The Last Hawk

by Catherine Asaro

  "Why Sevtar?"

  "He is the dawn god, a giant with skin made from sunlight. He strides across the sky, pushing back the night so the sun-goddess Savina can sail out from behind the mountains on her giant hawk." Rev smiled. "Deha thought it appropriate."

  "What's wrong with the name Kelric?"

  "Kelric isn't Coban."

  "You're right, he isn't. But my name is Kelric."

  "You have a new name now."

  Kelric shook his head. This was getting him nowhere. He ran his fingers over his right armband. Akasi? Deha reminded him too much of Corey, his first wife, stirring ghosts better left buried. Corey had been a well—known figure, a hero (if the people. During the long days after her death, at the ceremonies and state funeral, all broadcast to a grieving public, he had stood silent in his black dress uniform, a widower when he was barely twenty-four. On display before everyone, he had kept it all inside, how it tore him apart to lose her. In the ten years since, he had gradually regained his equilibrium. Now Deha came along, throwing everything off balance.

  It was safer to think of other things. He regarded Rev. "I thank you for your speech."

  "It was my honor." .

  "I'm glad someone feels that way. I think Llaach wants to heave me off a cliff."

  "There is the matter of Jevi," Rev said.

  "Jevi? He's her husband, isn't he?"

  "Yes." Rev paused. "He is also the youth whose neck you threatened to break in the Calanya."

  Kelric winced. No wonder Llaach was angry.

  Across the room the door swung open, leaving Balv framed in its arch. with torchlight flickering behind him. He stepped aside and Deha walked in, her silken robe from the Oath Ceremony rippling in the dusky light.

  Surprise flashed across Rev's face. "Well. Ah." He stood up. "I will go now."

  As Rev crossed the room, Hacha and Llaach joined Balv in the archway. When Rev reached them, the four guards stood looking at Deha, who had stopped halfway between Kelric and the door.

  The Manager smiled. "Do you four plan to stay there all night?"

  Hacha regarded her. "Ma'am—"

  "Yes?"

  Hacha started to speak stopped then said, "If you need us, we re right outside."

  "Thank you, Captain," Deha said. "Good night."

  The guards shifted their feet, glancing at Kelric. Finally they closed the door.

  Deha turned to him. "It seems they-still don't trust you."

  "Maybe you shouldn't either," he said, though in truth he wanted her to stay. -

  She walked over to the bed. "I don't."

  "Then why are you here?"

  She dimmed the lamp on the nightstand until only stars lit the room. Then she knelt next to him on the bed. "I don't trust that you would do what is best for Coba if you left here. I do trust the quality of your judgment. You won't hurt me."

  "How do you know that?"

  She brushed the back of her hand over his cheek In a gesture of intimacy he had come to know well. "I've played Quis with you."

  Kelric took hold of her wrist. He had started with a half-formed thought of pushing her away, but instead he drew her into his arms, as he had done so many other times recently. In the starlight her eyes made large pools of black.

  Deha eased off his vest, then undid the laces on his shirt and let it fall open Laying her hand against his chest, she murmured, "Your skin is so much like metal. How can that be?"

  He brushed his hand over her hair. "My grandfather's ancestors fiddled with their genes to make themselves reflective. To help dump heat. They lived on a hot, bright planet."

  "I don't know what genes are." Smiling, she nudged him down on the bed. "But the fiddling sounds good." When Kelric gave a soft laugh, she stretched out against his side and kissed him, her tongue tickling his mouth until he let her come inside.

  Eventually, when they paused, Deha spoke near his ear. "You truly are a beautiful man. Your eyes are like liquid sunshine. They grace a face that would shame Khozaar, most handsome of all gods."

  Kelric blinked. He wished he were more adept at the sort of words lovers spoke to each other. She didn't seem to expect a response, though. She tugged down his shirt until it tangled around his elbows and then she traced her finger through the hair on his chest. "So beautiful. But so tall. Are all Skolian men as large as you?"

  "Not most." At six feet seven, he was large anywhere, even on Coba where most everyone was tall. He extricated himself from his shirt, pulling out his arms, but when she started to stroke him again, he caught her hand. "Deha."

  "Hmmm?" She slid down his body until her head was level with his chest. Then she took his nipple into her mouth.

  "Ah . . ." He stared at the shadowed ceiling while she played with his nipple, kissing and gently biting it. After a moment he remembered what he was going to say. "We can't keep pretending this is a normal wedding night." Closing his eyes, he added, "Do the other one too."

  She moved across his chest. Eventually he said, "You can't force me to stay on Coba. ISC will look for me."

  Deha stopped kissing him. "Not if they think you're dead." She slid back up to look at his face. "You are a prince among your people, yes? I have made you one among mine. Is that really so terrible?"

  "I have my own life." He undid her braid, letting her glossy hair pour over their bodies "I want it back."

  "I can offer you a better one. No more being alone."

  Kelric brushed her cheek with his thumb. Although he had no intention of staying on Coba, at this moment "no more being alone" felt just fine. He opened her robe, revealing a satin shift underneath. Her breasts were firm, the nipples erect under the satin. As he rubbed them, her eyes closed. Pulling her forward, he took her breast into his mouth and suckled it through the satin. She made a satisfied noise deep in her throat, somewhere between a sigh and a moan.

  When he paused for a breath, Deha started to play with the flaps on the seams of his trousers. "You are discreet in how you wear these," she said. "Old—fashioned. I like that."

  He could guess how those less "old—fashioned" wore the style: fasten the flaps looser and the pants revealed a strip of skin from the man's waist to foot. He wondered if she saw the contradiction in giving him clothes that were deliberately provocative and then expecting him to wear them in a way that hid what they were designed to show. He suspected not; all he picked up from her was desire, mixed with relief that perhaps he wasn't as "modern" as she had believed.

  It was soon obvious, however, that his clothes were. Also designed so that a woman who knew what she was doing could make removing them as erotic as she wanted. Deha took her time unfastening the flaps, her hands caressing his thighs and legs until he was so aroused that Bolt started up with warnings about elevated physiological responses. Kelric told the node to shut up.

  When he tugged at her clothes, Deha sat up on her heels and slid off the robe, then pulled the satin shift over her head. She had well-toned curves, slender and lean, with long, muscular legs. Kelric trailed his fingertips across her flat stomach. The hint of stretch marks showed at her hips, indicating she had given birth.

  "Your body is lovely," he said. "How do you stay so fit?"

  "Morning walk. Evening walk." Wryly she added, "Arguing with my doctors."

  "Your doctors?"

  "They worry too much." She smiled. "It gives them something to do."

  Deha finished taking off his clothes, then lay next to him and slid her hand up his inner thigh. While she caressed him, he rubbed his hands over her backside and his cheek against the top of her head. Then she slid on top of his body, straddling his hips, and eased onto him.

  They made love slowly, building together. Her touch was skilled, first gentle, then urgent. When he used his Kyle senses to match his response to her emotions, she murmured in Teotecan, her words too blurred to distinguish, simply noises of affection.

  One time he caught a memory that came into her mind, the image of himself laughing, with sunlight in his hair. At
that moment she paused pensive as she raised her head to look at him. Then she lay down again and kissed him. Kelric hugged her stroking her hair.

  As they built to their crest, Kelric tried to open his mind to her, to share his pleasure. Then the orgasm broke over him and he lost his senses in her embrace and the silver night.

  Later when they were drowsing in each other's arms, he tried again to reach her mind, with no more success than before. Deha simply wasn't a Kyle. It didn't mean he couldn't feel affection for her, but it did leave him with a sense of incompletion.

  Still, he almost felt content. Only a dull throb in his temples kept him awake. It intensified every time he used his Kyle senses on it. Whatever brain damage he had taken was growing worse.

  Kelric watched Deha sleep, wondering how much he, should tell her. He had no illusions about why these people feared him. They kept their autonomy because Coba was inconsequential enough that some overworked lSC bureaucrat had let the Restriction through. But the Twelve Estates didn't merit a status meant for places so uninhabitable or hostile they required quarantine. As soon as lSC took closer notice, Coba's evanescent independence would evaporate. Absorption by the Imperialate would bring the Cobans advanced technology, but it would also mean military occupation and obedience to Imperial law, as well as opening their world to Imperial use.

  He wasn't sure why the guards had hesitated to shoot Ixpar. But he felt Deha's resolve, if he took her hostage and forced his guards to choose between letting him go or risking their Manager's life, they would follow her orders to stop him—even if it meant killing her.

  75

  skilled, first gentle, then urgent. When he used his Kyle senses to match his response to her emotions, she murmured in Teotecan, her words too blurred to distinguish, simply noises of affection.

  One time he caught a memory that came into her mind, the image of himself laughing, with sunlight in his hair. At that moment she paused, pensive as she raised her head to look at im Then she lay down again and kissed him Kelric hugged her stroking her hair.

  As they built to their crest, Kelric tried to open his mind to her, to share his pleasure. Then the orgasm broke over him and he lost his senses in her embrace and the silver night.

  Later when they were drowsing in each other's arms, he tried again to reach her mind, with no more success than before. Deha simply wasn't a Kyle. It didn't mean he couldn't feel affection for her, but it did leave him with a sense of incompletion.

  Still, he almost felt content. Only a dull throb in his temples kept him awake. It intensified every time he used his Kyle senses on it Whatever brain damage he had taken was growing worse.

  Kelric watched Deha sleep, wondering how much he, should tell her. He had no illusions about why these people feared him. They kept their autonomy because Coba was inconsequential enough that some overworked ISC bureaucrat had let the Restriction through. But the Twelve Estates didn't merit a status meant for places so uninhabitable or hostile they required quarantine. As soon as lSC took closer notice, Coba's evanescent independence would evaporate. Absorption by the lmperialate would bring the Cobans advanced technology, but it would also mean military occupation and obedience to Imperial law, as well as opening their world to Imperial use.

  He wasn't sure why the guards-had hesitated to shoot Ixpar. But he felt Deha's resolve; if he took her hostage and forced his guards to choose between letting him go or risking their Manager's life, they would follow her orders to stop him—even if it meant killing her.

  "No," he said.

  Deha opened her eyes. "You are still awake?" She stretched against his side. "You seemed so tired at the ceremony."

  He smiled, savoring the feel of her skin sliding against his. "I guess you revived me."

  Her face gentled, that expression she showed only him. "You look pensive."

  He chose his words carefully. "I have a system inside my body. It's called biomech."

  Deha pushed up on her elbow. "We wondered, after your fight with the guards. You seemed beyond a normal human." She watched his face. "But why does that make you pensive?"

  "The system needs maintenance." That wasn't really the problem but it came close enough without revealing his weakened condition.

  "What will happen if it doesn't get it?" she asked.

  "It could injure me."

  She tensed. "Kelric, anything I can do to help, I will."

  He wondered if she realized she was calling him Kelric rather than the Teotecan name they had given him. "You can't provide what it needs. I have to leave Coba."

  Softly she said, "We can't let you go. You know that."

  "Even if refusing causes me harm?"

  Her voice caught. "I'm sorry."

  Looking at her, he almost wished he hadn't said anything. He felt her anguish. Again he caught one of her memories, a glimpse of her former Akasi, this time lying still and lifeless on a funeral bower.

  "Ai, Deha." He touched her cheek. "I'm not going to die."

  "Anything I can do here on Coba I will. I mean that."

  He pulled her into his arms. "Just lie With me. Like this."

  Eventually they slept. Sometime later he was awakened by her moving about. Opening his eyes he saw her sit up and reach for her shift.

  "Are you cold?" he asked.

  "No." She drew the shift over her head. "I have to finish some paperwork in my office."

  "On your wedding night?"

  Deha gave him a rueful smile. "Dahl won't stop even for that." She pulled on her robe, then leaned over and kissed him. "Sleep well, my Akasi."

  After she left, Kelric lay staring at the ceiling. The throb in his head kept shifting and resettling, as if adjusting to an inner pressure. Finally he got up and paced around the suite. In an adjoining chamber he found a bathtub the size of a swimming pool, tiled in green and gold, with statues of three—legged animals at its corners. He started toward it—

  —and pain rocked through his head like an earthquake.

  Kelric gasped and fell to his knees by the pool. In the water he saw the reflection of his face contort in agony. Shocks hit him again and again, built and subsided, like blows from a hammer It went on and on until he wanted to cry out. But he made no sound, no motion, barely even breathed.

  Gradually the tremors came farther apart. Their force eased, lessened, died away. For a long time afterward he remained still, afraid to move lest it start again.

  A ray of light touched his face. Looking up, he saw the dawn through a window across the room.

  Kelric closed his eyes. Bolt.

  No answer.

  Bolt, what just happened?

  I'm not sure. I am d%#&—

  What?

  I am damaged. The bio-electrodes in your brain are also malfunctioning The seizure you just experienced was due to their making your neurons misfire. I can't ^^^&

  You can't what?

  i can't fix it. You must go to a biomech repaIr facility if you don't, you may lose all function.

  Kelric knew that without his biomech, he had even less chance of escaping. He had to make his move now, despite his unhealed injuries, before it was too late.

  He returned to the bedroom and dressed, not in the sexually suggestive outfit from his Oath ceremony, but in some old clothes he found in the bureau. He braced himself against the door and sensitized his Kyle organs to the guards outside, using his biomech to amplify the signals from his KEB. When his link with the guards faltered, he clenched his teeth against the pain, overrode the safety toggles in his web, and let a burst of power surge out of his brain.

  A cry came through the door; Bolt had miscalculated and applied too much force. With his injuries Kelric couldn't barrier himself against the shock of the attack as it reflected back to him. It hammered at his mind until he groaned and spots clouded his vision. Half blinded by pain, he threw his bulk into the door again and again, until it flew open with a bang.

  Outside, his guards lay unconscious on the floor. He limped around their bodie
s and headed for the stairs.

  7

  Hawk's Flight

  Deha sat behind her desk, bathed in the morning sunshine slanting through the window at her back. Piles of folders waited and a full day faced her: city meetings,.Estate conferences, Quis sessions. She reached for the audiocom—

  Another hand came from behind her and bent back the com switch until the wood snapped off with a crack.

  Deha spun her chair around—to see Kelric a few paces away, aiming a stunner at her head. Behind him, curtains billowed out from an open window that should have been closed. She stared at him, remembering how he had felt in her arms.

  He looked far different now, his expression closed to her.

  "I came for my Jumbler," he said.

  "Jumbler?" It sounded like a description of himself, or at least what he did to her emotional state. How had he escaped the tower?

  "My gun," he said. "I must have been wearing it when you found me."

  She thought of the monster weapon they had found on him. "We left it on your ship. The explosion destroyed it." In truth, she had stowed the gun in her safe. Her experts said it didn't work. But then, they were only experts when it came to stunners.

  Kelric looked as if he were straining to hear a muttered conversation. Softly he said, "That's what I needed," followed by, "Forgive me, Deha."

  Then he fired.

  The guards who had formerly watched the AmberRoom now stood clumped before Deha's desk. Dabbiv stood with them, his hands in the pockets of his white sweater where Deha knew he always put them when he was tense.

  "Escaped." Deha was standing behind her desk, her head pounding in the aftermath of the stun shots. Kelric had pumped her with enough charge to put her out for the entire morning. "Where were all of you while he was escaping?"

  "Kelric knocked them out," Hacha said.

  Deha scowled. "How could he knock out every guard in the tower, sneak into my office, knock me out, rob my safe, and disappear? My entire CityGuard can't find one man?"

  "We have every available unit out searching," Hacha said. "I also doubled the detail at the airfield. We'll catch him."