“Oh, but you are,” the second speaker added softly. “Because the moment you touched Entara’s heart, you became a part of this matriline, according to your intention or against it. You are now of us. You always will be until after your death. That is a promise, not an obligation.”
The others nodded at what she said, and the first speaker gestured to Klein that he was free to leave the room.
“That cleared up absolutely nothing,” muttered Klein to himself as he walked down the corridor. “Tonight Entara will come to my room as she promised and even if I am too stupid to come up with a solution, maybe fate will be kind and offer one herself.” He hurried off to his room to see to some further details for the day of confrontation that would follow.
By nightfall, he had done all he could in the way of preparations. Waiting for Entara, he put some music on the sound system, a series of Schumann piano pieces he hoped would rouse his courage and somehow inspire him. Instead, it caused him to doze off from sheer mental exhaustion. The room was pitch black by the time Quetzalcoatl, his little sentinel, roused him once again from slumber and told him someone else had entered his quarters. Unable to see all the corners from his chair, the half-conscious Klein rose to survey the whole room. Then he felt the point of a blade behind his ribs, in just the right place to pierce his heart.
“Don’t move. I know how to use this and I will if you even budge.” It was a voice he recognized, Ayan’we’s voice! Instinctively, Klein was about to move to Horse Position and disarm the intruder, but something stopped him. Was it curiosity, trust? No time to ponder.
“Now kneel down slowly.”
“Ayan’we there’s no need to worry. I won’t harm you. Look, I’ll do as you say.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she hissed, as she slipped the knife next to his throat. “I’m only doing this because I have to.”
“Your mother may not approve.”
Ayan’we began to breathe hard and then snapped, “Mom is going to kill herself if I don’t kill you first!”
“My God, Ayan’we, that can’t be true.”
“I heard her talking to herself most of the day. She was pacing back and forth and moaning. I know she promised you one more night together, but then she plans to take poison. I saw her prepare it myself. I sneaked in and read the instructions she’s left about caring for me and my sisters, and some legal stuff to make sure Tays’she didn’t take all her credits and pensions.” The knife was quivering in her hand. She was a very unwilling assassin, but as good as the next.
“OK, Ayan’we. I’d rather have you do this than some goon protecting your father. Stop and take a long breath. Believe me, I’ve done this before and it helps.”
Ayan’we seemed to be sobbing. Klein took a deep breath himself and released it slowly, to show her. “And when you cut, do it deep and hard. I would consider that a favor.”
Suddenly another shadow emerged from beside the door to the patio. “Ayan’we, don’t you dare stir.” It was Entara. “I’ve been listening to everything. I was even here before you came, waiting, because I had no idea what to say to Klein when I decided to wake him.”
“This is the best thing, Mother, I’ve worked it all out. Don’t try to stop me.”
“Actually, you have worked it out, but murdering him is not the answer. It was you who showed me the way. Just now everything fell into place for me. I know what I have to do. How I have to take charge. Those thoughts of suicide were stupidity – seductive and powerful, but still stupidity.”
“Mom, what are you saying?”
“What I am saying, daughter, is come stand by my side. And if you won’t drop that weapon, prepare to use it to defend me, because together we will be facing some dangerous possibilities. Come to my room and help me with all the FastTrack evidence. We have to summon the mahäme-ki.”
“Mother, I don’t think it will solve anything just to prove it to them.”
“No. I am also going to confess everything. Even all that has taken place between us,” she added, turning to Klein. “What happens to me is now inseparable from what happens to all the sisters.”
“Mother, even a confession in this compound won’t solve much.”
“It won’t confess just to the mahäme. We’re going with the mahäme-ki to the Council of Nine.”
After a second of absorbing the shock, Ayan’we slid the knife into her waist belt and slowly stepped to her mother, who put an arm on her shoulders. “We’re in this together from now on,” Entara said softly. “I am invoking the Privilege of First Birth and keeping you by my side, though the Nine may well take away your sisters and all the other children I may bear.”
“I understand, mom,” said Ayan’we, hugging her close.
“And do you understand, Schatzi” she asked tenderly, turning to Klein. “Because this may be forever. I had so many apologies prepared for you tonight, for both before and after we came together. But Ayan’we’s right. You would just have been embracing a corpse, and it was gruesome of me to try to steal a little joy, or a little pardon, before you understood that.”
“This is better,” Klein agreed, with a somewhat forced shrug. “Now everyone is in his place. And headed in the right direction. I know mine. Will the Council of Nine put you in a place of total safety?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then ask them to keep you here,” said Klein, slipping her piece of paper. “Goodbye, darling. I will try to be in touch if I can.”
Klein knew he had to try to manage some more sleep before he faced what he had to do the next morning, but before he did, he called Peebo on an open com link. “Entara and her daughter will be in hiding for a few days. If you need to reach them, they’ll be at a place called the Sweet Plum Lodge, twenty-two kilometers northeast of Plambo’. It’s normally closed in this season, but I rented Unit Number Three as a hideout. Good luck on your ride back to Domremy.”
As soon as he had returned Klein’s wish, Peebo dialed another number, one that an agent of the Brotherhood had given him several days earlier, along with a large sum of Hyperion credits. He repeated very exactly the location Klein had just given him.
Early the next morning, Klein was strolling up the avenue towards Entara’s home, clad in his workman’s coverall and carrying a box that was nearly empty. The injector, fully loaded, was in his pocket. In the box was a stick he had found in the Garden of Fulfillment that he had fashioned into a formidable assault baton, along with some plastic bags and brushes. Verifying that the “neighborhood people” were in various places near the house, he went to a waste receptacle at the edge of the park, moving slowly like a reluctant chap who was paid by the hour, and took a long time replacing the trash bag with a new one. He had a good view of the house and yard and eventually spotted one dobutu. That was good news and bad. Good because it would mean he only had to get by one opponent to get in the door. Bad because he was sure others were lurking unseen elsewhere on the property. He couldn’t see any security cameras on the outside, but that didn’t mean they were not there. They were probably so well disguised that only the installers knew their location.
In his same lackadaisical, Willie-the-Workman pace, he turned the corner it the side street and quickly ascertained that there was only one state security person on that side, sipping a drink on the sidewalk farther up. Lazily, he drew a brush from his box and began to scrub the low stucco wall on that side of the house. After a moment, he glanced up the street and saw that his activities did not seem to have aroused the attention of the surveillant. Nor did he hear the dobutu shuffling his way. Transport traffic was picking up at the corner up the street and he only had to wait for a loud noise that might distract security for a second. It was not long in coming, as two transports scraped each other, starting a row between the drivers. Crouched low, Klein popped in the yard’s side entrance, shoving his box noiselessly into the bushes. Now the goon. He was walking Klein’s way and would be even with him in seconds. Klein thought of a way he could
disable him without making any noise. They don’t seem too smart. Maybe I should walk up and say, “Your shoe’s untied.” Instead, he found a big pebble on the ground and lofted it over to his the wall on the other side of the dobutu. When the unwitting victim turned around, Klein bashed him on the neck with a wicked blow of the baton. A quick glance at the neighborhood showed no reaction. He dashed to the door of the dwelling and breathed a sigh of relief to find it unlocked. There was no sign of anyone inside.
Crossing the living area, Klein entered the room that Tays’she and Entara had once shared. The light domes were dimmed, but Klein could still make out the brilliant blue and green hues of the painting of the Great Spiral of Being on the left wall. He could see Tays’she’s darkened form standing in front of the bed, the glint of his yellow eyes shining in the darkened surroundings. Forlani evolved from crepuscular creatures, Klein thought. He must know enough about humans to realize that we didn’t. Entara had no idea how much she underestimated his guile.
“You’ve come to kill me, Klein,” Tays’she said. “Too bad, I have a gun trained on your heart right now.” Klein could see it was a human Marine-issue sidearm, probably another thoughtful Company gift. The Forlani male voice had a calmly arrogant, self-assured quality to it. “I’m going to kill you in a minute. Don’t make any moves, or I’ll end your life a little early.”
“You don’t necessarily have to die. I’m just here to take you to people who will ask you some questions about FastTrack.”
“Along with my dear Entara and her brat, no doubt. Too bad, Klein, there will be no corroborating witnesses, because my friends at Hyperion have a way of eliminating them and you, you fool, even supplied their coordinates. No, you’re as good as dead. Why don’t you tell me some details about how much you enjoyed slipping inside Entara’s fresh little body? I know I did when we mated! An experience you’ll never have, idiot.”
He may have me in a bad position, but I bet I can still use his arrogance against him, Klein thought. “Before you kill me, tell me—how did you do it? How did you get involved in a conspiracy to sell your own people into slavery? Did you have connections with someone high up in the Forlani government?”
“Tell you, an off-world ga’hor, how I executed my plan? So you could tell others how much I profited from it, or steal the plans yourself? No, before you die I think I’ll tell you why I did it. I’ve been a very, very bored man since I was married to my true First Wife, Ara’she. She was very hardworking, very religious.”
Klein listened to the tone of Tays’she’s voice. The concentration and focus in it wavered ever so slightly, as if he was slowly being distracted by the memories of his own life. Klein’s muscles tensed, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
“She was one of the Picks-the-Fruit people, from a poor matriline,” Tays’she continued. “Loyal and honorable, like no other woman I’ve known. But even she grew curious of my side projects—how I really earned our money and strove to lift her out of poverty. When she learned the truth—that olata-- she couldn’t put her honor aside! She would have revealed…”
Klein’s attack came suddenly, just as Tays’she was becoming lost in the frustrations of his past. He brutally tackled Tays’she to the ground, jarring the gun from his hand and sending it flying across the room. He grabbed Tays’she’s throat in his right hand, choking him out as he reached into in his pocket with his left and slipped on the injector, cocking the first dose into place. Klein had failed to pin either of Tays’she’s arms, counting on his forceful tackle and choke to keep Tays’she immobile long enough to administer the dose. Klein saw Tays’she’s left hand pull a slender metal object from his legging and stab it into Klein’s right arm. Klein felt an immediate, horrible pain spreading through the limb, and released his choke on the opponent’s throat, grabbing Tays’she’s left arm by the wrist.
Klein could feel his right arm growing weaker by the second as it struggled to hold back Tays’she’s knife-wielding hand. Tays’she butted his opponent twice with the horn-like bumps on his head, opening gushing lacerations, and forcefully kneed him in the ribs, making him grunt in pain as agony continued to flow through his body. Tays’she began to roar in profane rage as he hammered Klein’s face with blows from his free right hand. “Ga’hor! Meh’tra!” he yelled as he bludgeoned the human with his fist. Klein could see yellow and white lights dancing across his vision as he struggled to position the syringe with his left hand. Tays’she gave a triumphant hiss as it seemed like Klein’s right arm was about to give out, flexing his fingers as he prepared to stab with the knife…
With a berserk cry, Klein unleashed a lightning-fast left hook to Tays’she’s face. Stunned by the force of the blow, Tays’she’s knife-wielding arm slackened briefly. Klein grabbed it with as well as he could with his tortured right arm and brought his left around to position the injector at the neck. Klein could feel the surge of adrenaline that had powered his punch fading as Tays’she gripped him. The enemy’s thrashing body felt hard as iron to Klein’s weakened arm, and he yelled in agony. With Tays’she holding both his arms and the venom from the knife coursing through his veins, Klein knew time was not on his side as he was locked in combat.
As blood from the impact of Tays’she’s head butts and punches trickled into his eyes, Klein felt a final, tremendous rush of adrenaline roar through his body. He drew his head back and put all his strength into a head butt of his own, smashing into Tays’she’s nose like a meteor. He could feel Tays’she’s grip on his injector-arm weakening, and finally wrestled it free. Blood and light blurring his vision, he stabbed the syringe into Tays’she’s vulnerable neck, plunging it into his foe’s artery with a force strengthened by rage and hatred. For me, Entara, Ayan’we…and your true First Wife, the woman you murdered. Burn, fucker, burn. Then he thought of an explosion engulfing Entara and Ayan’we. Ruthlessly, he clicked a second dose into the injector with his ring finger and rammed it home. And this is for my little family.
The horrific scream from Tays’she’s lips sounded like beautiful music to Klein. Klein’s terrible suffering mixed with euphoria at the sight and sound of his hated rival’s utter defeat. He watched as Tays’she began to writhe and convulse, his screaming becoming more erratic. But the joy of victory faded quickly, replaced by a throbbing, burning pain that seemed to eat him from inside out.
Damn! That venom will be the death of me unless I make it to a medkit this instant! As Klein grabbed for his cell phone to call Entara, he watched as a change came over Tays’she’s facial convulsions. The snide, hateful arrogance was replaced by a fearful, almost subhuman stare, as if Tays’she was losing his higher mental functions. Finally the convulsions and pain stopped, replaced by a soft quivering as Entara’s mate lay in passive silence. Tays’she – if the twitching, animalistic thing he had been reduced to could still be called by that name – reacted nervously as Klein stepped away to scan the room for geldings. He had barely made two steps when they both came at him together, brandishing their poison whips. Just what I need, more fucking poison! Fortunately the Marine sidearm still lay on the floor, and with a rapid dive and roll it was in Klein’s hands and two fragmentation rounds had took off most of the geldings’ heads. He didn’t need to know the “neighborhood people” would already be on their way after hearing the detonations, so he rushed for the side door and dove into the bushes. Seconds later, two female feet were visible only a meter or so away and a voice was saying into a comlink, “Agent four, west zone scanning.” Damn, she was good, but then he had probably left a blood trail like a mountain stream.
“Up,” she ordered, and Klein obeyed, thinking Maybe this is the best way to go after all. Facing him was a no-nonsense young woman with a stun weapon pointed directly where it would do the most good. But when she looked at him a different expression spread over her features, a kind of confused frown, and she lowered her stunner. She recognizes me! Making up her mind, she did a quick three-six-nine-twelve of the area and nodded towards the side ya
rd entrance. “Go right,” she hissed, “And walk, don’t run.” I guess she didn’t want to be the one to end the legend of Klein and Entara, even if it costs her a reprimand. Then he asked himself how the hell he was supposed to saunter down the street with blood gushing from him. When he reached the corner drink shop, he saw it was providentially empty and the server was down behind the counter sorting something out. He spotted a washroom door and bolted for it, quickly rinsing off the blood and fastening makeshift bandages from a cloth towel. It was only then that his heart slowed down enough that he remembered and dared pull out a com card on a lanyard around his neck. The little purple light was still on, and he breathed a long sigh. Entara and Ayan’we were safe and sound in a room in the maternity wing of the mahäme hospital, under the watch of Ragatti, and Hyperion had just blown up a vacation unit on the far outskirts of Plambo’ that was, unbeknownst to them, quite empty.
Peebo was already aboard the Hyperion ship that had undocked from orbit and hastily departed as it dispatched its little fighter to eliminate the witnesses. No need to worry about recovering it, because at that very second a single interceptor from Carrier 12 had just blown it to bits in the upper atmosphere of Forlan. The Song Pai pilot was cross, since this mission offered no prospects for a glorious self-immolation, or even a remotely worthy enemy, so he decided to engage in some helpful target practice, following the bits of Hyperion spacecraft and crew as they fell to the ground and blasting them into even smaller pieces. “If I can’t seek a death that would release my seed, I’ll just disintegrate every one of yours, you worms!” he snorted, before signalling “Out of ammo. Homebound.”
Back on the more solid world, Klein still had the problem of getting away. The mahäme was out of the question, since it would certainly be under immediate surveillance, but he had written in his note to Entara that he would make it to the Orchards of Fataarey. Never having thought of how to actually get there in his current condition, he was dumbfounded until he noticed there was a second, forgotten card on his lanyard with an orange dot. He quickly pressed it twice. Before he knew it, there was a whirling sound outside the shop that indicated a transport had arrived for its fare and he dashed out the door and into Canthli’s passenger compartment. “Mr. Klein, my goodness, let me get you to a hospital,” she blurted out.
Life Sentence (Forlani Saga Book 1) Page 23
