"Did he take the boy?"
"Yes—you know he won't leave any star system without the stasis coffin. He knows only your warlocks can remove the boy, and that won't happen until a cure is found for the disease."
"Convenient to have a Blevakian under your control and leading your army, eh?" Vardil smiled for the first time in days.
"Bleek is the most effective general I've ever seen."
"We'll have his undying gratitude and continued service if we find a cure for the boy."
"I know. The warlock tells me he is constantly searching for that very thing—when he has free time," Magul dipped his head to Vardil.
"Is it always this humid here?" Vardil complained, turning Magul's attention away from Bleek and his son. Vardil knew the truth about the boy; Bleek, Magul and the others believed the lies they'd been told. Vardil had reason to keep it that way.
"My Lord, the moment you change to a Mar'Dun body, you will be acclimated," Magul claimed.
"Then I look forward to that. Make it soon, Magul."
"It will be as you say, my Lord."
* * *
Quin
My training with Sursee Salidar began the following day, after breakfast. "Hit your attacker across the eyes with your feathers—it may effectively blind them for a moment or two. That is long enough to deliver a blow or fly away."
By the end of the session, I could aim the ends of my primary feathers to strike an attacker in the eyes. Salidar wore protective glasses for the exercise, so he wouldn't be injured.
I was grateful it was only the two of us in training—no others had come to watch. I was also grateful that he didn't belittle me when I failed to deliver a proper blow; perhaps sureness and confidence would come as I perfected my skills.
When the session was over, I bowed to him as was proper, and thanked him for his instruction.
I hadn't wept once, and I was grateful for that.
* * *
"How it go?" Yanzi grinned at me when I arrived in our suite.
"It was all right," I shrugged. "He didn't yell."
"Glad," he nodded. "Need bath now?"
"Yes." My answer was short and emphatic.
"Queen send clothes—you have much to wear," his grin widened. "Terrett in closet, looking at yours and his."
"Terrett has new clothes?" I was more excited for him, I think.
"Yes. Much. Get clean. Then you see."
Terrett was dressed casually in new clothing when we left our suite for lunch. He looked quite fine and I told him so. I received a smile and a swift hug for my observances.
Terrett and I weren't the only ones with something new to wear—Justis wore a ring and wrist cuff I'd never seen before. I blinked for a moment while information soaked into my mind—both items were spelled to protect him.
I was grateful to those who'd supplied that protection. I had no idea what we might face in our hunt for Cayetes; therefore, any protection offered I would gladly accept.
Salidar, Kooper Griff and several others joined us at the Queen's table. Kooper had information from several agents, all of whom supplied possible sightings or evidence of Cayetes.
"He can't have been in all those places—those span star systems and several are within an Alliance—either Campiaan or Reth," Salidar pointed out. "He hasn't been seen on an Alliance world in decades. He sends his flunkies to do the dirty work on Alliance worlds."
"He has warlocks at his disposal," Queen Lissa observed. "Although you're right about some of these—he'd have to bend time to appear there on the dates given."
"At least we know that's out of the question," Bel said. "A warlock can do a lot, but bending time has never been one of our given talents."
"You don't know how happy I am about that," Lissa smiled at her grandson. He grinned back at her.
"This is the one I'm worried about," Kooper said, pointing at a dot on the vid-map hovering over the table. "Bodies have been disappearing regularly."
"Where?" Lissa asked.
"Vic'Law," Kooper replied. "It started recently, and coincides with Cayetes' disappearance on Vogeffa I."
"Perhaps you should make arrangements, then," Lissa stood and moved around the table. Kooper tapped his comp-vid to enlarge the hovering image. "Vic'Law applied to join the Campiaan Alliance six years ago. Their application was rejected."
"A good sign that they're harboring the criminal element. Perhaps one of Cayetes' friends offered to conceal him."
"I suppose that's possible," Lissa agreed. "Whatever the reason, I can't get a lock on what's going on. That spells Sirenali involvement to me. No offense, Terrett."
Terrett shook his head, telling her silently that he'd not taken offense. He knew as well as anyone what might be accomplished by a Sirenali—employed or enslaved—by a criminal.
"I can be ready to go in an hour," Kaldill said. "Kooper, do you have a place for us to stay?"
"I can sort something out," Kooper nodded. "If you're ready to leave in two hours, I think I can have accommodations for you by then."
We'd received our marching orders, as Queen Lissa put it. I hoped Vic'Law was more hospitable than Gungl had been.
* * *
Lissa
"I hope we're circumventing the Orb, here," I said. I couldn't help pacing, although Karzac asked me to sit beside him on the end of my bed.
"Whether you are or not, I'm sure it will make its presence known eventually."
"Yeah." I sat beside him, then. He accommodated my unspoken request and pulled me close. "We haven't told them everything yet—in case the Orb shows up and tosses them elsewhere the moment they get to Vic'Law. Kooper says it'll only muddy the water if they memorize what must immediately be forgotten. Bel says he'll keep us informed," I said, settling my head on Karzac's shoulder.
"He will," Karzac soothed. "As will Kaldill."
"Kaldill isn't my grandson," I mumbled.
"I know. We can only do as much as we can do," he stroked a thumb gently across my cheek. "Bel has much of his grandmother in him. He will find his way."
"Erland says the same."
"Erland is wise. Come, they are preparing to leave. We will see them off."
* * *
Quin
Daragar would transport us—he'd already offered. It didn't matter how much we wanted to take—he would bring all of it.
Several of the Queen's comesuli packed everything for Terrett and me; therefore, we had little to do except fret while we waited.
Yanzi and Berel pulled us to the arboretum, where we found Kaldill, Justis, Lafe and Bel. Berel took my hand and led me to the glass surrounding the arboretum, then pointed out Casino City in the distance. I squinted to find other landmarks he described in the constant darkness surrounding the palace.
"I wish to see Avii Castle when we return," I said. I knew it lay in deep waters on the light half of the planet, and Dena had explained how they'd added shutters to every window, so they could close off the constant sunlight when necessary. The castle's residents found it easier to sleep that way.
"I'll make sure of it," Berel agreed. "The waters are rougher there, but that doesn't keep curious tourists away—many travel to Le-Ath Veronis just to see the castle, when they used to come in droves to gamble in Casino City."
"Either way, it's on everyone's list to see while they're here," Justis joined us at the window. "I always worry that Jurris will open the castle for tours, too, which will upset everything. The troops are distracted enough as it is."
"Justis and his troops pull thrill seekers from the water regularly. They jump off the boats, trying to swim to the castle, hoping they'll get a peek inside. They're dumped back on the boats, instead."
"I think they like getting hauled in by a winged soldier," Kaldill said. "Lendill lets me know when the social sites blow up with another vid—everybody on the tour boat records the rescues."
"Are you in vids?" I turned to Justis.
"More than I want to be," he grumbled. I laughed.
"It is time," Daragar said behind us. "I have already transported all your things to the designated site. Director Griff has outlined a reason for your presence on Vic'Law. You will find that information waiting for you there."
Forcing down sudden fear, I turned to face Daragar. I will be with you often, he reassured me.
I love you, I replied.
And I you.
With that, we were transported from Le-Ath Veronis.
* * *
"This isn't what I expected," Berel whispered as we looked about us. We found ourselves inside a small palace, with more than enough space and bedrooms for everyone.
"Kooper says we're running from the ASD," Salidar said, holding up a comp-vid. Somehow, he'd arrived with us, although he hadn't been in the Arboretum when the rest of us were moved.
"We're criminals? That didn't take long," Bel joked.
"Wealthy criminals," Kaldill observed. "We need a few servants to make this look real."
"You will be hiring," Kooper appeared to make the announcement. "I've placed agents inside the city—you'll hire them from the applicant pool."
"They know how to cook and clean?" Kaldill lifted an eyebrow.
"In addition to carrying weapons and handling them expertly," Kooper nodded. "I've laid the groundwork—you're drug smugglers that the ASD has finally caught up with, precipitating your removal from Le-Ath Veronis. You're wanted by the Queen, now."
"It appears drug smuggling is quite lucrative," Justis grimaced.
"You're wealthy—wealthy enough to live here for years without lifting a finger," Kooper agreed. "There's one other thing."
"I'll tell them," Kaldill said. "Except for Quin, Terrett and Justis, who weren't included in the initial requests, I've adjusted everyone else's appearance to match those on the application sent by the original criminals. To anyone else who sees the rest of you, you'll look different. You'll still be the same—to yourselves and the rest of us, but the outside world will see something different. Those images will also match the ones distributed by the ASD, who are now actively hunting us—according to their records."
"Those images are on the comp-vid Salidar has," Kooper said. "Study the images so you'll recognize them. Vic'Law allows for an extra six people to travel with those submitting the application; those six generally are wives, concubines or lovers. Quin, Terrett and Justis are the only three added to the original application."
"They will not see me as Larentii," Daragar supplied. "My humanoid disguise is included in those images."
This was becoming far more complicated than I'd expected. I wondered why they'd waited to tell us this, but shrugged it off. My mission was to find Vardil Cayetes and destroy him. I hoped it wouldn't take long to do so.
* * *
We'd arrived in the Vic'Law city of Der'Vek during the night, therefore, I didn't get to see the extensive grounds surrounding our palace until the following morning. Daragar and Kaldill had set perimeter shields so nobody could get inside without their permission while we slept.
I'd slept badly—the bed was fine enough, but the strangeness of the place unsettled me. Terrett and Yanzi hadn't fared much better—both were in the kitchen when I wandered in. I was offered tea and eggs. I accepted both.
"Der'Vek has six millions," Yanzi informed me while raking scrambled eggs onto my plate. "Will find fruit later," he promised.
"Big city, then," I nodded. "The eggs are wonderful," I chewed a mouthful.
"Reah teach," he grinned.
Sal says that people are disappearing from the poorer sections of Der'Vek, Terrett sent mindspeech to Yanzi and me. We must find an excuse to go there.
"That easy," Yanzi shrugged. "Claim missing kinsman. Ask questions. See what we find."
"Not bad," Justis joined us, taking a seat at the wide table. "We can say he had some reason to go there, then disappeared."
"We're working on it," Salidar arrived and set a mug on the table. He'd already had tea—that was evident.
"I've spoken with Kooper," he said. "After training," he turned to give me a stiff nod, "we'll venture into the city. It may take a day or two to officially lose an imaginary member of our party, but it'll be easy after that."
* * *
I discovered what Sal had been doing after rising so early; he'd turned a small ballroom into his dojo. That's what he called it, anyway. The wall decorations and lighting fixtures clashed with the canvas-padded floor, the racks of weights and wooden practice swords, but he refused to notice or apologize.
The main thing I carried away from my first lesson on Vic'Law was this; move faster, punch harder.
* * *
Der'Vek reminded me of my first sight of Kondar—tall, glass-clad buildings towered over shorter neighbors, leaving them in shadow during parts of the day. With six million inhabitants, it shouldn't be a surprise to see such a modern, sprawling city.
"There are strict laws, here," Berel informed me as our hovercar carried us along. "Littering is punished by a harsh beating, as are several other, somewhat minor infractions."
"I don't think I want to know what the more serious punishments are," I said, although I'd already seen it in his face.
Public beatings were handed out by a brutal constabulary. Berel's research on Vic'Law suggested that the criminals who ran the planet were very particular about what their residents could and couldn't do. Perhaps they took pleasure in another's pain—Yevil certainly had, and he was among the worst I'd ever seen.
As I hadn't met any of these yet, I couldn't say what their eyes and faces might reveal. The thought made me shudder.
"Are you cold?" Berel asked after witnessing my shiver.
"No. I was thinking about Vic'Law's criminal overseers."
The day was fine, sunny and cold—late fall had come to Der'Vek. Rain and storms were predicted later in the eight-day, but today was a good one to explore the city.
Newer streets were wide enough for eight lanes of hovercars; older streets were narrower and barely able to handle the passage of two going in opposite directions. Streets were clear of any type of debris; disposal recyclers were spaced evenly along the pedestrian sections.
"Almost everyone works for the government in some way, and as you know, the government is made up of criminals. Everything is mostly owned by the government, and housing is provided, according to your job," Salidar said. "We're here in place of the real criminals who had to apply to move here—Kooper and his agents shut down their operation on Le-Ath Veronis not long ago."
"I wouldn't be surprised to get a visit from the landlord, so to speak, and yes, we had to pay for the privilege of living where we do," Kaldill said. "Only a few are allowed to own land or the homes and businesses built on it—we're included in that lucky few."
"So the ones we're impersonating had to pass a strict eligibility test?" I asked.
"Yes," Kaldill smiled at me. "Very strict. The amount of money at our disposal was a rather large factor."
"What about the poorer sections, then?" I went on. "Do they work?"
"Most of them do, but they do physical labor. Many are disabled—as you can imagine, there are no government programs to take care of them if they are injured and can't work. They're often shuffled off to the slums in the hopes that they'll die. Sometimes those who live there take pity on them and share their food and housing. Some families are able to do the same; usually that means a better standard of living, although no food allowances are given for the disabled ones. Families have to stretch everything to feed another hungry mouth."
"Most of them die," Berel muttered. "It's the way things are, here."
"Reproduction is held to a minimum—the government doesn't want overpopulation," Sal explained. "They measure the deaths against allowed births. Mandatory sterilization is often their answer."
"This is a terrible place," I whispered, hugging myself as I studied the modern, overly clean city outside the hovercar's windows.
"Gungl had some sort of freedom," La
fe offered. "After you discount Cayetes' involvement."
"How did you get information on the disappearances?" Berel asked. "If Cayetes is here, I doubt the government, such as it is, would report it."
"Kooper and Teeg have agents here," Sal explained. "They live and work among the population. In effect, they're residents. We'll be hiring a few of them to work for us."
"I wish we could hire some of those disabled ones," I sighed. "I think I could make them better."
"My dear, you'd have to hide them from now on if you did that—the government has them micro-chipped and identified as disabled." Kaldill wore an expression of pity for those who couldn't be helped.
We can't fix everything, Justis sent.
We can try, I returned. He responded by rubbing his forehead.
"Where do the shops get their wares—are there factories?" Berel asked.
"Yes—owned by criminals, just as the businesses are. Prices are too high, as you might imagine," Sal clarified.
"Don't worry," Kaldill said. "Daragar and I will see to it that we are well-supplied during our stay. Our new employees will gather our allowances from the appropriate local places, but what we lack will be brought in."
"What about the criminals—do they bring supplies in, too?" I asked.
"Yes. They have ships that transport whatever they want," Sal answered. "They merely think that nobody else is entitled to those things."
"People live like slaves," Yanzi observed. I agreed with him, as I'd dealt with much the same thing most of my life.
"How will we hire the right ones, then, if the government has so much control?" I asked.
"That's one of the things our money purchases for us—our choice in domestic servants," Kaldill replied. "Names and images will be supplied—we will make appropriate selections."
I'd stopped looking at the city before we made our way back to our new home—I was no longer curious about any part of it—it was a shining surface, concealing a terrible disease.
Chapter 5
Quin
"Here are the images and work experience for those available," Kaldill set a comp-vid before me at breakfast the following morning. I found myself hoping Sal would have mercy on me during training—I hadn't slept well for the second night in a row.
BlackWing: First Ordinance, Book 3 Page 6