’Tedric,’ he said, with more real pleasure than he had anticipated.
Wilson came to his feet and went as far forward as his chains would allow. Tedric met him at this place, and the two men clasped hands.
‘So we finally managed to bring you down,’ said Tedric, ‘and put you where you belong.’
‘Ah, it’s a mistake,’ said Wilson. ‘You’ve got me confused with somebody else.’
’There is nobody else like you, Wilson.’
‘You’re only saying that to make me feel good.’
They laughed together and sat on the floor. ‘And what about the others?’ Wilson said. ‘How are Nolan and Ky-shan and the Lady Alyc? You know, we had a lot of fun back then, when we were overthrowing an empire. I don’t suppose I could talk you into trying it again.’
Tedric grinned. ‘I’m afraid, unlike you, I’ve reformed. Phillip you must know about. He’s the new commander of the Corps of the One Hundred.’
Wilson, smiling, held up his wrists. ‘Yes, I do know about him.’
‘And Alyc is fine. She’s living on Earth and Kisha is with her.’
’Is that little she-cat as mean as ever?’
‘Worse.’
‘What about Reller? The subman. What became of him?’
‘He entered the Corps. His wife is with him now. The last I heard he was chasing a band of pirates near Altair.’
’That bunch of amateurs,’ said Wilson, with feeling. ‘And Ky-shan?’
’Oh, he’s with me now. I would have brought him along but I preferred to see you in private first.’
Wilson frowned tightly. ’Then I assume you’re here on business, not pleasure. Those two young pups guarding me kept saying that Colonel Tedric was coming but they’d never tell me why.’
‘I want a favour from you,’ Tedric said.
‘Not a confession, I hope.’
‘No, just information.’
‘If you want me to spill…’
’Oh, no. Nothing like that. This is something completely different. You once told me you’d visited the Bioman Sphere. I want you to tell me everything you can about that domain.’ ’For any particular reason?’
‘Because I plan on going there.’
Wilson shook his head. ’The Biomen don’t care much for visitors. The only reason they tolerated me was that I managed to convince them that, as a robot with feelings, I wasn’t a whole lot different from them. If I’d been a normal man, I think they would have killed me.’
‘I’m aware of the danger,’ said Tedric. ‘It’s a risk I believe I have to take. There’s someone I want to find.’
’Fra Villion.’
Tedric looked surprised. ‘How do you know about Villion? Nothing concerning his real identity was ever publicised.’
‘I know he’s a black knight, a vemplar. My work requires me to keep track of possible competitors. I thought Villion was killed when the Iron Sphere exploded.’
‘No, he escaped. We didn’t publicise that either.’
‘And now he’s back home?’
‘Yes.’
Wilson shook his head. ‘Well, I really don’t know what I can tell you that’ll help. The Bioman Sphere isn’t nearly as large as the Empire. There are perhaps fifty planets in the realm and most are largely inhabited by the primitive robots who do most of the Biomen’s dirty work for them. The capital planet, Kleato, is an interesting place, one vast city, and I’d bet more than half their population resides there. Tavera is where you’ll most likely find Fra Villion. That’s where the vemplar make their headquarters.’
‘What can you tell me about them?’
‘Little that you probably don’t know. The vemplar are a group of mercenary soldiers trained since birth in the art of combat, owing little loyalty to person or species. Since most Biomen are far too civilised to fight wars, the vemplar expend most of their energies on things like private duelling. If a war ever did break out - between the Biomen and the Empire, for instance - you wouldn’t find a better fighting force, but as it is, they’re largely anachronisms, tolerated less for what they are and more for what they once were. If you’re wondering what Villion was doing in the Empire, you’re not alone. I couldn’t figure it out either. Somebody or something must have hired him. But who? And for what?’ ’Then tell me this,’ said Tedric. ‘If you were me and wanted to find Villion, how would you proceed?’
‘I don’t have any idea. If you try to reach Tavera, they’ll kill you on sight. If you don’t go there, you may survive but you’ll probably never see Villion either. The vemplars seldom associate with the other Biomen.’
‘What about the Biomen? How do they look? Do they resemble humans in physical form?’
‘Some do and some don’t. The Biomen can assume any physical form they desire.’
‘Villion looked like a great black beast.’
’That’s a favourite form among the vemplars.’
Tedric nodded. ‘I asked because I was considering using a disguise.’
Wilson clucked his tongue sadly. ‘A good idea but it won’t work.’
‘Why?’
’There aren’t more than a few hundred vemplars. They all know each other. They’d spot you for a fake in an instant.’ Tedric sighed. ’Then maybe the whole enterprise is hopeless.’
Wilson got a sudden gleam in his eye. ‘And maybe not. I just thought of something that might help.’
Tedric looked up eagerly. ‘What?’
‘After I left the Bioman Sphere, I went next door and stayed with the Dynarx.’
‘Yes, I remember your saying that.’
‘Well, I wasn’t the only outsider among them. There was also a former vemplar named Pal Galmain. He was hardly typical of his kind, and since I wasn’t either, we became friends of sorts. It might be possible to get him to help you.’ ‘Why?’
‘Because he was driven into exile by the other vemplars and has no great love for a number of them. One of those I remember him mentioning was none other than Fra Villion. The name stuck in my mind and, when I heard about Villion being here, I remembered he was the same person.’
’The Dynarx, huh?’ Tedric grinned. ’That ought to make an interesting trip. Especially with Ky-shan on board.’ Wilson nodded. The Wykzl were ancient enemies of the Dynarx. ’Of course,’ he said, ‘you couldn’t possibly do this by yourself.’
Tedric raised an eyebrow. ‘No?’
‘Pal Galmain would never trust a stranger. He’s still that much of a vemplar. With me along, though, you might possibly have a chance.’
‘Are you making an offer?’ Tedric said, with a grin. Wilson held up his wrists and shook the chains. ‘It’s either that or this. I’ll take that.’
Tedric stood. ‘I’ll arrange for your immediate release.’ At the cell door, he paused. Reaching into a pouch on his belt, he drew out a folded sheet of paper and tossed it to Wilson. ‘You might want to look at this while I’m gone.’
‘Why? What is it?’ Wilson picked up the paper in his hands and started to unfold it.
‘Your pardon from Emperor Randow.’
Wilson spluttered explosively. ‘Why, you…you tricked me. You knew all along I was going to be set free.’
Tedric grinned. ‘Want to change your mind?’
Wilson thought it over, then grinned back. ‘Hell, no. If I stay in the Empire, pardon or no pardon, 'I’ll just end up back here again in a few months. The only happy time in my whole life was spent with the Dynarx. No, I’ll take you that far at least.’
‘I ask nothing more,’ said Tedric, and he went on out.
Chapter 4
Tavera
As the robot swivelled on its wheels to leave the room, Matthew Carey found he could no longer resist the impulse of his anger. He shot his foot forward in a swift savage kick that caught the robot squarely in the middle of its aluminium rump and sent the half human-sized machine sprawling through the doorway.
Carey stepped forward and, with a final burst of anger, slammed the door s
hut. Alone, he looked at his hands and saw that they were trembling.
‘Damn it,’ he said aloud, as angry with himself as he had been with the robot. I’m losing-control, he thought, taking my rage out on a poor dumb machine.
With a weary sigh, he dropped into a chair and put his hands in his lap to stop them from shaking.
The problem wasn’t simply anger, he knew; it was boredom, frustration, humiliation, and rage. He was going slowly crazy trapped in this damned place. Long ago he’d ceased counting the days that had passed since his arrival here in the fortress of the vemplars on the planet Tavera in the Bioman Sphere. Such a tabulation probably meant nothing anyway, since he was sure the days were longer here than on Earth, or at least they seemed that way; boredom, he knew, could play that trick, too.
There was a time, not long ago, when Matthew Carey had reigned as an emperor. Even before that, he’d been heir to the most powerful fortune in the Galaxy.
And what was he now? Where was he now? A prisoner in this one damned room. And who did he have to blame for that? His old enemy, Phillip Nolan? The mysterious corps-man, Tedric? Or Fra Villion?
Villion, yes, to be sure, but more than that Carey blamed himself. He had been a damned fool, he realised. Blind ambition and insatiable greed had brought him from the summit to the abyss. He regretted everything he had done. By the Lords of the Universe, how he regretted it. But regret would not help him now. It wasn’t enough to set him free from this prison.
Through the large glass window above the bed, he could hear the steady whistling noise of the vemplars exercising in the courtyard below. Driven by his own boredom, he left his chair and went over to watch. There were ‘several dozen down there. From this height, they all looked the same, dressed in their black jumpsuits and capes. The vemplars were fencing with whipswords, the personal weapon that each one carried. For a long while, Carey watched as two-by-two the vemplars spun through the air like crazed dancers, their weapons slicing and whistling. Carey’s head began to ache from watching the spectacle. Turning away, he shrugged. What did it matter? They were out there most days. He’d seen all this before. A moment of curiosity sent him briefly back to the window. Was Fra Villion down there? He stared but of course it was impossible to tell for certain. He hadn’t seen Villion since his arrival. It was no wonder he felt like a forgotten man.
Of course, Villion had saved his life back on the Iron Sphere. No matter what happened, he was grateful for that. Villion could easily have left him to die with the rest of the crew when the matter-scrambler exploded. Why hadn’t he? For Carey, this was a mystery worth pondering. It wasn’t loyalty; it wasn’t concern. Villion knew nothing of such emotions. The only reason he could have had for saving Carey was to make use of him later. But how? That was the part of the mystery he had so far failed to solve.
He went back to the chair and sat down. He wondered what time it was. Early, he decided. The meal the robot had brought - and which still lay untouched on the table -appeared to be breakfast. That meant he had nothing to look forward to except lunch in a few hours. Each day after lunch the robots took him outside to the courtyard - the vemplars were gone by then - for his daily exercise. Sometimes he ran or jumped and stretched his muscles, but usually he simply walked, pacing back and forth, back and forth. The sun in the pale pink sky was a blood red disc. From what he had seen of Tavera, the planet itself was no hospitable environment. The tiny slice of land near the castle was ugly, dusty, cratered, a large cool desert.
Suddenly, looking up, he realised that the door was open. He stood, remembering how he had slammed it shut behind the robot.
Then he saw her. She stood next to the window, her back against the wall, her arms folded beneath her breasts, her eyes glinting with amusement. In spite of himself, Carey jumped in surprise.
She laughed. ‘Why, Matthew, what’s wrong? I didn’t frighten you, did I?’
‘Lola?’ he said.
She crossed the room. ‘Nobody else.’
She was indeed a beautiful woman. Even under these rather disturbing conditions, Carey felt entranced by her beauty. Blonde, grey-eyed, as perfectly formed as a piece of classical sculpture, Lola Dass wore the black cape and jumpsuit of a vemplar. The leather-like fabric of the suit clung to her figure like a second skin.
‘Have you been here all along?’ he said.
She nodded. ‘Since the Iron Sphere.’
‘I woke up in this room. I don’t know how I got here. Do you?’
’Fra Villion brought us.’
Carey felt a burst of anger. ‘I haven’t seen him. Where is he? I’m a prisoner here.’
She cocked her head at the open door. ‘It wasn’t locked.’
He knew she was taunting him. No, the door was not locked but, when he’d tried to leave, an invisible forcefield in the corridor had driven him back into the room.
‘What does he want with me? I assume you’re still with him. Why is he holding me prisoner here?’
‘Why, Matthew.’ She laughed, reaching out with a hand and drawing her fingers slowly down his cheek. ‘You don’t act pleased to see me. I thought we were old friends.’
He tried to remain cool to her touch. ‘I said, what does he want?’
She shrugged, turning away from him, as if bored by his stubbornness. ‘Why don’t you ask him that?’
‘I would if I could.’
She paused in the doorway and beckoned with a finger. ’Then come on. It’s why I’m here. He asked me to bring you to see him.’
Carey wasn’t even mad at her for failing to tell him until now. ‘Well, it’s about time.’ He felt suddenly bold. ‘When I see him, I’m going to demand he send me home.’
‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you-.’
‘Why?’
‘He might take you literally.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means he might decide to send you home, all right -and forget the ship.’ Her words chilled him. Or maybe it was the tone of voice she used - as cool and detached as a sliver of ice.
She waved him through the door. As they moved through the shadowy fortress-the forcefield, naturally, was no longer in effect - he tried to memorise their route for future use. He grew confused almost right away. Up two flights of stairs and down one. Turn left into a broad hallway and right into a much narrower one. Count four doors on the left and then into a large unfurnished room. Through that and up another flight of stairs.
At the top, Lola Dass knocked softly on a door.
’Enter,’ said a deep voice that Carey instantly recognised as Fra Villion’s. ‘
Lola opened the door and stepped inside. Carey brushed past her. Fra Villion sat in a big chair. He was as huge as a bear and covered from neck to toes in thick black fur. His smooth face was a tumult of bright rainbow splashes, and his tiny eyes burned with dark, hidden emotions.
Any boldness Carey might have felt evaporated in the presence of Villion.
‘Sit,’ Villion ordered.
The room was sparsely furnished. Carey found a tiny armless wooden chair and sat down stiffly. A fire burned in a brick fireplace, the flames casting bright patterns on the Bioman’s face.
‘What do you want with me?’ Carey said, when he could bear the silence no longer. His tone was anything but threatening, however.
Villion met his gaze. ‘When I chose to save your petty life aboard the Iron Sphere, I fondly hoped that you might prove of some future value. That time, I believe, has now arrived.’
Carey shook his head as vigorously as he could manage. ‘No. I won’t do it. I won’t help you. I’m through being used. Kill me if you want but I won’t do it.’
Villion smiled grimly. ‘Come, Carey, are you being fair? I saved your life even after you had betrayed me. Don’t think I’ve forgotten how you led the one called Tedric to my door. What if he had slain me in the duel we fought? It was Lola who came to my rescue then, not you. If I had perished, how deeply would you have mourned?’
’T
edric forced me to help him,’ Carey said, hating his own voice even as he spoke. ‘And I warned you.’
‘Perhaps. But, in that case, you must feel some degree of bitterness towards Tedric. After all, didn’t he use you as you claim I also did? All I offer is the opportunity to exact an equitable revenge. Surely, you cannot be opposed to that.’
‘Revenge against Tedric? How?’
‘I wish you to spy upon him.’
‘Where? Are you sending me home?’ He would do anything to get away from this damned place.
Villion shook his big head. ’Fortunately, that will not prove necessary. Tedric, it appears, has chosen to come to us.’
’Tedric? Here? On Tavera?’
‘Not yet, but soon. Those I represent have kept me informed of his travels. His actual designs, however, are somewhat more obscure. That is why I have need of you.’ ‘What can I do? Tedric isn’t exactly a friend of mine.’
’At the present moment, Tedric is visiting among the Dynarx. Are you familiar with the breed?’
‘I know they’re the fourth advanced species in the Galaxy, but that’s about all. There’s been little contact between them and the Empire.’
‘Which makes Tedric’s visit there even more interesting. The Dynarx are a crude, graceless, foul race, but one not without certain talents. Nonetheless, I doubt that Tedric will find what he seeks among them. The Dynarx are quite disinterested in the conflicts of others. Still, when you go there, you will be able to report more definitively.’
‘How do you plan to get me there?’
’Oh, by conventional means. I have requisitioned a ship for your use. The navigational systems have been set to carry you to Tedric. Find him and explain that you’ve recently escaped my clutches and wish to offer your services in his cause.’
Carey laughed at the transparency of Villion’s plan. ‘Do you really expect Tedric to believe that?’
‘Whether he believes it is of little consequence. He will not perform the one logical act that might save him and that is to take your miserable life. Most normal human beings -including Tedric - possess compunctions about killing, even when murder is the only wise course. A pity for Tedric but good fortune for me. Alive, whether trusted or not, you will serve my ends.’
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