by JC Cassels
They exchanged a smile.
He tugged her into motion. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go break the news to Madine.”
“What news?”
“As soon as Andre makes the formal announcement that I’m his Heir, it’s going to completely ruin her seating chart.”
“He said he was waiting until after dinner.”
He sighed. “She’ll still want to know. There’s media coverage. They’ll pounce on any misstep, real or otherwise.”
***
She had to hand it to Blade. He was right. The Lady Madine, Tryrine te Kah Lahtrec, the picture of poise and grace, quickly rallied her stewards and completely reorganized the guest placement to accommodate Blade and Chase’s imminent rise in status. The white-garbed servants swarmed around the tables in quiet efficiency, drawing no undue attention to themselves.
She was a force of nature. Bo had long admired the Tryine’s regal confidence and effortless elegance. Middle age had done nothing to diminish her dark beauty.
Bo watched from across the room as Madine rested a hand against Blade’s chest as he was deep in conversation with Ballanshi and another humanoid. He leaned down so she could press her cheek to his in thanks. Without interrupting the conversation, she moved away to welcome another guest.
“You nearly destroyed him, you know.” A deep, cultured voice said from behind her.
Bo tensed. How had he gotten so close without her knowing?
She glanced around for her security detail, dismayed to find no one close by.
Pasting a smile on her face, she turned.
The man was only a little taller than she was in her high heels. His reddish-blond hair had been styled with care to accommodate a jewel encrusted, delicately wrought, metal headband. His expensive, light blue suit had been tailored specifically for his slight frame. His pale skin and air of softness screamed nobility. He studied her, patient amusement quirking his lips.
“I’ve destroyed many men,” she drawled. “I daresay I’ll destroy many more before it’s over. To whom are you referring?”
His clear, green eyes lit with approval. “Why, your husband, madam.” He dipped in a shallow bow. “I apologize for the breach in protocol, Barron. You see, I feel we are already acquainted. Blade has often spoken of you. I am Adin Kohl, only son of Family Kohl of Delos, and friend of your husband. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you when you arrived. I prefer to stay with Tahar at the Temple on Mount Jihat.”
Bo nodded, carefully guarding her expression, for all the good it would do. Telepathic Delians could see through social posturing quite easily. She was under no illusions. The man knew exactly how uncomfortable he was making her, and he made no efforts to assuage her discomfort. That either made him a perverse bastard who derived amusement from the effect he had on people, or an overprotective friend of Blade’s with an axe to grind.
“It’s a bit of both, I’m afraid,” Adin said, answering her thoughts.
He captured two drinks from a passing tray and offered her one. Bo’s hand closed around the chilled glass, but she made no move to drink.
“They say one should never meet one’s heroes,” he said. “Like any young man, I was a fan of his holofeatures. You might say they inspired me to leave the safety of dull, dreary Delos in search of adventure.”
He paused and smiled. “You see, Delian society is a bit matriarchal. I only have a sister at home. She’ll hold the family seat on the council. I am considered little more than a breeder, and my mother was throwing me at eligible women day and night. I still don’t know how I managed to obtain permission to leave home. But now that I’m gone, I have no intention of ever returning.”
Adin shook his head. “Anyway, Kayne, Phinny, and I were stumbling about in the dark until we met the Great Blade Devon. Men like Blade are considered barbaric back home. I found him utterly fascinating. I love him like the brother I never had.”
“Yet you found him wanting as your boyhood hero?”
Adin smiled and sipped his drink. “The curse of a telepath is to see the reality of a person, not the image they project to the rest of the universe.”
“And the reality of Blade Devon is disappointing?”
“I found myself face to face with the ultimate man’s man,” he said. “Imagine my chagrin to learn he was just as subject to the woman in his life as I was to the women in mine, if not more so.”
“How terrible for you.”
“Yes. It was.” His humor faded. “I was there on Altair. I felt your grief. I also felt his. I felt your anger, your rage. It consumed you. Your rejection devastated him. He loves you. I’ve never seen anything like it. He has no pride or shame when it comes to you. He’s like a starving animal, groveling for the slightest crumb of your affection and you don’t see it.”
Bo’s spine stiffened against the wave of shame his accusations brought. Her lips tightened.
“He deserves better.”
“Adin, that’s enough,” Blade said, his voice quiet, but firm.
Somehow, he had noticed the turn of conversation and had moved to her side.
Smugly satisfied, Adin smiled and sipped his drink. “Ian was right,” he said. His green eyes lit with mischief. “I like her.”
Bo blinked. “You like me?”
Blade sighed and rested his hand on the small of her back. “He had to get you flustered so he could read you.”
“The curse of the telepath,” Adin reminded her.
“This could have waited until later,” Blade said. “She’s stressed enough about tonight as it is.”
Adin studied her. “She’s equal to it.”
A low chime sounded, signaling that it was time to withdraw to the banquet hall.
Beside her, Blade drew a deep breath and slowly blew it out.
“Last chance to run,” Adin said.
Blade shook his head. “Time to stop running and be who we were destined to be.”
Adin bowed low. “My Lord.”
Blade’s hand slipped from her back and he offered her his arm. “My Lady?”
“Barron,” she corrected him, resting her and on his forearm. “I prefer Barron.”
***
Preparing for war was exhausting.
Bo closed her eyes, savoring the warm Lahtrecki sunlight on her bare skin. Stretching like a felidaen, she arched her back, trying to work out the ever-present ache there, and settled deeper into one of the padded loungers someone had brought from the villa.
Colorful fabric stretched between four rough-hewn poles providing a shaded canopy. The makeshift pavilion flapped steadily in the onshore breeze. A low, round table laden with fruits and delicacies sat in the center on a colorful rug, surrounded by oversized cushions. Lord Marin napped in the shade, a half-finished drink beside his lounger.
Dash called to her from the water’s edge where he sat playing in the sand. Bo lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the glare, and smiled as she waved to her son.
Beside her in another lounger, Tese huddled under a parasol. She shouted encouragement to the men who raced back and forth on the sand in some moderately violent game involving a multi-sided ball and a great deal of full-body contact.
Bo needed this.
For days, she and Blade had been hunched over holopads, going over every possible variation of strategy with Ian, Lord Marin, Connor Stett, and the Black Wing commanders. Tomorrow, they would return to the Commonwealth and fire the first salvos in a war none of them wanted. Today, they reveled in simply being alive.
“Dev!” Chase shouted.
Blade dodged and feinted, neatly sidestepping Ian, who dove at him. He tossed the ball to his brother as Ian landed hard in the sand at his feet. Blade leaped over him, yelling, and joined the pack following Chase toward the yellow flag on a pole at the other end of the playing field.
Ian scrambled to his feet, oblivious to the sand that coated his perspiration-soaked skin, and raced after them.
Phinny crowed in victory as he managed to steal the ball fro
m Chase. Ducking under his arm, he made for the red flag. Blade moved to intercept him, but Kayne tackled him from the side. Blade landed hard with a grunt. Kayne sprawled on top of him. Laughing, Blade shoved him aside and both men climbed to their feet and rejoined the game.
Unopposed, Phinny made for the flag until Adin caught up to him, tackling him and driving him face-first into the sand. The ball bounced free, rolling awkwardly in a zig-zag pattern until Adin caught it, changing the direction of play once more. Phinny was slower to rise, spitting sand and wiping his face.
Pressing their advantage, Blade and Chase ran interference for Adin, stiff-arming Kayne and Ian and matching them step for step until Adin, with a victorious shout, threw the ball at the goal post, the impact making the yellow flag flutter wildly. Whooping, Blade and Chase descended on Adin, pounding his back and shaking him with congratulations.
With painful steps, Phinny plodded into the surf and ducked beneath the waves. Dash rose and left the figures he was molding in the wet sand. He waded a few steps into the water and bobbed, watching for Phinny.
When he surfaced, Phinny wiped the water from his face and grinned at the boy. He trudged back to the shallows and held out his hands to Dash. Needing no other invitation, the little boy raced into the waves and leaped into Phinny’s arms.
“So, love, are you impressed?” Blade leaned over her, sending a shower of sand down on her.
Bo shoved him away. “Go rinse off first,” she said. “I don’t want that stuff all over me.”
“Next time, I’m splitting you two up,” Ian groused. “It’s bad enough you have a telepath on your team. He knows which way you’re gonna go before you do. But you two…it’s like you and Chase can read each other’s minds.”
Chase handed his brother a bottle of Tinsani Ale and dropped onto the sand beside Tese’s chair, another bottle dangled from his fingertips. “I’m no mind reader,” he said, “but I did teach Dev everything he knows about tackleball.”
“True,” Blade tapped his bottle against his brother’s and lifted it in salute. He paused with the bottle halfway to his lips. His eyes narrowed as he peered up the beach.
Ian turned to follow his stare. “Looks like we got company.”
“It’s Royce,” Blade said, lifting the bottle to his lips. He took a long swig.
“Yeah, but who’s that with him?”
Bo sat up and turned to see.
Sure enough, Royce and a smaller figure made their way along the beach toward them.
“Nix?” Bo looked to Blade. “What’s he doing here?”
Blade shrugged. “I reckon we’re about to find out.”
Without comment, Ian slipped away to the canopy. He knelt beside his belongings and casually drew his sidearm. Adin and Kayne, who had also retreated to the canopy, likewise armed themselves.
“Dev?”
He waved away her concern. “Let them do their jobs, love.”
Bo tried not to focus on the men as they moved into position.
“Everything okay?” Chase asked.
Adin visibly relaxed and put his weapon away.
“I think so,” Bo said. She swung her legs over the side of the lounger and came to her feet beside her husband.
Nix looked up to Royce and said something. Royce patted him on the back, their words lost in the sound of the surf. Nix broke into a run and threw his arms around Bo.
“I am so glad to see you,” he said. “I thought he was going to kill me too.”
Bo awkwardly embraced the boy. “Too?” She looked to Royce. “What did you do?”
Blade met Royce’s stare with a small nod of understanding. “He got justice for Edge.”
Royce stopped in front of them and folded his arms across his bared chest.
“Princess.”
Bo tightened her hold on Nix. “What are you wearing?”
His brightly colored shirt hung halfway open. His whiskered face spoke more of neglect than sartorial goals, leaving him badly in need of a shave. His eyes were bloodshot and narrowed with discomfort.
Ian handed him a bottle of ale, which he accepted gratefully with a nod and proceeded to down half the contents.
“You look like hell,” Ian said.
“Thanks,” Royce said. “I feel like hell.” He nodded to Nix. “The kid’s got news.”
Nix lifted his head. “Gray was working with these two guys, General and Regent. They’re the reason he hired you. They were working together on something called ‘The Expansion’.”
“The Expansion?” Blade echoed. “What kind of expansion?”
Nix shook his head. “I don’t know. I got mad and they made me leave.” He looked to Bo. “They were bragging about picking at your support network. They want you dead. Both of you. They don’t want you working together.”
“They said that?” Blade asked.
Nix nodded. “General said he knew what your weakness was, and that he was going to exploit it.”
Bo looked to Dash, innocently splashing in the surf with Phinny.
“Is this the general?” Ian showed him a digi on his data reader.
Nix nodded. “That’s him.”
Ian’s mouth tightened and he called up another image on his reader. “And this one?”
He showed the boy another digi. This one Bo recognized. It was Galen.
“That’s Regent,” Nix said.
Blade patted the boy on the shoulder. “Well you’re safe now, Nix,” he said. “Nobody is going to hurt you. I promise. You’re under my protection, now.”
“General sounded pretty convinced he was going to kill you.”
“He was convinced that he was going to kill me, too.” Lord Marin planted his feet in the sand and studied the boy. “Do you know who I am?”
Nix turned and his grip on Bo tightened. Unable to speak, he nodded.
“As you can see, he succeeded.”
“But…but…you’re dead, Sir.”
Marin harrumphed.
“My men smuggled him off Trisdos and brought him here,” Blade said.
Nix looked to Blade. “No wonder General and Regent are so afraid of you. You’re badass.”
The Overlord laughed. “That’s only half of it, my boy. He’s also my son.”
“Are you serious?”
Marin’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Quite.”
Nix looked from Blade to Marin.
“You look like you haven’t eaten in days,” Marin said. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes…yes, Sir. I am.”
“Come then,” he gestured toward the tent and the table filled with food. “No sense standing around when there’s a feast at hand.”
Bo nudged the boy away, nodding in encouragement.
He followed the Overlord to the canopy and warily eased onto the cushions.
Dash raced past them for the tent and grabbed a piece of fruit before plopping down in his grandfather’s lap.
Blade sighed. “Leave it to Andre. The man is always thinking with his stomach. He pushes away from the table planning his next meal.”
“Will Dash be safe here once the fleet is gone?” she asked.
“Adin will look after him.” Blade took a long drink of ale. “Nobody will find them at the temple. Tahar will make sure of that.”
“So, what’s our move?” Royce drained the bottle and turned it upside down, shaking the last few drops from it. “Hey, Ian,” he called. “Another round here.”
Ian passed Royce a fresh bottle and offered one to Blade, who traded for his empty.
“So I’m a damn bartender now?” Ian groused.
Bo canted her head at him. “I prefer to think of you as my own personal cocktail waitress.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed as he glared at her, but a reluctant smile tugged at his mouth.
Blade gestured toward Royce with his bottle. “Actually, you and I need to talk. There’s been a development that affects you directly.”
As the two men walked toward a knot of trees at the edg
e of the beach, Bo looked up to Ian.
“Don’t I get a fresh drink?”
***
Royce squinted against the brilliant sunlight reflecting off the white sand. “So, what’s up kid?”
Blade studied him a long moment, gauging his mental state. “How are you holding up?”
Giving him a quelling look, Royce took a long drink, but didn’t answer.
He tried a different tack. “Something odd happened in the med center when Edge flatlined,” Blade said.
“I don’t need a grief counselor.”
Royce turned to walk away. Blade stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“I know you don’t, Royce,” he said. “But only because I don’t think Edge is completely gone.”
“Is this your idea of Lahtrecki woo-woo shit?”
“No,” Blade said. “Well, not really. Edge was more computer than man. The cybernetic implants allowed him to upload himself into the Com-Net.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I have reason to believe Edge may have evolved into a sentient cybernetic entity. When Bo and I were escaping from Trisdos, things happened that I can’t explain. And when we were at Chiron Station, we had help. Now, it was too deliberate and precise in both cases to credit Divine intervention.”
“You’re saying Edge’s…what? His consciousness is still alive?”
Blade nodded. “When I triggered my Sovran chip, he had access to...well…everything! I was open to the Sentaro. I sensed his Prenaha traveling along the networks.”
He gave Royce a moment to take it in.
“I really believe that some part of Edge is still…alive.”
Hope lit Royce’s bloodshot eyes. “Can we communicate with him?”
Blade nodded. “I think he’s working inside the networks, trying to get a feel for the data stream, but yeah. I would guess it’s only a matter of time before he figures out how to interact with us. Given the amount of work he put into Sundance, I’d say the ship’s AI is the most likely point of first contact.”
Royce stared past his shoulder. “Does Bo know this?”
“She does,” he said. “And for what it’s worth, she agrees with me.”
“So what can I do?”