Every head in the Lead Point Room was craned down as far as it could go. All eyes were on either the floor or the desktop. Silence reigned, aside from the background electronic hum.
Lesset pulled his pistol out again. He pointed it in a jerking manner around the room. “Will no one come to the aid of his leader? Are you all traitorous dogs?”
Their eyes remained down.
Lesset placed the barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
A senior officer bolted into the room. “Emperor Palawent has called and demanded a report on the batt …” He trailed off as he saw the headless remains of what were the two highest-ranking officers heaped together on the floor.
TWENTY-FOUR
“Jon, I can’t believe you called me directly. Do you know how insanely dangerous that is for me?” hissed Harhoff.
“Oh, trust me, brother, you’re going to thank me in a few seconds. I had to tell you this personally. And if you die right after, you’ll die a happy puppy,” I responded.
“No, I won’t. Whenever I die, it will be begrudgingly and with purely negative emotions. Go ahead, what’s so damn important?”
“What size do you wear. I’m Christmas shopping, and think I found the perfect gift for you.”
“Not funny. What?”
“You know the attack on the periphery, the one you alerted me was being moved ahead of schedule?”
“Me too,” whined Garustfulous from behind. “I helped in every phase of that mission.”
“Will you shut up and let the man speak. Man,” commanded Harhoff, “speak.”
“Well, the operation went less stunningly than it was drawn out on paper.”
“Meaning?” snapped Harhoff impatiently.
“The entire expeditionary force was wiped out. Every ship, every foot soldier, and every shit-shoveler. They’re all gone.”
“Jon, you know I am among the few who appreciate your sense of humor. But this is not—”
“I figured you might not believe me, so I’m sending you this.” I wagged a data chit in the air, then I inserted it in a slot and flicked a switch.
“What is this?” he asked as he tapped controls.
“It’s a holo of the sky above one of the twelve planets attacked. Gabdorna, to be specific. It was taken a few hours ago, just after dawn.”
“Jon, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be seeing. These are just meteors or something.”
“Those aren’t meteors. Well, hang on, I guess technically they are by that point. What they began life as was the entire flotilla sent to attack and subdue Gabdorna. They are falling from the sky because after they exploded, their engines weren’t stopping gravity from doing its thing.”
Garustfulous shouted over Harhoff. “Are you saying the entire force was destroyed? That’s not possible.”
“It’s possible because it happened. I assume the powers that be will try and keep this under wraps as long as possible. I wanted you to know the truth right away. Dude, this is so big.”
“Thank you for thinking of me in that regard, Jon,” replied Garustfulous.
“I was speaking to Harhoff. You know that, right?”
“Er, of course. You’re not the only one trying to make funny,” he responded, deflated.
“How could such a one-sided victory have occurred?” asked Harhoff.
“Magic dragons, that’s how.”
“Ah, well why didn’t you say so to begin with? Of course, it was magical dragons.” I think my friend was skeptical.
“I figured you’d have trouble swallowing that too, so I brought alone one to show you.” I stepped aside and pulled Mirri into the picture. “Harhoff, meet Mirraya-Slapgren. Mirraya-Slapgren, meet Harhoff. He doesn’t believe in magical dragons.”
“No,” she said, “is that true, Harhoff? I could see not buying the whole Santa Claus and Tooth Fairy thing, but enchanted dragons? Everyone believes in us.”
“Jon, is that thing a holo-projection. So help me—”
Harhoff stopped yelling when a bucket of liquid dumped itself on his head.
He spewed spit and slapped at his muzzle.
“Would you like to see additional magic, friend Harhoff? asked Mirri cheerily.
“No, I’m now a believer. Thanks. I’m sure I needed a bath anyway.”
“Gee,” Mirri replied placing a talon on her lower lip, “I didn’t send water, did I?”
“Don’t bother telling me. I believe in you, and I believe that was the purest water. Jon, get back on screen.”
“You called?”
“So that dragon was able to defeat an entire attack force? Please excuse me if I’m incredulous.”
“Harhoff, I’ll give it to you straight. I can’t tell you more. You will learn whatever your leaders choose to tell you. I wanted you to know why the defeat was so complete.”
He tossed his head side to side. “Understandable. Need to know and all that.”
“Precisely.”
“I suppose you’re proud of yourself?”
I held up pinched fingers. “Just this much.”
“And I suppose you think this will be the death-knell of the Adamant Empire?”
“That would be nice.”
He rubbed his chin. “Well, if anything might do it, this would be it. We shall have to see.”
“Indeed, we shall,” I replied. “But, Harhoff.”
“Yes?”
“I gotta say it’s so totally cool. I’m like completely jazzed.”
“I’ll assume those are positive things.”
I held up the pinched fingers again. “Just this much.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Mirraya, Slapgren had separated back to themselves. Cala and those two had a decision to make. It was a big one. Were they going to return to Rameeka Blue Green or remain on Nocturnat? Were they going to hold with the past or commit to a new life among their own kind? If asked, duh, I’d have given my opinion. But they worked it out themselves, the three of them. After weighing pros and cons, they decided to move permanently to Nocturnat. There were thousands of visants anxious to learn the ways of the brindas. It turned out that there was a societal party-line about rejecting the Deft ways, but it was just that. Denying the study of magic was a phrase repeated for generations, but there was no emotion invested in it. Presently, no one alive had the slightest idea what it was they were supposed to stand against. The prejudices of a million years ago, when the schism occurred, were as dead as the people who felt them passionately. Go figure.
The five of us sat down over coffee when they announced their decision.
“We’re going to move the children here and assimilate ourselves into the Plezrite society,” Mirri said with a bright smile. “I miss my people, as does Slapgren. Our family will benefit from a more normal experience.”
“For the record, as witnessed by the recent near-calamity, I do not miss my people and would rather live apart.” I don’t know if I believed Cala, but I would expect her to say just that, grizzly old bat that she was. “But I need to see to the completion of these two’s education.” She tossed her head in their direction.
“That may or may not be necessary,” responded Mirri. “But there are many to teach, and we are but two. Your service to your race is needed now more than ever.”
“Plus, Mirri’s got a bunch of kids to tend to,” added Slapgren. “For the time being, she’s only a part-time teacher.”
“I must have been a wicked person in a former life,” sighed Cala, “to suffer endless punishment … and me being such a wonderful individual.”
“Speaking of endless punishment, Uncle Jon …” Mirri let the sentence fade.
“Yeah, I almost forgot.” I took a big swig of coffee and thudded the mug down. “I got a little more than two months before my debt comes due.”
“You could turn yourself in now, cut out the tense anticipation,” said Cala.
Slapgren snickered. “You two will be at each other until the end of time. I’m convinced of it
.”
“He may be present at the end of time, but I’ll be resting comfortably in my grave long before that, thank you very much,” replied Cala as she gestured toward me.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d start getting a little jealous right about now,” Sapale said as she looked back and forth between Cala and me.
“Me and that revolting looking human a pair? Bah. I have some standards, I’ll have you know.”
“Okay then. I can rest easily tonight,” Sapale replied with a crooked smile.
“Seriously, Uncle Jon, what’s your next move? I can’t see you marching through the gates of hell without a fight, a plan, or a con,” Slapgren said.
“What is it with the ‘what’s your plan,’” I protested. “Who says a plan to avoid the inevitable is even possible?”
“Yeah,” he responded. “So, what’s your plan?”
“He won’t even tell me,” Sapale said coolly. “He says if the shocking details got out, the entire house of burning cards might come tumbling down.” She rolled her eyes. Man, she was cute.
“Well if there’s any way we can help, Uncle Jon, you have to promise to ask,” said Mirri.
“I will,” I said, grabbing my mug between both palms. Without intending to, I crushed it to pieces. The little coffee that was in it splattered to the table.
“Why is it I don’t believe you?” asked Mirraya.
“Hey, someone slips me a defective mug and all of the sudden I’m not asking for help from those I love?”
“You’re free to ask me too, you know.” That Cala, she never missed a chance to zap me.
“Here’s an idea,” said Mirri. “Why don’t all of you leave Uncle Jon and me alone? He may speak more freely if there’s no crowd.”
“What?” sputtered Sapale. “I’m his mate of two billion years. If he is going to open up to anyone, it’s damn sure going to be me.”
“I, however, might be in a superior place to aid him. Perhaps he requires more than a welcome ear.”
Sapale studied my face. She was hot, and she was hurt. But then I saw it dawn on her. She loved me enough to want what was best for me. She slid her hand on top of mine. “I’ll be in Blessing when you’re ready,” she said. She got up and left in silence.
Cala and Slapgren did the same. It was just me and my little girl, Mirri. I couldn’t put the image of the first time I saw her all those years ago on the prison ship out of my mind. Her clutching her dead brother with a look of total despair. My how the worm had turned.
“How may I help, dearest uncle?”
“I need to find EJ.”
“I did not anticipate that. May I ask why?”
“Yes, but I won’t tell you, so don’t ask.”
She nodded and smiled faintly. “Very well. It’s your call. How do you plan on finding him?”
“I have no idea.” I looked down at the table. “It’s a big galaxy out there.”
“Do you suspect he’s looking for you?”
“I thought of that. Sure, he wants to find me to take Risrav and dismember me. But I can’t bank on him finding me in time. Even if I broadcast my location with a bullhorn and shined floodlights on myself, he might take too long.”
“I agree. I suppose you could ask the rune.”
“Huh?”
“I said you could ask Risrav where Varsir is.”
I shook my head. “Is that even remotely possible?”
She shrugged. “I’m not certain. In theory, perhaps.”
“If it did, why hasn’t EJ used that ability to find me?”
She got a very smug look on her face. “Who says he hasn’t? Hmm? He did sneak up on you on Kaljax and shot you in the back, I believe you told me.”
“Yeah, but he was there for Sapale. He was with her.”
“And she was with you.”
“No, I came separately.”
“If you say so.”
“What do you mean if I say so? It’s a fact. I arrived after she and he were already there. I brought the kids to her.”
“I might claim you were linked. I might even say you two have been linked since the day you met.”
“What does that mean? Seriously?”
“If you are linked, your fates are intertwined.”
“I’m beginning to see why the Plezrite dumped you brindases. You talk good double-speak but say so little.”
“We could argue this point until your Ralph comes to claim you. Why don’t you just try? It can’t hurt if I’m proven correct … except for your pride.”
Touché. She was right. “Could you please turn your head?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I said turn your head, girl. I’m going to retrieve the rock, and I don’t want an audience.”
“You have never and will never change.”
“Not if I can help it.”
I winked. She turned. I retrieved.
“Here, you try,” I said handing her the stone.
She threw her arms up. “No. It’s in your custody, not mine. You ask it.”
“Can I buy a clue as to how?”
“First, you must boil equal parts goat’s blood and oil of primrose. Then add one tail of newt.”
“Seriously?”
“No. I suggest you simply ask your rune.” She pointed to it.
“Sure. What the hell, right?”
“That’s the spirit. How is failure possible?”
“Smart ass kid. You’re not too big to spank you know?
“Someone’s stalling.”
I grumbled loudly because she was correct again. How very annoying.
“Hey, rock, where’s your counterpart?” I asked it as it sat in my palm. After a few seconds I turned to Mirri. “Not very chatty today, I guess.”
“Try and be serious for ten consecutive seconds.”
I grumbled louder. I really should spank the brat. I looked at the rune. I focused on its rough surface, the scattered pits and chips of mica. I turned it so the light reflected off it in different ways. Funny, I’d never noticed how pretty the rock was. It held secrets I hadn’t considered. It was old. The rune was very old, older than me. It held great pain. How a stone could hold pain was beyond me, but I saw it as plainly as I saw my own hand.
The rune longed to be with its other half, its split, its finisher. It pined to be with Varsir. But it could not be. Varsir was so far away. It was so very removed that the pain inside both runes could not be assuaged. Only if they could be together would their suffering end. If only Risrav could be …”
“They’re on Kantawir. EJ and Varsir are on the planet Kantawir. It’s in the Hantorian System.”
“Very impressive, Uncle. You asked, and the rune answered. I’m very proud of you.”
“But there just one problem.”
“What?”
“He now knows I’m coming for him.”
“Do you think he’ll take flight?”
“No, I know he won’t. He’s waiting for me.”
“That could present a problem.”
I slipped the rune in my pocket. “Ya think?”
TWENTY-SIX
The twelve new members of the Secure Council were huddled around the table, hunched over and silent. They were all acutely aware that their promotions were a result of the lightning quick vacancies resulting from what was being called unofficially as The Disgrace of Our Race. All were anxious to avoid the gruesome, gory ends that their predecessors had suffered because of the disastrous, unprecedented loss. Not a single new officer on the council campaigned for their seat. They were, in fact, the senior officers who least effectively avoided selection.
To add to the discredit and impossible assignment the Secure Council now faced, the emperor himself presided over the first meeting. No emperor was ever invited to, desired at, or allowed to attend these meetings. The sessions were too important for political hacks to muck up the necessary work. So, humiliation was added to the anxiety and misgiving already apparent in the newly elected mili
tary leaders.
“We are not pleased to have to interrupt our busy schedule to be here today,” began a clearly intoxicated Emperor Palawent. “But since the former occupants of these previously honorable seats were so inconsequent … incompetent, so treacherous, and so intensely stupid as to lose a battle that any puppy could have won if blindfolded and had to make decisions while being beaten with a switch.” He stopped talking, apparently feeling he’d completed some thought. His body language challenged anyone to say word, which of course, no one wanted to in the first place.
“That’s better,” he said, spitting saliva over those most closely positioned to him. Again, he seemed to be under the mistaken impression he’d made some important, complete point. “Now I want each and every one of you princesses in pink skirts to swear your allegiance to me here and now,” he pointed to the withered Loserandi standing beside him, “in the face of god or whatever.” The motion of turning rapidly in one direction and then the reverse almost caused him to fall from his chair. Fortunately, the armrests were oversized.
Calran Klug, the new Prime of the council, raised a paw, albeit sheepishly.
“What Krulug Run? Do you have a question, or do you need to go pee?” The emperor kicked his legs in the air, he was so smitten with his humor.
“My Imperial Lord, we would all be honored to pledge our undying allegiance to you again. But, if you will recall we did so for the second time today not ten minutes ago. Would you like the holo replayed?”
“No, I … We do not want the holo replayed. We want the loyalty of your incompetent, inconsequential, inept, in … in … what other in word am I … we’re forgetting?” He tried to snap his fingers but was too drunk to generate a sound.
Not surprisingly, no syntactical assistance was offered.
“Fine,” slurred Palawent. “If there are no further take, we shall questions our leave?” He pointed as best he could aim at each member individually. “You had better impress the crap out of me. If you don’t, I’ll make what I did to those p … p … pork chops you replaced look like a picnic in the park where they serve pork chops.” He squealed in rapture at his wit. Palawent, not surprisingly, squealed alone.
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