Keeper: First Ordinance, Book 2 (26 page)

I wasn't sure what to make of that absence. "What,"
I croaked.

"Water," Ordin handed a glass to me. My hand shook
too much for me to take it; Berel helped me, although Kaldill and Daragar moved
closer. Berel held the glass, my shaking hand covered his and I drank.

"Father was really worried," Berel said softly,
handing the empty glass to Ordin with a nod.

"What about the war?" I asked, my voice as unsteady
as my hand.

"Not yet sorted completely, but at least they're not
firing at each other after what happened," Kaldill supplied. "The
situation with the leaders is still tense, but the troops want no part of
further battle. They saw my dearest one fall," he added. "After you
gave your healing to them, they were horrified."

"I want to get up," I said.

"Take this slow, Quin," Ordin instructed. "You've
been down for three days, and severely injured prior to that. Your suitors may
help you stand and walk for a while, but don't tire yourself. You've only just
awakened, after all."

"All right, but I want to stand. I feel as if I've slept
on my wings the whole time and they're cramping."

Kaldill and Berel pulled me to my feet, where I rocked
unsteadily for a moment before gaining my balance. Taking the first few steps
was frightening but I did it, then both held my hands as they stood before me
so I could stretch my wings.

* * *

"Commander Justis, Quin's awake," Dena said,
squinting into the early fall sunlight as Justis lifted the heavy, round stone,
flipped it over and then bent to lift it again. It was a strengthening
exercise, but he'd been doing it constantly for three days.

"I know." The huge stone fell with a ground-shaking
thump.

"Aren't you going to see her?"

"Do you think she wants to see me? I almost got her
killed."

"You act as if that's the first time it's happened."
Dena shaded her eyes with a hand so she could see Justis better. "Jurris
told Ardis to kill her when she first arrived. If the Orb hadn't intervened,
she'd have died then. Somebody put an arrow through her wing in Fyris,"
she went on.

"And I still want to kill the one responsible."
Justis heaved the stone up, his muscles bulging with the effort as he pushed it
over again. Dena almost jumped when the stone hammered the ground near her
feet.

"I think you should talk to her. She understands what a
difficult thing she was asking—you'd have had to go without the King's
permission—everybody knows that."

"Does everybody have such a poor opinion of my brother?"
Justis stopped for a moment and studied Dena's face.

"I think they measured him by Halthea's actions," Dena
muttered.

Justis cursed softly, flung sweat out of his eyes and nodded. "Yes,
I'll see Quin. After dinner."

* * *

Quin

Justis walked in quietly while I was having dinner with Berel
and Kaldill in the healer's suite. He'd recently had a shower—his hair was
still damp. That wasn't the only thing I noticed, however.

You look like you've beaten yourself
, I sent to him.
Why?

"Don't you think I deserve it?" he asked aloud,
pulling an empty chair closer and nodding to Berel and Kaldill.

"Why? I know it was an unfair and foolish request to ask of
you, and even more foolish of me to put all of it on you," I said.

"Ardis and I should have gone with you," he replied.
"We could have made that decision for ourselves," he added.

"I don't know that it would have made much difference,"
I sighed, staring at my plate. They'd provided me with soft foods to eat—mashed
carrots, lentils and such. "Have you eaten?" I lifted my eyes to gaze
into his. They were dark and troubled—that was easy enough to see.

"I'll get something later," he shrugged.

"I'll go to the kitchens," Kaldill offered. "She
forgives you, therefore I will as well." Justis shook his head in
confusion as Kaldill disappeared.

"You didn't see her get hit," Berel snapped and stood
to leave. "I'll be back, Quin," he flung over a shoulder and walked
through the door.

"I have some ground to make up with that one,"
Justis sighed. "He's right, though. I didn't see it. A part of me is glad.
It keeps me from hunting the one responsible and killing him with my bare
hands."

"I think it was an accident," I said.

"That's what I heard. Still difficult for me to believe."

"I don't think we can stay here long, Justis," I
said.

"Here? In the healer's suite?"

"No. Here—on Siriaa. When I woke—it was as if the poison
had multiplied a hundred times since I boarded that ship for Kondar. If the
High President doesn't know it yet, he will soon. Relocating Fyris' population
was one thing—there weren't many there. Relocating those still here? I don't
even know if it's possible."

"Some will refuse to go, I think," Justis looked
away. He meant the Avii, as well as Kondari and Yokarun.

"We have to have a place, first," I said. "And
then do our best to convince them in a very short amount of time. We may have a
moon-turn, Justis."

"The laws in Kondar say it will have to be by a vote of
the people," Justis said. "Yokaru has an emperor, so he will have to
be convinced. Are you sure about this?"

"As sure as I was the last time."

I watched his face go pale before he nodded. "I believe
you," he said finally. "But that doesn't mean the people of Kondar or
Yokaru will believe you, and I have no idea what Jurris will say."

I didn't tell him of the growing dread I'd felt since the
moment I'd wakened—that I felt as if we stood on a narrow edge of a precipice,
where a strong breeze might push us past saving.

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

Queen Lissa's Private Journal

"Kooper, did you release discreet notices that Marid was
dead?" I asked. "I still see those bounty offers pop up on occasion."

"I put it out there," he said, "And paid a few
informants to spread the news. Even passed along a few images of him after he
offed himself."

Kooper had stopped by my private study for a cup of coffee. He
sat on the other side of my desk, his long legs pushed out comfortably in front
of him as he sipped from the mug of coffee Renée brought. "Still no news
of Bree?" he lifted an eyebrow hopefully.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "I've sent out
mindspeech several times, but nothing has been sent back."

"It's been two years," he sighed. "I know they
don't pay attention to time, but since we have mundane jobs to do, we have to
pay attention."

"I hear that," I agreed. "I've been in contact
with the worlds where we know Marid dumped that poison. They're noticing a rise
in radiation around the burial sites. There's nothing they can do—it's like
trying to hold water in a sieve. A few have attempted complete containment of
the area—but those creatures, whatever they are, manage to find a way through
every material they've tried."

"I can't begin to tell you how fucked up that is,"
Kooper grumbled.

"We've had reports from three worlds that we didn't know
about before, sending information on the rise in radiation on their planets—so
we have more coming. If Marid weren't dead already, I'd kill him myself."

"Only if you got to him first." Kooper sipped more
coffee. "Did you notice who put up the biggest bounty on Marid?" he
asked.

"I only saw two smaller crime thugs," I said.

"Vardil Cayetes offered twenty million," Kooper
said. "I still regret that we didn't get him when his brother Hordace
died. He stayed inactive just long enough to make us think the Cayetes crime conglomerate
was dead, before picking up where his brother left off. I imagine he's been
poisoned by what Marid sold."

"You're joking? You think Cayetes is sick, now?"

"I imagine he bought a lot of that filth from Marid, so
yes, I think he is. Why else would he offer that much? The second highest bid
was for a million credits."

"So Marid built the shield around Fyris to begin with.
Why is that? Who hired him? I really need to talk to Bree," I muttered.

"There's a long line for that," Kooper reminded me. "Trajan
says everybody on Avendor is getting fidgety because Ashe has been gone so
long, too."

"When they get back, we need a conference with all three.
There should be a signal or something that they'll pay attention to, no matter
where or when they are. I suppose we can put a huge light on top of my palace
that'll send a beacon through space and blind all the pilots landing at the
space station," I joked.

"That only works for mythical Earth heroes," Kooper
pointed out with a grin.

"Hey, I'll have you know I read comic books when I was in
high school," I said, pointing a finger at Kooper.

"I studied herpetology," Kooper countered with a
grin.

"So, when people called you a snake lover, you took it as
a compliment, didn't you?"

"I've never loved a snake in the—what do you call it—the
biblical sense?"

"You know, it must have been interesting around your
household growing up," I said.

"Mom always made a cake at the full moon, because we were
hungry after the change."

"Dessert—after rats and mice?"

"We-ell," he tried to smother a chuckle. "Our
neighbors never complained about the lack of vermin."

"Koop, stop making me laugh," I said. "I almost
snorted coffee."

* * *

Avii Castle

Quin

"Quinnie, I hear you have worries." Kaldill handed a
plate of food to Justis and took a chair nearby.

"I think Siriaa's end is coming sooner than we
think," I said. "I can't say exactly why that is—I only feel it
coming."

"Willem sent mindspeech earlier, telling me he feels some
sort of shift," Kaldill nodded. "He can't say what it is, either, and
that worries both of us. Willem is the best seer among my elves, and when he
says something isn't right, then everyone should listen. When my Quinnie says
the same thing, then we really ought to pay attention."

"She says we may have a moon-turn," Justis said
before biting into a piece of bread he'd coated with butter.

"Willem also says time is short, although he cannot say
how long," Kaldill sighed. "I fear Kondar will feel it necessary to
take a vote, and that will devour time."

"I don't know what to do—where is Berel?" I asked.

"Berel is not happy with me," Justis said.

"Berel is young," Kaldill said. "Although I am
still angry, I understand Quin's view on this."

"I'm going to find Berel," I said, pushing my legs
toward the side of the bed.

"I'll take you," Kaldill offered. "Stay here
and finish your meal, I'll bring her back," Kaldill motioned for Justis to
sit after he half-rose to follow us. Placing an arm around my shoulders, Kaldill
transported me to the Library.

* * *

"Quinn, are you sure you should be out of bed?"
Gurnil hovered the moment Kaldill made me comfortable on a chair at our usual
table. Berel sat on the opposite side, watching me closely. Until my arrival,
he'd been toying with his tab-vid. "What did you learn?" I asked,
speaking to Berel instead of acknowledging Gurnil's worry.

"I've connected with the research facility—they say the
poison creatures are multiplying at a rate comparable to that of a virus, but
by their calculations, we should still have three of your moon-turns before the
population is in real danger."

"I worry that we are all in terrible danger," I
dropped my eyes. "I can't describe it, Berel, but something gnaws at me."

"Willem feels the same," Kaldill held up a hand to
prevent Berel from protesting. "I learned long ago to listen carefully
when Willem voices a warning, and when Quin verifies it, then we should all
take heed."

"I'll speak with Father," Berel sounded stiff.

"Berel, please," I held out my hand to him. "I
care for you. I care for your father. I don't want anything to happen to either
of you. Or the people of Kondar and Yokaru."

"I've sent a message to Queen Lissa already, and to the
Larentii," Kaldill said. "But we can't do anything without the permission
of Kondar or Yokaru. I beg you to speak with your father now," Kaldill
said. "I promise to do what I can, as long as you and your father promise
to do the same."

Berel blinked at me. I held out my hand to him still, but it
became shaky as I waited. With a sigh, his fingers gripped mine, keeping them
from trembling. "Wait," he said, letting my hand go. I must have made
some noise, because he moved around the table quickly, took the empty seat next
to me and placed both arms around my shoulders.

"I will talk to my father, but I want you and Kaldill
here with me when I do."

* * *

Le-Ath Veronis

Queen Lissa's Private Journal

"Where can we put them?" Ildevar asked.

"There are two unoccupied continents on Morningsun,"
I pointed out. "Large ones, although they're connected by a narrow land bridge.
Surely the continent of Cloudsong II won't mind—it's an ocean away and they don't
have even a fourth of their area occupied."

"You're talking of bringing in two separate political
systems, with new rulers and politicians," Ildevar observed. "Cloudsong
II's King will desire a meeting and a compatibility study. Trade will have to
be considered—travel, too."

"According to Kaldill, Willem and Quin, we may not have
the luxury of time to work all those things out," I said. "Nobody
knows exactly what's going on, but they're worried. I say we make this a
temporary move, until the niceties can be arranged."

"I hate to move a population too many times—it's
detrimental to everyone involved," Ildevar mused.

"I know. We still have to consider the other worlds
affected by the poison—they may need a refuge before this is over. You know how
I hate Alliance Enclaves, but we may have to call one."