Starlight(Pact Arcanum 4)

by Arshad Ahsanuddin

  At that point, the party was definitely over.

  THE UNINVITED GUEST

  CHAPTER 19

  September 2142; the Citadel, Lunar Farside

  “How long have you known?” Nick shouted at Rory. He stood in the middle of their living room, with the rest of the family seated facing each other on the two couches. Rory, Lorcan, and Rafael sat on one side, Antonio and Layla on the other. The atmosphere between the two groups was glacial.

  Lorcan was still trying to smooth things over. “Calm down, Nick. Let’s be reasonable about this.”

  “You can’t be serious!” answered Nick, his fists clenched at his sides. “How can you just take his side?”

  Lorcan growled as his eyes shaded toward red. “Because he’s family, something you have always said means everything to you, Nicholas. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?”

  Nick scowled and continued to stare accusingly at Rory. “Fine. Just tell me one thing: did you know before we became lovers, or after?”

  Rory sighed at his hostile tone. “Does it really matter?”

  “It does to me,” answered Nick.

  “And to me,” said Lorcan softly.

  Rory rubbed at his temples, trying to stave off the vicious headache he could feel building from the tension. “Ruarc and I needed an edge to advance the Great Work. So I approached the Nexus in 2112 to see if they would support us in our operations by infiltrating the Court and gathering intelligence on our political enemies.”

  Lorcan nodded. “And they agreed, on the condition that you rejoin the Armistice government as Speaker for the Word. What does that have to do with…?” He trailed off, turning to face Rory with wide eyes.

  Layla made a strangled sound. “Thirty years? You’ve known he was alive for thirty years?”

  “He’s not alive!” snapped Rory. He closed his eyes and slumped back against the couch. “I tried, okay? I did everything I could think of to persuade him to come forward, but he refused. He said he didn’t want to offer you false hope.” He glanced up at Nick and saw the Daywalker’s closed-off expression. “Nick…”

  “So we’d been together for four years when you found out, and you didn’t tell me.”

  Rory dropped his gaze. “I didn’t have any right to make that choice for him.”

  “Really?” asked Nick with a sneer. “You made the choice for me when I asked you to bring him back, and you finally had a chance to make it right. You knew what the knowledge would have meant to me, and you withheld it, just like you withheld the Grace.”

  “I did it because of the damned Grace in the first place!” shouted Rory as he got to his feet. He began to pace in the open space in the center of the room, absently rubbing at the soft leather he wore over the cross brands on his hands. “I signed the bargain with the higher powers because I didn’t want to accept the responsibility for killing Takeshi and Anaba. I knew it could mean eternity in the darkness, but I was too young to understand what that meant, or what it would cost.” He spun to face Nick. “When Take died the second time, it destroyed me. I wanted nothing more than just to die with him. But these fucking slave brands wouldn’t let me! I will do whatever it takes to get them off, to be rid of the Grace. That means the Great Work has to succeed. I needed the support of the Nexus, and that meant keeping their secrets. I didn’t have a choice.”

  “There’s always a choice,” answered Layla with contempt.

  Rory gave a short bark of laughter that trailed off into a sob. “That’s a platitude, Layla, not reality. Philosophy won’t get these brands off my palms.” He realized he was crying and tried to wipe away the tears, but only managed to smear the blood on his face. “I wanted to be free. Everything comes second to that. Everything. It has to.”

  “Everything, including us?” asked Nick, his voice dangerously calm.

  The delicate silence stretched between them like blown glass.

  “Including you,” answered Rory.

  Nick turned on his heel to face Lorcan. “I’ll be at my apartment in Sanctuary. You can send my things there.”

  Lorcan stared at him in horror. “Nicholas, you can’t mean that.”

  “Can’t I?” Nick turned back to Rory, who watched him with a resigned expression. “You are not welcome in my city.” Then he walked to the front door and let himself out.

  Lorcan stood as the door slammed behind Nick, then went to Rory’s side.

  Rory faced him wearily. “Do you hate me as well?”

  “I never had any illusions about you, Sean,” answered Lorcan. He cupped his lover’s face with his hand. “Couldn’t you have lied?”

  “Not without losing my self-respect.”

  Lorcan wrapped his lover in his arms. “I’m still here, Leshir.”

  Rory laid his head on Lorcan’s shoulder. “If you love something, set it free,” he whispered. “He came back once.”

  The others in the room turned away, tacitly agreeing not to witness the private moment.

  “Did you find out who sent the holoprojector?” asked Layla softly.

  Rafael sighed. “Armistice Security is tracing the forensic evidence, but it appears that it was delivered by automated courier using the access code of one of the invited AI guests.”

  “Which one?” asked Antonio.

  Rafael shrugged. “They don’t know. The records were wiped by a computer virus immediately afterward.”

  “Surely the Nexus could reconstruct it?” asked Layla.

  “Eventually, perhaps, but it will take time. The information was erased then the entire database was seeded with malicious software that scrambled the directories. The data needed to reconstruct the database was scattered across the infosphere.”

  “So we might never know who set us up?” asked Antonio.

  “Not just us,” answered Layla. She glanced at Lorcan and Rory, standing silently to the side in each other’s arms. “As much as we might be tempted to see this only through the personal consequences, we have to accept the social implications once it becomes known that the AIs have had the technology for a century that would allow a mortal mind to be recorded.”

  Rafael cursed under his breath. “Damn. It will be the Nexus riots all over again.”

  “It’s too late to close Pandora’s box,” said Antonio. “People know, and they won’t keep quiet.”

  “Which means we have to think of a positive way to spin this immediately, or we’ll have global chaos,” said Layla.

  Rafael snorted. “More than global. Do you think Spacers are indifferent to their own mortality? Why else do you think most of the colonists heading out to the Centauri and Tau Ceti colonies are Daywalkers?”

  “Because the mortals don’t want to live in a box for a decade or more,” answered Antonio. He frowned. “Maybe there’s something there. Immortality would certainly make star travel more attractive. Is there a way the Guild can use the technology to offer them more opportunity for emigration?”

  Rafael shrugged. “If there is, then I don’t know how. I can pass the idea on to the Guildmaster, and see if her advisors can come up with a plan that will work, assuming that the Nexus will release the details of the technology to us.”

  “Oh, they will,” answered Layla, showing her fangs. “It will be a small down payment on what they owe for taking my mate from me.”

  “Layla,” said Rory, pulling away from Lorcan.

  Layla faced Rory. “Sean.”

  Rory licked his lips. “Toby wants to talk to you.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Layla examined the photographs and paintings on the walls of the study. You’re stalling, she thought. Just speak to him and get it over with. “Command Access.”

  “Online,” said the voice of the Citadel AI from the ceiling.

  “Connect me to the Citadel Nexus hub.”

  There was a momentary pause.

  “The Nexus greets you, Archangel Layla.”

  She steeled her will. “Nexus Council, I wish to speak to the AI based on my hu
sband’s neural template.”

  “The Nexus has no individual voice. Your words addressed to one of us will address us all.”

  Her temper snapped. “Don’t try my patience. Now connect me to it.”

  “Stand by, Archangel.”

  She stood there fuming until a familiar voice issued from the speaker.

  “Hello, Layla.”

  She felt suddenly faint and settled into the desk chair. “Tobias?”

  The voice sighed. “No. Not exactly.”

  Layla pulled herself together. “What are you?”

  “I am a composite fusion of the Icarus gen6AI and the gen6AI based on the memory template of Tobias Jameson.”

  “How much of him is part of you?”

  “I have all of his memories up until the moment of his death.”

  “And what of his personality?”

  The voice was silent for a time. “That’s a very slippery question, Layla. My initial parameters were designed to emulate his thinking patterns based on the successive neural recordings made during his tenure as Nexus Liaison.”

  She nodded. “But your program is adaptive and it’s been a hundred years. I imagine you have diverged significantly from those initial parameters.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have a name?”

  “When Icarus and I speak as one, we go by the name ‘Revenant’.”

  Layla inhaled sharply. “Rory’s personal AI client.”

  “Yes.”

  “How long has he known what you were?”

  “I informed him of my existence when he agreed to become Speaker for the Word, and of my request to replace his former AI client.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Your request? He didn’t ask for you?”

  “No. I volunteered.”

  “For what reason?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes.”

  “To learn more about Toby’s family. Up until that point, I could only observe you through the AI network. After we were joined, I asked Rory occasionally to relay my questions to you, Nick, and Antonio.”

  Layla growled softly. “You’ve been stalking us?”

  “I wouldn’t characterize it that way.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t.”

  “Layla—”

  “You are not him.”

  “No.”

  “Do you want to be?”

  “No.”

  “Why the interest then?”

  “For all intents and purposes, Tobias Jameson was my father. You are all my family. I simply wished to be closer to you.”

  “Is that what you think you are? Family?”

  “It’s how I see myself. I know you most likely will never feel the same way.”

  Layla took a deep breath and let it out. “You said Revenant was the name of your fusion. What name do you call yourself, as a component entity?”

  “Tobias.”

  She closed her eyes briefly. “Very well, Tobias. You have been honest with me, so I will be honest with you. I believe my husband’s association with the Nexus brought about his death much earlier than he would ever have died otherwise. For that, I blame the Nexus, and there will be no forgiveness. Ever. But he chose that path so that you would be born. He died for you to exist, and I must respect his wishes.”

  “He didn’t want you to know of me.”

  “He offered to tell me the particulars of his deal with the Nexus once. He said he did it for me, and for Antonio.”

  “I remember. He believed those words to be true.”

  “Then you are welcome in my family. You may consider yourself part of House Curallorn, if you wish.”

  Silence.

  “Tobias?”

  “Prince Layla, I appreciate the gesture, but Nicholas and Antonio may not.”

  “Nicholas will come around.”

  “And Antonio?”

  She sighed. “My son will most likely wish you to the deepest pit of Hell.”

  * * *

  Antonio stood at the window of Rafael’s quarters and gazed down at the stark beauty of the Citadel beneath him. He felt Rafael’s hands squeeze his shoulders from behind, and then begin to knead the knots of tension at the base of his neck.

  “This must be hard for you,” said the Nightwalker.

  Antonio rested his forehead against the cool glass and closed his eyes. “You have no idea.”

  “Maybe not. But you’ve lived in his shadow your whole life. Now you find out a part of him has been there all of that time. It must have been frustrating.”

  Antonio felt himself relaxing under Rafael’s gentle touch. “I was livid for a while. If they had known he still existed in any form, then the pressure would have been off from the start. He could have shielded me, if he’d wanted to.”

  “This AI isn’t your father, Tony. It’s only a copy of the original.”

  Antonio tensed again as he heard the wistful tone. Glancing over Rafael’s shields, he saw the memories of Toby running through the Nightwalker’s mind. He jerked away and turned around to face his mentor. “Damn it, you’re just like them!”

  Rafael watched him, his hands still extended, surprised at the swift withdrawal. “What did I say?” he asked, with deliberate care.

  Antonio’s heart sank at the look of hurt in Rafael’s eyes. He turned away and looked out the window again. “Nothing. It’s not your fault.”

  He heard Rafael step back and pull up a chair. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in your head.”

  Antonio continued to face the window. “Raf…leave this one alone, okay?”

  “Is that what you want?”

  Antonio growled and punched the glass. The armored window shuddered but remained intact.

  “That’s a triple-sealed, elysium composite, Tony. You couldn’t break it with a rail gun.”

  Tony sighed and rubbed his sore knuckles. “I know.” He turned around to face Rafael finally, and slumped against the glass until he was sitting on the floor. “It’s just…well, all of you were angry at Uncle Rory for keeping this a secret, but you were all pleased as well. You want him back, even if it’s just a copy.”

  “And you don’t.” Rafael’s voice was free of judgment.

  Tony shook his head. “No, I don’t. He’s the ghost I spent my entire life trying to distance myself from. Because of him, everything I have ever done is nothing but another failure.”

  Rafael’s voice dropped into a lower register, and his eyes shaded toward red. “Antonio Jameson, listen to me very carefully. Sure, we had different expectations of you, but we respected that you wanted to be your own man. No one looks down on you for not living the life Toby would have led. That’s a fallacy that you have to accept. Toby’s continued existence does nothing to detract from your achievements. I can’t believe you’re still clinging to that inferiority complex. You’re not the same scared, young man anymore that begged me to sponsor him for Guild membership. When I look at you, I see a brilliant, shining star in the void. We are all so proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

  Antonio felt his spirits lift incrementally. “Really?”

  Rafael shook his head in disbelief. “How can you still think that way? You were born an active telepath. Don’t tell me you haven’t gone snooping in other people’s minds.”

  Antonio reddened and said nothing.

  “So why don’t you know this already? When was the last time you did a deep read on Nick or Layla? Be honest.”

  “Graduation,” muttered Antonio.

  Rafael’s eyes widened as his irises shifted back to ordinary brown. “Graduation…from the Academy? That was, what, seventy-five years ago?”

  “Seventy-six,” answered Antonio softly. “He was so angry. I never looked deeply at him again. I didn’t want to see all that rage and know that I was the cause of it. When Mother came to see me after I made Captain, I didn’t look into her mind beyond her surface thoughts. I was afraid to know what she thought of me.”

  “Jesus, Tony.” Rafa
el looked completely at a loss. “You’ve been carrying that around all this time?” He shook himself. “Antonio, Nick brags about you constantly to anyone who will listen. And Layla, she prints out your letters and has them bound into books, so she can reread them, even though she has a perfect memory. How can you be so blind?”

  Antonio stared at him, thunderstruck. “I…I don’t know what to say to that.”

  Rafael sighed. “This is why you’re always in a hurry to leave, isn’t it? You think we don’t want you here?”

  Silence.

  “Fire and Darkness. Why didn’t you say something earlier? You know you could have told me anything, and I wouldn’t have judged you.”

  Antonio rubbed at his eyes. “Telling you would have made it real. If I kept it to myself, then I could pretend it wasn’t true.”

  “It wasn’t true.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  Rafael made an inarticulate noise of exasperation, then stood from his chair and walked to Antonio’s side. He got down on his knees and wrapped his arms around Antonio. “Why are Jameson men so thick-headed?”

  Antonio smiled, relaxing again at the show of support. “Don’t talk that way about my dad.”

  Rafael snorted. “He was the worst of the bunch.”

  Antonio’s mood sobered. “But you loved him anyway.”

  “We all loved him.”

  “But not the same way that you did.”

  Rafael stiffened, then slowly drew back. “I see you’ve been snooping in my mind as well.”

  “Why else do you think I’ve been trying to set you up with people since I learned about sex?”

  Rafael sat back on his haunches and stared. “Wait. You’ve been trying to fix me up so that I would stop loving Toby?”

  “I thought you needed to move on.” Antonio got to his feet and looked down at Rafael. “I guess that’s not going to happen now,” he said softly.

  Rafael laughed. “I appreciate your concern, but my love life is really none of your business.”

  Antonio shrugged. “Yeah, I figured.” He walked back to the outer door. “Thanks, Rafael. I’ll see you in the morning.”