“Get out of my house,” she shouted at the intruders, “or I’ll vaporize you to dust so fine your mamas won’t have anything to bury when the ground thaws in the spring.”
“Don’t antagonize them!” Aurelia exclaimed.
Though she didn’t leave her post, Akira’s voice filtered through the speakers to her. “Aurelia, my sweet girl, it eases me just to hear your voice. When I learned you were taken, I was beside myself. I’m so glad you are back home and safe.”
“Yes, now you need to stay that way. Have you called the patrol?”
“She has,” her father assured her. “But the nearest station is in Last Point, still a good distance away, and it takes time, even when they’re not having a snowstorm. Why do you think I didn’t want you going there?”
She ignored that common refrain. “Axton and Darios are searching for her. Once they get word, they’ll be there.”
“Darios?” her aunt squeaked then twisted back to the screen. “What’s this? Why would the warlord be here on Aeldor, and keeping company with the High Prince?”
“It’s a long story, Auntie. Just please, if they get inside, don’t anger them. I can’t bear to lose you too.”
More banging, this time louder.
“They’re in the house, Az.”
Another crash and more shouts, with Akira cursing every breath as soldiers in the uniform of the Aeldorian Global Guard flooded inside.
On the screen, it looked like pandemonium.
Her fingers curled into her papa’s robe. “I don’t see her,” she cried. “Can you see her?”
“No,” her father growled in response then directed a shout at the screen. “Do not harm her, or you will answer to me!”
Helpless to do anything other than watch, she screamed when the vid-screen jolted violently.
The image went askew the next instant, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth when they heard more than saw it topple and crash to the floor. Somehow, they still had a picture, except it was sideways and from ground level.
“Papa,” Aurelia gasped when her aunt grunted, and a moment later felt sick when her body hit the floor with a thud. She lay there motionless. “Is she...”
“She lives,” Iyo informed her.
“How can you know?” she whispered, nearly choking on her tears.
“It’s subtle, but I can see the rise and fall of her chest.”
“But for how long?” Aziros asked in a voice filled with fury. “I must go to her.”
“Help me with this,” someone muttered on the other end.
Loud screeching and banging noises emitted from the speakers as someone righted Akira’s communication console. Sidrah’s face, once beautiful, now twisted and ugly with bitterness, appeared on the giant screen overheard.
“What have you done to her?” Aurelia demanded to know.
“She’s taking a little nap, which I hear at her age is common.”
“If you hurt her—”
“You’re hardly in the position to make threats, Princess,” Sidrah snapped. Her eyes shifted to the king. “Your Majesty.” Rather than the usual respect, his title dripped with disdain as she greeted him, especially when she sneered, “But not for long. If you want to see Akira alive again, you’ll meet me.” She spouted off a set of coordinates in the Northern Sector. “Come alone. Once you’re here, we’ll discuss your abdication.”
“You have lost your mind.”
“Wrong, it is quite sound, but this farce has gone on long enough. You will cooperate, Aziros, and relinquish the hold on the kingdom you usurped, or your sister will suffer until you do.”
The image blinked out, but the sound was slower, Sidrah’s vindictive laughter echoing through the speakers for an additional sliver of time.
“What do we do now?” Aurelia interjected into the stunned silence that followed.
“You won’t be doing anything, other than staying here as the warlord ordered.”
She ignored Iyo, glancing expectantly at her father.
“I’ll go and try to negotiate.” He turned to the director who had been there monitoring the entire thing. “Can you play back the coordinates she mentioned?”
“I’ve got them, sire. They are deep inside the Northern Sector, and a blizzard is expected.
He sniffed. “When is one not?”
“But this is projected to be a grade 5, my liege, which is much too dangerous to travel in.”
In terms of snow, ice, and wind, grade 5 was the worst storm possible, and it meant the temperatures would be so extreme, exposure would mean death in only a few minutes.
“I’ll have to chance it. My sister wasn’t given an option to wait until it was safe.”
“Let’s call Axton and Darios, Papa. This is obviously a trap.” She crossed to an empty station and keyed in her brother’s identicode. “Supernal snowflakes,” she muttered under her breath. “He’s offline.”
Just in case she’d entered it wrong, she tried once more, but she got the same unavailable message.
“Why would he turn off his communicator while pursuing an enemy?”
“He probably didn’t do it willingly,” Iyo remarked.
“What do you mean?”
“Sidrah got to Akira in hours, not days.”
Aurelia blinked in surprise. “She couldn’t have gone by cruiser; that would take three full days at least. Do you think she went by air? That’s suicide.”
“Or she used the portal,” the king suggested.
Silence encompassed the room, enough to hear a pin drop, and it went on for the span of several heart beats until she stated, “But you said it wasn’t ready, Papa.”
“Yes, that is what I was told, but think, Aurelia. Who is Sidrah’s father?”
It all clicked in her mind at once. “Oh my stars. Bamath. I hadn’t even considered—”
“A little help here, Princess. I’m lost.” Iyo sounded as surly as Darios when his patience was tested.
“He is the senior scientist at our research lab, and recently appointed the director.”
“Fuck,” Iyo muttered.
“Exactly,” she replied. “He created the portal, didn’t he, Papa?”
“No. He worked on the project, however.” Her father’s color suddenly took on a rather greenish tint.
“There’s something else,” she guessed then demanded, “tell us.”
“A few months back, our lead scientist became ill. A man of robust health, he died in a matter of days.”
“That’s not at all suspicious,” Iyo commented drily. “Let me guess. Sidrah’s father took his place.”
“Which explains how she got access to a prototype to give to the Ophigs.”
“Yes, and they successfully transferred three Voltarrean women with that prototype. How is Darios’ sister by marriage and the two others?”
“All are well. No symptoms. The physicians are monitoring them closely, however.”
“Which encouraged Sidrah, who was desperate enough to use it, too?”
“Or because progress has been made that I am not aware of.”
“This is bad, although it doesn’t explain why Axton is offline. Unless you think...”
“They used it, too,” Iyo finished for her.
“Surely, he wouldn’t be so reckless. And Darios, he’d never—”
“We need to alert them somehow. If they’re still in one piece.”
“Papa! Don’t even think such a thing.”
He studied her a moment with such determination she knew instinctively whatever he was planning couldn’t be good.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t stay here and do nothing.” He quickly spun toward the door to leave.
“Don’t do anything foolish. I can’t lose you and Akira at the same time.”
“I’d like to kiss you goodbye, Daughter. Just once.”
“Papa,” she repeated in a whisper, her heart breaking.
“I love you, Aurelia. Not only because you’re the spitting imag
e of your mother, but because you grew up to be a strong, independent, giving woman. To lose you to Voltarre will be Aeldor’s great loss.”
“It’s a three-day spaceflight at the most, Papa. Closer than a trip to Aunt Akira’s.”
He nodded. “Stay here and keep trying your brother. Contact me if you get through.”
Aurelia addressed the communications director. “If the prince is in the Northern Sector, in a blizzard. I know it isn’t promising, but please keep trying, and alert me if you get through.”
She followed her father to the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
“With you, of course.”
“The hell you are,” he exclaimed at the same time Iyo growled, “Over my dead body.”
“You can’t expect me to sit here and go crazy while you all go haring off to the Northern Sector.”
“I expect nothing else,” Iyo retorted.
“At least Darios will have something to come home to if you do!” her father intoned.
She glared at them both then snapped. “Fine, but I’m going to the lab.” She arched a brow at her guard, daring him to say no, before doing the same to her father. “You were stopping there first, I imagine?”
“Yes. And you can come if you swear—on your mother’s grave—not to try and follow, or else I’ll have you locked in your room now, and you can stay there until this has all been resolved.”
“I swear, but can we hurry? Each passing moment Akira is in Sidrah’s clutches, I fear for her life.”
“I haven’t given my approval,” Iyo barked, a stubborn set to his jaw.
“What harm can there be?” she asked. “The villains are three days away by snow cruiser.”
“Or a leap of seconds through this portal.”
“We don’t know they even used it. My guess is Sidrah was desperate enough to take a shuttle. What’s more, she had a small army with her, which makes flying even more probable, but we won’t find out until we get there.”
Passing her new husband’s most trusted guard—and most stubborn, evidently—she took hold of his vest and yanked to get him moving, thankful they were on Aeldor and he had one to grab.
He was so stunned, he lost his balance, and then, thankfully, went right on walking as she pulled him along and led them all from the room.
IT WAS FASTER TO WALK the two blocks to the lab than to summon a conveyance. When they arrived, as expected, Sidrah’s father was gone. In his lab, they found a man and young woman bound back to back with rope and gagged.
Iyo withdrew a wicked-looking blade from the sheath on his belt—very similar to the one Darios also wore—and sliced through the bindings as easily as if they were water.
The woman immediately spit out the cloth in her mouth and bent forward to loosen her ankles while the man sat frozen, shaking ever so slightly, and gaping at the Voltarrean soldier standing over him. Aurelia didn’t blame him. Outside formal negotiations at a secure and private location, Iyo was a sight rarely seen on Aeldor, and never in a science lab.
“Your name?” her father asked.
“Brailen, sire.”
“The portal, is it fully operational?”
“I-uh...” Nervously, his eyes shifted to his king, but then quickly returned to the biggest threat in the room, the large, fear-provoking Voltarrean warrior looming over him. Iyo hadn’t followed his leader’s example in his dress. He wore trousers, but, up top, only a vest. This meant when he crossed his arms over his chest, every muscle rippled and bulged, giving the impression he could break a man like a twig—which Aurelia had no doubt he could—but it wasn’t helping matters.
“Iyo, perhaps you could back up a step or two?”
He thought about it a moment then moved, but took a half step at most, not the two she suggested. She sighed inwardly, knowing she’d get no other concession from him while in protective mode.
“Don’t be afraid to speak your mind, man,” her father prompted. “We are here seeking answers about the portal. How long has it been in use?”
This snapped the man out of his trance. “Bamath said you knew.”
“I did not. Last I heard, testing was still in progress. Promising, but still far from readiness.”
The now red-faced man exchanged a hesitant glance with the young woman. “If we had known Bamath hadn’t disclosed our success, I’m certain Shiloh would have been the first to inform you.” He frowned. “We were curious as to why you or the prince hadn’t been in. You both took such an interest.”
“Shiloh and Bamath?” Iyo barked impatiently, the loud boom making Brailen jump. “I need a damn index to keep up with all these names.”
“Bamath is Sidrah’s father,” Aurelia explained. “He was appointed chief after Zehn’s passing, and Shiloh is his lead researcher.” She moved closer and lowered her voice. “I’m used to your booming, blustering bass, but you’re scaring her.”
“Who?”
“Shiloh,” she replied, tipping her chin to the young woman who hadn’t spoken a word yet.
“Your lead researcher is a woman?”
“Do not start...”
“I didn’t mean to offend. I’m just surprised.” His head turned to the pretty blonde who had retreated behind a work station and was gripping it with trembling fingers. Inches short of Aurelia’s height, but with curves aplenty beneath her snug lab coat, when the conversation turned to her, Shiloh blushed as red as the mountains towering over Suncliff. Iyo didn’t miss this, either, and bowed ever-so slightly. “And I’m making it worse. My apologies.”
“It’s nothing,” she said softly, with a nervous wave. “It’s just that it’s always so quiet in the lab, any noise seems out of place.”
“What do you know of a stolen prototype?”
“Stolen?” She glanced at Brailen, who shook his head. “Nothing, Your Majesty. What you see here is our only operational unit. It replaced a prior version that had some electrical flaws.”
“What kind of electrical flaws?”
“Power fluctuations during the acceleration mode. We couldn’t identify the problem and scrapped it a few months ago. In this latest model, we corrected the flaw with blah blah blah and adjusted the blah blah blah.”
The last part was what Aurelia heard. The technical mumbo jumbo going clear over her head. “What happened to the old versions?”
“Once a prototype is decommissioned, they are stored on site for a while. We could check and see—”
“We will, later,” her father interrupted. “Is the current version safe?”
“Yes, sire,” she assured him. “We’ve done nearly five hundred successful live transfers to date.”
“Five hundred?” he boomed in disbelief.
This time both scientists jumped.
Surprisingly, Iyo stepped in. “He isn’t angry with you, Shiloh. It’s just a shock that you have made such great strides in so short a time.” He regarded her quizzically when he paused briefly. “I’m concerned an old prototype, the one you think is in storage, was taken and used on some of our people. We were told of possible side effects after use such as bleeding, arms in places they didn’t belong, or feet on backward.”
More surprised now than frightened, she shook her head. “Oh, no. That happened some time ago, and only during the animal trials. We wouldn’t... couldn’t have proceeded if those results continued; it would have been unethical. If an old, inferior version was put to use without our improvements, however...”
“The results wouldn’t be pretty,” Aurelia finished for her.
“Send me through,” Aziros demanded, as he strode toward a lighted platform at the back of the lab. In the center, were four, eight-foot-tall cylinders filled with a shimmery, viscous-looking fluid.
“No, Papa,” she exclaimed, while following on his heels. “Didn’t you hear? Arms in places they don’t belong!”
“No. Didn’t you hear her? Arms in places they don’t belong!”
“Oh, that doesn’t ha
ppen with this model, Princess,” Shiloh assured her.
Aurelia shot her a silencing glare; she wasn’t helping dissuade her determined father. “Five hundred isn’t so very many. Please, Papa, don’t do this.”
“How many did you transfer today?” her father asked.
“None,” Shiloh replied at the same time Brailen answered, “Fifteen.”
She turned on him and repeated, “Fifteen? When? On whose order?”
“On Bamath’s order, while you were at the satellite lab running reports, and later, by the High Prince himself. And you’ll never believe who else, Shiloh. Darios, the Warlord of Voltarre. I nearly passed out when he walked in with the prince.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this before now?”
He seemed contrite when he replied, “I’m sorry, but I was ordered not to.”
“But I am the scientist in charge today. I have top level security clearance. I had a right to know.” She glowered at him. “What else am I in the dark about?”
“You’ll have to debate this some other time,” Aziros announced. “I’m ready to be sent through. I assume everyone went to the same location?”
“Yes, sire.”
“When Bamath went through, did a woman go with him?”
“The prince’s wife accompanied the director.”
“Wife,” he grunted. “Not for much longer I hope.”
“You can’t mean to do this alone. Let’s gather a team.”
“Your aunt may not have time to wait.”
“Take Iyo, at least.”
“I’m sorry, Princess, but I do not leave your side. I agree with your daughter, however,” he told her father. “You should take armed men with you.”
“See!” she exclaimed. “This is crazy.”
He patted his robe. “I have my pistol and can shoot well enough. I taught you and your brother, if you recall.”
“But, Papa, you don’t know what you’ll find on the other side? What if you rematerialize in the middle of a snowdrift taller than you are or in a cave of snow bears hungry for a royal snack, or you could come face to face with Bamath and Sidrah.”
“You’re right. I don’t what I’ll face on the other side, but then, neither did Axton and your husband, I imagine.”
Claimed by the Warlord Page 26
