Lady Lure

by Speer, Flora

  “So Elyr has made himself Chief Hierarch,” Jyrit said. “I wonder how he did it.”

  “Marriage to the old Chief Hierarch’s daughter would give him a claim to become a member of the Hierarchy.” Perri tore her gaze from contemplation of the red flowers to respond to Jyrit’s remarks. “Ascension to the Hierarchy by right of marriage has occurred in the past. But the men who reach the Hierarchy by such means do not usually aspire to the foremost position of power.”

  “I wonder what Vedyr meant by saying that the former Chief Hierarch has been removed,” Kalina said. “Is the old man still alive or have they killed him?”

  “In a legal sense, it hardly matters,” Halvo said, “since Jurisdiction law forbids interference in the internal affairs of any Member Planet. So Vedyr is right when he claims that Elyr cannot be touched.”

  “Except by other Regulans,” Perri said. “Elyr must have made enemies among the six men who have been members of the Hierarchy for years, each of whom will no doubt think he had a greater right than Elyr to become Chief Hierarch.” Perri fell silent under Kalina’s intense gaze.

  “Whatever your complicity in this matter may be,” Kalina said to her, “it is clear to me that you are not the witless creature those men believe you to be. However, Elyr is a fool.”

  “At the moment, he appears to be a successful one,” Dysia said.

  “Not for long.” Kalina’s lips curled into a smile that Perri was sure must have made many a miscreant tremble. She was glad Kalina had not turned that smile on her. “As Halvo has rightly noted, so long as Regulan intrigues were confined to Regula, the Jurisdiction government could not legally take action against the Hierarchy. But no planetary government, whether it is a Member of the Jurisdiction or not, can order the kidnapping of the Admiral of the Jurisdiction Fleet without expecting retribution.”

  “Never mind how useless to the Jurisdiction that admiral may have become,” Halvo muttered.

  “You are not useless, Halvo. Not at all.” Kalina gave her son a long look before she turned to Jyrit. “Before he left his ship, did Vedyr send a message to Regula?”

  “No,” Jyrit said. “My communications officer was monitoring all messages from that ship. The only ones sent were to the Krontar.”

  “Still,” Kalina said, “when Elyr does not hear from his friend, Vedyr, he may send another vessel to intercept us. Jyrit, I suggest you have your communications officer send a full report of this incident to Capital and also request an escort to see us safely there. This is no slur on your honor or on your determination to protect us to your last breath, my friend. It is merely a realization of the great distance that lies between us and Capital, and of the ceaseless treachery of the Regulans.”

  “I agree with you,” Jyrit said. “I shall give the orders you wish.”

  “Before we proceed to Capital,” Halvo said, “we ought to make a stop at Regula.”

  “No!” Perri cried in dismay. “I never want to see Regula again.”

  “In the name of all the stars, why should we go there?” Kalina asked.

  “For two reasons,” Halvo said. “First, to confront Elyr and try to unravel the mystery of why I was kidnapped and why Perri was used as the Chief Hierarch’s agent. And second, to discover what has happened to the former Chief Hierarch. We will need to know whether he is dead or still alive before the Jurisdiction can bring charges against the Hierarchy. If the old man is dead and Elyr claims that he was in some way a victim of the old Chief Hierarch, then the Jurisdiction may not have a case against him.”

  “I see your point,” Jyrit said. “I also have personal reasons for wanting this mystery solved. My honor was blemished by the scheme that old Chief Hierarch set in motion.”

  “Jyrit,” Kalina said, “any stain you imagine upon your honor has been wiped out by your bravery in rescuing Halvo. My dear friend, you were nearly killed for your efforts in Halvo’s behalf. Not even your sacred honor could require more of you.”

  “But Halvo is right,” Jyrit said. “Before we travel to Capital, we stop at Regula.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Ah, Perri, you are wonderful.” Drawing her nearer on the bed they shared, Halvo buried his face in her hair. “You are everything a man could want. Beautiful, intelligent—”

  “You are the only man who thinks so,” she said. “You heard Vedyr call me stupid, just as Elyr always did.”

  “They are blinded by their distorted Regulan attitudes toward women,” Halvo said.

  His hands caressed Perri’s body, his mouth was on her throat, her shoulders, her breasts. Perri felt herself warming to him as she always did when they lay together, but this time a portion of her mind was separate from what they were doing. A small corner of her brain was mulling over a problem, considering something she had seen … or heard … something she ought to be able to put together

  Halvo moved over her, his mouth on hers again, making her dizzy with sensual pleasure. His thigh slid between hers. She was aware of his masculine weight pushing against her, seeking entrance. She slipped a notch closer to ecstasy, toward acceptance of his desire and the sweet oblivion of throbbing passion. Then that odd, busy, little corner of her mind opened wide with comprehension.

  “Pirates!” she said, trying to push Halvo away. “Halvo, wait.”

  “I can’t.” He pressed more firmly against her. “Not even for another pirate attack.”

  “No, please listen to me. I have just put the pieces together.”

  “It is what I am trying to do, too. Now, if you will only—”

  “No, Halvo, you must stop. This is so important.” She tried to wriggle away from under him, and she pushed at his shoulders as hard as she could. She saw his face go dark with frustration before he controlled himself and pulled back to kneel between her thighs.

  “What is it?” he asked. “I know you would not stop me at such a moment for some trifle.”

  “You asked me once if I could remember seeing or hearing anything during my interview with the Chief Hierarch that might cast some light on why I was sent to abduct you or why the Chief Hierarch wanted you kidnapped.”

  “And?” He was watching her intently and she could tell he was intrigued rather than angered by the way in which she had stopped him at the height of his passion.

  Blessed Halvo. She did not think any other man would take her insistence on waiting quite as well as he was. She wanted to touch him and whisper a promise that she would make the delay up to him because his consideration of her wishes warmed her heart as few other gestures could have done. However, she decided it would be best not to stir that particular fire at the moment. Passion would have to be postponed, at least for a little while.

  “Perri, you are going to explain, aren’t you?” Halvo cocked an inquiring eyebrow at her.

  “The Regulan spiral was the key,” she said.

  “The one we noticed on the bulkhead of Vedyr’s ship, the sign that was covered up?” he asked when she paused.

  “Yes. That disguised sign reminded me of the two Regulan spirals in the Chief Hierarch’s private office. I mean, in the office of the former Chief Hierarch. Who knows what changes Elyr has made to that chamber?”

  “Since the spiral is the Sign of Regula, it would not be unusual for the design to be in the Chief Hierarch’s office,” Halvo said.

  “It was the combination of elements in the office that I found so unusual,” Perri said. “The silver spiral on the wall and a second spiral inlaid on the Chief Hierarch’s desk. A Cetan sword on another wall. And a gold Styxian lizard sitting on the desk. I understood why the sword was there, because Regula has a commercial treaty with the Cetans. I could recall watching on the telscan the grand diplomatic ceremony when the treaty was signed and the sword was presented. I remember that I wanted to ask the Chief Hierarch why he also had a Styxian lizard, but I was too much in awe of him when I first saw him. By the time I had recovered enough to ask questions, I was so stunned by what he was telling me that I forgot
all about the lizard.”

  “Regula has always been on cool terms with Styxia,” Halvo said. “The two planetary systems are on opposite sides of the Jurisdiction, a distance that does not make for neighborly familiarity. And then, like many warm-blooded people, Regulans find the Styxians difficult to deal with since Styxians are descended from reptilian life-forms. Many of the humanoid Races of the Jurisdiction consider the Styxians untrustworthy, though I have never found them so. They were certainly honest and cooperative in the matter of the pirates whom we chased away from their border.”

  “Chased where?” Perri asked.

  Halvo stared at her for a moment and she saw understanding come into his eyes.

  “Are you suggesting that the Hierarchy gave the surviving pirates shelter after they fled the Styxian border?” he asked. “Perri, this is what I suspect, too, but so far I have not been able to put the whole story together.”

  “The entire Hierarchy may not be involved in the scheme,” Perri said. “You will remember that Captain Mirar had also been told a false tale to explain his mission. Perhaps it was only the Chief Hierarch who was directing the plot. He alone holds the power to grant dispensation from punishment in criminal cases. That is why I went to plead with him about Elyr’s supposed death sentence. If the Chief Hierarch was in league with pirates, it would explain why he wanted me to abduct you.”

  “Because I led the force that defeated the pirates at Styxia,” Halvo said. “The pirates must want revenge against me for that battle. Personal vengeance is a well-established custom with them.”

  “I can imagine an exchange of a different kind from the one the Chief Hierarch suggested to me during my interview with him,” Perri said. “An exchange of a priceless piece of loot, the golden Styxian lizard I saw sitting on the Chief Hierarch’s desk, plus a share of the profits from the pirates’ raids, paid to the Chief Hierarch by the pirates in return for sheltering them in the Regulan sector, and for turning you over to them to do with as they liked. Any pirate would consider that a fair bargain. And so would the old Chief Hierarch from what I know of him. He liked money and power, but he loved intrigue even more. It would be a constant source of pleasure to him to know he was keeping the double secret of your disappearance and the location of the pirates’ hideaway.”

  “Two dangerous secrets, and not entirely secure ones either,” Halvo said, smiling as they worked their way through the maze of intrigue. “Just suppose that Elyr found out what the Chief Hierarch was up to and tried to blackmail him. And was paid off with a promise of marriage to the Chief Hierarch’s daughter, which would guarantee Elyr a claim to a seat on the Hierarchy the next time one fell vacant.”

  “But Elyr was already betrothed to me,” Perri said, taking up the story. “By Regulan law a betrothal can only be broken by death, which was why Rolli was programmed to blow up the Space Dragon – but only after you had left it, because they wanted you alive to hand over to the pirates. How furious those two conspirators must have been when you would not accept their false story that I was acting alone. And then you refused to leave the Space Dragon!”

  “They wanted you dead,” Halvo said, “and me in the hands of the pirates so neither of us could tell our side of the story and so Elyr could be free to marry Thori. My dear, I do believe you have solved this mystery.”

  “But why is Elyr now the Chief Hierarch?” Perri asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious? It’s yet another Regulan intrigue, and from Elyr’s point of view, it must be simple common sense. He knew too much. Elyr must have believed he would never be safe so long as the old Chief Hierarch held power. Nor could the Chief Hierarch feel secure with Elyr knowing about his illegal agreement with the pirates. One of the two was bound to destroy the other. Elyr got his blow in first. In the Service, we call it a preemptive strike.”

  “Then Elyr must have had the old Chief Hierarch killed,” Perri said.

  “No doubt.” Halvo did not look at all upset by this conclusion. “I would guess that along with his title, Elyr has inherited the old Chief Hierarch’s profitable connection with the pirates. That is probably why he sent Vedyr out to abduct me again, a role for which Vedyr was sadly miscast. The man doesn’t have the nerve to play a pirate and be convincing about it. I am amazed by what poor judges of character Elyr and the Chief Hierarch have been. They used Vedyr beyond his capabilities and they misjudged you, Perri. They thought they could manipulate you as they pleased and, since you are a woman, you would do as they told you.”

  “Elyr is using Thori now.” Perri’s mind had moved on to another area of speculation. “Poor Thori. I know her, Halvo. She loves her father, and she places a high premium on the importance of her family. Thori will not take kindly to what Elyr has done. I do not think their marriage can be a happy one.” Perri paused, thinking. “Shouldn’t we tell Captain Jyrit about this right away? And your mother?”

  “There will be time enough before we reach Regula.” Halvo’s eyes were glowing with a silver heat as he regarded Perri. “Do you have any idea just how stimulating I find intelligence in a woman? When combined with a kind heart and a passionate nature, brain power can be sexually devastating.”

  He was grinning at her, and Perri immediately saw why. Halvo was, as he had just claimed, highly stimulated by her display of intuition and reasoning power.

  “I am sorry I made you wait,” she murmured.

  “Don’t apologize. The delay was well worthwhile.” Catching Perri in his arms, he bore her down onto the mattress again. “May I assume that you are equally excited by what we have deduced? Or perhaps, since it is my understanding that women are sensitive about interruptions to passionate interludes, a bit more stimulation would be in order?”

  “You may stimulate me as much as you like,” she replied, “but be warned, Halvo. I intend to give as much stimulation as I get.”

  “That’s what I was hoping,” he said.

  * * * * *

  “You have a Regulan ship in tow?” On the viewscreen Elyr’s deliberately bland expression lapsed into fear, which was quickly superseded by a display of controlled anger. “Captain Jyrit, this is outrageous. By what law does a Jurisdiction Service vessel apprehend a friendly ship?”

  “By the law of self-preservation,” Jyrit said. “Your so-called friendly ship threatened us and ordered us to hand over hostages. Not that there was a chance they could do us much harm if we did not comply with their demands. The ship was insufficiently manned and armed, and its captain was completely untrained for warfare. By the way, Elyr, he claims to be a particular companion of yours.”

  Perri, who with Halvo and Kalina was standing off to one side of the bridge where Elyr could not see them, knew Jyrit was enjoying their meeting. She could tell that Elyr was not.

  “You will address me as Chief Hierarch.” Elyr attempted to regain the dignity he had lost over the last few minutes. “As head of the Regulan government, I order you to turn over to me any prisoners who may be Regulans. I also expect you to return the ship.”

  “You may have them, ship and men alike,” Jyrit said. “We have examined every inch of that vessel and know it to be Regulan made. As for the men, they have been thoroughly interrogated. What they know, I know.”

  At those words, Elyr went white.

  “Would you care to provide me with your personal explanation of recent events on Regula?” Jyrit asked. “I will be happy to carry your words to Leader Almaric. He will be curious to know how you have become Chief Hierarch at so young an age.”

  “When I discovered proof of the former Chief Hierarch’s complicity in the abduction of Admiral Halvo Gibal,” Elyr said, “I had no choice but to remove him from office.”

  “Where is he now?” Jyrit asked.

  “That need not concern you. Merely convey my greetings to Leader Almaric and assure him the Regulan Hierarchy is conducting planetary business as usual.”

  “Jyrit,” Kalina said, “may I have a few words with Elyr?” At Jyrit’s assent, she moved for
ward to face the viewscreen.

  “Lady Kalina.” Seeing her, Elyr began to look nervous again.

  “How is your mother faring after this unexpected change in your fortunes?” Kalina asked. “When last I spoke with Cynri, she was greatly worried about you.”

  “She is well,” Elyr replied, “and no longer worried.”

  “Perhaps she ought to be more worried,” Kalina said in a silky-smooth voice. “And Thori, your dear wife – how is she?”

  “Thori is also well.” Elyr frowned as if he could not understand the purpose of Kalina’s questions.

  “After my delightful and remarkably enlightening visit to Regula not long ago, I regard both of those ladies as dear personal friends,” Kalina said. “I would be deeply distressed were any harm to come to either of them. Leader Almaric would, of course, share in my distress.”

  “I thank you for your kind thoughts,” Elyr said. “I will inform Thori and my mother that you were asking about them.”

  “The welfare of Regula and of the Regulan people is always a matter of concern to the Leader of the Jurisdiction,” Kalina said. Deepening her voice she added, “Any misfortune to befall the Regulan Hierarchy, and any accident or ill health occurring to any Regulan, male or female, would call forth immediate help from the Jurisdiction Service. You may depend upon us, Elyr. Ah, forgive that slip of my tongue, Chief Hierarch. Your title is still so new to me. I beg you not to forget what I have said.” Kalina stepped aside, leaving the viewscreen to Jyrit.