The Cyber Chronicles - Book I: Queen of Arlin

by T C Southwell

Sabre sat on the yard fence and watched Victor’s men practising the moves he had shown them. A lot of his strength had returned since the previous day, but he hid it. Victor had supplied all the food he could eat, eager for him to start the training he had promised. Earlier, the Prince had watched Sabre demonstrate the techniques the men worked on now, and seemed well pleased.

  The cyber constantly prompted Sabre to go after the Queen, and he had decided to leave that night. With a fast horse, he might be able to overhaul the coach by the following night. In a way, he was sad to leave Prince Victor. He was a decent man, if somewhat pompous, and had treated Sabre well, even hinting that Garvon was due to retire soon. A job as Victor’s master-at-arms would be a well-paid position, and he could lead a normal life in Olgara, until the spacer returned for him.

  The idiotic Queen had to be rescued, however. Even without the cyber’s insistent prompting, he disliked the thought of Torrian forcing her into an unwanted marriage, despite the fact that she had ruined their best chance of escape.

  A burst of laughter disturbed his reverie, and he jumped down to break up a brewing fight, then returned to his perch when the men resumed their practice. The new partnership with the cyber pleased him. The supercomputer’s information was useful, and it no longer intruded on his control. Sabre hoped the cyber would be content to remain in the back seat and allow him to pursue his life once Tassin was safe. At worst, the cyber would keep him at her side, a prospect he found unpleasant. He had no wish to spend his precious freedom at the beck and call of a silly girl.

  Sabre signalled to the men to stop training for the day, and followed them into the barracks, where he now stayed. After a final night of luxury in the palace, Victor had informed him that he was to share the billets with the other men. Sabre would have preferred the privacy of a cell. His training made rubbing shoulders with a lot of people uncomfortable.

  His freedom surprised him. He had expected to be shackled and locked up when he was not teaching the men. Evidently, Victor thought there was nothing Sabre could do now that Tassin was Torrian’s prisoner, and did not think he would try to rescue the Queen. The broken shackles and smashed cell door might have also convinced him that he could not keep Sabre prisoner, in any case. Making him sleep in the barracks was the Prince’s only attempt at guarding him, probably thinking he would have little chance of escape from there.