Ryllen sighed then addressed the Green Sun agents.
“We’ll leave you to debate, but don’t take long.” He turned to Kara, Ya-Li, and Chi-Qua. “Let’s speak outside.”
They gathered in the library where Ya-Li spent countless hours. Exeter and Ham waited in the corridor.
“I don’t ever expect you to forgive me,” Ryllen told the trio, “but I meant what I said in there. You will be valuable to us. I’ll give you time to talk in private. But I brought you here because there’s one last tricky bit. Before we release the hostages, they need to know your fate, so we can manage the cover story.”
Kara turned cold. “You mean whether we’re alive?”
“Yes. If you leave with us, we’ll say Green Sun took you for insurance. Later, the group will announce it fed your bodies to the ocean. It’s clean. You won’t be tracked. Ham and I agree.”
“And if we stay?” Ya-Li said.
“Look over your shoulder.”
“In other words, live in a cage.”
Ya-Li was right. Kara didn’t have to think about it for long.
54
Fourteen hours later
H URYO CLIMBED ABOVE THE WESTERN horizon, its white and green bands distinct in the unfettered night sky. Kara never watched it rise this way, so far from city lights. She was going to miss it. All her life, it was little more than a distraction compared to the glory of the Kye-Do rings. Hokkis mocked the million people who lived in its hot, humid swamps and jungles. Yet almost everyone who booked passage on the system ferry was Hokki. Tourists, yes. But longing for something else? A simpler life? No seamasters. No elites. No poisoned land. No terrorists.
She envied the Green Sun agents who chose Huryo over the pursuit of Amayas Knight. Sure, they’d struggle to adapt, but Lan Chua had a large network of contacts who would see after them. More to the point, Huryo had no extradition treaty with Hokkaido. Lan pointed this out many times to the most stubborn of his people who preferred to take their chances living in the shadows, running from every police organization on Hokkaido.
The last Scramjet from The Lagos was landing on the beach of an island which Lan called Mystery. As in, best no one bother to ask. Judging from the chilly breeze and wind direction, Kara deduced the island was situated in the middle latitudes, at least a thousand kilometers north of home. She wore a sweater which came among the few clothes she had time to retrieve before leaving the Taron estate. Lan promised to deliver a more suitable attire for the journey ahead. Expect it on the final ship, he said.
Kara did not greet the Scramjet. She remained on the sand near the water’s edge. Chi-Qua wanted to handle the inspection.
“Just so we understand,” Kara said as Chi-Qua rose. “You’re not my employee anymore, Chi. You don’t have to do for me.”
“I know. It’s wonderful. Now I can do it because I want to.”
Kara never breathed easier in her life than when Chi-Qua agreed to join the mission.
The makeshift camp teemed with activity. Portable lights cast a silver glow as shipments were off-loaded and assessed. The second Scramjet prepared to take on the final refugees to Huryo. At last count, the crew of this tiny fleet totaled twenty-five. Kara knew four of them and trusted one. They didn’t frighten her; then again, she’d yet to carry on a meaningful conversation with anyone.
There were no strategy sessions, no delineation of responsibility, no initial mission objectives. Each time she asked Ham or Ryllen, they returned to the same line: Once we’ve cleared the system, we’ll discuss the way forward. In the meantime, they focused on finding asylum for Green Sun agents and stocking the Scramjets for an extended journey.
Kara found herself lost in questions, conjectures, and suspicions. As long as she focused on these things, she steered away from the reality of a future without home.
Feet pressed the sand behind her.
“What does the wardrobe look like?” She asked, assuming Chi-Qua.
“I’m sure you’ll be pleased,” Ryllen said. “I hope so. I want you to be comfortable, Kara.”
“Let me guess. Your next words were going to be, ‘It’s the least I can do.’ Yes?”
“Something like that.”
“You are truly a piece of work, Ryllen.”
“RJ, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, I do. I do very much. I was almost there with you. RJ had a nice ring. You seemed almost earnest. No, Ryllen. We are not friends. I am here because you gave me no choice. If I went back with the other hostages, I would’ve been dead within a week. There is zero chance Mother would have allowed me back on the estate. Nantou? Please. The other families would have scapegoated me for their dead. After all, I knew the monster who killed them.”
He sat down at arm’s length.
“That wasn’t my intent. I wanted …”
“Stop. Your intent doesn’t matter. People always say these sorts of things after the fact. Don’t you dare try to justify it. You could have gone after the alliance leaders a different way, but you chose a grand spectacle of terror because that’s what you’ve become, Ryllen. Kill first. Ruin lives. Sort it out later.”
He looked away. “I’ve been fighting a war for so long, it’s the only way I know. It’s why you’re here. I need a comforting voice. Tough but fair. Ham has been like a father to me, but he’s arrogant and he’s a Chancellor at heart, even if he denies it. And Lan? He’s pulling out.”
“Wait, what? Since when?”
“He told us when he landed. He loves his people and wants to protect them. He’s concerned about their safety on Huryo. He’ll set up shop there, build his network of contacts. I think he’s still struggling because of Mei.”
Kara tensed. She’d only heard fleeting references to the missing agent since they left the estate.
“Still no word?”
“No. We knew early on she had to be dead. Mei would never defect or allow herself to be captured.”
“Any idea who killed her?”
“KumTaan, maybe. The alliance. Doesn’t matter anymore. Lan made a good point about staying on Huryo: As long as he remains in the Hokkaido system, he can gather intel for us.”
She relaxed for the moment. Dae would be able to keep his secret, though he’d always wonder when someone might come for him. Maybe the penalty was just.
“So, it’s twenty-four?”
“Yes. My team of twelve. You. Ham. Chi-Qua. Nine Green Sun. It’s enough to get the job done. For now.”
“And one less to compete for the showers, I suppose.”
Ryllen laughed. “See? You can make a joke. It’s not all bad.”
“It’s damn close.” She realized Ryllen wasn’t wearing his body armor. A simple shirt, loose-fitting pants. He almost resembled the reckless but strangely endearing kid she met a week ago. Almost.
“What happened to you, Ryllen? This war you mention. It’s …”
“Not something I can talk about. Please, Kara. Anything else, I’ll always tell you the truth. But the war is too much. It broke me. It broke all of us. Ten of my team were born there. They’d rather I shoot them than send them back.”
“Fair enough. War is off-limits. But not your actions here. I’ve been thinking for hours, and a few things don’t quite add up. Since you say you’ll always tell the truth, why don’t you start now?”
He faced Kara. “Ask.”
“You claimed Hoija Taron rescheduled the wedding when her counterpart warned you were coming.”
“Not me, specifically. ‘The enemy.’”
“Semantics. Here’s the problem. She rescheduled the wedding seven days out. Yet you returned from the other universe three days before the wedding. How did Hoija know you were coming? And more so, how did she know when to set her trap?”
“Time works differently in each fragment. I can cross the divide by coordinates, but not by time. I think the interaction between counterparts works the same way. Your father’s counterpart is a good man, one of the best I met in six years. He started c
ommunicating with Perr two years ago. But for your father, it was only a few months. I don’t know the full extent of it, Kara. I don’t have counterparts. This is the only universe with engineered immortals. I was made in a lab. I can go anywhere, but I’ll never meet a version of myself.”
She sighed. “Let’s agree that’s for the best and move on. Another thing confuses me. And this one, it rips at me.”
“Yes?”
“I heard what you did for the woman Ham was hiding. He said you rescued Mi Cha Woo two hours after you returned to Mangum Island because you realized she was in danger, and Ham might not reach her in time. Now, she’s on her way to Huryo. On the one hand, you seem incredibly selfless. On the other, you assault my wedding and kill one hundred twenty people. Most of them innocents who had no stake in the outcome. Explain the contradiction. Please.”
He drew circles in the sand. “You won’t like the answer.”
“Add it to the list.”
“Ham loves her. I think she’s the only person he’s ever loved. If he lost her, he’d lose his mind. I needed him to be Hamilton Cortez. Calm and disciplined. I needed him to think clearly to plan the assault on your wedding.”
She never slapped anyone as hard. He took it without complaint.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know how it feels to lose the person you love. I spent a year out of my mind because of Kai. Everything was focused on killing Shin Wain, and then – as it turns out – he was off-world the entire time. I never had a chance.”
“So, you’ve given up on that obsession?”
“No. He’s not the center of my attention anymore, but I know where he is. X told me years ago. Shin Wain is working alongside Amayas Knight. Find one, find the other.”
“Huh. Interesting. You talk about X a lot. Always with a smile. Tell me, Ryllen, how long have you and Exeter been a couple?”
He flexed a brow. Kara took a flier, but she nailed it.
“How … how did you know?”
She swirled a finger over her face. “Eyes. Two of them.”
“We needed each other, and we were the only ones in the wrong damn universe.” He looked over his shoulder with concern. “We also have something else in common. We can’t die.”
“Huh. I suppose that should shock me, but I’m over shocks. Immortal lovers? At least you won’t lose him very long if he dies. On the other hand, you’ll have lovers’ quarrels forever. That’s going to become tiresome.”
He stifled his laughter. “Funny. Very funny. That’s two jokes.”
“Don’t get used to them, Ryllen. Last question.”
“Go ahead.”
“The Splinter. Where is it?”
“Safe. Some place no one can get their hands on it.”
“Vague, Ryllen.”
“Also honest. At any rate, I came over here to give you a new timeline. I wasn’t expecting to be grilled. There’s one more flight to offload on Huryo. We’ll leave for Artemis Station in eight hours. If you want to get some sleep, we can set up a tent.”
“I’ll let you know.”
As he started away, Ryllen paused and turned.
“Oh, and I’m sorry about Ya-Li. I really thought he would come. I do wish him well.”
Kara mumbled under her breath: “Said the man who killed his grandmother and great grandfather.”
She worried about Ya-Li more than anyone she was leaving behind. He chose the more difficult – and dangerous – path despite her pleas to the contrary. She told Ya-Li he could be his own man, stand in no one’s shadow, and experience rather than read about the wonders of the galaxy. The crew needed a brilliant mind who didn’t view their task through military eyes, she insisted. He agreed with everything.
“The best part,” he said, “is I’d be with you. We could start over. In time, I might learn to trust you again, and you might learn to love me. We’d see the stars and have an adventure together.”
“Best of both worlds,” she said.
His smile disappeared, and she knew he was going the other way.
“Kara, I’ve been quiet all my life. No one takes me seriously. But I know what has to be done to change things. At the seamasters. On the continent. I have solutions. I keep journals. I make designs. And I have the money. More Dims than anyone knows. There’s a power vacuum now. I can take control of my household and Hotai within a year.”
“And you think that will make you happy?”
“It’s not about happy. It’s about being a man. Forcing them to respect me and see Hokkaido in a new light.”
“They’ll fight back, Ya-Li. You know how ruthless they are. What about those in the alliance? If they decide you’re an enemy …”
“I’m not afraid of them. Not after today. I know their secrets.”
“I think that’s why you should be afraid.”
He kissed her on the forehead.
“I have to do this, Kara. No more path of least resistance. And who knows? With a little luck, you’ll help solve the problem out there and I’ll solve the problem here. Then we’ll meet again. You’ll be my first thought and my last thought every day.”
He said no more on the matter and left her soon thereafter to join the other hostages.
Kara vowed to check in on him when the opportunity afforded. Having Lan in the system might make the process easier.
Chi-Qua returned from the Scramjet moments later.
“How does it look?” Kara asked.
“Good variety. The clothes are simple designs, but Lan says they’re practical and will suit most climates. The fabrics for specialized bodysuits are being programmed into Recon tubes. He said the AI will conform the fabrics to our body shape. Chancellors used them for decades, but I’ve never been inside one. You?”
“When I was eight. My trip to the rings. I don’t remember much about it. When you’re floating in space, everything else seems trivial. One advantage of space travel: I won’t have to stress over what to wear for dinner, or whether Mother will object.”
Chi-Qua grinned. “And I’m quite over the staff uniform.”
“Me too. But at least we had the certainty of our daily regimen. Not to mention the safety. You do understand? Once we leave here, we’ll be like Year Ones. Everything is new, and everything has to be learned. We can’t assume the soldiers will always save us.”
“Oh, that part excites me. The only fun I’ve had the last eight years is when you and I went on adventures and caused trouble. But this time we’re partners. True partners.”
“I don’t know how I would’ve done it without you. I just hope the others see us as their partners. I’ve only spoken to a few. Ryllen’s soldiers have been quiet. I think the reality is hitting them. Far away from home, probably never going back.”
“Like us?”
Kara grabbed Chi-Qua by the hand and jumped up.
“We’ll be back. This is our home. Besides, wouldn’t it be a kick to see their faces when we return from the dead?”
They shared a quiet giggle. For a moment, it was like Vox School, the early years. They were princesses walking hallways with other princesses, following a path decorated with the certainty of comfort and privilege.
The new path? Somewhere among the stars, light-years in the making. Quite possibly, a one-way journey and their last.
The notion terrified Kara, but maybe that was the lesson. Life required a helpful dollop of terror to balance the recipe.
“We have a few hours to spare,” Kara said. “Let’s go for a walk. Explore a bit.”
Soon, they left the artificial glow of camp behind, but the light of Huryo led them onward.
55
A WEEK AFTER THE LAST FUNERAL, Ya-Li Taron learned he was single again. The KumTaan declared his wife dead. He walked through the amphitheater before sunset and thought of what might have been. No evidence of the attack remained. The stage was gone. His parents ordered the landscapers to design a memorial garden for Ban-Ho and Hoija. As for Kara: They never uttered her name and shut dow
n all contact with the remains of Syung-Low.
Mostly, he shifted his time between his suite and his library, producing the commensurate tears when confronted by family or staff. But Ya-Li put all grief aside and focused on the more urgent task. His shares of Hotai Counsel were about to increase thirty percent. All he had to do was ensure no family challenge to Ban-Ho’s will. The family’s primary solicitor agreed: The document was unshakeable, certified as recently as eighteen days ago.
“Thank you, Honorable Great Grandfather,” he said upon viewing the copy leaked to him early in the day. “I started to believe you were going to live forever.”
Grabbing a copy of Hoija’s final testament proved more challenging. Playing tricks to the end, Ya-Li concluded when he failed to bribe her lead solicitor. Not anymore, you headless coit.
Not that it mattered. His success was guaranteed. Only a question of when. He made a list of Executive Board members he intended to remove upon his ascension.
“They will never see it coming, but it will be well earned.”
More than anything, he felt a sense of relief. The minutiae he sorted with such care. The words he said with such deft preparation. The understated dramatics he rehearsed in the quiet of his library.
The journals.
The designs.
The calculations.
The patience.
He doubted until the end. Kara almost ruined it all.
When he finished his evening walk, Ya-Li returned to the library and locked the double doors. He opened the safe beneath his personal desk and removed a lockbox.
“Did you ever imagine we’d come so far?”
A voice inside a corner of his mind responded.
“I never lost hope, though the final hour was delicate.”
He turned the lock. “They’ll know about us someday.”
“Yes,” the voice replied. “By then, it won’t matter.”
“True.”
He opened the box and reached inside. The Splinter glowed pink to his touch.
The Simmering Seas Page 39
