More to the point, was Saahren’s attack on Jossur justified? He said the planet was a legitimate military target—but he would, wouldn’t he? Planetary bombardment or not, billions of Tors died along with her father. Maybe he even planned that the battleship would hit the space station and bring them both down on the planet, so it looked like an accident. And then there was the greater issue. The Tors said the citizens of Forenisi wanted to return to the Imperial fold, while the humans said they wanted to be part of the Confederacy. Even if she could find answers to all the questions, even if she accepted that her father had been a legitimate casualty of war, it didn’t really change anything.
Saahren was stillChohzu the Destroyer, the great space demon, sworn enemy of the ptorix.
ChapterNine
Allysha finished dressing and twirled experimentally in front of the long mirror in her wardrobe. Yes, she looked good. The cream material draped beautifully and the gold sequins around the hem and neckline really did add a feature. She matched the dress with strappy gold shoes with a small heel. Let others break their necks with fifteen centimeter spikes. She had just finished putting on gold earrings when Albert, her apartment’s Information System, spoke.
“Lieutenant Bristol is here, Allysha.”
Allysha picked up her bag and met Todd at the door.
He wore his white formal uniform, with two narrow gold stripes on his shoulders, while a short row of campaign ribbons added color to his left breast. The well-cut, fitted jacket, designed to complement wide
shoulders and a narrow waist and hips, suited Todd’s powerful body well. Sandy blond hair cut short, blue eyes, rugged rather than handsome. Yes, he looked wonderful.
“My, don’t you look smart?”
Todd stood there, gaping like a landed fish. “Oh, man,” he stammered, “you look fabulous.”
Allysha smiled. She hadn’t worn a dress since she left Shernish, half a lifetime ago. “Thanks, Lieutenant.
I’ve tried to look the part for you.”
“Oh, man.”
“Hadn’t we better go?”
He had a cab waiting for the short hop over to the Parliamentary complex where the ball was held. She and Todd joined other couples walking up the marble staircase to the foyer, already filled with white-uniformed officers and their partners. Lights sparkled off rank insignia and campaign medals, sequins and jewelry. The women’s fashion varied from formal and elaborate to downright skimpy, from simple black to kaleidoscopic confections, while the non-military male partners wore standard, somber evening dress. Voices ebbed and flowed, refined and cultivated here, jovial and laughing there. She and Todd wove their way between guests and waiters carrying trays of drinks, looking for the rest of their group. Admiral Leonov and his wife Irina chatted with a group of other senior people. She ducked behind Todd. She hadn’t told them she’d be here and if they saw her, they’d be sure to tellhim .
“There’s Anna and her boyfriend,” Todd said.
Allysha waved at them. Anna’s red dress suited her hair and skin and showed off her figure without being too revealing.
Todd nudged her. “Well, look at that. Hassan and Siri have come together.” He jerked his head.
Hassan, handsome and debonair, held Sirikit’s hand. Her flowing, multi colored gown and the gold jewels in her long black hair complimented her beauty. She really was a stunner.
“Huh. She could have done better than him.” Todd snared two glasses of sparkling wine from a passing waiter and handed one to her.
Allysha smiled. Chalk and cheese, Todd and Hassan; and not just in looks. Todd didn’t approve of Hassan’s playboy reputation. “I think he might well have met his match.” She chinked her glass gently against Todd’s. “Here’s to a pleasant evening.”
He flushed, blue eyes twinkling.
Tensan and his wife Jingsu were the last to arrive. “The babysitter was late,” Tensan said, scowling.
“Not to worry. Let’s go and find our table,” Allysha said.
They followed the thinning crowd into an enormous formal ballroom. Above their heads the Galactic lens formed a backdrop to a fleet, a battle cruiser in the center with its accompanying cruisers and frigates around it. All holos, of course, but so well done. The Fleet’s symbol, a three quarter view of a stylized spiral galaxy, hung on the back wall above a low stage where a twenty-piece orchestra provided background music.
Tables surrounded a large dance floor. Allysha and her group threaded their way toward the back, well away from the more favored locations where the distinctive ornate gold collars of the admirals dominated. She searched the senior officers, nerves bouncing in her stomach. No, Saahren wouldn’t be here. Irina had scorned the very thought. He hated this sort of event. Besides, even if he did turn up, he’d
never notice her sitting way back here.
Todd leaned closer to her, placed a hand on her arm. “Is everything all right, Allysha?”
“Yes. Fine.” She needed to relax, settle down. She’d come here to do Todd a favor and jumping like a startled rabbit every time she saw an admiral wasn’t going to help.
“Come and dance?” Todd said.
“Sure.”
Todd wasn’t the best dancer in the world but it didn’t matter. The music filled her soul with rhythm. She used to dance with Sean and they’d been good; very good. Huh. What a time to bring her ex-husband into her mind. But the recollection was just a memory. Not happy, not sad. She didn’t even really care to
know where he was, what he was doing.
She twirled in the dance. A glimpse of a golden collar sent her heart racing. No, not someone she recognized; an older, shorter man.Pull yourself together, woman.
The bracket ended and they returned to the table, edging past other revelers.
“That was fun,” she said, grinning.
And it was. The room buzzed and glittered as the officers of the Star Fleet enjoyed themselves. The music competed with laughter and conversation and the dance floor added a swirl of color. The tension she’d felt early drained from her shoulders.Relax, have some fun .
A few hours later, raising her voice a little to be heard, Allysha said, “I think I’d like to sit this one out and catch a breather.” She wriggled her toes inside her shoes. They ached.
Sirikit nodded. “You wore sensible shoes; I didn’t.” She lifted a shapely leg, displaying the spikes on her heels.
Tensan fetched drinks. She sipped while Todd told a funny story about his father, who had been exec officer on a frigate before he retired. They all leaned toward him, intent on his words over the din.
“… he never heard—” Todd’s eyes widened in mid-story and he scrambled to his feet. So did the others. Even at nearby tables people turned to stare.
Her heart raced. Oh, buckrats. Allysha followed their gaze.
Saahren stood next to her, a slight smile on his face. “Please, officers, be seated. This is a social occasion. I just came to ask Allysha to dance.” He held out his hand.
Heat flared in her face. Time slowed. She should say no. But if she did, she’d cause a scene. A dance, just a dance. She’d danced with Hassan and Tensan and Todd. And a few other officers, too, men she’d
met in some of the courses she’d run. How did he know she was here? How had he found her?
She stood and let him propel her onto the floor, his hand on her back, his fingers warm on her bare skin.
I’m over him; I am .
He slid an arm around her waist, held her hand in the appropriate position while she rested her fingers on the wide gold bar on his shoulder. She didn’t let him pull her too close, her eyes fixed on his. His lips curved in acknowledgement.
“I’m surprised you can dance.” She gripped his fingers firmly, if only to stop her hand from trembling.
“Oh, I’m not very good at it. But a slow dance like this, I can manage to move my feet in a pattern.”
“And if the band adds an up-tempo number?”
His eyes twinkled as he
smiled. “They won’t.”
No, of course not. “Under orders?”
“A request.” The smile faded as his gaze slid down. Allysha thanked the spirit the cleavage wasn’t too revealing. “I’ve never seen you in a dress before.”
“I’ve never seen you in dress uniform. So we’re even.”
He looked magnificent. The white uniform accentuated his dark skin, suited his tall, lean frame. A host of colored campaign ribbons hung on his left breast and at his throat, beneath the embroidered golden collar, a blue stone glittered in the center of a six-pointed silver star. The Confederacy Star, the Fleet’s highest decoration. He’d been awarded that for the battle of Forenisi. The one where her father was killed.Chohzhu .Chohzu the Destroyer.
“And you look very, very beautiful.” His voice was a caress.
A tremor flittered through her body. She felt her nipples tighten, her insides melt, the heat rise in her neck. Oh, damnation. She did not need this.
“You’re blushing.” He smiled again, a glint in his eyes.
Blushing. Just what she needed. “You’re not supposed to be here. You hate these things.”
“You left me with no choice. You won’t talk to me. What’s a man to do?”
He steered her around a couple intent only on each other. “Do you know, this is the closest we’ve been since our hasty departure from Carnessa?”
“What a lovely memory.”
If he hadn’t dived off that ledge after her, she’d have been dead, crushed in a two-hundred meter fall, drowned in the storm, smashed on the cliffs. His fingers on her back flexed, a minute caress that sent a tremor down her spine. How could she ever have convinced herself she was over him?
“How did you know I’d be here?” she said.
“I keep myself informed. You know that.”
“You stalk me.”You think you own me, that you can tell me what to do, what to think.
“Harsh words. Surely you can understand me taking an interest in the woman I love.”
“I didn’t tell Vlad.”
“Ah, but young Lieutenant Bristol couldn’t help but crow his triumph to anyone who would listen. Word filtered through and since I was scheduled to be in Malmos this evening anyway, I thought I might surprise you.”
“He’s one of my team, that’s all. I was doing him a favor.”
Double lines appeared between his eyebrows. “Yes, of course. He has a fiancée, has he not? And after the ball? What then? Back to your lonely apartment, by yourself?”
She bristled. “Of course.” What was he thinking?
“I have a better idea. You could come home with me.” His eyes gleamed with hunger, his voice soft as velvet. “I’ll be leaving soon.”
She shook her head. “No. No, I can’t do that. I came with Todd.” She blocked off the other little voice that whispered you’d like to, though; you’d certainly like to.
“So? Say goodnight to your people. Come with me.”
She locked eyes with him, those obsidian eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. “No.” The rest went unsaid;you can’t make me, I’m not yours to command .
He bent over her, so close she felt his breath on her cheek. “Then when you get home, call me. It’s time we… talked, my love.”
She didn’t miss the pause. Talking, eh? “Don’t call me that.”
“You can’t change the way I feel about you, Allysha. It’s pointless trying to avoid me, trying to hide.”
The music changed but the dance was still a slow one. Saahren wasn’t really dancing anyway, just moving his feet in a pattern. Allysha easily followed where he led.
“As it happens, there is more to this dance than a hard-won opportunity to hold you in my arms.” His fingers tightened on her hand for a moment.
“What?”
“You have a meeting with me tomorrow morning.”
She stared up at him. “I have? Nobody told me.”
“I’mtelling you… now. Oh-eight-fifty in my office.”
“Oh, you can’t be serious. Half past eight? The morning after the Fleet Ball? The sun’s barely up by then.”
“It’s the only time I have free.”
“You’re making this up as you go.”
“I have a meeting with the High Command in the morning, appointments with the president, the minister for defense and the foreign minister in the afternoon and I’ll be attending a press conference. Then I leave
for my ship. Oh-eight-fifty it has to be.”
No choice. No blasted choice. “It would have been nice to be asked.”
Another couple collided with her back, pressing her against him. He chuckled as she composed herself, the culprit’s stammered “Sorry… Sir… Grand Admiral, Sir” ringing in her ears.
“There are things I need to discuss with you, concerning your work. This is the military, Allysha. It is not a request.” The smile was still there, but faint.
Yes, the military; but she wasn’t. “Am I allowed to ask what it’s about?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow.”
“Oh, goody. I’m sure I can hardly wait.”
“Then call me. We’ll have our conversation this evening and you can avoid an early morning meeting.”
He grinned. “Well… the talking, anyway.”
She shook her head. “It isn’t going to happen.”
How had she let him get so close? Her forehead almost touched his jacket. The familiar, disconcerting smell of him filled her head. The mountain garden at Tisyphor formed a vivid image in her mind. She pushed back against the pressure of his arm.Think of Lake Sylmander.
“Well then… oh-eight-fifty, in my office.”
The music had stopped. He escorted her back to the table. A path cleared before him as people stepped aside.
“Thank you for the dance.” He pulled the chair out for her, waited till she’d sat and said, “Until tomorrow, then.”
One last hungry, possessive stare and he walked away. She turned to watch him make his way back to the top of the room where the senior officers and dignitaries sat. He had such a presence; wide shoulders, narrow hips and a natural arrogance that had others making way for him. Many faces looked at her when he’d passed.
Forget about it. It’s over.She stared down at the table top. Anna’s voice startled her.
“Grand Admiral Saahren asked you to dance.” Anna sounded positively awe-struck. “He called you Allysha.”
“Really?” All of them gazed at her, wide-eyed. Might as well tough this out, make a joke of it. “Is that who he was?”
“Come on, Lysha. You know him, don’t you?”
Oh, if only you knew. In every sense of the word. Memories flooded and with them an ache of longing that almost overcame her irritation. Almost.
“I did some work for him, over the Brjyl crisis. That’s all.”
Hassan snorted.
Todd glowered at him. “If Allysha says that’s all there was to it, then that’s good enough for me.”
Hassan sniggered. “Yes? You saw the way he looked at her. You think that was what he thought?”
Sirikit and Anna exchanged glances. They didn’t think so, either. Neither did the others.
Allysha lifted a hand. “Enough, guys. He came to tell me I have a meeting with him tomorrow morning.
At oh-eight-fifty.”
Hassan sniggered again, a huge grin almost splitting his handsome face. Allysha could have hit him.
“Don’t say a word, Hassan,” she said, skewering him with a glare. “Come on, Todd. I need some exercise.”
More than once, she noticed eyes following her, people with heads together, watching her as she danced. The rumor mill had begun to turn. She saw him dancing with Irina and looked away when he caught her eye. Why did he have to do this to her? The evening had lost its appeal, even when she saw him leave, striding easily out the huge doors into the foyer.
“Is everything all right, ‘Lysha?” Todd reached over to take her hand but she avoided the contact, scratc
hing at her temple.
“I’m fine. Sorry. I was just thinking about this meeting tomorrow. Can you believe it? An eight-fifty meeting the day after the ball.” She shook her head. “Look, it’s late. I’d better go.”
“Already? We were going to kick on at the Star Bar.”
“No. I’m… not into night clubs.” She rose and Todd stood.
“Let me at least take you home.”
She could imagine how that would go down. And he’d know; of course he would. “Thanks, Todd, but there’s no need. I’ll take a cab.”
Todd walked with her to the foyer and helped her into the first of the line of coptercabs. She entered the destination and allowed the IS to deduct the fare from her account. As the machine soared away from the landing platform of her building, she slipped off her shoes. After all that dancing, her feet were beginning to hurt. Just as well she’d decided against the ultra-high heels.
The door to her apartment opened at her approach and she entered, still carrying her shoes. She’d taken three steps toward the bedroom when she heard a voice from the living room.
“Evening, Ally.”
ChapterTen
Allysha spun around, her heart bounding. She dropped one shoe, retained the other as a weapon and put her back to the wall. “Who are you?”
The man didn’t answer, just smiled a little. He had dark red hair, green eyes; not someone she knew.
She didn’t know the voice, but he’d called her Ally. Only one person ever called her Ally. And the way he lifted the glass…
“Sean.”
He swallowed the remaining drops of the drink he held in his hand. “Good single malt, Ally. They must pay you well. I’ve had a couple. Expected you home a little earlier.”
The Iron Admiral: Deception Page 7