Still no reaction. “Did I? You must think awfully poor of me to believe that I would turn my hand against the leader of our House.”
Aris dropped his left hand to the hilt of the sword he wore at his side. “What did it, Thom? That Virginia York did not protest our exclusion from the attack on Davion’s worlds last year? That she settled on Ty Wu Non as her successor and not you?”
Lindell’s shoulders hitched, and he gave out a small gasping laugh. It took Aris an extra second to realize that this was Thorn’s effort to scoff at the charge. He wasn’t very good at it. “And for this I strangled her?”
It was all Aris had been waiting for. The katana slid quickly free of its scabbard with a metallic rasp. Aris brought both hands to the hilt and extended the blade so that the tip was against the base of Thorn Lindell’s throat.
“How did you know she was strangled?” he demanded. “I never even mentioned to Ty Wu Non the bruises I saw. Doctor Hammond’s report was sealed. Everyone knew about the slit throat because of all the blood.”
Thorn Lindell turned away from the window, moving carefully so as not to cut his own throat. Aris could see knowledge of his error on the other man’s face. There were no further attempts to turn Aris from his purpose here. He merely regarded Thom Lindell with cool, unrepentant eyes that widened only the briefest sliver upon noticing the blade. “Crescent Moon? You stole it from Ty Wu Non’s cabin? You would again violate House tradition just to serve your need for vengeance? A strange way to dispense your justice, Aris Sung.”
“Ty Wu Non is not yet House Master,” Aris said coldly. “This is Virginia York’s sword and Virginia York’s justice. And one of the last things I heard from my House Master was a promise that even the smallest instance of defiance would be considered a capital offense.”
Aris drew back and slashed, once, with violent force. He let his rage erupt, driving his arm, before he could think better of the execution. The blade cleaved through Lindell’s face and continued down to draw a bloody furrow across his chest.
Aris bent over the corpse of Company Leader Lindell. His chest heaved and his stomach felt tied in knots as he cleaned the House Master’s blade on Lindell’s clothing. “Those were my House Master’s last words,” he said, partially to the dead man and partially to himself. “And the will of the House Master is the will of the House.”
Aris left Lindell there, the blood spreading out in a pool across the floor.
Epilogue
Celestial Palace
Forbidden City, Sian
Sian Commonality, Capellan Confederation
9 August 3058
House Master Ion Rush stood with Colonel Talon Zahn in the Strategic Planning Center of the Celestial Palace. It was the chamber known as the War Room, and few came here. Even fewer knew where it was. The House Master’s left arm crossed his chest to support his right elbow, and his right hand cradled his chin. Both men studied the holographic star chart that stretched from floor to ceiling, a two-dimensional representation of the Capellan Confederation and surrounding space.
A prickly warmth tickled at the nape of Rush’s neck and he glanced back over his shoulder, searching the shadows of the dimly lit room. Nothing. He shrugged his shoulders to ease the tension pulling at his muscles. No matter where he went in the Celestial Palace, he always felt as if he was being watched, studied. The sensation would come and go, but never had he found any evidence to support the mild paranoia.
It’s just that I’d rather be back in the House Imarra stronghold, he thought, looking back to the holographic chart. Tending the House and walking among warriors. The Celestial Palace was a place of too many secrets, too much politics, for him to ever feel comfortable. But the Chancellor was absent. He had just completed a diplomatic mission in the Periphery and now headed for a summit meeting on the Lyran Alliance capital of Tharkad, via the Marik capital of Atreus. That meant Ion Rush’s place was in the palace where he and the Chancellor’s Strategic Military Director, Colonel Zahn, could tend to the business of maintaining the Confederation’s state of readiness.
Ion Rush rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to massage away the unease. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.
“You wanted to lift the blockade at Sarna?” Colonel Zahn asked, though it was more of a prompt. House Master Rush had asked for this private meeting, and he’d remained silent for too long.
The Imarra House Master nodded. “It has served its purpose. Sarna wasn’t sure how to react to our warships at first, but they’re learning. Soon they’ll manage to slip around them, or possibly damage one.”
Talon Zahn was young to be named Strategic Director of the Capellan Confederation, though he could boast of being older than Sun-Tzu Liao himself. He was still trim and well-muscled, favoring his right leg and its hip replacement only slightly. Ion Rush considered the man’s thirty-odd years an asset. He was old enough to hold the position, young enough that his appointment threatened the older field commanders, and, above all, he was devoted to the Chancellor.
Now the Director frowned, even as he nodded agreement. “Those vessels are too new, too big a chunk of our budget, to risk foolishly. If you believe they may be threatened, I will move them. But what about our people on Kaifeng?”
Ion Rush studied the trio of stars that until only a few days ago had comprised the Sarna Supremacy. Two of them still glowed the turquoise of independent systems—Sarna and Sakhalin. The point of light representing Kaifeng on the star chart was wrapped in a sublime green glow that made Ion Rush smile. “According to the reports from Battalion Commander Non, Kaifeng has been pacified. He requests an additional battalion to hold Kaifeng against Sarna.”
“We have that on Capella,” Zahn said easily. “And I will arrange for an adjustment of our shipping routes to take advantage of Kaifeng’s food surplus. We can distribute it to several worlds on our border.”
Rush cleared his throat to signal a disagreement. “I think we should consider selling the food surplus to Sarna,” he said evenly.
“You think what?”
Rush smiled, though it did not quite reach his eyes. “We already have reports of food shortages on Sarna. They relied too heavily on Kaifeng. Sakhalin is even worse off, but then they don’t have nearly the same population to support so they’ll adapt much faster. If we shut off the supply of food to Sarna, they will have no recourse but to strike hard at Kaifeng and we will lose our advantage. By continuing to sell to them, we buy ourselves time. Once we find adequate reinforcements for our nearby worlds, we slowly inflate the prices and steadily decrease shipments. We put a stranglehold on the entire Sarna Supremacy.”
Talon Zahn glanced toward the bottom of the star chart, to the Periphery, where the Magistracy of Canopus rubbed against the border of the Capellan Confederation. “With luck, those reinforcements are not too far off,” he said. The Chancellor himself had pulled off the operation that would ally troops of the rich Periphery state of Canopus with the Capellan military.
The problem for the Capellan Confederation was not the taking of worlds, but being able to hold them. Ion Rush had spoken of this to Sun-Tzu when the year began, and the Chancellor had promised to find the troops necessary. Ion Rush had held up his end of the bargain struck that night. Now it was for the Chancellor to hold up his.
“From your lips to the Chancellor’s ear,” Rush said.
* * *
In one of the war room’s dark corners, partially screened by a bust of Elias Jung Liao—founder of the Liao dynasty—green eyes peered out from a small square of darkness set into the wall. Like cat’s eyes, they trapped the light, almost glowing, and did not blink for long periods. A small piece of wood paneling finally slid back into place to cover the aperture.
Kali Liao stood and stealthily moved down the secret passage. The hidden passages that riddled the Celestial Palace were extensive, and she knew many of them by memory. Her outstretched fingers located the first passage that branched off to the right and she turned into it, only t
hen snapping on the small penlight she carried.
Ty Wu Non still lives, which means Lindell has failed. Houses LuSann and Ijori are beyond my reach, courtesy of Ion Rush. Now my brother returns with Periphery troops. Most inconvenient.
She tossed her head angrily, her wild, dark hair whipping against the side of her face. Mother should have named me her successor. Would have, Kali was sure, except for the intervention of her Aunt Candace. Now her brother kept her in the shadows, and those around him worked directly to weaken her. But it will not matter in the end, she promised herself. Green eyes bright and fierce, Kali Liao smiled into the darkness. The death goddess cloaks herself in shadow and has many arms. Only one needs succeed.
Binding Force Page 26
