Obsidian Tears

by Jaleta Clegg

  "I obey my father's wishes," Bradoc said. "His exact words to me were to keep you from doing something I'd regret allowing. Would you care for a drink, dear sister? Come meet my friends."

  "I've already met most of them, Bradoc. And I don't particularly care for the company. Good night." She turned abruptly and marched away down the path.

  I pulled Shadita from the shrubbery and followed. Mayguena swept beside me, her long gown not hampering her in the least. I resisted the urge to look back.

  "Trust him to ruin the evening," Lilliasa said when she finally stopped. We were halfway up a long slope of wandering flower beds. The sky behind us was brilliant with sunset. Lilliasa paused to look back. Mayguena stood beside her, a silent companion.

  Shadita jerked on the leash, straining to reach a particularly lush bed of pink flowers. I kept her back from them. She snapped, popping and bouncing angrily.

  "She's right, Shadita," Lilliasa said as she scooped up the protesting ball of fur. "Those flowers make you sick."

  "Since Bradoc is out here, the library should be empty," Mayguena suggested.

  "And with Father away, I can read what I please." Lilliasa was only too happy to agree.

  We walked leisurely out of the garden and into the mansion. I had my hands full keeping Shadita out of mischief on the way. Mayguena paused near the top of the hill, pointing to a bush that Shadita could safely munch. I let her eat several mouthfuls. It seemed to satisfy the creature.

  The library was a huge room, soaring twenty feet overhead. The books weren't paper, or data cubes, or readers. I saw nothing but wide expanses of wall when we walked in. Shadita trotted tiredly to a thick rug and sprawled out. I followed her and sat on the rug.

  Mayguena and Lilliasa went to one wide wall. Lilliasa touched a strip of glowing color that appeared under her hand. The wall faded to a streaming blue and lavender. Lilliasa sat in a wide chair facing the wall.

  I felt a wave of energy that tasted of green and smelled of strawberries. I was immediately taken back to Vallius, to the strange room underground where sights and smells and tastes combined in a strange energy wave. I could almost taste the information Lilliasa was receiving.

  "What do you know of this?" Mayguena demanded. She was standing right over me, staring at me with surprise and suspicion on her face.

  I shook my head, unable to answer. The taste of red was overwhelming. I felt knowledge flowing into my head and settling in strange places. It was like the Eggstone, only not words or memories. The knowledge was coded in smell and taste and color. My brain couldn't make sense of it. But almost I could. If I strained this way, turned my thoughts that way.

  The knowledge slid into place. Lilliasa was reading a manual on flying. I could almost reach out and touch the controls. I understood how and where and what to do.

  Mayguena's slap brought me back to myself. I huddled on the thick rug where I'd fallen. I expected a beating now. I expected to be sent back to Reashay.

  "I think we have an unexpected treasure here," Mayguena said.

  "She understood?" Lilliasa sounded more than a bit surprised.

  "If we'd had a flyer here, she would have been airborne." Mayguena sounded smug.

  "But they can't access the information, their brains are not suitable. Only the Trythian anatomy is compatible."

  "I believe the men who think that are unwilling to accept that perhaps it isn't true." Mayguena bent over me. "Come, Pooki. Tell me your real name."

  I backed away from her. It had to be a trap, a trick. I bumped into Shadita, who erupted into popping and snapping and weird squeakings. I turned to soothe the animal, glad to have something to do that wasn't suspicious.

  The door to the library swung open. Bradoc sauntered in.

  "Studying, little sister? Something useful, I'm certain, like flower arranging."

  "Something like that."

  She'd changed the wall. It was blank again. I risked a glance up at their faces. They weren't watching me, they were staring at each other. Lilliasa glared at her brother who loomed over her. Her fiery hair tumbled down one shoulder. Bradoc bent his head, his dark eyes condescending. His hair was a darker shade of red, and much too long to be attractive. It hung loosely around his chin.

  Mayguena was behind me. I had no idea what she was watching or thinking. I dropped my attention back to soothing Shadita.

  "You and your pet and your shadow," Bradoc said rudely. "Father had to pay Gyth a hefty sum to put up with you. I doubt he included the whole menagerie."

  "You're drunk," Lilliasa said. "You will speak with courtesy to me."

  "Or what? Run back to your little world, Lia. Go hide with your playmates."

  Lilliasa stormed from the room. Mayguena glided after her. I picked up Shadita and followed. Bradoc watched me. I didn't like the look on his face.

  "How dare he!" Lilliasa shouted when we were back in her rooms. She flung a pillow at the wall. It bounced and landed silently on the floor. She threw another, shouting angrily.

  "He was very rude, agreed," Mayguena said. "Get hold of yourself, Lia."

  "I will not marry Gyth! I will not spend my life as a toy!"

  I wanted to echo her. I bit my tongue to keep it inside.

  Mayguena whispered to her, leading her into the bathroom.

  Shadita was noisily sick on the floor. I took the creature into the courtyard, where at least it was easier to clean. By the time I had her settled and clean, and the floors cleaned, Mayguena had Lilliasa calm again.

  "Pooki," Lilliasa said to me when I came back in the bedroom, "I dropped my scarf back in the library. Fetch it for me."

  I ducked my head in compliance. My feet carried me out the door into the halls of the mansion.

  It was the first time I'd been out alone. There were lights, low and dim in the night halls. I tried to remember where the library was. I only made one false turn.

  I found the library and eased the door open. Bradoc was there, holding a glass and staring out a window onto a landscape I was certain was nowhere on this planet. Bleak skies of smeary green glowed over tumbled orange rocks with yellow liquid lapping like oil against them. Bradoc turned to study me as the door slid open. I froze, not sure what to do.

  He held out a filmy blue fabric, edged with turquoise and stitched in silver. "You are looking for this? Come, get it for your mistress."

  I wasn't sure what to make of his tone or his invitation. But I'd been sent to fetch the scarf. I took a hesitant step into the room. The door behind me slid shut.

  Bradoc took a step closer, eying me boldly. His eyes traveled over the thin dress I wore. I shivered and took a step back. The door stayed closed.

  "You're wasted on her. Almost I could wonder what it must be like, with a human woman. There are so few of you. So short, like a child, and yet, not." He sipped from his glass and took another step closer. "What if I ordered you to stay here, with me, tonight? I have heard your kind are all heat and passion. Perhaps I should find out if that is true."

  He was looming over me now. I stared at his face, frozen like a frightened rabbit in front of a sand cat. He reached one hand for the shoulder of my dress.

  I reacted out of pure instinct. My arm shot out, blocking him. My other hand punched forward, catching him solidly in the navel. He bent over, surprised. My knee caught him in the crotch. It was the same reaction with just about any male of just about any humanoid race. Bradoc groaned and doubled over, clutching himself in pain. My other knee caught him in the chin as he went down. His eyes crossed. This rabbit had claws.

  I snatched Lilliasa's scarf and bolted from the room, the door sliding open in front of me. I ran madly, racing for the illusion of safety in her rooms. I didn't know what else to do. What I'd just done was against every rule Reashay had beaten into me. I expected them to kill me for it.

  I burst into the front room, startling both of them. They were at the loom. Lilliasa rose, a look of alarm on her face. Mayguena took one step towards me. I dropped to my knees,
my hot face pressed to the cool stone of the floor. The scarf fluttered unnoticed to one side.

  "What happened?" Mayguena asked.

  "Bradoc was there, in the library," I panted. "I… He…" I couldn't get the words out. They stuck in my throat, under the slave collar I wore. I gasped for breath, unable to get enough air.

  "I can guess what he wanted," Mayguena said. "What happened?"

  "I didn't mean to," I said desperately. "It just happened."

  "What?" Lilliasa asked.

  "I struck him," I admitted, choking the words out.

  "You what?" Mayguena asked, completely dumbfounded.

  "Only enough so I could escape," I said, pressing my cheek to the floor. "I did not think."

  "Don't apologize," Lilliasa said. "Whatever you did, he deserved it. That is just so, so perverse. So sick. So wrong."

  I shivered, thinking she was talking about me.

  "You did well," Mayguena said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "He did not touch you?"

  I shook my head, banging it on the floor in my surprise. "But I will die for what I did," I said, shocked and bewildered by their reaction.

  "Only if Bradoc mentions it," Mayguena said. "And I doubt he will. The penalties for lying with a slave are severe. It is an abomination few men will admit. And then only if they are confronted with the evidence. No, you're quite safe, Pooki." She made a face. "Why Pooki, Lilli? Couldn't you have picked something a bit more dignified?"

  "For a pet?" Lilliasa was still shocked over her brother's actions. She chewed one thumb and stared at me.

  "What is your name? Your true name?" Mayguena asked me.

  I slowly rose, to sit on my feet, my knees out in front. I studied her face, wondering what game she played. And what I had to lose. She was pleased I'd hit Bradoc. She was pleased I was breaking the rules Reashay had beaten into me. She had maneuvered my time with Tayvis, she had allowed it to happen. She had guessed much.

  "Dace," I said. I swallowed the lump that seemed to stick under my collar.

  "And what were you before Reashay got her claws into you?" Mayguena studied me intently.

  "A pilot."

  Lilliasa gasped in surprise. "They allow women to fly? But there are so few of you."

  "Only on the ships you've captured." I had nothing left to lose now, and so much to gain. If I read Mayguena right.

  "Ships?" Mayguena looked thoughtful. "Not a world?"

  "Where do your slaves usually come from?" I asked.

  "Worlds where they have little technology. Or little worth taking. At least that is the story given. Tell me the truth, Dace." She didn't even hesitate over my name. "Where do your people come from? And how did you access the library?"

  Where did I start? I shifted off my knees, this was going to take a long time.

  "May I ask what you know about my people?" I asked. "It may be easier to explain if I—" My voice trailed off. What was I doing, talking to her like this? As if I were a person again, not a pet or a toy or a thing. I looked down, ashamed by what I had become.

  "Perhaps the bedroom would be a better place," she suggested.

  "I feel the need for a very long, very warm bath," Lilliasa said loudly. She pointed at a bouquet of flowers and nodded.

  "I will see that the records are erased, or at least smeared," Mayguena said very quietly. "Pooki, draw a bath for your mistress," she ordered.

  It took me a moment to figure out what they were up to. By that time, I was in the bathroom, running water into the huge tub. Not all of Reashay's conditioning had been broken.

  Mayguena was right behind me. She sat on the edge of the tub and motioned next to her. "Sit. It was stupid of me to forget that Tuarik is suspicious. I had hoped he'd given up on the listening devices. I will have to water them all tomorrow. Thoroughly." She watched me as I perched nervously on the lip of the tub. Lilliasa stood nearby, watching the water flow to fill the tub. It was big and she had the water turned low, it would take a very long time.

  "I have heard there are few of your females," Mayguena said. "Ten men for every woman."

  "It's not true. The numbers are close to equal. It isn't much different than other humanoids," I said.

  "You have experience with them?" Lilliasa sounded surprised. "But your people do not have ships, to travel between stars." Lilliasa sounded sure of herself.

  "I used to own a ship," I said, and corrected myself before I could stop. "I own a ship that does just that. We trade things." I ended lamely, unnerved by the shock on their faces.

  "You have space travel?" Lilliasa couldn't seem to wrap her head around the thought.

  "And how many worlds?" Mayguena asked.

  "I don't know," I answered honestly. "There are thousands in the Empire."

  "Thousands?" Lilliasa looked ready to faint.

  "There are nine in the Hegemony," Mayguena said, her eyes huge. "We are constantly assured that no one could possibly challenge our superiority. Thousands?" she echoed Lilliasa.

  "But then why are you slaves?" Lilliasa asked. "If you have thousands of worlds, and ships, then you must be too strong. And yet they bring you in as slaves."

  "Only those ships they have captured. The ones that are exploring, traveling beyond our borders."

  "And you, why are you out here?" Mayguena asked.

  "Because the Eggstone was broken and the Sessimoniss needed me and my friend was missing."

  "I have heard of the Sessimoniss." Lilliasa shuddered delicately. "They brought two to a festival once. Savage creatures."

  "What do you have to do with them?" Mayguena asked. The shock was wearing off, I could almost see her mind working over the possibilities I'd handed her.

  "I helped drive your people off their world."

  "But you are here," Lilliasa objected. "You are a slave."

  "Because we didn't run fast enough and we didn't recognize your engine signatures." They stared at me blankly and I realized I'd slipped into Basic, not their language. I sorted through my memories looking for terms they would understand. I couldn't find them. "Your ships are different from ours. We were caught by surprise."

  "And when will your armies come?" Mayguena asked coldly.

  "I don't know if they are coming," I answered honestly. "I was supposed to return, to give them information. Your ships haven't even come close to the Empire yet. Only the very outermost fringes of space we know."

  "Then will you help us?" Mayguena asked.

  I frowned, puzzled, not understanding what she wanted. "I am your slave, I have to do what you command me to do."

  "Just like you are now?"

  I fought the habit Reashay had instilled in me to grovel. I stayed sitting, looking Mayguena in the eye. She'd given me back my name.

  She nodded in approval. "I hoped you would be a fighter. I was disappointed at how well Reashay did her work. You still have not explained how you interfaced with the library."

  "There was a ship, a colony ship of your people. It crashed on a planet deep inside our Empire several hundred years ago. I was there, as a slave, for a few days."

  "A ship of ours?" Lilliasa asked in confusion. "How could that be?"

  "The lost colony ship," Mayguena said and nodded. "The one that was supposed to settle the moons of Joygens. They rebelled. They went right past Joygens and kept going. It's a legend, told only in very secret circles and only in whispers. No one defies the Triad. They claim the ship malfunctioned and the crew was lost."

  "It would have been better," I said. "They were stranded on a planet that would have killed them within a few more generations. I'm sure they're overrun by scientists and people trying to help save them now."

  "Your people would do that? They would save an invading race? They would not make slaves of them?" Mayguena watched me closely.

  I chose my words carefully. "Slavery is illegal in the Empire, punishable by the most severe sentence."

  "Of death?"

  "Only those convicted of treason are put to death. The others ar
e given life sentences."

  "So they can continue," she sneered. "Just like the Triad. Turn away, pretend it doesn't happen while you still line your pockets."

  "Only rarely," I countered. "Humans aren't perfect, either. Usually they're sent to worlds where no one else wants to live. They don't live long there."

  "And I suppose men hold the power in your Empire?"

  "Many, yes. But there are women who hold power. And only on some worlds are women treated as less than equals to men."

  "Are they forced to marry? As their fathers choose?" Lilliasa asked.

  "And what of the genes? The desirability of their offspring?" Mayguena added.

  "Your marriages are arranged?" I asked.

  "Only between those with compatible genetic traits that are desirable," Mayguena said.

  "Such as not being short," Lilliasa said bitterly. "I have too many undesirable genes, a throwback since both of my parents were so compatible and perfect. My father has said he should have stopped with the four they were allowed. But my mother wanted a daughter. She died of shame when I was four and very small for my age."

  "Your father beat her," Mayguena said sharply. "He drove her to her death."

  Lilliasa turned away from us. She hunched her shoulders and ducked her head.

  "Only those of the middle classes can choose their mates," Mayguena said quietly. "But even then, children are only born to those who carry the right traits. The rest of us are not allowed children. Some marry for companionship, but that is rare. Those of the upper classes, such as Lilliasa are more bound by their genes. Though her father is one of the Triad, she will never be allowed children. And her marriage is to a man twenty years her senior, who already has four healthy children. His daughter was a classmate to Lilliasa. She can hope for nothing better. And I can hope for nothing. I am too high to marry for convenience. So I live as her companion and chaperone. And her friend."

  "And what of the rest of the people?" I asked. "Not everyone can be the master. Or are the slaves so numerous?"

  "Slaves are a status symbol. Only the rich can afford to own more than one or two. Tuarik owns a hundred, he flaunts his status. Most work is done more efficiently in other ways. Tuarik uses slaves to do the work of machines to show how powerful he is. He can afford to have slaves polish his floors. He can afford to give a slave to his daughter as a pet." She smiled briefly at me. "I doubt he knows that pet has fangs and claws."