"I'm not that old, girl, and I wasn't gone that long from QSE. I remember her having a few snits whenever you chose Petroc over her, when you were little. She thought the two of you should be best friends."
"We were. I guess. Best girl-friends, at least." Rhianni shivered, feeling suddenly bone-weary. As close as she and Janese had been as children, it was nothing compared to her closeness with Nureen, which faded in comparison with what she had had with Petroc. And that was gone now, wasn't it? She shook her head and continued with her story. "She's pregnant and widowed. She told me her husband wasn't a Taken, so he was murdered for marrying her. I just assumed..." That warning shiver hit again when Burkan frowned. "What?"
"Janese? I didn't know she was a Taken. You'd think Petroc would have mentioned it, since she was born here." He shook his head. "I can't see Taken killing outsiders. Maybe someone killed Janese's man and tried to make people think the Taken did it." Burkan sat back in his chair again and tousled Danil's curls. His smile didn't return. "I ran into her a couple times. She claimed she didn't remember me, so I thought maybe I had the wrong girl."
"If she wasn't a Taken--"
"There are some who made it to the bunkers when the Talroqi took over. Poor kids are in a no-man's-land, caught between the adults who survived the Talroqi occupation and the Taken. The Second Wave colonists act like they wish no one survived, so they could start out at the top of the social ladder. The problem is, most of the government is in the hands of the First Wave colonists. It's a sticky mess, no matter where you turn. The kids who survived without becoming Taken, well, they don't belong here any more than the rest. Guess I can't blame Janese for acting the way she does."
"She claims to be a Taken just so she can fit in?"
"Could be. Still doesn't answer for why her husband was killed." He shook his head.
"More?" Danil grinned up at Burkan through the curls hanging in his eyes and reached for the cutting board.
"Little glutton," the man growled, and handed the boy another slice of bread.
"Still spoiling us all," Rhianni murmured. "What about Reesa and Dilan?"
"Everything was perfect. For a while." Burkan's expression changed to a sad smile that hurt her worse than a snarl or a howl of pain. "Dilan turned into a Taken, I guess. That's the easy explanation."
Rhianni nearly got up from her perch on the edge of the desk. How could someone become a Taken, if they weren't taken by a Shadow?
"He had short trips, only a month at a time. Came back fine, with no trouble. Then Reesa got pregnant and he promised he'd cut free and settle permanently. Didn't want to miss a minute of his baby growing up."
Rhianni glanced at Danil, who munched on his bread with complete absorption. Didn't he understand what they were talking about, or had he heard the story so often it didn't matter?
"Well, he decided to take a longer run than usual, to make some extra money. Ran into some trouble, took longer than expected. When he finally came home, he was like the Taken who left Mallachrom. Old before his time. Wasting away, no matter what the medics did." He met Rhianni's gaze, his eyes bright with shared pain.
She nodded, fighting not to sob. Her mother had aged and wasted away, and nothing the finest Rover medics could do had any effect on her. Just like the Taken.
"When he died, Reesa fell apart. I've seen mated Taken die for no reason except grief. Kill one, you kill his or her mate. Reesa gave birth to this little guy and then just let go." Burkan stroked Danil's curls again. "Petroc claimed the boy was his. There was no one with any legal claim, and he couldn't let him go to an orphanage. No one did a genetics test. Probably no one cares."
"So you help raise him."
"Every Taken around here helps with Master Danil Ash. Lucky he's so smart, or he'd be spoiled. Wouldn't you?"
"Dada says he won't let me be a brat," Danil mumbled through a mouthful of bread.
"He didn't do such a good job with Tam." Rhianni stuck her tongue out at Danil, prompting giggles. "Your father was my best friend when we were as little as you."
"Dada was never as little as me. He's always big!"
"Always big," Burkan agreed. "Why don't you go finish cleaning up your room like your father told you? Let me talk with Rhianni for a bit, and then you can show her around the outpost, all right?"
"A' right." He wiggled down off Burkan's lap and hurried out of the room.
"So, now you understand some of the situation here."
"Some," Rhianni said, nodding. "More than the official reports. My orders are to contact the leader of the Taken, if they have one. Who would that be?"
"He'd be the first to argue, but I'd say Petroc. Everybody takes their cue from him, and if they need advice or someone to pass judgment, they'll go to Petroc before they'll come to me or their own magistrate."
"That's good for me, but it says something for how bad the situation is." She sighed and rubbed at her eyes. Suddenly, she felt too tired for all of this.
Rhianni wished she could simply dissolve the colonial government, set up a military government and then turn over the entire planet to the Taken. Anyone who didn't support them could leave. That was the easy solution.
Easy solutions, according to her father, were never the fair or the right ones. She needed proof, concrete, irrefutable and pointing clearly to the guilty parties.
"You should have heard Grandmother warn me to be careful while I'm out here. As if a change in the weather will affect a Taken's mind. She really believes they were damaged, and the Shadows are a threat to Mallachrom. It's creepy."
She shivered, remembering the chill that had gone up her spine when her grandmother tearfully spoke her sorrow for those lost during the war and the harm suffered by the Taken. That didn't stop her from fearing and hating the Taken.
They discussed theories and reports and the disparity between common belief and what Burkan and the Rover spies had observed over the last few years.
"Janese told part of the truth," Burkan said, nodding. "But it's the other way around, from what I've seen. It's usually First Ship people, trying to keep Taken from marrying the newcomers or having children. And they usually attack the women, not the men."
"Maybe Janese's husband died defending her, and she's afraid to tell the truth."
"Maybe he wasn't her husband. Janese...she's not stupid, but there's something not quite right about her." Burkan frowned. "I've heard there's a group that claims to be Taken, but Petroc's friends won't have anything to do with them."
"Maybe they're the ones making the Taken look bad?"
"I don't know. They claim they don't remember anything, but at the same time, they're adamant that the Shadows hurt them. Petroc and his group, well, they won't talk about what happened, but they sure seem to like what they remember and they'll fight tooth and nail to protect Shadows. Kind of funny, hmm?"
"Very funny."
"What's funny?" Danil asked, charging back into the room with his coat sleeve clutched in one hand and dragging its full length on the floor.
"Funny strange, not funny ha ha," she corrected without thinking.
"What's that mean?" The little boy looked back and forth between her and Burkan, grinning.
"Nothing important." She slid off the desk and squatted in front of him. "Are you going outside?"
"Show you everything now?"
"I was born here, Danil. I know where everything is."
"Uh uh." He shook his head so hard Rhianni's neck ached in sympathy. "Dada says everything is all different from when he was little."
"Can't argue with logic like that," Burkan said with a grin. "Go on. Work up a good appetite for lunch. I'll close up things and help you at the house this afternoon."
"I can't pass up a deal like that." She caught up Danil's coat by its collar and held it out for the boy to put his arms into the sleeves. "Where should we go first?"
As the boy chattered about the sweathouse and his hiding place by the river, the candy jars in the dining hall and other place
s of special importance to him, Rhianni only half-listened. It felt right, natural, to help Danil put his coat on and be included in his life so easily. She studied his face, his movements, and marveled that Danil wasn't Petroc's genetic son. How could they be so much alike, and yet have no physical link? And yet, there was no one she could imagine who would make a better father for a boy orphaned at birth. The boy she had played with in childhood would have indeed grown up into that kind of a man.
"He's late," Gan muttered, glancing at Petroc. He smoothed the front of his gray uniform, then rested his hands on top of the diner table. Worry wrinkled his good-natured face. He ran a hand through his short curls and shrugged his shoulders as if his uniform had grown too tight.
"Cae's never late. Your chrono is fast." Petroc grinned crookedly and leaned back in his chair. "When will you learn to tell time without that piece of junk?"
His midnight hair and eyes helped him blend into the shadows of the greasy diner. He was more uncomfortable than Gan, but necessity taught him to control his reactions when in Core. He held his breath as a cloud of rank steam from the kitchen drifted past. This diner was the worst place to eat on the whole planet, and smelled it, with the nauseating odors of bad food, shuttle fuel and too many unwashed bodies in one place. No one would ever expect a hyper-sensitive Taken to come here. Which was why they met Cae Corsi there. Cae was unable to enter the Merger without help from his wife, Cianna. The information he wanted to pass along was too important to wait for her to get back from her current trip to the illegal settlements as a healer.
Petroc glanced around as he felt a change in the airflow in the diner. A shadowy form neared the table.
"Sorry," Cae muttered as he slipped into the third seat at their corner table. He brushed a lock of thinning white-blond hair out of his face and managed a shaky grin.
"What's up?" Gan glanced around, feigning nonchalance that did not fool Petroc.
Not even the grubby waitress had come near their table since serving them greasy, lukewarm coffee. The few other customers sat at the far side of the room. A uniform was the best way to ensure a private conversation.
"Carr didn't get the go-ahead from the Galactic Council he was after. That's the good news. But now he's pushing for a geologic and biological study of the planet. Wants to set up quarantine areas. Guess what's in the biggest one?"
"The Pit," Petroc whispered. The only reason any of the secret Taken settlements were anywhere within a day of the Black Pit was because the Shadows had appointed the Taken to watch it. The government had ignored the wilderness surrounding the Black Pit for so long, why this sudden interest? Any time the Taken's enemies in the government did something, it coincided with disturbances in the Black Pit. He should have expected this. What did it all mean? "Quarantine as in...?"
"A full-scale sweep. Meaning they'll find all our settlements, all the unregistered families. And I'll just bet you the bounty on Shadow pelts will go even higher."
"We have to do something. We have to stop it before he even organizes his teams. We have work to do. We owe it to the Shadows." He met first Cae's, then Gan's eyes, daring them to contradict his words.
"We have to take the chance," Gan said. "With the Council strangling the communication bands, the spaceport, the satellites, customs, we don't have a chance getting even a question off-planet. What about your friend, Rhianni? She's a Rover. She can take the news when she leaves, can't she?"
"Yeah." Petroc took a deep breath to calm the rising anger in his chest. The thought of Rhianni leaving Mallachrom made him feel like he would be torn in half. How could that be? She had only been home a day. He could still feel her arms around him in that brief hug, her sweet scent, her laughter, the joy in her eyes when she recognized him.
"Is this big enough to mobilize everyone?" Gan muttered. "First thing we need to do is get you and the entire Inner Circle out of harm's way."
"Can't. We're needed here. I'll definitely send the word out so everyone is ready to go invisible at a moment's notice." Petroc felt a moment of panic, self-doubt, wondering if all the preparation over the years was enough.
They had contingency plans already in place, if one of the leaders of the Taken were ever captured, ever put under drugs to reveal the truth. The Council could never learn the Taken were organized to resist their subtle campaign of prejudice and fear. The Council was set against the Taken, and the Shadows who had saved them during the Talroqi infection. Why, no one had figured out. It took all their time, energy and imagination just to stay ahead of their enemies.
Cae brought a recorder chip from his pocket. "Tam," he said, pushing it across the table to Petroc.
"Thanks." He pocketed the chip. Petroc wondered what rumors his brother warned him about now. Sometimes he wished Tam would stop trying to make up for problems that were not his fault. Tam had been ill, locked in a viral isolation chamber in the Core hospital when Mallachrom was invaded. He and twenty-eight other children hadn't been Taken, and as a result were fully trusted by the First Ship leaders.
Chapter 7
The first time a stranger walked through the mudroom door of her parents' house, picked up a bucket and started helping with the massive cleaning job, Rhianni nearly reached for the gun tucked into her boot cuff. Then the newcomer gave her an abbreviated Rover salute. Rhianni prayed her face wasn't as red hot as it felt, while Burkan introduced her to the Rover team leader.
She knew she should have been suspicious when Burkan volunteered to help with the cleaning. It was the perfect cover to meet with her team as quickly as possible, in private, and it got her house halfway livable in one short afternoon.
With the help of her team, she was able to unlock and clean out and stock from the hidden room her father had built under their house before he and Mandia had married. The Day family had established and created the Rovers on the belief that it was always better to be prepared for the worst case scenario and have those preparations go to waste, than to be too optimistic and not have equipment on hand when a need arose. The hidden room had its own water and power supply and was shielded from the best scanning equipment available at that time. Rhianni found it ironic and a little frightening that so many years later, the preparations were still many years ahead of the technology available on Mallachrom.
She explained the setup of the hidden room and keyed the leaders of the Rover squadrons into the security system. Before they broke for the day, they had the hidden room set up as the communications center for the effort, automatically monitoring all communications across the colony, as well as anything leaving or arriving. If any coded communications occurred, an alarm would sound and Rover technicians would get to work on tracking the signal to its source as well as unraveling the message. It was a large step forward in her mission, and one she hadn't anticipated reaching for a week or two.
Rhianni would have been delighted with all that was accomplished that afternoon, but every one of her Rovers had reported a disturbing pattern.
Children were disappearing. Mostly children of Second Wave parents. The children of Taken were always retrieved quickly, and often the happy rescue turned into a wrangle with doctors in Core who wanted to put the kidnapped children through a battery of tests. Often, those children vanished again, along with their parents. Oddly, First Ship families who weren't Taken didn't have children, at all.
The Council blamed the Shadows for the disappearances and always made a loud fuss about sending hunters out to find the children and exterminate the menace. Taken always managed to head out and either find the child or prove Shadows were nowhere nearby when the child vanished. Each time, the tide of public opinion receded just short of demanding a killing campaign. Every time, the tide of fear and hatred came closer to the edge of common sense and restraint.
Petroc and Gan didn't get back to QSE until almost dinnertime. Cae's news was too important to let it move through the usual Taken communications channels. Not everyone could enter the Merger, and it wasn't safe to make people wait
until those in the Merger got the instructions for increased precautions and passed it on to them.
They visited the leaders in each outpost, going in a wide circle around Core, heading north and west and back down to the southern tip of the outposts, QSE. Petroc's head ached from thinking too long and hard, and depressing himself with worst-case scenarios. He stank from that diner in Core and the synthetics in the air in the sled.
Danil didn't come running to meet him when the sled landed. Petroc barely heard Burkan's greeting shouted from the kitchen. He raced up the stairs, looking for his son. Images of the boy hurt or sick or making trouble filled his head.
Danil was in Rhianni's room, helping her unpack. Petroc got as far as the door and stopped with the toe of one boot on the threshold. It didn't take more than five seconds to realize Danil unpacked while Rhianni struggled to re-pack just as quickly. Petroc opened his mouth to reprimand the boy, then decided to keep quiet and move on. After all, if Rhianni didn't have the sense to push Danil out of the room and shut the door, she deserved the mess. Petroc admitted he was a little peeved because she had interrupted the routine of their lives.
They looked good together, Rhianni and his son. As if they belonged together. For a moment, Petroc let himself pretend there was no danger, no need for common sense to send her away. If it was safe, if he didn't have his duty to the Taken and the Shadows, what would it take to convince Rhianni to stay? Not just stay here in QSE, but bind her life to his?
As children, they had vowed they would be together forever. What had they meant, when they cut their thumbs and merged their blood? Petroc wasn't sure, and he had been old enough to begin understanding what happened between male and female, and that Rhianni was a girl. It hadn't bothered him then that his best friend was female, but it would have changed in a few years. Would he have been glad or annoyed? Would she?
Petroc knew what he wanted the vow to mean now. He caught her scent--sweet, clean and healthy, despite the synthetics polluting her flesh. Her clothes were loose, but snug enough to outline her form. He knew she would feel lean and curved just enough to make his temperature rise and his pulse race the first time he took her into his arms. Petroc wanted to feel her arms around him again, taste her, fill his lungs with her scent.
Shadows of Mallachrom, Book 1: Blue Fire Page 7