Phoenix in Flames

by Jaleta Clegg

  "I have no idea what you're saying," I said. "The medic told me the ship was in drydock, but he didn't say why."

  "Because your friends on this ship gave the order to shoot out our engines," Darus said heatedly. He pointed his finger at me.

  "I don't think I want to hear this." I looked at Tayvis, begging him silently to rescue me.

  "Don't look at me," he said. "I was down on the planet looking for you."

  "They shot us down and then hauled us on board and locked us up," Darus said. He was showing off, trying to impress Deena. "They said it was for our safety."

  "Who?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

  "Your friend Willet Smythe admitted he gave the order. He also said they were going to pay for our new engines. Jasyn made him promise."

  "I hoped she hurt him when she twisted that out of him. Will Smythe." I shook my head. Somehow I wasn't surprised he was here.

  "Not then," Tayvis said. "She threatened to remove his ears and feed them to him when he asked her about the trade council. He wanted to know when she was going to finish overseeing trade discussions."

  "She wasn't too happy about being manipulated into becoming head of the council," Darus told me.

  "So, tell me what vids you've been making lately," I said, turning to Deena.

  She smiled and sipped her water. "I haven't worked in years. And I'm very glad what I do is pretend. I don't know how you do it. I was never more frightened in my life than when I left Linas-Drias. I had the Patrol looking for me. It was horrible."

  "And you've never finished telling me how you happened to end up here," Tayvis said to her.

  She set the glass on the table, her smile fading. "Scholar left me a message. He needed his things to be delivered here. He told me to ask for help in the name of the Shellfinder clan. I still don't know what that means." She caught my sudden twitch and looked at me. "I think you do, though. Interesting." She watched me, waiting.

  "It's a Gypsy clan," I said. And then closed my mouth. I wasn't going to say anymore than that.

  "One of the most controversial," Tayvis said. "The Council tried dissolving it but the ship captains rebelled. Everett and his crew are the latest ones to be adopted in."

  "Is he here, too?" I asked.

  "He's waiting for us on Tebros," Tayvis said. "Jasyn almost disowned him when she found out he'd been working for Will for the last two years. Undercover, of course."

  "She was mad enough to eat rivets," Darus said. "She's been around you too long. She almost sounded like an engineer."

  "It was even funnier when Louie repeated it," Tayvis said.

  I couldn't keep my smile on my face. It hurt that I hadn't been there. But at least Tayvis had. And Darus. I picked up my glass. My hand was twitching, just a slight tremor. I put the glass back down.

  Darus was talking to Deena now, asking her about her vids. She was asking him in return about his career. I was grateful to him for glossing over his twelve years on Vallius. He couldn't resist the story entirely, though. Deena knew about Vallius, anyone within twelve hundred light years knew about Vallius. He had to tell her about me. It was on our way back into civilization after being held as slaves on Vallius that he'd learned he had a daughter. Deena ate it up, her eyes wide as he spun out the story. Darus puffed up under her attention.

  The waiter brought our food in the middle of Darus' story. I picked at mine, unable to eat more than a few bites. I pushed food around while I listened to him talk. My hand was still shaking. I picked up my glass and had to use both hands to steady it.

  "Are you all right?" Darus asked me, interrupting his version of my grand entrance on Parrus.

  "No, I'm not," I said, my voice tight as I put the glass down. Water slopped over the edge and spilled onto my hand. I was angry again, at my body, at Shomies, at fate.

  "But they said you were going to be fine," Darus objected. "You're here."

  "I get to go back to the medical wing tonight and every night for the rest of my life," I said.

  Tayvis took my hand, holding it tightly. The warmth of his hand was soothing.

  I stared down at my plate. I didn't want to see the pity I knew was on Darus' face. I didn't want to see his pain. I didn't want to see any more pain on anyone's face, especially if it was because of me.

  "Tell me about Lirondalla," Deena asked Darus. "You've got me curious now."

  Lirondalla was my mother. Darus had been married to her for less than a week before he was shipped offworld, leaving her behind on Tivor. The story was tragic, a doomed romance. I didn't want to hear it again. She'd died when I was three, killed in a senseless riot over food.

  "I know a very quiet place in the hydroponics room," Tayvis suggested. He squeezed my hand. "If you want to talk," he added.

  I studied his face. His brown eyes were shadowed but sympathetic. He said he loved me and nothing would change that fact. I wondered how much he meant it. I wondered if he could live with my latest news. The medic said I only had months to live. Was he willing to risk the pain I knew we would both face? Was he willing to agree to a very uncertain future with me?

  "Was the food not to your taste?" the waiter asked behind me. He sounded more than slightly offended.

  It was so absurd I started to laugh. Live for the moment, I told myself. That may be all I would have. I smiled and turned around.

  "The food was fine," I said. "I'm just not very hungry."

  Tayvis tugged me to my feet. Darus started to stand.

  "I think they need to talk privately," Deena said, stopping him with a touch on his arm. "So tell me the rest."

  Darus sat back down. He was completely under her spell.

  Tayvis held my hand as we walked out. I paused in the doorway to look back. Darus was talking animatedly. Deena was leaning over the table, hanging on every word.

  "Should we be worried about that?" I asked Tayvis.

  "Your father and my mother? That's too weird to happen."

  We walked hand in hand down the corridor. Whatever happened, I had this moment to hang on to.

  My optimism lasted until we reached the end of the shopping district. I couldn't help but notice everyone was watching us. It made me queasy. I'd never wanted everyone to know my face and name. I just wanted to fly my own ship. That was all I'd ever wanted, freedom. I was almost relieved when we got into a private transport pod, except now I'd have to tell Tayvis what the medics had told me.

  I couldn't do it. The transport started moving. I hadn't heard where Tayvis sent us. I sat and stared at my hands and listened to the silence between us.

  "I came by this morning but they said you were still asleep," Tayvis said.

  "They gave me your note," I said back.

  "What's bothering you now?" He leaned back in his seat, his arms folded over his chest. There was space between us, physically, emotionally, every way I could define it.

  I pulled the packet of supplements out of my pocket. My hand was shaking despite every effort I made to hold it still. I stared down at the pills, hating them for what they represented.

  "I talked to the medics this morning," I said. "Even with the drug, I won't live long. There's too much damage."

  "And?" he asked as if I were making a big deal out of something small, like a hangnail.

  "Didn't you hear me?" I said, looking up for the first time since we'd climbed in. "I've got cancer. I have seizures. My whole system is screwed up and they can't fix it."

  "Really?" He raised one eyebrow.

  "Don't raise your eyebrow at me," I shouted.

  His lip twitched. He was trying not to laugh.

  "Haven't you heard anything I just said?" I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I hated him for laughing.

  "I talked to the medic this morning, too," he said, his smile fading. "Worst case, Dace, you live maybe a year. But he was a lot more optimistic about your chances than you are. He said they'd know within two weeks if the treatment was going to work or not. Judging by what you've done al
ready, he said you had a very good chance of recovering."

  "Then why did he spend an hour this morning telling me how bad things are?" I stared down at my hands again, twisting them together. I wanted to believe Tayvis. What he said contradicted the medics, though.

  "How else was he going to get you to take your medicine?"

  He was grinning now. I studied his face, wanting to believe him, wanting to hope. It would hurt too much if I did.

  "You'll make it through, Dace, you always do."

  I shook my head. "Not this time, Tayvis."

  "You made me a promise." His smile was gone, his face impassive as stone. He reached a hand into his pocket. "Give me your hand."

  "What?" This wasn't what I expected from him.

  "Give me your hand," he repeated. He reached for my left hand. I let him take it. He pulled something from his pocket that glinted like gold. "You promised to marry me. Do you still mean it?"

  My hand lay limply in his. I was confused inside, scared and nervous and angry and happy and everything else all mixed up together.

  "Do you mean it, Dace? Will you marry me? No more excuses?"

  I had to swallow a nervous lump before I could answer. "Yes," I said, barely louder than the whisper of the pod down its track. I swallowed again. "Yes," I repeated.

  "That's what I hoped you'd say." The object in his hand was a ring, a simple circle of gold with tiny flashes of blue green spiraling around it. He slipped it onto my finger. "My mother gave it to me," he said, holding my hand up so he could see the ring. He lowered my hand and looked over at me. "Well, say something."

  "I love you," I whispered.

  He smiled and pulled me across the pod. He kissed me.

  He was still kissing me when the pod slid to a stop.

  Chapter 58

  "So this is where you work," Lowell said as he walked through the open door.

  Will Smythe looked up from his reports. The last two weeks had almost been a vacation. With the ship underway he hadn't received any new updates. He was almost caught up on the backlog from before. It was temporary and he knew it. He pushed the report aside, turning it face down on his desk.

  "Who let you in?" he asked with a smile.

  "Your secretary," Lowell answered. He pushed his hands into his pockets. "She's really quite charming."

  "And old enough I didn't think I had to worry about her succumbing to flattery," Will answered.

  Lowell grinned. "But I'm a professional."

  Will laughed and leaned back in his chair. "Have a seat and tell me why you came to see me."

  Lowell pulled up a chair and straddled it. He watched Will for a long moment. "You aren't going to arrest me?"

  "Why would I want to do that?" Will's voice was bland, giving nothing away.

  "Because I used to work for the enemy. Because I know more than I should about you and the Empire and a lot of shady dealings on the border."

  "Are you trying to give me a reason, Lowell?"

  Lowell shrugged. "The Empire would probably pay you a fortune for me, dead or alive. I'd prefer dead."

  Will shook his head. "They have bigger problems than the whereabouts of their former High Commander. They don't have the money or the men to hunt you down."

  "Then why haven't you made me an offer? I could tell you almost anything you want to know."

  "I have my reasons. First of all, I have agents on Linas-Drias and elsewhere who keep me very well informed. And secondly, your current boss would probably skin me alive if I stole part of her crew."

  Lowell stared blankly at Will for a long moment.

  "Jasyn would be glad to get rid of me," he said bluntly.

  "Is that what you think?" Will sat back up and fished a sheet of paper off his desk and handed it to Lowell. "Then why is she threatening me with various forms of dismemberment if I mess with her crew?"

  Lowell read the paper and chuckled. "Very colorful but I don't think she meant me."

  "You're listed on the crew manifest, although I'd love to know how you convinced her to do that."

  "I didn't ask," Lowell answered, touched despite himself.

  "She also listed you as a member of Shellfinder Clan. I touch you or anyone else on that list and the Gypsies will declare war on me."

  Lowell slid the paper back onto Will's messy desk. "She's good, Will. She's got you on a string."

  "Don't remind me," Will said, pulling a face. "Roland's all over my case to get her back to Tebros and in the Council sessions. We'll be there in another four days."

  "Maybe I can help," Lowell said. "What is it you need?"

  "Trade regulations, for a start," Will answered. "The Gypsies have done nothing but argue and dig up old feuds since she left."

  "The Council dissolved her clan. Were you aware of that?"

  "I heard the rumor, yes. Most of the ship crews rebelled when that particular one hit the circuits. It's a mess."

  "And if it isn't straightened out soon, things get ugly?"

  "The whole smuggling network you set up would crash. It's the only thing keeping trade flowing. Without trade, we have maybe five years, no more. The Empire has a few months, if that."

  "And what about the independent nations?" Lowell asked. "Cygnus, Altairus Protectorate, Sectorius Major. Do you want me to continue?"

  "So you're well informed. I'm not surprised."

  "How many are there?"

  "That haven't joined the Federation? At least fifteen that we know about. Three of them are openly controlled by the crime syndicates. Five others we suspect are heavily influenced. The other seven are trying to be independent. Cygnus is the only one with enough firepower to stay that way."

  "And the willpower. They wouldn't agree to your terms?"

  "We're still in negotiation."

  "And what is it about the Empire you are trying to avoid telling me?" Lowell shifted on his chair.

  "I'm not hiding anything," Will said. He watched Lowell for any betrayal of knowledge. "You really don't know?"

  "If I did, would I be sitting here waiting for you to tell me?"

  "You used to be a lot more subtle, Lowell."

  "Subtle isn't going to get me what I want."

  "You don't have any power here."

  "Quite the contrary," Lowell said with a grin. "You told me that yourself. How about you tell me your secrets and in exchange I'll help you solve your problems. I'm quite good at it."

  "Are you begging for a job?"

  Lowell sobered. "How long do you think Jasyn's going to keep me around? Really? Besides, if I ever step foot on Imperial soil again, I'll be shot on sight. My future is out here."

  "And you want in on the top?" Will shook his head.

  "No, that's your job. I want to help advise you. Although you're doing quite well by yourself. I would recommend you learn to delegate more, though."

  "I've been telling him that for years," Roland said behind them.

  "Don't do that!" Will exploded. "Stop sneaking up on me, Roland."

  Roland grinned unrepentantly and shut the door.

  Will shot glances between Roland and Lowell. "Why are you two setting me up?"

  "Roland invited me here," Lowell said. "He didn't say why."

  "But you can guess." Will was still grumbling.

  Roland dragged another chair to the desk and sat, tucking his brown robe around his knees. "I wanted his opinion," he said to Will.

  "Then why didn't you tell me?" Will said, exasperation plain on his face.

  "I did. At least five times. I believe you ignored the messages I sent."

  "Something's happened in the Empire," Lowell said.

  "You could say that," Will hedged.

  "You don't know?" Roland asked Lowell.

  Lowell didn't answer.

  "He isn't as omniscient as you think, Roland."

  "Be quiet, Will. I still value his assessment of the situation. And he has been rather preoccupied with other problems lately." Roland may have looked silly in the worn rob
e, but his face commanded respect. It was not hard to see how he'd built the Federation, reforming planets wholesale, in just the last few years. Lowell made a note never to underestimate Roland.

  "The Emperor has disappeared," Will said to Lowell, giving in to Roland. "There are rumors he's dead. No one's seen him for at least a month. His son, Maximillius the Fourteenth, has assumed his duties although he hasn't been crowned. Yet."

  "Tell him the rest of the story," Roland instructed.

  "There's a woman with him. No one knows who she is. She wears a veil."

  "The Lady, the Ice Queen," Lowell broke in. "I've heard of her. Scholar was closing in on her identity when he disappeared."

  "Then who is she?" Will asked.

  Lowell shook his head. "She's young. I suspect she's tied to one of the Houses of Illerion but I don't know. She has contacts at the highest levels and she is ruthless in using them. At least two of the High Command are in her pay."

  "The rumor is that she's angling to be the Emperor's consort." Will leaned back again.

  "The rumor is that she's already in his bed," Roland added. "She's supposed to have contacts with the drug trade."

  "We don't know if she's a buyer or a seller," Will said. "There are rumors she uses drugs to keep her people in line. Maximillius certainly is exhibiting erratic behavior."

  "That's normal for him," Lowell said. "What files do you have? Maybe there is something in there that I can connect for you."

  "I'll have them sent next door," Will said glancing at Roland.

  The monk grinned. "Pay up, Will. I told you he'd accept."

  "All right, you can take it."

  Roland grinned and bounced out of his chair. He pulled a framed photo of Dariana Grace off the wall. "I love her signature. Don't you?"

  "Roland set up the office next door for you as soon as he learned you were on his ship," Will explained. "He bet me you would accept a job as soon as we offered."

  "Maybe I'll turn you down," Lowell said.

  "Not when you see the files," Will said fatalistically. "Things are bad. The Empire is down to twenty three of the Inner Worlds. It's a mess. There are over a hundred worlds we can't get to in time. We don't have the resources. The Empire does, but it's shoved them out without a word. The syndicates are too busy drooling over the richer worlds to bother with the others."