Fires of Nuala

  “He is… a man of extremes. Devoted to his family, to his friends, to those who serve him well.”

  “And those who do not?” This time Darame spoke in Nualan.

  “He… ‘leans’ on those who displease him. His hates are as vigorous as his loves.” Mailan lost her guarded look, and spoke earnestly. “He could be shadowing Sera Leah because he is honestly worried about her. Even if he did kill the others, or arrange it — what if someone else decided to pick up where he stopped?”

  “True,” Darame agreed. “That is a problem. I suspect that there are several things going on, and several people involved. One hand may not know what the other is doing. Could any of the outclans be involved?”

  Mailan frowned. “Dielaan was hit hard when we retaliated, and other clans would mostly heed their example. Always possible… but I still doubt it. Dirk is well known to be totally loyal to Atare, and merciless with outsiders. Or was…” Her face tightened.

  “Including off-worlders? All outclans? Even sinis?”

  “Oh, yes. Dirk resents off-worlders tremendously. I am always surprised when he makes a… friend… of one, and it never lasts long. He will not go out for a wife, and he resents being told he is less than any of these foolish men who come here looking for wealthy brides — ” Mailan smiled at the look on Darame’s face. “It works both ways, Serae. Men come here as well, trading on a pretty face and good health, hoping for a rich marriage with a woman who does not demand fidelity or hard work.”

  “Resents all but Atare.… Then why turn on Atare?” Darame said it softly, considering Mailan’s words and trying to make them fit into previous talks. A new pattern emerging.…

  “I do not understand it, either,” Mailan admitted, “unless he thought he could convince Iver to attack Dielaan. Fion tells me he is even a descendant of the royal line, somehow. It would be like turning on your own family — ”

  Darame straightened, the rest of the sentence lost to her. Could that?… But that would be impossible, unless Leah could control the labs as well.… Could she? If he loves her, and does not want her to lose her position… a position two off-world husbands have not been able to secure — “Does Dirk have any children?”

  Mailan had broken off when she saw Darame become preoccupied. Now she frowned again. “I think so, but not named children of his house. He has no wife.”

  “So he is a 20.”

  “Yes — heir to his house’s industry. He will have to resign eventually, and take over the family business. A common excuse for his push into authority at a young age.” There was a neutrality in her last words which Darame recognized as veiling irony.

  Find the weak links, and exploit them. It clicked in her head as cleanly as a clasp on a chain. “What a mess.” Darame bowed her head over her hands, pushing back loose strands of hair. The grit under her fingernails could not distract her from the words echoing in her head. Weak links. Weak links.

  A familiar fragrance floated to her nostrils, of delicate flowers. “Darame?” Saffra was pushed at her.

  “Thank you, Crystle.” She actually managed a smile for the woman, which seemed to startle her. Do you think I resent you? How can I resent you when I rejected what you so ardently desired? Weak link, weak link…

  It must have been only moments, for Sheel and Mailan still waited attentively. Sipping at her drink, Darame allowed herself to meet their intent expressions. “Sh — Atare, we — ” She paused. It was sometimes hard to call Sheel by name, especially when the guaard were present. As if it was an intimacy which could draw them closer together.… “We have Dirk’s weak link. More than one of them, in fact.” As Mailan scowled and started to speak, Darame continued quickly in clipped Caesarean: “I didn’t say it would make complete sense. We’re not dealing with totally rational people. We’ve got an insecure woman trying to solidify a power base. What she really needs is more children to do it, and for some reason her husband isn’t giving them to her, which is why I suspect she’s stopped sleeping with him. Can people become sterile after coming here? If their systems can’t take it?”

  “It has happened,” Sheel admitted slowly.

  “Anyway, then there is Dirk, who looks down on and resents these weak off-world men, none apparently capable of giving the woman he adores what she wants.”

  “But… the Seedar situation coming on the heels of Atare,” Mailan began.

  “Or too late? Or maybe Cort Atare died too soon? What Dirk, Leah, and their partners want may be very different than what they tell each other they want!” That made even better sense, when Darame thought about those off-worlders heading off to other city-states. Why would Dirk panic… or not panic, but act before Brant intended?

  Her gaze flicked from Mailan to Sheel, and then an odd feeling began to grow within her stomach. How could she tell him any of this without looking like an accessory… or, worse for her pride, a dupe? Can I afford pride? Can I convince him I’m not a murderer? The rest made no difference — she was not ashamed of how she lived. Predators always made a herd stronger.…

  “I think you should be very careful around Dirk, Mailan, if you intend to speak with him. He has already killed guaard. A few more bodies may not concern him. It is just as you feared.” Unfortunately, Mailan’s face showed she clearly did not make the connection. Darame tried again. “He has changed his priorities. His loyalty is now to Leah and Leah’s line, I suspect. Tobias is in no danger… but Sheel certainly is.”

  “And Avis.” Mailan said it as a fact, and something tightened around Darame’s heart.

  “Of course.” Sheel’s whisper drew both their attentions. Turning sharply to Mailan, he said: “I want you to trace Dirk’s family tree, his education — anything you can find out about him.”

  “Sheel…” Darame purposely chose to use his name; as she hoped, she immediately had his attention. “I think there is a much bigger game going on, one Dirk probably isn’t sure of, even if he’s smart enough to suspect it.” Taking a slow, deep breath, Darame chose. “Do not allow the Caesarean Embassy to monitor your movements, Mailan. Do not trust any of them, because I suspect one of their superiors is involved in this, and any underling might report to him.” Swiftly she told them of being in Brant’s office when Leah and Dirk entered.

  “Not good,” Mailan agreed when she finished. “But it could be innocent — that Iver made friends with this ambassador and — “

  “No. Brant has no friends who are not useful to him. Believe me, Mailan, the man does nothing without potential profit in it. He grew up from poverty and abuse to take what he wanted when he wanted it. In fact, I have seen him infiltrate the underground of a city and take it over. I do not know what kind of black market you have on Nuala — “

  “Nebulous. We keep identifying the potential leaders and pushing them off unsteady pedestals,” Mailan supplied.

  “In that case, it is ripe for takeover. And Brant specializes in finding weak links and exploiting them. He will have a united underground in a year’s time, if that is what he is up to, and I doubt you will be able to locate him, much less stop him.”

  “You speak from experience?” Sheel’s voice was very quiet.

  Darame considered her position. Peter’s keys! Why does it matter if he thinks badly of me? Idiot. “I have worked with Brant in the past. I came here to help in a ‘Mirror Game,’ which is when you locate someone you can cheat with their own greed and dishonesty. Brant was supposed to do the groundwork and find the weak links: people who could help us get the contracts we wanted. Caleb and Iver were considered weak links, as was Leah. But I have seen this man betray his partners before, and I don’t trust him — I came here partly because I did not want my mentor working with him alone. Now I think Brant figured out an even better deal, a deal that cuts all of us out and sets him up for life. He will have the underground, and whatever influence he has with Leah, an inroad with the guaard — ”

  “No. Dirk would not allow himself to be controlled, and I doubt he could be blackmailed
without the ambassador giving himself away. Surely Brant would keep his post as long as he could?” Mailan said.

  “I would think so — “ All of a sudden light broke into her thoughts, and Darame jumped so sharply her saffra spilled. “Sebastian’s arrows! And I gave him still another possibility, although he must have already — “ Rising to her feet, she seized Mailan’s shoulders. “Get back to Atare immediately! You have to get some more people you trust on Avis! And… maybe on Leah.” Releasing the woman, Darame bent with trembling fingers to recover her saffra. The enormity of what she had done made her momentarily weak.

  Hands reached into her line of vision, righting the mug and pouring more of the liquid into the container, even as they guided her back to her seat. Sheel’s voice asked smoothly: “What have you done?”

  “I tried to protect Avis from Leah,” she whispered. “I was thinking that Dirk and Leah was a momentary thing, or even a convenience, but that Leah’s resentment of Avis was long-term, and…” She finally met his odd gaze. “Avis is pregnant.”

  His response made no sense. First a gleam of pleasure, followed by a stillness that seemed to deepen into quiet unease. I knew it, I never should have told her to say that — “It is probably Stephen Se’Morval’s child, but I told her to say it might be Brant’s,” Darame continued. “I thought that if Brant knew it, he might protect her from Leah even if Leah decided a little poison or something might take care of that problem — ” Darame raised her hands in entreaty. “I think of the picture as having you in it! It never occurred to me — I mean, without you Leah is Regent, but without Leah, is Tobias still Atare?”

  “Until Avis would bear a daughter and a son, yes. Then her son would become first in line for the throne. Power passes though one woman,” Sheel whispered, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.

  “Brant is perfectly capable of discarding Dirk and Leah after they play their part, although he might take his time about it. Too many bodies can cause comment.” Her words fell into total silence. Quenby Ragäree had taken her children from the room, Darame noted finally, and even Crystle had fled. Things are getting too hot in here.…

  “If Dirk could kill his Atare, he is capable of anything,” Mailan said. “Especially arranging the death of an off-worlder who has served his purpose.”

  “Sweet saints, are you going to find a pile of bodies?” Darame felt herself growing numb at the intricacies of what was developing.

  “Ayers!” They all jumped at the volume of Sheel’s voice, echoing throughout the cavern. In a moment footsteps ran down stone corridors, a rush of sound battering like a dozen guaard. The husky young man threw himself into the room, both blades drawn, although Mailan’s total ease stopped him in his tracks.

  “If only we could harness all this energy,” Sheel said wryly. “I want you to pack your things. Leave with Mailan and Crow, but do not travel together. Be careful: I do not think Dirk will start killing off more guaard, but it would be foolish to assume we have uncovered the depths of this thing. Go to the palace. I want you or your sister on Avis at all times, unless there is someone you can trust with her life as you would trust with your own. It is a burden; it will wear you away like water against a stone. But she may be in grave danger. Wartime guaard; do not let her enter a sanitation unless you have first inspected it.”

  Ayers’s nod of fealty was deeper than usual. “Sheri already has three with her that can be trusted, my Atare.”

  “Good. A five shift will keep you rested.” Sheel paused, taking a long, deep breath, and Darame detected the slightest trembling of his body. “Can you leave today?”

  Even Mailan turned her head to stare at him. At breakfast there had been talk of spending the night in Portland and leaving tomorrow.…

  “I can be ready to leave by tierce,” Ayers responded.

  “Then may Mendülay shadow your steps.”

  The two guaard took his blessing as dismissal, and abruptly Darame and Sheel were alone.

  o0o

  Staring deep into the firepit, unable to face the woman across from him, Sheel surreptitiously looked to see if his hands were shaking. Black against the flames, they seemed calm.… But then if his entire body trembled, would it appear calm to his own eye? Pulse racing, increased heartbeat — he tried to direct his thoughts toward calm.

  “Are you all right?” Darame’s low voice was rougher than usual, and remote. Embarrassed? Not likely: this woman did not waste time with either regrets or conventions.

  I am the one who is embarrassed. She can scan me like a ROM. “Yes. Just realizing the dangers to my house. It is one thing to fear for your own life; it is another thing entirely to fear for not only your siblings, but the future of a ruling line.” It was as much as he could give her — the chasm which had opened before him was still too shocking for words.

  So she was a thief.… Not just a thief — the best of thieves. What did they call themselves? He had heard the word.… Free-traders. Not bound by any laws of trade, any planet restrictions. Some were very careful, fleecing only those who dared themselves to skirt the legal lines. It sounded as if Darame fell into that category.

  It did not matter to him; he wanted her here. A long time since he had wanted a woman decorating the scene. Emerson is past; find what you need. How cynical, Atare.…

  Then there were other types of free-traders.… It was his luck that Brant was one of the most dangerous. A perfect legal facade, and beneath it completely amoral.

  Was it time to take someone, anyone, into his confidence? Now that one of the deepest levels of this nightmare had been plumbed? If Leah definitely knows she is sterile, would she tell anyone? Her idiot doctor, perhaps, but anyone else? Dirk could not know. Brant? That one might suspect, which was part of the reason he had tried hedging his plans with Avis.

  His hands were shaking visibly, now. Surely Darame could see them; she was not blinded by firelight. All Sheel could see was Leah’s face; contemplative, furious as she studied Cort Atare; hungry, predatory as she watched Avis; pallid, frightened, at the hospice after Iver was murdered. What did it all mean? That Iver’s death was unexpected? Was Iver but one of many unexpected things that had happened in the past moons — unexpected even to Leah? You hated Cort, sister — I know you did. And I was afraid you hated Avis.

  Burying his face in his hands, Sheel scarcely felt the delicate, cold hand which folded around his wrist.

  Too late. Too late for everything. Sheel had glimpsed beyond the veil, blue sky torn to reveal the void. Whether Leah already could see her way, or had yet to find the path, Sheel knew what was coming. Avis was finally pregnant. Dear Sweet Mendülay, if you truly watch our path, let it be a boy. A boy, and Avis would live. But a girl, guaranteeing the succession.…

  Avis would probably “die” of the birth… and Leah become the uncontested regent, accumulating a power block to remain unbroken within her lifetime. After all… what was one more death?

  Red Herring:

  A diversion meant to draw

  attention away from the prime issue.

  Chapter Ten

  STARRISE MOUNTAINS

  ONEHUNDRED TWENTYTHREEDAY, NONE

  “No, no, Tobias, you are not paying attention,” Darame said quickly, shaking her head as she reached to lift the cup.

  “It was under the left one!” Tobias was clearly dismayed.

  “No, it was not. You let me red herring you.” She set the small pebble of fired clay in front of the three small domes. “I was exaggerating the movement of my right hand so you would pay close attention to it. While you watched the right hand, the left moved the ball.”

  “Is that not cheating?” The formality of the Nualan words did not disguise the pout of a small boy.

  “I would say it is not,” she replied in the same language. “That is what a traditional shell game is all about: misdirection. On the surface, it is simple; I hide the position of the ball by moving the cups around, while you try to keep track of it. In reality, I must try to make you think
the ball is somewhere it is not.”

  “Why?”

  Darame sighed. “Because a good shell player should be able to use any kind of cup or ball, and with a lot of types of materials, you cannot rely on speed. Therefore, guile is necessary. To win, I must fool you. If I cannot do it by bewildering you with sheer speed, I must do it another way. Only a clumsy player cheats. If I am good enough, I do not have to cheat. If I am not good enough, I have no business starting a game. If we were playing for money,” she added, lifting a small chocolate drop from his pitiful pile, “you would be very poor right now.”

  Unconvinced, Tobias turned back to the cups and stared at them with great concentration. “I will never learn this game. It is called ‘red herringing’ someone when you use your right hand to fool them?”

  That made Darame laugh. “I am not trying to turn you into a free-trader! It is more general than that. On Caesarea, a red herring is a diversion meant to distract your attention from what is really happening. Sometimes it is something physical, like the movement of my hands. Other times, it is a flaw in a story I do not want you to notice, or maybe a piece of information meant to mislead you.”

  “Funny words,” Tobias told her, reaching to slide the cups over the surface of the worn table. “These are hard to move. Do the funny words you use mean whatever you want them to mean?”

  “Yes and no.” Darame reached for her mug of saffra, but found it was cold. Sweet Magdalen, what she wouldn’t give for a cup of tea. Saffra was tasty, but she was tired of it. “Those words mean basically the same thing all over the Seven Systems. You can change the definition, but at least one person must be told your new version, to understand exactly what you mean. Do you know why?”

  “You tell me.” There was a sparkle in the boy’s face, and Darame wondered for the hundredth time if Sheel approved of these impromptu classes.

  “Because all those funny words stand for complex thoughts; and a code is just as useless if no one knows it, as it is when everyone knows it. We could decide that… to ‘Tobias’ something would mean to take it apart and analyze it. But if I decided that, and did not tell anyone else, how would anyone know what I meant when I said I was going to ‘Tobias’ something? The word would fail to communicate its meaning.”