Spear of Light

by Brenda Cooper

  He gave a command to one of the crewmen in the room. “If we’re not out before it happens, be sure to tell us.”

  When he got her in the room, he whispered in her ear, “Take a deep breath. We’ve thought of this.”

  They had. They’d talked about it over dinner once a year or so. “But I never wanted it.” In a world without the founders, who would tell them what to do? Who would say no, and yes, and force Vadim to slow down and think? Who would she fight? She shook her head, pacing, swallowing hard, wringing her hands to dump extra adrenaline.

  “I know you didn’t want this.” The look in his eyes told her something she had suspected. He did. She liked being the mouthpiece, being the visible leader, being one of the two who called the shots in the biggest battles. But he wanted to make the big decisions, the ones that drove thousands of people to life or death, that drew thousands more to the cause. The hard, hard choices. She turned her back to him for a second, still breathing it in.

  He started rambling. “We deeply regret the loss of Brea and Darnal. They were an invaluable part of our leadership team for decades, and the Shining Revolution will miss their steady hands.”

  She picked it up. “But we will not let them die for nothing. We will continue to press our case until we win. We will guarantee that the soul of humanity shines through this tragedy, and all tragedies to come, and we will win.”

  “Good,” he said. “Make it shorter.”

  “We will avenge their deaths.”

  He laughed, the emotion feeling off at this moment. “Not that short.”

  “These deaths will make us fight harder and stronger and in their names.”

  “Good.”

  She searched his face. If anyone, ever, could read Vadim, she could. He felt resolute, he felt the impending loss, and he would work tirelessly. He smelled faintly of fear, although it wouldn’t do for him to see that she’d noticed. “I love you,” she said. “That’s good enough to use. Code it.”

  While he fussed with the equipment she took her comb out of her back pocket and methodically smoothed all of the tangles out of her long, glossy black hair. She started at the top and braided it precisely, a set of movements she’d done over ten thousand times by now, almost every day for more than forty years. It soothed her. She took out a small bottle of eyeliner and painted her warrior eyes, and kissed the four small roses on her wrist.

  Vadim came up behind her back, wrapping his arms over her shoulders and down her stomach, pulling her so close they were nearly one. “Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  They went back out into the command room and stood in the doorway until all eyes were on them. Then they walked to their chairs and ordered stim. She set Stupid up to watch and record as many angles of the battle a possible, and since she couldn’t think of how to dress the AI, she left it nearly invisible and naked.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  NONA

  Half an hour after Farro and Amanda stalked off to different errands, Jean Paul stood beside Nona on the edge of the night gardens, waiting for Charlie.

  He said nothing, standing stiffly and not meeting her eyes. But then, he had been saying nothing for the entire half hour. Strong but silent, as usual. She ran out of patience. “You could have told me about Gunnar in private,” she whispered.

  “I had to see if you knew.”

  “And you needed a crowd for that?”

  “I wanted to catch you off guard. That seemed like a good moment.”

  “I’m trying very hard to like you,” she said. “Charlie clearly thinks the world of you. And so does Manny. But you’re not easy to like. You’re stiff and a little rude.” She stared into the darkness, hoping to see Charlie coming to save her from this difficult man. “Why don’t you like me?”

  He shifted on his feet, and it took him a while to respond at all. “I like you as much as anyone. But I don’t trust you.”

  “Is it just because I’m not from here?”

  “I never trusted the Deep, or anybody from space. You destroyed Lym once. I have always been afraid that you would come and destroy her again.”

  “I’m trying to help.”

  “I never liked the robots as much as Charlie did, either. I don’t trust them.” He paused. “You were best friends with one.”

  She struggled not to let him make her angry. “And that friendship was forged in all of the many years she was a human. That it endured a year of her being—something else—wasn’t a surprise.” She paused, thinking. “Are there people in Manna Springs you trust?”

  “Of course.”

  “And some you don’t trust?”

  “Of course.”

  “It’s like that.”

  “No. It’s not. They’re more all of a kind than we are.”

  She laughed. “I’m not completely sure about that. I do know there’s a vast gulf between a Jhailing Jim and Yi or Jason.” She paused. “Or Chrystal.”

  “They brought a Chrystal back, though. See. That shows they’re not us.”

  “You’re right. They’re not us.” To her relief, the pale light of the stars showed the shape of Charlie walking toward them. Funny how she could so easily recognize him from his gait alone.

  The look of deliverance and . . . more . . . on Jean Paul’s face gave her a deeper clue about why he might not like her. She stepped back and watched the two men greet each other. They looked incredibly pleased to be in each other’s company, but it was Jean Paul who leaned in for physical contact. Charlie slapped him on the back. “How are you?”

  “Good. Better, now. It’s tough out here.”

  “It is,” Charlie agreed. He looked around, finding her, meeting her eyes with his broad smile.

  In spite of how awkward Jean Paul’s body language made her feel, she stepped forward into Charlie’s arms and drank in the feel of him, strong and certain and sweet. “I missed you,” escaped her lips.

  He kissed her forehead and then her cheek and then, finally, her lips.

  Eventually, she pushed him gently away, conscious of Jean Paul. Surely his regard was no secret to Charlie. He had handled it just right, and the men had been living together for decades.

  Love was so damned complicated.

  She realized she’d used the word in her head, and changed the subject. “Thanks for coming. There’s a lot to tell you.”

  “Walk with me?”

  She glanced at Jean Paul. “Do you mind getting the other two?”

  He glared at her. “Happy to.”

  “We’ll meet you back where we were talking in half an hour or a little more.”

  Jean Paul nodded and walked away.

  Charlie smiled and took her arm, and they set out along the lighted paths. “What was that about?” Charlie asked.

  “We need to plan an assault on Entare.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Is that all?”

  “Yes. But later. First, we should catch up.” She filled Charlie in on all they had learned, and when he told her about seeing the robots, and how they seemed to be interested in a cave, she pulled him to a stop and looked into his eyes. “Chrystal’s out? Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “They seem to know it. Do you want to see her?”

  She fell silent for a moment, surprised at her own reticence to answer him. “I think I do. But in a way it feels disloyal. I was so convinced that Chrystal was herself, and that she died horribly, and I mourned her so hard it hurt. I cried for days. So it seems like betraying the first Chrystal to try to be friends with this one.”

  “I understand.” He started back down the path, pulling her alongside him. “The first time I saw her, she was walking toward me from a distance down the main street in Hope. This was before the attack and Nexity and the shield over Hope. It brought her murder back, and it seemed like a dream too.” His arm slid around her waist. “After you see someone killed, you don’t expect them to pop up alive and walk toward you, smiling and holding out a hand.”

  “What was it like? To see
her?”

  He didn’t answer right away.

  “I know.” Nona glanced up at him. “She can’t be the same.”

  “She isn’t. She’s more confident than our Chrystal was.”

  She smiled at his terminology. “I bet that’s because she had a Katherine. I think her death hurt all of ours . . . of the ones we knew. Know. She and Katherine were inseparable for years. Both of the men joined the family later. Much later.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “Did she ask about me?”

  “No, but we were never alone, and she doesn’t know me. Surely she knows the other Chrystal knew me.”

  “It gets confusing,” Nona said.

  He smiled at her. “It does.”

  They stopped near an impromptu band, where two people drummed and someone else played a stringed instrument, and a woman in a flowing red and green dress chanted softly.

  They watched quite a while, her hand in his, the moment a warm respite. When they started walking again, she asked, “Will anyone else help? We don’t know for sure how many people they have on their side, but it sounds like it will be more than we can scare up.”

  He let out a loud sigh. “If it goes to a fight, we’ll probably lose. I think the game is that we need to convince them not to fight. So we shouldn’t take very many people.”

  “That makes sense. Do you know who them is? Surely the instigators aren’t the farmhands and the teenagers.”

  He stiffened. “They’re probably from off-world. I used to complain to Manny about the sieve of a security system, and surely it’s worse now. I’ll bet anyone could land anywhere on Lym.”

  “You can’t fix that now.” There were so many things to worry about, she genuinely couldn’t prioritize. “I’ll call Satyana and see what I can find out about Gunnar.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t. Are you sure your communications are secure?”

  “From the Next?” The woman who had been chanting slid into song, her voice high and clear.

  “Maybe it’s not safe to contact the Deep. We’ll find out soon enough,” he said. “I have to go. I need to let Cricket out.” He ran his rough, warm fingers down the side of her jaw and brushed them against her lips. She nibbled at them.

  His voice sounded thick. “It’s good to see you.”

  “I missed you.”

  Jean Paul came up beside them, interrupting the moment.

  “Did you find them?” she asked.

  “Yes. They’re waiting.”

  She took one more long drink in of the band’s music and said, “All right.”

  They came upon Farro and Amanda sitting silently. “Is everything all right?” Nona asked.

  Amanda looked up, and her face brightened a little. “Hi Charlie.”

  He leaned down and gave her a long hug. “How’s it going?”

  “Awful,” she said. “We have to get to Entare and the Port seems to be saying we shouldn’t.”

  Farro looked up. “They won’t approve my flight plan.”

  Charlie let go of Amanda and sat down next to her, gesturing Nona to his other side. She had forgotten that he and Amanda had to be old friends; they were both first families. They’d probably grown up together.

  Charlie spoke to Farro. “I heard a rumor that there’s going to be a fight for Manna Springs. Again.”

  Farro bit her lip.

  “Do you know anything?”

  “No,” she said. “Not for sure. But there have been rumors for weeks that people don’t like Jules and Amanda.”

  Amanda stiffened, and Nona bit her tongue to keep the, “I told you so,” from escaping.

  “What happens if you go anyway?” Charlie asked.

  Farro frowned and crossed her slender, dark arms over her chest. “I probably get thrown in jail.”

  “They wouldn’t dare. You just told me they won’t approve your plan. That’s not the same as telling you no. Tell them their message was garbled.”

  Farro’s eyes rounded.

  “I’ll take you back in to the rangers if you get in trouble. It’s not like the Port Authority is going to hurt you.”

  “Don’t be sure,” she said. “Bern’s in charge, and she hates everything right now. She thinks like Kyle.” She glanced at Amanda, and her voice fell. “I think they asked me to bring you out here to keep you safe. It’s Jules they want deposed.”

  Amanda’s face had hardened so that she barely flinched at Farro’s words. “I need to find Amy, even though she’ll hate me for it. Jules can wait. So can Manna Springs.”

  “Well then,” Charlie said. “We’re all in agreement, right?” He watched Farro closely.

  Farro swallowed hard. “I met Amy once. She’s a good kid. I’ll take you.”

  Amanda turned to Nona. “But what about you? Should you go on a mission like this? Is it an act of war?”

  Nona went still for a moment, thinking. “War on who?” She smiled. “It sounds like I can say I was investigating the actions of a resident of the Diamond Deep.”

  When Charlie looked puzzled, she said, “Gunnar Ellensson.”

  He laughed.

  Amanda said, “If you’re sure.”

  Nona replied, “I can’t imagine missing this.” She addressed the whole group. “So we’re all in.”

  One by one, they nodded.

  “All right, let’s go to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”

  “Do we have a plan?” Amanda asked Charlie.

  “Just about. I have some more research to do.”

  “I am going to call Satyana.” Nona glanced at Charlie. “I’ll be careful. The Next must know Gunnar’s here.”

  He nodded, accepting her choice although he didn’t look pleased about it. Farro looked from one to the other. “I’ll sleep.”

  Amanda laughed. “Me, too. Although maybe I’ll find someone to have a nightcap with and see if I can learn anything more.”

  Charlie gave Nona a quick hug and then Amanda an equally quick hug. He looked at Farro briefly, and then she stepped in for a hug from him as well.

  Nona held her hand out to Jean Paul and Amanda. Amanda took hers quickly. Jean Paul hesitated, glanced at Charlie, and then shrugged and reached for Nona’s outstretched hand. His hand felt cool, but his grip seemed strong and steady. Then everyone else took each other’s hands, and they all stood in a circle, linked under the night sky and under the Glittering.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  SATYANA

  Satyana gathered herself carefully before she stepped into Gunnar’s office. “I just heard from Nona.”

  He looked up from where he was sitting at his desk signing things on his slate. “Is she okay?”

  Satyana stood stock still, staring at him.

  He stared back, looking as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

  She tried bite back her words, but failed. “I suspect she’s under serious suspicion. When were you going to tell me you were using your ships to help the rebels on Lym?”

  “I did tell you I sent some ships down there. What makes you think I’m helping the rebels?”

  “Nona thinks so. Apparently so do the rangers and the Port Authority.” She forced herself to lower her voice. Anger never worked well with Gunnar; he just threw up a shield.

  “Nona is a child. I haven’t told her anything. Who knows who she would tell?”

  Satyana bristled. “Not on purpose.” Nona wasn’t a child by any stretch of anyone’s imagination. She did have a way-too-hopeful outlook on other people, and she was a little naive. Still, dammit.

  Gunnar wasn’t finished yet. “She’s getting pretty chummy with Amanda, who is about to be deposed as one of the twin leaders of Manna Springs. That’s a beginner’s move.”

  Satyana helped herself to a glass of water from the side bar and told herself to stay calm. “She’s learned a lot from Amanda. And she needed a friend.”

  “Certainly you know how pointless friends are in this business. She’s aligned herself with the los
ing side.”

  Satyana rejected an urge to pour herself something stronger than water. “We’re not there. How do we know how smart her choices are?”

  “We don’t. So stop worrying about her.”

  Satyana shook her head. “I’m not. I came in here worried about you, and I don’t want to be distracted. What are you doing on Lym?”

  “Trust me,” he said. “And how about some distraction? I can think of a few ways.”

  She watched his face closely, trying to decide how to answer. She spent so much time managing Gunnar it hardly felt like a relationship at all. It was more like holding onto one piece of a dangerous, snapping snake and hoping you had the middle instead of the tail. She loved him, but many days—like this one—the love was buried under the need to keep the whole damned Glittering safe from him. “I want to know why you’ve got ships on Lym.”

  He smiled. “And I can’t tell you right now. I’m sorry. I know that’s hard.”

  “Why?”

  “If I told you why I can’t tell you, I’d be telling you. Just trust me. You usually do.”

  She sat down on one of the comfy chairs and emptied her water glass, contemplating how good it would feel to refill it and dump it over his head.

  He changed the subject. “What about Neil Nevening. Did he get to Lym?”

  She twirled the empty glass in her fingers, absorbing the shift from one bit of dangerous ground to another. “He should arrive in the next few days. He’ll message me about whether or not he gets accepted. My bet is that he will.” She hesitated. She’d been hesitating over this subject for days. But if anyone could keep a secret, it was Gunnar. “He asked me if I wanted to become the Historian. Said he built a case before he left.”

  Gunnar looked up and drew his brows together so tightly she could see him thinking. It was power, of a sort. Being on the Council. Gunnar always liked power. “Would they give it to you? You’ve never formally studied history.”

  “I’ve lived through more history than most.” She felt old, a feeling that had swept in heavily upon her from time to time in last few decades. “Leesha and Hiram would vote for me, on an interim basis. They said they need someone as thoughtful as Neil to manage the alliances we’re building. They have a slim majority now—they can’t afford an enemy.”