They bowed and left, Leterit elbowing Gyenga out of the way at the door. The door closed behind them and he finally relaxed, trying to enjoy his few uninterrupted moments. He missed Ella so fiercely it was like an ache in his side, but he had less than five minutes until his next audience and he was still determined to keep her out of public view. It would be even worse now that the entire court thought he was searching for a First Consort.
He had foolishly thought it would be simple to throw Lekasar off his tracks. He would not avoid any more state events, make a few discreet enquiries, and in a few weeks, it would have blown over and he could let Ella come back. Either he had seriously misjudged the court’s attention span, or someone has been encouraging the rumors. Lekasar was the obvious suspect; he just didn’t understand why the priest would be so insistent.
His com panel alerted him to a call from Tanaca. Despite the temptation to ignore it, he knew his advisor wouldn’t call without a reason.
“Yes?”
“Your captain has returned. With a guest,” Tanaca said begrudgingly.
“Excellent. Does he have any news?”
“He refused to say, Sire. He just said he wanted the, begging your pardon, the scum sucking son-of-a-whore off his ship.”
He bit back a laugh. “Have him bring the man here.”
“I already suggested that, Sire. He indicated that he was anxious to leave and wanted to just drop off the man.”
“Then he is doomed to disappointment. I want to see both of them at once.”
“Yes, Sire.” Tanaca sounded entirely too pleased.
“Politely, Tanaca. But now. Have Warnax escort them through the utility passages.”
“To your office?”
“Yes,” he said, after a brief hesitation. His office was screened against all surveillance and without Ella to interrupt, it was the most discreet setting in the palace. Ignoring the pang that thought gave him, he canceled his next audience and waited impatiently.
As soon as the concealed panel slid open, Athtar barged in, Warnax at his elbow.
“I did what you wanted. I brought you the fucking slimy bastard. Can I leave now?” He stopped abruptly, ducked his head and gave what might have passed for a bow, and added hastily. “Your Imperial Majesty.”
Since the man was bare chested except for a weapons harness that Warnax was watching warily, he appeared to have left his war beast behind.
“Precious is waiting?”
“Aye,” Athtar said, a surprised grin replacing the scowl. “She’s very precious.”
Before he could respond, two more guards appeared, dragging an Elginar scholar who hung limply between them. Like all scholars, his head was shaved and covered with tattoos signifying his accomplishments. Karthajin hid his surprise at the level of learning they revealed. How had a man of such high stature ended up in a secret lab on an ice planet?
Tanaca was the last to enter. He gave the scholar a disgusted look, then bowed deeply. “I must apologize, Your Imperial Majesty. I truly did not believe that any Elginar were actually involved.”
“Always easier to blame someone else, isn’t it, spymaster?” Athtar said.
“Captain Athtar,” Karthajin interrupted before Tanaca could respond. “How did you get him out?”
“I sent the man who went to the lab last time back in. He showed up, got everyone drunk as hell, and slipped away with him slicker than a Tardarian slime creature. Of course, it helped that the lights were out.”
“You disabled the lights in a military grade weapons lab?” Tanaca asked, clearly skeptical.
Athtar tugged on his beard and frowned at him. “Nah. Must have been the fucking storm. Just good timing.”
“Will they miss him?” Karthajin asked.
“Doubt it. We, I mean he, made it look like he got shitfaced drunk and wandered out into the storm.”
“If he’s too injured to talk, he’s not going to be of much help,” Tanaca said, surveying the man’s limp figure.
“He ain’t hurt. Just slipped and fell into my fist a few times. I don’t like him,” Athtar said with a shrug. “Can I go now?”
Karthajin suspected there was considerably more to the story than Athtar had let on, but he had his informant and that was the most important part.
“Very well.”
Athtar hesitated for a second. “What about the girl? Did she change her mind?”
“She most certainly did not.” At least he prayed to Napisten that she had not. He wasn’t ready to let her go.
The captain shot him an accessing look. “Yeah. Kind of addictive aren’t they, these little humans?”
Without waiting for a reply, he swept a bow worthy of a prince and headed for the panel.
“Wait a minute,” Tanaca said. “You mentioned the liquor. What about the furs? And the credits?”
“Expenses,” Athtar said with a roguish grin, and disappeared.
“Sire!”
“Let it go, Tanaca.” He studied the prisoner, who was beginning to twitch in the guard’s hands. “Can you bring him round?”
“Of course, Sire,” Tanaca said, looking mildly insulted. He started searching through a small satchel before withdrawing a syringe. “This should also make him more… amenable to the discussion.”
Two hours later, Karthajin was tired and frustrated. Despite Tanaca’s assortment of drugs, the interrogation had been only partially successful. They had discovered that the planet destroying weapon was only a few months away from completion; however, they hadn’t made any progress in determining who had ordered the construction or the ultimate goal. The only other useful piece of information that Tanaca had uncovered was the fact that there was a back way into the lab. The prisoner hadn’t revealed the exact location, but Tanaca had tracked his facial movements while the man was forced to watch vids of the surrounding area and he had narrowed down the parameters.
“I’m tired of your evasions, Zartan,” Tanaca said.
The prisoner ignored him. “My stomach hurts.”
“A lot more than your stomach is going to hurt shortly unless you can provide the information I want.”
“I don’t know anything else,” Zartan muttered.
Tanaca shook his head. “Why don’t I believe you? Who is funding your operation?”
Zartan’s face looked genuinely confused, and he swayed in his chair, despite the bonds holding him place. Tanaca leaned closer.
“You value your tattoos, don’t you? Your signs of scholarship?” A knife appeared in his hand and he scraped it delicately over the man’s cheek. “I would hate to see them removed.”
“No, no!” The threat finally seemed to penetrate the man’s abstraction and he tried to back away from the knife but Tanaca followed the movement.
The first bloody line had just appeared when there was a yowl from the garden, followed by a streak of grey fur. Chika came to a halt in front of the prisoner, her crest flaring, then attacked his leg with a sudden swipe of long sharp claws. There was a startled gasp behind him, and he closed his eyes in despair. Ella had been so obedient. Why had she picked today to disobey him? He’d never wanted her to see this.
He turned, expecting her to be running away or worse, giving him an accusing look. Instead, she was staring at the prisoner. Her mouth opened and then she was screaming, rushing toward the man with her own nails out.
“No, no! I don’t want to go. Take me home. Where’s Faith? I want Faith. Let her go. Let me go. Take me home!” She battered the man with her small fists, tears rolling down her face, while Chika yowled and attacked from below.
He shoved aside his shock and rushed over to her, picking her up in his arms despite her frantic struggles.
“Hush, kitten. You’re with me. You’re safe.” He jerked his head at Warnax. “Take him away. Put him in a private cell and make sure he’s guarded by your most discreet men.”
Warnax bowed and his men dragged the prisoner away.
“No, no.” Ella’s cries had died down to s
oft whimpers, but she was still moaning and clutching his shirt. Chika curled anxiously around his ankles.
“Would you like me to give her something to calm her, Sire?” Tanaca actually looked concerned. “Or call a medic?”
“Not now, Tanaca. Tell Tikaren to cancel the rest of the day’s events.” He didn’t give a fuck if half the palace showed up tomorrow to reprimand him. His Ella needed him, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Yes, Sire.” He hesitated. “I hope all is well with Miss Ella.”
Karthajin lifted her into his arms. “I will make sure that it is.”
Chapter Nineteen
As the panic started to recede, Ella realized that Karthajin was carrying her. Her arms instinctively went around his neck. “Don’t leave me.”
“I have no intention of leaving you.” He hugged her against him and she let his big, warm body and musky scent comfort her, despite the terrifying memories that threatened to swamp her.
“What happened back there, kitten?”
They had reached the bedroom and he sat back against the headboard, still cradling her in his arms.
“I remembered,” she whispered.
“Is that why you’ve remembered your voice, as well?” He traced a gentle hand down her cheek. “I’m happy to hear you speak so clearly.”
For a moment she considered telling him that it was the shock of his upcoming marriage which had brought back her voice, but she couldn’t handle talking about that just now. Her mind was still replaying the horror of the night she was taken.
“What do you remember, kitten?”
“I remember being taken from Earth. It’s all been a blur for so long. I would dream about it but when I woke up, I couldn’t remember any of the details. But just now, when I saw him, it all came rushing back.” She shuddered, the fear of that evening washing over her, and he rocked her soothingly. “That night—the night it happened—I was with Faith, the g-girl next door. I think, I think maybe they just w-wanted her but since I was there, they took me, too.” She took a deep breath, fighting the urge to cry. “The ones who t-took us… they were like that man. He’s Elginar, too, isn’t he? I think that’s why Tanaca scared me, but I d-didn’t understand because he looks so different with no tattoos and all of his hair.”
“Was that man one of the ones who actually took you?” he asked gently.
“I don’t know. I thought so, but m-maybe it was just the shock.” The tears still threatened as more of the memories rushed back. There was an awful cage and those blue men barked questions at Faith which Ella didn’t understand.
“Would you be able to handle looking at him again?” Karthajin asked, pulling her out of the past. “I wouldn’t ask but I think it’s important to know if he was there.”
She took a deep breath. “Yes, I think so. If you’re there.”
“That’s my brave girl.” He dropped a kiss on her head. “Is that all you remember?”
“No.” The whole trip had resurfaced now, but in some ways, the ending was the worst part. She played with the hem of her shirt. “There was another m-man, right at the end. He’s the one that brought me to my… owners. He was Kaisarian.”
“Would you recognize him again?” She could hear the urgency in his voice, even though he tried to suppress it.
“I don’t know. It was such a long time ago, but when I saw that man just now, it was like it just happened.” The tears welled up again. “I was so s-scared, but I always had Faith. And then they took me away from her.”
“Is that when you stopped remembering?”
“I think so. My first few days here were all such a blur. I think… I think Momi and Popi may have given me something to help me f-forget because I cried so much.” Anger and sorrow fought for dominance. “Why would they do that? Why would they take away my memories?”
“Perhaps so you could be happy with them?” he suggested.
“Is it happiness if it’s built on a lie? I loved them but I guess they didn’t l-love me enough to let me have the truth.”
Emotions in a wild tumult, she pulled away from him. He let her go, watching her face.
“It was always like that. Whenever I got upset, they just wanted it to go away. So I always pushed it aside, so I could be their h-happy little slave, so they would love me.”
She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to pretend I’m not unhappy when I am.” Her hands clenched. “I know you’re looking for a First Consort.”
His eyes closed, an expression close to despair on his face. “No, kitten, I’m not. I don’t want to be with anyone but you. The Church has been pushing me and I thought that if I met with a few candidates, it would appease them.”
“Is that why you wouldn’t let me come with you anymore?”
“Yes. There were rumors. I wanted to give them a chance to die down.”
“Because you’re ashamed of me?” He had never made her feel inferior for being human, but maybe that was why he didn’t want their relationship known.
“Never,” he said emphatically. “I just don’t want anyone talking about you. The palace is a hotbed of malicious gossip.”
His face was haunted, and she sighed. “Don’t you think that’s inevitable?”
“Kitten, you don’t understand. That constant barrage of whispers and rumors destroyed my mother.”
From what he’d told her, she suspected that his father had been the true cause of his mother’s unhappiness, but she wasn’t sure she could ever convince him. Rather than attempt it, she focused on the more important issue.
“How long do I have?”
He frowned. “How long?”
“Before… before you choose someone else.”
“Oh, kitten, I would never choose to be with anyone but you.” But they both knew that it might not be entirely his choice.
Karthajin held Ella until she calmed. He hated that she knew about the pressure on him to choose a First Consort, but he was relieved that it was in the open between them. As she snuggled against him and drifted off into a restless sleep, he closed his arms around her. If only he knew the best way to protect her. Athtar’s suggestion floated through his mind again, but he rejected it. He wanted her here with him, and unless she decided she wanted to leave, he wasn’t going to make her.
As her breathing gradually deepened, he reluctantly unwrapped her arms from around his neck and settled her in place. The informant might not have revealed much so far but there were still actions that needed to be taken. He didn’t want to go far while she was still so vulnerable, so he covered her with a blanket and headed for his sitting room to summon his chief military advisor.
Fleet Admiral Gernagan arrived rapidly. A grizzled older man, he had served the same advisory position under his grandfather. He was a blunt old warrior who had participated in enough battles to neither fear them nor seek them out, and Karthajin trusted him implicitly. He rapidly brought him up to date on the situation.
“I want access to the prisoner,” Gernagan said immediately.
Karthajin hesitated. He knew Tanaca wouldn’t like it, but answers were most important at this point.
“You may have it; however, if Tanaca wants to be present as well, he can be.”
“Hmph. He’s too soft.”
Karthajin thought of Tanaca’s knife slicing into the prisoner's face and shook his head. “I think he may surprise you.”
“In the meantime, what do you want to do about the lab?”
“I want you to take it. But discreetly. One ship, your troops in camouflage, using the back entrance.”
Gernagan frowned. “It might be risky. We could still just drop a bomb on it, take out the whole site.”
“And what if it sets off the planetary weapon?” Karthajin asked. “Hothrest may not be the most congenial place in the galaxy, but it doesn’t deserve to be destroyed. And, Gernagan, try not to start a war with the Hothians.”
“Hah. A war they’d lose.”
“U
ndoubtedly. But they would fight to their last man and it would be a senseless waste of life.”
“It would be a hell of a battle.” Gernagan said a little regretfully, but he nodded. “Agreed. I’ll send a ship out immediately.”
“And there’s something else—”
“Karthajin?” Ella’s voice came from the bedroom entrance and he looked up to see her standing there. She looked sleepy and adorable but her usual smile was missing, and her lips trembled. Without a word, he opened his arms, and she rushed over to him and buried her head in his neck. He looked over the soft blonde curls to see Gernagan studying him. The admiral shook his head, but he didn’t seem particularly offended.
“Ella, this is Fleet Admiral Gernagan. I was just about to tell him that you may have seen a Kaisarian who was involved in this plot.”
She raised her head and gave Gernagan a shy smile, then looked up at him. “You think my kidnapping was related to this weapon?”
“You said you thought they were after your friend. Do you have any idea why?”
A thoughtful look crossed her face. “Faith was awfully smart. She had degrees in two different things, and she wasn’t very old.”
“Do you remember what subjects she was trained in?”
She shook her head. “No. I always thought she knew everything.”
“Why do you think a Kaisarian was involved?” Gernagan demanded impatiently, and Karthajin filled him in on Ella’s memories.
“We should start by seeing if she can definitely identify your prisoner,” Gernagan said.
Ella shivered and nestled closer to him. Gernagan’s eyes softened a little.
“Don’t worry, girl. He can’t hurt you now. And if you do recognize him…”
“It would seem likely that there is a connection. And if a Kaisarian was involved back then, we know this extended beyond Ustrod,” Karthajin said grimly. The fortunately deceased Prince Ustrod had been behind the deployment of the first instance of the weapon.
Ella and the Emperor (Alien Abduction #5) Page 11