Cassandra's Challenge (68 page)

“It’s not he’s fault William.” She steps out of
his arms to walk across the room. She needs to get herself under
control. “Let him in Lucas, close the door.”

“He left you unprotected!” William rages.

“Which was
my
fault!” She fires back. She
isn’t going to let this come between father and son. “
I
knew
better,
I
could have said something. I thought I could
handle it.” Kyle watches in some amazement as Cassandra argues with
his father, defending
him
.

“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?”
Lucas demands.

“Your brother left Cassandra alone with
Dadrian.” William’s eyes are like broken glass.

“With Dadrian….” Lucas looks again at
Cassandra’s torn dress. “Fuck Kyle, what were you thinking!”

“He was thinking about getting his father’s
command back.” Kyle’s shocked eyes look at her.

“What the fuck are you talking about!” William
finds himself shouting at her.

“I’m talking about
your
son, trying to
get
your
command back.” Cassandra shouts back. “He was
trying to help
you
William!”

“That’s ridiculous! Dadrian doesn’t have that
kind of power, never will! And since when do I need help!”

“How can you possibly know that?” Kyle asks
quietly.

“Because Dadrian told me!” She fires first at
Kyle, then jabs William in the chest. “And
we
need all the
help we can get you big idiot!”

“Aunt Cassie?” Cassandra spins around at the
sound of Victoria’s voice.

“Victoria’s here?” Her eyes fly to Lucas.

“In her room.”

“William…” Even Kyle can hear the panic in her
voice. His father is already removing his jacket, helping her slide
her bruised arms into the sleeves. Pulling the lapels together he
gives her a reassuring kiss.

Kyle isn’t sure what’s astonished him more, that
one minute they’re arguing and the next working together, that
never happened between his parents, or the little girl walking into
the room. She’s tiny, no more than five foot, dressed in what he
would assumed little girls slept in, her flame red hair messy from
sleep.

“Hey kiddo, did we wake you up?” Cassandra
forces a smile onto her face and into her voice as she kneels in
front of her niece.

“Yeah, you were yelling.” She looks into her
Aunt’s eyes demanding the truth. It is the one thing she’s has
tried to give her since the Earth was destroyed.

“Yeah, yeah I was. Sorry about that.”

“Why are you wearing the Admiral’s jacket?” Her
little eyes missed nothing.

“The Admiral thought I should cover up. We were
in the garden.” While Cassandra isn’t lying to her niece she is
stretching the facts.

“Oh. Why were you arguing?”

“Who says we were?”

“Oh please…” Victoria rolls her eyes. “You used
to yell like that at daddy.” Victoria looks to the Admiral. “She’s
usually won. It used to make daddy sooooo mad.” She gives Cassandra
a half happy half sad look at the memory.

“Not always.” Cassandra rubs her cheek.

“Is it because you didn’t eat third meal?”

“What?!?” The Admiral’s eyes narrow as he looks
at Cassandra’s back.

“Why would you think that?” She tries to put an
innocent look on her face.

“Because it’s right over there.” Victoria points
to the table were earlier she’d put her meal.

Turning she sees Hutu hasn’t picked it up. She’s
not so sure he didn’t do it on purpose.

Walking over William pulls the cover off the
plate, discovering it full. The look he gives her lets her know his
displeasure.

“Busted.” Lucas comments.

“Shut up Lucas.” They say in unison. Victoria
giggles.

“See I told you, you were arguing.”

“Your right, we were.” Cassandra stands, paling
slightly, William immediately takes a step towards her. She shakes
her head. “And we still have things to settle, but first, I need to
get out of this dress. Want to do me a favor?”

“What?” Victoria looks at her.

“You think you can handle these three until I
get back?” She nods her head at the men.

“Three?” Victoria looks around her Aunt to see
Kyle. “That’s Kyle.” She walks towards him. “Your Lucas’ brother,
the Admiral’s son.”

Kyle isn’t sure what to make of her. “Yes I
am.”

“Lucas says you’re the smart one in the family.”
Her eyes serious.

“Does he really?” Kyle looks to his brother who
gives him a careless shrug.

“Yup, he says you’re a great little brother.”
Kyle watches her eyes go sad. “I was supposed to have a little
brother.”

Kyle’s eyes shoot from Victoria to his father.
How was he supposed to handle this? It’s Lucas who steps in.

“They can also be a pain in the butt.” He draws
Victoria’s attention to him. “When I was ten he ‘borrowed’ my
favorite air shoes and tried to use them to cross the lake. Totally
ruined them.”

“I was six!” Kyle plays along. “You can’t still
be mad about that!” Lucas just raises an eyebrow.

“So do you think you can handle them? Keep them
from arguing until I get back.”

“Aunt Cassie, all families argue. It’s what they
do
after
that matters.” The wisdom out of the child’s mouth
has the three men sucking in their breaths.

“You’re absolutely right Victoria.” Cassandra
eyes each man. Holding out her fist Victoria gives her a fist bump.
“You’re in charge.” Turning she heads back to their suite.

Walking into the closet Cassandra carefully
hangs up William’s jacket. Sitting on the bench she puts her head
in her hands. Oh God. He attacked her. He wouldn’t have stopped if
William hadn’t have gotten there. How could she have been so
stupid? So arrogant, thinking she’d handle Dadrian all by
herself.

She needs to get this dress off her body.
Striping down she knows exactly what she wants next to her skin.
Going to the bureau she pulls out the violet nightgown Kia had made
her. As William’s color caresses her skin she sighs, it’s like
having his arms around her. Pulling on the black robe she heads
back out to confront the Zafar men.

Watching her leave William frowns. There’s
something going on, something she’s not telling him. She’s tiring
to easily, he’d promised her a few days that would be ending.

Turning he looks at his sons, two grown men both
special in their own way. But right now he isn’t happy with Kyle.
Kyle looks him in the eye, never flinching, but William can see the
regret in his eyes. Kyle’s never been good at covering his
emotions.

“Sit down Kyle you too Lucas.”

“What happened to Aunt Cassie?” Victoria faces
the Admiral. “Her dress is torn.”

William should have realized Victoria missed
nothing, she’s too much like her Aunt. Walking over he squats down
so they are eye to eye. “She tore it in the garden. She didn’t want
you to worry. She’s okay. I promise.”

She stares into his eyes for several moments
then nods. “Okay, if you promise.” The Admiral nods to her.

Kyle watches the exchange, puzzled. Looking to
Lucas he sees his brother isn’t at all surprised. What is going on?
His father is talking to this child like an adult. Suddenly he
finds he’s the focus of clear green eyes.

“You were at the Ball.” Victoria eyes his
clothes.

“Yes.”

“Did you dance?” She walks over to him.

“Yes, with your Aunt.”

“Really? How are your toes?”

“What?”

“Aunt Cassie is a terrible dancer. Even Grandpa
Jacob said so, well not to her, he used to say she danced on his
toes more than her own.”

“Her valsa was fine.” Kyle while confused at the
conversation can’t help but be charmed.

“Are you going to help us catch the Glitter
Man?” She demands.

“What? Who? What’s she talking about!”

“Victoria, it’s time for you to get back to
bed.” Cassandra sweeps into the room just in time to hear her last
comment.

She’s wearing a long black robe, but it’s what’s
underneath that has William’s breath catching. Violet, House of
Protection violet, even after Dadrian.

“Aunt Cassie…” And suddenly she sounds like a
little girl to Kyle.

“Victoria Lynn it’s late, you need to get back
to sleep.”

“But I want to help. How can I help if I don’t
know what’s going on?” Cassandra looks at William this is what
they’d just been arguing about.

“There are some things you don’t need to know
Victoria.” William steps in.

“Why?” Victoria looks at the Admiral with
stubborn eyes.

“Because you’re
nine
. Some things you
need to let
us
handle.”

“But the Glitter Man…”

“When the time comes you get to help with that.
I’ve told you that.” Cassandra kneels down to her. “I promise.”

“Okay. But, do I have to go to bed?”

“Yes.”

“Well…..” Even Kyle cans see she’s up to
something.

“What?” Cassandra isn’t sure what’s going on in
her niece’s mind.

“Can I have your piece of fudge torta?” Victoria
looks longingly at the plate the Admiral left uncovered.

“That would be your
third
piece today.”
Trying to keep a serious face, Cassandra starts to stand, finding
William there to help her.

“Yeah but if you’re not going to eat it….”

“If you go straight to bed you can have it.”

“Yes! Night Lucas, night Kyle, night Admiral.”
Victoria hustles over to pick up the cake before her Aunt can
change her mind. “Night Aunt Cassie.”

“Night Tori.” Cassandra walks over to the
hallway. “And I want your door closed! No ‘accidental’ hearing!”
She yells after her.

“Oh man…” Is her only reply.

Cassandra turns to face the Zafar men. They were
quite a sight. All tall, broad shouldered and handsome, but William
is her light.”

“Cassie…” Raising a hand she cuts Lucas off.

Turning she walks over to a table and pours
three glasses of Carinian Ale. Silently she hands one to each man,
hearing the door finally shut, she sits down on the couch, tucking
her legs under her.

Cassandra looks to William. “Kyle needs to know
William. I know you were trying to keep him safe, keep him out of
it, but Dadrian’s brought him in, he has the right to know the
whole truth.” She pauses. “So does Lucas.”

“Damn it Cassandra, we don’t even
know
if
we’re right.”

“You
know
we are, especially after
tonight. We just can’t
prove
it, yet.”

“What’s going on?” Lucas leans forward frowning.
“What don’t
I
know?”

William looks from the woman he loves and
trusts, to his sons. Two men he couldn’t be prouder of. She’s
right, he’s had time to cool down, think through what she’s said.
Things would have been different tonight if Kyle had known what was
going on.

Sitting down next to her William starts to fill
Kyle in on what’s been happening over the last fifty days. The
attack on Earth, the thread, the decision to return to Carina, the
transmissions, the translations.

“You learned how to speak Regulian in
four
days
?” Kyle is stunned.

“Languages have always come easy for me.”

“But Regulian….Victoria can speak it too?” He
looks to the bedrooms.

“Yes.”

“You broke the Coalitions transmission codes? Do
you know the amount of time that went into creating those.” Lucas
demands.

“Not enough. They could be better. But the good
news is the Regulians will never crack them….” Cassandra’s eyes
widen as she looks to William. He sees what she’s thinking. Could
that be it? What the traitor is offering?

“If you have the transmission codes you know who
the traitor is.” Kyle accuses.

“It doesn’t work that way. I can tell you what
personal code sent what transmission, and what code received it,
but I can’t tell you
whoes
code it is, not without hearing
the transmission and even then you’d need to recognize the
voice.”

“High Command would know.” Lucas looks to his
father.

“High Command doesn’t know Cassandra’s broke the
codes. No one does.” William gives his sons a hard look telling
them he wants to keep it that way.

“You didn’t recognize the voice?” Lucas looks to
his father.

“It was run through a Regulian translator.”

“What does all this have to do with Dadrian?”
Kyle looks from Cassandra to his father. While they’d been talking
William’s put an arm around her pulling her close. Now he stands,
walking across the room he looks out the window.

Cassandra’s eyes follow him, saying nothing.
This is William’s call. Kyle and Lucas exchange looks both
realizing this is something big. But what could be bigger than a
traitor trying to kill Cassandra?

Turning back, she sees he’s reached a decision,
a hard one. One an Admiral makes.

“There are two traitors.”

“What!” Both boys rise.

“Cassandra found two distinct signatures on the
transmissions to the Regulians.”

“Both through translators?”

“No, one only contained numbers.” The Admiral
watches Lucas.

“Numbers? Like coordinates? Fleet coordinates?”
Cassandra can see Lucas is starting to put it together.

“What are you talking about?” Kyle demands.

“Speed attacks against the fleet. The first one
the Regulians were able to locate us because of the thread in
Victoria’s arm. But that wasn’t the exact location. There were two
more after, they didn’t come out of warp until they were
firing.”

“Someone’s giving them the fleet’s location to
stop Cassandra?” Kyle doesn’t realize it’s the first time he’s
called her by name. William does.

“No. I thought they were. Cassandra found the
transmissions giving up the fleet’s location. She was able isolate
the signature and tied it back to two other transmissions.
Transmissions sent prior to the attacks.” William pauses.
“Transmissions sent to the Sentinel.”