming.” “Half brother,” he corrected automatically. He hated even that designation, but had to give Kerstrik his due. “Whatever,” Battaan said. “Makes no matter to me if he be your bastard son. He told me you were looking for passage offplanet.” “That’s right.” “Where to?” Terik was silent. He hadn’t thought beyond getting away. He frowned, thinking of the cashed out credits in his pocket. Battaan motioned him to join him at a table. They both sat, and two beers were put in front of them. Terik tasted it, trying not to make a face at the unfamiliar taste. “Two will get you onto my ship,” Battaan said. “My first stop is Chaghatai, so five will take you there. Ten if it’s all the way to Nexus.” Nexus. The University was there. But ten thousand. That only left him ten. Suddenly it hit Terik. How was he going to support himself? He wasn’t trained for any job but potential Ogema, and he didn’t think that described many paying positions outside of Tiamat. Well, he’d find something. That was a problem for the future. Now he had to decide this. “Nexus.” Battaan nodded as though he had expected that. He drained his beer in one gulp and signaled for another. “You be looking for work when you get there?” “Maybe,” Terik said slowly, not sure he wanted this stranger to 51
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know his business. He shrugged. “I’ll find something. I’m willing to work hard.” “I may be able to help,” Battaan said. “I’m looking for an apprentice. It ain’t the highest paying position, but it’s guaranteed for a year. If you like it, at the end you can enter the Hegemon school on Nexus and become a full-fledged pilot. Being an apprentice guarantees you admission.” “A year?” “You sign a contract. It obligates you to a year on the ship you sign with.” Battaan looked at him shrewdly. “What’s a year in the life of a young man like yourself? Interested?” Terik was, but he didn’t want to appear too eager. He frowned, pretending to study the table in front of him. He surreptitiously glanced at Battaan. The Hegemon pilot was bald like all Hegemon, and he looked to be about twice Terik’s age. He was wiry and looked tough. There was an edge to him that spoke of much seen, which jibed with what Terik knew about the Hegemon. On the side of his head, just above his left ear several lines of thin metal wire wove an intricate map on his bare skin. Terik knew that meant Battaan was a linked pilot; it meant he stayed awake during Jump and guided his ship through the horrible nothingness of Jumpspace. That decided him. Battaan was a man who had seen things, things Terik’s could only guess at. “Yes, I am. How do I sign up?” “I’ll take you there.” He did that; then he took Terik back to the bar for a celebratory drink. “You start a new life today, lad. I think you’ll find it nothing like the one you’ve had so far.” Terik grimaced and swallowed the shot Battaan gave him. “I hope not.” 52
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Battaan laughed, a rough sound. “Don’t like your life of privilege, Prince Selhdun? That is what they call you, ain’t it?” Terik nodded uneasily. “It’s one of my titles.” “Me, I never had anything handed to me.” Battaan’s eyes glittered with sharp malice. “Out here the only title that gets you respect is Captain. Having this”—he pointed to the lines of metal embedded in his skull—“this gets you respect.” “When can we leave?” Suddenly he was eager to be gone. Before his father found he was missing. As Ogema he controlled the planet Tiamat totally and could galvanize an impressive force to find his wayward son. But Battaan had assured him even the Ogema of Tiamat had no power over the Hegemon, especially once they were off his planet. “Now,” Battaan said. “You have anything to bring?” Terik lifted the small bag Kerstrik had left in the borrowed car. It contained little more than a change of clothes. He had planned to buy new clothes in Nexus. “Then finish up.” Terik downed his drink in one swallow and stood, feeling slightly dizzy from the alcohol he wasn’t used to. Battaan took his arm when he swayed. “You better learn to handle your liquor better’n that, boy. No man gets any respect if he falls over after a coupla drinks.” Terik laughed and pulled his arm away. “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.” “Can you now?” Battaan said softly. “We’ll see, won’t we. We ship out at oh-six hundred Ladder time. Hope you’re not one of those lay-a-bed fops who can’t get up before noon and expects breakfast in bed.” They rode up the Ladder with a dozen others. No one spoke 53
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much during the hour long ride. Battaan led him through the brightly-lit corridors of the orbiting Station, not letting Terik pause to look around. “Plenty of time later to play tourist, boy. Let’s get your gear inside, then I can explain your first duties to you.” Terik obeyed, following Battaan through airlock after airlock. Finally they entered a dilapidated airlock, dimly lit and smelling of age and oiled metal. It opened onto a cabin with four worn chairs and banks of glowing instruments that filled three-quarters of the oval shaped bridge. “Crew quarters are this way,” Battaan said. He led Terik through a short passage. “Wait here, I have to check something.” He vanished back toward the bridge, returning minutes later. He smiled and signaled Terik to walk beside him. No one else seemed to be on board. “Rest of the crew will be back by midnight,” he said. “How many are there?” For reasons he couldn’t explain, Terik suddenly felt nervous. The way Battaan looked at him didn’t help. It was probably just nerves. “Three. Co-pilot and two technicians. You’ll meet them tomorrow. They’re expecting you.” “They are?” Puzzled, Terik followed Battaan into what was obviously someone’s quarters. Battaan’s? “I told them I’d be looking at getting a new apprentice. That’s why they’re on shore leave. I like to show the new boy his duties without a lot of curious ears around.” “What do you mean?” “Drop your gear there.” Battaan indicated a shallow closet near the unmade bed. “This is my room?” 54
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“No, it’s mine,” Battaan said. “But you’ll be bunking here.” “I—I don’t understand,” Terik faltered. “Don’t you? Your half brother was pretty sure you’d get it just fine. Now, take off those clothes, so I can see for myself if you’re worth the money he gave me.” “Kerstrik paid you? But—” “Did he tell you he was helping you? That one helps no one but himself. Though I got the feeling his ma had a hand in things.” “She’s my mother—” Terik said, too late seeing the grin on Battaan’s face. “You sure must have pissed her off royally.” Battaan laughed uproariously at his own joke. “You ticked somebody off. I probably could have got twice the money for taking you, but I ain’t greedy. Always wanted to know what it was like to own a prince for a year. See what’s so special.” Battaan peeled off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. “See what color your blood really is. What are you waiting for?” His hand went to his belt. “I told you to strip.” “No,” Terik whispered. “You know the way out then. I imagine your da’s men are already downstairs. I called him from the bridge, told ’em where to find you if you changed your mind. ’Course, they can’t come on this ship, but out there you’re fair game.” He pulled his belt out and wrapped it around his fist. “Told your da you had a real sweet ass and you sure liked it that way. Don’t think he was too happy to hear me say that. But it’s your choice. Door’s that way. Wouldn’t dream of stopping you.” Terik stared at him, gape mouthed. Battaan approached and took Terik’s chin in his hand. When Terik tried to pull away, he held on and dug hard fingers into Terik’s skin. 55
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“Way I look at it, boy, you got two choices. You get stripped and do your duty, or you get off my ship. One minute—choose.” When Terik didn’t move, Battaan laughed and dropped the rest of his clothes on the floor. He grabbed Terik’s short ragged hair and jerked him forward. “Never fucked a prince before. Just think,” Battaan said as he forced the younger man to his knees. “It’s only one year.”
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CHAPTER 7 “How many weeks did it take you to find him, cousin?” Selhdun said to Kerstrik, who grew pale. “Three, four? Maybe six?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Might I have some more of that wine?” The drunken dowager thrust her glass toward the closest servant. “My goodness, even the clones seem to be developing bad manners.” “Auntie, please,” one of the young cousins said softly. “You’re making a spectacle of yourself.” “Ladies do not make spectacles. Men, now, that’s a different story.” The dowager nearly fell into the tureen of lamb. “The Suzerain’s sons are a wild bunch, always running after a pretty leg. Ah, boys will be boys. Always involved in some prank or another.” 57
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Servants refilled wineglasses and served up the next course, announcing a ragout of stuffed leak and herbed melon. “We need to discuss your future,” Selhdun’s mother said to him. “If you intend to go through with this, then you must begin at once to see to your immediate obligations.” “Which means…?” Selhdun forced himself to look away from Kerstrik. “You must agree to produce an heir.” Selhdun choked on his drink. “What?” “An heir,” his mother said, as though discussing a wine order. “You have one year to find a suitable bride, but I have taken the liberty of sparing you that chore.” “More manipulations, Mother?” “Reality!” She completely ignored the consternation her words created around the table, focusing her attention on her eldest son. “Princess Linik Ndala is a distaff cousin of a minor Chaghatai House. She’s young—” “And biddable, no doubt,” Selhdun said. He sipped his wine, trying to figure where his mother was going. What was she going to gain by all this? “Young and breedable,” his mother snapped. “The house interns assure me she should get with child easily. If you’re willing, you can wed tomorrow, bed her till she comes with child, then go and do as you damn well please.” Her gaze seemed irresistibly drawn to Pakal. What did her overactive imagination see when she looked at him? Pakal as usual revealed nothing of his thoughts. Selhdun had always admired that ability in the Xuan. “And if I say no?” Selhdun said. “You forfeit your title if you remain unwed after a year.” Her 58
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mouth twisted into a feral grin. “I have no problem with that. Do you?” “Is she attractive?” “She doesn’t look like a boy, if that’s what you mean.” Selhdun stiffened. “You bitch,” he said softly. “I will do anything to keep this family strong,” she said. “Without that strength how long do you think any of you would last?” She looked down the table at the rest of the silent group. Her gaze flicked back to Selhdun. “The family protected you even when you weren’t aware. Do you really think you would have done so well were it not for your family name?” “My family name?” Selhdun said, and the fury came off him in sickening waves. “Just what did my family name do to protect me from that sadistic bastard?” He sneered at the woman beside him. “Maybe I asked the wrong person. How long did it take you to find him, Mother? Perhaps you’d like to know what Battaan did to me every night for the year I had to stay with him. Or would you like to hear what the men he gave me to did while he watched?” He looked straight into Kerstrik’s widening eyes. “I recall you were so curious, cousin. I could answer all your questions about how I did it, if you still want to know. Unless, of course, you satisfied your curiosity on your own.” “I never,” Kerstrik sputtered. “You filthy liar—” Selhdun pushed away from the silent table. A trio of servants fell in behind him, subtly supporting him when he stood. Pakal hovered as close as he dared. “You can’t threaten me here,” Kerstrik shouted. “I have as much right to that title as you do. You said you didn’t want it. I stayed and earned it.” “My goodness,” the dowager said. “The new Lord doesn’t have 59
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a big appetite does he? I remember my first husband, now there was a man who enjoyed the table.” “Oh hush, you silly old woman,” Dame Neibuhr said. “And you, Kerstrik, haven’t you learned to keep your mouth shut! Terik!” Her composure crumbled. “We still have business to discuss—” Selhdun shook. He didn’t stop shaking even when the lift door closed behind them. “What is it they did to you so long ago?” Pakal said as the lift took them up to relative safety. “Why do you allow them to get to you this way?” “I don’t know,” he said. He closed his eyes against Pakal’s questions. “I see Kerstrik’s face and it all comes back. Stupid. Stupid then, and stupid now.” Eleven years after Selhdun’s apprenticeship had ended, Battaan had been killed in a knife fight in an outie bar on the Spindle. His killer, a nineteen-year-old runaway from Chaghatai, had been his latest apprentice. The boy, Gayan, had been sentenced to death in a Hegemon court and would have been put out an airlock for his troubles if Selhdun hadn’t bought his bond and taken him onboard the Necromancer. Pakal had not been impressed. “He killed a man!” “No, he didn’t. He killed Miklos Battaan. Something the bastard’s mother should have done at birth. No good deed should be so punished.” Gayan had remained with them for nearly two years before leaving to take a job on Nexus. The last Selhdun had heard, Gayan was married with three children and his own export business. Selhdun wearily rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re right, I 60
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shouldn’t let Kerstrik get to me.” Pakal rested his hand on Selhdun’s shoulder. Selhdun reached back to take it. “Stay with me,” he murmured. “If anything happened to you… No, never mind. Just stay with me. I don’t know where they’ve stashed you in this dusty monolith, so don’t make me come looking for you.” “Yes, I will stay.” Pakal smiled and tightened his grip. “I always do.” After dismissing the servants who might have objected to Pakal touching him, he carried Selhdun into the master suite and laid him on the massive carved tanglewood and ivory bed. He stripped, revealing his swollen cock to Selhdun’s eager touch, then pulled off Selhdun’s clothes. Kneeling between the man’s legs, Pakal took Selhdun in his mouth, bringing him to the brink only to back off at the last minute. He did this again and again until Selhdun was writhing on the bed and hoarsely begging him to finish. Instead he shoved apart Selhdun’s legs and reared up over his, his face a mask of desire as he rammed his cock into Selhdun’s ass. Selhdun howled and clutched at Pakal’s broad shoulders as they slammed together. Selhdun spewed hot ejaculate all over his stomach and Pakal’s, smearing them both when Pakal collapsed on him, rolling onto his side and taking Selhdun with him. Later, when they started to doze, Selhdun lifted his head off Pakal’s shoulder. Pakal barely opened one eye. “You know I have to marry her,” Selhdun said. “I thought you might.” Pakal sighed. “You believe your mother is right?” “She usually is when it comes to matters of family. She’s right about having a year to marry. Does it matter who?” 61
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“A son,” he said. Selhdun’s breath feathered the hairs on Pakal’s chest. Because, of course, it was preordained the first would be a son. An heir. “Let’s hope he has a better life than the one they gave you.”
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CHAPTER 8 Ilesha stalked into her room, slamming her door so hard it set her new crop of Death’s Hand fluttering in the hydroponics bed. The delicate fronds, with their deadly seedpods, shivered when the floor shook. She was going to have to harvest that, and destroy what remained, before she left. She didn’t want it entering its second stage, spraying the air with the toxin-producing spores. She’d left that part of the plant’s development out of her initial report. No reason for Lyssra to find out about those properties the hard way. Damn Lyssra for pulling this crap on her. She didn’t have time for this. How many months would she waste traipsing around space while she should be here, studying her herbs. She was so close to a major breakthrough. She could feel it. Now she had to park it all until she came back who knew when. 63
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“Bitch.” She kicked the nearest bed leg and muttered another curse when her toes connected with solid synthetic. Now Lyssra was mad because she’d ended up cutting Wayan out of the team, too. Was it her fault Lyssra didn’t think she could trust her younger sister? Mistrusted her so much, in fact, she had announced officially only an hour ago that Lyssra was now heading the expedition. Only Ilesha had been at the screaming match that preceded that announcement. Ilesha had dragged her sister kicking and screaming to the realization once and for all that she, Ilesha, was going on this trip. Damn Lyssra. Damn Obatalo, too. Her life was beset with idiots getting in the way of her success. If he hadn’t done exactly what Ilesha figured he was going to do and gone back to steal the drug prototype, none of this would have happened. Ilesha had known CoDyre had ships in dock, Obatalo had been there when she found out. Maybe she’d known what he was going to do, but how did that make it her responsibility? He had been getting tiresome, anyway. Ilesha had found him exciting in the beginning. He was a big man, in every way that counted, and he’d liked to play her kind of games. But then he’d gone soft and started talking about a relationship, as if Ilesha were going to put in for private lodging with him. As if she might actually let him get her pregnant. Have a Cyxer kid? No way this side of hell. She’d seen too many others go through that mess. The truth was, the strongest children came from outside matings. Maybe it was better than it had been in their mother’s time, or her mother’s, but Ilesha still thought Lyssra should be discouraging Cyxer men from breeding. They only weakened an already weak gene pool. 64
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No way she’d ever let Obatalo or any other Cyxers break her heart with another dead baby. Lyssra had given her two days to produce a manifest of what she was going to take with her. Ilesha mentally compiled an inventory of drugs, new and old, she had on hand. Not many. She had a small cache at the lab, plus the Death’s Hand. Most were too deadly for anything or were going to require a lot more research, but there was some promising stuff. She would take those with her. The Death’s Hand was one plant she wanted to keep on studying. CoDyre had clearly been interested until the spill and subsequent trial. It was worth pursuing; they’d be back. She would have to process the plant first, but that wouldn’t take long. It was only a day or two away from first stage maturation. Ilesha scooped up the ’crystal and popped it into her reader. Lyssra had thoughtfully provided a bio of the other team member, the guy who had first found the Terran coordinates. She remembered hearing about the whole boring history of how he had “stumbled” onto the so called hidden database entries. It all smacked of “oh look at how smart I am” and made her smirk. Men. So simple and so easily puffed up with a few words of praise. She studied the bio now with a critical eye to see if this Benin Waterson might be worth cultivating. Would he be interested in being cultivated? Of course, he’d be interested. He was a man, wasn’t he? *
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Ilesha paused in the open doorway. She could hear the highpitched children’s voices inside, responding to a lesson from 65
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StationComp. “The region known as Etowah Bay seemed the most temperate, with a natural harbor which required little work to make it a fine settlement. The temperature ranged from ten degrees Celsius in the winter to no more than twenty-four degrees Celsius in the summer. Can anyone tell me the name of the Barrier Island that protects the harbor from the worst of the deep-water storms?” “Zactecauh!” someone shouted. “Right. The colonists saw Etowah Bay and knew it would be the perfect place for a settlement. The first colonist died twelve days after that settlement was established. Many more died in the next few months. The final blow came when the colonists lost their only shuttle on the three hundredth and ninety-ninth day. Dahlia Woodward wanted to be a hero and thought she could fly away to safety. The shuttle crashed. Can anyone tell us the name of the shuttle?” The StationComp was programmed to wait a certain length of time for an answer then go on. Ilesha saw the children start to fidget. Eleda, her daughter, glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of her mother. Her face broke into a missing-tooth grin as Ilesha stepped forward and said, “The shuttle’s name was ‘who cares’? That’s ancient history. Why continue to inflict it on us all?” “Who speaks? Adults are not allowed to interrupt daily lessons,” the StationComp said. “State your name and business.” Ilesha held her finger up to her mouth, then in a clear voice said, “Lyssra Ravenwood, come to pick up my daughter.” “Lyssra Ravenwood has no children.” And never would either, would she? Lyssra was sterile, a condition Ilesha was only too glad she didn’t share with her big sister. When this trip was over she thought she just might find 66
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herself another Hegemon pilot and see about having a sister for Eleda. The girl could use the companionship. Maybe they’d turn out to be better friends than Lyssra and her. Hell, maybe she could find someone on this trip. Ilesha grinned at the thought. God knew it was easy enough. Off-worlders were even easier than Cyxers to seduce. She’d had enough of both to know the truth of that. Now, wouldn’t that set Lyssra back on her heels? “What’s so funny, Mommy?” Ilesha ruffled her daughter’s red hair. “Nothing, hon. Mom’s just glad to see you.” “State your name and business, please,” StationComp said. Ilesha grinned again and winked at her daughter. “Okay, I confess. Ilesha Ravenwood, here to steal Eleda Ravenwood away for lunch. Do you mind?” “For lunch, Mommy? For real?” “Yeah, hon, for real.” Ilesha led her out of the nursery. All the other children watched them in bug-eyed wonder. “Where do you want to go?” “Home,” Eleda said. “Just home? I thought—” “It is not permitted to take a student from the classroom during lessons, Ilesha Ravenwood,” StationComp said. “You must return at fourteen-hundred if you wish to remove Eleda Ravenwood—” “Get stuffed,” Ilesha said to Eleda’s squeal of laughter. “The only thing I hate more than a mouthy machine is a machine that tries to tell me when I can see my kid.” “Mommy!” “Well, it’s true,” Ilesha said. “Damn machines want to run everything.” 67
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Eleda giggled and took Ilesha’s hand. *
*
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Three weeks later, Ilesha turned a stony face toward the micropitted portal of the ancient tramp ship. She watched a ’Tech crabcrawl up a folded solar panel, pausing occasionally to probe at something only its various sensors could see. Ilesha barely had to turn her head to spot a couple more of the small machines that kept the ships flight-worthy. Lyssra had hired the Golden Persuader to take them out to the first Jump point. There they would pick up the ship that would carry them to Tiamat. Ilesha had come to the ship after returning Eleda to the nursery one last time, and enduring the snippy StationComp again. Eleda had been happy until the moment her mother had reminded her she was going off station again. At that point she had changed from a funny, endearing child into a pouting brat. She screamed her mother hated her. Ilesha promised again to finish up her lab work and move back—after the trip. She hadn’t been able to penetrate the girl’s wails. Ilesha hated leaving Eleda on the station, but there were no exceptions to Lyssra’s rule that no children were allowed on the planet. Ilesha knew it wasn’t safe for prepubescent children, but damn, it was hard to keep leaving her for a job she no longer found satisfying. Benin took the seat beside her. She barely nodded at him. If he was disappointed, he said nothing. He was adequate in bed, and that had come as a pleasant surprise. He would get better under her tutelage. She hoped the trip would offer better diversions, but, for 68
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now, he was the best of a sorry deal. After a moment she reached over and took his hand. He visibly brightened and squeezed her fingers clumsily between his. She glanced up to find Lyssra watching her. Her sister’s look was murderous. So Lyssra wanted to be a pain. Ilesha leaned over and angled her hand so it lay in Benin’s lap over his rapidly swelling cock. He appeared startled. “You ever flown in zero G before?” “Of course—” She felt Lyssra’s heated gaze and leaned over so her mouth was centimeters from his. “Ever make love in it?” He blushed, but she felt the inevitable response of his body to her words. “Come aft with me,” she said, tugging him out of his seat. “Once we leave the station we’ll be in free fall for a while. I can promise you’ll learn all kinds of new things.” He grinned. “Oh, well, in the interests of research…” She could tell Lyssra wanted to say something, but she hurried Benin past her seat and shoved him into the aft compartment, shutting the hatch behind them. She knew Lyssra well enough to know she was too much of a prude to follow. She might see something and be reminded of what she was missing in her dull, sterile life. Ilesha giggled when Benin roughly pushed himself against her. She could tell he was eager now that he had recovered from his brief embarrassment. Typically male; they were so easy to manipulate. “Easy guy,” she said as he tugged at her clothes. “Don’t use it all up before we even launch.” “To think I was nervous about this trip,” Benin said. “It would 69
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have been so boring if Wayan had come. Why did Lyssra pick her anyway?” Because she wasn’t me. But Ilesha didn’t say it out loud. No sense reminding him that the head of their little team was less than enamored of her younger sister. Under her feet the deck of the ship vibrated and slowly dropped away. They were moving clear of the station spin. She hooked her ankles around his thighs and anchored herself against him as the gravity vanished. She didn’t intend to talk about Lyssra to this or any other man. Fortunately he was easy to distract. “Ready for some fun?” “Yes!”
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CHAPTER 9 Selhdun grimaced as the servant massaged the knots out of his calf. Damn, but he hurt. He lay back in the soothing warmth of the tub, letting the swirling water drain the aches from him. Pakal strode across the marble floor, looking disgustingly healthy and good-humored. Usually the dour Xuan never showed emotion to an indifferent world; today something had obviously pleased him. He dropped into a woven wheta-bush chair beside the tub. It creaked under his muscled bulk. “Now that you are in charge,” he said, “you must let me reprogram HouseComp. It is a sorry joke, if you do not mind my saying so.” “I thought you wanted out of here,” Selhdun said. Pakal’s overwhelming presence left him feeling even weaker and more 71
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pitiable. “That was the idea, wasn’t it?” “Of course, we will leave. In the meantime, would you not feel safer if ’comp was more secure?” Pakal finally took note of his mood. He raised one eyebrow. “You were in a better humor last night.” “I didn’t hurt so much last night.” A pair of servants entered and deferentially signaled that they wished to talk. Selhdun waved them to go ahead. “It is time to get ready, Lord Selhdun. The Sadhu awaits.” “Will you be there?” Selhdun watched as Pakal rose. “I have been informed that my presence will not be permitted,” Pakal said with a tight smile. “My quarters have been equipped with holoscans. And enough servants to make sure I do not leave. Just as well. I cannot abide fussy ceremonies.” With the help of the three servants, Selhdun climbed out of the tub and dressed. Current Capitol fashions were extremely uncomfortable, tight at the wrist and neck. Selhdun ran one finger under the collar, but it didn’t help loosen it. Already he was sweating and chafing. He didn’t look forward to wearing it for the duration of the four-hour ceremony. But in some things, even the Ogema had no choice. He finished dressing. *
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His new bride huddled on the far side of the bed, her muffled sobs barely audible from the depth of her pillow. Damn it, he hadn’t been expecting a virgin. He should have been. His mother was a confirmed traditionalist. He lay on his back staring up at the distant ceiling 72
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remembering other ceilings. Other faces—no! Abruptly he shied away from those memories. This was not the time or the place. There would never be a right time and place. But this, this was exactly the sort of thing his mother would insist on. He didn’t know how to deal with this. Didn’t want to deal with it. The house intern had already collected the stained bedclothes. The blood would be tested to ensure it belonged to her. Would they test the semen to make sure it was his? Selhdun wondered if his mother would insist on displaying the bloody sheets in the barbaric ritual that one of his more suspicious ancestors had begun several centuries ago. He wouldn’t put it past her. Selhdun knew he had hurt the girl, but did she have to act so terrified of him? He felt her twitch under his hand. “You should have said something.” He felt twitchy himself. He had maybe another week or two here. She had to be pregnant before he left. Selhdun missed the kind of uncomplicated sex he and Pakal shared. But even he knew it wouldn’t look good if he left his bride to seek out his male lover on his wedding night. A wife. He’d never had one before. What were you supposed to do with one? He sighed and leaned over her. “The worst is over. It won’t hurt anymore.” “I am your wife, my L-Lord,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt.” Her compliance irritated him. So did her lies. She was pretty in a washed-out, Chaghatai kind of way. Nothing that appealed to him, he liked his women flashier and unbridled. At least she didn’t have that facial scar so many of their noble houses used to show status. Her vulnerability was oddly erotic. He felt himself grow hard under her timorous stare. Maybe 73
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he’d get through this after all. “Turn over,” he said, pushing the new sheets off her. “We’re going to do it another way. Maybe you’ll learn something.” And like any good Chaghatai bride, she did as she was told. *
*
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“At least, go into the ’Doc for twenty-four hours,” Pakal said for the third time that evening. “Give it a chance to remove the fatigue poisons from your system. You will feel human again.” They were alone in the solarium in Selhdun’s apartment. A fire in the shuttle-size fireplace was a pleasant counterpoint to the blizzard still raging outside. Selhdun heard the wind howl in the chimney flue. The strong sounds of Bartolyi played along in the background, vainly trying to drown out the squall. “Haven’t you heard?” Selhdun said. “The Ogema isn’t human.” “Why do you do this? How can it be worth the risks?” “If I do it, I know whose interests are served.” Selhdun leaned into the high-backed chair and sipped his brandy. He pointedly ignored the wintry scene visible through the large window that was supposed to let in the warming sun even while being capable of stopping projectiles. “The Suzerain’s emissaries arrive tomorrow. We must arrange to meet with them as soon as possible. That leaves only the Cyxers. Then I swear I will go into the ’Doc and let it do anything its little nanobot-driven heart desires. Will that make you happy?” “It will make me happy to leave this nonsense behind. Tell the whole lot of them, including the Suzerain, to go to hell and let us go back to being a simple passenger ship.” “We’ve gone beyond that, I’m afraid.” 74
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Too damn true. Like a Jumpship with its Drive powered up, they were helpless to do anything but move forward. To stand still risked destruction by forces they could no longer control. “At least, the girl is pregnant,” Pakal said. “You can return her to the women’s wing, and your mother’s tender care.” “Eager to get back into my bed, Pakal?” “At least there I can make sure you get some rest.” “You’d make a fine mother some day, Pakal.” With a grin, he stretched his long legs out in front of him and caught Pakal’s hand, rubbing the knuckles gently. “You worry too much.” “One of us must.” Selhdun called a servant to refill his glass. “If you have to worry about something, worry about this storm letting up.” They both watched snow skate across the glass, the wind dashing patterns in the frozen whiteness. Selhdun huddled deeper into the depths of his ankle length dressing gown. The solarium was heated, but he felt endlessly cold, as though his body had forgotten how to warm up. “They’re already diverting flights to Istania and points south.” “The weather will have its way,” Pakal said. “Another Xuan axiom?” Pakal shrugged. Selhdun closed his eyes and linked with the computer brain aboard the Necromancer. ::Ship:: ::Responding:: The flat, inhuman voice was a subaural sound fed directly into his brain through the neural link. He had adjusted to it years ago, but he still remembered how whispery-odd it had sounded the first time he had accessed the link. Selhdun knew some linked pilots took great pains to have their 75
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ships’ brains respond as humanly as possible, giving the illusion they were talking to real people. Selhdun detested sentimentality in machines. ::Check weather reports, this sector. Time span, five days. Report storm activity, and probable cessation:: ::Activating links:: There was the briefest of pauses, while Ship negotiated a link with the local meteorological station. ::Storm front will pass beyond target sector by eighteen-hundred tomorrow:: Selhdun blinked and met Pakal’s gaze. “Ship says the weather should break within twenty-four hours. With any luck, we can catch a flight to the Ladder, and meet our guests there.” “Luck would serve us better had we never heard of witches.” Pakal stared grimly into the flames. “They bring trouble with them, I can feel it.”
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CHAPTER 10 Selhdun sat behind the desk and faced the pair. They were both nondescript in the ubiquitous cloaks that everyone seemed to wear these days. They were the kind of gray men employed everywhere by governments whose activities didn’t bear close examination. If the idea weren’t disgusting, he’d wonder if governments didn’t clone up such bland agents, so good at disappearing into crowds, especially hysterical crowds. Selhdun had given transport to any number like them, bound for planets and deeds that seldom stood up to cold inquiry. He pegged the taller of the two as the unofficial leader. He’d made a fortune unconnected with his family by offering clandestine transportation to such colorless men, who slipped from planet to planet, seldom staying long in their port of call, and 77
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frequently leaving headline stories of assassination and chaos behind them. He wondered if these men, or others like them, had been involved in his being selected for this particular job. When the Cyxers had gone looking for a pilot to ferry them, Selhdun had no doubt they had been “persuaded” to consider him. “Sit,” he said. They immediately opened twin ’comps and logged on to local uplinks. Selhdun suppressed a smile and leaned back. ::Ship. Access all active links, this area. Current time:: ::Responding:: He avoided looking at the two men across from him, pretending to study the hard copies spread out on his desk. ::Linked:: ::Feed it to Pakal. Hard copy, go no footprint:: ::Done:: He broke the link, satisfied that Ship would get what he wanted and leave little or no trace of having been there. Maybe Pakal would pick up on something he missed. Selhdun looked up to meet the watchful eyes of the tall one. “Talk,” he said. Might as well get this over with. “What am I here for?” “The Cyxers come with information the Suzerain wants,” the tall one said. “You’ll take the Cyxers where they tell you, then you will tell us all that you find out.” “Get it yourselves. Or get the Navy to get it for you. That’s more their game, anyway.” “You are not here to negotiate this,” the tall one said. “You will do as you are told and let the Cyxers hire you. They will tell you where they wish to go and you will tell us.” 78
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“And where might that be?” It was the one thing he meant to ask the Cyxers when they arrived. He had no intention of making a Jump into unknown territory, to hell with how much money they offered him. “If you find anything of value you will be adequately compensated—” “Enough.” Selhdun pushed himself to his feet, ignoring protesting muscles. He would not show weakness in front of these two. “You will start by telling me where these Cyxers want to go. I think you know that much at least.” The two traded looks. “We suspect they stumbled across some old records, leftover from their ship’s logs; they still live in the remnants of their sleeper ship, the New Brunswick. Who knew they held such secrets?” And if they had known, Selhdun wondered what lengths would have been traversed to get those secrets? He suspected the Suzerain was as surprised as the Cyxers by what had been found in their ancient sleeper ship. “Old records hold many interesting secrets,” the tall one said. “If these are as well preserved as we suspect—” “I don’t give a damn about old records—what are they looking for? What are you looking for? What did they find that even has the Suzerain interested?” “You presume much in questioning the mind of His Grace,” the tall one said. His dark eyes glittered with cold malice as he watched Selhdun. “Point of fact, the Cyxers have found Jump coordinates we wish to investigate.” “Jump? The Necromancer’s not equipped for planetary explorations. Get one of those geo-survey ships—” “An old star system,” the tall one said. “It hardly requires a 79
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survey.” “Right,” Selhdun said. He felt the muscles in both legs shake as he leaned into the desk. “We’re off hunting for Terran ghosts. I understand perfectly now…” When neither of them even offered him a shadow-smile, he finally let himself sink back into the chair. “You don’t expect me to believe you have the coordinates for the Terran Jump?” “No,” the short one finally spoke. He had a voice like something found behind a damp wall. No wonder the tall one did the talking. “The Cyxers do.” “How the hell did they get those?” “We have already explained that.” “Old logs. That no one but the Cyxers ever suspected were there? You do realize how insane this sounds?” The tall one shrugged. “Immaterial. You’ll accept their money and their contract. Take them to Terra, if, indeed, they have the coordinates, and are not just playing us all for fools. If you find anything of value, well, they cannot complain if the prize slips away from them. You are lucky they have the reputation they do. Who will listen to a coven of witches and their lies? Assuming you bring them back to tell their lies.” Tall leaned forward, his ratchetthin face taking on a look of intensity that was almost comical. “We will make you very rich.” “I’m already very rich,” Selhdun said. “Situations change.” “Are you threatening me? Me?” He was more surprised than angry. “You—” “We know exactly who we’re talking to.” Tall’s smile was a cold, joyless thing. “We know, for instance, you were in Dakote last month, when the Chaghatai Chief Legate was assassinated in 80
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front of his summer estate. His Grace knows this, too.” They probably also knew who he had taken there. Selhdun narrowed his eyes. Suddenly the two men didn’t look quite so comical. “You bring us back whatever you find. We will make sure there is someone to collect the information. In return, you will be allowed to continue to operate as you have in the past. You have crew you care about.” The tall one sneered. “Oh, yes, we know what kind of relationship you have with your Xuan. We also know what kind of passengers you carry. As long as His Grace’s needs are served, do you think he concerns himself with the goings on of a shady sodomite who peddles death on the side? We will allow you to get richer. We will also guarantee that your Xuan lover is left…untouched.” “Leave my crew out of this,” Selhdun snapped. He examined the header of the topmost hardcopy on his desk. “And if I decide to take my chances and tell you where you can put your proposal?” “You won’t. We were told you were arrogant.” The two shared a guarded look. “We were also told you weren’t stupid. You wouldn’t want us to return to the Suzerain and explain your reluctance to him?” Selhdun frowned. He knew how touchy the Suzerain had become lately about any suspected disloyalty. Even his position as Ogema might not protect him if the Suzerain decided his allegiance was questionable. “The Cyxers arrive tomorrow,” the tall one said. “It is a good thing you are already here, we don’t want others preempting your meeting.” “I thought this was a secret.” “Secrets have a way of finding cracks in the strongest hull. 81
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Safeguard yourself and the Cyxers—at least until you get what you need. After that…” The tall one shrugged inside his voluminous cloak. “Use your discretion.” *
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“So, I get to do their dirty work.” Selhdun sipped his pre-dinner wine and watched Pakal. He felt jumpy now that the interview was over. The wine wasn’t helping. “And if anything comes of it, I can dump the Cyxers out an airlock and collect my reward from them on their way out.” He didn’t tell Pakal what else they had said. He knew how Pakal would react to the threat of being sent back to Xua. They sat on the balcony of their hastily acquired rooms at the base of the Ladder. In the distance, the green hills above DaeBors Pass smoked from the mist that rose out of the ground. Sunlight danced off the Ladder framework, the delicate-looking structure that rose from the equator to make its tenuous connection to the orbiting Tiamat Station. “Do you believe them?” Pakal asked. “They believe.” Selhdun rolled his shoulders in a loose shrug. He sipped his wine. “They’re not the type to chase shadows. And the Cyxers are coming—at no small expense to themselves. Just what do you know about Cyxers?” Pakal frowned. “They are evil—they practice witchcraft. What else does any sane man need to know?” “Don’t know as I ever quite believed the stories about witchcraft. They’re just females—more pathetic than evil,” Selhdun said. “From what I’ve heard they make Xua look rich. The planet itself has one outpost, a miserable little research station that 82
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they use as a beachhead to terraform the surface. Supposedly, the planet’s so lethal the average man would be dead in a day. Why would they waste so much effort chasing fables? Unless they know something for certain.” “Terra’s not a fable,” Pakal said. “We all came from there. But it has always been rumored it was destroyed in the Exodus.” “Destroyed how, I wonder?” Selhdun asked. “I’ve always heard wild stories about some kind of powerful weapon that proved to be their undoing. Is that what the Suzerain wants? Why?” “And I have heard that insurrectionists in the outlying colonies have been heating up their military actions against Autarch forces. Perhaps His Grace seeks an end to that conflict?” “What does it take to wipe an entire system off the galactic map?” “Such destructive forces might be best left undiscovered,” Pakal said. “What need has the Suzerain for more military power? The insurrectionists of Nova Terra seek only to be granted some simple autonomy over their own affairs. Is this a crime worthy of death?” Selhdun shrugged. “They knew the risks when they sent their first soldiers against the Navy. But think how valuable such information could be. No wonder His Grace wants it.” “Valuable for whom? And if there exists some exploitable military secret, do you really think the Suzerain will just hand it to us?” “They gave me permission to get rid of the Cyxers.” Selhdun showed his teeth and tasted bitter rage. The bastards had threatened him, and he couldn’t even tell Pakal because he was part of the threat. “That’s a start, right?” 83
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“Who then has permission to get rid of us?” Selhdun didn’t want to go there. “What did you get from their transmission?” “It was encrypted. I expected as much.” Pakal frowned. He looked over Selhdun’s head toward the window. “But this was a particularly difficult algorithm. It will take me a while, but I am sure I can crack it.” “Keep working on it.” Selhdun rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s go see these Cyxers.” Pakal made a warding sign. “Knock it off, Pakal. You make me nervous when you keep doing that.”
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CHAPTER 11 The Tiamat station bustled with people. The wide corridors echoed with the sound of voices and the clank of distant machinery as ships docked or undocked from one of the busiest stations in the Autarch. The crowds grew as more ships discharged passengers into the well-lit passageways. In the time it took the three Cyxers to move from the docking area to the Ladder, Lyssra was jostled and nearly knocked over a half a dozen times. The worst offenders were the Chaghatai, their ranking scars prominently displayed on their exposed cheeks. They stared at the bedraggled Cyxers in open contempt, muttering about the infidel women’s bare faces, and their obvious lack of position just loudly enough for the Cyxers to hear. A Chaghatai woman stared at her. It was hard to see anything 85
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behind the veil and the flowing gown of rich synthetic and fur, but Lyssra could have sworn she saw the woman’s lip curl. The slave disapproved of the free-woman? Lyssra wanted to shake her and ask how she could tolerate being some man’s property; but, as she was always harping to Ilesha, this was not the appropriate place for that kind of disruption. They had no time for crusades, no matter how satisfying it might make her feel. Lyssra hurried Ilesha and Benin along. She wanted to make the Ladder quickly. Ilesha cursed when a crush of men shoved past them. She stumbled into Lyssra, who grabbed her arm. “Remember where we are,” Lyssra said when she felt the tension that vibrated in her sister. “We can’t afford a scene right now.” “If just one of these fatuous prudes propositions me—” “You will smile graciously, shut up, and leave,” Lyssra hissed. “Do I make myself clear?” “Abundantly.” Ilesha rubbed her wrist where Lyssra’s fingers had dug into her flesh. “Sometimes I wonder how far you would go.” “As far as I have to, to keep us safe. Leave it, Ilesha. You aren’t going to change a damn thing here and I don’t need that kind of trouble. Remember who we’re meeting.” “Oh, sure,” Ilesha said. “The great and holy Ogema. Some dancing fop who needs help keeping his pants on.” Lyssra frowned. “We need his help, and our sources say he’ll be amenable to our offer.” She glanced at Benin who looked harried and unhappy. Apparently he didn’t like crowds either. Either that or something else was upsetting the usually unflappable Benin. Lyssra hoped it wasn’t Ilesha. “You’re here to provide 86
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research assistance, right? You don’t have to deal with the Ogema or his men. That’s my job.” “Good,” Ilesha said. “I don’t know how you stand these misogynist pigs. You always were more of a political animal than I was.” Lyssra wanted to argue that it was her job that was political, not her, but she kept silent. Despite how Lyssra wanted to see herself, Ilesha was right. She had become political. “You stick to what you know,” she said. “I’ll stick to what I know. We’ll all come out of this happy and well repaid for our efforts.” “You hope,” Ilesha said. “Just do your job, and leave the worrying to me.” The Ladder pavilion was even more crowded. Here people and cargo competed for space on one of the three elevators that would take them down to the surface of Tiamat. Lyssra was tempted to let the first capsule go, but one look at the crowds that kept pouring in and she knew nothing would be solved by waiting. Besides, the delay would add an hour to their schedule. The minute the airlock rumbled closed behind them and sealed with a soft hiss, Lyssra knew she’d made a mistake. Putting Benin in front of them, she tried to push through toward the rear of the capsule. No seats remained available and without rank they had no chance of being offered any. Instead they were forced to grab hold of one of the straps hanging down and hang on as the capsule swayed and began its controlled planetward plunge. The Chaghatai men seemed drawn to the Cyxer women. They stared at her bare face and at Ilesha’s, their glittering gazes drawn to Ilesha’s waist-length flame-red hair. Ilesha was crammed between two Chaghatai men. Lyssra suspected it was the hair that 87
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attracted so much male attention. Redheads were rare enough on Cyx, but on the other Autarch worlds, they were just about nonexistent. The fact that she wore it unbound and uncovered only made her stand out all the more. She almost asked Ilesha to cover it, then realized the kind of reaction that would cause. Under the silent disapproval of their veiled women, the Chaghatai men hemmed Ilesha among them, forcing her to release her grip on the support strap. Ilesha stumbled and fell against one of the men. He clearly took that as an invitation and groped at Ilesha’s crotch, and another squeezed her unbound breasts. Lyssra tried to move then, too, but when she started to squeeze between the Chaghatai women she was rudely pushed back. The Chaghatai men sniggered openly now, practically on top of Ilesha. One held her while another pushed his hands under her skirt, bunching the slick material up around her hips. Lyssra shoved past a Chaghatai woman who hissed, “Whore,” and tried to push back. Behind her Benin cursed. The way they had Ilesha hemmed in Lyssra doubted if anyone else was even aware of what was going on. Ilesha made no sound either, the only thing Lyssra heard was the soft laughter from the men as they clearly thought they were going to have some fun. Ilesha squirmed and even to Lyssra’s eyes it looked like she was welcoming the assault. Then she squirmed again and the man between her legs went down. The one holding her suddenly seemed to have trouble breathing and he released her, his hands going between his own legs to clutch himself. Ilesha dropped into a crouch, and when a third man tried to grab her, she slipped through to the other side of the capsule. One of the women tried to follow her, but this time Lyssra moved more 88
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quickly and shoved the startled Chaghatai woman into the midst of her red-faced men. “That’ll teach those assholes,” Ilesha said when Benin grabbed her arm. “Bastards. How dare they touch me. No one touches me. No one.” Benin held her and clumsily soothed her. He met Lyssra’s gaze over Ilesha’s head and she was surprised by the intensity of his look. In his arms Ilesha shook and sobbed. Suddenly she pulled away. “No one fucking touches me, you got that? Not even you, Mr. Hotshot—” Lyssra glanced over Benin’s head at the fuming Chaghatai. Fortunately, they couldn’t see Ilesha. Sometimes being short had advantages. “Hear this, Ilesha. I don’t care what kind of assholes they are. This is a business trip. Behave like it’s one.” Even Benin stared at her, his mouth hanging open. “I don’t like it any more than you do,” Lyssra said. “When we have time to launch a crusade we can come back and fix all the problems you want. For now we keep a low profile and don’t attract attention. That clear?” “Crystal,” Ilesha said and let Benin tuck her under his arm. “Except I think you like it just fine.” Lyssra swayed when the capsule rocked under them. They were slowing and must be nearing the surface. She frowned. “We’ll talk about it later,” she said. “Right,” Ilesha said. She turned away and, pulling Benin after her, began to wind her way toward the nearest exit. The tropical sky was a cloudless blue that hurt Lyssra’s eyes. She let the press of the crowd move her along the broad walkway, and tried to keep Ilesha and Benin in sight. Only when the mass 89
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dispersed and the flat walk cleared was she able to catch up to them. Ilesha and Benin hugged the shade and she saw Ilesha rub her arms where the sun touched her. Goose bumps crowded her own skin where the heated breeze brushed against it. She had to keep reminding herself this wasn’t Cyx. The air didn’t hold anything harmful. Groundcars and freight trams moved along orderly roads around the base of the massive Ladder that dropped from the sky. Crowds filled the grounds, spilling out of fashionable shops and restaurants that Lyssra knew were beyond her meager purse. No matter how harmless she knew it was, the sun on her exposed skin made her want to find a shielded building to hide in. She could tell by their soft muttering that Benin and Ilesha shared her uneasiness. She scanned the crowds. Selhdun had said he would meet them at the dirtside hotel called the Ambassador near the Ladder. She watched a group of children pass, a trio of laughing caretakers struggling to maintain order among the half dozen boys and girls. The children’s high-pitched voices filled the soft tropical air. She heard one of them squeal, “Oh, look, Theanna, a butterfly. Can we catch it and take it back with us? “ Lyssra looked around. The hotel should be here. The sign was high enough to see over the head of the oversized man who was just climbing out of a small, three-wheeled vehicle. A piercing scream sent a bolt of pure adrenaline through Lyssra. Spinning around, she got Ilesha’s elbow in the chest, knocking the breath out of her lungs. Ilesha batted at her when Lyssra tried to pin her arms to her side. The younger woman’s panic was contagious; Lyssra heard the high-pitched voices of 90
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children yelling nearby. “Ilesha!” Ilesha screamed again, and this time Lyssra saw the source of her terror. Something fluttered through the air over the children huddled beneath the protective embrace of their caretakers. It moved over their bare heads back toward Lyssra. One of the children reached for it. Her caretaker pulled her back, hustling the group away from the Cyxers, and the multicolored menace. “Butterfly…” the girl said. With a shudder Lyssra jumped back, slamming into Ilesha, the two of them going down in a heap of curses and swinging arms. Cat-quick, Ilesha rolled and came up in a crouch, holding her carryon in front of her as she tore it open and pulled out the shortbladed knife she used in her herbal preparations. She lunged for the attacking creature, connecting instead with a man’s muscular chest. Lyssra sat up in time to see him push Ilesha to the ground and press his booted foot down on her wrist, trapping her knife arm on the hard ground. Ilesha’s scream of rage could probably have been heard on Cyx. Lyssra faced the newcomer. It was the oversized man she had seen earlier. He was well over two meters and heavy muscled. He raised his hairless head and met her gaze. His eyes were the oddest silver gray, reptilian in their coldness. He stared at her, ignoring the woman under his boot. “Tell her to let it go, or I will break her arm,” he said. “And if that does not stop her, I will break her neck.” He spoke with an oddly accented voice. “Who are you?” Lyssra said, looking around at the throng of faces taking in the bizarre tableau. Even the children stared; one 91
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little girl around Eleda’s age had her thumb firmly parked in her mouth while she solemnly watched. “What did you think we were doing?” she whispered to him, knowing more was going on here than she understood. “Tell her to let it go,” he said. Lyssra watched the crowd move back as though some force pushed them. She watched a troop of whip-thin armed men she recognized as the cloned type owned by wealthy royal families pour into the gap the crowd left. “Ilesha, do as he says,” Lyssra hissed, never taking her eyes off the guards. Ilesha released a torrent of curses that curdled the air. The outline of the giant’s boot pressed into the flesh of her wrist. “Ilesha!” “Pakal, let her up,” another man spoke. “It’s pretty obvious she’s no assassin.” A man sat alone in the three-wheeled vehicle. Lyssra couldn’t help notice the raised tattoo on the side of his head that meant he was a Hegemon pilot, with the neurological implant linking him to a Jumpship’s computerized brain. The nearest guards formed a protective shield around him as he climbed slowly out of the vehicle. Even the bedraggled Cyxers were enclosed in the potentially deadly human ring. The man they guarded wore a sardonic half-smile on his dark, aristocratic face; and, with a sinking sensation, she began to realize just who he was. “Ilesha.” Lyssra watched her sister climb to her feet. She had to salvage something of this fiasco. “For God’s sake, give me that knife.” Lyssra heard a child sobbing loudly. When Ilesha hesitated and opened her mouth to protest, Lyssra wrenched the knife from her 92
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and would have jammed it into her own carryon but the big man’s fingers closed over her arm. “I will take that.” Lyssra had no choice but to release the knife. She rubbed at the numb flesh of her arm when he released her. The man in the three-wheeler never took his gaze off Ilesha, and Lyssra nearly groaned aloud. Ilesha looked back at him and tilted her head, as though taking his measure. Benin tried to put his arm around her, but he might as well have been hugging wood; Ilesha ignored him. “What were you doing with that knife?” the stranger said to Ilesha. “You don’t look like a suicide case.” “We were being attacked…” Ilesha watched the creature that had triggered the whole thing flit away toward a bed of glossy white Ishtar’s blooms. The children and their caretakers, Lyssra noticed, were gone. Ilesha’s scowl deepened. “What the hell is that, anyway?” “That was a butterfly,” Selhdun said. “Very dangerous creatures, butterflies. You never know what they might do.” Ilesha frowned. “Why do you let them fly around then?” Lyssra saw something pass over Selhdun’s face. He was struggling not to laugh. Unfortunately, Ilesha saw it, too. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you? Butterflies aren’t dangerous at all.” Ilesha clenched her hands into fists. “Who the hell are you?” “Prince Terik u Selhdun, Ogema of Tiamat, Lord of the Realm.” Despite being seated, he gave the impression of bowing and clicking his heels. “And you are the delegation from Cyx?” *
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Lyssra paced the length of their hotel room. Benin had retired earlier at Lyssra’s urging. She faced Ilesha across the room. “Bad enough you bring a knife—and I don’t need to be reminded that I okayed it,” Lyssra said in a tight, barely controlled voice. “But to bring it out—” “I was not trying to use it on him—” “You think that matters? You think anyone cares what your intentions were? You had an open blade out in front of the Patriarch of Tiamat. They could send you to Xua for that. What were you thinking?” Ilesha sprawled on the hotel bed. She rolled onto her side and shrugged. “You see the way he looked at me?” “Who? Selhdun?” Ilesha slid her tongue over her lips. “Try to imagine all that power wrapped up in that package. Not a bad package, either. If you overlook the chair…” “Ilesha!” Alarm crossed Lyssra face. “Our only concern is getting Selhdun to agree to deal with us. That’s all. Threatening the man with a knife doesn’t further our cause.” “Wasn’t him I was threatening,” Ilesha said. Lyssra shivered and rubbed her arms. If Pakal felt threatened by Ilesha, what was he likely to do? How much influence did he have on Selhdun? “You leave both of them alone,” she said. “You will especially not speak to that Pakal—Shut up, Ilesha and listen to me. You will behave with the utmost decorum during the remainder of our stay. Be polite. Be pleasant. Nothing more.” Ilesha stared at the floor. “Can I have my blade back?” “You think I still have it? Do you really think it would be left with me? Go ahead, go ask Pakal for it. You can explain that you 94
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really didn’t plan to use it. I’d love to see his reaction to that. Go ahead.” “You really can be a bitch sometimes, you know that?” *
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“Is that what you were afraid of, Pakal?” Selhdun lay on his stomach on the big bed and let Pakal massage his shoulders. He cushioned his head on his arm and watched the Xuan work out of the corner of his eye. “She barely comes up to my armpit.” He laughed. “Did you see how she jumped at the bug?” “Size has little to do with deadliness.” Pakal scowled. His fingers dug into fatigue-knotted flesh. “If you knew anything about the natural world of planets, instead of dismissing them out of hand, you would understand that perfectly.” “Planets are useless. Dirt and climate, I don’t know which is worse.” “Not so useless,” Pakal said. “You are rich because of them, weather and all. Your family is what it is because of an accident of history that gave you this planet.” “Instead of Xua?” Selhdun said softly. He turned over on his side to face Pakal. “Does that bother you so much?” “I have lost my entire family to that pestilent hell-hole. I never had the luxury of deciding whether I hated them or not.” “Xuan fate,” Selhdun said. “We don’t choose our destiny. We make it.” “Do not quote me Xuan parables,” Pakal said sharply, then grinned. “You listen too well.” “Yeah, that’s me. All ears,” Selhdun said. He cupped Pakal’s head in his hand. “Why did you stop?” 95
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Pakal lowered his face until his lips were almost touching Selhdun’s. “What makes you think I did?” *
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Selhdun met the Cyxers the next morning in the meeting room he had reserved for breakfast. While the hotel staff served, Selhdun drew his chair up to Lyssra’s table. She scrambled to her feet. “Sorry if you expected the public rooms,” he said after Lyssra, Ilesha and Benin dropped him a hasty bow and retook their seats at his urging. “Security won’t allow that kind of exposure.” “I understand,” Lyssra said. “I’m glad we could meet without a crowd. It’s important we set up an appointment to discuss our business.” “In good time,” Selhdun said. “Today’s a good day for rest, I think. You’ve had a long trip; I expect you’re still tired. How did you find your rooms?” “More than adequate,” Lyssra said. “Thank you, I—” Selhdun barely glanced at Benin, who dipped his head nervously. Selhdun leaned toward Ilesha. “And you, Ilesha? You slept well? No bad dreams?” Lyssra watched Ilesha. Her face held an intensity Lyssra didn’t like one bit. Ilesha watched Selhdun like he was one of her special plants, full of possible, but as yet unknown, potential. “You’ve never been to Tiamat before, have you?” Selhdun said, not even pretending to speak to anyone but Ilesha. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to see? I have some free time, today, at least.” “Captain,” Pakal said, causing Lyssra to jump when he crept up behind her. “Your table is ready. The cook awaits your order.” 96
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Lyssra caught the look on the Xuan’s face when Selhdun waved him off. She felt something very cold dig its way up her spine, leaving pure ice in its wake. “I’ll be there soon, Pakal. Go make sure they don’t poison the fruit bowl.” “Now, was there anything that interested you?” Selhdun turned back to Ilesha. “I assure you Tiamat has any number of diversions available to the discriminating traveler.” Lyssra often wondered whether Ilesha used something, or if she just had some natural pheromone that grabbed men’s interest and focused it solely on her. Whatever it was, Ilesha was using it in full force today. Selhdun seemed no more immune to it than any other man. Ilesha licked her lips and leaned forward. Both Selhdun’s and Lyssra’s eyes dropped to where her breasts pressed against the short top of her “casual” outfit, a tight-fitting, low-cut top over skin hugging pants. She threatened to spill out onto the table. “The Natural History Museum. I understand they have several live specimens among their exhibits. Mostly birds. It’s supposed to be one of the best enclosed facilities like it in the Autarch.” “I suppose it is.” Selhdun appeared to drag his gaze back to her face with great effort. “That’s what you want to see? Then so be it.” Lyssra wanted to haul her sister out of there, but that would have caused a scene. Ilesha always shone when tempers flared. Lyssra dug her fingers through her short hair and traded sour looks with Benin. She felt sorry for the man. He didn’t deserve this treatment. No one did. But Benin was strong. He’d survive. Selhdun was another matter. What was he up to? And why couldn’t he see what Ilesha was doing? Why were men always so 97
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blind to Ilesha’s shameless machinations? What did he want?
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CHAPTER 12 Selhdun managed to stand in the shower long enough to wash off the planet’s stink. When he joined Pakal in the front room he gratefully took a seat, and let a servant pour him wine. Pakal looked agitated. “What could you want at the museum?” He held himself rigid, looking down at Selhdun on the lounger. “You? Have your senses deserted you entirely?” “I don’t know what you mean,” Selhdun said when Pakal sat beside him. “The Natural History Museum? You hated being in the same field as His Grace’s polo ponies the last time you were at court.” “Our guests are entitled to some courtesy—” Pakal sighed. “Which one is it?” He answered his own 99
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question. “It is the redhead, yes? The one with the knife.” “She has…spirit.” “What she had was a knife.” “You back to that? You’d think she was actually going to use it on me.” Pakal threw his hands up and left the room. When he returned five minutes later he was dressed to go out. He glanced at the hovering servants. “Watch your master.” He met Selhdun’s gaze. “I will be back in the morning.” Selhdun made no attempt to stop him. With Pakal gone, Selhdun called on the servants to help him into bed. He was glad Pakal wasn’t there to see his feebleness when they had to carry him into the bedroom, his leg muscles refusing to support him any further. That would have really given Pakal something to harp on. *
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The Natural History Museum was situated in the montane highlands of the Danbarru Range, two hundred klicks west of the Ladder. In the distance, a waterfall scattered diamonds of light across the crags before joining the mist at its base. The forest steamed in the late morning sun. The mist ghosted aside to let the two small aircars pass through as they skimmed the treetops. Selhdun winced when a hot pain lanced through his head. He rubbed his temple, eyes closed. He had slept long and deep the previous night, but he had not woken up rested. If anything, the pain was worse. Pakal stared out the other window. He had barely spoken since 100
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returning to their room late that morning. Barely in time to embark on their day trip. Was that deliberate? The light outside the shielded windows looked brighter than it had a minute ago. Painfully bright. Selhdun shut his eyes against it. The car glided to a stop in front of the ornate front gates. “I have arranged for a smaller vehicle to carry you, Captain. The others can walk. Will you wait for the zoo director?” Pakal said. “He has been informed of our arrival.” “We’ll wait.” It gave him a few more minutes to rest. “As you wish.” “Pakal,” Selhdun said, but when he opened his eyes Pakal was gone. Selhdun leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. “Open the windows,” he told the driver. The hum of voices came through the window on the scented breeze. The one called Lyssra did most of the talking. Selhdun hoped she’d be easy to deal with. He wanted to get on with this thing. Let his mother suffer the headaches of this planet; she seemed to thrive on them. He could hear the witch. Even when she wasn’t angry her voice had fire in it. He opened his eyes and searched for her. Her hair was a beacon, even wrapped in braids as it was today. He knew what it looked like down, now he wanted to see what it looked like wrapped around him, a shroud of liquid fire. He wanted to know what her mouth felt like… A man approached. He had the worried look of a professional sycophant. Behind him a young clone drove up in a three-wheeled cart much like the one they had used at the Ladder. Pakal left the group of Cyxers to meet the new arrival. Selhdun couldn’t hear what they said, but he could see the stranger wringing his hands. 101
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He didn’t need to hear to know the problem. Security. Already the museum overflowed with tourists. It must be a popular destination, and Pakal was convinced half of them had nothing better to do than plot the current Ogema’s death. Selhdun was dogged by paranoia. Pakal was right, he had been out from under the life of Tiamat privilege too long. Selhdun hated it. The tattoo that marked him as a linked pilot generated its share of attention, and nervous awe, but this…this watchfulness stank of cynicism and endless conspiracies that sapped his waning energy. He wanted out. Instead he was putting himself right back into it. Pakal strode back to the aircar. “The museum director says it will take half an hour to clear the building. He wants to know if you would prefer to wait in his office—” “Tell him we’re going in now. If he can’t provide additional security that’s his problem, not mine.” “Terik—” “This is hardly a scheduled visit, is it? There was no publicity. Do you think they have assassins lined up at every amusement park and museum in case the Ogema decides to play tourist? If he wants it so badly, he can clear the building while we’re in it.” Pakal bowed stiffly, his face a mask. “Very well, Captain.” He stalked back to the director. Selhdun slowly climbed out of the aircar and followed. *
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The director was a facile idiot, but he knew his museum and the organisms in it. After the security team had been assembled, they entered the building and made for the Terran exhibit. The 102
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Tiamat Biological Research Zone boasted one of the largest collections of cataloged Terran lifeforms anywhere. The entire collection had come on the Simao Mendes, the sleeper ship that had brought the original Selhduns to their new fiefdom. They and the other survivors emerged from the warravaged home planet, Terra, and settled into their new home. Terra had slipped from history and fallen into the shadowy realm of legend. The exhaustive library of biological material kept at various sites was plundered regularly to provide new exhibits. The director, who introduced himself as Hanbeury, was proud of his museum and what had been done in the centuries since its inception. “Your father never visited us, my Lord, but he supported our efforts, as did his father before him,” Hanbeury said, as he led them past the first group of glassed in enclosures. “We still have so much to do, more research into proper habitat, educational material—” “Yes, yes,” Selhdun said, watching Ilesha. “I’ll see that the funding continues. We’re here to see some of these famous animals, so why don’t you get to it?” Ilesha captivated him. Like a child on her first field trip, she ran from enclosure to enclosure, fascinated by everything. Her questions were sharp and showed a keen mind, not that he gave a damn what kind of mind she had, but her fire intrigued him. She didn’t even dress like the others. They wore simple, onepiece suits of the type normally adopted by station personnel. She sported an outfit that succeeded in flowing around her, and clinging like quicksilver to the more interesting curves at the same time. The dress was dark jade, nearly black, and shot through with 103
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streaks of red. It was obvious she wore nothing under it. Maybe this business trip would be more interesting than he’d first expected. “So much of the information was lost in the crossing.” Hanbeury had insisted on staying close to Selhdun. The others were more obviously interested in what he had to say, but Hanbeury knew where his real support came from. “Much of the stored data was corrupt or suspect. We’ve had to guess at a lot of things like habitat, based on morphology and even what we know of their phylogenic makeup. We’re still guessing.” Ilesha stared into the elephant exhibit. The grotesque things inside seemed to fascinate her. Selhdun glanced at them in disgust. He couldn’t imagine what they would have looked like alive. Frozen in death they were ridiculous enough. “This section is our aviary,” Hanbeury said, stopping in front of a set of open double doors. People wandered in and out, glancing curiously at the entourage and its guard troop. “We’ve successfully cultivated over a hundred living species of birds. Some of the larger ones are quite impressive. The smaller ones are often exquisite.” Hanbeury led them into down a short hallway building. Their footsteps echoed on the marble tile floor. Selhdun could feel Pakal’s displeasure radiating from where he walked beside the three-wheeled cart. Pakal wanted him to stop this nonsense and return to the Necromancer. Pakal didn’t understand that their options had been severely limited by the arrival of the Cyxers. Or maybe he recognized it and hated them because of it. Pakal made his dislike of the Cyxers clear. “Do you breed these things?” Ilesha asked. “What kind of success rate do you have?” 104
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“Quite high, actually,” Hanbeury said. “Breeding them is one way to see if we have it right. An unhappy animal won’t exhibit breeding behavior, sometimes they won’t even develop secondary sexual—” He belatedly seemed to realize who was listening. Women weren’t supposed to have that kind of interest. He flushed and looked helplessly at Selhdun. “Go on,” Selhdun said. “They’re scientists. If it helps, try thinking of them as men.” Ilesha shot him a trenchant look. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone describe me that way.” She grinned. “I am sure I’ve never been mistaken for a man.” “I don’t imagine you ever have,” Selhdun said, letting his gaze wander down her green and red clad form. Ilesha was still watching him when his gaze returned to her face. She smiled and looked away. “Do you have any ravens?” Ilesha asked the still blushing director. “Ravens? Well, we have crows,” Hanbeury muttered. “This way.” Selhdun signaled the driver to catch up to Ilesha. “What exactly are ravens?” She glanced sideways at him. “Birds. My totem bird, to be exact. I have a tattoo of one.” A tattoo? Indeed this business trip was going be most interesting. Selhdun let his gaze wander down her green and red clad form. He raised his eyes to meet her speculative look. And doubled over with a violent sneeze. “Captain.” Pakal was beside him instantly. He knelt down by the ’chair. “We should return. This place is unclean—” 105
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“Damn it, Pakal, I’m not a cripple.” He ground his teeth in tired rage. “Appearances to the contrary.” “Terik—” “I’m fine,” he said, massaging his temple where the steady throb belied his words. But he wasn’t about to tell Pakal that. He was tired of being treated like he would break at any second. “Get on with it.” Frowning, Pakal signaled Hanbeury to continue. Selhdun turned his attention back to Ilesha. “Totem?” Ilesha narrowed her eyes and studied him. Finally she shrugged, her slender shoulders rolling loosely under the clingy material. “I’m aware a lot of your people call us witches. They’re wrong, despite what you’ve heard about drugs and silly rituals. But we do study medicinal herbs. Myself, I’m a botanist, not a magician; my science is grounded in solid research.” The look she flashed him was openly challenging. He smiled to urge her on, reserving judgment on just how much magic she was capable of performing. “If I wasn’t a female Cyxer, a pharmaceutical company like CoDyre would hire me, no problem.” “Then if you’re not a witch, why the totem? Isn’t that counterproductive? If I know you have a totem then I’m more likely to think you’re a witch, not less.” “Your problem, not mine. You think I care what you think?” He let his eyes again wander over her form. “So, why a totem?” “Some of us choose an animal to represent what we’re trying to accomplish on Cyx. We want to make it habitable. The animal we pick represents that dream,” she said. “The raven is a strong bird. If you believe the legends, they really were magical. They understood human speech, and they give great power to their owners. I have a tattoo—” 106
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She flushed and looked away. Selhdun’s gaze roamed a third time over her thinly clad figure, and saw no sign of any tattoo. Interesting indeed. Somebody else entered the corridor, Selhdun briefly saw their silhouette in the light beyond. He looked back at Ilesha. She was a lot more interesting than anything else he had seen so far. The avian enclosures consisted of large glassed in areas, many of which extended upward into what Hanbeury called a flyspace. It was easy to see why the creatures needed it. Bright colored things flitted through various enclosures, alighting on branches long enough to let the watchers catch a brief glimpse of them, then flying off again. Bird song filled the air, piped in from the nearest enclosure. Their songs were pleasant, Selhdun decided, but repetitive. They weren’t going to put Bartolyi out of business anytime soon. Ilesha saw them first. “Ravens! You do have them.” With a delighted shriek she raced across the wide corridor. The enclosure held a pair of the biggest birds Selhdun had ever seen. Their curved beaks and wicked yellow eyes looked menacing even behind the protective glass. Selhdun glimpsed nasty looking claws gripping the branch they perched on, then Hanbeury called after her. “Wait, that’s not—” Startled, Hanbeury looked down at his Patriarch when the vehicle rolled in front of him. He swallowed, then met Selhdun’s gaze. “Yes, my Lord?” “If she wants those to be ravens, then they’re ravens.” “But those are golden—” “I don’t care if they’re the Treasure of Ruzovni. Right now 107
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they’re ravens.” Selhdun realized both Pakal and the director were looking at him. Let them look. Ilesha’s pleasure amused him. So that was her totem? He definitely had to look into this more closely. Hanbeury frowned, shifted forward, and turned his head to look at Ilesha. There was the softest of pops and Hanbeury barely had time to register surprise before the top of his head exploded in a shower of blood and shattered bone. Something warm splashed onto Selhdun’s cheek. Selhdun doubled over as a bolt of hot agony arrowed through his shoulder. He felt the floor under his back as he tumbled from the vehicle. The back of his head slammed into marble, and he was surprised when there was no pain. He heard Pakal’s shout. He was dimly aware of hands and a growing numbness in his chest. Darkness offered comfort and release from the strange numbness and the confusion of voices. He gave himself up to it.
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CHAPTER 13 “You really are twenty kinds of fool,” Dame Selhdun said. The blurred figure of his mother moved around the handcarved bed she had once shared with his father. Selhdun’s head throbbed at the thought. Her constant motion made him dizzy. Hundreds of tiny white and red light points flashed irregularly across his torso, glittering in random, varying patterns, like a finemeshed web of light. Selhdun flexed against the lightweight nanobot shell that encased his upper body, the sensor rich surface pulsed frantically in response, the red lights dominated, created a sweeping effect that radiated outward from the center of the wound site. “Stop moving,” Dame Selhdun said. “Let the nanobots do their job. Interfere with the readings and the ’Doc will only inject you 109
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with more.” She shook her silver head. “You never seem able to do what is good for you.” Selhdun lay back and immediately the lights returned to their normal levels of pulsing irregularity. The nanos that had been injected into his bloodstream by the ’Doc continued to take their readings but they stopped trying to render him immobile. “No regrets, Mother. I always swore that,” Selhdun whispered, his windpipe felt stuffed with steel shards. Apparently the ’Doc had stuffed something down his throat when he had started choking on blood. He had only the vaguest memory of that. It was more than he wanted. He studied the translucent, light-infested surface of the nano-shell covering his chest. If he tried to move it moved with him, but if he tried to move too fast it became rigid. The actual wound site was a nest of thin, red lines carrying a continuous flow of blood, nutrients and waste in and out of his body. He studied it in morbid fascination. “Strong words,” his mother said softly. “Strong words from a weak man. You had so much to be sorry for. Had you made wiser choices, would your life be in such chaos today?” Snow cover lay over the skylight. Back in the Selhdun enclave. He didn’t remember getting there. Suddenly agitated he sat up. “Where’s Pakal? I need to talk to him—” “Your…co-pilot is being held for questioning.” She grimaced, then glanced around at the half dozen servants that watched her every move. “Everyone has been interrogated. The Navy even sent down some Special-Ops Captain to conduct the investigation.” Selhdun tried not to think about the Navy snooping in his business. He closed his eyes. Someone had tried to kill him. He had his own ideas who it might be. She circled his bed like some gaunt, predatory bird. Would she 110
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really have the nerve to hire an assassin? Or would she leave the gory details of such an operation to her milk-son? God knew if she succeeded, it would be pathetically easy to rid herself of one pregnant woman, and ensure the title went where she wanted it. “Not since your great-great-grandfather’s day has such a thing happened,” his mother said. “You have not been here a month.” “Aren’t we turning things around a little, Mother?” Selhdun pushed panicked thoughts aside. He had to see Pakal for himself, to know the Xuan was all right. The medical vest beeped in alarm and a renewed flood of muscle relaxants made moving difficult. “I’m the one that was shot.” “Having a house full of Navy men is a constant reminder of that,” she said. “I came to find out whom you would name as regent. Until your son is old enough, there must be a second name on the certificates of legate. He may be heir, but he cannot inherit until he comes of age. Kerstrik—” “Will wait until entropy freezes us all before he fills that position.” He refused to allow his mother to see the effort it took him to speak. “Jerisla will manage. I have no doubt you will control him easily enough.” “Kerstrik is better suited—” “Forget him, Mother.” “You really have no right.” “I’m Ogema, I’m the only one who has any rights. Kerstrik is no longer a concern of this family.” His mother leaned forward, her voice a low hiss. “I’m glad your father isn’t here to see you. He cared about this place, and the people.” “But not about his sons?” “He was a good man.” 111
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“He was a sadistic bastard!” Selhdun fell back on the bed, his shout ringing in the room. Alarm crossed his mother’s face. He had to force his eyes open against the rising tide of endorphins the nanobots flooded him with. He didn’t want to be calmed. “You must go back into the ’Doc.” She leaned over him. “Let me call—” “No.” Selhdun forced himself into a sitting position. The effort brought with it a new wave of dizziness. “I told you I don’t have time for that. Later—” “You damned fool, you don’t get it, do you? You almost died! This isn’t some stupid game I’m playing. This is real. That director died—another dozen centimeters and it would have gone into your heart and no medical intervention would have saved you from going to hell.” Selhdun closed his eyes against the sharpness of the memory; Hanbeury’s head exploding when the projectile entered it. Blood…blood everywhere. Darkness had taken him then, like it threatened to take him now. She was right. Someone tried to kill him. Unbidden came the image of a body swinging leisurely from a frozen tree limb. Was that the way Rauli had felt when death entered his body? “Would you have been sorry?” “You know the answer to that.” She glanced at the nearest servant. “Except you would have left us in the tenuous position of having no one to replace you.” “Get out of here, Mother,” Selhdun said. “Like you keep reminding me, I need to rest. I’m tired.” She dipped her head in cool acknowledgment, and, gathering her voluminous gown around her, swept past his bed. 112
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He stopped her at the door. “Tell Pakal I want him.” “The Navy—” she said stiffly. “Can wait until I am ready.” Stiffly she bowed and backed out of the room.
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CHAPTER 14 “We’re leaving,” Selhdun said when Pakal arrived ten minutes after his mother left. “Impossible. You must rest.” He waved Pakal onto the bed beside him and ignored his protests. “How soon can you get us ready to leave?” Pakal shook his dark head. “We’re not leaving until you spend at least a month in the ’Doc. We should cancel the trip all together. This is foolish.” “We go now. Tomorrow, if I can swing it. We had the ’Doc upgraded the last time we were in Nexus, right?” He could see that Pakal wanted to refuse. “We’ll take five weeks to reach Jump.” He smiled his most beguiling smile. “I’ll spend it in ’Doc, I promise. But we have to 114
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go, and that’s not up for discussion.” “What is it, Terik? What did they say to you that you will risk so much?” “Nothing.” Selhdun avoided Pakal’s eyes. He knew, in the end, Pakal wouldn’t push too hard. He probably didn’t want to know what the Suzerain’s agents had said. He knew it was bad. Selhdun had no intention of telling him how bad. “If you won’t make the arrangements, I’ll find someone who will.” Pakal snorted and raised one eyebrow. “Who will you find that will do this? You have more than a reputation here you know. Most think you are a monster to work for.” “Have you been telling stories about me again?” “I only tell the truth.” “What good is being captain of your own ship if no one does as they’re told?” He grabbed Pakal’s hand. “How long will it take to get them ready?” “Two, three days.” Pakal massaged the knuckles of Selhdun’s hand. “I think your witches are as eager to leave as you. I still wish you would reconsider. The Suzerain will not touch you. It would make the others too uneasy.” “Tell them three days,” Selhdun said. “Bring Lyssra to see me in the morning. I’ll see what she has to say. Then you can finalize arrangements. This may be a long trip, so see that everyone gets their own room. Have you already assigned quarters to your new apprentice? I assume he’s working out?” “Of course,” Pakal said stiffly. Selhdun laughed. “You hardly have to apologize for having an eye for the good-looking ones, Pakal. I wouldn’t be churlish enough to resent that. He can keep you entertained while I’m in the ’Doc. Can you take me up tomorrow after I see Lyssra? Better if I 115
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get into the tank early before anyone has a chance to get into quarantine. I hope the Cyxers realize they have to do that?” “Very well,” Pakal said. “Will that be all?” “No,” he said. “Now it’s my turn to coddle you. You’re staying here tonight. That way I can be sure we both get our rest.” “Your mother will not be happy.” “Good.” *
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“Does this mean we go home?” Ilesha curled up in one of the luxurious chairs that sat in every corner of the common area in Lyssra’s quarters. She sipped the frothy cocktail she had conjured out of the food dispenser. “How does someone let an assassin get that close to the Ogema?” Benin said. He ran his fingers through his spiky hair, and frowned down at his drink. “How sloppy is that?” Lyssra agreed with him. “I suspect he was warned—remember how reluctant both Pakal and that poor director were to let him go into the park. Selhdun insisted. I guess you’re not the only stubborn one, eh, Ilesha?” Ilesha made a face. She finished her drink and set the glass down on the end table beside her chair. “At least I know how to take care of myself,” she said. “You know, if he wasn’t in that ‘chair he’d be a sexy man.” “Ilesha!” “What’d I say?” “You stay away from him,” Lyssra said. She couldn’t imagine what kind of complication that would create. She remembered the way Selhdun had looked at Ilesha. Now that was a mess waiting to 116
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happen. One she had to make sure never happened. The results would be catastrophic. But how to tell a man of Selhdun’s stature, used to getting everything he wanted, that this one prize was better left unplucked? When the door buzzed, and a servant handed Lyssra a note, she read it with trepidation. Pakal tersely informed her that Selhdun would meet with her at oh-nine-hundred the next morning. Lyssra didn’t dare show her fear to the others. She tried to think of something she could say to convince Selhdun to take the job. What could a man like that want that she could offer? The others left soon after. She barely noticed. The eleven million quitz were already committed. If they walked out now, they had lost. She chewed her lip. The Xuan made it clear he wished the Cyxers would go elsewhere. She couldn’t be bothered to explain to him that they had nowhere else to go. She wondered about the Xuan’s relationship with Selhdun. It was obvious they were close. She knew all about the Hegemon and the way it openly embraced the homosexual lifestyle. A lot of homosexuals escaped into it rather than be persecuted by their enlightened brethren. She hadn’t cared, one way or another. How was that relationship going to impact them? How much influence did the Xuan have? And if they were indeed lovers, why would Selhdun be interested in Ilesha? Lyssra rubbed her bare arms. She wondered what it would be like to throw away her mantle of responsibility. The worst of it was, she envied Ilesha. Her sister did her job with exceptional skill, but when she wasn’t working, she devoted the same kind of energy to her fun. She never worried what someone else would think, she grabbed life with both hands and enjoyed the ride. 117
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Lyssra sat here, and fretted about things she had precious little control over. She got out her handcomp and pulled up her most recent notes. She wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight. Might as well make it count. Tucking her feet under her, she sat on the big bed. She felt lost in the thing. The bedroom was bigger than her entire living quarters on Cyx. The furnishings in it probably would have bought a new gas chromatograph. The single piece of dragonstone on the bedside table, which had been worked by a skilled artisan into the shape of some sort of horned animal, would have paid for an upgrade to their ancient autodoc. How many lives were lost each year, because they couldn’t afford even moderately new technology? These people flaunted their wealth with a casual manner that it was almost numbing. Lyssra knew in her heart that somewhere on Cyx there was great wealth to be discovered. One had only to get past the repository of deadly poisons to find it. No doubt any number of those poisons were worth something in the right pharmaceutical hands. Drug companies like CoDyre made billions in profit. CoDyre was being cagey, they knew if they waited long enough, Cyx would sell off all its rights and CoDyre wouldn’t have to share those profits. There had to be enough money to make that threat null, then the pharmaceutical companies would flock to Cyx, with their money and their deals. She wearily rubbed her fingers through her dark, shoulderlength hair. God, she hoped Selhdun wasn’t so sick he was going to back out of this venture. *
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The Navy guard stopped at the study door and gave Selhdun’s room a swift perusal before letting Lyssra enter. Lyssra paused just inside the door. A fire blazed in the marblefronted fireplace. A trio of servants hovered near the chair that held Selhdun. Lyssra studied him and didn’t like what she saw. He looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot when they met hers. She was relieved to see Pakal was nowhere in sight. “Sit.” He gestured her to a chair opposite him. His movements were stiff, his face strained. He should be in bed, but it wasn’t her place to tell him so. “Tell me why you came to my planet,” he said. He wasn’t wasting time on cordiality. That was fine by her. She rubbed her arms against a sudden chill. She’d be glad to be quit of this place. She glanced around the small room. Comfortable enough, and filled with warm tones of deep burgundy and wood carved in intricate patterns, but shadows filled each empty niche with secretive darkness and the flames seemed to whisper of corruption and mischief. The fire cast a golden light over everything, yet didn’t quite reach into the corners. When a servant brought Selhdun another drink, the clone seemed to emerge from the shadow like a wraith, then disappeared back into it when his task was done. Selhdun didn’t offer her anything. “As discussed, we want to hire your ship and crew for a venture that should prove very profitable for all of us.” She had decided last night that the one thing that might appeal to someone of Selhdun’s stature was the promise of great riches. It seemed that even the most prosperous men were never satisfied their coffers held enough. Greed was a better motivator than curiosity. “I’m listening.” 119
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But not helping. The thought was pure acid. Okay, she could do this without his help. “The trip would be for an unknown duration, though I don’t expect it to be over six months.” “Six months?” Selhdun’s eyebrow arched up. “We promised to make it worth your time,” she said, leaning forward. “I believe we agreed to an amount earlier. The five million has been deposited per your instructions.” “Ah, the money,” Selhdun murmured. “You definitely got my attention with the money. Was that your intention?” There was an ennui about him that Lyssra didn’t like. Was it because of his brush with death? Or something else? He acted like nothing she said surprised him. The door snapped open and Lyssra was surprised when Selhdun’s entire body tensed. She looked up to see the Special-Ops officer who had interviewed her the previous day. Jenelek, that was his name, Admiral Chaltor Jenelek. What did he want? Did he intend to question her in front of Selhdun? Was he here to question Selhdun? “This is a private meeting,” Selhdun said. Jenelek seemed unperturbed. “I hold the countenance of His Grace, the Suzerain of all planets. I don’t require your leave in this or anything.” “Then get on with your business and be done with it.” Jenelek bowed and straightened, standing at parade rest. His gaze drilled into hers, then moved to take in Selhdun. “We need to talk…alone.” Selhdun’s smile was feral. “I did not request such a meeting, whereas I did solicit the company of Lyssra Ravenwood of Cyx. If your need is so pressing, speak. Otherwise we may have time to meet later, if it moves me to do so.” 120
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“His Grace has charged me with settling the question of the attempt on your life. But he would warn you not to jump at gray shadows, they may not be all they seem.” Selhdun stiffened his shoulders and glared at the impassive Jenelek. “Yet those same shadows may simply hold prattling fools, making hollow threats.” “His Grace seeks only to remind you of the importance of your position here. That supersedes all other interests and should be safeguarded at all cost, though some may deem that price to be high.” Lyssra was confused. She wondered if she should even be listening to this conversation. Not that she understood any of it, but just hearing this kind of thing could get her in trouble. Leaving wasn’t an option. Selhdun hadn’t dismissed her, and they had business of their own to cover. “My loyalty is ever and always to His Grace,” Selhdun said. “The Suzerain knows this. I have demonstrated that loyalty on numerous occasions.” “Indeed,” Jenelek said. “And will no doubt demonstrate even more loyalty again in the future. His Majesty merely wishes to affirm that you will take care of your business expeditiously and waste no time resuming your role here.” Selhdun looked even grimmer than when Jenelek first entered his study. “That was always my intent,” he said after several heartbeats, and dismissed Jenelek with a brief wave of his manicured hand. Jenelek bowed low again and took his leave. Lyssra felt no relief when the door closed behind him. She swung around to face Selhdun and blinked when she found him watching her steadily. 121
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“I accept your offer,” he said. “When can you be ready to leave?” *
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Dame Neibuhr sat in her office suite. She studied the man standing in front of her desk. “Why couldn’t you have killed that damned sodomite?” she asked him. “Why waste the bullet on the director?” “The Xuan’s death here and now would have ensured Selhdun knew you were the hand behind the attempt,” Jenelek said. “Because we didn’t kill his lover when we could have he may suspect, but he will not be sure. You tried that once before, and look where it got you.” “I want him dead.” She narrowed her eyes. This Navy Admiral was no ordinary officer, she had known that when he first approached her, but now she began to suspect he was even more than just another Autarch agent. How did they know about Rauli? That secret had been buried, along with the body that had burned and returned to the forest long ago. “That was our agreement.” “The Xuan won’t come back. None of them will. But for now it is enough that the threat to his lover will keep your son in line.” Dame Neibuhr didn’t like the disapproval she sensed in him. How dare he judge her or her husband. How could His Grace disapprove of what they had done so many years ago? “Surely His Grace understands we only tried to put a stop to our son’s sickness when we discovered it. My Lord husband never understood how such a weak fool could have spawned from him. It is not something we did.” “His Grace understands everything. But he fears your son is 122
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unstable. Unfit to lead at this time of political instability.” Jenelek stood straighter, his dark eyes drilling into hers. “But your son is right in not trusting Kerstrik. You might want to reconsider keeping Jerisla as regent. His Grace also wanted me to warn you that he will be most unhappy if the woman and her child come to harm. His Grace has uses for Selhdun’s son. Raise him as you wish, but see that no harm comes to him.” “And if he turns out like his father?” “That will be our concern this time.” Dame Neibuhr pursed her already thin lips. But she could only nod tersely and watch Jenelek take his leave. Then she summoned a servant and had them direct her youngest son, Jerisla, to meet her for a private lunch in her quarters. She might as well tell him of his good fortune. She would break the bad news to Kerstrik later. After that doomed ship and her foul crew left. Spirits buoyed at that prospect, she gathered her skirts around her and swept out of the office.
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CHAPTER 15 Ilesha pirouetted around the spacious bedroom aboard the Necromancer. At Lyssra’s insistence, Ilesha wore one of her more reserved outfits. When Ilesha moved in the ship’s three-quarters gravity, it flared around her bare legs and billowed slowly out over her hips. As usual she wore nothing beneath it. Screw Lyssra if she objected to that. Lyssra picked up another one of Ilesha’s outfits. She held up the sheer gown and frowned, then tossed the thing onto a chair and tapped her ’comp. “Can we get to work?” she asked. “Ilesha?” Ilesha settled into the chair, the wispy material showing leg all the way to her hip. Lyssra frowned. Ilesha quickly pulled the fabric back down to cover the tattoo on her upper thigh. Why did she 124
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have to have a sister who was such a dried up old woman? “I like this ship.” Ilesha laughed. “Can’t you just be happy we made it?” The Necromancer had left Tiamat orbit the week previous. They had just been released from quarantine and now faced three weeks until the first Jump that would return them to Cyx space. Ilesha knew she had a classic case of quarantine fever. The aftermath of a week in the ship’s ’Doc affected everyone differently. Some found the experience exhilarating, swearing they felt years younger. Others became pensive. Ilesha just got randier. Let Lyssra tap her ’comp and frown. She never did know how to have fun. “So when do we meet the crew?” she said. “I’ve always heard ship’s crews love to party. We have three weeks to kill.” “We have three weeks to work,” Lyssra said. “We need to correlate our notes, use the ship’s database to research stellar properties. They must still have some data on Sol. Benin already has some ideas he wants to check against the database, the others back at Cyx will keep looking on their end. I hope he finds something. Selhdun is going to be furious enough when he finds out I was less than open with him about what we actually had. Everything cataloged by the Hegemon is in there according to Benin.” “Everything that survived, you mean?” Ilesha yawned elaborately. Why did Lyssra always have to harp on work? They had made it, hadn’t they? They might as well take advantage of this incredible ship’s amenities since they weren’t likely to fly anything like it again. “We lost the records on Terra in the first place because everything fell apart after the Exodus. You’re hoping to find the reason it fell apart. Just think how much the 125
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powers-that-be will pay for that kind of hard military knowledge.” “That information isn’t for public consumption. Not yet, at any rate.” “Don’t think I can keep a secret? Afraid Selhdun and his goon will preempt you?” “Pakal said come to the lounge.” Lyssra’s face was tightly composed. Ilesha could always tell when her sister was mad. She tried so hard to be the controlling one. “Hegemon men are so cute, don’t you think?” Ilesha said. Then she thought of Pakal. “Except for that big, ugly zalpa. Too bad he had to come along. All he’s interested in are boys.” “Which means you can’t manipulate him? Get your mind out of the gutter,” Lyssra snapped. “You’ll have time enough later for that.” “Promise?” Ilesha asked. “Don’t give me that look. Try it yourself, instead of knocking it.” “Benin and I are going to the lounge in half an hour. If you can behave, come along. Otherwise, stay here.” Ilesha laughed. She would be there. Then they’d see who knew how to have fun. *
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The lounge, like everything else on the Necromancer, was big. It was fully equipped with holographic projectors, which could transform it into any environment. Lyssra thought it might be interesting to fool around with that. Selhdun had certainly not stinted in either the design of the ship or its appointments. Lyssra could imagine the kind of passengers the ship must carry, to justify this luxury. 126
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She made herself ignore the plants that covered the largest wall with a flowing carpet of green. She knew the plants were there to provide air purification. She also knew the ship was filled with hydroponics rooms, and hidden, specially tailored algae vats, carefully tended by machinery and all vital to the task of providing a closed environment like the Necromancer with a breathable atmosphere. Lyssra knew all that, but she couldn’t look at the greenery without flinching away from it. Lyssra, Benin and Ilesha followed the sounds of music into the bar area where they found Pakal, along with the two other members of the crew, a woman and a much younger man. The other man was striking. Lyssra blinked and for one second let herself imagine what it would be like if someone like that looked at her with more than bored curiosity—then she squelched the thought before it could lodge in her brain. Lyssra remembered the aviary the museum’s director had shown them before everything had gone so terribly wrong. Many of the male birds had been brilliantly colored and had stood out from their less gaudy mates. The director had said that was deliberate; the males displayed like that to get those mates. That, she thought as she studied the young man sitting between the woman and Pakal, was this man. He was beautiful. He dressed in the finest, showiest clothes and on him they didn’t look garish at all. She could tell he knew it, too. Maybe he even wanted them to notice. But the look he gave her group mirrored Pakal’s dislike too well to imagine he would let any of them admire him too closely. He leaned toward Pakal and said something in a language Lyssra didn’t recognize. The young man laughed softly, and when Pakal’s pale gray eyes met Lyssra’s, his look was cool and taunting. He nodded at her and she approached. 127
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“You wish introductions?” Pakal said, the accent heavy in his voice. When she nodded, he indicated the woman. “This is Kaari, our system’s engineer. She has agreed to show you what amenities the Necromancer offers. She has crewed with the captain and myself for several years now. If you have any questions, please address them to her,” he said. Under the soft lights, Kaari’s skin looked almost blue-black. At least the areas of natural skin that showed through the swirls of skin-paint she wore to create a melange of burnt gold and purple so rich it looked like silk was blue-black. The slender, hairless woman tipped her painted head in greeting. She showed the tip of her teeth in a smile. “I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” she said. “The Necromancer has enough to keep anyone busy.” The young man said something incomprehensible to Pakal. “Don’t you know it’s rude to keep doing that, Niki?” Kaari surprised Lyssra by grinning at her conspiratorially. “Save it for when you’re in his bed.” “You’re just jealous because I won’t crawl into yours,” he said in flawless Aglact, and his teeth flashed white against his dark golden skin. When he smiled he barely looked sixteen, not old enough to be crawling into anyone’s bed. He didn’t need skin-paints to enhance his beauty, and seemed well aware of the fact. Lyssra tried not to stare. Pakal sighed and shook his head. But the glance he gave the young man held a fondness Lyssra had never seen on the big Xuan. “And this is Nikoli Yaroslavl, ship’s apprentice. Could I get you a drink, Lyssra? Benin?” His gray eyes narrowed. “Ilesha?” Ilesha wrinkled her nose and looked pointedly at Nikoli. “I’ll 128
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have what he’s having.”
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CHAPTER 16 Lyssra could have strangled her. One look at Pakal’s face and she thought he might just beat her to it. “Do you have a death wish?” Lyssra hissed when she hauled Ilesha away from the wrathful Xuan. “Don’t you see keep off signs when they’re waved in front of you?” “You’re a real wet—” “You don’t give up, do you? First the captain, now this,” Lyssra said. “Go with Benin. Don’t make me confine you to your quarters, Ilesha. Your position on Cyx doesn’t mean anything here,” she added when she saw Ilesha’s face tighten up in familiar stubborn lines. “I can and I will confine you, if that’s what it takes to make you behave.” 130
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Ilesha and Benin left a short while later. Lyssra relaxed. She even allowed herself to order another drink, which she carried over to join Kaari. Taking a seat, she put her back to the living wall. Most of the unused sections of the lounge lay shrouded in darkness. It curved away on either side and without looking, she knew the wall of green behind her filled the whole length. She could smell the soft breath of life the plants exuded and even heard the soft rustle of air from numerous vents moving through the leafy vines. She tried to tell herself this is what Cyx could be like if her plan succeeded. It didn’t help. Pakal and Nikoli left after finishing their drinks. She wasn’t the only one to notice their departure. “You know, it’s just not fair,” Kaari said, well into her third drink. “The good-looking ones always seem to like their own kind. You ever notice that?” Lyssra couldn’t say that she had, but then she didn’t have a lot of experience in good-looking Hegemon men. She said as much. “You don’t know what you’re missing.” Kaari grinned. “Pakal and Niki, now, they’re both Xuan, so they stick together. And our dear Niki does know his talents.” “Doesn’t sound as if you like him very much,” Lyssra murmured. She didn’t like either of the Xuans at all. But she was surprised at Kaari’s attitude. According to Pakal she’d worked there for years. “When you look like he does, who needs to like you? The only one he has to impress is Pakal.” Kaari shrugged. “Niki’s actually a pretty nice guy when he drops the God’s gift act. He’s not as dumb as he makes himself out to be, either.” “What was that they were speaking?” Lyssra asked. “Uplands,” she said. “Only Xuans use it—who else would want 131
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to, right? For that matter, only the really poor Xuans speak it. The rich ones are above all that peasant garbage. Pakal told me once it’s the language of the food mines and that’s why it’s so harsh and unpleasant.” Lyssra felt a pleasant buzz in her head. The soft music that played in the background was lulling. Beside her Kaari moved restlessly. “We should have got those four to stay,” she said. “We could have had some dancing. No offense, but most of our passengers expect to be entertained a bit more.” Abruptly Kaari stood. “Come on, let me show you something before we’re both too drunk to appreciate it.” Lyssra wanted to protest she wasn’t drunk but when she stood she swayed and would have slipped back into her chair if Kaari hadn’t grabbed her arm. “Here,” Kaari said. “Let’s sober up before we do this.” Without getting a chance to ask what this was, Lyssra took the bulb the other woman handed her. She drank the nearly tasteless liquid down in two swallows. “That should do the trick,” Kaari said. “Follow me, you’re gonna love this.” Instead of moving toward the door, Kaari led her through the darkened lounge, not bothering to call up the lights. Ahead, through an arched doorway, soft light spilled out and Lyssra heard a familiar sound. The music followed them but the other sound grew stronger. Only when she stepped through the arch and the warm, moist air stroked her cheek did she realize it was water she heard. Falling water. Light danced off the walls of the long, high-ceiling room Kaari led her into. Iridescence patterned the walls with movement and 132
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soft luminosity under the pool of water in the center of the room made the water glow gold and green. At the furthest end of the pool a waterfall hissed and splashed over a wall of rough looking stone. “It’s deep enough to dive in,” Kaari said “Can you swim, Lyssra?” Lyssra shook her head in regret. She had never seen so much water in one place before. Not this close or touchable. This was luxury beyond words. “Well, it’s also shallow enough on this side to just sit and loaf. It’s fun. Someday you’ll have to get Nikoli to show you his diving. Before you came onboard we came here most nights for a swim. He comes off that rock wall and—well, you have to see it to believe it. Want to get wet?” Several low benches lay along the nearest curved wall. There were folded towels on each one and wall hooks held thin wraps. Lyssra saw no sign of change rooms or bathing outfits. “What do we wear?” Kaari looked embarrassed. “Sorry, we usually don’t wear anything. Passengers bring their own gear… You don’t want to go in?” “I didn’t say that.” Lyssra stopped, frowning. Suddenly she grinned. What the hell. She sat on a bench. It was warm. Above her warm air blew down from multiple vents. Drying off afterward wouldn’t be a problem. “What kind of passengers use this?” “This is the men’s pool. The women’s isn’t anywhere near as nice.” “You mean when you have passengers you can’t come in here?” Kaari shrugged and grinned as she peeled off her shipsuit. She 133
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didn’t wear anything underneath. “If I’m invited I can. It’s only their wives they don’t want in here. Lovers are another matter.” Naked, Kaari approached the pool. Her entire body was covered with the swirling design Lyssra had noticed earlier. She was slender and very tall and totally hairless. Lyssra stared at the hairless mound between her legs. It looked like silk. For one brief second Kaari stood poised on the pool’s edge, then her dark form cleaved the air and she arrowed through the glowing water. In the low gravity the liquid flowed like honey and threw back diamonds of light from her wake. Circling back underwater, she popped up at the pool’s edge. She flung her arms over the side of the pool and smiled at Lyssra. “Coming in?” “Show me how you do that.” Lyssra quickly divested herself of her clothes and approached the edge of the pool. “How hard is it?” Kaari floated backward. “It’s easy. But you gotta get wet first.” Lyssra gingerly lowered herself into the water, surprised to find it pleasantly warm. Her short hair floated around her face until she dipped her head back and soaked it, then it clung to her scalp. Kaari floated toward her. She showed her how to take a deep breath and let herself relax in the warm water. She was surprised at how buoyant her body felt. “It’s salt water, like an ocean. It’s denser than fresh. Helps you float.” “This could be addictive,” she murmured as they sat on a wide shelf, submerged up to their necks in the warm briny water. “It is addictive, believe me,” Kaari said. Eyes closed, she cupped water in her hands and let it flow thickly back into the pool. When her eyes opened, they glittered in the soft light. “So tell me about Cyxian witches. Why is everyone so afraid of you?” 134
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“What have you heard?” Lyssra asked. “Not a lot,” Kaari said. She moved closer, she could have stroked the woman beside her. “You sell some pretty popular aphrodisiacs, but if anyone wants them, they have to go to Cyx. We’ve never had them as passengers before. Why is that?” “You think Xua’s bad off, visit Cyx someday. Actually, you can’t visit Cyx—the planet’s too deadly. Every year we lose people to it.” Lyssra thought of the autopsy she had done on Obatalo. Three days after he had gone out, his body was recovered, swollen, three times its size, filled with abscesses and foul gases. Some kind of fungal spore, the pathologist had said. The allergic reaction had been particularly virulent. He had probably been in contact with it within an hour of being put outside. “What is it?” Kaari asked. “Something wrong?” “No. Nothing.” Lyssra shook her head, spraying droplets of golden water around her. “I was just remembering someone. We all have stories that would give you nightmares.” “Why stay? If it’s so terrible, why do you hang on?” “Where would we go? Last time I checked, the only place accepting mass immigration was Xua.” She stared down at Kaari’s hand, so close to her hip. “Talk about jumping into the fire.” Lyssra shrugged. “You need special dispensation to go anywhere else. Can you see them giving it to us?” She joined in Kaari’s laughter. You laughed or you cried and she’d be damned if she’d cry. “But what about everyone saying you’re witches?” Kaari pressed. “I know guys that swear by it. You enchant them, is what one of them told me. Not that he was complaining, mind you. He said it was worth it. What the hell did you do to him?” “Cyxian pleasures. Yeah, we get that a lot. But tell me, is 135
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everything we hear about the Hegemon true?” Lyssra said and wrinkled her nose. “I’ve heard it’s full of pedophiles who steal boys from their beds in the middle of the night and perform unspeakable acts on them.” “Ouch,” Kaari said with an exaggerated wince. She rubbed her shoulders, her arms pressing the soft flesh of her breasts together. Her dark nipples were swollen. Lyssra stared. “I’d forgotten about that one. Makes you wonder who comes up with those stories, doesn’t it? At least I know why the Hegemon stories started. I understand that kind of religious-based intolerance. Is that the way it is with Cyx?” “Yeah, the same. They call us witches, and whores. And worse. Because we’re females and we don’t have a male ruling class. Because people come to our planet to buy the drugs we make, and a lot of those drugs are aphrodisiacs, since that’s what sells. The truth is a lot more… prosaic.” “It usually is, isn’t it?” Kaari said. “So, what is the story? If you don’t mind talking about it. I’m from Nexus, so I know all about what happens to women who don’t fit in. I’m lucky I got into the Hegemon. If you can, imagine how thrilled my parents were.” Lyssra smiled. “What did they want you to do? Marry some nice boy and settle down to have a family?” She tried to imagine Kaari as a properly veiled and sedate Autarch wife. The image wouldn’t come. When she slipped deeper into the water, Kaari followed. Their lower limbs brushed together. Lyssra felt a jolt of pleasure. “How’d you guess? I have a brother who still won’t acknowledge I exist. I tell myself it’s his loss. So, Lyssra from Cyx, tell me your story.” “From space Cyx is very beautiful. The original colonists said 136
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it looked so much like Terra they wept when they first saw it. But, the ecology’s wrong. The biology’s close…too close, I guess. I don’t know enough about Terra to make a comparison, but I understand there are a lot more parasitic fungi and molds to trigger allergy attacks than Terra had.” “Sounds nasty.” “The problem with allergens, as I understand it, is the more exposure you get the worse the reaction. It builds. You might be able to spend a week or two down there,” Lyssra said. She pulled herself up, startled by her body’s response to the woman beside her. She leaned forward, her bare arms wrapped around her exposed knees. “One of us goes out, we’re lucky to survive a day…” Again she thought of Obatalo. “The colonists lasted a lot longer… But they died just the same.” She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of air made healthy by plants and made herself finish. “The ones who survived… So many were sterile, or worse. Some of the women could still conceive, but too many of the babies… Let’s just say the miscarriages were welcome. By the time a ship came from Nexus, we were in bad shape. The ones that found us were afraid of contamination, and wouldn’t take us farther than the station. At least it was still there in working order. They stayed long enough to make sure of that. Our rescuers provided emergency medical care. Enough to survive,” she said bitterly. Cyxian resentment still ran deep over the fact that their so-called rescuers didn’t do any more than the bare minimum to keep them alive. “Once we opened trade, outsiders came. The women found it wasn’t hard to get visiting Hegemon men into their beds, at least long enough to get pregnant. It was the best way to ensure healthy children. Our men…We lost so many people to suicide… We call 137
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it ‘taking a walk to Cyx.’ Things aren’t so bad now; we marry and have our own babies, though we still encourage outside breeding. We still have the reputation. Autarch whores. I doubt we’ll ever lose that.” “Did you—” Aghast, Kaari looked away. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.” “It’s okay,” Lyssra said, then shrugged. She traced circles in the water and watched bubbles swirl off the tips of her fingers. “I didn’t… I can’t have children. That’s another legacy of Cyx.” She took a deep breath. “High infertility rates.” “But ‘Docs—” “Are for rich planets. We make do with the equipment brought by the Nexians. Hey, let’s talk about something pleasant. Like we say on Cyx, while the blood beats there’s still hope.” This time Kaari moved deliberately. Her hands stroked the length of Lyssra’s thigh and her lips touched the rounded curve of her neck. “Right now my beating blood says it’s time for some fun. Are you up for that, Lyssra Ravenwood?” She boldly dragged her fingers through Lyssra’s thick dark pubic hair. Lyssra shuddered at the heat that poured out of those probing fingers. “Fuck yes.” Kaari drew her off the ledge into knee-deep water, spread her legs and moved between them. Lyssra’s ankles were level with Kaari’s shoulders. “See,” she whispered, bending her head and tracing a path up the inside of Lyssra’s leg with her lips. “We float.” Lyssra opened her legs wider and reached for the other woman’s head. Kaari’s tongue moved between the folds stroked the pebbled hardness of Lyssra’s clit. Her spine arched and she 138
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cried out. God, it had been so long. She stroked the sleek dark head between her thighs and bucked as her orgasm roared through her. She was still gasping for breath when Kaari crawled up her body and pressed her mouth over Lyssra’s. “There, wasn’t that better than a boring evening spent alone in your room?” “Yes.” She fondled Kaari’s breast, caressing her dark nipples. Her hand moved lower, over silken, painted skin. “So is this.” Hours later they clambered out of the pool and went in search of a night cap. After all, as Ilesha was so quick to point out, they had more than enough time to get their work done. They had all of three weeks and more. The expedition wasn’t going to fall apart now because Lyssra Ravenwood took a night off. The rest of the evening passed in a friendly sated blur. *
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Lyssra made no comment when Ilesha and Benin were late the next morning. Benin looked smug. Ilesha looked restless. Lyssra sighed. None of the crew was present. It made for a very relaxed breakfast. Lyssra didn’t let on what she had been up to the night before. “I want to know,” Benin said. “Who calls a ship Necromancer? What kind of macabre name is that?” “Hegemon humor.” Ilesha bit into a sweet roll, dribbling crumbs down the front of her dress. She brushed at them absently. “What do you expect from people who spend so much time out here?” “One too many Jumps,” Benin said. He leaned forward, his voice intense. His unruly hair stood on end in disjointed spikes. 139
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“That can mess a person’s head up good.” “Their suicide rate’s outrageous,” Ilesha said. “Remember the one that came to Cyx a year ago? Did they ever figure out how he got both airlocks to open for him? What a mess.” “Pilots take regular psyche tests,” Lyssra said. Ilesha normally didn’t overreact, especially to tragedies that happened to other people, but her agitation was getting on Lyssra’s nerves. Lyssra always thought a steady diet of sex was supposed to calm a person down. After all, look at how mellow she was this morning. But, as usual, Ilesha didn’t follow the rules. “What I find hard to take is having all those wires,” Ilesha said. “Nanobots hardwired into your brain… Almost makes Selhdun part machine. Does that mean if I fuck him, I’m screwing a computer? The ultimate dildo. Download this, huh?” “Ilesha.” Lyssra glanced at Benin’s stricken face. As usual Ilesha didn’t seem aware of the hurt she left in her wake. Lyssra had hoped her sister would forget her fascination with Selhdun. “We have less than four weeks before Jump,” she said. “Do you think you can try to behave for that long?” “You mean once we Jump I can stop behaving?” Lyssra laughed. “No, that’s not what I meant. But maybe if I give you small increments of time to behave yourself, you won’t find it so onerous.” “Don’t count on it.” “Ilesha!” “Just kidding.” Ilesha grabbed Benin’s hand and tugged him to his feet. “Come on, Ben. Let’s lose this crowd.” But Benin pulled away from her. “I’m staying here. I need to talk to Lyssra about something.” 140
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“It can wait—” “No, it can’t.” Lyssra had never seen anyone stand up to her sister. Ilesha flushed. Her eyes narrowed. “What did you say?” “Go back yourself.” Ilesha swore and spun around, stomping out of the room. Lyssra turned a bemused stare at Benin. “Didn’t think I had it in me, did you?” She hardly wanted to say yes to such a loaded question, but his actions had surprised her. “I guess not,” she murmured. “I guess I underestimated you.” Benin looked at the door Ilesha had stormed through. “So did she.” Lyssra smiled. “Yeah, I think she did.” Kaari came through the same door and smiled when she saw the two Cyxers. “You started without me.” Benin rose as soon as he saw her. He took her arm and led her toward a table. “I don’t know about Lyssra, but I was waiting for you.” Lyssra felt one hot flash of anger, then realized this way might be better. She had the feeling she was going to be too busy to engage in a long term affair. She’d rather keep Benin away from Ilesha’s machinations and if that meant he paired up with Kaari, then she could live with that. With a wistful sigh she watched the couple walk out of the lounge. She pulled out her handcomp and pulled up her work from where she had left off. Might as well get to it, then.
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CHAPTER 17 The third morning, Lyssra woke early. She thought of the pool and decided an early morning swim might be rejuvenating, even without her one-night lover. Kaari was on the bridge and Lyssra knew her sister wouldn’t appreciate being dragged out of bed. Alone, she made her way through the dimly lit corridors to the lounge. A few low lights lit the empty common area. She passed through, ignoring the rustling of the shadow-cloaked plant wall. The humid air stroked her face. She heard the splash of water and the slap of bare flesh on a wet surface. Belatedly she realized the pool was occupied. She stopped in the door. Briefly Nikoli stood poised on the top of the rock face, then he dove into the water head first. Like Kaari he swam naked. His golden brown body cleaved the surface and he 142
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swam submerged for half the pool’s length, surfacing to close the distance to the pool’s edge with strong, sure strokes. He was a powerful swimmer, belying his slight figure. He flung his arms over the edge, tossing his head back to clear the water from his eyes. When he caught sight of her, he dropped back with a startled grunt. “Sorry,” she said, stepping back. “I didn’t know anyone used the pool this time of day.” He shook his hairless head. “No one else ever has. Passengers have priority, though. You want me to leave?” Lyssra kept her gaze on his face, not willing to risk the embarrassment of being caught looking elsewhere. “You going swimming?” he pressed. Heat filled her face. She hated the amusement she saw in his eyes. “No, Not right now.” “Suit yourself.” She looked away when he clambered out, dripping water on the tile deck. She only looked back after he had wrapped a brightly colored robe around his slender body. “I’m going to get coffee,” he said. “Join me?” “You don’t have to leave.” He shrugged. “I have duty in an hour. If you don’t want to go swimming, then join me for coffee. I hate having breakfast alone.” She wasn’t sure why she agreed, but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Then she asked, “What about Pakal? Is he going to join us?” “He’s on the bridge. He won’t be coming.” A new thought struck her. “And he doesn’t come here for early morning swims?” Somehow the thought of meeting a very large, probably naked Pakal in the pre-breakfast hours was not inspiring. 143
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“No, he prefers the gym. It tends not to be as popular. I can show you where it is, if you’re interested.” She had the feeling from his look that he knew just how unlikely that was. “No, that’s okay. I’ll stick with learning how to swim.” “It’s probably more fun than weights and calisthenics anytime.” Lyssra found herself laughing in agreement. *
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She heard the raised voices even before she reached the corridor that led to the quarters Pakal had assigned to them. Ilesha’s voice was unmistakable; she was surprised to hear Benin yelling. Lyssra didn’t think she’d ever heard Benin sound so angry. She knew since they had come aboard the Necromancer just over a week ago that the two of them had been spending more and more time together. Lyssra knew how demanding her sister could be; had Benin found himself smothering under Ilesha’s tightening grip? She winced when something heavy slammed into the door moments before it opened and Benin stormed out. He glared back into Ilesha’s room. “At least I know how to keep my priorities straight. All you ever think about is yourself.” He flushed when he saw Lyssra. “Lyssra, I’m sorry, I didn’t—” Ilesha appeared in the doorway, wearing only a short robe that barely covered her. She glared at Lyssra, ignoring Benin. “What are you doing here?” 144
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Lyssra met Benin’s wary gaze. “I’m here to work. Ben?” “I was just coming to find you.” He seemed happy for the diversion. “I have some queries running against the ship’s database and I wanted to know if you’d like to check them out?” “Anything promising yet? Selhdun’s going to be out of the ’Doc in less than three weeks. I need something to take to him.” Benin fell in beside her as they made their way toward his quarters. Behind them she heard the door to Ilesha’s room close. She thought Benin might have sighed, but she avoided saying anything. Benin was going to have to deal with Ilesha in his own way. Lyssra knew better than to get involved. “How’s Kaari these days?” “Fine.” Benin smiled. “Just fine.” “I’ve copied everything down onto another ’crystal. Have a look and let me know what you think. There are a couple of promising pieces of data I want to look into more.” Benin shrugged. “I don’t know. Unfortunately, Selhdun is the only one who can tell us how good it really is. He’s the one with the link. Sorry.” Lyssra grimaced. “I think I knew it was going to be that way, but I was hoping…” She sighed as they passed through into his quarters. “It’s not going to be pleasant taking this to Selhdun.” “Well, like you said, we still have nearly three weeks. Come on, I’ll show you what I have so far.” They spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon digging through ancient astronomical data. Finally Lyssra broke away, rubbing her temple where a dull headache throbbed. She glanced at the time. They had missed lunch. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s check out the lounge. We can at least grab a bite and eat it there. I think we both deserve a break.” 145
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Benin agreed. At first she thought the lounge was empty. Then they heard a clatter off to their left and Nikoli poked his head out of a small, half-hidden alcove. “The lunch crowd is gone,” he said. “You missed the rush.” “All three of them, you mean?” Lyssra laughed. Benin and she approached the alcove. It turned out to be a small galley. Rich odors set her mouth watering. “What’s that?” “Supper for Pakal.” “You cook?” Lyssra didn’t think she knew anyone who did that. Dispensers were so ubiquitous, why bother? She hadn’t even known the Necromancer had cooking facilities. “Sure, I’m a man of many talents, didn’t you know?” Kaari appeared in the doorway. “Ah, here you are.” She smiled at Lyssra. “I think Nikoli’s the only one who even knows where this place is, let alone how to use it.” “Why do you have a galley on a ship like this?” Benin peered around curiously. Lyssra noticed he avoided looking at Nikoli too much. “Some people just like to cook,” Kaari answered. She moved to stand beside him. “Mostly it’s there for the really paranoid types we get who don’t trust dispensers. They want their servants to cook everything from scratch. It’s just another cheerful service we provide.” “Me, I like cooking,” Nikoli said. “You always end up with something that will inspire even the dullest man to great passions.” “And is Pakal a dull man?” Lyssra said, not sure why she asked. She certainly wasn’t interested in Pakal. Mostly he just made her nervous. “Not at all.” Nikoli grinned as he kept chopping green stuff. 146
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“He’s given to great passions. Let’s just say I like to inspire him.” “That’s more than I needed to know,” Benin muttered. “I’m starving. I thought we came here for something to eat.” “There’s plenty of food,” Nikoli said. “Kaari, have you been using my paring knife? I could have sworn I had two—” Pakal stepped into the galley. All conversation stopped. He looked around, as grim as always. Did the man ever smile? Finally Nikoli spoke, “I thought you were on the bridge all afternoon.” “The bridge is quiet. There is little traffic.” He looked around the crowded room again. “The same could not be said of here.” “We’re all admiring Nikoli’s artistry,” Kaari said, suffering silently when Nikoli glared at her. “When you are done with that, perhaps you will remember you have bridge duty at twenty-one hundred. Nikoli will relieve you at oh-five-hundred.” Nikoli looked pained at the reminder. “I thought we were having dinner in my quarters this evening,” Pakal said to him. “I’m in the middle of making it. It was supposed to be a surprise.” He scowled and indicated the ovens and stove top. “I hope you like it. Roast lamb with rosemary, vegetables right out of the hydroponics tank, grilled with herbed butter.” “I do not recall having a lamb in the stores.” “Remember you sent me to pick up the supplies from the station commissary?” Nikoli shrugged. “I had them add a couple of things to the order.” “Indeed.” “I know you always ordered it whenever you came to Gil’s. I know just how you like it, too.” 147
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“Indeed.” Then Pakal surprised everyone by smiling broadly, years falling from his dour face. “Apparently none of my secrets are safe from you. What time will this feast be ready?” “Another hour. Maybe you’d like to get a bottle of wine from the stores?” “Perhaps I will.” Everyone was silent as he left. They all stared after him, open mouthed. “Okay,” Kaari broke the silence. “Who was that and what has he done with Pakal?” Laughing, Nikoli waved a wicked hooked fork at them. “Go on, either help or get out. You heard him, I’m on a deadline here.” Kaari grabbed Benin’s arm. “We’ll help, won’t we?” “We will?” Benin asked. “Hey, chef’s helper gets to sample the food. You said you were hungry, didn’t you?” “Sure, but—” “Don’t worry.” Kaari grinned down at Benin. “I’ll protect you from Niki. Besides, he’s too wrapped up in whoever that man was pretending to be Pakal. You’re safe with me.” Lyssra almost said she doubted that, but she didn’t think Benin would mind the sort of attention Kaari planned for him. Maybe Ilesha wasn’t going to be a problem after all. She could only hope. *
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Finally the Necromancer lay at rest, waiting for her pilot to link with Ship and make her first Jump. Kaari and Lyssra spent the morning in the lounge, fooling around with the holographic equipment, and the result was a lushly decorated room, full of 148
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ornate furniture and huge frosted windows that looked out on an indistinct scene. Kaari had wanted to put more detail in the outside, but Lyssra convinced her to leave it this time. Cyxers, she explained, weren’t big on landscape. The half a dozen tables ringed an open fire that crackled and popped, filling the lounge with the real scent of burning wood. Lively music filled the background. “Xuan folk music,” Nikoli shouted at her when she and Ilesha joined him at the crew’s table. He ignored Ilesha who took the seat nearest to him. “Want to dance?” he said to Lyssra. Kaari leaned forward. “You have to let him show you these dances. Just don’t expect to keep up to him.” Curiosity drove Lyssra to her feet to follow Nikoli onto the small dance floor. The music seemed to grow louder. Kaari was right. No way Lyssra would ever be able to learn it, let alone keep up. Wild and earthy, the dance was brazenly exuberant and full of uninhibited raw lust. She enjoyed watching him, and doing her clumsy best to match his moves, laughing so hard it was a wonder she could dance at all. Finally she stopped and just watched in admiration. “You really are a man of many talents,” she said when he rejoined her, breathing hard, and settled down into a more sedate dance. “That’s me,” he said, lightly holding her and guiding her around the floor. “Brain like a shot glass, empty most of the time, but hey, I’m multi-talented, especially off my feet.” When she tried to protest he grinned at her. “I wasn’t hired for my brains. We all know that.” She wasn’t surprised when Pakal appeared at her elbow at the same time a much slower song began playing. Lyssra was only too happy to sit down and catch her breath. 149
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Lyssra half-expected Pakal to lumber when he moved, considering his muscular bulk, but he surprised her by showing an odd grace as he led Nikoli around the small dance floor. Maybe it helped having less than normal gravity. Or maybe Nikoli could make anyone look good. Ilesha made a rude noise. “It’s a wonder the hulking pig can move at all. What a waste,” she muttered as the two men moved slowly by, too engrossed in each other to notice anyone else. “Make you sick, don’t it?” “Then leave, if it bothers you so much.” Lyssra was in no mood to cater to her sister’s vacuous intolerance. She wanted one more night of simple fun, before Selhdun came out of the ’Doc and who knew how the dynamics of their little group would change. Not to mention how she would have to face his wrath once he found out she had lied. “Nothing bothers me.” Ilesha flipped her hair back. “I just think he’s wasted on that pig, is all.” Lyssra was happy to see Benin enter the lounge. She waved the bright-haired young man over to their table. “Calling it a night down there, are you? You missed my great demonstration of how badly two left feet can look on an otherwise normal person.” Benin looked to Kaari for an explanation. “Just Niki showing off his dancing skills again. The boy can move, that’s for sure.” “Not that any of us will ever know, right?” Ilesha said. Benin threw himself down beside Kaari. “Where’s my drink, woman? I thought you’d have it ready for me.” “Are the words kick me I’m yours written on my backside or something?” Kaari grinned at Lyssra. “Get your own drink. You can get me one while you’re at it.” “You know the Suzerain’s got the right idea, keeping his 150
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women under veils like he does. I’ll bet he doesn’t take lip from any female…” Lyssra sometimes couldn’t believe how Benin had come out of his shell since he had boarded the Necromancer. Maybe it had been his exposure to Ilesha’s rough passion. Whatever it was, Lyssra liked the new Benin. She thought Kaari approved, too. The next morning, Lyssra found Kaari and Pakal sitting together in a sunlit alcove, their coffee bulbs looking incongruous on the ornate café table before them. The sunlight slanting in reflected real, early morning time. Kaari waved Lyssra over. Pakal nodded, his weird gray eyes watching as Lyssra set her drink on the table and pulled up a chair. She ignored the odd sight of her fingers sinking through the thin outer layer of the illusion. They traded amenities, then Kaari stood. “I promised I’d wake Ben if he wasn’t up by now.” She flipped a dark hand at Lyssra and grinned conspiratorially at her. “I think he had a busy night.” Pakal barely waited for her to leave. “We must talk,” he said to Lyssra. “Fine.” Lyssra perched on the edge of her chair, right under a massive, mullioned window, trying not to show her unease. Pakal sat opposite, ignoring the view over his head. She folded her arms across her chest. Knowing what was coming and dreading it. “Talk.” “The captain will be leaving the ’Doc in two hours,” Pakal said. “He will be ready to Jump soon after. You have something for him, I believe.” “Which I will give him right after our Jump back to Cyx.” “If it is system ready, we could begin plotting a course, and be away sooner—unless you are prepared to tell me that you have not 151
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revealed the truth about what the ’crystal contains.” “I don’t remember telling you anything,” Lyssra said and watched Pakal’s face shut down. She hated doing this. Pakal could have been an ally, but with every word she turned him further against her. It couldn’t be helped. She couldn’t tell him the truth now. “I was given to understand you had coordinates.” “Maybe you weren’t told everything,” Lyssra said. She held Pakal’s increasingly hostile gaze. “What I have I’ll give to Selhdun—after we Jump to Cyx.” Pakal’s anger was a cold thing. “Then Selhdun requested you meet with him in his quarters at seventeen hundred. We will Jump at sixteen hundred; get your people ready. It is safest to be prone when taking the anserat. The drug is fast acting, especially if you are not used to it.” Pakal stood. She did the same. The fake sunlight that poured through the window generated no heat where it fell on her bare arm. That was a detail she hadn’t bothered with. Some realities could be left to the imagination. “I’ll see that they’re ready,” she said. “And I’ll be at the meeting at seventeen hundred.” Pakal left the room, brushing past Ilesha as she entered. He did not acknowledge her. She turned to watch him. “What’d he want?” Ilesha slid into the seat next to Lyssra. “What do you think?” Lyssra picked up her coffee. It was still warm. “And you didn’t give it to him?” “What, and have him know I’m a fraud? They think we can produce coordinates.” “How disappointed they’ll be,” Ilesha said. “Our precious 152
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captain is not going to be happy, you know.” Lyssra knew all too well. She watched Kaari and Benin approach their table. She spoke quickly, before Kaari got any nearer. “If it had been that easy, someone else would have done it years ago. Selhdun will just have to understand that he doesn’t get this handed to him as another free ride.” “Oh, yes, I’m so sure Selhdun is the most reasonable of men.” Ilesha’s grin was nasty. “Did you ever consider that maybe someone already did all this already?” she added. “We don’t know what’s in there. Ever think of that?” “Of course I thought of that,” Lyssra snapped. She had thought of little else for days, knowing it would come to this. “That’s why we’re going to make sure they pay, big time.” “Why so glum?” Kaari plopped into a chair beside Lyssra. She had a fresh drink in her hand. “Pakal being his usual charming self?” “What else?” “Don’t let him get to you. None of us do.” Kaari grinned. “Well, except Nikoli. But then he likes it when Pakal gets to him, if you know what I mean.” Lyssra forced herself to laugh. She tightened her grip on her drink before raising it to her lips. A few more hours, then it was really going to start. Just how bad was Selhdun going to take it?
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CHAPTER 18 Lyssra entered the captain’s quarters to find them waiting. Selhdun sat in a lounger. Pakal stood beside him. There was something very intimate about the way they looked and Lyssra wondered again at Pakal’s position. Bodyguard or mate? But then how did Nikoli fit in? And they thought Cyxers were bizarre. His private quarters were simple, but richly appointed. Comfortably elegant furnishings were clustered sparingly between teal colored walls. The dark burgundy carpet under her feet was thick enough to sleep on. Everything was designed to offer solace and soothe the daily stresses she imagined all rich men were plagued with. Lyssra didn’t feel soothed. Selhdun looked very different than he had the last time she had 154
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seen him. Gone were the hollow grooves under his eyes. His high cheekbones didn’t look as gaunt, and his bronze skin had lost its gray tinge. The nanobot shell was gone from his upper body, and nervous energy surrounded him. Quarantine fever? She remembered Ilesha after their brief stay in the system. What did four weeks do to a person? Was that why Pakal stood so close? Protecting what was his? Lyssra dipped her head in greeting, glad Selhdun didn’t expect any acknowledgment of his other title. In fact, he had told Lyssra he preferred to be called Captain. She handed the copy of the ’crystal Benin had labored so long on to Selhdun, glanced at Pakal, then turned away. “The data was…damaged. That was to be expected, given the length of time it was archived. We aren’t sure how badly, we don’t have the means to read it properly,” she said, rubbing the skin on her fingers. “Everything that we were able to salvage is in that copy.” “Let me study this for a day or two,” Selhdun said, examining the ’crystal. His hand closed over it, then opened again to let him examine its translucent surface. “I’ll get Ship to analyze it, see what it reports. What is it they say? Anything worth having is worth working for, right?” He finally glanced up from the ’crystal and looked at Pakal. “Right, Pakal?” “The exact Xuan quote is ‘anything worth having is worth killing for’ and I do not believe any of us wishes that.” He gave Lyssra a hooded look. “Do we?” Selhdun grinned. She couldn’t help notice his fingers continued to stroke the ’crystal, as though trying to divine what it held. When his head bent down, the fine wires on the side of his head caught the overhead light and glittered. Pakal leaned over him and said 155
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something Lyssra couldn’t hear. Selhdun nodded, still smiling slightly. “Will you let me know?” Lyssra asked. Selhdun looked back at her. She could tell he resented the interruption. “Of course. Perhaps we could have dinner tomorrow. All of you.” Lyssra raised one eyebrow. “Maybe we’ll know something then,” he said. Lyssra knew she had been dismissed. *
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Selhdun lay under the covers, listening to Pakal move around in the other room. He tried to decide whether to get up, or just lie there awhile, enjoying the languor that filled him. A third option, call Pakal back, appealed to him almost as much. He felt totally enervated, but didn’t think he’d have any trouble responding to the big Xuan again. Absence certainly made something grow. Their first Jump was behind them. It had been a routine one to the outer edges of Cyx. Like most routine Jumps Selhdun had spent less than twenty minutes actually in Jumpspace. He had not even had a headache when he brought the ship back out into Cyxian space. Now the real work would start. Once Pakal had a chance to study the ’crystal Selhdun could reopen his Shiplink and begin the task of matching the coherent patterns Pakal extracted with whatever Selhdun found in his initial forays into Jumpspace. When he made the pattern match, he would have found the Terranic Corridor Jump coordinates, the jumping off point for the human 156
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exodus. He stretched languidly. The absence of pain and exhaustion was a wonderful thing. It was a sensation he rarely thought to consider. He sometimes wondered why he resisted the need to go into the ’Doc. He always felt so much better when he came out. Maybe getting shot had some advantages, after all, since it had forced him into something he always put off. His senses felt preternaturally alert. He could even smell the vile, dark beer that Pakal favored, and he wrinkled his nose. A nice Tiamat wine would counteract that. All he had to do was find the energy to fetch one. When Pakal stalked into the bedroom, all thoughts of wine and lust fled. He sat up. “What is it?” “You had better come see this,” Pakal said and tossed Selhdun his robe. Selhdun hastily stood and belted it around his slim waist. He followed Pakal back into the front room, where he found Pakal’s half-finished beer and the reader that still held the ’crystal Lyssra had given him only an hour earlier. “What is it?” He leaned forward and peered at the alphanumeric gibberish displayed above the reader. He thought of querying Ship to find out what it could make of the contents of the ’crystal. Then he decided to let Pakal tell him. “What does it mean?” “It means you got conned.” *
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when she realized both of them waited for her. Just like before, only this time there were no smiles. From anyone. Selhdun held the ’crystal in one manicured hand. She swallowed hard when she saw his face. “When did you hope I would find out?” He spoke so softly she had to lean forward to hear. “Have you any idea what happens to a pilot who goes into a Jump without a clear set of coordinates? A patternless Jump could kill us all if we descend too deeply and I can’t get us back out because I have no coordinates.” “I—” “Did you think I was stupid? Did you think at all?” “I knew it wasn’t perfect,” Lyssra said. “But given the circumstances, it’s better than anything anyone else has come up with.” “I’ll remember that when I’m inside and I can’t get out because this”—he held up the flawed ’crystal—“sent me to the wrong region.” His hand jerked and she flinched, sure he was going to throw the ’crystal at her. She dragged her gaze back to Selhdun’s face and narrowed her eyes. He was mad because he had to work for the Cyxer’s money? How many of her people had died so this Prince of the Realm might have that money? “Did you really expect it to be easy? If it was, we could have hired the first tramp ship in port.” She waved a hand toward where Cyx Station lay several billion klicks downwell. “Any one of them would have jumped at the chance, pardon the pun. But everyone I asked told me you were the best. Not many last as long as you have, let alone last and keep their wits about them. With that kind of experience, I figured you stood a better chance of success.” “And not telling me sooner?” 158
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“Was a necessity. We couldn’t risk others finding out, and usurping our claim.” “Your claim? The Suzerain’s going to take it all anyway,” Selhdun said. “Don’t tell me you thought otherwise.” “No,” Pakal interjected. “If we had known, we would not have engaged in this insanity.” She ignored him. It was Selhdun she needed to convince. “But we’ll have been the ones who brought it to him. He’ll have to acknowledge that.” “The Suzerain, of course, is the most honorable and just of rulers.” Selhdun curled his lip. Pakal touched his shoulder and Selhdun’s hand came up to cover his. “He always pays his debts.” “Our claim is not unreasonable. He loses little by affirming we bring him this thing. He gains everything, and gets to appear benevolent in the process.” “Benevolent?” Selhdun rubbed his shoulder where the projectile had slammed into his body. “You think the Suzerain cares about appearing benevolent?” Lyssra remembered the carnage, and the blood. Hanbeury dead on the ground. The blood… Was Selhdun implying the Suzerain had something to do with his shooting? The Suzerain? Her head reeled. What the hell had she gotten them into? Lyssra took a deep breath. “I believe we have something here.” “Yes, something dangerous,” Pakal said. His fingers tightened on Selhdun’s shoulder. “Terik, they cannot touch you. Do not let their empty threats make you do what you know is wrong. No matter who you think is behind those threats.” “You know better than that, Pakal. You know how real it was.” “Terik—” “No, Pakal. I won’t take that risk. Besides, maybe there is 159
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something there. We’ll continue to study the ’crystal.” Selhdun met Lyssra’s gaze. “When will you let us know?” she asked. “You’ll know when we are successful.”
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CHAPTER 19 Lyssra sat with Ilesha in the unadorned lounge. Talk was desultory. What was there to say anymore? She watched a ’Tech mince into view. It paused to insert two of its ten appendages into the panel, and inspect something that only it could see. The ’Tech ambled sideways across the wall. Lyssra wondered how it hung on. Every so often it would pause and touch the surface of the wall with one slender appendage. At one point the wall flickered and shifted color as the nano-saturated surface reacted to whatever the ’Tech was doing, then just as quickly it shifted back to the neutral tan that predominated throughout the Necromancer. Nikoli and Kaari entered. It was obvious from their looks that they had heard. 161
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“Word travels fast,” Ilesha said, eyeing Nikoli, who ignored her as usual. She glanced at Lyssra. “At least, the bad kind does.” Lyssra wasn’t surprised they knew. Everyone knew everyone else’s business. “At least he hasn’t decided just to leave us here,” she said. Her mouth tightened, remembering the humiliation of facing both of them. “It’s more than anyone else has had in centuries and they act like it’s all a lie.” Pakal entered alone. Nikoli waved him over. Pakal spat something in Uplands, then allowed the younger man to lead him to a table in the corner, away from everyone else. Kaari joined the Cyxers. “My, he’s touchy.” She raised one thin eyebrow at Lyssra and grinned. “What did you say to him?” “I don’t think he liked me trying to talk Selhdun into continuing,” Lyssra said. “He thinks it’s too dangerous.” “Pakal’s worried someone may make another attempt on Selhdun’s life,” Kaari said. “Ever since he insisted on taking over his family title, Pakal’s been sweating. It’s one worry I know he was hoping to avoid.” “He can’t think we had anything to do with it,” Lyssra said. “Hell, maybe getting out of here is the safest thing Selhdun could do.” Kaari blinked at her. “You should tell Pakal that.” “Right, like he’d believe me. He probably thinks we had something to do with the first attempt.” “Trust me, if he thought that, you’d be hanging outside the nearest airlock, wondering where all the air went.” When Selhdun entered, the room seemed to shrink. Lyssra watched through narrowed eyes as his gaze scanned the room, taking in everyone and finally settling on Ilesha. 162
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Lyssra knew her sister wouldn’t be able to find much to fault with Selhdun now. It was as though he had dropped ten years and a century of exhaustion in the four weeks he had spent in the ’Doc. He had adopted a more casual dress, wearing a sarong wrapped around his narrow hips and a loose, sleeveless top that displayed the muscle tone the ’Doc had rebuilt for him. He walked with a predatory smoothness that even Lyssra found arresting. On his otherwise bald head, the single queue of tightly braided hair hung down to the small of his back, lending him an exotic look. Selhdun stalked Ilesha with a charged lust that filled the room. He looked dangerous. Lyssra could have cheerfully kicked her sister, but even if she could control Ilesha, who the hell was going to control Selhdun? Even Pakal seemed to have given up. He sat in the furthest corner with Nikoli, looking grim. Lyssra wished she could have slapped the idiot grin off Ilesha’s face. Poor Benin just looked confused. She glanced over in time to see Pakal leave, a harried looking Nikoli at his heels, looking as confused as she felt. Selhdun retrieved a plate piled high with steaming food and made his way back to the Cyxer’s table. Without even glancing at Lyssra, he set the tray down beside Ilesha and sat. “Want to try some?” he said when he caught Ilesha watching him. “No, thank you. We’re, ah, vegetarians.” She eyed his plate. “And I’m not sure that qualifies.” “No meat?” He raised both eyebrows. “Not at all?” “We don’t eat animal flesh.” “Pity. You miss so much that way.” He speared a green vegetable from his plate and extended it to Ilesha. “How about this?” 163
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Ilesha took the offering in her mouth and Lyssra could have groaned. “How are you enjoying the Necromancer so far?” Selhdun said. “I love it,” Ilesha said. She leaned forward, brushing against his bare arm. Ilesha was always so simple and direct in her lust, like a cat in heat. “This has to be the most incredible thing. She must have cost a fortune.” “Want a private tour?” Selhdun found another tidbit on his plate and held it up. The look he gave Lyssra was coldly amused. “I find myself with time on my…hands.” Ilesha brought Selhdun’s hand holding the implement to her mouth and delicately plucked the green spear with her lips, her eyes never leaving Selhdun’s face. After swallowing, she murmured, “I’d love a private…tour.” She rose to her feet with catlike grace.Lyssra watched the pair leave; Ilesha burst out laughing at something he said. Lyssra swore under her breath, and lost what little appetite she had left. Damn it, why did Pakal have to bail out now? She had a feeling he was the only one who could have talked reason to Selhdun. Ilesha wasn’t going to listen to her. Damn Ilesha. Damn Selhdun. Why the hell couldn’t they just stick to their own? “Now this is interesting. A bucket of cold water might get those two apart,” Kaari said, and her grin deepened, stark white against her blue-black skin. “You know how to get things jumping, I’ll give you that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Pakal so mad. Little Niki might get more than he bargained for tonight.” “Thanks,” Lyssra muttered. She wished she could say the same for Ilesha; unfortunately that one was getting exactly what she wanted, which meant she wouldn’t stop to examine Selhdun’s 164
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motives. “It wasn’t part of my main plan.” “I notice he didn’t say anything about not Jumping. Just how bad was the data on that ’crystal?” “As good as we could make it.” She toyed with her empty wine bulb. “We know the Terrans emerged here. That fact is solid. The ’crystal holds what they told us about how and where. We also know they weren’t exactly sane—nearly all the crew stayed awake during Jump. They didn’t understand the dangers. I can’t imagine what it would be like to enter Jump undrugged and unshielded. The captain killed herself soon after, and I’m not sure anyone even tried to stop her. It’s safe to say the crew was demoralized. Still, they left us everything they could think of. We won’t know if it’s enough until we try it.” “Well, that’s not going to happen for a while. Things ought to cool off by morning. Can I get you another drink? You, too,” Kaari said to Benin. He looked startled, but didn’t object when Kaari grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat. “Pick your poison.” Benin returned with a bulb for Lyssra, who took it gratefully and sipped the cool drink. “Come on,” Kaari said. “What say we see what we can do to this place? I really hate that color, if you can even call it color.” She tapped Benin’s arm. “Give us some male insight. Something in a fuschia, yes?” “That’s your idea of taste? Woman, you really do need someone with talent.” Benin’s spiky hair seemed to bristle more. “None of that girlie flash stuff. Fuschia.” He made a gagging sound. “Girlie flash stuff?” Lyssra glanced around the empty lounge, trying not to think of 165
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what Ilesha and Selhdun were up to, about how it was going to mess things up royally. “Now?” “Got anything better planned?” *
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“Incredible,” Selhdun said. Except for a small leather pouch hanging around her neck on a cord, Ilesha was naked. He called his room lights up to see better. “That’s a raven?” The tattoo stretched from her breastbone, wrapped around her hip so that one wing stretched up her back and the other arched over her pubic bone. The creature’s body extended down her right side. It looked like a cross between some feathered bird and a jeweled dragon. The main color was a glittering black, shot through with rubies and amethysts, sapphires and emeralds. Each feather and scale was tipped with fire that glittered under his room lights like a living thing. “Raven.” Her skin was hot under his lips. “Your sister’s a bitch, but then you knew that already, didn’t you?” “Do you care?” Ilesha said. “I don’t like feeling cheated.” She twisted her body; the raven writhed under his open mouth. She had a scent all her own, feral and pagan, and it went straight to his hindbrain, where the ancient human predator stalked its wild mate. He pushed her down on his bed. She fell with a fluid grace that made him want to fall on her and take her right then, right there. His erection was a painful, throbbing need that demanded instant release. “I don’t cheat,” she said. “Or lie, or play games.” “Maybe I’d like your kind of games.” 166
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“You think she’s doing anything like this?” She skimmed her hands down her ribs, where the body of the raven seemed to flow and echo her movements. The sinuous curve of the raven’s tail wrapped around her thigh and trailed down her right leg, ending at her knee. It was tipped in gold and bloodred. She put her hands between her legs. “You think she knows how to do this?” He swept his hand after hers. “What do you know, Raven? I keep hearing you’re some kind of witch. Why don’t you show me.” “You want witch?” She raked her nails down his back. “Can you handle it?” “I’ll show you how I want it and what I can handle,” he said and caught her hands, holding her arms above her head. His teeth were at her throat. “You tell me how much you can take.” She shuddered and moved under him.
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CHAPTER 20 Pakal spent two days deciphering the ’crystal. “I can at best give you a place to start,” he said. “And some idea of what to look for while you are in there. You should not feel threatened into this, Terik. I do not care what they said.” “No?” Selhdun raised one eyebrow. His eyes burned from two sleep-deprived nights. “Not even if I said they told me my crew would be shipped to Xua? You really that eager to return?” Selhdun watched his co-pilot pale and felt guilty. But Pakal had to realize how tenuous their position had become since the Suzerain had grown interested in the Cyxers’ discovery. The message from the Suzerain’s agents had been unmistakable in its implied threat. “Besides,” Selhdun said. “Why should we let some other 168
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dolboy gain all the profit?” He grinned, knowing how much Pakal hated it when he used crude Xuan slang. But the more refined Aglact just didn’t offer the right word sometimes. “If death be profit, we will all share its bounty. Are you prepared to go in and probe for patterns? How long will you stay in there at a time? Two hours? Three?” Selhdun knew it could very well come to that, and the more time he spent in Jump, trying to distinguish minute variances in an overwhelming assault on all his senses, the more he risked permanent brain damage. A ship couldn’t enter Jump without an alert human pilot. The patterns were not something solid that a computer could learn. They weren’t reliable; the next Jump would be different from all the variables that acted on space and time. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, wincing when his fingers encountered the scratches Ilesha gave him last night. The little bitch got rougher each time. He smiled at the memory, then sobered abruptly. “When can we start?” Pakal sighed. “I have fed the new defaults into the system. At least you will know what to ignore. Query Ship for a time frame.” Selhdun opened the link to Ship. ::Ship:: ::Responding:: ::Optimum time frame for new Jump based on latest data input:: Ship responded. ::First iteration will occur in four hours nineteen minutes. Phasal sequence matches link-code to an error level of point zero one. Second iteration will occur in nine hours twenty six minutes. Same phasal sequence match, error level of point zero-zero nine. Third—:: 169
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::Enough:: Selhdun broke out of link and shook himself free of the deep connection. It always took him a second to re-orient after a deep link. Pakal handed him coffee. “We can take our first Jump in four hours,” Selhdun said. “Can you be ready?” “Can you?” “I’ll be ready.” He grinned. “But right now I have a date.” Before Selhdun stood, Pakal stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. The Xuan’s fingers were warm on his bare skin. “Why, Terik?” Selhdun deliberately misunderstood the question. “We have to start sometime, it might as well be the first iteration, even if it’s not the best.” “Not what I meant.” Pakal’s hand moved to caress his neck. “Why her? You proved your point and had your female. Why continue?” “I want her in my bed.” Selhdun met Pakal’s eyes. “What’s wrong with that? Your bed hasn’t exactly been empty. Or did you think I’d forgotten about Niki?” “That is hardly relevant. Nikoli does not, and never will, interfere with my work.” “Do you seriously think she has me in some kind of thrall? Not very flattering.” Pakal seemed about to say something else, then his caressing fingers encountered the furrows on Selhdun’s neck. He jerked away as though burned. Selhdun rubbed the stinging flesh. “She plays hard.” He grinned, ignoring the disgust on Pakal’s face. “Why should I give that up? You won’t give it to me.” “This obsession of yours has always been unhealthy.” 170
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“I want her.” He laughed mirthlessly. “I’d be the first to tell you Cyxer women aren’t worth much. Can you imagine showing up in court with one? But they’re spectacular in bed. You should give it a try. Haven’t you ever wondered what you’re missing?” Pakal spat on the floor. Immediately a ’Tech scuttled out to clean up the mess, vanishing as quickly back into the warren of passageways that allowed ’Techs to access all areas of the ship. “Guess not.” Selhdun laughed. “Your loss.” *
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She straddled him, her breath coming hard and fast. Under her, he sagged back on the bed. Then he pulled her down and rolled her off him. She sprawled beside him, nonplussed by the abruptness of his action. His arms came up to pull her closer. The room smelled of sex and need. He rubbed his cheek against hers. Eyes closed, she ran her fingers over his face, along the side, feeling the lines of fine metal wires that traced the synaptic connections to the inner neurological link. She felt her gorge rise at the thought of the monofilament wires that disappeared into his depilated skull where they were implanted directly into his brain, providing him with his link to Ship. She avoided thinking about what was in his head. She rose above him and jogged the bed enough to rouse him from his half doze. Why was it men always wanted to fall asleep so quickly? She wasn’t interested in sleeping. Not yet. She wasn’t bored with her Captain Selhdun. He damned well better not be getting bored with her. The herbal pouch she wore around her neck slapped his face. He grabbed it, pulling her off balance so that she fell against him. He didn’t look exactly thrilled to be awakened. 171
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Her eyes narrowed and she went dangerously still. “Ah,” she said softly. “You’re awake.” “Wasn’t asleep,” he said. “What is this thing, anyway?” “My herbs,” she said and slipped the bag over her head. “Haven’t you ever wondered where Cyxers get that reputation you all seem so fascinated with? I’ve got stuff in here that could make even Pakal crawl into my bed, if I decided I wanted him.” She leaned back on her heels as though she might leave at any moment. She licked her lips. “Tell me, is it worth making him crawl?” “Forget Pakal. You wouldn’t like what he wants.” He sat up, tucking one leg under him. She leaned into him and ran her hand along his thigh. He reached for his wine and sipped it. Abruptly he put it down and pushed her hand away. “Show me some of this magic.” She drew the largest vial out of the pouch, careful not to dislodge any of the other packets. No sense letting him see everything she had. The nacreous liquid glowed in the low light. She poured a tiny quantity into the palm of her hand. Sitting up straighter, she threw her fire-red hair over her shoulder and dipped a finger into the liquid. “Under your tongue.” He complied. She did the same, then let him lick the palm of her hand. She knew how fast the stuff worked, so she wasn’t surprised to hear his startled response begin a few heartbeats later. She bent low over him and bit his throat, feeling his pulse jump faster and harder. “When do you have to be on the bridge?” “Whenever I feel like,” he said, and rolling over, shoved her down. His eyes had a glazed, almost frantic look that she was all too familiar with. His need excited her. Even this highborn prince was 172
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hers to control. He wasn’t going to get bored with her and walk away as long as she could do this to him. His body did whatever she asked it to under the ministrations of her skilled hands and her herbs. He muttered something feverish against her throat then laughed. “They’re not going anywhere without me, are they?” *
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The shower, first hot, then cold, didn’t help clear the muzziness from his head. Still foggy with lust, Selhdun groaned when he got to the bridge, and was met by a grim Pakal. Thankfully he was alone on the bridge. “You missed our Jump window.” “Don’t start, Pakal. We’ll get the next one,” Selhdun said and slipped into his chair. He wanted to bury his head in his hands, but he dare not show that kind of weakness in front of Pakal. Damn, how could he have let things slip away from him like that? “I miscalculated.” “The stench of your whore is all over you. You’re not in any condition to Jump, now or in two hours.” “Back off, Pakal.” Selhdun felt a headache coming on. Whatever Ilesha had given him was wearing off. Not a good time. What had she given him? If it was going to be this bad afterward he’d better stick to plain sex next time…only he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Not after the way it had been. He got hard just remembering. “I bed who I want.” “You think I am jealous?” Pakal said. “You really think I am that petty? If you have decided the Jump is too dangerous, then be man enough to say so. I have no qualms about telling the Cyxers to 173
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go to hell, you should not, either. As for those others… I am willing to take my chances.” “Maybe I’m not. And I have no reservations about this or any other Jump, and don’t you ever suggest such a thing.” “Your whore will still be here after we Jump.” Pakal stalked toward the door. “Stay out of her bed long enough to do your job.” “Pakal!” The bridge door closed behind him. Selhdun snarled a curse into the silence. *
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Pakal was expecting him when he showed up less than fifteen minutes later. Selhdun overrode the locks Pakal set on his door and stalked into the Xuan’s quarters. “What the hell’s gotten into you?” He glared at Pakal, then swung around when Nikoli came out of Pakal’s bedroom, wearing a robe, his golden skin still damp from a recent shower. “Don’t you have a shower of your own? For that matter, don’t you have a room of your own?” Nikoli froze, staring wide-eyed from Pakal to Selhdun. “Sir, I—” “For God’s sake, get dressed vstatzi. You look like a cheap whore,” Selhdun said. “Get dressed and get out. You have work on the bridge.” With a nervous glance at Pakal, Nikoli retreated into the bedroom. Selhdun swung on Pakal. “That little morglik is getting too familiar,” he snapped. “You let him stay here? Since when did that happen? You used to have 174
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more sense than to invite them to live with you.” “You used to know the difference between duty and pleasure, and never risked one to pursue the other.” Pakal watched Selhdun pace his plain, lightly furnished quarters. Where Selhdun surrounded himself in luxury and richness, Pakal preferred plain furnishings, and few enough of those. Selhdun came to stand in front of him, his face a study of confusion. Pakal didn’t know if it was genuine or not. He wondered right now if he really cared. “That’s crazy.” “Already she affects your judgment. I have never known you to miss a Jump.” “So I missed one. I told you, I miscalculated. I…fell asleep. In two hours I can take the next one.” “And how many Jumps will it take? How far are you prepared to push yourself to do this? Will you fall asleep and lose us all in Jump?” “No!” Selhdun twisted around so that he faced away from Pakal. “I can take care of my business, Pakal. I always have.” “I will be on the bridge in three hours. We shall see.” *
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Selhdun made one final check through Ship, and once he was sure everyone on board had taken their anserat and were safely asleep, he Jumped. He closed his eyes against the vertigo that always came when he first entered Ship’s fractal interstice. He immediately felt the visual assault of the endless streaming disorder that took several 175
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heartbeats to orient against. Once the patterns began to emerge, he was drawn deeper into Jumpspace. He felt the familiar tug of separation as he was pulled from his body to enter the link completely. Outside the Necromancer it grew easier. He could concentrate on the visceral images of the surrounding space. The pulse of the nearest star—Cyx’s primary—crawled across his nerves as an annoyance to be avoided. What he wanted wasn’t there, but on one of those pathways that were slowly appearing, he discerned order in the fractal confusion. The farther away he moved, the less the unpleasant sensation rubbed against his jittering nerves. The tension between the need to escape and the equally important need to come in as close as possible to the destination star was another element that made Jump a human driven process. Come in too close and the pilot risked not coming out of Jump. Too far away and useless energy was expended bringing the ship in on normal drive. No machine could do it right. Each star, each approach, each Jump was different. They moved. With the power he gave the Necromancer, they left the real-time continuum and entered the Jump domain. Sounds were nearly inaudible and at the same time so whipsaw loud they hurt his head. He couldn’t move, but he didn’t need to. His power no longer lay with his physical body. He probed, looking for a signature to match the digital mess Pakal had pulled from the Cyxer’s corrupted ’crystal. The fractal patterns represented all the mass strewn throughout the realtime/space. Problem was, unlike a Jump to known space, the signatures wouldn’t match anything he knew. Not exactly. They knew what type of star the Terran system had circled—they’d found out the hard way that only stars that were almost exact 176
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matches for Sol could support humans in anything approaching normalcy. But the exact spectrum that would tell Selhdun/Ship that they had found the target didn’t exist in Ship’s memory. He had to determine through experience which mass patterns were important, and which he could ignore. To do that, he had to be inside. Then he would have to search to find the closest analogue, only then moving in to check the other variables to see whether it matched known Terran parameters. If the match existed he could move nearer still, probe deeper to solidify his claim. But he had to be careful. He dare not move too close, too fast. Computers made mistakes like that, which was why experimental computer-run ships often didn’t come back. There would be no human made broadcasting beacons to guide them, either. The Terranic Corridor may have been busy in its day, but had dropped from existence following the turmoil of Exodus that had sent ships to all the known habitable planets and a host of planets that hadn’t been habitable at all. It had taken the more stable systems, Nexus, Tiamat, and Chaghatai nearly two centuries to grow strong enough to leave their new settlements in search of other survivors. They had found each other quickly enough, then they had stumbled on Xua, already well on its descent into hell. They had been even longer finding Cyx, and the poor, sad handful of settlers still struggling on its poisoned surface. No one had given any thought to finding their way back to Terra. Selhdun guessed the war had made them think it wasn’t worth pursuing. Or had they known something that they hadn’t bothered to enter in the permanent records? How ironic that Cyx, the poorest of the poor, might hold the key for the simple reason that they had always been too destitute to rebuild their ancient home, and had kept the machines that held the 177
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old records. Selhdun knew there was an unmistakable flavor to a successful move and pain in being wrong. That was one of the things he had learned to rely on early on. Ship couldn’t help him; it was an intuitive and purely heuristic process. And mentally exhausting. He didn’t dare spend too much time in here. He would be doing it again, soon. Until he found what they looked for, or he decided to make Pakal happy and quit. He searched for and found the Cyxian primary. With an effort, he guided them closer, until the pain in his head grew too great, forcing him to drop out. The shock was almost physical. The curved, tan walls of the bridge flashed back into existence. He saw the reassuring blink of various sensor lights and heard the soft hum of the air flowing out of the algae vats hidden behind the bulkheads. A ’Tech scuttled out of one of the overhead vents, on some errand that only a ’Tech understood. He heard the scratchscratch of its metal claws on the wall. He slumped in the chair, skin clammy, breath coming in shallow puffs. A final pain lanced through his head, then faded along with the memory. He initiated link. ::Ship:: ::Responding:: ::Hard copy that last Jump. Pakal’s station. Dump everything:: ::Dumping. Process complete:: Selhdun relaxed back in his padded chair. He would wait for Pakal to come out of his drug-induced sleep, then he would go back to his quarters. He must have dozed off. He heard Pakal stir, then he opened his eyes to a too-bright light and blinked in the glare. He and Pakal sat up at the same time. 178
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Pakal grabbed two bulbs of coffee before he came over. “Well?” “Nothing.” Selhdun sipped greedily at the scalding drink. “What did you expect?” “I expect nothing. I hope for miracles.” “Didn’t happen.” Selhdun rubbed his temple. “Maybe next time.” Pakal sighed. “What time?” he asked. Selhdun checked with Ship. ::Ship:: ::Responding:: ::Next iteration?:: ::Six hours, forty-two minutes:: He passed the time on to Pakal, finished his coffee and stood. “Now,” he said. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.” He caught Pakal’s look. “Alone.” Selhdun gestured toward Pakal’s station. “Ship gave you a dump of everything so far. Check it over and let me know if you spot anything I missed. I’ll meet you back here in six hours.” Pakal nodded, but Selhdun was already out the door. *
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Selhdun could smell her the minute he opened the door to her quarters two hours later. After a Jump Selhdun always felt preternaturally alert, like his senses spanned to another level through his contact with Ship. “Hey.” Ilesha swung around at his entrance and stood, arms 179
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akimbo, watching him. “That was locked.” “Locked doors don’t keep me out on this ship.” He stripped off his sleeveless shirt and tossed it on the floor. “I thought you knew better than that.” Her room was just like the others, only messy. Ilesha Ravenwood was not the Autarch’s neatest housekeeper. She had changed the wall color, he noticed. It was a brilliant red that matched the color of her robe. The rest of her clothes, the clingy, diaphanous clouds she wore, lay draped over chairs and scattered across the carpeted floor, the color of which she had also changed—it was a deep swirl of red and black. He pulled off his sarong and sent it after the top. She looked slightly disheveled, as though she had just gotten out of bed. Well, he intended to put her right back there. Her hair hung loose, falling in massed curls down her back and as usual the sight of it aroused him. He knew what it felt like now, wrapped around him; he knew how it smelled. He knew the sinuous way she moved when he fucked her. He knew how she smelled. Her scent was intoxicating. “What the hell are you wearing?” “Pakal said you were sleeping.” “You checked? I’m surprised he told you that much,” he said and closed the distance between them. “I’m awake now. You haven’t answered my question.” She glanced down at his fully aroused body and dropped her robe on the floor. “I’m not wearing anything.” He inhaled deeply and felt himself grow harder, if such a thing was possible. He lifted her and braced her against the bulkhead separating the bedroom from the living area. Her fingernails raked down his back as he rammed into her. 180
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“Good, that’s just the way I like you,” he said. “Witch woman.”
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CHAPTER 21 The second Jump was a repeat of the first. He came away with a headache and a finely tuned exhaustion. His nerves fidgeted to the jangle of unheard music. He waved off Pakal’s solicitous help and made his way back to his quarters. Sleep eluded him, and after dozing for less than three hours, he gave up and went to her. After she pulled all her poisons out of him, maybe he would stop wanting her and he could sleep. But the more he had her, the more he needed her. Maybe Pakal was right; she was a witch. He dismissed that as ridiculous, even as he sought her out between Jumps and lost himself in her endlessly skilled body again and again. 182
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*
*
*
Riding the flux between the stars, he pushed them outward. He searched the pathways, guided by instinct, trying to find the key signature that would signal a pattern match. It wasn’t there. The patterns became familiar, but it just wasn’t there, yet. Push on then and work the next occurrence. He felt the tug of exhaustion draw him in, dimming his senses. The phasal connections weakened, threatening to pull him in farther; to pull him down so far, he would never escape. He forced his flagging senses to concentrate. He couldn’t leave Jumpspace yet. He had to move them back in, near the primary, where the pain was greatest. They knew the Jump point was here, that much the records made clear. He didn’t dare risk coming out somewhere else. He pushed again, met resistance. Then finally, movement. The Necromancer responded sluggishly, but it moved. Then they were out, and the familiar stars of the Cyxian plane glittered at him through the visuals, dominated by the distant Cyx primary. He’d taken them full circle. A hail came over the comm. He read the incoming call’s signature beacon. Damn. A Navy battleship, guarding His Majesty’s access points. He opened the comm. He decided against calling for visuals. He probably looked like hell after that Jump. No need to raise their suspicions even more. “Necromancer, this is the Conquest of Nador, do you read? This is Admiral Chaltor Jenelek of the Conquest of Nador. Do you read, Necromancer? Jenelek? The bastard’s son had followed them. “Necromancer here. I was not expecting you, ah, Admiral, was it? How can I help you this time? Did you come all the way out here to tell me you 183
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have a suspect?” “Negative, Prince Selhdun. So far our efforts have been unsuccessful. Are you in distress, my Lord?” The voice was properly deferential, but Selhdun heard the undertone there. Jenelek had already shown he wasn’t going to back down just because Selhdun was titled. Just what he needed. A persistent, duty-bound man who knew his power, and was determined to do his job. Or had orders to keep after him. Selhdun wasn’t sure which was worse. Damn. Behind him he heard Pakal stir. He signaled the Xuan to listen but keep silent. “We have been observing your activity for some time now,” Jenelek said. “I but came to inquire if you are all right after such a terrible…accident.” “Hegemon business,” Selhdun said. “I am fine, and I thank you for your concern.” “Funny Hegemon business that keeps sending you into Jump. Didn’t know there was any profit to be found there. But then what do I know of Hegemon policy? Or Hegemon secrets.” “Again, I thank you for your concern, Admiral, but we are fine,” Selhdun said. “We are also busy, so if you don’t mind…” There was silence at the other end. Selhdun almost wished he had opted for visuals. He would have loved to see Jenelek’s face as he realized he wasn’t going to get any answers, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it, unless he chose to reveal his hand. “Very well, Necromancer. I will take my leave. If you have need of assistance, we are here to serve you.” Selhdun broke the link and leaned back in his chair. He looked up to meet Pakal’s quizzical gaze. “Convenient of him to find us,” Selhdun said, fingers 184
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drumming the chair arm. “You think so?” Pakal said. “I would not have expected them to be so blatant.” Selhdun frowned over the implications. “We don’t have much time. I’m going to have to stay in longer.” The muscles of his jaw tightened. “The more Jumps we make, the more he’ll read of our pattern signatures.” “I have heard rumors the Navy possesses the means to trace Jumping ships.” “That old saw? They’ve been whispering that for years.” “Then I suggest that one of these days rumor will become truth.” Selhdun shrugged. “Not much we can do about it, is there?” He watched the Conquest of Nador move off. It didn’t go far. Damn Jenelek. *
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Selhdun sagged in the chair, leaning his head back against the padded seat. Nothing. He didn’t move. He didn’t even stir when Pakal finally came out of his Jumpsleep and stretched before peering around at Selhdun. The results must have been written large on Selhdun’s face because Pakal sighed and shook his head. Fetching coffee, he brought one to Selhdun, who took it and drank greedily of the bitter liquid, holding it in both hands to hide his trembling from Pakal’s prying eyes. “Five hours,” Selhdun said after a brief link with Ship. “I’ll meet you in the lounge for something to eat before we head back here, okay?” 185
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Pakal nodded. He gestured toward his station. “I will go over it. If I find anything…” Selhdun linked with Ship. He swore under his breath. “Jenelek’s still out there,” he said. “The baseborn son of a bitch.” “Did you really think he would leave so easily?” “No,” Selhdun conceded. “He won’t be content to sit out there much longer, either. Maybe they can’t touch me, but they can keep you in lockdown for years while they wrangle over it. Do you really want to end up back on Xua?” “I will take my chances, just as I always have.” “Sometimes I wonder why you do that,” Selhdun said, and catching Pakal’s hand, rubbed his knuckles. “Why the hell do you put up with me?” “Is it not enough to know I do?” The second Jump was a repeat of the first. He came away with another headache. But it wasn’t enough to keep him away from her and the pleasure he found in her bed. *
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Back in, probe and push along the most promising line. Back out, and Conquest of Nador sat above the orbital plane “Necromancer, this is the Conquest of Nador, do you read? This is Admiral Chaltor Jenelek of the Conquest of Nador. Do you read, Necromancer?” “Necromancer here. I tell you again, Conquest of Nador, there is nothing here you need to concern yourself with.” The voice remained deferential but devoid of any inflection. 186
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“Are you certain, Necromancer?” “Yes, Conquest of Nador, I must insist that we are fine here.” Behind him Pakal stirred. He signaled the Xuan to keep silent. “I thank you again for your concern, Admiral, but really, we are fine,” Selhdun said. “Very well, Necromancer,” he said the name with obvious distaste. “If you have need of assistance, we are here to serve you.” “I assure you, I will.” Selhdun broke the connection and met Pakal’s worried gaze. “I’m close. I know it. I’ll give it two more Jumps.” Pakal nodded though it was obvious he didn’t believe him. *
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Selhdun tried to stand. The floor lurched and he had to sit down fast to avoid falling. That wasn’t good. He closed his eyes against the vertigo. He opened them quickly and checked on Pakal. Still sleeping. Good. He didn’t need Pakal seeing him like this. He’d fuss and mother him—and probably try to restrict further Jumps. They couldn’t afford to quit now. Selhdun knew he was close. Something about the last Jump…if he been able to stay in just a while longer. Next time, he knew, he’d get it. He wasn’t going to let Pakal stop him now that he was so close. There was too much at stake. Too much to gain. He refused to think about how much there was to lose. Lying back in the chair, he closed his eyes again. If he rested for a few minutes, the floor would stop rolling, and he could make it back to his room, where he could take something and make sure he slept. 187
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He told Ship to see that Pakal got a complete dump of everything to date. He might see even more of the pattern Selhdun knew was there. Keep him busy with that, and maybe he wouldn’t notice the growing strain Selhdun was under. He vowed once they were in Terran space he would rest. He would make sure they came out on the far edges, deep in the Oort cloud. It would take days before they could move in close enough to see anything. He would rest then. In the damn ’Doc if necessary. That ought to make Pakal happy. The next time he tried to stand, the floor only shifted a little. By not moving too fast he made it back to his quarters. The light was on in his bedroom. From the doorway he could see that someone was in his bed. Her flame-red hair spilled over the top of the pillow. She looked like she was asleep. Why was he beginning to feel like he was in the middle of a really bad fairytale? The witch sat up. She was naked. “Oh, God.” He groaned and shut his eyes. When he opened them she was still there, and the room still only spun a little bit. “Aren’t you coming to bed?” she said, and patted the covers beside her. “Go away.” “Why?” He tried to think of a reason. He was sure he’d had one. She patted the bed beside her again. “You might as well lie down.” Her smile was toothsome. “I promise I don’t bite.” Only he knew that was a lie. She bit, and hard. He slumped onto the edge of the bed, mostly because he no longer had the strength to stand. She leaned into him, and he could feel her soft breasts pressing into his bare arm. “You need to get comfortable,” she said. “How do you expect 188
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to sleep with all those clothes on?” His mind fumbled for something to hang onto. “How did you get here during Jump? There’s no way you stayed awake.” “Don’t think I could handle it?” He felt her shrug as she slipped his top off and tossed it on the floor beside the bed. Her fingers felt cool. He felt nothing else. For once he had absolutely no desire, sexual or otherwise, for her. If only he could get her to realize that, she might leave him alone. “I heard the fifteen minute call,” she said. “And knew you’d all be on the bridge, so I hurried down. I made sure I had a light dose of anserat—I wanted to be awake right after Jump… You know, if you want to keep people out, you should lock your door.” “Never figured I had to. Not on my own ship.” He was on his stomach, his head pillowed on his arm, when she started massaging his shoulders. It actually felt good. He could sleep right here, right now. “You know, you’re wasting your time,” he said. “Oh, that’s a matter of opinion.” He felt something cool and moist dribble onto his skin, but when he tried to sit up, she pushed him back down. He was too tired to resist. “Don’t,” she said, and there was an undertone to her voice that hadn’t been there before. Her unexpected strength surprised him. “It’ll help you relax.” He could have told her he didn’t need any help relaxing. Whatever she had put on his back smelled musky and not unpleasant. Her hands were soft, then warm. Very warm. The heat spread until all possibility of sleep fled in a growing haze of unbelievable lust. He turned over. 189
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“What the hell are you doing to me, Ilesha Ravenwood?” “Only what we both want,” she said as he pulled her down on top of him. Her laughter was low. “Maybe I can’t lock a door against you, but you can’t say no to me, either. I told you I knew tricks to raise the dead.” *
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Selhdun batted at the hand trying to prod him awake. “Go away. I told you I can’t do any more. I don’t care what you give me. Leave me alone—” “Terik! Wake up, man.” He was sprawled on his stomach, amidst a tangle of damp bedclothes. Alone. He winced when he tried to turn over and found his arm twisted behind his back. When he freed it and rolled over, he opened one eye to stare bleary-eyed at Pakal. He groaned. He brushed the tattered remnants of his braid out of his eyes. He definitely wasn’t up to facing an angry Pakal. “I’ve been calling you for the last twenty minutes.” Pakal’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “What the hell have you been doing, it smells like a fucking zoo in here.” “Can we talk about this later?” he said. “After I sleep—” “I thought you were sleeping. I came down to see how you were doing. I should not waste my time.” He moved closer, his nostrils flaring at the lingering smell. “What did you mean, it does not matter what she gives you? What the hell has she been using on you?” “Nothing—” “Enough,” Pakal’s voice rose, something it almost never did. Selhdun winced at the harshness in the voice. He winced again 190
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when Pakal pulled him upright. There was nothing gentle in the Xuan’s touch. “Enough lies. It is time you told the truth. What is going on, Terik?” Reluctantly, Selhdun did. Pakal’s face grew even more thunderous. When Selhdun was done he was silent for several seconds before he finally spoke. “If you do not stop this, Terik, I will. I will make sure it is permanent.” “Don’t worry.” Selhdun closed his eyes. “I’m going to take care of it. I already told her.” “You need to be a little more convincing in your nos.” “I’ll work on it.” “Take a shower. Give the bedclothes a chance to clean themselves. You will not smell quite so much like the refuse from an orgy.” “Orgy? Very flattering.” Selhdun tried on a weak smile. “Guess I did feel kind of outnumbered. She may be small, but she packs a powerhouse punch.” Pakal’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “Forget the shower. I have a better idea. Let her come looking for you,” he said and, grabbing the musty sheets, he ripped them off the bed, exposing Selhdun’s naked body to the suddenly cool air. “You will not be here. Come.” “Where?” “You will stay in my quarters. Nikoli will have to find another bed tonight.” He threw Selhdun’s sarong at him. “She will not find you there. I think I may leave this door unlocked this evening. Let us see who visits. Now get up. You can walk.” Selhdun didn’t bother asking what would happen if he couldn’t. Pakal in this mood just might make him crawl. He slowly got out of bed and followed Pakal to his quarters. He 191
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would have been more than happy to tumble right back into bed, but Pakal made him shower and eat something. Then he brought him a steaming drinking bulb and, sitting behind him on the bed, carefully put his waist length hair back into its tidy braid, while Selhdun drank. “You can be sure,” he said as he watched Selhdun drain the bitter liquid. “I will personally be locking this door. Tell Ship to allow no one in.” Selhdun complied, then handed the empty bulb back. “Thank you, Mother.” “You do not need a mother,” Pakal said. “You need a keeper.” *
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Ilesha slipped through the night-lit corridors. She had been hoping after last night that Selhdun would seek her out. Maybe he was making good on his claim not to want her anymore. She thought she had taken care of that by showing him how much he did need her. He had no idea. She was tempted to just turn around and leave. Let him find out for himself how much he needed her. When he started getting the sweats and did a hard crash then they’d all know. Which was exactly what she couldn’t have happen. So she was here, one more—one last—time she swore. Screw him after that, she didn’t need this. Her little experiment may have gotten a bit out of hand, but that wasn’t any reason to put up with this kind of abuse. The door slid open to reveal a darkened room. Good, he was still sleeping. He was a lot easier to handle when he wasn’t wide 192
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awake. She made her way to the bedroom and stepped toward the bed. Nothing moved inside. She frowned. Maybe she had overdone it with the dose this time. A good researcher made sure she didn’t get too involved with her experiments, so she had protected herself by covering her hands with a gel that kept the drug from entering her bloodstream. She had wanted to see what kind of effect the new drugs had over a longer time period, but found to her dismay she needed to use more each time to get the same affect. Last night she’d had to give him three times the dose anyone had ever had. She would have liked to go on for a few more weeks, but knew she pushed her luck as it was. Even Selhdun might get suspicious after a while. She’d sworn this would be the last time. His response had been incredible, just what she had hoped for. This stuff would be worth a fortune, if she could just figure out the dosage problems. And the addictive qualities that were going to prove so unfortunate if she didn’t take care of them tonight. She had thought his heart was going to stop when he’d finally orgasmed. But it had been worth it. Not that he had complained. Of course he’d passed out right afterward, but he’d been so incredibly vocal throughout. So what did he have to complain about? When the hand came out of the darkness she would have screamed, except it wrapped around her throat and immediately blocked all the air coming in and going out. Her head banged against the doorjamb and light flared painfully when the room lights came up. Her stomach lurched when she saw Pakal. “You will leave him alone, Cyxer,” Pakal said, not letting go of her throat. She gagged and struggled for breathe. Only when her vision 193
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grayed, and she had expended her strength trying to pry his rocklike fingers from her throat, did he drop her. She barely stopped herself from falling on the floor at his feet. That was an embarrassment she didn’t want. “The captain no longer has need of your services,” Pakal said. “I want to hear him say that.” She rubbed her throat, wondering why he was here. Just how much did he know? One look at his face, and she knew it was way too much. She thought of going for her herbs. It would be so easy to immobilize him, then she could walk away with her dignity intact. But he was watching her with that special intensity only the truly paranoid had, and she knew what would happen if she tried anything. She’d be eating her own medicine bag and that wouldn’t be a good thing. Considering what she actually had in there. Not a good thing at all. She wished she’d been smart and left it back at her quarters. It wasn’t like she really needed it. Selhdun was a pushover when it came to the rough stuff, but if Pakal found out what she carried in her herbal pouch, there’d be hell to pay. If Lyssra found out what she was carrying, she just might see the topside of Cyx a lot closer than she had ever planned. At the very least she’d make good on her threat of never seeing her daughter again. She wasn’t sure now what had possessed her to bring those particular drugs, and having brought them, use them. The shit was going to come down in a few days when Selhdun started to realize just how much he needed his Raven and her little bag of delights. Just how addicted was he? She eyed Pakal. She didn’t want to meet this guy again when they all started to find out. She had to get to Selhdun before he started coming down. 194
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If she could slip him some of the antidote, she could neutralize most of the nastier side effects, and he wouldn’t even notice he was coming off what he thought was a harmless aphrodisiac. Not a good time for Pakal to be playing games. “Let me see him at least. Let him tell me.” “Forget it, witch. You’re not getting near him. We’re not making that mistake again.” He didn’t confuse her size and gender with her ability. This one wasn’t going to be as easily duped as Selhdun, who couldn’t see past his dick. Just her luck, someone who respected her, and he despised her. “Can’t stand it that I can give him what you can’t?” She didn’t know what possessed her to taunt him. Lyssra always said she had a suicidal streak in her. It picked a hell of a time to show itself. “There is only one thing he wants from any bitch, once he gets it he always gets bored so quickly. Or haven’t you noticed?” “You—” “I’d watch my mouth if I was you, witch. Drugging a pilot while he’s on duty is taken very seriously by the Autarch courts.” Ilesha mouth went dry. How the hell did he know— Damn Selhdun. She searched around for something to say. Was there much sense denying it? How much did Pakal know? She raised her chin. The gesture put her eye-level with his broad chest. Gaia, had he always been that big? “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” she said. “I didn’t drug anyone—and you can’t prove otherwise.” She thanked the Earth mother that she was fully clothed and her herbal pouch was safely tucked away under a layer of cloth. Pakal had never seen the pouch; he had no idea of its existence. She hoped. She resisted the urge to make sure it was safe, then met 195
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Pakal’s gaze squarely. “I don’t have to drug your master to get him to fuck me. He came to me, remember?” “Not anymore,” Pakal said. “He’s had his fill of your wellsampled goods. Go whore somewhere else. “Do you practice being a prick or does it just come naturally?” “Leave him, Cyxer.” Ilesha backed away from the towering Xuan. She tried to look fierce, but it was a joke in the face of their size difference. “Tell your lord and master he really wasn’t worth the effort after all. I’ve had better.” As a parting shot it lacked originality, and she doubted very much he would pass it on, but she had to say something. “I’ve had a lot better.” “I am sure you have,” Pakal said smoothly. They both knew her game. “So has he.” Without a backward glance, she cloaked herself in what little dignity she had left and stalked off toward her own cold quarters. She knew he watched her until she was out of sight. Xuan pig. *
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Selhdun sagged in the chair, leaning his head back against the padded rest. Nothing. He didn’t move. He didn’t even stir when Pakal finally came out of his Jumpsleep and stretched before peering around at Selhdun. “Are we really sure there’s something here?” Selhdun rubbed his temple. “Maybe it is all a myth.” “We came from somewhere. The records are clear that this is the local emergence point. It is here. We just have to find it.” 196
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“Easy for you to say.” Pakal only grunted. Selhdun focused on something else. Pakal knew he was linking to Ship. “Jenelek’s still out there,” he said. “It is a little late to worry about that. Let us just hope it does not come to anything.” Pakal sighed. “Now go, get some rest. Getting us out of here is the only surefire way to avoid Jenelek and his plans.” Selhdun went. *
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Lyssra was late getting to the lounge. Most of them had already settled in with after-dinner drinks and talk had turned to the next Jump attempt. They all knew they were running out of time and options. The rumor mill was full of news about the Navy ship shadowing them. Even Lyssra had heard, though she barely left her room the last few days. Now she finally had something to show Selhdun, and she hurried to the table he shared with Pakal. The first thing she noticed was how exhausted Selhdun looked. His eyes were glazed and barely focused on her when she spoke his name. It was Pakal who answered. “What is it?” She held up the crystal she had written within the last hour. “I found something that might interest you,” she said, glancing from Pakal to Selhdun. She frowned at Selhdun’s lack of response. “It has to do with the spectral signal, and something about a pattern the captain of the New Brunswick noticed.” 197
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Pakal held out his hand. “Give it to me, I will look it over.” Reluctantly she did so. Again she glanced at Selhdun and saw the slightest trembling in his hands. Just how much damage was he inflicting on himself going into Jump so often? “Let me know.” “You will know when we are successful.” Pakal turned away, and she saw him lean toward Selhdun, touching his arm solicitously. “Terik, I need to see you.” Ilesha suddenly brushed past her and planted herself in front of Selhdun. “Your Xuan pet’s trying to tell me you don’t want to see me. Have the guts to tell me yourself if it’s true.” Selhdun’s eyes narrowed when he looked up at Ilesha. Lyssra swore his face flushed, and a shiver ran through him. His hands definitely shook. “Selhdun, talk to me,” Ilesha said. Selhdun muttered “No,” then turned back to his drink. Ilesha cursed, and Lyssra turned to grab her, but she was too late. Pakal moved fast. He kicked Ilesha’s feet out from under her and she hit the deck hard. Pakal’s foot came down on her back, and Lyssra winced at Ilesha’s cry of pain. “Did I not tell you to stay away from him, Cyxer?” Pakal said. “Get off her, you fool, before you break her spine.” Lyssra grabbed his arm and pulled. She might as well have tried to move the walls of the ship. “If you have a beef with her, tell me, and I’ll deal with it. Pakal!” Abruptly Selhdun stood. Without looking at the woman lying on the floor, he stepped over her, and stopped with his slippered feet almost touching her head. 198
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“Leave it, Pakal,” he said. “It’s time. Kaari, you come, too.” The minute Pakal took his weight off her Ilesha came off the floor. “I’ll kill that fucker—” Lyssra slugged her. Ilesha went down again. Lyssra leaned over and grabbed her collar, hauling her back up. She clenched her aching fist against her hip and resisted the insane urge to hit her sister again. How could one person cause so much trouble? And why the hell did she have to be blood? “This is my final warning,” she said. “You will give up this ridiculous fixation you have with Selhdun. Stick to your own from now on, is that clear?” “Perfectly,” Ilesha muttered and touched her jaw. “Good,” Lyssra said. “Go to your quarters. Consider yourself confined there until further notice.” Without a backward glance, Ilesha stalked out of the lounge. There was a snicker from Nikoli. Lyssra saw Ilesha’s back stiffen. Maybe the fool would listen now. The lounge door closed and silence drifted down. Even the soft background music that usually played seemed more muted than normal. Lyssra glanced up in surprise when she realized she was alone except for Nikoli. He eyed her warily as though expecting her to carry her assault to him. She smiled weakly. “Sisters. What can I say?” Nikoli watched her with a certain rough wariness. Then he offered her a tentative smile that again only reminded her of how young he looked. “And I thought Xuan families were rough.” “Hey,” Lyssra muttered. “On Cyx we eat our young.”
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CHAPTER 22 Selhdun didn’t move. He wasn’t sure he could move. When he heard Pakal stir, he waited, keeping his eyes shut against the permanent vertigo. He didn’t open them when Pakal touched his arm. “Terik?” “Take me to my quarters, Pakal,” he said, hating the hoarseness in his voice. “Four hours, then you bring me back here.” “Terik, this cannot—” “Four hours, Pakal. One more time, I swear. I know it’s there, I can taste it… Four hours.” He thought at first Pakal was going to refuse. Then the Xuan’s hands gently lifted him out of the chair and held him. He forced his stubborn mouth into a smile. 200
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“You really are too good to me, but it’ll all be worth it, you’ll see.” Pakal’s voice rumbled some response, but he had a hard time hearing, too. He let himself drift back down. Rest. He just needed to rest a bit. *
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Nikoli woke slowly. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and stretched. Only when his hand encountered emptiness on the other side of the bed did he wake completely and sit up. He was alone. A quick glance at the wall clock and he knew he had overslept. Jump would have been over a couple of hours ago at least. Normally the affects of the drug only lasted a little while after Jump. Where was Pakal? No doubt he was with the captain, trying hard to keep him together long enough to get them out of here. Nikoli knew all about the persistent Naval ship and her equally persistent Admiral. Nikoli threw the bedclothes off and padded, naked, into the shower cubicle. He wasn’t going to sit around and wait; Pakal wasn’t coming back, probably not till after the next Jump. Nikoli was supposed to work that one. Well, he was entitled to eat first. Maybe Benin would be back in the lounge, and they could get in a fast game. He knew Pakal didn’t like the Cyxers, but Nikoli found them enjoyable people to be around. They didn’t care who he was or what he had been before. He dressed and made his way through the familiar corridors, feeling the soft carpeting under his bare feet. Benin was occupied. Kaari seemed to have his full interest, and Nikoli gave up on the idea of starting anything with him. Benin 201
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seemed to have recovered from his encounter with Ilesha. Nikoli had heard all about that fiasco. Nikoli grinned when he took a closer look at Kaari. As usual the system’s engineer had gone all out in her appearance. She had used her tools to paint an intricate pattern in thin white lines that began at the crown of her bare head and was overlaid with an even more elaborate design in what looked like blue ceramic lines. The pattern covered her upper back and shoulders and extended, he guessed, down her body. He saw her lean forward and murmur something to an obviously interested Benin. Was she inviting the Cyxer to see more? Lyssra came in and sat near one of the holographic windows they had designed to dress up the place and hide the living wall the Cyxers seemed to find so objectionable. Her handcomp lay opened and she studied the small screen. He glanced back at the main door. Still no sign of Pakal. Well, he wasn’t going to sit alone the rest of the afternoon. He grinned when Lyssra looked up at him. “This taken?” He gestured toward the lounge chair beside her. Lyssra shook her dark head. He sat. “Still working?” he said, glancing at the ’comp in her hand. “Always,” she said, even as she closed the machine down. “What are you up to? No duties? No extracurricular activity?” She looked around, and he knew she was looking for Pakal. “Next Jump is mine.” Then he said to hell with it and folded both arms on the table between them. “What’s it like? Cyx, and Tiamat, I mean. What’s it like to go down the elevator?” “Whoa, one at a time, okay?” She laughed. “You’ve never been down an elevator? But I thought you joined the Hegemon from Xua?” 202
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“They shuttled a bunch of us up. Xua doesn’t have enough traffic to support an elevator. What’s Tiamat like? We were in orbit the whole time you were down there, but I wasn’t allowed off the ship except on ship’s duty, and that didn’t include downside.” Lyssra frowned. “How long have you been in the Hegemon?” “This is my first Jump flight. I trained on local mining ships.” He grimaced. The mining boats were full of the same kind of miners he’d had his fill of on the Xuan Station. They were a rough lot, and he never wanted to go back to that or them. “Something wrong?” Lyssra looked puzzled. Hastily he shook his head. “No. Tell me what it was like? I’ve heard so much about Tiamat. Is it as beautiful as they say? What about Nexus? Have you been there? What’s that like—” “Hey, slow down.” She held up her hand, laughing. “I guess you really are just a kid, aren’t you?” “I am not a kid.” He bristled. “No one who ever comes out of the food mines is ever a kid again. I’ve been working for years, paying my own way. I earned it, too. Every last farz of it.” Lyssra looked puzzled. “I thought you said you just joined the Hegemon?” The lounge door snapped open, and Nikoli jumped when Pakal entered. He pulled back from Lyssra, knowing it was ridiculous to feel guilty, trying desperately not to show anything. Pakal looked at him, and as usual nothing showed on his face, but Nikoli twitched at the sudden chill in the lounge. “You are due on the bridge, are you not?” “Yes, in three hours.” Pakal barely glanced at Lyssra. He nodded to Nikoli, then gestured back the way he had come. “I have business to discuss with you, Nikoli,” he said. “Unless 203
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you are busy?” “No, not right now.” He jumped up, nodding briefly to Lyssra but not daring to speak to her. Not with Pakal watching. “What is it, Pakal?” “In my quarters, please. You should have waited there.” He dropped his hand onto Nikoli’s shoulder and gently squeezed, guiding him toward the door. “I did not mean to be late. Have you eaten yet?” Nikoli shook his head. He glanced sideways and was startled to realize Pakal was smiling at him. Pakal rarely did that, even when they were alone. “Then we will have lunch before we go to the bridge,” Pakal spoke in Uplands. “The captain is resting and will not require our assistance until it is time to Jump. He has promised this will be the last time.” “You mean he’ll make it this time?” Nikoli answered in the same tongue. He felt a stir of excitement that had nothing to do with the big Xuan. He was actually embarking on a real adventure. It made everything else pale in comparison. Something akin to sadness passed over Pakal’s normally passive face. “Yes, chuku,” he said softly as they entered his quarters. “He will make it. What do you want to eat, then?” “Nothing.” Nikoli was suddenly too excited to think of food. “We’re really going to do it? We’re going to find Terra?” This time Pakal’s face actually lightened with his smile. “At least one of us is glad. Now,” he said more sternly. “We have business to go over. You have been neglecting your training. It is not enough to sit on the bridge and handle comm duty. You must also study the ship’s schematics and understand some basic troubleshooting of Ship itself.” 204
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Nikoli knew his face fell at Pakal’s words. Study! How could he think of his studies at a time like this? It didn’t help when laughter rumbled in Pakal’s throat. “You will thank me, chuku, when you are full Hegemon and are free to play as much as you want. Now I have assembled a small program that will help you in your studies. Attend it, I will ask you questions later.” Nikoli made a face, then he tried a new tack. He traced a path up the front of Pakal’s shipsuit with nimble fingers. “Can’t we study later? I missed you after Jump.” Pakal grabbed his hand. “Indeed, that is my loss. Duty first, Niki. Play later.” “Bully.” “Nikoli.” “Right, study.” With a sigh Nikoli called up the ship’s schematics that Pakal had stored in Ship. The “small” program Pakal had written made it seem as though he was sitting in the middle of the amorphous superconducting mass at the core of Ship’s brain. Code he was supposed to learn began to appear as the visuals solidified. He was all too aware of Pakal still standing by his shoulder. He wasn’t surprised at Pakal’s next question. “What did the Cyxer say to you?” Nikoli closed his eyes and shrugged. “Nothing, really. She was curious about the captain. She thought I might know how he was.” “Curious,” Pakal’s voice was flat. “You will be best served by staying as far from them as you are able.” “Should I be rude then?” Pakal was silent for several seconds. “No. You will not be rude.” 205
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Nikoli felt Pakal’s hand on his shoulder, massaging the back of his neck. “Study for two hours,” Pakal said. “We will take a one hour break before we must go to the bridge.” Nikoli allowed himself to breathe. Pakal wasn’t mad. “Yes, Pakal.” *
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*
Selhdun watched Pakal slip into the anserat induced sleep. With a sigh he leaned his head back against the padding. Ship informed him everyone else on board was under. Selhdun added a second query, to make sure they were all in the rooms they had been assigned. He knew Pakal said Ilesha was confined to her room, thanks to Lyssra, but Selhdun didn’t trust them to keep her there. She was a witch; she could walk through walls. He pressed his hands down on the chair arm. The trembling worsened. Against all sanity, he thought of her, lying on his bed, ready for him, a smile on her perfect face, her arms reaching for him. He jerked, banging his head against the padding of his chair. She really was a witch, he thought in cold terror. She inserted herself into his mind, and called him from hell itself. He knew what she had done and still he ached for her, so hard he hurt. He had to focus. He couldn’t be doing this; couldn’t be thinking about this, about her. He squeezed his eyes shut and gave the order to Jump. The all too familiar pathway opened before him and he slipped down, wishing again that it got easier with time. Knowing it never did. He centered himself in the patterned corridor, found the hurting brightness that was Cyx and moved them smoothly away. 206
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Sounds that would have gone unnoticed outside the spatialinterstice were painfully loud here. His heart labored in his chest. He forced his mind to focus; he couldn’t leave early. Time was running out and Jenelek waited. He probed on, ignoring the growing pressure in his head. He held the necessary focus on the growing pattern. Lyssra had been right, what she had found meshed perfectly with his own discoveries. Here and here. Move the Necromancer that way and the pattern was as clean and perfect as he had ever experienced it. A thing of beauty that almost made the pain worth it. The flow of ancient solar winds mixed and mingled out here in the depths between stars. One of those streams was Terra’s Sol. The pattern grew stronger, the star he wanted was in the center of it. Something here… A tingle in his left side warned of new stresses. He ignored them. Time enough for that later. Now he rode the flux and strained to detect a spectral match he knew had to be there. Early records suggested the pilots had not spent an inordinate amount of time in Jump. Probing deeper, he detected a faint trace. The flavor was right, the signature felt good. He followed it, carefully at first. Pain blossomed in his physical body, he struggled to ignore it. Behind his unseeing eyes more pain swelled. He disregarded that, too. There. He stiffened, concentrating flagging energies on the still distant point of light-pain-loathing. Even at this distance it hurt to face it squarely. But he had been right. He had found Terranic space. Blessed numbness spread through him. Fear receded, and grayness filled the recesses of his dimming awareness. He fled into its embrace, surrendering the last thread of consciousness. 207
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He could rest now.
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CHAPTER 23 Pakal came awake slowly. He stretched to relieve the kinks in his neck muscles and blinked away the last vestiges of sleep. The hum of the ship’s ongoing activity was the only sound on the bridge when he pushed himself to his feet and came around his chair to check on Selhdun. Eyes closed, the only motion was the shallow movement of his chest. He was bathed in sweat, even his braided queue of hair looked damp. The muscles of his bare arms were rigid ropes, and the tendons of his neck stood out in sharp relief. He looked asleep, but the tightness in his body said otherwise. “Terik?” Pakal said softly, not wanting to startle him. Selhdun’s eyes fluttered open as he exhaled. Goose bumps 209
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crowded his bare arms. A shiver swept over him. “C-cold,” he whispered. Then it was as though every muscle in his body moved at once. The convulsion catapulted him backward, slamming his head into the back of the chair. His entire body locked into a rigidity that made Pakal wonder the bones of his arms didn’t snap from the tension. He swore he heard them crack. The movement flung him out of the chair and he hit the deck, hard, his body contorted into a fetal position, hands locked into claws. “Terik!” Selhdun didn’t respond. Heat radiated off his body. Behind him, Pakal heard Nikoli’s startled exclamation, and without looking up, shouted, “Get the ’Doc open. Go, now!” “You fool, how can this be worth it?” Pakal whispered. He pressed an ampule of anserat against Selhdun’s neck, risking a small dose of the Jumpsleep drug, just enough to relax the rigid muscles. “You should not have stayed in so long.” Nikoli left at a dead run. Pakal tried to lift Selhdun’s body, but the convulsions made it next to impossible. He locked his arms around Selhdun’s chest, who continued to thrash and twist. Pakal pressed a new ampoule of anserat against his neck, risking another dose. “You must hang on, Terik.” The trip down the corridor to the quarantine room was the longest Pakal had ever taken. Selhdun weighed less than nothing in his arms. Nikoli had the nearest medical sarcophagus opened and was at the comm station, watching the influx of bridge data. His face was wan. Only when Pakal had Selhdun’s now limp body in the safety of the ’Doc, and the working light blinked reassuringly at him, did he pay much attention to the young man. 210
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“Where are we?” Nikoli whispered in Uplands. Pakal brushed by him. He studied the instruments and called for more data. The spectral flux of the local G2 star was not of any stellar body he knew. But it was familiar to him. After long weeks of looking at this in the old records, it was all too familiar. He glanced back at the closed sarcophagus where the lights slowly switched to the treatment phase. His mouth dropped open, then snapped shut. “He did it. By the pits of Mhandaba, he did it.” *
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Pakal called them all to the bridge. Lyssra, Benin, Kaari and Nikoli sat facing him. They all looked worried. He had little to say to reassure them. “Now your work begins,” he said. “I will temporarily assume the captain’s duties, until he is rested.” Pakal studied the forward screen. It showed little but a thin field of stars with a single, slightly brighter one that was Sol. “Captain Selhdun brought us out in the outer edges of the system, within the Oort cloud. This gives us the opportunity to approach only after much study. I trust you have begun broadcasting our signal beacon?” He glanced from Lyssra to Benin. They both nodded. “You will have full access to any and all equipment needed. The bridge will be your research center, everything you brought has been integrated with Ship. The crew has been given leave to assist you should they wish. I understand Nikoli has already volunteered.” Lyssra nodded. Frowning, she glanced at Kaari and Nikoli. “I’ll help too, Lyssra,” Kaari said. “No problem.” 211
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“Fine,” Pakal said. He continued to address Lyssra. “Any concerns your team has are to be brought to me, through you. Only you. Is that clear?” “Yes,” she said. “Very.” “Good. I will be in my quarters until further notice. I have full access to Ship from there. If it is an emergency…” “I understand, sir.” Pakal left her and the others and made his way back to his quarters. But he stopped at the quarantine station, and looked in on Selhdun, pointless as it was. There was nothing he or any other human could do for him now. The machines had him, and would save him. Or not. He scanned the read-out. The ’Doc was pumping a lot of hard nanobots into Selhdun’s quiescent body. That usually meant a system overloaded with something the normal ’Doc processes weren’t equipped to handle. He called for more data and frowned as the stats poured onto the screen. There was a lot more than fatigue poisons accumulating in Selhdun’s body. His collapse hadn’t been the result of exhaustion or even Jumpshock, though that probably contributed to it. Withdrawal? “Twice the fool,” he snapped. “Why would you trust her to give you drugs you know nothing about? You let your weaknesses rule you and look where it gets you.” *
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“We came in above the orbital plane,” Benin said to the gathered Cyxers. “So we know the planets are below us.” He 212
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tapped his station ’comp and frowned. “There’s some odd frequency clutter on a band not normally used by us—in fact, it’s a band given to the ’Techs for their internal interface. Probably just solar activity, but we should watch it. In case it starts interfering with our monitored bandwidths.” “There’s definitely plenty of solar activity,” Kaari said. “Sun spots, flares, the like. Pretty typical of a G2. But then I guess you expected that.” “Any planets so far?” Lyssra didn’t want to get impatient, but they were here for a purpose. “If you know where the solar plane is…” “We’re just trying to catalog a general outline first, Lyssra. It is standard procedure.” “This is hardly a standard situation, Ben. Don’t we have the data out of the ship’s library? Maybe we lost a lot of information about this system, but we know what the planetary orbits were. We need to find those planets. We know where they’re supposed to be. Start looking.” *
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Lyssra paused in front of Pakal’s door. Why did he interrupt their research to call her down here? With a sigh, she buzzed and entered when the door opened. She found Pakal sitting in a solid looking chair, in the center of the room. He stared at her through narrowed eyes as she approached. “Yes?” she said, stopping in front of him, eyeing him warily. “What do you want, Pakal?” “Do you know where Ilesha is?” 213
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She frowned. What the hell kind of question was that? Of course she knew where Ilesha was… “In her room.” “You are sure?” “I…no, I guess not. I didn’t lock her in, if that’s what you mean. Where would she go?” Lyssra’s frown deepened. “Are you saying she’s not in her quarters?” “She is there,” he said, and his voice was so quiet she shivered. There was death in that voice. She hoped he was right, and Ilesha was still in her room. “Then I don’t understand…” “No? What if I told you Selhdun is in the ’Doc, not because he suffers Jumpshock, but because he is in withdrawal? Withdrawal from drugs he got from that witch who masquerades as a scientist.” “Ilesha?” Lyssra struggled to wrap her mind around Pakal’s words. Ilesha? Drugs? Here? “You’re sure?” Pakal raised one eyebrow. “You doubt me? Would you like to see the readouts? What I want to know is what are you going to do about it?” Lyssra was still trying to come to grips with the idea that Ilesha had brought drugs and had the temerity to use them on the ship’s captain. She knew she should have been watching Ilesha more. Hell, she should never have forced Ilesha to come with them. She could have found some other way to punish her wayward sister. “Where I come from, a man is responsible for his own actions.” “A man can only be responsible if he knows what he’s doing. Are you telling me that bitch would have revealed the full extent of the addictiveness of her toys?” Lyssra knew damned well Ilesha wouldn’t. Pakal knew it, too. “She can answer these questions just as easily to a Hegemon 214
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tribunal,” Pakal said. “That ought to be a pleasant circus. Selhdun would love answering those questions, I’m sure.” She didn’t know why she baited him. He was right; Ilesha should have to answer for her crimes. But Pakal’s misogyny rankled. She still wondered how much of this was motivated by plain jealousy. Pakal glared at her. “I’ll take care of her,” she finally said. She just wanted out of there. Being around Pakal sapped her energy and left her feeling weary, and no matter what was going on with Ilesha or Selhdun, she still had her job to do. “I’ll see to it that she stays put, too.” *
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Selhdun felt…nothing. Odd. He swore he had come out of Jump. He had been so cold, like someone had packed the bridge with ice. Then nothing. Now… ::Ship?:: But instead of Ship responding, he heard only the oddest whisper, like a mechanical wind that sounded nothing like Ship, like nothing he had ever heard before. He couldn’t remember a time when Ship hadn’t responded instantly. Panic blossomed, sinking needle-like teeth into his hindbrain. Had he stayed in Jump too long? There were only rumors about ships that went into Jump too deep. As rumors went they were hard to prove. A ship in Jump transit couldn’t send an SOS. And no one ever came back to tell tales. Everyone guessed and told stories. Each story was more 215
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nightmarish than the last. ::Ship!:: His panic increased. Never had Ship failed to respond. How could he control anything if Ship was gone? He tried to move and found he had no body to move with. He had died. Something had gone terribly wrong. Crimson terror threatened the remnants of his sanity. ::Ship!:: ::Pakal!:: he screamed. ::Pakal!:: He succumbed to the comforting embrace of madness.
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CHAPTER 24 Pakal heard the alarm in the depths of his sleep. He was out of bed before the first ping ended. He shut it down before it could buzz again. Beside him Nikoli barely stirred, before sinking back into sleep. Pakal ignored the boy. He scanned the readouts from Selhdun’s ’Doc, and only relaxed when he saw the green telltales that signaled all was well. Something had disturbed Selhdun’s artificial sleep. A dream? The ’Doc had drugged him when it had sensed the rapid influx of epinephrine into his system, and the increased heart rate it had triggered. He was calm now, safely back in a deep sleep, beyond the reach of dreams. What had he panicked about? Pakal called for more data. Cerebral activity suggested Selhdun had tried to link with Ship. 217
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Why would he panic at that? “Ship?” “Responding.” The dry voice spoke from the nearest monitor. “Query… Did Captain Selhdun attempt contact with Ship in the last…” He glanced quickly at the readouts. “Nine minutes?” “Negative.” So who was he calling if not Ship? Just what the hell did he dream about? “Is the link active?” “No response from link.” “Monitor it, starting now. Log the monitor in your permanents. Let me know the minute it becomes active.” “Logged.” “Ship out.” Pakal turned back to study the readouts one more time. But they were as enigmatic as before. The nanobots were still hard at work cleaning his system out. Nothing there explained why Selhdun tried to call through his link. “What have you done to yourself?” Selhdun wondered why he stayed. If Pakal were honest, he had to admit he wondered too sometimes. The truth was, he couldn’t leave Selhdun. However much the man fucked up, Pakal couldn’t walk away to save his life. He didn’t doubt it made him thirty kinds of fool. Selhdun would have told him as much, anyway. *
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Lyssra overrode the locks on Ilesha’s door. Ilesha had been expecting her sister. She sighed and uncurled from her chair, 218
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quickly shutting off the screen, before Lyssra saw what she was watching. She casually popped the ’crystal out and held it in her hand. “What is it?” Ilesha narrowed her eyes and tracked Lyssra’s moves. “Or should that be where? Where are we?” “That concerns you?” Lyssra stopped moving around the room. Ilesha wasn’t sure her stillness was an improvement. “Would you really care if I told you Selhdun got us through?” “He found Terra?” “Yes, he did,” Lyssra said. “I’m not surprised you find it hard to believe. You made sure Selhdun was so thoroughly fucked up that he’s lucky to have been able to find his way out of the toilet.” Ilesha should have seen it coming. Lyssra was a devious bitch, and hadn’t spoken to her like that since the time she’d caught her screwing their mother’s last husband. She never had been able to figure out why Lyssra had got so upset over that. It wasn’t like he was their father, or anything. The man had come on to her, after all. She tried to rise out of her chair, but Lyssra was faster. For one hot minute she thought Lyssra was going to hit her again. She flinched away, then felt Lyssra’s warm breath on her face. Arms braced on either chair arm, Lyssra leaned into her face. “You bitch,” Lyssra said. “I always thought you had some redeeming qualities. Some humanness worth saving. I never should have brought you. I should have sent you out after Obatalo.” “I never asked for your help.” Ilesha slammed back in the chair, out of Lyssra’s face. “You’ve always seemed to think you have to make me over to be like you. Well, I never wanted to be you. I’m happy being me.” She thumped her chest through her thin robe. “You couldn’t have afforded this expedition if it wasn’t for 219
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me.” “Maybe that wouldn’t have been a bad thing. How could you do it, Ilesha? To the captain.” Ilesha thought fast. Play dumb, or admit her mistakes and bull her way through? Lyssra’s biggest flaw was that she wanted to believe in people. Especially family. She had a big weakness for blood. “It wasn’t like that,” she finally said. “He found out I had some stuff with me. I know, I shouldn’t have even brought it, but I didn’t think it was that bad.” She frowned, then shrugged. “I figured he knew what he wanted. The circles he travels in, don’t tell me he hasn’t come across stuff like this before.” “That’s hardly the point,” Lyssra said. “If he had brought it, that would be one thing, but this… Someone might think you were a sore loser. That when he wanted to call it quits, you wouldn’t let go.” “Someone? Pakal, you mean.” Ilesha curled her lip. “Did he actually say that? Ever think maybe Pakal’s tired of waiting to be captain? Maybe he thinks he can get the ship and the boy, if he plays this right. Maybe he’s the one that got tired of Selhdun.” “What? That’s ridiculous. Anyone can see Pakal’s crazy about Selhdun.” “Crazy, yes. Maybe crazy like a true blue blood. Especially if he can get you thinking it’s someone else’s fault.” Ilesha pulled her leg up under again, forcing herself to relax under Lyssra’s close scrutiny. “He didn’t get tired of me. It was mutual. I got sick of waiting around for someone who’d rather be screwed by an asshole with an IQ the same as this ship.” Ilesha watched her sister closely. Lyssra wasn’t really buying it, but there was just enough doubt… Lyssra’s eyes narrowed into 220
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dark slits. “Always an excuse, isn’t there? Always an easy answer,” she said. “Well, guess what? It’s not going to fly this time. Pakal taking it to the Hegemon tribunal, even if it means Selhdun has to testify. I guess you can tell your tale of woe to them.” “Now who’s being a bitch,” Ilesha whispered. “You know very well what they’ll do to someone like me, like us.” Lyssra shrugged and Ilesha saw the fury behind the gesture. “I guess you should have thought of that before you fed an addictive substance to a Hegemon pilot!” “Lyssra—” Ilesha came out of her chair, all pretense at indolence gone. The bitch had tricked her. All along she had known, and given her enough rope to hang herself. Now she was going to watch her rotate. “I want it, Ilesha,” Lyssra said. “All of it.” “What?” Ilesha knew what Lyssra meant. “Okay, okay, I’ll get it.” Ilesha slid to her feet and went into the bathroom, with Lyssra on her heels. She was thankful now that she had removed the Death’s Hand from her cache after she began to suspect she wasn’t going to get back to Selhdun, wondering even then if it would come to this. She had considered just dumping it all, but if they found nothing on her, then the hole she’d dug for herself would be even deeper. Lyssra might hand her over to Pakal after all. When she handed the herbal pouch to Lyssra, the older woman opened it and scanned the contents in distaste, then carefully rolled it shut and shoved it into her pocket. “Enjoy your quarters, Ilesha.” She called the door open. “They’re all you’re going to see from now on. You might want to spend your time thinking of what you intend to tell the tribunal, 221
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when the time comes. You know, I’m glad our mother’s dead. I’m glad she’s not around to see you finally fuck up this bad.” Ilesha couldn’t believe it; Lyssra blinked back tears. The bitch was crying for her? “You are hereby officially confined to your room. This door will be locked from now on. Your days of messing up are over.” “Lys—” “If you do succeed in getting out,” Lyssra said softly. “I will let Pakal find you. You can explain your theories to him. Maybe he’ll find them a little more believable than I do.” Ilesha fumbled with the ’crystal she still held. Her fury ruined her aim. The door closed before the ’crystal slammed into it, gouging a hole, immediately set upon by the nanobots embedded in the surface. Even as she watched, the hole blurred and closed, until nothing remained of it. The ’crystal lay on the carpeted floor, glittering under the soft room lights. She kicked it across the room and watched it disappear under the chair. Then she swore. She knew Lyssra would be back. They were sisters, after all. Lyssra wouldn’t give up on that. She always had been a fool that way. Ilesha wasn’t about to tell Lyssra she thought she was pregnant. She didn’t even dare enter the ’Doc for confirmation because then Selhdun would find out. Or worse, Pakal would. Ilesha wasn’t in any hurry to know. She put her hand over her stomach. The truth would come out soon enough. *
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“Two planets, so far,” Benin said. “Both gas giants. We’re pretty sure one is Neptune. The other appears to match the data we have on Saturn, but the ring system is badly degraded. Nothing to account for the degradation, either.” He frowned over something on his screen, then entered some more figures and watched the image change. “Mining was heavy in this sector prior to the Exodus. We’re checking out the Trojans to see what’s accumulated in there. When is Pakal going to move us in? Or is he going to wait until the captain comes out?” “Don’t know,” Lyssra said. “He’s not saying much. Just be thankful we have access to all the bridge instruments.” She didn’t want to talk about Pakal and what he might or would do. “Any sign of the other gas giant? What was the name? Jupiter? I understand there was a heavy mining and military presence there. At least one of the moons held a major colony. Find it, and assess the viability of a flyby on our way in—whenever that happens.” “Something here, Lyssra,” Nikoli said. “Another gas giant. In past the one Benin says is Saturn.” “That would be Jupiter,” Benin said. He bent back over his instruments. “Unfortunately it’s out of our way, as far as attempting a flyby. Ship is running an automatic scan—no sign of an artificial power source.” A minute later Kaari approached Nikoli’s station. She crouched by his seat. “What do you make of this, Niki? The noise on the ’Tech reserved channel has strengthened steadily. I’m going to talk to Pakal about switching our ’Techs to another channel, they’re having a hard time communicating over it. What do you think it could be? Nikoli frowned, and even Lyssra bent closer to look at the 223
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readouts Kaari had called up on his screens. “Weird,” he said. “But it’s just noise. Even Ship can’t seem to make much of it. Ever hear anything like it before?” “’Techs sound that way sometimes when they’re busy running some program. Otherwise…” She shrugged. “It’s just gibberish. Solar activity?” “Could be.” Nikoli frowned. “Still, it is odd.” “Odd how?” Lyssra asked. “Hard to say, exactly. Solar activity is more…random. This almost has a pattern to it. Almost…” Not very helpful. Was it something they had to pay attention to now? Or could it wait? Lyssra frowned. Decisions like that had to be made fast. She just hoped she made the right ones. “Let’s take a look at those Trojans,” she said. “If this area was as heavily mined as our records indicate, then we should be able to find some sign of that activity. Anything they put in there should still be there, right?” “Sure,” Kaari said. “The masses are right. Those points are stable.” “Let’s see if we can get lucky then,” Lyssra said. Soon they were studiously bent over blinking instruments, checking out the nearest leading Trojan. Not that Lyssra expected to find anyone useful still around those points of stable equilibrium where the gravitational forces of each local planetary body balanced. Trojans were great collection points and all kinds of interesting garbage might still be there. Maybe even something that would tell them what had become of the original Terrans. “Now that’s really odd,” Nikoli said. “Kaari, come look at this.” Lyssra went, too. She leaned over his shoulder. At first she saw 224
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nothing, then she gradually grew aware of where she was looking. A Trojan point. But— “They’ve been stripped clean.” She met Kaari’s eyes. “Who would go to all the trouble of cleaning everything out of a Trojan point? To what purpose?” No one, it seemed, had any answers. They went on with their search. *
*
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Pakal relaxed with a black beer and a quiet interlude of Bartolyi’s music. He called the room lights down. It would be another hour or two before Nikoli returned for the evening, then no doubt the Bartolyi would be replaced by something louder, and a lot less peaceful. He closed his eyes, and leaned back in the chair, prepared to take advantage of the serenity while he had it. Much as he enjoyed the vitality Nikoli brought with him, he looked forward to the peace when the boy left for his day’s work. Something sharp dug into his hip. With a grunt he pulled out the gold mesh gameweb from where it had fallen into the chair. It was Nikoli’s, one of the few things he had brought with him from Xua. He studied the web that Nikoli used to access his seemingly endless supply of games. A toy, a childish attempt to imitate the link that a ship’s pilot carried in his head. He shook his head and tossed the gameweb onto the side table. For all his adult trappings Nikoli really was just a child. So why did he enjoy his presence so much? Because he was young and vital, and Pakal was beginning to feel his age? Because Selhdun’s endless cynicism wore even his spirit down? He savored the sharp bitterness of his beer and thought about 225
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getting himself something to eat. But he was too comfortable to move. Maybe he’d wait for Nikoli after all, and let him serve them. That ought to appeal to the boy’s proletariat senses. The Bartolyi ended and a Teiresias lilt started. The alarm brought him out of his chair so fast he barked his shin on the chair leg. It took him less than two minutes to reach the quarantine room. Like before, Selhdun lay submersed in the nano-filled fluid within the sealed sarcophagi, in quiescent sleep. But the instruments told another story. Behind the bland mask of sleep Selhdun’s brain had gone through a burst of out-of-range activity. Endorphins hammered his system. He had tried to link with Ship, again. “Ship!” “Responding.” “Why was I not informed of Selhdun’s attempted link?” “No link attempted.” “Then what the hell is he trying to do?” “Rephrase query. Unknown parameters.” “Can you open the link from your end?” “Negative. Link closed.” The link was closed? But that was impossible. The readouts clearly said Selhdun was trying to establish a link… Selhdun was the link. What the hell was going on? Pakal hated enigmas nearly as much as he hated even the whiff of magic. He wished he dared bring Selhdun out of the ’Doc, but the telltales were clear—his medical care was far from done. He didn’t know what would be risked by aborting the treatment. Which meant he couldn’t stop it. Not yet, at any rate. He stood there for a long time, until Nikoli found him and took 226
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him back to their quarters where he did, in fact, serve them something to eat. Not that Pakal was very hungry anymore. After Nikoli had fallen asleep on the big bed, Pakal slipped from the room and returned to the quarantine room, where he watched Selhdun, until sleep crept over him and became unavoidable. Then he dozed, only to wake and check the readouts again. Twice more the alarms rang and the telltales told the lie of Selhdun trying to open the link with Ship, a link Ship said never occurred. “Ship.” “Responding.” “Do a full system diagnostic and core dump. I want every schematic in your files. Write it to a crystal.” It meant a massive undertaking, since first he was going to have to write something to filter out the clean stuff. He was looking for odd quirks, patternless patterns…anything that might give reason to this wrongness. But if there were anything wrong with Ship’s logic structure he’d root it out. With a sigh he stood. Sleep was gone for the night. He might as well begin. “Send it to the bridge as soon as it’s compiled. Initiate.” “Initiated.” Throwing one last look at a deceptively peaceful Selhdun in his nano-bath, he left the quarantine room. *
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Nikoli found him on the bridge when the day lights came on throughout Necromancer. Pakal jerked up when the door opened, 227
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but Nikoli wasn’t fooled. Grabbing two coffee bulbs, he handed one to Pakal and sipped his own. “I half expected to find you down at quarantine again,” he said. When Pakal looked away, he sighed. “You were, weren’t you? What the hell do you expect to do for him? We must have one of the best ’Docs in the Autarch. He’s going to be okay—least he would be, if he stopped being such a self-destructive asshole.” “He is the captain, and you will not speak of him that way.” “Sorry,” Nikoli said, and that was a lie. Still, he knew how useless it would be arguing the point. He finally noticed what Pakal was doing. “Diagnostics? You think something’s wrong with Ship?” “The ’Doc reports Selhdun has been trying to initiate link, but Ship says not. One of them is wrong.” “Find anything?” Nikoli frowned. They were a long way from any refitting yard. But then Pakal had practically built Ship from the core out, so if anyone could fix a problem in it, he could. Nikoli was still relieved when Pakal shook his dark head. “Then go to bed, Pakal,” Nikoli said and leaned over his lover. “You look like hell.” “You are too flattering.” Nikoli lips brushed Pakal’s. “I’ll bring something by for lunch. Leave the ’crystal here. I’ll bring that, too.” “You do not trust me, Niki?” “To rest? No,” he said and grinned. “Let’s say I know you too well.” He bent to kiss him again, more thoroughly this time, when the door to the bridge opened, and Lyssra walked in. She stopped at the threshold when she saw the two men. Nikoli finished the kiss, then straightened. He saw Lyssra 228
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blush. “Sorry,” she said and made as though to leave. “He was just going,” Nikoli said. He had already popped the ’crystal out of the reader. “I will take that,” Pakal said, reaching for it. “I said that’s okay. You’ve done enough work for the time being.” Nikoli raised one eyebrow. “I promised I’d bring it.” With Lyssra watching, he switched to Uplands, for Pakal’s ears only. “Keep the bed warm until I bring lunch,” he said. “Then I will see how much rest you have had.” “You are insolent and disrespectful,” Pakal said in the same language. “Not to mention presumptuous.” “Then fire me.” Pakal glanced at Lyssra. “Yes?” Pakal didn’t like being interrupted, especially by a woman. But he was also a dutiful man, and he turned away from Nikoli— forgetting the ’crystal, which Nikoli slipped into his pocket. “How is Captain Selhdun?” Lyssra asked. “As well as can be expected.” Nikoli met Lyssra’s gaze briefly, and he offered her a small shrug, hoping she’d have the sense to leave it alone. He sighed in soft relief when her lips tightened in a thin line, and she moved over to her station. He followed Pakal to the door. Still speaking Uplands, he caught Pakal’s hand. “Go straight to bed?” “I will not stop in the quarantine room, if that is your concern.” “Stop if you want,” Nikoli said. “If it’ll make you feel better. But don’t start worrying. He’ll be okay, you’ll see. I’ll be there in a 229
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few hours.” Pakal left without another word. Lyssra was still frowning when Nikoli turned back. “Was he here all night? What was he doing?” “He thought there might be a bug in Ship.” “Is there?” “No, Ship’s fine. What did you think? That we’re stuck here?” “Of course not. Don’t be silly.” “I may be many things, but I’m never silly.” Nikoli dropped into his chair. “Don’t we have work to do?” Over the next hour the others showed up, more coffee was served, and stations taken. Screens filled with assorted images and data. Nikoli bent over his own screen and looked for the now familiar signatures that meant the presence of a small, orbiting body, or better yet, the signatures that meant an unnatural power source. Finding the gas giants had been interesting but not very useful. Nice to know they were there, if they ran low on fuel or needed a gravity-sling to get out of the system in a hurry, but otherwise not much use. If they had shown signs of recent human presence that would have been different, but what they really needed to do was find Terra. If there were any chance of humans surviving all this time, it would have been on their planet of origin. Only there could people live without elaborate technical intervention. If anybody here still had that, they were keeping it very well concealed. He daydreamed about lunch. Maybe he’d have time to sneak in a game or two before Pakal sent him back. He hadn’t had a chance to use his ’web in days. He missed that simple, uncomplicated fun. Lunch seemed a lifetime away. 230
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CHAPTER 25 The ’Techs were talking again. Pakal frowned when he crosslinked to the Ship channel and heard them. He thought he had moved their communications. “Ship.” “Responding.” “The ’Techs are still on this channel. Clear it.” Pakal got an immediate response—silence. “Ship, why were the ’Techs on that channel?” The silence continued. “Ship? What the devil—” The shrill alarm brought him out of his chair. It was the bridge. “Pakal,” Nikoli said, hearing the fear in his lover’s voice. “A ship just came out of the nearest cometary field. It’s on an intercept course—” 231
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“On my way,” Pakal said. Was it possible there were still Terrans in this system? He had dismissed that notion before they had even emerged from Jump. If they were, then why hadn’t they come out before? At the very least, why hadn’t they responded to the Necromancer’s signal beacon? It was still broadcasting, announcing the ship’s name and origin multiple times an hour, on multiple bands. Where and why would they hide? He entered a bridge in chaos. Nikoli had abandoned his research center and was back at the comm. Kaari was in the copilot’s seat. Pakal dropped into the captain’s chair, and immediately called for a report to go up on the forward screen. The bright blue dot was the incoming ship. He read the parameters and didn’t know whether to relax or not. It was small, tug or shuttlesize, too small to be an armed warship. But… “That thing must be pulling thirty Gs,” he said. “I detect no sign they’ve got any type of gravity compensators either. How is that possible? What human could withstand such forces?” “Something coming over the comm… Over the ’Tech channel,” Nikoli said. He frowned. “I’m not getting anything readable. It’s all just gibberish.” Suddenly suspicious, Pakal said, “Open it, Nikoli.” The bridge was filled with a garbled hissing, which made Pakal wince. The channel he had cleared just moments before now overflowed once more with ’Tech chatter. What were they doing? “Increase visuals,” he said. “Give me readouts. Besides how fast it is going, what is it? What is its power source? Internal environment?” Kaari provided them. The ship was shuttle-sized. It did not respond to their hails, nor were they able to pick up anything on 232
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any channel, outside of the noisy garbage off the ’Tech station. “No internal atmospheric pressure as far as I can tell. That ship is in vacuum.” Ice flowed through Pakal’s veins. He barely felt the march of goose bumps across his bare arms. “What’s in there?” Nikoli said. “’Techs?” The look Pakal gave him stopped him in mid laugh. He shook his hairless head, his youthful face distressed. “No,” he said. “You can’t really think that ’Techs—” “There have always been stories of true A.I. emerging from computer-machine interaction,” Pakal said. “I have seen no proof it exists. I have seen no proof it cannot.” “And I’ve heard stories about Xuan shades,” Nikoli snapped. He flinched when the proximity alarms began to wail. “It doesn’t mean I believe in ghosts.” “If they talked to you out of a comm unit, you might change your mind,” Pakal said. He understood Nikoli’s uncertainty, but this was not a time for panic, or false bravado. The sound of the proximity alarms grated across already raw nerves. “I do not know what is out there, but I will try to keep an open mind while we seek to find out.” “Captain,” Kaari said. “I think you should see this.” Pakal called up his screen. At first he was confused. Why was she telling him to watch a screen that showed only the outer hull of the Necromancer? Just as the interior of the Necromancer was patrolled by a legion of Shiptechs, so, too, the outer hull was monitored. The ’Techs that normally crawled the surface of the huge ship prowled constantly, fixing micro-meteor damage and maintaining the numerous sensor devices that dotted the outer hull. But now the 233
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’Techs crouched motionless, frozen where they stood on the hull. Like they waited for something. Except ’Techs shouldn’t respond to anything but human commands issued through Ship or their own internal programming. “ETA four minutes,” Kaari said. “That thing is really moving…” Pakal called for a refresh of the incoming ship’s trajectory. Damn, it was going to be close… He fought the urge to attempt to maneuver the Necromancer. She was too big and too awkward to get out of that thing’s path. He could only watch, muscles rigid with tension, as the strange ship approached at an impossible velocity. It braked under full power and he knew the possibility of anything human being on the ship was nil. Nothing of flesh and bone could have survived such rapid deceleration. The ship rested off their port bow. Close, too close. “Why won’t they answer our hail?” Lyssra said. “There is nothing in there to answer. Nothing human,” Pakal amended. He stared at a frozen ’Tech on the screen. Hastily he pulled up a binary test code he’d designed only weeks earlier as a diagnostic tool for their own Shiptechs. “Nikoli, open the ’Tech channel, and broadcast this binary code. Set it for an infinite loop. Kaari, you and the others train your instruments on that ship.” Nikoli shrugged, and fed the code through his comm. “What do you expect from that?” Lyssra said. “What kind of connection can ’Techs have to that ship?” “Nothing of flesh and blood exists on that ship. Perhaps Nikoli is right, ’Techs are running it.” Pakal swung his chair forward to view the expanded view of the stationary ship. The ship lay off the port bow. An area 234
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unpleasantly close to their shuttle port. Pakal leaned forward in his chair. Was that movement on the strange ship’s hull? The Terrans had used ’Techs, much as their Autarch counterparts did. Was this an unmanned survey ship? Surveying for whom? “Kaari, has any communication left that ship?” None. The ’Techs on the surface are active though. “Captain, you might want to see this,” Nikoli said. The Necromancer’s ’Techs were moving again. From numerous small openings in the ship, several strange ’Techs emerged and jetted across to the Necromancer. Almost immediately they encountered Shiptechs. Pakal felt a worm of fear crawl through his gut. ’Techs communicated by interfacing with a specially modified arm designed to allow them access to each other’s memories. New ’Techs got all the training they needed from each other. Now the unfamiliar ’Techs used the modified arm to interface with the Necromancer’s ’Techs. The response was immediate. The Shiptechs, to a machine, stopped moving. When he saw a ’Tech insert its modified arm into the surface interface slot, he barked for a close-up of the activity, and wasn’t all that surprised when he got no response. Kaari’s words a moment later didn’t surprise him either. “Outer systems failing to respond.” “Any response from that binary code?” Pakal asked. “None,” Nikoli said. “No way to tell if they’re ignoring it, or can’t hear it.” “Oh, I believe they are hearing it. We hear them. So they are ignoring it.” Onscreen half a dozen more of the Shiptechs fell to the onslaught as they watched. 235
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“Ship,” he said. “Disengage all outer hull ’Techs. Get them out of the link, now—” “Complying.” A ’Tech from the strange ship approach yet another Shiptech and linked with it. The bizarre dance was short and always yielded the same result. The strange ’Tech immediately moved off, leaving the Shiptech behind, immobile. “Disengagement aborted,” Ship intoned. “Interface denied.” Pakal cursed softly. “Rebuild interface.” “Rebuild initiated…rebuild successful.” “Disengage outer hull Shiptechs.” “Disengagement aborted. Interface den—” Pakal slammed his fist down onto the arm of his chair. Kaari jumped. “What are they doing to them?” Lyssra said. “It looks like they’re interfacing.” “That is exactly what they are doing,” Pakal said. “Ship, rebuild interface. Then shut them down.” “Rebuild failed. Access denied.” “Close the link. Now, Ship. Unilateral shut down. Get them out of the system, now.” “Complying… Shut down successful.” On the screen all the Shiptechs were frozen, even the ones that had not been interfaced. Pakal allowed himself a deep breath. He swung around to face Kaari. “Run full diagnostics. Lyssra, help her. I will use that to begin a program to rebuild the ’Tech’s kernel. Nikoli, monitor the comm.” The alarm hit him with the force of an explosion of sound. He rocked back on his heels and would have clapped his hands over his ears, but he was too busy pushing Kaari aside to get to the 236
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nearest screen. This time a glacier settled into his gut. “It’s the ShipDoc,” Nikoli said. “Selhdun’s trying to initiate link with Ship—” “No, he’s not—Ship! Shut it down. Get him out of there!” “Link initialization successful.” “Close it,” Pakal shouted, terror constricting his chest. “Shut the god damn link down, now.” He barely heard Nikoli whisper, “My God, he’s trying to link with the ’Techs. What are they doing?” “Link successful… Access denied.”
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PART II DESCENT
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CHAPTER 1 Pakal dove for the bridge door. Thoughts of Selhdun drove all else from his head. He had to reach him. Save him. “Pakal!” Nikoli yelled. “What do we do here?” Pakal had to get to Selhdun immediately. Only the look of fear on Nikoli’s face stopped him from abandoning them. “Niki…I have to go.” He faltered, then drew a breath. “Kaari, come with me.” “Let me come, Pakal,” Nikoli said. “Don’t leave me here—” “But, sir,” Kaari scrambled to her feet, her normally dark face pale. “The ’Techs—” “If Selhdun dies, it won’t matter about the ’Techs.” Pakal forced himself to look away from Nikoli. “Do your job, Nikoli. All of you. Move!” 239
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But Nikoli’s terror forced him to remember his duty to the ship, currently a duty even larger than that pledged to his captain, friend and lover. “Keep watching the ’Techs. Watch how they respond to that binary code.” As an afterthought. “Watch our ’Techs, too. This is critical. Our survival depends on it.” “But you immobilized them. What are we watching for?” “Anything.” Pakal faltered. “I am not sure, Niki. I do know they will do something. I am sure of that. You must be watching when they do. Niki…I have to go.” “But, sir,” Kaari whispered. “The other ship. Our ’Techs—” “If Selhdun dies, we are all trapped here with the ’Techs. If that moment comes we can worry all we want about alien machines. He is our only way back, remember that. Lyssra, you attend Nikoli. Your man Benin knows some code, have him monitor incoming signals. Kaari, come with me.” He and Kaari ran through the familiar corridors of Necromancer to the quarantine room. “Why would Selhdun try to link with ’Techs?” Kaari said. “I thought Shiplink was supposed to be secure.” “So did I,” Pakal said. “I don’t know how it happened. I suspect he has been doing it for several days. Ship said he was not trying to link, even when the sensors in the ’Doc said he was. I should have suspected—” He frowned. Self-flagellation wasn’t going to help them now. “Perhaps that is how they found us.” “He was calling them?” Kaari stumbled. “Why would he do that?” “I doubt if he is aware of what he does. Perhaps he thought he was calling Ship, though why a secure link should fail and another succeeds, is beyond me. Ship! Keep trying to override the ShipDoc. Shut it down.” 240
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“Access denied,” was Ship’s only response. “Can we shut it down manually?” Kaari followed Pakal into the quarantine room, and stood staring down at the sarcophagi holding Selhdun. Pakal also studied the bulky machinery. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. The treatment lights were still active, and Selhdun looked peaceful enough, but Pakal no longer trusted the machines. “Yes,” he said. “Start doing it. I want him out of there.” “The treatment’s not finished. What will that do to him?” “I do not know,” Pakal said. “He has to be taken out. We have no choice. A malfunctioning ’Doc could kill him in minutes.” “But the treatment—” “We must hope the treatment has gone on long enough.” “But—” “Stop arguing! Get him out. Now.” Kaari moved with him around the room, uncovering and deactivating switch after switch. They heard a protesting beep from the ’Doc, then the reluctant gurgle of fluid being drained out of the active unit. After an eternity, the sarcophagi lid unlocked and the two of them wrestled it open. Pakal wished he could hurry the process; he feared it was going too fast. Pools of fluid lay in the bottom of the sarcophagi. Selhdun’s naked body was damp. His eyes were closed. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest betrayed life. There was a reflexive cough, and the last of the fluid drained from his lungs. The nanos inside him would clean up the rest. Just as Pakal would have to hope they would finish the treatment. Pakal thought for a minute he might wake up, but after the brief coughing fit, Selhdun lapsed back into unconsciousness. “Get a blanket,” he said, and didn’t look up when Kaari ran 241
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from the room. He wrestled the limp body out of the ’Doc, and when Kaari returned, wrapped the cool, wet body in the blanket she handed him. He hurried through the ship, toward the captain’s quarters. Selhdun didn’t stir, even when Pakal put him on the bed and pulled the covers over him, thinking how lifeless Selhdun looked. He tenderly brushed his damp cheek. Selhdun never stirred. “Stay here,” he said to a startled Kaari. “But, sir—” “I have to get back to the bridge,” he said. “I have to be there, in case something happens. But we cannot leave the captain alone.” “What if he wakes ups? I—” “Call me,” he snapped. “But you will not leave him alone.” Kaari nodded, her gaze darting toward the bed where the comatose man lay. She jumped when Pakal touched her shoulder, wishing he could say something reassuring. Instead he ground his teeth and finally murmured, “I will be back, as soon as I can.” *
*
*
Nikoli swallowed past the growing lump in his throat. He stared at the door Pakal had disappeared through, ignoring the growing restlessness around him. His comm beeped and he nearly jumped out of his chair. “What is it?” Lyssra asked. “No, forget that. Of course you don’t know.” Lyssra came to stand behind him, he could feel her warm breath on his neck when she leaned over to look at what was on his screen. “They responded to the code, you say? So they’re 242
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trying to contact us,” Lyssra said. “I don’t—they might be,” Nikoli said. He pulled a copy of the code up and compared it to what was coming back from the ’Techs. “Yes, see, there, and there, they’ve sent an exact copy back, then here they reverse it. But what does it mean?” Frustrated Nikoli pulled a copy of the code up and compared it to what was coming back from the ’Techs. “Yes. But there’s more. Isn’t that the beacon signal code we started broadcasting earlier?” “They recognize it’s a signal, at least. Maybe they recognize us as sentient now.” “If that’s true why are they still immobilizing our ’Techs?” Benin asked and Nikoli swore. It was true. Even as they sent back a reply to Pakal’s trial communication, the strange ’Techs could be seen on the forward screen continuing their destructive march across the Necromancer’s hull. Even though the Shiptechs were already immobilized by Pakal’s intervention the Terran ’Techs did not slow down their activity. Their movements were so deliberate that Nikoli knew there was purpose to their madness. The only problem was, only another ’Tech might understand what it was. Nikoli was glad of his Hegemon training that let him get through the next hour. Even as part of him gibbered and capered in the back corridors of his mind, he was able to sit in front of the comm and watch the parade of destruction without letting anyone else see his fear. He glanced at Lyssra. Was that her secret? Did she hide her real feelings behind a façade of confidence? Did Pakal? Was it possible even Pakal faked it? That was too unnerving to think about. Just like he didn’t want to think about Pakal’s haste in rushing to Selhdun’s side. He didn’t want to think about what that 243
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meant. The forward screen flickered and dimmed, then stabilized. Nikoli wasn’t sure that was an improvement. He watched as yet another Shiptech fell to a foreign ’Tech’s interface. He forced himself to watch the activity, to try to understand what was going on. A foreign ’Tech approached a Shiptech, which made no move to escape. Why would they? They had no self-protective instincts programmed into them. Not against other ’Techs. The foreign ’Tech extended the modified arm, which was readily accepted by the Shiptech. Immobility was almost instantaneous. The invading ’Tech moved off, in search of new prey. Why were they doing it? What did they want? Could any human hope to understand a machine mind, if that was what they were dealing with? And what if they weren’t? What if the ’Techs were being controlled by something else? Was it possible the Necromancer had been watched during her emergence from Jumpspace, and subsequent search of the airwaves? If they were being watched… “Why assume they’re malevolent?” Nikoli muttered. “What?” Lyssra said. Nikoli flushed. He hadn’t been aware that he had spoken aloud. “Nothing,” he said. “I was just clearing my throat.” Lyssra gave him an odd look, but he ignored her, and swung around when the bridge door opened. Pakal entered. Nikoli was never so glad to see someone in his young life. Pakal nodded wearily at him and slumped into his chair. “We got him out. We will not know more until he awakens. Kaari is with him.” “Do you want me to go down there?” Lyssra asked. “We get a lot of hands-on medical training on Cyx, since our ’Docs are never 244
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that trustworthy, even at the best of times.” Pakal shook his head. “We need all hands on the bridge. I am going to have to try to regain control of the ’Techs. That may well mean rebuilding each link by hand. Someone has to man the comm, and keep track of what is going on out there.” He glanced at Nikoli. “I was going to have Nikoli work with me on rebuilding the links—” “And Kaari would be more help to you on the comm than I ever could,” Lyssra said. Nikoli wondered at her persistence. Was she that eager to get off the bridge, away from Pakal? “Why don’t I send her back here. I can watch the captain.” “She’s right, you know. She’d make a better nurse than a comm operator,” Nikoli said and Pakal turned pale eyes on him. Hastily he added, “Kaari knows the bridge routine a lot better. No offense, Lyssra.” “None taken,” Lyssra murmured. “Pakal?” “Very well,” Pakal said. He continued to stare at Nikoli, who offered him a wan smile. He hated it when he couldn’t tell what Pakal was thinking. After Lyssra left, he turned back to his comm station, waiting for Pakal to decide what he wanted to do. He didn’t have to wait long. “Come, then,” Pakal spoke softly in Uplands. “You had better be right about the Cyxer.” “You know I am. None of us wants anything to happen to Selhdun, least of all her,” Nikoli said. He glanced at Benin, who watched their interchange uneasily. “You’re scaring our friend, here.” Pakal sent Benin to take over Nikoli’s comm station, watching for incoming messages. Pakal muttered in Uplands that since he didn’t expect to get any, the job was safe enough. Nikoli didn’t 245
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bother translating for the confused Cyxer. He and Nikoli got to work, pulling the main shipboard apart and exposing the guts. Before long Kaari joined them. “How was he?” Nikoli asked quietly when Pakal moved out of earshot. Kaari shook her bald head. “Nothing. If I couldn’t see him breathing I’d think he was dead.” She glanced quickly at Pakal, then met Nikoli’s gaze. “What if he doesn’t come out of it?” “Don’t say that,” he said. “It’s not going to happen. Pakal won’t let it.” “Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said, then frowned. “But what if Selhdun doesn’t get better?” She knew damn well what it meant. The problem with having only one linked pilot, meant if that pilot was immobilized, the ship didn’t move. In normal space that wasn’t a problem. Sooner or later another ship would come along and effect a rescue. There was always someone within radio reach in inhabited space. They weren’t going to be rescued from here. Nikoli refused to think about that. He was glad when Pakal came back and Kaari had to quit her speculation. Maybe that was her way of handling her fear, but he didn’t need to hear his own worries put into such stark words. He was happier to hear Pakal’s gruff orders to get to work. *
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Pakal left the shower and dressed quickly. He didn’t want to leave Selhdun alone for long. He had already sent Lyssra back to her quarters, and now he slumped into the chair beside Selhdun’s bed and studied the still comatose man. He hated not having any 246
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kind of monitor on him. How was he supposed to know what was going on? According to Lyssra, Selhdun hadn’t moved all day. He got up to check Selhdun’s pulse, and he only took five minutes to find it, searching like Lyssra had shown him. His fingers were clumsy alongside Selhdun’s throat. The pulse beat steadily when he finally did find it. Selhdun’s eyes twitched. Did he dream? Was he trying to link with Ship again? For once, Pakal was afraid to ask. If Selhdun only slept, why wouldn’t he wake up? Pakal leaned back in the chair, and closed his eyes. He’d just rest a minute, if Selhdun moved he’d hear it. He slept, his dreams dark, and uneasy. Something alien stalked the corridors of the Necromancer, and he couldn’t find Selhdun anywhere— The scream jerked him out of sleep and slammed his heart into his throat, where it threatened to choke him. “Rauli! No—!” “Terik!” He found Selhdun sitting bolt upright, his breath coming in shallow gasps, his eyes showing almost all white. He clutched at the blanket puddled in his lap. When he caught sight of Pakal he tensed, his face a map of confusion. “P-Pakal?” Pakal awkwardly reached over and lay his hand across Selhdun’s forehead. Selhdun jerked away from his touch. “Who did you expect?” “I thought—no.” The pain on Selhdun’s face was a raw wound. “No, that was someone else.” Pakal awkwardly reached over and lay his hand across Selhdun’s forehead. Selhdun jerked away from his touch. 247
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“What are you doing?” “Lyssra said that is how you check for a fever…” Pakal felt like thirty kinds of idiot. Selhdun clearly agreed with him. “Why would I have a fever? Am I sick?” Selhdun tried to sit up. He wasn’t very successful. He slumped back on the bed. “If you think I’m sick, why didn’t you put me in the ’Doc?” “I do not know if you are sick, or not.” Pakal tried to gauge how much he could tell Selhdun. How much could he take? “Do you remember anything since your last Jump?” Selhdun frowned. “I was cold…someone…something talked to me, but I couldn’t understand. Then there was my dream…it was so real…” Suddenly he shuddered. “I couldn’t find Ship. That’s never happened… What’s going on, Pakal? God, why am I so weak?” “Do you know where we are?” “Trick questions, Pakal? I dreamed…I dreamed we made it. Did we, Pakal? Is this Terran space?” “Yes,” Pakal said. “You were successful. Terik?” Pakal watched his eyes slip shut, then snap open. This time when Pakal lay his palm across Selhdun’s forehead, he barely acknowledged the touch. He felt warm, but not unduly so, Pakal thought. “How do I feel?” Selhdun murmured. “You always feel good,” Pakal said softly. He gently pushed Selhdun back on the bed. “You need to rest. Always, I am telling you to rest.” “And I’m always ignoring you.” Selhdun sighed. “We made it, huh? God, I’m tired. Just let me rest for a second…” “Who did you dream of, Terik?” But Terik had closed his eyes. This time he didn’t reopen them. 248
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“Terik?” Pakal leaned forward. Selhdun’s breathing was shallow, but steady. This time Pakal found his pulse in less than a minute. It still beat with a steady cadence. Suddenly Selhdun twisted away from his touch and moaned softly. He began to twitch, and when Pakal tried to soothe him, he muttered something incomprehensible and batted at Pakal’s hand. “Ship,” Pakal said. “Has Selhdun attempted—” This time Selhdun’s cry raised every hair on Pakal’s body. “Ship!” Selhdun screamed. “Answer me… Ship—” “Ship, open link with Selhdun, now,” Pakal said. “Tell me what he’s saying.” “Access denied,” Ship said. “Unsuccessful link. Link attempt aborted.” *
*
*
Lyssra wearily dropped the ’crystal she had brought from the bridge onto the bedside table. She knew she should put it into the reader and at least make an attempt to study it, like she had promised Pakal, but she wasn’t sure she could focus long enough to understand the first word, if indeed the gibberish was language at all. Pakal seemed to think so, but then she had the feeling Pakal was grasping at very thin straws right now. He had come back from Selhdun’s quarters unusually subdued and not saying anything, even to Nikoli. It had been Nikoli who got him to agree to break for the evening, after it became obvious they were no closer to solving the mystery of the ’Techs, or what to do with them, and they were all getting too bleary eyed to keep going. Nikoli had taken Pakal off to 249
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their quarters and Lyssra had dismissed Benin, who had barely muttered goodnight before leaving. Even Kaari’s spirits had flagged at the end and she began to exhibit errors in judgment. When she sent the wrong piece of code and triggered an internal alarm, Pakal had shut them down. Two hours, he had told them. Then back on the bridge. Alone in her quarters, Lyssra had finally let her own exhaustion show. A shower did nothing to rouse her, so she slipped on her short nightdress and slid between the thin covers. Absurdly, that was when sleep refused to come. Her mind hummed with renewed activity. With a soft curse, she climbed back onto her feet and dropped the ’crystal into the reader, listening to it purr to life in the silent room. She studied the transcript of what the non-Shiptechs had sent back in response to Pakal’s test code. Most of it was just an echo of the original binary message, but here and there, something else had been inserted. These were the parts Lyssra studied. She just wished she knew what she was looking for. Had she made a big mistake coming here? Were they all in jeopardy because of her? Then she thought of what would have happened if she hadn’t come. Why did everything seem like it was falling apart? Everything. Ilesha…Ilesha was like a festering wound. Her poison spread, slowly, until everything she touched went bad. If her people lost the research station on Cyx, how long before they were applying for refuge status to Xua? Or volunteering to ship out to some other raw colony world that needed warm bodies to sacrifice for their colonial masters. Not fair. Ilesha was handy, but she couldn’t be blamed for everything. Lyssra knew the first mistake had been hers, in 250
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bringing the difficult researcher along in the first place. Sister or not, she had finally proved she was nothing but trouble. We should go home. But…at what cost to Cyx? If she had left Ilesha at the station… If she had found some other punishment for her… If wishes were pilots, ships would Jump themselves, and they wouldn’t be in this mess… *
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*
Nikoli lay in Pakal’s arms and listened to his even breathing. He knew the other man wasn’t sleeping. He thought he knew why, too. “Do you ever get scared, Pakal?” “Of course,” Pakal said. He opened his gray eyes and peered over at Nikoli. “All sane men feel fear. If you chance to meet a man who claims he does not—run, for you are in the presence of a dangerous fool.” “Do you think Selhdun is afraid?” Pakal frowned. “I think the captain is confused. Something has happened, is happening, and he does not understand what it is. Selhdun…Selhdun is not always as strong as he should be.” Nikoli had heard Pakal hint at some dark side to Selhdun’s sexual obsessions, but Pakal was always too discreet to say more. Nikoli just knew it was something Pakal wouldn’t participate in, which always brought on these little “episodes” of Selhdun’s. Like this one, that had landed them all in this mess. “Are we going to get out of here?” There, he had said it. Funny, he didn’t feel any better. Pakal rolled up on one elbow so that he looked down at him. His eyes looked almost silver in the low room lights. 251
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“You must not talk like that. Everything will be done to see that we are all safe. Have I ever done otherwise?” It was what Nikoli wanted to hear, so why did he still feel like this? Pakal must have felt his tension. He rubbed Nikoli’s neck. “Is that not what you hoped I would say?” “No! Yes! I don’t know!” “You doubt me, then?” Pakal smiled, but it was a haggard, weary facsimile. “I will do all I can. For all of us. That you have my word on.” “And when it’s all over, you’ll go back to him, won’t you?” “Ah,” Pakal said. “Is that what this is about?” “No,” Nikoli said and grinned tiredly. “I know how it goes.” “Try to get some sleep, Niki,” Pakal said. “We have much work tomorrow.” Nikoli must have dozed off. When he woke next the bed beside him was empty. Pakal was gone.
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CHAPTER 2 Selhdun listened to the voices and tried to make sense of what they said. Sometimes, it seemed as though he had not left Jump at all. He remained in the matrix, part of Ship where he could listen to the susurration of solar winds bathing the hull in photons. Sometimes it seemed he was the ship, able to see and hear everything that went on inside. Eavesdropping on conversations, listening to lovers who thought themselves alone in their lust. Pakal betrayed him, the voices whispered slyly. See what he does when he should be saving his concern for you? Selhdun felt Pakal bending over him. He heard the big man move around the room, but did not open his eyes. Pakal’s look of concern didn’t fool him for an instance. The voices had helped him 253
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see that lie for what it was. Then the whispers grew louder, until they shrieked like a gale force wind and he longed to clap his hands over his ears, but could no longer will his body to obey. He was still aware of Pakal in his room, but Selhdun seemed to recede, chasing the voices through the superconducting synapses of Ship. He felt Pakal touch the pulse point below his jaw, the fingers cool and purposeful. Devoid of feeling. The dispassionate touch of a man who no longer cared. The voices pulled him away. Chasing him through the dimming corridors of his mind he felt Pakal’s touch grow fainter. Darkness closed behind him, cutting him off from even the memory of warmth and light. Pakal abandoned him to the mercy of the voices. *
*
*
Pakal felt Selhdun’s pulse. It beat so strongly. Why didn’t he wake up? His eyelids fluttered, almost opening, then slid shut again. What visions played behind that deceptively calm exterior? A shudder traced delicate waves across Selhdun’s face. Was he dreaming? His breathing was steady, and deep. His temperature seemed normal. Why didn’t he awaken? “Terik?” He traced the outline of Selhdun’s mouth, and lightly brushed aside several strands of long hair that had come free of the tattered braid. With a sigh, Pakal straightened the thin blankets that covered Selhdun’s still nude body. In a little while, he was going to have to see if he could get Selhdun to drink something. He had 254
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already had to change the bedclothes once, since even the needs of Selhdun’s own body didn’t rouse the man. Selhdun muttered something, but though Pakal bent close enough to feel Selhdun’s breath on his skin, he couldn’t make out any words. Whatever dreams held him now, they weren’t pleasant ones. His body twitched and jerked with tension. Pakal wished he dared use a sedative, or even a muscle relaxant. But Lyssra had warned him about over medicating. The coma could deepen permanently if too many drugs were administered. Pakal watched helplessly as Selhdun’s activity intensified. Soon he thrashed and moaned in a tangle of sheets, and Pakal could only use his voice and the light touch of his hands to try to soothe him. It seemed like hours, but Ship claimed it was only minutes when asked, before Selhdun subsided back into a deeper sleep, where apparently the dreams couldn’t find him. Pakal sighed and leaned back in the bedside chair. He dozed. Nikoli found him there nearly an hour later. Without a word he led Pakal back to their quarters and put him to bed. Pakal’s sleep was nearly as restless as Selhdun’s had been. *
*
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Ilesha stumbled across the entertainment database her third day of incarceration. It wasn’t the one Pakal had originally told Lyssra they should feel free to use. Once Ilesha figured out how to access it, she could see why. She watched five minutes of the first one before unloading it in disgust. That had to be Pakal’s private stock. Or did it belong to 255
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that cute little Nikoli? Would Nikoli watch this kind of pornographic garbage? Pity about him liking men. Imagine preferring a pig like that oversized Xuan to a real woman. His loss. She did a random search through the database and her next hit was a winner. Now this had to be Selhdun’s stuff. It was sick enough to suit his tastes. How the hell could you feel sorry for someone who liked that kind of kinky trash? She grabbed a beer out of the dispenser and reclined on the bed to watch the show. Might as well amuse herself. She got herself another beer and easily found another show to download. This stuff was hot. No wonder Selhdun was always so randy. Too bad he wouldn’t tell Pakal and Lyssra to go to hell and come by to visit her. They might be able to lock her in, but they sure as hell couldn’t lock him out, now could they? She wished he would come. She could use the entertainment. And the relief. In front of her a dark man, bound and ball gagged was suspended in an X shape while a pale dominatrix worked him over with a fine cat-o-nine tail. The man writhed and squirmed and his dick was so hard Ilesha could see the cum glistening on the fat bulbous head. She reached between her legs and imagined her hand on the whip. This stuff was hot. She was glad she’d had the foresight to bring some of her mechanical toys with her. She sure didn’t want to be tempted to use her own stash of drugs for any kind of relief—not that there was much left. Lyssra had taken nearly everything. Ilesha had helpfully offered up what she had used on Selhdun, knowing Lyssra wouldn’t stop looking until she found that. Once she did, she was content to leave her sister alone to stew in her own impotence. What was left, hidden away in a tiny slit she had made in her 256
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foam pillow, couldn’t be safely used on anyone. She wasn’t sure what had possessed her to bring it in the first place. Except it had some interesting properties she hoped to study. Now she didn’t dare get it out. If the time came that she managed to get out of this room, she fully intended to hide the drug somewhere else. She didn’t even want to risk disposing of it in the ship’s recycler. If any of the compounds didn’t break down properly, they might all be in for a surprise the next time they had a meal. She wished she could test it somehow. What would one of the major pharmaceutical houses pay for a drug that immobilized the biggest man instantly, but didn’t render him unconscious? In fact, it appeared to heighten awareness, and sensation. What would the Suzerain’s secret military do with such a drug? She’d show them all. She didn’t need any of them. But they needed her, she’d see to that. One thing about taking care of your own needs, you didn’t have to waste time making someone else feel good. Totally sated from a combination of movies and masturbation, she had fallen into a deep sleep, only to awaken to the foulest smell she had encountered since someone in the lab had left a tray of bloodsponges out of the nitrogen tank overnight by mistake. Scrambling to her feet, she lurched into the bathroom, where she almost fell into the gray sludge that poured out of the toilet and the shower drain, and covered the once white floor. She clapped her hand over her mouth and backed out. Leaving didn’t help. The stench hung everywhere, a nauseating miasma that clung to her hair and her skin. She panted, not wanting to take deep breaths. “Ship!” she screamed. “Get me Lyssra. Get that fucking cow down here!” 257
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Only silence greeted her command. She shouted again, and cursed the continuing silence. But rage made her breathe more heavily and that made the smell even fouler. Nausea seized her gut and she struggled desperately not to add to her misery by throwing up. It was a battle she felt destined to lose. She nearly stumbled over the ’Tech, screaming when it seemed to appear under her feet. What the hell was that doing here? She forgot her nausea as she watched the crab-like machine mince across the floor. She stopped breathing when it turned and appeared to stare at her. In the preternatural stillness she could hear the soft mechanical hiss from the ’Tech and the movement of air flowing from the alga vats. And something else. The hairs on her neck stood. Someone was listening to her. “Who’s there?” She moved across the room until she stood directly beside one of the comm units. “Selhdun, is that you? This some kind of sick joke? That why you sent the fucking machine?” She spun around to glare at the unmoving ’Tech. “Or are you here to clean that mess up? Somebody better get their ass down here to do it.” The ’Tech ignored her and danced around, disappearing into the bathroom. “Selhdun! Answer me, you coc—” Ilesha squealed and leaped half a meter into the air when a second ’Tech dropped down from the overhead air vent. It landed upright on its appendages and immediately scuttled off the bed toward her. “Shit—” Ilesha skidded sideways and watched the ’Tech vanish after the first one. “SELHDUN!” She released a string of invective that would have fouled the air if it hadn’t been already. “This isn’t funny anymore. This never fucking was very funny—” 258
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“Are you in need of assistance?” Over the comm Pakal’s voice was electronic ice. “Get me out of here,” Ilesha yelled as a third and fourth ’Tech scuttled past her. “You goddamn ass fucking vstatzi morglik—” “I will take that as an affirmative. What is the nature of your problem?” Ilesha clenched her hands into fists, lifted her head up, and eyes closed, screamed. Her naked body vibrated. Less than a heartbeat of silence followed. She heard Pakal sigh. “I will be down presently.” *
*
*
Pakal had to resist the urge to clap his hand over his face when he keyed Ilesha’s door open ten minutes later. He had considered leaving her longer, to stew in whatever juices she chose to excrete, but if her problems related to the other things that were happening on board, then he was duty bound to investigate. Now he wished he hadn’t. He looked down at the scraggly-haired, too skinny witch in the transparent wrap she had not even bothered to tie up, and wrinkled his nose. “You should consider that the showers are there for your use. You do not need to call me down here to gain permission to use it.” “I’m having a fucking bad day here, asshole, so you can just shove that up your—” “Enough,” Pakal said. He already had a headache, and he could see that it was going to get worse. He watched her eyes narrow. She was about to let loose with more vituperation. He held up his 259
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hand. “What is the problem?” “You can’t tell?” “Where is it, then?” She pointed into the bathroom. He took a deep breath when he approached the open door. When he saw the first ’Tech he grunted and stepped back. There had to be at least four of them in the small room. He retreated, not sure what they were doing. What an odd feeling. He had never been afraid of ’Techs before. He glared at her, certain this was all her fault somehow. “Where did they come from?” “I brought them on board as pets, you fucking morglik, what do you think?” She tugged the edges of her thin robe around her, revealing a flash of tattooed upper thigh and red pubic hair, as she adjusted it. Her skin was pale, too pale. She looked like a white corpse. What had Selhdun seen in her? What could any man see in her? She smoothed the wrap around her, pushing her breasts up against the transparent material. Did she seek to seduce him? If she kept it up, he was going to take her wrap off her and strangle her with it. “I think you should learn to watch your mouth, witch.” “I don’t care what you think. Just clean it up, tell me why it’s happening, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Pakal glanced from the filth-laden floor of the bathroom to the rest of her room. It looked like a bomb had gone off in it. Clothes and things he didn’t want to identify lay scattered across the carpeted floor. How could one person be so messy? “We will move you to another room,” Pakal said. He eyed her, trying not to see her nudity under the gossamer material. “Get dressed. I will send Lyssra down to escort you.” “Don’t bother,” Ilesha said. She wrinkled her nose and pushed 260
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her breasts against the wrap. “Why not send Nikoli?” He ignored her words and actions. “Pack what you wish to take with you. I will send ’Techs in later to clean this up. If you leave something, I make no guarantees it will not join the other garbage in the recycler.” “I won’t leave anything,” Ilesha said. Her sullenness almost made him smile. He allowed his gaze to rake her form one more time. “Get dressed.”
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CHAPTER 3 The Necromancer hung suspended in indecision. Unable to return to the space they knew, and unwilling to venture farther in. Pakal entered the bridge to find the others already there. He ignored Nikoli’s knowing look and glanced around. “Status report,” he said. “Surely you have not spent your time waiting for me?” “Uh, no, sir,” Kaari said. “I’m afraid there’s not much to report. If the signals are meant to communicate with us, they’re…missing something.” “Or we are,” Lyssra said. Pakal noticed she looked tired. Had the witch given her a bad time this morning? Was space an airless void? “I looked that code over I don’t know how many times,” she said. “And I can’t make anything out of it.” 262
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Pakal had expected as much. “We have one or two other tests we can attempt. Perhaps if we encourage them to continue to communicate, eventually we will discover the key. Nikoli?” “Got them here,” Nikoli said. “You want to mount them now?” “We will wait a little bit,” Pakal said. “Has there been any activity on the hull lately?” “A lot just a little while ago. Right now things are quiet.” Lyssra studied something on her screen. “They appear to be cyclic, but I haven’t established a pattern.” Pakal had missed the recent activity. He had been with Selhdun, who had gone through one of his violent episodes. It was getting more and more tempting to try and drug him into quiescence, before he hurt himself. Pakal rubbed his arm where Selhdun’s knee had jabbed him. “Nikoli.” The young Xuan came forward quickly, carrying two ’crystals. Pakal took one and slid it into the main compiler, watching as Ship initialized the crystal matrix and began to transmit. He looked up, startled, when Nikoli’s hand touched his shoulder. “You want anything? I’ll bet a year’s wages you haven’t eaten.” Pakal wanted to tell him to pay up, except, it was true. He hadn’t felt much like eating earlier. Still didn’t, but he wasn’t going to tell Nikoli that. He tapped out an impatient tattoo on the arm of his chair. There had to be more that they could do. His head felt out of focus. He had to be able to think straight. “Coffee,” he said. “I will take a coffee.” “And eat.” He shook his head. “No food. Later maybe, I promise I will eat.” 263
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Nikoli frowned, but did as he was told. Pakal was glad not to have to argue with him. “Transmitting,” Kaari said. “No reaction from the ship or the ’Techs, yet.” “Any idea how many Shiptechs remain secure?” Pakal asked. “Ship seems to be inconsistent with its count,” Kaari said. “At least the numbers keep changing. Activity’s been low the last few hours, I don’t think too many more have been interfaced recently.” “But you do not know, do you?” Kaari shook her head, her dark face creased into a frown. “No. We don’t.” Pakal wondered how far he should be willing to go to find out. How far would Kaari go? “An EVA might be in order,” he said and watched Kaari’s eyes widen. “It is an option we should consider.” The question, of course, was who would go outside. As acting captain he couldn’t leave the ship. The Cyxers had no training in such activity. That left Kaari…and Nikoli. “How many suit hours have you logged?” he asked her. “Not sure,” she said slowly. “Lots. Several dozen, at least. I did some work for Techspec.” “Nikoli?” Pakal asked, trying not to show the reluctance in his voice. “Some classroom time… Two actually EVAs, maybe three hours. They really only give us the basics for later use.” “You aren’t going to send someone outside, are you?” Lyssra turned away from the screen she’d been studying. Her frown deepened the dark hollows under her eyes. “If it becomes necessary,” Pakal said. “This is not your concern, Cyxer. We will do what we must to ensure the safety of 264
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the ship.” “But isn’t that dangerous?” “Coming here was dangerous. Living is dangerous. Now is not the time to be shrinking from that reality. Did you expect instant happily ever after?” “We accepted the inherent risks,” Lyssra snapped. “We don’t go looking for more.” “Neither do I,” Pakal said and turned away from her. He met Kaari’s gaze. “But I will deal with what is put on my plate.” “Do you want me to prepare for an EVA, sir?” Kaari asked. “It will take me an hour to check out our equipment.” Pakal considered that. What would be gained—and potentially what could be lost? Normally ’Techs were incapable of harming humans, but who knew what these things could do. He didn’t want to find out, not at the risk of a valuable crewmate. He didn’t think Kaari wanted to find out, either. “No,” he said. “For now, at least. We will keep the option open, if need be.” He looked up to find Lyssra watching him. “Perhaps you would see to Selhdun now? Let me know if he wakes up.” She matched his coolness. “Of course.” He watched her walk out the door, then swung around to face the forward screen, which still showed minimal ’Tech activity. He could only hope it would stay that way. *
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Lyssra sat beside the bed, trying to read some of the data she had pulled up earlier out of Ship, while listening to Selhdun’s even breathing. So far he had been quiet, with no sign of the restless 265
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sleep Pakal had mentioned. How long would he go on like this? She knew comas could last weeks, even years. They weren’t equipped to handle that kind of time period. Did they dare risk putting Selhdun back in the ShipDoc if he didn’t improve soon? Would Pakal allow such a drastic move? How long before their choices were reduced one by one, until only the unthinkable remained? She pinched the bridge of her nose, blinking against the pain in her eyes. The morning had not started well. Being called down to move a sullen Ilesha from a room that stank like a charnel house had not been an auspicious beginning. Having to deal with Ilesha any time these days never did much for her. She had seen the ’Techs in Ilesha’s room and wondered. Shiptechs inside, acting weird; ’Techs outside undergoing some alien process that was leaving them as Gaia knew what. Pakal’s refusal to talk about what might be going on didn’t help. He could at least speculate. Damn him and his stubborn Xuan soul. “No!” Lyssra almost knocked the reader off the bedside table when she dove out of her seat at Selhdun’s shout. Selhdun kicked at the thin covers, they tangled around his legs, then slid to the floor. He was naked. She grabbed the blanket, meaning to cover him again. Funny, he didn’t look sick. She watched the even rise and fall of the smooth, hairless skin of his chest as she pulled the blanket back up over him. His eyes darted around under his closed lids. Pakal had told her about the dreams. Was that what Selhdun was doing? She flushed when he kicked the covers back onto the floor. She could see what had appealed to Ilesha. For a jaded sybarite with several years on all of them, he looked good. Too damn good. Why did he still sleep? What was keeping him under? 266
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“Captain?” If he was awake, she should call Pakal. But what if he was only dreaming… She bent over to retrieve the blanket, determined to wrap it around him this time. He caught her just under the jaw and flung her backward. She tumbled over the chair she had been sitting in and both her and the chair went over backward. With a solid umph she slammed into the wall, the chair arm landing on her stomach. The breath exploded out of her lungs. She lay on the floor, sucking in desperate lungfuls of air. With a strangled curse she pushed herself out from under the chair, wincing at her bruised ribs. Selhdun stared at her with unblinking, reptilian eyes. *
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“They’re at it again,” Nikoli said. Pakal looked up from the Ship specs he had been studying. Just in time to catch a Shiptech fall to the newest assault by the Terran ’Techs. He swore and discarded the technical ’crystal he had been reading and called on Ship to show him the interface in real time. Maybe that would tell him something. A shrill beep sounded, then his screen filled with alphanumeric characters. He watched the data flow by, catching a glimpse of what the strange ’Tech was downloading which triggered the shutdown. “Print out,” he shouted. “Give me a print out of that string. Now.” “Do you see something?” Nikoli asked. “Maybe. I do not know, yet.” Pakal grabbed the printout as it emerged, and began to flick through sheet after sheet. After a few minutes he went back to the beginning. And read more slowly. He 267
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felt Nikoli come up behind him and knew the young Xuan was scanning the hardcopy over his shoulder. He wasn’t surprised when Nikoli shook his head and muttered, “What the hell.” Few people developed the skill to read hex code. “That mean anything?” Nikoli finally ventured. “Not what I want to know,” Pakal said. “It shows me when the stop order is transmitted, but the rest of this download is much more than that. They are reprogramming our ’Techs, but to do what, and why our ’Techs do nothing after the download is beyond my understanding.” “Can you stop them?” Kaari asked. Pakal suddenly leaned forward. Something else in the code was suddenly clear. “A timing syntax,” he said, running a blunt finger down to the specific lines. “If what follows is a reactivation code, then we may find out sooner than we wish what their new program will do.” “What about stopping them?” Kaari was nothing if not persistent. “If they’re installing new programming, can’t you counteract it some—” “Something is coming over the comm, sir,” Benin said. He sounded close to panic. “I think it’s coming from the ship.” “Put it on,” Pakal said. A heartbeat later the bridge filled with a cacophonous clatter. Pakal had no trouble recognizing ’Tech-talk. Usually it didn’t have that frantic edge to it. Or was that just his own fractured nerves putting emotion on things that had none? “Pakal, they’re moving,” Kaari said. “We know that, Kaari—” “No, sir,” she said. “Not the Terran ’Techs. Ours. I think they just got reactivated…” 268
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“Pakal,” Lyssra’s voice over the comm sounded oddly breathless. “You better get down here, right now. He’s…awake.” *
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“So, did Pakal leave you here to babysit me?” Selhdun said, his cold gaze tracking her face, like he could read everything that crossed it. “Is he too busy perhaps?” She frowned. Where did that level of hostility come from? “He’s on the bridge. There’s a lot to do—” “The bridge, is it? Are you sure that’s where he is?” This time Lyssra’s frown pulled her mass of dark hair down over her forehead. She pushed it back. What the hell was Selhdun driving at? “Let me call him.” She started to stand. “He wanted to be called the minute you woke up. I’ll just let him know…” Selhdun moved faster than she would have thought possible for someone only recently in a coma. His hand darted out and closed around her wrist. The action threw her off balance and she stumbled against the bed. “I’m sure he did want to be warned.” Selhdun’s fingers tightened around her slender wrist. “Just what has he promised you, Cyxer? Safe passage back? How does he plan to get back? Is the Navy going to help you, was that his plan all along—” She tugged at her wrist, wincing when he tightened his grip. “I don’t know what you mean. Pakal… You know damn well Pakal would do anything for you. Let me go, Selhdun.” “You lie so prettily.” Selhdun jerked at her arm and she stumbled completely off balance, sprawling across his naked body. He reached around to pull her against him. “Tell me, did you put 269
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the little witch up to it? Was she your insurance? Maybe you should have tried to do it yourself.” “Tried to do what myself?” Lyssra tried to rise. She could feel the length of his body under her, and was desperately thankful she didn’t feel any sign of arousal. Surely he didn’t intend to rape her? “Let me go, Selhdun. I never gave you any reason to think you could do this.” “You think I need your permission?” Lyssra pushed against his chest. “Yes. Let me fucking go.” The next instance she lay on the floor at the side of the bed. “Get out of here, Cyxer,” Selhdun said. “Tell Pakal his little distraction didn’t work. I know what he’s up to, and it’s not going to work.” Lyssra scrambled to her feet. She slapped the comm channel open manually, not trusting Ship to do it for her. Not when Ship was controlled in part by that thing in Selhdun’s head. “Pakal, you better get down here, right now. He’s awake.”
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CHAPTER 4 Pakal sat on the edge of the bed. He dragged the chair back into position, but opted to sit closer to Selhdun. Something in Lyssra’s look, when he had finally arrived, warned him all was definitely not well. He wished he could have followed Lyssra outside to ask her what was going on, but he didn’t want to leave Selhdun that long. He certainly couldn’t ask in front of him. Now Selhdun seemed to lean away from him. Pakal rubbed the bridge of his nose. “How do you feel?” “I thought you were supposed to tell me.” “I am trying, Terik—” “You haven’t rescued us yet?” Selhdun said. “I’m surprised it hasn’t all been settled by now. What’s taking so long?” Pakal frowned and drew back. “Terik?” 271
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“Did you know I’ve been dreaming? The voices…” Selhdun stared into the farthest corner of the room. “They talk to me… But sometimes Ship goes away. Isn’t that odd? Why would Ship leave, like that?” Pakal was having a hard time tracking Selhdun’s rapid subject changes. Was Selhdun doing it deliberately, trying to keep him off balance? “What do you mean?” “I can’t hear Ship,” Selhdun snapped. “Isn’t that obvious?” “What about now?” Pakal leaned forward, trying to ignore the way Selhdun pulled back from him. He held his breath. “Yes,” Selhdun said after what seemed like an eternity. “Ship’s responding.” “Thank God.” Selhdun’s look was icy. “I’m surprised you’re so worried. Didn’t you have this all figured out ahead of time?” “What is that supposed to mean? I wish I had it figured out. Tell me more about these voices.” “Why? Don’t you already know?” “I do not know anything!” Pakal reached to touch Selhdun’s shoulder, startled by the level of tension he felt in the slender body. “What is it you keep trying to accuse me of?” “Nothing,” Selhdun whispered. “I want to know what’s happening. The voices…” “Belong to the ’Techs, I think,” Pakal said. He let his hand move up to caress Selhdun’s face. Forcing him to look at him. “They are doing something to our systems. They have been interfacing with our ’Techs, reactivating them…to what purpose I do not yet know.” He didn’t say he thought they were doing something to Selhdun, too. “What ’Techs?” He jerked away from Pakal’s touch. “And why 272
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would they be linking with me?” “Terran ’Techs. I suspect they have been here all this time,” Pakal said. “Whether they were left to protect the region from some perceived enemy or, in fact, fulfill some other function only they can imagine, I do not know. I do know what they are doing to our Shiptechs. They interface with them and immobilize everything they touch. I wish I could say the same about understanding their purpose. I have everyone working to decode their messages.” “And that’s what you’ve been doing with your time?” Selhdun propped his arms across his knees, brushing away Pakal’s attempt to touch him again. He scowled. “What about what we came for? Have you even looked? For Terra? Remember Terra?” “No. I mean, yes, of course I remember it,” Pakal muttered. “We—” “We come here to find something and you don’t even bother looking? You think I risked so much, just so you could turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble?” Pakal’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Had Selhdun lost his mind? Did he mean they weren’t leaving? He put a hard brake on his thoughts. Just how much damage had Selhdun suffered when the ’Techs interfaced with the ’Doc? How would he ever be able to tell? “You can’t be serious,” he finally managed. “Those things are dangerous—” “You don’t know that. They interface with a few ’Techs, and suddenly, they’re dangerous? Get real, Pakal. We knew it was hazardous when we came here. You must at least try to find Terra. If we leave without that, we might as well have not come at all.” “Terra? Why do you keep going on about that place? We need 273
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to think of leaving here, while we can. Not searching for some planet that has God-knows-what on it. What if more of those ’Techs are there? No, we cannot risk it—” “I never took you for such a coward, Pakal.” Selhdun eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened. “We’re not going anywhere. Understand that right now. I want you to start a full-scale search for the planet. Now. Today. We don’t leave until you find it. Maybe that’ll give you the incentive you need to get out of bed more often, and find what we came here for.” “I am not a coward,” Pakal said. He rose, the muscles of his arms standing out in sharp relief. His hands curled into fists at his side. “I do not know what has come over you, Selhdun, but you are captain, as I am sure you will remind me, if I do not do as you bid. Therefore I will save you the trouble.” He bowed stiffly and headed toward the door. “I hope you know what you are doing, Captain.” Before Selhdun had a chance to reply, he left the room. In the corridor, he sagged against the wall, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hands. You should have stayed in your dreams. Maybe we would have found a safe way home, without you. You could have woken up in a place we could get help for you. Even as it came, he knew the thought was a ridiculous one. Without Selhdun, they weren’t going anywhere. Apparently, they still weren’t. Worse, they were heading in the wrong direction. Selhdun didn’t even seem interested in knowing what threat they faced. Unless he already knew. Now who was being paranoid? *
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Pakal sat in the unlit lounge, a bulb of dark beer cradled in his hands. He knew he would have to leave soon and go to the bridge. He still had Selhdun’s orders to carry out. Tipping the bulb back, he drained the bitter liquid out of it. They would take the Necromancer in. Selhdun ordered it. With that thought sour in his mouth, he got another beer. He had no idea what they might meet when they got there. Worse, he had the feeling Selhdun didn’t care. Pakal tried to think of something he had said or done to trigger Selhdun’s sudden paranoia. Was it Nikoli? But that had never bothered him before. Selhdun was frequently gone on business or to court gatherings where only the blue bloods were allowed. He’d had his own notoriously colorful affairs at such places, and had never concerned himself with what Pakal did. He’d never been the jealous type before. Why now? Why here? And would anything Pakal did at this point make the slightest bit of difference? Pakal tipped the bulb back and let the cool liquid splash into mouth. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand. Who was Selhdun going to listen to if not Pakal? Or was there any way he was going to be able to get Selhdun to listen to him? He heard the laughter and whispered words even before the lounge door opened. Kaari and the Cyxer male walked in and stopped at the threshold when they saw Pakal. “Pakal, sir,” Kaari said, stepping in front of the suddenly pale Cyxer. “We didn’t know you were here… We just thought we’d listen to some music before turning in…” Pakal wondered how it must look to her. He sat in the nearly lightless lounge, a litter of discarded beer bulbs on the table in front of him. Pakal shrugged, feeling the roll of his broad shoulders under the light material of his shipsuit. 275
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“I was just leaving.” He set his bulb on the table with the others. Kaari’s too bright eyes watched him. She held one of the Cyxer’s hands possessively in her own. Pakal glanced at the Cyxer. What was his name? Benin? He looked about as interesting as a floor rug. But then Kaari didn’t have much to choose from this trip, did she? None of the women seemed any more interesting, nothing there that would attract the vital Nexian. Pakal would have found it amusing if he had been able to give a shit. Pakal knew enough about shipboard gossip to know that word of finding him drinking alone in the dark would be all over Necromancer by morning. That decided him. Why wait until morning to put their new orders into affect? “I want you on the bridge in half an hour.” He didn’t waste time softening his words. “I will inform the others.” “The bridge? Now?” Kaari and Benin traded glances. “What— ” “Consider the evening canceled. Get to your post, Kaari.” “Aye, sir…” Her dark eyes narrowed. “Can I ask what we’re doing?” “We are taking the Necromancer insystem to find Terra. It is what we came for, after all.” He knew his bitterness showed, but made no effort to hide it. He scooped up the drinking bulbs from the table and stood. “Captain’s orders.” “Selhdun?” Kaari backed away when he rose and took the two strides to the recycling unit against the wall. “This is an order?” “You heard me,” Pakal snapped. He dropped the bulbs down the maw of the recycler and barely listened to the charged crackle as they were reduced to their molecular level for the nano-systems 276
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to rebuild. “Now go.” He didn’t bother looking up when the door closed, plunging him back into the gloom. He sat again. In a minute he would go and find Nikoli, to inform him of the change in plans. After he finished his drink.
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CHAPTER 5 Lyssra arrived to find Kaari and Benin already on the bridge. There was no sign of Pakal or Nikoli. She grabbed a coffee bulb out of the dispenser. “Any idea what’s going on?” she asked. “Pakal said to come.” Kaari glanced at Benin. “I’ll let Pakal tell you, when he gets here.” Lyssra subsided into her chair, cupping her coffee in both hands. With a sigh, she called her station online and went back to the same old game—find a signal, zero in on it, and give herself a headache trying to figure out what the ’Techs were saying. Now she had to listen to the reawakened ’Techs, too. More and more of them were coming back online. So far they weren’t doing much, but they had to be watched, in case that changed. 278
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Were their broadcasts different from the Terran ’Techs? Were there anomalies that might render up a clue as to what had been done to them, and why? What had the reprogramming done to them? She wished she could go back to surveying for planets, but Pakal had been adamant. The ’Techs were top priority. Understanding them was important, she just didn’t know if it was possible. The bridge door opened. Pakal and Nikoli entered together. Nikoli, she noticed, did not look happy. Pakal had tension lines around his mouth that Lyssra didn’t think came from an evening of relaxation. He met her eyes. “What are we doing here, Pakal?” She was tired of being pliant and agreeable. “I think twelve hours is a sufficient length of time to spend on this bridge, don’t you? If you burn us out, you won’t have accomplished anything.” He didn’t answer until after he dropped into the captain’s chair and accepted a coffee from Nikoli. Nikoli did not move far away. One hand rested on the padded headrest behind Pakal’s shoulder. The look Nikoli gave Lyssra was nearly as cool as the one he had given her the first time they had met. How long ago had that been? Eight, nine weeks? Longer? What was his problem? Didn’t want his precious lover pressured into giving answers? Pakal sipped his drink and finally turned his silver gray eyes on Lyssra. He silenced her growing impatience with a cold look. “It matters little whether I agree with you or not. We are obeying the captain’s orders.” “Captain’s—Selhdun? Are you telling me Selhdun is giving orders now?” “He is the captain.” “I’m aware of that,” she snapped. “And what are his orders?” 279
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Judging from the looks on everyone else’s face, Lyssra didn’t think she was going to like what she heard. She was right. “We are taking the ship in.” “Those are Selhdun’s orders? What happened to leaving? How—What about the ’Techs? Do we just ignore them?” “Perhaps you will be able to ask him yourself, in short order.” Pakal scowled and sipped his coffee. “We will continue to monitor the situation.” “You expect him on the bridge?” Lyssra noticed even Nikoli and Kaari seemed startled by that. Benin just looked confused. But then he hadn’t had enough involvement with Selhdun to understand how volatile the situation with the captain had become. “I do not yet know what the captain plans. He has given me my orders and now I will carry them out. Is that a problem? We did come here for just this purpose. I will see to the captain’s needs,” Pakal said. “The rest of you get on with your end of it.” “Since I’m paying the freight, I know that. What about the ’Techs? Do we just ignore them?” “I might wish such a thing were possible.” Pakal scowled and sucked on his coffee bulb. “We will spend what time we can continuing to monitor the situation. Our priority has simply changed to include a search for Terra.” “We don’t exactly have a lot of hands to do all this work,” Lyssra said, uneasy about reminding Pakal about the reason they were shorthanded. From the look on Pakal’s face, she knew he shared her reluctance. “I’d be willing to keep on helping,” Kaari said. “I don’t know much about planetary research, but I can monitor ’Tech activity and keep an eye out for anything else that might show up.” 280
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Lyssra nodded gratefully, then was startled when Nikoli spoke from behind Pakal’s chair. “I’ll go on helping, too.” “Good, thank you.” Lyssra looked at Pakal to see if he had any objections, but though he seemed surprised, he showed no reluctance. “I will see to the captain’s needs,” he said. “And the rest of you can get on with your end of it. We are agreed?” They were. *
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Pakal had dinner with Selhdun that night. It had been Selhdun’s idea, but when Pakal got to the captain’s quarters, he found Selhdun in bed, refusing to leave. “I can eat here as well as anywhere else,” he said, when Pakal suggested they sit in the living room. “The food tastes the same.” Pakal only raised an eyebrow and went to bring in two trays of food. He wasn’t very surprised when Selhdun barely touched what had once been one of his favorite meals. He handed Selhdun a bulb of Tiamat wine, which he accepted with barely a grunt. That he finished quickly, taking another one, and another. “Still no sign of Terra?” he asked, sipping his third wine. “Not looking very hard, are you?” “We suspect it is on the other side of the sun. We’re moving above the plane again,” Pakal said. “It will not be long, I am sure.” “I hope not. I’d hate to think you were stalling, Pakal.” “And why would I do that?” Pakal shifted uncomfortably in the bedside chair. He gave up trying to balance the remains of his dinner, and, with his appetite vanishing, he set the thing aside on 281
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the nearest bedside table. “You have made it clear what we are to do. We are doing it. You have no call to criticize how it gets done.” “No? Good.” Pakal frowned. “Why would you think such a thing, anyway? Have I ever done anything to suggest I would undermine your authority that way?” It was Selhdun’s turn to frown. “I…odd, I can’t remember. Have you?” He waved a dismissal. “I’m sure you’ll do what you have to. Have you finished eating? I’m tired. I’d like to sleep now.” Thrown by Selhdun’s rapid subject change, Pakal could only nod. He fumbled to collect his own barely eaten dinner and Selhdun’s. But when he would have taken the wine, Selhdun held it back. “I’ll finish that. You just go on.” Selhdun turned his head away, and relaxed back into his pillows. “Come back when you have something to tell me.” Pakal got back to his quarters and was never so happy to find Nikoli sprawled in his favorite chair, his gameweb on his head and his eyes tracking behind his closed eyelids at what ever part of the game he was in. He dropped a grateful kiss on Nikoli’s forehead, and fell into his own seat. Startled out of his game, Nikoli pulled the ‘web off and blinked up at Pakal. “What was that for?” “Do not ask,” Pakal said. “Do me a favor, and stay just the way you are.” Nikoli frowned. He tossed the ’web onto the side table. “Selhdun?” 282
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Pakal lay his head back against the chair. He closed his eyes. “If he’s sick,” Nikoli said. “Just tell him we have to go back, he’s not fit to make decisions—” Pakal’s laugh was mirthless. “Even at the best of times, no one told Selhdun what to do. And these are not the best of anything. I do not know what is wrong with him. It is like he does not trust anyone.” “Even you?” “I would say especially me.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and scowled. “This insistence that we find Terra. He hints that the faster we do that, the sooner I may be able to convince him we do not plot against him and that it really is time to go home.” “What about the ’Techs?” “What about them? Selhdun does not see them as a threat.” Pakal sighed. “As long as they do not bother us, we keep searching.” “And if they come after us again?” “We will take care of that when it happens.” *
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The bridge hummed with quiet activity. The Necromancer approached the Terran sun, instruments scanning the narrow habitable zone around the G2 star. Pakal pushed them at peak velocity, not wanting to spend weeks just getting in. To hell with fuel. They had enough to get in and out, after that, he didn’t care if they had to refuel at the first station outside of Jump. Let Selhdun pay the premium. Once they found the ancient human home, he hoped to convince Selhdun of a quick flyby, then return to Autarch 283
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space. All they needed for their claim was proof of existence. A flyby gave them that. Let someone else risk exploration. They’d have enough to set the whole, damned Autarch spinning on its complacent, corrupt ear. Pakal had to wonder if the Suzerain would thank them for the trouble. Surely Selhdun wouldn’t expect to send a shuttle down? Only, Pakal had no idea what Selhdun would do these days. He wasn’t even sure Selhdun knew, half the time. “Pakal,” Nikoli said. “The ’Tech channel is registering increased activity.” “Put it on,” Pakal said. They all listened to the loud hiss fill the room. “Can you pinpoint a direction?” Pakal asked. “Does it come from the ship behind us, or somewhere else? Trace where the transmissions originate. Perhaps they will provide a shortcut for us. It is hard to believe that Terra itself is free of those things. We will use their own signals to find them.” Nikoli shrugged. “I can triangulate it. That ought to give us a place to look.” “Lyssra, can you and Kaari take care of that? I want Nikoli to help me,” he said. Lyssra moved over to take Nikoli’s place. “Yes, Captain—” “No,” Pakal said, meeting her gaze briefly then looking away. “Not Captain. Just Pakal.” *
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Lyssra pivoted in her seat and arched her spine to relieve the ache in her lower back. She was heartily sick and tired of listening to the chatter of ’Techs. What was disheartening was that they 284
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seemed to be everywhere. Terran space was infested. It wasn’t just an outer perimeter problem, they were all through the system. Not a pleasant discovery. “Third triangulation. This is the heaviest concentration, let’s hope it means something,” Kaari said. Her voice had a deepening rasp to it. She was showing the strain of the hours they’d spent on the bridge, too. “You a gambler, Lyssra?” “I come from Cyx. It’s a prerequisite for citizenship.” “Well, then give me that keys to the treasury,” Kaari said. “Because I got a feeling about this.” Lyssra followed what Kaari was doing, hoping that this time… She was terrified they’d find it, and equally scared they wouldn’t. Of course, the idea that it wasn’t there was ridiculous, wasn’t it? Planets didn’t just disappear. It was theoretically possible for a planet to be rendered inhospitable, though that would take a power Lyssra didn’t want to think about, but the planet itself would remain. Terra was here; it was just a matter of finding it. How long would Selhdun keep them here looking? She suspected the answer was, as long as it took. A few minutes later, their gamble paid off. “Look at that, will you,” Kaari said and Lyssra hurried to do just that. “Am I right, or am I right?” “Call Pakal,” Lyssra said. Strange, she didn’t feel as excited as she would have thought. Too much had happened since the heady days when they had started this expedition. “Lay out a course, while we’re at it. Shortest possible route. Might as well be ready, right? We know he’ll want to go in.” She wasn’t even sure anymore which he she referred to. Pakal, she knew, just wanted to go home. It was Selhdun who pushed them onward, and Lyssra wished she knew why. 285
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“You got it,” Kaari said. “Pakal on comm, and course set.” “Pakal,” Lyssra said. “You might want to come down to the bridge. We think we’ve found Terra.” “I am on my way.” “Now,” Lyssra said after shutting down the comm. “Let’s see what we can find out.” It wasn’t long before Benin found the first anomaly. “High albedo,” he said. “Higher than the records indicate. Something’s going on there… The temperature’s a degree or two on the low side.” “Correlation?” Lyssra wondered aloud. Benin shrugged. “Possible. Hard to say. But it’s Terra, all right. At least, it’s a binary planet, and there’s only one of them in this system.” “The second planet would be Luna,” Lyssra said. “Their single satellite. The legends are full of moon stories, the Terrans were very enamored of their satellite. I guess it’s the first thing they saw when they looked at the sky.” Pakal entered the bridge less than five minutes later. “Show me,” he said. After several seconds of silence, he rubbed a hand over his hairless head. “Course?” “Set,” Kaari said. “Shortest route. Figured you weren’t interested in any kind of evasive movement.” “You are right. I do not doubt they will know where we are going. Let us hope it does not alarm them unduly. Okay, do it,” Pakal said. He stood. “I will inform Selhdun. We will meet for dinner in the lounge, in an hour. I think we have earned a break.” Pakal disappeared through the door. Lyssra hardly noticed. Suddenly there was too much to do and, as usual, not enough time to do it. 286
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“Shortest bridge duty I’ve ever seen.” Kaari grinned. “Drinks on the house, do you think?” “Think it’s worth celebrating?” Lyssra rubbed her knees through the thin fabric of her shipsuit. Sometimes when she sat too long her joints ached, reminding her that too much inactivity wasn’t good. She desperately needed to take a jog around the gym. Or go swimming. But that only reminded her of Kaari and what had happened—and would never happen again. “Beats sitting around getting depressed.” Kaari shrugged, then glanced toward Benin, still hunched over his instruments. “Ready, Ben? Let’s go have some fun.” Tossing her a wave and a grin, Kaari led Benin off the bridge. Lyssra sighed and closed her system down. She was briefly tempted to stay on the bridge. If anything happened… They’d be informed as quickly there as here. She knew what the real problem was. She didn’t enjoy watching their obvious joy in each other. Coward. Why not go and hide in her room, too? Or she could go keep the witch company, if she really wanted to punish herself. Gaia, they even had her calling Ilesha a witch. With another sigh, she got up and left the bridge. *
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The noise level in the lounge was already high by the time Lyssra got there. She had the feeling Kaari could be a one-person party if the mood struck her. Benin seemed more than ready to go along with her. It was nice to see the previously quiet paleobiologist come to life under Kaari’s contagious upbeat spirit. After his disastrous affair with Ilesha he deserved it. 287
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Keep telling yourself that. She grabbed herself a drink and joined the pair. “Where are Pakal and Nikoli?” she asked, wishing at least Niki would show up. She’d feel less like a third wheel. “Probably doing their own celebrating. Unless Selhdun demanded a royal service—” The lounge door opened and Nikoli strolled in. He stopped when he saw them, then made his way over, stopping only to get himself a drink. “Where’s Pakal?” Trust Kaari to ask that. Lyssra watched Nikoli’s face go darker, then he shrugged. “In with the captain. He said to go on, he wasn’t sure when he’d be joining us.” “Poor Niki. Having to get in line must really bite.” Nikoli made a face at her, then grinned. “At least I’m in line. That’s more than you’ve ever been.” “Hah, you think I want to bed Pakal?” Kaari took a drink and rolled her eyes at Lyssra. “I’m not impressed by muscle bound goons—” “I’ve seen you eye the captain more than once. And Pakal isn’t a goon.” “You admit he’s muscle bound.” Lyssra got the impression this was an old argument. Kaari was enjoying herself, and even Nikoli seemed amused. Now he grinned and licked his lips. “His muscles are just fine, actually. Not that you’ll ever know.” “As if I’d want to.” Kaari smiled at Benin. “What about you? You into all that machismo stuff?” “I got muscles—” “I know. Very interesting ones, too,” Kaari said. “You need 288
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another drink?” Benin nodded. “Sure. Will we be waiting for Pakal before we eat?” They all looked at Nikoli, who shrugged. “I couldn’t say what either of them are doing.” He scowled good-naturedly at the look Kaari gave him. “Selhdun prefers to eat in his quarters, Pakal may sit with him. If you’re hungry, go ahead—” They all swung around when the door opened again. Their nerves must be getting frazzled, Lyssra thought. Too little sleep, and not enough knowing what was going on. How much more— Selhdun entered and his cold gaze swept the room. They all froze.
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CHAPTER 6 Pakal followed Selhdun. He looked around the room as though checking the mood of those present. Lyssra was surprised at the strain showing on the big Xuan’s face. Was Selhdun that bad? She surreptitiously studied the Necromancer’s captain. She couldn’t see that he appeared any worse for his premature withdrawal from the ’Doc. Pakal looked more haggard than he did, but then Lyssra knew him well enough now to know he was the worrying type. It didn’t necessarily mean Selhdun was worse. Did it? That was the problem with worriers. Sometimes they were right. Pakal put his hand on Selhdun’s arm and spoke to him. Selhdun shook him off and brushed past to take a seat near the others. Pakal 290
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scrambled to catch up. Before he could sit, Selhdun waved him away. “Get me a wine, Pakal. And see if you can get Ship to make it a decent one.” When Pakal left to do his bidding, Kaari raised her bulb to Selhdun. “You’re looking good, Captain,” she said, and grinned at Nikoli. Lyssra wondered what she was up to now. Surely she wasn’t going to start teasing the captain. Was Kaari that outrageous? “You think so, Kaari?” Selhdun glanced at Nikoli, his look speculative. “What do you think, Nikoli? Think I look good?” “Sir?” Nikoli looked confused. Lyssra thought it was a sensation they were all experiencing. “I…hope you’re feeling better, sir. You are, aren’t you?” “Pakal shares everything with me,” Selhdun said softly, and Lyssra shivered at the look on his face. “I wonder why he never shared you. Maybe it’s time to claim captain’s privilege.” He leaned forward. “What do you think, Niki?” Nikoli stiffened. “With all due respect, I signed on the Necromancer as a Guild apprentice, not ship’s boy. Sir,” he added hastily. “No? And I thought you had. I’m paying you enough.” Lyssra studied the drinking bulb on the table in front of her. Even Kaari didn’t have a quip to offer. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pakal return. She watched him stop and take in the sight of Selhdun leaning toward Nikoli. Lyssra had no doubt Pakal had heard enough of the exchange to know what Selhdun was doing. “Captain?” Pakal said. “Is there a problem?” Selhdun leaned back and Lyssra saw Nikoli relax. On the other 291
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hand, Pakal grew more tense when he met Selhdun’s gaze. They held each other’s look for several heartbeats, then Selhdun looked away. “I hope not. Take me back to my quarters now.” He sneered at Nikoli. “One of you ought to be good for something. Nikoli flushed and looked down at his entwined hands. “Go back to your quarters, Nikoli,” Pakal said. “The rest of you, I think this party is over. I want you all on the bridge at ohfive-hundred, so do not be staying up late.” Lyssra wasn’t too surprised when everyone filed out without protest. Even Kaari didn’t grumble. She did, however, take Benin’s hand and Lyssra heard her whisper, “Want a drink in my quarters?” The two of them left together. Lyssra didn’t bother watching Selhdun and Pakal depart. Nikoli still sat alone at the table. Lyssra considered inviting him to have a private drink, but thought he might misconstrue the offer. Instead, she reluctantly decided she’d better check in on Ilesha. She knew the woman would be in a foul mood. She usually was these days, and it only seemed to grow with each passing hour of confinement. Lyssra would have to resist the temptation to slap the attitude out of her. Much as it might make her feel better, it wouldn’t help. *
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Nikoli came out of the shower, belting a robe around his slender figure. He wondered how badly he had blown it. Selhdun’s actions had taken him so completely by surprise. If he’d been thinking clearly, he might have… What? Accepted the offer? 292
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Under other circumstances he might have been flattered by Selhdun’s attention. Why did the mere idea repulse him now? It wasn’t like he hadn’t done worse in years past. He stepped into the living room, and stopped when he saw Pakal. The big Xuan sat in his chair, reading a screenful of Ship schematics in the air in front of him. “You’re back early,” Nikoli said, fumbling with the ends of the belt. “I didn’t expect you for another hour or two.” Or ever. He left the thought unspoken. Pakal shrugged and dismissed the reader. “He just wanted to go to bed. He still tires easily.” Nikoli didn’t think too much about what he was doing. He knew if he stopped to examine his feelings, he’d do nothing, and the moment would pass him by again. Without another word, he slid onto Pakal’s lap. Pakal raised one eyebrow and stared down at the younger man. “What are you doing?” “I would have thought that would be obvious.” Nikoli began to unsnap Pakal’s shipsuit. “Are you angry? He took me by surprise. I didn’t mean… I hope he didn’t think… Was he mad?” Pakal frowned. Then he shook his head. “It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.” Nikoli stopped what he was doing. “What do you mean?” “Selhdun would have found a way to change his mind,” Pakal said. “He would not have taken you to his quarters. That would have been too humiliating, even for him.” “Are you saying he doesn’t want me?” Youthful indignation warred with relief. If Selhdun didn’t want him, he couldn’t have been too mad… Pakal sighed. “I’m saying he can’t…” Then he frowned. “You 293
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must promise not to speak of this to anyone.” “Y-yes,” Nikoli said. “What is it, Pakal?” “Selhdun has been impotent since he came out of the ’Doc.” “Did the ’Techs do that to him? Or was it getting out of the ’Doc too early?” “I do not know. I am sure once we get back to Autarch space, where he can be treated properly, he will be fine. I keep telling him so, not that he believes much of anything I say these days.” “Poor Selhdun.” Nikoli got back to business. He exposed Pakal’s erection to his touch. “Lucky me. Now you’re really all mine.” “You think so, chuku?” “Sure, and I’ll prove it to you.” He slid off his lap, bent down and took Pakal’s cock in his mouth. Above him Pakal moaned and stroked his head, urging him on with soft, guttural words. *
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Alone in his room, Selhdun heard the voices again. Seemed like they never went too far. Still, he wondered why he hadn’t told Pakal what they said…except, he knew why, didn’t he? Pakal had done this to him. Him, and that other Xuan, what was his name? Nikoli. They didn’t want him interfering. Pakal might even have done something to Ship. It would explain the voices. It would explain a lot of thing. He never had to listen long before they came. They never went far. He wondered why he hadn’t told Pakal what they said? Wait…he already knew that, didn’t he? But…where had Rauli gone? Why had they brought him back only to take him away again, like that terrible night when his father 294
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had destroyed everything. He grabbed his head in his hands, and screamed. The voices kept on whispering. Not words this time, just the soft whisper of distant voices. A haunted wind. Selhdun banged his head against the bulkhead behind the bed. The pain was a sudden shock, but it silenced the voices. So he did it again, harder. Then he could feel the endorphins the nanos pumped into him to calm him. His smile was blissful. If he couldn’t beat them out of his head, maybe he could put the voices to sleep. Then he could rest. Perhaps they’d even let him dream. He felt the chemical peptides seep through him. Lulled by the silence in his head, he relaxed on the bed. Sleep stole over him. Then as he drifted down, the whisper started again. The poisonous voices followed him into the dark dreams that waited. *
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Lyssra woke from an uneasy sleep, unsure what had aroused her. She sat up in the darkened bedroom and tried to hear whatever it was. Nothing. She blinked against the encroaching darkness. “Lights up,” she said, and blinked again when nothing happened. “Shit. Now what?” She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and grabbed her thin robe. Now she knew what had woken her. Nothing. All around her, the ship was silent. Goose flesh crawled up her spine. No air moved through the overhead vents. There was no quiet hum of distant machinery. Absolute nothing. All the doors were open. Whatever had happened must have triggered an override in them. She wasn’t sure what she would 295
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have done if the door had been sealed. Bad enough to be stuck on a ship that had stopped working, to be trapped in a claustrophobic room with no air and no hope of rescue would have been too much. The corridors were barely lit, with backup lighting, but it was enough to get her to the crew section. All the doors there were also open. Only, she had never bothered finding out where Pakal’s quarters were. She paused at one door and listened. She still couldn’t hear anything. “Lights on.” Nothing happened. No surprise there. “Pakal? Kaari?” The sound of her own voice echoed in the corridor. Something banged nearby, and she jumped. Someone cursed. “Pakal?” “Who is there? What the devil is going on? Lyssra?” Pakal appeared out of a door at the end of the corridor, a shadowy behemoth. Nikoli stumbled after him, hurriedly snapping up his shipsuit. Like her, they were both barefoot, and had obviously just woken up. “What’s going on?” she asked. “The drive has stopped.” Pakal cocked his head to listen to the growing silence. “So has the airflow. Ship.” Lyssra held her breath, but they got back only silence. Pakal swore softly under his breath. “What do you think it is? The ’Techs—” “Get to the bridge, I will summon Kaari,” Pakal said. Suddenly he stopped so fast both Nikoli and Lyssra nearly ran into his broad back. “Are all the doors unlocked?” He swung his lantern bright gaze at her. “I do not want the witch running loose—” The scream echoed through the silence. Lyssra felt it jolt through her heart and set it pounding behind the prison of her ribs. 296
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It came from nearby. Too near. Pakal was galvanized. “Selhdun!” He moved faster than she would have thought possible for a man of his size. At the end of the corridor, the last room, like all the others, was open. They heard a muffled thump, then a grunt, like someone falling. Pakal plunged inside the darkened room. Nikoli and Lyssra paused to exchange glances, then slowly followed Pakal. They heard another thud, then a muffled cry. They found Pakal kneeling on the bed, struggling to hold Selhdun, who fought him with a grim silence that was completely unnerving. While they watched, Selhdun grabbed his own head and with another strangled scream, slammed against the bulkhead behind the bed. Now at least they understood the noises. “What is he doing?” Nikoli whispered. Lyssra shook her head, unable to tear her gaze off the two figures on the bed. For all their size difference, Selhdun gave Pakal a fight. But then Pakal was probably trying not to hurt the other man, whereas Selhdun just as clearly didn’t care. Finally, Pakal got him in a grip even he couldn’t break. He enfolded him in a bear hug, and pulled the still struggling man away from the wall he seemed determined to batter open with his head. She could hear Pakal murmur soft words, like a parent soothing a distraught child, and after a while the sounds must have penetrated Selhdun’s madness. The tension flowed out of him. He collapsed back on the rumpled bed. “Stop them, Pakal.” Selhdun hid his eyes with his arm. He spoke in a low, feathery whisper. “Can’t you stop them? They never let me alone any more. Why are they doing this? They won’t tell me…” 297
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When he screamed this time, her heart almost stopped. When Pakal yelled, it started beating again, in double-time. Pakal reared back and almost tumbled off the bed. “Nikoli,” he said. “Get an anserat, now.” Nikoli scrambled to find his way in the dark. It seemed like forever, but could only have been a minute before he returned and handed Pakal one of the self-injecting ampoules. Pakal didn’t even bother speaking to Selhdun, he just pushed the injector against his neck and waited for Selhdun to collapse. He lay the sedated man on the bed, and pulled the covers back over Selhdun’s naked body. Then with an abrupt hand wave, he signaled them to leave the room. He joined them in the hall moments later and only then did Lyssra realize his nose had been bloodied in the scuffle. “Pakal!” Nikoli stepped closer, but Pakal waved him off. He wiped at his own nose and left a smear of blood on the sleeve of his shipsuit. Immediately the embedded nanos went to work cleaning the material. “It is nothing,” he said. “We have to get to the bridge. Get Kaari.” “What about Selhdun?” Lyssra asked. Could they just leave him here? “Not now. He will sleep for an hour at least. By then—” The lights came up. Beside her, Nikoli jumped at the soundless explosion of brightness. She shivered at the cool wash of clean air over her damp skin when the vents blew air again. She looked up to find Pakal watching her. He looked a mess. His shipsuit was disheveled and smeared with drying blood. His face looked like he had gone several rounds with someone’s fist. He was probably going to have a black eye on top of the bloody 298
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nose. “I’ll get Kaari,” she said. “If you show up at her door looking like that, she’s going to lose it. Then I’ll go check on Ilesha.” “No.” Pakal gingerly felt his nose and she saw him wince. “Nikoli will get Kaari. You go to the witch. This is not a good time for her to be roaming. I will meet you all on the bridge.” “At least go and shower,” Nikoli said. This time when he raised his hand to Pakal’s face the big man didn’t object. Nikoli gently touched his jaw. “You realize you look a mess? You should learn to duck. Five minutes isn’t going to make any difference now. By the time you’re done, we’ll be on the bridge.” Pakal finally agreed. Lyssra left in search of Ilesha. She had just to gotten to her door, no longer closed, when a low level hum started under her feet. The Drive engines had fired up again. There was no one on the bridge to guide the ship. Who had started up the Drive? The bigger question… Where was it taking them? She found Ilesha curled up in a chair, watching the door. Ilesha smirked when she saw her. “Some security system they got here,” she said. “Lucky for you I’m so honorable, otherwise I’d be out of here.” “And go where?” Lyssra said. “I wonder how honorable you’d be if we were docked at Nexus.” “Hey, I’m game to find out. How ’bout you?” Lyssra shrugged. She wasn’t in the mood for banter. “You really want to find out how it’ll go if Pakal gets to find you outside this room? Go for it. I don’t care, anymore.” Ilesha raised one eyebrow, but surprised Lyssra by staying quiet. Was she finally learning discretion? “Was it my imagination, or did the ship stop a while ago?” 299
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Ilesha asked. “I woke up and the door was open. It was so quiet, too.” Lyssra didn’t answer. Why give her manipulative sister more ammunition. But Ilesha knew her too well. “Ha, you don’t know, do you?” Ilesha pulled her legs up into the circle of her arms. “You mean even the great Pakal doesn’t know what’s going on? Does that mean we’re all doomed?” “Ilesha,” Lyssra said. She pressed her sweating palms against her legs, wishing she hadn’t come now. Knowing Ilesha did it deliberately. “You have to admit it hasn’t exactly been an auspicious trip.” Ilesha shrugged, her gaze tracking Lyssra as she began to move restlessly around the room. “You really are unbelievable,” Lyssra said. She couldn’t fathom Ilesha’s gall in pretending none of it had been her responsibility. “And you do it on purpose, too, don’t you?” “Makes you wonder why you brought me along, doesn’t it?” “This can’t be about payback.” Lyssra couldn’t accept what she was hearing. “Even you can’t be that petty. If you want to know, I brought you with us, because I thought there was some hope of turning you into a decent human. Because you’re my sister and I care.” “Your mistake, I guess,” Ilesha whispered. She stiffened under the look Lyssra gave her. “Selhdun asked for everything I gave him. I never tricked him. I never had to.” “Either you’re a fool, or you think I am. Why would you figure that matters? How could you—” The comm crackled to life. An odd background hiss made hearing words difficult. “Lyssra,” Pakal’s voice sounded distorted. “Get to the bridge, 300
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now.” Lyssra and her sister traded looks. Ilesha looked even paler than normal. At least she had the sense to look afraid. But then, this was one situation she couldn’t control. None of her wiles, or her drugs, would help her here. Lyssra hurried to the bridge. *
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“We are entering orbit,” Pakal said, without preamble. “I would suggest you assemble your team and begin your preliminary studies. Nikoli has agreed to continue to assist you. You will have to ask Kaari her intentions.” “I’ll help, too, Lyssra,” Kaari said from her station. Benin hovered over her shoulder, assisting her. “What’s up first?” Lyssra shook herself and tried to focus on the business at hand. She glanced at Pakal, and knew he wasn’t going to help her. His hostility might not be as intense, or as obvious as it had been when they first met, but he wasn’t going out of his way to assist them, either. Was it her gender or her nationality? One day she’d have to ask. But now… “Start with a full scan of every comm channel. Maybe keep one channel open on the ’Tech line. Who knows, someone may sneak a message through on it.” “You really think there are still humans here?” Kaari asked. Lyssra stopped a moment. Did she? Finally she shook her dark head. “It’s unlikely, but it’s an avenue we can’t abandon yet. Bottom line, we just don’t know. I don’t think any of us wants to be surprised.” She looked right at Pakal when she said it. “Is true,” he said, his accent thickened. Did stress bring it out? 301
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“No surprises is good. We have had enough of those to last a year or two.” “What about you, Pakal?” Lyssra said. “Will you remain on the bridge?” She wasn’t bold enough to ask if he might help in their efforts, after all. Pakal shook his hairless head. “Do what you can, as quickly as you can. If I am successful, we will be leaving here shortly.” Lyssra nodded. She didn’t bother to ask what happened if he wasn’t successful. How long would Selhdun keep them here? Just what was he looking for? “The shuttle should be prepared for launch. Just in case,” Pakal said. “Nikoli can do that.” “Good. We’ll start with a full scan of every comm channel,” Lyssra said. “Radio, microwave, UV, IR, mass spectrum, radar, everything we can think of, or we know they might have thought of.” “I will remain until orbit is established,” Pakal said. “Then I will see to the captain.” Still trying to convince him to leave? Lyssra wondered why Selhdun was so stubbornly against the idea. Surely they had enough to convince even the most intractable cynic back in the Autarch that their find was legitimate. They had the Terran ’Tech recordings. An examination of their own ’Techs would surely reveal more about the attempted reprogramming. “Begin to prep the first probes for launch,” she said. “I’d like to see the first two away in an hour. Can you do that?” “No problem,” Nikoli said. *
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Pakal wondered the same thing. Ninety minutes later he strode through the corridors of the Necromancer, feeling the changing pitch of engines through the hull as they settled down into orbit. They could remain here for weeks, months even. Is that what Selhdun wanted? Why? Selhdun was awake when he entered the still lightless room. His dark eyes glittered as he watched Pakal approach the bed. He made no sound. Pakal stood at the end of the bed. “We are in orbit, and beginning preliminary scans,” he said and Selhdun’s gaze never wavered. He barely blinked as he regarded his former lover. “We will continue to monitor the communications channels, but I have few doubts we will find no one there—” “No,” Selhdun said softly. “There are no people left.” Pakal felt something cold walk up his spine. How did Selhdun know that with so much certainty? “Ship will keep me apprised of your activities,” Selhdun said. “We’ll stay here several days. I want you to prepare a shuttle for a ground flyby. In three days, unless the Cyxers find something, we send the shuttle down. Put the Cyxers on it.” “Very well,” Pakal said. “Kaari will prep for the run—” “No, not Kaari,” Selhdun said softly. Not Kaari? But the Nexian had the most piloting experience… He couldn’t fly it, as acting captain he couldn’t leave the ship. Surely Selhdun knew that… A fist gripped Pakal’s heart, but it didn’t stop Selhdun from what he knew he was going to say next. “Nikoli will pilot it.” 303
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CHAPTER 7 All heads swiveled around when Pakal reentered the bridge. He met Nikoli’s gaze and felt the muscles on his face tighten. He slumped into the captain’s chair. “He wants a shuttle to go down,” he said. This time when he glanced at Nikoli, he saw the young Xuan’s eyes widen. Nikoli knew, or guessed what was coming. “Lyssra, you and Benin will take what instruments you can with you. Nikoli…Nikoli you will fly it.” Nikoli’s mouth dropped open but no sound came out. Lyssra was the first to speak. “Isn’t that a little premature…” “In three days,” Pakal said. “Unless you can find some justification for us not to go. And it had better be a reason Selhdun will accept, otherwise he refuses to consider taking us home.” 304
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“Why Nikoli?” Kaari asked. “No offense, but I’ve got way more experience.” “I am well aware of your skills,” Pakal snapped. “Selhdun insists.” “And he is the captain after all,” Lyssra muttered. “I guess we either better find that reason for not going, or uncover something that will make us feel safer doing this.” “Yes, that would seem to be appropriate,” Pakal said. “I trust the witch is still in her quarters? I would hate to have to go hunting for her.” “She is,” Lyssra said. “And as long as you can keep the doors locked, she’ll stay there. I don’t guarantee anything if the doors keep popping open.” Pakal looked even grimmer. He wished he’d taken care of the witch earlier. Somehow just locking her up didn’t make him feel safe anymore. What he wanted was for her to be off his ship. If there happened to be a habitable planet in the way of her egress, then that was her luck. “I will do what I can to make sure the ship behaves. You just get on with your research. Tell me it is safe down there.” Briefly his gaze settled on Nikoli and he wished he could say something to the young man. But not in front of the Cyxers. He heard Lyssra talk to Benin about some of the historical data he thought was relevant to their search. Kaari and she discussed the biological tests they were going to run to determine the kind of biosphere that remained on the planet. Nikoli looked away from him, and Pakal knew he was trying to concentrate on what they were saying. He stood again. “I will take breakfast with the captain,” he said and hoped the distaste he felt was not in his voice. “Ship will keep us informed of 305
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any progress you might make.” Lyssra nodded and didn’t look up from her instruments. He sighed and left the bridge for an interview he didn’t anticipate liking at all. *
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Selhdun was still in bed when Pakal slipped into his room. He called the lights up and wasn’t surprised to find Selhdun watching him with unblinking eyes. “Have you eaten yet?” Pakal asked. “No. Is it too early for wine?” Pakal got him a coffee instead. Selhdun made a face, but drank it anyway, once he realized Pakal wasn’t going to give him what he really wanted. “You should eat.” “I know what I should do,” Selhdun snapped. “Leave me alone, Pakal. I don’t need a mother anymore.” Pakal didn’t respond. Instead he sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward, dismayed when Selhdun moved back. “I need to know what Ship is getting from the ’Techs,” he said. “What do they want? What are they doing here?” “It’s their home,” Selhdun said. His eyes narrowed. “They seem to be fulfilling some programming remnant. I…don’t understand what. Which is one reason we must go down to the planet.” “The risk—” “Is acceptable. Didn’t we come expecting peril? The payoffs are never so great as when the stakes are high.” “High for who?” Pakal wondered again how far Selhdun would 306
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go. He didn’t like the answers he kept coming up with, and Selhdun wasn’t doing anything to reassure him. “The Cyxers are taking most of it.” Selhdun shrugged and his lean face took on a haughty look. “As they should, since they initiated all of this. How foolish of them to assume they’ll also get some of the reward, eh, Pakal?” Pakal no longer cared about the prospect of wealth that Selhdun held out. It wasn’t worth it. Telling Selhdun that would be like telling it to the ’Techs. They weren’t listening either. “You still insist we send the shuttle down? What do you really hope to accomplish?” “Answers. Isn’t that what it’s all about?” Was it? Pakal closed his eyes. He was startled when he felt Selhdun’s hand on his chin, lifting it. He was even more startled when he saw Selhdun smiling. “Did I do that?” He touched the bruise on Pakal’s cheek. “I assure you it wasn’t intentional.” “I know,” Pakal said hoarsely. “Too many things are happening here, Terik. It has gone beyond our control. Can we not just go back, while we still can? You can get well again, and we can have what we did before.” Selhdun’s hand tightened on his neck, and for one minute he thought he was going to pull him forward, then he pushed him away. “You’re right, it’s gone too far.” Selhdun lay back and closed his eyes. “We’re not leaving until I know.” “Know what?” Selhdun snarled, “I’m captain, Pakal. No one tells me how to run this ship or this mission. Not you, not anyone. We are doing this.” 307
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“You will have your way even if it kills us all?” “Now you understand.” *
*
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“Not a whisper, outside of the ’Techs,” Kaari said. It was the second day of their search and they were getting ready to run a full IR surface scan of the planet. That would take the next two days, at which time they would know whether or not to launch the shuttle. Lyssra had little doubt they’d be going. She worked at a fever pitch, wanting to know as much as possible about their destination. What she found disquieted her. “Oxygen readings below normal levels,” Benin read his instruments. “Carbon dioxide also low. Chlorophyll output way below normal for what’s expected of a stable biome. Upper layer ozone layer appears stable, at least the UV levels won’t be dangerously high.” “The readings,” Pakal said. “What do they mean?” Lyssra was surprised at his interest. Since his last visit with Selhdun the previous day he had been on the bridge, working alongside the others. He now seemed as interested in the planet as he had been uninterested before. But then, someone who was precious to him was going down now. Pakal was obviously not happy at the prospect of Nikoli flying the shuttle. Had he had it out with Selhdun, and come up the loser? Why else would he let Nikoli fly? “It means we’re not getting the expected readings we should from a biologically active planet like Terra is…was…should be,” Lyssra corrected herself. “It’s been a thousand years since the 308
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Exodus. The planet has had a lot of time to recover from the effects of a war, unless the trauma was particularly severe.” “Which you suspect in this case?” Lyssra nodded. “It would explain a lot. Once we get the results of the IR scan, we’ll know more. But, where are the forests? The oceans should be teeming with plant life. Why are the chlorophyll readings so low? We’ve got a lot of questions to answer, but I’ll tell you, I don’t have a good feeling about this place.” “We are in agreement on one thing, then,” Pakal said and she saw him glance at Nikoli, then look away. She called up the last screen she had been studying and noticed Pakal’s gaze on it. “We’ve had Ship assemble a full optic scan,” Lyssra said. She didn’t know how to reassure him, so she didn’t bother trying. “Once we add the IR and the biometrics, we should have a pretty good picture built up, before we attempt to go down. Do you want to see what we’ve assembled so far?” “Yes, I would.” The man-sized globe—well, normal man-size, since Pakal dwarfed it with his bulk—slowly resolved into the illusion of solid mass in front of the main screen. Ship had stripped away the cloudcover that kept them from seeing the real thing and left the bare planet open to their gaze. Bare being the operative word. Lyssra stared at the holograph. It should have been greener. The oceans looked familiar enough in their mantle of various shades of blue, but the land was mostly sepia and dun. There were a few sorry patches of green in the equatorial regions, fewer still in the northern latitudes, mostly concentrated around a cluster of oversized inland seas or lakes that split the continental mass in half. “Ignimbrites,” Benin said. “This area was hit by a massive 309
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nuuees ardentes of a proportion I haven’t heard of before.” He sounded awed. “Nearly ten thousand hectares covered by pyroclastic flow.” “And this means?” Pakal said shortly. “Is related to the Exodus?” “Definitely,” Benin said. “Something big hit and triggered a whole series of fault lines to let go at once. Nuees ardentes are hot. The firestorms that would have been generated by this would have wiped out ten times the area, and if there were any major cities in its path, it would have added toxic winds to the problem.” “So what would trigger this?” “This,” Lyssra said. She pointed at an overhead atlas, indicating a large circular bay on the second largest continent, midway down the coast. “Asteroid strike. Recent. By recent, I mean within the last millennia.” She pointed to another dimple in the center of the continent. “Another one.” “Not natural?” “Very natural,” Lyssra said and met Nikoli’s gaze. He hadn’t wanted to accept what the craters meant, either. “Also very deliberate. That’s why the biosphere’s so out of whack. They hit the planet with at least a half dozen small to mid-size asteroids. Here, you might want to see this too.” This time the view shifted to a coastal one. “The entire west coast of this continent was obviously on several fault lines. We’ve discovered signs that these all let go at once, the damage must have been horrendous. But there’s more.” Lyssra watched the probe fly inland. She pointed out the more obvious signs of destruction. “We’ve found flotsam a thousand kilometers inland, or upslope several hundred meters. It suggests powerful tsunamis hit the coastline when the western subduction zone on the other side of 310
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the ocean was hit by more asteroids. Waves five hundred meters tall. I’m still trying to imagine it.” “And you say it was deliberate,” Pakal said, his accent heavy. “The Terrans rendered their own planet uninhabitable on purpose?” Lyssra stared at the holograph. Now it was easy to see the numerous craters sprinkled evenly over the landscape, still looking raw after all the centuries. How many more lay at the bottom of the ocean? “The inland sea is saline,” Lyssra said. “It’s already drying up and the shores are nothing but white salt deposits. The entire area is dead.” There was also a lot of white elsewhere. “That’s why the albedo was higher than we expected,” Benin said when Lyssra pointed it out. “The planet is going into, or coming out of an ice-age. Probably entering it, since nothing in the records speak of one occurring during the Exodus,” Lyssra said. “The asteroid strikes triggered an ice age. No wonder nothing’s alive down there. We found another strike near the western shore on what appears to be the edge of a continental plate. It must have triggered massive volcanic eruptions. They couldn’t destroy the physical planet, so they did the next best thing.” An ice age. Impact winter. One more thing to worry about. “Break out the skis,” Kaari said. Lyssra blinked and looked at her. “What?” “Skis—oh, I forgot, you don’t do outdoors. You strap boards on your feet and ride them downhill on snow—that’s frozen water—” “I know what snow is,” Lyssra said. “People do this 311
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intentionally?” Kaari nodded, her face split into a crooked grin. “All the planets have resorts—the bigger mountains get quite a reputation. Bring in big tourist money.” “Mountains?” Lyssra thought of some of the ones she had seen during her single trip beyond Cyx. “And you’re sure they do this for fun?” Kaari shrugged. “Besides being cold.” Lyssra decided it was time to get the subject back on track. “What kind of effect will an incipient iceage have on a shuttle flyby?” “Not much. As long as we avoid flying through any storms. Ice on the wings can be a problem.” “Nothing I can’t handle,” Nikoli said. He glared at Kaari. “We’ll be in constant contact with Necromancer. If there’s any chance of flying into any danger, we’ll have plenty of warning.” “You hope.” “That is enough,” Pakal said. “If the shuttle loses contact, she will immediately return to the Necromancer. No questions, no explanations. I do not care what anyone says. Is that clear?” Lyssra raised both eyebrows. Pakal was definitely not happy with Selhdun, if he was willing to defy him like this. Nikoli was also nodding quietly, not offering his usual smartass contrariness. “Good,” Pakal said. “Then we are understood. Now, tell me more of this place. I would know everything.” *
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Pakal stopped inside the door to Selhdun’s room. He had 312
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expected to find Selhdun still in bed, since he rarely seemed to leave that haven anymore. He certainly didn’t expect to find him pacing his living room like a caged cat. He moved like one, too. Pakal watched the lithesome body he knew so well and felt a heart-wrenching pang. He looked so much like he always had, yet he clearly wasn’t well. Pakal cursed the fate that left them without a working ’Doc when they needed it most. It wasn’t helped by Selhdun’s refusal to consider he might truly be sick—taking even the suggestion as a grievous insult. But it was his growing belief that somehow the man whose life he had shared for nearly forty years had turned on him so rapidly that hurt. Not once had he given Selhdun reason to believe such a thing. Selhdun’s paranoia grew with each passing day. “Well,” Selhdun said, when he caught sight of him. “Have you figured out what’s going on? Solved the mystery of the missing Terrans?” “Why do you joke?” Pakal said. “I sometimes wonder if you want us to leave here. There are easier suicides, if that is you wish.” “Are there? And would you help me, Pakal?” “No. I will not help you kill yourself. I especially will not help you kill others in your folly.” “What do you care?” Selhdun asked. He never stopped moving, as though his body had grown restless in its forced inactivity. “They are only Cyxers. Of no account to anyone. Too bad we can’t send the witch down with them. That would really complete the package.” Pakal stared at him, not sure he had heard right. Selhdun caught his look. “What? Surely you aren’t telling me you’d regret her loss.” 313
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CHAPTER 8 The unmanned flyby found the city on the third day. Almost immediately after, they spotted the other ruin, just beyond the stone walls of the ancient city. “Is that what I think it is?” Kaari strained to see what the scan picked up and transmitted to the forward screen. The image sharpened even more as Ship digitized the multiple passes and cleaned up the representation before displaying it. Lyssra, who had a lot more experience with the massive sleeper ships that had carried the Terrans out of their system, also studied the screen. As the image solidified and it became increasingly clear what they were looking at, she found she was holding her breath. She forced it out in a shuddering sigh. “That’s definitely a sleeper ship,” she said. “But how did it get 314
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there? Those things were never meant to land.” The ruined hulk lay broken on the ground. It hit so hard remnants of its landing remained in softened scars. The land around it was seared and nearly free of vegetation, the moisture content in the air was low. Benin called it a desert. That was why the crash site was still visible; little rain fell to erode the land or blur the scene. It was also why the city had remained intact. At least the stone structures still stood. Under other circumstances, Lyssra would have loved to have strolled through those ancient thoroughfares. What secrets might it give up to one who had time to search? “Must have been a hell of an event that would force them to try to land,” Kaari said. “Wonder if anyone got off alive?” “I doubt anyone survived. It hardly matters now,” Lyssra said. “I should tell Pakal. He’ll want to see this.” She found Pakal alone in the lounge, sipping a clear liquid from a bulb. He barely looked up at her approach. He turned the lights up enough to see the empty, blank walls around his tiny unadorned table. “How is Captain Selhdun?” “The captain is fine.” Lyssra seriously doubted that, but she wasn’t going to challenge him. She didn’t pull up a chair, knowing that kind of familiarity would not be welcome. “I think you’ll find this very interesting,” she finally said. “We found a sleeper ship that crashed near a city. Both of them appear to be well preserved. Might be an interesting target.” “You wish to go to that site?” “If we have to go down…” Lyssra couldn’t help but look over his shoulder in the direction of Selhdun’s door. She knew enough 315
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about Selhdun to know that nothing would keep Selhdun from sending the shuttle wherever he wanted. “I’d as soon have a concrete target. That ship could tell us a lot about their final days. We may even find a log.” “Imagine what that would be worth,” Pakal said, and his voice was so thick with sarcasm that Lyssra looked at him warily. He caught her look and growled something under his breath. Abruptly he stood. She took a step back. “I will meet everyone on the bridge in an hour. Assemble your people.” She found the others had been busy in her absence. The image had sharpened considerably. Lyssra eyed it critically as she took her seat. Pakal entered fifteen minutes later. He slid into the captain’s chair. She spared him a glance, and found he was mesmerized by the image in front of him. She understood the feeling. “What time do we leave?” she asked. “I imagine it would be best to arrive at the site as close to sunrise as possible,” Pakal said, tearing his eyes away from the globe. “That will provide you with a full day for your studies. With any luck you can return to Necromancer that same day.” All evening, amid the sober preparations for the flight the next day, Nikoli fluttered around the bridge, studying each screen in passing, then danced over to the next one. Even the normally dour Pakal seemed amused. Delight sparkled in Nikoli’s eyes. Lyssra guessed it was exciting to think you were looking at something never seen before by living people. The secret was to stay among the living long enough to get back to Autarch space and collect the reward for all this. They spent the next two hours collecting data, overpassing the crash site a dozen times until they had a full 3-D image. At no 316
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point did they see any activity from the ’Techs. Nothing moved on the surface. If there was life down there it remained stubbornly hidden. *
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Nikoli was glad when Pakal finally called it a night. He led Nikoli back to his quarters. Neither spoke and Nikoli went about getting ready for bed. He kept throwing troubled glances at Pakal. He pulled out his gameweb and slid cross-legged onto a stool and hooked himself into the game. His eyes slid shut as he stepped through the game portal and prepared to launch his first assault on the Chaghatai fortress. But before he could get into the game, the web mesh was pulled off his head. He blinked up at Pakal, who stood over him wearing a fine silk robe that Nikoli had never seen before. “Pakal?” Pakal responded in Uplands, “We have much better pursuits for this evening.” He drew Nikoli to his feet. Pakal framed his face with his large hands. “Did you really think I would let this night end in such solitude?” He slipped his mouth over Nikoli’s. “Sweet Niki,” he whispered. His tongue filled Nikoli’s eager mouth and he let his hands roam over his lover’s slender form, tracing the outline of his swelling cock. Nikoli moaned. He shoved open Pakal’s robe and stroked his broad, sculptured chest. Dipping his head he took first one nipple between his lips, then another. Pakal held his head and thrust his hips forward, pressing his rigid cock into Nikoli’s stomach. Nikoli slid to his knees and smoothed his fingers over the round sac of 317
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flesh behind his turgid cock. A single drop of fluid seeped from the exposed piss slit and Nikoli tasted it. Above him, Pakal sighed and moved in hips in mindless lust. In response, Nikoli pressed his mouth against the other man’s stomach, feeling the muscles ripple under his lips. Pakal’s grunted when Nikoli wrapped his lips around the bulbous head and pushed the foreskin back. Pakal pulled him to his feet. He gripped Nikoli’s arms and held him in a vice grip. “Pakal?” “Did you really think I would let you leave without saying a proper good-bye? I intend to fuck you, Niki,” he spoke in harsh Uplands. When Nikoli opened his mouth to respond, Pakal’s hands moved down to his ass, pressing their groins together. “That was not a request.” Pakal lifted him easily and Nikoli curved his legs around Pakal’s hips. The sheath of his cock slid between the crack of Nikoli’s ass. In a single thrust he was inside and they both grunted at their union. Pakal held Nikoli’s ass so tightly he left bruises as he pounded into him again and again until they were both grunting and driving toward release. It came in the form of throbbing spasm deep in Nikoli’s gut. With a shout Nikoli’s cock exploded, smearing them both with ropy cum. Nikoli struggled to compose himself. Pakal had never been so relentlessly aggressive in his lovemaking. Opening his eyes, he found Pakal watching him, a smile on his normally severe face. “Now you will know what you must come back for.” Nikoli smiled and looped his arms around Pakal’s neck. They separated and he dropped his feet to the deck. “Remind me again why I should.” 318
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CHAPTER 9 Lyssra didn’t bother buzzing to let Ilesha know she was coming. She used the code Pakal had given her to override the locks, and stepped into Ilesha’s quarters. Ilesha looked up, startled, then quickly recovered her composure. She relaxed back in her chair, curling both legs under her. “Back so soon?” she asked. “Don’t worry,” Lyssra said. “I won’t be staying. I just came to tell you we’re taking a shuttle down to the planet early tomorrow. We should only be gone a day.” Ilesha snapped forward, planting both feet on the floor. “You’re what?” “Selhdun wants us to do a recon flyby. Once we’re done that 319
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we can go home…” Lyssra realized she had said too much when Ilesha hooted with laughter. “So he won’t take you back until you do his bidding,” she said through gales of laughter. “Your precious dark prince has turned out to be quite a piece of work, hasn’t he?” “My prince? I’m not the one who lured him into bed, then did something so incredibly stupid as to give him addictive drugs to try to keep him there.” “Who knew he was such a weakling?” As usual, Ilesha skipped lightly over the wreckage she left in her wake, not seeming to care who or what she injured. “You really fucked up, didn’t you?” Lyssra closed in on the younger woman. “You had so much going for you and you had to screw it up. Is it seeing how far you can go? Or is it just plain stupidity?” Ilesha’s eyes flashed. “I am not stupid,” she whispered. “Don’t you ever call me that.” Lyssra suddenly leaned over her, so close her breath fanned Ilesha’s flame-red hair back off her flushed face. “If you don’t like the name, don’t play the game!” “Don’t you dare—” “You’re finished, Ilesha,” Lyssra said and pulled back. Arms akimbo, she stood over the smaller woman. “I’d make sure you’re never in a position to do this to anyone again, but I don’t think I’m going to be given a chance. Pakal wants you, and I’m not going to fight him. You’ve had more chances than most would get, but this is it. Frankly, your daughter’s better off without you, anyway. I’d hate to think she’d grow up to be like her mother.” “You bitch—” Ilesha came out of her seat, but Lyssra was ready for her. She 320
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shoved her back and planted both arms on either side of the chair. “Enough, Ilesha. For the last time, you will behave, and since I know that’s not possible for you, you will stay locked in this room until we get back to Autarch space. Pakal can have you then. Though he may have to fight the Navy over custody.” She spun around and headed out. Behind her she heard Ilesha leave the chair. “You can’t keep me in here,” Ilesha screamed at Lyssra as the door unlocked to let her out. “I’ll show you. You can’t keep me penned up like some animal—” “Yes, I can,” Lyssra said softly, as the door closed behind her. The last thing she saw was Ilesha’s face. She shivered at the mindless rage exposed there, as she headed back to her own room. She hoped Pakal knew what he was doing, when he said the door seal could not be breached. Because suddenly, she didn’t feel so sure. *
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The shuttle bay was cool and the air smelled unused, even though Lyssra could feel the wash of fresh air from the alga vats flowing out of several nearby vents. She watched a half a dozen industrious ’Techs getting the exterior of the shuttle ready for flight. She shivered, rubbing her arms through the thin fabric of her shipsuit. The little, crab-like machines no longer looked so innocuous. How could Pakal be sure none of the interior machines had been…contaminated? Or was it simply a matter of not having a choice? They had to use them, if they wanted the job done. Nikoli came in with Pakal. The younger Xuan practically vibrated with excitement, a feeling clearly not shared by his older 321
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lover. For once Nikoli shunned his flashy clothes in favor of a plain tan shipsuit. Pakal had a grip on his arm that Lyssra didn’t think he was going to release. Nikoli hardly seemed aware. He greeted Lyssra with an infectious grin. “I take it you’re ready?” she asked and couldn’t help but smile. “How many chances do you get to see a first sunrise over a new planet?” “Hardly new,” Pakal said. “I think a few suns have come and gone here in the past few centuries.” “But I didn’t see them.” “Which is good for all of us,” Pakal said. “I wish you were not seeing this one.” Lyssra glanced at Benin when he entered the shuttle bay. He still looked damp from his morning shower. Obviously Kaari had kept him in bed until the last minute. Come on,” she said, suppressing a grin. “Let’s go. I want to check that the gear is in place.” The rear compartment was packed with their equipment, leaving no room for seats. Benin followed her up front to the flight deck, and slid into one of the cabin’s seats, while Lyssra strapped in beside the pilot’s. Nikoli wasn’t long in climbing in beside her. He grinned sheepishly and strapped himself in, starting his preflight check. “He worries about you, doesn’t he?” Nikoli shrugged, not looking up. “He’s more worried about Selhdun, but he can’t show that. Thinks if he lets us know he’s scared, we’ll fall apart.” Lyssra was startled by that kind of insight coming from someone who seemed little more than a boy. “You think Selhdun’s that bad?” 322
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His jaw tightened. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s not treating Pakal…right. I don’t know how to describe it.” “How about… It’s a mess,” Lyssra said, and was surprised when Nikoli grinned wryly. “Yeah, that’s it,” he said. “You do know—” The comm crackled and spat, then Pakal’s voice came over it. “Nikoli, are you finished your preflight? Your launch window is approaching.” “Almost done,” Nikoli said. He spared a glance at Lyssra, then got down to the business of getting them out of the shuttle bay. Under her feet Lyssra felt the low-key hum of the shuttle engines as they warmed up. Nothing much happened for several minutes, then she realized the walls of the Necromancer, seen through the forward window, were sliding passed. They were being guided outside by the ’Techs. Then the wall vanished and nothing lay ahead but the blackness of space. For a single, brief second they were weightless, then the gravity compensators cut in and their weight resettled on them. At the same time, the engines rose to a high whine and the thrust surged, gently pressing her back against the padded crash webbing. She heard Nikoli’s low-voiced response to the comm, then they turned over and the Necromancer was above them, falling away fast. Or they were falling, it was hard to tell. The three-kilometer long ship dwindled to a low magnitude star, then winked out. Ahead lay the planet. “Atmosphere in nine minutes,” Nikoli said. The comm crackled and she heard him swear under his breath. “Don’t start now. You read, Pakal?” “I read you,” Pakal said through the low hiss of static. “How 323
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does it look?” Nikoli glanced at Lyssra. “Wait a minute, we’ll get some readings.” “Instruments coming on line,” Lyssra said, one eye on the board in front of her. “Data feed moving up the pipe. Is Pakal getting it?” “Pakal?” “Is here,” Pakal said. “What is your ETA for the surface?” Nikoli checked a few more read-outs. “Two orbits for recon, then find our site. Three hours, four if we stop for a picnic lunch.” “Nikoli.” Nikoli glanced at Lyssra and grinned. She surprised herself by grinning back. “Right, Pakal,” he said. “We’ll cancel the picnic. Hope someone remembered to pack lunch.” Lyssra wasn’t sure where it came from but the words were out of her mouth before she had time to think about who she was joking with. But it was so pleasant to be away from the poisonous atmosphere of the Necromancer. “I thought you were bringing the food. Benin?” “Don’t look at me,” Benin said. “I’ve been too busy to think about eating.” Nikoli laughed. He glanced at Lyssra and she was surprised at the mischief in his eyes. “Now you know why I don’t want to get involved with Kaari. She could wear a man out in record time.” Ignoring her startled look, he bent back over the comm. “Stop worrying, Pakal. Everything’s going smoothly. We’ll talk to you when we come out the other side.” Lyssra watched the planet curve away on either side of them. She didn’t know if she liked the idea of losing touch with the 324
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Necromancer while they passed around behind the planet. But according to Pakal, it would have taken them days to rig a string of satellites to link them up. Days they didn’t have. Besides, she doubted if they could have trusted the satellites. How long would they have lasted? Pakal’s voice was taking on a tinny quality as it echoed her thoughts. “I wish you had waited until we had a chance to put up those temporary satellite links. I do not like you being out of touch so long.” “Forty-five minutes, Pakal. We’ll be back in radio contact in forty-five minutes. Don’t worry, we’ll set our call to automatic broadcast. You won’t miss us.” They descended slowly. For all his brash front, Nikoli flew cautiously, taking no chances. Lyssra felt the bite of air under the shuttle’s wings and watched the clouds below grow into massive walls of apparent solidity. Light glanced off the upper clouds as they rounded the planet and began to catch up to the rising sun. Sunrise was an explosion of light that immediately polarized the windows, leaving their eyes filled with flaring after-images behind their eyelids. Lyssra blinked away the tears, dashing them off with her sleeve. The clouds were briefly bathed in blood, quickly faded to gold, then white. The shuttle dipped lower, parting the clouds and passing below them. Lyssra leaned forward, eager for her first glimpse of the surface. A blur of raw umber appeared through the clouds, then they were shrouded by whiteness again. She glanced at the instruments. Still descending. The temperature climbed, too. The outer shielding heated, going from gray to shimmering silver, then red. Under her boots the hull vibrated as the air pressure climbed and they had to fight 325
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increasing air currents for passage. They came out of the planet’s shadow with the comm broadcasting their return, as they had promised. Within seconds Pakal was back online. “Did you stop to tour?” the Xuan said and Nikoli shook his head in bemusement. “What do you have to report?” “Nothing,” Nikoli said. “What about you?” “It is quiet here, as well. No sign of…anything.” “Same here. Cross your fingers it stays that way.” Pakal muttered in Uplands. Nikoli didn’t offer to translate and Lyssra didn’t ask. A quick glance behind at Benin showed he was raptly studying the little they could see outside the window. What must it be like for him, to fulfill a lifelong, and until now, unimaginable dream. Returning to the planet of their origin was a heady experience for someone who spent their life researching the place. “Approaching ten kilometers. We should be penetrating the lower cloud layers soon,” Nikoli said. “How much of this are you getting?” They had mounted external cameras intended to supplement the Cyxer’s equipment. Like everything else, since they had arrived in the system, they only worked sporadically. Now was apparently one of those times. “The images are good,” Pakal said. “The captain will be pleased.” “Good,” Nikoli said shortly. “We’re making our southern pass now. We’ll cross the equator in…five minutes. The next pass we’ll cross over our target.” “What altitude?” Pakal asked. Nikoli traded looks with Lyssra. “I think one klick is close 326
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enough, don’t you?” she said. Pakal agreed. “What is your altitude now?” “Five thousand two hundred meters… God, what is that?” Lyssra strained to see. She blinked, but it was still there. A massive, white mountain rose out of the dark blue of the ocean depths. How tall was it? She tried to imagine a mountain that big, covered in what? A glacier? They suspected the planet was undergoing an ice age, but this— “My God, that’s no mountain,” Lyssra said. “That’s ice.” “A mountain of ice? You mean it’s floating? That thing must be a hundred klicks wide.” Nikoli’s awe was contagious. “Look at the clouds around it.” “What do you see? What is that thing?” Pakal’s voice came over the comm. He sounded alarmed and Nikoli scrambled to answer. “It’s…you probably won’t believe me, it’s a floating ice continent. I’ve seen mine steads smaller than that,” he muttered. “It appears to have its own weather pattern. Those clouds are following it.” “Iceberg,” Benin said. “They were called icebergs. We’ve seen them in the southern seas on Cyx. Most planets with large bodies of water have them, if I remember my schooling. Most of them aren’t anywhere near as big as that. That big it has its own climate, maybe even an established ecology. God, I’d love to be able to see that up close.” “We spend no time studying the seas of Xua,” Pakal said. “The mines occupy all living men’s minds. Is it of interest to us?” Benin sighed. “Probably not. Just fascinating.” “No? Then move on.” “Aye, sir,” Nikoli said and flashed Benin a subdued apologetic 327
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smile. “Swinging north again. We’ll be over our target in roughly thirty minutes.” A loud hiss of interference filled the cabin. Lyssra winced, then relaxed when Pakal’s voice came back on as strong as ever. “Careful, okay? No grandstanding. Do you read, Nikoli?” “Yes, Pakal. I read you, loud and clear. Aren’t I always careful?” Lyssra thought she heard Pakal snort, but the sound was so unlike the normally dour Xuan, she was sure she must have misheard. They flew on. She watched the floating ice continent disappear into the mist of its own making, then switched to watch one of the forward-scanning cameras. They were close enough to the surface now to make out some details. The dark blue of deep water began to give way to the paler blue-greens of rising ocean bottoms. They swept over a scattering of small atolls, where bright aqua waters washed up on white beaches. She could almost see the waves that constantly battered these lonely outposts of land, dragging them back down into the dark depths. Then a larger landmass appeared, shrouded in the inevitable clouds that grew out of the land. She felt, as much as heard, the changed pitch of the shuttle’s engines. Nikoli was slowing them, using the thickening air to slow their headlong, controlled fall. Still, the landmass rushed at them, then they were over it. It was an island, longer on the north-south axis. They crossed it flying northwest and Lyssra had a brief glimpse of sickly yellow vegetation and seared brown earth, then they were back over open water. More clouds massed on the horizon. This time they were approaching something big. “Target in sixteen minutes,” Nikoli said. 328
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Lyssra glanced back at Benin. He seemed as fascinated by the view as she was. The land here was old, and scarred by some ancient volcanic upheaval. The ground was mottled brown and gray, and very little grew. Lyssra didn’t think anything ever had. It didn’t have the look of something being affected by what was currently happening on the planet. This place was old. A deep slash of land had been wrenched open here, filling with water that, from this height, looked nearly black. It contrasted sharply with the lifeless ground surrounding it. Water brought no life to this desolate place. The land didn’t improve as they flew northwest. It worsened. The red of oxidized earth gave way to gray desert. Sinuous dunes grew out of the sand, throwing shadows before them. The shuttle chased its shadow west. “Five minutes,” Nikoli said, and this time she could hear the tension in his voice. “Altitude eleven hundred meters. Pakal?” “I am here. There is a dust storm, forty-five degrees off your port bow, at just over one hundred klicks. It appears to be originating around the walls of the city. Can you see it?” “No—yes, I think I do,” Nikoli said. “Lyssra?” “Yes, I see it. And the city. What is it? Dust? Sand?” Lyssra said. “Is it dangerous?” “We’ll be over it in three minutes.” “It is already over your target site,” Pakal’s tinny voice was interrupted by several squawks and hisses. The comm popped, then Pakal came back on. His voice was scratchy and broken. “Come back. What will you do, Nikoli?” “Still here, Pakal. Guess we’ll circle over it, and come back. Maybe by then the storm will have passed over the site. I’ll climb 329
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to five klicks—” Pakal suddenly swore. Lyssra sat forward, trying to see what was happening. “What is it?” Nikoli said. “Pakal—” “Something else is moving in there. Damn, I don’t think that is a storm—” The comm screeched and went dead. Nikoli slapped it. “Pakal? Pakal! Shit, not now.” But only silence came back at them. Not even a background hiss could be heard. “Take us up,” Lyssra said. “Remember what Pakal said about leaving if we lose contact.” “It’s closer,” Benin said. “Is that sand? What’s that moving in there? It’s huge—” “I see it,” Nikoli said. He banked the shuttle right. Something slammed into the side of the shuttle. Lyssra heard the scream of tortured metal, then the floor dropped out from under her feet. Her crash webbing tightened instantly, jerking her back into the seat. The last thing she saw through the curved window was the stony walls of the city off their starboard side. Then the storm closed over them. The shuttle dipped right. The shuttle engines roared as they fought to correct the sudden yawing. They coughed and stumbled into rough silence, catching again, then whining into nothingness. Nikoli cursed and wrestled with the controls. “Got it, I think. Come on, you mother…” “Nikoli…” Lyssra glimpsed something huge and gray veering off to their right. “Nikoli…” “I see it.” The shuttle jerked as it was hit again. They flipped sideways 330
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like a leaf rolling in the wind. The shuttle tumbled out of the sky.
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CHAPTER 10 The screens flickered and went black. Pakal cursed, and yelled at Ship to reconnect. “Link failure,” Ship intoned. “Rebuild link?” “Rebuild it now—Nikoli, can you hear me? Shuttle, respond— ” When the comm snapped on, he dared breathe again, but it wasn’t Nikoli’s voice that came out of it. It was Selhdun’s. The link was internal. “Pakal, get down here,” Selhdun said. “I am busy—” “That’s an order, Pakal.” Pakal frowned. Selhdun sounded…odd. His timing couldn’t have been worse, that was certain. He threw a last, troubled look at 332
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the empty screen. “Nikoli? Come in, damn you.” But the comm to the shuttle remained stubbornly silent. Overhead, the lights fluttered, dimming then flaring bright again. He glared up at them, but this time they held their brilliance. He glanced at Kaari, who watched him, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. “Keep trying to raise the shuttle. Let me see what Selhdun wants.” He didn’t bother trying to hide his rage. Kaari’s eyes were wide and she nodded. She looked up at the lights when they flickered again, dimmed to almost nothing, then came back up within a minute, and stabilized, for the time at least. “Aye, sir. How long will you be?” “As long as it takes,” Pakal snapped. Kaari looked away and busied herself at the comm board. Pakal swore again and left the bridge. Selhdun was sitting on the floor of his bedroom, his back resting against the side of the bed. He was naked. The half smile on his curiously blank face didn’t waver when Pakal came in. “Terik?” “They’re talking, Pakal,” Selhdun said. “Do you know what that means? They say the most extraordinary things. They even brought Rauli back for me..” That name again. “Who was Rauli?” Selhdun’s eyes narrowed. Emotions that Pakal had never seen on him flashed over his face before vanishing back into a flatness that made Pakal uneasy. “Rauli is not your concern. We will not speak of him.” “Who is talking to you then? The Terran ’Techs? You understand their talk? What have they done to Nikoli and the others?” 333
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Selhdun’s smile was dreamy. Pakal shivered. “They’re very curious about us,” Selhdun said. “They don’t remember people at all. They have a big task they have to do, but they don’t remember why they’re doing it. Now they want to know all about us. They understand we must have started the project, and maybe we can help them understand it. What do you think the Terrans had been doing that would take so many centuries to accomplish?” “What have they done to the shuttle?” “They didn’t know there was anything else,” Selhdun said, never once looking up at Pakal, as though not fully aware he was there. “They want to know more. They took them down.” He giggled and Pakal winced at the sound. “They want to know.” “Know what? Terik, if you are talking to them, for God’s sake, tell them to stop.” Selhdun focused on him. He looked puzzled. “Is that all you can talk about? The shuttle is history. They’re going to take care of it for me. Like I promised. You really should have made sure Ilesha was on it. Then there would have been no more loose ends to clean up. Now I’ll have to take care of her myself.” “Nikoli is on that shuttle.” Pakal reached up and curled his fingers around Selhdun’s bare shoulders. “I know who’s on it.” “Then—” Selhdun took Pakal’s face in his hands. “You don’t need him, Pakal. Have you forgotten about us? The boy was just a diversion while I was sick. Let him go. Come back…” “I never forgot,” Pakal said. “And I never left. Is that what this is about? You do not have to hurt Nikoli to get me back. Don’t—” “They don’t want to stop. I don’t want them to stop. This is for the best. Surely you can see that. Don’t you understand, they want 334
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to do this. It’s a way for them to study us…” Pakal grabbed Selhdun by the shoulders and jerked him upright. Selhdun went rigid, but made no attempt to fight. Pakal shook him. “We will tell them anything they wish to know. You must tell them to stop, Selhdun. Now. Before they destroy the shuttle.” “They won’t stop,” Selhdun whispered. “Tell them they have to!” Selhdun seemed to snap out of the trance he was in. His eyes widened, and he looked up at Pakal. “They’ve taken Ship. I can’t find Ship anywhere. They’re all I have left.” He grabbed Pakal and held on. Pakal could feel him trembling. “If they leave me, I’ll be all alone in here. I can’t do that.” Selhdun’s face went dreamy again. His eyes unfocused and his gaze slid past Pakal to look at something only he could see. “There they are. They’re going to come with us. They think it will be interesting to see where their creators went. Won’t that be wonderful?” Pakal backed away from him. Selhdun didn’t seem to notice. “They even told me they’ll bring Rauli back to me—” “You cannot let them destroy the shuttle, Terik.” “They only want to know us better…” And what exactly did that mean? Dissection? Or just a fast, nasty death, and a chance to look at the bodies afterward? Pakal took another step backward. Selhdun looked at…what? Just what was he seeing behind that facade of indifferent madness? “Do you intend to let them kill us all?” “I’d never let them harm you, Pakal.” For a brief moment Selhdun’s eyes focused on him again. “It’ll be good for us again. You’ll see. They’ll make it better. But they’ll get rid of the witch 335
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for us. That’s got to be worth something, right?” “They’re getting their information from you,” Pakal whispered. “You’re feeding them somehow. You sent them to the shuttle. Call them back, Selhdun. Tell them to leave it alone.” “Go back to the bridge, Pakal.” Selhdun met Pakal’s gaze and there was a cold sanity there. “You never meant for them to come back. You sent them down there to die.” Selhdun’s eyes cleared and this time they were hard and unyielding. “Go back to the bridge. Maybe you can save your lover from there. Find Ship and you can talk to them. Find Ship for me and maybe I’ll even let you.” Pakal fled. *
*
*
Ilesha hugged the wall and watched Pakal hurry toward the bridge. He didn’t even look down the darkened corridor where she hid in the shadows. That was good, because in her current state of shock she didn’t think she could react fast enough to hide. She waited until his footsteps dwindled and silence fell again, then she stepped into the main corridor. She had been ready this time when the lights flickered, and the door to her room sprang open. She grabbed a chair and shoved it in the doorway, making sure it didn’t shut. She used the unsteady lights to slipped back to her room to retrieve the Death’s Hand she had been forced to hide earlier. Now she could dispose of it properly. Then she had hurried back to have her aborted audience with Selhdun. Let him avoid her now. Ilesha figured with the shuttle 336
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going down, that Pakal and the others would be busy. She had been surprised to see Pakal enter Selhdun’s quarters. He should have been on the bridge, shouldn’t he? Ilesha had crept up to the room, and held her breath while she pressed her ear to the door. She was tired of not knowing what was going on. Lyssra wouldn’t tell her anything, seeming to take it as a point of honor to keep Ilesha in the dark. Well, Ilesha had no plans to stay there. If no one would tell her what was happening, then she would find out on her own. Screw them. Screw them all. She barely had the presence of mind to scramble out of the corridor when she realized Pakal was leaving. Pakal had not looked happy. No wonder, Selhdun had deliberately sent his boytoy down to be included in the cleanup. Poor Pakal. She almost laughed aloud. It looked good on him. She sobered immediately. If she didn’t think of something soon, it would be poor Ilesha. And that was not a good thing. The door opened at her approach. So, Pakal had not thought to set a lock on his precious captain’s door. But then, they thought she was safely secured, out of harm’s way. She didn’t know what was going on with the ship, but Pakal’s beloved security system was falling apart. It worked for her. The lights were low, and there was no sign of Selhdun in the front room. Good, he was in the bedroom. He’d always been so much easier to manipulate when he was flat on his back. She hoped this time was no different. She slipped through the darkness, into the bedroom. “Pakal?” Selhdun’s eyes glittered as he raised his head and caught sight of her. “What do you want?” “I came to see an old friend,” Ilesha said. She stopped at the foot of the bed and looked at him. She raised one eyebrow at his 337
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nudity. “You’re looking good.” “You here to find out how your Cyxer friends are faring? Well, I don’t know.” Liar. But she wasn’t ready to challenge him on that yet. No reason to let him know she’d overhead his conversation with Pakal. She shrugged and curled her lip. “Maybe I don’t care what happens to them. Ever think about that?” “You really are a cold bitch, aren’t you? What are you here for then?” His expression turned into a leer. “Miss me?” She pointedly looked down at his very flaccid penis. “I don’t think so. Why would I miss that?” “Guess I need something to get excited about. Maybe you don’t do it for me anymore.” “Fuck you, Selhdun.” He shrugged. “Figured that’s why you were here. Stop wasting my time, bitch. Get out or get down and show me you have some usable talents.” He yawned and scratched himself. “Pakal gives a pretty serviceable blow job. Why don’t you show me you can do better…maybe I’ll keep you around a while, if you prove handy enough.” She couldn’t believe it when he giggled. Gaia, he had completely Jumped off the planet. While she watched, his face took on the oddest look. Was he so busy laughing at her that he couldn’t even look her in the eye? She snarled a curse and carved her nails across his face, barely missing his eyes. He yelled and fell backward. She came after him. “Bastard—you never intended to keep any of us alive, did you?” He backhanded her and she landed on her ass, tasting blood 338
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where her teeth penetrated her lip. “You heard, didn’t you? You shouldn’t listen at other people’s doors, you’re bound to hear things you don’t like.” He stood and, grabbing her hair, pulled her to her knees. “I don’t need the others. I don’t need you, either. You really think I needed you?” He twisted his fingers through her hair so that she was forced to look up at him. “Maybe you want to live, though. Maybe you think your miserable life is worth something. You want to stay alive?” She bared her teeth and he laughed. “What the hell do you think you’re going to do? None of you can touch me. Without me you don’t go home, remember?” He jerked her head so hard she thought her scalp was separating from her skull. “Do you?” “No!” She gasped. “You’re hurting me. Is that how you like it, now?” “Well, I don’t need you. But you might be good for a short diversion.” His other hand came up to circle her throat, just under her jawline. “Why don’t you show me your talents?” Was he going to kill her right here? She didn’t want to die. That realization was a shock that reverberated through her system. She wanted to go home, to see her daughter again. To tell her she wouldn’t leave her again. To tell her— Except if he’d already killed Lyssra, and the others, she wasn’t going home, was she? Unless she could bargain for her life. Would her begging amuse him enough to let her live a while longer? He’d even be able to keep Pakal from turning her into the Hegemon if he wanted to. And if Lyssra wasn’t around to exact punishment she could be free. Maybe she could give him a reason to keep her around a while longer. “Come on, whore. Show me what you can do. Maybe I don’t 339
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need Pakal after all.” She opened her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut as she took his flaccid cock in her mouth. His laugh was low and ugly, especially when it became obvious Selhdun wasn’t responding. Was he doing it deliberately? She had never had any trouble arousing a man before. His fingers were still entwined in her hair, but there was nothing lover-like in his grip. Her jaw ached and her knees hurt, but she was determined— Suddenly he flung her back. “You really are worthless, aren’t you?” She was glad now that Lyssra hadn’t found all her drugs. She fumbled in the snaps of her shipsuit, ripping the material open to expose her breasts. Distract him. Let him think she was begging for her life. He laughed again and grabbed her left tit hard enough to raise hot tears. His arrogance blinded him like it always did his kind. He actually thought he was invulnerable, that they needed him too badly to ever harm him. Well, maybe the others needed him, but she was already dead, she knew that now. The vial she pulled out fit snugly into her hand. She was very careful not to breathe when she popped it open, and leaning back, flung the powdered contents into his smug face. She heard his startled gasp and looked up in time to see his hands go to his eyes. “You bitch!” Then he screamed as the drug reacted and the pain hit. He doubled over and she scrambled back as he fell forward. He rolled onto his back and clawed his eyes. The drug worked fast. Within minutes he was paralyzed, staring up at her with unblinking, red eyes. “Bitch am I?” she said quietly. “Whore?” She pulled out her 340
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knife and watched the fear finally come into his eyes. “Not anymore. I might already be dead, but I’m not going out alone.” She meant to cut his heart out, but the little knife proved inadequate to the task. It took a long time to cut through his chest, and he was dead long before she got past his ribs. Pity. She was breathing hard by the time she gave up and backed away from the body. Still clutching the knife, she stumbled into the shower, bent over and threw up. She called for hot water and showered, clothes, knife, and all. Then she went back to her room, kicked the chair back inside and let the door lock behind her again. She stripped off her wet clothes, tossed them and the knife into the recycler, fell across the bed, and passed out.
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PART III NECROMANCER
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CHAPTER 1 The shuttle screamed in protest when it hit the ground. Metal buckled and erupted in a shower of sparks that lit the dark interior with stroboscope lighting. Lyssra’s head snapped forward, then slammed back against the padded seat. The crash webbing kept her rigidly in place. Something flew past her and crashed against the control panel. Another shower of sparks lit the chaos. She heard someone yell, then more metal groaned and the shuttle shuddered to rest. The silence that descended was not total. The shuttle clicked and hissed as it settled into graveyard stillness. Nearby, someone moaned. Lyssra turned her head, wincing at the pain that shot through her neck. Carefully, she began to do a self-inventory of body parts. Nothing seemed broken. No internal pain. 343
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The moan came again. This time she got her head turned all the way around. Nikoli’s seat had partially ripped off its mount. His own crash webbing had kept him firmly strapped in as the seat tumbled around, trapping him underneath. She couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. Nor could she tell if the groan had come from him. Benin was behind her, out of sight. She tried to speak, only a dry croak emerged. Pain and the sharp taste of blood from tattered lips made her wince. Her exposed skin was covered in pinpoint size cuts, probably from flying debris and the tiny drops of molten metal scattered by the sparking equipment. Now that she was done searching for major pains, she realized she hurt everywhere. Again she heard the groan. “Nikoli?” she said hoarsely. It came out barely above a whisper. “Ben?” Either they didn’t hear, or couldn’t respond. She tried to clear her throat, it set off a spasm of coughing that left her weak and disoriented. The bonds of the crash webbing cut into her flesh. She had to get clear, but every time she moved, the reactive material tightened more. She forced herself to relax. Only then would the material loosen and let her reach the release. Her fingers were stiff and bled from a dozen cuts, but she finally succeeded. She nearly fell on her face when she tried to stand. Belatedly, she realized the shuttle tilted at an angle under her feet. The nose of the battered craft was several degrees lower than the back. “Lyssra…I can’t move,” Benin rasped. She spared him enough of a glance to assure herself he was in better shape than Nikoli. He looked much like she imagined she 344
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did. Face bloodied, eyes showing the white of fear. “Can you get out, Ben? Relax, then it works. I have to get to Nikoli.” She knelt by Nikoli’s toppled chair. He hadn’t moved. Behind her she heard Benin struggling with his own restraints. “Nikoli?” She gently touched his face, then slid her finger under his chin and felt for the carotid artery. His pulse had a strong, even beat. Benin squatted beside her. He handed her something. The portable ’Doc. She could have kissed him. “Come on,” she said, her voice still raspy. “Help me get this thing off him. Careful…” Nikoli groaned when she fumbled to release the crash webbing from his slack body. She was never so glad of a sound in her life. She stared at the ruin of his arm. “Oh, God.” She swallowed past sudden nausea. The arm was twisted at an impossible angle, and the shattered bone came through the skin in two places. She was thankful now he was unconscious. She couldn’t imagine the pain he’d be feeling if he woke up. She fumbled with the small ’Doc and dialed it to anesthetic, then handed the injectable ampule to Benin. “Give it to him the minute he starts coming to.” She wasn’t sure she dared give it to him now. It might push him farther under than was safe. She barely waited for Benin to nod that he had heard, before she pulled open the ’Doc to see what else it contained. Some simple diagnostics that might come in handy. Good. The diagnostics came with their own programmable nanos. Better. Just what she needed. But first they had to get his arm straightened. She was tempted to use the programmables immediately, but held 345
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herself back. They were in limited supply, and if she wasted them now, when they weren’t clearly called for, she might not have them later when they were. Setting the ’Doc on the tilted deck, she turned her attention to Nikoli. “Help me,” she said. “Clear this space so I can lay him out. You think you might be able to find a blanket or thermal wrap?” She frowned down at the comatose man. “I’m worried about shock.” “He’s not going to get cold,” Benin muttered. “I can tell you that right now.” He wiped his brow. She stepped toward the forward window and felt her foot slide across the tilted deck. Something gritted under her boot. “What is it?” Benin asked. “Sand.” Lyssra knelt down and ran her fingers lightly through the grit. The tiny grains sparkled under the emergency cabin lights. She glanced up at the window and squinted at hairline crack that let a dribble of sand into the cabin. “It’s sand. The window’s been compromised.” Even as she watched, another trickle filtered through the breach and powdered her boot with gray-brown dust. “Is that a problem?” “Do you have your sterile suit on?” His face went white. Lyssra looked over to where Nikoli lay on the deck. “I know I don’t.” “It’s just sand,” he whispered. “I hope you’re right.” She looked around the cabin. “Do you want to unpack them? Make sure you bring Nikoli’s, too. We can get them on later.” Benin scrambled to obey. He tried the rear compartment door 346
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and she heard him swear when it wouldn’t open. “It’s jammed,” he said. “I think there are some emergency stores up here,” she said when he started kicking the door with dull thumps. “Try the door later.” Lyssra wiped the sweat off her forehead, dust rasped on her skin. Did that mean they had breathed it in, too? Did ships need Jump pilots? The world seemed sterile enough. She had to hope that wasn’t an illusion. But she had spent a lifetime battling a planet that specialized in finding unique ways to kill the alien invaders, who didn’t have the sense to go away. Lyssra knew all about the dangers to be found on a planet’s surface. She swallowed and carefully wiped her mouth clean. Then she stood. “It will get cool when the sun goes down,” she said. “One problem at a time. “Let’s make Nikoli comfortable. We’re going to have to fix that arm before we can use the nanos.” Benin looked sick. Even though she knew he was stronger, she didn’t think he’d be able to do what was necessary. She sighed and stood. “I’m going to try the comm. If we’re lucky maybe we won’t have to worry about nightfall, or anything.” The comm gave her back only silence when she tried to hail the Necromancer. “Damn. Damn… Come on, Pakal, what are you doing up there?” *
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Pakal sank to his knees beside Selhdun. So much blood. He gathered the cool body into his arms and smoothed the tangled 347
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braid off the blood-spattered cheek. The mutilation… He looked away. How was it possible for there to be so much blood? The wound barely looked deep enough to cause so much blood loss. She had really done it this time. Pakal had no doubt who was responsible. Except…why would Ilesha commit such elaborate suicide? Surely she knew she would die for this. She had struck him as spoiled and willful, but not crazy. He would find out why, when he questioned her. Before he wrapped his hands around her treacherous throat and squeezed the life out of her. Gently, he closed the staring eyes. He knew ultimately where the blame lay. He should have seen it coming. He’d let himself get distracted by…other things. He stared at his hands. So much blood. The sound penetrated, and he turned his head to find Kaari standing in the doorway. Hand over her mouth, her eyes bugged out when they met his. She made a choking sound behind her fingers. Her skin looked so bloodless, it was gray. She spun away and was violently sick. The new foulness competed with the smell of fresh blood. “Pakal?” she whispered. Suddenly he realized how it must look to her. He was covered in gore, and he probably looked as wild-eyed as she did. “Kaari…” “How could you—” “Krat sei!” he screamed at her, and saw her rear back. He forced himself to speak softly. He couldn’t afford to lose it now. “You take me for an idiot? God, Kaari, you must know I would never… I could not…” She continued to back away, her eyes white against the blueblack of her skin. 348
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“The witch did it,” he said. “She is the only one crazy enough.” “How could she, Pakal? How could she do anything? She’s locked in her room.” “She got out somehow.” “You told us that was impossible.” Kaari was nearly shouting now. “You said she couldn’t do any more harm. What have you done?” “Go to her room. Find out if she is there. You will see. Then you come tell me who did this.” Kaari’s gaze shied away from looking at the body Pakal still held in his arms. Her troubled gaze tracked away from Pakal’s puzzled face and back again. “What is it, Pakal?” “The nanos should not have attempted to repair such wounds,” he said slowly, staring down at Selhdun’s body. “They are programmed to shut down at death. They are designed to preserve the body for forensic study.” “I don’t understand.” “For some reason the nanos in Selhdun’s body continued their activity long after death, making it nearly impossible to tell what killed him.” “Convenient,” Kaari muttered. She backed away from him. “I’m going to check on Ilesha. What will you do with…him?” Pakal pulled Selhdun closer, not caring that he was now nearly as covered in blood as Selhdun. “I will take care of the captain.” He knew he dare not get near Ilesha. He knew what he would do if he saw her now. Such a thing would only make the situation worse. “You’ll need the code to get in, if her door is still locked.” Which didn’t bode well for his argument that she had gotten out, did it? He sighed and gave Kaari the code anyway. 349
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Kaari looked at him one more time, like she thought that maybe he had already taken care of things too well. *
*
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Kaari approached Ilesha’s door slowly. She didn’t know what she expected to find. How could Pakal have done it? Why had he done it? He, more than any of them, knew what it meant if they lost their linked pilot. But Pakal had always been a dour one. It was a Xuan trait—they either looked at the universe as one cheerlessly, malevolent force or they pursued forgetfulness in pleasure, like Nikoli chose to do. Had Pakal let malaise overcome him, deciding that none of them was going back? She hadn’t seen anything to suggest such a suicidal turn, but with Pakal, how could you tell? Even when he was with Nikoli, and the younger man was clearly enjoying himself, Pakal still looked like a malignant spirit rode him. Kaari had long ago decided that Pakal just naturally looked that way. She remembered how furious he had been when he stalked off the bridge, vowing to settle things once and for all with the captain. Kaari stopped at the Cyxer’s door. What was she going to say? Hi, someone just slaughtered Captain Selhdun and we were wondering if it might have been you? Pakal swears it wasn’t him. I know it wasn’t me. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, pinching the flesh to quiet an oncoming headache. Just get it over with. You’ll think of what to say once you see her. Sure she would. 350
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She buzzed, and checked the door. It was locked. She used the code and opened it. The room beyond was dark. Maybe Pakal was right. Ilesha had fled and was hiding somewhere on the big ship. Did she really think she could escape detection? Kaari didn’t have any acquaintance with cold-blooded murderers, so she had no idea how they thought. She nervously glanced over her shoulder, half expecting a slavering Ilesha to charge her and try to kill her, too. The corridor, like the room, was empty. Then she heard something from the bedroom. She hastily called the lights up and was relieved when they responded. Ilesha stood in the bedroom doorway, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She was still belting a short scarlet robe around her tiny waist. She blinked owlishly at Kaari. “What is it? What’s going on?”
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CHAPTER 2 The temperature in the interior of the shuttle must have hit forty Celsius by late afternoon. Lyssra sipped the cool water she had extracted from the still functioning dispenser and wondered how long the backup systems would work. She didn’t dare turn on the cooling unless it got a lot hotter. That would drain the batteries in next to no time. Not to mention stir up Gaia knew what. She doubted the simple fans had any kind of bacterial level filter. They would have to endure the heat for a few more hours. Nikoli screamed when Lyssra straightened his arm. Benin had gone beyond pale and looked like he might pass out. Lyssra clamped her jaw and glared at him. “Sit on him,” she said through clenched teeth. “Lyssra—” 352
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“I can’t do both, Ben. You have to hold him down.” “I can’t.” “Sit on him.” Benin sat. He flinched when Nikoli whimpered but he stayed down. She tasted the blood in her mouth and felt like whimpering herself. She tightened her grip on Nikoli’s arm and braced against his chest. She felt the broken bones grind together, and Nikoli’s scream raised the hairs all over her suddenly cold body. Then blessed silence fell when he passed out. She felt the bones click as they settled back into their proper placement. “Now,” she said to a pale faced Benin, who squared his shoulders and handed her the ’Doc. She pressed the metal probe over his arm, and it responded with a series of beeps. A thick, semi-opaque fluid began to ooze out of the three vents. She was glad the stuff was self-spreading. She didn’t want to have to touch him any more than necessary. Benin wiped his hands on his pant leg and left a smear of sweat which the nano saturated cloth quickly cleaned up. She felt like suggesting he try the rear compartment door again, maybe it would open now, though why it would have come magically unstuck in the last hour or so, she didn’t know. She just wanted to give Benin something to do. When he came to sit beside her, she took his hand in hers. He looked startled, then smiled. “Guess it could have been worse, right?” “Don’t Xuans have some saying about just waiting, it will get worse?” She grinned back, then sobered when she looked sideways at Nikoli. “He’ll be okay,” Benin said. “He’s a tough little squirt.” 353
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Lyssra laughed. “Do you think Pakal ever calls him anything like that?” “Whatever he’s doing, he must be doing something right. Have you seen the way Pakal looks at him?” “I did,” Lyssra said. “I just wish Ilesha had.” Benin flushed. “Ilesha…I think Ilesha sees what she wants to see.” “Ilesha’s world.” “What?” “When we were kids our mother always said Ilesha lived in her own world and no one else could touch it. She didn’t know how to invite people in and if she wasn’t careful she’d never be close to anyone.” “She has a daughter, though, doesn’t she?” “Eleda.” Silence fell between them. Then Benin spoke, hesitantly, “Can I ask you a personal question?” “Sure…” “Why did you bring her? I know she’s an esteemed botanist, but is that what we needed on this trip? What did you expect her to be doing…” He ducked his head and blushed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” “No, that’s all right. I’ve wondered that myself,” Lyssra said. She tried to think of an answer. “I wanted her to be involved. I had hoped she would see how important this was to all of us and get…” “Over herself?” She sighed. “Something like that. Didn’t work, I guess, did it?” “She may still. For all we know she’s back on the Necromancer taking care of business. I know I’ve seen another side of her during 354
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this trip.” Lyssra didn’t bother telling him that all Ilesha’s lovers saw another side of her but it only lasted while she was enamored of them. Once that glow faded, the restlessness and relentless drive that had made Ilesha one of the top herbalists and botanists on Cyx came back. Benin would have to make that discovery on his own. She patted his knee and handed him a drinking bulb. “Stay hydrated. Sooner or later we’ll get through to the ship.” The temperature kept climbing. The automatic cooling unit kicked in and labored to keep the flight deck livable. Lyssra sipped the water she had extracted from the still functioning dispenser and wondered and fretted over how long the backup systems would work. Through the part of the forward window not buried by the crash-landing, she watched time march across the desert floor. The light was from the west now, much lower on the horizon. It would be setting in a few short hours. She would welcome the coolness night would bring. She tried to remember if they had established what season the Terran system was in. Just how close to the equator were they? She did know their elevation was only a few hundred feet above sea level, but whether that was good or bad, she hadn’t a clue. At least Benin had found a single thermal wrap in the storage compartments under the seats. They would just have to share, if it came to that. She tipped the drinking bulb up and tried again to dribble some water into Nikoli’s open mouth. Gently she massaged his throat to encourage him to swallow. No way to tell if he got any into him, most of it seemed to end up leaking down his chin. She kept trying anyway. This heat was dangerous enough, without the effects 355
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shock and dehydration might have on his injured body. And their inability to reach the sterile suits nagged at her. She wished she could rouse him. Without a full ’Doc she had no way of knowing if he had something more serious, like brain damage. Was that why he didn’t wake up? He didn’t seem to be deeply under. She saw his eyes flicker as though he was in REM sleep, but when she spoke his name he didn’t respond. Benin was off trying the door again. Most of the supplies back there, which they had hauled in at great expense, had been for research. They weren’t going to be much use now, even if Benin did succeed in getting the door open. It was a little late to be worried about sterility, too. The onboard clock still worked. Lyssra had used it to time her attempts to call the Necromancer. At first she had been calling every few minutes but the continued silence grew too frustrating. Now she made herself wait twenty minutes between attempts. She was already thinking about making it thirty. Why didn’t Nikoli wake up? The nanos had already formed a flexible metallic shell around the entire arm, up to his shoulder. If he stirred in his unnatural sleep the shell gently constricted, preventing the arm from doing anything to promote further damage while other nanos worked on mending the break. Lyssra was beginning to think he wasn’t going to wake up. She checked the clock. Nearly time to call again. She wished she knew what was going on up there. She knew Pakal would be doing everything he could to find them and get them back. But what about Selhdun? Was he helping or hindering? Lyssra hated to think of him getting worse. They depended on him so much. When she thought of the way he had looked the last time… It wasn’t 356
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possible they’d be stranded in this lifeless place. What if Selhdun decided to take the Necromancer home without them? Would Pakal allow it? Would he be able to stop him? A muffled crash startled her out of her fugue. She darted to her feet, then relaxed when she heard Benin’s muffled cursing. The door had obviously shifted and caught him by surprise. No one who was badly hurt could curse so imaginatively. A second crash came from beyond the door. She was about to suggest Benin abandon the attempt when the entire shuttle moved underneath her. Metal groaned. “That did not sound good.” Benin glanced at Nikoli. “Has he even moved?” “No. But his breathing’s fine, and his pulse is strong. No sign of infection.” “Any luck getting water into him?” “Some,” Lyssra said. Her hand went to the small of her back, and she arched wearily. She felt drenched in a fine layer of sticky sweat. They both jumped when Nikoli groaned. Lyssra dropped to his side. The young Xuan moved restlessly on the tilted deck. His mouth moved, too, as though he wanted to speak. But no sound emerged. Sweat trickled down between her breasts and she shrugged in a futile attempt to move warm air under the suit. And the nearest shower was three thousand kilometers away. Straight up. “It’s a death trap back there,” Benin said and gratefully accepted her help with the supplies he had salvaged from the cabin. “Things falling down all over the place. I think there’s another hull 357
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rupture back here, too.” “What did you find?” She ignored his complaining. “Anything useful?” “Lots.” He held up a half a dozen light wands. Then he dove back into the pile of stuff and pulled out a large box-shaped contraption. It was a generator. “Found this in one of the compressors. If we can get it rigged up, it’s another power source, maybe we can use it to boost the signal, or something.” He shrugged, and gave her a haggard grin. “It looked like it might be useful. I figured, why leave it?” Why indeed. “You think you can work it? I know I’m no mechanic.” He frowned. “Me either, but I’ll try.” Lyssra took the generator from him. It was surprisingly heavy. “Come on, let’s see if we can do anything with this. After we get it working, we can figure out what to do with it.” They couldn’t get it to do anything. After over an hour of sweating and a whole new set of curses, neither Lyssra nor Benin was any closer to figuring out how it worked. With a groan, Lyssra sat back on her heels. She massaged her aching back. She was drenched in sticky sweat. The suit tried to compensate, it even did a moderate job of recycling her lost water, which was good, but she still didn’t feel cool. “Oh, God,” Benin said. “Do you know what I’d give to have a techie here right now?” “We got one,” Lyssra muttered. “He’s taking a nap.” “Never figured I’d need to know this stuff.” Benin hefted the offending generator and turned it over in his hand. “I always thought someone else was supposed to take care of these things.” Lyssra knew how he felt. She watched him set the machine 358
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down and slump back into his seat. He grimaced at the taste of the warm water in the built-in drinking unit the suits boasted. They both jumped when Nikoli groaned. Lyssra spun around and was at his side immediately. The young Xuan moved restlessly on the tilted deck. His mouth moved, too, as though he wanted to speak. But no other sound emerged. “Nikoli,” Lyssra said, using some of the warm water on a cloth to wipe his face. “Nikoli, can you hear me? Nikoli?” “Pakal? It hurts, Pakal,” Nikoli muttered. “Make it stop.” She had to stoop low to hear. “You’re going to be okay, Nikoli. You hear me? You’re okay.” He said something, and she bent even lower. His breath feathered the hair off her forehead. “What, Nikoli?” she said. “You’ll be okay—” “Liar,” he said. “Hurts… Pakal…” “He’ll be here soon,” Lyssra murmured, not caring that it was such a blatant fabrication. If Nikoli knew, he didn’t call her on it. She was almost sorry he didn’t, it would have proved he was alert enough to recognize it as a lie. Instead, he subsided again, and she wondered if it was the reassurance about Pakal, or was it just that his body wasn’t ready to release him from his torpor. She resisted the urge to shake him. She got a fresh bulb from the dispenser and knelt beside him. “I’m got some water here, Nikoli,” she said. “I need you to drink now. Can you do that?” Nikoli muttered something, but when she put the bulb to his mouth he sucked greedily at it. This time almost all of it went into him. When his eyelids started fluttering she quickly handed the empty bulb to Benin. “Get another one, would you?” 359
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Benin brought it. His boot connected with the portable ’Doc and he scooped it up off the floor and clipped it to his belt. He stood watching Lyssra minister to Nikoli. “Think he’s going to wake up this time?” “Let’s hope so.” She brushed Nikoli’s forehead, then did a quick check on the pulse at his throat. His eyes squeezed shut then half opened. He blinked twice then looked up at her. The gaze that met hers seemed clear and aware. “Nikoli?” He squinted up at her. “I…what…we crashed, didn’t we?” “You remember that?” That encouraged her. If he remembered even the crash, then surely that meant there was no permanent damage. “Something hit us,” he said, then frowned. “That’s all I remember.” “It’s pretty well all there was.” “What was it?” “I don’t know,” she said. “I haven’t seen or heard anything since we hit the ground.” “The comm?” “I think it’s working.” Lyssra shook her head. “But the Necromancer doesn’t respond.” Nikoli tried to move and winced. “God.” He gasped. “What is it?” “It hurts, I know, it’s your arm. It’s broken,” she said. “We got off lucky. Yours was the worst of the injuries.” He lifted his arm carefully and studied the nano-shell. “You did this? How…” He licked his lips. “How bad was it?” “Pretty bad,” she conceded. “But we got that on you, so you should be fine. How does it feel?” 360
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“Like shit. Got any more of that water?” “That’s the one thing we got,” she said, then frowned. “Though I’m not sure how long it’ll last. I don’t think the recycler’s functioning fully.” “The membranes should still be intact.” Nikoli struggled to sit up and winced. Finally he looked at her helplessly. She bent down and eased him into a sitting position. “Thanks,” he said. “If the pumps aren’t moving it through, though… We should start rationing.” “Already did. One bulb every ninety minutes. We’re losing too much body water to go longer. I mean, these suits recycle some, but I don’t think they’re running at anywhere near a hundred percent efficiency.” “The tanks should hold enough for a week…provided they don’t get contaminated.” Lyssra didn’t bother saying that if that happened, it didn’t matter what else befell them. “We’ve already been exposed. I have to assume the water has been, too.” “We still should put them on,” Benin said. “They will help recycle our lost water. We lose too much we’re in trouble. It can protect us from the elements, too.” Benin handed the suit to him over Lyssra’s shoulder. She told him about the breach, then watched him fumble with it. “Do you think you can get this on?” she asked. “I’ll get it on,” Nikoli muttered. But it took thirty minutes and help from both Lyssra and Benin before he got into the one-piece outfit. Lyssra mopped his dripping brow and let him nibble on a protein bar. “How many times have you tried the comm?” 361
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“Every half hour.” She caught his look and sighed. “You’ve been out for nearly six hours.” He swore. “You don’t think Selhdun would decide to leave, do you?” There, she finally said it. Thinking it had been bad enough, now that it hung in the air between them it seemed more solid, more possible. She had never been so glad to see another person shake their head. “Selhdun might,” Nikoli said and his lips thinned. “I don’t think he’d care one way or another. But do you seriously think Pakal would let him?” There was that. But his assurance no longer fueled her relief. Because what if Selhdun ordered it? Or what if it came down to a choice between Pakal’s newest lover and his long time relationship with Selhdun? From the day she had met him, Pakal had never defied his captain, even when he had good reason to. Would that change now that his lover was imperiled? She knew Nikoli wanted to believe that Pakal would do what was honorable, but just how well did he really know the Xuan? He’d come on board not long before they had. Sure, he thought he knew Pakal, thought the big Xuan cared, but if it came down to it, who would Pakal choose? “No, of course not,” she said, as much to keep the peace as because she believed it. No sense two of them having these thoughts. It was depressing enough that she suffered them. Nikoli lay back down. He closed his eyes and sighed. She leaned forward in alarm. “You okay? Does anything else hurt? I should have asked earlier, I’m sorry.” “No, nothing else hurts. Just the arm,” Nikoli said. “God, that’s 362
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a bitch. Got any feel-good pills in your bag of magic tricks? I—” The crash this time had all three of them jumping. Benin rolled his eyes when Lyssra looked at him. “I know, I know,” he said. “I’ll go check. It’s not going to open, you know. Not much we can use back there, anyway, but if you insist, I will check. Maybe we can salvage some of it.” Lyssra glanced at Nikoli and found his eyes closed. Great, was he going to pass out again? Maybe if he sat in a chair, he’d be able to think how they were going to contact Pakal. She’d even get him one of the pain killers from the portable ’Doc as soon as Benin returned. She looked up as Benin pushed at the door, then looked back at her as though to say, See, told you so, when the door under his shoulder suddenly jolted inward and he stumbled forward. She thought of calling him back, that he was wasting his time. “Ben—” Nikoli twitched and muttered something in Uplands. She noticed how pale he was. Was he going to be sick? Lyssra leaned forward. Behind her, she heard Benin’s startled grunt and looked up in time to see him slip through the open door. “Ben, forget that, would you?” She saw something metallic drop from behind the door. It landed on Benin’s back and he jerked away from it. The door banged shut when he slammed into it. The door clicked with cold finality. Benin was on the other side. “What the hell—” Benin yelled and she heard more banging and the sound of metal scratching against metal. “Get off me. Get off—” Then the screams started. 363
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CHAPTER 3 “What do you mean she claims she was sleeping?” Pakal glared at Kaari. “Did it not occur to you that she would lie? That all she has ever done is lie?” “It’s occurred to me that lots of people lie,” she said. Pakal paced around the oval bridge, and she tracked his movements with a jaundiced, watchful eye. “I won’t be the only one it will come to either,” she said, tensing when he turned to face her. She decided to hedge her suspicion. If he thought she blamed him, what might he do to her? “I don’t think you did it, but face it, others are going to say your motive was as good as hers.” “How can you say that? What grounds do I have to do this monstrous thing?” Kaari frowned. She wished she could put something between 364
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her and his bulk. It had been a long time since she’d noticed just how damned big the Xuan was. Well, as long as he claimed innocence, he wasn’t going to make it a lie by attacking her, was he? Right, like she knew what went on in the mind of a killer. She watched him slap his hand on the arm of the captain’s chair. He leaned forward and spoke into the comm. “Come in shuttle. Nikoli, respond.” “Why did Selhdun send Nikoli to fly the shuttle?” Kaari watched his face closely. “I’m more qualified. I’ve logged ten times the hours he has. A dangerous flight like this, it makes sense to send the experienced pilot. Was Selhdun stupid, do you think? Or did he have other reasons for his decision?” “You suggest I kill Selhdun for this?” “No, of course not, but why wouldn’t Selhdun send me? I can’t believe you wouldn’t have suggested it.” “I suggested it,” Pakal said, his accent thick, his words nearly incomprehensible. “He said it was not possible. He did not like Nikoli…” “So he sent him to die. Oh, God, Pakal,” Kaari was appalled. At Selhdun’s callousness, at his sorry indifference to life, she didn’t know which. “I’m sorry.” “I did not kill him.” She looked at his red-rimmed eyes and felt sorry for the man. She shook herself. Forget feeling sorry for him. She was going to die if they didn’t get out of here. Maybe she’d die like Selhdun, butchered like some slaughterhouse meat animal. She closed her eyes against the tide of panic that threatened. When she reopened them Pakal was watching her with those weird, light-colored eyes. God, don’t let him get mad at me. “What are we going to do now?” Her gaze skittered sideways to watch Pakal. “Why do you 365
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think she would do it? What could she gain?” “Who can comprehend the mind of a witch?” He slumped into his chair, and she tried not to show her relief. “I should have known she would do something like this. I should have seen this.” She took a small step back, wishing the door was closer. “You must know how it will look. He was a Prince of the Realm.” “I know what he was. Just as I know penalty for such an act.” “Who killed him, and how it will be labeled, may be a moot point,” she muttered. “Not to Selhdun.” Pakal rubbed his forehead and she saw his hand tremble. Kaari wanted to shake him, but knew that would be foolhardy, even for her. Especially if his rage had already triggered one murder. She didn’t feel like making it two. “What are you going to do with her?” Kaari shivered when he looked at her. “You can’t kill her, you know. If you don’t bring her back to face a trial, then all the blame will be thrown on you. The peers would love to denounce you for this. You know how they feel about your kind. They’ll do it, too, if you make it that easy for them.” This time when she caught his look she was in his face in an instance. He reared back, away from her. She hissed, “Don’t you dare tell me it doesn’t matter. Maybe you were practically married to the man, but your life doesn’t end just because his did. You can wallow in all the guilt and sorrow you want, and we haven’t sorted that out yet, by a long shot.” Her hands tightened on the arms of the captain’s chair. “But I’m not feeling suicidal yet, and I damned well expect you to work with me to get us the hell home. Even if it means going back to face a trial about your part in a murder.” 366
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Pakal drew himself up to his full height. He glared up at her. She hastily stepped back, realizing how vulnerable she was, leaning over him like that. “Just letting you know where I stand.” Pakal grunted. “What did you do with the Cyxer?” “Left her in her room. Which I made sure was locked.” She tightened her jaw, then ground out, “I suggest we lock our own doors from now on, as an added level of protection. I’d hate to wake up with knife between my ribs.” Kaari watched Pakal’s face as he digested her words. Just what secrets lay behind that stony Xuan exterior? He abruptly stood. She shrank back, but he ignored her and crossed to an empty comm station. “We ensure the witch does not escape. To think of her leaving this ship is beyond acceptance.” He tapped out some complex code into the comm board. “Shuttle Excelsior, this is Necromancer. If you hear, please respond. Nikoli—” Kaari shook her head as he kept trying to raise the shuttle. She didn’t ask what he meant to do if he thought Ilesha would acquire her freedom. It wouldn’t be pretty. She almost felt sorry for the woman. *
*
*
Nikoli cried out and Lyssra pinned his thrashing body to keep him on the deck. She pressed her weight down on his chest, in the hope that it would keep him silent. His eyes bugged out at her. The screams went on endlessly. Lyssra wanted to bury her head. She wanted to abandon caution and throw the door open and stop whatever was happening to Benin. That was one of her people in there. But she couldn’t leave Nikoli, and she had no weapons… 367
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She hugged Nikoli tight and squeezed her eyes shut, then snapped them open again, unable to bear the darkness. He stared at her with rapt terror, her weight still pressing him down. His mouth was open as though he had to struggle to breathe. The screams terminated. The silence that fell was even more terrible. Lyssra didn’t think she could move. Under her, Nikoli twisted his head and belatedly she pushed herself off him, ready to drop back if he started anything that might draw the attention of whatever lay on the other side of the door. But when he spoke, it was in a whisper so low she had to strain to hear. “What…what was that?” “I don’t know,” she said. “’Techs?” He closed his eyes. “’Techs don’t kill. They can’t. Their programming won’t allow it.” Yeah, Lyssra wanted to say, I guess these ones didn’t read the same training manuals. Instead she shrugged and sat back cautiously. The tension in her body made her movements stiff, and forced. “Whatever it was, I don’t want to meet it.” Suddenly she swore softly. “What?” He looked around in alarm. “What’s wrong?” “Benin had the ’Doc with him…” She glanced at Nikoli’s arm and looked away. “We don’t have any medical supplies.” “Hey, I feel fine.” “Good. Stay that way and we have no worries.” She whirled away. “Let’s try the comm again.” Shivering Nikoli joined her. He crouched down in front of the unit and began manipulating it, jiggling connections and tweaking the device in a way Lyssra was sure the designers never imagined. A burst of static filled the cockpit. His look of delight was instantly 368
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replaced with a frown. He played some more and the static was replaced with a softer sound. He bent low, speaking softly. Off his look, she grimaced. “Pakal, are you there? Necromancer, come in,” Nikoli said. “This is the shuttle Excelsior. Do you read me, Necromancer?” Static roared and they heard a background chatter. Nikoli repeated the call, entreaty entering his voice. “Come on, Pakal. Hear me—” “Nikoli? Nikoli, what is your location?” “Pakal? Is that really you? Thank God,” Nikoli said. “The shuttle’s down. I think the ’Techs attacked us. Benin is dead—” “—an’t hear you, Nikoli. Repeat that, what is your location?” “Southeast of the city. Maybe two hundred meters. There’s a storm blowing in.” “—losing you. The storm will be right over you in the next ten hours, three hours after sunrise. I fear it will bury the shuttle. Make your way to the city. The second shuttle will depart once the storm breaks—” The comm spat and hissed. Nikoli slapped the board with his good hand. The whine of rising wind seemed to laugh as it played with the shuttle, setting it rocking again. “Nikoli—” Pakal was right. The city was intact. Lyssra still felt uneasy at the thought. How could they cross the open desert? What might be out there couldn’t be any worse than what they faced in here, but out there it was unknown territory. They both froze when the sharp sound of scratching metal against metal came through the door to the rear of the shuttle. Lyssra had no trouble imagining metal claws and other nasty tools like she had seen on the Necromancer’s ’Techs. Poor Benin. Something crashed to the deck. 369
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The door remained shut. Lyssra remembered hearing Benin fall against it. Did his body block it now? Hard to imagine so simple a thing keeping the ’Techs from entering the flight deck, but maybe they had no way of knowing there was anything, or anyone, back here. “We need to get ready to leave at first light,” Lyssra said. “It’s too dangerous to leave earlier. We’d never find our way to the city.” The noises beyond the door continued. She prayed, but had to wonder who would listen to anything that came out of this cheerless place. The only gods thriving here would be the ones who made a rich feast of despair. The shadows outside the curved window lengthened. Inside was all shadow, which deepened and swallowed them. Lyssra didn’t dare activate any of the light wands. The ’Techs might be able to detect that kind of activity, or they might see it from outside and realize someone else was in the cabin. She watched Nikoli’s face disappear as darkness settled over them, and found herself drawing closer to him. He didn’t seem to object to the closeness. When the temperature started falling she didn’t even get up to find the blanket Benin had discovered earlier. It was too unnerving to think of trying to move through the lightless cabin. Their suits and their closeness would keep them warm. A sound penetrated her sleep. With a startled grunt, Lyssra sat up. Under her the shuttle deck trembled and she heard the distant groan of tortured metal. They were taking the shuttle apart. They’d found out that someone was inside and they were coming after them. She scrambled onto her knees. Beside her, Nikoli lay curled on 370
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his side. His breathing seemed regular enough, though she doubted he slept. The deck trembled again and she struggled to her feet against the sharp movements. The roaring filled her head and she half expected ’Techs to come pouring into the cabin at any moment. She heard a sharp crack. An odd light flickered through the shuttle. She glanced at the forward window, and blinked to clear her vision. It didn’t change anything, and she realized the curved window was partially covered with a thin film of pale brown. Sand. It was covered with blown sand. She approached the window and watched a stream of sand trickled down, pouring through the enlarged breach. The sound had been the window breaking. The crack was widening. How long before it caved in and buried them? Dawn light slanted through the upper window, glittering off the growing pile of crystalline grains. “It’s time,” she said. “We can’t wait anymore.” She spread her fingers and touched the cool window. She could feel it vibrate under her fingertips. As she watched, the crack split louder with a thunder-shot sound that reverberated through her and the trickle of sand became a mini-flood. Then the whole shuttle shook and she realized it was being battered by wind. The storm was over top of them. It was early. The shuttle creaked and she could hear the whistle of sand assaulting the desert beyond the thin walls. She wondered what other damage it was wreaking. It sounded strong enough to strip the thermal covering that had protected them on reentry. Not that it mattered. The shuttle was hardly going anywhere. The air felt immeasurably dry. She swallowed past a lump in 371
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her throat and sipped at the drinking tube. It barely seemed enough to wash the dryness out of her mouth. The wind beyond the shuttle walls sucked every last drop of moisture out of the air. She was glad of the shelter of the shuttle, damaged or not. A loud boom slammed through the soles of her feet. The shuttle shifted and settled, increasing the angle of the deck. She had to grab the back of a chair to keep from pitching forward. “What the hell.” Nikoli struggled to his feet, almost falling when the shuttle moved again, tipping sideways. A hard gust of wind slammed into them. She heard the hissing sound from behind her, and remembered Benin telling her he thought there was another hole somewhere in the rear of the shuttle. Probably the same one the ’Techs used to get in. Were the ’Techs still back there? “The shuttle’s coming apart,” she yelled above the growing roar of the wind. The shuttle rocked under her feet, and she heard the distant crash of something in the rear compartment as it rolled off its berth. “We have to get out of here. Pakal will find us if we go to the city.” Lyssra shook herself. If the shuttle came apart, and the ’Techs were still back there, what would that mean for her and Nikoli? Maybe the ’Techs hadn’t come after them yet, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t, if they ever found out there were still humans here. But… They were just machines. They would hardly sit back there, waiting like malevolent demon-driven monsters, for the opportunity to come after any humans that remained. They were just machines. Right, and Cyx was just an unpleasant place to spend a vacation. “If the ’Techs are still back there, just what’s going to be left 372
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for Pakal to find?” She showed him the generator Benin had found, and the thermal blanket. “We can rig a backpack for the stuff we need to take. Use the blanket to protect us from sand and wind.” “You got it all figured out, don’t you? What about the comm?” She looked up from shoving food rations and water bulbs onto the blanket and wrapping it up in a crude pack. “Take it apart. Those things are modular, right?” Nikoli’s mouth fell open. “You want me to rip it out of there and rebuild it?” The shuttle lurched and she heard the scream of tortured metal. Nikoli stumbled against her and would have gone down on his broken arm if she hadn’t caught him by his good arm and gone down with him. She let out a solid umph when his elbow connected with her stomach. Above her head the hiss of sand turned into a roar. She hauled him up, ignoring his cry of pain. Seconds later the window buckled and imploded under the weight of the sand. “The comm!” Lyssra had to restrain Nikoli, who lunged at the flight board. She held him back while the sand poured in, a golden invasion of destruction. Only when it stopped coming did she release her grip. He stumbled forward. Beneath them the shuttle creaked and trembled. Whenever it shifted, a new shower of sand poured through, and they had to push through growing drifts of sand just to move through the cabin. Nikoli panted shallowly. His skin looked sallow; his eyes glazed. “Nikoli?” He waved her on. “Go on, get us out of here. It’s gone. We’ll never dig it out. I’ll be okay… Go on, move.” 373
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The blanket was partially buried. It took the two of them to drag it and its precious cargo out. Lyssra tested her footing while she lifted the blanket in two hands. She studied the gap in what should have been an unbreakable window. The fissure was widest at the bottom, trailing upward to a narrowing crack that nearly touched the top. At its broadest point it barely looked big enough to allow a human to pass through. They would have to manage. The deck trembled under her feet, and she opened her mouth to warn Nikoli, then the shuttle screamed in metallic agony. Suddenly there was nothing under her feet. A booming roar and something hard slammed into her shoulder, spinning her around. Her knees slammed against the edge of the console. She came to rest with her face pressed against the shattered window. Something wet trickled down her throat, but whether it was blood or saliva, she couldn’t tell. Her hair lay in mats across her face. She spat it out and blew it away from her face. She shifted her grip on the crash couch and tested her footing. She studied the widening chink. Aim for the bottom. If she could force the window open at that point… God knew it was so damaged, it wouldn’t take much. Another jolt. Nikoli yelled. Lyssra stood so fast her head whirled as the blood left it. Nikoli had gone down on his broken arm. She knelt beside him. He groaned when she touched his good shoulder. “Damn,” he whispered. “What was that?” She glanced up at the window, which had been wrenched completely open. “I think the fates are playing with us.” “Can we get out?” “Yeah.” She eyed the opening, now wide enough for both of them to pass through. The entire window was gone. “We can—” She heard them before she saw them; a rustle of metallic claws 374
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on the sand covered floor. Benin’s body tumbled out of the door when it was wrenched open by the force of the shifting craft. The door itself had been cut open. The ’Techs had gone through nearly thirty centimeters of alloy. She stared at the body on the deck. Benin’s shipsuit had been peeled open. So had his skin. Nausea clenched her gut. She bit the inside of her mouth hard enough to draw blood. She would not scream. She would not— She squeaked when the ’Techs came through the door. Beside her Nikoli froze. A trio of ’Techs minced into the cabin, crab crawling over Benin’s ruined body.
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CHAPTER 4 “Have you seen them yet?” Pakal forced himself to sit still while he waited for Kaari to answer. He knew any time that he moved she shrank into her skin. Her fear of him rankled, but getting angry would only make it worse. “Have they left the shuttle?” That she was ready to blame him for Selhdun’s death rankled even more. Pakal studied the readouts. The sandstorm covered a massive area, but the leading edge was just now passing over the crash site. “No sign of them. This storm is making it hard to see anything.” “Keep looking.” “They’ll get out, Pakal,” Kaari said. “Nikoli at least will obey.” 376
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“But will the Cyxers?” “Ben’s smart, and Lyssra’s no fool.” “No,” he said. “She is a Cyxer. She might prefer the safety of the shuttle to exposure outside. It is in their nature.” Kaari was silent. She obviously hadn’t thought of that. “No sign of ’Techs in the area?” “No. Do you think they could be there? Hiding? Are they really capable of that kind of duplicity? They’re only machines.” “And we are only flesh and blood. See what miracles we proclaim.” “When will I take the shuttle down?” Pakal shrugged. “We shall see. Even you cannot fly in such a storm. Have you spoken to the witch lately? Are you doing anything to wring a confession from her?” “Ah, I’m not sure that’s appropriate.” “Discovering who killed the captain is not appropriate? Why do you protect her?” “I’m not protecting anyone,” Kaari snapped. “But wringing anything out of her hardly qualifies as proof, and I’m not protecting anyone,” Kaari snapped. “I don’t doubt for a minute you could make her confess to just about anything.” “It would still be very pleasing. I even offer my services.” “Stay away from her, Pakal.” “What do you think I would do, Kaari?” Pakal asked softly. He watched Kaari’s eyes widen and cursed himself. He had made her afraid again. “Just stay away from her.” Pakal turned away. No doubt she was right. He should stay away from the witch. It was the smart thing to do. But then, nothing he had done since this cursed trip began had been very 377
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smart. He grunted and closed the comm. Why should he quit now, at the end of it all? The witch owed him an explanation. Kaari would never seek it. She was too afraid she would find out the witch had not done this terrible crime. Every time she looked at him, he saw the fear in her eyes. He was beginning to hate her for that look. *
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*
“Lyssra?” “You have to get up, Nikoli,” Lyssra whispered. She never took her eyes off the three ’Techs. She rose up on one bent leg, feeling the crunch of sand under her knee. She grabbed the bundled thermal blanket from the floor and hugged it to her under one arm. “Give me your hand…” “Wha—” “Your hand, Nikoli. Now.” She knew the exact minute he saw the first ’Tech. His entire body went rigid. She reached down and wrapped her fingers around his shoulder, squeezing, until she knew it had to hurt. “Nikoli…” He saw Benin. The sound of his retching brought a sharp response from her own treacherous body. It was all she could do to keep what little she had in her stomach down. Nikoli moaned and hunched into himself. “Techs can’t kill,” he whisper. The sand shifted under her feet and she lurched into him. She felt her grip loosening, and knew in a minute she was going to tumble backward, right into the path of the ’Techs. Nikoli put his hand under her ass and pushed. 378
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She half dragged, half pulled him to his feet, ignoring his sharp intake of breath. In a few minutes his pain would be meaningless. His muscles bunched under her fingers, and she felt him push off the console. “Keep moving,” he said, his breath wheezing out. “Grab the water.” They both took precious seconds stuffing their suit pockets full of water bulbs. Lyssra even shoved a couple down the front of her suit. She threw the rolled up blanket out, not caring where it fell. The lip of the open window pressed against her belly then she was out. She heard the roar of the wind and stinging sand beat against her face. Behind her, Nikoli called her name. When she turned around and leaned back in to help him, her heart lurched and tried to rise into her throat. The leading ’Tech reached the bottom of the console. It raised one delicate looking appendage and appeared to test the surface. Then it started climbing. Nikoli’s thrashing foot was less than a meter from the questing limb. She grabbed his arm and yanked. With a yell he flew through the opening, tumbling into her lap. They both rolled down the side of the off-kilter shuttle and thudded painfully into the sand. She thought this stuff was supposed to be soft. Lyssra fought to get her breath back. Beside her she heard Nikoli moan. Above them a ’Tech poked its appendages out of the opening and seemed to peer down at them. She scooted backward, kicking Nikoli as she moved. He glared at her, bleary eyed. “Move,” she hissed. Overhead a second ’Tech appeared. 379
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She felt the makeshift pack move as she stood. The force of the wind made her brace her feet wide. She cautiously bent down and scooped up the bundle. Behind her, Nikoli also stood. She pointed to the northwest. Or what she hoped was the northwest. The shuttle had become seriously skewed around in the tumble that had opened the way for their escape. She had to scramble to remember in what the direction the city wall lay. As long as the sand blew she couldn’t see more than a few meters. They had to get out of the wind. Nikoli grabbed her arm and gestured at the blanket clutched to her chest. “Maybe we should get under that and wait it out.” She glanced back and shivered. Three ’Techs stood in the open window. A dust devil danced off the tiled hull and collapsed within the cavity. To her surprise the ’Techs retreated into the shuttle. Only one returned after a minute. “What are they doing?” The lone ’Tech disappeared inside. Sand hissed against the hull, gray streamers trickled off the dull, white tiles. Suddenly she straightened. “They can’t come out.” “The sand…the sand would damage their systems. They know that,” Nikoli said. He continued to cling to her arm. But this time his grip was painfully jubilant. “Yes! They can’t fucking move.” “We still can’t stay here. It’s too close.” She dropped the blanket on the sand and rearranged her water bulbs. She stuffed them down the front of her shipsuit. “Fill up. We’ll use the blanket as a shield to get away from the ship.” Nikoli nodded. Soon, they were both bulging. Nikoli grimaced. “It’s heavy.” “It’ll lighten up fast enough. Come on,” Lyssra said. “Hold it up and walk.” 380
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“Which way?” She pointed. She just hoped she was right. They struggled against the rising wind for nearly twenty minutes before Lyssra realized they weren’t going any farther. Pakal had been right. The storm was worsening. They were going to have to wait for it to pass. “We have to stop,” Lyssra said. The skin of her face felt raw. She gestured at the blanket. “Crawl inside. Try to make a tent of it to keep the sand from packing us in.” Lyssra had tucked one of the light wands into her waistband along with the water. Now she drew it out and used it to hold the top of the tent up. The space was snug and warm. Very warm. “How much longer do you think this thing’ll blow?” Nikoli had to shout to be heard. The light turned his face into a ghoulish mask. All around them wind whistled and moaned. She shook her head. “Just hang on. And try to stay awake. The minute it lets up we move.” “The city?” “The city.” *
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*
Kaari answered the comm, assuming it was Pakal. He had gone to check on something, or so he said. She was just glad he was gone. She could relax when he was out of the room. Every time his gray eyes turned her way she felt like cowering. It was Ilesha. “What the hell is going on?” the witch shouted. “Just ’cause I’m locked up, doesn’t mean I have to be kept in the dark, does it?” “Why not?” 381
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The comm was silent. Kaari smirked. She hadn’t expected to silence the witch that easily. But then, Ilesha probably hadn’t been expecting anyone to talk back to her like that. “Where the hell’s Pakal? I want to talk to that Xuan pig.” “He’s unavailable.” Kaari was almost tempted to break her own word and let Ilesha find Pakal. She probably deserved it. Maybe he was even right, and she had done it. “We’re busy.” “What do you mean?” Ilesha didn’t give up. “How does someone become unavailable when there are only three people on board?” Kaari sat up in her chair. She carefully leaned toward the comm, holding her breath, then letting it out in a soft sigh. “What do you mean…three?” Ilesha seemed to realize her mistake immediately. To her credit, she didn’t try to bluff. She let the silence grow, as though that alone would make the words vanish. Kaari felt a wellspring of relief flow through her. Pakal hadn’t done anything. Her fear of him had been totally ungrounded. “Ilesha, dear, thank you for clearing that up. I will sleep so much better tonight, because of that. Oh, and you can be sure I will be in touch with Pakal.” “You bitch—” Kaari cut her off. Then she opened the comm again. Pakal was going to want to hear this. “Pakal.” She jerked back at the hiss that filled the line. “Shit. Pakal! Now what? Damn ’Techs.” Pakal would have to wait to hear the good news. Not that he needed to be told. He had known all along he hadn’t killed Selhdun. Would he continue to resent that she hadn’t believed in him? 382
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He was right. How could she have ever thought him capable of such a thing? She had messed up. Well, she’d just have to make it up to him. “Pakal? Come on, hear me, damn it.” Silence. Damn.
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CHAPTER 5 They were lost. Lyssra knew it. Nikoli must know it, too, but neither of them willingly disrupted the illusion that they were going someplace. Around them the storm faded. With it came night. Swelled and faded. Sometimes they could see fifty or sixty meters, other times their universe shrank to a few dark meters. They had barely waited for the wind to die down before creeping out from under their makeshift shelter. Waiting for the storm to pass completely seemed foolish; the ’Techs might find them first. That had been over an hour ago. At no time did they see anything that resembled city walls. When had they taken the wrong turn? When they left the shuttle? When she had stumbled and taken Nikoli down with her, 384
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to discover again just how hard sand could be, and they had gotten confused, trying to get back to suddenly clumsy feet? Blowing sand clung to everything; it also provided cover. Without that, anything could see them. She still hated the feel of it in her hair and under her breasts. Sweat stung her raw skin. She hastily pulled the water bulbs out and bundled them back up in the blanket. They were easier to carry that way. Nikoli did the same. They kept one bulb out and split it between them. The water was warm; it tasted like ambrosia. “I think we’re traveling parallel to it,” Nikoli said. She smelled the stink of her own fear and exertion inside the confines of the suit. When he turned his head to look at her, she could see the pain etched into his face. She gently eased her arm through his, being careful not to jar the broken limb on the other side. “Yeah?” she said. “But which direction?” She could feel his weight settle unobtrusively onto her frame. How much longer could he go on? At the very least, they needed shelter before another night fell. That couldn’t be more than an hour or two away. She struggled to think back on the path they had taken. Nikoli was probably right, they had just veered off and put the city on one side…but which side? She tried to get a feel for where the sun lay. It would be going down now…was the light stronger to her right? “Does it seem lighter to you that way?” she asked, and Nikoli squinted toward where she pointed. “I think…it might be,” he said. “West?” “I don’t see how we could have circled around to put the walls east of us.” She shifted to accept more of his weight, without making it too obvious. “We were already off the southeast corner.” 385
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“So, go west?” “Yeah,” she said. “West.” Thirty minutes later she had to face the fact they were walking in circles. The sky darkened as the warmth bled from the sky. Winds, fed by the fierce desert heat, fell off rapidly. Patches of clear sky showed through the tattered sand and cloud remnants. But no sign of looming city walls. When Lyssra saw her first star she knew they were hopelessly lost. Beside her Nikoli lurched and nearly went to his knees. When he barely reacted to the sudden jolt, she knew he wasn’t going any farther. “Do you want to rest, Nikoli?” she said gently. She could hear his teeth chattering. “We can get under the blanket for warmth—” Suddenly he pulled away from her. Startled, she dropped her end of the bundled blanket and stooped to pick it up. He stumbled away from her. Then she saw it. Light spilled out over the now clear desert sand. The walls of the city alternated dark and light as they were bathed in an odd yellow-green glow that emanated from within the city. The walls themselves appeared to be lit. “What the hell?” She frowned. The light looked familiar. “Pakal,” Nikoli muttered. “He’s here already.” “Niki—” “You never thought he’d come back,” Nikoli snapped. He pulled his arm away from her touch. “You hate him, so you think he’d be cruel enough to just leave me here.” “I never said any of that.” Nikoli ignored her. He wheeled around toward the weird light. She hastily followed. Whatever the source, the city had to be better shelter than the open desert. She suspected Pakal would not fly the 386
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shuttle in after dark, no matter what Nikoli thought. Lyssra studied the light as they drew nearer. It had a definite green tinge, unlike anything used around human habitation. Instead it looked…bioluminescent, like the light wands. Could it be a natural source? Was the city alive somehow? The walls appeared mottled with it, as though it grew on the stone surface. She glanced at Nikoli. He barely seemed to notice the oddness of the light. He was too tired and sick to care about anything but believing in the sanctuary of the place. Besides, he didn’t come from a world intensely hostile to humans. He didn’t think like a survivalist. He didn’t think like a Cyxer. And he was leaving their blanket filled with supplies behind. “Nikoli.” She followed his inexorable headlong rush. “Nikoli, stop. Help me here. You don’t know what’s in there.” “I don’t care!” This time she spun him around, ignoring his muffled grunt of pain. “You better care. Pakal expects you to.” She shook him, gently, mindful of his broken arm. “Did you hear the shuttle come in? Would it be able to make an approach without us hearing something? I know you’re tired,” Lyssra said. He looked so lost, more like a little boy than ever. “But that light…it’s not manmade. Or machine made.” Nikoli blinked toward the looming city. “It’s natural? You mean it’s not…Pakal?” “No,” she said and watched his face collapse. “But it does mean they’ll be able to see it from the Necromancer. He told us to come here, right?” “R-right.” Nikoli looked around uneasily at the flat expanse of sand around them. He shook his head. “But what about the 387
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’Techs?” “We need to watch for them.” She clutched the blanket closer. “Let’s get closer, if we can.” The nearest concentration of light was to their right. Nikoli was the one to point out the small door just to the left of the lightemitting patch. It wasn’t exactly a gate, but then maybe it was healthier not to go through the front door. If they were unwelcome guests, the less obvious their entrance the better. The glowing walls loomed over their heads. The wall appeared solid, built of some light-colored stone, and stood at least five meters tall. The light washing over it cast tiny shadows in the rough surface. The door was a black slash in the wall face. Lyssra rechecked their supplies. She didn’t want to risk losing anything they carried if things got sticky and they had to leave fast. Though where they would leave to wasn’t a question she dwelt on long. Her future had narrowed down at this point to a real immediacy. She briefly stopped and made them drink. The stuff looked unhealthy. Or maybe she was just being paranoid, too used to the deadliness of Cyxian ecology. Nikoli sucked in his breath. Under her gloved fingers his muscles went rigid. “Nikoli?” Then she saw them. Crawling across the glowing wall above their heads. ’Techs. *
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*
Ilesha threw her drinking bulb against the wall. She watched the spraying liquid spread and wished the damned room had more 388
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breakable things. She felt the urge to destroy. How dare that highnosed bitch try to trick her like that. Selhdun had got what he deserved. They were all getting what they deserved. She pulled off her short robe and hurled it after the bulb. Already the stain disappeared from the wall as the self-cleaning surface converted the alcohol in the bulb to energy for the nanobots embedded in it. She hoped the little buggers got drunk. Grabbing another bulb out of the dispenser, this one containing straight alcohol, she swallowed half of it in one mouthful, then sent that bulb after the first. She knew she shouldn’t be drinking, but somehow thinking about the baby only depressed her. She doubted either her or the baby would be around long enough to worry about alcohol’s affect. Too bad she didn’t have a fire-starter. She imagined that would make a nicely colored flame. The stain seemed to disappear faster than the original. “You like that, do you?” She wiped her forehead. Sweat collected on her arm and ran down the palm of her hand. She shook it off onto the carpeted floor. The entire room seemed to sweat. A single drop rolled off her forehead and stung her eye. Her hair felt matted and clung to her bare back. She swore. “Pakal, turn the bloody heat down.” She wasn’t surprised when she got no answer. The fucking morglik was playing tricks. Fine, she knew some tricks of her own. She’d just take a cool shower. The shower felt wonderful against her overheated skin. The water sluiced away her stink and her anger, and she lifted her face to receive the full spray, when the water suddenly turned scalding. 389
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With a yell Ilesha stumbled out of the shower and stood panting and dripping on the bathroom floor. Her foot touched the shower base and she yelped again, and backed away. The skin burned. She held her foot up for inspection and gingerly touched the blister that swelled off her big toe. “Bastard,” she whispered. Then she threw her head back and screamed. The air around the shower wavered, and the water left in it began to steam. She hastily backed away even farther from the oven heat that radiated off it. She thought she heard a crack, as though something had shattered in the extreme heat, but she didn’t stick around to investigate. She turned and fled. She hit the outer door with her fists. It didn’t move. She slammed both fists into it again and got the same response. Then she kicked it. Bad idea. She’d forgotten she had bare feet. She hopped around on one foot for several seconds, holding her throbbing toes, feeling the dampness as the blister broke and fluid drained down her sole. The air thickened and grew hotter, if that was possible. Her throat ached from trying to suck in burning lungfuls. Even her eyes felt heavy and dry. What the hell was happening? “Kaari!” she shouted. The comm was silent. She smacked her hand down on the manual switch and hastily pulled back when she felt the skin blister under the heat of the unit. Sucking on the heel of her hand, she stared at the wall beside the comm. It shimmered. She blinked and gently touched her fingertips to her face. The skin felt hot and tight. She blinked again and drew back from the wall to focus on it. It still wavered and seemed to buckle. Then she realized the surface was breaking apart. The embedded nanos were losing the cohesive force that bonded them. They weren’t designed to withstand high temperatures. Only, what 390
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was triggering the heat? The wall rapidly shed its surface, revealing the metal alloy base underneath. She didn’t need to get any closer to feel the heat pouring off. She backed into the center of the room, but the heat intensified. The floor under her feet began to weep as the carpet decayed into a hot slime that clung to the skin of her bare feet and burned like acid. Tears of rage and pain drained her of more fluid, leaving useless salt tracks on her cheeks. Ilesha scrambled onto the nearest cushioned seat, but even it felt hot and mushy, like it was going to fall apart any minute. “What are you doing?” she screamed and was horrified to hear it come out as a hoarse croak. Her tongue felt twice its normal size, and she knew she was losing body fluid at an intolerable rate. Already her heart labored to overcome the growing electrolyte imbalance in her body. Her skin was blotchy and blistered where she had touched one surface or another. “Pakal…why?” The lights dimmed. Hot tears she knew she couldn’t afford to shed rolled down her blistering cheeks. The air beside her began to shimmer, at first she thought it was heat, then an image began to form. It was the image of naked man, fully aroused, and she realized, in the part of her brain still functioning, that it was one of the last pornographic holos she had pulled out of Selhdun’s database. She’d taken that one out to replay more than once, because he looked like Selhdun. Wait, no, it was Selhdun. How… She was hallucintating. Had to be. “You fuck up everything, don’t you?” she muttered, in a throat that cracked and bled. She hugged herself and nearly wept anew when she thought she felt the faint flutter of movement. 391
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Pakal didn’t know about the baby! Surely he wouldn’t do this if he knew she carried his precious Selhdun’s baby. “Pakal. Don’t… Talk to me, Pakal—” Her vision blurred and she fell back on the chair. She tried to say more, but her throat closed over the unspoken words. No air and no hope. “Lyssra.” No answer. “Momma.” Then blackness.
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CHAPTER 6 There were dozens of ’Techs. Maybe hundreds. Lyssra felt her bladder grow heavy. The spit dried in her mouth. Overhead the stars blinked down dispassionately, offering no comfort and little hope. The ’Techs crawled across the vertical wall as though they were flies. They moved leisurely, and paused often, one or more of their appendages sweeping the surface or poking at something only they sensed. The odd colored light illuminated their bodies from below and threw sharp shadows across their mechanical surfaces. So far they didn’t seem to have noticed the two humans. Or they chose to ignore them. Lyssra didn’t know which would have been more reassuring. Beside her, she heard Nikoli’s rough intake of breath. Her own 393
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breath came in shallow, dizzying pants. A desert breeze puffed sand into the air, playing a spirited dance around their feet. The air smelled of charred sand and ozone from the storm. “Lyssra…” She suddenly thought of their supplies. She grabbed Nikoli’s hand. “Our stuff. The water—” “Lyssra.” This time Nikoli’s voice took on a definite edge. She heard him curse under his breath. Lyssra looked away from the ’Tech covered wall and found that the desert floor had sprouted an entire legion of appendage waving ’Techs, all moving toward the two humans. So much for being ignored. She glanced back at their supplies. How could she have been so careless? “What do they want?” Nikoli took a step backward and collided with her. She hastily grabbed his other arm and kept him from going down. They watched helplessly as the ’Techs swarmed over the blanket with their pitiful supply of water and food. The ’Techs advanced, and they both edged toward the city’s wall. Lyssra glanced back to see if their path was clear and noticed the ’Techs that had been on the wall near the door were gone. The nearest ’Tech was now several meters to the right of the door. “Are they driving us into the city?” Nikoli said. “What the hell.” Lyssra tried to dodge left, and immediately a half dozen ’Techs cut off her escape. She made to feint right, but they were quicker. “Don’t do that,” he hissed. It was obvious the ’Techs didn’t like her maneuvers. Was it actually possible they were agitated? How the hell did a machine get agitated? But they moved with a stiff-legged, menacing walk 394
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and waved bristling appendages whenever either of them took a step toward their supplies. Like it or not, they were going into the city, empty-handed. *
*
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Pakal rubbed his eyes then tried to concentrate again on the Ship specs. He had called them up nearly two hours ago and still couldn’t find anything to explain the oddities that kept occurring in the kernel. Ship should function. So why didn’t it? Or when it did, why was it so erratic? When the comm buzzed, he heard it only as an annoying drone to be ignored. But when it buzzed a second time, he called it open. “Pakal,” Kaari said. “I’m getting some weird heat spikes in the guest sector. Any idea what it might be?” “No,” he said. “I am sure it’s nothing. More anomalies to plague us.” “It’s pretty persistent. I want to check it out,” Kaari said. “Will you meet me down there in ten minutes?” Pakal glanced at the glowing image of the schematical representation of Ship’s logical structure and frowned. “Very well, though I think you squander valuable time. The witch is not a concern right now.” “You’ll come?” “I will be there.” He shut the image down. Maybe some time away would give his thoughts a chance to coalesce and provide him with some new ideas. Or at least a new approach to the problem. For now he risked only the frustration of knowing a problem existed, and the solution was within reach, but he remained blind to it. 395
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Five minutes later, he left his quarters and strode through the corridors toward Ilesha’s room. *
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Kaari was glad she hadn’t needed to argue much with Pakal. The prospect of facing Ilesha, after her little trick on the comm, unnerved her. She’d seen what the witch did to Selhdun. She jumped when the nearest comm crackled and spat static. She glanced toward it. Someone listened, she was sure of it. “Pakal? That you?” Nothing. Damned ’Techs. The ship around her seemed bigger and emptier. It was certainly emptier than she’d ever experienced it. The only other time she’d been this alone on the big ship, it had been docked in station—like the last time at Tiamat, when Pakal and the captain had gone down to the planet. Nikoli had been on board then, picked up in Xua. But that had been at a crowded station, where the comm was alive with chatter and you knew that all around you other ships lay in dock. And it was only a twentyminute shuttle ride to more than a dozen outie bars, and all the action they implied. Not like this. Not this terrible silence, in a ship orbiting a planet that had apparently been dead for a thousand years. She hated it. Hated the constant sense of dread that filled each day, and only worsened as time dragged on and the futility of their position grew more evident. And in the middle of it, like a skinny, malevolent spider, sat the Cyxian witch. Kaari debated whether to tell Pakal what Ilesha had revealed. What would he do? At one time, she would have known how he would react. At one time, no one had been as predictable as Pakal. 396
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Dutiful, honorable, as unimaginative as a rug, at least you could always depend on him. Now she had no idea. Ilesha probably didn’t deserve pity, but she was entitled to justice. Even she deserved at least the pretense of legality. Kaari had a good idea what the Suzerain’s courts would think of a Cyxian witch assassinating a Prince of the Realm, but that was Ilesha’s problem. Pakal could wait a while longer to hear of Ilesha’s admission. She paused and waited at the junction of bisecting corridors for Pakal. He appeared three minutes later. She studied his lean face. His odd gray eyes were like steel shutters. Just what thoughts did he keep behind that bland facade? Nikoli obviously found something to intrigue him. So had Selhdun, for that matter. Still waters. “Find anything?” she asked casually when he fell into step beside her. He shook his head and looked at her sharply. “You?” She took a deep breath. Might as well tell him. “I’m afraid I got some readings that could mean ’Techs.” “Around the city?” “Yes,” she said. “Will you still go down?” “Nikoli and the Cyxers remain alive.” They stopped in front of the door, and he keyed in the security code to unlock it. “Someone must.” The smell hit them the moment the door slid open. Charred meat, and the stench of raw sewage. Kaari clapped a hand over her mouth. It didn’t help. The body was worse. Kaari had never seen anything dead until she had stumbled onto Pakal kneeling over Selhdun’s butchered form. But this, this 397
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was a hundred times worse. “My God,” she said from behind her hand, trying to keep from losing her breakfast. “Not again. What the hell happened?” Pakal grunted and bent over the body on the chair. Kaari forced herself to watch. Ilesha was hardly recognizable. Her skin… Kaari swallowed past renewed nausea. Cracked skin wept a clear fluid that looked tinged with pink in places. Her eyes were half opened and seemed to bulge from their sockets. She was naked, and it was obvious she had not died peacefully. Kaari was startled when Pakal left the body and approached the nearest wall. She watched him warily. Only when his fingers went out to track a path across the bare wall did she realize what he was looking at. The wall had been stripped to bare metal. “What happened, Pakal?” “The wall surface was cooked off,” he said, and all she heard was the wonderment in his voice. “The temperatures must have been extreme to break the nanobot bond. Interesting.” She backed away when he looked at her. His eyes narrowed. “Interesting? You find this interesting?” She knew her voice was rising in hysteria but she couldn’t contain it. “What did you do?” she whispered. “Again, Kaari?” he said softly. “I knew you didn’t kill Selhdun, she let it slip, but this? Pakal—” “You knew this?” Pakal advanced on her, and Kaari stumbled backward, coming up against the stripped wall. It felt cool beneath her thin shipsuit. What tremendous heat it must have generated, to do so much damage. Wide-eyed, she watched him come closer. 398
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“You knew,” he said. “And you never told me?” “I thought you might do something like this…” Kaari glanced at the body on the chair. She turned hastily away. God, even the chair had been destroyed. “I knew you’d want to kill her.” “You truly think I did this?” “Who else could? Who else could program Ship to do such a thing?” “A malfunction.” “Pretty selective malfunction,” Kaari said. She tried desperately to suck air in through her mouth, but it didn’t help. Everything reeked of death. Pakal took another step toward her. “Don’t! Pakal.” He stopped. His eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead. “Kaari…” “Pakal, I don’t know what’s going on,” she said, hating it when her voice broke, but desperate to keep him from turning his rage on her. “I’m going back to the bridge. I’ll keep trying to find out if they make it to the city. Please, Pakal.” “You know you cannot keep me imprisoned.” “Pakal…” “Get a blanket from the stores,” Pakal said wearily. “We must dispose of her. I will do it.” His silver eyes bore into hers. “Leave me.” Kaari slid along the wall until she heard the door open behind her. She hated herself for her cowardice, but Pakal was so damned big, and what he had done to Ilesha… God, if he wanted to do that to her, no one could stop him. “I’ll get the blanket then,” she said and fled.
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CHAPTER 7 The doorway was an open portal through nearly two meters of solid stone. No actual door barred their entry. They passed through the unlit passage and emerged into a wide, sandy-floored corridor. In the low light, their eyes adjusted slowly. “Which way?” Nikoli asked, standing close. She saw him glance back as if waiting for ’Techs to show up. Then he leaned forward and peered down the corridor. “I think the light is stronger that way.” “Yes, it is.” She squinted toward it. It was stronger. “What does it mean?” “It means we go that way.” “I was afraid you’d say that.” The weariness in his voice was sharper. She glanced at his 400
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white-lipped face and frowned. “How’s your arm?” she asked. “Just fine,” he said. “Great. Shall we do some handstands to entertain ourselves? Maybe a few flips.” “Niki…” He swore. “Sorry, I…it hurts, okay? That what you want to hear?” “I want to know how you’re feeling,” she said softly. She watched his face. “We need to find a place to rest soon.” The light ahead brightened. Behind, silence. No sign yet any of the ’Techs were following. Did that mean they couldn’t? Did they have a taboo programmed into them regarding the city? Could she and Nikoli be so lucky? They passed an opening to their left. Lyssra tried to see if it was a room or another passage, but she didn’t stop. She had the feeling if Nikoli stopped, he might fall down where he stood, and she would not be able to get him moving again. Her foot scuffed along the sandy floor. When she connected with a stone, she heard it skitter down the corridor and bounce off the stone wall, clattering to rest near another doorway. The sound was startlingly loud in the ancient silence that filled the corridor. Beside her, Nikoli jerked as though emerging from a bad dream. The next time she spotted a stone in her path she stooped and picked it up without breaking stride. She scooped up two more that way before another shadowy opening appeared on her left. The stone bounced, with a satisfying echo, that seemed to grow in intensity, then fade away slowly. She wished she had one of the light wands. But the ’Techs had everything now. Everything that wasn’t buried or on their backs. The room, or whatever was in 401
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there, was huge. And empty, if the echoes were any indication. Just how big? Were they in a city or a walled coliseum? The next door got the last two stones. This time Nikoli jumped at the clattering echo. The reverberation died away. Another big room. Or the same one? “What is it?” Nikoli asked. “There are rooms in there,” she said. “Big ones. Or the city’s built around one big central arena.” Nikoli thought a moment. He would have seen the city on their flight down. He knew how big it was. “Single room? That would be huge… Why make a room that large?” “Who knows. I wish we’d brought lights.” “I wish we’d brought a satellite link.” “Right,” Lyssra said and forced a tired grin. “Might as well wish big.” “Don’t waste your heart on the small stuff. It’s a Xuan thing.” He caught her look. “Eternal Xuan pessimism.” This time the room was on their right. And it was lit with the same eerie glow as the outer walls of the city. There were still no sign of ’Techs following. Nikoli stumbled. That decided her. The room wasn’t big. It was four featureless walls of soft looking stone and a sand-covered floor. Along two walls a raised platform of stone stood nearly a meter off the ground. The only thing that kept it from being a perfect box was the small alcove off one side. Shadows descending from the high ceilings made it impossible to make out any details, but she thought she saw a darker shadow within the other shadows. A window? Lyssra watched Nikoli wander toward the platform. She followed, putting her hand on his shoulder. 402
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She didn’t like the way he couldn’t stop the shivers that wracked his slender body. His face was parchment white, and the skin around his mouth drawn into tight lines. The air around them smelled of dust and age. She met Nikoli’s worried gaze. “Don’t know about you,” she muttered, not even sure if he heard her anymore. “But I’d rather sleep off the ground, useless as the gesture might be.” She eased him onto the platform and winced when he cried out. He shivered and muttered in a half sleep. “Nikoli,” she said and touched his chest. He opened his eyes, though she wasn’t sure he really focused on her. “I have to look at your arm.” He nodded and let his eyes slide shut again. She frowned. The area of the arm above the nano-shell didn’t look bad. The nanos must be working, already the wounded flesh looked halfhealed. No sign of infection. He slid into a deeper sleep. The restless look of pain that had etched lines in his face for so long faded away. Now that he was at rest, she hoped the nanobots got down to some serious repair work. Lyssra wanted to look around the room they were in, but her own exhaustion made her feet leaden, her thoughts dull. She was tired and beyond grief. She thought of Benin. How was she going to tell Ilesha? Would Ilesha even care? How was Kaari going to take the news of Benin’s death? A short rest would probably do more good than forcing herself to go on in her grief and sorrow. She’d look around later when she had some light. She pulled herself onto the platform beside Nikoli. They would have to share their body heat. She doubted if Nikoli even noticed when she burrowed against him. 403
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*
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The heat and dead weight on his arm woke Nikoli. He kicked at the stifling heaviness on his lower body and realized it was Lyssra’s leg that she had thrown over him as she sought out warmth in the coolness of predawn. He opened one eye to find Lyssra’s hair in his face. Her head was pillowed on his good arm, her breath warm on his throat. He blinked down at her and felt too comfortable to move. He still felt tired, and it was hard to keep his eyes open, but the absence of pain was a sensation he wanted to savor. The nanos had worked. He moved his broken arm, gingerly, the shell let him move slowly, with only the vaguest ache, nothing like the earlier pain. Lying next to Lyssra was an even odder sensation. She muttered something in her sleep and moved closer, sliding her knee between his legs. That made him painfully aware of his early morning erection. It made returning to sleep impossible. He carefully untangled himself from her, making sure not to wake her, and slipped off the stone platform, wincing at stiff muscles. On booted feet, he moved toward the doorway. The corridor was empty. He looked in the alcove and found it was nearly two meters in diameter, deeper than it was wide, and was just going to have to do as a washroom. No shower, of course. Their clothes would stay clean, embedded as they were with nanos that would even repair minor rips, but a shower would have been nice. He took care of his needs and slipped back onto the platform beside Lyssra. She immediately moved back into his space. Her heat felt pleasant, and when she draped her arm around him, he made no move to push her away. It had been a long time since he’d 404
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had a woman; he’d forgotten how good they felt. So different from a man. And she did feel good. Really good. One part of him at least wished she’d wake up. She snuggled against him as sleep stole over him again. Instead of fighting, he pulled her closer. *
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Lyssra woke up suffused with heat. Gaia, that dream… Then she felt Nikoli’s body pressed against hers and realized it was only partly a dream. Her lust pulsed off her in thick, embarrassing waves. She pulled back, wanting to break contact before he woke up and knew what she was thinking. Before she humiliated herself even more. To her surprise, his arms tightened around her. “No,” he said softly. “Don’t.” He rocked against her. His breath was warm on her cheek. He took her hand and pressed it against his erection. Her breath caught in her throat when he groaned. “Please, Lyssra…” She didn’t need any more encouragement. She fumbled to free him, wanting to know if he felt as good as she imagined. They came together in a tangle of hot skin. Their coupling was frenzied, almost desperate in its intensity. His breathing still ragged, Nikoli rubbed her cheek with his own. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m not usually so…hair-triggered.” Lyssra understood, even if he didn’t. They had responded to a drive as ancient as the planet they were trapped on. As ancient as the rhythms of life they clung to so desperately. “It’s been a rough trip,” she said. “Besides, who said I was 405
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complaining?” He started shaking, and it was a minute before she realized he was laughing. He dashed tears from his eyes. “Rough? Is that what it was?” “I take it you must be feeling better,” she said and smiled. She watched her fingers trace the outline of his hairless chest to avoid looking at him when she said, “A lot better. Just how old are you, Nikoli?” His eyebrow went up. “How is that important?” “It’s not… I’m just curious.” “Eighteen.” This time his eyebrows waggled up and down. “You like to play with little boys? That it?” “Nothing little about you.” “Very flattering,” he said. She glanced up to where the early morning light slipped through the ceiling level windows. It was a window. The light lifted her spirits and made it possible to think of a future. They both heard the rustle from outside, and he jerked away from her. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the platform. “I think our friends are waking up,” she said and hastily scrambled to fasten her clothes back up. “What now?” “See if the storm has died. Pakal should be down soon. You better hope so, our water—” A pair of ’Techs entered the room. Lyssra grabbed Nikoli and pulled him back onto the platform. They crowded into the furthest corner. She quickly saw what had grabbed his attention. Wonder mingled with fear and she leaned forward to get a better look. “What the—” 406
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It had taken nearly a dozen ’Techs to do it, but they came in, dragging the thermal blanket they had forced Lyssra and Nikoli to abandon the night before. The weight of the bundle and the wonderful sound of sloshing water made it obvious their water supply was intact. The ’Techs dragged the blanket up to the base of the platform, where they abandoned it, and retreated back into the shadowwrapped corridor. Lyssra saw it had been ripped in several places. She followed their movement and thought she saw even more ’Techs crowding the narrow space beyond the door. Her mouth felt gummy, and it took effort to swallow. Beside her, Nikoli suddenly darted forward, gone from her side before she could grab him. He scooped a bulb out of the sand-filled folds of the blanket and scrambled back onto their makeshift bed. He handed the rescued bulb to her. The grin he gave her scared her even more. “Drink,” he said. “No sense dying thirsty.” “Nikoli…” She stopped when she realized he was shaking so hard, he had handed the bulb to her because he couldn’t have held it steady enough to drink. She clamped down on her own muscles and raised the bulb to her lips, holding it in both hands. The splash of warm water in the back of her throat had never felt so good. She swallowed and held the bulb out to him. Nikoli leaned forward. “Thank you,” he said after he had managed to get two mouthfuls down. She offered him one more, then drained the last swallow. Only then did she realize his teeth clattered together. Alarmed, she leaned toward him. “Nikoli, what is it?” “N-nothing.” 407
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“Liar,” she said and scooted forward, her arms going around his shoulders. “That was a crazy thing you did. Crazy, but very brave.” “It was?” “It was,” she said it so solemnly he couldn’t doubt her. Then she took his still shaking shoulders in both hands. “But don’t you ever, ever do anything like that again.” “N-no? Why not?” “Because you scared the piss out of me,” she said, and her own laugher bordered on hysteria. “And I can’t afford to lose the water.” Then they were both laughing. She wasn’t the only one with an hysterical edge to the sound.
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CHAPTER 8 Kaari glanced at her instrument board. The Necromancer hadn’t been properly outfitted for this sort of search, and most of what the Cyxers brought with them had gone down on the shuttle. Her console beeped. More ’Tech activity on the surface. Just what kind of physical threat did the ’Techs pose? Would they actually harm people? A week ago she would have said no way, now she wasn’t so sure. “Nikoli, this is Kaari calling. Answer me, please. Nikoli talk to me. Lyssra, if you can hear me, say something. Ben? Please, Ben, I miss you.” All she got back was static and the background chatter she had learned to associate with ’Techs. She hoped that meant they had 409
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left the shuttle and were now waiting in or near the city. But her scans picked up nothing. Had ’Techs found Benin, Lyssra and Nikoli after all? Kaari shivered. ’Techs were so damned ubiquitous. Just what sort of program were the Terran ’Techs still running after all these centuries and how could it be dangerous to humans? Would the Terrans have programmed the ’Techs to attack other people who entered their system? How were the ’Techs supposed to tell the difference between Terrans and anyone else? Some kind of code? A signal? A bloody smell? “Come on, Nikoli.” She muttered into the comm. “Pakal’s waiting, and he’s one man you do not want to keep in suspense. Necromancer here, Lyssra. Benin?” She had the comm set to auto-monitor, but didn’t trust it to keep on doing its job. The whole damned ship was falling apart. And not a refitting yard in sight. Why did Selhdun have to go and get himself killed? And by some overblown witch. Kaari had never been impressed by Ilesha’s charms. That kind of flash was cheap and usually empty. Too bad Selhdun hadn’t seen what was so obvious to everyone else. It was frustrating to be able to see the city, but not to have more sophisticated devices to scan its interior or even get a decent look at its exterior. Damned shame they didn’t have any flybys to launch. That would have settled once and for all if there were any survivors. Not that Kaari understood what good it would do them to know. Sure, they could send a shuttle down, which yours truly would no doubt fly, but how did that get them any closer to leaving Terran space? Answer was, it didn’t. They could all just die together. Maybe 410
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Pakal thought there was a certain romance to that, but Kaari wasn’t ready to explain things to her maker just yet. Even if Benin came back. He was fun, in and out of bed, but she planned to live quite a few more years, thank you very much, and fully intended to die in her bed at a very ripe age, preferably in the arms of a much younger lover. Someone who looked like Nikoli would be nice… What could the ’Techs be doing? In Autarch space they were used for tasks that were unhealthy or unappealing to humans. Frequently, long term, unattended projects were handled by ’Techs. Like the rare terraforming project the Suzerain invested in. Were they trying to return Terra to its natural state? Repairing the damage done by the warring humans who had fled it so long ago? In which case there was no reason for them to be hostile to the people aboard the Necromancer, was there? Now why didn’t that reassure her more? *
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Lyssra quickly stepped back into the room where Nikoli waited. “Well?” he said. She shrugged. “Two ’Techs in the corridor. If there’s more, I can’t see them.” The ’Techs had driven them in here for reasons only they could fathom. Now they seemed content to leave the humans alone. Only two patrolled the corridor, though she had no doubt more could appear if required. She said as much to Nikoli. “So we stay here for now,” he said. Then he frowned, and glanced toward the door. “Pakal will be down soon.” “He won’t come in here after us.” Nikoli flexed his arm and seemed grimly pleased by the results. 411
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“You have something in mind?” She sat beside him on the makeshift bed. He shifted to make room for her. “What do you know about ’Techs?” she asked. “The Hegemon uses them more than anyone.” It was his turn to shrug. “Not much. No one does. Programmers barely understand the code they use. They’re Von Neumman machines, they build and maintain themselves. I understand audits are run periodically to make sure their programming hasn’t deviated or become corrupted. They have their own internal redundancy checks to test for errors. The whole point is that they can be left on their own.” “Why hasn’t anyone turned them into military machines before now?” Lyssra asked. “Seems to me they’d be a pretty powerful weapon.” “The sanctions are incredibly severe—disenfranchisement for any House that tries, death or exile to Xua, which amounts to the same thing, only slower,” Nikoli said. “What House wants to give that kind of power to the military? Besides, the Suzerain makes sure the higher ups in the Navy are all loyal to him.” He pulled his knees up into the circle of his arms. “A full-blown military coup might use such a force, but they’d better plan on being successful, fast. They’d get no second chance. My understanding is most planetary military forces are too divided in loyalty—the Suzerain’s doing again. Still, it might happen one day. God help us if it does.” “You think that happened here?” He met her gaze. “Don’t you?” “It would explain a lot.” Lyssra grimaced. “And the Suzerain wants this secret? Or does he just want to make sure no one else gets it?” 412
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“Hopefully more of the latter, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on it.” He unfolded his legs and swung them over the side of the raised platform. “We have to try to get out of here,” Lyssra said. “You know that, don’t you?” “Yeah, I know it.” “Niki.” She put her hand over his. “Are you sorry about what happened?” “No,” he muttered, pulling his hand away. Liar. But she didn’t say it out loud. She was surprised to see him blush and look away, but not before she saw something else. He might be sorry, but it didn’t stop him from wanting it to happen again. “But you don’t want Pakal to know about what happened, do you?” “What purpose would it serve?” Light dawned. “Gaia, you’re in love with him, aren’t you?” “I’m glad I had the chance to know him.” “You make it sound like it’s already over,” she said, not understanding. “You signed a contract, right? You’re on board until it ends, aren’t you?” “Standard one year. An in and out, in Hegemon terms.” Nikoli looked through the nearest stone wall. “And with Pakal and him, it’s always out after that year. No one stays, Selhdun makes sure of that. I know you don’t believe it, but Pakal’s attractive, and generous and fun—shit, he deserves more than that.” “Are we talking about the same Pakal?” Lyssra was slow to speak. “Big guy? Built like an asteroid. About the same temperament. Zero sense of humor?” Nikoli grinned. “Yeah, I know. It’s not obvious, but believe it 413
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or not, he’s very human, when you get him away from his duty…” His face muscles tensed. “And Selhdun.” “You don’t like the captain much, either, do you?” “What’s to like? His type… Born to privilege, always acting like they earned it. He’s so twisted inside… I don’t like the affect he has on Pakal. It’s not healthy. Because he won’t leave. No matter what.” “How do you know so much? You’ve only been with the Necromancer a few weeks.” “At Gil’s you hear all sorts of gossip. Customers, especially the regulars get reputations. I listen. That’s how you learn to be so good.” He spoke with a bitterness that surprised her. Nikoli always seemed so carefree. What did he have to be bitter about? “What’s Gil’s?” “Never mind,” he said. “It doesn’t matter now.” Poor Nikoli. Lyssra couldn’t quite work up the will to feel sorry for Pakal. She hopped down of the shelf. “Come on, I want to try something.” She handed him several water bulbs and food bars. She took an equal number and stuffed them down her shipsuit. Nikoli grimaced and did the same. “Next time we do this, let’s remember to bring some packs along,” he said. She scowled at him good-naturedly. “Next time let’s make sure there isn’t a next time.” Lyssra slid through the arched doorway. Nikoli followed. They sloshed when they walked. The corridor was empty to their left. “Move slowly,” she said. Maybe the ’Techs were like some species of wild animals Lyssra had heard of that only reacted to fast, erratic movement. It was a little much to hope for, but she was 414
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ready to grab at any chance, no matter how small. She wanted to tell him not to look back, but that might have the opposite effect. The first ’Tech appeared less than a minute later. She watched it mince down the rough wall ahead of them, from what might have been an opening in the shadow-encrusted ceiling. Another one followed it, then a third. “Lyssra.” “I see them,” she said. A heartbeat later, she felt his hand on her arm. It closed over the soft flesh and bit into her shoulder. “I see them—” “Not them. You better look back here.” She turned slowly, warned by his voice. The corridor they had just passed through was a mass of ’Techs. There must have been two dozen or more crowding the suddenly narrow passageway. Quick glances forward found another three had come down to join the first three. They were effectively surrounded. What had she got them into? When nine ’Techs darted out, she braced for an assault. The nine scurried by their feet, and Lyssra swore she felt the touch of clawed feet on her booted feet. She didn’t dare move for fear of stepping into the path of one. She heard Nikoli’s muffled curse behind her. “What the—” The two groups of ’Techs were fighting. Lyssra watched in amazement as the tool wielding machines came together and began struggling. She watched the cold efficiency they used to cut off limbs or pierce metal skin. The thought of what those tools could do to human skin made her nauseous. She bit her lip, remembering Benin. Was that going to be their fate? But ’Tech fight ’Tech? She had never heard of such a thing. 415
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Soon the corridor ahead of them filled with struggling machines. Nikoli’s grip on her arm tightened. Not all the ’Techs joined the fray. Two advanced on the humans. Lyssra backed up, but before Nikoli could move, they darted up his legs. His screams were pure terror. He beat at the metallic shells, but if they were aware, they gave no sign. Lyssra ignored the ’Techs around her feet and grabbed the first one she could reach, on Nikoli’s back, trying to pull it off. Claw-like appendages sank into his skin and a thin line of blood welled out. She wrenched the ’Tech free and threw it against the wall, hearing the satisfying crunch of ceramic-metal shell breaking. Nikoli sent another one after the first. But hundreds more crowded the corridor. The damaged units buzzed and several of the nearest ’Techs veered away from the humans. “Get off me,” Nikoli grunted. His voice was ragged, his breath shallow. His words were a chilling echo of Benin’s cries. “Get the fuck off me!” Needle sharp spurs penetrated the skin of her legs. She stamped her foot, still trying to pry another one off Nikoli. He stumbled away from her when she ripped it off. Blood speckled his chest and legs. She kicked off the ’Tech that clung to her leg; her own skin ripped and bled. But the thing lay where it fell and a dozen ’Techs advanced on it. “Get back,” she said, pushing him when he was slow to respond. “Watch them.” Nikoli threw her off again. Lyssra stumbled against the wall. She watched in horror as he kicked at another group of ’Techs. This time they seemed more intent on reaching their own wounded. Lyssra shoved, nearly knocking them both down. 416
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“Will you fucking pay attention! Watch them!” she said. Savagely she kicked at a nearby ’Tech and slammed her foot down on the surprisingly thin shell. It crunched. Then she swept it aside with her foot and watched with feral satisfaction as several ’Techs hurried to tend to it. “They can’t override their programming. They need to take care of the damaged ones.” It was difficult to watch them in the dim light. Shadows hid too much. But they could see the shadowy outline of several more ’Techs rush out to tend the damaged ones. “What I wouldn’t give for a light,” she said as ’Techs milled around their feet, too damned close. Even if most of them were distracted, it wouldn’t take many to overwhelm two unarmed humans. “If wishes were diamonds, dogs would be kings,” he muttered and offered her a crooked grin. “Old Xuan saying. Don’t bother asking me what it means.” “What happened to wishing big?” she muttered. He shrugged. Trying to appear casual, if in fact the ’Techs could read human intent in action, Lyssra leaned over and scooped up the first stone she saw. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nikoli do the same. In the time it took them to travel five meters they had a sizable handful. She saw Nikoli tense even before he spoke. “Lyssra.” Four ’Techs darted forward. Nikoli threw first, left-handed. It bounced off the ground in front of the nearest ’Tech. Sand spattered the shiny carapace. The ’Tech paused, then continued. Nikoli swore. Lyssra took 417
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careful aim and the stone sheared off the front leg and knocked the ’Tech askew. Immediately the other three converged on it. Lyssra grabbed Nikoli and pulled him down the corridor. Another stone followed the first, clattering into a knot of ’Techs. One hit and two tending it. Not bad. The nice thing was that they showed no sign of learning to respond any other way. In some things even the smartest machines were as rigidly coded as the lowest single-celled animal. A sudden flair of pain startled her. She yelled and stamped at the ’Tech trying to clamber up her leg. It hung on, and she swung her fist at it. “Heads up,” Nikoli yelled, and when she straightened, he used the toe of his boot to swipe at the clinging ’Tech. It dropped to the sand, and he stepped on it. “Behind you.” She swung around and nearly tripped on the two who dropped into her path. Without thinking, she jumped and felt her foot catch on something underfoot. With a startled yell, she fell to one knee. A ’Tech scrambled up her hip. She felt the cold imprint of metal penetrate to the skin above her spine. In one move she rolled over, kicking to add impetus to her roll and felt the needle sharp appendages scrape across her back. Then it was gone, and Nikoli hauled her to her feet so roughly her jaw clicked together. “Run. Now.” She nearly went down again when the floor in front of them suddenly boiled with ’Techs. Only Nikoli’s bone-crushing grip on her hand kept her upright. This time, as they ran, they pitched their remaining rocks into the heaviest concentration of ’Techs. The machines scattered under the barrage. The light ahead brightened. 418
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“Come on,” Lyssra said when Nikoli swerved to avoid a knot of ’Techs. Where the light was strongest she thought she saw an arched tunnel, like the one they had entered so many eons ago. They passed a dark opening on their left. Another door to the huge inner room? She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the light. “Let’s get out of here.” The ’Techs that swarmed out of the arched tunnel numbered in the hundreds. They covered the ground and the rough surface of the wall, darkening it with their moving shadows. Lyssra froze. Beside her, she heard Nikoli’s sharp inhalation. She also heard the scratch of claws on stone and sand and the soft clink of clawed feet as the ’Techs scrabbled over each other in their single-minded pursuit. The door they had only recently left appeared on their right. Lyssra grabbed his arm and jerked him after her. Together they scrambled onto the low shelf and pressed against the far wall, staring down in rapt terror as ’Techs poured into the small room. “Don’t move,” she said. Nikoli was so stiff she didn’t think he could have moved. She had stopped breathing and her vision grew blurred. When the ’Techs retreated from the room, she still didn’t breathe. Beside her, Nikoli’s tension lessened. His hand crept into her lap and squeezed her hand. The distant rustling of ’Techs faded and another sound grew. It took her several minutes to identify it. Wind. Outside the thick walls, it whistled against the walls and ruffled Lyssra’s hair. She looked up. He followed her gaze. They both looked up at the narrow slotted windows at least three meters above their heads. They didn’t look big enough to allow a person to pass through them. No help there. 419
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If Pakal were here, it wouldn’t have been a problem. He could have lifted either of them up without breaking a sweat. But Lyssra wasn’t sure if she could support Nikoli, and she doubted he’d be able to lift her. Not with that broken arm. They’d take care of that problem when they got to that point. Nikoli shifted so that he sat cross-legged on the raised platform. He wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve and it immediately darkened. Within seconds the dark stain disappeared as the nano saturated cloth cleaned it up, recycling the water for later use. Lyssra gingerly reached down and dragged the ripped blanket up. Wrapped up in it, she found a couple of energy bars, and gave Nikoli one. Overhead the day brightened, then dimmed as the sun passed behind the walls. The heat in the room climbed. She untangled the blanket until it lay between them. “You know, we could rig a backpack with this.” He studied it. “I think we could make two. Split the weight between two of us. We could move faster that way, and still keep all our supplies.” She wanted to open her shipsuit, to capture some of the breeze that came in sporadic bursts, but knew she had to keep the suit on, so the nanos could recapture her moisture. They didn’t have enough water to last more than a day or two if they lost too much in sweat and evaporation. Periodically Nikoli would wipe his forehead and bare scalp. She was glad of her short hair, the few straggly strands she had stuck to her skin, feeling sodden and limp. She touched her tongue to the edge of her lips, feeling how dry they were growing, took another tentative sip of water, trying to balance her body’s need for water and their need to conserve. 420
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How long could they hold out? No doubt sunset would bring a rapid cooling. Good for reducing sweat, but it brought a new problem—hypothermia. As darkness flowed back in to the tiny room, their eyes adjusted to the growing dimness. The eerie, bioluminescent glow returned, whatever plant or creature created it, speckled the walls overhead, casting a wan greenish light. “You look like a freak show funhouse character,” Nikoli said after twenty minutes of silence rode the air between them. “Thanks. Nothing a girl likes more than flattery.” Lyssra had goose bumps crowding her arms and she felt grumpy. She was startled when he moved closer to her, his hips bumping hers. “Maybe I like freak shows.” He pressed closer. “I’m cold.” “Are you?” she whispered. Unsure if she wanted this. Feeling guilty for what they had done? Or wanting more and didn’t know how to ask? Was she worried that Pakal would get mad? Or worried that Nikoli would? Abruptly she turned away from him and rolled to the edge of the makeshift bed. Nikoli pressed into her back, his erection in no doubt. Lyssra knew she should feel guilty for what she did next. Ancient drives or not, Nikoli was just a horny teenager, and she was taking advantage of that shamefully. But…she didn’t care. If they weren’t going to get out of here, they might as well enjoy themselves. Feeling guilty didn’t get either of them anywhere. “I can keep you warm. Can keep both of us warm.” He nuzzled her throat, his hand closing over her unbound breast. “Can you?” She reached over and pushed the front of his shipsuit open, 421
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exposing his hairless chest. His nipples tightened into hard knots. He sucked in his breath when she gently twisted one. “Are you trying to seduce me, Lyssra Ravenwood?” “Yes,” she said and closed her eyes. “Please tell me it’s working.” He took her hand and placed it on his thickening cock. “Oh, it’s working all right.” “Good.” *
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Later, as a new day began shedding light into their little prison, Nikoli woke up. He raised himself up on one elbow and looked down at the woman sleeping beside him, the body he now knew very well still pressed into his. She looked positively disheveled. He grinned smugly. Maybe he didn’t have a whole lot of experience with women, but he didn’t seem to have any trouble functioning adequately. Judging from the look on Lyssra’s face, more than adequate. “What’s the grin for?” she asked. She moved indolently under him and his grin deepened. “We gotta stop meeting like this,” he said. “Here I am, practically a married man. What would Pakal say?” “Is that what you’re worried—” “Shit!” Nikoli scrambled backward, off her, and sprang to his feet when he saw the ’Techs standing inside the doorway. Another one entered, and all three of the machines advanced toward them. “What the hell do they want?” Belatedly he reached down and grabbed Lyssra, hauling her up. She hastily refastened her shipsuit. 422
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With a curse, he straightened his own suit. The two ’Techs were still there when he got the outfit fastened with fingers that were suddenly clumsy. The damned things just sat there, as though watching Lyssra and him. “If I was the paranoid type, I’d say Pakal had those things keeping an eye on us,” he said, and glanced over to find Lyssra had pulled on the rest of her clothes. He was surprised at how disappointed he felt. “More like Selhdun’s style, if you ask me,” Lyssra said and ran her fingers through matted hair, trying to loosen some of the tangles. He glared at the ’Techs. The three mechanical creatures walked backward toward the door. Funny how you could always tell where their heads were. Which made him wonder, just how much did a ’Tech see? Nikoli shook his head. It felt strange to be embarrassed at being caught by a machine. He was getting paranoid. He turned back and was surprised to find Lyssra glaring at him. What had he done? “What is it with you men, anyway?” Lyssra said, shoving one foot then the other into her boots. Her anger fascinated him. What had he done to trigger it? “You always seem to find it so easy to break even the simplest of vows without any trouble at all. Your only worry seems to be getting caught.” So that was it. “Right. And women don’t?” He leaned down and grabbed a water bulb off the end of the platform. He drained it in one gulp and tossed it toward the alcove. He had been relieved when he realized their toilet was cleaned out periodically. The ’Techs must slip in when no one was looking and clean it. He didn’t want to imagine how ripe it would be getting if they hadn’t performed that simple housekeeping job. He concentrated on 423
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Lyssra’s anger. “Why is it women always seem surprised? They invite it, then get upset when it happens. I never tried to hide who or what I am, from you or anyone.” “But you don’t want Pakal to know about this, do you?” “What purpose would it serve?” Why did she have to rub his nose in his indiscretion? He wasn’t happy about the subterfuge he intended, but it didn’t do anyone any good to blab about it, either. She sighed. “None. You’re right.” She looked up at the window above their heads. “Ready to try that again? If this works, I, for one, will sell what’s left of my sorry soul for a shower.” “If, Lyssra?” “Okay, when,” she said. “You’re right, optimism is my middle name, my reason for living. Now let’s try to figure out how we can do this. Before my optimism changes its mind.” “We should travel at night when it’s cooler,” he said. Happy to be off the subject of infidelity. “It will be less of a strain on our suits.” She agreed and they did what they could to prepare to leave. When the angle of the light told them it was time, Lyssra reached over their supplies and touched his hand. “Once more,” she said. “Do this one for Pakal.” He smiled tiredly. “For everyone we love.” She was grateful he didn’t ask her who that was. How pathetic to say she didn’t have anyone at home who might miss anything, but her skills as an administrator. As the light faded, Lyssra heard something she had never expected. At first she didn’t recognize it, then it grew and Nikoli reacted to it. Birds. The sound was harsh and not at all musical like the songbirds they had heard at the Natural History Museum. But still, something still clung to life in this godforsaken place. 424
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A look of rapture filled Nikoli’s face. They both stared up at the distant window. Lyssra had never felt such yearning. She wanted something she had never wanted her entire life—to be outside. To smell clean, raw air. Her need bolstered her. She stood, shrugging her pack in place and making sure it was balanced. The last thing she wanted was for its weight to throw her off when or if they had to move fast. At the door to the chamber was empty of ’Techs. The corridor wasn’t. Before leaving their refuge, both of them stuffed their pockets and hands with all the stones they could. Outside, a faint rustle met their appearance. A half a dozen ’Techs pivoted to face them. “Move as fast as you can,” Lyssra said. “Try not to stop.” In response Nikoli hefted a single stone in his right hand. He gave her a brisk nod. They headed out the way they had come in. Without looking back, Lyssra knew the ’Techs were filling the corridor behind them. She could hear them through the thrumming terror that muffled all sound and blurred her vision. She thought for sure her heart had stopped when what felt like a fist closed over it. She couldn’t even breath anymore. They rounded the curving corridor and nearly fell into a boiling mass of ’Techs. Lyssra backpedaled and slammed into Nikoli, who grunted and almost went down. “Hey!” He grabbed her arm, then he yelped when he saw the dozens of ’Techs that filled the corridor.
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CHAPTER 9 Lyssra tasted the dust of age and death. The muscles in her legs shook and ignored the confused orders coming from her hindbrain. When a pair of ’Techs scurried between her legs and darted toward the massed ’Techs, she nearly emptied her bladder then and there. The hand on her shoulder would probably leave a mark; she barely felt it. “Lyssra,” his voice hissed in her ear. “This way. Hurry.” She was hauled around and pushed back the way they had come. A shadow door loomed, and before she had time to think where he was taking them, she had been dragged through it into the vast room beyond. The darkness was shattering. Without giving their eyes time to adjust, Nikoli pulled her along behind him, one hand firmly locked 426
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around her wrist, making even the idea of breaking free an impossibility. Behind her she thought she heard the remorseless tide of machines moving through the darkness after them. Or it might have been her own heart. She took stock of her surroundings. There was sand under her booted feet and the solid echo of their running footsteps all around to tell her they were moving through a large, open space. Reason told her it didn’t have to stay open. She tugged at Nikoli’s hand to slow him down. “Nik—” He dragged her on, and she realized that the same numbing terror gripped him. He wasn’t thinking of their course, only the fact that they were getting away. But if a stone wall appeared in their path, they’d both be dead if he didn’t slow down. “Nikoli, stop. We don’t know what’s up ther—” Even to her own ears her voice sounded breathless and weak. She struggled to catch her wind, while unable to slow his headlong rush. “Slow down!” He ran harder. Did he hear the same rush of ’Tech feet closing behind them? Was that why he ignored her? Lyssra sped up. For one brief instant she was beside Nikoli, then she shoulder-checked him, at the same time swinging one foot out to catch his. They went down in a tangled shout. The sand was just as hard in here as it had been out on the desert. She rolled until she lay on top of him. When he tried to jump up, she was ready for him. “Stop it!” 427
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His body froze under her. She felt the shallow gasp of his breath on the back of her hand. She raised herself up slowly. “You can’t keep running, Niki,” she said. “We don’t know what we might hit. You want to get killed?” “They’re after us—” “Then let’s keep moving,” she said, striving for calmness. “But not running. If we panic, we’re just as dead.” “Let me up.” She rolled off him and stood. He climbed to his feet beside her. Sand clung to her damp skin; she tried brushing it off and found a shallow scratch on her cheek. She realized that either the light was growing, or their eyes were adapting to the darkness. They eyed each other. “You okay?” she asked. “Are you crazy?” he countered. “You trying to break your neck?” “I’m trying to keep you from breaking yours. We don’t even know where we’re running to. You slam into one of those walls, and they won’t have to catch us to finish us off. Now listen.” That shut him up for about thirty seconds. Then she heard the huff of his breath as he let it out. “To what?” he said, not bothering to disguise his annoyance. “My point, exactly. How many ’Techs do you figure were behind us before we met that mob?” “Last time I looked…about three dozen, give or take a thousand. Why?” “My count would have been a bit higher but close enough.” She glanced up. A faint smear of light filtered in from someplace. At least they weren’t going to be blind. “I think there are two factions of ’Techs. Don’t ask me why, or what that means, but it’s 428
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like two groups of them are claiming us and willing to fight for the privilege.” “They’re not chasing us because they’re fighting over who gets us?” “Or one’s fighting to keep the other one from following. Either way, they’re not following us.” She edged closer to him and grabbed his hand. “It gives us a little time, at least. Where are we?” “Inside—” His head swiveled around and he took in the blackness that pressed in on them from all sides. Then his gaze went up at the dome overhead. She watched his jaw drop. “How far up do you figure that is? Five hundred meters? Six? I knew it was big from seeing it outside, but…” “What do you think it was?” She shrugged. “A place of worship? A sports arena? In the middle of the desert? Not much sign of anything else around, or did they live here, too?” She thought of the small room they had been trapped in. “Was it a temple? A mosque?” “Who knows if it was even desert back then. What did the asteroid attack do to the climate? A thousand years of desertification could make anyplace look old.” She agreed. She pointedly squeezed his hand and made him look at her. “Which way?” His response of, “Any way but back,” didn’t surprise her. “But we have to get out. Not deeper in. Pakal—” “Won’t come looking for us in here. I know. Now,” she said. “Try to think like a ’Tech. If they stopped fighting, or there was a clear winner, which way would you go to catch us? Straight through, or try to cut us off by circling the center?” “Think like a damn machine. If these things thought like 429
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normal machines, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Nikoli brushed sand off the back of his head and muttered something in guttural Uplands under his breath. Then he pointed to their left, toward a blur of light on the distant wall. “If that’s another exit, let’s backtrack a bit. Maybe they won’t be expecting that.” She followed Nikoli on legs that were beginning to feel rubbery. Exhaustion hovered closer, and she wondered how much longer either of them could go. *
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When Lyssra tripped she came awake with a start and realized she must have been half-asleep. The realization came too late. Her ankle turned in the sand, and she cried out when she went down. “Lyssra!” “It’s all right,” she said quickly when he knelt beside her. His hands were solicitous as they helped her up. “I don’t think I sprained it.” She took a step to prove her words and felt the heel of her boot hit something hard. Something very unrock-like. She knelt down and groped around in the half-light. “What is it?” he asked. “Don’t know. Help me here, will you?” Nikoli found it. When he dusted it off and held it up she felt a flare of disappointment. It looked like a glass bottle. Hardly a monumental historical find, someone’s garbage that lasted a millennia. Nikoli hefted it in his hand. “Nice weight.” He swung the bottle through the air in front of him, testing it. She almost expected him 430
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to say, Take that. Instead he stood and pulled her up with him. “Sure you’re okay?” “Let’s go.” He didn’t argue. She felt her eyes begin to slide shut less than thirty minutes later. Beside her Nikoli dragged his feet. When he staggered into her, they both nearly went down. She grabbed his arm and forcefully halted him. “This is ridiculous,” she said. “We have to rest.” “They’ll catch us.” “If we don’t rest, what difference will it make? Neither one of us is in any shape to run, let alone fight.” “Just a little bit longer.” “Let’s rest, then go on.” “Twenty minutes,” he said softly. “Thirty, tops.” “You get your own way a lot, don’t you?” “Hey, being adorable and sexy has to give me some advantage, right?” He twined his fingers through hers and drew her against him. “Fifteen minutes?” “Ten,” she said, knowing the entire exchange was a joke, since neither one of them had a timepiece. It still felt good to be held, if only briefly. She sighed when he released her. “Deal.” The light in the distance began to redden. Night was falling beyond the cold stone walls. Outside the stars would be waiting to emerge. Would one of those stars be the Necromancer, still waiting to hear from its lost crew? Or had the Necromancer already fled, making everything they did a joke? But Pakal had talked to them. Pakal knew they were alive. 431
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Would that matter to Selhdun? Lyssra put one careful foot in front of the other. She refused to think beyond that simple action. When the sand shifted under her feet, she felt Nikoli reach for her to steady them. She grabbed his hand and took another step. Then she thought the ’Techs were coming out of the sand. She yelled when Nikoli stumbled and went down, dragging her with him. His hand was wrenched out of hers by the force of his fall. She braced to hit the sandy floor. Or worse, land on top of him. Instead she fell.
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CHAPTER 10 Pakal did his preflight check with stolid thoroughness. He refused to allow himself to dwell on where he was going, or what he expected to find when he got there. Go over his checks; go over them again. One after another, delays had forced his hand. The ship itself seemed perversely determined not to let him leave. He didn’t know how much of the trouble was ’Tech related and how much was just bad luck. He had watched the hours steal away, taking hope and turning it into sour dust in his mouth. Had Nikoli even heard his message? Had he been able to convince the Cyxers to leave the safety of the sealed shuttle for the perils of open air? Now at last, hours after he should have launched, he sat in his pilot’s seat and moved restless fingers over the console. At least 433
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the shuttle Commodore seemed largely unaffected by the oddities that plagued them in everything else. The comm crackled to life. Kaari waited on the bridge for his flight call. “I am ready,” he said. He thought he heard Kaari mutter, “I’m not.” Then she said, “Good flight, Pakal. Bring them back. I’ll ready the quarantine site.” Pakal wanted to tell her not to be premature, then silenced himself. Let her do what she needed. Just as he must do the same. The Necromancer’s great outer doors split open and he eased Commodore out beyond the hull, into free fall. He saw the bulk of the Necromancer above him, then he rolled the shuttle and dropped away. He planned one orbit, to test the shuttle’s responses and satisfy himself fully that nothing was amiss, then he would descend. “Godspeed.” Kaari’s sentiment startled him, but then he knew she was under a lot of stress lately. She didn’t want to admit her thoughts to him, fearing he would grow angry. He shied away from what she thought he might do in his anger. That was a path best not taken. As he descended, the high walls of the upper level clouds shredded under his passage and let him catch glimpses of the surface. Over the years Pakal had become very familiar with the major planets of the Autarch. After a while they all began to blend in his mind, their similarities overriding the minor differences visible from on high. They looked like this planet. Only when he broke through the final cloud cover did he begin to see the major difference. The damage from the asteroid strikes was geologically still young. Not 434
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enough time had passed to blur the edges of the strike zone and they were starkly visible amid the torn landscape. So far they had made note of at least sixteen distinct strikes of varying size. Pakal suspected at least one massive body had been dropped into one of the two major oceans. Possibly more. It is what he would do with such a devastating weapon. The destructive force of the ensuing tsunamis would have done more to demoralize the survivors than a dozen more localized land strikes. The endless winter that followed would have completed the job in time. Disease, pestilence and famine, what horrors must they have wrought. Had they meant to destroy it so thoroughly? What role did the ubiquitous ’Techs play in all of this? Were they there to help or hinder the process of Terra’s rehabilitation? The comm crackled again. “Prepare for final descent.” “Find them, Pakal,” Kaari said, her words broken by static. “Find them and bring them home.” *
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He bent over her, his face hard with need. She felt his heat and her own desire and reached for him; this time he was going to finish what he had started— Someone shook her. She pushed him away even as the dream faded. Gaia, if he was going to keep teasing her when she was awake, until she was so hot she squirmed with need, he had no right to wake her up when her dream lover was about to give her what he wouldn’t. “Lyssra! Get up,” Nikoli hissed, and his hands shook her 435
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roughly. “Lyssra—” “—hear you. I hear you,” she mumbled. She dragged one eyelid open. It was barely light. The sun wasn’t even up yet. “What is it? Nikoli.” “Oh, God, I thought you weren’t going to come out of it,” Nikoli said, and she was startled to see that his face looked damp. Had he been crying? Why? What— Then she remembered. She sat up and winced at the dizziness. Her hand went to her head, and she felt the bump under her matted hair. She met Nikoli’s worried gaze. “We fell, didn’t we? Where?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Under the city, as best I can tell. An old tunnel or conduit.” She brushed her lap and coughed when dust enveloped her. Old was right. Despite the sand and age the upper areas had not been dusty like this. She looked around. There was light enough to see, but what was its source? She looked up. Panels on the ceiling glowed dimly. They were distinct squares of some material that gave off a faint green glow. Bioluminescence? Even they were coated in dust. Dust. She sat up straighter. “There are no ’Techs down here, are there?” He offered her a guarded shrug. “No sign of any.” “It wouldn’t be this dirty if they were around. Why haven’t they found it I wonder?” She didn’t add, and what does that mean for us? The good news was they wouldn’t be facing the murderous machines for a while, the bad news… She’d been here too long to think there wouldn’t be some bad news associated with it. She’d think of it eventually. He helped her to her feet. She swayed and didn’t object when 436
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he slid his arm around her and held her. She leaned into him. “Where to now?” He shrugged. “I can’t even tell direction down here. Does it matter?” Pick a direction and go. It probably didn’t matter. She gestured ahead. “This way?” “Sure, why not.” He looked over sharply when she swayed into him. “You walk okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little unsteady.” “We’re lucky we didn’t break something. Padded landing,” he said and coughed at the clouds of dust that puffed up at each step. “Hope this dust is sterile.” She had thought of that, but didn’t see any reason to mention the fear that burrowed into her gut at the mere thought of exposure. The fear had been there so long she ignored it most of the time now. The tunnel traveled, more or less, in a straight line. There were numerous branching tunnels, but they were either unlit, or blocked by rock falls, or, in one case, a steel door that remained intact, testifying to the dryness of the place. They saw no ’Techs. The stone wall was rough and looked like it should be damp. Instead it was dry and sharp-edged, as she found out on more than one occasion. The whole place stank of dust, age and neglect. “Does this area seem older than the city above?” she asked. He jerked up at the sound of her voice. “Huh? Older? Because it’s dusty?” “Unfinished, if that makes any sense.” Like she expected anything to make sense any more. “The city walls are obviously man-made, with tools. This looks, I don’t know, blasted.” 437
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“It probably is older. Maybe they built on top of another city.” “Who put the lights in?” “Do we really want to know? What’s that?” Something scurried across the sandy floor, then disappeared into the wall. They carefully circled the small track it left in the sand. Lyssra wished she’d had a clearer look at whatever it was. “Looked like a small ’Tech,” Nikoli said. “But we haven’t seen any small ones, or big ones for that matter.” “Doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” Lyssra scuffed at the edges of the track, the toe of her boot obliterating part of it. “I think it was alive. Did it look like it had a tail to you?” Nikoli shrugged and turned away. “Too small to be food, so who cares? Come on, I think the ground’s tilting up here. Maybe the path’s going toward an exit.” Definitely not a Cyxer. No Cyxer would dismiss something as inconsequential, no matter how small. She thought of Ilesha’s reaction to the harmless butterfly they had encountered on Tiamat. No doubt all Nikoli would see was its beauty. They passed more rock jumbles. If the tunnel was old, it was also aging. The walls showed stress in some areas, and the floor was littered with shards of shattered stone. They clinked when stepped on. “Careful,” Lyssra said when Nikoli poked his head down a darkened tunnel. His boots crunched on broken stone. The main passageway looked stable enough; she couldn’t say the same about the side tunnels. “If it was going to come down, it would have by now.” “Maybe. Still, be careful.” She turned her head. “You hear 438
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something?” He paused, fingers lightly resting on the wall. After a second he shook his head. “No—wait, yes. What is it?” Faint at first then growing, the sound was like the rustle of a soft wind through grass. They heard another sound they recognized, the rush of falling sand. “What—Shit!” Nikoli grabbed Lyssra’s hand and jerked her along the tunnel. “’Techs.” She recognized it now. They must have found the place Nikoli and she had fallen through. Damn, why wouldn’t they just give up? Why were they so determined to catch the humans? What possessed a machine to have that kind of single-minded stubbornness? The floor was definitely moving upward. Lyssra felt the tilt in the muscles of her legs. The light changed, too. The bioluminescence faded, to be replaced by something stronger, more familiar. The footing underneath grew trickier as the angle of ascent increased. Less sand and more stone fragments cluttered their path, ready to trip the unwary and send them headlong into a nest of knife-edged granite pieces. They had to slow to a half-crawl, scrambling up the treacherous slope, while the sound of approaching ’Techs grew louder. Lyssra tried to listen, to see if she could tell how many there were. Sound was too distorted. There might have been ten; there might have been a thousand. Did it really matter? The light was very bright. Splashes of sunlight mottled the stony slope. She heard Nikoli’s tired curse. She nearly bumped into him when she kept climbing. 439
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She looked up. Overhead she saw a patch of blue sky, but it came through a hole the size of her fist. The exit was blocked. Down the tunnel she heard the clatter of clawed feet on stone. A silver shadow flowed over the pale stones.
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CHAPTER 11 “If it’s okay with you,” Nikoli said in a low, urgent voice. “I’d like to start digging my way out of here. Can you keep them busy?” “What?” “Unless you’d rather dig, while I do the throwing.” She looked at him blankly; he raised his nano-shell encased arm. “We’ve both seen how bad I am at hitting anything.” She closed her mouth and reached for another rock. One of her fingernails tore loose, leaving a smear of blood on the glittering stone surface. She ignored the sharp pain and reached for another one. The first flood of ’Techs reached the bottom of the slope. Lyssra’s aim was definitely better than his; she took out two in one 441
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shot. Others filled the gap. He dug frantically. The stones were sharp and cut his flesh. His blood stained the dark rock, making them slippery and harder to pull out. He concentrated on the smaller rocks, could usually work them out and loosen a larger one or two, then a push would dislodge them all, and they would tumble free. The gap widened with maddening slowness. He knew by the growing loudness of Lyssra’s breathing that she was running out of strength. A large, weathered stone broke loose and tottered on a fulcrum of rock. He started to warn Lyssra, when the idea hit him. “Lyssra, can you scoot up this way? Keep throwing, I don’t want them swarming us.” He heard the soft chink of several small stones roll down the slope when she started moving. Risking a quick glance, he saw the small cascade dislodge the two nearest ’Techs. They tumbled over backward and took out a third as they skidded down, unable to get a grip in the moving ground. Lyssra must have seen it, too. By the time she reached his side after some careful maneuvering, she was grinning. “Where do you want me to work?” He pointed at a small cluster of interlinked rock. She set to work on the smallest. He pried out the rest of the pieces around his big stone. It rocked gently, then with a final push, lost its balance and skidded downhill. The tumbling, rough-edged stone picked up speed as it went, and also gathered other loose grit and stones. It was a sizable avalanche that hit the growing swarm of ’Techs at the bottom of the slope, sweeping them away. Nikoli didn’t pause to watch. He felt the sun on his face through the widening gap. He didn’t know Lyssra had turned around, until he felt her shoulder brush his, and her hands were 442
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digging into the same rubble his were. No time to do more than mutter, “Dig,” but he had never been so glad to see someone in his life. A second avalanche followed the first, and the way lay open. Lyssra scrambled through and turned to help Nikoli up. He kicked more loose stones and hoped he hit more ’Techs. Then he was out and sprawled on his back, feeling the welcome heat of the sun on his scratched and battered face. Something wet dribbled down his neck. Alarmed, he sat up, his hand going to his throat. It came away wet, but instead of red, his fingertips dripped water. “Shit, the water!” he pulled the pack off his back, now stained dark with fluid from the crushed bulbs. Of the dozen bulbs he had shoved in there, over half were battered open. The glass bottle remained intact. Great, he had a souvenir. A quick glance at Lyssra found her in a similar mess. She glanced back at the dark maw behind them. “Let’s get out of here,” she said. “We can sort it out while we’re moving.” That sounded good to him. He knew they avoided the threat of panic that would come if they stopped to think about what the loss meant. Move. Flee, if it was only into the desert. Overhead the sun dipped west. Night was coming again. Lyssra insisted they move out into the desert, away from the hole they had escaped from. Overhead the sky was a cloudless bowl and for the first time in her life Lyssra lifted her head to the sun and felt good to have its golden warmth on her bare skin. She lowered her gaze to meet his and looked past him into the desert. She went still. “Do you believe in miracles?” she asked quietly. 443
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“What?” “You won’t believe it.” She said it like she didn’t believe it herself. “Look.” The comm was back. Something about it looked different, but he couldn’t think what it was. Nikoli crouched beside it, running his dirty hands over the smooth surface. “They brought it back,” he said. “Why?” “Why—Who cares why. It’s back. Now I can work on it again.” She squinted down at the unit. “What’s wrong with it? It looks…it’s not the same.” He continued to examine it, probing it with torn fingernails, ignoring the blood and grit he left behind. Within seconds he sat back on his heels. She put her hand on his shoulder. “What is it, Niki?” “It’s…sealed.” He rocked on his heels and looked up at her helplessly. “I can’t even tell how they did it. It’s like the whole unit’s been turned into a black box. It’s supposed to be several discrete units, each one calibrated to work together. Now, there are no parts to get to…” “Any way to break the seal?” “I wouldn’t know where to start. I don’t know what that would do…black boxes aren’t meant to be tampered with.” “Try it,” she said. Nikoli’s mouth dropped open. “What? Just like that?” “Why not?” She shrugged. “What have we got to lose?” This time when his mouth came open, nothing emerged. Then… “You can’t really think it’s going to be that easy, do you?” 444
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“I gave up trying to understand what the hell’s going on a long time ago. Stop making yourself crazy thinking about it. Try it.” “You’re the one who’s crazy…” It came to her that he was afraid to try. Would it only confirm his worst fear—that Pakal had abandoned him? She gently took his arm. “Come on,” she said. At least he didn’t resist her. “I’ve got a strange feeling…” “Okay, here goes… Necromancer, this is Nikoli Yaroslavl from the shuttle Excelsior. Do you read, Necromancer? Pakal, you there? Out.” Something dark cruised out of the western sky. Lyssra tracked it with her eyes until it resolved into some winged beast floating above the rolling sand. She touched Nikoli’s shoulder and pointed. “It’s not completely dead, then,” she said. “What is it?” Lyssra squinted at the flier. She remembered the Natural History Museum Ilesha had wanted to visit. “I think it’s a raven, a bird.” “Are they dangerous?” Lyssra thought about the scimitar claws and beak Ilesha’s raven had sported. She shrugged. “I hope not. If it comes this way, get ready to duck.” Nikoli gave her a lopsided grin. “Sure, my ego’s already taken a nice beating.” He bent back over the comm. “Necromancer, come in. Do you read me, Necromancer?” “Nikoli? Is that really you?” It was Kaari.
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CHAPTER 12 Pakal circled the city once. The spot where the first shuttle had gone down was a soft hump in the ever-shifting sand. Any tracks that might have shown him where anyone had gone when they fled the shuttle were just as buried. He saw nothing around the city walls. No sign of ’Techs or humans, or anything else for that matter. Every so often a solar driven dust devil would whip up a cyclone of sand and batter the pale city walls; Pakal imagined the lonely howl it made, when it failed to get in. He avoided landing the shuttle too close to the other one. If there were still ’Techs around the area, he did not want to disturb them. He put the small craft down two hundred meters east of the shuttle, and three hundred meters south of the city wall. 446
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Immediately Kaari hailed him. “Nothing yet. The ’Techs seem to be more active over the comm, but other than that, nothing. Let me suggest if you plan on doing this sort of thing on a regular basis, you should invest in better equipment.” “I assure you this moment will not be repeated.” “Imagine my relief,” Kaari muttered. “I’ll keep you posted.” Pakal left the comm link open. If anything tried to hail him, he wanted to know. His plan was to stay until nightfall. Kaari would monitor surface activity as best she could from the Necromancer. Pakal would watch from ground level. He would not leave the shuttle. After night fell, he would wait another hour, then circle the site one more time. Nikoli would know he had to make some kind of signal. If he could not make one by day, then he would have to use the darkness to reveal himself. Pakal would return to the Necromancer if he saw nothing. While they figured out what to do, and whether a flight home was possible, he would continue to monitor the planet. But he suspected that if he found no one this trip, the odds of doing so became slim to nonexistent. If Nikoli and the others ran out of water they would not survive a day. How much water could three people carry? No matter how Pakal looked at it, they had a day or two left, unless a supply of palatable water existed in the city. Pakal had to assume it didn’t. Nothing about the building suggested it functioned in any way. Forty-eight hours. Then he would take the Necromancer out to the Jump point. And see if he could figure out a way to get them back through. He owed Kaari that much at least. 447
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*
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*
Kaari moved restlessly around the bridge. She hated it. She knew it was mostly imagination, but every sound seemed magnified. Her own footsteps echoed through the room. Never mind that the floor was carpeted. Everything echoed. Especially the ghosts. She knew it was foolish, but something about being stuck on a ship with two dead bodies did things to her nerves. She hadn’t asked Pakal what he had done with either Selhdun or Ilesha, and Pakal hadn’t volunteered, but she suspected they had been put in storage somewhere. The useless quarantine room maybe. She didn’t want to know. She kept one ear on the comm in case Pakal deigned to tell her what he was doing. She also monitored the forward screen. If someone blew up the city she might notice it. Or if an army approached from across the empty desert the monitor might pick it up. They simply didn’t have the equipment to monitor the surface for individual human scale activity. She thought of getting something to eat, but found she had no appetite. Even the thought of coffee left her feeling faintly queasy. She wished Pakal would just find them and bring them home. She nearly tripped over the ’Tech when it appeared at her feet. Normally the small maintenance machines kept out of people’s way. This one stood its ground and she swore it looked at her with its sensor-studded carapace. That was ridiculous. ’Techs didn’t react to people, except to get out of the way. She watched it wave its two front appendages at her. She glared at the thing. It stared back. Unnerved she moved back toward the comm, thinking she might check in on Pakal. She 448
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didn’t want the Xuan falling asleep, after all. The ’Tech followed her. Okay, now it was really getting on her nerves. Only, how did you order a ’Tech to go away? They weren’t dogs, or even mechanical servitors like some of the outie bars used instead of paying for warm bodies. ’Techs just did their job, and those jobs didn’t involve direct human interaction. “Ship,” she said. Silence. Great, Ship was acting up again. Did that explain the ’Tech’s odd behavior? Wonderful, a malfunctioning ship’s brain and a ’Tech doing she didn’t understand. “Ship, get that thing out of here.” The ’Tech skittered across the carpeted floor toward her. Kaari felt a dip in the room temperature, or was it her? Goose bumps crowded the flesh of her arms. “Ship!” “Responding.” “Remove that ’Tech from the bridge.” At first she thought Ship wouldn’t respond. Then the ’Tech rotated on multiple legs and scuttled toward one of the open vents that ringed the room. She watched to make sure it was gone, then slumped into her chair and tried to ignore the shaking in her hands. Pakal, where are you? How long did it take to find three people on a big planet? How many years did she have? Her comm hissed and spat voices. She slapped the comm open, expecting it to be Pakal. “Necromancer, this is Nikoli Yaroslavl from Excelsior. Do you read me, Necromancer?” “My God, Niki, is that you? Where are you? Pakal’s down 449
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there looking for you.” “P-Pakal’s here?” Nikoli sounded like he was looking around, expecting to see Pakal materialize in front of him. “He left about an hour ago. Where are y—” The comm spat and hissed. Kaari jerked back. “Nikoli? Come in. Come in, Excelsior. Damn it, Niki—” Only a low hiss filled the bridge. She opened the comm again. “Necromancer hailing the Commodore. Come in, Commodore. Do you read me, Pakal?” Pakal responded almost immediately. “Commodore here, Necromancer. What is it, Kaari?” “Nikoli just called! But I don’t know where he is. He didn’t have time to say.” “Were the others with him?” “He didn’t say. We were cut off.” “Try him again. Keep trying him. I will try to raise him from here.” “I will—” The comm went dead. “You’re welcome,” she muttered and went back to hailing Nikoli.
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CHAPTER 13 “Ouch!” Nikoli stuffed his bleeding thumb into his mouth and sucked the latest injury. He glared at the offending plant, at least he assumed it was a plant, though the sorry, scrawny thing seemed to be composed of all spines and nothing else. He raised his head to study their path one more time. Then he bent back to the comm and tried for the sixth time in as many minutes to reconnect. Lyssra urged him on, determined that they would put as much distance between themselves and the tunnels. He scrambled up the hill, pausing at the top to shout into the comm. “Kaari, answer me. For God’s sake, come in, please.” 451
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Lyssra glanced up at the sky, noted the position of the descending sun, and said, “It’s going to be dark soon. If Pakal is down here, we need to find a way to signal him.” The comm remained stubbornly silent. Lyssra blinked and looked up to find Nikoli looking at her. He looked a little dazed. She knew how he felt. “He’s coming! He’ll find us. You’ll see.” If he could find them. “Can we light a fire?” she asked. Nikoli blinked at her. “A fire?” She helped him up. “Yes, a fire.” She tugged at the spiny bush. “You know I’ll bet that stuff would burn nicely,” Lyssra said. “You think? I’d like to turn the business end of a shuttle on it myself. Let it try to eat the next person who comes along after that.” “No, I mean really burn. A signal fire. How big would a fire have to be to be seen from the Necromancer? Or from a shuttle?” Nikoli squirmed out from behind a bush and approached her. “What did you say?” She repeated it. His scratched face split into a grin. “You are a genius.” He grabbed her suddenly and pulled her tight against him. Startled, her arms went around him and held him. He wasn’t going to pretend it wasn’t nice to hold her. For now all they had was each other. “I am? I mean, I am. Of course.” Then just as quickly his face fell. He rubbed her arms, his thumbs gently tracing circles on her bare flesh. “How do we start a fire?” She opened her mouth, then closed it. Damn, why did he have to ask such good questions? 452
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Unanswerable questions. He welcomed the distraction when she leaned into him. Hadn’t primitive people tamed fire tens of thousands of years ago? It couldn’t be that difficult, could it? Probably not, if you knew what you were doing. Which Nikoli knew he didn’t. “God, I wish I could just lie down and sleep for a few days,” he said. “Yeah, I know. But that’s not going to get us anywhere, is it?” “You just never give up, do you?” “When I do, you won’t be around to see it.” He glanced west. The sun descended. There might be another three hours of daylight left. Could they survive a night out here? How long would their water last, realistically? “Your bottle, do you still have it?” Lyssra asked. “Y-yes,” he said. “Why?” “Break it. Use the convex surface to focus the sunlight!” It was his turn to stare open mouthed. He fumbled in his shipsuit for the salvaged bottle. “But what are you going to break it on?” Lyssra said. “Oh, come on,” Nikoli said. “There must be a single lousy stone somewhere in this stupid sea of sand.” “Forget it, start collecting fuel. We’ll find a stone as we go. Get lots of flammable stuff,” Lyssra said. “Remember, we need to keep it burning for hours.” Something flew overhead. Its shadow traced a sinuous line across the dunes. Lyssra pointed to it and smiled. “More ravens. I wonder if that’s what we heard earlier.” He saw the slow, lazy flap of broad wings and didn’t know what comfort she found in knowing the planet still harbored life. It wasn’t going to help them stay alive. 453
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As he had predicted, it didn’t take long to find a stone, which easily broke the bottle into several shards. Nikoli carefully stored the pieces in his shipsuit and he and Lyssra went out to collect firewood. There was no shortage of flammable material. Nikoli found that if he grasped the thorny bushes carefully enough, he could use his booted feet to kick the plants off at the base, then stamp until they broke apart. He dragged them to a hollow at the top of a nearby dune. Lyssra did the same with her bundle. The shallow depression would keep the winds from blowing the fire out, or scattering the embers. They needed to concentrate the fire, to increase the chance that the Necromancer or an searching shuttle would see it and recognize it for what it was. In the dropping temperature, they still worked up a sweat. Sand clung to everything damp and seemed to have an uncanny knack of working its way into every fold of skin and crevice. His skin felt like it was being flayed off him. “Come on, Kaari,” he said under his breath. “Where are you? I want to go home.” How was that for wishful thinking? Selhdun would make sure he never found a home on the Necromancer, not in a million years. He wasn’t going to let Pakal find happiness with anyone else. *
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They paused only to share a drinking bulb, carefully draining one bulb between them, leaving them an even ten to go. Lyssra knew the presence of so many plants, even if they did look desiccated, meant that under the sand there must be water. They had no real tools to dig, except for hands and the used up bulbs. 454
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Better than nothing, but neither would get them far. They had a sizable pile of brush when Lyssra took one piece of the broken bottle, and Nikoli held the other piece, and they held them up for the light to hit. Lyssra fed the narrow beam of focused light onto a carefully gathered bed of thin, dry kindling. After several minutes when she wasn’t sure if she breathed, a tendril of pale smoke drifted up from the nest of sticks. Inside the kindling, she saw a red glow. Immediately Nikoli began to fan the tiny ember. He fed it a single dry twig, which crackled and smoked. He blew on it and was rewarded by a small flame. Lyssra shifted her body on the hard sand to shield the undeveloped flame from any errant breeze. Nikoli fed it more sticks. Soon they had a healthy looking blaze crackling in the hollow. While Nikoli tended it, Lyssra went out to gather more fuel. When she returned, dragging a massive tangle of brush behind her, she found him sitting cross-legged before the fire, seemingly mesmerized by the smokeless flames. After adding her bounty to the massive pile they had already accumulated, she slid into a lotus beside him. He stirred when she sat. “Oh, hi,” he murmured. “That was fast.” She didn’t bother telling him she had been gone nearly an hour. The sun slipped behind the flat horizon. Distant clouds glowed gold, then red. The sky slowly resolved from cerulean to royal blue. The shadows that had earlier crept into the hollows flowed up to overtake everything. A few feeble stars winked on as the sky darkened. She was glad to see a three-quarter moon appear to add more light. Nikoli scanned the sky, looking for a star that moved. She kept the flames fanned, carefully adding enough fuel to keep it going, but not using 455
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up their limited supply too fast. “Your turn,” she said. “Before it gets too dark.” He rose and shook himself. Dropping the stick he had been playing with, into the fire, he stood for a moment and watched the flames climb up it. Then he spun away. “Be back in a few. Don’t hold dinner for me.” He stamped toward the biggest thicket of brush. Briefly he was silhouetted against the light-washed western sky, then he dipped down below the line of the dune. She still heard him moving over the sand. She found out why he had been staring at the flames. It was soporific. They danced, blue and orange and yellow-white on the stack of thorny brush. In the center a core of orange coals pulsed and glowed. She became hypnotized by the wavering colors. Her eyes slid closed and her chin dipped down into her chest. It would be so nice to sleep. To sink down past the fear and uneasiness that jangled her nerves and made her feel physically sick on too many occasions. Nikoli’s scream brought her off the ground so fast she nearly pitched forward into the fire. She scrambled up the slope, then half slid, half ran down to the bottom of the next one, almost falling on her face as she frantically sought out where the scream had come from. She found him at the bottom of the next sand dune, staring into the scrub he had obviously been trying to dislodge. The look he gave her was full of pain and mounting horror. “It bit me…” She saw the animal briefly before it scuttled back into hiding. Pale, nasty tail curled up over its back and two pincer claws outstretched, as though ready for another assault, it vanished under 456
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the thorny bush. He stumbled back, holding his hand. She stared at it in dismay as it began to jerk and twitch. The spasm swept up his arm. Wildeyed he looked at her. “Lyssra…” He went to his knees, curling his hand into his chest, shielding it with his other hand. Then he collapsed on the cooling sand. “Nikoli!”
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CHAPTER 14 By the time Lyssra dragged Nikoli’s thrashing, semi-conscious body back to the fire, it was almost full dark. The blaze was a real beacon now, and she threw more brush on it, watching the sparks burst out of the flaring embers and soar skyward. She opened a water bulb with hands that shook and lifted it to Nikoli’s mouth. He tried to drink, but when he swallowed everything came back up, splattering his legs with vile liquid. She wiped his mouth and soothed him with soft words she doubted he heard. “Lie down, near the fire,” she said, and when he started shivering even with that heat, she lay behind him and pressed her body against his back. She felt the heat from the fire through him, but still he shook. She rose only to throw more fuel on the fire. At one point it 458
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blazed so hot she had to pull Nikoli back from it. Still he shook. “Come on, Kaari, see it. See the goddamn fire. You have to be looking.” She wanted to look at Nikoli’s hand, but every time she got close he screamed and pulled away from her, the last time almost toppling into the fire. She abandoned the attempt. Instead she gave him water every time he asked, even though he threw most of it up. Belatedly, she realized they were down to five bulbs. She hadn’t had any since the one they had shared so many hours ago. When she threw the last scrap of brush on the fir, she opened two bulbs and carefully fed him one, then finished the other herself. The fire crackled briefly to renewed life and she heard the hiss of moisture in a greener twig boil off. Beside her, Nikoli moaned in the half-sleep he had fallen back into. She was thankful for the relief it gave him from the pain that grew by the minute. She didn’t hear it, so softly did it begin. Nikoli tried to sit up. “Pakal,” he whispered. Lyssra smoothed his brow and gently pushed him back down. “Pakal, yes,” she murmured. If a lie would keep him calm, so be it. “You’ll see Pakal soon, I promise.” Then she recognized what Nikoli had already identified. The shuttle resolved into a solid, fast-moving vehicle that flashed overhead, curving around to come back. This time Nikoli struggled up. Lyssra gave up trying to keep him down. A distant roar belatedly announced the shuttle’s arrival. Under her feet the sand drummed. An echoing boom startled her. The ground rocked so hard the fire collapsed in a shower of sparks and Lyssra nearly fell. A second shuttle joined the first. Then a third rose above the dunes, spewing so much dust in its wake, she realized why they had never seen the ship that attacked 459
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the first shuttle. They were buried in the sand. Hope fled. The Necromancer’s shuttle veered off and Lyssra waited for the Terran ships to pursue it and bring it down, too, stranding them all forever on the empty planet. Beside her Nikoli made a soft sound in his throat and she turned to find him staring at the sky with wide-eyed horror. “Pakal…” Pakal or Kaari, whoever, flew the shuttle, maneuvered it brilliantly. It dodged away from the approaching ships, skimming the dune tops as it circled back toward the fire. But the Terran ships were right on its trail. When the fourth Terran ship appeared, Lyssra knew there was no more hope. They came down vertically, driving Necromancer’s shuttle before them. Dust billowed out from underneath and obscured the final descent. Lyssra and Nikoli cowered under the assault of sand that swallowed even the blazing fire in its assent. When the shuttle settled onto the desert floor, silence wrapped everything in a cloak of anticipation. A few coals winked feebly from the fire pit before they faded and grew dark. Nikoli stumbled to his feet and staggered past her. The four shuttles descended. Lyssra screamed his name, but he made no sign he heard her. Nikoli fell to his knees when another blast of air and hot sand battered them. He shielded his face and seemed to fold into himself as the effect of the venom and exhaustion finally hit him. Lyssra dropped onto the sand beside him. She glanced up in terror when the Terran shuttles crossed over above them. She drew Nikoli’s head into her lap. “Pakal?” 460
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“Soon, Niki,” she said softly. She waited for the blast of superheated air to come, bending over Nikoli to protect him, as futile as it would be to shield him from the full force of a shuttle’s exhaust. The pitch of the shuttles changed and she looked up. They hovered overhead, nearly five hundred meters off the desert floor. Maybe they weren’t going to attack. Maybe— They vanished. There was an explosive burst of imploding air and the sharp smell of ozone and a silence so complete she thought she had gone deaf. But where the four ships had been…nothing. The rear door of the Necromancer’s shuttle popped open and a ramp unfolded, stiffening as it touched the ground. No one emerged. Nikoli roused enough under her gentle prodding to struggle back to his feet. He didn’t protest when she half-led, half-carried him toward the open airlock. She pushed him up the ramp, her hands at his back in case he slipped. Praying he wouldn’t, because she wasn’t at all sure she could catch him. The interior glowed with a welcoming light. She settled him into a crash seat and buckled him in. Before sitting down, she grabbed the first aid kit and slid into the seat beside him. “Get us out of here, Kaari,” she said. She dropped her head back against the padded seat. “Kaari?” “Outer locks sealed. Secure yourselves. Where is the other Cyxer?” “Pakal? Ah, Benin…Benin is dead.” “My sympathy,” Pakal said. “Did you see where the ships went?” “Pakal?” Nikoli sat up, though she wondered where he found the strength. His face was parchment white. “Pakal?” 461
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“Yes, Nikoli, I am here. I could not ask Kaari to risk more. Now,” Pakal’s accent grew thicker. “Did you see the ships?” “They…disappeared,” Lyssra said and wasn’t surprised when only silence met her words. “Just like that they were gone.” “Nikoli, did you see the ships?” Nikoli moaned softly and Lyssra leaned over him. “He didn’t see anything,” she said. “Like I said, they just disappeared.” “Ships do not disappear from the bottom of a gravity well.” “I know what I saw.” Nikoli’s moan this time was louder. His face was too pale and his hand… She swallowed past sudden nausea. The skin stretched so tight over the swelling that it looked like he had donned a waterfilled glove. Heat radiated off it and the actual wound was a purple hole. “What is wrong?” Pakal’s alarm was loud in the sudden stillness. “He was stung or bitten by something,” Lyssra said. “It’s bad, Pakal. Get us back to the Necromancer. Selhdun has his answers, he can’t expect any more. He can’t really want Nikoli’s death on his hands.” “Then I fear the news I have is even more unfortunate,” Pakal said slowly. “You had best prepare yourself for the worst.” *
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Lyssra barely felt the take-off. She was numb. Selhdun was dead? Ilesha was dead? She glanced at Nikoli, but she wasn’t even sure he had really heard Pakal, or understood much of what the 462
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older Xuan said. “You still better get us back, Pakal,” she said softly so Nikoli wouldn’t be startled. “He needs medical help.” “You must take your quarantine without the use of the ShipDoc. Use the shuttle’s portable unit.” “I have it.” She gently pressed the small device against Nikoli’s neck and watched in satisfaction as it began to read. Through her boots the hull vibrated as the shuttle’s engines increased in pitch. The vibrations increased in intensity and gravity settled on her shoulders. “You will share a room,” Pakal spoke slowly but inexorably, giving no leeway for her to break in even if she wanted to. “Should I deem the ShipDoc reliable, you will be transferred to it.” “How long until we reach the ship?” “Forty-nine minutes,” Pakal said. “Get us out of here, please, Pakal,” Nikoli whispered. “That is my intention, chuku.” Nikoli muttered something and lapsed into unconsciousness. “Lyssra?” “He’s okay, I think.” She studied the readouts. “The ’Doc’s treating him.” “Thank you, for caring for him, Lyssra.” She wasn’t sure what to say. “You’re welcome,” sounded so lame, but what else could she say? “I’m just glad you saw the fire.” “Yes, well, is a good thing you thought to light one. Someday you must tell me how you did that. I hope it does not inconvenience you to share a room.” “I understand.” “Is there anything you require Kaari bring to your room? Speak now, once the room is sealed, it will not be opened for ten days.” 463
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“No,” she said as the enormity of his words sank in. “Nothing. I think we both just need rest. Will you tell Kaari about Benin?” “I will inform her. I assure you now that you will be compensated for your extra duties.” Pakal thought she wanted money for her troubles? “Forget it, Pakal. He saved my butt a few times, too. You don’t owe me anything.” Which, of course, was exactly what Pakal didn’t want to hear. “Don’t worry, Pakal. He’ll be cared for.” Pakal’s voice was even stiffer than usual. “I am glad to hear that.”
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CHAPTER 15 After she managed to manhandle a semi-conscious Nikoli to the quarantine room, and into bed, Lyssra sagged into the comfortable looking chair beside the bed and closed her eyes. They had made it. She took two deep breaths and let them out in a ragged gust, glad Nikoli wasn’t awake. She was tired of maintaining a calm facade when all she wanted to do was scream in outrage. She rocked in the chair, hugging her knees to her chest. Oh, Ilesha, how could you? She thought of Eleda, now an orphan. She thought of Obatalo and Benin and Selhdun. So much death; so much stupidity. She knew Ilesha had loved her daughter more than life. What would have possessed her to recklessly throw her life away like that? She had to have known the consequences 465
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of so outrageous an act. She lay her cheek against her knee. On the bed Nikoli moved restlessly, but the sedative Lyssra had given him earlier kept him under. Lyssra rocked and remembered her sister. She rubbed her cheek on her shipsuit and realized her face was damp. Oh, Ilesha! She buried her head in her arms and wept. *
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“I’m sorry about Benin,” Kaari said over the comm. She was on the bridge, and had called down to check how they were, and to start a report on their time on the planet. “It seems like such a waste, especially given what you say the ’Techs did after.” Nikoli agreed, but didn’t speak. He still felt groggy from all the medications the portable ’Doc had pumped into him. “Yes, it does,” Lyssra said. “Benin didn’t deserve to die like that.” “He was a sweet kid,” Kaari said. “And I’m not saying that just because…you know.” She cleared her throat. “But you say it seemed like the ’Techs were helping you, later at least. Any idea why they’d do that?” “None,” Lyssra said. “No more than I can explain why they would kill so quickly, without provocation. But I can safely guarantee that when they removed the comm, it wasn’t working, but when they brought it back…” “It was,” Kaari said. She did not sound happy. She hardly sounded like the Kaari Nikoli had met when he first came on board the Necromancer. He hoped it wasn’t permanent. He had liked Kaari, though he’d grow hair down to his ass before 466
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he’d ever tell her that. “So they helped you,” Kaari said. “Then they turned around and attacked Nikoli? Doesn’t make any sense.” “You think I don’t know that?” Nikoli said. He made a rude noise. “Nothing about the ’Techs makes sense. What makes you think they’d start now?” “I like tidiness, I guess,” Kaari said. “Maybe the ’Techs do, too,” Lyssra said. “Maybe they took the comm because they recognized it was machinery, and once they knew it was broken they repaired it. Which still doesn’t explain why they brought it back.” “Which brings us back to trying to understand something that doesn’t begin to think like us,” Kaari said. “Selhdun…” She hesitated, then went on. “Selhdun told Pakal they were engaged in some massive job, but that even the ’Techs didn’t know why or what they were doing anymore. If that’s true, then the ’Tech’s were probably programmed before the Terrans left. But what was the program meant to accomplish?” “They could be trying to fix the planet, to return it to what it was like before the wars.” Nikoli shook his head. “They could be doing something no human could begin to understand. Who knows how far their programming deviated over a thousand years.” “We’re going around in circles here,” Kaari said. “Besides ’Techs, did you see anything else in the city? Or anywhere?” “No,” Nikoli said. He glanced at Lyssra, who watched him from her position on the bed. She lay under the covers, but he knew she was naked. The thought stirred more memories. Damn, but his body was going to get him in deep shit yet. “Wait, didn’t we see some flying thing… You called it a raven, didn’t you, Lyssra? Outside the city.” 467
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“It looked like the bird we saw at the Tiamat Biological Reserve. The curator there said it was a raven.” She chewed on her lower lip. “If something that big survives, then there must be other things still living. I mean, what does an animal that size eat?” “Whatever it wants?” Nikoli ventured. He grinned weakly at Lyssra’s look of amused disgust. “What about in the city?” Kaari asked. “Did you come across anything? Old artifacts, writing…” “We were herded into that room by those damned ’Techs and kept there,” Nikoli said. “I didn’t see anything except ’Techs and I don’t want to talk about them. What about you, Lyssra?” “My guess is the ’Techs already stripped anything that might have been in there,” Lyssra said. “Maybe if we’d been able to explore… But Nikoli is right, the ’Techs didn’t let us wander. About the only thing I could tell you for sure is the city was built, and it was old. But who built it, and why…” She shrugged, and the blankets slipped off her shoulders to puddle below her breasts. She reached across the bed to pick up her wine bulb from the bedside table. Like Nikoli, she had vowed not to drink water again for a long time. He sipped at his own wine, thinking nothing had ever tasted so good. Except maybe the hot meal he’d ordered out of the dispenser the first time they came out of the shower. He wished he could get rid of Kaari and her endless questions. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed beside Lyssra. His scalp itched. Damn, maybe he should take another shower. He reached up to smooth his hand over the delightfully hairless skin. “Ouch! What the hell—” Lyssra sat up at Nikoli’s yell. Her eyes went wide when she saw the scalp he was touching so gingerly. “What is it?” Kaari sounded alarmed. “Nikoli, is something 468
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wrong?” He saw Lyssra’s look. Panic edged his voice. “What is it? What’s wrong?” “I don’t know,” she murmured and lifted his hand away. “No, let me look. I won’t touch…” He hissed when she brushed her fingertips across the flame-red skin. “Nikoli!” Kaari was nearly shouting. “Answer me, now.” “God, that hurts.” He grabbed her hand when she would have touched him again. “Kaari, I’m all right.” He met Lyssra’s gaze. “What is it, do you think?” Lyssra called the lights up full and stared down at the top of his head. It was bright red and covered with tiny blisters. The redness descended down the bare skin of his neck and ended in a line just above his collarbone. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said. “Does it hurt? When you’re not touching it, I mean.” “It…feels hot.” He winced. “And tight, like the skin shrank. God, do you think I picked up something? There’s no ’Doc, I can’t get sick…” “I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said and continued to study it. “The most noticeable thing is the way it ends abruptly, right where you ’suit collar would have been. If you were exposed to something, it was blocked by your shipsuit.” “What could I have been exposed to? Did the ’Techs do something? What the hell have I got, Lyssra?” “What does it look like, Lyssra?” Kaari said. “Does he seem feverish? Disoriented? If you picked up some kind of Terran bug, Nikoli Yaroslavl, I’ll…I’ll… God, what am I going to tell Pakal?” “Nothing, yet,” Lyssra said. “Right now it just looks like a 469
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minor rash. Let’s not jump to conclusions, okay?” “Easy for you to say,” Nikoli muttered. “It feels hot and itchy.” “Well, don’t scratch, whatever you do.” Lyssra threw the covers off and padded naked toward the bathroom. She returned a minute later with a wet towel. It was cold. He stared at her mutely. “Hold it to your head. It ought to at least reduce the heat and stop the itching. I’ll get an anti-inflammatory cream from the dispenser. ’Docs safe enough for that, isn’t it?” “Far as I know,” Kaari said. “It’s just the nanotech bath Pakal doesn’t trust. Just let me know if it gets worse. How are you, Lyssra?” “Fine,” Lyssra said. “No rash, no aches, pains or itches.” “Let’s hope it stays that way,” Kaari said. “I got to get back to work. I’ll call again this evening. Maybe you can call Pakal later, Nikoli. He’s busy right now, but check in on him. Just try not to alarm him, if that’s possible.” “Sure, Kaari,” Nikoli said, rolling his eyes at Lyssra. “I’ll be good.” “If you think of anything else you figure I should know, call, okay? Otherwise, it’s probably better if you try to pass the time yourself. I know it’s probably hard, but Pakal and I got a lot of work to do.” “So don’t bug you?” “Yeah, something like that.” “We won’t,” Nikoli snapped. He flung himself into a chair and straightened the wet cloth on his head. He was sure he looked ridiculous. The prospect of another nine days in this cage, even if it was velvet-lined, was mind numbing. How had he gotten himself into this? 470
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He knew Lyssra was watching him, probably wondering what had brought on this snit. He didn’t feel like talking about it. He didn’t feel like talking, period. *
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Lyssra grabbed her robe before she followed Nikoli. “You know it’s probably nothing,” she said. “You don’t know that for sure though, do you?” Nikoli said. She belted the robe around her and sat on the arm of his chair. “No, I don’t. But how do you really feel? I mean, I know you’re probably still tired, and feeling pretty ragged,” she said. “I know I am. But how do you feel?” He shrugged. “Not terminal, if that’s what you mean.” This time he offered her a rueful grin. “Think I’m overreacting?” She held up both hands. “Not me. No sir.” “Point made.” She stood and dropped her hand onto his shoulder, careful to avoid the red skin around his neck. “Relax, Niki. We’ve gone through too much to fall apart now that it’s over.” “Yeah, you’re right.” He rocked back in the chair. “God, why didn’t Pakal put my ’web in here. That always helps me relax…” “Ask him to send it down.” “You didn’t know?” Nikoli said. “That door’s sealed. No one goes in or out for ten days. One of us gets sick; the other one’s on their own. Someone dies… Well, you don’t want to go there.” Lyssra had known Pakal was serious about the quarantine, but hadn’t realized he was quite that serious. It made sense, of course. Without a ’Doc to handle medical crisis, anything less put the whole ship at risk. 471
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She crossed to the dispenser and returned a few moments later, caring a tube. She smeared a white cream all over one hand. “Come on,” she said. “Let me put this on your head.” The lotion was cool on her hand. It probably felt good on the hot skin of his head and neck. “Any idea where you think you might have been exposed to something?” she asked. He lay back with his eyes closed and frowned. “No. But it couldn’t have been early, or it would have shown up before, wouldn’t it?” “Probably true,” she said. “Hard to believe much lives outside though. The UV levels of the sun would be pretty effective sterilizer. Animals might survive, they could hide underground during the day. But I didn’t see any sign of plant life except for those dried up old bushes, and viruses normally need a host.” “Something in the dust? There was enough of that.” “Yes,” Lyssra said. “But dust, or anything for that matter, would hardly be stopped by the collar of your shipsuit, would it? So why the line? For that matter, you breathe dust in, and your breathing seems fine. It’s an epidermal exposure.” Lyssra sat again on the chair arm. She recapped the tube of lotion and rubbed the remains of it over her own hands. It felt good, and she realized her skin had been dried by the combined effects of wind and sun. “Nikoli, how long were we outside? While the sun was up?” “I don’t know… A few hours, maybe. Why?” Nikoli’s eyes got wider. “You know what it is?” “I think it’s a radiation burn. From exposure to the sun. UV light… Kaari!” Within few seconds Kaari came over the comm. “What is it?” 472
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“How high are the UV levels around the area Pakal picked us up?” Lyssra said. “Any way to tell from here?” “Not without a probe on the ground,” Kaari said. “Why?” “I think that’s what burned Nikoli.” “Is that serious?” Nikoli asked. He looked worried again. “Probably not,” Lyssra said. “Certainly not short term. Long term you could be looking at cancer…but an hour in any working ’Doc would fix that, no problem. And if we’re not out of here by the time that occurred…” “We’re not getting out, so it wouldn’t matter,” Nikoli said. “Is that what you mean?” Lyssra shrugged. It was what she meant, though somehow said aloud, it sounded colder than when she’d had the thought. “The main thing,” she said, and put her hand on his knee to make sure she had his attention. She rubbed his thigh through the thin material of his shipsuit. “The main thing, is there’s no immediate danger. It’ll hurt for a day or two; you’ll probably lose the top layer of skin. Other than that, you’ll be fine.” “So you’re not going to die, Nikoli,” Kaari said. “Get over it. The rest of us have.” “Kaari,” he said. “Stuff it in the orifice of your choice.” “Well, I see you’ve recovered nicely from your near death experience,” Kaari said and they could hear the laughter in her rich voice. “You two have a nice ten day vacation.” The comm went dead. “Bitch,” Nikoli muttered. “Yeah,” Lyssra said. “And if she ever actually did start talking nice to you, you’d know you were dying. You love every minute of every argument you have with her.” Nikoli started laughing. Lyssra soon joined him. It was the 473
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release they’d been looking for. Now they knew they were safe. They had made it. *
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Lyssra leaned both arms against the walls of the shower and raised her face into the hot spray. She felt the sting of hot, pounding water on various scrapes and bruises she hadn’t bothered treating. Soap slicked her body and washed away the stink of fear. Let the recycling tanks take it. She scrubbed so hard she drew blood in spots. That was okay; the tanks took that, too. She wrapped herself in a huge towel, then stood under the warm air vent to dry. Dragging on a light gown, she made her way back out to sit on the bed beside Nikoli. She touched his shoulder, and he rolled toward her. His hand caught the inside of her knee and curled around her thigh. Her breath caught in her throat, but he stayed asleep. She was about to disengage his hand and go to the other bed when he cried out and tightened his grip. Too tired to fight and not wanting to admit she hated the idea of sleeping alone yet, she slid between the covers. Never had a bed felt so good. She carefully turned away, putting her back to him. That was a mistake. He moved in his sleep, fitting his body against hers. Surprisingly, she slept then. *
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Nikoli came awake slowly, knowing there was something important but not sure what it was. Then he grew aware that he 474
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was in a real bed, and that the body snug against his was not Pakal’s. It had been real then. All of it. All of it. He glanced at the wall clock. Only a couple of hours past midnight. Dawn on the planet; his time sense was all screwed up. Hastily he slid out of the bed and padded barefoot to the bathroom. A shower. A shower would take his mind off thoughts of what he really wanted to do, back there with Lyssra fully awake and as eager as he was. Thoughts like that didn’t help. He had told himself it wasn’t going to happen again, that the first time had been a mistake, no matter how good it felt. The second time… He refused to think about that. He considered calling for cold water but the hot felt too good. Instead he called for depilatory cream and slathered it over his rough scalp. Lyssra had removed the nanobot shell from his arm; he flexed it and found the muscles fully functional. Then he raised the hand that had been stung and examined it. The wound, red and puffy, remained visible, but the horrible swelling and pain was gone. He squeezed his fingers into a fist and smiled. It was good to be home. He knew he should comm Pakal and tell him he was awake and okay, but all he saw in his mind’s eye was Lyssra, lying on the empty bed. Waiting. Damn, he shouldn’t be thinking like this. Pakal didn’t deserve this from him any more than he had deserved it from Selhdun. But Lyssra and he had shared something, there on the planet. No denying it. No wanting to deny it. He owed her a lot. Did he owe her that if that’s what she wanted? Or was that just an excuse he was using to do what he wanted? Was she waiting? 475
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Back in the main room, he slid between the sheets, careful not to disturb her. Her eyes opened anyway, and they stared at each other across the bed. “Hi,” he said. “Did I wake you?” “No, I heard the shower. Feels good, doesn’t it?” “You’re the only person I know who could appreciate how that might be paradise.” “How’s your hand?” “Good.” He brought it up to cup her face. His thumb skimmed her lips, which opened under his touch. “Want a demonstration?” He closed his eyes and concentrated on the feel of her skin under his fingertips. “Do you know how good you feel?” She reached out to touch his chest. “About as good as you do?” She pressed herself against him. “You have any idea how many times I’ve thought of this?” “I have an idea.” “Nikoli, are you sure?” “I’m not sure about anything, anymore. I told myself it shouldn’t happen, but you know what? I’m not very good at listening to me.” He touched his mouth to her throat, moving up along her jawline. He felt her pulse leap under his lips. “All I know is I want you so bad I haven’t stopped aching for days. I can’t stop remembering. God,” he hissed when her hand closed over him. “They’re right. I think you are a witch.” *
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“Can you believe we made it?” “Yeah,” he said. “We did. Gotta admit, there were times I didn’t think we would.” 476
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“Want to know something?” she murmured against his bare chest, still curled against him. “There were times I was sure we wouldn’t, either.” “You? You hid it well.” He smiled down at her, but found she wasn’t looking at him. She stared at the wall behind them with a pensive look on her face. “Do you think he did it?” Nikoli tightened his jaw to keep from blurting out that he hoped Pakal had killed Ilesha. The murderous bitch had earned it. But that would only hurt Lyssra and she didn’t deserve that. “I don’t believe it,” he finally said. “Pakal’s not the impulsive type. He hates injustice. I can’t see him abandoning every principle, even with this kind of provocation.” “Only one problem, isn’t there?” Lyssra searched his face in the low light. He hated the glimmer of pity he saw there. Lyssra searched his face in the low light. “If he didn’t kill her…” Who did? He had no answer. “Why would she kill Selhdun?” Lyssra flinched. “I don’t know. Honestly. She’d always been…wild…temperamental…” “Temperamental? What she did was plain crazy.” His face softened when he saw her stricken look. He lay his hand over hers, stilling her restless movements. “Okay, I’m sorry, she was your sister.” “I know. I wish I had an explanation,” she said. “But I don’t and doubt I ever will.” Anyone who might have explained it was already dead. Going there served no purpose. “I am sorry, Lyssra,” he said. “Yeah, I know,” she said and offered him a small smile. “Let’s talk about something else, okay?” 477
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“Sure, whatever you want.” “How’d you ever get on the Necromancer, anyway?” He shrugged. It wasn’t the topic he would have picked, but oh well. “I knew the Necromancer was coming into port. Rumor said they were hiring, so I made sure my name was on the short list. Pulled in every favor I had on that one. But I got the interview with Pakal, and I knew he’d like what he saw. Pakal has his own notoriety.” “Why the Necromancer? What’s so special about her?” “She’s a luxury ship, only carries passengers. I like being spoiled,” he said and rolled his shoulders in an indolent shrug. “Got used to it when my parents sold me to Asalo, and I moved to his estate on the West Shore. I’d never seen anything like it before. The Necromancer’s like that. The price is the same.” “You were sold? How old were you?” He could tell it was question she hadn’t meant to ask, but couldn’t help herself. He sighed and told her. “Nine.” “Nine?” Lyssra was appalled. “Nine? Your parents sold you to a pedophile?” “After the mines, what he wanted was easy. You pay with the coin you have, and all I ever had was my looks. I’m no Pakal, with brains to spare.” Nikoli stared down at his hands. Lyssra took one of them in hers. “You didn’t expect to fall for him, did you?” “They handle a lot of Jumps in a year,” he said, still staring down. If he was that obvious then Pakal must know. But he had never said anything. What did that mean? “That kind of experience translates into jobs. It was my ticket out.” “I thought Cyx was bad. But we don’t let people abuse our 478
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kids,” she said coldly. “I don’t care how terrible it gets.” “My parents had two choices. Keep me with them and watch me die in the mines like my brothers and sisters already had, or let Asalo have me and hope I got something out of it. He kept me almost four years until I got too long in the tooth for him, then he set me up with Gil.” “You mentioned Gil before. Who was he?” “Runs the top whorehouse on or off station.” Nikoli smiled at her look. “I’ve had all the best training. You should feel special. You’ve been serviced by one of the most expensive whores in Xuan history. Feel privileged?” “Don’t, Niki,” she said. “Is that why Selhdun—” “Probably. I saw him around Gil’s. Where do you think I heard all those rumors? I thought of trying to get Selhdun to take me first, since he’s got the real power and influence, but he likes the rough trade and I never got into that… Pakal just likes them young. Young and pretty and I could give him that.” Lyssra looked less than happy to be hearing any of this. He was sorry he’d told her, but maybe she’d earned the right to know what kind of man he was. It might make it easier when he walked away once the quarantine doors opened. She had asked. *
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Kaari woke fast. Something besides nasty dreams had disturbed her sleep, but when she listened to the surrounding darkness she heard nothing. Only the sound of her own breathing came back to her straining ears. Her eyes were puffy and she had to blink several times to ungum them. The tears she had shed when Pakal had told 479
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her about Benin had left her exhausted. No doubt that explained the nightmares, too. She barely felt she had rested at all. Kaari swung her bare legs over the side of the bed. Without bothering to call the lights up, she used the washroom and returned to bed. She wondered if Nikoli was awake. It would be nice to talk to someone other than gloomy Pakal. She admired his mind no end, but God, did he have to be so dour? She didn’t know what Nikoli saw in him. She opened her swollen eyes. Odd, the normal level of room light maintained at night seemed dimmer. She sat up as the light faded altogether. Even blinking didn’t help. It was as though there had never been light. As though she had suddenly gone stone blind. “Lights up half,” she said and wasn’t really too surprised when nothing happened. She rose and made her way to the living room. The command didn’t work there either. “Open a comm to Pakal,” she said. “Pakal? Can you hear me? Pak— Ouch!” She grabbed her bare foot. What the hell had she run into? “Ship! Damn it, turn the lights on.” The burst of light was silent. She stepped backward and stumbled over the ’Tech, staying on her feet only by windmilling her arms. She screamed when the ’Tech spun around and swung tooled limbs at her. She screamed again when she saw the others. There had to be a dozen of the small machines crowded into the room. She scrambled backward, coming up against the single large chair she kept in the room. She climbed onto it, watching the nearest ’Tech scramble across the carpeted floor toward her. 480
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The lights went out, plunging her into total darkness again. “Pakal!” The lights burst on again. She frantically looked around for the ’Techs, sure they were about to reach her. The room was empty. The ’Techs were gone. She curled into the chair and wept. *
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Nikoli was surprised when he left quarantine and hadn’t heard from Pakal. Pakal must know he’d been released. He made his way through the humming corridors of the ship. The quarters he shared with Pakal were unlocked. The room was dark. He knew Pakal wasn’t on the bridge. Where else would he be? He saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and realized Pakal sat in his usual chair. “Pakal?” “Ah, you left the Cyxer.” Puzzled, Nikoli called the lights up half and drew closer. He was startled to find Pakal wearing the gold meshed gameweb he had missed in quarantine. What was Pakal doing with that? “Of course I left,” he said. “What are you doing?” Pakal didn’t reply. He slid the ’web off his head and held it in his hands. Uneasy now, Nikoli circled behind the chair. He touched Pakal’s shoulder and found it riddled with tension. Gently, he began to massage the tight muscles like he used to, just the way Pakal liked it. “I came back as soon as I could,” he said. “Surely you knew I 481
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would. I told you I had plans for you.” “The Cyxers have proved to be an appealing lot.” “Pakal—” “I am sure you have heard the news by now,” Pakal drew away from Nikoli’s touch. “All the sundry gossip you adore so much.” “I don’t believe you killed her if that’s what you’re implying.” “I wished her dead,” Pakal said. Nikoli detected a note of surprise. Still, Pakal didn’t look up, even when Nikoli moved around to kneel in front of him. Pakal’s big hands closed into fists around the fine mesh of the gameweb. Nikoli knew the device was strong, but he half expected it to fall apart under Pakal’s grip. “With my own hands, I would have killed her for what she did,” Pakal said. “Wanting isn’t the same as doing. The wish doesn’t equal the deed.” “No?” “I don’t know that there’s anyone on this ship that didn’t want her dead. Even Lyssra understands—” No, don’t go there. Now was not the time to be thinking of Lyssra. “No one faults you for feeling that way.” Again Pakal only said, “No?” “No, they don’t. I know you, Pakal. Better than you think, maybe.” Nikoli held Pakal’s chin, preventing him from turning away. “I’m sorry about the captain.” Nikoli tilted Pakal’s face up, forcing him to meet his eyes. “Are you?” “He didn’t like me much and I’m not saying I was crazy about him, but I know what he meant to you and I am sorry.” “And a little sorry for yourself? Perhaps you should tell me of 482
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these plans,” Pakal said, a touch of humor rumbling in his throat. “I may not approve.” Nikoli shrugged. “I’m not ready to lie down and die. I decided that on the planet. I wasn’t going to give up.” Giddy at getting some kind of positive response, Nikoli leaned forward. “I told you I’d come back. I think that deserves something.” “Each day brings new chances,” Pakal said softly. He finally met Nikoli’s eyes. “No one knows what tomorrow will bring. I see your time on the planet’s surface has done nothing to render you less impertinent.” “You sound like my yobar in the mine,” Nikoli said, belatedly realizing what he had said when Pakal’s eyes narrowed. “I did not know you spent time in the mines.” Nikoli managed a weak smile. “It’s not something I like to remember.” “You did not go straight from your parent’s house to Asalo’s?” “The first time Asalo tried to negotiate, my parents wouldn’t listen. I even told them it was okay, I already found boys a lot more interesting than girls, but it didn’t matter. I spent six days inside Danski. Then my sister was caught stealing food. They sent her to Mhandaba.” He rubbed his arms, hating the look of pity on Pakal’s face. He knew what the sentence meant. Any Xuan would. “How long?” Pakal said quietly. “She bled to death within forty-eight hours. No one would speculate how many times she had been raped.” Nikoli’s hands closed into fists. “She wasn’t even thirteen. After that my parents were quick to accept Asalo’s offer.” “Was it worth it?” “Sure. Asalo was good to me. He wasn’t into pain or anything. He just had a thing for young boys.” Nikoli’s grin was self483
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deprecating. “He lost interest when I hit puberty.” “His loss, I’m sure.” Nikoli pulled Pakal out of the chair and guided him back against the bed. He began to undo the snaps on Pakal’s shipsuit. “I’m like you, I lost everybody on that planet. But it could have been worse. It could have killed me, too. Or it could have killed you. That would have been a real loss.” He spread his hands over Pakal’s chest, feeling the muscles move under his fingers. “I missed you, Pakal. Do you want me to tell you how much?” “Better you show me,” Pakal said. He shuddered when Nikoli’s fist closed over his cock and pumped him languidly. “Did you miss me?” Nikoli whispered. Pakal tossed the gameweb away. He pushed him down on the bed and rose over him, his face rigid with desire. His swollen erection pressed between Nikoli’s legs, probing at the wrinkled hole behind his balls. Nikoli shuddered. “I will show you that, too.” *
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Nikoli was content to lie in Pakal’s arms, feeling his breathing grow calm again in the warm aftermath. He felt an enervating tiredness that for the first time in days felt good. Nikoli stroked the damp skin of Pakal’s chest, glad to be back where he belonged. He saw something glitter on the bedside table behind Pakal’s head and reached over to pick up the ’web. Pakal opened his eyes to watch him. “What are you doing with this?” Nikoli asked, turning the fine gold mesh over in his hands, feeling it glide over his skin. “You don’t play games.” 484
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“Perhaps I wish to learn.” Nikoli studied the fine metal links that allowed the neural connection for the virtual-role-playing-games he loved playing. The tiny peds that tugged at the still rough skin of his hands were meant to lie atop the bare skin of his head, simulating a link like he imagined lay implanted in a pilot’s brain… His mouth dropped open as he regarded Pakal. “What the hell do you think you’re going to do with this? Link to Ship? Take us through Jump?” “Someone must try,” Pakal said. He sat up and leaned against the headboard. “How much longer can we sit here, waiting?” “What makes you think it can be done?” Nikoli pulled away and sat up, too. He wanted to fling the ’web across the room. How could Pakal think there was any chance of success? If he linked with Ship and got into Jump, what would that do to his mind? “You don’t have the training, or the protection.” Pakal took the ’web out of his suddenly numb fingers. “I am well aware of my shortcomings.” Pakal stared down at the thing in his hand. “It does not change the fact that the effort must be made.” “Why you? Tell me that. Why does it always have to be you?” “Who else would you suggest?” Nikoli rose onto his knees, putting his hands on Pakal’s shoulders. “Train somebody. Train Kaari…” He saw Pakal’s lips thin. “Train me, then. You’re always telling me I don’t use my head anyway. Well maybe that’s an asset.” “Niki! This is not open to discussion. I know you mean well, but it’s true you do not think with your head. Your heart is good, but your goodness will not save us. Any more than wishing for the universe to be fair will make it so.” He lay his open hand against 485
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Nikoli’s chest, above his ribs. “I will do this thing.” “Pakal—” “I do not recall asking for your permission.” Nikoli knew that closed-faced look. It would do no good to continue. He wanted to anyway. He wanted to scream and shake the huge Xuan, even knowing how useless the gesture would be. “When do you plan to try?” was all he said, instead. “I have begun rebuilding the core with the necessary code, when it has compiled I will run another diagnostic. When that is done I will complete the link. Now that you are back, you will help me.” “I—” “Kaari will run the ship until that time. The Cyxer can help her.” Pakal examined the ’web in his hand, studying the delicate tracery of gold alloy and embedded nanos that facilitated the link, as though trying to discern some secret it held that would mean the difference between success and brain-death. “In three days. We will Jump then.” *
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Lyssra lay on the neatly made bed, trying to think. She should go to the bridge. Kaari needed help; she’d been doing so much alone since Pakal… She shied away from the thought. She still found it hard to believe Ilesha killed Selhdun, and was now dead herself at Pakal’s hand. Maybe Nikoli was right, and she couldn’t fault the Xuan. This time Ilesha had clearly gone beyond forgiveness, but the manner of death. What kind of twisted mind could conceive of that kind of horror? That kind of hate? Oh, Ilesha, I wish I knew what you were thinking. Some of this 486
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might make sense, then. Yeah, right. When someone buzzed for entry, the last person she expected was Nikoli. The moment Kaari had unsealed the door; he had rushed back to Pakal so fast they had both felt the wind of his passage. Now, he stood in the night-lit corridor, looking even younger than his eighteen years. “I—Can I come in?” She stood aside, making sure the door closed behind him. “Pakal’s sleeping, finally,” he said. “I wanted to see you, Lyssra.” She looked at his beautiful, now achingly familiar form for signs of what they had been through. He seemed to have recovered unscathed from their ordeal. All the scars were gone, faded into memory. Even the skin on his head had peeled and now gleamed, pristinely hairless again. But then she supposed she looked the same as before, too. Their changes were internal. Only his eyes held a haunted look that hadn’t been there before. Nikoli was growing up. She wondered if he was as surprised by that as anyone. “You’re looking good,” she said. “You, too. Look, is this bothering you? My being here?” “I… Why did you come, Niki?” He stood before her and, reaching up, pushed the hair off her face, laying a trail of shivers down her spine. “I had to see you. We just spent the day on the bridge, trying— ” He stopped, shaking his head. “He means to kill himself, and I don’t know how to stop him.” “What?” Whatever she had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. She sat hard on a chair. “What do you mean, he’s going to kill himself? Pakal?” 487
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“He’s got some crazy idea he can take us through Jump. If he goes through with it…” She tried to absorb what he said. If Pakal succeeded it meant getting home. “Do you think he can do it? Jump, I mean? How? He can’t make a link.” “He thinks he can use the gameweb to build a link. If he modifies Ship he just might make it in, but getting out… It’ll destroy his brain. A ’web doesn’t have any of the built-in buffers a real link has. There’s nothing to shield the synaptic connections. Nothing to protect the mind at all.” Lyssra shivered. “And you think he can do it?” “I don’t know. Part of me says it’s crazy, of course he can’t, but then I remember how much he’s already done. He just about built Ship the first time around, why not figure he can modify it to do what he wants?” “Does he know you’re here?” Lyssra envisioned an irate Pakal storming in. Cyxers weren’t his favorite people right now. She remembered what he had done to Ilesha. She couldn’t imagine what he’d think of a Cyxer being Nikoli’s confidant. God forbid he ever discover they had been lovers. His laugh was mirthless. “You’re kidding, right? You know what he’d do to me if he knew? I told you, he’s sleeping.” She was surprised when he blushed. “What did you do, Nikoli?” “I told you, Pakal’s sleeping.” Something in the way he said it nagged at her. “And you’re not worried he’ll wake up and come down to find you here?” “I…dosed his last beer,” Nikoli said, then got defensive. “He needs to sleep. He’s hardly rested in I don’t know how long.” “Trust me, that’s not a good way to go,” Lyssra said. “I don’t 488
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care how much he needs it. Nothing but trouble can come of drugging anyone. Haven’t you learned that yet?” “Easy to say, you don’t have to sit there and listen to him talk about how he’s going to wipe out his mind because he feels guilty we’re all stuck here. He knows he’s not going to come out of this in one piece. He pretends it doesn’t matter.” “Why come here? Why come to me?” Lyssra hated sounding cruel and unfeeling, but what did Nikoli expect? Pakal wasn’t about to listen to her, surely he knew that? “What do you think I can do?” “Nothing,” he said bitterly. “Maybe I just needed someone to say it to.” It was her turn to flush. “That was uncalled for then. I’m sorry, Niki.” She put her hand on his arm. “I don’t suppose it would do any good for someone else to talk to Pakal?” “Doubt it.” He gave her a slow, sad smile. “Pakal’s not much on listening to other people. Any other people, not just you.” “What can we do? You can’t keep him drugged all the time.” “I’d be willing to try, if I thought it would help.” Nikoli sighed. “I don’t know. I just keep hoping that if enough time passes, he’ll feel less guilty and start being sensible again.” “You really think that’s going to happen?” “No,” he said and stared at his interlaced fingers. They were restless, as though they possessed a life of their own. “I don’t. What am I going to do, Lyssra? How do I stop him?” His anguish was tangible. “How do I stop him? I don’t want to watch him die. How do I tell him that we’re worth living for? That I’m worth it?” For once Lyssra had no answer. *
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Nikoli came out of the shower. On the bed, Pakal stirred and rolled over. “You are up early,” Pakal said. Pakal actually looked indolent and rested. Maybe even willing to listen to a well thought out argument… If only Nikoli was capable of offering one. Ah, well, he knew other ways to distract Pakal, if it came to that. Pakal hadn’t bought up his bond because he was impressed by his oratory skills. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” Nikoli said. He sat on the edge of the bed, not bothering to tuck his short robe around him. “You’re looking good. Sleep agrees with you. Or something does.” He cupped his hand around the back of Pakal’s head, stroking the soft skin behind his ear just the way he knew his lover liked it. “You should get more. Let me help you.” Pakal sat up, brushing Nikoli’s hand away. “I have slept enough. Now is time to work.” He raised one eyebrow at Nikoli’s near nudity. “You are not dressed.” “I was waiting for you.” “Get dressed, Nikoli.” Pakal jerked on his own shipsuit and grabbed the golden ’web from the bedside table. “You have five minutes to report to the bridge.” Nikoli flounced up in the bed. “Come on, Pakal, it can wait a while longer, can’t it? Come on back to bed.” “Five minutes, Niki. You do not want to be late.” His gaze raked Nikoli’s slender, aroused form. “Trust me on that. I will come back to get you.” “Promises, promises,” Nikoli muttered and fell back across the bed as the door closed behind Pakal. A second later he flung his damp robe into the corner. “Damn you, Pakal. Why the hell does it have to be you anyway?” 490
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He must have dozed off. The next thing he knew a grim-faced Pakal shook him awake. Nikoli struggled to wake up and found himself babbling. “I’m sorry, Pakal. I didn’t mean to fall asleep—” “A Navy ship approaches the inner system,” Pakal said. “They are hailing us.” “What—” “It is Jenelek.”
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CHAPTER 16 “Where is Prince Selhdun?” Jenelek’s voice was clipped and cold. Pakal motioned Nikoli to take a seat, while he slid into the captain’s chair. He heard Kaari and Nikoli furiously whispering in the background and easily imagined what their panicky questions were. How had the Navy ship they had last seen in Cyxian space followed them here? No one else should have known the Jump coordinates. Pakal stared at the forward screen where Kaari had put a visual of the Conquest of Nador. It bristled with armament even at this distance. He glanced at his instruments. Two million, nine hundred and eighty thousand kilometers and closing fast. His mouth dried. “How are we getting a feed from that distance?” 492
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“We getting a signal bounce from the ’Tech ships,” Kaari said. She glanced at her console. “I’m reading a lot of ’Tech activity. All moving out system.” So the ’Techs had a new target for their inexplicable attention. On his console Pakal watched their movements, wishing he understood the why of it a little more. What did the ’Techs want? Navy ships were noted for their speed. They were also known for coming out of Jump close to solar gravity wells. Their pilots had notoriously short life spans. This one must have come out hours ago. No reason the Necromancer would see it. Pakal hadn’t been looking for anything to follow them. Another mistake. Were the ’Techs about to correct that? Or make it worse? “The captain met with an unfortunate accident,” Pakal said. “He is dead.” After about forty-five seconds, Jenelek’s voice responded, “Who is this?” This time the time gap was slightly less. The Navy ship was moving in fast. “This is Pakal Tarskaya, second in command. I believe we met at the inauspicious circumstances of Prince Selhdun’s shooting. May I ask how you found us?” This time, the wait was only around thirty seconds. “I remember you, Tarskaya,” Jenelek said. “In five minutes give me video—let me see you answer my questions. You can start with how you came to be in interdicted space.” “Interdicted? How is such a thing possible? I was given the impression His Majesty, the Suzerain wished this expedition to occur.” “Perhaps you misunderstood.” Of course they were supposed to misunderstand. Pakal knew 493
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where this was going now. His chest felt heavy as he forgot to breathe. What had Selhdun gotten them into? The forward screen image resolved into an interior shot five minutes later. The bridge of the Conquest of Nador bustled with a dozen officers and enlisted men. Pakal stirred uneasily. He tried one more time. “It was my understanding that Terran space was barely considered more than a legend. How do you interdict a legend?” This time, the response was only nineteen seconds later. “You have quite a mouth on you, don’t you, Tarskaya? I remember that, too. Perhaps you’d like to use it to tell me how a Prince of the Realm met his death on his own ship.” Jenelek leaned back in his raised command chair. Jenelek sat amidst the hum of barely contained energy that radiated out from him. Pakal knew a single barked command would unleash that energy. How much would it take to trigger that command? Pakal’s report on Selhdun’s death? “He was killed by a passenger.” “Then turn this passenger over to us,” Jenelek said. “I would question him.” “Her,” Pakal said without thinking. “And I fear she, too, is dead.” “Indeed?” Jenelek rocked forward slightly. An aide approached and handed him a ’comp. Jenelek absently scratched something on the screen and handed it back with a dismissive wave. Was it Pakal’s imagination or had the Navy ship’s bridge grown quieter? “Tell me how that bit of fortuitous work happened. Why was she not held?” “She was,” Pakal said. He didn’t dare glance at Kaari or the others. “The ship has been experiencing a number of serious 494
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system problems even prior to the captain’s death. The wi— woman died while in custody as the direct result of such a problem.” “I see.” Something sour seemed to have lodged permanently in Jenelek’s mouth. “You will stand by and prepare to be boarded, Necromancer. How many people onboard?” Pakal told him. Jenelek nodded and took another ’comp from a young officer. He made as though to study the screen in his lap before answering. “Four, you say? I have a listing of seven. Even accounting for Prince Selhdun and the assassin, you are missing one.” “We attempted a surface expedition. A man died during the endeavor.” “We can accommodate four of you, I’m sure.” He nodded, then glanced at someone off screen and dipped his head. He met Pakal’s gaze. “Prepare to be transferred to the Conquest of Nador. Bring nothing but personal gear. Expect to be strip-searched and detained, pending further questioning.” “The two bodies. Captain Selhdun’s and the woman,” Pakal said. “Do you wish to transfer them, as well?” “Yes. I will give you an hour.” “What of the Necromancer?” Jenelek’s eyes narrowed. “The Necromancer is no longer your concern, Tarskaya. An hour.” All the screens went dark. They promptly switched back to show the exterior of the Conquest of Nador, only a few thousand kilometers off their port bow now. “What are you going to do?” Nikoli asked. His eyes looked big in his youthful face. “It appears we will board the Conquest of Nador.” 495
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“Just like that?” Kaari asked. “What about the Necromancer?” “What about us?” Nikoli said. “We have rights, don’t we? They can’t just accuse us of whatever they want. We haven’t done anything wrong.” “I do not know what they plan for us,” Pakal said. “I imagine they will do what they want. If you wish to know what I think, I believe they intend to destroy the Necromancer.” “What?” Nikoli surged forward in his seat. “Why would they do that?” “Perhaps that was their intent all along.” Pakal rubbed the dark skin on the top of his head. “Have you not wondered how they found us, when it took us so long to discover the Jump coordinates? Selhdun suspected there was nothing accidental about our encounter with Jenelek. He was sent to Tiamat to investigate us and he was sent to the Jump point for the same reason. Clearly, they investigated more closely than even Selhdun suspected. I expect they have tracking equipment on that ship that allowed them to correlate our attempts and come up with our path here.” Lyssra finally spoke. “And who besides us knew you were coming here?” Pakal shrugged. Why bother maintaining secrecy any longer? “Government men approached Captain Selhdun while he negotiated with you. The Suzerain wanted the coordinates you had. He wanted it badly enough to double-cross all of us. We even believe the assassination attempt was a crude ploy to intimidate us into fulfilling our obligations.” “Selhdun never intended to let us go back with this discovery, did he?” Lyssra bristled. “Is that what Ilesha found out?” “Does it matter what her reasons are now?” “Maybe to me,” Lyssra said and there was no mistaking the 496
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tears in her eyes now. “She was my sister, after all else was said and done.” “For that you have my sympathy,” Pakal said. “I suggest we concern ourselves with protecting the living and let the dead attend themselves.” “The Conquest of Nador is hailing us again, Pakal,” Nikoli said. This time Jenelek didn’t bother demanding full video. His words chilled even Pakal. “A shuttle will be launched in fifty minutes, Tarskaya. When it gets there, dock it and prepare to disembark. Consider yourself and your crew under arrest. Any effort on your part to resist will be met with force.” Pakal ground his teeth in tired rage. Things moved too fast. No doubt that was Jenelek’s intention. “No one here will resist your men,” Pakal said. He glared at Nikoli, who looked like he wanted to protest. “I personally will meet the shuttle.” “Good,” Jenelek said. “You will be escorted to your quarters, where you will be allowed to pack one carryon. Nothing else leaves that ship, understand? Someone will secure the bodies. Tell my men where they are; they will do the rest.” “Will that be all?” “I’ll let you know if there’s more,” Jenelek said. “Remember, Tarskaya. Fifty minutes.” “They’re not wasting any time, are they?” Kaari said after the comm had gone silent. “Did you expect otherwise?” Pakal said. “Their only mandate is to retrieve us and get out. I am not sure I blame them.” “What will we do?” Nikoli chewed his lower lip and only stopped when Pakal met his gaze. 497
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“Everything they tell us,” Pakal said. Nikoli had to behave. His antics would not be considered cute by this lot. “Do exactly what they tell you to do, Nikoli. I do not care what it is. Obey.” “Sure,” Nikoli said. “Whatever you say. Pakal? What do we tell them about Selhdun? And about the witch? I mean, Ilesha.” Pakal frowned. Finally he sighed. “Tell them the truth. Perhaps they will understand it no better than we do. Lies will only trap us now.” “Yes, Pakal,” Nikoli said with clear reluctance. “Do you think they’ll put us together?” “Don’t count on it,” Lyssra said softly. “Separation will make their interrogation easier.” She looked directly at Pakal and he knew she was thinking the same thing. The Navy had its own way of extracting the truth. “You realize they’ll assume everything we tell them is a lie, no matter how convincing we are? Of course, if you say anything often enough even the most skeptical have to start wondering after a while.” Nikoli looked from Lyssra to Pakal. “What kind of answers are they looking for?” “They will say the truth,” Pakal said heavily. “But Lyssra is right. They will not believe our truth. All the more reason that we all tell it. At least our stories will be consistent. We have to hope it will be enough.” He knew by the way Lyssra shook her head that she understood how deeply he lied. He had an idea how far Jenelek would go. He wasn’t about to tell Nikoli that. He knew his assurances were all part of a fantasy to protect Nikoli. How many bodies was Jenelek prepared to take back? Perhaps none would be returned. Minutes passed. Finally Kaari reported, “Shuttle launched. ETA forty minutes.” 498
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“Open the shuttle portal then, Kaari,” Pakal said. “Docking ’Techs now leaving the ship.” Minutes that seemed like hours ticked by. “Still approaching… Within ninety-two thousand klicks, now. They’re still moving fast. So’s the shuttle… The Conquest of Nador will arrive thirty minutes after the shuttle. Docking ’Techs now leaving the ship…” Suddenly Kaari frowned. “There’s a lot of them—” “What is it, Kaari?” Pakal leaned forward. He glanced at his own instruments. Everything seemed to be in order—a surge of power spiked the board. “What the hell?” Under them the hull began to vibrate with a familiar sound. The comm opened, and Jenelek’s voice was clearly audible. “Necromancer, why has your drive powered up?” “I do not know, Admiral,” Pakal said, striving to keep his voice calm. “It is not of our doing—” “Flight will be met with force, Necromancer,” Jenelek said. “Shut down the drive immediately. The shuttle will dock in two minutes.” Pakal frantically worked the board but nothing responded. The drive continued to power up. Then… “We’re moving, Pakal,” Kaari said. “Shuttle portal still open— shit, what are they doing?” Pakal saw it on the forward screen. The docking ’Techs, who were supposed to do nothing more than guide the shuttle into its berth, poured over the approaching Navy vessel. There must have been hundreds of them. They looked like death beetles swarming a corpse during a short Xuan high summer. “Five seconds, Necromancer!” Jenelek shouted. “I will deploy our weapons, if you do not stop immediately— What? What do you mean, another ship? Where did it come from—don’t tell me it 499
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just appeared. We’re too far in-system for anything to Jump. Well, open a comm link! Tell them to state their purpose.” Pakal heard new voices shouting in the background. No panic yet, but a new sense of urgency filled the airwaves. “Fire then. Perhaps they’ll answer that,” Jenelek said to someone else on the bridge. “Yes, bring the shuttle back. Abort dock sequence. Fire at will. Fire, I—” The Necromancer moved away. The ’Techs stayed. So did the shuttle. “Stop them!” Jenelek shouted. “Necromancer! If you persist, I will destroy you—” “I say again, Conquest of Nador, that this is not of our doing. A malfunction in our ship’s system. The ’Techs are Terran, we have not been able to disengage them.” “You expect me to believe that, Tarskaya?” “It does not matter what you believe. I would not risk my ship or my crew in this manner.” The surge under their feet could be felt beyond the normal subliminal vibration. Pakal tightened his grip on the chair arms. Where was it coming from? Never had the Necromancer responded in that way. Watching the instruments tuned to the Conquest of Nador, he saw the Navy ship’s power drop at the same time they heard the commotion on Jenelek’s bridge. “Not responding? What do you mean, systems don’t respond? Override them!” Jenelek shouted. “Manually, if you have to. Where’s the system’s engineer? I want them both on deck. Now!” “Pakal,” Nikoli said softly. “Look at the ship.” “I see them, Nikoli,” Pakal said. He watched the too-familiar images of the ’Techs swarming over the outer hull of the Conquest of Nador. And listened to the battle Jenelek had already lost, 500
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though he didn’t know it yet. A voice shouted in the background. “Admiral, the ’Techs are disrupting our Shiptech units. I have to recommend closing the link from our end. That means a unilateral shutdown, and manual reinitialization.” “Unilateral shutdown?” Jenelek barked. “That’s not regulation—” “Jenelek,” Pakal said into the comm. “You must shut down everything. Do not hesitate another minute. Shut it all down and do not attempt any re-initialization. It will only fail and jeopardize your internal security further.” “Shut it down?” Jenelek sounded outraged. “Impossible. What kind of trick—” “Oh, my God,” Kaari said. “The shuttle… What are they doing—” Pakal watched the ’Techs swarm the motionless shuttle. They worked with a cold efficiency that only machines could manage. He vaguely heard Jenelek shouting. A frozen puff of expelled gases threw a halo of captured light around the shuttle. Then another. The frozen gases gently dispersed. “They’re taking it apart,” Nikoli whispered. The hull ruptured in a blast of pressurized gases. Several of the crew had managed to get into EVA suits. The ’Techs made no distinction between shuttle and suited humans. They took both apart with calm effectiveness. The Naval men were armed, obviously trained and efficient. But for every ’Tech they destroyed three more would appear. The ’Techs had no projectile weapons, but they had a surfeit of limbs and each one could be used as a capable tool that cut through metal alloy and EVA suit material as well, if not better than Navy issue lasguns. 501
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The battle ended almost before it began. Pakal turned away and closed his eyes against the nausea that made a fist in his gut. “Stop them, Tarskaya,” Jenelek said. “Stop them, or I will fire.” “I am sorry,” he whispered. “I cannot stop them.” “Mount battery one,” Jenelek said. “Our weapons still function, Tarskaya. I can assure you of that fact. They’re independent of our other systems. I’ll take you apart one section at a time, if I have to. See how you ignore that— What the hell?” Pakal heard the scream. ’Techs inside the Navy ship were moving. Jenelek’s curse was low. “Do it then,” Jenelek said. The comm hissed and Pakal heard the increased level of noise from the bridge. He was very glad to no longer have visuals. “Shut it down,” Jenelek said. “Total shut down. I don’t care what the book says.” “Breach in hull sector Alpha nine-oh-nine. No response from sector ’Techs…” “Sector Epsilon three-three-nine report ’Tech activity out of range…” “Shut down failed,” a nearby voice shouted through the growing chaos. “’Tech activity increasing.” “Cannons online. Target sited.” “Prepare to fire,” Jenelek said. “Immediately. They can argue with this—” “No!” Pakal surged out of his seat. “Jenelek!” “Weapons deploying. “ “Jenelek, we can help you,” Pakal said. “It is not necessary to destroy anything.” “Fire. I say again,” Jenelek’s voice was cold. “Fire—” “No, I don’t think so.” 502
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Pakal dimly heard the voice that had just spoken over their comm echo in the background, speaking out of the Navy ship’s comm at the same time. “What do you mean, it failed to fire?” Jenelek was screaming now. “That system is independent— Who the hell said that?” “This has gone far enough,” the same voice said. “Your war stops here, Jenelek. You lost.” It was Selhdun.
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CHAPTER 17 ::Ship!:: Selhdun fled from the agony that severed all bonds with sanity. He hadn’t known pain could be so all embracing. ::Ship!:: Ship didn’t respond. Where Ship should have been another presence answered. The ’Techs. Below him an abyss opened, offering darkness and cold comfort. The pain blossomed beyond coherence. He knew he was dying. Silent screams from a mouth that wouldn’t work echoed through the failing synapses of his brain. In a small part of his mind not encompassing by the knife, and the agony it dealt so casually, he again felt the presence that wasn’t Ship beckon away from the pain. It might not be Ship, but he 504
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surrendered to it anyway. Painfree darkness enfolded him. *
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Selhdun struggled up. There was nothing but darkness to greet him. He blinked. No response. He must be in the ’Doc again. Maybe this time it would complete the job of fixing him. She had tried to kill him. Strange how that didn’t make him angrier. ’Doc must be keeping him tranquilized, beyond the reach of strong emotions that might upset his equilibrium. Well, he’d see an end to that soon. They couldn’t keep him under forever. Then the bitch would see her mistake. Odd, he felt fully conscious, but had no awareness of his surroundings. Even in the ’Doc he could always feel something when he had this level of awareness. He tried to move his fingers, but found he had no memory of how to do so. His hands were…there, or they should have been. Shouldn’t they? There was nothing. Not even a phantom memory of how it should have felt. He tried to think of words spoken, but could not remember what a voice sounded like. His name was…the touch of a lover’s hand…was nowhere in his memories. Panic welled. Something was wrong. Critically wrong. Had the witch’s drugs done something after all? Did he linger in some terrible coma, not dead or alive but perpetually…oblivious? Pakal…hadn’t that been the name of someone he once knew? Was there something important he should remember about him? For that matter, hadn’t he had a name once, too? So why couldn’t 505
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he remember? Then the voices returned. Ship! He tried to find the link, but the connection was wrong. It wasn’t Ship… The ’Techs chattered softly, like Ship, but not really like anything. He thought he understood… Then he did understand and what they told him filled him with terrible wonder. *
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He was dead. He was insane and death was an illusion. He lay comatose in the ’Doc and dreamed… He no longer knew what to believe. Insanity beckoned. Selhdun fell into darkness so complete he forgot the memory of light. The ’Techs never left him alone. Their incessant whispering became his only reality. He fled his own mind, but there were no walls here to batter himself against. There was no physical pain to distract him or heal his madness. In madness the censuring voices couldn’t find him. Instead, the ’Techs were there. They sought to teach him understanding. The ’Techs had been alone a long time. Given a goal they no longer understood, they still poured their ever growing energies into the task. With the vast resources of an entire planetary system at their disposal their population had exploded and each ’Tech worked on two threads. One was to increase the population even more, the second was the part Selhdun didn’t understand. He knew all about self-replicating ’Techs. They were as old as the Autarch. Older. Von Neumann machines had made the Autarch possible. He had to assume they had been as valuable to the pre-Exodus Terrans. 506
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But what had the Terrans charged the ’Techs to do before they left? For that matter, why had they left at all? Why had all the outsystem colonies and mines apparently shut down as well? Or had the ’Techs had something to do with the disappearance of people in their home system? The ’Techs who whispered to Selhdun didn’t seem to remember. Then came the day he heard the other voices, and he remembered he wasn’t alone. When he first realized there were people on the ship, he had no idea how much time had passed. Hours? Years? He heard their voices, but didn’t understand what they said. The voices represented spoken thought, he remembered that much. But they were so slow. It was a while longer before he realized ’Tech thought was based on machine speeds, and no human vocal cord could hope to match it. He had to slow himself down to a new awareness level and suddenly an entire world he had forgotten flooded back. A lot had happened in the time he had gone away. The shuttle he had ordered down with the Cyxers on it had crashed. The ’Techs had seen a threat and sought to eliminate it. Before they could finish the job, Selhdun downloaded his new awareness into the groundside ’Techs and diverted the two surviving humans to the ancient city that had once been a center of technology and ’Tech activity. The ’Techs no longer remembered even the name of the city. It hardly mattered. The city was an easy haven to stash the two in until he decided what to do with them. It amused Selhdun to keep the two trapped in the single room, until he decided to come back for them. Then he returned to the Necromancer and ferreted out the witch. He had no memory of his 507
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death. But he knew who had delivered it, and he knew where to find her. He had talked to her in the end, but she had died too quickly to appreciate his little joke. Her experiment had not turned out the way she expected. He watched Pakal struggled with the ’Tech control of his ship. It was a losing struggle, even Pakal couldn’t hope to rebuild the kernel and eliminate the new presence in it. The ’Techs had gone beyond reprogramming the Ship’s kernel, they had physically modified the data storage servers. The physical changes were minute and probably undetectable by all but the most sophisticated equipment. Pakal wouldn’t see them. Would he suspect? What would he do, if he did? He moved through Ship, the system that formed the core of the Necromancer’s computer functions, and began to discover new wonders. Foremost was the realization that the illusion of moving throughout the ship was just that, an illusion. He was Ship. He could make the Necromancer do anything. Things it had never done before while passively under human control. Selhdun stumbled onto the Jump matrix several “days” after he had woken into his new reality. He had always known it was there, but until now he had ignored it. Every record of every Jump the Necromancer had made was recorded here. In the sort of detail the human Jump pilot would never comprehend. No human mind could have seen the memory array as he now saw it. He recognized the paths, and began to see the flaws in each Jump that damaged the human minds that experienced it. The faults were unavoidable, mathematical concepts of chaos that a flawed human could only experience while the temporary insanity of Jumpspace impinged on their untidy awareness. 508
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Selhdun saw the terrible beauty of it. He grew aware again of the world beyond his cyber-awareness. Something… Ah, Pakal was trying to get in. Selhdun didn’t want to be found, yet. So he arranged for Pakal to look elsewhere. Humans, he was finding, were all too easily manipulated. Selhdun diverted Pakal yet again, with the return of the downed shuttle crew. But the diversion was short-lived. Pakal’s link modification intrigued Selhdun. He delicately probed Pakal’s mind the next time he wore the flimsy gameweb, but the link wasn’t strong enough to let him in. He suspected Pakal would succeed in getting the Necromancer to enter Jump, but once inside, he doubted Pakal’s ability to get them back out again. If he did, he would have no mind left, beyond that of a defective child. Could he allow it? He remembered who Pakal was, now. The memory had been a long time coming and he wondered at that. There were still gray areas in his storage nodes, gaps that told him something had occurred, but what? How important were those particular memories? Was he forgetting something that he had to remember? More than once he was tempted to reveal himself to Pakal, to ask him. But what if he had forgotten something important about Pakal? They had been lovers once, but something lay beyond that. Something he tried to extract from his defective memory, without success. He had to decide whether to let Pakal go through with the Jump. Would he benefit from stopping him? Would he benefit more from letting him do it? After all, he could always pull the Necromancer back afterward. Then Jenelek had arrived. Jenelek could ruin everything. 509
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Selhdun wasn’t about to let that happen. And that meant showing himself. He had to stop Jenelek before he destroyed it all. But could he stop Pakal, if it came to that? If he stopped Pakal, would he, Selhdun, be able to take the Necromancer back to Autarch space? Selhdun turned back into himself, retreating to the safety of the Ship’s kernel again. He still had a lot of work to do on this, before he revealed himself. He didn’t want to be vulnerable. He had to know his own powers. More important, he needed to find his weaknesses. Only then could he protect himself. He had the feeling he was going to be very pleased.
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CHAPTER 18 Jenelek was still yelling. No one paid any attention to him. Pakal sank into his chair. “Madness,” he whispered. “Terik, that cannot be you.” Selhdun, or the voice that claimed it was Selhdun, spoke with the same crisp authority that Pakal had grown familiar with over the years. “I assure you it is, Pakal,” the voice said. “Shall I tell you something only Selhdun would know? Would that help convince you?” “Selhdun is dead.” “Only the physical body perished. A memory then? Do you recall how we met in that odd little bar on Xua? You were only nineteen and trying your best to avoid the fight those two local 511
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miners wanted so badly. Even then you were an imposing man, one they feared and wanted to best to prove their maniliness.” “And you told me that only a fool solved disagreements with his fists,” Pakal said with mounting horror. “Then you hit that big one so hard he had to be put into a ’Doc for a week. But when they came to charge you—” “I told them who I was. You were so annoyed they let me off, you said I obviously needed a keeper and you agreed to work for me. Already you knew what we had was special, though as I recall I had to work so hard to get you into my bed. I never met anyone who spent so much time avoiding what they wanted most of all.” “Enough.” Deep-breathing wasn’t helping. It was Selhdun. Madness. “Assume…assume I believe any of this. How did it happen?” “Who the hell is that?” Jenelek screamed over the ship-to-ship comm. Pakal still dimly heard the sounds of a lost battle raging. “Who are you talking to now, Tarskaya?” “I do not know, Admiral,” Pakal said finally. “What the hell does that mean?” Jenelek barked. “What do you mean, you don’t know? What kind of game are you playing?” “Tell him, Pakal. He can’t hurt you,” the voice said. “His systems have been rendered inoperable. I can even destroy him, if you wish. I still have fists to use on those who would stand against us. Shall I send him down to the planet in pieces—” “No!” Pakal nearly came out of his chair. His knuckles were white where he gripped the arms. “No more death. No more killing.” “You always were too soft, Pakal.” “Terik?” Pakal whispered. “How did it happen? The ’Techs…” “Yes, the ’Techs,” the voice said. “You were right, you know. 512
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They were trying to talk to me. They knew the first time they encountered me in the link that I was important. I don’t think they quite knew what to make of me at first. That’s why they kept trying to contact me through Ship. Once they figured out the link dynamics, they loaded enough of their program into the nanobots to create their own link. I remember being called. I thought it was Ship, but it was the ’Techs.” “They called you?” Pakal said. He had no time to pay attention to the others on the bridge. Even so, he was aware of the tension everywhere. “Do you mean they wanted you?” “I said they knew I was special. I was important to them. In all their days they’ve never encountered anyone like me. They haven’t achieved true A.I. though, that’s why they needed me. All their work is still following the remnants of the programs their Terran creators left them with.” “And what was that?” Kaari leaned forward, her face feral. “Who destroyed the planet? Did their Terran creators tell them to drop asteroids on it? Who killed Benin? Was that another order? From who? You?” “They thought they were disassembling a machine… I’m sorry, Kaari, Lyssra. I wasn’t active soon enough to prevent that,” Selhdun said. “But yes, they assembled the asteroids and launched them. On orders. Who’s responsible? Ask the dead. The ones who ordered it didn’t get out, either, if that’s any consolation. The madness of despots who would destroy everything to keep the other side from victory was alive even then.” Pakal’s eyes narrowed. Selhdun had never apologized for anything when he was alive. Now he seemed almost glib in his self-defense. Kaari gasped and rose half out of her chair, her hand on her 513
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throat. “It was you, wasn’t it?” Kaari whispered. “You sent those ’Techs to my room the other night.” She suddenly went pale and swayed where she stood. “Oh my God, you killed Ilesha.” Lyssra shot upright. “You?” Pakal met her gaze briefly. He felt no satisfaction in this vindication. He had suspected the ’Techs, but to find it was Selhdun… “The bitch earned it,” Selhdun said. “She drugged me and cut me open—she deliberately butchered me. The pain, you have no idea— How can you imagine I would let her live after what she did?” “You had no right—” “Learn it now, Cyxer,” the voice seemed even colder than ever. “I make the rules. I always did, and I always will.” “The witch may have deserved no less than death, but even she was entitled to the justice of a trial,” Pakal said. “You can’t tell me you’re sorry she’s dead,” Selhdun said. “You, Pakal? Do you think she cared if any of you died? She knew what it meant when she killed me. She didn’t care.” “No one regrets your death more than I,” Pakal said, his voice breaking. “I would have done anything in my power to change what happened, but that is not possible. It does not change my regret.” “Regrets, Pakal? Haven’t I told you how worthless they are? She only got what she deserved,” Selhdun said. “She always thought she was hot. Well, I think she found out the hard way there’s such a thing as too hot.” Pakal thought of how the witch had died. What had Selhdun become during his interrogation with the ’Techs? 514
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“If I had suspected her capable of such a thing,” Pakal said. “I would have been there. I would have stopped her.” “But you weren’t there, were you, Pakal?” Pakal closed his eyes. “I know. “ “Who are you talking to, Tarskaya?” Jenelek didn’t sound afraid. Pakal thought that might be a mistake. He should be afraid. “No more lies, either. You’ve already brought down enough trouble on yourself with your lies.” “Have you not realized by now the truth is frequently unpalatable?” Pakal stared at the forward screen, his eyes barely tracking the images there. “And unbelievable.” “Tell him, Pakal,” the voice said. “Or I will.” “Tell me what?” Jenelek said. “The hole you’re digging gets deeper each passing minute, Tarskaya.” Pakal shook himself. “It is Captain Selhdun. Somehow the ’Techs downloaded him into Ship.” “You expect me to believe that? What are you trying to hide, Tarskaya?” “Always the liar is suspicious of the truth told by others. You must think me a court jester to tell such blatant, foolish lies.” “No,” Jenelek snapped. “I think you’ve been out here too long. What makes you think I’d believe that?” “I merely report what is claimed,” Pakal said. “Who else are you hiding on that ship? Your crew manifest lists one other male, a Nikoli Yaroslavl, Xuan bondsman. Is that who it is? Or is it the one you claim is also dead, that Benin Waterson?” “Ah, my deception is uncovered. Nikoli, introduce yourself.” “What?” Nikoli said. “I’m Nikoli, and I saw Benin die, so don’t tell me it didn’t happen. I have no idea who that voice belongs to… 515
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But I know who it claims to be. Pakal,” he said pleadingly. “Don’t tell me you believe him? Because he can tell you old stories and make you feel guilty, you think it must be him?” “I do not know what I believe,” Pakal said. Nikoli shook his dark head. “It’s still insane.” “Agreed.” “Your gibberish doesn’t impress me, Tarskaya,” Jenelek said. “Prepare to be boarded. I’ll let the Council of Judges settle this foolishness.” Pakal glanced at the instrument board. The Conquest of Nador approached, just as Jenelek said. The Necromancer no longer accelerated, either. Selhdun’s idea of a game? Was he testing to see who would blink first? Just how much did he believe that Selhdun really resided in Ship? He wondered if insanity, like fear, was contagious. The Conquest of Nador approached. Jenelek had guts, he’d give him that. A military mind to go with it, used to following orders and protocols, so reasoning with him was not likely to work. He itched to give the command to move the Necromancer, but had his own doubts about how successful the order would be. If Selhdun really controlled the ship, would he obey an order from Pakal? Pakal found he was suddenly afraid to find out. Jenelek spoke again, as though sensing his hesitation. “I think I begin to understand what has happened here. Your Captain Selhdun suffered a serious illness, which resulted in his death. A grievous accident. I do not know what the illness was, or what triggered it, but I don’t for a moment doubt that it has spread to infect others on board.” “Admiral Jenelek—” “You should be satisfied, Tarskaya. It reduces your complicity 516
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in Prince Selhdun’s death. Now, since the only way you are going to return to Autarch space is to allow us to board and return you to the Conquest of Nador— ” The only warning was a blip on the instrument panel. A power spike that caught Pakal completely unprepared. Not that anything could have prepared him for what came next. The Necromancer Jumped. Pakal heard Nikoli’s startled grunt, which quickly became a gasp of outright terror as the bridge vanished, replaced by the turbulent world of Jumpspace. Pakal fell out of his body. He had forgotten how terrifying Jump was. Something raw danced across his nerves, like a terrible itch out of control. One that went beyond mere nerve endings and sank deep into the central core of the brain. It was a terrible place. Alien and beyond understanding. Pilots went insane when trapped in the spiraling hell of Jump. It wasn’t surprising to Pakal that few of them made it more than a decade. Selhdun had endured this for nearly thirty years? He opened his mouth to scream and heard a grunt as they dropped back into real space. He sagged in his chair and closed his eyes against the sight of the bridge still whirling around. Nearby he heard someone hyperventilating. It sounded like Nikoli. He glanced over at his young lover and found him pale-faced and panting shallowly. From the sounds coming from the other side of the bridge, they had all been taken by surprise. He spared Lyssra a glance and found her staring at her hands, which gripped the arms of her chair so tightly he saw the rigid bone through her skin. He turned back to Nikoli. “Niki?” he asked. Nikoli raised his head. 517
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“Are you okay?” he said softly in Uplands. “Yeah,” Nikoli muttered. “What the hell was that?” Assured the young man was okay, he turned to Lyssra. “The Jump effect is short-lived. Do not be deceived by what your body tells you. The effect is purely in the mind.” “That was Jump?” Lyssra said, still staring at her hands as though not sure they were still part of her. “And people like Selhdun do that deliberately?” “—ecromancer! Necromancer, come in.” Jenelek sounded confused. “If you are there, Necromancer, I want to know what is going— Yes, Lieutenant? Where is it? There? Tarskaya, how did you do that?” “Admiral,” Pakal said, pausing only to take a deep breath to calm jittering nerves and steady his voice. “That, I believe, was a demonstration of what this ship can now do. We are no longer bound by the constraints of local gravity wells. You might consider that before you continue making ultimatums.” Twenty-nine seconds later the reply came. Just how far had Selhdun taken them? “What you say is impossible,” Jenelek snapped. “My own system’s engineer agree—” “Ah, well, then I am mistaken,” Pakal said. “I am deluded in my belief that I just went through Jump. How ridiculous of me. I must tell my crew that it was all a mistake.” During the delay, Pakal heard Kaari muttering behind him. He made no attempt to hear her words. It was enough that she still sounded scared. He no longer thought it was the threat from the Navy that had her unnerved. “Still got a mouth, don’t you, Tarskaya? Are you telling me that you can Jump anywhere, anyplace?” 518
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“I can’t—” “But I can,” Selhdun said. “Would you like another demonstration?”
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CHAPTER 19 “No!” Pakal pushed himself out of his chair. “You cannot keep doing that to us, Terik.” “Would you prefer to wait for Jenelek? You must know he has no intention of taking any of you back with him.” No amount of preparation would ready him for reentering hell. This time his stomach reeled as the floor dropped out from under him, and it was all Pakal could do not to vomit. Someone screamed. Pakal wasn’t even sure it wasn’t him. Jumpspace could reduce the strongest man to a whimpering fool, stripping all pretensions of control and integrity. This time when they emerged from Jump, Pakal clung to his chair and took several deep heart quieting breaths before he even tried to talk. 520
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“Do not do that again,” he whispered. “Unless it is your intention to kill us all.” “I don’t intend to kill anyone,” Selhdun said. “But Jenelek does.” “Then take us back to Autarch space the next time you Jump,” Pakal said. “But let us take our regular anserat before you take us into Jump again.” He knew the others watched him. Was he too quick to trust this new “Selhdun” to do as he said? Did they have a choice in trusting him? “What if I told you I suspect they are waiting there for you, too? They have no intention of letting you back.” “Then we are renegade.” Pakal subsided into his seat. No one was going home. “There may be another way,” Selhdun said. “But you really will have to trust me.” Pakal ground his teeth. Finally he said, “Tell me.” “You’ve already seen some of what the ’Techs have accomplished,” Selhdun said. “I’ll tell you now they have been busier than you suspected. They can help you. I can help you.” “You would have us go back down to the planet?” This time there was no mistaking the tension on the bridge. Pakal saw Lyssra shake her head. Even Nikoli looked pale. Pakal thought he saw him mouth the word No, even while he shook his hairless head. “We might have no choice, Niki,” Pakal said softly. “Would you rather stay here and meet the Navy?” “No.” Nikoli looked sick. “But I don’t want to do that. Please…” “Not the planet,” Selhdun said. “The ’Techs have been building 521
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ships. The Terrans obviously planned to leave en masse before they made the mistake of destroying themselves.” “I have seen those ships,” Pakal said. He doubted the small shuttles the ’Techs used were capable of life support. “Not those,” Selhdun said. “These.” The forward screen lit, revealing the dark mass of an asteroid and a distant point of light that Pakal assumed was Sol. Another signal bounce? Or was this where Selhdun had taken them when he Jumped? “The ship is hidden,” Selhdun said. “It is being prepared as we speak. You have two hours to decide. At that time Jenelek will find you.” “What would you have us do?” “Jenelek wants the Necromancer. You will give her to him.” “He will know the ship is empty. What will that accomplish?” “I’ll see he never sets foot on her or gets close enough to find out anything,” Selhdun said and the temperature in the bridge seemed to drop several degrees. “But he will destroy her, and with that he will think he destroys you. Later, if you wish, I will take you back to Autarch space. They will not be looking for you then.” Kaari muttered several choice curses, then… “You’d trust him, Pakal?” Did he? He began to realize that Selhdun’s ability meant he no longer had to face the risk of wearing the modified gameweb. He felt ashamed of the relief that knowledge brought. Did he want to trust him for that reason? Because he was afraid? “What do you expect in return? The Selhdun I knew did nothing without a reason.” “I need a crew,” Selhdun said. “The ’Techs and I may be able to fly any ship I choose but I can hardly do it without rousing 522
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suspicion or worse. I need a human crew to alleviate suspicion.” “And the Terran ’Techs,” Pakal said, the words falling off his leaden tongue. “You will take them back to Autarch space?” “They go where I go.” “If we refuse your gesture?” “Then you will die,” Selhdun said. “I will do nothing more to protect you.” “Pakal, we can negotiate with Jenelek,” Lyssra said. “Surely he isn’t an unreasonable man? At least try.” “Would you say that if I told you he had Hanbeury killed? You do remember the curator, don’t you, Cyxer? Jenelek conspired with my mother to see that none of us returned. Do you think he’ll go back on agreements he made with the Suzerain and my mother to satisfy your definition of reasonable?” “How do you know that?” Kaari said so softly Pakal nearly didn’t hear her words. Selhdun had no such trouble. “I have access to all of Jenelek’s records now. He’s been involved with this from the start. Who do you think arranged for the Cyxers to find me in the first place? It was his idea to kill the curator. My mother wanted Pakal dead, only that would have given Jenelek’s little game away.” “Pakal,” Nikoli said. “Not now, Nikoli.” Pakal had to think about the other things Selhdun said. He had to ignore the icy fear that threaded its way up his spine. He had known Selhdun’s mother was dangerous, but clearly he had underestimated how far she would go. He used to be able to read Selhdun. He had always been good at hiding his pain behind a mask of courtly disdain. Now he was a cipher. Could Pakal afford to trust him? What alternative did he have? “I mean it, Pakal,” Nikoli cut in again. “You have to see this.” 523
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The asteroid on the forward screen was breaking apart. The breakup was not random, nor did it appear violent. Instead, the jumble of stone and ice appeared to be coming open, like an odd shaped fruit husk. The Necromancer’s proximity alarm began wailing as tug-sized pieces of asteroid tumbled toward them. Pakal glanced at his instruments and read their story. The asteroid had been nearly ten kilometers long through its central axis, and not much more than six klicks wide. Inside, shielded from detection, a ship emerged. He stared at it gape-mouthed. It had to be five kilometers long from the tip of its triangular forecourt to the three bulging drive houses where radiator fins were already half extended in a semicircle. To bleed off internal heat? Heat from what? Another look at his instruments confirmed it. The ship was generating tremendous heat; the ’Techs were using the ship’s power to break the asteroid up. “Can that thing Jump?” Nikoli asked. “They modify the engines to my specifications as we speak,” Selhdun said. “When the time comes it will Jump.” “So you say,” Kaari muttered. “You expect me to trust that thing?” “You are free to remain,” Selhdun said. “I will even make sure Jenelek recovers your body. It will make the story of your death all the more convincing.” Kaari straightened in her seat, her dark skin paling. Her lips thinned when she met Pakal’s eyes. “Threats, Selhdun?” Lyssra murmured. “A promise, Cyxer,” Selhdun said. “You have exactly two hours to decide. Jenelek will be here in one hundred and thirty-one minutes. I will be able to create a diversion for a short while, but 524
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since it is necessary to force Jenelek to attack without attempting to board, the diversion cannot last long.” “What is this ship like? What amenities can we expect?” “She will hold the same program the Necromancer does. I’ve already ghosted an image of the entire kernel over. You will eat as well or better than you do here. Already ’Techs carry numerous samples of hydroponics material over for reseeding. They cultivate new stock as we speak. The rest will come, in time. I have the ’Techs working to rebuild other areas. Do you want another pool? It will take a couple of weeks, but the raw material is readily available.” Kaari stood. “How long before we can go home?” “Two hours, Pakal.” “Selhdun—” But only silence greeted Kaari’s rage. She swung around to face Pakal. “You can’t be insane enough to trust him.” “Do you have another suggestion?” No one did. He was almost hoping they would have. Pakal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then I suggest we ready ourselves. Whatever else happens, Jenelek is coming.”
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CHAPTER 20 The Conquest of Nador came on with the inexorableness of tides and light. Jenelek made no more threats, but Pakal had no trouble detecting that power levels climbing off the board as the big Navy ship drew near. She was armed and it was only a matter of time and proximity before those weapons were unleashed. Pakal no longer doubted that. He knew it would be a waste of time to attempt to negotiate with Jenelek. Opening the comm would only shorten the time it took Jenelek to pinpoint their location. Selhdun had counseled silence and for once he received no arguments. Guided by ’Techs, the asteroid shield had been put back in place around the ’Tech built ship. With its Drive cut even Pakal wasn’t able to find the ship, though he knew where to look. He 526
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knew Jenelek would never find it. Jenelek wouldn’t be looking. Nor would he be looking for the swarm of small ’Tech ships that now filled the Necromancer’s empty shuttle hold and hugged her shadowed sides. The Necromancer’s single surviving shuttle hung off her starboard bow, drifting within a thin field of small asteroids. Pakal, Nikoli, Lyssra and Kaari had been strapped in for the last forty minutes while ’Techs had guided them to what Selhdun promised was safety. Kaari shivered and hugged herself. “Is it me, or is it cold in here?” “’Techs lowered the outer hull temperature. You do not want to stand out like a thermal heat sink,” Selhdun said. “You will have little time to make your escape once Jenelek attacks. Do not draw his attention prematurely.” “How can you transmit then?” Nikoli asked. “Won’t Jenelek pick that up?” “If I was transmitting, that might be a concern,” Selhdun said. “I’ve cloned part of myself into this unit. Once you dock with the new ship I’ll simply upload and reintegrate the clone back into my kernel. Jenelek will never detect this conversation.” “Then you aren’t in communication with the Necromancer?” Kaari asked. “You have no more idea what you’re, ah, clone is going to do than we do, do you?” “Hardly true,” Selhdun said. “Technically you may be right, but I think I’ll know.” “Unless your right hand doesn’t let your left hand know what it’s doing,” Kaari said, ignoring Pakal’s angry look. “I don’t have hands,” Selhdun said. “Or a soul.” 527
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“No, but I do have the means of your rescue. My ship is the only way you have of getting home.” “Doesn’t this new ship have a name?” Kaari asked. “It’s bad luck to fly something unchristened.” “Gamble with the devil,” Nikoli muttered. “Settle your debts in hell.” This time Pakal turned his cold gray eyes on his lover. “Nikoli.” “The Necromancer,” Selhdun said. “It will be the Necromancer, of course.” “Talk about bad luck.” This time Nikoli didn’t wait for Pakal to remonstrate him. He grinned sourly. “Sorry, Pakal.” “Jenelek’s here,” Selhdun said. The comm snapped on without being ordered open and Jenelek’s voice immediately filled the flight deck. “Necromancer, come in. There is still time to find an acceptable end to this. Do not force my hand.” No one spoke. “He cannot hear you if you say something,” Selhdun said. “The conversation is a feed from the Necromancer’s bridge. “I thought you should hear your reasonable man in action.” “Tarskaya,” Jenelek’s voice grew sharper. In the background they heard the hum of the Navy bridge. It was easy to imagine them poised, waiting for Jenelek’s command. “I am prepared to be patient.” “Shuttles are leaving the Conquest of Nador,” Selhdun said. “Two of them. Heavily armed.” “They are ready for your ’Techs this time,” Pakal said. “It will make no difference.” The cold Pakal felt this time had nothing to do with lowered 528
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temperature. That voice had been filled with death. As though sensing his unease, Selhdun spoke again, “Don’t worry, Pakal. Jenelek won’t die. I need him to return to his Lord and Master and report our untimely demise. He’ll be allowed to do so, though I can’t say the same about his marines.” “I’m sure his gratitude will be never ending,” Pakal muttered, then sat back to listen to the slaughter. The Conquest of Nador came on. Jenelek continued to comm Pakal. “I give you five minutes Tarskaya. Attempted flight will be met with immediate force. Talk to me, Tarskaya, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can still find a way out of this.” In the background they heard the real story. A voice snapped, “Weapons on line. Target appears to be initiating drive.” “It’s time, Pakal,” Selhdun said. “Suit up,” Pakal said, and grabbed his own suit from where it hung off the back of his chair. He barely glanced up to see if the others obeyed. They knew what was coming. The Necromancer’s engines powered up. Pakal glanced around the tiny flight deck in surprise. “You continue to reside on the ship?” “Enough to run the engines and maintain the illusion of life support,” Selhdun said. “Don’t worry, Pakal. I’m not going to die again. I’m already safely tucked away on the new Necromancer. Jenelek won’t be doing anything but destroying an empty ship and cremating two corpses. My mother will have to tend her blue funeral torches with no body for proof, I’m afraid. Maybe she already has them lit, what do you think?” “I say again, flight will be met with force, Tarskaya. Shut down your drive,” Jenelek said. “Shut this down, Jenelek,” Selhdun said. 529
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The shuttle powered up and the thrust built rapidly. Selhdun did not waste power using the gravity compensators and the rising g-forces pushed the four suited humans back into their flight chairs. Pakal felt his heart labor in his chest and the muscles of his face pulled back, baring his teeth in a grimace. Directly in front of him on his screen the Necromancer also powered up and moved away. At the same time her side split open and half a dozen small shuttles swarmed out. They all heard Jenelek curse. “Launch attack,” he said. “Fire at will.” The ’Tech shuttles were small and light and for their size, heavily powered. The Necromancer’s shuttle, hampered by the presence of bulky life support and gravity compensators, had no such maneuverability. Pakal swore he could feel the destructive heat from the Navy attack. The shuttle hull shuddered and he expected to feel the tug of rushing air as the ship was ruptured. But the shuttle stayed together and continued to move away, while all around them battle raged. The ’Techs waited only until the Conquest of Nador was close enough to their target before pouring out of their small ships. Hundreds were immediately destroyed, but hundreds more replaced them. Jenelek soon abandoned the attack on individual ’Techs or their quicksilver ships. He dropped all pretense of negotiating and launched an all-out assault on the fleeing Necromancer. Pakal winced when the first missiles opened the defenseless ship. Not content with stopping the Necromancer, a rain of deadly missiles followed. The Necromancer fell quickly. The fourth or fifth Navy missile breached the containment field that powered the 530
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massive Drive. Unleashed antimatter made quick work of what little remained of the Necromancer, including several ’Tech ships that had not moved far enough from the reaction field. Selhdun cut the engines, setting the shuttle drifting again. Something clanged against the shuttle’s hull, startling the four survivors. Selhdun had obviously disabled their proximity alarms. Pakal continued to stare at the disbanding debris field long after the visible signs of battle faded. In the background they could still hear the bridge of the Navy ship tracking the destruction of their own shuttles. “Pull them back,” Jenelek shouted. “Get them out of there.” Three shuttles had gone out. One limped back into the Conquest of Nador’s hold less than two hours later. “Scan the field of conflict. Prepare to Jump,” Jenelek said. “We’ll not wait around for those things to regroup.” Pakal held his breath while the Navy ship ran a full instrument scan of the site of the “battle.” Only a scattering of ’Tech ships remained. The Conquest of Nador moved off. Two ’Tech ships followed but made no attempt to engage the fleeing ship. From the bridge talk they could tell the crew was aware of the ’Techs and their ships but chose to ignore them, investing their energy in reaching Jump point. “Jump in five minutes,” Jenelek said. A distant alarm sounded in the background, looping interminably. “Jump code three-threezero, execute in three minutes twenty-eight seconds.” The Conquest of Nador vanished. Pakal breathed.
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CHAPTER 21 The shuttle eased through the massive opened doors of the shuttle bay and settled quietly into the nearest cradle, aided as always by ’Techs. No one spoke during the engagement, or moved when the airlock hissed open. “You are free to move throughout the ship,” Selhdun said. “I will show you the crew quarters first; you can choose your rooms.” Pakal exchanged glances with the others. Lyssra appeared uneasy. He glanced at Kaari, who no longer looked like the vibrant woman he and Selhdun had hired so many years ago. Only Nikoli seemed little changed, but then he still trusted Pakal to get them out of this. Pakal sighed. “Kaari,” he said. “Perhaps you and the Cyxer would prefer to 532
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bunk down together. It will make adjusting to a strange place a little less stressful.” Kaari nodded, then half smiled at Lyssra. “Sure, we can talk about the good old days, eh, Lyssra?” Nikoli climbed out of his seat and moved to stand beside Pakal. He leaned against Pakal’s legs. Pakal felt his tension. “Let’s get out of here, Pakal,” Nikoli said, twining his fingers through Pakal’s. “I’m getting claustrophobic in here.” “I thought you trusted me to keep you safe, Niki,” Pakal said softly. “You know I will let no harm come to any of you.” “You don’t know what he can do,” Nikoli whispered. “Maybe we’re no safer out there, but it’s more like being home.” “As you wish.” Pakal rose, not releasing Nikoli’s hand, though he doubted the younger man would have let him. That Nikoli feared being trapped on the shuttle should have surprised him. He was beginning to suspect the ordeal on the planet had been worse than Nikoli had let on. Selhdun had admitted that he hadn’t intended the shuttle to come back. How innocent was he of the Cyxer male’s grisly death? Pakal desperately wanted to believe in Selhdun’s innocence. “Keep your pets in line, Pakal. I don’t need his kind of trouble and neither do you,” Selhdun said. “If you were smart you’d keep him on a leash. You never know where he might turn up, or whose bed he might fall into.” Pakal felt Nikoli’s slender body stiffen. “I always thought that was more your style,” Nikoli said. “Niki’s right,” Lyssra said, then added, “Let’s get out of here.” “Follow the color in the walls,” Selhdun said. “It will guide you.” The corridors of the new ship were wide and well lit. The walls 533
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were a neutral gray until they drew near, then color flowed through them, ranging from pale blue to peach. The floor was soft underfoot. The walls had a soft curve to them and the ceiling was rounded. Pakal studied everything with a critical eye. The air still smelled vaguely mechanical, with a hint of ozone; it had not yet been freshened by the still maturing algae vats. It also carried the low hum of working engines. The Drive was powering up. Was Selhdun going to move them already? “I’ve used the template you built into Necromancer, with some modifications,” Selhdun said. “The nanobots have even more control over the environment, just as you will have complete control over the ’bots. You seem surprised, Pakal. Surely you realize ’Techs wouldn’t build a ship like this for themselves.” Pakal admitted to a little surprise. The ship seemed so perfect for them. But there was no way even the industrious ’Techs could have built it in only a few weeks. “It seems too convenient,” he said. “How did you know we would use it?” “The ’Techs started refitting it the moment we entered Terran space. Once they began to interface with our systems they saw where design changes were needed,” Selhdun said. “They have no lack of raw material or labor. Then, when I became aware of them, I was able to tell them where to focus, what was important. I knew it had to be ready on time.” “How did you know we would use it?” Pakal repeated. “Once Jenelek arrived I knew you’d have no choice. Unless you preferred to die, and I think I know you better than that. You made the right choice, Pakal,” Selhdun said. “No matter what your private misgivings.” 534
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“We hope,” Pakal thought he heard Kaari mutter. “Crew quarters are here.” Light in a side corridor flared and revealed a straight hall lined with several open doors. Pakal and Nikoli entered the first door. The two women crowded in after them. The room was a single large square with four narrow bunks lined up along the far wall. “I’m afraid the Terrans didn’t build for luxury. The captain’s quarters are better, no doubt you and your boy would prefer to bed down there. In a few more days the ’Techs can have one of these rooms rebuilt, with separate bedrooms and larger beds. Can you manage in the meantime?” “I’m sure…” Kaari began, after glancing at Lyssra. “Good,” Selhdun said. “You may as well take this one to start. Pakal, I’ll show you the captain’s quarters. Then I’ll take you to the dining lounge, which is ready for use as well. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” They all followed him back out into the corridor. Pakal suspected the women were leery of being alone. The captain’s quarters was the last one, and the largest. “I’m afraid none of the rooms have been equipped with dispensers yet. Except for water from the bathroom, you must use the lounge for meals and beverages.” The captain’s quarters already had a separate bedroom and a front room filled with a table and several high-backed chairs. “For staff meetings, no doubt,” Selhdun said. “The ’Techs will rebuild it.” The bedroom door was open. Nikoli peered inside. “How long has it been since you rested, Pakal?” Selhdun asked. “Really rested. I would prefer to stay here a few days at least, to provide the ’Techs with the time to begin their modifications, and 535
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to give you time to decide where you want to go. Even better would be a couple of weeks. But it is up to you.” Was it? Pakal usually had a firm idea of what should be done, but for once he found his thoughts floundering in a sea of too much happening. Selhdun was right. Maybe they should rest. Even if they didn’t want to admit it, even he could see the strain the others carried. A chance to rest might give them all a chance to recover their spirits. “You are sure Jenelek is gone?” “The Conquest of Nador jumped back to Autarch space over an hour ago. They have no reason to return. Not until they have spoken to His Grace. That will not be for several weeks.” “Then I suggest we do try to rest,” Pakal said. At his words the others seemed to sag. “Perhaps a few hours, then we can meet in this lounge to discuss where we may go from here. Is everyone amenable?” “More than you can imagine,” Lyssra said. “I admit I’m exhausted. Kaari?” “Ditto,” Kaari said. “How long, Pakal?” “Six hours.” Kaari and Lyssra left together. Nikoli wandered into the dark bedroom. Pakal followed more slowly. “At least the captain rates a bigger bed,” Nikoli said and tried to force a grin. “There are showers and such in the bathroom,” Selhdun said. Nikoli was already heading toward the bed. “Later,” he muttered. When Pakal emerged from the shower Nikoli was already under the covers. At first he thought the younger man was asleep, but, when he tossed aside his towel and slid under the thin covers, 536
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Nikoli turned into his arms. Pakal was a little surprised by the fervor of his embrace. “I thought you were tired,” he said, responding as he always did to Nikoli’s nearness. “You need to rest.” “I am. I will be,” he murmured. “But I have to say this, before I chicken out again. I love you, Pakal. I knew it when I was on the planet and didn’t think I’d get back. Well, I came back and, well, I love you.” “Do you, Niki?” Pakal leaned back, propped on one arm, studying Nikoli’s oh-so-serious face. “Let me show you.” Nikoli reached for him. “Unless you’re too tired?” “I am never that tired.”
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CHAPTER 22 The lounge was another world. Lyssra stopped in the open door and surveyed the scene in wonder. They appeared to be standing in the middle of a large square. The door behind them was now a great stone archway made up of innumerable columns that marched into the distance on either side, ringing the elliptical enclosure. The semi-circular colonnades supported by the columns were crowned with statues that may or may not have been life-sized, scale was impossible to determine in the holographic illusion. But Lyssra had the feeling they were lifesized, in which case the square, if had been real, would have held thousands of people. There were already dozens of people present. They strolled over the smooth stone surface in couples or groups and something 538
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in the way they were garbed made Lyssra think they might be ancient images of real people that the ’Techs had stored through the past centuries; memories of another world and another time. In the center of the square was an obelisk hewn from stone. It caught the midday light and threw a sharp shadow across a fountain that spewed plumes of water high into the air. Ringing the elaborately sculptured fountain several tables had been set up, along with stone benches, all of which were empty. And in the distance a dome of stunning beauty filled the cloudless blue sky with aching perfection. “My God,” she heard Nikoli whisper. “What do you think it is?” “An image of old Terra?” Lyssra said. Under her thin-soled feet she could feel the rough stone and the air carried the smell of fresh water from the nearest fountain and something else. The breeze brushed her short hair off her face. It carried a host of other, more subtle smells, not all of them pleasant. She smelled people, more people than were actually visible. It was as if the billions of humans that had once filled the planet had been distilled into an essence that now filled this ancient square. “The ’Techs hold many images of old Terra,” Selhdun said. “You would be surprised at what they remember.” “They’re all ghosts,” Nikoli said and moved closer to Pakal. “Everyone’s dead.” Lyssra thought they did all look pale. There were very few of the dark faces she was familiar with. No one paid any attention to them, though she did see more than one casual glance that made it clear they weren’t “invisible.” But she didn’t believe they were ghosts. Did she? “Sit,” Selhdun said. “If you are hungry or thirsty you can be 539
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served from the table dispensers.” Pakal gestured toward the nearest table. He put his hand on Nikoli’s back and guided him toward one of the stone benches. Pakal sat and Nikoli curled against him, looking, Lyssra thought, very smug and self-satisfied. Kaari and Lyssra sat across from the pair. Immediately four drinks appeared from the center of the table. The dispensers were apparently built right into the structures concealed by elaborately carved center pieces. Lyssra could feel the fine mist from the fountain on her bare arms. She was startled when several fat birds began to gather around their feet. They bobbed and wove in an intricate dance, their iridescent heads dipping in time to the odd cooing sounds they made. She knew she should eat. It had been several hours, but even as she thought of it, the idea of food, only left her nauseous. She glanced over at Kaari. Kaari stared at the comical birds that moved jerkily around her feet. Only she wasn’t smiling. She looked pensive. Lyssra wished there was something she could say to lighten the other woman’s uneasiness. She realized that since she had left quarantine, long before Jenelek had returned, that she had not seen Kaari show any spirit. Kaari wouldn’t talk about it, either, no matter how delicately Lyssra pressed. Lyssra glanced at Pakal and Nikoli. Nikoli held Pakal’s hand, playing with his fingers, radiating adoration. Lyssra wondered if Pakal was still blind to it. Nikoli did most of the talking, though Lyssra couldn’t hear what he said. But Pakal looked more relaxed than Lyssra had ever seen him. Nikoli was right, he did have a human side. She was content to know that he hadn’t killed Ilesha. 540
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She still didn’t like him, but she was happy for Nikoli. Sure she was. She drained her drink and reached into the central dispenser to grab another one. “Hooray for love, right?” Kaari’s smile was wan. She took a deep drink. “Don’t they say it makes the world go around?” Lyssra shivered at the ghosts walking by. Were they real images of people long dead, gone to dust on that barren, lifeless planet? Surely this city, wherever it had been, no longer existed. Did it lie under the advancing ice, or had it been drowned in one of the numerous deluges that Benin had said would have followed the asteroid strikes. Lyssra rubbed her hand over her stomach, still feeling a mild queasiness. She wished there was a ’Doc she could dare use. She wished even more that she could keep her supper down. “You are being a fool, Cyxer,” Selhdun said. “You should use the ’Doc instead of spending your time locked in the toilet, throwing up.” Lyssra sat up. “How—how do you know that?” “I’m hooked into every system now. I am Ship, as you understood it.” Lyssra watched the light play over the distant dome. Several of the multicolored birds flew in on whirring wings and joined the growing mob around their feet. Selhdun’s voice still spooked her whenever he—it—spoke. “The ship has a ’Doc you could use. You would benefit from using it right now.” “Considering what happened to you the last time you used one, I don’t think so,” Lyssra said. “It’s been nearly two weeks since we left the planet, even Pakal agrees we have a clean bill of health.” Only Pakal and Nikoli seemed oblivious to the tension around 541
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them. Lyssra might have envied them, except she felt too enervated to care. Even if Selhdun told the truth and they would be going back soon, Cyx still came out of the whole fiasco as the killers of a Prince of the Realm. That ought to garner them lots of credibility. “This is not a time you should be neglecting your health,” Selhdun said. Lyssra frowned. Selhdun spoke in riddles. Her stomach was sick because of bad nerves. There was no way she could be coming down with something now, not this long after their return from the planet. Selhdun was trying to scare her, nothing more. “What are you saying, Selhdun? I told you I’m not sick.” “Agreed. No doubt you’re fine,” Selhdun said. “But wouldn’t you be happy to know your daughter is, too?” Nikoli jerked forward as though pulled by wires. He sprayed a mouthful of drink into the fake fountain. Lyssra felt an odd lightheadedness as she realized Pakal and Kaari were staring from Nikoli to her. The look on Pakal’s face made her blanch. “Niki! Didn’t know you had it in you.” Kaari hooted. She punched Lyssra on the arm. “Lyssra, you lucky dog, you apparently did have it in you. You’ll have to tell me all about that some day.” “My daughter? What kind of monstrous joke is that?” Lyssra came out of her chair, slopping her drink onto the stone floor, where it was soaked up by embedded nanobots. She felt Kaari’s hand on her arm again and shook it off angrily. “I can’t get pregnant. I’m sterile. I have been since I was seventeen.” “And how long did you spend in ’Doc when you first came on board?” Selhdun said. “A week? The ’Doc clearly saw a minor problem and corrected it—that’s what they do. The sterility wasn’t self-imposed, so ’Doc saw no reason to tell you. Guess it should 542
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have, right?” “But that’s not— That can’t—” Nikoli sputtered, and Lyssra looked up to see Pakal pull away from him. Pakal’s face was a study in loathing, and Nikoli looked close to panic. “Surely you aren’t going to deny the obvious, Niki?” Selhdun said. “I doubt if even a Cyxer could manage that level of magic.” “No. I’m not denying anything.” Nikoli’s face stiffened. He glanced at Pakal. “But it doesn’t change anything I said earlier. You have to believe that, Pakal.” “What is it, Pakal?” Selhdun said. “Didn’t Nikoli tell you? Guess he didn’t think it was important to explain he was jumping her every chance he got. Right up until the day he got out of quarantine. Isn’t that right, Niki? Or did he tell you he missed you, Pakal? I’m not sure he had time.” “It wasn’t—we didn’t—” Nikoli shouted. “It wasn’t like that at all!” “Then how was it, Niki?” Selhdun said. “The first time you woke up in the city, you started in on her.” “My God,” Nikoli said. “You used the ’Techs to spy on us, didn’t you?” “Seemed like they only had to poke their head in the room, and you were sniffing after her like a dog in heat. Guess there wasn’t much else to do down there, was there?” “That’s not true! We didn’t do it again until—” Nikoli looked sick as he realized what he had said. “My mistake, you didn’t start again until you were back on the Necromancer, after Pakal charged Lyssra with taking care of you? Do you know he offered to compensate her?” Selhdun said. “The two of you are one of a kind after all, aren’t you?” “I seem to recall turning him down.” Lyssra leaned forward in 543
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her chair. “Or are you forgetting that?” “Nikoli, is this true?” Pakal asked softly. “It wasn’t like that,” Nikoli said. “If you had asked, I would have told you. Please, Pakal, don’t look at me that way.” “Don’t you know whining is so unattractive?” Selhdun said. “I would have thought that whorehouse would have taught you better. You even drugged Pakal so you could be alone with her, didn’t you?” Nikoli looked like he was going to be sick. “You twist everything, don’t you?” “Pakal, why are you listening to this?” Kaari said softly. “It’s not like Selhdun was faithful to you, or anyone else. So why let him bad-mouth Niki?” Lyssra sat and put her hand over her stomach. At least she knew the source of her nausea. Pregnant. She tried to see herself big with Nikoli’s daughter… The image wouldn’t come. She’d given up on that dream so long ago. “This is crazy,” she said. “How did you know? I never suspected.” “Pregnant women just seem to sweat hormones,” Selhdun said. “You shouldn’t bleed in the shower, either.” Pakal abruptly stood. “I wish to return to my quarters,” he said and did not look at Nikoli. “Take me there. Alone.”
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CHAPTER 23 Nikoli sat alone. Around his feet birds bobbed and cooed softly. Lyssra glared at the area where Selhdun’s voice came from. “You did that deliberately,” she said. “Couldn’t tell me privately, no, you had to make a public exhibition.” “I’m not the one who made such a vocal display of my lust, night after night. One thing Pakal can’t abide, is a liar,” Selhdun said. “Right, Niki?” “You bastard,” Nikoli whispered. “He probably wouldn’t have cared what you did on the surface,” Selhdun continued conversationally. “As long as you came back to him, he’s a forgiving man… But to do it on his ship, literally under his nose, and with a Cyxer.” 545
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“Nikoli’s right,” Lyssra said. “You are a bastard. You didn’t kill Ilesha for vengeance, but just because you could. Was it to prove to Pakal how powerful you are? Letting him carry the blame for so long, was that to show him how much you still control him?” “I would be very careful, Cyxer,” Selhdun said. “Considering what you have to protect now. If you think your pregnancy will protect you, consider this… I didn’t give a damn about Ilesha carrying my bastard. Yours is of even less importance.” “Pregnant?” Lyssra whispered. She felt faint. “Ilesha was pregnant?” “You leave her alone, Selhdun,” Nikoli said. He came out of his seat, jaw clenched. “You just leave her—” “Or what, Niki? What do you think a little vstatzi like you is going to do?” Nikoli flushed and looked down at his feet. Lyssra saw him clench his hands into fists. “Maybe that is all I am, but at least I’ll stick by my friends. Could you ever say that?” “Why not take him back with you, Cyxer?” Selhdun said. “The two of you would make a charming couple. I mean, you’d have hard time keeping all the men out of his bed, but you must be used to that by now. You’ve been sharing him with Pakal all this time.” “Ilesha was pregnant?” Lyssra leaned forward, her entire body rigid. “And you killed her?” “What are you doing, Selhdun?” Kaari asked. “Nobody here was responsible for your death. Go find some ’Techs to fool around with.” “No! I want him to answer me,” Lyssra threw the remains of her drink into the fountain, momentarily expecting it to splash or spray water. It did nothing. “My sister has been accused of a lot of 546
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things, by a lot of people. But if her baby was threatened by this…this thing, then what she did was self-defense.” “Lyssra—” Kaari touched her arm. Lyssra jerked away. “No, let him answer. I doubt he’s ever had to answer for anything in his precious life. Let him answer this.” “Except I don’t have to, do I?” Selhdun said. “You exist at my sufferance. Remember that, Cyxer.” “Her name is Lyssra,” Nikoli shouted, and Lyssra jumped at the rage she heard in his voice. She didn’t think she’d ever heard Nikoli so angry. “Her name is Lyssra and you will fucking well show her some respect.” Lyssra half-expected Selhdun to pull some other brute force stunt to show them just how powerful he was. To her surprise, Selhdun didn’t speak again. She got up and crossed to Nikoli’s side. She plucked his hand up. “Thank you,” she said softly. “That was sweet. Dangerous, but sweet.” “Yeah, well, he has no right.” “I’m sure that never stopped Selhdun before.” Kaari stood. “Lyssra, I’m going to see if I can find our room again. Do you mind?” “No, of course not,” Lyssra said quickly, trading embarrassed looks with Nikoli. “Are you all right?” “Sure, just tired. Uh, congratulations you two. If that’s appropriate,” Kaari said, glancing at the archway Pakal had gone through. “I hope it all works out.” They watched her slip through the massive columns that marked the door. “She’s not taking any of this well,” Lyssra said. She squeezed Nikoli’s hand. “She’s right though, I hope we can work it out.” 547
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“What do you want, Lyssra?” Lyssra sighed and sat beside him. He slid his arm around her shoulder. She was glad to lean into him. “I want my baby to have a chance. I want my world to win for a change.” She dropped her head on his shoulder. “We’re not asking for much, just a chance to live like everyone else has. Why should we be scorned because we want that?” “Pakal’s always telling me I expect too much fairness from the world.” He stared down at their entwined hands. “Pakal’s always telling me a lot of things. God, I really screwed up, didn’t I?” “Pakal will come around. You know that, don’t you? I think we just caught him by surprise. Hell, I wasn’t expecting it,” she said with a forced smile. “Are you mad?” “Mad? No.” She turned his hand over and studied the palm and the delicate fingers, remembering how much pleasure they had given her. “I’d given up on the idea of having children years ago. But I wanted them, always. I don’t remember a time I didn’t envy Ilesha for not having the same problem I did. But in case you’re wondering, we rarely, ah, encourage outsiders to get involved. It’s just a Cyxian thing.” She searched his face as she spoke. Was he relieved? She could hardly blame him. What did she expect? There might just be a bit more truth in what Selhdun said than she’d like to admit. She stepped back, suddenly wanting to be alone. This was too much to take in all at once. “No.” He caught her hand before she got away. “Maybe this father doesn’t want to get brushed off.” “Meaning what?” “Maybe I can’t promise to be the universe’s best mate or 548
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husband, whatever, but I do promise to be that kid’s father. If you’ll have me.” He seemed sincere enough. It would have been more believable if he hadn’t looked like he wasn’t even old enough for the role. She knew if she took Nikoli back to Cyx she would be envied by everyone. Maybe there’d even be other children. She had the feeling Nikoli’s children would be beautiful. Fidelity wasn’t a big issue to Cyxers. It wouldn’t even matter if he couldn’t stay out of anyone else’s bed. He’d probably even be a half-decent father. But was Cyx a place to take someone who hadn’t learned early on to think of the universe as an inherently hostile place? Nikoli had used his physical skills and his body to survive, neither would help him on Cyx. He’d spent most of his life being pampered and protected. Xua was hostile, but it was the kind of hostility that could be walled out. Could she really watch him die when he made some stupid mistake? And he would, she knew that as surely as she knew how much she would hate herself when it happened. She shook her head. She kissed the palm of his hand, where he had been stung by the scorpion. “It wouldn’t work. You’d hate it there.” She released his hand. “Besides, do you really think you’d ever forget him? For that matter, do you think he’ll be so quick to forget you? I’ve been watching him, you know. I see what you mean about him now.” “It was good for us, wasn’t it? “Better than good. You’re the best, right? What you need to do is to go someplace they’ll appreciate you. Maybe Nexus?” He’d be safer there; she knew that at least, and when Pakal wanted to, he’d find him. Just as she knew the one place Pakal wouldn’t come for him was Cyx. “You’re Hegemon now, you’ll get work. And I’m 549
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sure he’ll come back for you.” “What makes you think he’d want me back? After what he must think? It wouldn’t be the same.” “No, it wouldn’t be. You made that choice when you came back into my bed. You had to know this might happen. Only you can decide if you can live with the changes. But I think he does care. Maybe that makes it all worthwhile.” “How do you do it?” He shook his head, and she was afraid he was going to touch her again. She might not find nobility so easy if he did that. “Make it all sound so simple? So sane? Don’t you ever want to just scream or break something?” “All the time. But you start doing that, and who’s going to get anything done?” “Somebody’s got to be sensible,” he said. “Ever wonder why it has to be you?” “All the time, Niki,” she said and grinned. “All the time.” *
*
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Selhdun found Pakal in his quarters. With the comm’s audio, he heard Pakal move restlessly around the large quarters. Selhdun would have to do something about visuals, but that was no problem for his ’Techs. “Do you trust me, Pakal?” he finally asked when his interior sensors told him Pakal had retrieved one of his black beers from the cooler Selhdun had his ’Techs bring down. He sat at the table. Pakal was silent for the longest time. Selhdun began to wonder if he had asked the wrong question. He would hate to push Pakal too fast and be forced to deal with him. He needed Pakal. Not that he’d ever tell him that. 550
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“Yes, I trust you,” Pakal said slowly and Selhdun knew it was the truth. Pakal was a lousy liar. He also knew the trust would fail the first time Selhdun violated what Pakal took as his bond. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Pakal. You have my word on that.” “What do you propose to do about returning?” “I’d like to give Jenelek another two week lead time at least. Let him tender his report to the Suzerain. The rumor mill will go crazy telling stories of our demise. Coming back from the dead will give you a real cachet, you know. You’ll have no problem finding a new bondsman to replace that fool—you can certainly afford it now. Send him back to Xua, I can even ensure he returns to the mines.” Even without optics Selhdun possessed a formidable set of tools. Now he monitored Pakal’s reaction. Pakal was apprehensive. Interesting. Did the threat to his young lover unnerve him that much? Selhdun filed that away for future reference. It never hurt to know someone’s weakness. “Nikoli will not be sent back to the mines. No man should endure that horror more than once.” “Man!” Selhdun snapped. “That little vstatzi doesn’t know how to be a man. You coddle him too much, Pakal, letting him think he means something. He’s setting himself up to keep this cushy position. Convenient that he discovers his undying love after my death.” “I think it might be wise if we remained here for more than two weeks,” Pakal said his voice flat. “A month might be preferable.” Selhdun decided not to push the issue. Pakal always got his back up when he was pressured. Selhdun had planted the doubt. It would eat at Pakal now. Selhdun was sure he would come to his 551
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senses in good time. He always did. “A month would be better,” Selhdun said. “Then we can dump the Cyxer and her bastard before moving on. Cyx is less traveled and we will be able to slip in and out without attracting much notice.” “We will have to face Jenelek sooner or later.” “I plan to reveal myself to the Suzerain immediately,” Selhdun said. “I know what he wants above all. The Suzerain is very predictable, he will want the power I offer him. We will not be threatened after that.” “What of the Hegemon?” Pakal pulled another beer out of the cooler. “Do you intend to reveal yourself to them?” “For now, no,” Selhdun said. “You will pretend to make the Jump, it will allay suspicion. Once we return, in fact, I think you will become a full Hegemon pilot.” Again Selhdun detected Pakal’s fear. Jump clearly did not agree with him. Before Pakal could speak Selhdun continued, “It will be for show only. You will have the visual tattoo, the nanobots can easily arrange that, but I will engage the ship in Jump.” “You will fake Hegemon records?” “Of course,” Selhdun said softly. “Did you really think that would be a problem?”
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CHAPTER 24 Pakal stared at the monitor. Was Selhdun serious? Pakal tried to think of what that might mean. The casualness with which Selhdun spoke of altering Hegemon records… Pakal felt goose bumps crowd his bare arms. “The implications…” he whispered “You must protect me, Pakal,” Selhdun said. “I’ll give you the ship, and I’ll make sure you will never want again. In return you must keep the Necromancer from harm.” “I will not leave you.” “What of the others?” Pakal had been expecting that. He had to make his position clear. If Selhdun suspected he would stay no matter what he did, then who knew what he might do with that knowledge. “They stay 553
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or go as they will. You will not force them.” “If they go I’ll kill them.” “No!” Pakal stood. In agitation he moved through the room, slamming chairs against the table. “If you kill anyone I will leave. You may very well kill me, but you will not hold this crew together with threats. I will not serve you like that.” Selhdun was silent for several seconds. “I was not threatening you, Pakal. You and I, we go back too far. You know I always tried to protect you. Now all I ask is that you protect me.” “And I will do that, but not with threats to anyone.” “Do you really think the others will stay?” “Nikoli will stay.” “What if I told you he was trying to convince the Cyxer to take him with her? His love seems to be a pretty fleeting thing.” “Nikoli will stay.” But Pakal was less sure when he said it this time. “Let him go, Pakal. He’s a mistake waiting to happen.” “Nikoli will stay.” “For once I don’t think you know what you’re talking about,” Selhdun said. “I think Kaari may be considering leaving.” “Do you blame her? Kaari told me you sent ’Techs after her. Even you must admit that was foolish. What was it to prove?” “I don’t need an excuse. I don’t want her leaving, Pakal.” “It will be Kaari’s choice.” “No,” Selhdun said, and this time his voice was totally devoid of even a pretense of humanity. “She knows too much. She will talk. I’m still vulnerable.” “She will not talk.” Pakal took a deep breath, knowing he must stay calm. With Ilesha he had seen what Selhdun could do. “Kaari has always been honorable. She has given you no reason to doubt 554
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her integrity.” “Integrity.” Selhdun made the word sound dirty. “She’ll sell us out the first chance she gets. She’s staying, Pakal, or I’ll take care of her myself.” “No!” Pakal slammed his beer bulb down on the side table. Beer squirted over his hand. “No more death. If you kill her, or she comes to harm, I will leave you. Kill me then if you wish, but you will have a hard time explaining how the ship runs itself in that event. There will be no more death from your hand. I will protect you, just as I always have, but the price of my protection will be your good behavior.” “Pakal—” “Those are my terms, Terik. Only you can decide if you can abide by them. But I will not stay under any other conditions.” “And if Kaari talks?” “She won’t.” Pakal stripped off his shipsuit. He paused at the bathroom door, his hand on the last snap. “I want you to leave Nikoli alone, as well.” “We’re on to that again, are we? I don’t understand your infatuation with the boy,” Selhdun said. “You’ve never wasted this much time on any of your amusements before. Kaari I can understand, but him… Aren’t you ready to send him back to Xua and find a new one? Or get a couple, there’s no limit now to the toys you can have.” “Leave Nikoli alone. Leave them all alone,” Pakal said. “If and when I tire of him I will let you know. In the meantime, I enjoy his company. I intend to keep him on.” “He is trying to talk Lyssra into taking him back with her.” “Leave him alone, Terik.” “You really are soft on him, aren’t you?” Selhdun said. “Even 555
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knowing what he did? You’re a fool.” “Be that as it may, leave the boy alone.” “Fine, Pakal, consider it done. Once your infatuation runs its course, you’ll realize I’m right,” Selhdun said. “He’s a weakling, and he’ll always be a weakling.” “He has already been through more than most men twice his age. He may be emotional, but that is not the same as weak.” “Okay, he’s your problem, not mine,” Selhdun said. “But you will regret it.” “Then it will be my regret,” Pakal said.
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CHAPTER 25 Pakal found Nikoli in his new quarters two weeks later. He carried the young man’s gameweb in one hand. “You have not responded to my comm calls.” Pakal glanced around the tidy room. It was as empty as it had been before Nikoli had moved into it. All four beds still hugged the bare walls. He couldn’t even tell which one Nikoli had slept in. “What are you doing here?” “Planning.” Nikoli wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m getting off at Cyx. I imagine I’ll be able to find a ship to sign up on, at least long enough to get me to Nexus.” “What will you do then?” Nikoli shrugged. He nodded at the gameweb. “You done with that?” 557
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Pakal tossed it to him and watched him slip it into a side pocket of the carryon he had not even unpacked. “You are not yet finished your contract. How do you plan to pay it off?” He watched Nikoli’s shoulders dip in a loose shrug. “I assume it will come out of my unpaid wages.” “You signed a contract.” “Then take me to court for breaching it! You want me to go back to Xua in bond?” Nikoli straightened. “It’s not enough you kick me off this ship; you want to make sure I don’t get another one?” “That is not my intention.” “Then let me go, Pakal.” “I cannot.” Pakal came to stand in front of Nikoli. “You occupy my mind. I am not sure I like that. I like even less the idea that you will leave. We have unfinished business between us.” “You’ll get over it.” Nikoli refused to look at him. “How can I stay? You don’t trust me.” “He’s right,” Selhdun spoke up. “He lied. He’ll lie again. They always do. He beds witches and God knows what, and you know what that leads to.” “Lyssra is not a witch,” Nikoli said. “And Ilesha didn’t kill Selhdun because she was, either. She was just a nasty, confused bitch.” “She is a witch, however much you deny it,” Pakal said. “She’s just a woman.” “Just? There is never anything just about a Cyxer.” “Sure there is,” Nikoli said. “And you’re wrong about her. But then you don’t trust my word, right? Which brings us right back around to why I’m leaving.” “Nikoli—” 558
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“Forget it, Pakal. This conversation goes nowhere.” “How touching,” Selhdun said. “He must really want something pretty bad, don’t you think, Pakal? But then you’ve already seen how sappy he can get.” In life his voice had never been warm; now it was glacial. Nikoli glared at the comm. “I don’t even know what he’s talking about,” he muttered. “I’ve always tried to tell you the truth.” “Leave us, Selhdun,” Pakal snapped. He raised his eyebrow at Nikoli, silencing him before he could speak. “This conversation is private. You might want to relearn what that word means. You may control this ship, but I have told you what will happen if you try to control me.” Nikoli watched him warily. Pakal sighed after the silence stretched between them for nearly a minute. Nikoli tried to grin and his Adam’s apple bobbed as though he was swallowing past a sudden obstruction in his throat. He visibly struggled to think of what he wanted to say. He swallowed again when Pakal turned gray eyes toward him. “It’s not her I want to stay with,” he finally said. “She knows that. She told me they don’t even invite outsiders to get involved with their children… She wants nothing more to do with me. So I guess that means I’m all yours, no strings attached.” “I do not want you to leave, Nikoli.” Pakal bit back his personal feelings and said, “I am prepared to make you a deal. I am aware the Cyxers need resources. Selhdun assures me we have a surfeit of ’Techs on board. I will leave as many as Selhdun can spare. I have already spoken to Lyssra and she has agreed to this. I will also help them upgrade their current ‘Docs. That way your…daughter will be well cared for. In return, you will remain 559
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on the Necromancer at least for the duration of your contract.” “Why, Pakal?” “I dread the prospect of having to break in a new apprentice. Bad enough Kaari is unhappy and thinks of leaving. You are finally showing adequate skill in response to all my training. I do not want my time wasted in having to do it over again.” “My skills are adequate?” Nikoli’s eyes narrowed. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d take that as an insult.” “The truth is only insulting if you make it so,” Pakal said. “And you do not know me half as well as you like to think.” “You are insulting me,” Nikoli said. “You are a child, Nikoli,” Pakal said heavily, and when Nikoli would have moved past him, he stopped him with a touch. Nikoli swayed against him. He knew then that he had won. “How you can imagine having children of your own is beyond my understanding. The poor woman does not know what she is in for.” “Very funny.” “Selhdun?” “Yes, Pakal?” “I’m sure you have some activity to monitor,” Pakal said. “I will be busy for some time. Nikoli has some matters to explain to me. See to things. Monitor bridge activity, would you?” Pakal said. “Tell the Cyxer we return to Cyx in another two weeks. She had until then to get ready.. Kaari, too, if she is still determined to go.” “Yes, Pakal.” “You will remember what I said about her, too. I will be checking up on Kaari periodically, I believe. Now, see that we are not disturbed.” “As you wish, Pakal.” “What do you want me to explain?” Nikoli asked with a certain 560
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wariness. Pakal smiled at him. “Something you told me earlier.” He pulled Nikoli against him, satisfied to feel his strong response. “You insisted it was still true. I would know more. Will you show me?” “You really believe Selhdun when he says he won’t monitor?” “I believe he will do what is best for himself. Selhdun always did. Now, no more about them. We are both overdressed.” “You want me to take care of that?” “Yes, chuku, I do.” *
*
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Inside the shell of his new home, Selhdun smiled. He found it easy to ignore what the two men were doing. He was no longer plagued by desires of any kind, carnal or otherwise. Would he miss that over time? His memories of what he had done as a man were crystal clear, they just no longer moved him. Briefly he focused on Pakal and Nikoli. If he’d been capable, he would have shaken his head. Pakal really was letting his infatuation show. He’d never talked like that to Selhdun, never used those words with such passion. The boy had found his weak spot and was using it to blind Pakal to his real motives. Well, Selhdun had tried to warn him. Selhdun moved away and shut off the systems that let him hear more than he wanted to. Just like he’d always told Pakal, no regrets. Regret, he had finally realized, made you weak. Regret made you human. Was being human a bad thing? Memories flooded him as he listened to Pakal. What had he felt 561
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for this man once? He had been special. Selhdun had given up so much to have his Xuan lover. His family might have welcomed him back once he became an established Hegemon pilot. But once he had taken up with Pakal and made his feelings for the big Xuan known to everyone, he would never be welcomed again in his father’s house. He had accepted that. He had Pakal. He didn’t need anything else. What had changed? Memory again. He knew it had been him. Pakal had never changed in his feelings for Selhdun. Even now, while he played his physical games with a very vocal Nikoli, he would protect Selhdun as long as Selhdun didn’t betray him. Selhdun would keep his agreement. It was the least he owed Pakal. For all those memories. And for the good memories of Rauli they had given him back. To remember the love and in the end, the betrayal of his family. But always the love. The love of a good man before it had been ripped away from him. Selhdun abandoned the lovers to their ephemeral fleshly pursuits. Let Pakal play with his boy-toy. Selhdun had more important things to consider. Among other things, he had an unborn son to consider. He was going to have to think about that one some more. His mother probably already had her plans for taking care of her grandson. She certainly wouldn’t be expecting the boy’s father back. Jenelek had no doubt promised her that wasn’t going to happen. And Jenelek… Well, Jenelek would need taking care of, too. In time. “You and me, Pakal. We’re still a team. You’ll see.” There were possibilities that came to mind without even thinking about it. What could he do if he really focused? It was going to be interesting to discover his abilities all over again. 562
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“And don’t worry, I’ll see to everything. For both of us.”
563
P. A. BROWN
At 22 years of age, P. A. Brown’s life changed forever when she sold everything she owned and moved 2,000 miles away to a city she’d never visited, where she knew no one. Coming from a sheltered life, she spent the next eight years doing her own wild and crazy thing. She roamed the good and bad streets of Los Angeles, doing things that in retrospect were probably downright idiotic. Knowing nothing about the city (or any big city) she made the brilliant decision to get a cheap apartment. She found one, in the heart of a crime-ridden section of Hollywood, one she later found out was called a war zone by the LAPD. There were stabbings and shootings and assaults every weekend. Thus was her introduction to life in a big American city. Most of her time in L. A. was spent in the underbelly of the city, including a month or so living out of a car. She visited Skid Row, spent time on the streets of Hollywood, and befriended a bartender who was killed after she went home with a customer. And you wonder why she writes crime novels? During the 80s, P. A. saw the advent of a terrible disease no one understood that became known as AIDS. Being immersed in the gay community, P. A. knew a lot of people who died in those days. For a brief period, she was even a “Valley Girl,” living within spitting distance of the famous Sherman Oaks Galleria. Does she miss it? Every minute of every day.
For more information on P. A. Brown, please visit her website at: http://www.pabrown.ca *
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Johnny Wager has been a loser all his life and proud of it. But when a West Hollywood twink ends up dead in a hotel room with Wager literally holding the bag, he knows his life is going to change for the worse. Pursued by the West Hollywood sheriffs for a murder he knows he didn’t commit, Wager has to stay one step ahead of them and prove his innocence. It doesn’t help matters any that his own son, Mark Wager, is a deputy sheriff who has joined the manhunt and has more reason than anyone to find the father who failed him all his life and bring him to justice. Add Hyacinth, a six-foot-five drag queen from New Orleans, Taz, her Puerto Rican boyfriend, an ex-Marine porno filmmaker and his incontinent Basset Hound Columbo, and the Armenian mob chasing them all through the streets of Los Angeles and the art walks and canals of Venice Beach. Wager pursues his own answers to the question of who is trying to kill him in the sleazy bars and back alleys of Hollywood all the way to Cathedral City. Can Wager stop the killers and reconcile with his son or will he end up being the next victim? Betrayed by friends, beset by his own
conscience that has come back late in life with a vengeance, and the need to redeem himself, he battles the ruthless mob in the only way he knows how: with cunning and a total disrespect for the law.
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