“You must be brave, huntress. We must treat your injuries before we take you from here.”
His voice came to her through the thick fog of her pain, but she was too far gone to think logically.
“It hurts,” she sobbed. “Please don’t hit me anymore. Please, please.”
A seasoned warrior in troubled times, Greghar had seen more than his share of violence, pain, suffering, and death. But he had never been so affected before. Her words tore his heart from his chest, and he did not speak immediately for fear that his voice would break and betray him. He twisted the towel in his hands. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke carefully and slowly in Pranto.
“Lady Caitlin, it is I, Greghar,” he said, using her name for the first time. “I curse myself for allowing you to be taken and for coming too late to save you from horrible injury and suffering. It was not for want of trying. But I am here now, and you must listen to me.”
Her eyes fluttered, and the intensity of the pain increased as she rose into semiconsciousness. She gasped loudly, then resumed her labored breathing. Her eyes finally opened, but her vision was blurry, and his visage swam drunkenly. But she did recognize him.
“Greghar? I knew you would come for me.” She began to cry, fresh tears coursing down the damp tracks on her face. “You have become my dear friend. I would rather die by your hand than any other barbarian.” She gasped as another spasm of pain seized her. “Please kill me now and release me from Nestar Crogus. I am weak, my body is broken, and I cannot fight him anymore.”
Greghar felt a pain in his gut as she said ‘dear friend’ and called him a barbarian. Durga smiled grimly.
“Don’t cry, my lady,” said Greghar, laboring to keep his voice steady. “And do not talk of death—we are here to take you away, out of Nestar’s reach. But to do so, we must set your leg first. It will be very painful, but I have faith in your bravery and strength. You must bite down on this towel when you feel the pain grip you.”
He leaned forward and placed the rolled-up towel on her lips. Obediently she took it in her teeth. Elena tried as hard as she could to minimize the movement, but Caitlin still bit down hard and uttered a muffled scream as her broken femur was set. As Elena, aided by Ielani, began to splint her thigh, she mercifully passed out again.
Greghar hoped desperately that Nestar would spend some more time being feted and toasted by his captains. His wish was granted, for the corridor outside remained silent. Durga had secured her zircon lasso to some exposed piping. Opening the main viewport, she vaulted over the sill and disappeared from view.
“Take the little one and follow the First Maiden down,” said Ielani to Greghar. “Elena and I will lower Lady Caitlin down in the stretcher. Then we will follow her down.”
Greghar nodded. Nitya came to him obediently and mounted his back, using his pack as a harness as she had before. He backed out of the viewport much more ponderously than Durga. However, with his great strength, it was not too difficult for him to lower himself down, hand over hand. The closer he got to the ground, the more confident he got and the faster he moved. It was only a matter of minutes before Nitya and he were standing beside Durga.
It took a few more minutes for the litter to appear far above them. It swayed gently from side to side as the two Maidens lowered it as rapidly as they dared. Durga and Greghar positioned themselves to receive it. Elena and Ielani felt the slack on the lassos once the two below grasped and cradled the litter. Working hurriedly but efficiently, they untethered all the lassos in the room and dropped them out of the viewport. Then they donned their base chutes and leaped out of the viewport, gliding to land only a few yards away from the waiting party on the ground.
“Greghar, the four of us will carry the litter,” said Durga, speaking fast and in a low tone. “Keep an eye on the little one. There is no telling who is in any of these sacked buildings, and in the current atmosphere of fear, even one of our own sisters may raise the alarm. We will return to the Government Benefits Office—at least we know who is likely to be in there. Double time, quick but smooth.”
“I hear and obey,” murmured Elena and Ielani in unison.
Greghar did not respond but picked up his corner of the litter by its pole end when the others did. They moved much more quickly now that they knew where they were going. They approached the Flume Bridge with caution but were relieved to find that their disposal of the sentries there had not yet been noticed. They knew that they did not have much time—any minute now Nestar would discover that his bride was missing, and every Skull Watchman in Ostracis would be looking for them.
Durga’s plan of sheltering in the Government Benefits Office and out of sight is a good one, Greghar thought as they crossed the Flume Bridge. On the far side of the bridge, they walked down the alley toward their destination. The light flurries had turned into a heavier snowfall. Good, thought Greghar, putting his tongue out to taste a flake. The falling snow will make us less visible to the prying eyes in the buildings we pass and will also obliterate our tracks.
They entered the wrecked Benefits Office and made their way back down the winding stair to the underground basement. This time the two Zon emerged from the shadows and approached them, saying they were hungry and begging for food. Durga inclined her head at Elena, who reached into her pack and handed each a thick biscuit. They sat on broken crates and ate ravenously.
They set the litter down, and Elena went down on her knees to assess Caitlin’s state. After examining her for a few moments, she stood and came over to the others.
“I don’t like her condition,” she said worriedly. “She is beginning to develop a fever. If infection sets in, her life will be in danger. And the longer we delay surgery on her leg and arm, the more complicated it will become.”
“You must summon Dannae Margelina,” urged Ielani. “She needs a medica. And we cannot get her out of Ostracis without an airboat.”
Greghar and Nitya refrained from adding their own entreaties as Durga’s browed knitted. She traced the complex contours of her facial tattoo as she weighed her options. Finally, she spoke.
“You are right…there are only bad options,” she said flatly. “I hate to drag Dannae Margelina into this, especially with her advanced pregnancy, but we have no choice.”
She tapped her wrist bracer, opening a comm channel to Dannae. It did not go through right away, and Durga began to tap her boot heel impatiently. Finally it was opened, and the hologram of Dannae in the infirmary at Simrania appeared. As Durga had predicted, her accelerated gestation meant that she was heavily pregnant. She wore a loose, flowing shift that cloaked her distended belly and enlarged breasts. The only uniform items she wore were her wrist bracers and metal choker. But what caused them all to start with surprise was her face. She now had a characteristic Maidens’ tattoo, which encircled her left eye and continued down to her choker.
“First Maiden, I am delighted to see you strong and well,” said Dannae. “How may I be of service?”
Durga quickly told her of their predicament and the necessity for her to join them.
“I am assuming, of course, that you can fly a Mark II,” Durga concluded.
“First Maiden, when I was at the Academy, we used Mark IIs as trainers,” Dannae assured her. “I am not a combat pilot, but I can fly one of those jalopies. The ones we trained on were pretty beat up.”
“The one we have in Simrania is worse than beat up,” put in Ielani. “Half the instruments don’t work. And the engines are a bit iffy—they tend to stall if you open up the throttles too far.”
“I’ll check it out,” said Dannae confidently.
“How will you do that?” asked Elena. “You are a medica, not a mechanica.”
“We all had rudimentary mechanics at the Academy,” said Dannae, smiling. “And I am secure in the knowledge that the divine Ma will watch over and guide me.”
Elena and Ielani exchanged glances, but Durga smiled broadly.
“That’s the spirit!” she said
heartily. “Load up some batteries and use my authority to put together a squad of Maidens to accompany you. Stay above fifteen thousand meters—that will keep you out of medium ’grator range. Open a comm channel to me when you enter the Steefen Gorge, and we’ll vector you in.”
“I hear and obey, First Maiden,” said Dannae, with more conviction than she felt.
Dannae did not cut the comm channel as they expected. She kept the channel open, staring past Durga’s shoulder. Her face registered a mixture of incredulity and sadness. Durga whirled around and saw the younger Zon with auburn curls standing behind her, the expression on her face mirroring Dannae’s. The medica uttered a single word.
“Clodine,” she said.
Clodine began to sniff and then sob. Her words tumbled out in such disorder that much of what she said was incomprehensible.
“Oh, Dannae … they raped me … again and again … first Nestar Crogus and then so many of them … they beat me … I have lost everything … oh, you were right … without discipline, we are lost … I never imagined it could be so horrible …”
Durga stepped up to Clodine and without a word, held her tight in her powerful arms. She knew that it was Dannae’s voice that Clodine sought.
“Clodine,” said Dannae again. “I never dreamed this could happen. Ostracis has stood unmolested for almost five hundred years.”
She reached forward in the hologram and petted Clodine virtually. “I am coming, darling. I will hold you again. I promise.”
YUKIA REMAINED COWERING below the inner wall battlements exactly where Deirdre had thrust her. Everyone around her seemed engaged in frenetic activity, even as the numerals on her chronometer seemed to move with agonizing slowness. Her mind had registered that they were under attack, and the military personnel all seemed purposeful and unafraid. In contrast she was petrified, recognizing, albeit dimly, that she had narrowly escaped death herself.
After what seemed like an age later, the arrogant Guardian centuria, Lady Alexandra Sheel, strode up to her, leaned down, and snapped, “Stay still, Yukia!”
Without ceremony, Alex roughly twisted her wrists behind her back and applied force restraints. Before Yukia could protest, she found herself gagged. Then a black bag was fastened over her head, cutting off her sight. She struggled, but strong hands lifted and physically moved her. She was thrown onto a cold metal floor, and the next sensation she had was of takeoff. She was being kidnapped!
She briefly struggled and tried to cry out but quickly realized the futility of it and was still. She was used to giving orders, and the enormity of the change left her too confused to formulate a coherent plan. She managed twist herself around and sit up, but deprived of sight and much of her hearing, she could not figure out much. Where are they taking me? she wondered frantically. Again time passed slowly, till she felt the airboat begin its descent.
The landing was smooth and again she was lifted up and moved. This time she recognized that she was being taken down the airboat ramp and then placed in the back of a speeder. She heard the engine whine, and they moved off. It was only a short drive, after which she was lifted out and placed in a motorized cart. She heard the portals hiss and realized she was being driven into a building. Finally, she was lifted out of this conveyance, placed on a chair, and the bag was untied and taken off her head.
The lights in the room were bright, and she blinked and tried to focus her eyes. When her vision cleared, she almost choked on her gag. The three people arrayed in front of her were Praefecta Kyra Merlina, Princess Andromache Saxe, and the queen! There were also a dozen armed Guardians in the room.
The Queen was dressed semiformally and looked dazzling. However, in place of her normal warm expression was a cold and forbidding look that Yukia had never seen before. She gestured to one of the Guardians.
“Take off her gag.”
As soon as her gag was removed, Yukia worked her dry tongue, and the first thing she said was, “Water, please.”
Hildegard nodded, and a bottle of water with a spout appeared. She drank gratefully. As soon as she had swallowed, she looked around at them balefully, becoming more comfortable now that she knew she was in Zon hands.
“This will not serve you well, Your Majesty,” she said nastily. “Kidnapping me and bringing me here in these inhumane conditions. My audience on LOS will be most interested to hear more from me about the highhandedness of the electrae.”
“You are under arrest, Yukia Rabbina,” said Hildegard frostily. “You will not be returning to your live site now or ever again. We have enough evidence to convict you of high treason. In addition, you are involved in the assassination of Princess Deirdre, First Principal of our armed forces. We are at war, and I have declared a state of emergency. I have constituted a tribunal to render a swift sentence in your case.”
“What evidence do you have? I demand to see my counselor—”
“You have no rights!” snapped Andromache. “Her Majesty, Praefecta Kyra, and I have reviewed all the evidence. You are only here to hear your sentence.”
“The evidence is overwhelming,” said Hildegard, now allowing a sad note to enter her voice. “Why did you plot with Vivia against the Sisterhood, Yukia? Are you so base that you would throw your own sisters to the barbarians? I have no choice but to find you guilty and sentence you to death.”
“You cannot do that!” Yukia screamed shrilly. “We are the Zon Sisterhood; we have laws, rules, and procedures—”
“Not in wartime, my dear,” said Hildegard. “My Guardians will help you up and place you against the wall. You will be shot immediately.”
“No! No! This cannot be! I am young and beautiful!” Yukia kept screaming as they picked up her and dragged her to the wall, kicking and struggling. They were about to put the black bag over her head again when Kyra spoke up.
“Your Majesty, perhaps she may be spared if she testifies against her mistress, Vivia Pragarina.”
Yukia heard this and clutched at the straw immediately.
“Yes, yes! I will testify! I will tell you everything! The dynamite, our dealings with the trader Numius, the agreement with the Hilsons, everything!”
There was silence in the room. Yukia began to babble, spilling out every detail she knew, and the recorders monitoring the room saved every syllable.
Hildegard opened a comm channel to Alex.
“Centuria Lady Alexandra,” she said as soon as Alex responded. “You may proceed to arrest the commoner, Darbeni Milsina, in my name. Bring her immediately to Chateau Regina in Atlantic City in force restraints.”
No sooner had Alex said, “I hear and obey, Your Majesty,” than Hildegard turned to Kyra.
“Praefecta, I believe you may now revoke Vivia Pragarina’s bail and arrest her. Bring her to the Cabinet Chamber in force restraints. Let us root out this nest of traitors once and for all.”
THE SCENE IN the Cabinet Chamber was hushed, and the lights were turned down. Hildegard sat at the head of the long table, dressed as before. She unconsciously adjusted the semiformal crown, thinking how ironic it was that the current run of tragic events had secured it on her head. Andromache and Kyra sat on her right and left, her second handmaiden stood behind her, and half a dozen armed Guardians were in the chamber. The comm pinged. It was the seignora of the watch, who said, “Your Majesty, Centuria Lady Alexandra has arrived with the prisoner Darbeni Milsina.”
“Send her in,” said Hildegard. “And please have a detail bring in Vivia Pragarina at the same time.”
“I hear and obey,” said the seignora, cutting the channel.
Andromache felt her heart beat faster as the big doors to the chamber were opened, and the prisoner detail entered in formation. They were led by Alex in full dress uniform, wearing the sash identifying her as the First Handmaiden to the Queen. Six Guardians in dress uniforms flanked the two prisoners, Vivia and Darbeni. Vivia was beautifully dressed in her characteristic style, adorned with expensive jewelry and perfectly coiffed. Darbeni was in her s
evere professional clothes. But while Vivia looked confident and defiant, Darbeni’s eyes were downcast, and she looked afraid.
They were brought to the foot of the long table. The Queen’s second handmaiden stepped up to Hildegard’s side, thumped her halberd on the ground, and announced, “The tribunal considering the charge of high treason against Vivia Pragarina and Darbeni Milsina is convened.”
Vivia arched an eyebrow, irritated that she was not accorded her courtesy title of “High Mistress.”
“What nonsense is this, Your Majesty?” she asked disdainfully. “On what grounds has my bail been revoked? I have received no reversal from the city court. Your Guardians broke into the Confederation Tower and have brought me here by force. I promise you, I will sue the crown for substantial damages.”
“You have received nothing from the city court because I have declared a state of emergency,” said Hildegard coldly. “Your detention and trial by tribunal are being carried out under the emergency powers granted to me in wartime. In the event, we have all the evidence we need. We have Yukia, and she has confessed everything.”
Vivia’s eyelids fluttered for the briefest instant, but she was back in control of herself almost immediately.
“Yukia’s performance has been sliding, and I am on the verge of firing her,” said Vivia dismissively. “Is that all you have? Her word against mine?”
Hildegard did not deign to reply but merely nodded to Kyra, who signaled one of the Guardians. Within moments, a very clear and vivid hologram was projected onto the long table. It showed Darbeni, sumptuously attired and walking down the ramp of the pod in the courtyard of Castle Goset. As she reached the end of the ramp, Kantus Hilson appeared in the hologram, saying “I am Cheval Kantus Hilson. In the name of Duke Artor Hilson, I welcome you to Goset Castle.”
Darbeni paled and began to shake. Even Vivia was left at a loss for words. The hologram played on, following Darbeni, Kantus, and the others in the courtyard until they entered the keep. Vivia waited with bated breath to see if there was further material. To her intense relief, there was none. Her quick mind worked furiously. The military had obviously put a tracking chip on her airboat. Fortunately it had not been on Darbeni’s person; Vivia’s sharp eye had deduced that this was long-range holography. This meant that they could not have direct evidence of her deal with Kantus to place Deirdre and Yukia in his sights. She cursed Kantus inwardly for failing to kill Yukia. He is a dull instrument, she thought. I will have to replace him.
The Empire of the Zon Page 49