“Yes, is very nice. Sometimes when I am tired I use the coaster for little restings,” the nurse agreed. She spun the chair about and pushed her through the doorway.
Outside, the hallway was fairly crowded, and everywhere faces greeted Consuela with smiles. The attention left her feeling very uncomfortable. When they passed through an empty space, she said, “Does everybody around here know who I am?”
“All Avanti knows,” the nurse cheerfully agreed. “Every day is report on newscast of how you progress. I come off duty and meet hundreds of reporters. All want to hear how beautiful scout lady and handsome scout man are progressing.” She gave an excited little sigh. “And now we are finding that he is your special man. Whole world will want to hear how you sleep for six days, then cannot even wait for doctor before seeking the handsome scout.”
Consuela felt her cheeks growing red. “Is he all right?”
“Oh yes, monitors show all normal signs. But still he sleeps.” The nurse’s bright face leaned into view. “Perhaps he wakes for you, no? Oh, is all so romantic!”
The nurse stopped before a door marked with a yellow warning shield and pressed in a code on the numerical lock. When the door had sighed open, she pushed Consuela inside.
Consuela could not help herself. When Wander came into view, she gave a little gasp, partly of relief over seeing him again, and partly over how pale and still he looked. With his closed eyes and color only barely deeper than the starched sheet, Wander looked like a little boy, helpless and frail and utterly in need.
The nurse pushed Consuela over. She leaned forward and grasped his hand. “His skin is so cold.”
“Six days he sleeps,” the nurse agreed. “The pirate attack, it was terrible, no? And you, a sensitive attached to the ship’s amplifiers, it was a wonder you survived.”
Consuela turned to her in confusion. “You know all about that?”
“All Avanti knows,” the nurse repeated. “My world, we suffer for years from pirate attacks on the shipping lanes. Some years, only two or three ships come through. Slowly, slowly we are strangled. We plead to the Hegemony for help, and they do nothing.” Her dark eyes scattered thrilling sparks about the room. “And suddenly in our skies appears a ship, and with it comes news that they bring with them a captured pirate ship! And the captain tells how they carry sensitives who find the shadowlanes, and tell of ship waiting to attack. So all Avanti waits to hear of scouts’ recovery.”
Consuela turned her attention back to Wander’s sleeping form. She leaned forward, traced a finger down the side of his cheek. She was embarrassed by the nurse’s closeness and her melodramatic interest. Still, she kissed his cheek and whispered, “Wander, it’s Consuela. Can you hear me?”
The slumbering young man emitted a soft groan.
All concern for the nurse’s unbridled interest vanished. Consuela raised herself up, although it was hard, for moving from the chair meant taking on her full weight. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, his cheek, his lips. “Wake up, Wander. Please, for me. Open your eyes.”
And he did.
Wander blinked and focused, seeing her and sighing with the pleasure that flooded his face. He whispered, “I dreamed you had left me. Gone back.”
“I did,” she said, matching his gentle tone. Raising his hand to cradle it against her chest, her other hand resting featherlight against his cheek. “But I came back.”
Wander licked dry lips, managed, “For me?”
The wings of her heart fluttered against her ribs as she nodded and softly replied, “For you.”
“Ooooh.” The sound of the little nurse clapping hands together under her chin turned them both about. “Is just toooo wonderful. All Avanti will sing of this love. Wait, wait, I must go and find doctor.” With that, the nurse spun around and was gone.
Wander returned his gaze to her and asked, “What was that all about?”
“Later,” she said. She brushed the hair from his forehead, etching the memory of each feature on the surface of her heart. “Can I get you something?”
“Water.”
She helped him drink, then drank herself. Consuela felt energy course through her with the liquid. She drained the cup, set it down, asked, “How do you—”
The door sighed open, and a familiar voice said, “Here they are. Just as I suspected. Planning more mischief, no doubt.”
Consuela spun about. “Captain Arnol!”
The nurse squeezed past the captain and attempted to bar the doorway with her small frame. “No, no, is forbidden!”
“Silence,” the captain snapped, and brusquely pushed the squawking nurse to one side. He stepped in, then turned and motioned for a stern black-robed figure to enter. “If you please, Diplomat.”
“This room is off limits,” the nurse squawked, her arms making frantic motions, trying to shoo the pair back out and away. “Only with doctor’s orders can you enter here.”
“Oh, do be quiet, that’s a good little girl.” The silver-maned diplomat swept into the room with the air of one long used to regal command.
“I am going for doctor,” the nurse announced hotly, and fled.
“An excellent notion,” the diplomat drawled. He bent over the bed and examined Wander with the coldest eyes Consuela had ever seen. “So this is the renegade scout.”
“I assure you, Diplomat,” Captain Arnol began from his post by the door. “I had no idea whatsoever—”
“Quite, quite.” His eyes lifted to fasten Consuela with a gaze that held no pity, no compassion, no life. “And whom do we have here?”
“Oh, the girl.” Arnol shrugged his unconcern. “Grimson sent her along as a trainee. Goodness only knows why. Her ability is scarcely measurable.”
“Not another Talent then,” the diplomat said, showing a trace of regret.
“Her?” Captain Arnol clearly found that humorous. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Yes, of course. Two Talents found together would be impossible, even for Senior Pilot Grimson.” The glacial eyes swung back to the silent figure on the bed, and the tone sharpened. “What is your name, renegade?”
“My name is Wander,” he replied, as hotly as his weakened state would allow. “But I am not a renegade, and I resent you calling me one.”
“Resent, do you?” The diplomat sniffed his amusement. “Have you any idea with whom you speak?”
“I do not, nor do I care.”
“You will show proper respect when addressing the diplomat, Scout Wander,” Arnol barked.
“Peace.” The diplomat raised one languid hand in dismissal. “The gallant scout will have ample time to learn respect and a myriad of other things once we have him properly settled.”
Consuela shifted so that she came between the diplomat’s gaze and Wander. “Where are you taking him?”
Eyes the color of a frozen sky rose to meet her own. Consuela struggled not to show the fear she felt. Something must have been revealed, however, for the diplomat replied with frosty amusement, “And what might your name be, Scout?”
“Consuela,” she replied, taking great comfort from the steadiness of her voice. “And yours?”
Captain Arnol broke in, “She is an outworlder, Diplomat. Clearly she has never heard that those who represent the Hegemony pay the ultimate price of giving up their own identity.”
Something in the captain’s voice lifted her gaze. She saw a clear warning in his eyes, and something more. Fear?
“A pity that the senior pilot did not include proper manners in your training, Scout,” the diplomat said.
But Consuela’s gaze remained on Captain Arnol, as he gave his head an imperceptible shake, then from behind the diplomat lifted one open hand slightly, in caution.
The door sighed open to admit an angry gray-bearded man in white. “What is the meaning of this?”
The diplomat did not bother to look around. “And who, pray tell, are you?”
“Doctor Alvero, head of this clinic.” He stepped to one si
de and allowed the diminutive nurse to enter the room. “I am personally responsible for the scout.”
“Very well, Doctor.” The head turned a fraction. “I hereby relieve you of your duties in regards to this patient.”
But the doctor was not so easily cowed. “Your robes mean nothing to me, Diplomat.” He almost spat out the last word. “It is your kind who have strangled our fair world. You and the Hegemony you serve have stood and watched as the pirates brought us to our knees.”
The diplomat raised one hand toward his face. The robe slipped back to reveal a bright metallic band around his wrist. He spoke the single word, “Guards.”
Instantly the door slid back; this time six stern-faced men cradling snub-nosed guns shouldered through, pressing Arnol and the doctor immediately toward the side wall. When the doctor protested, one of the soldiers lifted his gun and jammed it into the base of the doctor’s skull. The man grew still.
The diplomat ordered, “Lift this one into the coaster.”
A pair of soldiers reached for Wander, while another grasped Consuela’s arms and pressed her up against the wall. She cried, “Where are you taking him?”
The one holding her asked, “What of her?”
“She is an outworlder, and of no importance whatsoever,” the diplomat sneered. “Now that she can no longer rely on this sensitive’s abilities, she’ll soon be scrounging for passage back to her dirty little globe.”
“You won’t get away with this,” the doctor threatened, then groaned when the guard’s nozzle jammed his face up hard against the wall.
“Ah, but I already have,” the diplomat replied. He motioned for Wander’s coaster to be pushed out, then ordered, “Search them, destroy the communicator, and seal the room. That should give us ample time.” As he passed the captain, he paused and said, “I regret that I shall be forced to detain you with the others.”
“It is an honor,” Arnol replied grim-faced, “to serve the Hegemony.”
“Indeed,” the diplomat said dryly. “Your assistance in this matter will be duly noted.” He turned and swept from the room.
Consuela felt brusque hands pat her down, then press her hard against the wall before releasing her entirely. She turned just in time to be blinded by a scorching blast from one gun, transforming the bed’s headboard into a smoldering hulk. The last guard backed from the room. The door sighed shut, then glowed rosy-red as it was struck by a second bolt from the outside.
Consuela flung herself against the door, cried in frustration and pain when the unyielding portal scalded her. She turned to Captain Arnol and demanded, “Where are they taking him?”
“I did what I could,” Arnol replied, his eyes on the closed door.
“Answer me,” she demanded shrilly.
He turned slowly, like a man pushed beyond the limits of his strength. “I do not know for certain. But there have been rumors . . .”
“No!” the doctor gasped. “It is too terrible to imagine that there is such a place.”
“What place?” Consuela pleaded.
“A bleak world,” Captain Arnol replied. “One unfit for humans, home to an ultrasecret bastion of the Hegemony.”
“But why do they want Wander?” Her heart felt lanced with the sword of despair.
“That I cannot say. All I know is the Dark Couriers never relinquish what falls within their grasp.” Captain Arnol looked at her with eyes reflecting more sorrow than she would have ever thought possible. “It is best you forget him,” he said gently. “I did what I could. I saved you at least from their clutches. They thought you innocent, naive, a parasite on his powers with none of your own.”
She could hold back the tears no longer. “You mean Wander is gone?”
“You are free. Take solace in that now in this moment of loss.” Arnol turned back to the door. “For the young man, there is no hope at all.”
Chapter Three
The double moons graced a star-studded sky. The larger globe glowed soft and golden, the smaller a ruddy red. A broad silver river of stars stretched from horizon to horizon, with three supernovas sparkling like heavenly beacons in their midst. The evening was warm and sweet scented, and the breeze was mild. Below the balcony where she stood, a night bird sang a plaintive melody, a sound unlike anything she had ever heard before.
Consuela had never known the meaning of loneliness until that moment.
Soft movement heralded the arrival of another. “Are you all right, Scout Consuela?”
“How could I be,” she softly replied, not turning around, “when I don’t even know where I am?”
“You are on Avanti,” the pert little nurse replied simply. Her name was Adriana, and she had attached herself firmly to Consuela’s side.
When the hospital door had been forced open, the news of Wander’s disappearance had raced through the staff and out into the city. Within minutes an official convoy had arrived, led by a stately matron who said she represented the chancellor, who was offering Consuela a place within the official guest house. Urged on by all, including Captain Arnol, and too confused to think clearly for herself, Consuela had accepted.
On the way through a city she scarcely saw, Adriana reported that the spaceport confirmed that the Hegemony vessel carrying Wander and the diplomat had blasted off. It had departed against express orders and for an unknown destination. Consuela had allowed herself to be led into a spacious apartment, half heard the matron’s assurances that she was utterly safe here, closed the bedroom door, and cried herself to sleep.
A gentle hand on her arm brought the night back into focus. “I know it is hard,” Adriana told her. “But life must go on, yes? And you have an audience with the chancellor in an hour.”
“I can’t,” Consuela said simply.
“You must.” For once the nurse’s gay chatter was absent. “The chancellor rules our land on behalf of the Three Planets Council. His requests are commands, and he has said that he will see you this night.”
Adriana took her hand and led her back into the large bedchamber. “Look. I have laid out your scout robes.”
Consuela’s heart tolled the passing moments with the hollow note of a cracked bell. “What am I supposed to say to him?”
“Nothing, if you wish.” Her voice remained gentle but firm. “He knows of your loss, as does all Avanti. But meet him you will. Who knows, perhaps he can help you.”
A faint tug of interest lifted her gaze. “Help me do what?”
“Do whatever you must.” Dark eyes met hers with shared sorrow. “At times like this, even the slenderest of hopes can offer a reason for life, no?”
When they departed an hour later, the night embraced their passage with a warm, perfumed breeze. Because the evening was so pleasant, they traveled by open floater. To Consuela, it appeared to be nothing more than a slab of illuminated sidewalk. Adriana led her toward the white square framed by soft light. They stepped on board, and polished railings swiftly rose to surround them. Adriana leaned down and spoke the words, “Palace, main entrance.” Instantly the floater lifted and started away.
The floater traveled smoothly and silently at just over treetop level, taking them toward the grandest building on the horizon, surrounded as it was by a brilliant ring of light. From every peak and turret flew great flags, which appeared to shimmer with their own illumination.
Something at the corner of her vision caused her to turn around. “We’re being followed.”
“Guards,” Adriana replied, not bothering to look. “They will be with you everywhere. It is necessary until we are sure the Hegemony takes no interest in you.”
“We?” Consuela looked at her escort. “Just who are you, anyway?”
“I am a nurse,” Adriana replied. “But I also serve the Three Planets and the ruling Council.”
“Serve who?”
But further explanations were cut short by a brilliant shaft of light shifting around and pinpointing them. Momentarily blinded, Consuela raised her hand to shield her eyes and
heard an enormous roar of noise rise up from the ground below. “What is that?”
“As I said,” Adriana replied simply. “All Avanti knows.”
Her eyes adjusted to the glare, Consuela leaned over and risked a glance as their floater began settling downward. Stretching out in three directions as far as she could see was a great mass of screaming, shouting, waving people. All with faces upturned. All looking at her.
At her.
The floater settled into a tiny island of calm. Great gold-embossed gates rose up behind them, while in front, uniformed soldiers cordoned off the crowd. A trio of larger floaters settled down alongside and in front of theirs, and a dozen stiff-faced guards joined those already flanking the crowd.
Consuela allowed Adriana to guide her off their own floater, but she could not take her eyes from the people. A forest of arms reached over the soldiers, all accompanied by faces shouting and laughing and crying. For her.
Consuela offered them a timid wave, and the noise became even more fervid.
Adriana touched her arm, and she turned as a cortege of guards in sharply creased uniforms passed through the open palace gates, flanking a pair of elderly statesmen in flowing robes. The guards formed a tall helmeted wall on either side of her as the statesmen approached and bowed. Because the crowd’s noise overwhelmed them all, they simply motioned for her to take a station between them as they turned back toward the palace.
Only when Consuela had taken a half-dozen steps did she realize that Adriana was no longer with her. She turned back to see her newfound friend smile from her place by the floater and motion Consuela onward.
Reluctantly she turned back and allowed herself to be guided up broad steps surrounded by yet more guards, through the tallest doors she had ever seen, up a long sweeping set of broad inner stairs, through more doors, and into a vast hallway whose painted ceiling seemed truly to be as high as the sky itself. The statesmen introduced themselves with more formal bows, then began introducing her to an endless line of people. The men were groomed and polished, the women wore a spectacular array of colors and jewels. All the faces were smiling, all the people eager. To meet her.
The Dream Voyagers Page 15