“Time starts now,” he repeated. “And you’d better come home.”
The Palace gates were open, an evacuation in progress, and the frightened people made a space for Saskia’s vehicle to come in, thinking it was there to help. She hated endangering civilians. They had fifteen minutes to get clear of the building.
Tray hopped up from his chair in the wardroom and scrunched his sweater in his hands, fighting to stay calm while his hastily made plan fell to pieces.
“Morrigan, how’s the Prince doing?” Tray asked.
“He has several fractured ribs, a broken arm, a bruised kidney, a concussion,” she replied. “I promised we’d protect him, and I will hurt you if you make a liar of me.”
“My radio access is being jammed,” Tray said. “I need someone who can tell me what we’re up against.”
“Tray! Someone!” Amanda’s voice came over the vring.
Tray swore and ran down the stairs to the cargo bay. Amanda had her pulse rifle in her hand, but she didn’t look like she’d come from a fight.
“Amanda! Oh, good. I need a plan J, K, and L,” Tray said, raking his fingers through his hair. “I have a hostage who doesn’t want to go home, and I think Saskia blew herself up. Where’s your half-breed?”
“I can help you with the hostage. Have you met the Madame Magistrate yet?” Amanda asked, pointing to an older woman creeping around their cargo hold. The Magistrate wore an ornately patterned pantsuit that was covered in mud and grass stains. She had twigs in her hair, dark, purple bruises on her neck, and deep scratches on her face.
“You kidnapped their leader! No wonder I can’t get her on the radio to negotiate!” Tray cried.
“You will address me as Magistrate,” she said, squaring her shoulders, looking arrogant despite her injuries.
“Stay away from my cargo, Magistrate,” Tray snapped, grabbing her arm and sitting her on the stairs. He took a closer look at Amanda, but whatever fight the Magistrate had been in, Amanda wasn’t involved. “You have to stop Disappearing on us. It’s terrible for plans. Are you okay?”
“Physically,” she said, touching his arm, then deciding to give him a light hug. “Layna accidentally killed someone. Her mom. She killed her mom.”
“But she sent you back,” Tray said, giving her a squeeze. His skin burned and he felt a surge of desire. She must have noticed because she pushed him back.
“When she calmed down enough, I tapped into her power to get here,” Amanda said, stepping around the Magistrate to go upstairs. “She’s alone, and I don’t know how to help her. I thought I could bring something. Music. Fruit. She liked the pears.”
“Let’s do that realm shift to get our people back to the ship the way you did for us earlier?” Tray asked.
“I’m going to have to calm her a lot more if I’m going to use her power with any kind of precision. If it weren’t for the Confluence, I wouldn’t have made it here,” Amanda said. “She’s just a kid, Tray. If we start using her like a weapon in this fight, she could become more volatile than Liza. She could move everyone in this city to a realm with no air.”
“Okay, I’m not even giving that plan a letter,” Tray sighed.
“Anna Gossard was right. The best you can do with a creature like that is kill her and put her out of her misery,” the Magistrate groused.
“Did I ask your opinion? No. Sit down and shut up!” Tray snarled. “You’re a prisoner here. Not a guest.”
“Layna saved your life. If she hadn’t intervened, her mother would have killed you,” Amanda added.
“Which would have only proved to my people the dangers of letting Questre hide among us,” she said haughtily. She managed to make the bottom step look like her throne.
“Weren’t you excited when you realized she could separate the person from the spirit? You wanted her help,” Amanda said. “Now you want her dead.”
“She would never fit in, and if she comes back to this realm, her purpose would be to bring death to the Questre—a task she is clearly not able to handle,” Collette said. “She feels sympathy for those spirits. When we left, she was still trying to speak to them.”
Amanda narrowed her eyes at the woman. “We could tell your people we infected you and see if they let you live.”
“Then who would you trade for your people?” she laughed. “I can talk to my people. I can arrange this exchange, if you wish.”
“They’re not talking to me. Your Prince of Law cut off the damn radio,” Tray cried. “He didn’t care that I had a prisoner. He didn’t care about the half-breed. He didn’t care that I blew up the Palace!”
“You destroyed the Palace?” she asked, her arrogance faltering.
“Not all of it. Not yet,” Tray gloated.
The Magistrate paled. “I saw it.”
“She has premonitions sometimes,” Amanda explained.
“You’re afraid of us because you saw us blow up the Palace?” Tray asked. “Did you think that maybe we blew up the Palace because you turned on us?”
“She also saw me. With him,” Corin said, entering with Hawk. Corin wore one of Tray’s robes, and his long legs were bright red with knife wounds that hadn’t healed. Morrigan stayed a few steps behind, making sure her wobbly patients didn’t keel over.
“You are alive. I knew you must be,” the Magistrate said, rising from the stairs. Her eyes filled with tears and she reached out, beckoning him to her side.
“No thanks to you,” Corin said, pulling the robe open to show her the barely clotted scabs on his chest.
“Belgard?” she asked, failing to look surprised.
Corin nodded. “This time.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be,” he growled. “You allowed it. You allowed the fire. You allowed eight victims to go unnamed. You allowed people to get away with hate crimes against Fotri. You hated me for being one.”
The Magistrate took the rebuke without blinking an eye. “I’ll change. Our people will change. I’ve already been convinced to end Festival.”
“I’m not going back,” Corin said.
“Corin, you can’t run away with these people. You don’t know what they’ll do to you,” the Magistrate warned, her expression hardening.
“If you make me go back, I will take my own life. I’d already planned it before they came,” he said. “These people saved me. Not because they needed a hostage. Because I’m a person.”
Corin turned away as sharply as he could, given his injuries. He clung to Hawk, then gripped Morrigan tightly, walking away from his mother without saying good-bye. The Magistrate sank to the stairs, dabbing tears from her eyes with the hem of her shirt. Tray felt bad for her, but Corin wasn’t the only one thrown to the gators. Hawk had been mutilated and tossed in the river as well. Tray still had half the crew left to save.
“Is there a way besides radio to get a message to the Palace?” Tray asked her.
“Give me a minute,” she sniffled, her skin getting red and blotchy.
“My next bomb detonates in eight minutes,” Tray said. “And your people are sitting in the Palace like idiots, because they don’t believe it will fall.”
36
Sky’s hands rested comfortably in Danny’s pockets, and she swayed peacefully as he hummed a tune. It would have been nice, except they were in a cage and Sky’s grav-gun could not compete with three trigger-happy guards with projectile weapons.
Chase leaned against the bars, struggling to eat the bowl of lamb stew that had been offered to them. Eating had been a challenge for Chase since he’d injured his dominant hand. He had trouble gripping things with his right hand, and his left hand had all the mobility with none of the dexterity. Holding the fork steady with his right hand was a major accomplishment and a credit to his diligence in therapy. He managed a few bites before his grip started to slip, and he was too proud to let the others feed him.
They’d also been given a pot to relieve themselves in, but none of them had succumbed to that level o
f desperation. Sky rubbed her lips against Danny’s neck, desperate for a distraction. She couldn’t tell if the antidote had restored his self-control, or if this was another mood swing. He suffered depression, and she recognized that distant look when he shelved his emotions and was determined not to feel. The singing was just part of the mask.
Danny’s stomach grumbled, and his body rippled with a belch. The stew hadn’t agreed with him, and Sky hoped the digestive issue wasn’t anything more than gas. Pulling a hand from his pocket, she slipped it under his shirt and massaged his belly.
“Tray, please get me out of here before these two do something they’ll regret,” Chase groaned, pushing the bowl away and burying his face in his hands. Their guards seemed nervous that he spoke Lanvarian, but Chase wasn’t the polyglot the rest of them were. Sky subtly brushed over her ear, making sure her Feather was in place so she could hear the reply.
“I’m in the middle of a riveting game of solitaire,” she heard Tray say. “I didn’t bring down the building, did I?”
“No. And it doesn’t look like they’re mobilizing a prisoner exchange either,” Danny said. “They seem to be waiting for the Madame Magistrate to come back.”
“Well if they hadn’t cut off my damn radio, they’d know their beloved Magistrate is my prisoner,” Tray said. “That compromises the Sir Magistrate, and according to her, that puts Torrance in charge.”
“I think Corin’s capture did that. Torrance has been butting heads with the Prince of Law, and I think the Prince of Law is more fixated on the half-breed than our comfort,” Danny said. “He’s afraid we’ll let the girl live, and he wants her dead before he’ll let us go.”
“Well, she’s not on my list of available hostages,” Tray grumbled. “Saskia’s about to blow something up. Can you get a Virp to whoever is in charge? I don’t want people dying, and Saskia doesn’t really have a place to lie in wait.”
“Tray, they won’t touch us with a ten-foot pole,” Chase said, massaging his hand. His shirt was stained with stew, and there was still half a bowl left.
“The poles are at least eleven feet,” Sky added, making it look like they were having a conversation so that their captors wouldn’t suspect.
“They cut mine off when they brought me in. If it’s not active then this one from Sky’s bag is all we have,” Danny said. “The Prince of Law has our others.”
“And he’s refusing to answer. Okay, then, use the speaker mode,” Tray said. “I have their Magistrate. That should buy me some attention!”
Sky sucked in her cheeks and exchanged a look with Chase, worried about the maniacal chuckle coming from the man who was supposed to be rescuing them. “Tray, go get some Detox, and put Morrigan on. You’re not thinking straight.”
“Morrigan suggested we release a neurotoxin,” Tray laughed. “And if you saw what they did to Hawk, you’d agree that we’re being really restrained over here.”
Sky’s heart leapt into her throat. They hadn’t been told directly, but up to this point, she’d feared Hawk was dead. He’d had misgivings from the beginning, and she was the one who convinced him to stay. He’d asked to leave again when they realized it was a breeding Festival, and by that time, they were too drugged to act.
“Tray, you’re on speaker,” Sky said. “Hey, Magistrate! Your wife wants to talk to you!”
“Silence,” the Prince of Law ordered.
“Where is she?” Jeremiah demanded, rushing toward the cage, only to be stopped by the Prince.
The Madame Magistrate’s voice came on, and she ranted in Nolan. Sky cocked her head, trying to access her Rocanese vocabulary, but she couldn’t translate the words. The Prince of Law seemed emboldened by the orders he was receiving.
“Okay, that’s enough out of you,” Tray interrupted, gagging his hostage. “If you want to see your Magistrate alive again, I suggest one of you talk to me. I have two hostages now. That means I can kill one!”
Jeremiah was in hysterics over his family, but Chief Torrance and the Prince of Law seemed confident that they still had the upper hand.
“I don’t think what she said helped,” Sky said, turning off the speaker, watching their captors confer.
“Yeah, Corin is translating for me. Apparently, she called us weak and advised that they storm the ship,” Tray said. “Saskia should be making her move in about two minutes—”
An explosion rocked the hall, shattering three of the windows and bringing down a part of the wall.
“Tray, I think your timing was off,” Sky said.
“If no one wants to talk, I’ll keep knocking down walls until I can fly in and pick you up,” Tray pouted.
“Tell him to stop! We’ll trade!” Jeremiah cried.
“If you want him to stop, turn on that radio and talk to him!” Danny shouted back.
“Sky, how close are you to your grav-gun?” Amanda whispered. Sky’s ears were ringing so badly, she almost didn’t hear. She dropped to a crouch and put her satchel in her lap.
“I’m holding it,” Sky said. “I can blast my way out of the cage, but we’re surrounded by guards. The wall is starting to come down, but there’s not a hole big enough for us to run through, and Chase only has one good leg.”
“I think I can use the grav-source to track you,” Amanda said. “It makes a lens effect in Layna’s realm. I need to know what I’m coming into.”
“Well, you’d be coming into a cage, which would impress our captors greatly,” Sky said. “Aim about ten feet to either side to be outside the cage and prepare to be shot.”
“In the cage is fine. I am going to try to tap Layna’s power and get to you,” Amanda said. “Once you’re each holding onto a Confluence, I can move you to her realm.”
Sky shivered at the mention of the stone. “I hate this plan with a passion. I do not want to get trapped in her realm.”
Suddenly, Layna appeared in the middle of the hall, clutching the muddied, blue body of a dead woman. For a moment, she seemed to glow, but then the glow faded, her wings folded and disappeared, and only her taloned hands and elongated jaw hinted that she was more than human. She pressed her cheek to the woman’s head and rocked with grief.
“Amanda, Layna is here,” Sky said.
“So much for plan J,” Amanda said.
Jeremiah clutched his chest and grabbed hold of Cyril, certain that his heart and mind were failing. Then the gasps around the room confirmed that a spirit creature had appeared in his Festival Hall. She seemed to radiate light, like the glow of the Lilac River at sunrise. But then the light faded, and all that was left was a scared girl, searching the room for help. Her eyes passed right over Jeremiah and the assembled princes and landed on Dr. Haren Gossard.
“Help. She’s dead,” the girl cried. The Captain had accused the doctor of raising a half-breed child, and Jeremiah had assumed it was a drug-induced rage. No. He’d believed the Captain, but it was Gossard who’d convinced him otherwise.
“Layna, watch out!” Sky hollered, pointing to the Prince of Law.
The girl followed Sky’s finger and raised her hand. The weapon had already fired, but then the bullet and the gun disappeared. The Prince reached for another weapon, but Jeremiah stayed his hand. The second weapon vanished as well.
“You have to bring her back,” the girl begged the doctor, patting the face of the woman in her arms. “I didn’t mean to kill her. I sent the spirit home. Please, you have to help me. Help me!”
“Layna, she’s dead,” Gossard replied, keeping his distance from the girl.
“This is your niece? The one they “abducted”?” Jeremiah asked incredulously.
“Magistrate, stay back,” Chief Torrance warned, putting a hand in front of his chest.
“She won’t hurt you,” Gossard said. “It is only recently that her appearance started to change, but she is still just a girl.”
“You’ve known this creature was in our city since before the first attack,” Jeremiah accused the old doctor. “You knew she maul
ed that serviceman and you lied to the Magistrate!”
“I’m not a creature!” Layna spat. Then she looked down at the body, as though concerned she’d upset the dead woman. When she patted the face, Jeremiah reeled at the pointed claws.
“Amanda came back from the dead. She told me. It is possible,” Layna said, switching to Trade and addressing the prisoners in the cage.
“For someone like you, maybe. Not for a Questre,” Sky replied.
“Is that why she came to you? You are Questre!” Jeremiah cried, looking aghast at the doctor. “That woman was her mother. Also a Questre. What happened to her spirit? Who did it jump into?”
“It didn’t leave because she died. I sent it away,” Layna said, sobbing with guilt. “I didn’t know it would kill her. I didn’t know it would kill you.”
The last sentence, she directed at one of the travelers, implying that at least one of them was Questre.
“Layna, let her go,” Sky said gently. “She’s not coming back. You’re not a healer. That’s not the kind of spirit you are.”
“Then what am I?” Layna whimpered, nuzzling the corpse of her mother.
“I don’t know. You’re still very young. Maybe it’s something you will find out with time,” Sky suggested.
A gunshot sounded, and a bullet struck the girl in the chest. She fell sideways, her arms locked around her mother. Hot, red, human blood poured from her body, but then she began to glow. A second shot fired, but the bullet did not penetrate the purple aura.
“Magistrate, step away from them,” the Prince of Law demanded. This time, he had an assault rifle and a legion of supporting troops. “Allow us to dispose of this thing properly.”
“What have you done?” Jeremiah cried.
“He followed my orders,” Chief Torrance said. “He eliminated this threat.”
37
Premonition: A Space Opera Adventure Series (The New Dawn Book 7) Page 25
