The Inquisitors (The Space Merchants Book 6)

by Wendie Nordgren

  Kaoti grinned at her before becoming stoic once more.

  One day progressed into the next, and I enjoyed a constant stream of family visits. Yukihyo, Hiroshi, and Phillip had been inseparable. Tora’s hold was filled with merchandise from Parvac that Yukihyo had brought. At the moment, they were all in Yukihyo’s office. I walked in, sat on Hiroshi’s lap, and hugged his neck.

  “I hear my baby sister is now an ensign.”

  Nodding proudly, I said, “That’s true!”

  “I am proud of you. I have my own news to share. Ling is going to make me a father.” Hiroshi had a happy sparkle in his eyes.

  I squeezed his neck. “Oh, Hiroshi! I’m so happy for you!” I hoped that I hid the fact that everyone had already guessed his happy news well enough.

  “But not surprised,” he said with a raised eyebrow. He knew me too well.

  I grinned at him.

  Phillip congratulated him as well, but all of us had no trouble detecting the hint of sadness in him. His eyes strayed in the direction of Terre’s voice.

  Hiroshi said, “She is very beautiful, the Parvac woman.”

  Phillip said, “Yes, but she’s more than that. Can I get anyone anything from the kitchen?” Phillip didn’t wait for our responses.

  Hiroshi shook his head and grinned. “I have stores of silk from the families to deliver and wish to do so quickly. I want to keep my time away from Ling to a minimum.”

  “Understandable,” Yukihyo said.

  “How long will you remain on Arachne and dare you leave Teagan for a short jaunt to Aurilius?”

  “We could be there and back in less than two weeks’ time,” Yukihyo said to me.

  I gave him what I hoped passed as a haughty stare. “Would you bring back stuffed olives and things of that sort?”

  Hiroshi laughed and squeezed me. “I will bring my baby sister and Ling more such treats than they could want.”

  “I’ll leave the two of you to discuss your plans. Please consider that Tracy and Jazon may want to go with you. She misses her mother.” I was missing mine as well.

  Tired of studying, I stood and stretched. The view from my sitting room was amazing. I gazed out at the trees and tried not to be annoyed. I still didn’t understand my chemistry assignments, but I was finally all caught up. Nervous rustlings accompanied the strong empathic feeling of safety and family. The cadets had made the noises while rushing to stand. The comfort had come from Sherman.

  “Find somewhere else to be,” he said to them in the imposing tone that I no longer believed.

  “Princess?” Cedrenus asked. He wasn’t allowing himself to be intimidated.

  I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “You’d better do as he says.”

  The cadets bowed to me and took their leave.

  Sherman said, “Simon said you boys could go for a swim at his house. You remember how to get there?”

  “Yes, sir,” Binder answered. They wouldn’t have any trouble getting there since Yukihyo had provided each of them with a roller to use during their stay.

  Kaoti didn’t budge from his position, but Sherman didn’t expect him to. However, he did wait until the boys were gone to speak. “You let them run you off Parvac. Now, you’re afraid to leave your house.”

  With my heart speeding up, I turned from the windows to face him. I took in the sight of him from his bright-red hair and pale blue eyes to his barrel-like chest. “No one ran me off. I needed to come home. I needed to feel safe.”

  “This is your home, and I want you here, but not if it’s hurting you to stay.”

  “How could being here hurt me? I’m happy here.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked back out of the window.

  “I overheard you’re afraid to have relations with your husbands, you’re afraid to be in your wing of the Palace, and I see for myself that you haven’t once left the properties since you’ve been here. That’s not like you, except when you’re afraid of Parvac soldiers. My question is how can a woman who can command Parvac soldiers be afraid of them? Hell, you’re working towards becoming one of them yourself, Ensign Alaric Montgomery Lee. Decide whether you’re going to be confined within a prison of your own making, or if you’re going to be a woman with her own starship, personal army, and the freedom to go anywhere she chooses.”

  I whispered, “What about my enemies?”

  “You can hide and cower or face and defeat them,” Sherman said. He walked closer and enclosed me in his big strong arms, holding me in silence while sharing with me his strength.

  “You’re right, and I could use some orange chicken.”

  “My transport is right outside.”

  After making sure the children were okay with their nurses, I joined Sherman with Kaoti glued to my side. Embarrassingly enough, my palms were damp all of the way to the Sun Palace.

  Uncle Lee met us at the door with open arms. “It is so very good to see you! Come in and sit down!” He grinned as he led us to a corner table and poured us glasses of ice water. Then, the platters of food started coming.

  “Wow, Sherman. You’re really putting it away.”

  He shrugged. “Isidora and I were sneaking over here almost every day before she had my granddaughter. Her cravings are gone, but mine aren’t.”

  I laughed and forgot about my nerves.

  Uncle Lee said, “The two of them have made me very wealthy.” He put a plate of fried wontons in front of me and turned from us when he heard the door chime.

  “So, the reports I received were correct. You got her to leave the house. I should have thought of this myself.” Yukihyo pulled out the chair beside me. Hiroshi followed and stole half of my wontons. Phillip was behind him.

  Uncle Lee looked at Phillip and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

  Hiroshi said, “A woman took his heart from him and won’t return it.”

  “Aw, that is unfortunate. You must win her.”

  “I’ve been trying. Nothing works.”

  Uncle Lee asked, “Have you tried taking her to enjoy some fine dining? I do not believe you have, or I would have seen you here.”

  Phillip sighed.

  Uncle Lee brought out more food.

  A few days later, Yukihyo, Hiroshi, Phillip, Tracy, and Jazon left for Aurilius. Before she had gone, we had presented Tracy with several Arachnean Silk dresses to share with her mother and friends along with a few suits for her brothers. Not long after Phillip had gone, Terre became rather morose.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  Terre stopped sketching Eloneave fashion designs on her vid-screen to look at me. “I don’t know. It just seems so very quiet is all.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “I agree. I haven’t heard a particular male praising your beauty for several hours now.”

  “He is rather ridiculous. Isn’t he?”

  “Well, it is a new experience for him.”

  “How so?”

  Thinking of the countless women who threw themselves at Phillip, I worried I shouldn’t say anything.

  “Teagan, tell me what it is you seem to have thought better of saying.”

  “Look. I love Phillip like a big brother.”

  “I know you do. I have no intentions of hurting him. However, I do believe that you and I have become close, and if such is true, we should not hide things from each other.”

  I sighed, knowing she was right. With a frown, I said, “Phillip isn’t accustomed to pursuing women.”

  Terre snorted. “He seems experienced in his pursuits.”

  “Oh, he is very experienced, but in my observations, women run and fling themselves into his arms. After a charming smile and a witty remark, he has to tire them out just to get them off of him.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry, but it’s like that at every port. I’ve seen several women going after him at once. They’re married now, though.”

  “The women you relocated to Ephors,” Terre said.

  “Yes, so don’t feel
badly. He might give into one of them, and then he won’t bother you anymore. Phillip just hasn’t ever had such strong feelings for a female before as he does for you, well since I’ve known him anyway.”

  Someone stomped into the room. I looked over at Sparrow. “It is so boring here. Why can’t we go do something? If you were just planning to sit around inside all of the time doing nothing, you could have done it at the Palace, and I could have worked in my lab.” Sparrow plopped down on a chair.

  I shot Terre a look.

  Terre said, “She’s right.”

  “Well, I guess with plenty of guards, we could go out for a while.”

  “Finally,” Sparrow said.

  Lorca said, “The children have a playdate this afternoon at the Alaric Estate, if that still meets with your approval.”

  “Yes, that’s fine.” I kissed my babies and grabbed my shoes. “Thunderdrop!” He came to me and held onto my arm. As a precaution, I fastened a blaster to my thigh under my dress.

  “I won’t let you out of my sight,” Zared said.

  “I know.” I kissed his cheek.

  Terre was still mopey in the transport. “Just call him,” I said.

  She blushed at me. “I can’t call him. I have no reason to call him. What excuse could I possibly have?”

  “Terre, you don’t have to have a reason. Call Phillip, say hello, tell him we’re going shopping, ask how he’s doing, or something.”

  “I can’t. I didn’t bring along my vid-screen.”

  Sparrow, Xavier, Drex, Fitz, and I all held ours out to her at the same time. She blushed red and took mine. We tried to pretend to ignore her while she called Phillip on Tora.

  “Terre, what’s wrong?” Phillip said with panic in his voice.

  “Nothing is wrong, Phillip. In fact, we are going to do some shopping.”

  “Well, then why did you call?” he sounded completely baffled.

  “I might be missing the sound of your voice. I’ve become accustomed to it is all. After all, I’ve heard it incessantly for weeks.”

  I looked over at the screen. A twinkling light filled Phillip’s eyes. “You miss me. Buy yourself a new dress if you can find one half as pretty as you are. I’ll take you someplace special the first chance I get.”

  “That isn’t necessary. I simply wished to say hello. Now that I have done so, I will allow you to return to your duties.” She ended the communication.

  Seconds later, Hiroshi sent me a video of Phillip yelling and jumping up and down like he’d just won a million credits. Of course, I showed it to Terre. She said, “He’s ridiculous.” However, her lips kept forming a smile.

  We ended up at my favorite shops. Terre was enchanted by the wooden bridges connecting them all together. I loaded up on my favorite soaps and shampoos and gave my bags to Drex to carry. Xavier and Sparrow were in a dress shop where he was trying to convince her to buy a luxurious red silk dress.

  “Terre! Let’s get our hair done!”

  “Alright, sure.” She gave me a small amused smile.

  “We could get Arachnean braids.”

  Arm in arm, we entered the shop. I got my hair washed and then sat with a deep conditioning treatment while Terre went first. I adjusted one of the clips that was pulling my hair, but keeping the gooey mess off of my neck. I hadn’t decided what I wanted to get and flipped through the vid-pad menu of possibilities. The screen became staticky, so I gave it a shake. A face began to appear on the screen. I froze, and my fancy artificial heart pounded.

  “Don’t be afraid, Teagan. I merely wish to offer my assistance.”

  I looked toward the entrance where Zared stood with his back turned, hands clasped behind him.

  “You are rather predictable. There are neural blockers in the clips in your hair. I activated them remotely, but not too remotely.”

  “You’re nearby?”

  Felix Jiri, the man who had betrayed my parents, left me to be raised by a sadistic racist bastard, and tried to have his clones abduct me, smiled. He and his clones were one and the same to me and equally guilty. This was the man who had killed Luca, my beloved husband, before my eyes. In my tortured memory, I watched Luca fall from my lap to the ground to stare up at the rain with sightless eyes. My heart broke all over again.

  “Have they been keeping secrets from you, Teagan? Have you started asking yourself questions? Why did Papa let me travel all of the way to Arachne without Parvac warships as an escort? Why are Inquisitors trying to kidnap me?”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “Would you like to know, or are you content to be treated like one of these?” Felix held up a little blonde, green-eyed doll with braided hair in a white dress. “Will you be dressed up and played with in your pretty little houses, or will you put an end to being toyed with and used by others for their own self-gratification?”

  “What do you want, Felix?”

  “A partnership. We can help each other. I can provide you with the information being hidden from you.”

  “What’s in it for you?”

  “I find myself in need of your political protection. You and I have a common enemy it seems. The Inquisitors are after us both.”

  “After me?”

  “Oh, yes. You have altered a longstanding institution, and you aren’t the only one in danger. I can tell you everything you want to know. If my information pleases you, perhaps you will take my next call.” Felix gave me his practiced political smile. “The data chip is within the device you hold. Teagan, don’t think to betray me. I took the necessary precautions before contacting you.” A second image appeared at the bottom of the screen. After a moment, I realized what I was looking at. “It was simple capturing them, little boys playing at being Inquisitors. All I ask is that you answer my next call and perhaps agree to a private meeting. Then, they won’t be harmed.”

  His face vanished, replaced by a picture of a braided up do. Prying open the vid-pad, I found the data chip and put it in my bra. Quickly, I snapped the device back together.

  “Are you ready, Princess Teagan?” the lady asked.

  “I’m ready.”

  As she rinsed and dried my hair, I was able to reach out telepathically once more to Zared. “Where are the boys?”

  There was a long pause before Zared replied. “Nico and Izaac didn’t think they should come all of this way without going on a proper Arachnean adventure.”

  “I see.”

  I kept my thoughts behind a mental wall of my own making. Zared knew that my team had been taken. They all knew. Did they know that Felix had me under observation and that he would kill the boys if I were to betray him? I did my best to act as though nothing was wrong. While Sparrow, Terre, and I finished our lunch, I overheard Drex whispering to Eli.

  “He was found with multiple stab wounds from trying to protect the boys.”

  I pretended as though I had heard nothing. Once we were home, I feigned exhaustion and went to my bedroom, alone. Slipping the vid chip into my vid-screen, I watched the recording the hated Felix had made for me.

  Once more, Felix’s loathed face appeared on my screen. “A contingent of high-ranking Inquisitors is opposed to members of the Materfamilias Caste being permitted to join their ranks. They find it to be a grave insult and will do whatever it takes to have the decision reverted. I wish for your success. With you being privy to certain sensitive intelligence reports, I might be better able to continue serving in your interests, as I humbly do now. The list of names you see on your screen are those who have been targeted for assassination.”

  I read the names. Inquisitor Cormac Gordian was the first one listed. Several others followed. My instructor’s name, Inquisitor Rovek, was at the bottom of the list and had already been crossed through. Poor Rovek. He had lost his life because of my stubborn pride. What terrified me were the names Eli Beck, Drex Licinius, and Kaoti Aegisthus. My eyes began to swell.

  Felix’s recording continued. “If you want the ability to quash this rebellio
n, go to these coordinates tonight, alone.”

  I got up and put the data chip in my jewelry box.

  “Teagan, are you alright, dearest one? I thought you were resting.”

  I looked at Drex. “Will you hold me?” I stared down at my feet. Drex closed the distance, removed his shoes and jacket, and laid with me in bed. My head swarmed with unpleasant thoughts. The man who held me in his arms had been marked for death. He hadn’t always been my favorite person, but now I couldn’t bear to lose him. “I love you, Drex.”

  His arms tightened around me. “I love you. You are the only person I have ever loved. Do you feel the need to speak of anything?”

  My thoughts raced, but halted abruptly on the faces of Cedrenus, Binder, and Ross. Felix would kill them, just as he had killed my Luca, and just as nameless assassins planned to take Drex, Kaoti, and Eli from me. My thoughts turned harshly to Poppy and Violet. I squeezed Drex even tighter. Then, I kissed Drex, putting all of my love into it. I removed his shirt and trailed kisses across his neck and chest. As I wrapped my palm around his shaft, he sat up kissing me passionately and reaching for the closures of my dress. I panicked.

  Sensing the change in me, he drew back and laid down, holding me again in his arms. “It’s alright, Teagan.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  That evening, no one argued when I wanted to take a walk, but I wasn’t permitted to go alone. Kaoti was near, and he was one of the last people I wanted close to me. He meant too much to me to risk. Breathing in the clean air, I did my best to center and clear my mind in anticipation of what Felix might demand of me for his cooperation. We were less than a mile from my house. A whirl of sound took me by surprise as drones burned through the webs directly above me. Green scanning lasers covered the surrounding area like a virtual blanket. Then, they attacked. Robot soldiers dropped down from above in blurs of white like plasti lightning to strike the forest floor.

  Kaoti was surrounded. His blades moved in a blur causing sparks to flare when he severed a robot’s power source. I watched in horror as Kaoti’s blades flashed around him, striking off the heads of the bipedal, plasti-covered machines with their glowing yellow eyes.