Carnelians (48 page)

Aliana hardly heard him, she was so stunned by what she saw when she looked at his chest. The military ID read Barthol Iquar. Gods almighty. He was the other Joint Commander.

She kept quiet. He could send her to prison or worse for disrespecting him. But she couldn’t turn off her loathing; the ugliness in him went deep. He was
angry
, not just about her defiance, but at the emperor, the empress, and the Skolians, and she was the one who would bear the brunt of that anger, because he could take out on her what he couldn’t do to them.

He had plans, Aliana realized, something to do with her. She couldn’t pick up much from his mind, but she caught enough; whatever he intended wouldn’t leave her with the Skolians.

“Turn around,” he told her.

Aliana turned so she was facing away from him. His uniform crackled, and in a mirror across the foyer, she saw him remove a syringe from a black pouch on his belt. It had some sort of metallic device on its end. He pressed panels on the syringe, studied them, and made more adjustments. Then he set its tip against the base of her neck, pushing up her collar. She stiffened, intending to jerk away, but it was already too late. A sharp pain exploded in her neck.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“Turn around,” he said coldly.

She turned, her neck aching.

“We’re preparing you for the trade with the Skolians,” he said.

He was lying. He had done something to hurt her. “What did you put in me?”

“I didn’t give you permission to speak,” he said. But then he relented and added, “Listen, girl, don’t worry. It’s just an immunization, so you don’t get sick from Skolian diseases.”

Aliana blinked. She hadn’t expected the kindness of a real response. “Thank you,” she said, even though she wasn’t grateful.

“You will come with me now,” he said. “For the exchange.”

The warning came in to Kelric while he and Dehya were on the dais in the amphitheatre. The summit had been going for several hours, an intricate dance of diplomacy while the Skolian and Eubian staffs introduced the members of various committees, which would consider the thousand and one details necessary to establish trade relations between their civilizations. After the pharaoh and emperor had appeared this morning on the balconies, they had withdrawn into private, their staffs organizing their first meeting for later this afternoon in one of the tower conference rooms. Their first topic of discussion: how to set up trade that explicitly excluded the sale of human beings.

Kelric had been down in the lobby where the exchange of Aliana and Red for the Eubian agents would take place. Now everyone was returning to the amphitheatre for one final opening ceremony before the negotiations began in earnest. The hall was packed, every Skolian and Eubian delegate present as well as many representatives from their Allied hosts. Jaibriol and his retinue had just walked out onto their balcony above the amphitheatre. His robot arm was docked there, waiting to bring his party here to the dais. This next meeting would be purely symbolic. The delegates had quieted, their rumbles replaced by silence as they waited for the historic moment they were about to witness. It would be the first time in the history of their civilizations that the Eubian emperor and Skolian pharaoh stood together, side by side, in peace.

The message from Security came into Kelric’s gauntlet comm, which sent it through his biomech system to Bolt, the node in his spine. Bolt fired his neurons, translating the message into what Kelric interpreted as thought. It was as close as humans had ever come to technology-induced telepathy.

Your brother says it’s Comtrace,
Brant Tapperhaven told him.
He and Secondary Panquai think ESComm forged your signature so they could mimic Comtrace.

Damn. Kelric had hoped the ESComm infiltration wouldn’t reach so far. They weren’t really forging Comtrace, they were forging his own impression of the node, but it could still cause problems.
Transfer Comtrace’s functions to the backup nodes we set up and send a system-wide alert.

Above them, the giant bronzed hand of the emperor’s robot arm was unfolding, leaving the palm open to the ceiling. The Eubians walked across the fingers: Jaibriol, Tarquine, Corbal, Barthol. Four Razers accompanied them, including one that looked eerily like Hidaka, the bodyguard who had died to save Jaibriol’s life on Earth.

Dehya,
Kelric thought.
Comtrace is compromised.

Although she kept watching the Traders, her awareness shifted to him.
How bad is it?

We caught it early. We’ve switched to our back-ups.

Above them, the giant hand curled around its passengers, forming a secure cup, and descended toward the dais.

Roca’s thought came to them.
What about the exchange for Aliana? Is that compromised? 
She was also watching the Traders, for all appearances focused on them.

Kelric sent a thought to another channel on his comm.
Major Qahot, what is the status of the exchange?
The trade was timed to coincide with the meeting of Dehya and Jaibriol on the dais, the two sovereigns showing goodwill in an exchange of prisoners. Kelric didn’t care about the newsworthy symbolism; he wanted the trade to happen when he could monitor it, which meant when he wasn’t in the midst of a sensitive negotiation. All he had to do now was stand here and look dignified. ESComm liked the arrangement because Kelric had just finished checking the lobby where the trade would take place, so he and Dehya had re-entered the amphitheatre on its ground level and mounted the dais there. It was rising now, but it still meant the emperor was coming
down
to them, which ESComm undoubtedly felt made Jaibriol look superior. Kelric didn’t give a damn; he just wanted Aliana away from the Traders before someone figured out who they were about to lose.

We’re in the lobby,
Qahot thought, her mood calm and assured.
The Eubians just notified us that they’ve finished the immunizations and are bringing down the boy and the girl.

Get the trade done fast,
Kelric thought.
No matter what, get Aliana.

Copy that, sir,
Qahot said.

The robot arm with the Eubians was almost level to the dais. As its descent slowed, its bronzed fingers uncurled like a Titan opening his palm to the skies. Jaibriol and his retinue stood on the palm like a set of black diamond Quis dice.

Sir, the Trader group is here for the exchange,
Major Qahot thought. She sent a recording to his mind. He was suddenly “in” Qahot’s viewpoint, watching the elevator in the lobby, a tall set of reflective doors. They slid open, revealing four Razers, exactly the number of Jagernauts that Qahot had brought with her to guard the ESComm agents. He glimpsed the girl and the boy behind the two front Razers, but he couldn’t see them clearly. As the group walked into the lobby, however, they came into better view, two beautiful and poignantly
young
people.

Decades of using a mindscape created by his neural implants made it possible for Kelric to simultaneously process what was happening both here and in the lobby. With his outer gaze, he watched the bronzed hand dock at the edge of the dais. Bolt controlled Kelric’s facial muscles enough to ensure he revealed nothing of what he was viewing through Qahot’s eyes. He saw Aliana and Red join Qahot’s group. Aliana was
safe
—

That was when the girl dropped her mental defenses.

Her thought rang through their minds, an inexperienced shout, raw and desperate.
He put something in my neck! General Iquar! He shot my neck. It’s a trick!

It was as if she had released a sun. She
blazed
with Ruby strength. Roca’s eyes widened and Dehya jerked, barely controlling her shock. Jaibriol lifted his hand, then caught himself and lowered it.

Kelric thought,
Aliana, show me in your mind how General Iquar injected you.

They all felt the girl’s mental gasp.
Freaking gods, who ARE you, blasting my head?

Oblivious to the mental exchange among the telepaths present, the Eubians with Jaibriol continued their choreographed approach to the dais, the Razers stepping onto the circular platform, including the man who looked like Hidaka. Jaibriol stood on the giant hand, watching the proceedings with an aloof gaze that gave no hint of whatever he picked up from Aliana. Kelric shoved his awareness of Jaibriol deep in his mind, where neither Roca nor any of the four Jagernauts on the dais would sense his reaction and wonder why he thought the Highton emperor might respond to a psion.

Kelric had no time to explain, so he just said,
Aliana, I’m heading the Skolian team for the exchange. You must show me, in your mind, how he injected you.

This is him,
Aliana thought. A picture formed, wavering, her memory of the incident with Barthol. It was an eerie parallel to what Kelric saw now as he faced the general, who was standing on the giant hand. Barthol regarded him with a neutral expression, but the crushing pressure of his Highton mind weighed on Kelric. The main difference in what Kelric saw here and Aliana’s mental image was that in her memory, Barthol was holding an air syringe-gun.

That’s an immunization syringe,
Dehya thought.

Jaibriol walked across the bronzed fingers and stepped onto the dais. He looked more like a sculpture than a man; in Highton terms, he was perfection. He and Dehya inclined their heads to each other. All the Skolians on the dais, except Dehya, bowed to Jaibriol in the same moment that all the Eubians, except Jaibriol, bowed to Dehya.

Kelric thought,
Aliana, he gave you a shot to protect you from Skolian sicknesses. You need those immunities.

Why is Barthol Iquar giving it to her?
Roca asked.
That’s an odd task for the General of the Eubian Army.

It’s not immunities,
Aliana thought.
It’s a trick.

Now Tarquine was stepping from the hand to the dais. She glanced at Kelric, her gaze shrouded, but nothing could disguise the recognition in her eyes. An unbidden memory jumped in his mind,
Tarquine in his arms, her body under his—

Kelric thrust down the memory, but he was too late; Jaibriol’s gaze snapped to him. The emperor immediately intensified his barriers, but not before his surge of rage blasted Kelric.

Concentrate, Kelric told himself, trying to regain his equilibrium.
Aliana, I need to see the syringe better. Show me every detail you can recall.

Her image became clearer. The syringe looked ordinary, except for its tip. He had seen that configuration before . . .

He shot a timer in her neck,
Kelric suddenly thought.

A timer for what?
Aliana asked.

We’ll find out.
To Qahot, he thought,
How the hell did that get past security?

We’re checking, sir,
she answered.
Something to do with the Comtrace forgery.

Jaibriol was speaking to Dehya in Highton, with the minimalist greeting that the highest Aristos reserved for one another. “Pharaoh Dyhianna.”

Dehya responded in kind. “Emperor Jaibriol.”

We need to take it out of Aliana,
Kelric thought. To finally have the girl, and then lose her to some godforsaken intrigue, maybe a time-released poison, would be a crime.

I can check her right now,
Qahot thought.
Probably even cut it out of her neck. But the Traders are here. They might see. I’ve no idea if that matters to them.

Move away and hide what you’re doing,
Kelric told her.
But get it done.

The scene in his mind changed, shifting to Qahot’s viewpoint. Aliana was sitting on the marble ledge of a fountain with people all around, shielding her from view. Major Qahot murmured to the girl, and Aliana acted as if she felt sick. The major leaned over, for all appearances being solicitous of a scared child as she brushed the hair off Aliana’s neck. The girl looked up, her eyes wide, and in that instant, she looked so much like his brother Althor that Kelric’s heart lurched.

Aliana, we’ll fix it,
he thought.
I promise.

Here on the dais, Jaibriol was speaking to Dehya. “Pharaoh Dyhianna, my people have a custom. When an event of great import takes place, we observe a silence in its honor.”

What the hell? Kelric had never heard of the custom. Flashes of puzzlement came from Jaibriol’s retinue; apparently neither had any of them. Barthol thought it was amusing; Corbal considered it odd but acceptable; and Tarquine wondered what her husband was up to.

Dehya spoke to Jaibriol. “Of course, Your Highness.”

Then Kelric understood; Jaibriol was giving them time to check Aliana.

Roca stood tensed at Kelric’s side, facing the Aristos, and he felt her struggling with her memories of the Hightons who had imprisoned her. To Roca, Jaibriol and his retinue were no different. But he also felt her surprise. She had expected the pressure of all their minds to be overwhelming, not only the Hightons, but also their guards, who were often part Aristo. Yet she felt only Barthol.

In his mind, Kelric saw Qahot take out a med stylus and numb Aliana’s neck, then gently slice the skin. Here on the dais, Barthol Iquar’s gauntlet hummed. Jaibriol glanced at him with the barest hint of a frown and then looked away, but that one sign spoke volumes; if Barthol interrupted the proceedings, it had better be for a damn good reason. A muscle in Barthol’s face twitched.

In Kelric’s mindscape, Qahot uncovered a tiny sphere in Aliana’s neck just under the skin. It looked familiar . . . he had seen something like that—

Qahot, wait!
Kelric thought.
That’s a damn bomb!

Ah gods, no. 
Aliana’s thought ricocheted in their minds.
Please, I don’t want to die.

We won’t let you,
Kelric told her.
Qahot, that sphere uses the release of gamma radiation from nuclear isomers to trigger the creation of nanobots at an explosively fast rate. They immediately become inert because they don’t have a continuing energy source, but by then, they’ve destroyed any solid they’ve touched, using it to make more of themselves. It happens so fast, it’s like an explosion. You have to get that thing out of Aliana.