Tenets of War

by Beth Reason

  Chapter 23

  Irmara sat in bed and stared at Udin's naked back. He was pulling his pants on, to Irmara's regret. She tried to talk him into staying the whole night, to actually fall asleep with her instead of screwing and leaving. He would not be swayed. "I'm not pushing the old man any more today," he told her.

  "He's in his war room," Irmara told Udin once again. "He'll be in there for hours. Besides, it's been years since he's been to this section of the wing. I doubt he even remembers the way."

  Udin smiled to himself as he buttoned his shirt. "Nice try, babe. He might not remember the way to your room, but I guarantee he remembers the way to mine."

  Irmara gave him a saucy smile and lifted her eyebrow. "Why, Udin. Is there something you need to tell me?"

  Udin's smile broadened and he sat on the bed next to Irmara. He leaned over and kissed her slowly. "There's only one Bradwin I want. You know that. I'll do a lot of things for that old buzzard, but even I have limits."

  Irmara laughed and shook her head. "I've missed you so."

  "The way I hear it, you weren't all that lonely."

  Irmara frowned at his tone and threw the covers back. She rose from the bed and stomped over to her silken robe. "So are we going to pretend you didn't have your dalliances as well?"

  Udin held his hands up. "Calm down. You know I was just teasing." He stood and walked up behind her. After he wrapped his arms around her waist, he pressed his face to the back of her neck and breathed her in. "None of them were you."

  Irmara leaned back into him. "And none were you."

  They stood in their embrace for a few minutes until Udin knew he had to go. He sighed heavily and pulled away, then set about buttoning the rest of his shirt. Irmara turned and helped, straightening his collar and snapping the top clip into position. "You know, I never thought I'd thank Tenet for anything," Udin said, looking at Irmara with love in his eyes. "But without him coming back..."

  Irmara let out an impatient sigh. "What is it about Tenet that the men in my life find so threatening?" She pressed her lips together and shook her head when Udin went to answer. "I don't want to hear it. Go." She patted his chest and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Go and play war."

  Udin opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. There was no point in correcting either of her statements. He pecked her forehead, then strode out of the room.

  Irmara heard the click of the door and then threw herself on her bed, face down. She drew a deep breath, pressed her mouth into her pillow, then screamed with all her might. She screamed until she ran out of breath, then did it once more. She'd been screaming into pillows for too many years to count. It didn't make anything better, but it did take the edge off. She rolled onto her back, her eyes closed against the world. Five minutes before, Udin had made her come undone in this very bed. She kept her eyes closed and struggled to feel the warmth the down stuffing held from their bodies and breathed in the smell of the man she had so desperately missed.

  "Don't move."

  Irmara instantly tasted the metallic tinge of fear as her heart thumped once then stopped. Her hand clenched the silk sheet, her nails digging into her palm through the material. She struggled to draw a breath, to calm herself. She willed her eyes to open even as her body began to shake. Her eyes settled on a woman who stood in the shadows, a gun in her hand and a terrifying look radiating from familiar eyes. Irmara sat up suddenly, her hand flying to her mouth and froze when the woman raised the weapon higher. "Oh," she said simply, her mind scrambling to make sense of what was happening.

  Scarab shifted to the door and slid the lock in place. She'd made her way into the room while the woman was in the throes of passion. She could have driven a harvester through the door and she doubted the two lovers would have noticed. She had slipped in and stood in the shadows by the enormous wardrobe, waiting for nature to take its course and end the disgusting scene. She planned on waiting until the lovers were half asleep, then incapacitating one while she plied the other for information. Though Scarab had no idea who the woman was at the time, the conversation with the man after they had completed their tryst told her all she needed to know, and her plan had changed.

  Scarab stepped closer to the bed. "Your boob is hanging out," she said, knowing the rough, unexpected language would keep Tenet's mother at odds.

  Irmara blinked, then looked down. She felt the heat creep up her chest as she hastily pulled her robe closed. Irmara looked the woman in the eyes. She was as cold as Bradwin said and Irmara felt a shiver run through her. And yet, the resemblance to Violet was uncanny. "She looks just like you," she said, struggling to get her mind working properly.

  Scarab's jaw twitched, the muscle on the side of her face tightening.

  "No," Irmara said quickly, holding her hand up for a moment. "No, please. I don't mean anything bad by it. I..." She swallowed hard.

  "Where are they?"

  Irmara shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. This woman was going to take them from her again. "Please," she begged. "Please don't take them."

  Scarab scoffed. "You're shitting me, right?"

  "I almost died when Tenet left," Irmara said, trying to play to the woman's motherly side. "Please don't take him. Take the girl, but leave my baby."

  Scarab lifted her eyebrow. The woman was serious. Crazy, clearly. But serious. She honestly believed that Scarab would just walk away, that one life could be bartered for another. "I'm not leaving here without both of them."

  Irmara let out a small sob, her face twisting into a sneer. "Then you'll all die. Don't you get it by now? He doesn't stop. If you persist, you'll kill them both." She took a gulp of air, and idea forming in place of the fear and desperation. "Take Violet and I'll make sure you get out of here alive. I'll...I'll bring you to her and..."

  "No," Scarab said firmly.

  But Irmara had hold of the idea with both hands and would not let go. She would not let go again. "Bradwin doesn't want the half-breed." She ignored the instant fire in Scarab's eyes. "I know that for a fact. He never really wanted me, even. He'll let Violet go, he'll leave you alone to live your life in the wild. Take the baby. You take your baby, I'll keep mine."

  Scarab slowly shook her head. "You're nuts."

  Irmara let out a desperate little laugh. "And you're not? Look at you! You're a killer. An outcast. A cold, hard woman. You think you can be anything he needs? Or wants? He went to you in desperation. You were a means to an end, and don't for a second think any different."

  Scarab knew what Irmara was trying to do, and to her deep frustration, it was working. She was playing to Scarab's feelings, and Scarab was letting it work. She tried to concentrate past the red haze. "You know nothing about us," she said.

  "Really? Tell me, hunter. Would he ever have gone with you in any other circumstance?"

  Scarab's teeth hurt she was clenching them so tightly. "Tell me where they are," she insisted.

  "Leave him. Let him have his life back. Take your daughter and go back and let Tenet have everything you took away from him."

  "No!" Scarab yelled, her finger itching just to shoot and be done with the vicious woman.

  Irmara pounded her fist on her thigh. "Listen to me!" She jumped up and ignored Scarab's weapon. She simply had to make the hunter see reason. She grabbed Scarab's arms and gave her a shake. "Don't you get it? This is how it's supposed to be. I get a second chance." Her voice cracked with thick emotion. "You will not take away my second chance!"

  Crazy was crazy, as simple as that. Scarab could have used Irmara's help. She had hoped she could appeal to the mother in her, but it was clear that wasn't going to happen. It left Scarab with no choice. She pulled the trigger, sending a stun round right into Irmara's chest. The woman tensed and fell back. Scarab caught her elbow, and pulled her to the bed, the task made difficult by the stiff, spasming muscular reaction to the electric round. She got her in the bed and tied her down, then crammed the corner of one of the puffy comforters from the bed in her mouth. The paral
yzing effects of the stun shot would last a good half hour, but Scarab didn't plan on taking any chances. Tears rolled down Irmara's cheeks, and Scarab let herself feel bad for the woman for a brief second before the anger took over again.

  "No," Scarab said, knowing Irmara could hear her even if she couldn't move. "No," she said again, feeling the anger grow. "Save your tears. You want a second chance? You had a second chance. You could have followed him. You could have hunted him down and dragged his ass home, just like I'm doing. You should have. You were his mother!" Scarab leaned over Irmara's face, making sure Irmara's frozen eyes could look right into hers. "You threw him away. You didn't want him. Always remember that. He left because he wasn't wanted, and now he is."

  Scarab stood and reloaded her weapon. Irmara's tears were trickling freely down her face and she was making pathetic little sobbing noises. Scarab stopped and looked at the woman. Yes, pathetic. That about summed it up. She couldn't kill the woman. She was a mother, and as horrible a one as she was, Scarab just couldn't end the life of the mother Tenet loved. But that didn't mean she planned on leaving her whole. If there was anything left to strip off the woman, she was going to do it.

  "And why didn't you come for him?" Scarab asked. "I've wondered that over the years. Why is it that a mother wouldn't even try to get such a wonderful son back? And then I had my baby. Then I held her to me and fed her off my own body and marveled at what I had made. You know what? That just made it ten times worse for me. It tore me to pieces to look at my family and know that there was a mother somewhere down here who simply didn't care.

  "And you know what I figured out while you were screwing you husband's lackey right in his very home? It's not Tenet. He didn't do anything wrong. He never did anything to be treated like that. It wasn't him, it was you. You're just a cold, angry, bitter, selfish woman who wouldn't risk any of these things to save her son." Scarab picked up a beautiful bottle from the vanity near the bed. The carved crystal vial probably cost a small fortune. She hefted it once, then threw it across the room, smiling when it shattered against the wall. "That's why. Because you wanted that." She picked up a hand mirror, shook her head, then threw that against the wall as well. She knew she was making noise. She didn't care. She was so far beyond angry that she knew she could handle any guard who cared to come running.

  "You wanted that." She picked up a vase and smashed it on the floor. "And that. And all of this shit!" She swiped her hand over the vanity and the assortment of expensive and useless items joined the shattered bits on the floor. "That's why you let him go, isn't it? Because you wanted this life and these stupid, meaningless things and couldn't for one second stand the thought of it being gone."

  Scarab pressed her lips together and shook her head in disgust. "I'm going to find my husband. I'm going to find my baby. And we're going home. You want this life, have it. Tenet made his choice, and it's me. I feel sorry for you if you can't understand why."

  Scarab left the room and could hear an alarm ringing from somewhere in the building. She swore, then pulled the walkie talkie from her belt. "I hope you're in position. There's a chance I might have been heard." She released the button to wait for Kenti's reply.

  "Son of a..."

  She heard a blip of static and figured Kenti was having a good private fit. A thought struck her, and she pressed the button again. "Give the signal to the front line," she said quickly.

  "Are you nuts? Not until we have you in our custody."

  Scarab sighed, hearing some feet coming. "Do it. Press the issue. Might as well raise the alarm on all fronts, right?" There was no response for long seconds, and she ducked into a decorative arch, wedging herself behind an expensive vase to wait for whoever was coming down the hall towards her.

  "You're crazy," Kenti finally responded.

  "Did you contact Krupkie?"

  "It's done. I don't know why the hell she's taking orders from the likes of you, but it's done. She gave the order. Now would you please get your ass in gear and get the hell out of there?"

  Scarab grinned. "Affirmative," she said. She shut the walkie off and peeked around the corner. A guard was easing down the hallway looking absolutely terrified. She bet it was the first time anyone had dared to even attempt to infiltrate the castle, and she felt bad for the guard as she nailed him with a stun round. He slid to the floor stiffly, and Scarab scrambled to pull him into the little alcove. His feet stuck out, but with the alarms going off, she doubted it really mattered. They knew someone was in the house, and by now they would have figured out why. She had to get to Tenet and Violet.

  Scarab ran down the hall and came to a big T intersection. There was a large door down one hall, and an identical one down the other. She looked left, then right, then shook her head. Left had done her well so far, and she decided to press her luck. At the end of the hall, she leaned against the big door and listened. She could hear muffled voices inside, and she pounded heavily on the wood. "Security," she bellowed, in her deepest voice. In seconds, she heard the hum of the electronic locks being undone and the door flew open.

  Nada froze. Never in her life had she even seen a gun up close, and now one was pointed directly in her face by a very angry woman who was definitely not part of their household security.

  "Tenet," the woman barked.

  Nada drew in a quick breath. "It's...you're..."

  A guard barked a warning and started running down the hallway behind Scarab. Without hesitating, Scarab turned and fired, then had the gun back on Nada before the woman could even register what was happening to her.

  "If you cost me my husband and daughter I will come back here and kill you," Scarab promised. "You tell me where he is right now or you'll have just enough time to be sorry."

  A million things flew through Nada's mind all at once. Nothing in her pampered life had prepared her for any situation even remotely like the one she was facing, and she was utterly shocked to discover that she wasn't frightened. She was frightened about everything else in life. Every other aspect of living terrified the hell out of her. All but this. She stared into the eyes of Violet's mother, of Tenet's wife. She should hate her. She should want to tear the woman who stole her only friend to pieces. And yet, she didn't. She wanted her to win. She wanted the hunter to find them and whisk them away and let them have the real life she never would.

  "Turn down the hall," Nada said calmly. "Go the other way. He's guarded by at least three people, one of them being one of my father's best agents. You can't get out the main way. We're on a lock down and you can't use the doors. But there's a balcony in his room that hangs over a low roof."

  "Nada! What the hell are you doing?" Merle barked in a drunken stupor.

  "I'm helping my brother," she said sharply through the tears she didn't realize were running down her face. "I'm doing what I should have done years ago."

  "She's an outlaw! She's going to kill us all!"

  "Shut up!" Nada screeched, all composure lost. As she turned back to face Tenet's wife, she pressed her hand over her mouth to hold back a sob. In that moment, she knew she would never see Tenet again, and the pain was almost unbearable. "Don't come back," she begged the woman. "Don't ever let him come back. Go!"

  Scarab lowered her weapon and shook her head, stunned at what just happened. "Thank you."

  Nada pressed a hand to her mouth and sobbed again. "Go!" She slammed the door before she could change her mind.

  Scarab whirled around and raced down the other hallway. Three guards, Nada said, though hopefully one was Wren. She took a deep breath, then pounded on the door and called as she had at Nada's. Before she was even finished speaking, the door opened and Scarab was pulled inside. She spun with her weapon and quickly took in the scene. She was in some outer living chamber. She didn't know the man who had pulled her inside, but he didn't have a weapon raised and was clearly on her side.

  He motioned to a man bleeding on the floor. "Heard the alarms and knew he'd be trouble. Your man's through that do
or, but our planned escape has been cut off."

  "You're one of us?"

  The man laughed. "Yeah. Cushy gig, too. Hate to see it go, but what are you going to do, right? Now, shoot me with a stun round to make it look like I'm a victim and get your asses out of here."

  Scarab didn't hesitate. She shot him, said an apology, then helped ease him to the floor. She pounded on the door he had pointed out. There was no noise on the other side, and she had to smile. She had trained her husband well. She pounded again. "Any room in there for a wraith?" she called.

  The door flew open and Scarab was suddenly in Tenet's arms. She heard Violet's squeals, felt her small arms wrap around her legs, and suddenly felt like crying. Tenet kissed her deeply, then released her so she could hold her daughter. She couldn't have stopped the tears if she tried as she stroked her baby's hair and clutched her close.

  Wren turned and looked the other way, choking up himself. He had held careful control of his emotions through the whole ordeal, but the surprisingly unnerving sight of tears coming from Mrs. Lorne's eyes threatened to be his undoing. He let the family have a small reunion before he cleared his throat. "We must move," he said firmly.

  Scarab sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve. "Right. We're not done." She took a deep breath, then really looked at Violet and started to laugh. "Your eyebrows fell off!"

  Violet giggled and clutched her Mumma. "I knew you were coming!"

  "Always," Scarab promised. "I will always come for you."

  "How should we leave?" Wren asked, knowing they really needed to get out of there.

  "The balcony. Nada said you used to sneak out..."

  "Over the balcony onto the roof," Tenet finished. He shook his head. "You saw Nada?"

  "Yes. And your mother." She gave a wry smile. "Don't worry. I only stunned your mother, though I would have liked to have..." Wren cleared his throat and shot Violet a look, knowing full well the list of things Mrs. Lorne probably would have liked to have done to Tenet's mother. "Ah, yeah. Well, she'll live."

  "And Nada?"

  It didn't bother Scarab that he was concerned for the people who treated him so badly. She saw them for herself and understood. She saw how sad and lonely their lives were, how small and petty and pathetic. She didn't feel jealousy like she used to, or insecure, or inadequate. She felt sorry for them, as Tenet must have. "She helped me. She made me promise I'd keep you safe and she helped."

  Tenet felt a rush of sadness. That was the Nada only he knew, and he doubted she'd ever show that side to anyone else ever again. She was an addict. A spoiled, rich, lonely addict with a drunk for a husband, a slut for a mother, two brats for children, and a monster for a father. Tenet finally understood that there was nothing he could do about it. He nodded and turned to the balcony doors, unable to speak. They were locked down, like everything else when the alarms kicked on.

  "Got it," Scarab said, picking up a chair. "Cover her face," she instructed, nodding to Violet. Tenet scooped up his daughter and pulled her face to his chest as Scarab swung the chair, shattering the glass.

  "A little old fashioned, but it'll do," Tenet said with a grin.

  Scarab motioned to Wren. "Head out first and make sure it's clear, then Tenet will get Violet down and I'll bring up the rear."

  Tenet and Scarab watched as Wren made his way down to the ground. He gave a bird whistle after a moment, and Scarab nodded. "All clear." She picked Violet up and nestled her on Tenet's back. "You hang on to Da like a baby possum, got it?" Violet nodded and gripped Tenet's neck tightly. "I'll keep watch and cover your back. Have Mr. McKay whistle when you're down and I'll join you."

  He gave Scarab a nod, then lifted his leg over the balcony railing. He was surprised at how easy it was. He and Nada used to struggle and take ages to make the trip. Yet his body, now used to hard work, was strong enough to easily carry Violet on his back over the railing, to the small roof, and then down to the ground below in no time. "Keep holding on," he said over his shoulder to Violet. He crouched and nodded to Wren. Wren gave another whistle. They waited in the shadows, scanning the yard in front of them. So far it was all clear, and Tenet felt good about their chances. After a few moments, Wren whistled again, yet the only reply they received was silence.

  Tenet didn't even have to ask what that meant. His world moved in slow motion as he turned to look in Wren's eyes. Something went wrong.