Hathor Legacy: Burn (9 page)

Nadira turned to lean her back against the railing. "No. She's not an outcast. Outcasts have no family or connections. Varyn is considered, Deshtu. It means undone."

"Is that supposed to be better or worse?" Jonathan asked. "She didn't ask to come here."

"That's what I told her. Even people with weaker powers should be trained. If she can't control her abilities, it can be da
ngerous."

Jonathan studied her. The breeze was whipping up her short hair, blowing it over her face. Even in this light he could see the gold flecks shimmering against the brown of her eyes. He was tempted to kiss her, but she was so withdrawn he didn't try it. "I don't understand. If she has abilities, why can't she be a Guardian?" he asked.

"She can't because of the levels in society. You're the son of a CEO so that puts you in the executive level. As a Deshtu, Varyn isn't on our level. That's why Brant wanted to dismiss it at first."

"We don't have levels on Astarte." This conversation was r
eminding him of the one he'd had with Karin at lunch that day. Levels and status and credits--that was all that mattered here.

"Of course you have levels there, Jon. It's a Novacorp planet, isn't it? You just didn't notice it."

He could feel her annoyance rising again. This wasn't the way he wanted things to go. It was hard enough at times reconciling the divide between Guardians and everyone else. But he didn't want this to come between them too.

"My mother would've been like you if she'd stayed on Hathor. She had abilities. That makes us the same."

"I know that." Nadira looked down at the water.

"Brant will have to get more Guardians to help with the inve
stigation now. It can't just be up to you." He slid his arms across her shoulders. "Talk to him tomorrow."

"I left a message for him when I left the medi-evac," Nadira said. "But I can't get Varyn out of my mind. She had regen skin all over her from the burns…"

As he held her close, he felt her trembling. "You're going to help her. But now, you've got to let it go. Okay?"

"Okay," she replied, her voice wavering. "I'll try."

Once she talked to Brant and sorted it out, she'd feel better. He was sure of it.

11
The Accusation

When Nadira got to Brant's office the next morning, he was pacing the narrow space between his desk and the windows.

"I got your message about Varyn Renzi," he said as he clasped his hands behind his back. "It has terrible ramifications if the executives hear of it."

"They won't believe it."

Brant spun around to face her. "Don't be so sure. The City Manager wants to meet with us."

"When?"

"I was about to go up to her office. But I don't know what to tell her," Brant said. "Over the past few months, Elder Dakar has been taking on more responsibility. I used to get reports from the others, the Protectors and Watchers, now they go directly to him."

"You never mentioned that before," Nadira said.

The Sentry Leader pulled out his chair and sat down. "When I spoke to one of the other Elders, I found out that it's been happening to them as well. No one other than Elder Dakar has the entire picture of what's going on."

"But they saw what was happening, why didn't anyone question him?"

"Because we trusted the Elder. He's not like his father…or at least he wasn't."

"What does that mean? What did Dakar's father do?'

Brant ignored her question. "Varyn Renzi couldn't tell you who brought her?"

"She's still afraid. She doesn't trust us and I don't blame her."

Brant rubbed his forehead. "Does she have the mark?"

"Her hands were burned and covered with regen skin. I asked her and she said no," Nadira replied. "But she's not registered as a Deshtu either."

"No?" The Sentry Leader looked up at her. "That's odd. Then it's possible she could have abilities. And if so, things are worse than I believed."

"All the Deshtu have abilities."

"You know what I mean," Brant rubbed his head again. "If she's actually Deshtu, then someone is impersonating Guardians to entice them here. Or if not, trainees are being taken to Service Houses. Either alternative puts us in a horrible position."

"We need to talk to Dakar."

"I've tried. Mikal said the Elder is ill and isn't seeing anyone," Brant said.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I have no idea. But from what Elder Azure told me, Dakar refused to see a healer. I don't know what to think." Brant pushed back his chair. "And now we must go give the City Manager a status on this investigation. She's not going to be pleased."

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

He tapped the desktop. "Yes?"

"Sentry Leader? It's City Manager Mako. Put me on proje
ction."

He pointed towards the chair on the other side of his desk, wai
ting for Nadira to sit before he complied.

Brant tapped the desktop and all of the windows opaqued. As the lights in the office dimmed, a holographic projection appeared in the narrow space between Brant's desk and the windows. A woman wearing executive brown sat at a silver conference table. With the projection, it looked as though she was there in three d
imensions, but around the edges, the image was blurry and washed out.

Mako had a rounded face, with dark eyes, but her most notable feature was the pink hair she wore coiled around her head like rope. She must've liked the color, because it was the same color as the pink stones that glittered at the v-neck of her jacket.

"City Manager Mako, is anyone else joining the meeting?" Brant asked, leaning back in his chair.

"No, Sentry Leader. I will report back to the Nova City Board." She looked down at a small tablet she held. "What is your report?" she asked without looking up.

"There are no leads yet on the fires, City Manager. However, the survivor of the last fire made a statement."

"Yes, I know that. Who is that with you?"

"Guardian Sentry Nadira. She questioned the survivor." Brant gestured towards her, a half-smile on his lips. "She is going to be my replacement."

Why did he have to say that? Nadira narrowed her eyes at him, but he kept his attention on the hologram.

Mako nodded. "Yes, the report mentions the Sentry was present when Varyn Renzi made her statement. She says she was brought here by Guardians? And they set the fire? What is being done to confirm this?"

Brant drummed his fingers on the desktop. "I have to meet with Elder Dakar first. He's the point of contact for--"

"Let me remind you, Sentry Leader, the executives will not tolerate Guardians who break corporate laws." The City Manager folded her hands on the table. "These fires in the city center are disrupting the peace and inciting fear. If people believe that Guardians are engaging in criminal activity, they will demand that we step in."

"Step in?" Nadira asked. "Company security is already invest
igating."

Mako looked over at her left. Muffled voices in the background sounded like there were others in the room having a conversation. "Sentry Leader, I have to break off now. Contact me after you've spoken to the Elder." The image disappeared.

Brant rubbed his face and sighed. "That was what I was expecting."

"She didn't even let you finish," Nadira said. "What was the point of meeting with us?"

"They're afraid of what will happen if the Guardians stop being their allies," he replied.

"But we're not doing anything to threaten them."

"There's a lot you don't know, Nadira. The Corporate Wars weren't that long ago."

Brant absently scratched his ear. "Security looks to us to ide
ntify criminals and confirm their guilt. If we become suspects, how can they trust us?"

"Brant, I'll go see Dakar. He'll know who was recruiting in the Cold Towns during the time Varyn was brought here, won't he? And he can assign more Guardians to the investigation."

"You expect to get in? Mikal has been very effective in keeping people away from the Elder," Brant said.

"I know Mikal. He'll do it for me."

Brant grunted. "If you don't mind me saying it, I doubt you know Mikal as well as you think. He's become very authoritative since he became Elder Dakar's assistant."

"I'll handle him." She knew that Mikal wasn't in agreement with Dakar's decisions. Once she told him what was happening, he'd get her the information she needed.

*****

"And this will be your new office," Karin Luke pointed at the holographic display in front of her. "Once the complex is co
mpleted you'll have the top floor of the tower."

Jonathan couldn't believe what he was seeing. A display of the entire complex, including the forty-level tower was suspended over Karin's shiny, silver conference table. Her office was the size of Nadira's entire apartment, with floor to ceiling windows surroun
ding the space.

But he'd quickly learned that large offices were a sign of status. Most meetings took place at social events or, depending on the parties involved, during more intimate situations.

"I hadn't expected anything like that," Jon said. Damn. This was more than anything he could've achieved on Astarte.

"You're shocked, aren't you?" Karin asked, as she cleared the display with a wave of her hand. "I know you thought you'd have something more modest. But why bother? You're in the Executive level, Jon. There's no need to hide."

His conversation with Nadira the night before flashed into his mind. "I'm not into showing off my status."

"Of course you are. You just haven't had the chance. Look, what about that club of yours on Astarte? Isn't that an exclusive place?"

"No. Anyone can come in. It's a mining port. If I only catered to company execs it wouldn't make sense."

"Well then." Karin leaned back against the plush cushions of her high-backed chair. "And you wonder why I call Astarte the frontier. It's not acceptable here to have miners mingling with e
xecutives. As it is we have to tolerate the tourists. But Jonathan you really have to drop these radical ideas. You have a certain position here."

Position and status. Karin's favorite topics. And her brother, Ron was even worse. If he stayed here, he'd have to get used to it. Leaving Hathor, and never seeing Nadira again, wasn't an option.

"I'd rather talk about the complex," Jonathan said, as he looked out over the cityscape. Shiny and jewel-toned, from up here the towers looked like chess pieces arranged across an endless board.

"That's what we're doing." Karin folded her hands on the table. Her long fingers were tipped with frosted silver nails. "So, is N
adira coming to my reception?"

"She's meeting me at the Emerald Club." He was glad she was coming, though he could feel she wasn't excited about it.

"Good. I'm looking forward to meeting her, Jonathan."

"She feels the same about you."

Karin laughed. "Really? I don't believe you. You said she's from the North?"

"Yes."

"I wonder if she'll tell me her family name. They're not supposed to, you know. Guardians renounce their family names."

"How do you know so much about it?"

"I told you. My family has been here for almost as long as the First Families. Have you ever heard of the Montaignes?" She played with one of the emerald bracelets that hung from her slim wrist. "They came here with the Novacorp migration from Earth. Have you ever been to Earth, Jonathan? I'd love to go one day, but it'll take months to travel and I don't hear good things about it."

"Montaigne? That's your family name?" Jonathan caught hi
mself. No doubt she'd noticed that his mouth dropped open when she'd mentioned it.  "I mean…I've heard that name around the city."

"Lovely, isn't it? Sounds like something from the old language. Part of my family is descended from them. The good part." She smiled, showing off her bright white teeth.

Montaigne was his mother's family name. No, it couldn't be possible that his mother was descended from some founding family on Hathor. Or that he was distantly related to Karin and her brother.

Okay, maybe it was possible. People here were obsessed with tracing their family members back for generations. It gave them status over the other Novacorp workers who transferred in to work at the headquarters. And it gave them privileges over people like Matt who'd worked his way up.

"Can we go look at the site?" He got up and dug his hands into his pants pockets.

"Of course, Jonathan. They're making great progress." Karin stood up and smoothed out her white jacket and pants. A silver chain hung from her neck, and at the end of it an oval-shaped e
merald pendant rested on her cleavage.  "We'll take my transport over there."

As he led the way to the door, he felt a gentle tug on his arm. When he turned, Karin reached up and kissed him on the lips. It was so quick that he didn't react until after it happened. What the hell?

"Karin. We've been over this." He grasped her hand. She was so close; he could feel her breath on his face. "I'm in love with Nadira."

"Jonathan," she shook her head, a smile on her lips. "This is Nova City. You won't get anywhere if you insist on keeping these out-of-date ideas."

"Love is out of date? Since when?"

"Love is one thing, Jonathan. Sex is another. On Hathor, people follow their desires. We can have anything we want, and anyone."

"I have who I want." He released her. "If that means you won't work with me, fine."

"Jonathan, you're so serious." She smiled. "I'll never understand you. No matter. I'm not offended. But there's nothing wrong with sampling what's available. It doesn't mean you can't have Nadira too."

"Karin, you should know by now I go after what I want. She's the one I want. No one else."

"I see." She ran her hand down his chest, her fingernails pres
sing into his skin through his shirt. "And that's what makes you so desirable. If you insist on being so provincial, I won't argue. But these are such radical ideas, Jonathan. I hope they don't catch on."