Dragonback 06 Dragon and Liberator (41 page)

"But I wanted you to know how it was you ended up living with me
aboard your parents' ship."

Silently, Draycos got to his feet and crossed the room to stand at
Jack's side.

"It
was
their ship, if you haven't already figured that
out. A beautiful Judge-Paladin ship, loaded to the intakes with all the
finest equipment money can buy.

"Unfortunately, not all of us have that kind of money. So seeing
as I was a thief by profession, I set out to steal it."

Jack glanced at Alison. She was staring at the speaker, an intense
look on her face.

"Not that I specifically targeted your parents' ship. That was
just . . . I don't know. Luck? Fate? I can never tell about these
things. I just needed one of the ships to put down at some
out-of-the-way place where the alarm would take a while to get out. The
Hreenwoth Canyon on Semaline was the perfect spot."

Jack looked down at Draycos. All that time they'd spent in that
canyon, all that danger, and he'd never even known its real name.

"I knew the Golvins had requested a Judge-Paladin to come mediate
their dispute with Triost Mining, so I got there first and arranged to
have myself arrested. Nothing serious, just some minor theft that would
give me an excuse to hang around the valley. Once your parents arrived
and settled down to business, I slipped out of custody and got over to
their ship.

"I had just popped my way through the lock when the Lesser
Assembly Hall blew up."

Jack closed his eyes. The image of that explosion . . .

"I didn't have time to think," Uncle Virgil went on. "My first
instinct was to get out, and to get out fast. I got to the cockpit,
froze out the computer that was trying to block me, and took off."

"Must have been fewer guy wires linking the pillars back then,"
Draycos murmured. "Otherwise, the
Essenay
could never have
landed in the canyon."

"I figured that whoever had had the chutzpah to kill a pair of
Judge-Paladins would have been smart enough to have some air backup
ready. But he'd missed out on that one. I got into space and on ECHO
before the planetary space control even realized anything was wrong.

"It was only then that I found out I had a passenger. You.

"It was quite a shock, as I'm sure you can imagine. You were in
your bunk, sleeping like a—well, I suppose like a three-year-old, a
remote sitting beside you."

"A remote?" Draycos asked.

"It's an electromechanical robot linked to the ship's computer,"
Jack said. "Huh. I'd forgotten all about that."

"Not entirely," Draycos said. "Do you remember when we stumbled
into that Wistawki bonding ceremony on the Vagran Colony?"

Jack nodded. That had been right after he and Draycos had met,
while Jack was still trying to get out from under the theft charge
Neverlin had framed him with. "I called you my electromechanical
assistant."

"The remote had stopped when I froze out the computer," Uncle
Virgil continued. "I got rid of it right away. Hate the things. Then
you woke up, and—well, again, there wasn't time to think. I got you
something to eat and spun you a story about your parents asking me to
watch you for a while. I figured I'd drop you off with the authorities
on the next planet.

"Only before we got to the next planet I finally
did
have
time to think. I didn't know why whoever it was had killed your
parents, but it occurred to me that if it was personal rather than
business, he might not want their son to live, either. So I decided to
hang on to you until I had a better handle on what was going on.

"But that was going to take some time, and meanwhile you were
starting to ask questions. So . . . well, you know the rest. I told you
I was your uncle Virgil and that your parents had been killed in a mine
accident. And I sort of . . . adopted you."

"And turned me into a thief," Jack murmured.

"I know you're probably not happy with some of the things I did,"
Uncle Virgil said, an odd note of pleading in his voice. "Changing your
name and . . . well, teaching you something of my profession. But you
have to remember that I didn't know who or what we were up against. I
had to keep your real identity hidden from everyone, including you. At
the same time, I needed to give you the tools you'd need if I didn't
solve the puzzle and you had to track down the murderers yourself.

"But you're safe now. Somehow, you're safe. Otherwise the computer
wouldn't have been able to find and unlock this recording. You don't
need me anymore. And for that I'm glad. I really am.

"So I guess this is good-bye, Jack lad. I know you'll probably
hate me for what I did to you. I wish I could have done better, but
it's too late for that now. Just please try to believe that I did the
best I knew how."

The voice stopped. Jack took a deep breath, let it out in a slow
sigh. "So," he said, just to fill up the silence.

"
Do
you hate him?" Taneem asked quietly.

Jack looked at her. "No," he said, and was rather surprised to
discover that he meant it. "He made mistakes. We all do. But he kept me
alive for eleven years." He considered. "And I guess he really
did
give me the tools I needed to bring Neverlin down."

He looked back at the computer module. "Thanks, Uncle Virge."

There was no answer. "Uncle Virge?" Jack called again.

"Good afternoon," a courteous feminine voice said. "How may I
assist you?"

Jack swallowed. "Never mind," he said.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Alison said gently.

Jack blinked back sudden tears. "Don't be," he said. "Uncle Virgil
died a long time ago." He looked at Draycos. "And he was right. I don't
need him anymore."

He took another deep breath. "So what are we hanging around here
for, anyway?" he said, forcing some cheerfulness into his voice. "Let's
get over to the
Advocatus Diaboli
and wreck a Death weapon. And
after that, we can introduce Taneem to her people."

"Will you stay with me awhile, Alison?" Taneem asked, almost shyly.

"As long as you need me," Alison promised. "I'm looking forward to
meeting your people, too." She picked up the carry bag and looked at
Jack. "You ready?"

"Go ahead," Jack told her. "I'll be along in a minute."

Alison glanced at Draycos, then nodded. "Okay," she said. "But
make it snappy." With Taneem padding along behind her, she left the
room.

"Are you all right?" Draycos asked gently.

"I don't know," Jack said. Suddenly, to his surprise and
embarrassment, more tears were flowing from his eyes. "I just feel sort
of . . . I don't know. Sort of lost."

"That's to be expected," Draycos said. "For the past six months
you've been on the run, living with fear and danger and a burden no one
your age should ever have to carry. Along the way, you've grown a great
deal as a person, as well as learned things about yourself and your
history you thought you'd never know."

He reached up a paw and rested it gently on Jack's arm. "You've
never had a chance to truly grieve for your parents. Now, finally, you
have that chance."

"I guess," Jack said, swiping a hand across his eyes. "But it
hasn't just been the last six months. With Uncle Virgil, and then after
he died . . ." He shook his head. "That was my life, Draycos. It was
all I ever knew. Now, suddenly, everything's changed."

"Yes, it has," Draycos said. "It's called being at peace. Being at
rest. It's something you haven't experienced since you were three years
old." He lashed his tail gently. "To tell you the truth, it's something
I've never truly experienced, either."

Jack looked down at the K'da, a wave of tangled thoughts and
emotions swirling through him. There was grief for his parents,
certainly, along with the scary sense that his life had changed
forever. There was also a little shame that he was even carrying on
like this when Draycos and his people had suffered so much more than he
had.

But on top of all the rest of it— "We did it," he murmured, the
fact suddenly and truly sinking in. "We saved your people. We actually
did
it."

"We did, didn't we?" Draycos said, his jaws cracking open in a
K'da smile. "You and I, and Alison and Taneem."

"And Langston, and Mr. Braxton," Jack added. He felt his stomach
tighten. "And Harper."

"All of us together," Draycos agreed quietly. "We're safe, Jack.
You're
safe."

Safe
. The word flowed through Jack's mind like a gentle
summer breeze.
Safe
.

"Hey, in there?" Alison's voice drifted back down the corridor.
"You two get lost?"

Quickly, Jack wiped the last of the tears from his eyes with his
sleeve. "Keep your socks on," he called back. "We're coming."

"Then do it," Alison said as she and Taneem stuck their heads
around the doorway into the room. "Grandfather's waiting, and you
don't
want him mad at you."

"Oh, right," Jack said dryly. "What's he going to do, take away
the dessert cart?"

"Worse," Alison said solemnly. "He might limit you to a single day
at Great Galaxy Romp next time he takes us there. And no roller
coasters at all."

"Actually, no roller coasters would be fine with me," Jack assured
her. He gave Draycos a lopsided grin. "I'm at peace now, you know."

"Not for long," Alison warned. "You're an ambassador to a whole
race of people. Two whole races, actually. Your future's about to get
really complicated again."

"Complicated, but good," Draycos said. "For all of us."

"Absolutely," Alison agreed, reaching down to stroke Taneem's neck.

"You really think so?" Jack asked.

"Oh yes." Alison smiled. "Bet on it."