by Allynn Riggs
“It was Isul Treyder in the cavern. He was the one who designed the poison to slow you down so he could get close enough to insert the coma device. It was so bizarre when he showed me the drawings of the modifications he made to the blade he used. After his near failure with you, he was encouraged to figure out a long-distance method of injecting similar devices into people.”
“Really? How was he going to do that? The only method I can think of to project something a long distance is to use a throwing blade, and there’s a lot of variation amongst soldiers in arm strength and accuracy. They’d still have to be fairly close.” This was not the thing she thought he would be thinking about.
“He showed me another sliver-blade design, which he said would revolutionize war itself. And he said soldiers could be hundreds of yards apart. He just had a few more tests to run before he could go to the senator.” There was a pause. “Oh, he wouldn’t say which one. I asked.”
Ani grimaced. She knew exactly which one they’d be talking to when they returned to Teramar.
“And he said he’d originally hoped Reslo would want to protect his niece from further alien accusations and return from Southern. Treyder planned to personally demonstrate the new delivery system of the coma device on Reslo when he came to rescue you from General Stubin Dalkey. When Reslo didn’t come, Treyder decided he would use you to demonstrate the device. He even admitted to using someone who was close to the senator to get Dalkey out of the hospital. I don’t think he suspected it was real aliens who muddled his plans. He still doesn’t believe in aliens, which makes me wonder about that light beam weapon. But it’s not important now.” He became silent as the water continued to run.
“Hey!”
Taryn’s stuttered exclamation brought Ani to her feet, her hand reaching for the boot blade, which was not there.
“Are you all right?” She moved her hand from her calf to the door’s lever.
“Where’d all these scars come from? And who cut my hair so close?” He sounded curious and on the edge of being frightened.
She tried to put surprise in her voice as she replied, “What scars?” He had pointed out the one on his shoulder where the coma device had been forcefully injected, so she thought he would have noticed the torture scars when he got into the shower. He had apparently been so focused on telling her as much as possible about Treyder and his plan that almost five minutes had passed before he saw or felt the scars.
“On my chest and back. Ani, there are even some on my legs. And they all look like they’ve been there for years. I would have remembered getting most of them from what I can see. These are not just scratches, Ani. These would have caused serious pain and a long healing time. And I have never wanted my head shaved.”
Hells. She decided to tell him. “You have Doctor Isul Treyder to thank for all of those. Finish your shower and get dressed. We have a lot to discuss and I’d rather not do it through the door.”
The water stopped and she could hear more muffled cursing. The door opened shortly thereafter. Taryn stepped into the room, his hands running over the black stubble on his scalp.
“First, Ani, I’ve got to finish this line of thinking before I get distracted again. Treyder was quite talkative, I guess because he was confident he wouldn’t suffer any repercussions from his actions. Maybe because of the senator’s support.”
Or because you were in a coma and he was planning on you dying before regaining consciousness. Ani couldn’t keep her thoughts quiet.
Kela cocked his head at Ani. Are you going to say that out loud?
No. She folded her arms across her chest.
Taryn paused and shook his head. The action brought a frown to her lips. It would be a while before his hair was long enough to even comb through.
“Treyder is planning to make hundreds, maybe thousands, of those coma devices so Northern’s armies can use them against Southern’s. Once he gets the delivery system perfected, he’s expecting the senator to authorize a huge payment and all the accolades Treyder craves. But the senator wants to see a real victim of the device before he’ll fully fund the project.”
Taryn settled on the side of the bed while Ani returned to her seat in the rolling chair. She was becoming amused with her brother’s fast-paced rundown of his conversation with the doctor.
“Treyder was planning to use your mother as the first victim, but she died before he could implement his plan. He tried to lure Reslo back from Southern by setting Dalkey on you, but Dalkey went off-track, messing up the timing even worse. And Reslo didn’t show up as expected. You were available, so he used it on you. Then you disappeared without a trace, and his little inquiries met a solid wall. He was without a physical victim to use in demonstration and he didn’t have the device, so he created a second one. He’d heard rumors you’d been taken to Southern to help cure some disease, and he was confused that no one said anything about you being in a coma like he expected. So he took advantage of the open invitation to former researchers and staff that Star Valley issued to come help restart the hospital. He was using the opportunity to find out what had happened to you and to build more of the devices and to develop a faster long-distance method for delivering them. I’m guessing that’s what he demonstrated on me when I went to interview him.”
Crossing her arms, Ani smiled slightly as he continued his long-winded account. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever heard him talk this long without taking a breath. She smothered the urge to even chuckle because she didn’t want him to stop.
“I have never heard of a possible suspect talk so much and give such damning information so freely. It doesn’t make any sense.” He scrubbed his hands over the stubble of his head. A frown crossed his face briefly and then he seemed to get back on track. “Treyder said the device would work with his modifications, even if the victim was just grazed, and it would take only a few heartbeats to get to the brain and put a soldier in a coma. They wouldn’t be able to raise a blade in defense. They’d just fall over and go to sleep. He didn’t act like he was going to throw it, so I wasn’t worried. Then there was a loud noise, like a small explosion, and my shoulder hurt real bad.” Again he rubbed at the shoulder, fingering where she knew the small round scar was.
Taryn took a breath. “He laughed and said he would finally get all the recognition he deserved after so many years and he’d have paid back Reslo for not believing he could make it so small. That’s when I started having trouble hearing him. My vision got foggy and my shoulder sort of stopped hurting. Then I fell … I think.” Taryn took another breath. “I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up here with you holding my hand.”
“Wait a second, Taryn. Why can you remember everything up to the point of being struck in the shoulder by the weapon and I can barely remember what happened to me in the cavern from the time Treyder cut me?”
Taryn cocked his head to the side. “You’re correct. Hey, that’s direct evidence that your memory problem is associated with the poison, not the coma device. I’ll take that as a good sign.”
“Um, so I guess you won’t be pestering me about details anymore. Taryn, I have another question for you.” Ani tried to refocus on a single important point. “You’re saying Treyder is planning to mass-produce the coma device and give it to our military?” Taryn nodded. “Why would the military want to put enemy soldiers — and maybe even the enemy public — in a coma state instead of killing them? Perhaps they want to avoid killing so they can take them prisoner for some reason. Or do they want Treyder to develop something that gives them control of those implanted — out of a coma state but within their control? Something else?”
Taryn shook his head as he sighed and leaned against the pillows. “I have no idea. I’m not sure he knows what the senator has in mind. Treyder might just be interested in getting recognized for his genius, however misguided it is.” Deep creases between his brows told Ani he was considering her questions.
The consequences of such an action were horrifying to Ani.
She envisioned fields of comatose soldiers. Would that really be possible?
Taryn sighed. “But I don’t have an answer for it. We’ll have to go back and stop Treyder and this unnamed senator, but first you’ve got to warn your uncle.” He reached out and took her hand. “His next target is Reslo. Treyder wants to personally prove his genius to Reslo.”
Before we return to Teramar shouldn’t Taryn know who — or rather what — he is and save the rock?
Kela’s question made Ani raise her hand to stop Taryn from continuing his dissertation. “One blade edge at a time, Taryn. Before we run off and commandeer a ship to fly back to Teramar, we need to attend to circumstances here on Lrakira, whether or not we want to and whether or not we believe our own world and people are more important.”
Taryn was quiet. He stared at the floor and then ran his hand over his scalp, a rueful smile on his lips. She thought he missed his hair. Then he gave a crisp nod as if making a decision.
“Did you just bring me to Lrakira to get a machine removed from my brain or did you and Renloret also manage to find and retrieve the twin?”
Ani cocked her head to the side and gave him a mischievous grin. “Well, yes, we did find the twin —”
“Great!” Taryn interrupted. “When can I meet her? What’s her name? Where does she live?” He stood up and started for the door.
Ani pulled him back. “Whoa, you have to hear this first. Now sit down and listen.”
Taryn sat. Under his stare she suddenly was at a loss for the right words. This was not going as planned or expected. But how had she expected this conversation to go anyway? She realized she hadn’t had expectations. By mostly dealing with her feelings on the matter she had not really thought about how Taryn would react to the news. She now knew that she assumed he would react as she had, by getting angry. She prepared herself for that side of Taryn, which she rarely saw.
Honesty would be best, Ani. As they often did, Kela’s words brought some semblance of order to her thoughts.
She cleared her throat. “Taryn …” For some reason, tears stung her eyes. She blinked several times. Would he hate her, hate their mother?
His hands encircled hers, giving her physical support. “Ani, I’m listening. I understand this is difficult for you. Is she injured or disabled in some manner?”
How could he be so blade straight logical when none of this was logical? Shaking her head, Ani tried again to find the words. “The twin is not a girl … it’s you,” she whispered. Why was she so terribly sad? She clutched at his hands, afraid he would pull away in disgust and rejection. Silence echoed inside her heart as it settled between them.
His hands were very still and his breath came long and deep, as if he were preparing for the blade ring. It cooled the skin of her cheek and neck as she felt his head gently press against hers. Failing to match his breathing, she allowed her tears to fall, splashing on the clasped hands in her lap.
Kela’s paw scratched at her knee. No words came from him, only a sense of comfort and caring. The three of them huddled in near silence for a very long time.
“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered.
She felt his head rock back and forth and he chuckled softly. She looked up to find him smiling.
“Sorry that we’re actually related?” he asked.
How could he be happy about this? She wasn’t sure she was, and she’d had time to get used to the reality of their relationship. She’d talked about it with Renloret, Yenne, and Kela. There’d been a lot of yelling and crying the past ten days. And he was smiling! Anger boiled up and she struck him hard on the shoulder. Why wasn’t he angry?
He backed away and motioned for her to come at him. That was fine with her. His stupid smile begged to be bloodied. She ignored the shout of warning from the attendant and silently called to Kela to keep the attendant from interfering. She and Taryn settled into hand-to-hand positions. He was still grinning.
Advancing toward him, Ani executed several stylized movements, warming up her muscles. Taryn responded with similar moves. He did not flinch from pain or stiffness. Good, Ani thought, I can forget about being gentle. We don’t have time for this. Curses on him. She kicked.
He slapped her foot away and used his longer reach to grab at her braid. He pulled as she knew he would. It worked every time. Tucking and rolling she came forward under his guard and shoved a hand straight up. Taryn collapsed in pain. Ani heard the attendant respond in sympathy.
Between gasps Taryn wheezed, “Cheater.”
“Sorry, but I had to end this quickly, and you’ll be fine in a few minutes.” She knelt next to him. “Why are you so happy about our situation?”
He rolled onto his side facing away from her. “Do my parents know?” His words were tight with pain. Physical, emotional, or both?
“I don’t think so. But Melli may suspect. Think about the times in recent years that Melli has commented and hinted that we should each find others to get involved with.” She tipped her head and raised her eyebrows.
“You may be correct. Suspicions or knowledge would explain a lot.” He groaned. “To be honest, Ani, I’m delighted you have Renloret.” He failed to get to his feet. He sucked in a long breath and slowly let it out, hissing between his teeth. “When did you find out?”
“The eve you had your interview with Doctor Treyder.”
“How?” He managed to get one foot flat on the floor and glared at her.
A shrug of her shoulders told him how she felt about his discomfort. She waited until he was on both feet but still crouched over before patting his back. “Your mother gave me our mother’s journal.”
“How’d she come by it?”
“Melli found it in Mother’s dresser when she helped me consolidate things after the funeral. She said I might find the answer about the twin in it.”
“She didn’t read it?”
Ani shook her head. “I don’t think she would have even if it had been written in Northern.”
“Lrakiran?” His breathing was settling and he was slowly easing upright.
At Ani’s nod he asked, “Can you read Lrakiran?”
“No. Renloret read it to me. After all our research, we were prepared for almost anything —”
“Except the identity of the twin,” Taryn said, finishing the sentence for her. “I hope you had enough alcohol on hand.”
She chuckled. “We emptied the last bottle of Father’s vaquin.”
“Ouch, the whole bottle?”
She smiled her affirmation. “Yes. Renloret says it’s the strongest he’s had, which, I guess, is a rousing testament to Father’s distilling technique and twenty years of aging.” Ani patted the mattress.
He shuffled toward the bed. “I curse you for that move. I’ll never give my parents grandchildren at this rate.”
Chuckling again, Ani said, “I’m sure the doctors here can correct any damage I may have inflicted.”
“Why’d you do it, anyway?”
“You didn’t react as I imagined you would. You were so calm and smiling while I considered vomiting and cried like a child when I found out.”
“Let’s be honest, Ani. It clarifies your feelings and decision to break away from me.” He gently placed a hand on her mouth to prevent her from interrupting. “It’s all right. Really. Now I have an even better reason to keep an eye on you. We’ll always be connected, and we can’t deny our love for each other.” He took her hand in his and brought it to his cheek. “I’ve always been faster to accept change than you. Perhaps we’ve both known all along. I’m all right, Ani. I’m not sad about this — perhaps a bit confused, but not sad.”
They sat in silence for several minutes. Kela had stayed out of the way but now padded over and placed his paw on Taryn’s thigh.
Tell him I welcome him into the family. He winked at Ani.
“Kela says, ‘Welcome to the family.’”
“Thanks,” Taryn replied as he ruffled the fur between Kela’s ears.
Ther
e was a soft rumble from Kela in response. Now that he knows who he is, shouldn’t we be getting over to the Stone Chamber?
Ani nudged Taryn’s shoulder. “Are you capable of moving?”
“Probably. Why?”
“Kela points out that we should be introducing you to the alien whose life you are going to save.”
“Really? Am I some kind of hero now?” He winked at her as he took her hand and eased toward the door. The attendant scrambled out of his corner and slapped his palm to the pad, opening the door. Ani gave him a short bow in thanks and pulled Taryn into the hallway.
“Don’t let it go to your head, little brother.”
“Little?”
“Yep, I was born first. That makes you my little brother.”
Amuttered, frustrated curse of the mildest sort left Singer Layson’s lips as she added another book to the growing pile and grabbed the next one on the shelf. She was sitting on the floor, going through all of the books on the bottom shelf, reading the title of each aloud and occasionally pausing to open one and peruse the table of contents.
They had been scouring the shelves for almost half a bell. As another curse slipped through Layson’s lips, Renloret stopped fingering through the bindings. None of the titles sparked even a bit of memory. He did not remember the exact title, only that the contents appeared to be very old, the printing or rather ancient hand scribing beginning to fade with age.
Why hadn’t he noted the exact title? Why had he come to the library in the first place when he knew he should have gone directly to the meeting? He knew how distracted he got when he was around anything to do with the Stones or stars. A surge of urgency returned his attention to the bindings on the shelf.
“Come here, Renloret,” Singer Diani said. Her voice was gentle.
He looked back at her, sitting at the table. “I’m not through with this row.”
“You don’t need to finish. Come here.”
Heaving a sigh, Renloret left off his search and took a seat in the same chair he’d used at the beginning of this … assignment.