Down Among the Dead

by K. B. Wagers

  I’d been here so many times in my life. Disembarking from a ship with armed people at my back to face off against another group of armed people, hoping the whole time we could get through it without bloodshed.

  So many times we were lucky, thanks to Hao’s silver tongue. Or to mine. So many times we made it back to the ship in one piece—or mostly one piece.

  I didn’t think we were going to be so lucky this time.

  I paused at the edge of the Hailimi Bristol and looked down at the smooth white surface of the landing pad. The patterned material stretched out toward a building that looked to be made of all right angles and shouldn’t be standing upright.

  “What’s the holdup, Hail?” Jo kept her voice low, one hand on the gun at her hip as she scanned the horizon with her ice-blue gaze.

  “No holdup,” I replied. “Just a little sense of reverence. I’m about to be the first human to set foot on—”

  Before I could stop her, Johar stepped off the ship, her black boots making a thudding sound as they hit the white surface.

  “—the Farian homeworld.”

  Zin choked back a laugh from behind me. I looked skyward; a pale pink sunrise was spreading over a gray palette, painting light into the dim sky. I dragged in a breath before I looked back down at Jo.

  She was grinning up at me. “You get to be Star of Indrana.”

  I stepped off the ship. “Enjoy it while you can. We’re probably all going to be dead soon.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  “You know it.” I let the smile fade as the group of white-clad Farians emerged from the building. “Eyes up, everyone. Here we go.” Straightening my shoulders, I strode down the gleaming surface toward them.

  As we drew closer, I spotted Adora. The man standing next to her was Itegas Rotem with his distinctive gray hair and platinum eyes. The other three on either side of them must have been the remainder of the Pedalion, unless I missed my guess.

  There were what I assumed were guards behind them, sharp-eyed men who were, surprisingly, armed with rifles I’d never seen before. They were sleek, blue-gray things. Smaller than the 67 Pulse rifle so popular among resistance fighters across the galaxy, but not by much, and they looked just as lethal.

  “Hey, Jo,” I subvocalized over the com link. “A little later, will you sweet-talk one of those guards into letting you get a closer look at their weapon?”

  “Can do.”

  There were what I guessed were news cameras, floating above the heads of the Pedalion, and my father’s voice slipped into my ear. The gentle reminder he’d always given us as children.

  “Smile for the cameras, girls.”

  So I did. It was not the bright, innocent smile of a young princess but the slow, knowing smile of a woman who might be on enemy territory but was sure she had the upper hand in whatever was to come.

  And I did. As long as something didn’t go horribly wrong.

  I stopped a little over a meter away from the Pedalion. Adora bowed, the gesture followed by the others. “Star of Indrana, welcome to Faria.” Her greeting was in Indranan, not Farian, and a reminder of just how easily they’d woven themselves into my empire right before our very eyes.

  “Itegas Notaras.” I nodded. “Itegas Rotem.”

  “Star of Indrana.” Rotem had a hand on Adora’s arm and I watched his fingers flex slightly as he greeted me in Indranan also. “We welcome you to Faria; if you and your people will follow me?”

  “Gladly. Before we go, a reminder to stay off my ship. My people have orders to shoot anyone trying to board without my permission.”

  This time Rotem’s smile was sharp. “I will gently remind you that you are here as a guest.”

  “As the Empress of Indrana”—I smiled a deadly smile of my own—“and the first human visitor to Faria, it’s best if I have some sovereign territory, don’t you think, Itegas? And that ship is mine.”

  Oh, there was the flash of anger in that otherwise impassive face. However, Rotem inclined his head and when he came up it was wiped clean. “You are correct, Star of Indrana. Faria values our relationship with your empire.”

  “And you acknowledge my ship as Indranan soil?”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you hear that, Your Highness?” I asked out loud, over the com link that was funneled through the ship.

  “I did, Your Majesty,” Alice replied. “Pass our thanks on to the Pedalion for their gracious treatment of you and your crew.”

  “My heir, Crown Princess Alice Gohil, extends her thanks to you and the rest of Faria for the welcome and the assurance of our safety.” I kept my smile steady, instead of the grin I wanted to let spread over my face. I’d just forced him into making a public declaration.

  The Hailimi Bristol was now, essentially, an Indranan embassy, perched on a landing pad in what looked to be the heart of their capital. Inviolate and protected and best of all, witnessed by Alice and the Matriarch Council back home on Pashati.

  Adora was poking at that tooth. Rotem’s smile was now strained. And the other members of the Pedalion—two women and an older man—stared at me with expressions ranging from outright shock to amusement.

  Rotem gestured to the left. “If you’ll follow me.”

  Adora held her tongue until we were through the doorway, the smooth white surface sliding closed and cutting us off from the cameras. She grabbed for me and I knocked her hand out of the way as Emmory pulled his Hessian.

  42

  The guards behind us froze in the act of reaching for their weapons at a snapped order from the older man on my right. I put a hand on Emmory’s arm and he reholstered his weapon at my wordless command.

  “How dare you!” Adora’s cheeks were red with fury. “You bring these monsters to our home.”

  “I dare what is necessary for the safety of humanity. I dare this to protect Farian and Shen lives,” I replied. “I am here to put an end to this needless conflict, Adora. A grudge that may have had merit once but that has gone on for far too long. All this is wrapped up in the whims of your gods and the subservience of the Pedalion for your own obsession with power.”

  She grabbed again; this time I let her close her fingers around my bare wrist and she smiled in triumph. “Have you forgotten what we are capable of?”

  “Adora!”

  I stepped closer and bared my teeth. “Do it.”

  “You bring this on yourself,” she replied. There was a beat and the pain she brought to bear was a pale, laughable shadow of what I’d been through. It was possible she was trying to kill me, but nothing happened, and the realization poured into Adora’s horrified look like a cup being filled.

  “What have you done?” The question was directed over my shoulder at Aiz. I turned to look as he smiled and lifted a shoulder.

  “What was necessary, sister. The Star agreed. She is safe from your touch and the touch of any who would harm her that way.”

  “You might be safe, but your people aren’t.” The challenge was issued with a snarl. I was impressed by her willingness to show her hand so early in the game, but Rotem was frowning and the other members of the Pedalion looked shocked by her behavior.

  But the interesting part was no one moved to intervene. A member of the Farian government had essentially attacked the Empress of Indrana and they all stood and let her. Which meant two things were likely: Adora had more power here than I’d guessed, and everyone else was afraid of her.

  I twisted easily from her grasp, curving my fingers around her wrist and clamping down. “You think I would protect myself and not them?” I stared down into Adora’s eyes. It was tempting, so very tempting to send the anger growing in my chest back into her as pain, but I clamped down on the urge.

  Don’t give your advantages away.

  “But test it, if you’d like, and see what kind of fire I rain down on you as a response. We are here to negotiate, Itegas, not act like spoiled children.”

  She jerked away from me and I let her go. “You think you c
an just walk in here and dictate the end of a war that has raged for longer than you humans have been alive? You have been fouled, corrupted, de—”

  “Adora!” Rotem snapped, his voice cracking through the air like a whip as she finally crossed some imaginary boundary. “You will show the Star of Indrana respect.”

  “That’ll be the day,” I muttered, earning a sharp look from Rotem and a bark of laughter from the older man standing behind him.

  “Itegas Rotem, if I may interrupt and give Adora a moment to compose herself before there’s any further embarrassment or worse, an accident. We should do some introductions before we continue.” The older man had gray hair, and eyes of sparkling silver. He bowed low. “Star of Indrana, it gives me great pleasure to be in your presence. I am Itegas Sou Efty. This is Itegas Yadira Calmier and Itegas Delphine Hessa.” The pair of women were taller than Adora with golden eyes and nearly identical shoulder-length red curls. Neither looked particularly sympathetic, though it was hard to tell.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” I folded my hands together and bowed in return, keeping my head up and my eyes on them. “I realize the unusual nature of my arrival may have upset how you normally do things; however, I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the Pedalion in a formal setting. It is imperative we attempt to resurrect the negotiations that were disrupted on Earth.”

  “Of course,” Sou replied with another kind smile. “First we should get you and your friends settled.” He held a hand up, stalling any protest the others of the Pedalion looked to be about to offer. “Despite Adora’s unpleasantness, I will not have it said around the galaxy that we treated our first human visitors with anything less than respect; if anyone is in disagreement on this, you can resign your post right now.”

  No one said a word.

  I offered my arm, Sou took it, and the sly wink he sent my way almost had me laughing into the frozen silence.

  “We will leave you with our guests, Sou,” Rotem said finally. The foursome turned and headed back the way we had entered, the guards following.

  “Aiz, it is a delight to see you again.” Sou released me to hold out his arms, and to my utter surprise Aiz stepped into the embrace, hugging the Farian back.

  “What?” Aiz asked when they separated and saw my quirked eyebrow.

  “Didn’t think you cared for Farians, but you keep hugging them.”

  “I don’t.” Aiz jumped and shot Sou a rueful look, rubbing at his rib cage where the older man had poked him. “I don’t like most of them. Sou is an old friend of Father’s.”

  “And of yours,” Sou added.

  “And of mine.” There was genuine affection in Aiz’s voice, and the smile that curved his mouth wasn’t feigned. “You have not met my sister, Mia Cevallas.”

  “A great pleasure.” Sou nodded in greeting.

  Mia returned the nod but kept her hands together and stayed just behind me. With any luck it gave the impression she wasn’t a threat, though I would think the Farians would know better. Sou didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her presence. Geniality aside, there was no reason to trust him.

  “Let’s get you to your quarters. Star of Indrana, if I could borrow your hand for a moment.” Sou held out his and I shared a look with Emmory before I complied. I didn’t want to fall into the trap of thinking I was invincible just because of what Aiz had done to me.

  Sou pressed his right palm to a spot next to the door, then tapped a few buttons that lit up and pressed my hand to the same spot. “This will give you access to these doors. Just in case you have a need to get from your quarters to your ship.”

  “You are possibly having too much fun with this,” I murmured as he took my arm again and led us out of the room into a corridor with angled walls that made me more than a little dizzy.

  “It is good for them to be disrupted every once in a while. It happens so rarely.” Sou stopped in front of a blank wall and released my arm. “I confess I have been concerned a time or two about you. I thought maybe I had misread the visions from the future-seers as to who you were. But I am more at ease now that I have looked in your eyes.”

  “That might be a mistake,” Johar said from behind us, and I laughed.

  “Sou, this is my very good friend Johar. Gunrunner, scoundrel, and—”

  “First human to set foot on your planet.”

  “You’re going to ride that one, aren’t you?”

  “Into the ground.” She grinned.

  “I should have left you on the ship,” I said with a sigh.

  Sou was grinning. “You’ve fashioned an interesting crew, Star of Indrana. One worthy of toppling empires and saving galaxies.”

  “Call me Hail, please. Your Majesty was bad enough; this new title is even more cumbersome. I only make Adora use it because it pisses her off.”

  “Hail.” Something about Sou’s smile was unnerving. It was the sly look of someone who knew far more than I did about pretty much everything. Which wasn’t much of a stretch when you got down to it; he probably did know a lot more. Not just because of his age, but I’d caught the offhand reference to the Council of Eyes. As a member of the Pedalion he’d have access to the visions of the future they chose to share.

  A pair of doors on our left opened and Sou gestured inside with a smile. I paused, realized I was waiting for Emmory and the others to clear the room, and looked over my shoulder to find him smiling at me.

  “Zin, Indula, check the room,” Emmory said, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “I hate you a little.”

  “I will come back for you and your people in a while, Hail,” Sou said. “We will convene in the Pedalion chambers. After that there will be a meal to celebrate your arrival.” He glanced Aiz’s way. “It’s going to cause quite the stir for you and Mia to be present, Aiz. I don’t suppose I could convince you to stay here?”

  “They’ll deal,” I replied before Aiz could. “They’re part of my crew, Sou. I’m not leaving them here alone for someone to try to kill.”

  “Star of Indrana, we wouldn’t—”

  “You maybe, Sou.” I cut him off with a shake of my head. “A lot of things have happened that I think the Pedalion needs to know about. I don’t trust Adora not to put a knife in Aiz herself, and I’d much rather be nearby when she tries it.” My smile was slow and just this side of feral. “I lost people I cared about on Earth, and I haven’t decided yet if it was just Adora or the Pedalion as a whole who were responsible. I’d like you all to remember that.”

  Sou swallowed. “Of course. I understand completely. I will leave you then and be back shortly.” He bowed once more and left us alone in the corridor.

  “Clear, Emmory,” Zin said, poking his head through the doorway.

  “Go on, Your Majesty.” Emmory touched my back.

  “Any particular reason we didn’t tell them up front why we’re here?” Aiz asked as he followed me into the room.

  I held up a hand and Aiz went silent. “Zin?”

  “Clear as far as I can figure,” he replied. “But I don’t know what to sweep for bugwise.”

  Emmory held up a hand, and I relaxed a bit at the sight of the blinking lights on his glove. “We should be okay.”

  “Because we’re going to do this as formally as possible. Which means announcing it in front of the Pedalion in their chambers, yes?” I asked Aiz, and he nodded. “The less they have to try to use against you to disqualify your requests, the better off we’ll be. Plus, I don’t trust them. I want Hao and the others in position before we do anything besides keep acting like we’re here to negotiate with the Pedalion instead of the gods.”

  “I underestimated you, Hail,” he replied with a smile.

  “Most people do. It’s unwise,” I said as I glanced around the rooms.

  More white walls and angles. It made the front room seem smaller than it was, and when I touched a wall, I realized it wasn’t stone we were surrounded by. It was metal. My claustrophobia reared its head to scream a desperate scr
eam. I sighed, stepping on it as hard as I could. There wasn’t time for my issues. “This place makes me uneasy.”

  “Right there with you,” Emmory murmured, and we shared a look.

  “I always hated this place,” Aiz said. “It hasn’t changed at all.”

  I sat on a bench and pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. “I’m telling the truth about wanting to find a way to end this bloodshed between you and the Farians. It’s not going to end just because we kill their gods. There has to be something more.”

  “You’ll want to tread carefully, Hail.” Aiz dragged a hand through his hair. “Sou is an old friend, but he’s also the Pedalion. I wouldn’t trust any of them, and Adora is just as likely to do something stupid as she is to take another breath.”

  Rotem was the one I was more wary of, though I wasn’t going to tell Aiz that. His sister was dangerous, and her good sense clouded by her issues with her brother, but there was something about the other male member of the Pedalion that made my nerves itch.

  He’d hid his anger well, but I’d spotted it and knew it was like a volcano about to blow. Rotem was the one I wasn’t entirely sure could be counted on to hold to the treaty with Indrana. Or worse, do something like manufacture an accident that would result in a tearful apology to Alice.

  “Who’s in charge of the Pedalion?”

  “No one.” Aiz smiled. “Sou is the oldest member, but the Pedalion has no single leader. Their votes on most day-to-day issues must have a simple majority to pass. For major issues, like ilios porthmeios, the vote of approval must be unanimous.”

  “Fabulous.”

  “Do not worry, they will approve it. There is no way the Pedalion, especially my sister, will pass up the chance to see the gods end my life.”

  Privately, I thought the arrogance in Aiz’s family wasn’t something Adora had a lock on, but I kept that observation between my teeth for now. We would see what would happen once he stood in front of the Pedalion and issued his petition. If they refused to hear it at all, I’d have to move to plan B.

  The fact that I didn’t yet have a solid plan B for that was something that concerned me a great deal.