Broken Vision

by J. A. Clarke

  "Perhaps I should come back later?" a deep voice laced with amusement said.

  "Jason!"

  "Father!"

  Her father, Corenna by his side, strolled across the room. Corenna had a grin on his face that stretched from ear to ear. Distracted though she was, Maegan had a fair idea why. They hadn't come from the habitat's main entrance. Morgon's secret tunnel system was becoming less secret.

  "We thought the winds would prevent a safe landing." Melissa hurried to meet her mate.

  "We arrived just ahead of them." Jason slid an arm around his wife's waist and dropped a kiss on her lips. He lifted his head and smiled at Maegan. "We've been exploring Morgon's underground habitat. Extraordinary. The weapons vault is incredible. Morgon always did have a collector's eye. Corenna was like a youngster on those tube pads."

  Corenna slapped his hands together. "Wish they moved just a little faster. Still, makes a good ride. Where's Drakal? He'll want to see those weapons."

  Melissa gestured to the wide hallway from which they'd just emerged. "He went to take a nap in one of the bedchambers."

  "A nap?" Corenna's lip curled. "Huh. Excuse me."

  Jason waited until Corenna was out of sight, then he dropped another kiss on top of Melissa's head. "Warriors don't nap, my sweet. You may owe Drakal an apology."

  Melissa performed a dramatic eye roll and lifted her brows at her daughter. "See what I mean?"

  Maegan caught her father's eye and couldn't look away. Jason's stern amber gaze held concern and questions, and made her want to squirm as it had always done when she was a child. She knew what was coming.

  Jason, as always, didn't waste any time getting to the core of what he wanted to know. "How is it," he asked, "that Alerik Mariltar doesn't know he has a marriage partner?"

  "We were just talk--" Melissa broke off with a grimace of her expressive mouth, and widened her eyes at Maegan.

  She hadn't seen anything, but Maegan was sure her father must have sent her mother some subtle signal.

  Her Earth mother she could argue with and hold a position for as long as it took. Her Mariltar father was a far different case. He could tear down her defenses and change her way of thinking without even trying, it seemed. As a teenager, she had figured that out and learned strategies to guard against him to protect her most passionate causes.

  She was evidently out of practice, because with one look and a few simple words, her reasons for not communicating a simple fact to her husband had become illogical and cowardly.

  She stiffened her spine. "I'll talk with him," she promised. "When the winds are gone, I'll go back to Pallas Five."

  She would have the better part of a cycle, at least, to decide what to say to him and figure out the rest of her life.

  It didn't seem like nearly enough time.

  Chapter 27

  Margaine Confluence:/Third Rising

  Pallas Five

  A man Alerik didn't know stared back at him from the vid screen. The caption identified him as Counselor Forman of Pallas Seven. He had a pleasant, smiling face with a greenish cast. The Liartian did not look like a cold-blooded killer, but then no one ever did.

  "Did I ever meet Counselor Forman?"

  "You met all the counselors when you first arrived. Some tried to bribe you with gifts. He offered the most extravagant. You didn't like him."

  "Did we investigate the others?" Alerik looked over to where Sharm Foster was sprawled on a hard bench in the windowless white healing chamber. His frustration levels were spiking. This inability to remember recent events had him deeply worried. The medtechs' insistence on keeping him in the healing chamber rather than transferring him to a normal recovery room was an added irritant. Overlying it all was the increasingly persistent feeling that something was very wrong. On the other hand, he was enormously relieved that Sharm had appeared a few nans ago. He'd come straight from his mission on Pallas Seven, this report in hand.

  Sharm represented normalcy and could give him back some of his memories.

  "We investigated all of them. We found well-hidden accounting discrepancies at the corporation run by the counselor on Pallas Four. The counselor on Pallas Two has a stable of male lovers, unbeknownst to his female marriage partner of twenty-five years. The Pallas Three counselor is more interested in hunting germils in the scrublands than in arbitrating. We knew Pallas Seven was the location for death fights, but we didn't link the counselor. Forman covered his tracks well. Even faked an assassination attempt. We received the anonymous tip just when you went off to The Divide."

  Alerik shook his head. "I don't remember that either."

  His frustration notched up. To his dismay, he felt the soothing flow of the drug enter his veins. He hated the slieking machine, hated the necessity for the drug. It blunted his reasoning skills, but the medtechs had told him it was his one chance to regain his short-term memories. That part of his brain needed to heal.

  He had a thousand questions for Sharm, but he forced his attention back to the report and scrolled through the remaining screens. He paused at one section.

  "They knew you were coming?"

  "No question. We walked into the same trap the counselor did. Someone, the tipster probably, set up a firefight to make it look like we killed Counselor Forman. It was a surprisingly amateur job, but could have worked if the forensics had been dispensed with. Daxl was found in his system. While he had wounds from Mariltar weapons, none were the kill shot. That came from a common brossstick which, of course some of us still carry, but rarely use. And I checked. None of ours were discharged."

  "A power play?"

  "Maybe. The lucrative death fights are finished. We'll be watching that closely, so the question becomes why?"

  "And who. Be interesting to see what names are presented for the next counselor."

  "Indeed. I've heard the proprietor of The Alabaster Nightshade is a frontrunner. Our investigation continues. I need to gather the team for a strategy session, which means bringing Corenna and Drakal back from Pallas Four. Any reason why Maegan is back there?"

  "Who?"

  "Balls of Sortor!" Sharm straightened, a peculiar look on his face. "I knew something was off."

  "Explain." Despite the drug, Alerik felt his irritation soar. Besides missing a major chunk of his memory and his life, he'd had the feeling his visitors, especially his team, had avoided telling him something particularly important. Of course they had denied doing so when he'd charged them with it directly. Now he was about to find out what it was. Sharm would never withhold anything from him.

  Yet when he looked into his second's face, he could see he was sorely tempted. What could cause such a critical dynamic to change?

  Sharm muttered something and stood up. "You don't know who Maegan is?"

  "No."

  "Had any young female visitors with blonde hair, green eyes?"

  A memory of a worried face hovering above him popped into Alerik's mind. "Yes, the first day I was out of my coma, I believe."

  Sharm grunted. "She's your mate."

  Shock cramped his thoughts and rode an adrenalin wave through his body. When the initial rush was over and the questions had sorted themselves out, he said, "Who is she?"

  "Maegan Shale, Commander Trion's daughter."

  Impossible. He connected now the memories of the green-eyed waif from his childhood with the woman he had seen oh so briefly cycles before. He'd had an occasional reluctant admiration for the girl who had rebelled against so much of what he had been taught to believe in.

  He would never have chosen her for a mate.

  Sharm was watching him and not bothering to hide a grin. Alerik knew him well enough to see the hint of worry in his eyes. "That got your gonads, didn't it?"

  "Did I lose my mind as well as my slieking memory? What else happened?"

  "Everything else is sort of connected. Hasn't anyone told you anything?"

  "Oh, they've been filling me in on my governorship and the Taragon issue. No one's mentio
ned one word of a mate."

  "Maegan must've told them not to." Sharm jerked his head. "What's her agenda now, I wonder?"

  Alerik had a hundred questions. He asked the one that trumped the others. "Why would I choose her? Granted, she's the daughter of my father's second, who was just here and didn't say a word either. But she's rebellious and unconventional and she's so eminently unsuitable for my career."

  "Match Key."

  That one hit him in the gut. "Sacred blood of Cor. I consulted the Match Key?"

  Sharm lifted his shoulders and grinned wider. "You did."

  "Why didn't you stop me?"

  "Couldn't. You had this thing about miniature Aleriks."

  "What?"

  A medtech stalked into the chamber. "I don't know what you two are discussing, but his counts are going moon-high. Enough." He pushed at pads on the monitor. "You're going back to sleep, Governor.

  "You need to leave now, sir," he told Sharm.

  The drug was working fast. He didn't want to go back under. He still had so many questions. Sharm was arguing with the medtech about something. Alerik's tongue felt bloated.

  "Sharm," he barked. His voice sounded strange. "Bring her here!"

  * * * *

  Maegan paused at the entrance to the healing chamber and leaned her burning forehead against the cool wall. Gods, could she go through with this? Her heart was shattered into a thousand pieces and each shard pierced the wall of her chest, causing an excruciating, all-consuming pain.

  At the height of the wilding winds, Corenna had delivered a summons from Sharm Foster. Alerik Mariltar requested her presence on Pallas Five. After that, decisions were made in which she had had no part. Her mother, father, Corenna and Drakal would all accompany her.

  Instead, as the wilding winds had begun to die down, she'd used the tunnels to get to Pallas Four's main dock where Janas kept a small shuttle.

  The medtech on duty in the Pallas Five clinic had wanted her to wait. Alerik was in a deep healing sleep. But if she waited, she might never go through with this. And she had to. Alerik deserved better. His future was clearly written. Mariltar needed him. The Coalition needed him. She could never be a political wife.

  She needed him.

  Fresh pain tore through her chest. She straightened. Enough. Get it over with and go on. She could go back to how it was before he had invaded her life. She slapped her hand against the door panel.

  He lay in the healing pod, his strong features relaxed in sleep. His sapphire temple mark beat a pure, bright blue. She leaned over him and rested her lips against it, felt the life force that was so precious to her. This moment would have to last her forever.

  Before she could change her mind, she touched the screen above his head. The rhythm of the machines changed. She drew back, watched his eyelids flutter, watched his eyes open.

  She saw the exact moment when he recognized her. His eyes changed from pure, sleepy sapphire to a cloudy, dark blue. And she knew she had made the right decision.

  "Alerik."

  "Maegan Shale."

  "You asked for me?"

  "It seems we are bonded." His face had become a rigid mask. A muscle jumped in his cheek. His warrior training still served him well in the ability to go from sleep to being hyper alert in a nanonan. "You neglected to inform me of that when you were here before."

  She shrugged her shoulders and struggled to breathe. "It was a mistake. The Match Key didn't have all the facts on me. You'll find out soon enough if you don't already know. I've been involved in activities here that have not been endorsed by the Coalition. You, yourself, arrested me for treason. I'm simply not a suitable mate for a Mariltar heir. You knew that before you lost your memory. You were about to call a quorum to dissolve the partnership." The last lie threatened to stick in her throat and choke her. She forced it out. "There is nothing between us. The Match Key was wrong."

  He was silent for so long, she was afraid she would give in to the temptation to run screaming in utter misery from the room. The cold blue gaze held hers captive, probed, as if he knew there was a truth she hadn't revealed. If he didn't accept her explanation, she didn't know what she would do. She was terrified the right question would make her confess everything.

  "Are you pregnant?"

  Of all the questions he could have asked, this one was the most unexpected, and the coldest. She took a step back. The question grounded her as nothing else could have. Her wavering determination to see her decision through solidified again. "Of course not."

  His eyes narrowed. He gave a single nod. "I'll gather the quorum today."

  Outside the healing room, Maegan's rigid control deserted her. She staggered to the wall and leaned against it. The simple act of breathing was unbearably painful. She ignored the inquiring gazes of the medtech and the two Mariltar warriors who guarded the room. She didn't know either of them.

  It was done!

  Or it would be as soon as Alerik gathered his quorum.

  "Ma'am? Are you all right? Ma'am?"

  Lifting her head took an incredible amount of effort. The young guard looked so worried, she forced herself to smile. Speaking was beyond her ability at that moment.

  "Please."

  She couldn't have been very convincing. He gestured to a bench not far away.

  "No," she croaked. She swallowed and tried again. "I have a vessel waiting. I must go."

  "No, ma'am." She hadn't seen the older guard approach. "You have no escort. We can't let you go."

  The challenge gave Maegan the jolt she needed. She straightened. "Sorry," she said, "you can't stop me." She started down the hall of healing chambers. Morgon now lay in a private one as well. This wasn't the right time for a visit, even if she'd been in the mood.

  The hair on her nape prickled. She expected to be stopped at any moment. The guards wouldn't leave Alerik unprotected, so only one would come after her. She could take on one, if she had to.

  She passed the last healing chamber and resisted looking back. The thick plexidoors into the common area of the med clinic swung open at her approach.

  There was more activity in this room than when she had passed through earlier. She ignored it all and made her way to the platform for the tube shuttle.

  Within nans, a shuttle pulled up. She stepped forward as the doors opened. A hard hand closed around her arm. A body was at her back forcing her into the car, when her instinct was to run.

  "Maegan."

  She should have known. The guards had let her walk out too easily. "Commander Foster."

  She jerked out of his grasp, but was too slow. The doors had closed. He programmed in a stop.

  "Why so formal?"

  "Where are we going?"

  "The governor's habitat."

  "I don't belong there anymore and you have no right to detain me."

  "Blood of Cor."

  There was a violence in Sharm's tone that Maegan had never heard before. It made her pause, but only for a moment.

  She reached for the control panel.

  Sharm's hand flashed out and knocked hers aside as the shuttle began to slow. It was still some distance from the governor's habitat. The display showed two people waiting to board at the next stop. It might present an opportunity. She had no interest in Sharm's agenda. Her instinct was to get away. She desperately needed time alone.

  Even as she braced for action, Sharm did something to the controls. The shuttle sped up. It wasn't going to stop.

  "He agreed to dissolve our marriage partnership. You no longer need to concern yourself with me." She turned her head to address him and, for the first time, got a good look at him. She couldn't help but stare. Even in uniform, Sharm appeared elegant and always well-groomed. Today, in loose gray breeches and soft jacket, his hair in spikes, he looked like he had just climbed out of bed, which he probably had.

  He bared his teeth at her. "I'm concerned with Alerik," he said grimly. "Which means I'm concerned with you, since Alerik isn't in his right mind. Somehow,
I thought you'd be up to something like this."

  "I--"

  He flung up his hand. "Not here. We'll settle this at the habitat."

  Maegan pressed her lips together. There wasn't anything to settle. This was just a small delay in her plans. Sharm would be summoned soon to the quorum anyway.

  He didn't say another word. The silence was grating on Maegan's nerves by the time the shuttle stopped at the habitat. They were barely inside the empty residence before she jumped into her attack.

  "You know this is for the best," she said, and hated the thin shakiness of her voice. "He didn't even argue. He doesn't remember anything about our marriage partnership, and he's being recalled, probably to Magnilium. You, more than anyone, should understand this partnership should never have happened. I'm not the right mate for him."

  She paused. Sharm was planted in front of her, legs apart, arms folded, expression stony. She couldn't tell if she was getting through to him or not. He didn't seem inclined to respond.

  A faint buzz broke the silence.

  "That's probably him. That's your communicator, isn't it? You're being summoned to his quorum. Better go."

  "What makes you think the quorum will give you the results you want?"

  "What?" Maegan stared at him open-mouthed and felt the beginnings of panic swirl through her veins. She had been so certain of the conclusion.

  Sharm lifted his shoulders. "The quorum requires consensus. What makes you so sure it will deliver that?"

  "Why would you not give him consensus?" she whispered. "You have to."

  He lifted his brows and shook his head. "Wrong. I don't, nor do the others."

  "But this is what he wants."

  "He doesn't know. How can he? He's missing a large part of his memory. You do him a great disservice with this action."

  "They're calling him to Magnilium," she repeated. "I don't want to go there. I cannot. My life is here. I can't be the marriage partner he needs and deserves. This partnership should never have happened. You, more than anyone, know that."

  Sharm's comm buzzed again. He didn't even flinch. "I thought I knew that. At the very beginning. I changed my mind when I saw how you two were together."